! ….. ‘ህወሓት ለህዝብ ሮሮ ጀሮ የለውም’ …!

! ….. ‘ህወሓት ለህዝብ ሮሮ ጀሮ የለውም’ …!

ህወሓቶች በ9ኛው የኢህኣዴግ ጉባኤ ተሸማቀው መመለሳቸው ተሰምተዋል። በሁሉም የኢህኣዴግ ኣባል ድርጅቶች ኣለመተማመንና እርስበርስ መናናቅ ቢስተዋልም ህወሓቶች የለመዱቱን ‘ክብር’ በመነፈጋቸው (የሚያቀርቡት ሓሳብ ሲብጠለጠል በማየታቸው) እጅግ እንዳዘኑና እንዳፈሩ ለማወቅ ተችለዋል።

ድሮም ቢሆን እነዚህ ተራ የህወሓት ኣባላት (የኣሁኑ መሪዎች ማለቴ ነው) ከሌሎች የድርጅት መሪዎች በቀጥታ (የሓሳብ) ክርክር ኣድርገው ኣያውቁም። በመለስ በኩል ነበር የሚገናኙ። መለስ ለየብቻቸው ያሳምናቸው ነበር። ኣሁን ይሄን ሚና የሚጫወት የለም። እናማ ህወሓቶች ተንቀናል (ተሰሚነት ኣጣን) ብለው ኣኮረፉ፣ ኣፈሩ። በትክክል ውርዴት ነው። ኣንድ ተሳታፊ ‘ ቢስቢስ እኮ አሎምና’ (ትግርኛ) ብለዋል።

እንደዉጤቱም ከጉባኤው መልስ በትግራይ በኣብዛኛው የክልል መንግስት መስርያቤት በስብሰባ ተጠምደዋል። ትናንት (ሓሙስ መጋቢት 19, 2005) የመንግስት ሰራተኞች ስራቸው ትተው ስብሰባ ዉለዋል። የመንግስት ስራ ትተው ለፓርቲ ስብሰባ መጥራት ተገቢ ኣልነበረም።

እነሱ ስልጣናቸውን የሚያራዝሙበት ስብሰባ (የህዝብ ጅንጀና) ሲያካሂዱ ህዝቡ (ተገልጋዩ) ግን የፍትሕ ግልጋሎት ኣጥቶ ሲሰቃይ ማየት ያሳዝናል።

የመኾኒ ነዋሪዎች መኖርያ ቤታቸው እንደሚፈርስ ተነግሯቸዋል። በቅርብ ግዜ ወደ 7 ሺ ቤቶች ይፈርሳሉ (ገጠሩ ጨምሮ መሆን ኣለበት እንጂ 7ሺ ቤቶች በመኾኒ ከተማ ይኖራል ብዬ ኣልገምትም)። በመጀመርያ ዙር 1500 ቤተሰብ ይፈናቀላል። ይቀጥላል።

እነዚህ ነዋሪዎች መኖርያ ቤታቸው ሲፈርስ ሌላ ኣማራጭ መጠልያ ስለሌላቸው መንግስት መፍትሔ እንዲያፈላልግላቸው ለወረዳው ኣስተዳዳሪዎች ኣቤት ብለው ነበር። መትፍሔ ኣላገኙም። ችግሩ ያስጨነቃቸው ነዋሪዎች ከ150-200 የሚሆኑ ተወካዮች መርጠው ወደ ክልል መንግስት ቢሮ (መፍትሔ ፍለጋ) ላኩ። 

Food or freedom: Which comes first? By Abraha Desta, Mekelle

It is true that economic growth is a necessary condition for a country like Ethiopia..... Yet, food is not sufficient. Food is necessary for our survival but our survival is meaningless without freedom. Food and freedom cannot be dealt separately.

Food must be accompanied by freedom to make humanity flourish. Human beings are like trees. Trees need water (and other nutrients) ... This is food. But they need sunlight (They must be free to see the sun), if they are to flower and get ripe. Though water is important for the growth of trees, it is sunlight that makes their growth meaningful. Same is true to human beings: Human beings need both food and freedom. We are also in a position to have them both by transforming our political system from the rule of man to the rule of law.

People have the right to food (food is one component of freedom). Human beings must be free to get food. Plus, citizens have also the right to express what they want. Freedom of consciousness (freedom of speech, expression, to be listened ........ every other aspect beyond filling the belly or stomach). We are not here to eat only; we also want to express our lives freely so as to realize our true selves. Food and freedom are not mutually exclusive. We can achieve them all together. We may exert efforts to eradicate poverty (achieve food security). But there is no effort needed to let people free. Because freedom is just allowing people to be the way they like as long as their actions do not affect the right (freedom) of other fellow citizens. So, freedom only needs a good will of the ruling class accompanied by the maturity of individual citizens.

Ethnic-based politics in Ethiopia By Teklu Abate

According to the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, there are 79 political parties registered under Proclamation No573/2008. Of these, only 29% have country-wide (national) identity whereas 71% are regional parties that are organized around ethnic lines. Of those parties dubbed to have national outreach, some such as All Amhara People’s Organization (AAPO), Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Front (EPRDF), Geda System Advancement Party, Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, and All Oromo People Democratic Party do actually have, as their names indicate, ethnicity as their organizing logic. Several armed groups and parties are also following suit. Stated simply, Ethiopian politics is heavily smeared with ethnicism. On average, each nationality (ethnic group) has got its own political party.   

            

That means, the political philosophy of the EPRDF (ethnic federalism) seems to have gotten popularity from the opposition. By necessity, affinity, and/or rhetoric, the majority of opposition political parties make ethnicism their core. Meaning, ethnic federalism is what unifies EPRDF and the opposition. Although the former has got the power/legitimation to enforce the ideology, the latter have been playing a no-less-than- important role in giving it real life.

Some people tend to mistakenly trace the commencement of ethnic politics in Ethiopia to the political participation of the late Professor and accomplished surgeon Asrat Woldeyes. Following the ratification of the FDRE Constitution and in response to the rampant persecution and mass killing of the Amharas, which is still the reality, Asrat was ‘forced’ to form the AAPO. Although the party was technically formed to ‘fight’ all the injustices made against the Amharas, the party was tasked to demand and safeguard freedom and democracy at the national level.

22 Years On: The Caravan Still Rolls On

By Destaw Andargie (Dr.)

It will soon be twenty-two years since TPLF seized power in Ethiopia. Over these long and torturous years, TPLF faced no serious external challenge whatsoever. It has been in absolute command. Its rule has never come under threat. Even during its worst internal crisis back in 2001, the issue was all about which faction would emerge the winner. It was still all about TPLF- the sole star in the political theatre. Indeed, despite dubious and useless rumors about infighting within TPLF, all objective indications suggest that TPLF will continue to dictate the country for the foreseeable future. The demise of its longtime leader notwithstanding, TPLF is as assured of its hegemony as ever. After 22 years of absolute domination, many are only hoping (against hope) for TPLF to commit suicide. The extent to which people are moved by the deceptive rumors that TPLF is fracturing proves nothing but the prevailing level of defeatism.[1] After all these years and everything that has happened; all the talk from the opposition camp (as with citizens) is still about what the TPLF does and does not, as if action was the natural monopoly of the TPLF. After twenty-two years, we still continue to talk about how divisive and tyrannical TPLF is. Obviously, such defeatist talks neither make news nor change anything. Yet, we continue down that path either because blaming TPLF for everything (including our own weaknesses) has transformed into a sort of addiction or just because it makes us feel somewhat good about ourselves for it relieves us from asking ourselves tougher questions. We seem to enjoy blaming TPLF for everything, and never to ask ourselves.[2] And, of course, TPLF loves that, for talk is cheap and will never alter the status quo.

Abamela calls for 'reform of system' in Ethiopia

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.

HRW: Ethiopia’s Muslim Protesters Face Unfair Trial

Open Hearings to Family, Independent Monitors, Media 

(Nairobi, April 2, 2013) – The prosecution of 29 Muslim protest leaders and others charged under Ethiopia’s deeply flawed anti-terrorism law raises serious fair trial concerns, Human Rights Watch said today. The trial is scheduled to resume in Addis Ababa on April 2, 2013, after a 40-day postponement.

The case has already had major due process problems, Human Rights Watch said. Some defendants have alleged ill-treatment in pre-trial detention. The government has provided defendants limited access to legal counsel and has taken actions that undermined their presumption of innocence. Since January 22 the High Court has closed the hearings to the public, including the media, diplomats, and family members of defendants.

“There seems to be no limit to the Ethiopian government’s use of its anti-terrorism law and unfair trials to stop peaceful dissent,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The government’s treatment of these Muslim leaders bears the hallmarks of a politically motivated prosecution.”

UN finds imprisonment of Ethiopian journalist arbitrary under international law and calls for immed

WASHINGTON DC - In an opinion released today by Freedom Now, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found the Government of Ethiopia’s continued detention of independent Ethiopian journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega a violation of international law.

The panel of five independent experts from four continents held that the government violated Mr. Nega’s rights to free expression and due process. The UN Working Group called for his immediate release.

Mr. Nega is serving an 18-year prison sentence on terror and treason charges in response to his online articles and public speeches about the Arab Spring and the possible impact of such movements on the political situation in Ethiopia. Arrested in September 2011, Mr. Nega was held without charge or access to an attorney for nearly two months before authorities charged him under Ethiopia’s widely criticized anti-terror laws. This is the eighth time during his 20-year career as an independent journalist and publisher that the Ethiopian government has detained Mr. Nega. His appeal has been repeatedly postponed, most recently on March 27, 2013.

Land and Ethiopia’s Corruptocracy By Prof. Al Mariam

The silence of Ethiopia’s “beautiful minds”

Professor A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the renowned Indian scientist  (“Missile Man of India”)  and Eleventh President of India (2002-2007) said, “If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.”

Recently, the World Bank released its 448-page World Bank (WB) report, “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia” with evidence galore showing that Ethiopia under the absolute dictatorship of the Meles Zenawi regime has become a full-fledged corruptocracy (a regime controlled and operated by a small clique of corrupt-to-the-core vampiric kleptocrats who cling to power to enrich themselves at public expense). Perhaps the report’s findings should not come as surprise to anyone since “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

Over the past several weeks, I have made a number of cursory remarks on the shocking findings of the WB report. I have also discreetly appealed to a segment of  Ethiopia’s  “beautiful minds”  (its teachers, professors, economists, political and social scientists, lawyers, and other members of the learned professions)  to critically examine the report and inform their compatriots on the devastating impact of  corruption on the future of their poor country and make some recommendations on how to deal with it. I even challenged the political opposition to issue a “white paper” and make crystal clear their position on accountability and transparency and make some concrete proposals to remedy the endemic corruption that has metastasized in the Ethiopian body politic.

Prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia By Birtukan Mideksa

Although Ethiopia has its first new prime minister in 17 years – so far, the government has failed to right a long history of wrongs. With prisoners of conscience still languishing in its prisons, Ethiopia must receive the clear message – especially from allies like the United States – that continued human rights violations will not be tolerated.

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.

But, having witnessed firsthand the government disregard for fundamental constitutional rules, I joined the opposition and became the first woman to hold a high-level position in an Ethiopian political party.

Our party – the Coalition for Unity and Democracy – contested the 2005 elections with a multiethnic platform based on economic liberalism and respect for individual rights. As momentum gathered, many hoped change had finally arrived in Ethiopia.

But after early reports showed our party ahead in the polls, the government dashed our optimism by throwing me and my colleagues behind bars and declaring a victory for the ruling party.

Ogaden: NGOs Denounce Human Rights Violations

Accounts of human rights violations in Ogaden, gathered by NGOs, attempt to raise international awareness of the cruel acts Ethiopian military and para-military forces commit.

Below is an article published by Media With Conscience News:

“Every night, they took all of us girls to [interrogations]. They would separate us and beat us. The second time they took me, they raped me… All three of the men raped me, consecutively”. Along with 15 other female students, Human Rights Watch (HRW)  report in Collective Punishment, this innocent 17 year-old Ogaden Somali girl was held captive for three months in a “dark hole in the ground” and raped 13 times.

This is just one of countless accounts of abuse, from within the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, where it is widely reported criminal acts like these are perpetrated by the Ethiopian military and paramilitary forces on a daily basis. Untold atrocities like this; past and present are awaiting investigation, amid what is a much-ignored, little known conflict in the Horn of Africa.

In an attempt to hide the facts from the rest of the world, in 2007 the Ethiopian government banned all international media, and expelled many humanitarian aid groups from the area. It is reputed that any Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) allowed to stay do so on the condition that they sign a waiver document, agreeing not to report human rights violations by the government.

An Ethiopian court on Wednesday delayed again the appeal of Eskinder Nega and opposition leader Andualem Arage

(AFP)

ADDIS ABABA — An Ethiopian court on Wednesday delayed again the appeal of blogger Eskinder Nega and opposition leader Andualem Arage, who were jailed last year for terror-related offences.
Eskinder and Andualem were among 24 people jailed in July 2012 on terror-related charges.
Both men are accused of having links to the outlawed opposition group Ginbot 7.
Andualem’s lawyer Debribew Temesgen said the judges said they needed more time to examine the evidence, and had set a new date for a ruling of April 8.
Eskinder was jailed for 18 years, while Andualem was sentenced to life.
Neither appeared in court on Wednesday.
Rights groups have called Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism legislation vague and accuse the government of using the law to stifle peaceful dissent.