Famine in Ethiopia: Due to bad weather or policy Failure?

A young boy waiting in front
of his tukul for his mother
as she arrives with a body
of his 4-year old dead sister
who died of malnutrition
in Shashemene, Ethiopia:
Source: NBC: & .Creeping
 famine-is-back-to-Ethiopia

by Asnake Demena

Twenty four years ago Meles Zenawi, the late Prime Minister of EPRDF was asked about his vision for Ethiopia and its people when he assumed power as head of the state after seventeen years of civil war. Meles declared that if his government remains in power, in ten years every Ethiopians will have at least three meals a day. He also anticipated that if his government remains in power from then onwards for twenty years, Ethiopians not only have three meals a day but also will have the luxury of choosing what to eat. More recently in 2011, the same Meles Zenawi said that “We have devised a plan which will enable us to produce surplus and be able to feed ourselves by 2015 without the need for food aid.”

Remembering the Meles Massacres of 2005 in Ethiopia Ten Years After

 by: Alemayehu G. Mariam November 18, 2015

We remember the Ethiopian
martyrs of June and November, 2005

In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future.

When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.

It is for this reason, and not because of the ”weakness of indoctrinational work’, that they are growing up ‘indifferent.’

Young people are acquiring the conviction that foul deeds are never punished on earth, that they always bring prosperity.

It is going to be uncomfortable, horrible, to live in such a country! Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn,   The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956

The betrayal by Mola Asgedom and the way I do look at it

September 15, 2015

by T. Goshu

1. Carne Ross, in his book, The Leaderless Revolution: How Ordinary People Will Take Power and Change Politics in this 21st Century (2011) says,“When confronted by danger and unfathomable challenge, as we surely are, only then are we truly alive.”

Though the book is about the very indispensable role of the majority of people of the world in the struggle for bringing about fair and just political-economies, it strongly underscores that this highly desirable objective for genuine prevalence of the well-being of the people is not realizable without the roles to be played by genuinely concerned individuals, by all the people as citizens of each country, and by all truly concerned members of the larger community of the world. It is self-evidently true that this powerfully stated argument by Ross strongly reflects our own political and socio-economic reality of which we have gone through for the last quarter of a century and we still are going through.

EBAC Calls on the Ethiopian People to Reject the Redrawing of Ethiopia’s Border with the Sudan

September 09, 2015

Ethiopian Border Affairs Committee (EBAC)

On August 28, 2015, the Governor of Sudan’s Gedaref State, Merghani Salih “called for redrawing borders between the Sudan and Ethiopia.” This call is intended to finalize secret deals that EBAC, in collaboration with Ethiopian opposition political and civic organizations, has rejected numerous times over the past decade. Once again, we are obliged to protest this sinister act by the dictatorial governments of the two countries in the strongest terms. Among other things, ceding Ethiopia’s territories undermines its territorial integrity, sovereignty, security and the legitimate interests of the Ethiopian people.

We remind both governments that the respective territorial limits of both countries were defined by the Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1902 at the turn of the last century when Great Britain was the colonial power

Let Teddy Afro Play On and On and On…

September 07, 2015

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” opens with the Duke of Orsino declaring to the assembled musicians, “If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it…

The Thugtatorship of  the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (T-TPLF) has pulled out all the stops to stop Teddy Afro (Tewodros Kassahun) from playing on his music of love; his music of joy and celebration that has been soul food for millions of Ethiopians for so long.

The T-TPLF is making Teddy’s life as miserable as their own. “Misery loves company.”

But Teddy is not about misery. He is about joy and cheerfulness.

He is of no use to the T-TPLF. He does not sing songs of misery.

Teddy is incapable of singing T-TPLF songs: songs of hate, songs of revenge, songs of injustice and songs of bitterness and acrimony.

He sings happy songs, love songs, songs of peace, songs of unity, songs of love of country and continent, songs of Ethiopianity, songs of Africanity and songs of humanity. That’s all he can sing as a musician. Love.

Ethiopia: Is the T-TPLF Ship of Hate Sinking… S.O.S.?

September 01, 2015

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Is the T-TPLF Ship of Hate (I mean state) sinking in an ocean of fear and loathing?

The T-TPLF is the Thugtatorship of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front, the ruling criminal enterprise masquerading as a government in Ethiopia.

This past May, the T-TPLF claimed to have won 100 percent of the 547 seats in its kangaroo/monkey parliament in a country where the T-TPLF has officially registered some 90 political parties.

But last week, the marionette (puppet) prime minister of the T-TPLF, Hailemariam Desalegn, was not talking like a champion and strutting his stuff like he had won it all by 100 percent.

Hailemariam sounded like he was bleating for help.

Indeed, Hailemariam seemed to be frantically tapping out an S.O.S. (Save Our Ship/Save Our Souls) message.

Ethiopian Bloggers in Kangaroo (Monkey) Kourt

TPLF kangaroo (monkey) kourt system.

August 28, 2015

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Kangaroo/monkey kourt (in)justice T-TPLF style

Last week, young Ethiopian bloggers collectively known as “Zone 9 Bloggers” (named after a cell block  holding political prisoners at  the infamous  Meles Zenawi Kality Prison, a few kilometers outside of the capital) returned to  the kangaroo/monkey  kourt system of the Thugtatorship of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (T-TPLF) for  the 33^rd time  since April 2014.

(Ethiopia is the ONLY country in the world where the police arrest and detain a criminal suspect and then go out looking for evidence of wrongdoing for months and even years!)

“America Needs to be Respected Again” on the Red Carpet?

August 28, 2015

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Donald Trump’s shtick is: “America needs to be respected again because the rest of the world has lost respect for America.”

I don’t care much for The Donald.

But his shtick gnaws away at my mind as I think over the disgraceful “red carpet” treatment President Barack Obama received last month when he visited Ethiopia, the first ever for a sitting American President.

I know the whole red carpet drama is frivolity and vanity and not a big deal in the grand scheme of things; but to the extent that it represents a symbolic gesture of respect for a head of state and his/her nation, it is a big deal.

Ethiopia: Our Need for Unity in Divinity Facing Adversity!

August 18, 2015

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

The Thugtatorship of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (T-TPLF) has been pursuing a systematic program of religious persecution and fomenting religious antagonisms in Ethiopia for quite some time.

After the T-TPLF seized power in 1991, it sought to ingratiate itself with the Ethiopian Muslim community by making symbolic gestures of equality and tolerance.

The patronizing outreach to Muslim communities  proved to be a Trojan horse.

The T-TPLF’s hidden agenda was to co-opt and politicize Muslim leaders and institutions for its own sinister political purposes.

Ethiopia: Andargachew Tsige’s Painting Sold $35,000

August 17, 2015

This amazing painting of Andargachew Tsige by Alexis Franklin was auctioned today for $35,000 (US Dollars) in Dallas, TX. Serial bidder Abebe Negatu took it home with a big smile. Thank you Dallas for your enthusiastic support to just cause for freedom. (Abebe Gellaw)

Ethiopia: The Unfair Trial of Muslim Leaders

August 14, 2015

Why It Undermines Counter-terrorism in Ethiopia

by Abadir M. Ibrahim | Addis Standard (Addis Ababa)

Something was awry at a hearing of the High Court of Ethiopia on July 6, 2015. As the much anticipated conviction of Muslim civil society leaders (Abubaker Ahmed and 17 others) was underway, it was clear that this was no ordinary trial.

Security was beefed up, the public gallery was crowded and the atmosphere was tense. A significant amount of time was spent with the court presenting a detailed defense of the government’s policies on counterterrorism and Muslim-state relations. The court also defended the state’s imposition of the Ahbash sect and, in an odd twist, compared the Ahbash sect to Zoroastrianism in Iran. Given how much time was spent on defending the government’s positions, the morning session made it feel as if the Ethiopian state was on trial and not the other way around.

US, EU, UK demand Ethiopia release Andy Tsege

August 10, 2015

Lawmakers from US, EU and UK demand release of death-row Brit in Ethiopia

(Reprieve) – A group of legislators from the US, UK and Europe have demanded the release of a British activist who has been held in a secret Ethiopian prison for over a year.

Andargachew ‘Andy’ Tsege, a prominent figure in the Ethiopian opposition, was abducted at a Yemeni airport in June 2014 and forcibly taken to Ethiopia. He has been held since in a secret location, and has been denied access to a lawyer, his family, proper consular visits and independent medical treatment. Andy was sentenced to death in absentia in 2009 on charges relating to his political activities. Torture of political prisoners in Ethiopia is common, and the UN and human rights organization Reprieve – which is assisting Mr Tsege’s family – have raised concerns that he is being mistreated.

Obama’s True Legacy: Propping Up Dictators

U.S. President Barack Obama
converses with Ethiopian Prime
 Minister Hailemariam Desalegn while
walking to board Air Force One
for his departure from Ethiopia
late last month.
(ZACHARIAS ABUBEKER/AFP/Getty Images)

August06, 2015

(Forbes) – By praising Ethiopia’s repressive regime for being “democratically elected” last week, President Obama was driving home once again something that should be abundantly clear by now: His administration marks a radical departure from previous ones when it comes to democracy promotion.

On the contrary, the Obama legacy will be one of propping up dictatorial regimes around the world. His praise for the government of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn merely took to Africa what Obama and his foreign policy team have already done on a grander scale in Iran, Cuba and Burma.

To be sure, President Obama was standing next to Desalegn at a joint press conference in Addis Ababa when he spoke. Maybe he didn’t want to be a bad guest. And the President did add that the Ethiopian government has “more work to do.” After a slew of criticism at home, he later also questioned why

If you want to lead, do better than Dr. Berhanu Nega and his compatriots

Professor Berhanu Nega,
'Patriotic Ginbot 7 Chairman

August 05, 2015

A genuine leaders is not a searcher of consensus but a molder of consensus –Martine Luther King

by Teshome Debalke

In May 21, 2011 when I wrote: ‘Why I admire Dr. Berhanu Nega?’ it wasn’t because I know the man personally. Nor it is his personality; tough you can’t help but appreciate his confidence as a true child of Ethiopia. I did care less about his background or what his profession means either. It defiantly wasn’t because he is against Woyane just for the sake of it. Nor, do I believe in personality cult that misled many from taking responsibility of their own on the important issues of our people.

Barack Obama! Tell the Truth About Ethiopia!

August 3, 2015

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Warning!  

Stop!

Do not read further if you can’t handle the truth about Barack Obama. “Truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth.”

“I speak my mind because it hurts to bite my tongue.”

Bite your tongue, Barack Obama!

When President Barack Obama visited Ethiopia last week, he shocked a lot of people by making the following  statement:

I don’t bite my tongue too much when it comes to these issues. We are opposed to any group that is promoting the violent overthrow of a government, including the government of Ethiopia, that has been democratically elected. We are very mindful of

Why Obama doesn’t understand the lust for power of our African leaders by Patience Akumu

Even before the dust could settle on President Barack Obama’s candid criticism of African presidents who manipulate their constitutions so that they can stay longer in power, Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni – once the west’s model of a truly democratic leader – was on his way again to contest the presidential seat he has held for 30 years. From Rwanda to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi to Zimbabwe, Africa’s big men replied to Obama: this oppression – the shackles, the poverty and indignity – are what the African people have chosen. Tedros Adhanom, the foreign minister of Ethiopia, home of the African Union, defended African leaders who cling to power, saying: “Because they made the law, they can change the law.”

Museveni was echoing the actions of Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and indeed all African leaders who have sought to manipulate the law for a chance at eternal presidency. Adhanom proposed that the extension of term limits was acceptable if it had popular support. It is this type of apologist politics that has kept Africa in its current state – a

The evolution and devolution of Barack Obama

President Barack Obama speaks
at the La Moneda Cultural Center
 in Santiago, Chile, Monday,
March 21, 2011. (AP / Pablo
 Martinez Monsivais)

July 31, 2015

by Yilma Bekele

President Obama is not new to oppression. He started his political life as a community worker. As a grassroots organizer, he helped the disadvantaged stand up for their Constitutional Rights so they could enjoy life and liberty as free citizens. His constituents elected him three times to the Illinois Senate, and once to the US Senate, and finally to the Presidency.

His election in 2008 is considered a historical moment in the Republic’s history. His campaign to win the nomination, and his tussle with Senator Clinton was bare fisted, and his demolition of Senator McCain was viewed as just phenomenal.

Ethiopia’s top opposition figure turns down invitation to Obama State Dinner

Yilikal Getnet, chairman
of the Blue Party

July 30, 2015

(Reuters) ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — A leading Ethiopian opposition figure on Monday turned down an invitation to a state dinner in honor of US President Barack Obama, Reuters reported.Yilikal Getnet, chairman of the Blue Party, turned down an invitation to attend the state dinner with Obama, saying it would amount to taking part in a “luxurious dinner while millions suffer in Ethiopia.”

Yilikal told the local paper Negere Ethiopia that he also made the decision “after watching President Obama saying that the ruling party in Ethiopia is elected democratically.”

The country’s ruling coalition won a sweeping victory in parliamentary elections in May that Western nations criticized as unfair.

Human rights in Ethiopia

July 28, 2015

by Elisa Massimino | The Washington Post

In “ Obama’s Ethiopia stop irks human rights leaders ” [news, July 23], Girma Birru, Ethiopia’s ambassador to the United States, claimed that journalists imprisoned under the country’s notorious “anti-terrorism law ” support groups that “instigate violence.” He did not say that any activist who refuses to join the ruling party can be jailed and tortured.

One of us, Merga Nebiyu Gelgelo, was a biomedical engineering student who founded an organization to support economic development in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. Though he did not belong to a political party, he was detained under the anti-terrorism law and brutally tortured. Prison guards tied him to a cross, lit a fire under the cross and slid his body close to the fire. Mr. Gelgelo thought he would burn to death.

Obama juggles security and rights concerns in Ethiopia visit

July 27, 2015

Addis Ababa (AFP) – US President Barack Obama heads to Ethiopia Sunday, the first American president to visit Africa’s second most populous nation and a key but much maligned ally in the fight against terrorism.

Obama, who arrived in neighbouring Kenya on Friday, is expected to leave for Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa late Sunday for a two-day visit, where he will also be the first US leader address the African Union, the 54-member continental bloc.

“This is the first time a sitting (US) president is visiting Ethiopia,” Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Tewolde Mulugeta said. “This will bring the relationship between our two countries to a new high.”

Ethiopian Opposition Group Threatens Armed Resistance

July 26, 2015 

(VOA News) Ethiopia’s opposition Ginbot 7 Movement for Unity and Democracy has decided to use armed resistance in addition to peaceful resistance against the government in Addis Ababa. This follows the move of the group’s leader from the United States to Eritrea.

Berhanu Nega travelled to Ethiopia’s northern neighbor following the merger of his Ginbot 7 with the Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front. “It’s true he travelled to Eritrea, he went on July 17, 2015,” said the spokesman for the group, Dr. Tadesse Biru.

“He is the leader of an organization that strives to bring about democratic order in Ethiopia, and he went to fulfil his leadership role,” he explained in reference to Dr. Berhanu, who was sentenced to death in absentia while living in the US.

Obama’s Emerging African Legacy: Will African Strongmen or the African People Benefit?

July 25, 2015

SMNE PRESS RELEASE

July 24, 2015. Washington, DC

This week US President Barack Obama will visit his father’s home country of Kenya, followed by Ethiopia, where he will address the African Union and meet with Ethiopian government leaders. The trip is garnering much attention among Africans, especially Ethiopians, who see his plans to meet with members of the current authoritarian government, in office for over 24 years, as a disturbing alignment with Ethiopia’s strongmen, contrary to his strong statements of the past on behalf of the people of Africa.

In his famous speech to Ghana’s parliament in July 2009, Obama won the enthusiastic response of Africans when he said, “Make no mistake; history is on the side of these brave Africans, and not with those who use coups or change Constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.”