Why should Ethiopians support ESAT? Mr. Tamagne’s Europe campaign tour

ESAT Europe Support Committee

Background information and Statement of the problem

In spite of Ethiopia’s long history and the fact that the nation is one of the ancient civilizations, the country is being ruled by absolute dictatorship which evolved to ethnic based totalitarianism under TPLF/EPRDF administration. Particularly in the aftermaths of the 2005 Ethiopian national elections, the regime developed a strategy of steadily shrinking press freedom and systematically eliminating independent newspapers in an attempt to rule the people of Ethiopia in total darkness.  Among the enacted three deeply flawed laws by Zenawi’s regime is the media law. The law contained numerous provisions that fundamentally violets freedom and human rights guaranteed under Ethiopia’s constitution and international laws – aimed at terrorizing journalists that report facts and criticize the intolerable TPLF policies. Escalating its repression the regime’s antiterrorism proclamation (ATP) of the 2009 has been widely used to criminalize any critical comments and dissent opposition in an attempt for an absolute grip over the media and to root out the seedlings of democracy. Pro-opposition websites has been blocked and jamming of websites and Medias including VOA and ESAT is frequent and is widely acknowledged by international organizations as stated underneath.

Ethiopia: FBI aware of TPLF’s terrorist activities: Genocide Watch

By Abebe Gellaw

Genocide Watch, the Global coalition to end genocide and mass atrocities, says that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is well aware of the fact that the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) is a terrorist organization that the United States should label as such.In an exclusive interview with ESAT, President of Genocide Watch, Prof. Gregory Stanton, said any specific threats from TPLF agents and operatives in the United States should be reported to the FBI right away. “The FBI has got the TPLF already in its sights. It knows very well that the TPLF is a terrorist organization,” he said.

He also pointed out that the U.S. should declare the TPLF a terrorist organization and made clear that efforts would be exerted to bring that to the attention of the concerned authorities. TPLF is already registered in the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), kept by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, a center of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

He noted that TPLF’s assassination plots and criminal activities in the United States would have serious ramifications on the questionable relationships it has with the Government of the United States. “First of all, FBI will try to hunt them down, arrest them and put them in prison. Secondly, it will have ramifications on the foreign policy of the United States towards Ethiopia because the TPLF is still in charge of the government there.”

He urged the government of the United States to seriously review the assistance it gives to Ethiopia in light

The Irresponsibility of the Privileged? Alemayehu G. Mariam

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Recently, Naom Chomsky, MIT Professor of Linguistics and arguably America’s foremost public intellectual, gave an interview to Al Jazeera on the social (ir)responsibility of American academics and intellectuals. Chomsky, 84, has been raising hell for over four decades, getting into the faces of the powerful and mighty and whipping them with the truth. He recently excoriated President Obama as lacking a “moral center” for using drone warfare to “run a global assassination campaign”. Chomsky has been called a “left winger”, a “radical activist” and even a “communist”, and has been on the receiving end of a few distasteful epithets. But the firebrand octogenarian is undeterred and as strong, as plain-spoken and outspoken as ever. He remains a relentless critic of capitalism, neoliberalism, globalization, warfare, corruption, repression, abuse and misuse of power and human rights violations in America and abroad. Along the way, he has continued his scholarly pursuits in linguistics.

In his Al Jazeera interview, “Noam Chomsky: The Responsibility of Privilege”, Chomsky chafed at the social irresponsibility of American intellectuals and denounced the greedy and rapacious elites for using their power to disempower ordinary people, confuse and render them intellectually inert, servile and defenseless.

Al Jazeera: Is it the responsibility of academics and other  intellectuals to be engaged politically?

To Dawit Kebede, Awramba Times Editor

Where are the Ethiopian people in this discussion?

Dear Ato Dawit Awramba Times Editor,

Melkam Timket, I followed a one hour of your recent guest appearance on “Civility” Room posted on YouTube. The tape stopped on the questions and answers time from the audience. You claim that the attack on you by diaspora journalists is because of your Tigrean identity, you went on and say some Tigreans like Abrah Belai even distance themselves from being a Tigre. To defend your claim you brought Abrah Belai, Ethiomedia Editor interview on which you alleged Abrah said he was born in Raya very close to Amhara speaking area of Wello, Is that not true?

The recent fight in Addis Ababa University is sure not of diaspora journalists instigated. Woyane has planted ethnic mistrust in our country for more than 21 years. Woyane rule in the name of the people of Tigray. Tigrai elites we can say 99.6 percent are behind Woyane. Who is to blame for this, the diaspora journalists?

In your conversation you fail to attack Woyane that denied the rights of our people to organize and assemble freely as the root cause of mistrust between the people of Tigray and the rest of Ethiopian. Journalists after all report to the public but at this time the people are out of this game by force then what are you journalists reporting?

Ethiopian Regime Expands its State Sponsored Terrorism to the United States

Ethiopian Political Civic Democratic Forces
Joint Actions Coordinating Committee

Ethiopians Condemn the foiled Assassination Plot on Journalist Abebe Gelaw

PRESS RELEASE
January 20, 2013

The Ethiopian community in America is outraged to learn about the foiled plan of assassination attempt on Abebe Gellaw, an Ethiopian journalist in exile in the U.S. This clearly reflects the irredeemable criminal nature of the incumbent Ethiopian regime led by TPLF (Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front). According to credible media sources in the US, the plan of the assassination was foiled by FBI and the culprits are under investigation.

Abebe Gelaw is a known critic of the Ethiopian regime and a strong advocate for the rule of law in Ethiopia which is controlled and ruled by a hardcore ethnic minority (TPLF) for the last 21 years.

Many Ethiopians at home and abroad face similar fate as Mr. Gellaw and fear for their lives. There is no rule of law in Ethiopia and no guarantee for the protection of life, liberty or property under the current regime. Businessmen, students, religious leaders, peaceful protestors in Ethiopia, in Kenya, South Africa and other places face threats and assassination. The blood thirsty regime succeeded in assassinating exiled Governors of Gabmbella and Moyale who were the first two causalities in Nairobi, Kenya.

TPLF military tigthens grip on Ethiopian economy

Negash

Meet MetEC – the misleadingly named Ethiopian Metal and Engineering Corporation that has come to dominate the Ethiopian economy in less than one year.

Headed by Brigadier General Kinfu Dagnew, MetEC now controls 15 industries and 100 factories. It has its fingers in everything from the so-called Grand Renaissance Dam to arms factories, to a spanking new fertilizer factory, to ten sugar factories, one of which presumably requires the tearing down of Waldiba Monastery.

MetEC is the latest creative move by TPLF to tighten its grip and to control every aspect of the life of Ethiopians.  It entrenches a patronage system that gives a larger stake to the military while guaranteeing the survival of the regime. 

Disguised as economic development, the move is also further evidence of unabashed wealth transfer from a much-suffering population held hostage to an unrepresentative ethnic minority that has created a police state with the blessing of foreign powers.  Many of the foreign backers also benefit from various illicit deals with the secretive regime.

The bigger fish gulp the smaller ones

By Yonas Abiye  | Ethiopian Reporter

Recently, a flock of Ethiopian celebrities were fighting to voice their experiences on their visit to one of the government owned military industrial complexes.