Dear Ethiopians Stand Your Ground: Seize the Moment

Woyane reported that it identified "two Arabs" during the Friday Anwar Mosque protest, who entered the country, and drove right from the airport to the mosque to distribute pamhlets to instigate havoc, but deported them back immediately. What a silly and white lie!!! Is this a move to label the rightful questions of Ethiopian muslmis as a mob instigated by foreign Al Qaida terrorists to destabilize Ethiopia? Who are these two Arabs? Where did they come from and where were they deported to? How could they be there just a few hours after Woyane's warning on ETV? Or are they Abdula Saleh's (a friend of Meles Zenawi) relatives sent from Yemen to pose as "terorists" to justify Meles's attack on Ethiopian Muslims? Woyane also claimed it has captured a group of terrorists comprised of people from Tigray, Oromia, Amhara, etc, in Kelem, Wollega. All the dictators that fall due to the Arab Springs had lamented similarily. The people's questions were labeled as mobs by few drunken or drugged youth, foreign terrosits, Al Qauida members and sypathisers, islamic fundamentalists, people inspired by destabilizing foreign media (in Woyane's case, the usual suspects: ESAT, VOA and Deutsche Welle), etc. It looks like that Ethiopians have defeated their fear and not giving in to Woyanes's intimidating and divisive tactics. Despite Woyane's Thursday ETV warning, our Muslim brothers came in 100s of thousands to voice their concers after their Friday prayer, at the grand mosque and other mosques in Addis. Andnet held a meeting in Wolaita Soddo. We have also witnessed people protesting in Dessie, Harar, Dire Dawa, Gambella, Gamo Gofa, Afar, Waldiba, Assasa, etc. The fear has now really moved from the people to the Woyane thugs themselves. They never had experienced such a concerted and widespread resistance all over the country at the same time. The people's questions are not even political yet. They are just demands for natural and inalienable rights for freedom of religion, association and to property. Woyane has realized that its mercenary militia can not strech across thousands of mosques and churches in the country to sielnce the voices and is trying to stop it through its usual initimidating and divisive tactics. Did I also hear that Woyane is ready to discuss with Andinet party with the help of groups from the Woodrow Wilson Center and diplomats from the American Embassy in Ethiopia, on issues of avoiding conflict? The usual tactics to buy time, at such critical momnets, as it did after the 2005 election with Kinijit. My dear fellow Ethiopians, let us stand our ground!!! Momentum is on our side! Let us clinch our freedom from the jaws of the Woyane junta. Never let this moment pass us!!!

Who is Next and Where?

Dear fellow Ethiopians, over the last few weeks, we have witnessed a renewed Woyane instigated displacement of Ethiopians of the Amhara ethnic group from Gura Ferda woreda in southwestern Ethiopia (I hate to call areas in Ethiopia by their ethnic names). That is so sad, scaring and intollerable!!! How can an Ethiopian of a certain ethnic group be denied his or her right to move, live, work, create wealth and establish themselves in different parts of the country? If this is not possible, why do we call ourselves Ethiopians after all? The reasons Mr. Zenawi, Mr. Shigute, or whoever, gave are unacceptable. If any of those guys whom they accused of destructing the environment in Gura Ferda are alleged to have committed crime, they have to be charged for the crime (if that is a crime under the law) and be convicted, sentenced, and serve their sentence, not be chased away from the region as if they are foreigners! I remember Woyane accusing Kinijit (CUD) of instigating hatred against Tigreans, during and after the 2005 election, particularly quoting Bedru Adem's words at the historic Kinijit rally on "Miazia 30" in Addis Ababa. Different ethnic groups of Ethiopia have been integrating and assimilating with each other through intermarriages and through working and living in different parts of the country they don't belong ethnically. I myself as an ethnic "Kembata", lived most of my life in different parts of the country, Oromigna speaking, Wolaitigna speaking, Hadiyigna speaking, Kembatigna speaking, Amharic speaking parts of the country, and had always felt comfortable and enjoyed my life in those parts of Ethiopia. In my choice of a wife, ethnicity never mattered, but love and understanding. My wife, for that matter is from an Amahara ethnic group. Woyane's Bantustization of Ethiopia is pushing the limit too far and disintegrating our country. I know there are multitudes of ethnic Kembatas in Sidamo, Wolayita, Gamo Gofa, Shashemene, Wonji and Metehara areas, and so many ethnic Amharas almost all over Ethiopia, and so many ethnic Tigreans almost all over Ethiopia, and so many ethnic Gurages all over Ethiopia, and so many ethnic Oromos, all over Ethiopia, etc. If Woayane's ethnic policy was in place when I was born, I wouldn't have moved any further than todays' ethnic Kambata capital, "Durame". Nor Hailemariam Desalegn, the current Foreign Minister, would have moved any further than "Soddo", nor Meles/Legesse Zenawi, from "Adwa". My fellow Ethiopians, we are at a dangerous cross road of history at this time. If we keep quiet in the face of what Woyane is doing right now, we don't know who is next in the current displacement cycle, the ethnic Kembatas in Wonji, Metehara, Nazreth, Arbaminch or Soddo; or the ethnic Amharas in Jinka, Hossana, Assela, Mekele, Jimma, or Nekemte; or the ethnic Oromos in Gondar, Bahirdar, Debrebirhan, Hossana, Areka, or Dessie; or the ethnic Tigres and Gurages, in Addis, Bahirdar, Gonder, Dessie, etc. It is time to stand united and resist this Bantustization!!!

Dear Ethiopians It Is Time to Rise Up in Unison

Muslims all over Ethiopia are rejecting Woyane's divide and rule tactics and are rising up in unison to protect thier freedom of belief and to stop the regime's interference in their religion. As we have witnessed during the Arab Springs, Ethiopian Muslims are also using the time after the Friday prayers as the platform to voice their opposition to Woyane's move to silence them. The central issue is not the wahabism, ahbashism or other "isms" woyane is trying to project, but just its desire to control and divide Ethiopian muslims and extending its grip on power, while muslims fight each other, and scaring believers of other religions in Ethiopia by projecting a myth that muslim extremest groups are bent to destroy them, and thereby gain their support. To make innocent followers of other religions believe this, woyane stooges have already burned churches and other sites of worship in different parts of Ethiopia. Woyane has demonistrated its will of imposing its power in the practices of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC) Synod, in selecting the Church's ptriarch, by politically appointing the woyane cadre, Paulos, as the patriarch of the EOC and populating the senior positions in the Church's leadership by ethnic Tigreans. The opposition to this interference by the laity was crushed through killings, jailings, and further removal of the leaders of the Church from their positions. Woyane has tried these tactics on Ethiopian Muslims too since its arrival in town. Now, the time has come for Ethiopian muslims to say enough is enough,in unison. It would have great consequences later if we, followers of other religions, standby and silently watch our muslim brothers and sisters being killed and jailed by woyane mercenaries. If we remain quiet now, we will be collaborators and conspirators in their peril. How can we claim we are one and united with our brother and sisters, if we keep silent when they are perishing? Quite a number of Christians gather in thousands of Churches every Sunday in all over Ethiopia. Now is the right time to use the Sunday Paryer as the platform to express our support for freedom and to oppose woyane's war against everything Ethiopian. All Ethiopians, let us stand in unison, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Traditional believers and non believers, and claim our right of freedom. Let us use the moment