The TPLF thugs are dolling out large tracts of land to foreign commercial interests for nominal prices, particulary in Gambella and Benishangul Gumuz regions and seriously undermining the livelihoods of the people.
The blind argument for this move by the TPLF thugs is that the move will ensure natinal food security and modernize agriculture that could be replicated by the locals. I have no trust in this argument for so may reasons. First and foremost, there is no guaranty that the invesots will sell the food they produced in the domestic market for affordable prices.
On the other hand there is a fact that ownership/access to land provides so amny other seondary rights for the land users that will not be available when the land is transfered to commercial interests. For example, farmers who have had access to the land had not only the right to cultivate the land and harves crops, but also access to grazing for their livestock, wood for energy and other household needs, to grow fruits, etc. to supplement their income. Under the ownership of the commercial investor, the farmers lose all these secondary rights. How is this to be compensated by the investor? Will they have to be forced to sell their livestock for lack of grazing land or are thet to pay for the graing land to the investor? If they are forced to sell, will they get the right price? As all the farmers will be forced to sell at the same time, prices of livesotck will be dipressed and the farmers will lose money. If they have to keep their livestock, they will have extra cost of paying for the investor for the grazing of their livestock. Where will they get the extra money? Will the investor pay the farmers who will be converted to laborers enough salary to pay for all these extra costs?
We are already witnessing that local farmers where land is being dolled out are expressing their grievances and are being silenced and killed by the regime. Supressing these expressions will not halt the grievances. It will only aggravate the simmering of the tensions that will eventually erupt into violence that would be most costly to handle for the nation.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
All Woyanites and their puppets are embarrassing during an uncensored interview
I also support the critical reflection of Ato Efrem Madebo and Genet Mersha regarding the embarrassing interview of DPM and FM Hailemariam Desalegn with Bahl Vickram of the ITMN. I wanted to argue that it is not just Hailemariam Desalegn, but all Woyanites and their puppets who are so embaressing when interviewed by an uncensored journalist.
We have seen Meles Zenawi, Seyoum Mesfin, etal, blabbering, lost, lying, and contradicting themselves when interviewed by BBC, Aljazeera, AFP, etc. journalists of the free media. The only advantage the TPLFites have over their puppets, like Hailemariam, is thier ability to turn their anger on the interviewer and intimidate him/her to soften the qestion or abandon asking them hard questions, because they know they will not be held accountable for how they behaved during an interview with a free and foreign media at home, just because they are Tigre. They also display some sense of confidence because they speak their mind and know the details of the domestic policy issue as they are the ones that cook policy in the their own narrow circle.
Hailemariam and the other puppets do not have that added advantage. Whne they speak they don't speak their mind as they are not free persons. They don't even clearly listen to the question, because their mind is focused on how might Meles Zenawi, Azeb mesfin, or Bereket Simon, react if he/she answer the question this or the other way. They also don't have details as EPRDFites because they are not aware of the real essence of the policy issue they are talking about as it is cooked in the TPLF circles and just brought to the EPRDF polit-bureau for the purpose of rubber stamping.
I have known Hailemariam for many years since my junior secondary years in Areka, where Hailemariam was born and brought up. We were togehter in Catholic Seminary studying for priesthood, and we were close during our university years (he was my junior by one year). He was so genious academically and did well professionally in the years he was serving in the Water Resources Commission.
His moral decline and loss of confidence started when he was recruited by Simon Mechale of the then DPPC Commissioner to become a member of the Woyane's puppet ethnic deomcratic organization for the "Wolayita People" and ascended to become the President of Arbaminch University, and soon the President of the "SNNP Regional State". The guy chose ambition over his freedom.
The trajectory and the ascendance to positions (not power, because they dont have authority in their positions) of all the TPLF puppets is similar. They chose illicit power over their freedom. So, no matter how intelligent you are, once you lose your freedom, which is at the core of your "being", your "self", then you can't be rational, coherent and persuasive.
Thus unless they reclaim thier freedom, none of the puppets nor the TPLFites themselves could escape embarrassement not only during an interview session but at wahtever they do in their daily lives.
We have seen Meles Zenawi, Seyoum Mesfin, etal, blabbering, lost, lying, and contradicting themselves when interviewed by BBC, Aljazeera, AFP, etc. journalists of the free media. The only advantage the TPLFites have over their puppets, like Hailemariam, is thier ability to turn their anger on the interviewer and intimidate him/her to soften the qestion or abandon asking them hard questions, because they know they will not be held accountable for how they behaved during an interview with a free and foreign media at home, just because they are Tigre. They also display some sense of confidence because they speak their mind and know the details of the domestic policy issue as they are the ones that cook policy in the their own narrow circle.
Hailemariam and the other puppets do not have that added advantage. Whne they speak they don't speak their mind as they are not free persons. They don't even clearly listen to the question, because their mind is focused on how might Meles Zenawi, Azeb mesfin, or Bereket Simon, react if he/she answer the question this or the other way. They also don't have details as EPRDFites because they are not aware of the real essence of the policy issue they are talking about as it is cooked in the TPLF circles and just brought to the EPRDF polit-bureau for the purpose of rubber stamping.
I have known Hailemariam for many years since my junior secondary years in Areka, where Hailemariam was born and brought up. We were togehter in Catholic Seminary studying for priesthood, and we were close during our university years (he was my junior by one year). He was so genious academically and did well professionally in the years he was serving in the Water Resources Commission.
His moral decline and loss of confidence started when he was recruited by Simon Mechale of the then DPPC Commissioner to become a member of the Woyane's puppet ethnic deomcratic organization for the "Wolayita People" and ascended to become the President of Arbaminch University, and soon the President of the "SNNP Regional State". The guy chose ambition over his freedom.
The trajectory and the ascendance to positions (not power, because they dont have authority in their positions) of all the TPLF puppets is similar. They chose illicit power over their freedom. So, no matter how intelligent you are, once you lose your freedom, which is at the core of your "being", your "self", then you can't be rational, coherent and persuasive.
Thus unless they reclaim thier freedom, none of the puppets nor the TPLFites themselves could escape embarrassement not only during an interview session but at wahtever they do in their daily lives.
Releasing Derg Officials: Is it really a reconciliation?
A futile debate is going on in the blogosphere and in the Ethiopian local media,as to whether the prospective release of derg officials is a move towards national reconciliation or it is constitutional or unconstitutional.
As to the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of the argument, the debate is futile because there is no constitution in woyane's Ethiopia that dictates the law. Woyane rules by whim, not by constitution!
As to whether the move will have a reconciliatory impact, for me it is just another political strategy of the Woyane thugs to appear as peace makers both locally and in the face of the international community and the diplomatic front. Other wise why bother about reconciliation while woyane is still harassing, jailing, and killing opposition politicians and their supports throughout the country. If there is a grain of real intention in the woyane camp to reconcile with the Ethiopian people, the right thing to do is sit and negotate with all opposition groups and chart the way forward for Ethiopia or just allow free and fair election.
Reconciliation happens when woyane leaves the Ethiopian people to freely organize, freely express their voice, freely do their business, when people can hold politicians accountable, when they are equal before the law, when there is justice.
How could releasing old, sick and fragile former derg officials be seen as a sign of national reconciliation? Do these officials pose any threat to woyane's power today? You reconcile with your challengers, your critics, not with those at your mercy. How is the release of a few derg officials going to be national reconciliation, while many thousands of people are suffering in woyane's prisons for their political opinion, most of them with agonizing treatment, while people are losing their jobs or opportunities for advancement and education because of their critical or independent opinion, while thousands are still fleeing the country for their safety and living in exile, when everything below the sky in Ethiopia is controlled by Tigrean minority, when a few arrogant Tigreans enjoy humilating others in all sectors of life. These gross violations have to change for a national reconciliation!!!
I have no problem if derg officials are released on an amnesty on humanitarian grounds, although I am one of millions of Ethiopians, who had been jailed and tortured by the regime, although still many may consider it unjust on legal grounds. But I am certain that their release is not a game changer for the Ethiopian people nor it is a sign of national reconciliation.
As to the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of the argument, the debate is futile because there is no constitution in woyane's Ethiopia that dictates the law. Woyane rules by whim, not by constitution!
As to whether the move will have a reconciliatory impact, for me it is just another political strategy of the Woyane thugs to appear as peace makers both locally and in the face of the international community and the diplomatic front. Other wise why bother about reconciliation while woyane is still harassing, jailing, and killing opposition politicians and their supports throughout the country. If there is a grain of real intention in the woyane camp to reconcile with the Ethiopian people, the right thing to do is sit and negotate with all opposition groups and chart the way forward for Ethiopia or just allow free and fair election.
Reconciliation happens when woyane leaves the Ethiopian people to freely organize, freely express their voice, freely do their business, when people can hold politicians accountable, when they are equal before the law, when there is justice.
How could releasing old, sick and fragile former derg officials be seen as a sign of national reconciliation? Do these officials pose any threat to woyane's power today? You reconcile with your challengers, your critics, not with those at your mercy. How is the release of a few derg officials going to be national reconciliation, while many thousands of people are suffering in woyane's prisons for their political opinion, most of them with agonizing treatment, while people are losing their jobs or opportunities for advancement and education because of their critical or independent opinion, while thousands are still fleeing the country for their safety and living in exile, when everything below the sky in Ethiopia is controlled by Tigrean minority, when a few arrogant Tigreans enjoy humilating others in all sectors of life. These gross violations have to change for a national reconciliation!!!
I have no problem if derg officials are released on an amnesty on humanitarian grounds, although I am one of millions of Ethiopians, who had been jailed and tortured by the regime, although still many may consider it unjust on legal grounds. But I am certain that their release is not a game changer for the Ethiopian people nor it is a sign of national reconciliation.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
A Flattering, Self-Serving International Community in Ethiopia Today
The condemnation from the DAG (the Development Assistance Group) in Ethiopia against the recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report regarding Woyane’s abuse of foreign aid forced me to write this article.
I have spent most of my professional life working for government (20%), local non-profit, international non-profit, multilateral organizations and as an independent consultant (80%) in Ethiopia, from 1984-2005, until I was forced to flee my country in 2005.
During that period and the periods following after, I have seen a number of internal documents and local research articles by so many International NGOs (INGOs) and Multilateral organizations (MOs) in Ethiopia (including the UN and the World Bank) that reveal abuse of power and mismanagement of donor resources by the Woyane government in Ethiopia. I have a vivid memory of internal staff level discussions in the INGOs and MOs that criticize the abuse and advocate for the redressing of these abuses. That was until 2005, when I left the country, in the aftermath of the rigged election then. There are a number of reports within the World Bank and local and INGOs that show how donor funds leak and funjibly used within the Ethiopian government structure throughout the country.
But when it comes to publicly discussing and raising these issues of abuse and mismanagement of resources, self and national interests of the staff of the INGOs and MOs take precedence. Just like the local hodams, members of the international community are also afraid of “rocking the boat” and challenging the status quo in Ethiopia.
Invariably speaking, most of the INGO and MO staff in Ethiopia today know the deceptive economic strategies of the Woyane, since its assumption of power in Ethiopia (ADLI= Agricultural Development Led Industrialization in the early 1990s, SPRSP= Sustainable Poverty Reduction Strategic Plan of the early 2000s, the PASDEP= Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End Poverty, for the period 2005-2010, and the GTP=Growth and Transformation Plan, for the period 2010-2015) that have delivered nothing except a rhetoric. Except the change in the title of the strategies, there has been no change in substance and details of these strategies.
Staffs of INGOs and MOs know how un-mercy the Woyane government is towards its critics whatsoever. They have witnessed a diplomat after diplomat, an INGO staff after an INGO staff being ordered to leave the country within 24/48 hours upon a slight slip of tongue against the government’s handling of economic and political issues in Ethiopia.
Having worked within that sector in Ethiopia, I know the kind of financial freedom, respect and authority they enjoy in that poor county of mine, with very little to no accountability to the Ethiopian people, that they never imagined they would have in their own countries of origin.
As my favorite author, Graham Hancock, described in his famous book’ “Lords of Poverty”, staff of the “development industry’ will continue to pay lip service to causes of poverty and continue to amass their own wealth. They will even go as far as defending the dictatorial Woyane government of Ethiopia against the genuine reports of HRW regarding the mismanagement of donor funds to stifle opposition in Ethiopia.
My fellow citizens, don’t count on this international technocrats to deliver us from Woyane’s yolk of repression. Right now, they are defending Woyane and commending it for its performance in reducing poverty and advancing democracy. What a shame!!!
Count on your own sons and daughters and contribute your share towards the struggle for freedom.
I have spent most of my professional life working for government (20%), local non-profit, international non-profit, multilateral organizations and as an independent consultant (80%) in Ethiopia, from 1984-2005, until I was forced to flee my country in 2005.
During that period and the periods following after, I have seen a number of internal documents and local research articles by so many International NGOs (INGOs) and Multilateral organizations (MOs) in Ethiopia (including the UN and the World Bank) that reveal abuse of power and mismanagement of donor resources by the Woyane government in Ethiopia. I have a vivid memory of internal staff level discussions in the INGOs and MOs that criticize the abuse and advocate for the redressing of these abuses. That was until 2005, when I left the country, in the aftermath of the rigged election then. There are a number of reports within the World Bank and local and INGOs that show how donor funds leak and funjibly used within the Ethiopian government structure throughout the country.
But when it comes to publicly discussing and raising these issues of abuse and mismanagement of resources, self and national interests of the staff of the INGOs and MOs take precedence. Just like the local hodams, members of the international community are also afraid of “rocking the boat” and challenging the status quo in Ethiopia.
Invariably speaking, most of the INGO and MO staff in Ethiopia today know the deceptive economic strategies of the Woyane, since its assumption of power in Ethiopia (ADLI= Agricultural Development Led Industrialization in the early 1990s, SPRSP= Sustainable Poverty Reduction Strategic Plan of the early 2000s, the PASDEP= Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End Poverty, for the period 2005-2010, and the GTP=Growth and Transformation Plan, for the period 2010-2015) that have delivered nothing except a rhetoric. Except the change in the title of the strategies, there has been no change in substance and details of these strategies.
Staffs of INGOs and MOs know how un-mercy the Woyane government is towards its critics whatsoever. They have witnessed a diplomat after diplomat, an INGO staff after an INGO staff being ordered to leave the country within 24/48 hours upon a slight slip of tongue against the government’s handling of economic and political issues in Ethiopia.
Having worked within that sector in Ethiopia, I know the kind of financial freedom, respect and authority they enjoy in that poor county of mine, with very little to no accountability to the Ethiopian people, that they never imagined they would have in their own countries of origin.
As my favorite author, Graham Hancock, described in his famous book’ “Lords of Poverty”, staff of the “development industry’ will continue to pay lip service to causes of poverty and continue to amass their own wealth. They will even go as far as defending the dictatorial Woyane government of Ethiopia against the genuine reports of HRW regarding the mismanagement of donor funds to stifle opposition in Ethiopia.
My fellow citizens, don’t count on this international technocrats to deliver us from Woyane’s yolk of repression. Right now, they are defending Woyane and commending it for its performance in reducing poverty and advancing democracy. What a shame!!!
Count on your own sons and daughters and contribute your share towards the struggle for freedom.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Bullies and Dictators Rarely Stand Up To Any Heat
By now, we all know that when the dictator of Ethiopia steals an election or his blatant lies are exposed, he invariably resorts to ad hominem attacks. The Honorable Ana Gomes who witnessed the daylight robbery of the 2005 election, the US State Department and the august international rights group (Human Rights Watch) have all earned the ire of the vicious and delusional dictator. And now, the highly respected Bloomberg journalist Jason McLure has been added to the list in the latest Meles.
http://www.jimmatimes.com/article/Latest_News/Latest_News/Ethiopias_PM_Zenawi_attacks_Bloomberg_News_journalist/33571
If, it were Tekeda Alemu, the underling or Patrick Gilkes, the handsomely paid mercenary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who wrote this nonsense, the least these imbecils could do is spell their boogey man’s last name correctly (McLure and not McClure)
In the years that Jason McLure of Bloomberg News has been reporting from Addis he has written well researched, well-documented articles about the political environment in Ethiopia. He could have just kicked back in the sun and practiced yellow journalism like most of the foreign journalists in Ethiopia.
Unlike other ferenji journalists, who can be bribed, wined and dined in Al-Amoudi’s harem to swallow Meles’ lies, hook, line and sinker, and regurgitate the crappy talking points from Bereket Simon’s office when the sun rises, the late Tony Mitchell, Jeffrey Gettleman and Jason McLure never fell into that trap.
It was easy for these serious journalists, who have immense pride in their profession
to determine soon enough that Ethiopia is ruled by a pompous dictator and habitual liar with a coterie of underlings who mix fact with fiction to hide the truth about the political and socio-economic crisis in the country. They became anathema to a dangerous dictator who has effectively decapitated the Ethiopian press to hide his crimes. And there was no way he would allow the trio of these impeccable journalists to bear witness and report his egregious offenses. They had to be declared public enemy # I and maligned, threatened with deportation and even imprisonment for doing their job.
Fortunately, through their hard work and the work of Human RightsWatch, the world has come to learn that Meles is nothing but a criminal thug whose heinous crimes have been well documented. And, in the not too distant future, he will no doubt find himself at The Hague to stand trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
As the late Tony Mitchell, Jeffrey Gettleman and Jason McLure will remain heroes among Ethiopians who appreciate their intelligence, compassion and diligence in exposing Meles for what he really is- a corrupt, egomaniac coward who will stoop to the lowest crevices of the cesspool.
Isn’t it really time for the Obama Administration to shut off the spigot to the pig’s trough? Surely, jamming the Voice of America and roughing up American citizens is an egregious offense and a disrespect no U.S. President should tolerate.
http://www.jimmatimes.com/article/Latest_News/Latest_News/Ethiopias_PM_Zenawi_attacks_Bloomberg_News_journalist/33571
If, it were Tekeda Alemu, the underling or Patrick Gilkes, the handsomely paid mercenary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who wrote this nonsense, the least these imbecils could do is spell their boogey man’s last name correctly (McLure and not McClure)
In the years that Jason McLure of Bloomberg News has been reporting from Addis he has written well researched, well-documented articles about the political environment in Ethiopia. He could have just kicked back in the sun and practiced yellow journalism like most of the foreign journalists in Ethiopia.
Unlike other ferenji journalists, who can be bribed, wined and dined in Al-Amoudi’s harem to swallow Meles’ lies, hook, line and sinker, and regurgitate the crappy talking points from Bereket Simon’s office when the sun rises, the late Tony Mitchell, Jeffrey Gettleman and Jason McLure never fell into that trap.
It was easy for these serious journalists, who have immense pride in their profession
to determine soon enough that Ethiopia is ruled by a pompous dictator and habitual liar with a coterie of underlings who mix fact with fiction to hide the truth about the political and socio-economic crisis in the country. They became anathema to a dangerous dictator who has effectively decapitated the Ethiopian press to hide his crimes. And there was no way he would allow the trio of these impeccable journalists to bear witness and report his egregious offenses. They had to be declared public enemy # I and maligned, threatened with deportation and even imprisonment for doing their job.
Fortunately, through their hard work and the work of Human RightsWatch, the world has come to learn that Meles is nothing but a criminal thug whose heinous crimes have been well documented. And, in the not too distant future, he will no doubt find himself at The Hague to stand trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
As the late Tony Mitchell, Jeffrey Gettleman and Jason McLure will remain heroes among Ethiopians who appreciate their intelligence, compassion and diligence in exposing Meles for what he really is- a corrupt, egomaniac coward who will stoop to the lowest crevices of the cesspool.
Isn’t it really time for the Obama Administration to shut off the spigot to the pig’s trough? Surely, jamming the Voice of America and roughing up American citizens is an egregious offense and a disrespect no U.S. President should tolerate.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Why Silent After the Day Light Robbery of Ethiopians’ Vote by TPLF Thugs?
I have seen blogger after blogger (including myself) analyzing TPLF thugs’ behaviour after the 2010 “election” and exposing the desire of TPLF to continue to rule Ethiopia by force with one party dictatorship. Multitudes of calls for the unity of the opposition to save this country were also made within the last few days.
But all this rage of Ethiopians, at least by those in the Diaspora, who are totally free to express their anger and concerns, did not come to the fore to touch the hearts and minds of others who might come to our aid. I don’t think at this critical moment blogging is enough to get our message across the wider community. How many non-Ethiopians really read our blogs and understand the level of ordeal we here in the Diaspora, and our people back home are passing through? For example, there wasn’t a mention of the 2010 Ethiopian election on the major cable television channels here in the US. How do we expect the American people to hear and understand what is going on at this moment in Ethiopia and stand on our side?
We have heard that the EU Election Observation Mission and even the US Administration have expressed their concerns that the election in Ethiopia was short of meeting international election standards. This should have given us the courage to go out on the streets of Washington DC, London, Brussels, etc, to loudly express our anger against TPLF’s dictatorship and that we are running out of patience. If we can’t or are afraid to do it here, in the very peaceful and free environment, how can we expect our compatriots at home to go out and demonstrate or organize civil disobedience in the face of the brutal dictators in Addis Ababa.
If we have political or civic leaders in the Diaspora, the time is right now to come together and to organize and call Ethiopians to express their concerns. The web world should help us organize and act not just writing, philosophizing. Organize a public rally immediately! Now! Let the American people hear and see our anger. I remember how effective that expression of anger in the streets of Washington, DC. was in the aftermath of the 2005 election in getting the then opposition leaders out of jail and in temporary holding of aid from the dictators.
Dear Ethiopians, if there is any element of real love for our country left in ourselves, let us forget anything at this moment and at least come out to the fore to express that love of country to our hosts and fellow human beings in the free countries we are living in.
I am aware that street shout in Washington, DC, or else where is not enough to free our people from the complex problems they are in, but let us be wise in using momentum! As the saying goes, “hit the nail when it is hot”. Other wise it would be like the “dog that barked after the hyena left”.
But all this rage of Ethiopians, at least by those in the Diaspora, who are totally free to express their anger and concerns, did not come to the fore to touch the hearts and minds of others who might come to our aid. I don’t think at this critical moment blogging is enough to get our message across the wider community. How many non-Ethiopians really read our blogs and understand the level of ordeal we here in the Diaspora, and our people back home are passing through? For example, there wasn’t a mention of the 2010 Ethiopian election on the major cable television channels here in the US. How do we expect the American people to hear and understand what is going on at this moment in Ethiopia and stand on our side?
We have heard that the EU Election Observation Mission and even the US Administration have expressed their concerns that the election in Ethiopia was short of meeting international election standards. This should have given us the courage to go out on the streets of Washington DC, London, Brussels, etc, to loudly express our anger against TPLF’s dictatorship and that we are running out of patience. If we can’t or are afraid to do it here, in the very peaceful and free environment, how can we expect our compatriots at home to go out and demonstrate or organize civil disobedience in the face of the brutal dictators in Addis Ababa.
If we have political or civic leaders in the Diaspora, the time is right now to come together and to organize and call Ethiopians to express their concerns. The web world should help us organize and act not just writing, philosophizing. Organize a public rally immediately! Now! Let the American people hear and see our anger. I remember how effective that expression of anger in the streets of Washington, DC. was in the aftermath of the 2005 election in getting the then opposition leaders out of jail and in temporary holding of aid from the dictators.
Dear Ethiopians, if there is any element of real love for our country left in ourselves, let us forget anything at this moment and at least come out to the fore to express that love of country to our hosts and fellow human beings in the free countries we are living in.
I am aware that street shout in Washington, DC, or else where is not enough to free our people from the complex problems they are in, but let us be wise in using momentum! As the saying goes, “hit the nail when it is hot”. Other wise it would be like the “dog that barked after the hyena left”.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Habisso’s Self-Defeating Argument on TPLF’s Political Landslide
Tesfaye Habisso, who served as the "First Secretary" in the TPLF’s “Transitional Government” in the early 1990s and as TPLF's Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of Uganda in the early 2000s, has an interesting article on Aigaforum, where he gave his analysis of TPLF’s political landslide in last week’s sham 2010 election in Ethiopia.
In reality, his article reveals how TPLF should have lost the “election” than win it by landslide.
In the first part of his “analysis”, he vaguely jumps from one point to another to show how the TPLF mafia group was able to gain the confidence of the people to win a landslide victory, and how the opposition, except Lidetu Ayalew, lost credibility. Here he also vaguely argued that the Ethiopian people don't care about the illegal accumulation of wealth by the TPLF thugs and their supporters.
But in his concluding remark, Mr. Habisso vividly describes the wrongs of the TPLF over the last twenty years, that are haunting the Ethiopian people in their day-to-day lives. Habisso advises the TPLF from now on to focus on addressing the following issues that are rampant in Ethiopia:
Miserable justice and rule of law
Poor governance
Nepotism
Ethnocentricisim
Corruption and predatory tendencies in the public bureaucracy
Galloping inflation, and
Lack of freedom
How on earth can a party that has inflicted all these woes on its people win by a landslide? Or is Mr. Habisso witnessing that the “election” was really farce?
In reality, his article reveals how TPLF should have lost the “election” than win it by landslide.
In the first part of his “analysis”, he vaguely jumps from one point to another to show how the TPLF mafia group was able to gain the confidence of the people to win a landslide victory, and how the opposition, except Lidetu Ayalew, lost credibility. Here he also vaguely argued that the Ethiopian people don't care about the illegal accumulation of wealth by the TPLF thugs and their supporters.
But in his concluding remark, Mr. Habisso vividly describes the wrongs of the TPLF over the last twenty years, that are haunting the Ethiopian people in their day-to-day lives. Habisso advises the TPLF from now on to focus on addressing the following issues that are rampant in Ethiopia:
Miserable justice and rule of law
Poor governance
Nepotism
Ethnocentricisim
Corruption and predatory tendencies in the public bureaucracy
Galloping inflation, and
Lack of freedom
How on earth can a party that has inflicted all these woes on its people win by a landslide? Or is Mr. Habisso witnessing that the “election” was really farce?
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Meles is A Dictator by All Standards!!!
What forced me to write this piece was the effort by Uduak Amimo, a BBC reporter from Addis Ababa, to project Meles Zenawi of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) as democrat, progressive and a respected statesman. Why didn’t the reporter try to answer the simplest question as to how could a person who still leads a party to liberate Tigray from the rest of Ethiopia be popularly elected by Ethiopians to lead the country he wants to secede from. For it is by being an elected leader that a person could be considered a democrat, if the reporter believes in this argument.
How could UduaK Amimo sincerely declare Meles as a strong and eloquent African statesmen, I believe after witnessing, how inarticulate and defensive he was in the recent African Economic Summit held recently in Daar Es Salaam, Tanzania? In that Summit, the dictator Meles was just superficially parroting about agricultural policies and institutions, while other African leaders and delegates were giving concrete experiences of how they changed their countries’ food security situations.
How could Uduak Amimo claim Meles as a democrat, when for all practical purposes all western democracies admit that Meles is a dictator but they support him only because of the country’s geopolitical position within the volatile Horn of Africa region, with the hope that he would stabilize the region despite being a dectator.
How is Uduak Amimo going to justify Meles as a democrat, when Meles’ foreign Ministry announced just a few days ago, banning all embassies and international non-governmental organizations from observing the upcoming election and restricting movement of their staff outside of the capital?
I was also wondering why Uduak Amimo identified Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) as “opposition groups” while citing about their complaint against the civil society law Meles enacted to stifle political desent.
According to Uduak Amimo, is Mohammar Ghadaffi of Libya, the most respected African statesmen, against whom other African leaders have to be evaluated and rated?
If as Udauk Amimo claimed, Meles has been advising his daughter and other Ethiopians “not to enter into politics for their own health”, why didn’t the reporter ask Meles to leave the office of his premiership, at least on grounds of his own deteriorating health after 19 years of rule, if not for the sake of bowing to the voice of the people?
As to the buildings the BBC reporter saw coming out of Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, that is not a sign of development for Ethiopia or will have little benefit to the multitude of poor Ethiopians, since almost all those buildings are owned by a few corrupt Tigriyan officials, their families and cronies, who are amassing the wealth of the country illegally.
And the road networks the reporter is talking about are the perfect mechanisms for TPLF thugs for embezzlement of public money through the bidding process. Schools, clinics, hospitals, universities, and other infrastructure projects TPLF claims to have expanded are all mechanisms of siphoning donor money in the name of development.
From the style of the writing of the piece reported by Uduak Amimo, it looks like the piece was written by a TPLF cadre, but only was read by the BBC reporter. Given that this report came out just a few days before the 2010 “election”, I am not sure if there was no exchange of fat money between the reporter and the TPLF dictators. That time will tell.
At any rate, Uduak Amimo’s reporting wouldn’t change the substance or the image of TPLF and Meles Zenawi. Meles is one of the world’s brutal dictators by all standards!!!
How could UduaK Amimo sincerely declare Meles as a strong and eloquent African statesmen, I believe after witnessing, how inarticulate and defensive he was in the recent African Economic Summit held recently in Daar Es Salaam, Tanzania? In that Summit, the dictator Meles was just superficially parroting about agricultural policies and institutions, while other African leaders and delegates were giving concrete experiences of how they changed their countries’ food security situations.
How could Uduak Amimo claim Meles as a democrat, when for all practical purposes all western democracies admit that Meles is a dictator but they support him only because of the country’s geopolitical position within the volatile Horn of Africa region, with the hope that he would stabilize the region despite being a dectator.
How is Uduak Amimo going to justify Meles as a democrat, when Meles’ foreign Ministry announced just a few days ago, banning all embassies and international non-governmental organizations from observing the upcoming election and restricting movement of their staff outside of the capital?
I was also wondering why Uduak Amimo identified Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) as “opposition groups” while citing about their complaint against the civil society law Meles enacted to stifle political desent.
According to Uduak Amimo, is Mohammar Ghadaffi of Libya, the most respected African statesmen, against whom other African leaders have to be evaluated and rated?
If as Udauk Amimo claimed, Meles has been advising his daughter and other Ethiopians “not to enter into politics for their own health”, why didn’t the reporter ask Meles to leave the office of his premiership, at least on grounds of his own deteriorating health after 19 years of rule, if not for the sake of bowing to the voice of the people?
As to the buildings the BBC reporter saw coming out of Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, that is not a sign of development for Ethiopia or will have little benefit to the multitude of poor Ethiopians, since almost all those buildings are owned by a few corrupt Tigriyan officials, their families and cronies, who are amassing the wealth of the country illegally.
And the road networks the reporter is talking about are the perfect mechanisms for TPLF thugs for embezzlement of public money through the bidding process. Schools, clinics, hospitals, universities, and other infrastructure projects TPLF claims to have expanded are all mechanisms of siphoning donor money in the name of development.
From the style of the writing of the piece reported by Uduak Amimo, it looks like the piece was written by a TPLF cadre, but only was read by the BBC reporter. Given that this report came out just a few days before the 2010 “election”, I am not sure if there was no exchange of fat money between the reporter and the TPLF dictators. That time will tell.
At any rate, Uduak Amimo’s reporting wouldn’t change the substance or the image of TPLF and Meles Zenawi. Meles is one of the world’s brutal dictators by all standards!!!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Comparing the incomparable
I read with amazement Adal Isaw’s March 29, 2010 article on TPLF’s mouthpiece (Aiga Forum) where he compared the challenge America’s democracy is facing from opposition to the challenge the TPLF’s dictatorship is facing from the "extreme elements" of the Ethiopian “opposition”. The writer bluffed how the United States should learn from TPLF’s handling of opposition in Ethiopia. What an absurd comparison!
What the writer has missed is the fact that the United States is a country governed by the rule of law, where every citizen has a right for the free expression of ideas including expressing opposition to rules, regulations and policies in a peaceful manner (health care policy or any other policy for that matter). There is no way the US government will follow the advice of Adal Isaw to crack down opposition expressed by the Tea Party groups against the health care bill. There were no incidents of detentions, killings or intimidations during the Tea Party group moments launched from civilian or non-civilian security forces.
As we witnessed in the aftermath of the Tea Party events against the health care bill, there have been a number of arguments freely expressed and public debates going on in favor of and against the movement's opinion in a civil discourse in all kinds of free media.
Can the writer give me a single example of an opposition rally in the last five years where Ethiopian "opposition" groups were allowed to freely express their opinion in public demonstrations? Can he give me a single instance, in the last five years, where Ethiopian citizens were allowed to publicly demand for even their basic rights for food, water, shelter, protection, security, job, association, etc, leave alone an expression of opposition to public policy in Ethiopia?
Since the TPLF’s reign of terror in Ethiopia in the last 20 years, there were probably not more than 20 opposition public rallies in Ethiopia and in 99 percent of the cases there were mass detentions, killings or intimidations of citizens. Opposition groups and citizens have always been cornered, ridiculed and cracked down by the TPLF gangsters, with no room for genuine debate and accommodation, resulting in an extreme form of polarization and the kind of quagmire the country is in today.
In the United States, in thousands of places from small towns to big cities, thousands of public rallies are heard where citizens voice their concerns and oppositions daily, public officials are obliged to listen to these concerns and make changes in their polices and practices, other wise they are held accountable and face consequences by being voted out during the regualr free and fair elections held at all levels in the country.
TPLF’s Ethiopia is not such a place to be compared to the US. In Ethiopia, there is no rule of law, no accountability, no free and fair election, no freedom. I can’t understand why in the first place the writer chose to compare American democracy to that of Ethiopia. Ethiopia’s system is dictatorship and that of USA is democracy. They are incomparable! Any attempt to do so is just a futile intellectual exercise!! And my fellow Adal Isaw knows it deep inside his heart! But he will also be held accountable for his misinformation on D-day!!!
What the writer has missed is the fact that the United States is a country governed by the rule of law, where every citizen has a right for the free expression of ideas including expressing opposition to rules, regulations and policies in a peaceful manner (health care policy or any other policy for that matter). There is no way the US government will follow the advice of Adal Isaw to crack down opposition expressed by the Tea Party groups against the health care bill. There were no incidents of detentions, killings or intimidations during the Tea Party group moments launched from civilian or non-civilian security forces.
As we witnessed in the aftermath of the Tea Party events against the health care bill, there have been a number of arguments freely expressed and public debates going on in favor of and against the movement's opinion in a civil discourse in all kinds of free media.
Can the writer give me a single example of an opposition rally in the last five years where Ethiopian "opposition" groups were allowed to freely express their opinion in public demonstrations? Can he give me a single instance, in the last five years, where Ethiopian citizens were allowed to publicly demand for even their basic rights for food, water, shelter, protection, security, job, association, etc, leave alone an expression of opposition to public policy in Ethiopia?
Since the TPLF’s reign of terror in Ethiopia in the last 20 years, there were probably not more than 20 opposition public rallies in Ethiopia and in 99 percent of the cases there were mass detentions, killings or intimidations of citizens. Opposition groups and citizens have always been cornered, ridiculed and cracked down by the TPLF gangsters, with no room for genuine debate and accommodation, resulting in an extreme form of polarization and the kind of quagmire the country is in today.
In the United States, in thousands of places from small towns to big cities, thousands of public rallies are heard where citizens voice their concerns and oppositions daily, public officials are obliged to listen to these concerns and make changes in their polices and practices, other wise they are held accountable and face consequences by being voted out during the regualr free and fair elections held at all levels in the country.
TPLF’s Ethiopia is not such a place to be compared to the US. In Ethiopia, there is no rule of law, no accountability, no free and fair election, no freedom. I can’t understand why in the first place the writer chose to compare American democracy to that of Ethiopia. Ethiopia’s system is dictatorship and that of USA is democracy. They are incomparable! Any attempt to do so is just a futile intellectual exercise!! And my fellow Adal Isaw knows it deep inside his heart! But he will also be held accountable for his misinformation on D-day!!!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
NO! To Sham Election in Ethiopia!!!
Please dear fellow Ethiopians, it is time to say NO to sham elections in Ethiopia under TPLF thugs!!
Remember, TPLF’s slogan closer to the 2005 election was an “errorless election”! (enken yelesh mircha)! In fact, that slogan just was a pretense to deceive the international community, not a genuine belief in democracy within the TPLF. They soon revealed that it was a terrible miscalculation on the part of the TPLF after witnessing their defeat in the aftermath of the election.
That was when they decided they would never repeat that miscalculation in any future “elections” in Ethiopia. If you remember, that was when dictator Meles Zenawi openly came up with the discredited idea of the “Developmental State” argument and he forcefully asserted that Ethiopia does not need a multiparty democracy, lest the long term “development” goal of TPLF be interrupted. Following that assertion there were numerous incidents where Meles and Co. strongly argued in favor of the developmental state theory and that they openly stated that liberal democracy posed danger for Ethiopia’s development and existence.
Remember dear fellow Ethiopians, at least for the purpose of pretending, prior to 2005 election, they were opening up some space for the opposition to express its position to the public and to campaign. After finding out that they lost that election to the opposition, TPLF’s actions were to completely close the little openings for fair opposition maneuvers.
You know what followed after the election: mass killings of innocent Ethiopians and opposition supporters, mass jailing of supporters including opposition leaders (CUD). For almost the five years following the 2005 election, TPLF demonstrated that it can no longer entertain the slightest effort to accommodate opposition in the country. In effect, it was accusing and in logger heads with independent and international human rights organizations, media and public institutions that criticized its handling of human rights in Ethiopia.
In the subsequent years that followed, TPLF thugs and their supporters more openly advanced their argument that liberal democracy and multiparty politics are detrimental to the Ethiopian polity and were indicating that the best system for Ethiopia is Revolutionary Democracy led by one party. They were also openly advocating that what Ethiopians need is development not democracy, accusing western democracies of sabotaging Ethiopia’s “democratic” process.
The TPLF thugs have clearly demonstrated that they would not entertain any challenge from opposition groups and rights advocates by enacting the draconian NGO law and the “terrorism law”.
Even in the most recent interview that dictator Meles gave to local reporters, he preemptively indicated that opposition members who are complaining of mistreatment by TPLF will be tried by his kangaroo court and will be sent to jail after the “election”. Hooray, the verdict is already made on the opposition by the “Prime Minister” Meles, who is also the “supreme judge”. He said that they will only be tolerated now so that TPLF is not implicated as disrupting the “election”. In effect, Meles told us that he is holding an “election” just for the rhetoric and drama, not for the meaning and substance. So why should we go to vote for an already won “election”?
It is big time to say NO to sham election in Ethiopia!!!
Remember, TPLF’s slogan closer to the 2005 election was an “errorless election”! (enken yelesh mircha)! In fact, that slogan just was a pretense to deceive the international community, not a genuine belief in democracy within the TPLF. They soon revealed that it was a terrible miscalculation on the part of the TPLF after witnessing their defeat in the aftermath of the election.
That was when they decided they would never repeat that miscalculation in any future “elections” in Ethiopia. If you remember, that was when dictator Meles Zenawi openly came up with the discredited idea of the “Developmental State” argument and he forcefully asserted that Ethiopia does not need a multiparty democracy, lest the long term “development” goal of TPLF be interrupted. Following that assertion there were numerous incidents where Meles and Co. strongly argued in favor of the developmental state theory and that they openly stated that liberal democracy posed danger for Ethiopia’s development and existence.
Remember dear fellow Ethiopians, at least for the purpose of pretending, prior to 2005 election, they were opening up some space for the opposition to express its position to the public and to campaign. After finding out that they lost that election to the opposition, TPLF’s actions were to completely close the little openings for fair opposition maneuvers.
You know what followed after the election: mass killings of innocent Ethiopians and opposition supporters, mass jailing of supporters including opposition leaders (CUD). For almost the five years following the 2005 election, TPLF demonstrated that it can no longer entertain the slightest effort to accommodate opposition in the country. In effect, it was accusing and in logger heads with independent and international human rights organizations, media and public institutions that criticized its handling of human rights in Ethiopia.
In the subsequent years that followed, TPLF thugs and their supporters more openly advanced their argument that liberal democracy and multiparty politics are detrimental to the Ethiopian polity and were indicating that the best system for Ethiopia is Revolutionary Democracy led by one party. They were also openly advocating that what Ethiopians need is development not democracy, accusing western democracies of sabotaging Ethiopia’s “democratic” process.
The TPLF thugs have clearly demonstrated that they would not entertain any challenge from opposition groups and rights advocates by enacting the draconian NGO law and the “terrorism law”.
Even in the most recent interview that dictator Meles gave to local reporters, he preemptively indicated that opposition members who are complaining of mistreatment by TPLF will be tried by his kangaroo court and will be sent to jail after the “election”. Hooray, the verdict is already made on the opposition by the “Prime Minister” Meles, who is also the “supreme judge”. He said that they will only be tolerated now so that TPLF is not implicated as disrupting the “election”. In effect, Meles told us that he is holding an “election” just for the rhetoric and drama, not for the meaning and substance. So why should we go to vote for an already won “election”?
It is big time to say NO to sham election in Ethiopia!!!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Why Expect Accountability from TPLF Dictators?
There was a lot of hype over the last week of TPLF’s illicit use of aid money to buy arms in the mid 1980s, while it was fighting to overthrow the then military government in Ethiopia. Since that news many have stated that for Ethiopians this revelation by the BBC was not a surprise at all.
I would even go further to say, it would be absurd to expect transparency and accountability from TPLF, whose ideology is still deeply rooted in Albanian Socialism, had come to power by the power of the bullet and is still ruling by the power of the bullet.
To this day, the TPLF thugs are the best experts in diverting donor money for unintended purposes in all sectors of the Ethiopian polity. Humanitarian and development aid, and loan monies are still siphoned continuously to fill the pockets of the TPLF thugs and to buy arms to intimidate and silence the the wider Ethiopian people and members and supporters of the opposition parties. Not only they use leaked donor money to silence Ethiopians at home, but also to prevent legislators in far away countries from passing laws that are not in their favor by paying lobbyists a generous sum of dollars.
The TPLF thugs believe their only accountability is to the international donor community and they believe they can always deceive them by using numbers. Woyane thugs are experts in putting arbitrary numbers in reports to convince the gullible or careless international community. We Ethiopians know that any figure used in any of the statistical reports in any sector of Woyane’s Ethiopia do not reflect reality! They are just arbitrary figures!!
But, though it has come late, it is good as it had rocked the dictatorial TPLF regime by exposing its secret deeds to the international public and policy makers. It would be even much appropriate if BBC could report not only of the past, but also the current abuses of famine aid money by the TPLF for political purposes.
We Ethiopians do not expect accountability from the TPLF dictators. The only way to freedom in Ethiopia today is fighting the Woyane by all means and removing them from power!! In fact their days are numbered!!
I would even go further to say, it would be absurd to expect transparency and accountability from TPLF, whose ideology is still deeply rooted in Albanian Socialism, had come to power by the power of the bullet and is still ruling by the power of the bullet.
To this day, the TPLF thugs are the best experts in diverting donor money for unintended purposes in all sectors of the Ethiopian polity. Humanitarian and development aid, and loan monies are still siphoned continuously to fill the pockets of the TPLF thugs and to buy arms to intimidate and silence the the wider Ethiopian people and members and supporters of the opposition parties. Not only they use leaked donor money to silence Ethiopians at home, but also to prevent legislators in far away countries from passing laws that are not in their favor by paying lobbyists a generous sum of dollars.
The TPLF thugs believe their only accountability is to the international donor community and they believe they can always deceive them by using numbers. Woyane thugs are experts in putting arbitrary numbers in reports to convince the gullible or careless international community. We Ethiopians know that any figure used in any of the statistical reports in any sector of Woyane’s Ethiopia do not reflect reality! They are just arbitrary figures!!
But, though it has come late, it is good as it had rocked the dictatorial TPLF regime by exposing its secret deeds to the international public and policy makers. It would be even much appropriate if BBC could report not only of the past, but also the current abuses of famine aid money by the TPLF for political purposes.
We Ethiopians do not expect accountability from the TPLF dictators. The only way to freedom in Ethiopia today is fighting the Woyane by all means and removing them from power!! In fact their days are numbered!!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Beware of a “Terrorist Bombing in Addis Ababa” my fellow Ethiopians!!
Woyane has always been using various tactics to blackmail the opposition within and outside of Ethiopia as terrorists to silence and intimidate opposition and to buy support from those who are always hallucinating about perceived attack from “terrorists” on their people and nations.
Although there is no real threat from the weakened opposition within Ethiopia to Woyane’s wiining of “election in 2010” that Woyane has been vangardly weakening since the 2005 election, Woyane has been lamenting about “terrorist attacks” directed at its leaders recently, and with the obejective of discrediting the 2010 elections in Ethiopia, and has jailed innocent Ethiopians in its dungeons.
For Woyane thugs, it is so easy to spill the blood of innocent civilians to just buy the support of countries that are overly reacting to the notion of perceived terrorism in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa Region. Preceding the 2005 Ethiopian election, Woyane has made similar threats and claimed of foiling such detonations of bombs in a cipiule of mass transit busses and trains operating in Ethiopia. But, given that the so called fake elections are approaching in Ethiopia, this time, Woyane will go as far as really detonating bombs, killing innocent Ethiopians traveling in city busses, where city buses are in operation, or inside busses traveling long distances on domestic long transport buses to make its stories of “terrorism” palatable to those who are blindly supporting it.
And I am sure, just to convince the gullible international community that there is a real threat from “terrorists”, Woyane will blast bombs on either public transportation facilities or inside hotels and places where members of the international community frequent in Addis Ababa or elsewhere in the country. For that matter, I remember stories of Woyane where an American was killed in a bombing of a taxi in Addis Ababa closer to the buildings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs some years back.
I would thus advise my fellow Ethiopians and innocent members of the international community in Ethiopia to be vigilant of such sinister moves from the Woyane camp, and take all the necessary steps to protect themselves and not be the cannon fodders for Woyane’s agenda of staying in power indefinitely in Ethiopia.
Although there is no real threat from the weakened opposition within Ethiopia to Woyane’s wiining of “election in 2010” that Woyane has been vangardly weakening since the 2005 election, Woyane has been lamenting about “terrorist attacks” directed at its leaders recently, and with the obejective of discrediting the 2010 elections in Ethiopia, and has jailed innocent Ethiopians in its dungeons.
For Woyane thugs, it is so easy to spill the blood of innocent civilians to just buy the support of countries that are overly reacting to the notion of perceived terrorism in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa Region. Preceding the 2005 Ethiopian election, Woyane has made similar threats and claimed of foiling such detonations of bombs in a cipiule of mass transit busses and trains operating in Ethiopia. But, given that the so called fake elections are approaching in Ethiopia, this time, Woyane will go as far as really detonating bombs, killing innocent Ethiopians traveling in city busses, where city buses are in operation, or inside busses traveling long distances on domestic long transport buses to make its stories of “terrorism” palatable to those who are blindly supporting it.
And I am sure, just to convince the gullible international community that there is a real threat from “terrorists”, Woyane will blast bombs on either public transportation facilities or inside hotels and places where members of the international community frequent in Addis Ababa or elsewhere in the country. For that matter, I remember stories of Woyane where an American was killed in a bombing of a taxi in Addis Ababa closer to the buildings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs some years back.
I would thus advise my fellow Ethiopians and innocent members of the international community in Ethiopia to be vigilant of such sinister moves from the Woyane camp, and take all the necessary steps to protect themselves and not be the cannon fodders for Woyane’s agenda of staying in power indefinitely in Ethiopia.
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