On Behalf of Semayawi Party, Thanks! by prof. Alemayehu G. mariam

Thank you one and all who came out to the town hall meetings in the U.S. and Europe over the past several  weeks and supported Semayawi Party!

In a report last week, Ethiomedia.com described Semayawi Party (SP) as the “newest opposition sensation” which “raises new hopes” for nonviolent change in Ethiopia. Yilikal Getnet, Semayawi Party’s young and dynamic chairman, presented Ethiopians in various U.S. and European cities his party’s vision of the Beloved New Ethiopia founded on hope, peace and unity.

Beginning with the first North American town hall meeting in Arlington, VA on December 15, 2013, Yilikal told his audiences that he did not come to the U.S. to solicit financial support or to beg for money. His primary mission was to introduce his party to Ethiopians living abroad, share with them his Party’s vision, positions and programs, review some of its humble accomplishment in the short time the Party has been in existence and most importantly to answer any and all questions  about the Party. He did an outstanding job as the spokesman-in-chief of his Party. He answered all questions put to him without evasion or obfuscation. He addressed policy issues with thoughtfulness and insight. His presentations were complete with anecdotal and statistical facts. He awed his audiences with his razor sharp logic and spellbinding eloquence and wit. I am proud that I was able to stand beside Semayawi Party and Yilikal during this tour and show my unreserved support.

I thank all of those Ethiopians in the Washington, D.C. area, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, San Jose, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Seattle for their moral support and financial help to Semayawi Party. Thank you all; I am so proud of you!

On behalf of Semayawi Party Support Group North America, I thank all of those Ethiopians who showed up at the town hall meetings, listened attentively, asked challenging questions and gave generously. Most importantly, on behalf of Semayawi Party I thank all party members and active supporters who braved the rain, snow, sleet and gloom of night to attend the meetings and show their unwavering support. Your support has made all the difference.

When I asked Yilikal of his general impressions of his first ever U.S. tour, he was effusive in his gratitude and praise. He was awed by the passionate patriotism of the Ethiopians he met; he was deeply moved by their heartfelt concerns for the future of the country; and he is inspired by their advice and counsel to help Ethiopia’s youth. He is grateful not only for the extraordinary support Semayawi Party received in the U.S. in such a short time but also the respect, love and understanding he was shown by all.

Scenes from the tour

The Semayawi Party tour was at once an educational, inspirational, confirmational, exceptional and even emotional experience for all of us. For me, the tour represented memorable “moments of truth”. I had written and talked about Ethiopia’s youth and their historic destiny for so long that it was a dream come true to stand on the side of a political party (and in my view a youth movement) that is formed by youth, for the youth and of the youth. After all, 70 percent of Ethiopia’s population is today under the age of 35.

It was a special honor and privilege for me as a member of Ethiopia’s Hippo Generation (older generation) to work so closely with members of the Ethiopia’s Cheetah Generation (younger generation). These young people were amazing. I marveled at the agility of their minds, dazzled by their insights and foresightedness, overwhelmed by their decisiveness in taking action, fascinated by their proficiency in the deployment of technology, awe-struck by their technical organizational skills and thrilled by their harmonious working relationships.  I confess I thoroughly enjoyed my role as a full-fledged honorary Cheetah (though I regard myself to be a “Chee-Hippo”, a member of the intermediate generation whose job is to build bridges to connect the Cheetah and Hippo Generations) giving  advice and counsel, consulting, answering questions and showing up wherever I was needed as a witness for Semayawi Party.

The one word that best describes our collective experiences in the Semayawi Party tour is “humbling”.  We were overwhelmed by the passionate convictions of fellow Ethiopians who are determined to help birth the Beloved New Ethiopia that treats all of its citizens equally and respects the rights and dignity of each citizen. We were inspired by those who rejected all attempts to divide and dehumanize Ethiopians along ethnic, religious, regional and linguistic lines. We were grateful to those who schooled us on the mistakes of the past and showed us ways of avoiding known pitfalls. We were emboldened by those who assured us that we should never fear failure itself but the fear of failure which is paralyzing and incapacitating. We were comforted by those who promised and pledged to support us for as long as its takes so long as we continue the peaceful struggle for change. We were delighted by the curiosity of those genuinely interested in finding out about Semayawi Party.

We also experienced a few somber notes. We were saddened by the cynicism of some who had given up hope. “All of those who have come before you have failed. You probably will too”, they declared. We understood their disappointments. We were amused by the arrogance of others who thought the young people just did not know what they were doing and tried to lecture us on what should and should not be done. We did not mind. We are always ready to learn. We were engaged by the doubting Thomases. “We have seen them come and go? You don’t sound much different from the others. What makes you so special, so different?”, they would ask pointedly with slight derision. Doubt is the foundation of faith and we did all we could to convince them that the New Beloved Ethiopia will be built by Ethiopia’s young people, with the support of the older generation of course. We listened patiently and respectfully to those who bellyached, grumbled, moaned and groaned. They had legitimate reasons to do so.

We also learned a great deal about ourselves and what we must do. We had to defend and explain our mode of struggle. “How could you expect to win against a powerful regime with a proven history of barbaric brutality, with all the  weapons of war and police and security forces?” Our response was the same as Gandhi’s “Strength does not come from physical capacity”, nor does it come from guns, tanks and war planes. “It comes from an indomitable will.” We have the indomitable will to press on with our nonviolent struggle. An indomitable will powered by love is invincible.

We preached that change must first take place in the hearts and minds of individual men and women before it can happen in society at large. We must therefore struggle with the demons of hate and revenge that have taken residence in our hearts before we can struggle with those who seek to demonize us. We are tolerant and respectful of those who disagree with our ideas, methods and means. In matters of principle, we shall always stand our ground. We believe in nonviolent social and political change. On this principle, we can agree to disagree with anyone without being disagreeable. We believe we should be judged on our own merits, and not on the achievements or mistakes of others. We are keenly aware that we must practice what we preach. That means we must maintain the highest standards of accountability, transparency and civility. We know our supporters expect us to be different, show more integrity and forthrightness and be open minded. We shall aim to practice these virtues in our daily lives.

The struggle ahead: Ethiopian David against the TPLF/EPDRF Goliath

The struggle for nonviolent change in Ethiopia will be a difficult one requiring great sacrifices. We are not unmindful that the regime will do everything in its power to weaken and destroy Semayawi Party. We take it for granted that the regime in power in Ethiopia today will arrest, jail, torture, conduct kangaroo trials and kill Semayawi Party members. To predict regime persecution of Semayawi Party persecution is like predicting the sun will rise tomorrow. We know the regime’s standard operating procedure for the last 23 years. Semayawi Party leaders and members are not afraid. They are not afraid of goons with guns. There is a new breed of young Ethiopian leaders on the rise and unafraid of thugs clad in the stolen mantle of state power. Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu, Woubshet Taye, Andualem Aragie, Olbana Lelisa, Bekele Gerba, Abubekar Ahmed and so many others languish in the infamous Meles Zenawi Prison in Kality because they refused to be intimidated and bullied by the regime in power.

Those of us committed to nonviolent change in Ethiopia struggle to win the hearts and minds of all Ethiopians. We measure our victory by the number of people we are able to convince to choose the path of peaceful change. Those in power measure their victories and how powerful they are by the number of Ethiopian corpses they can scatter on the battlefield. I believe the outcome of this struggle was foretold and foreordained long ago. There was once a mighty man called Goliath. Clad in armor of iron and brass, Goliath would strut over the hill day after day and terrorize the people. Feared by all, no one would dare challenge Goliath. Then came a meek young shepherd named David who feared no one but God. David decided to fight Goliath not for the rewards of gold, silver or riches but to restore the pride, dignity and faith of his people. David was offered a sword, spear, armor and an iron helmet. He chose to fight Goliath with a sling and five smooth stones. Goliath huffed and puffed and taunted little David to come out and fight him. David met Goliath and Goliath was no more.

Semayawi Party is Ethiopia’s David standing up to a fearsome and loathsome Goliath known as the TPLF/EPDRF. Semayawi Party stands up against the mighty TPLF/EPDRF Goliath armed to the teeth with guns, bombs, tanks, artillery and warplanes. Semayawi Party stands against a Goliath with a legion of repressive police and security cadres unrivalled in Africa today. Semayawi Party stands against a Goliath backed by billions of dollars of international aid money, loans and stolen cash from the people. Semayawi Party stands against a Goliath in whose blood courses the poison of hate and division, in whose mind circulates falsehoods and deceit, in whose spirit dwells despair and misery and in whose heart darkness itself lives and breathes.

Semayawi Party is poised to fight the TPLF/EPDRF Goliath armed only with a sling and five smooth pebbles called Love, Truth, Hope, Peace and Unity. In the end Semayawi Party will win against the TPLF/EPDRF Goliath; and Goliath will be saved, saved indeed, because Semayawi Party’s pebbles do not kill; they only heal.  It is an honor for me to be the water carrier for Ethiopia’s David standing up to the TPLF/EPDRF Goliath.

Let’s give Semayawi Party a chance, a fighting chance

It was a distinct honor and privilege for me to be the “keynote speaker” at the various Semayawi Party town hall events. I did not consider myself a “keynote speaker”. I showed up as a volunteer “witness”.  I became a witness to ask, and hopefully to convince, Ethiopians in the U.S. to give Semayawi Party a chance, a fighting chance, a sporting chance as it struggles to stand up to the TPLF/EPDRF Goliath.

I wholeheartedly support Semayawi Party because I believe Ethiopia’s young people are the only ones with the vision, energy, intelligence and passion to change the destiny of their country and build the New Beloved Ethiopia. Today, 70 percent of Ethiopia’s estimated 94 million people consists of young people under the age of 35. The vast majority of the victims of human rights violations in Ethiopia today are young people. The targets of political persecution and harassment, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, abuse and maltreatment in the prisons are largely young people. Young Ethiopians are disproportionately impacted by pandemic unemployment and lack of educational and economic opportunities. The yearning of Ethiopia’s youth for freedom and change is self-evident. Change, peaceful change, will come to Ethiopia but it will be like the arrival of train that is late. The only question is whether the country's youth will seek change through increased militancy or by other peaceful means.”

For the past eight years, I have tried to make a small contribution to the human rights struggle in Ethiopia. It is a responsibility I took much later in life. I have no greater honor than to hear Ethiopian Cheetahs and Hippos telling me that they have learned something from my weekly commentaries or speeches. What more can a teacher ask?

In the past I have asked, urged and pleaded with my readers to support the cause of human rights and the dignity of the individual. Now, I ask, actually I plead, with my readers to support Ethiopia’s young people and Semayawi Party which I believe represents the interests of the young people more than any other party in existence today.

I do not want my readers to support Semayawi Party not because I support them, but because they deserve support on their own merits. When I decided to support Semayawi Party, I asked a few questions: 1) Do I truly believe in nonviolent social and political change?  2) If I truly believe in nonviolent change, who do I believe is best positioned in Ethiopia today to effect such a change? 3) If the young people can effect such a change, what can I do to help them?

We can all help Semayawi Party in the Ethiopian Diaspora in a variety of ways. Those with means can help financially to the extent of their abilities. Semayawi Party needs a lot of financial help to do its organizational work and to sustain its outreach efforts. There are other equally important ways we can provide support to Semayawi Party. Learning about Semayawi  Party and educating others is valuable support. Providing Semayawi technical support in all areas including policy analysis and development is vital, and Ethiopian scholars and academics could play a critical role in this regard. Spreading Semayawi’s message of hope, unity and peace is more important support than any other form of support. Defending Semayawi against false accusations and fear and smear campaigns is invaluable support. Giving moral support and inspiring Semayawi Party leaders and members to greater heights is priceless. Cheerleading for Semayawi is support that every patriotic Ethiopian could perform every day.

On a personal note…

It was an amazing experience for me to work with the young people in the Semayawi Party support groups. For so many years I have sought to teach, preach and reach out to Ethiopia’s young people in my weekly commentaries and occasional speeches. I am delighted to serve in the capacity of advisor to the young professionals, business entrepreneurs and university students doing the heavy lifting for Semayawi Party stateside.  The proliferation of support groups for Semayawi Party throughout the world rekindles my belief that Ethiopian Cheetahs united can never be defeated.

I want to share a few personal observations  about  Semayawi Party chairman Yilikal Getnet. Over the past eight years, I have met many Ethiopian political, business and community leaders in one context or another. Many of these leaders have impressive qualities. I consider character the most important quality in any political leader.

Yilikal is a young engineer who has given up on his professional ambitions and subordinated his family’s interest to work for nonviolent change in Ethiopia. It takes great character and personal integrity to make such a choice. I observed  different aspects of Yilikal’s character during the tour. He proved himself to be a man of principle. He was challenged that his nonviolent way idealistic and doomed to fail. He argued convincingly that violence is the weapon of the weak. No one can change hearts and minds by force and violence. He was challenged to tow the politically correct line that Ethiopia must remain a collection of  klililistans (kilils) and the only rights that matter are the rights of “nations and nationalities”.  He convincingly defended the principle that when individual rights are respected and preserved, group rights are necessarily protected and preserved. He was challenged that the brutal regime could persecute him, jail, torture and kill him and others in the party  leadership . He was unafraid because he and other Semayawi Party leaders formed their party ready to do the right thing and make any sacrifices for their country and fellow Ethiopians.

When Yilikal was lectured and hectored that Semayawi Party was creating divisiveness by separating the young and old, he categorically denied such allegations. As a matter of principle, he made it clear that there has to be a generational division of labor. The older generation of Ethiopians could play a decisive role as advisors and supporters while the younger generation did the heavy lifting and suffered the street beating and jailing.  However, only the Cheetahs have the will power, stamina, fortitude, energy and creativity to bring about lasting change. I said, “Amen!” Yilikal was chastised for not “uniting” his party with others to oppose the ruling regime. He said his party works and coordinates with other parties but there are fundamental differences in policies, strategies and tactics that make “unity” challenging. He wondered why the rest of us in the Diaspora who urge opposition unity inside the country are unable to teach by example by uniting and working together against the regime on the outside.

There is one quality that I appreciated most in Yilikal, his humility.  Yilikal is a young man of small physical stature. He has on more than one occasion commented on the fact that he is somewhat vertically challenged. In reality he is truly a humble giant. He showed genuine respect and appreciation to all those he met. He listened attentively and patiently to them. He showed restraint and good judgment even when asked deliberately  provocative questions. He never lost his cool and told it like it is when it comes to the truth. He never presented himself as a “party leader” or someone special. He was easily approachable and showed candor in his public and private dealings.

I appreciated Yilikal’s sense of humor.  As we toured the various  sites, I tried to convince him that there were indeed Cheetahs and Hippos populating the town hall meetings. Looking from the stage into the audience he could only see younger Cheetahs sitting next to older Cheetahs. He wanted me to point which ones were the Cheetahs and Hippos. I could not. There were only older Cheetahs sitting next  to younger Cheetahs. I learned an important lesson. Being a Cheetah or a Hippo is as much a state of mind as a state of being.  Thank you younger and older Cheetahs  for coming out and supporting  Semayawi Party Cheetahs!

Give Semayawi Party a chance! 

Semayawi Support-North America
P.O. Box 75860
Washington DC, 20013

Website:  http://www.semayawiusa.org/

Email: info@semayawiusa.org

To donate: http://www.semayawiusa.org/donate/

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ጎሠኛነት ምን ጊዜም የትም ቦታ እንደግራ ፖሊቲካ ተፈርጆ አያውቅም። ግራና ቀኝ ጠፋን! ፕ/መስፍን ወልደ ማርያም

በአለፉት ሃያ ዓመታት ውስጥ ወያኔ-ኢሕአዴግ የሚወቀስበት ሥራ በጣም ቢያመዝንም የሚመሰገንበት ሥራ የጽሑፍ ቁጥጥርን ማስቀረቱ ብቻ ነው፤ ሁልጊዜም አንድ ጥሩ ነገር የሚያስከትለው አብዛኛውን ጊዜ የማይጠበቅ ነገር ሊኖር ይችላል፤ ለምሳሌ አጠቃላይ ነጻነት ሲመጣ ወንጀለኛነት ይጨምራል፤ እንዲሁም የጽሑፍ ቁጥጥር ሲነሣ ጸሐፊዎች ይበዛሉ፤ ትምህርት በተስፋፈበትና ማንም እንደፈለገ ለመጻፍና ለማሳተም ችሎታውም ዕድሉም በማይገኝበት፣ ሳያበጥርና ሳይሰልቅ አሰር-ገሰሩን ጽፎ በአደባባይ የሚወጣውን ጥምብ-እርኩሱን አውጥተው ሁለተኛ እንዳይለምደው የሚያደርጉ የታወቁና የሰላ አእምሮና ብዕር ያላቸው አርታእያንና ሐያስያን (ገምጋሚዎች) ባሉበት ብዕሩን የሚያባልግ ጸሐፊ አይወጣም፤ ይህ ሁሉ ባልተሟላበት እንደኛ ባለ አገር ውስጥ ብዕርን ማባለግ እንደመብት ወይም እንደነጻነት እየታየ ነው፡፡

በአደባባይ የሚጽፉ ሰዎች ሁለት ነገሮችን ለይተው መገንዘብና ለሌሎችም ሲየያስተላልፉ ለይተው ማስተላለፍ አለባቸው፤ አንዱ የሆነና የተረጋገጠ ሁነት ነው፤ይህንን ሳይበርዙና ሳይከልሱ እንዳለና እንደተገኘ ማስተላለፍ ግዴታ ነው፤ ሁለተኛው የራስ አስተያየት ነው፤ የጠራውንና የነጣውን አውነት ከጎደፈ የግል አስተያየት ጋር አጋብቶ ማቅረብ ወይ አለማወቅ ነው፤ አውቀው ከሆነም ለማታለል ከመሞከር የሚቆጠር ነው፤ በአለንበት ዘመን አብዛኛውን ጊዜ የምናየው ፊደሎቹን ማወቅ እንደሙሉ እውቀት ይቆጠራል፤ ወይም በሌላ አነጋገር ፊደልን ማወቅ የመጻፍ ችሎታን ይሆናል፤ ይህ ትልቅ ስሕተት ነው፤ ፊደሎችን ማወቅ ትልቅና መሠረታዊ የእውቀት ጎዳና ላይ መግባት ነው፤ ጎዳናው ግን በጣም ረጅም ነው፤ በእውቀት ጎዳና ላይ መግባት የእውቀት ባለቤት ከመሆን ጋር እንዳይደባለቅ በጣም መጠንቀቅ ያስፈልጋል፤ በአገራችን ፊደልን ማወቅ ሌላም አደጋ አለው፤ ፊደልን ማወቅ ከሥልጣን ጋር ሲጋባ የሚያስከትለውን ውድቀት ከአንዴም ሁለቴ አይተናል፤ እያየንም ነው፤ ስለዚህም ፊደል ኃላፊነትን ያመጣል፤ አለዚያ በአለፉት ሠላሳ ዓመታት ያየነው ውድቀት እየተከበረ ይቀጥላል፡፡

መጻፍ እንደመናገር ሊቆጠር ይቻላል፤ሆኖም በመጻፍና በመናገር መሀከል ትልቅ ልዩነት አለ፤ በንግግር ላይ ከሰዎች በሚቀርበው ጥያቄም ሆነ ተቃውሞ እንዲህ ማለቴ ነው ብሎ የተናገሩትን እዚያው ለማረምና ለማስተካከል ይቻላል፤ በተጻፈ ነገር ላይ እንዲህ ዓይነቱ ወዲያው የመታረም ዕድል የለም፤ ስለዚህም ለመጻፍ በጣም ከፍተኛ ጥንቃቄ ያስፈልጋል ማለት ነው፤ ከላይ እንደተገለጸው ፊደልና ሥልጣን ሲጋቡ ሰንደቅ ዓላማው ጨርቅ ነው ከማለትም ሊያልፍ ይችላል፤ ለምሳሌ የደርግን የትርፍ ቤቶች አዋጅ ብንመለከተው ‹‹ትርፍ ቤት›› ሲል ትርፍን እንተወውና ‹‹ቤት›› ለሚለው ትክክለኛ ትርጉም አልሰጠም፤ ስለዚህም በጭራሮ የተያያዘ ምንም ‹‹ቤት›› የሚያሰኘው (መኝታ ቤት፣ ወጥ ቤት፣ መታጠቢያ ቤት፣ … የሌለው) በሃምሳ ሳንቲም የሚከራይ ነገር ‹‹ቤት›› ተብሎ በሺህ ብር ከሚከራይ ቤት ጋር ተወረሰ! ያፈረ የለም እንጂ አሳፋሪ ነው!

እንዲህ ዓይነቱ ችግር ከየት የሚመጣ ነው? አንድ አጠቃላይ የአስተሳሰብ ችግር አለ፤ ለየት ያለውን ከጅምላው፣ ግዙፉን ከረቂቁ፣ አንዱን ከብዙው ያለጥንቃቄ ማደባለቅ በአማርኛ በጣም የተለመደ እየሆነ ነው፤ የአስተሳሰብ ችግር ነው፤ ሁሉም ኢትዮጵያዊ (አበሻና ሆድ የሚለው ጽሑፍ ባሕር ተሻግሮ የአበሻን ነገር-ዓለም ትቶ የተጠበሰ ውሻ (ሆት ዶግ) የሚበላውንም አስቀየመውና ሌሎች ስለአበሻ የጻፍኋቸውን ተውኩት እንጂ አበሻና መናገር የሚለው በተለይ ለባሕር ማዶው ዘሎ-ጥልቅ ተስማሚው ነበር፤) በማናቸውም ነገር ላይ ለመቀባጠር በጣም ኃይለኛ ምኞት አለው፤ አንዱ ያስተሳሰብ ችግር ከዚህ ጋር የተያያዘ ነው፤ ሳያስቡና ሳይጨነቁ አፍ እንዳመጣ ከመናገር ልማድ ጋር የተያያዘ ነው፤ አሁን ደግሞ የጎሠኛነት ሥርዓት ካመጣብን ጣጣ ዋኖቹ የአስተሳሰብ ችግሮች እነዚህ ናቸው፤ የቡድን መብትን መሠረታዊ አድርጎ የግለሰብን መብት ጨፍልቆ የተነሣው የወያኔ የጎሣ ሥርዓት ከሃያ ዓመታት በኋላ በስንት ጥረት የደረሰበት አሁንም የተዛባ ድምዳሜ የቡድን መብትንና የግለሰብ መብትን ጎን ለጎን አቁሞ እኩል ናቸው ማለትን ነው፤ ለውጡ የተጣራ ባይሆንም ሃያ ዓመታት መፍጀቱ የወያኔን የመማር ፍጥነት የሚያመለክት ነው፤ የሥልጣን ጉልበትና የሥልጣን ምኞት ተጽእኖ እንደአንድነት ያለውንም የፖሊቲካ ፓርቲ ፐሮግራሙን እንዲለውጥና የግለሰቦችንና የቡድን መብቶች በአንድ ደረጃ ላይ እንዲያስቀምጥ ተደርጎአል፤ ከቡድን ውስጥ ግለሰቦች ሁሉ ሙልጭ ብለው ሲወጡ ስለቡድን መብት የሚያወራ ምን እንደሚባል እንጃ! ከቀኝ ወደግራ የዞረ? ወይስ ከግራ ወደቀኝ? ወይስ … ቀኝ ፖሊቲካ ባዶ ከረጢት ይዞ ይቀራል።

በተደጋጋሚ እንዳየሁት ለግለሰብ መብቶች የቆመ ቀኝ-ዘመም፣ ለቡድን መብቶች የቆመ ግራ-ዘመም የሚባል ይመስላል ይህ ስሕተት ነው።

ቀደም ሲል የታወቀው ጋዜጠኛ ታምራት ነገራ እኔን ቀኝ-ዘመም እያለ ጽፎ ሳይ ይህ ሰው በአውነት አንድ መዝገበ ቃላት ማየት አቅቶት ነው? ወይስ እኔን በተለየ ዓይን ለማየት ከመፈለግ የተነሣ ነው? ወይስ የሲአይኤውን መልክተኛ ፖል ሄንዜን ሰምቶ ነው? የሱ ጎሣ አባል መሆንንና አለመሆንን እኔ የምመርጠውና የምወስነው አይደለም፤ ታምራት በኢትዮጵያዊነት ወይም በዜግነት ዓይን ሊመለከተኝ አለመቻሉም የእኔ ጥፋት አይደለም፤ ሁሉም ቢቀር በሰውነት ደረጃ ሊያየኝ ይችል ነበር፤ ይህንንም አልቻለም፤ እንግዲህ ወይ እኔ ሰው አልሆንኩለትም፤ ወይ እሱ ወደሰውነት ደረጃ አልደረሰም፤ በታምራት ነገራ ቀኝ-ግራ መጋባት እንደኔው ጥርጣሬ ውስጥ ገብቶ የነበረው ክፍሉ ሁሴን ወደጥናት ተመልሶ የታምራትን ስሕተት አረጋገጠ፤ እኔም እንዲሁ አደረግሁና የታምራት ነገራን ግራ መጋባት አረጋገጥሁ፤ ታምራት ነገራ የጎሣ ቀኝ ገብቶት ግራ ፖሊቲካ ቀኝ ሆኖበታል! ቀኝ-ግራ ፖሊቲካ በጎሣ አባልነት የሚገኝ ወይም የሚታጣ ይመስለዋል፤ ዘር፣ ቋንቋ፣ ሃይማኖት፣ ሀብትና ሌላ ማናቸውንም ነገር ከቁም-ነገር ሳይቆጥሩ ለማንም ሰው በሰውነቱ ብቻ ማግኘት የሚገባውን መብት እንዲያገኝ ቆሞ መከራከር ለታምራት እንግዳ ነገር ይመስለኛል፤ ገና እሱ ሳይወለድ በቀዳማዊ ኃይለ ሥላሴ ቲያትር በተደረገ ስብሰባ ላይ ለምን የኢትዮጵያ ራድዮ በኦሮምኛ አይናገርም? በማለት ጌታቸው ኃይሌ ጋር ሆነን የማስታወቂያ ሚኒስቴር ሰዎችን ሞግተን ነበር፤ ይህ ለታምራት የቀኝ ፖሊቲካ ነው፤ የሱ ጎሣ-ዘመም ፖሊቲካ ግራ መሆኑ ነው! ጎሠኛነት ምን ጊዜም የትም ቦታ እንደግራ ፖሊቲካ ተፈርጆ አያውቅም።

አሁን ደግሞ ሰሎሞን አብርሃም ይህንኑ የታምራት ነገራን ስሕተት ለመድገም የዳዳው ስለመሰለኝ በዝምታ ለማለፍ አልፈለግሁም፤ ሰሎሞን (liberalism) የሚለውን የአንግሊዝኛ ቃል በባሕርዩ የሌለበትን ትርጉም ሊሰጠው ይዳዳዋል፤ ሰሎሞን አብርሃም ሊጽፍበት የተነሣው ጉዳይ በእኔ ግምት በጣም ወቅታዊና አስፈላጊ ነው፤ ነገር ግን የግል ስሜትን ከሁነት ጋር፣ ያልተጣራ የተውሶ ሀሳብን (‹‹ፊዩዳሊዝም፣ ሊበራሊዝም››…) ከኢትዮጵያ ሁኔታ ጋር በማያያዝ አስተሳሰቡን ያጎደፈው ይመስለኛል፤ ያነሣው ጉዳይ በተለይም እንደሱ ላለ ፖሊቲከኛ ከስሜተኛነትና ከወገንተኛነት የጸዳ ቢያደርገው (‹‹ወግ አጥባቂ፣ቀኝ አክራሪ›› ..)፣ወይም ደግሞ ያልተጣራ (‹‹የሊበራል ዴሞክራሲን ርዕዮተ ዓለም የሚከተሉ ይመስላሉ፤›› እያለ በጎን ከሚጎሽም የጸዳውን እውነት ፊት ለፊት እያቀረበ ድካማቸውን ቢተነትን የሚጠቅም ይሆን ነበር።

ግራና ቀኝ ፖሊቲካ የሚባለውን ከጎሣ ፖሊቲካ ጋር ለማገናኘት የሚፈልጉ ሰዎች ወጣቶችን ወደአስከፊ ስሕተት እንዳይመሩ መጠንቀቅ ያለባቸው ይመስለኛል፤ የጎሣ ሥርዓትን የሚቃወሙትን ወገኖች በሌላ መንገድ ለመቋቋም ቢሞክሩ የተሻለ ነው፤ በጎሣ ክፍፍል ማመን ሌላው ቀርቶ በሰውነት ደረጃ ለመሰለፍም ያስቸግራል፤ ለማናቸውም የጎሣ ፖሊቲካን ከግራ ፖሊቲካ ማዛመዱ እሳትና ውሀ ነው።

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IPI and partners also call for immediate release of five imprisoned journalists

New report calls on Ethiopia to reform repressive anti-terror law

IPI is urging Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, pictured here in October 2013, to release imprisoned journalists and to reform the country's anti-terrorism law. Tiksa Negeri/Reuters

VIENNA, Jan 14, 2014 - Ethiopia’s use of sweeping anti-terrorism law to imprison journalists and other legislative restrictions are hindering the development of free and independent media in Africa’s second largest country, according to a report published today by the International Press Institute (IPI).

Dozens of journalists and political activists have been arrested or sentenced under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of 2009, including five journalists who are serving prison sentences and who at times have been denied access to visitors and legal counsel. The report, “Press Freedom in Ethiopia”, is based on a mission to the country carried out in November by IPI and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

“Despite a strong constitutional basis for press freedom and freedom of information, the Ethiopian government has systematically used the anti-terrorism law to prosecute and frighten journalists, which has put a straight-jacket on the media,” IPI Executive Director Alison Bethel McKenzie said. “Our joint mission also found a disturbing pattern of using other measures to control the press and restrict independent journalism, including restrictions on foreign media ownership and the absence of an independent public broadcaster.”

The report urges the Ethiopian government to free journalists convicted under the sedition provisions of the 2009 measure. These journalists include Solomon Kebede, Wubset Taye, Reyot Alemu, Eskinder Nega and Yusuf Getachew. Mission delegates were barred access to the journalists, who are being held at Kaliti Prison near the capital Addis Ababa.

The report urges the 547-member lower house of parliament to revamp the anti-terror law to ensure that it does not trample on the rights of freedom of speech and assembly provided under Article 29 of the Ethiopian Constitution and further guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the U.N. Human Rights Covenant, which Ethiopia has ratified.

In addition, the report:

- Recommends that Ethiopian lawmakers review laws that bar foreign investment in media, measures that inhibit the development of an economically viable and diversified market.

- Urges the courts to ensure that rulings restrict press freedom only in cases of intentional incitement or clear participation in acts of terrorism, and that judges act independently to protect the public’s right to be informed about political dissent and acts of terrorism.

- Urges Ethiopia’s journalists and media owners to step up cooperation to improve professionalism and independence, and to form a unified front to defend press freedom.

The joint IPI/WAN-IFRA mission was carried from Nov. 3 to 6, just ahead of the African Media Leaders Forum (AMLF) in Addis Ababa. The organisations’ representatives met with more than 30 editors, journalists, lawyers, politicians and bloggers, as well as associates of the imprisoned journalists. The delegation also held meetings with the ambassadors of Austria and the United States, a senior African Union official, an Ethiopian lawmaker and government spokesman Redwan Hussien.

The organisations urged Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to free the imprisoned journalists, some of whom are suffering from deteriorating health. In a joint statement issued immediately following the mission, IPI and WAN-IFRA also expressed their commitment to helping improve the professionalism, quality and independence of journalism in Ethiopia.

While the report highlights a long history of press freedom violations in Ethiopia, including a crackdown on journalists and opposition politicians following the country’s 2005 national elections, it notes that the 2009 anti-terrorism law has given the government expansive powers.

“The 2009 anti-terrorism law gave new powers to the government to arrest those deemed seditious, including journalists who step beyond the bounds of politically acceptable reporting or commentary,” the report says. “Armed with statutory authority, the government has not shied from using the laws to bludgeon opposition figures and journalists. Dozens of journalists have been imprisoned or accused of sedition or fomenting unrest, forcing many to flee the country.”

The report notes other forms of pressure by the government. Independent journalists recalled being the target of smear campaigns by state-run media, while editors recounted that managers of the government-run printing press refused to print editions of newspapers containing controversial articles.

The report does note positive developments, such as the growth in advertising and readership for some of the country’s leading independent newspapers. Journalists and newspaper publishers also expressed a desire to improve professionalism, quality and solidarity; although they added that government pressure and laws continue to create hurdles to self-regulation and cooperation.

“We came away from Ethiopia recognising the tremendous potential for a highly competitive, professional and successful media market in Ethiopia,” Bethel McKenzie said. “But to make this happen, the Ethiopian government must remove the roadblocks, starting with the release of imprisoned journalists and then conduct a thorough review of the laws to ensure that reporting on legitimate criticism or dissent is not grounds for prosecution.”

Read the full report here.

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Women’s rights group demands release of jailed award-winning Ethiopian journalist

A global women’s rights and advocacy group, Safe World for Women, has put up an online petition for the immediate release of jailed award-winning Ethiopian journalist with breast tumour, Reeyot Alemu.

Ms. Alemu, 34, who is also a teacher, was jailed under the nebulous Ethiopian anti-terrorism law for her criticism of the intolerant government in Addis Ababa. On June 21, 2011, she was arrested from the school where she teaches and kept in an undisclosed location.

Four days earlier, she had written a critical article about the fund-raising method for a dam project by the ruling political party in her country comparing then Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, with late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi. She was subsequently charged with supporting an unnamed terrorist organisation but her specific crimes were not listed. In 2009, the Ethiopian government passed a vaguely worded and far-reaching anti-terrorism law that allows it to charge anyone thought to be encouraging terrorism.

Ms. Alemu was initially sentenced to 14 years in prison and fined about $2,000 (N319, 580) but an appeal court later commuted the sentence to five years. During her trial a government prosecutor presented articles she had written criticising the prime minister and telephone conversations about peace protest as evidence against her.

Despite her failing health, she refused an offer of clemency in exchange for providing information on other journalists. She was placed in solitary confinement for two weeks as punishment.

In 2012, the International Women Media Foundation, WMF, presented the Courage in Journalism Award to Ms. Alemu in absentia for her “refusal to self-censor in a place where that practice is standard, and her unwillingness to apologize for truth-telling, even though contrition could win her freedom.”

“I believe that I must contribute something to bring a better future… Since there are a lot of injustices and oppressions in Ethiopia, I must reveal and oppose them in my articles,” she told the IWMF in an earlier interview.

She is also the 2013 winner of UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.

She was held for three months before the trial without the opportunity of a counsel during the trial proper. Her charges were never read to her and the witnesses used by the prosecutor were anonymous. Before the trial, the government also ran a documentary on national television profiling her as a terrorist.

Despite the tumour in her breast, she is being denied proper medical care. Her father, the only person allowed to see her said her breast is bleeding. She might lose the entire breast, even die, if she does not get prompt attention.

Amnesty International described her continued detention as an “affront to freedom of expression.”

The Ethiopian government is one of the most intolerant governments in the world.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ, said, “Ethiopia has refused to comply with a decision by the U.N. special rapporteur on torture in the case of Reeyot.”

“Woubshet Taye, Reeyot Alemu, and Elias Kifle have been sentenced solely in relation to their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression, in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, to which Ethiopia is a signatory. We therefore protest the harsh sentences handed down to them and call for the immediate and unconditional release of Taye and Alemu,” said the PEN American Centre.

The petition will be sent to the United Nations’ UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of expression, Frank William La Rue, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo, and UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment Juan Méndez. A copy will also be sent to Permanent Representative of the Ethiopia to the UN, Tekeda Alemu.

The Petitioner seeks 10,000 signatures; so far only 810 people have signed it. Interested people can sign it on http://chn.ge/1iGxvQj

Reeyot Alemu

Reeyot Alemu is an Ethiopian journalist and teacher who has committed her life to highlighting the corruptions of the Ethiopian government.

In a country where the media is a vehicle for political propaganda, free speech is greatly restricted, Reeyot’s dedication to publicising the suppressions of the government has earned her negative attention from the authorities over the years.

Tenuous Terror Charges and Inhumane Treatment

Reeyot is currently serving a prison sentence under the charge of being involved in terrorist activity. There is an increasing trend within the country of using tenuous terror charges as an umbrella term for incarcerating anyone who speaks out against the inequalities within their society. Reeyot, along with numerous other journalists and political dissidents, have fallen prey to this systematic program of silencing.

The legislation that allows these innocent people to be imprisoned was activated in 2009, ostensibly as an anti-terrorism measure, but has increasingly been used to condemn anyone that the Ethiopian authorities deem to be damaging to their position. A vast land-locked country, Ethiopia is well-known for its disturbing problems with poverty and social inequalities.  The party currently in power, the EPRDF(Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front), has devoted much attention to covering this up. The threat that Reeyot and her colleagues pose to this is evidently treated with zero tolerance.

Reports indicate that since her incarceration, Reeyot has been subjected to solitary confinement, been denied food, family visits and legal advice, as well as being subjected to unfair trials with false evidence. Alarmingly, after being operated on for a benign breast tumour, without proper anaesthetic, Reeyot was immediately taken back to prison without any aftercare, and is now suffering painful complications from this horrendous lack of basic medical care.

International Media

The political situation in Ethiopia is renowned for being fraught with fractious relationships and corruption. It is therefore perhaps unsurprising, though no less disturbing, that people such as Reeyot are being treated in such an inhumane way, and being falsely accused of crimes. What is surprising, however, is how little attention this situation is awarded in the world’s media; worryingly little seems to be known about Reeyot and others like her. This is perhaps indicative of the success with which the Ethiopian authorities have kept this problem away from the attention of the international media. Human rights organisations, however, are deeply concerned with the welfare of all those being held under false accusations, and are campaigning for their rights to fair trials, proper access to legal counsel, and safe prison conditions.

Denial of Medical and Legal Rights

The most recent news on Reeyot creates a disturbing picture: suffering complications from her operation, she is in pain and is being denied proper medical care. Her visits by loved ones are greatly restricted, and her father, who is also serving as her lawyer, is banned from giving her any advice in a legal capacity. It is therefore more important than ever that the ongoing campaigns to free Reeyot and the other journalists falsely imprisoned bring much-needed attention to this dire situation.

Imprisonment of Swedish Journalists

Reeyot is a symbol of the oppression being suffered by journalists in Ethiopia. The government uses the fear created by the label ‘terrorist’ to justify this mass-imprisonment. Many others have suffered similar treatment within the country; journalist Martin Schibbye, was imprisoned in Ethiopia, along with photographer Johan Persson, under these terror laws after crossing into the country from the Somali border. Since their release from prison, they have been avid campaigners for the release of these prisoners of conscience.

Incarcerated Family

In a case that gained attention from the international community, Eskinder Nega was similarly committed to bringing the problems with the Ethiopian government to public attention. He suffered a similar fate to Reeyot, and is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence.

The element of this story that gained so much media coverage, however, was the imprisonment of his pregnant wife alongside him on a previous occasion back in 2005. Serkalem Nega was forced to give birth in prison, reinforcing the Ethiopian authorities’ lack of concern with the welfare of these prisoners. Having since fled the danger of her home for the US, Serkalem is carrying out important work to help raise support for her husband’s plight and the many like him.

Foreign Interests and Diplomacy

It is surprising to hear that democratic countries such as the US can be aware of the human rights abuses taking place on a daily basis in Ethiopia. This, however, is the alarming truth. One topic that Reeyot brought attention to was the impact of a proposed dam of the part of the Nile that lies within Ethiopia. Since this is seen as a diplomatic issue between this country and Egypt, the human rights problems that arise out of this plan have been largely ignored by countries not wanting to embroil themselves in any conflicts. The Ethiopian government has been useful to the US authorities in tackling its problems with neighbouring Somalia, and observers from the international community have suggested that this explains America’s apparent leniency towards Ethiopia’s appalling treatment of its prisoners and its use of terror laws.

Ethiopian president Mulatu Teshome has cleverly used the rampant anti-terror sentiment within US policy to justify the condemnation of anyone speaking out against corruption.

Global Community

Reeyot Alemu is an award-winning journalist who is committed to preserving the rights of the people within her community, and her incarceration under false charges and in such horrendous conditions is inexcusable. Since it appears that political authorities from other countries are not willing to intervene in this situation, it falls to the invaluable human rights campaigners to rally support for Reeyot and all those wrongly imprisoned.

The campaign for Reeyot is picking up speed, and many more people are becoming aware of the dire situation of human rights abuses in Ethiopia. By spreading awareness of these inequalities, enough pressure will eventually be put on the Ethiopian government to answer for its actions, and for other governments to add weight to these demands for justice. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter provide powerful mediums for campaigns such as this one, and in this way everyone is able to make a difference. We must demand justice for Reeyot, Eskinder, and all those who are punished for exercising their right to knowledge and truth.

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Demonizing Ethiopian History _by pro. alemayehu G. mariam

The regime in power in Ethiopia today is orchestrating a full-court press demonization and vilification campaign against Atse Menelik II, the Nineteenth Century Ethiopian emperor whose centennial is being celebrated this year (Ethiopian calendar). The campaign is conducted largely through regime lackey-proxies, stooges and puppets. Through its minions, the regime has used the most loathsome words, inflammatory rhetoric and repugnant imagery to describe Menelik’s alleged brutality in his quest for territorial conquest. The regime’s servile drones have been all over social media parroting historical lies, distortions, fabrications, disinformation and falsehoods. The agitators have tried to whip up a propaganda frenzy in an attempt to caricature, demean and demonize the great Ethiopian leader. One hundred years after his death, they have tried to resurrect him as the devil incarnate. Barely two years after Meles Zenawi’s death they want to resurrect him as the savior of Ethiopia.

One need not be surprised by the volume or vehemence of the propaganda attack on Atse Menelik or the regime’s methodical and organized campaign to incite hatred and ill-will by trotting out Menelik’s Ghost. The fact of the matter is that the real issue is not about the demonization (making a devil) of Menelik but about the canonization (making a saint) of the regime’s late capo di tutti capi(boss of all bosses) Meles Zenawi.

Demons Demonizing Atse Menelik II

The vehement demonization propaganda campaign being waged against Atse Menelik II is a futile attempt to re-write, miswrite, overwrite and un-write Ethiopian history with the hagiography (tale of sainthood) of Meles Zenawi. They want to unwrite Menelik’s history and write up Meles’ history as the greatest African leader of modern times. They want to mythologize Meles, the “new breed of African leader”; Meles the bringer of developmental state democracy; Meles, the African leader on Global Warming and Climate change; Meles, the African leader who rubs elbows with leaders of the G-8 and the G-20; Meles, the chairperson of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation; Meles, the destroyer of Somali jihadists and terrorists… By demonizing Menelik, they want to canonize (make a saint) Meles. Why demonize Menelik? Because he created a modern African nation from petty feuding fiefdoms, kingdoms, princedoms and chiefdoms. He is demonized because he stood up and whipped on the battlefield one of the great European imperialist powers and permanently secured Ethiopian independence and sovereignty. He is demonized because he was a true African leader. By defaming Menelik and degrading his legacy, they seek to give fame to Meles and sanctify his legacy.

The regime wants to completely overwrite the history of Atse Menelik. Menelik was the first African leader to build a railroad. They want to overwrite that history by claiming Meles was the first to bring a  magnificent long distance and light rail system to Ethiopia. Menelik was the first African leader to introduce the telephone and telegraph on the continent. When the first telephone was installed in Menelik's palace in 1889 thirteen years after Alexander Graham Bell patented his “apparatus for vocal sounds”, anxious clergymen asked him to remove it as the work of Satan, which he declined. Within a decade, Menelik had inaugurated a telephone line connecting the capital with the eastern city of Harar. They want overwrite that history by claiming that Meles brought the most modern communication system to Ethiopia. The truth of the matter is that the first African country to have telephone and telegraph service today has the worst mobile telephone and internet service in Africa. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that while farmers in Ethiopia have cell (mobile) phones, “The trouble is, they have to walk several miles to get a good signal.” Ethiopia has the second worst internet service in Africa.

They want to miswrite history by depicting Menelik as brutal king who lopped off women’s breasts. When it comes to brutality, is there anyone more brutal and cold-blooded than Meles Zenawi? Meles personally ordered the massacre of hundreds of unarmed protesters in 2005. Meles’s own hand-picked and appointed Inquiry Commission reported that police and security officials under Meles’ direct personal command and control intentionally and deliberately massacred 193 unarmed protesters and severely wounded 763 others. Meles personally ordered the massacre of over 400 hundred civilians in Gambella, in western Ethiopia in 2004.  Meles personally authorized the bombing and strafing of villages in the Ogaden. Under Meles’ personal command, his troops in the Ogaden committed gang rapes, burned villages, conducted “demonstration killings” including public hangings and beheadings intended to terrorize the population.  Steve Crawshaw, the United Nations advocacy director for Human Rights Watch described the crimes against humanity committed in the Ogaden as “a mini-Darfur.”

They want to rewrite history by depicting Menelik as an enemy of the Oromo people. There is more than sufficient evidence to prosecute Meles, if he were alive, and members of his gang for the untold and unspeakable crimes against humanity they committed against the Oromo people. The international human rights organization Freedom House in 2012 reported that Meles and his regime engaged in widespread discrimination and repression against Oromo people.  Meles has banned the Oromo Liberation Front and jailed untold numbers of suspected members and leaders without due process of law.  According to former Ethiopian President Negasso Gidada, when he left office in 2001 “roughly 25,000 people were in prison on OLF-related charges throughout Oromia and in Addis Ababa.” Meles’ former comrade and defense minister Seeye Abraha ironically observed: “Kaliti Prison speaks Oromiffa, and 99% of one of the camps housing hundreds of inmates at Kality Prison are Oromo. Many of the detainees don't know their charges but have counted years as OLF suspects.”

Meles invaded Somalia in 2006 on the bogus pretext that jihadist were taking over that country and that he had been “invited” by the Somalis to intervene.  In a televised address Meles said, “Ethiopian defense forces were forced to enter into war to protect the sovereignty of the nation and to blunt repeated attacks by Islamic courts terrorists and anti-Ethiopian elements they are supporting.” On December 27, 2006, Meles’ troops and tanks stormed into Mogadishu. By August 2007, Meles’ troops were bogged down in Somalia and the human cost was proving to be horrendous: Tens of thousands of Somali civilians had died and over 870,000 were forced to flee their homes in Mogadishu, a bustling city of 1.2 million people in 2006. After Meles’ invasion, international human rights organizations described Somalia “as one of the worst humanitarian situations in Africa.”

Menelik fought defensive wars against Europe’s imperialist aggressors and won. It is undeniable that Menelik was the first African leader in history to decisively defeat a mighty European power in battle and send them packing back to Europe with their tails between their legs. Menelik whipped the Italians at Amba Alagi and Mekele and delivered the final blow at the Battle of Adwa in 1896. No European could have imagined that an army of “black African savages” could defeat a mighty European imperial power. Menelik was a brilliant military tactician and despite his extreme disadvantages in modern weaponry, tactics and resources, he prevailed triumphantly crushing once and for all the ideology of white superiority and supremacy. Through trickery and deception, various European imperial powers sought to carve out pieces of Ethiopia as colonial territories. In 1889, Menelik concluded the Treaty of Uccialli with Italy with respect to certain territories in the north of the country.  When he found out that the Italian language version of the treaty, in stark contrast to the Amharic version, had rendered Ethiopia an Italian protectorate, he denounced the agreement.

They want to rewrite this history by showcasing Meles as the regional and international leader who made Ethiopia a regional power. They want to portray him as the man who defended Ethiopian territorial integrity and sovereignty. The facts show otherwise. Meles fought the Eritreans in 1998-99 over a border dispute in Badme, secured a military victory at the cost of 80,000 Ethiopian lives and promptly agreed to turn over Badme to the Eritreans in international arbitration. Never in the history of warfare has a victorious army turned over its victory to the vanquished so willingly. After defeating the socialist military junta in 1991, during transitional negotiations moderated by the U.S., Meles refused to accept the port of Assab on the Eritrean coast as Ethiopia’s outlet to the sea. Meles is singularly responsible for making Ethiopia a landlocked country. Through secret treaties Meles has given away Ethiopian territory to the Sudanese without so much as perfunctorily consulting his rubber stamp parliament. Meles has pawned off millions of hectares of the most fertile land in the country to underhanded fly-by-night operators.

Menelik united Ethiopia and inaugurated the modern Ethiopian state.  Meles brought the illusion of modernization. He built hospitals without doctors or medicine. He once said we don’t need doctors. He built universities without competent professors, books, libraries or modern technology. He built buildings without sewers. Menelik opened Ethiopia to Western civilization. Meles took Ethiopia back to Oriental despotism with his ludicrous theory of the “developmental state”. After taking power in 1991, Meles fragmented the modern Ethiopian state and promptly proceeded to balkanize the country into so-called kilils, or apartheid-style bantustans or kililistans. Despite Meles’ completely bogus claims of double-digit economic growth and exhortations of of Ethiopia as the “fastest for a non-oil exporting country in Sub-Saharan Africa”, Ethiopia atually became the second poorest country in the world as I documented in my commentary, “Why is Ethiopia Poor?”

Menelik was a “renaissance” Ethiopian leader.  He took important steps to strengthen and modernize his country. He eagerly embraced modern technology and brought new communication systems to the country. Menelik introduced the telephone and telegraph and a modern postal system. He introduced electricity to Addis Ababa. He imported the first motor car and even tried to introduce a modern Ethiopian currency replacing the Maria Theresa thaler, the silver bullion coin that had been used in world trade at the time. Menelik always placed Ethiopian sovereignty above all else. In 1894, Menelik gave the French a concession to lay rail lines from Djibouti to Addis Ababa. The same year, the European imperial powers held the Berlin Conference and carved up Africa for European colonialism. When the French tried to pull a fast one to divest Ethiopian sovereignty over the rail line, Menelik shut them down cold and relented only after reasserting Ethiopian sovereignty in 1906. They want to rewrite that history by writing a bogus narrative of Meles, the Renaissance Leader, the Builder of Hydroelectric Dams Unseen in African History, the Builder of Bridges, Roads and Railroads…   

Menelik may have presided over a feudal kingdom. He is an African leader who did what he could under extreme domestic and international conditions. He left a legacy of an Ethiopia, one nation under God, under Allah. Meles’ enduring legacy is that he created the first true thugtatorship in Africa. As I explained in myHuffington Post commentary, “If democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people, a thugocracy is a government of thieves, for thieves, by thieves. Simply stated, a thugtatorship is rule by a gang of thieves and robbers (thugs) in designer suits. In a thugtatorship, the purpose of seizing and clinging to political power is solely to accumulate personal wealth for the ruling class by stealing public funds and depriving the broader population scarce resources necessary for basic survival.”

The fact of Meles’ thugtatorship is amply documented not only in the records but also in the eyewitness  testimony of his former comrades-in-arms. From the inception in the bush, Meles and his comrades set up a kleptocratic system of administration. They diverted tens of millions of dollars earmarked for famine relief in Tigrai region in the early 1980s to buy weapons and enrich themselves. Recent reports have shown that over one-half of the Ethiopian economy is controlled by Meles’ officials, supporters, cronies, friends, comrades and others. Corruption and theft of state resources is so endemic in Ethiopia that the World Bank singled out Ethiopia as a case study of corruption in its nearly 500-page report entitled, “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia”. Thugtatorship shall be the lasting legacy of Meles. 

They just love to hate Menelik

Hate is a symptom of a terminal sickness of the soul. Hate is irrational. The scientific literature on hate shows that haters hate because they are afraid, insecure, jealous; or because they hate themselves; or because they  want to become the very object of their hate. Above all, haters hate themselves because they feel inadequate, powerless, hopeless and helpless. 

Mandela said, “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate.” When I think of those in power in Ethiopia today, I wonder and ponder if Mandela is right in his philosophical assessment. He added, “If they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” I really want to believe that Mandela’s principle would apply to those in power despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

As a matter of principle and practice, we must strive to live by Gandhi’s rule: “Hate the sin and not the sinner.” When we hate the haters, we become their mirror images. We are who we hate. If we hate Meles or his gang as a human beings, we become them. If we must hate, it must be their acts and not them as human beings.

Hate is a powerful force. The hate spread by the Nazis destroyed entire nations. Hate in Rwanda destroyed the lives of millions of Rwandans. In Darfur, hate destroyed the lives of millions of Sudanese. Thousands continue to die in Nigeria and the Central African Republic because of religious hatred today. We must never, never give into hate.

I believe there are two types of people in the world. There are those who follow the golden rule “love thy neighbor as thyself.” There are others who live by what I call the “copper rule”, “hate thy neighbor as thyself.” Haters think they can overcome their own helplessness, insecurity, guilt and inability to change their circumstances by hating. They hope to raise their feelings of inferiority and low self-worth by hating others. Those who hate Menelik do not really hate Menelik; they hate themselves and wish they could be Menelik and whatever he symbolizes.

I pity those in power in Ethiopia today. I really do. I feel sorry for them. They think they can sanctify their late leader and their two-decade history by demonizing great Ethiopian leaders and tearing down Ethiopian history. They think by tearing down Menelik and Haile Selassie they can build up Meles. They think that by removing Menelik’s statutes from public places and plastering cheap posters of Meles at every street corner they can elevate Meles to the status of a deity. Meles fought tooth and nail to make sure H.I.M. Haile Selassie’s statute would not sit next to Nkrumah’s on the grounds of the African Union in Ethiopia. Yet Nkruma himself said there would have been no Organization of African Unity but for the relentless efforts of H.I.M. Haile Selassie. 

Despite prolonged reflection on the nature of the hate practiced by those in power in Ethiopia today, I find no rational explanation. Most people fear and are apprehensive of the future because it is unknown and unpredictable. I cannot fathom people who fear the past, the distant past, the Nineteenth Century Ethiopia. In my professional experience, I have learned that the only people who fear and dread the past are criminals fearful that the crimes they have committed in the past will eventually catch up with them. I have also come to the conclusion that those in power hate to cover up and conceal their abuses and misuses of power and use hate to divide and rule. They use hate to create fear and loathing among Ethiopians of different ethnic groups so that they will not be the object of scrutiny and accountability. Hate mongering is used to distract people from their economic problems.

Love thy hater as thyself

The golden rule says, “love thy neighbor as thy self.” I say, “love thy hater as thyself.” It is better to love than to hate. Hate is like a boomerang. It goes out and comes around to the hater. To paraphrase Mandela, hate is a poison of the soul. When haters hate, they are drinking poison and expecting those they hate to die. There is also a strange dialectics to hate that those in power should heed. Hate often transforms the hated into an object of love and admiration. Those in power in Ethiopia today should learn from the experiences of their apartheid soul mates in the old South Africa. The apartheid masters sought to diminish Mandela’s humanity, leadership and reputation for decades. They put out all sorts of propaganda about him as a terrorist and communist and never released a single photo of him during his years of captivity. However, the law of unintended consequences prevailed. As time passed and the anti-apartheid movement grew, Mandela's invisibility only added to his mythic status and helped transform him into an international icon. The lesson is that the more they try to demonize Menelik and Haile Selassie, the more Menelik and Haile Selassie will be popular in the imagination of the younger generation. The more the older generation will reassess its views about these leaders as they become the objects of unending and relentless campaigns of vilification.

We must go beyond hate to love. Dr. Martin Luther King and Mandela have taught us about the unconquerable power of love (agape) of humanity and community; the power of healing a society afflicted by the cancer of racial, ethnic and religious hate. Mandela had every reason to hate and exact revenge. For 27 years Mandela’s name was Prisoner no. 46664.  When he emerged from the prison gates that February morning in 1990, he beamed with that million dollar smile of his. He did not have a single hateful thing to say about the masters of apartheid who jailed him for 27 years and separated him from his family. He taught us a great lesson: “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.” Mandela was never a prisoner of hate. The prison was apartheid hate itself and the inmates were the wardens and masters of apartheid. Mandela left prison to liberate the real inmates of apartheid chained behind their walls of hate, fear and revenge. 

If those in power in Ethiopia today continue with their hate, they will find themselves in much the same situation as those who were in power in apartheid South Africa. The "free" whites during apartheid stayed up all night thinking about what the black Africans they had repressed for so long could do to them when inevitable majority rule comes. The hatred they had for black Africans not only denied them sleepless nights but also destroyed their heart, minds and souls, their humanity. They became zombies; the walking dead unable to enjoy the comforts of their wealth; their exclusive neighborhoods became virtual prisons gated and surrounded by electric fencing and prison-style razor wires. They live in virtual armed camps.

There is a better way. Rather than responding with more hateful vitriol, we should be more determined to find out the truth. We should bring out the truth about Atse Menelik II, Atse Haile Selassie, Colonel/President Mengistu Hailemariam and Prime Minster Meles Zenawi. Let us learn from their mistakes not to hate them but to make sure we the living do not repeat their mistkes. Let us learn from their errors not to engage in recrimination but to find ways of reconciliation and to correct their mistakes. We should band together with Ethiopia’s young people to build the New Beloved Ethiopia where no man or woman has to identify him/herself by his/her ethnicity but his/her humanity, Africanity and Ethiopianity. Let us build a New Beloved Ethiopia where no man or woman feels so secure in his/her powers that s/he can order the massacre of unarmed citizens and innocent civilians and get away with it. We must work together to create a society that respects the dignity and rights of every individual regardless of his/her ethnicity, faith or language. That is how we must build a future, not by tearing down a past that has long faded into the fog of time.

Let us not get offended or angry by the rhetoric of hate. It serves no useful purpose. Let us expose the demonization campaign, debunk the myths, and defend against the demonization and molestation of Ethiopian history. Let’s us not throw ourselves in the mud and muck with the haters. We should never forget George Bernard Shaw’s admonition, “I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.” Exchanging hateful words with professional, and possibly born haters, haters is like wrestling with pigs in the mud.

Changing hate to love

Let the haters hate and lie. There is not much we can do about that. What is within our power is the ability to  change ourselves from hating to loving; we have the capacity to transform  negative energy into positive energy. We should change from hating to loving not because it is easy but because it is exceedingly difficult. Love, whether of self, others, community or nation requires a lot of work.

Let us learn from Gandhi and his way of Satyagraha or “truth force”.  Gandhi explained, “Truth (satya) implies love, and firmness (agraha) engenders and therefore serves as a synonym for force.” The aim is to convert the hater not to coerce him or her. In practical terms, the aim is to convince the hater that the hate in his/her heart, mind and soul will destroy him/her; that his/her only salvation is love of self, community and nation. Let us use Satyagraha to make lovers out of haters.

We should learn from Dr. King: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” He taught that “we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” Forgiveness and reconciliation are the antidotes, the cure, for hate.

We should even learn from the greatest comic of modern times, Charlie Chaplin: “The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.” Liberty will outlive all haters.  Let us close ranks regardless of ethnicity and reaffirm our basic humanity in our Ethiopianity and Africanity. Let’s leave no room for haters; we should crowd them out.

Message to those in power in Ethiopia today

My message to the hate mongers in power in Ethiopia is simple. The hate you propagate today will boomerang back to you. Today you smile and snicker at the statute dedicated to show Menelik as a breast lopping brute. Those who are told to hate Menelik today will be told to hate Meles tomorrow. The day is not long when your great visionary leader Meles will be commemorated in stone and marble as the Second Coming of Rodolfo Graziani in the Ogaden, Gambella, Addis Ababa and elsewhere. Those you hold as friends today will be your mortal enemies tomorrow. Those you demonize as your enemies today will be your friends tomorrow when the chips are down and you are on the receiving end. That is the dialectics of history.  Learn from history.  

Atse Menelik II was neither saint nor demon; he was neither divine nor a demigod. He was an African king  who tried to unite and modernize Ethiopia when the rest of Africa was on the chopping block of European imperialism being sliced, diced, spiced, spliced, priced and sacrificed. Let Menelik II be judged by only one measure: The Truth. Historians should tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about Menelik. In his centenary commemoration, I submit the testimony of the Belgian explorer, Baron de Jarlsburg, given to the New York Times in 1909  as part, and only part, of the historical evidence to be used in pronouncing judgment on Atse Menelik II:

Menelik has since accession to the throne, twenty years ago, transformed Abyssinia from a semi-barbarous power to a State modeled on the lines of a European constitutional monarchy… The sovereign, who styles himself somewhat pompously, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Juda, Elect of the Saviour, King of Kings of Ethiopia, shattered Italy's colonial ambitions by his victories at Amba-Garima… When Menelik was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia on Nov. 4, 1889, after King Johanne's death, he was far from being the accepted ruler of all the States which constitute the Abyssinian empire. It was only after much hard fighting that Menelik finally succeeded in subjugating those rebellious chieftains who did not recognize him… Since then, Menelik's one aim has been to introduce European civilization into his country. The Emperor, after abolishing the feudal laws still extant in the empire, and emancipating the slaves, established compulsory free education throughout his dominions. As a result in another generation education will be as widespread in Abyssinia as in several European countries.

Menelik is himself an altogether unique figure among African potentates. As a diplomat, as a financier, and as a soldier, he can hold his own with the most up-to-date of his brother sovereigns. As a soldier and a diplomat, he showed his worth at the time of Italy's defeat by the Abyssinians. In late years, however, it is particularly as a financier that Menelik has distinguished himself. He had a natural bent for finance, even as a young man, before his accession to the throne, and at that time went for stock speculation on the Paris Bourse to a considerable extent. These youthful speculations proved successful, and were only interrupted by the events which followed Menelik's accession… The Abyssinian ruler has extended the range of his financial operations to the United States, and is heavy investor in American railroads. With  his American securities and his French and Belgian mining investments, Menelik has a private fortune estimated at no less than twenty-five million dollars.

The most striking fact about Abyssinia's dusky ruler is his versatility. An accomplished linguist, he speaks French, English, and Italian fluently. Notwithstanding all the time he is compelled to devote to state affairs, he still finds the opportunity to keep up in current European literature, and is rarely at a loss when a new author is mentioned. At Adissaba Palace - to give him the title by which he is known to his subjects -- he takes particular pride in his library of ten thousand volumes, collected by himself. Menelik's chief hobby in the way of books are works dealing with the ancient civilizations of Africa and Asia.

Offering Menelik haters a square deal

I offer Menelik haters a square deal: If you stop lying about Menelik, I will stop telling the truth about Meles!

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