On April 8, 2018 the Ethiopian Human Rights Taskforce (EHRT), Dallas Chapter held a dinner event to honor a distinguished congressman from Texas, Congressman Pete Sessions who happened to be the first Republican in Texas to co-sponsor H. Res. 128.

1. Res. 128 was up for a floor vote in the US House of Reps. Congress yesterday, April 10^th, 2018 and passed with a unanimous consent. The resolution was authored and introduced on Feb. 15, 2017 by the Honorable Congressman Chris Smith, Republican congressman from New Jersey. The main tenets of the resolutions are: To call/support respect for Human Rights in Ethiopia and to encourage inclusive governance in Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Taskforce, Dallas Chapter was formed by Ethiopian-Americans in DFW area, who care deeply about their fellow kinsmen’s plight of deprivation of their basic and fundamental rights of Human Rights in Ethiopia. When H. Res. 128 was introduced in early 2017, many of these individuals were motivated among other things, by the calls to:

• end the use of excessive force by the regime’s security forces against all that it perceives as its opponents;
• investigate the violations and hold accountable those responsible for the imprisonments, killings, torture and inhumane treatment of civilians, whose only crime was exercising their rights guaranteed by the Ethiopian constitution;
• allow an independent body, such as the UN investigators to conduct an independent examination of the state of human rights in Ethiopia;
• end the detention of independent journalists, the detention of peaceful protestors and political opponents who legally exercised their rights to freedom of expression and association.

Yesterday, April 10^th, 2018 H. Res. 128 reached the floor with over 110 co-sponsors and several confirmed supporters, which of course culminated with the passage of the bill via a unanimous consent. Though the high point of H. Res. 128 is its passage, it was no coincidence that it did so successfully. It is a fruit of labor by so many who made it their mission to see this outcome and worked tirelessly day in and day out since the introduction of H. Res. 128 back in Feb. of 2017.

A number of Ethiopian-Americans and Ethiopians in diaspora enthusiastically embraced the arduous task of advocacy for H. Res. 128. Led by competent and dedicated group leaders, in DFW area and the surrounding regions (Austin, Oklahoma City, Houston, Denver (Colorado) and Kansas City area) these less self-centered individuals rolled up their sleeves and committed themselves to engage the task cut out for them, i.e. to maximize co-sponsorship and support for H. Res. 128. Each week, they sacrificed hours of their time to discuss their actionable items, assess their progress reports and to re-launch their efforts: by contacting fellow Ethiopian-Americans residing in several US congressional districts of Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado & Kansas to inform them (Ethiopian-Americans) about their rights as citizens of the US and about H. Res. 128 in an effort to get their assent to co-operate and contact their Representatives to co-sponsor or support the resolution.

The EHRT thanks every Ethiopian-American constituent who participated in this noble endeavor for their active participation without whose engagement, the passage of H. Res. 128 would not have been assured.

In celebration of the efforts and particularly to honor the people that have catapulted us to this position, on Ethiopian Easter day (April, 10, 2018), we held a dinner event at Maggiano’s Restaurant in Dallas.  Our Guest of Honor was the Honorable Congressman Pete Sessions, who not only was the first Texas Republican to co-sponsor H. Res. 128, but as chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee has the reputation of ensuring that foreign countries adhere to international standards and the rule of law.

The dinner event was attended by Ethiopian Community Association leaders that included the spiritual leaders: from the main Ethiopian Orthodox church, a local Evangelical Church and a delegate from a local Mosque; the tireless DFW area Ethiopian Human Rights activists, and of course the Guest of Honor, the Honorable Congressman Pete Sessions and his gracious & friendly staffer, Ms. Piper Vaughn.

The event was started by the Master of ceremonies, one of our own, the “Cool, Calm & Collected” – Abiy (Yoftahe) with brief elegant & discursive remarks of introductions. He was followed by chairman of EHRT, Dallas Chapter Ato Betru G-Egziabher, who welcomed the Guest of Honor, all the invited guests and the EHRT activists for their presence and paid a special compliment to Congressman Pete Sessions for co-sponsoring H. Res. 128.

In his remarks, Ato Betru cited the over 100 years of diplomatic relationship that the US has with Ethiopia and the special responsibility it bears to exert its influence over the Ethiopian regime whose assent to power was facilitated by the US administration, some 27 years ago. The regime that imposed itself on Ethiopians then has been tormenting its citizens with all kinds of abuses and violations of their basic and fundamental rights that are guaranteed by the Ethiopian constitution. A regime that is rejected by its citizens and is not willing to make structural reforms will make uprising and upheaval inevitable.

And so Ato Betru, explained the importance of H. Res. 128 on many levels, saying that it will help Ethiopia from descending further into chaos and keep the ancestral homeland of ours from being a breeding ground for terrorism. Saying also that Ethiopia is an anchor for the region, Ato Betru stressed that the stability of Ethiopia is not only in the best interest of Ethiopians, but also its neighbors, the world at large, and particularly the United States which traditionally bears the lion’s share of Humanitarian Assistance during crises. For these and other reasons, Ato Betru appealed to Congressman Sessions to use his influence to convince other US House Reps. to support and pass the resolution.

The Honorable Congressman Sessions stood before the invited guests and said that he appreciated the invitation and the chance to work with the Ethiopian-American community here. He also said that he cares deeply about human rights. Adding further, he said “I am interested in your ideas”. Later during an interview with Abbay Media, he also shared his confidence that H. Res. 128 would pass.

The event was a phenomenal success. But we were not presented with just “foods for thought”, but also the ensuing three-course meal, splendid array of food: fresh and delicious salads, tasty Italian appetizers such as, seafood filled mushrooms, cheese ravioli fritte and sumptuous main course dishes: braised beef Contadina, salmon lemon & herb … etc. … were “finger-licking good”! The whole thing was awesome.

After dinner, Obo Mohammed spoke thanking Congressman Sessions for writing to him as a constituent with the good news that he (the Congressman) had co-sponsored the resolution. Obo Mohammed talked about the importance of forging a stronger relationship with the community. He also urged Congressman Sessions to use his influence to convince other US House Reps. to support H. Res. 128.

Later, Abbay Media held a 20-25 minutes interview session with the Congressman which is now posted on Abbay Media’s website and social media account platforms. (Please see the link below.)
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1527463194047371&id=226319900828380&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2FAbbayMedia%2Fvideos%2F1527463194047371%2F&_rdr

After the interview, very thoughtful remarks were made by Rev-Dr. Andualem, the clergy from the main Ethiopian Orthodox Church about the noble idea of activism for the sake of “our blessed motherland” and its people.

The successful event would not have been a phenomenal success without the tireless efforts of our DFW group leader, Gashe Kidane; wud Kokeb, Daniel Lakew & Yilma Zerihun, whose roles and crucial works of vital importance behind the scenes words cannot sufficiently describe. Special thanks also go out to Abiy (Yoftahe), who flew in from Denver, CO. not only to do the important task of interviewing Congressman Pete Sessions, but also to fill the role of ‘Master of Ceremonies’ with his suave ways, making our dinner event a special one and pleasing.

Last, but not least, to all fellow EHRT members – take pride in your efforts. All the time, efforts and resources that you have sacrificed in this endeavor is not in vain. For anyone that is paying attention, your deeds are lessons of “Good Citizenship” and an exemplary definition of what it means to care for humanity, and particularly in this case, for our kinsmen in our ancestral homeland.

The unanimous approval of H. Res. 128 by the US House of Representatives is the result of a concerted effort by dedicated Ethiopian-Americans throughout the US. It is our vision and hope that a united and sustainable effort would continue for Ethiopia’s benefit by utilizing voting rights in all of the democratic countries, globally.

May God bless you all and our ancestral homeland, Ethiopia.

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by Dawit W Giorgis

“The death knell of the Republic had rung as soon as the active power became lodged in the hands of those who sought, not to do justice to all citizens, rich and poor alike, but to stand for one special class and for its interests as opposed to the interests of others.”  President  Theodore Roosvelt: (Labor Day speech at Syracuse, NY, Sept 7, 1903)

Death-knell is the bell that used to ring immediately  after someone dies. Historically the first bell rung was called the ‘Passing Bell’  usually done to warn  of impending death, and the last was known as the ‘lynch bell’ or ‘corpse bell’ which is essentially the funeral toll ( Wikipedia) Today the “The Passing Bell” has rung for the TPLF and people are anxiously waiting for ‘Lynch Bell”.

The lights are out for the TPLF as the first death knell rings in the form of a series of dramatic events that took place in the last two months: the culmination of years of bitter struggle for freedom, equality,  justice and democracy. The  sacrifices were huge but finally Ethiopia is on the edge of change. After 27 years of brutal minority rule  the  curtain is  falling down for the TPLF. The TPLF had confronted a determined opposition for years while at the same time  the world  heard of hundreds being killed and hundreds  more arbitrarily detained, heard new lies, corruptions and the amassing of the wealth of the country by a few Tigrean elites. The world heard of the  murders  perpetrated by the regime, about the indiscriminate killings of children  and women. The outside world  often accepted the narrative of the government and  journalists who just saw the surface and not the abuse of power that routinely occurs beneath. The world heard and echoed the manufactured and manipulated information  that Ethiopia has become one of the fastest growing economies in Africa as the majority of Ethiopians remained to be one of the poorest people on earth. Those in power manufactured datas, manipulated information and designed rules and laws to their advantage  to  make it easier for them to do and get what they want.   The EPRDF is the embodiment of evil. Though the driving force within the EPRDF is the TPLF,  at this moment one should not make a distinction  between  the two, as the EPRDF has been a willing partner and tool for the implementation  of the strategy carved out  by the TPLF. Ethiopia should not rest in peace unless the EPRDF is dismantled and the country is run by national parties whose political  programs are based on the interests  of all the people of Ethiopia irrespective of their ethnicity.

For 27 years TPLF  has systematically looted the country, destabilized  the nation and introduced ethnic politics with the sole intention to create  hate and hostility   amongst the various ethnic groups of Ethiopia to be able to stay in power forever. The first item in this strategy was to distort the history of the Oromos and the Amharas, tell lies, spread the seeds of hate amongst them and ensure that  Oromos and the Amharas wrangle over their history, borders and and resources while the TPLF rules uncontested. The TPLF thrived on the differences it has created and the friction it orchestrated between the two  ethnic groups. Today the  first and the most important victory for the people of Ethiopia  is that Oromos and Amharas have come together and asserted the unity  that was there before the advent of the TPLF. The rug was pulled out of the feet of the TPLF. That was a shock to the TPLF. It knew then that it was the beginning of its end.  Through this unity Ethiopians saved their country. Now they can be certain that there will be an Ethiopia   stronger and more united than ever and sucessfully overcoming the challenges and  evils perpetrated  by the TPLF.

The second was the dramatic election of Dr. Abiy Ahmed, an intelligent visionary EPRDF cadre  who grew up in the ladders of the EPRDF since he was 15 years old. He was elected because of his vision for a united and peaceful Ethiopia. He got 100% support from the EPRDF parties of  Amharas and the Oromos and significant support from the South but none from the TPLF. That was a blow to the TPLF. For the first time in 27 years TPLF was not able to elect a leader of its own.  It did not vote for Dr Abiy. That was not a smart move but good for the progressive elements within EPRDF because now they know that TPLF does not support the government of Dr Abiy. The battle line has been drawn.

And the final blow that gave the Ethiopians the confidence to ring the first death knell was the passing of the HR 128 by the United States Congress on April 10. It was a severe blow. No US ally has survived such a punishment by the US congress. With the  implementation of this historic resolution Ethiopia is close to ringing the ‘lynch bell’. The US always monitors the power balance in the countries it considers its allies. Such  a bill has been in the making for years. The US had always supported the status quo with active advocates like Susan Rice, Gale Smith, Jendayl Frazer and strong highly paid TPLF lobbyists urging administration to support status quo.  Over the years there has been persistent calls to the US administration from human rights organizations, Ethiopian activists and scholars  demanding that US stop supporting this ethnocentric brutal regime. There were as many evidences as there were to day that were presented to the US Congress and administration.  However US interest is always  guided by the balance of power in a given country. Ethiopia  was a powerful regional ally that was doing exactly what the US wanted it to do in the region. US supported it until the time came that TPLF was becoming more of a liability than a useful ally. In the case of Ethiopia it was clear that TPLF was collapsing. The balance of power was in favor of the opposition. The US  therefore it was decided to withdraw support and look forward to working together with a new dispensation.  So the tribute goes to the relentless struggle and the sacrifices of the Ethiopian people.

Today Ethiopia is also indebted to all those who worked hard to have this resolution  passed by the US Congress. It is a powerful bill because it is bi partisan. The first in my list are Congressman Smith and Congressman Coffman and their staff. The others are those Ethiopians and  human rights organizations and activists who have testified in the Congress and exposed the human rights violations of this regime. The last but not the least are the Ethiopian human rights activists  and organizations, civic and political organizations who did a remarkable job in their relentless pressure to make sure that this day would arrive. It is a remarkable demonstration of unity which goes across ethnic and political lines.

However there are hurdles ahead. One is the Senate which will I believe not be a big hurdle. It is believed that the bill will pass with ease. Ethiopians have now to start lobbying and pressuring the State Department to begin the implementation of the resolution. People and organizations who have credible information on the murders, torture, imprisonment, corruptions, fraud, illegal transfer of funds, bank accounts and properties of regime members in and outside the country and information on organized crimes and  human trafficking committed by  by regime members, any conspiracy to loot and exploit Ethiopia, credible information on the resources looted by non state actors; need to be properly documented and submitted to the state department or to the US embassy in Ethiopia and to the United Nations. I believe that they might need this information to expedite the implementation of the resolution. The UN rapporteur  which has been requested to send investigative teams to Ethiopia needs these information as well. These information will be need to be provided to the  UN rapporteur when it arrives in Ethiopia.

While these are being done Dr Abiy should be very clear about certain issues.

First he should fully understand that he has been mandated by the great majority of the Ethiopian people and the international community including the US legislative and executive bodies, to lead the country to a transition period not through EPRDF but rather by dismantling the EPRDF. Dr Abiy as the Prime Minster is sitting on a power that Meles has established for himself.  The only difference is that Meles did not have   the support current PM has because he did not come to power through such a transparent EPRDF party election system that brought Dr Abiy to power. The PM should unconditionally embrace the HR 128 and promise to the Ethiopian people that he will abide both by the demands of the Ethiopian people and the request of the international community.  The US position will soon be shared by the EU and the PM will have no excuse at all to avoid this universal call for change

Second Dr Abiy should call a national conference of all oppositions in and outside Ethiopia and all ethnic groups  to chart the future of Ethiopia. The PM should face head-on the TPLF leadership and advise them not to try to thwart his efforts to dismantle EPRDF and  transform Ethiopia in a direction that the people wish to.  Autocrats fight for their survival. It would not be easy for the TPLF to abandon power and accept the dismantling of the EPRDF which has been used as its trojan horse. Non of us believe that it is going to be easy but when a leader has a  universal support it will make his work for transition easier. TPLF might prefer to fight the PM and the Ethiopian people tooth and nail to maintain the status quo. The Ethiopian people are ready for that. The PM should be ready for that as well. If Dr Abiy  has  an idea to continue as EPRDF cadre and try to maintain the  status quo through cosmetic changes he will be mistaken. We advise that he exercise courage with   wisdom and reason or else he would face the wrath of people who have waited for change for too long.

Hitler of Germany, Stalin of Russia, Duvalier of Haiti, Ferdinand Marcos of Philippines, Pol Pot of Cambodia, Mobutu of DRC, Bokassa of the CAR, Mengistu of Ethiopia  Charles Taylor of Liberia, Ghdaffi of Libya and the list goes on,  have all been crushed by the popular wave of anger of the their own people. TPLF is now close to joining that list.

In the end success  will depend on the crossing of a fear barrier by Dr Abiy and the people around him and his faith in the Ethiopian people. The Ethiopian people have crossed that fear. The question now is ‘Can PM Abiy and his team cross that fear and take the bold steps towards democratic transition?’ If he fails   he has no one to blame except himself. The people are more united than ever and they will not hesitate to continue the struggle for a final and lasting outcome.

Dawit Wolde Giorgis

The post The Beginning of the End for the TPLF: The Death Knell   appeared first on Ethiopian News|Breaking News: Your right to know!.

PBS NewsHour from Apr 11, 2018

This former Ethiopian music star is getting a late-life encore in the U.S.

Transcript

Read the Full Transcript

• Judy Woodruff:

  Many times, when immigrants come to the United States, they leave behind careers they had at home.

  Jeffrey Brown profiles a man who is returning to his roots.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  A taxi picking up customers at Washington’s Dulles Airport, but this one is driven by a man with an unusual musical past.

  Once a star in his native Ethiopia, Hailu Mergia has lived in and around Washington, D.C., for more than 35 years, driving a cab for many of them.

  I was wondering, when you were driving the taxi, did anybody ever recognize you, maybe Ethiopians you were driving?

• Hailu Mergia:

  Yes, some of them, yes, they do. When they see my name on the license of the taxi license, they always ask me, are you the one who play organ? I say yes.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  And now he’s once again on stage, performing his music on tour, as in this recent concert in Philadelphia for NPR’s World Cafe.

  With a new album, the now 71-year-old is having an unexpected resurgence, decades after his career had seemingly ended.

  Was it hard to go from being very well-known in your city, in your country to being mostly unknown here?

• Hailu Mergia:

  Yes, it is. When people think about you, and some of them, they think like, I’m not alive.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  They think you’re not even alive anymore.

• Hailu Mergia:

  Yes.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  Yes.

• Hailu Mergia:

  Maybe they think I have passed away. I have no idea.

  And some of them, why? Where he is? All of a sudden, I just disappeared. And then people, they forgot me. And I almost — the only thing that they didn’t forget is my music, what I played.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  In the 1970s, Mergia was part of an exciting musical scene in Addis Ababa that fused Western funk and soul with the traditional Ethiopian music he grew up with in the countryside. His mother had brought him to the capital when he was 10 and, at 14, he joined the army’s youth troop, where he learned to play the piano in its band.

  He eventually pursued a life in music as keyboardist, singer and composer, which took off when he joined the Walias Band, an influential group that their own spin on sounds from different continents and had crowds dancing into the night.

• Hailu Mergia:

  There were some radio stations that were playing some latest media or Western media, which is like from James Brown or from Wilson Pickett of from Tyrone Davis, or from Aretha Franklin, I mean, you name it.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  So, you’re funkifying Ethiopian music.

  (LAUGHTER)

• Hailu Mergia:

  I just pick up the old songs and rearrange them, change everything, change the harmony, and change sometimes the intro.

  Then I just played it like kind of modern Ethiopian music.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  His 1977 album “Tche Belew” combines funk beats and Mergia’s organ improvisations with the pentatonic scales of Ethiopian folk music.

  What was the biggest you could hope for from — at that time?

• Hailu Mergia:

  At that time, my hope was like, one, for the group to play in the Hilton Hotel, because once you get to Hilton, that’s the end of it.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  That was the biggest place to play in Addis.

  The band became a long-running hit at the Hilton, the hottest venue in Addis. But they also wanted more. In 1981, Mergia and members of the band came to the U.S. The gigs were small, mostly to a newly arrived Ethiopian immigrant community.

  The band eventually split up, some returning home. Mergia stayed and released a solo album in 1985, but six years later, he stopped performing and recording. It was impossible to make a living.

  Did you feel like you were giving up a dream of making it as a musician?

• Hailu Mergia:

  I never give up, because I was always practicing. I was practicing every day, every night in my house, in my car. And I start — I start buying — I bought one keyboard that I can move around.

  A lot of the time, I want to drive taxi. You know why?

• Jeffrey Brown:

  Why?

• Hailu Mergia:

  Because, one, it’s the schedule. I have my own time.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  Yes.

• Hailu Mergia:

  I can go any time without asking anybody permission.

  That’s a freedom of the life. As a musician, sometimes, I go to a studio and I sit like more than expected time, like long hours.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  But, also, also, if you are driving a taxi, you can just keep your instrument in the back, in the trunk, and pull it out.

• Hailu Mergia:

  Yes. Pull it out and practice.

• Hailu Mergia:

  Yes.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  And practice, he does, even in the airport parking lot, working out compositions while waiting for his next customer.

• Hailu Mergia:

  I’m trying to keep myself busy. I just — I don’t want to lose my feelings from music.

• Jeffrey Brown:

  So, Mergia was ready when musical fortune struck.

  A producer named Brian Shimkovitz, who specializes in African music, found a cassette tape of one of his old albums in a box in Ethiopia, and re-released it in 2014. That led to a new album titled “Lala Belu,” or “Say Lala,” released in February, and a new late-life beginning for his second musical career, in and now out of the taxi.

  For the “PBS NewsHour,” I’m Jeffrey Brown in Fort Washington, Maryland.

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Plundered in 1868, they are kept at the British Library—and an ongoing campaign seeks to bring them home.

IN THE BASEMENT OF LONDON’S British Library I was led into a small well-lit room, marking the end of a journey that began in the Ethiopian Highlands at the Addis Ababa home of a remarkable British historian.

In that home, over strong Ethiopian coffee and English biscuits, Richard Pankhurst, who dedicated his life to documenting Ethiopian history, told me the story of the ancient manuscripts looted at the end of the Battle of Maqdala. In 1868, a British expeditionary force laid siege to the mountain fortress of Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros in what was then Abyssinia. A two-day auction of the spoils of war among the victorious troops resulted in more than a thousand predominantly religious manuscripts making their way to Britain—15 elephants and hundreds of mules carried them along with other cultural treasures to the coast—with 350 manuscripts ending up in the British Library. Pankhurst campaigned for the return of the manuscripts to Ethiopia but hadn’t succeeded before his death in 2017. Now other voices are continuing the cause.

“It’s true that the level of care and quality in Britain is much better than ours, but if you come to the Institute of Ethiopian Studies where we have a few Maqdala items previously returned you can see how well they are kept and made available to the public,” says Andreas Eshete, a former president of Addis Ababa University—which houses the institute—and who co-founded the Association for the Return of the Ethiopian Maqdala Treasures (AFROMET). “These manuscripts are among the best in the world and one of the oldest examples of indigenous manuscripts in Africa, and they need to be studied carefully by historians here.”

But the British Library views its guardianship of the manuscripts for the sake of international research and access as equally necessary.

“We have the responsibility, as a public institution and national library, to research, make accessible and preserve the collections under our custodianship for people and researchers from all over the world, as well as encouraging and promoting international cultural exchanges,” says Luisa Mengoni, head of the library’s Asian and African Collections.

What all sides agree on is the manuscripts’ uniqueness. When I met Pankhurst his health was deteriorating but his eyes lit up whenever the manuscripts were mentioned.

“It is not widely known what happened,” said Pankhurst, recognized as arguably the most prolific scholar in the field of Ethiopian studies. “The soldiers were able to pick the best of the best that Ethiopia had to offer. Most Ethiopians have never seen manuscripts of that quality.”

In the British Library’s viewing room I saw nothing to contradict Pankhurst’s praise.

“They are so lavish as they were made for kings,” Ilana Tahan, lead curator of Hebrew and Christian Orient studies at the British Library, told me as she delicately turned the manuscripts’ pages, explaining the art and craft that went into producing them.

Tewodros had the country scoured for the finest manuscripts and collected them in Maqdala for a grand church and library he planned to build. Tewodros was actually a fan of the British, even hoping they would help develop his country and reaching out to them in 1862. But a perceived snub led to him imprisoning a small group of British diplomats in early 1864.

“Queen Victoria failed to respond to his diplomatic initiatives for increased ties between Great Britain and Ethiopia,” says Kidane Alemayehu, one of the founders of the Horn of Africa Peace and Development Center, and executive director of the Global Alliance for Justice: The Ethiopian Cause.

Diplomatic efforts to release the prisoners dragged on until 1867 when the British government finally lost its patience, tasking General Robert Napier to lead a rescue mission with a force of 32,000.

“There has never been in modern times a colonial campaign quite like the British expedition to Ethiopia in 1868. It proceeds from first to last with the decorum and heavy inevitability of a Victorian state banquet, complete with ponderous speeches at the end,” wrote Alan Moorehead in The Blue Nile. “And yet it was a fearsome undertaking; for hundreds of years the country had never been invaded, and the savage nature of the terrain alone was enough to promote failure.”

On Easter Monday, April 13, with the British victorious in the valleys surrounding his mountaintop redoubt Maqdala and about to launch a final assault, Tewodros bit down on a pistol—a previous present from Queen Victoria—and pulled the trigger.

In Ethiopia today, Tewodros remains revered by many for his unwavering belief in his country’s potential, while the looting of Maqdala continues to spur the activism of AFROMET and others.

“Though Richard was unsuccessful with the British Library manuscripts, there was the return of a number of crosses, manuscripts from private collections,” says his son, Alula Pankhurst, himself a historian and author. Alula Pankhurst notes that the family of General Napier recently returned a necklace and a parchment scroll to the Institute of Ethiopian Studies. “My father would have argued that the items should be returned as they were wrongly looted,” Alula Pankhurst says. “There is now the technology available to make copies [of the manuscripts] that are indistinguishable from the originals and microfilms mean that copies could be retained.”

But such technology is also seen by those at the British Library as a reason why the manuscripts can remain where they are.

“We have both a growing opportunity and growing responsibility to use the potential of digital to increase access for people across the world to the intellectual heritage that we safeguard,” Mengoni says. During the next two years the library plans to digitize some 250 manuscripts from the Ethiopian collection, with 25 manuscripts already available online in full for the first time through its Digitised Manuscripts website.

“The artwork suffers when it is digitalized, plus many of the manuscripts have detailed comments in the margins—there are many reasons scholars need to attend to the originals and which are not met by digital copies,” Andreas says.

For the manuscripts to return to Ethiopia, those at the library note, new legislation would have to be passed by British Parliament. Alula Pankhurst notes there already is a legal provision that human remains should be returned, though it doesn’t appear to have had much impact. Former Ethiopian President Girma Wolde-Giorgis made a formal request in 2007 for the return of the remains of Theodore’s son Alemayehu, who was taken to Britain aged seven to be looked after following his father’s death but died there aged 18 and is buried at Windsor Castle. The request was turned down, Alula Pankhurst explains, based on potential damage an exhumation might cause to the surrounding graves.

“The restitution of Ethiopian property is a matter of respecting Ethiopia’s dignity and fundamental rights—looting another country’s property and offering it on loan to the rightful owner should evoke the deepest shame on any self-respecting country,” Alemayehu says. “I’m optimistic that the British Government [will] take an exemplary action by undertaking the restitution of properties [taken] by its army at Maqdala to the Ethiopian people.”

In the meantime, other options treading a middle ground are beginning to be talked about more openly. Tristram Hunt, director of London’s Victoria and Albert museum, which is exhibiting 20 of its Maqdala artefacts to mark the 150th anniversary of the battle, says he is “open to the idea” of a long-term loan of the objects to Ethiopia, a move Alula Pankhurst says “would be a step in the right direction.”

At the end of my viewing session at the British Library, the manuscripts were carefully boxed up and wheeled back to the secure basement—where they will remain for now, while the library looks at making them more accessible to the public through new exhibits and building the online repository.

“While some restitutionists may grumble that the majority of items have not been returned, much has been done to spread knowledge of their existence—and great artistry—to Ethiopian scholars, and to the world at large,” says Alexander Herman, assistant director of the Institute of Art and Law, an educational organization focused on law relating to cultural heritage. “This has been made possible by the willingness of the British Library to invest in this once-overlooked part of its collection.”

Nonetheless, says Kidane Alemayehu, “the return of the loot of Maqdala has been an ongoing battle for Ethiopians and others with a sense of history and justice.”

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By Dr. Darara T. Gubo

Ethiopia has been in the news due to heinous crimes committed by the country’s security forces. Highly trained snipers have killed and maimed thousands of civilians, including women and children. The victims are often targeted for peacefully protesting oppressive rules and practices of the country’s tyrant officials. The epicenter of the resistance is mainly in the Oromia and Amhara regions, home to the majority of the country’s population.

The protest movement forced the government to appoint Dr. Abiy Ahmed as the country’s Prime Minister. Dr. Ahmed’s appointment has slowed the momentum of the popular uprising. In his speech to parliament, the Prime Minister acknowledged the mistakes committed by his party and promised a change.

Besides facing protest inside the country, the Ethiopian government has also come under increasing pressure from the international community to respect human rights.

In a move applauded by human rights activists, the United States Congress adopted House Resolution 128. The following are some of the measures that the resolution requires Ethiopia to take: 1) end the use of excessive force by security forces 2) investigate the killings and excessive use of force that took place as a result of protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions and 3)hold accountable those responsible for killing, torturing, and detaining innocent civilians who exercised their constitutional rights.

I hope the Ethiopian government will take the resolution to heart and take steps to rectify wrongs done in the past twenty-seven years. The relative calm in the country may not last long unless the government makes serious reforms recommended by the resolution and promised by the Prime Minister in his speech.

The coming days and months will tell if the government has the political will to implement the watershed reforms demanded by the resolution. To move forward as a stable nation, Ethiopia must confront the entrenched culture of impunity. Government officials have been killing and mistreating citizens without facing consequences. There is no guarantee that large scale killings will not be repeated by the same perpetrators of past killings unless the government becomes serious about bringing the killers to justice. Trigger happy hands drenched with the innocent blood of our fellow citizens must not be allowed to shoot anyone else.

For me, victimization at the hands of Ethiopian security forces is personal. There were constant protests against the government when I was a university student in early 2000’s. I was briefly expelled from the university and narrowly dodged bullets when I and others were shot at. The most shocking personal loss was the killing of my friend.

Alemayehu Garba was a student and a great human being. I have sweet memories of Alemayehu singing Christian hymns in our native Oromo language. Alemayehu used crutches due to his disability. He was arrested for his activism and brutally murdered in his prison cell. The Ethiopian officials falsely claimed that Alemayehu was killed because he tried to escape from prison. To this day, I don’t know of anyone who has faced justice for murdering my friend. I demand justice for Alemayehu. Thousands, and perhaps millions, of Ethiopians need justice for their friends and loved ones.

The Prime Minister of Ethiopia asked for forgiveness for the killings. It is a great and a welcome gesture. But, how can saying “sorry” heal the families of those murdered, unless it is backed by justice? The government should not be allowed to gloss over this critical issue. If the government admits its guilt, by asking for forgiveness, then why shouldn’t it take the next logical step and start holding the killers accountable? We will be doomed as a nation if we do not insist on justice being served.

Moving forward as a nation requires us to have forums to express our sorrow. To be healed, we must open wounds of injustice and cleanse the infection of bitterness by honestly expressing our feelings. We must be able to confront the perpetrators of heinous crimes in our country. Justice must be served. Perpetrators must answer for their crimes. If we can’t do that, we fail to create a sustainable future for ourselves and the generations to come. We will stagger from one crisis to another unless we boldly take steps towards ending impunity.

Darara Timotewos Gubo (LL.B., LL.M., S.J.D.) is a human rights activist based in Atlanta, GA, and is the author of Blasphemy and Defamation of Religions in a Polarized World: How Religious Fundamentalism Is Challenging Fundamental Human Rights (Lexington Books, December 16, 2014).

He can be reached at dansagubo@yahoo.com

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Tsion B.,  for Addis Standard

Addis Abeba, April 12/ 2018 – Six weeks after the resignation Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, the ruling party, Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front’s (EPRDF), Council has elected its chairperson in what was is seen as a competitive and contentious election in the history of the party’s rule.

The protracted protest that rocked the country for sour years had negatively impacted the country’s political and economic landscape. According to reports from local and international sources, since 2015 over 1,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands detained. In 2017 only, more than one millionpeople were internally displaced leading to serious humanitarian concerns. The country’s economy, touted as one of the fastest growing economy in the developing world, has also suffered a great deal amid widespread unrest, with skyrocketing  inflation as high as 15.6pc, dwindling export as well as a debilitating shortage of foreign currency forcing the government to devalue the Birr by 15%.

These protests, which were initially started by the Oromos, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, against a controversial city plan which sought  to expand Addis Abeba’s boundary into the surrounding Oromia Regional State, eventually spread to Amhara and part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State(SNNP) with much more intensity and greater demand including regime change. This resulted in the declaration of two State of Emergencies in less than two years, which resukted in the death of dozens and brought thousands of people under arrest by authorities.

This unprecedented and persistent protest from the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups – who together make up two-thirds of the population – compelled the ruling party to forfeit and pledge to undertake reforms to widen the political space and foster national consensus. It was as part of this reform that the then Prime Minster resigned from office.

After a lengthy deliberation, EPRDF has elected Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Chairman of the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), one of the front’s four members which represent the region that was the epicenter of the protest movement. Monday, April 2, 2018, marks the day the EPRDF dominated Ethiopian national parliament officially sworn in Dr. Abiy as the next Prime Minister of FDRE.

This has brought a lot of hope and optimism in the eyes and hearts of Ethiopians who are eager to see change, especially among the youth who were leading the protest. Dr. Abiy faces a high public expectation. So many people have already put forward a tall order of immediate task that he needs to execute once he assumes office – starting from lifting of the current controversial State of Emergencyand the release of those arrested under it, to implementation of the reform agenda promised by the ruling party which includes widening the political space and fostering national consensus, but also reforming the security sector, easing ethnic tension, addressing the rampant corruption and soaring economic inequality as well as reforming repressive legislation such as the Anti-Terrorism and Societies and Charities laws .

In his maiden speech, Dr. Abiy has made a lot of promises including respecting and maintaining the rule of law, fighting corruption, improving the quality of education and restoring peace and stability in Ethiopia as well as the Horn of Africa, to name few. He also committed to create amicable space for opposition parties domicile in the country but also in exile. Revision of relevant policies and strategies is also another area Dr. Abiy indicated will be the priority of his new leadership.

This is indeed a historic moment for Ethiopians and a real chance for EPRDF to, through the new leadership, shift gears.  Broadly speaking, Abiy’s election may satisfy the persistent quest of the Oromo people for a political power and thereby ease the political tension in the country. But one would agree that his election – in and of itself – will not guarantee the much needed democratic reform. So the far-reaching question will be “will Dr. Abiy live up to the expectations of the people, be the mover and shaker and help the Ethiopian people see the light at the end of the tunnel or is he just a painkiller that will help EPRDF buy some more time to regroup and consolidate power?”

One can argue for both sides. The 42-year-old Dr. Abiy has the required expertise and experience for the position. He has good academic credentials and very good understanding of the country’s military and intelligence complex. He also has widespread support of the two most populous regions – Oromia and the Amhara – especially from the youth who have been active in the violent protests. Moreover, over the past few years, Dr. Abiy has demonstrated his reformist credential to the mass. Together with his OPDO colleagues, primarily Lemma Megerssa (the Regional President), he has been able to drive important reforms at the regional level and thereby position the party as a proponent of political and economic reforms. Banking on his strong popular base and support, Dr. Abiy could replicate some of these good practices from the region to the federal state. His landslide win against all odds is a testament that the power dynamic within the EPRDF has changed and that may potentially enable him to push forward the reform agenda required by Ethiopians.

However, it would be remiss of one not to think that Dr. Abiy is handed over power at a highly complex and uncertain time as he will have to deal with the existing divisions within the ruling coalition as well as discontent among the wider public at the same time. Bearing in mind the current political landscape and the party’s “group think” philosophy, he will undoubtedly face immense resistance from the party’s old guards, particularly Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) members that stand to gain from maintaining the status quo. He must, therefore, start the reform process by transforming the infamous “democratic centralism” philosophy – the deep entrenched organizational policy the party has employed for long to shackle and control party members by dictating policies and protecting the economic and political hegemony of certain groups. This is mainly because maintaining the present state of affairs will prolong the concentration of power in the hands of few and barricade the reform process.

Accomplishing this crucial task, however, will require Dr. Abiy to set up a team of capable, competitive and inclusive cabinet and advisors who will help him see through his reform vision. As some would fear, if he trades off key positions such as the military and security out of fear of destabilizing the status quo and angering the old guards, he can be paralyzed and relegated to play a “place holder” role like the previous Prime Minister. And this will jeopardize his leadership and brings back the long yearned quest of the people of Ethiopia back to square one.

True, some are justified to see his election with high suspicion; after all his position as prime minister is not the product of himself alone or even to the most part; it is the product of the existing political structure which is blamed for giving birth to the havoc the country is experiencing as of late,  not to mention that he was a part of the military and instrumental in establishing the infamous Information Network Security Agency (INSA) – a cyber-security agency that expanded mass surveillance of ordinary Ethiopians, including dissidents in Europe and North America.

But questions linger. Is being in possession of insiders knowledge about the inner workings of the old guard a blessing or a curse for PM Abiy? Will that make him be feared or respected? Will that help him become an equal partner in power negotiations to wrestle some of it back to the position he is holding today or will that make him become a rival to the establishment? The answers to these questions are what would determine on whether PM Abiy Ahmed is the antidote to cure Ethiopia’s chronic pain or just a painkiller. Only time will tell. AS

ED’s Note: Tsion B. is a political researcher/analyst based in Addis Abeba and can reached atammelnew@gmail.com

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“From the forgoing, despite some similarity, the divergence between OPDO’s and ANDM’s paths is not insignificant. The obvious question when one observes such a divergence is “why?”. Why is ANDM—the most senior party within the front, next to TPLF, with modest contribution to the overthrow of Mengistu regime and historical tie with the legendary ERPP and the Ethiopian student movement—less rebellious and more submissive than OPDO?”

Biniyam N. Menberework, For Addis Standard

Addis Abeba, April 10/2018 – The post-Mengistu Ethiopia political order is essentially the construct of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). EPRDF, founded in 1989, was originally a coalition of two insurgencies; namely, TPLF (est.1975) and the Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (currently, ANDM (est.1982)), and later joined by OPDO (est.1990) and SEPDM (est.1992).

However, the front has never been a coalition of equals. TPLF, which was instrumental in the formation of the coalition and had considerable control over the birth and the evolution of the other member parties, has been, as Dr. Merera Gudina.[i] succinctly put it, ‘the commanding real core of Ethiopia’s ruling party’. Capitalizing on its dominance over the military, intelligence and security apparatus, TPLF, employing all means necessary, has also played a key role in making sure the front and allied parties stay in power.

Yet what is striking is that TPLF’s constituency accounts for not more than 6 % of the total population of the country while that of OPDO and ANDM represent some 60 %. Strangely enough, despite such flawed structure that artificially “equalizes” the unequal constituent parties and the asymmetric power relation within it, the coalition has so far managed to function like a well-oiled machine, with the notable exception of the 2001 split within TPLF.

Cracks, however, began to appear following the death of the front’s founding and influential Chairperson, Meles Zenawi, who was at the helm for some 23 years, in 2012. The then Deputy Chairperson of the front, Hailemariam Dessalegn, was put in charge of managing both the party and/or the federal government as most of the prominent and experienced leaders of the organization were already sidelined because of what the front called the “internal generational renovation”, which was aimed at replacing pioneers in the party with new faces.

The new party boss from the weakest party within the coalition, i.e. SEPDM, found himself in an uncomfortable position and too-big-to-fill shoes of his immediate predecessor. He was no Meles, and unlike Meles, who had control over the TPLF-dominated military and intelligence, loyalty of the constituting party leaders, and mastery of intra-party power politics and palace intrigue to run it all as one-man band, Hailemariam wielded virtually no significant power.

As a result, some elements within the member parties, perhaps for the first time since the inception of the front, realized that it was an opportune time to upset the intra-front balance of power. Fast forward to present, as widespread protests engulfed the country from almost every corner, the infighting and power struggle within the front seems to be an open secret.  The opaque EPRDF was as a result obliged to publicly acknowledge the existence of “mistrust” among constituent parties.

Not surprisingly, both ANDM and OPDO appear to be, to a greater or lesser degree, frustrated with decades-long dominance of TPLF. The boldness and outspokenness particularly of the new generation leadership of OPDO, otherwise popularly known as ‘Team Lemma’, in this regard is quite unprecedented. The Team voices the grievances of Oromo people and embraces major demands of the Oromo protests. In effect, the once-subdued and arguably most despised organization in Oromia managed to garner significant public support across the region and beyond, the cautious support of Oromo elites inside Ethiopia and abroad as well. OPDO, casting itself as a reformist element within the front, uses this political capital to push some popular demands and claim a meaningful role in the federal government commensurate with its constituency. The latest attempt of OPDO parliamentarians to stand in the way of the controversial and unwarranted state of emergency bill was unheard of in Ethiopia’s opposition-free rubberstamp parliament. It also publicly showcased the intensity of the rebellion. More strikingly, the eventual rise of the newly-elected OPDO’s boss, Abiy Ahmed, to power in the face of TPLF’s undisguised resistance arguably represents a sea change in EPRDF.

ANDM, on the other hand, continues, at least as much as noticeable to external observers, to function quietly, maintaining a low-profile. While some claimed the party actively worked in tandem with OPDO to elect the new chairperson of EPRDF, it does not seem to be too uncomfortable with the status quo; but, too sensitive to TPLF. One cannot but consider its total disinclination to embrace the major demand of protests in Amhara region – the identity question of the people of Wolkayit – as an attempt not to raise the ire of TPLF. Not uncommon though to single out one or two high-level leaders as reformers, the party seems to be in an unusual stability, bordering on stagnation. The latest statement of the party, which signaled some positive changes, cannot be more than a tempest in a teapot if one compares it to that of OPDO.

From the forgoing, despite some similarity, the divergence between OPDO’s and ANDM’s paths is not insignificant. The obvious question when one observes such a divergence is “why?”. Why is ANDM—the most senior party within the front, next to TPLF, with modest contribution to the overthrow of Mengistu regime and historical tie with the legendary ERPP and the Ethiopian student movement—less rebellious and more submissive than OPDO?  Given the ruling front’s characteristic culture of secrecy and opacity, perhaps, it could be too daunting a task to come up with a definitive answer for such question.  Keeping in mind this complexity and mindful of the underlying caveats, here an attempt is made to highlight some of the factors which could possibly explain the diverging political developments within the two parties.

Programmatic orientation and organizational forms

ANDM, formerly a multi-ethnic Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement, was formed by a tiny splinter group of Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party  under the tutelage of their mother party’s foe i.e. TPLF. Small wonder the party went a long way towards fully embracing the TPLF major political program. Somewhat deviating from their mother party’s position, the founders of the new party acknowledged the Eritrean problem as colonial question and accepted the pre-eminence of national oppression over class oppression in Ethiopia.

Later renamed as ANDM, the party became an ethnic-based organization of the Amhara people. It considered the Amhara ruling class to be a national oppressor for about a century and espoused to ethnic-based federal arrangement, which promises the unconditional rights of ethnic groups to self-determination including secession, among others. Also the party considered the “chauvinism” of the Amhara elite a menace to EPRDF’s Ethiopia. In line with the tradition within the EPRDF, ANDM, overtly or covertly, showed contempt to Ethiopian nationalism dubbing it as a camouflage of “Amhara nationalism”.

Seen in this light, the logical role of the party seemed to be that of disciplining the Amhara people instead of representing and advancing its interests. Most of the first generation leaders of ANDM -who were not born in and hadn’t lived with the community and hence alien to the psychological makeup of the people- have been unimaginative enough to make a mockery of the aspirations of their constituency. Worse still, some of its leaders tried to justify, encourage in some cases, the persecution of the Amharic speaking people in some parts of the country during the transition period.

Joining the party, therefore, takes, inter alia, recognizing, without any hesitation or reservations, the supposed Amhara domination over other ethnic groups, and embracing the current federalism and the politics of ethnicity. One has to also stomach the implicit humiliation for the supposed historical misdeeds of the “Amhara ruling class”. This could in many ways be considered a recipe for a possible political failure in the region as it tends to guilt and sideline the whole Amhara as people.  Given that the people of Amhara region mostly despise ethnicized politics and have been clearly in favor of pan-Ethiopianist movements and meta-ethnic groupings[ii], small wonder if the party’s approach significantly cripple the potential of the party to recruit competent and enthusiastic cadres. No accident if the crème de la crème of the Amhara elite has been nowhere to be found in the structure of the party.  Sarah Vaughan, emphasizing the negative impact of the aforementioned factors, wrote:  “when the Amhara Development Association was set up, it proved difficult to recruit members, officers, and supporters. Attracting qualified individuals into the regional civil service proved even more problematic.”

In such a case, when the ANDM recruits party members, there is a strong possibility that most, if not all, available ones can be those who are determined to get as much personal gains as possible out of their political allegiance.  Also it is not unlikely that folks who are desperately looking for shortcut to escape egregious working condition in remote and rural Amhara jump in feet first. This group of people tend to be unprincipled and a good client if and when one wants to patronize them.

Despite the image of OPDO as a satellite of TPLF and a symbol of betrayal, it was essentially created and meant to be a competitor and replacement for the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) – a political organization near and dear to many Oromos. More importantly, mobilization along ethnic lines and the current federalism, which is associated with the guarantee of language and cultural rights, resonates with the vast majority of Oromo elites. It has to be also noted that the Post-1991 political order was uniquely conducive to the revival of Oromo culture and the official use of Afaan Oromo for educational and administrative purpose.  EPRDF’s official programmatic orientation and ethnic-based organization, thus, seemed to have no or little impact on the capacity of OPDO to attract new competent and enthusiastic members. It is OPDO’s role as a stooge of TPLF in committing human right abuses, incarcerating thousands of Oromos and facilitating the plight of the region, that might impede party’s recruitment effort, instead.  As this factor is equally important in the case of ANDM as well, its relevance to explain the difference is minimal.

Purges and defections

Purges and defections are relevant factor for it might allow an infusion of new blood into the organizations. Though they might generally fracture the organization of a party, they concomitantly allow the inclusion of new cadres and provide opportunity for political upward mobility. They might also disrupt the formation and catalyze the shake-up of a draconian organizational culture and informal networks within the party. It is also logical to assume that defections and purges in a political party matter more when competent and experienced political operatives are already in short supply.

Viewed from this perspective, ANDM’s and OPDO’s pasts tell us a tremendously different story. Defections and purges have been more or less non-existent within ANDM. High-profile defection has been quite uncommon. Also, massive removal of party leaders never was the case in the post-1991 ANDM, save the arrest of Tamrat Layine, the then Chairperson of ANDM and Deputy Prime minister.  Interestingly, the 2001 TPLF split, which resulted in substantial damage on all the member parties of the front (TPLF included), did not significantly affect ANDM. Throwing its full support to the winning faction led by the late Meles Zenawi, the party remained intact and even came out stronger than ever.

Conversely, OPDO has been very prone to purges and defections. High-profile party leaders including ministers, the president of the Oromia region and the head of state of the country left or were forced out of the party. Most of these defections were essentially the rejection of TPLF’s meddling in the party’s affair. A frequent change of leadership has also been quite common. During the time that ANDM has been under the chairpersonship of Demeke Mekonen, at least four persons presided over OPDO. A significant change has been repeatedly made in the high-level party structures as well. As OPDO from the very beginning did not have enough cadres and political operatives to fill in the political positions in the largest region in Ethiopia, the implication of purges and defections could often be relatively more profound. Following the purge of OPDO by the winning faction of TPLF, the party had no choice but to be taken over by the Army General—Abadulla Gemeda—who just retired from active duty. The haphazard appointment of a low-profile technocrat by the name of Junedi Saddo as a president of Oromia some years ago might also be regarded as one more instance that exposes the limitation of the party in this regard.

In effect, OPDO, unlike ANDM, was constantly forced to changes and wasn’t able to develop a stable ruling elite that could serve as a reliable satellite of TPLF.  It thus makes some degree of sense to argue that OPDO has been far more susceptible to changes than the relatively well staffed and stable ANDM.

On a related note, the impact of the massive recruitment drive, particularly the post-2005 election recruitment of college students and graduates, on the two parties seems to be somewhat different.  In Oromia, not few college graduates of those years – who are willing to think outside the box and tend to be extremely disgusted with the portrayal of the party as a satellite of TPLF- are currently serving at regional level as head or deputy head of regional bureaus. Many of them are also Woreda cabinet members, mayors and zonal department heads. The regional communication chief, Addisu Arega, and the mayor of Shashemane, Tayiba Hasen, are among the most notable ones.  The impact of the same move on ANDM is quite negligible. Most of college graduates directly assigned as woreda level manager left or were removed from the positions in few years. Only a mere handful of them survived and made it to zonal and regional leadership only to remain invisible.

The incidence and intensity of protests

The last, by no means the least, factor that could help us understand the diverging paths of the two political parties is the incidence and intensity of protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions. Ethiopia has been experiencing widespread and virtually uninterrupted popular uprisings for the last three years. This round of anti-government protests is the latest, and perhaps the most notable one, among waves of political unrest and protests in the past 27 years. Protests have not, however, been evenly distributed across the country. They also vary in terms of their incidence and intensity, among others.

Though the anti-government protests in Oromia and Amhara regions generally exhibited high level of intensity, the protests in Oromia, covering most part of the region, have been remarkably well-coordinated and persistent. Furthermore, OPDO, as alluded to earlier, has been far more susceptible to change and too fragile to withstand a protest of such magnitude. Unlike the protests in Amhara region, Oromo protests, thus, seem to be successful in gaining a significant support from local cadres and putting extreme pressure on the high-level leadership of OPDO. Providing a fallback for the progressive element within OPDO, the protest also emboldened the party to embrace some of the demands of the protests and take a more radical stance vis-à-vis the dominance of TPLF. In this connection, Tsegaye R. rightly noted that the change in OPDO is “the overall effect” of “the resurgent Oromo resistance that was rekindled in 2014 and persisted to date”.

By way of conclusion

The above-discussed factors are not exhaustive enough to include all relevant factors,[iii] nor do the arguments conclusive to provide a definitive answer. The attempt, as is made clear from the outset, is to touch on the relatively important ones, thereby shedding some light on the diverging paths of ANDM and OPDO. As one can infer from the forgoing discussion, albeit both parties do, to a degree, want to see the reconfiguration of balance of power within EPRDF, OPDO has recently been more straightforward and taken bold moves. The infusion of fresh blood into the organization and their eventual relative prominence in highest echelon of the party along with the continued high intensity and widespread protests in Oromia have paved the way for the rise of Team Lemma that set OPDO on different course.

The relatively stable ANDM, assimilating new comers into the entrenched organizational culture and weathering the storm of political protests, seems to function quietly, maintaining effective control over party structure and regional government bureaucracy. The party’s popular support is not growing, its image as a satellite of TPLF has not been changed.  Every modest step taken by ANDM in a bid to claim its rightful place in the front seems to be dwarfed and overshadowed by another bolder steps taken by OPDO. What is not clear, however, is whether ANDM is waging a quiet rebellion or struggling to recover from political Stockholm syndrome. AS

ED’s Note: Biniyam N. Menberework can be reached at yambinimw@gmail.com. He tweets  @yemenbison 

[i] Merera, Gudina. “Ethiopia: competing Ethnic Nationalism and the Quest for Democracy, 1960-2000, Addis Ababa.” (2003).

[ii] It is worth noting that there has been a heated debate among mostly Diaspora-based Amhara youth in this regard over the past few years.  The proponents of Amhara-based political movement believe that the organization of Amhara people along ethnic line is a necessary condition to defend itself from what they call the existential threat posed by the TPLF-dominated regime.

[iii] The alleged domination of ANDM’s central committee by non ethnic Amhara, which is often cited as an important factor by many commentators, has not been factored in as the author of this piece could not find detailed information.

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By Keffyalew Gebremedhin The Ethiopia Observatory (TEO)
PART One of two

The purpose of this article is to express the writer’s disappointment at and opposition to the April 4, 2018 appointment by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres of Maj-Gen. Gebre Adhana Woldezgu as commander of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

Gen. Gebre Adhana Woldezgu is succeeding Maj Gen Tesfay Gidey Hailemichael, another Tigrean member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) who commanded UNISFA from February 23, 2017 to April 23, 2018.

Gen. Gebre was recalled from Somalia in 2008, when dictator Meles Zenawi finally got tired of the complaints against his trigger happy general. Somalia’s Transitional Government President also refused to receive him.

There was not much success in the anti-terrorism front in Somalia. I have long held that view, although in recent months the United States has also intensified its military operations against Al-Shabaab. Thus in late October I opined:

“Somalia could have been up and running long ago, if the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the forces it commands within Somalia — including all sorts of shady Somalia militias — have not been allowed to become authors and contributors of Somalia’s continuing tragedy.”

I still hold that view, given that TPLF interests are different from the people of Somalia, AMISOM’s and other supporting nations.

Thus even when Maj-Gen. Gebre returned to Somalia and continued to circulate in later years as representative of the eight-member nation Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), he behaved in the same manner. He was free in his dealigns with Somalia officials as with his hired hands in every corner of the country. He tried to do what he is good at: appear friendly until people do his dirty job and he damps them in bad ways in the end.

He could no longer be effective in his job in Somalia as intelligence operative, even President Farmaajo in 2017 becoming the second president to deny him access to him and the presidential palace, Villa Somalia.

In sum, whereas Maj-Gen Woldezgu was a military officer, who once upon a time was considered the actual leader of Somalia in the wake of the 2006 Ethiopian invasion of that country. Far reaching was his influence in Somalia that a Somalia paper angrily in 2017 printed a picture of the general, shuffling through the papers of a Somalia minister, a saddening image of a nation in free-fall that continues to irk Somalians to this day.

Against numerous backdrops of the TPLF arrogance of power had fostered in him, coupled with his personal weaknesses, most troubling for many however is Gen. Gebre’s April 4, 2018 appointment by the United Nations. The general is characterised as a person with no respect for innocent lives and fundamental human rights. As per account of The New York Times of May 6, 2008, which makes tough read, is an account of the general’s involvement in war crimes, amply demonstrating his disloyalty to international law and the United Nations Charter.

Of that, Amnesty International at the time released details of the 19 April 2008 raid on a mosque. It notes in that attack, “Ethiopian forces killed at least 21 people, including 11 unarmed civilians inside the mosque, and detained at least 40 children and youths, aged 9 to 18. At least 10 others were killed by Ethiopian forces in the vicinity of the mosque.”

This is just a snippet of the many crimes the TPLF regime has committed in both Ethiopia and Somalia, as has the general’s buddy, Abdi Iley — seen here together in the picture below warmly locked in mutual embrace with the general.

As the commanding officer of Ethiopian forces in Somalia, Gen. Gebre is also known to have integrity problems, his name linked to widespread charges of corruption. The proceeds he received estimated in millions of dollars mostly reportedly came from the sell of weapons to rival Somalia factions and receipt of bribes “from opportunistic Somali politicians who want to buy the sympathy of Addis Ababa.”

Probably it is more telling about him listening to an elementary school teacher Maryan Awale. She had seen how ‘Gen. Gabre’ had been mistreating or imprisoning people in her locality and also misguiding Somalia politics into more clan and ethnic divisions and conflicts. Maryan Awale daringly ventured to warn others about Gen. Gebre that if President Farmaajo did not expel Gabre from the country, “then no progress would be made in rebuilding Somalia.”

“You can’t avoid sickness if you have bacteria in your food or or environment at home,” says Maryan who is a 36 years old mother. Gabre is a combination of bacteria and virus that harm the nerve of our politics”, adding “he is the most hated person in Somalia.”

My information on Gen. Gebre comes mostly from sources in Somalia as well as international journalists and international intelligence, a good piece of which is also available on WikiLeaks.

The general’s Somalia activities, i.e., beyond his personal failures — as per UN and African Union (AU) observers — have helped portray him as a person let down by his services of carrying out the TPLF policy objective of keeping “…Somalia in chaos…no peace, constant wrangling…Hearing that Ethiopia did not even happen to hear the US veep Biden talking of Somalia..”
TPLF policy on Somalia?

Keeping Somalia a weaker neighbour, therefore, might correspond with TPLF’s temperament and interests. Somalia historically is known as irredentist, harbouring longstanding interests in uniting Somalis across the Horn of Africa. Its primary focus was the Ogaden — an issue still a grit to the mills of Somalia social media.

Therefore, it would not be farfetched to assume possible Ethiopian policy response to this Somalia’s intentions lurking in Addis Abeba’s actions. Its aim could be to prevent any future challenge to Ethiopian sovereignty. By this, I am not implying TPLF loyalty to Ethiopian sovereignty, especially recalling in recent years its surrendering of Ethiopian territory to the Sudan in appreciation of its services to the Front during the years it tried to dismember Tigray from Ethiopia.

When it comes to Somalia, with TPLF and its dictator Meles Zenawi’s support to Ziad Barre and their cadres camping in Somalia during 1970s invasion up northwest up to Dire Dawa will not be easily erased from Ethiopian consciousness!

In Somalia, Gen. Gebre was known for his cruelty; it extends from having gained him the notoriety of pulling the trigger at Somalia citizens at any point.

He is always armed with a side-weapon, as can be seen on the picture. He is also known to forcibly, and in violation of international law to have transferred Somalians to Ethiopia’s Somali Region, a practice about which in later years the United Nations Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG) has been complaining, even reporting to the United Nations Security Council to no effect — for obvious reason.

At the same time, in bringing up this and exposing the longstanding TPLF practices of ethnic discrimination inside Ethiopia and abroad, this piece would try to show UNISFA, a United Nations mission, has been reduced to a single Ethiopian ethnic group’s fiefdom ever since its establishment by the Security Council in July 2011.
TPLF, Gen. Gebre, the United Nations and ethnic discrimination

On the merit of the issue I have set out to bring to light, i.e., the general’s appointment, I hold the firm view that the secretary-general’s acquiescence and the decision to appoint Maj-Gen. Gebre Adhana Woldezgu as commander of a UN peacekeeping force, upon the nomination by the TPLF, has hardly benefited from the Organisation’s reflections and its sanitising political introspection.

As a former United Nations international staff currently in retirement and, in keeping with the United Nations Charter, I remind the secretary-general and readers, amongst the primary functions of the Organisation are: promoting equal rights, protecting and defending human rights — but never the rewarding of perpetrator(s) of crimes of human rights and discriminations of any sorts!

Further, the UN is tasked in Article 1 of the Charter “To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends”, as outlined under the Purposes and Principles section.

Nowhere does the Charter leave the door open for any United Nations body or its secretary-general to become provider of agency in the perpetuation of corrupt and criminal actions by any member state, big or small.

As a matter of fact, the commanders and deputy commanders of UNISFA are selected on the basis of ethnicity, the hallmark of TPLF’s policies and operations. If need be for elaboration, I might add here that since UNISFA’s inception it has been commanded at both the commander and his deputy levels by ethnic Tigreans, many of the troops and also civilian and police elements are of the same ethnic origin.

In the seven-year lifespan of UNISFA, there were only two exceptions: (a) once when Maj-Gen. Hassan Ebrahim Mussa (January 15, 2016 – January 16, 2017, an Amhara by ethnic group); and, (b) when Maj. Gen. Birhanu Jula Gelalcha (November 21, 2014 – January 20,2016, an Oromo by ethnic group) commanded the force.

For the rest of the time, UNISFA has been a TPLFite jamboree, mostly with little success in its mission. For any serious observer, the TPLF and its action literally make one believe they are awaiting fulfilment of the folklore about the golden goose’s inevitable expiry on account of the Front’s greed and misbehaviour.

Further, the secretary-general already in mid-October 2017 pointed out, while grazing land, water problems in Abyei during migration and criminal activities perennial causes of conflicts, it should not be discounted that the relations between the Sudan and South Sudan are also poisoned by imagined and perceived/inherited fears pertaining mostly to the oil lying under and between the two nations. This makes a great deal of political and diplomatic work a necessity.

In his October 17, 2017 report to the Security Council (S/2017/870), the secretary-general has conceded that the four trends responsible for the tension and conflict in Abyei (para 2.) remain already seven years gone.

In that regard, he underscores: “The Sudan and South Sudan have diametrically opposed positions on the way forward to settle the Abyei question”, for which as gung-ho on record Maj-Gen. Gebre Adhana Woldezgu is ill-equipped for the task.

His Somalia experience shows that the mere mentioning of his name, ‘Gen Gabre’, is all teeth chomping. Nor does ‘Gen. Gabre’ in Somalia’s papers and the social media exude affection. The way it is spelt may possibly have been taken from his Twitter handle, the sound of it alien to Ethiopian, perhaps sign of a soul in search of path out of its unknown crisis.

Somalians describe Gen. Gabre as “secretive, abusive and killer”. Expanding on that quote and an interview with a military officer, the Suna Times states: “Atto Gabre was corrupted by Somali politicians and he also then corrupted Ethiopian senior officials so they will condone his wrong doing”.

The general is a person whose stay in Somalia from 2006 – 2008 was cut short because of his unacceptable behaviour as military commander. His terror machine was the Liyu Police, based in Ethiopia’s Somali Region. In violation of international law, he was accused of engaging in the kidnapping and trafficking of Somalia citizens to the Ogaden.

Some of these were reportedly returned to Somalia only in July 2017. This was arranged to ease the anger surrounding the kidnapping of Abdulkerim Sheik Musa by the general and his hired hands from Somalia. The TPLF considers the kidnap victim a ‘terrorist’ and Somalia considers its citizen, a colonel and a veteran of their 1977 war against Ethiopia where my own brother was slain.

Confident as Gen. Gebre is, in August 2017 he went public with his admission of orchestrating the kidnapping of Abdulkerim Sheik Musa from Galmudug State, where he has the Ethiopian-armed militia the Ahlu Sunnah Waljamaah (ASWJ). On his part Musa must have dabbled with his travel documents of both Ethiopian and Somalia, while Ethiopian law does not recognise dual citizenship.

Therefore, when it suits Musa he is Ogadeni. At other times, he is a Somalian, who had served as a senior officer in the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) as well as a colonel in the Somalia National Army in the 1977 Siad Barre’s war against Ethiopia. Thus he became, like many others before him — Ethiopian opponents of the TPLF regime one more victim fleeing through Somalia to safety— because of the general’s overzealous operations.

It is no surprise, therefore, for the TPLF general his suppression of the freedoms of Ethiopians is never an issue much less a Somalian he considers an enemy, if one could see his boasting as the author of the kidnapping and the coordination actions hereunder:

On the question of ethnic discrimination in Ethiopia, which the TPLF has made its political ideology, it’s my earnest hope the table below portrays TPLF’s practices into which the United Nations is also sucked in. The whole objective behind TPLF ethnic discrimination is the exclusively ethnic utilisation of the United Nations structures to benefit the TPLF senior officers and others. Hereunder is the table with names, ranks and dates of services of TPLF commanders, incomplete as it is:

[click to magnify]

UNISFA for the TPLF top brass has thus served as their benefits sprinkler, each senior officer taking turns to suck it on a yearly basis. For the TPLF, this reduces the tension within its ranks, the generals held together so long as they are getting newer sprinkler, when one goes dry. They had done it in Ethiopia, seizing lands, businesses, homes, etc. and exclusively enriching the members of the TPLF, whose criterion of membership is being Tigrean by ethnicity, language and culture, much like the Nazis requiring citizenship on being Aryan and attested by race, blood, colour and German culture.

Interestingly, this is a double-faced crime by a mafia organisation, rpt the TPLF as a mafia organisation, having implications to United Nations activities and image as well.

Firstly, as Ethiopia is Africa’s largest multi-ethnic state, it happens to be one of the largest troop contributing nations in the world to the United Nations. While Ethiopia under successive government’s has had such contribution, this TPLF strategy is expanded, as an ethnic minority regime, to help the Front get continual international political, diplomatic and economic support and humanitarian assistance. All this has been happening the United Nations slumbering.

Ethiopians, whose country is engulfed in protests against the TPLF regime in the last three years its martial law notwithstanding, have been denied of their right to serve and contribute their share to the goals and purposes of the United Nations Charter on the basis of equality, rights, qualifications, dignity and national belongingness.

Secondly, through this TPLF criminal actions — harsh as this may sound — the United Nations has also been collaborating with the TPLF in its ethnic discrimination practices.

From this point on, it is up to the United Nations secretary-general to investigate this matter and institute remedial measures to the problems the United Nations bodies never again to being utilised as agents of TPLF’s mass ethnic discrimination, or any other nation.

It is also essential to state here, obnoxious as discrimination of all forms are, this time the primary reason for my opposition to Gen. Gebre’s appointment is hardly these obnoxious TPLF practices in ethnic discrimination against Ethiopians, or the person’s ethnic origin.

Rather my intention is opposition to the appointment of the Major General, who hardly is endowed with the tools the intertwined job of peacekeeping and peacemaking require. He lacks the essential qualities a United nations force commander should possess, among which integrity is one, a substance in short supply in his case.
Misplaced info in the general’s biodata

Gen. Gebre is good, among others, for sowing confusion about his identity for reasons that impose on him the need for explaining. To get a glimpse of what have caught my attention, start from the simplest one. Compare what is on his biodata in his job application he or the TPLF has provided for consideration by the United Nations with what his latest twitter handle speaks of him.

From his unscrutinised biographical piece, one is likely to assume it has the approval of the TPLF regime. This, it is likely, would put the United Nations in an awkward situation. Behind generalities, Maj-Gen Gebre Adhana’s biography seems to hide too many horrid details. Essentially, the cardinal sin here hence is sprucing up a life of human rights crimes and corruption more particularly in Somalia. Whatever those may be, for now — with United Nations connivance — the general seems to have been given a pass; as at April 4 2018, he has already been appointed UN force commander in Abyei.

While his career in Ethiopia may have also be characterised by similar charges of blood-letting crimes, suffice for now to focus on what I have come across so far in written materials, and some which have also been arrived at through deduction. I trust there would be general consensus that deduction is a scientific method of analysis by which the unknown is inferred out and sifted against the metrics of ‘reference to a general law or principle’.

In Gen. Gabre’s case one thus can deduce from his biodata — on which the United Nations is also in agreement — the major-general is patted on the shoulder as bringing to the United Nations “38 years of experience in the Ethiopian Army”.

Has counting years also changed under the TPLF in Ethiopia? How could he be in a position to have 38 years of military service within the Ethiopian army, when the TPLF regime itself is only 27 years old on the seat of power in Ethiopia?

No doubt this is a flawed information. It is intended possibly to disguise the general serving in the TPLF as a ‘freedom fighter’ to dismember Tigray from Ethiopia. He is also disguising his service in Somalia as the ‘Supreme Commander of the Ethiopian armies in Somalia” [sic] and also his post military service years as a frequent visitor to that country, under the convenient guise of Senior political Advisor at the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), which for all intents and purposes, is only one of the departments in the TPLF’s secretariat, instead of an eight-nation organisation!
Conclusion

Gen.Gebre has been tested in Somalia and has been founding wanting. He has been known to enjoy violating national and international law with his killings, kidnapping, unlawful dispossession of citizens of their properties corruption as his motive.

Every word in this piece is without pretence or deceit. The things I allege about Maj-Gen. Gebre Adhana Woldezgu are those I have learned a while ago from various sources during my research on Somalia’s tribulations, as it has been a state confronted by Al-Shabaab’s terrorism and disintegration of its internal national cohesion.

It is my earnest hope and expectation, also an issue of vital importance to the United Nations itself, the general clears his name from these serious allegations before he is allowed to sit on the United Nations peacekeeping commandant’s chair.
Part II will follow shortly.

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Politics- Abiy’s Ethiopia – Pt 2 – SBS Amharic

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Competitors: Abiy’s Ethiopia (SBS Amharic)

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 Nigusu is a staunch supporter of Gedu, a moderate within ANDM, and a bosom friend of Addisu Arega (OPDO spokesperson). We also saw him repeatedly head-butted with both the formal and the informal mouthpieces of TPLF. If this rumor holds true, will that position has any good for the Amhara people? Maybe

1. Having a visible position at the federal level is good for ANDM publicity. But I am not sure if this position is as good as the foreign affairs office or the road authority or the finance ministry.

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This time in prison Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega was no longer tortured, thanks in part to increased international pressure and public awareness.

“Are you here to meet Eskinder Nega?” a man selling fries on the streets of Addis Ababa asks me. After answering in the affirmative, I am assured by the others standing nearby: “Eskinder is a good man”.

It’s clear that Eskinder’s fellow citizens have not forgotten their freedom-fighter hero, despite the fact that he hasn’t been seen in public for years.

A car pulls up alongside us and in the next instant the famed Ethiopian journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega is there, smiling broadly in his ever-present baseball cap.

He is a free man again after seven long years in jail. He still hasn’t reunited with his wife and child, however, as they have left Ethiopia for the US.

We enter a walled courtyard through an iron gate, where Eskinder and his relatives live in modest homes.

His porch is decorated with green, yellow and red balloons, the colours of the Ethiopian flag. They were purchased to celebrate Eskinder’s release from prison just three weeks earlier.

“I am not a hero, I have only done my duty,” Eskinder has said about his life’s work.

Eskinder Nega became a defender of free speech after writing a series of articles demanding democracy in his home country. He was later forced to pay a hard price for this conviction.

But when we met, there was no trace of bitterness in him. He was excitedly planning for the future.

Neither of us could have foreseen that he would be back behind bars all too soon.

Close to seven years ago, Eskinder wrote about the Arab Spring demonstrations and the possibility that Ethiopia’s population might also rise up in protest. The next morning, as he was accompanying his boy to school, he was arrested.

“[My son] cried violently. He was five years old when this happened,” Eskinder says.

It was almost seven years until he spoke with his boy again over the phone.

His child has suffered many times in his short life, just as his parents have done. Eskinder’s wife and fellow journalist, Serkalem Fasil, gave birth to their son while she was imprisoned herself, in 2005.

Eskinder says there are many people who can’t understand how something of this nature could even be possible.

“This is Africa. If you’re a dissident like I was, like I am, you’re accused of being a terrorist,” he says.

In 2012 he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for allegedly being a part of the so-called Ginbot 7, an association the Ethiopian government has classified as a terrorist group. Eskinder says they had no proof of this.

Ginbot 7 is a group of opposition activists that live in exile. They jointly demand that Ethiopia starts practicing democracy in the true sense of the word via peaceful means.

“I’m still firmly committed to non-violence. I still believe in non-violence without any preconditions. And I think it’s the way for Ethiopia, irrespective of the price or sacrifice it entails,” Eskinder says.

He explains what he feels actually led to his incarceration.

“It was not the truth that mattered. It was what the government wanted that mattered. And the government wanted to convict me of terrorism at that point,” he says.

Shortly before he was released in February, the authorities tried to get Eskinder to confess that he was a member of the Ginbot 7. He refused, and was sent back to his cell. One week later, Nega was set free, along with hundreds of other prisoners of consciousness in Ethiopia.

When it comes to human rights and freedom of speech, Ethiopia is regularly ranked among the worst countries in the world. Authorities rely on an ongoing state of emergency to violently crack down on public demonstrations and online activities.

Eskinder says that freedom of expression in his home country is “non-existent”. The latest Reporters Without Borders listing ranks Ethiopia at 150 out of 180 countries in total, stating that “terrorism charges have been systematically used against journalists ever since the 2009 terrorism law took effect.”

The over 100 million people of Ethiopia are ruled by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, or the EPRDF. As the name suggests, the party began as a rebel movement that successfully ousted the previous military regime. It has ruled the country since 1991.

EPRDF is a union of four supposedly separate parties that represent different ethnic groups. Between them, they hold all of the seats in the country’s parliament. Any real opposition that exists operates outside this closed realm of decision-making.

For years the EPRDF was led by Hailemariam Desalegn, a man who studied at Finland’s Tampere University of Technology in his youth. This February, amid the growing unrest, he submitted his resignation as both prime minister and chairman of the country’s ruling coalition.

Yet despite the political violence that has gone on for years in Ethiopia, it is still a relatively stable nation compared to its neighbouring countries of war-torn South Sudan and Somalia.

Ethiopia is one of the western countries’ favourites in the Horn of Africa for this reason. It receives one-third of its total income as development aid from rich nations in the west.

Ethiopia has imprisoned thousands of political dissidents over the last few years. At the start of 2018, however, a significant number were released, with Eskinder Nega perhaps the most prominent name among them.

Eskinder Nega believes that international pressure and more publicity for his country’s predicament was instrumental in securing the political prisoners’ release. But he also credits the Ethiopian people.

“The people demanded our release. People died to get us released. The EPRDF didn’t let us go willingly. It was not a change of heart on their part. It was public pressure,” he says.

He thanks foreign organisations that work tirelessly to defend freedom of speech for keeping his imprisonment in the public eye. He is also quite certain that this international attention affected how he was treated in jail.

He was not tortured this time around, unlike during his previous detentions.

This last arrest marked the eighth time that Eskinder Nega had served time in prison.

“I was slapped, kicked and verbally abused. I have experienced the worst things that could happen to you in Africa,” he says.

Even so, there were things about his latest sentence that he still found unbearable.

“By the end, I was denied access to paper, I was denied access to pen, I was not allowed to write and read. I was denied access to books. But the worst part was the denial of a Bible,” Eskinder says.

During his earlier prison stays, Eskinder read the Bible to pass the time. He says that reading the Holy Book was a tremendous source of strength for him during his earlier imprisonments.

Eskinder Nega’s optimism is disarming. Just weeks after ending seven years behind bars, he has moved his focus beyond the injustices he has suffered. He sees a democratic Ethiopia on the horizon.

He holds South Africa as his ideal. He says there are two reasons for this. First, the African National Congress (ANC) ultimately reached its goal of democracy through negotiation and not fighting. Second, a decisive boost was given to the effort by international pressure and sanctions.

“So we have that precedence. We have that example to follow. I think the same thing will work in Ethiopia because the government is highly dependent on aid and its external economic relations,” Eskinder says.

He says the conclusions that can be drawn from this are crystal clear: Finland and the other Nordics must end their development aid to Ethiopia and start directing it only to countries that operate under true and fair representational democracies.

“As far as Scandinavian countries go, I think human rights should play a prominent role in how you conduct your foreign policy,” he says. “I think good behaviour should be rewarded and bad behaviour should be punished. This is elementary, not only in politics and in foreign policy, but in life.”

Ethiopia’s leading dissident says Finland and the other western countries are propping up tyranny in Ethiopia by continuing to provide aid and investment. Eskinder has suggested that sanctions have buttressed peaceful transitions to democracies in other countries, such as South Africa, Zimbabwe and Myanmar.

“Through sanctions we can force the government to negotiate for a peaceful transition. This is what the nation needs,” Eskinder says.

Eskinder Nega says that western countries should start taking an interest in the democratization of Ethiopia, if only for their own self-interest. He warns that if negotiations are unable to transform the country into a democratic state, the pressure will build until Ethiopia implodes. This could lead to another wave of migration from northern Africa to Europe.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen visited Ethiopia in March. She doesn’t agree with Nega’s appraisal of the situation. She denies that development aid from Finland would ever be used to legitimize Ethiopia’s dictatorial rule.

“Someone could choose to see it that way, but I certainly don’t. I think it is important that we maintain continuous dialogue with these people,” Virolainen says.

Finland upholds the principles of human rights and rule of law in Ethiopia as well, she counters.

“We’ve brought up these same questions in all of our dealings. It is the only way to do it, really. To broach the subject directly,” she says.

And how have Ethiopia’s rulers responded? Virolainen says they have outlined their own political processes in their retorts.

Ethiopia’s leading dissident Eskinder says the dialogue western countries have been practicing all these years has been proved many times over to lead to dead ends.

“The West has done this for 27 years, and what has changed? Nothing. We still have an authoritarian government,” he says.

Evening has arrived and I say good-bye to Eskinder Nega. He walks inside for something to eat, says a prayer over his bread, and then shares it with his friends. There are so many people to talk to; so much time has been lost.

Upon my return to Finland, I hear that Eskinder has been arrested again. He sent a message from his captivity that says that this time, he was one of 200 prisoners crowded into a 40 square-metre room. He was in prison for two weeks. I called him once he was released.

“The conditions of my detainment were absolutely inhumane. We had no room in which to eat or sleep. It was as difficult as you could possibly imagine,” he tells me over the line.

He is a free man once again, but he now awaits word of possible charges levied against him. He says he has no idea what he could be accused of or when he will be required to stand trial. There’s also a chance that the whole case will be dropped.

The future of Eskinder Nega’s freedoms – and Ethiopia’s for that matter – is unsure.

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Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban

The Ethiopian government has officially responded to the United States Congress’ decision on Tuesday to issue a resolution against the government over human rights and political reforms.

In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, Ethiopia described the adoption of House Resolution (H. Res. 128) as untimely, inappropriate and in parts biased.

“This simple resolution is counterproductive and is against the important partnership between the U.S. and Ethiopia,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.

The resolution calls on the Government of Ethiopia to lift the state of emergency, end the use of excessive force, release wrongfully imprisoned protesters, and improve transparency, while at the same time urging protesters and opposition groups to use peaceful discussion and avoid incitement.

It stressed that the move had failed to recognize concrete and positive steps being taken recently in the area of political reforms and deepening the democratic culture in the country.

“The House fails to take into account the situation on the ground. H.R. 128 ignores the positive strides the country has made recently. Even if H.R.1 28 is not pending and just expiration opinion, the government of Ethiopia has been working with members of the Congress including the leadership, providing information on the implementation of substantive reforms.

“In the past several months the ruling party and the government of Ethiopia have been operating under new political dynamics, launching bold reforms aimed at increasing transparency and widening the country’s democratic space,” it noted.

Other major issues contained in the statement included Ethiopia’s continued role in regional security, government’s commitment to work to improve accountability, justice and rule of law for the citizenry and also continued engagement with relevant U.S. outfits in improving bilateral relations.

“The government of Ethiopia would also like to express its appreciation to those Members of Congress, Senate and Executive branch who, having evaluated the facts on the ground as well as weighing the importance of the bilateral relationship, worked against this biased resolution,” the statement added.

The United States Congress H. Res. 128 despite a late pushback led by one Senator Inhofe – a known ally of the government, to get Congress to reject the resolution, the motion according to Congress records did not even need to be voted upon as it adopted by voice vote.

Lawmaker took turns to give comments about the importance of the resolution with each touching on the political crisis that has rocked the country.

Others also pointed to the cost in terms of human lives and loss of properties as a result of government highhandedness and an ever-shrinking democratic space.

A Summary of the resolution by Congress policy website stated as follows:

“H. Res. 128 recognizes Ethiopia’s efforts to promote regional peace and security, and its partnership with the U.S. to combat terrorism, promote economic growth, and address health challenges. In addition, the resolution expresses concern about human rights abuses and contracting democratic space, and condemns excessive use of force by Ethiopian security forces.

“The resolution calls on the Government of Ethiopia to lift the state of emergency, end the use of excessive force, release wrongfully imprisoned protesters, and improve transparency, while at the same time urging protesters and opposition groups to use peaceful discussion and avoid incitement.

“The resolution calls on the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development to cooperate and strengthen ties with Ethiopia, condemn human rights abuses, and promote accountability.”

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Daniel Mumbere

Ethiopian prime minister, Abiy Ahmed has continued his country tour, visiting the capital of the Tigray regional state, where he addressed war veterans and members of the community.

The reformist leader who has visited the restive Oromiya and Somali regions and met with opposition leaders since taking office on April 2, is hoping to quell protests that have rocked the country and mobilise support for democratic reforms.

Welcomed by the Tigray president, Dr. Debretsion Gebremichael, Abiy visited the Martyrs Monument in Mekelle, before addressing a public gathering at the Martyrs Hall in the Tigray capital.

Sources from the gathering said the premier addressed issues raised by the public that included free movement of citizens, infrastructure development and the Ethio-Eritrea conflict.

Ethiopia is currently under a state of emergency that was declared after the former prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned in February.

Kindeya G.hiwot, PhD@DrKindeya

Raised issues: big dams, railroad project, mekelle water problem, support to private sector, loan for investment, export support from national bank, tourism, public meter taxi for Mekelle, short lease proclamation for agriculture; public discussion with the PM Abiy Ahmed #Mekelle

1:37 AM – Apr 13, 2018

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Kindeya G.hiwot, PhD@DrKindeya

A delegation led by PM Abiy Ahmed at martyrs hall #Mekelle #Tigray #Ethiopia; began with a moment of silence for the martyrs & impressive circus show

12:25 AM – Apr 13, 2018

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The ruling EPRDF coalition picked Abiy last month to replace Hailemariam Desalegn, who quit to clear the way for reforms in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation which has been racked by violence for the last three years.

Hundreds have been killed by security forces in Oromiya, the violence triggered by land rights but largely fuelled by a sense of political and economic marginalisation among the young.

After taking the oath of office, the former army lieutenant colonel struck a conciliatory tone and addressed the need for ethnic unity.

Since January Addis Ababa has released thousands of prisoners that included dissidents and journalists in a bid to calm discontent.

Last Friday, it also shut down a detention facility known as “Makelawi”, where rights groups have alleged that torture has taken place. The government plans to turn it into a museum.

The government has often been accused by rights groups of regularly using security concerns as an excuse to stifle dissent and media freedoms.

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Belayneh Abate

The novel Dead Souls is Nikolai Googol’s  reflection on the suffering of the early nineteenth century Russian serfs. In this novel , Chichikov, the villain protagonist traded on  dead souls to make a living.  Like the dead souls of the 19th century Russian serfs, the dead souls of the 21st century Ethiopian martyrs are victims of us-the greed and opportunist citizens.

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians were massacred like enemy forces and tortured like sinners in the Hell  because they demanded the barbaric rulers to return  their God given rights. Thousands of People were subjected to  ethnic cleansing in Wolkait, Gambella, Harar,  Gura Ferda, Metekel, Ogaden and many other regions because those in power considered them as “settlers”, and they wanted to rob their resources.

To resist these kinds of heinous crimes,  millions protested within the last three years. In support of this protest, many citizens, mass media, political and non- political organizations blew their horns, beat their drums and raised their voices. As a result, the resistance inundated the  different regions even when the country was under barbaric marshal laws.  As usual, the rulers slaughtered thousands of innocent citizens including children and pregnant women. They imprisoned, tortured, and displaced hundreds  of thousands of people.

Although the criminal rulers massacred innocents and carried out ethnic cleansing for half a century, a good proportion of us are now rallying behind the members of the ruling mafia responsible for the massacres and ethnic cleansings.

Our rally behind the criminals tests our value for human life and justice. Our support to members of the criminal mafia shreds our promise and commitment to the martyrs slaughtered for our fundamental rights. What kinds of good citizens rally behind criminals instead of  requesting justice for their martyrs? What types of prudent organizations sit with criminals to share power instead of  requesting justice for their members massacred while promoting the missions of their organizations?

The Martyrs in heaven are crying for justice. The people in slavery and dangerous environments are waiting for the 21st century Mosses that would command the kinds of exoduses the Pharos Legesse Zenawi and Shiferaw Shigute instigated in Gura Ferda.

Keeping the murderers and the exodus instigating pharoses in power, the mafia group is quelling the public resistance with the toys of Mosses and Eyasu. Despite the half century lies of the pharoses and their supporters, many of us are trapped by their phony propaganda and accepted the “chosen” junior pharoses as people liberators. However, the track records  of these junior pharoses show that they were ranking officials in the military command, spy agency and regional government posts during the massacres and ethnic cleansings.

Intentionally denying the participation of the junior pharoses in these massacres and ethnic cleansings,  some of us started to praise these criminals  with the same tongue that we cursed them when they massacred the deed souls. To justify our tongue twist and our praise to the criminals  as well as to hide our opportunistic behaviors, we started to talk about nice words such as reconciliation and forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a blessed act, and a blessed act should be as clean as distilled water. To be clean, forgiveness should follow justice for all dead souls and sincere repentance from the criminals. Forgiveness without justice and sincere repentance does not exist. In the absence of sincere repentance and justice,  who has the right to forgive and reconcile on behalf of the dead souls? What organization has the right to forgive on behalf of the dead souls?  Which citizens have taken consents from the dead souls to forgive their murderers?

Behind the certain of forgiveness, it appears that some of us are building our lives and baking our bread. Using forgiveness as a cosmetic, it appears that some of us are trying to seduce the dead souls’ killers in order to get  the opportunity to ascend to power and make profits. Wrapping forgiveness as a gift, it appears that some of us trying to make our future brighter, hiding in the grave  flowers of the dead souls.

If we are rallying behind the criminals to make our future brighter at the expense of dead souls, we are more sadistic traders on dead souls than Gogol’s protagonist -Chichikov: More sadistic traders than Chichikov because we are offering forgiveness as a bribe to the murderers  without any moral  authority and consent of dead souls.

The dead souls could have kept their lives on earth like we do in one or another way. However, the dead souls preferred death over slavery and they flushed the streets of tyranny with their blood to clean the avenue of freedom in Amba Giorgis, Gondar, Deberetabor, Bahir-Dar, Dangila, Bure, Woldia, Magete, Ambo, Nekemte, Denbi Dollo,  Woliso, Debrezeit, Jimma, Shashemene, Kofle, Harrar, Moyale, konso and other places.

Having witnessed the dead souls’blood flooding the streets of cities and rural areas, what moral or legal ground do we have to offer forgiveness as a bribe to their murderers and  walk on the avenues of freedom the dead souls cleaned with their blood? If we do not deliver justice to the dead souls, what legal and moral authority do we have to walk on the bridges made out of the bones of dead souls? Do not we feel ashamed when we feast and make trade deals with dead souls’ murderers, standing at the graves of the dead souls?

Trading on dead souls is stabbing the dead souls with spears again and again. If we continue stabbing the dead souls with spears, how are we going to be different from their murderers? If we are striving to make our lives better at the expense of dead souls, how are we going to be different from a scavenger that feeds on carcasses? If we forget dead souls and feast with their killers instead of forcing them face justice, how are we going to be morally different from their murderers?

Feasting and dealing with all time murderers brings neither justice nor lasting peace. Even if we assume it may bring provisional peace out of desperation, we must keep our commitment to deliver justice to the dead souls if we consider ourselves as humans. If we are unwilling  to deliver justice to the dead souls, we should, at least, stop feeding upon them like scavengers. We shall never feed or trade on dead souls.

As the Amaric adage goes, “Yemoten Atirssa!” Never forget the dead! Thank you.

The righter can be reached at abatebelai@yahoo.com

April 14, 2018

The post We Shall never Feed or Trade on Dead Souls! appeared first on Ethiopian News|Breaking News: Your right to know!.

By: Eberechukwu Amadi

Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Carl Risch will travel to Morocco, Nigeria, and Ethiopia from April 15–21. While in Morocco and Ethiopia, Assistant Secretary Risch will meet with counterparts to discuss a range of consular issues including international legal obligations to accept the return of nationals who have been ordered removed and children’s issues.
The Assistant Secretary plans to review consular operations at our U.S. Consulates General in Casablanca and Lagos, and our U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa. He will also meet with interagency partners.
The United States is committed to long-term engagement with Morocco, Nigeria, and Ethiopia on a variety of consular issues, including efficient and equitable visa processing, protecting U.S. citizens overseas, working together on intercountry adoptions, and preventing and resolving international parent child abduction cases.

The post Assistant Secretary Carl Risch Travels to Morocco, Nigeria, and Ethiopia appeared first on Ethiopian News|Breaking News: Your right to know!.

For more than two years, as his health deteriorated, Ethiopian opposition leader Bekele Gerba was locked up in a notorious high-security prison on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, accused of “terrorism” for leading anti-government protests.

This week, the authorities needed him for a different reason. He and many other opposition activists were invited to a palace to dine with Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister. The country needs “strong competing parties, more than ever before,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told them.

It was the latest sign of a new era in Africa’s second-most populous country. While it remains dominated by an authoritarian government that has jailed hundreds in a state of emergency, there are hints of democratic reforms that could loosen the controls and allow greater political freedoms.

The new 41-year-old Prime Minister, Mr. Abiy, is the youngest head of government in Africa. In the two weeks since his inauguration, he has launched a charm offensive in an effort to defuse tensions: touring the country, freeing some prisoners, visiting the main regions where protests have erupted, restoring internet access in the restive Oromiya region and shutting down one of the most infamous prisons where dissidents were jailed and tortured.

Canada is among the countries that are watching closely. Canada gives more development aid to Ethiopia than any other country in the world, including an estimated $190-million in 2016.

The Canadian government has welcomed Mr. Abiy’s rise to the country’s highest office, but it has called on his government to end the state of emergency, release the remaining political prisoners, allow peaceful assembly and remove restrictions on the media. More than 1,100 people are still in detention under the emergency decree.

“Ethiopia is at a serious point in its evolution as a nation; this represents a historic opportunity to implement meaningful reforms in the interest of its people,” said a statement from the Canadian government.

Ethiopia has long been favoured by Western governments as a donor recipient and a strategic ally against Islamist militancy in East Africa. Critics say the West has turned a blind eye to autocratic rule and human-rights abuses in the country. Almost all of the 547 seats in Ethiopia’s parliament are controlled by the government and its allies.

Thousands of opposition supporters have been killed or arrested in the past two years as protests have spread, especially in the Oromiya region. Most recently, local elections were postponed for a year because of “security” concerns.

The protests began over the issue of land rights in Oromiya in 2015, but they have expanded into broader demands for political rights. Increasing tensions and violence have raised fears that a civil war or regional fragmentation could be looming. In parliament, some MPs have broken ranks to oppose the latest government decree that imposed a six-month state of emergency.

With the political pressures rising, Ethiopia’s ruling party opted to choose Mr. Abiy for the prime minister’s job. As a former military officer, he is acceptable to the security agencies. But he also represents a shift away from the Tigrayan ethnicity that has traditionally controlled the ruling party. He is multilingual, has roots in the Oromiya region and has a mixed religious background, with a Muslim father and a Christian mother.

In his inaugural speech last week, Mr. Abiy apologized for the deaths of anti-government protesters. “I ask forgiveness from the bottom of my heart for the many advocates of freedom and justice and the many change-seeking youths whose lives were cut short,” he told the Ethiopian parliament.

“We have suffered great harm due to the shortcomings that are compounded because of the lack of a mature democratic system,” he said.

“The lives of many of our citizens have been cut short and many private and public properties have been destroyed. All of us should have averted this. … We need to respect all human and democratic rights, especially to free expression, assembly and organization.”

His speech was widely hailed as a harbinger of democratic reforms. In cafés where people were watching the speech on television, there was frequent applause and cheering.

Mr. Abiy has repeated the same message in his national tour. “We are now on the path of change and love,” he told a crowd in a town in the Oromiya region this week. “I ask you to give us time.”

But some analysts and opposition activists are skeptical. They note that Mr. Abiy has said nothing about lifting the state of emergency and has given no details of specific reforms.

“His options are peaceful reform or face a revolution,” said Neamin Zeleke, an exiled opposition leader who is based in the United States.

He said he is willing to give Mr. Abiy time to move ahead with reforms, but he wants to see action, not just rhetoric. “The status quo is neither tenable nor sustainable any longer,” he told The Globe and Mail on Friday.

“The new Prime Minister should take concrete measures to demonstrate that he means what he says. Repeal the repressive laws enacted to criminalize political dissent. … Lift the state of emergency and start a national dialogue with all the political, civic and important sectors of the people outside and inside Ethiopia.”

Despite the praise for the Prime Minister’s inaugural speech, his rhetoric seems to be “old wine in a new bottle” and could lead to a worsening of the instability, Mr. Neamin said.

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The post New Ethiopian leader Abiy Ahmed, youngest in Africa, sparks hope of reform appeared first on Ethiopian News|Breaking News: Your right to know!.

BY AARON MAASHO

The post New Ethiopian Premier Promises Reforms at Meeting With Opposition appeared first on Ethiopian News|Breaking News: Your right to know!.

BefeQadu Z. Hailu

In an inaugural speech, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali turned almost all pessimists in to EPRDF enthusiasts. It is like he has all traits of a leader ‘naturally’. His charisma coupled with his fluency in three local languages of “the competing nationalities” made him look like the right person to fix the mess Ethiopian state is in. But, is he really the person to fix Ethiopia? Or, should we hope something else?

Overlaping Interests: Source of Support

It has been a bit long since OPDO officials pretend a dissenter within EPRDF. Their dissent was about their regional autonomy at first. This overlapped the interests of opposition groups and has gotten OPDOs unprecedented support from the protestors and general population. The overwhelming support OPDO received regionally encouraged them to have a deserved representation in the Federal Government. Besides, the regional autonomy was interfered by federal authorities who didn’t like to accept OPDO’s dissent.

Revolutionary Democracy, EPRDF’s ideology, is a practical application of twin principles: equality principle and democratic centralism. The former is about equal votes member parties of EPRDF have to make decisions regardless of differences in number of their respective constituencies; while the latter is about making all decisions centrally (top-down) contrary to genuine democratic principles of making decisions bottom-up. The new leadership of OPDO, under Lemma Megersa and Abiy Ahmed, has been seen divergent in this regard. Their divergence has been taken as rush to anarchy by some but welcomed by many others as progress to reform. OPDOs divergence has been witnessed when House of Peoples Representatives (HPR) passed the second State of Emergency. Contrary to the democratic centralism principles, most OPDO representatives voted against it. This was, with other multiple incidents, unusual gesture of change leading to overlapped interests to opposition groups from a member party of EPRDF.

Subdued Background: Cause of Suspicion

The establishment of OPDO is embarrassing. The founders were surrenders of TPLF during the armed insurgency before 1991. They were advised and organized as per the standards and principles of TPLF. EPRDF’s establishment was made convenient to TPLF’s targeted regime and its structure. The member parties, including OPDO, are now regional parties but their respective regions didn’t exist when they were established. TPLF manipulated a transitional government to restructure the country in a way it had already planned. In this way, the member parties were able to have regional governments to administer with supervision of TPLFites in the Central Committee (CC) of EPRDF. Even though there was equality principle in the CC, bosses (TPLFites) and their subordinates (OPDOs and others) could not have equal confidence to discuss matters objectively.

Therefore, the de jure decentralized system is a centralized one by de facto. And, the central power is controlled by TPLF, the dominant group in terms of actual power. This is why the major opposition’s resistance is against TPLF and its members, and why it is really difficult for many to comprehend the capability of subordinate member parties of EPRDF to stand equally to TPLF, the boss member.

The new generation of OPDO, however, has undermined the de facto hierarchical relationship of member parties. For them, TPLF old gurads are just folks whose political creativity has expired. Having this in mind, the new generation of OPDO tested and won TPLF old guards; they’ve snatched them most key positions, including Premiership and Foreign Affairs. But, they still remain dominated in the control of security apparatuses. This has left many suspicious that TPLF has not lost its minority dominance but wanted to hide behind and drive the country with an Oromo face. For these critics, EPRDF, its member parties and the wound their bad relationship to the people of Ethiopia can not be cured unless the Front dissolved.

End of Shame-History and The Last Surrendered OPDO Member

TPLFites never wanted Abiy to win the premiership. They wanted more obidient Shiferaw Shigute instead. However, in cooperation with ANDM, OPDO defeated TPLF’s significant interest probably for the first time in 27 years. This is a signal for the end of TPLF’s dominance over other EPRDF member parties. However, it will really end when the member parties demand ‘fair representation’ in the CC instead of the existing ‘equal representation’.

In the process to win the premiership, TPLF tried to use one of the old tools from OPDO, the House Speaker Abadulla Gemeda. Abadulla was one of surrendered by TPLF to later co-found OPDO. He resigned from his position in HPR and later withdraw his resignation. Rumor has it, he was promised currently Abiy’s position by TPLF, to make him continue submitting. Not anymore.

OPDO’s Success is also TPLF’s Success

On the surface, it seems TPLF has lost it. That’s also how TPLF old guards and its young cadres took the whole process. Yes, TPLF is on a free fall losing its dominance but this is also the best safe exit TPLF can get while containing what it had already built and accumulated. Previously, the fight was essentially between oppositions and TPLF/EPRDF. Had these oppositions won the fight, the most probable result would be dismantling the system TPLF built and criminalization of the whole group. OPDO’s dissent has reversed or, at least, slowed the other alternative. Now, the focus is on removing TPLF’s dominance within EPRDF and the Federal Government. The existance of the group and sustainability of the system is spared from jeopardy. Now, OPDO, the hand made of TPLF, is responsible to drive the wheel forward and a few years down the road, TPLF will be forgotten and the major target of oppositions will become the offspring, OPDO.

The Abiy Mania

Oromo nationalists have gotten an Oromo prime minister. That’s almost half their question answered, at least to many of them. Abiy knew it. He knew that the major challenge comes from non-Oromos, especially from those Ethiopianists whose view of Oromo nationalism as something not different from separatist movement. His inaugural speech is a clear appeal to the latter. He succeeded.

He then went to Somali region where he met the representatives of the regional state. Ethiopia’s Somali authorities were against him before his [s]election. By honoring them as his very first local destination as a Prime Minister, he convinced them he is a friend. Then, went to Ambo, center of protests that gave OPDO a chance to dominate the politics, and rewarded his generous words to the Qeerroo, the youth that is notourious in the protests. He called Qeerroo “is back bone of Ethiopia”.

He had introduction dinner with opposition leaders in a gesture that welcomed them for positive competition, which never happened before. Then continued his visit in to Mekelle, Tigrian capital, and home for TPLF. By speaking their langauage and remembering the historic role of Tigray in Ethiopia, he guaranteed the rare anti-Tigrian sentiment during past protests won’t be a risk in his administration. By doing so, he won the trust of many Tigrian nationalists with a single speech.

In only two weeks since he was sworn in, he has gained trust of overwhelmingly many citizens. Many congratulated each other on his coming and many hoped democratic change is coming with him. But, this mania on a single strong man is not without critiques. He was expected to lift the State of Emergency, which literally put the country under military administration, very soon. On the other hand, his populist speeches are being taken as a mere cult. Some, without being heard, are speaking about his deceiving character referring to his 12 minutes of interview that has heavily plagiarized content. However, the optimism and cult followed Abiy is something that took Meles more than a decade to build. His predecessor resigned without having a slight of it.

What Would Civil Rights Defenders Find from the Internal Battle?

It is when OPDO diverge from EPRDF’s principle, protests started to end with lesser casualities in Oromia; it is since OPDO’s new leadership took power that many jailed political prisoners are negotiated to be released. These are among the major interests shared by civil rights defenders with OPDO. As long as OPDO and its leader are showing reformist agenda, whether it is as a bargaining power within EPRDF or not, it will remain receiving support until Pandora’s box of EPRDF is opened.

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