By Abiy Berhe

I am a member of the Ethiopian diaspora I returned to Ethiopia in 2013 to invest mainly my knowledge and experience but also my savings in my country with the main goal of creating opportunities especially for young Ethiopians. My ultimate vision is to create a leading Technology company in Africa. In some technology areas we were blocked due to security clearance issues and in some areas we were able to operate.

We established a company in Ethiopia (in partnership with others) and as such we created employment opportunities for dozens of young Ethiopians. We conduct training for technical and marketing staff both locally and abroad. We also convinced multi-national companies to venture with us in Ethiopia to invest in the manufacturing sector.

In 2017 we were invited by Defence Construction Enterprise (DCE) to participate in a bid to supply high-tech elevators with intelligent access control for INSA head office building in Bole (Wello Sefer) area.

As the specifications provided in the bid documents were vague and inadequate, we contacted the DCE for further clarification. DCE Engineers referred us to the local consultant who didn’t have enough knowledge or information to answer all our questions. But they made a mention of a foreign consultant

This was a very important project (It is INSA head office) so we didn’t want to take it lightly. It is our commitment to do our due diligence as citizens and as professionals to present a complete and well prepared bid.

We contacted the foreign consultant directly by phone. We called the Ethiopian phone number but there was no response. We made a phone call to the companies head office in Israel. After a short conversation in English, we switched to Amharic as the person on the other end of the phone happened to be of Ethiopian origin.  (We easily recognize each other’s accents, don’t we?)  Especially those words like since (See’-nis’) etc…

We were told by this Amharic speaking individual to submit our questions directly to their local client (INSA. When we insisted to talk to their technical people, our fellow Ethiopian was frustrated and told us he will call us back.

The name of this company is Avorniga Technologies (https://www.avorniga.com)  as correctly named in Tigrai Online Story. But this company is nothing like what Tigrai Online is telling us.

We checked out the company online and it was very suspicious. Their website is so plain, the type that you would put together within 30 minutes. They claim to have worked in Defence, Aviation, Telecom, etc ., but there are no indication what so ever to corroborate this claim. A search we did to see if they are involved in any other activities or countries in Africa (as they claim) or otherwise brought up zero results. At this point it was clear to us as what was happening.

There is a company incorporated in Israel (most likely by Ethiopians) and being paid as a consulting firm. In essence this company is non-existent. Its only purpose is to get paid as a consulting firm to embezzle hard earned Ethiopian foreign currency.

I talked to some friends to go to law enforcement to have this investigated. But I received discouraging answers from every one. They told me there was no law enforcement and no official will get in the way of another one. I was told “They all are thieves, don’t bother”.

What a one year time can do. Times have changed and we can tell this story now.

As to the bid, we were told it was cancelled and it will be issued again.

For further info you may contact me at Tel. +1 519 616 2970.

Download (PDF, 188KB)

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by Zekarias Ezra

Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty and dies with chaos. Will Durant

Ethiopia is not in danger of civil war or rebel violence yet, but surely it risks sliding into a political crisis that could eventually threaten the country’s existence as a nation. This is not mere conjecture. With what we have been seeing these past few years and even this past month, Ethiopia faces the gradual fraying of order, security and governance.

Less than a month after Dr Abiy assumed the mantle of power and told the nation of a hopeful future, we saw clashes in different regions of the country. Citizens have lost their lives, properties ruined, and chaos ruled.

Fueled by unwise speeches, animosity between people is made to fester and grow. Those animosities in some cases grew quickly and manifested in the displacement and killing of certain group of people.

These clashes illustrated the fragility of the new administration’s authority over a nation started to slide into sectarian loathing and violence. Among the deepening crises are accounts of towns like Jijiga where a huge number of Amhara and Oromo population have fled, and 29 people killed and over ten churches burned. In eastern Ethiopia over the weekend 40 people were killed by paramilitary forces.

Over this same weekend, another violence erupted in Shashemene. Even in a country where sectarian violence has become a regular occurrence, what has happened in Shashemene proved some acts of inhumanity still have the power to shock.

It behooves us to argue that the government is incapable of providing the most elemental service: security. This is a true and just charge.

A government that is incapable of securing peace and order must not be expected nor trusted to bring about democracy. There cannot be any democracy in a nation where anarchy and chaos are prevalent.

Not only that, today the citizenry is completely disillusioned. There is a semblance of government, but it is difficult to know where the power center is located. Is there a governing party called EPRDF? Is there really? The PM is busy tarnishing his own party.

Jawar, the activist, tells us, with utter bravado ‘he and his invisible group’ are the ones who have effectively brought down the government to its knees. They could have finished the job and completely overthrow the government, Jawar said, but wanted to give a chance to EPRDF to reform itself.  His professor friend echoes the same thing when he said the ‘reform is not led by EPRDF’ Qerro, Fano is still around’; apparently watching and overseeing the reform. So, who is governing the country today? Or

Jawar, with no humility, went further and sent a message (more of an order) to the group supposedly defeated and encamped in Mekelle; the ‘Azawent , the elderly’, in an apparent reference to the former fighters of TPLF, to invite him and his entourage to Mekelle so they can discuss how to move on. Why would TPLF leaders be expected to oblige to this call unless Jawar is (or thinks he is) the ‘de facto’ leader of the reform movement, by extension the force behind the PM Abiy administration?

It is not surprising then Ethiopians are disillusioned. When any violence or clash or incident occurs, the disillusioned citizenry immediately points its fingers at the ‘defeated’ group in Mekelle or people of Tigrai in general. Some even claim ‘Woyane is still in power’. C’mon people, we cannot have it both ways. You cannot keep blaming the ‘defeated’ group for every new ill that sprang about everywhere in the country. Just so you know, ‘governing is a hard task’.

I have been very critical of the late PM Meles Zenawi on many occasions. I still stood by those positions. Yet, reflecting on the type of prime minister he was and his formidable political skills, I have concluded that the ‘fracturing’, ‘chaos’, and ‘confusion’ of today would not have happened if he were still alive. His comrades owe it to Ethiopia, which they ruled for 27 years, to break their hiatus and play a major role in bringing about peace, security, order and a genuine transition to democracy.

The post Increased lawlessness: The Shashemene Incident and a disillusioned citizenry appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

by Muluken Gebeyew

The opportunistic and parasitic TPLF (Tigray  People’s Liberation Front) which  has been  led by few elites family members have been using and trading the Tigray  Ethiopian people for their evil act on Ethiopians. Majority of Tigray Ethiopian people who live in the rural Tigray  suffer from TPLF’s cruel dictatorship and harsh ruling  from theses elites and their top down cadres.

The majority of  innocent Tigray Ethiopian people have  been denied of the slim right that the rest of oppressed Ethiopian people have during the last 27 years. They  have no option except to support TPLF otherwise they face ostracism, dispossession, imprisonment, torture death and migration. Those who dare to question TPLF have been  thrown in under ground jails in the mountains which are not yet  known by the Federal government.

The innocent Tigray Ethiopian  mothers and fathers had  been crying  during the 17 years  war as the  élites of TPLF used their children under forceful conscription for war effort  against their fellow Ethiopian brothers. They lost many of their children  to put on power a dictatorial TPLF regime which  killed and tortured so many  Ethiopians.

TPLF has ruled Ethiopians through hate, fear, divide and rule policies. It has monopolised the economy, military, foreign affair, security and all sector of the society. It has killed, tortured, imprisoned, looted, destabilised large sector of Ethiopian society principally the Amhara and Oromo people.

TPLF  created a delusional federal system in Ethiopia with puppets figure heads while its operatives rule under iron fist. It continued its divide and rule policy by fermenting  and  waging violence among different ethnicities, nationalities  and religious members. Its inflammatory polices have made Ethiopians displaced, homeless, dispossessed, unemployed and to flee from their country.

The sufferings of  innocent Tigray Ethiopian  people  haven’t been well acknowledged by most Ethiopians and global audience. This is partly because  of the false perception  that most of us  associating them with  ruling regime as TPLF use their name;  They live in a TPLF spy webs where there is no breathing space;  Geographically they are far away from the centre  and  other Ethiopians don’t live  there which  created  a medium to hide all the TPLF cruel treatments without any exposure. The Poor Tigray Ethiopian  people suffered double oppression, sandwiched between the rest of Ethiopians false impression about them  and   TPLF cruel treatment.  They are falsely  associated with regime or ignored by most of their Ethiopian brothers.

There are many Tagaru who benefited from the 27 year dictatorial rule of TPLF in Ethiopia. These are mainly the  Tagaru who live outside Tigray, in Addis Ababa,  the rest of Ethiopia and in Diaspora. These group have enriched themselves by the direct opportunity TPLF arranged specifically for them. They are the current millionaires, business owners, property owners, military generals, security heads,  powerful people with mighty finances. They have looted government properties, finance of public organisations,  public properties, state banks and lands of Ethiopians. Every successful business from non TPLF Ethiopians have been transferred to TPLFits and their supporters under the pretext of non tax payment. The regime created an environment even for some to induce  fear and intimidation among  Ethiopians by mere boasting and associating themselves with regime and using Tigrigna language in public places as means of superiority.

These élite groups which amassed unbelievable wealth have been  defending  the TPLF’s dictatorial  rule in Ethiopia from any Ethiopian and Opposition group.  They have supported the TPLF’s killings and cruel treatment against Ethiopians and participated as spy, spy master, security and military bosses , minsters, ambassadors in all important sector of the Ethiopian society to maintain and prolong TPLF regime.  These opportunistic group will continue to stand with TPLF by hook or crook as TPLF   is the source of their finance and adverse influence against  Ethiopians. They are few  when compared to the majority innocent Tigray Ethiopian people but the are rich and powerful with  big mouth and means.

The Ethiopian people 27 years  struggle against TPLF  has  got its momentum in the last 2 years  and it is at the verge of eradicating TPLF. The ruthless tyrannical TPLF  has  back tracked from the front seat of power in Ethiopia in the last 4  months  following the peaceful people struggle where many Ethiopians scarified their life. TPLF is still alive and kicking in Mekele.

This powerful and very rich organisation (TPLF)  with possession  looted billions dollar worth of Ethiopian property, is fermenting and organising obstacles against the new progressive leadership led by  Dr. Abiy and his team using mercenaries inside Ethiopia through the blessing of criminal old TPLF guards with in the centre and periphery regions. The cash milk of TPLF, EFFORT,(Endowment Fund for Rehabilitation of Tigray) billions worth conglomerate business organisation  which was  established  through blood money  is still the main source of finance for TPLF to derail the progressive democratic changes

Once again the innocent Majority Tigray Ethiopian people are suffering from the rage  and wrath of TPLF which is crying like wounded Tiger. It is trying to use these poor people as usual for its evil act against their Ethiopian brothers. It is preparing the people for bloodshed, another civil war and potentially separation from the rest of Ethiopia. In order to survive, TPLF élites would do whatever possible at the expense of the poor majority Tigray Ethiopian people.

The new leadership led by Dr. Abiy and  his team, the rest of Ethiopian people (specially  youth), oppositions forces  and the intellectual have moral duty to help our Tigray Ethiopian brothers to get rid off TPLF which has been  trading under their   name for more than four decades. Our Tigray brothers need to breath freedom and exercise their Ethiopian rights as the rest of us and define our fate together.

The Tigray Ethiopian people and youth, including progressive elements with in  TPLF   have to rebel peacefully against these tyrannical and oppressive TPLF élites who besieged you for decades. TPLF’s elites  should never be allowed to hide under innocent Tigray Ethiopian people’s skirt.

The rest of Ethiopians are with you to end these evil war  monger TPLF  which is currently  fermenting division, animosity and hate among Ethiopians. Those opportunists benefiting  from TPLF rule can not use your name  and you should stride big and join the rest of Ethiopians!

The post Let’s help  our Tigray Ethiopian  People to get rid off TPLF! appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Belayneh Abate

Reconciliation among people is needed when there are animosities between two or more individuals or groups that resulted in ill-deeds. In cases of Ethiopia, these ill-deeds are not just mere squabbles: the ill-deeds include massive massacres, sterilizations, tortures, disappearances, incarcerations, robberies, national treasons and so on.

Reconciliation is needed to heal (not to forget) these unforgettable crime wounds and start to have better relationships. To reconcile and start better relationships with their victims, the criminals should become “new creatures”. To become new creatures, firstly the criminals should place themselves in solitude and pass through self-redemption processes. Secondly, the criminals should confess all the crimes they committed without blaming others like “the born again” Tamirat Lyne tries to do. Thirdly, the criminals should exhibit sincere remorse and ask their victims for forgiveness. Finally,  the criminals involved in massacres and murders should face justice because no one on earth has the right to forgive on behalf of the dead souls.

None of the reconciliation steps are followed in the “reconciliation” process of Ethiopian although the “Addition Reconciliation Mantra” has swept away the mass like the Sahara dust carried away by cyclones. Speaking the gullible addition mantra redundantly, the preacher in power acts as a “repentant” before self-redemption and without confessing his and his colleagues crimes. He further acts as a forgiver and a mediator. In other words, the preacher in power plays these three reconciliation roles, the reconciliation roles even God cannot play at the same time.

The preacher in power is trying to make a miraculous cross from logs without using nails or glues. The glues and the nails used to reconcile the criminals with their unfortunate victims are confessions and justice. Even God uses confessions and justice  as tools to forgive and reconcile with the sinners. If God has no power to forgive without confessions and justice, how can we have the power to forgive  and reconcile with murderers on behalf of the murdered in the absence of confessions and justice?

Rushing to forgiveness and reconciliation without confessions and justice is defying  God’s wills and miscarriage of justice. Ignoring all the massacres, murders, tortures, sterilizations, mass displacements  and other horrendous crimes, many are joining, hugging and dining with the criminals holding  the “reconciliation” banners as excuses. It is a Gand scam on earth and heaven to claim reconciliation in the absence justice and confessions.

Similar reads:

ፍትህ የሌለው እርቅ ሥራ እንደሌለው እምነት የሞተ ነው!

http://quatero.net/amharic1/archives/30170

No One Has the Right to Forgive on Behalf of the Dead Souls!

https://ecadforum.com/2018/06/28/no-one-has-the-right-to-forgive-on-behalf-of-the-dead-souls/

We  Shall  never  Feed  or Trade  on  Dead  Souls!

https://www.zehabesha.com/we-shall-never-feed-or-trade-on-dead-souls-by-belayneh-abate/

The writer can be reached at abatebelai@yahoo.com

August 14, 2018.

The post A Grand Scam on Earth and Heaven: Reconciliation in the Absence of Justice and Confessions appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Prof. Haile Larebo interview with Ethiopian Andenet Radio

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By Kidane Alemayehu

Following the opening of the Suez Canal in ….., the Red Sea has become one of the most important sea lanes in the whole world. Billions of dollars worth of goods including oil are being transported through the Red Sea which facilitates quite a robust trade between the West on the one hand and the Middle East and Asia in general on the other hand.

What is, however, easily noticeable is the fact that the countries adjacent to the Red Sea, particularly those on the African side are mere observers of this huge trade flowing relentlessly in front of their noses but are not part of it in any meaningful manner.

For all intents and purposes, the Red Sea is, as far as the adjacent countries are concerned, a huge ocean keeping them apart instead of serving as a medium of collaboration and mutual support. Unlike the Arab Gulf Cooperative Council which brings together Arab countries adjacent to the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea is being utilized merely as a trade sea lane for the rich and the powerful in the West, Asia and Australia.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR COLLABORATION

Immense benefits could accrue to all the countries surrounding the Red Sea only if the governments were to come together and chart out an appropriate strategy and action plan to make full use of the huge resources that the region as a whole could offer for the benefit of their peoples currently totaling 200 million and increasing to over 400 million in 20 years.

Among the potential benefits of collaborating in the context of a Red Sea Cooperative Council, the following could be sited as examples:

• The existing mutually advantageous resources among the adjacent countries e.g. oil and investment on the Arab side and agricultural, mineral, water, and human resources on the African side could be exploited for a common advantage;
• The mostly underdeveloped eleven sea ports around the Red Sea could be upgraded to provide, similar to Dubai, Singapore, etc. international standard maritime service thereby bringing in increased trade and employment;
• The utilization of the Red Sea for common advantages would render it a region of peace instead of the current situation which has made it an area of serious potential dangers involving, on the one hand, France, Israel and the United States, and Iran on the other hand;
• The peace and stability that could prevail as a result of a sustainable collaboration among the countries adjacent to the Red Sea could go a long way in alleviating the current state of conflict, grinding poverty, and endemic diseases such as malaria and TB;
• The underdeveloped but huge resources especially on the African side such as water, agriculture, minerals, and the environment could be put to a better advantage for the benefit of the region’s people as well as for the international community;
• Effective utilization of the region’s resources as well as the achievement of peace and stability in the region could relieve the international community from the perennial demands for financial and other assistance;
• The achievement of a sustainable development through an integrated or a holistic development strategy that spans all the countries in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia) as well as Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Yemen would bring about a level of prosperity that would, among other things, avoid making the region a breeding ground for international terrorism.

FACTORS MITIGATING AGAINST COLLABORATION

There are, unfortunately, serious underlying constraints mitigating against a meaningful collaboration among the countries adjacent to the Red Sea. The constraints are so inhibiting that the whole idea of collaboration in the region appears, at least at this stage, highly speculative and a virtual pie in the sky. Such a line of thinking, however, merely subscribes to the current state of affairs in which countries in the region continue to be at loggerheads among each other thereby perpetuating conflict and poverty.

In order to move towards the higher objective of collaboration in the region, it is essential to identify the challenges clearly and meet them headlong. Otherwise, there would be no prospects of achieving peace and development in the region. The underlying challenges facing the region at the moment include:

• The myopic interests of the international community; for instance:
• China which is merely interested in short-term gains: selling its services and obtaining some natural resources;
• India which is interested in obtaining land at give-away rates in Ethiopia;
• The Arab Gulf countries which are, in the most, intent on short-term gains including exporting Wahabism to Ethiopia;
• Europe which seems to be interested in keeping the region at bay and selling its products at a very minimal level;
• USA which appears to be satisfied with keeping the region under its control against international terrorism;
• Japan which is satisfied in selling its products also at a minimal level;

• The absence of good governance, rule of law, and respect for human rights in the

region and the prevalence of a huge system of corruption;

• The ineffectiveness of the international and regional organizations such as the

UN, AU, IGAAD, etc. in dealing with the serious economic, social

and political challenges resulting from the obviously flawed policies of the

various governments;

• The presence of leaders in the region that are intent on merely subjugating their

respective people and have no qualms about perpetuating a state of conflict with

their neighbors;

The post PROSPECTS OF A RED SEA COOPERATIVE COUNCIL appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

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by Derege B. Demissie, J. D

Recent developments in the State of Somalia have stirred heated debate on Federalism, the limits of state power, and the intervention of the federal government to restore order. What took place in Jijiga provides fertile ground for a sober and productive discussion on federalism in general, and the federalism in the context of Ethiopia in particular.

First, until now, what we had in Ethiopia is federalism in name only. In other words, we did not have federalism in Ethiopia, period! From the outset, it is axiomatic that federalism cannot exist without democracy. The very concept of federalism requires that distinct states or regions within the nation are able to govern themselves in all areas not reserved for the central government. The idea is based on the principle that people who live in various administrative states should be able to govern themselves however they see fit within the ambit of the national constitution. This principle presumes that the people of the various states will be able to elect their own state government and legislature.  It presumes that the people will have a say in shaping and enacting the local laws that govern their affairs.

For the past three decades, the central government in Ethiopia dictated who controlled the states. Indeed, the states were all administered by parties that were part of the ruling EPRDF party. In the rare instance where this is not the case, the leaders of EPRDF would directly control which party and personality would rule over a state. The Somali region was governed by such an arrangement. The client rulers who govern the sates were ultimately accountable to the ruling party as opposed to the residents of their state. There has never been a free and fair election within any of the states to elect the leaders by universal suffrage. Sure, the states enacted laws that protect and promote the local culture, language and customs. But that’s not what makes the system federal. The existence of a true federal system depends on the ability of the the people to choose their own state governors and the laws they are governed by.

Federalism comes with strict limits on the power of the regional states. In a federal system, the states are free to create laws in all areas not reserved to the central government. The core principle of a single political union requires the supremacy of the central government and the constitution of the union.

Although most federal constitutions differ in what they allow regional states to control, the common areas reserved to the central government in federal systems are the national defense and interstate commerce. That is not to say the federal government cannot dictate what states should and should not do in areas not reserved for the federal government. It just means it uses soft power to compel conformity. For example, regional states are usually allowed to form their own regulation in regards to education. But in many federal systems, the central government sets general guidelines and minimum standards. Regional states that ignore these standards may do so at their peril as their graduates would not receive national accreditation or federal funding for schools may be contingent on their compliance. In such areas, the central government uses the power of its purse and accreditation to coerce states to conform to national policy. So even in areas not reserved to the central government, regional states may be forced to behave in conformity with policies established by the central government.

When the states violate the federal constitution and rights of citizens under the constitution, however, the federal government has the right and the obligation to step in. This is also mandated by the Ethiopian constitution. Indeed, the first of the 21 enumerated powers of the federal government in the Ethiopian Constitution is the power “to protect and defend the Constitution.” The notion that a state government can engage in a blatant violation of the constitutional rights of citizens and remain immune from federal intervention fails to recognize the basic principle that undergirds the federal system. While regional states can give their citizens more protection than the federal constitution provides, they cannot give less. When they do, they violate the federal constitution.

The folly of those who criticized the response of the federal government in intervening in Jijiga seems to stem from confusing Federalism with anarchy. Federalism is not anarchy. The federal constitution is the supreme law of the land. A state government cannot encourage the killing of innocent people based on ethnicity or permit the destruction of places of worship. In such instances, the federal government must take measures to protect and defend the constitution. The federal government has the duty to bring state officials who violate constitutional rights of citizens to justice.

Enforcing federal laws and suppression of mass violence which states are unwilling or unable to control have been the primary reasons for federal military intervention in prominent federal governments. In the United States, for example, the premier federal system of our time, the federal government had intervened militarily in various states to enforce the federal laws. When the Arkansas governor used the Arkansas national guard to block nine black students from entering a white only school, refusing to abide by the decision of the U.S Supreme Court, on Sept. 23, 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower sent the Army’s 101st Airborne Division to maintain order and peace and enforce the federal law.

In 1963, when the governor of the State of Alabama, Gov. George Wallace, tried to prevent the integration of a white-only school in defiance of the decision of the U.S. federal district court in Alabama that ordered the University of Alabama to admit two African-American students, President Kennedy also federalized Alabama’s national guard and enforced the law.

When riot in Detroit left 43 people dead and several properties damaged, on July 23, 1967, the federal government sent thousands of Army troops and National Guardsmen to bring order to the city. These are but some of the many examples of federal interventions in states by the United States military. All of these acts are viewed as necessary measures taken by the central government to restore order and enforce the constitution: The supreme law of the land.

Nor is the arrest and prosecution of state governors and legislatures for violation of federal law an uncommon phenomenon in a federal system. My quick research on this issue revealed that at least 11 state governors were charged and convicted of various federal crimes in the United States. I have also identified at least 89 prosecution of state legislatures by the federal government.

The same has been true for the Canadian federal system. During the Winnipeg General Strike in the summer of 1919, general chaos brought the city to a standstill. The local police allowed the disorder because they, too, supported the strike. The Federal government responded by sending in the military to restore order.  The action was based on the doctrine that justified federal intervention in local and provincial matters when that matter had attained “such dimension as to effect the body politic of the Dominion.”

The Ethiopian Constitution, despite what some commentators expressed in various media, does not provide a blanket immunity from prosecution to state officials. To the extent the state official is a member of the House of People’s Representative, the official enjoys conditional immunity. Number 6 of the Article 54 of the Constitution states “No member of the House may be arrested or prosecuted without the permission of the House except in the case of flagrante delicto.” Flagrante delicto is a legal maxim that refers to highly visible, brazen action, as in getting caught in the act of committing an offense. The killing of civilians by state supported militia or special forces and the burning of Churches qualifies as Flagrante delicto. Plainly put, there is no one immune from prosecution for instigating the rampant killing of civilians.

The sad episode in Jijiga, as disastrous as it was for many individuals who lost their lives and religious institutions that came under attack, provides a good opportunity for a healthy dialogue and amplifies the need to establish a strong federal court system in Ethiopia. With increased democratic rights and freedoms, there will be increasing demands of accountability and transparency by the people of each state. There will also be a free flaw of information as well as misinformation. Democracy is messy. The only proven institution that can bring order the democracy’s mess is a truly independent judiciary. That is where we need to spend out energy.

This will not be the first incident of abdication of the duty by state officials to protect the equal rights of people within their administrative region. The system needs to develop a legal framework that allows the government to intervene early and avoid the necessity of resorting to a military.

The federal government should use the federal court system to bring lawsuits, secure injunctions, and, if necessary, arrest warrants against state government officials who engage in systemic violation of the federal constitutional rights of citizens. To do that, the federal government must have federal police in the various states to assist the federal courts in enforcing its orders and secure the appearance of witnesses and defendants. Indeed, the first step and preferred method of intervention in every such dispute should be a court action, whether its civil or criminal.

Building a strong, independent court system would allow the federal government to send a message to state officials who abuse their position as well as leaders of vigilante mobs that terrorize people based on their ethic background. Whether one is an Amhara in Harar, a Tigray in Hawassa, or an Oromo in Mekelle, that person should be protected to enjoy all of her constitutional rights without interference by a rogue state official or a vigilante mob. The federal government should use the courts to send a message of deterrence to those who violate the constitutional rights of citizens. Those arrested in Jijiga as well as individuals who engage in violent acts against civilians based on their ethnic background should be charged and brought to justice in open, fair, and public trials. Let’s use the courts not only to deliver justice but also educate the public.

Finally, many have argued the country cannot maintain national unity with ethnic-based federalism. That the existing constitution was designed to undermine Ethiopian nationalism and unity. As such, they conclude, we cannot move forward without a new constitution and new federal system. While these concerns are valid and merit full consideration, I believe the time is not ripe to engage in wholesale constitutional change. Building democratic culture, democratic institutions, and a strong and independent judicial system should precede any effort to draft a new constitution. We will repeat the mistakes of the past if we rush to engage in a process that is sure to produce clear losers and winners. We should first reform the system enough to get us to a point where we can engage in a productive and democratic dialogue on how we can live together in harmony. Then we can begin the discussion on whether to shed ethnic-based federalism for a multi-ethnic state federalism. We’re just not there yet.

The post Federalism is not Anarchy appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Ending 27 years of schism, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians in their homeland and in America reunited the two feuding branches of one of the world’s oldest churches

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Derese G Kassa (Ph.D.)

TPLF: Before and After Incumbency

Even after 27 years of its reign, we struggle to understand and qualify the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). It is an organization of many contradictions. It was founded by young radical Marxist Leninist intellectuals who bitterly fought their fellow school mates about the primacy of the “National Question” in Ethiopia as opposed to “Class Struggle.” The Ethiopian state, they submitted, should only be interpreted and comprehended as an Amhara project. National oppression, in TPLF parlance, did not even represent domination by an Amhara ruling class but the Amhara “nation” in general. Its insistence on Tigrayan identity, its unwavering commitment to establish the republic of Tigray and how it framed Ethiopia Pirst as a “colonizing” and later “oppressing” entity makes one wonder “Was this a Marxist Leninist Front to begin with or nationalist?”

Even from the cannon of Marxist Leninist literature, one that struck home to the TPLF as the purest form of socialism came from the strangest place. Not from Leninist or Stalinist Russia, not even from Mao Zedong’s China, but from Enver Hoxha’s Albania. Albanian “communism” aspired to turn the clock back to a classless communal society by promoting de-industrialization and de-mechanization of agriculture forcing communities to imagine an agrarian utopia. The closest this was experimented upon was by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and we all know how that story ended. How college students from a rural backwater – Tigray- in one of the lease industrialized nations in the world-Ethiopia- found Albanian socialism heuristic and relevant to their world view itself is bafPling. Or maybe not. John Young, a veteran student of the TPLF, explained it as follows.

Ethiopia on the eve of the 1974 revolution was a ramshackle empire on the periphery of international economic and state systems. But its educated youth were products of what Skocpol calls “world historical time”: they were able to appropriate knowledge and ideas of world history, particularly socialism and social revolution, and they attempted to put them to use in the transformation of Ethiopia.

Then there is the ascetic, self-effacing, Front idolizing culture where the organization itself occupies a mythical status and those that died in the struggle sat on a pedestal as “martyrs” of the revolution. In fact, the language of political violence in TPLF is awash with biblical terms  such  as  “sacriPice”,  “shedding  blood”,  “salvation”  [harinet]  etc.  One  wonders  if  the millennia old Christian traditions of Tigray melted with its nationalist cum Marxist import. Even after three decades of incumbency, TPLF old guards do not relent to remind us that they “shed their blood” and “sacriPiced their brothers and sisters” to accede to power.

For all its warts, however, it was an organization that meticulously built its support base within the Tigrayan peasantry. It penetrated Tigrayan churches, mosques, the state bureaucracy, schools, businesses and establishments. It is now very difPicult to draw the line between the Front apparatus and the people of Tigray. It functioned as a quasi-state entity in provinces that it “liberated” from the Derg in its days as a rebel force. It was steeped in the business of building schools and health centers for mothers and children while waging the guerilla Pight against the government. It built a public relations and later foreign relations corps where it solicited Pinancial, political and later military support from powers in the region and beyond. In this, both the TPLF and EPLF stood out as staggering exceptions to other African guerrilla movements known to be rag tag vigilantes marauding villages to extort, exploit, rape, and terrorize civilian populations. In other words, this is not Charles Taylor’s “Independent Patriotic Front of Liberia” (INPFL) or the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) of Uganda. John Young summed up TPLF’s posture within Tigray as follows, “While the TPLF did use compulsion and violence to maintain the discipline of its members and to counter its opponents, it rarely or never used such means in dealing with peasants en masse.”

In May 1991, the TPLF, one could argue, had three ideological pillars. It was primarily an ethno-nationalist entity premised on antagonizing not just the Derg but the Ethiopian state itself. Its methods of popular organization, propaganda and world view on global political economy were, on the other hand, decidedly Leninist and Maoist. It cut its political teeth by purging all other political organizations then operating in Tigray and fought an existential battle with the Derg. Political violence was the source of its power and its major weapon of resistance against other forces. There only were a handful moments when TPLF allowed a contending political force to co-exist let alone share power with it. Even those moments were short term tactical gestures which ended unceremoniously for opponents. Its yester affairs with the OLF are a case in point here.

Enter 27 years, this being has morphed into a strange animal. In Meles Zenawi, it found the ideology of Authoritarian Developmentalism appealing. This doctrine stresses the need of a vanguard party (in this case EPRDF) that can propel Ethiopia from poverty and rent seeking – that it posits is inherent in the workings of global neo-liberalism. Here again, it harkens back to its old leftist roots but in the same breath declares that the ultimate goal is to build capitalism in Ethiopia. This is serious dislocation. Over the past 27 years, TPLF tamed its ethno-nationalist rhetoric partly because of the need to govern the country. But its core remained the crux of the EPRDF. In fact, it yielded a Tigrayan political elite group that controlled the country’s military and intelligence apparatus, business and Pinancial dealings. This “ethno-class” Plexed its muscles through major avenues. Systemic, pervasive and institutional discrimination prevailed in the military and security apparatus where more than 95% of the senior ofPicer corps stayed ethnic Tigrayan. The ruling elite and their kinfolk embezzled public funds, and amassed wealth through corruption, graft, tax evasion, and illegal money laundering. The level of rent-seeking we witnessed on Zenawi’s watch makes one wonder, “Who is the rent-seeker here?” So in concentrating wealth and power in the hands of the Tigrayan elite, TPLF entrenched its ethno-nationalism. Last but not least, violence was writ large. Up until the past 3 months, the nation jailed its opposition party leaders, human rights activists, journalists, religious leaders and subjected them to inhuman, elaborate technologies of torture and violence. To sum up, TPLF became a party of a propertied urban ethno-class that unabashedly retained its ethno-nationalist domain and vintage politics of violence.

Designs of the Counter-Revolution

That was where we were until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power. Popular unrest exploded by the youth in Oromiya, Amhara regions and other parts of Southern Ethiopia. Popular discontent boiled among Muslim Ethiopians. The disaffection and resentment from the urban middle class and civil servants simmered underneath. There was no room where dissent can be ventilated let alone articulated. And the fact that, the middle level and senior level leaders of OPDO and ANDM joined forces with the public forced TPLF to a corner. It begrudgingly accepted the election of PM Abiy.

It was however written on the wall that the TPLF would wage an ideological and political battle against the new PM from the get go. What was not obvious for most of us was the design of this counter-revolution. The broad contours and some of the granular details have emerged in the past 6 weeks. In my view, the TPLF has developed three overarching strategies on how to reverse reform in Ethiopia

Strategy 1. Chaos and its Dividends

The rumors of TPLF’s political death are exaggerated. In fact, it is now clear that the Prime Minister commands but TPLF controls. It looks like TPLF took a page from the cardinal mistake US forces made when they invaded Iraq. They ousted Sadaam and de-capitated the military and security complex that held the country together. De-baathiPication, the massive outlay of security forces and marginalization of Sunni forces plunged Iraq into chaos. By the same token, the former security chief, Getachew Assefa, and its armed security syndicate have now become a Pifth column in Ethiopia. They hatch, mastermind, Pinance and execute inter-ethnic violence. In just a space of 6 weeks, we witnessed conPlict between the Somali and Oromo, Amhara and Oromo, Oromo and Gedeo, Gurage and Kebena, Wolayita and Sidamo. Urban Plashpoints included Hawassa, Jigjigga, Assosa, Nekemte, Bahir Dar, Gondar, Woldiya and Dessie. The number of internally displaced Ethiopians exceeded more than 2 million people. Fake news and active propaganda measures inciting hate speech, division and conPlict were taken by TPLF’s troll farmers.

Inciting chaos and public violence would yield the following three dividends. Littering the nation with news of wanton violence and destruction would de-legitimize Prime Minister Abiy’s  government.  It  would  make  him  lose  public  conPidence.  Second,  the  logic  of perpetual chaos means old divisions and fault lines would re-emerge. The rancor and division between the pro-unity and democracy forces and ethno-nationalists could Plare up again. Chaos would uncover previous ethnic and religious fault lines that the TPLF could exploit to sway political forces from within the Oromo and Amhara public. Last but not least perpetual chaos could sway the international mood and support Abiy’s government has. In fact, I am of the opinion that TPLF strategists could weigh in how the next electoral cycle in the US and a change of administration could for instance hedge their bet in Addis. Consider a hypothetical where Mrs. Susan Rice becomes the next Secretary of State. La long duree, TPLF has calculated violence would pay off. We should disabuse ourselves of the notion that TPLF old guards are doing this out of desperation or that this violence would ebb down on its own. It will not. An outstanding question here is “How does Abiy’s government view TPLF’s strategy of inciting chaos and violence? Does it consider it an act of desperation by a loose band of renegades and their mercenaries or as a premeditated, organized plan of action that spans years?”

Strategy 2. Horses for Courses

The TPLF knows full well that it cannot maintain its political and economic domination without coopting and installing the Amhara and Oromo elite. The EPRDF was that scaffolding which held for 27 years. The EPRDF is no more. Abiy Ahmed’s reforms to liberalize the political and economic space go directly against the interests the Tigrayan ethno-class. His emphasis on national unity and Ethiopiawinet undercuts TPLF’s entrenched ethno-nationalism that resents greater Ethiopia. So there is a dire need for a new EPRDF.

TPLF is working hard to form it out of the dying embers of the old EPRDF. It is calculating that it could sway hardliner Oromo nationalists from within OPDO and outside. Dawud Ibsaa’s OLF and Oromo media activists suspect of Abiy come in are useful candidates here. It has resuscitated the question of Sidama nationalism with hopes to have a major ethnic bloc. There of course are its satellites in Afar, Somali, Benishangul Gumuz, and Gambella regions. The attempt to court pack the EPRDF with new member parties from these regions is to out vote the OPDO-ANDM-SEPDM block. It is also worth considering how the TPLF may broaden the tent within Tigray itself. The Mekele roundtables with Arena, Aregawi Berhe’s TAND, former notables such as Gen. Tsadkan G. Tensay will give it a new lease of life in the eyes of the Tigrayan public. The latter may as well be more defensive (giving no turf for the opposition) than offensive. A seminal question however would be “What is going to be the strategic response of Team Abiy toward this “new horses for courses” strategy of rupturing the OPDO base and encirclement from the peripheries?”

Strategy 3. Dilly dallying, Non-committal and DeNiance

Dr. Debrestion’s gestures and actions tell a lot about TPLF’s art of dilly dallying, non- committal,  and  dePiance  to  Abiy’s  leadership.  You  could  see  him  in  Addis  one  sunny morning lauding the reform effort and declaring his support for the Federal government. That same afternoon he issues an ofPicial statement resenting rapprochement with Asmara or you could hear him cheer lead a demo declaring the prospect of Ethiopian disintegration. How about the botched military air operation to Mekele where Federal troops dispatched to bring ex-ofPicials to justice were arrested by the regional government? Is there method to this madness? I think so.

It is easy to dismiss such gestures as personal idiosyncrasies. Some even exonerate Debretsion saying he is caught in the cross Pires between reformers (aka Arkebe Oqbay) and hardliners (Abay Tsehay and Sebhat Nega). I beg to differ. The dilly dallying and open revolt of Mekele against Abiy’s decisions tells me there is total non-committal on the part of the TPLF. There could be a handful of individuals who insist reform under Abiy is good but they  are  not  a  block  at  all!  The  overwhelming  stance  within  the  TPLF  is  dePiance  and resistance. By design or default, such dilly dallying and non-committal enables TPLF’s counter-revolutionaries. Playing the good cop (Arkebe et al) bad cop (Debretsion et al) game runs the clock down. It protects the old guards of the TPLF and their economic empire from any serious political and legal ramiPications. But most importantly, such dilly dallying and projected ambivalence from TPLF throws Abiy’s government off its game. Should it act or sit on the fence and watch this play out in its favor? In both scenarios, however, TPLF purchases the time it needs to execute strategies 1 and 2. Here is another seminal question. “Is Abiy Ahmed’s government willing to take risk and cut to the chase with the TPLF heavyweights in time?

In Search of Antidotes

Strategies to reverse TPLF’s counter revolution would be based on answers to questions I posited above. First, “How does the Abiy government view TPLF’s strategy of inciting chaos and violence?” Does it consider it an act of desperation by a loose band of renegades and their mercenaries or as a premeditated, organized plan of action that spans years?” Second, “What is going to be the strategic response of Team Abiy toward this “new horses for courses” strategy of rupturing the OPDO base and encirclement from the peripheries?” Last but not least, “Is Abiy Ahmed’s government willing to take risk and check mate the TPLF old guards in time? Or is he willing to let this play this out (… of hand too)? Holding all these variables constant, I will discuss potential antidotes in the second part of my article. Stay tuned.

Derese G Kassa. (Ph.D.)

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By Greg Mills• 14 August 2018
Daily Maveric

Three major challenges face Ethiopia as it endeavours to maintain growth and widen its benefits, improve its international relations, and steady its domestic politics

“Democracy is an existential issue for Ethiopia. There is no option,” says former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, “but multipartyism.”

Hailemariam, who had taken over as the Prime Minister from Meles Zenawi on his death in 2012, resigned in February 2018 following a protracted period of violent unrest, states of emergency and mass arrests. In an interview in Harare in July 2018, where he was heading the African Union’s election observation mission, he said that “if I had not resigned, we would not be talking now”.

Until this happened, Ethiopia’s high rates of economic growth were taken to extol the virtues of authoritarianism or, put more politely, what was described as “a development state”. According to the International Monetary Fund, Ethiopia was the third-fastest growing country of 10 million or more people in the world between 2000 and 2016, recording more than 10% annual growth, nearly twice the regional average.

High growth has been necessary, but the country remains poor, with a per capita income of under $800. Jobs are hard to come by with a burgeoning population, expected to nearly double to 190 million by 2050. Despite a 40% reduction in poverty this century, a quadrupling of primary school enrolment, halving of child mortality and doubling of those with access to clean water, the political unrest has its roots in perceptions of exclusion: of widening wealth inequality between the majority and those with access to power, and of access to power itself.

“Since Meles,” observes the former PM, “there has been a fierce power struggle within the party which I was able to navigate through, as I was considered a neutral person – between those who considered the TPLF [Tigryan People’s Liberation Front] to be the dominant party and those in the other three parties which wanted to end this dominance.”

The Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which has ruled since the removal of the Derg, the military regime led by Mengistu Haile Mariam, in 1991, is made up of four political parties from Oromo, Amhara, the South and Tigray. The TPLF, which led the struggle against Mengistu, has disproportionately benefited from this relationship. Each of the parties has 45 seats in the EPRDF, a structure which grants the Tigrayans disproportionately more power given they comprise just 7% of the population.

Until now, the EPRDF, while formally being elected, has tightly controlled the country and allowed only limited space for civil society and private enterprise.

“Many in the TPLF felt,” maintains Hailemariam, “that even after Meles, that their experience gave them the exclusive right to rule. Whenever I brought new reforms before the EPRDF, these were always undermined by the TPLF, who felt that they owned the existing order.

“I considered how to proceed with such an interparty environment, without it hampering growth and our diplomacy. Yet to get the politics right was very difficult because of the internal power struggle. I had a weak constituency in the EPRDF, among the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement, SEPDM, as it was considered the youngest and the weakest, and most divided with 56 ethnic groups among its membership. Thus I did not have a high degree of internal support if I took strong action within the EPRDF.

“So I took the message to the party that there was a lack of good governance, and that people had to check the party and its leadership. The danger was otherwise to degenerate into corrupt practices, which was happening, which created internal divisions. Lots of things were not in our control. People, especially young people, who were unemployed, rose up to demand a fair and equitable share of resources, against the TPLF’s perceived disproportionate benefit from the system. This instigated violence across different parts of the country, especially in Oromia.

“There was also the issue of Meles’ stated succession plan. This had not been concluded. Younger leaders, including myself, interpreted this as being the need for older leaders to give over power. This created a clash with the older guys, who were communist-minded, in both ideological and generational terms. This caused instability in the party as we tried to reduce the influence of the old guard, who were particularly influential in the TPLF ANDM [Amhara National Democratic Movement],” tensions which were exacerbated “by corrupt practices”, he adds.

“I believed that if we did not settle these differences, that the country would degenerate. The reforms were very clear, and could not be pushed with my weak capacity and my weak constituency. I believed that there had to be a new person with a dominant force who could save the country. I also thought that this person should come from Oromia, otherwise it would be difficult to stop this.”

Demonstrations in Oromia and the Amhara region, comprising the two biggest ethnic groups in the country, had their roots in economic conditions and political restrictions. And until the politics come right, and the policy contradictions are thrashed out, things would not improve at the rate expected and required.

“Our reforms,” he notes, “had been going too slowly to save the country from ethnic disintegration.”

While Freedom House had considered the political system “partly free” in 1995, reflecting the advent of multiparty elections, it regressed to “not free” in 2010 as the government clamped down on political opposition, in which hundreds died. This reached the point, in the words of one minister in July 2018, when “by December [2017] it was not even certain that we could continue as a nation, so great was the crisis. There was a total disconnect,” he said, “between the population and the ruling party” of which he is a member.

“By resigning,” he noted, “Hailemariam made himself part of the solution.

“Before my resignation,” observes Hailemariam, “we had a 17-day discussion among the party. I presented a paper there on deep renewal, which I said should be our motto as we are lagging behind on democratisation, judicial reform, in respecting human rights, in fighting corruption and embezzlement. We needed to discuss these issues openly.”

Hailemariam was replaced six weeks later as prime minister by Dr Abiy Ahmed Ali, 41, who also became chairman of the ruling EPRDF. It was the first time an Oromo, the majority ethnic group in Ethiopia, had led the country. Abiy moved quickly, releasing political prisoners, taking steps to normalise relations with neighbouring Eritrea against which Ethiopia had fought a costly war at the turn of the century, signalled his intent to institute multiparty system, cleaned out the top leadership in the security forces, and launched reform steps in the economy through the sale of stakes in state-owned enterprises.

The economic malaise is most notable in the increasing problem of public debt, which has grown to more than 55% of GDP, or $40-billion, and the shortage of foreign exchange, equalling just two months of import cover. These are however symptoms of more dramatic problems relating to the philosophy behind the economy, the space for the private sector, delivery and corruption.

The government has taken on a lot of debt to build mega-projects, such as the $2.5-billion railway to Djibouti, the light railway bisecting Addis, the controversial 5,000-megawatt Grand Renaissance hydro-dam on the Nile near the Sudanese border, 10 large sugar mills, a giant fertiliser plant and low-cost housing. The problem is less about the need for these schemes than their completion.

Three Major Challenges

Now three major challenges face the country as it endeavours to maintain growth and widen its benefits, improve its international relations, and steady its domestic politics.

The first is to institutionalise the reform agenda, making them less vulnerable to the vagaries of individuals, ensuring their continued progress. This requires, Hailemariam says, “including all political parties, including civil society, in these debates and processes”. For example, all parties should be represented through their nominees in the national electoral commission, and that, too, on human rights.

A second challenge is to reconcile the two competing national narratives. Given its guerrilla-struggle origins, unsurprisingly the EPRDF traditionally adopted a far-left, “command” economic model, with the state at the centre. This has morphed into a developmental-state narrative, but still one in which there is little space for the private sector, especially foreigners, to operate. Banks are state-owned and there is, for example, no stock exchange, simply because there is no shares and stocks to trade. The private sector, which is supposed to be driving the productive side of the economy, has been frozen out by the power of the state, both through competition from state-sponsored or -owned enterprises, and by a squeeze on investment capital created by the government’s need to extract resources for its infrastructure plans.

Some government enterprises have worked well in spite of the limits of statism. Ethiopian Airlines, for example, has grown to become the largest (and apparently most profitable) African airline. Over the last 20 years the airline has grown passenger numbers from one million to 11 million, and increased revenue threefold in the last five years. It has driven up its growth through a hub-and-spoke model rather than domestic tourism, flying to 116 destinations with 70% of its passengers transiting through Addis, and through its adroit, far-sighted and professional management.

Then again, Ethiopian Airlines remained well run even during the Mengistu years. This cannot be said for most of the other 25 SoEs, especially the Ethiopian Sugar Corporation (which is supposed to be generating export revenues and has been a disaster), along with those concerned with telecoms, railways, agriculture and chemicals. Overarching problems of corporate management in these bodies have been compounded by preferential political access. Metek, an engineering corporation run essentially by the military, and EFFORT (the Tigrayan firm with its fingers in all manner of pies), offer for example a quite different story to Ethiopian Airlines, one that threatens to undermine the economy while prompting an increasing level of corruption.

This is not the only competing narrative. There are two visions of the Ethiopian state per se. One is ethnically organised, in the reflection of the EPRDF’s regional party composition; the other, apparently favoured by Abiy, is of a unitary, nationalistic model.

“One of the flaws in our current system,” notes Hailemariam, “is the contradiction between a group right and a citizen right. We were skewed in favour of recognising group rights, of an ethnic identify over a national identity. While in theory these rights should be two sides of the same coin, in practice this does not do so. The TPLF but also the Oromo are major beneficiaries of this practice. How this is resolved depends on how Abiy presents himself and how we deal with the tension between these rights.”

As a start, an independent commission on the subject has been proposed.

Third, finally, while Abiy will have to keep moving, there is a need to deliver on the promise of reform.

The most dangerous movement for a bad government, wrote Alexis de Tocqueville in 1856, is when it begins to reform. Abiy has public sentiment on his side, whatever the delivery, at least for a while. As De Tocqueville also noted:

“If a [democratic] society displays less brilliance than an aristocracy, there will also be less wretchedness; pleasures will be less outrageous and well-being will be shared by all; the sciences will be on a smaller scale but ignorance will be less common; opinions will be less vigorous and habits gentler; you will notice more vices and fewer crimes.”

But given that Prime Minister Abiy is likely to encounter resistance from entrenched bureaucratic interests, he would benefit from immediately freeing up capital flows and making it easier for foreigners to invest, for example, by committing Addis to joining international arbitration conventions. There is also a need to strengthen institutional mechanisms dealing with corruption, especially, says Hailemariam, in the areas of “major corruption: land registration, construction, tax administration including customs and revenue, and the judiciary and court system”.

The message from the events in Ethiopia during 2018 is clear. Ethiopians, including the majority of the ruling elite, do not believe that their model of authoritarian politics is sustainable if they want to be an economic success. That much is a lesson to authoritarians elsewhere as much as in all countries in need of reform. DM

Dr Mills heads up the Johannesburg-based Brenthurst Foundation.

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Elias Biryabarema, Maggie Fick

Reuters

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Eritrea has pulled troops back from its heavily militarized border with Ethiopia as a “gesture of reconciliation”, the pro-government Eritrean Press agency said on its Facebook page.

There was no immediate confirmation from the government in Asmara, but the move would be consistent with rapidly improving ties between the Horn of Africa neighbors, whose 1998 war killed tens of thousands and led to two decades of military stalemate.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki signed an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties and have since taken steps to put it into practice including reopening embassies in each others countries.

“It is imperative for all those who care about the long-term stability and economic viability of the region to do everything they can to help the two countries move beyond the senseless war that wrought so much suffering on both peoples,” the agency said.

Earlier on Thursday, Ethiopia appointed its first ambassador to Eritrea in two decades, the state-affiliated Fana news agency said. An online report from Fana said Redwan Hussien, formerly Ethiopian ambassador to Ireland, had become Addis Ababa’s representative in Asmara.

Abiy became prime minister in April and said he wanted to implement a peace deal that ended the war. The surprise decision was part of a broader effort to reform economics and politics in Ethiopia, the second-most populous country in Africa and east Africa’s largest economy.

The reforms included releasing thousands of political prisoners, a big step in a tightly controlled country ruled by a coalition of parties that drove the previous regime from power in 1991.

Better relations between the two countries could eventually give landlocked Ethiopia access to Eritrea’s ports and lay the groundwork for an easing of the political isolation of Eritrea.

Both leaders have visited each other, and Isaias this week reopened his country’s embassy in Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia’s national carrier Ethiopia Airlines on Wednesday made its first flight to Asmara in two decades and was greeted by dancers waving flags and flowers as families separated for decades had emotional reunions.

Ethiopian Airlines is in talks to take a stake in Eritrean Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam, chief executive of Ethiopian Airlines, said in an interview on Thursday, adding that a study would be conducted to determine the size of the stake.

INEVITABLE POLICY CHANGES

In another sign of change, the new Ethiopian central bank governor met the business community and heads of major banks and listened to their complaints for two hours while private TV cameras rolled and journalists took notes.

“We are open to listen to the challenges of the business community unlike in previous days,” said Yinager Dessie, who was appointed last month.

Business leaders said his predecessor was too conservative and sources in Addis Ababa said he rarely met bank executives and businesspeople and did not engage with institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Yinager pledged to meet the business community regularly and said two main concerns they raised, scant access to credit and crippling foreign exchange shortages, were government priorities.

“We are working on amending regulations and directives that have caused challenges for the business community,” said Yinager, who previously served as head of the government’s National Planning Commission.

He also said that sweeping changes should be expected.

“It is inevitable to have a secondary market. We cannot be square and keep our economy closed to foreign markets,” he said.

Ethiopian law currently does not allow any secondary markets. The state controls the banking sector and foreign banks are not allowed to invest in Ethiopian banks.

Yinager said Ethiopian banks should provide better services and said he told bank heads privately the average lending rate to 18 to 20 percent is “not fair” to average people.

Ethiopia could sell stakes in state-owned firms as part of reforms to “unleash the potential of the private sector”, the information minister told Reuters on Wednesday.

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The move comes amid signs of reconciliation between the two African countries, ending two decades of conflict.

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Handmade Gift from the Heart Artist Yadesa Bojia – SBS Amharic

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by Zelalem Eshete, Ph.D.

If we can’t accept each other as our own kind, based on the common denominator that we are all the same human beings, it is easier for us to be inhumane and do inhumane things to each other.  We are all guilty and we take responsibility for our actions and inactions.  Now, we all start to see each other as ones created in the image of God.  There is no better honor for us to be identified than being known as God’s image bearer.

I write this letter to those Oromo elites who have difficulty saying and meaning Ethiopia.  I want to make a case for their need for a transformed heart to see and reflect the beauty of Ethiopia, which comprises more than 80 ethnics with nothing but grace and love in their beings.  The fight among elites need to give way to the reality of the 100 million people who have a heart to see each other as beloved family.  The Oromo elites are now on sacred ground to rise up to the destiny heaven has bestowed in the name – Oromo.

Your thesis that proposes you “embrace Ethiopia when there is democracy and equality in Ethiopia” is obsolete at this momentous time.  This thesis implies that the other ethnic people are not enlightened enough to seek democracy and equality in Ethiopia.  It also implies that there is one entity among us to give you or assure you democracy as a gift.  The fact of the matter is that democracy and equality are what we all make of ourselves as we stand and work together as one people towards Ethiopia we all aspire.  We have no option for failure in making it to true democracy and true equality. The people safeguard this vision.  There is no ultimatum to be given, only responsibility to be taken.

Those Oromo elites who seem to ignore Ethiopia will now need to champion Ethiopia in love and with love, not only for Oromo but for all people.  Now that an Oromo coined “MEDEMER” and rose to the highest Office of the land, the whole Ethiopia celebrated and embraced Dr. Abiy Ahmed with great joy.  We all saw him as a son of Ethiopia, our own kind, congruent to the truth.  All people from all walks of life, all religions, all political backgrounds, all ethnic groups loved this hero of love.

Now the burden of responsibility is on those Oromo elites to advocate for a united Ethiopia more than any other.  Don’t go there, you know it, I am not talking about unity in uniformity.  Those elites need to be inclusive and see us all as your own kind.  That is the meaning of Ethiopia the beautiful – we are family united in purpose on a road towards one Africa.  Getting to power is not what makes history at all, instead what one does with leadership responsibility is what makes a true lasting legacy.

Here is an excerpt from an article I wrote in May of 2014 entitled “Ethiopia Anew: A Call to Oromo Ethnic People”.  It was a story of hope then, it is a story of our miracle today…

“Accept Your Destiny to Lead Us into the Future: The New Ethiopia: … Exercising force was the tool to construct Ethiopia. Now things have changed. Your tool is only love to construct the New Ethiopia. The world holds you to the highest standard in the 21^st century. You have been prepared from the beginning of time for a time like this. Embrace love and find out what you are made of for real and what you are capable of doing. You will be our wonder. Only hate and bitterness keep you from your God given destiny to lead us to the Ethiopia: the super model of the world. Live out your calling by causing all Ethiopians hold hands with each other to stand together as one people for a New Ethiopia as never before.” (Zelalem Eshete, May 15, 2014)

This story of hope came true with Dr. Abiy Ahmed and Obo Lemma Megersa in association with others.  Now we are here to witness our “difficult” elites join the spirit of Team Lemma by embracing mother Ethiopia in all her glory, thereby building us all as one big intelligent family.  This is not prophecy, it is an understanding of the true picture of the Oromo people.  Oromo people and Ethiopia are inseparable.  It is time for you to become a true reflection of this decent loving people we know as Oromo.  The time of division is over.  The time to unite has arrived.  Now those Oromo elites all need to evolve from Oromo first to Ethiopia first as proud Oromos.

We choose to grow up in our identification from being known as an Oromo or Amhara or Benishangul-Gumuz or Gambela or Harari or Somali or Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples or Tigray to becoming Ethiopian as connected and united people.  We choose to come to be known as we truly are – simply people.  We define the mystery of Ethiopia as one people who are the richest ever in diversity and indivisible in unity for eternity.  That is when the world come to refer to us as godly people.  That is the miracle of love yet to be manifested in our land as we choose to be known as we truly are.

That being said, let us also not lose sight of the big picture in that Ethiopia is not in the hands of Dr. Abiy Ahmed or in the hands of the Oromo or anyone for that matter.  Ethiopia is in the hands of our Creator.  We witnessed an uncontested touch of the divine in the new journey of Ethiopia.  We ponder in our hearts saying may be Dr. Abiy Ahmed is entrusted to be the Moses of our time, and as a result we keep him in our prayers day and night.

We open our ears and eyes to hear and watch the news and get anxious and lose sleep.  When we are stressed too much, we are reminded to close our ears and eyes to pray and hear our Creator speak in our hearts.  Then we open our eyes and our ears, this time with the awareness that the One who started this journey of Ethiopia is faithful to take it to the finish line.

In His love.

Our Creator remembered Ethiopia.

He will bless us indeed.

The writer can be reached at myEthopia.com

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By  Al Mariam

We are aware of the rumors, fake news and disinformation that are circulating not only on social media but also in Ethiopian Diaspora communities.

People contact us to find out if baseless rumors about threats to Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed’s well-being are true.

People tell us that because no official comment has been made on the rumors, there must be some truth to the rumor.

Dignifying rumors with an official response is in a way partially confirming them. Of course, by responding to one rumor, one opens the floodgates for more rumors that will require even more official responses.

We believe the usual suspects are behind the various rumors, fake news and disinformation that have caused alarm and anxiety among Ethiopians over the past couple of weeks.

If lies and rumors were the only thing, we would not be all that concerned.

Our concern is that lies and rumors are being used to create instability, violence, death and destruction in certain parts of our country.

We believe the rumor mill is part of a well-organized campaign to delegitimize Prime Minster Abiy and his government and rob public confidence in the peaceful change that is taking place in Ethiopia today.

We are painfully aware of the concerted effort to paint a picture that “the country is falling into lawlessness” and “the constitution is being violated”.

The not-so-hidden message appears to be a threat for some type of armed takeover and a comeback to power by the old guard as guarantors of law and order.

We are also aware that some individuals are using the open political space for self-promotion and cheap publicity.

We are confident the Ethiopian people can separate the wheat from the chaff.

We are aware of recent events in which thousands of people have been forced out of their homes to escape violence, particularly in the Ethiopian Somali region. Most of them are women, the aged and children. The fingerprints and footprints of the criminals who are behind those pulling the trigger are well-known to the Ethiopian people.

We condemn all individuals and groups who are committing violence, and those who are organizing and financing such violence throughout Ethiopia.

We urge regional authorities to use their powers to ensure public safety and seek the aid of federal authorities as appropriate.

Ethiopia today is undergoing peaceful change unlike any it has seen in its long history.

After 27 years of dictatorial rule, Ethiopians for the first time are now seeing the dawn of a new day in which they are regaining hope and confidence in their future.

Over the past six months, we have seen things none of us expected in our wildest imaginations seven months ago.

We give Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed full credit for the release of political prisoners, reinstatement of press freedoms, rebuilding confidence in Ethiopian unity and Ethiopiawinet and peace with our neighbors, particularly Eritrea.

We want the positive changes to continue, but we also know that there are those who are working day and night to return us to the nightmare of the past 27 years.

Their weapon of choice is mass distraction so that we lose focus on our hard-won prizes.

All of the rumors, lies and fake news that are spread on social media and in our communities are designed to distract our eyes, deafen our ears and waste our time talking gibberish to each other.

While we run around in circles churning their rumors and fake news, they lay in place their secret their plans to steal our prizes.

We have many prizes within our reach.

We have many prizes that will be out of reach and gone if we allow them to make “fools and idiots” of us.

We have an opportunity for the first time in the history of our country to successfully carry out peaceful change, without a military coup or by force of arms of rebel groups.

We have an opportunity to consolidate the gains of individual and press freedoms in our country.

We have an opportunity to establish and institutionalize the rule of law and public accountability.

We have an opportunity to create a culture where human rights are valued and respected.

We should not take things for granted. Freedom is hard to gain but easy to lose.

We are asking all Ethiopians to keep their eyes on the prizes.

We got these prizes at a very high price.

Many Ethiopians made the ultimate sacrifice to bring us to the dawn of freedom we are witnessing today.

The victory of good over evil that we witness today in Ethiopia was purchased by the blood, sweat and tears of ALL Ethiopians.

We must never forget and must never allow anyone to tell us otherwise.

But we should speak truth to their faces!

We should tell them we were jailed together. We were tortured together. We suffered together. We shed our blood together.

In the end, we fought together and gained victory together.

We should honor the memories of those who sacrificed for us by making sure that Ethiopia will never be subjected to the rule of ruthless dictators and by ensuring our march on the long road to freedom and democracy will continue come hell or high water.

The problems we are dealing with today did not start in the last six months.

They have been with us for the past 27 years. These problems are the direct results of calculated policies designed to divide the people of Ethiopia by ethnic, religious, linguistic, cultural and regional lines.

They have used a divide-and-rule policy to cling to power.

They have used military force and declarations of state of emergency to enforce their rule.

But those days are gone.

Today, we solve our problems through dialogue, negotiations and compromises.

We should be focused on solutions, not just talking about magnifying problems.

We must stop the politics of finger-pointing and recrimination.

We must practice the politics of love every day by showing how much we care for our fellow citizens.

A great African leader has taught us that the ballot, not the bullet, is the surest way to achieve durable peace in society. It is through truth and reconciliation that we can build a new future of equality and justice for all.

We must all speak up and offer solutions.

Most importantly, we must play our part in helping Ethiopia transition from dictatorship to democracy.

We do not believe Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed has all the answers.

We do not believe in looking up to him as the only one who can solve Ethiopia’s problems.

We do not believe any one man or group has the answers to our country’s complex problems.

Prime Minister Abiy did not create the problems, and we must not expect him to be the source of all the solutions.

We must all play our part as solution-makers.

Playing our part does not mean clicking the “Like” button on Facebook or getting into mudslinging contests on social media.

By playing our part, we mean organizing and participating in activities that will help promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Ethiopia and ensuring Ethiopia remains on the path of peaceful change.

We should also look to the people, not government, for the solutions.

We are in the situation we are in today because of the problems created by government over the past 27 years.

We believe the solutions to our problems are in our hands, in each of our hands, not in the hands of politicians and government officials.

We know those who have lost power will do everything in their power to get it back. If they cannot, they will do everything they can to destroy the country.

They will not succeed because it is a new day in Ethiopia.

The old politics of hate, division and conflict is being replaced before our eyes with the new politics of love, understanding, reconciliation and peace.

The truth speaks for itself.

Those who have tried to divide and rule Ethiopia today find themselves divided, disordered, disorganized, disillusioned and disheartened.

How sweet it is watching them watch us in stunned disbelief and wonderment on how we managed to come together as one strong people in the spirit of unity, brotherhood, sisterhood and Ethiopiawinet right under their noses.

Regardless of how we cut or slice it, we are one Ethiopian people with one destiny. We rise or fall together as one people.

In the end, we have one and only one option, as Dr. Martin Luther King said, “We must learn to live together as brothers [and sisters] or we will perish together as fools.”

We plead with our fellow Ethiopians to keep our collective eyes on the big prizes and not be distracted by sensationalistic lies, fake news and disinformation.

========================

* In August 2007, Tamagne Beyene and myself were part of a three-person team named to coordinate the North American and European tour of the Kinijit leadershipfollowing their release from prison. Despite challenges, we managed to coordinate a successful tour for the Kinijit delegation in North America. It was a special privilege for me to work with Tamagne on that assignment because his energy, unbounded optimism and basic human decency helped us get through some tough times.

It is a special privilege and honor for me to join Tamagne again in August 2018, eleven years to the month after we worked on the Kinijit Leadership project, in an ongoing effort to promote and defend democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Ethiopia and do our part to ensure our country will remain on a course of peaceful change and democratic transition.

** Tamagne Beyene is the foremost human rights activist in the Ethiopian Diaspora. He is also a celebrated musical and performing artist.

Tamagne has been fighting consistently for equality, national unity, justice, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia since 1991. Over the decades, he has earned the respect and admiration of his people in Ethiopia and in the Diaspora. “Tamagne” in Amharic means “always faithful”. The motto of the U.S. Marine Corps is “Semper Fi” or “Always Faithful.” No one has been more faithful to Ethiopia than Tamagne Beyene, in my humble opinion.

Tamagne and I invite all Ethiopian human rights activists, intellectuals and professionals to join us in our ongoing series speaking truth to power, especially those who have been abusing power for decades and are now hellbent on regaining power by any means necessary. As we ask our fellow Ethiopians to join us in this effort, we remind them of Dr. Martin Luther King’s message. “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

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•  Trip comes amid plans for Eritrea-based rebels to return home
•  African neighbors officially ended two-decade conflict in July

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki will make his second trip to Ethiopia since the Horn of Africa nations declared peace in July, amid signs that Ethiopian rebels previously designated as terrorists will return home unarmed to participate in politics.

Plans for Isaias’ visit were relayed by Nigusu Tilahun, the chief of communications for Ethiopia’s Amhara regional state, who didn’t give a date. The announcement comes after Amhara authorities signed a reconciliation agreement with the rebel Amhara Democratic Forces Movement this week in Eritrea, allowing the group to pursue political activities in Ethiopia after they disarm, Nigusu said in a statement.

It’s the latest step in a rapid rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, who had been at odds since a 1998-2000 war that claimed as many as 100,000 lives and have each harbored rebels hostile to their neighbor. Ethiopia’s new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, has backed a ruling politburo vow to establish multi-party democracy at home and in July made an historic visit to Eritrea in which the nations agreed on restoring diplomatic, telecommunications and transport links.

The Amhara agreement comes after talks in Eritrea last week between the Ethiopian government, Oromia regional state officials and the rebel Oromo Liberation Front on the latter operating freely in Ethiopia as an opposition party. OLF delegates arrived Tuesday in Ethiopia and will discuss unspecified issues on a newly formed committee with the government, the group said on its Facebook page.

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel has said the return home of Eritrea-based Ethiopian opposition groups is linked to a five-point peace declaration between the two countries. The agreement also means that Ethiopia shouldn’t host Eritrean opposition groups, he said.

“Under normal conditions of peace, if we have security agreements, the corollary is that one country would not host opposition elements of another country,” Yemane said late July in the capital, Asmara.

Eritrea’s government hasn’t offered to hold talks with Eritrean opposition groups based in Ethiopia. It isn’t “an issue at all for the people of this country,” presidential adviser Yemane Gebreab said earlier this month. “We’re focusing on creating the grounds here whereby all citizens can enjoy their rights.”

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By Yilma Bekele

I spent a Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles attending a “Thank You” tour by my hero Andargachew Tsige upon his release from TPLF Woyane Gulag. To remind you how he became a prisoner – he was abducted in broad daylight from an International airport by Woyane security in collaboration with Yemen. It is a brazen act that broke many laws and conventions and it can only be carried by a regime that believes it was answerable to no one. It took its lawlessness into the international arena. It is not the first time. Assassinating, kidnapping, roughing up is routinely practiced by security head Getachew Assefa’s goons in Nairobi, Kampala, and Southern Africa. TPLF was good at hunting Ethiopians like wild animals. The hunters are still with us.

We drove down to Los Angeles from the Bay Area to be present in this victory of one person over the combined force of a rogue Nation that tried to use him to humiliate and bully Ethiopians. It just did not work. It failed miserably. We drove down over six hours to express joy and plot the next step on this epic journey to rebuild Ethiopia.

My esteemed friends that have constantly been adding value to the struggle for justice and democracy in Southern California organized the victory celebration. I look at them and see how far we have traveled on the same path for quite a while. We have morphed from Kinijit to Andinet and to AG7 and now embarking on a new journey on the road we help pave. It is the history of Ethiopia the last eighteen years with the stolen election of 2005 as a watershed moment as reflected in the Diaspora. There is no better way to celebrate and feast in our new victory and continued quest for freedom than with friends like our patriots in Hollywood.

I always marvel at the tenacity of a few Ethiopians that have been investing so much time, money and mental capacity away from friends and family committed to a cause of liberating others with no payback whatsoever other than feeling good and satisfied by a job well done. Our activists kept the fire burning. I am mostly familiar with our west coast patriots. My Seattle heroes are young and boisterous, my LA comrades are mature, deliberative and work like a well oiled machine while my friends in the Bay Area are laid back but respond generously without fail.

Seeing Andargachew alive and free is one of the happiest moments in our life. He was doing our work when wild animals rudely interrupted him. The people that met in a church assembly hall to celebrate his release were a few of the key organizers of the international campaign to keep the focus on our friend. The attention checked the criminal urges of the degenerate regime. Our efforts kept him well and alive. His determination and strength of character must have humbled his jailers. His unbreakable spirit must have shamed and angered them.  Imprisoning Andargachew, Eskinder, Reyot, Andualem, Bertukan and many others Woyane was left holding hot charcoal unable to use it but getting burned in the process.

It is fair to expect an angry person after such an experience in Woyane jail. No, Andargachew did not turn out to be angry, cynical or vindictive. I met the same old Andargachew that is humble, soft spoken and ready to smile. It is clear that he is mighty surprised by the outpouring of love and goodwill he has received since his release. He was in the process of winding down his assigned task when he was taken prisoner. After many years of activity coordinating the resistance against Woyane he was thinking of taking time off to think. They say every catastrophe brings a small gift; the imprisonment has turned out to be a learning moment for our friend. He saw the human face of darkness. It is obvious he did not shrink or withdrew but came out swinging like the fighter he is. Andargachew is out again doing what he does best, teach by example.

Vintage Andargachew did not speak about his imprisonment at all. He thanked us for the work we did to get him released. We became the heroes. There is no question the malnutrition, physical and emotional abuse has taken its toll He is leaner and slower. He has compensated that with a keen and sharp mind. His ability to reduce problem down into its essence and explain it in a simple manner if anything, it has been enhanced. Andargachew is moving on.

I am sure he is more than happy to see the seeds he planted have sprouted into a beautiful fruit-bearing tree within a short time. Ginbot 7 has sprouted out to be Arbenoch Ginbot 7 the nightmare of Woyane warlords. His graduates today are organized as groups and operate all over Ethiopia. Over five thousand AG7 freedom fighters have made their trek since the ceasefire.

I was pleased Andargachew or his organization AG7 did not make the claim that they freed us from Woyane. They played a big role. They actually sacrificed lives. But they did not attempt to take oversized credit or puff up their role. Like most Ethiopians they did their part and where we are now is just another step on the long journey. The current state of being free we are all enjoying and trying to figure out what to do with is the product of all our efforts. My friend Andargachew did not try to tell us because he suffered more he deserves a special place and treatment. That means a lot to an Ethiopian. Up until now my liberators demanded payment.

This is my third attempt at being set free. I was ‘freed’ by the Derg led by Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam from being a subject of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Kings and Elect of God to becoming a citizen of a country. I have to admit I was not a loyal subject. The burning issue of the time was ‘ land to the tiller’ and I was all for it.

Mengistu declared ‘Socialism’ to be the goal. Killing, jailing, torturing and confiscating private property was considered the right of passage to Socialism. I did not mind the socialism aspect but the rest was not what I thought being free is about. The Derg as Mengistu named his group started to see themselves in a different light. As our liberators they demanded to be held in high esteem and be served like the Emperor before. They used force to make society comply with their demands. It took awhile but slowly things started to fall apart. The resistance took many forms and it took its toll on my liberators. The group that calls itself Woyane assumed the upper hand and pushed the Derg over the cliff. I was liberated for the second time.

I was tired of the Derg and no one shed tears over its demise. The new group declared socialism to be dead. Well they kept the land and houses, sold the few industries to their friends and declared the advent of free enterprise. They also said as liberators they deserve special consideration. So they went about abusing their special privilege until there was no goodwill left. As usual people went back to the proven method of resisting injustice. Again the wrath of the people took its toll and my liberators were unceremoniously marginalized.

I am experiencing my third liberation. I don’t feel lucky. It would have been better to be born free if you ask me. Three is more than I can endure in one lifetime. Nevertheless I have always welcomed my liberators with open arms but with reservation about their motive. The truth of the matter is I can say with confidence that I was doing fine resisting whoever was in charge in my own way and I do not remember asking them to fight for my freedom. I did not condemn the Derg until it felt spilling blood was taken as shortcut to power nor did I sour on Woyane until Kinijit.

Both of my liberators until now have asked for payment for a job they did voluntarily. They with me and a lot of other Ethiopians made a determination the existing system was not to our liking. First the Derg and second Woyane took the lead to get rid of the oppressive system. They never said upon liberation they were entitled to more than being free. Truth be told, if our liberators have only told us the price we could have negotiated a fair amount and a short period. They preached Democracy, Freedom and the rule of Law. It was nothing but a scam. The current change does not have a sole owner. That is our blessing.

It was the combined effort of all, each contributing what it could that revealed how hollow and weak Woyane is. Woyane has been defeated in all aspects of its viability as a ruling party and a mafia group. After twenty-seven years of absolute power the ruling clique has been forced to go on self imposed internal exile and hide. The very foundation of Woyane philosophy called Kilil is what is being questioned today.

I listened to all one hour and thirteen minutes monologue by Tigrai Kilil President Dr. Debretsion. It was a surreal experience to watch him spinning tall tales about the recent past which we are all witnesses of. Is it just he or do all his Politburo members have such a distorted interpretation of reality. What he wanted to say could have been said in ten minutes but since he was not sure of what exactly he has to say he was forced to meander around from science to geography and good old militarism. He touched on different subjects in a random manner while coming back to a few to kill time. The setting itself was a little strange. It is a horseshoe type table with the Dr. in the middle and five individuals sitting on each side. He spoke for an hour and thirteen minutes and ended the session. Why the individuals were invited is not clear.

What was the purpose of this monologue is a good question to ask. I believe TPLF Woyane is worried about the loyalty of the people of Tigrai that are most probably confused about the situation in the rest of Ethiopia. It is to assure them TPLF is still alive. He took all seventeen minutes to tell us why a rally was held very late in Tigrai. For some reason he felt explanation was necessary. Of course he claimed the people demanded the march and organized it all by themselves. He said it was the best civilized and Ethiopian than all the others. I don’t know if he was lying to himself to us or the people of Tigrai. Well that was the first of his jarring revision of history as if we were never here.

Here are his fantastic claims 1) TPLF initiated the peace process with Eritrea 2) The TPLF started the change in Ethiopia and it was agreed by all that it made the best critical analysis of its inability to lead. 3) TPLF predicted the tribal conflicts that would take place without it in charge and the danger of disintegration.  4) TPLF is all for peace with Eritrea because Tigrai Kilil is the closest to the ports and would benefit the most. 5) TPLF represents all the people, organization, party, and government of Tigrai.

So what exactly is his beef? He is worried about Constitutional order but he did not specify which clause concerns him. As far as we know EPRDF is still in charge. The old PM resigned and a new one was elected by the rules and regulations that govern the so-called coalition. It is true TPLF used to boss the others around after all it controlled the military, security, banking, judiciary and the civil service. That does not leave much does it? That was neither fair nor legal. His complaint is baseless.

The Eritrean situation was resolved with one bold stroke by Dr. Abiy, no need to pretend otherwise. TPLF was trying to punish President Isaias and the Eritrean people thus refused to implement the agreement it signed. For twenty years a lot suffered due to the interagency of the stubborn party. What Dr. Abiy did is a blessing to the Horn of Africa.

The Dr. misspoke by belittling our sacrifice in the war his party started. The people of Ethiopia including the Tigrai paid a heavy price due to TPLF failed leadership and costly mistake. Foreign sources claim sixty thousand Ethiopians died. TPLF Woyane did not even inform Ethiopian mothers and fathers about the fate of their child. All what he said regarding this subject is fiction. We know because witnessed everything.

It is interesting when Woyane leaders discuss the danger of disintegration. They used that scare effectively since no one wants their country dissolving. They repeated the lie so many times we believed it. I was one of them. What a surprise to find out the danger has somehow united us more. The last three months are proof that we are one and no one can become between us. Even the Eritreans were caught in this euphoria and it felt like good times are ahead. Well here we have someone that have not received the memo regarding one Ethiopia. No Dr. Debretsion right now that is not our number one concern. Fixing what your party broke is job number one. Is there any region that has not produced some nutcase always threatening to go it alone? Anyway the good Dr. said if he wants to leave the federation all he has to do is inform the government and all will be taken care of just like that.

Does anyone really believe the people of Tigrai will agree to such harebrained idea of leaving Ethiopia brought by no other than TPLF? They will ask the gang of misfits weren’t you in charge of one hundred million people for twenty seven years and failed to feed, create jobs, balance the budget and protect the sovereignty of the county, what makes you think you will do better with us? Anyway why are you here hiding among us and threatening our family and neighbors?

It looks like the TPLF mafia group is not clear on this concept of losing power. Due to the severity of untold crimes against property and people they as a group have committed, right now they are grasping in every direction to keep their balance. The biggest asset they have is money and cadres and weapons stashed all over Ethiopia. They have been using that. Jijiga, Konso, Borena display all the markings of Woyane trickery. There will be more. Dr. Debretsion was nice enough to predict that much.

TPLF is in trouble. It is so used to dominating using force and terror and now it does not know how to operate among equals. There is no reason to think the organization is capable of reforming. It was established to function under one strong leader using an iron fist. The concept of organizing on ethnic lines is being proven wrong by the initiators themselves. In a rational world as a minority group it should be the Tigrai to oppose such restrictive arrangement. It worked earlier because brute force was used but surely we know that behavior is not sustainable. Dear Dr. Debretsion and company, the issue of Woyane philosophy and one ethnic hegemony is dead. It will not come back. The issue of Federalism is being reinterpreted to suit the majority and the Constitution will be revised to reflect the new reality. The faster you come to terms with that the better for all.

It has become clear that Dr. Abiy and his government have to find ways to close the money supply. The courts have to be used to freeze assets and recover stolen ones. They have already robbed our country twenty-seven years of progress no need to waste more on illiterate losers that refuse to show remorse. Dr. Abiy’s government was forced to accept money from the Emirates because Woyane left the safe empty. Dr. Debretsion is lecturing us about the danger of erasing TPLF achievements. What achievement is a good question? The killings, the ethnic cleansings, the exiling, the famine, the land grab, double digit inflation, lack of human rights are a few of the things Ethiopians associate with TPLF Woyane. There is no good legacy here.

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174 Birthday of Emperor Minilik ll of Ethiopia Celebration in his Birth place Angolela ,Shewa

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