BBC News

Kofi Annan, the only black African to become UN secretary-general, has died.

The 80-year-old “passed away peacefully on Saturday after a short illness”, the foundation named after him said.

His home country, Ghana, has declared a week of national mourning. Annan served two terms as UN chief from 1997 to 2006, and was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work.

He later served as the UN special envoy for Syria, leading efforts to find a solution to the conflict.

In a statement announcing his death, the Kofi Annan Foundation described him as a “global statesman and deeply committed internationalist who fought throughout his life for a fairer and more peaceful world”.

“Wherever there was suffering or need, he reached out and touched many people with his deep compassion and empathy.”

• Remembering the world’s top diplomat
• Obituary: Kofi Annan
• Annan speaks to BBC on 80th birthday (UK only)

The career diplomat died in hospital in the Swiss city of Bern. He had been living near Geneva for several years.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for helping to revitalise the international body, during a period that coincided with the Iraq War and the HIV/Aids pandemic.

Image copyrightAFP

Kofi Annan described his greatest achievement as the Millennium Development Goals which – for the first time – set global targets on issues such as poverty and child mortality.

However, Annan was not immune from criticism. His critics blamed him for the UN’s failure to halt the genocide in Rwanda in the 1990s when he was head of the organisation’s peacekeeping operations.

Later, after the US-led invasion of Iraq, he and his son were accused of being involved in the “oil for food corruption scandal” that led some to call for his resignation, though he was later exonerated.

In an interview with the BBC’s HardTalk to mark his 80th birthday in April, Annan acknowledged the UN’s shortcomings, saying it “can be improved, it is not perfect but if it didn’t exist you would have to create it”.

“I am a stubborn optimist, I was born an optimist and will remain an optimist,” he added.

Remembering Kofi Annan

By Imogen Foulkes, BBC’s UN reporter in Geneva

Kofi Annan will be remembered for the way he drew attention, over and over again, to the plight of those caught up in war, environmental disaster, or simply grinding poverty.

The way he quietly but firmly reminded world leaders, however powerful, that they needed to put their duty to their citizens above their political careers.

Read more from Imogen

Current UN chief Antonio Guterres has been leading the tributes to his predecessor, describing Annan as “a guiding force for good”.

“In many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations. He rose through the ranks to lead the organisation into the new millennium with matchless dignity and determination,” he said in a statement.

UN high commissioner for human rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein said in a tweet he was grief-stricken over Annan’s death:

Image Copyright @raad_zeid@RAAD_ZEID

Report

Tributes have been pouring in from world leaders and diplomats, including UK Prime Minister Theresa May and Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg.

Image Copyright @jensstoltenberg@JENSSTOLTENBERG

Report

Image Copyright @theresa_may@THERESA_MAY

Report

Former US President Barack Obama, the first African American to win the White House, said: “Long after he had broken barriers, Kofi never stopped his pursuit of a better world.”

President Vladimir Putin of Russia said the memory of Annan would “forever live in the hearts of Russians”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “the world has lost not only a great African diplomat and humanitarian but also a conscience keeper of international peace and security”.

Announcing the week of national mourning, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo called Annan “one of our greatest compatriots”.

Image Copyright @NAkufoAddo@NAKUFOADDO

Report

The diplomat’s career continued after retirement from the UN, and in 2007 he set up his own foundation aimed at promoting global sustainable development, security and peace.

A year later, his reputation was boosted after he successfully helped negotiate a power-sharing deal to end post-election violence in Kenya.

In a Facebook tribute, Raila Odinga, the opposition leader who signed the agreement, called Annan “the man who stepped in and saved the country from collapse”.

In 2012 he was made chair of The Elders, a peace and human rights advocacy group started by South Africa’s Nelson Mandela.

Image copyrightAFP

The same year, he quit his post as UN envoy to Syria after only six months in the role, citing the failures of world powers to fulfil their commitments. He was later quoted as saying: “I lost my troops on the way to Damascus.”

His most recent role was chairing an independent commission investigation Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis.

Annan’s wife, Nane, and three children were “by his side during his last days”, the Kofi Annan Foundation said.

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Finally….

Ethiopia, our poor mother land

Got the right person,

She  found the man

               Who knows how  to lead,

               who disgusted of  the hatred.

I salute you sir!

For your genuine intention; 

For your spectacular action;

For your determination;

For your bold decision;

For your inspiring vision;

For advocating love,

               and reconciliation;

to transform our  nation.

I Salute your sir!

For saving our country;

for restoring our unity;

Four your guts and bravery;

For fighting battle  in harmony;

…………………….Finally.

Appreciate your diligence;

For being a force of  change;

For riding the wave of hope.  

I salute you sir!

 For your faith in ፍቅር;

and winning the loathing war.

Finally..

By: Tigist Gelaye.

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Long Journey: Yared Tibebu – Pt 2 – SBS Amharic

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By Teshome M. Borago | Zehabesha-Satenaw Columnist
 
“What is happening to Jawar?” has been one of the main questions of recent weeks in social media, among Ethiopians abroad & back home; as the once Oromo radical gradually transforms his image to fit into mainstream Ethiopian society and become a uniter of the people. By preaching Ethiopian unity nationwide, JAWAR is seeking the some success as other Oromos Dr. Abiy Ahmed and Lemma Megersa, who became popular overnight after their famous speeches declaring “Ethiopiawinet is our addiction” and “we live and die as Ethiopia.”

JAWAR MOHAMMED, the outspoken provocateur of Oromo nationalism in diaspora, has been a controversial figure for almost a decade. His wild slogans like “Ethiopia out of Oromia!” “Free Oromia” and perceived dogwhistle for violence against Christians using “machete” has angered many Ethiopians over the years. If there was any hot-button issue or contentious event inside Ethiopia, Jawar was all over it, often by taking an extreme stance that either alienated or outraged a segment of the Ethiopian population. Like candidate Donald Trump (or most novice Western politicians for that matter), Jawar made himself famous using bad publicity and brash rhetoric.

Jawar has occasionally clashed with hardliners even in his own Oromo tribe, when he advocated for peaceful struggle and labeled OLF’s armed struggle “outdated.” But Jawar threw his best punches both against the Tigrayan rulers puppeteering the OPDO old guards and against Ethiopian nationalists; including to boycott the popular singer Teddy Afro’s tours in Oromia. Jawar succeeded in defaming the singer who preached love, unity and appreciation for Ethiopian emperors who protected our country from European colonizers. The more Jawar spoke with anger and in hyperbole, the more he stood out and became famous.

His often inaccurate statements about Ethiopian history, Teddy Afro, Emperor Menelik II, Anole Monument, “Finfinne” expansion, among other hot topics, helped Jawar become the dominant subject of Ethiopian politics. Even other Oromo activists, like Opride.com Editor Mohammed Ademo criticized Jawar’s radical approach; including problems inside theOromia Media Network (OMN), which is managed by Jawar himself.

“OMN made mistakes. They over-reported the number of deaths, used bad photos that did not come from Oromia, were driven by emotions,” according to a recent statement by Mohammed Ademo, who was reportedly a founding member of OMN in 2014 until he abandoned it citing issues with “professionalism, strategy, and accountability.”

What Mohamed Ademo did not realize in 2014 was that Jawar was making OMN a mirror image of himself, as a provocateur, driven by emotions and often aiming for sensationalism, over balance and context. For example, Ademo’s Oromo media (Opride.com) published an in-depth report on the mass killing of Somalis in Moyale, holding “Oromo militia” responsible for the crime. In contrast, Jawar’s media OMN blamed only TPLF for the deaths in Moyale and his media often ignores such stories of abuses by Oromo mobs all together. The recent brutal killing of five Somalis from the same family in eastern Oromia is another example. Perpetuating Oromo victim mentality by exaggerating news, while ignoring abuses by one’s own community, is a calculated strategy often employed by guerrilla movements worldwide, including ONLF and OLF. Without such “shock value” strategy that omits facts, misrepresents news and appeals to emotions, the OMN would probably not be as popular, and Jawar would not have gained many followers.

As a Stanford University political science graduate, he might have designed all this. And so far, Jawar has been successful. His Qeerroo movement has led the change in Ethiopia that brought a new administration in the name of Oromo.

After years of coordinating Oromo Protests (#OromoProtests) from his home in Minnesota, Jawar has now found himself virtually as the head adviser and ideological leader of the Ethiopian government of Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed. Nobody expected this will happen so soon. Even at the height of the revolution’s stalemate with TPLF (when mostly Oromo and Amhara protesters blocked major roads, cutoff tourism and closed businesses nationwide to paralyze imports & exports, thus choking the whole Ethiopian economy) nobody still expected the TPLF would give up. According to his recent interview, even Jawar did not expect to see any fruit of his movement until after 2020. Many analysts said TPLF will keep killing and shooting its way out of another mess. In fact, the death toll and the rising body count of Oromo and other Ethiopian youth injured and massacred in the streets during these protests was also chipping into the credibility of Diaspora coordinators like Jawar, who are leading it from the comfort of their homes in America and Europe. Some Oromo critics online and radio even blamed Jawar for sending children and youth to be slaughtered by TPLF; while others said peaceful struggle does not work.

However, due to the barrage of negative press internationally, a collapsing economy, lack of diplomatic coverup from Washington DC and defection of key OPDO/ANDM officials; the TPLF leadership finally blinked first.

Now, these TPLF officials are stuck hiding in Mekele city of Tigray, while Jawar is walking free everywhere in Ethiopia. In an interview last week, Jawar bragged – “We have two governments in Ethiopia: Abiy’s government and Qeerroo government.”  Similar to the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of IRAN, Jawar does not seek political office but he knows that both authorities, the Qeerroo and Dr. Abiy’s OPDO, function under his influence.

Surrounded by Addis Ababa media, Jawar said with a smile, “It is good to not be a terrorist anymore.”

Jawar’s comments are a stark reminder to a 1991 New York Times (NYT) article on Meles Zenawi and his TPLF group, who declared: “yesterday we were rebels…Today I suppose we are the Government.”

These comments are not the only similarities between 1991 and 2018.

27 years ago, the first thing Meles Zenawi did was change his rhetoric and start creating a new coalition that has relative legitimacy to govern the whole country. As soon as he gained power, Meles went to America and told US officials that he is “no longer a hard-line Marxist” and his TPLF group does not want to secede Tigray from Ethiopia anymore; in contrast to previous anti-Ethiopia statements and publications of his own TPLF organization. Not only that, over the years, Meles rebranded himself as a patriotic all along, even abandoning his wild rhetoric about Ethiopia being just a 100 years old empire and instead adopting the over 3,000 yrs old nationalist narrative.

The same way, Jawar has transformed himself in recent months. Jawar is now mocking at the idea that Oromos want secession from Ethiopia and he has abandoned his “Finfinne is Oromo land” rhetoric, instead admitting that Finfinne (Addis Ababa) belongs to all Ethiopians of all identities. Even Menelik-themed Teddy Afro songs were blasting thru the roof during his hometown Minnesota event, believed to be organized by Jawar’s camp to welcome the new Prime Minister Abiy in the United States. And like Meles, Jawar is already gathering likeminded groups and individuals from Amhara, South and Somali regions, to create a new coalition that will advance his agenda nationwide. (So far he is not messing with TPLF anymore, hoping reformists inside TPLF will rejoin his coalition) Jawar is now hiring all ethnic nationalists as long as they pledge to Ethiopian unity. Many diaspora-based Oromo, Amhara, Sidama and Ogaden tribal nationalists have already been invited. To pacify tensions in Walaga and Jigjiga, some OLF and ONLF members are actually being courted to join the government, automatically.

Jawar Mohammed has thus evolved from a divisive Oromo activist into an Ethiopian leader and a uniter.

And as he goes, so does his media.

“OMN was an activist media until now….From now on, we are going to move to the center,” Jawar announced on August 5.

THRESHOLD OF TOLERANCE

IN ETHIOPIA, what makes and breaks a newly formed government has always been defined by their stated threshold for tolerance. In other words, what is the RED LINE, that, when crossed, transforms them into dictators? For Meles Zenawi, it was all about keeping his TPLF supremacy while suppressing the unity camp and denying referendum to separatist ethnic elites. What is Jawar’s main red line and when could it get crossed?

The big test to Jawar and ethnic nationalists will be during the next election, if the multiethnic Ethiopianist unity camp repeats its 2005 election victory again in 2020. How will Jawar and co react if they lose to Ethiopian nationalists in the polls? If Ethiopian nationalists win the 2020 election, it will be the end of ethnic-federalism and institutional tribal segregation as we know it. A new structure based on geographic-federalism that decentralizes power from big ethnic blocks into smaller multiethnic regions is the alternative future for Ethiopia. One Ginbot 7 activist forecasted recently; “if the death count from tribal conflicts and nativism inspired ethnic mob killings continue to rise, the 2020 Ethiopian election will become a nationwide referendum on Ethnic-Federalism.”

Dr. Berhanu Nega and Andargachew Tsege’s Organization is expected to advance the message of liberal democracy, decentralization and individual rights over group rights and tribal division. Due to lack of capacity, time and access to state resources, Dr. Berhanu’s camp might still lose the election.  So far, Jawar’s camp expects an easy election victory inside Oromia and it appears to have a three point strategy to win the 2020 election nationwide.

1. Promote Amhara tribalism to weaken Ethiopianists
2. Alliance with TPLF reformists
3. Instigate Sidama nationalism to weaken Debub Ethiopianists

This strategy will likely secure a slight victory for ethnic nationalists, but even if they somehow win the 2020 election, will they share power with Ethiopian nationalists? How will they react when cities won and governed by the opposition party like Addis Ababa, Adama, Dire Dawa, Bishoftu, Gondar, Awassa and others demand self-administration, which will diminish the “special interests” and benefits of corresponding tribal states?

The answers to all these questions will determine whether OPDO, Jawar and other ethnic nationalists are ready to truly democratize Ethiopia OR if they are just the Oromo lipstick on the old TPLF tribal dictatorship.

One of Jawar’s online statements does not give us any hope for peaceful change. On July 28, Jawar declared on Facebook that ethnic-federalism (which he calls “multinational federalism”) is not even up for debate.

“Multinational federalism engrained in the current constitution is here to stay. It’s in not up for discussion, let alone negotiation. Any one caught in some FANTASY should wake up from their hallucination,”  JAWAR stated.

If this statement ultimately defines the Jawar camp’s obstinate doctrine – that red line that reverts us back to war –  then perhaps real change has not come to Ethiopia. Only time will tell.

Follow Zehabesha/Satenaw Media @ https://m.facebook.com/pg/Zehabesha/about/

Follow Teshome M. Borago @ https://mobile.twitter.com/MTBorago

Contact Author: teshome

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HE PM Dr Abiy today addressed 2,100 senior leaders of ANDM in Bahirdar. He said in order to meet the challenges of today’s leadership, we ought to maintain the value of forgiveness, respect for human life & unity because “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” #Ethiopia

Fitsum Arega‏Verified account @fitsumaregaa 4h4 hours ago

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“if slaughterhouses have glass walls, everybody will be vegetarian”

Teshome Debalke
August 15, 2018

While Ethiopians in the diaspora celebrate Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed unity campaign tour in North American under a shadow of questionable events’ organizers in collaboration with TPLF operatives infested Ethiopian Embassy Washington D.C. and the Consulate in Los Angles with dubious Medias covering the events, the news —  ‘PM Abiy set up 21 members Advisory Council on privatization of large public enterprises to “ensure the process is managed with utmost transparency and accountability”  came on Aug 3, 2018  over a tweet (see the tweet left) from the PM’s Chief of Stuff/Secretory Fesum Arega few days after the PM returned home is nothing more than TPLF corrupt operatives’ predetermined decision to find fall guys to rubberstamp the privatization legitimacy.

The Former Long-time Head of the Addis Ababa Investment Agency and the Ethiopian Investment Commission Director General Fesum Arega turn PM’s Chief of Stuff/Secretory is the same man that oversaw closeup the most corrupt investment scheme led by TPLF oligarchs and their operatives from around the world in the last decade. He is also a Board Member of Shebele Transport S.C, Addis International Bank S.C.(AdIB) and Addis Credit & Saving Institution (ACSI), according to infamous English weekly  Addis Fortune.

But, by some strange coincidence Fesum was appointed as State Minster in Prime Minster office by the shadowy House of Federation Council of Ministers and ended up as Chief of Stuff/Secretory of the new Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed — accompanying him on every event in-and-out of the country ever since including, his recent North America tour.

Ever since his appointment, many contradictory news came from the same sources on different international Medias since the new PM came to office in April of 2018.  The latest from the PM Chief of Staff/Secretory regarding privatization was the August 3, 2018 Press Release over a tweet ‘PM Abiy set up 21 members Advisory Council on privatization of large public enterprises at a speed of light to the surprise of many of the members.

Three weeks earlier on July 16, 2018 Nizar Manek of Bloomberg’s report titled “Ethiopia shelves planes deals, map out privatization plan”  talking to the only person – CEO of the long-time Ethiopian Airline Tewolde Gibermedhin.

Over a month earlier on June 5 2018 Bloomberg report; Ethiopia to Open Up Telecoms, Airline to Foreign Investors by Nizar Manek and John Bowker quoted the same Ethiopian Airlines’ CEO Tewolde Gibermedhin saying; ‘privatization plan  sanctioned by Ethiopian politburo last month are more likely to see foreign involvement in various operating unit than an outright stake sale’ and  went on to say; “the carrier logistic arm which has venture with Deutsche Post AG’s DHL brand, can be transformed in to joint holding, giving the Germen company 49% stake within weeks”.

On Aug 4, 2018 Reuters Staff ‘reporting by Omer Mohammed; edited by Jason Neely’ once again took Fesume’s tweet as an official and only source reported; Ethiopian’s PM Abiy set up a team to advice on privatization’. The report   claims; ‘Abiy’s government has said that it is open to selling off a host of state-owned firms, either partially or entirely, as part of economic reform designed to “unleash the potential of the private sector”.

It is not clear the statement quoted by Reuters Staff reporter Omer Mohammed came from the PM Abiy himself, his Chief of Staff/Secretory Fesum Arega, the Airlines’ CEO Gibermedhin or another government official. But, as far as the Airlines’ CEO is concerned, privatization sanctioned by Ethiopian politburo need no advisory team as people are led to believe.

At the meantime, the U.S. based AIN online that specialize in Aviation and Aerospace news in June 11, 2018 report titled “government to cede minority stake in Ethiopian Airline” reported by Kaleyesus Bekle reveled; “As part of an effort to alleviate a foreign currency crunch, the government of Ethiopia has passed a resolution to partially privatize the country’s giant state-owned enterprises, including the 100 percent publicly owned national flag carrier” –unlike what Airlines’ CEO insist “it will help the company grow further” or what ‘the government’ claims to “unleash the potential of the private sector”.

At the same time, AllAfrica known to source only government and party affiliated Medias like the English language Addis Fortune reported; the advisory team ‘members come from government, the private sector, academia, international institutions and diaspora community’ without detail of their background and experience and further reviled an official saying “we are expected to submit our recommendation within a year, Teklewold who currently heading the finical affairs office in the Prime Minster office”.  Apparently, what Addis Fortune conspicuously didn’t want the public to know was; the person who said it is the Former Long-time Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia Teklewold Atanafu, a TPLF operatives that was removed from his position accused of providing illegal loans guarantee to EFFORT, according June 1 ESAT report.

It is not clear how the long-time Former TPLF appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Ethiopia Teklewold  with shady background and education ended up working as Head of the Finical Affairs in the Prime Minster office and as a member of the Advisory Council on privatization of public assets at the same time to say; reforming a lawless Mafia State within is not going to be an easy task for the new PM Abiy as many think.

But, what Airlines’ CEO Tewolde Gibermedhin, Chief of Stuff/Secretory of the PM Fesume Arega and Finance Affairs Head of PM Teklewold Atanafu or reporter Kaleysus wouldn’t say is, TPLF affiliated enterprises are position to take over more public assets disguised as domestic or foreign investor using the new PM office is real.

Take for instance transport and logistic companies MACCFA Fright Logistic Plc established in 1994 and Segon Marill International Movers by a clandestine TPLF operative and CEO Mulugeta Assefa positioned to take a stake on the Airlines’ privatization skim.

Apparently, CEO Tewolde Gibermedhin that oversee the Airline, Teklewold Atanafu that oversaw the Nation’s foreign exchange reserve and regulate the money supply as a Governor and now the Finance Head in the PM office, Fesume Arega that oversaw the investment as  Director General of the Investment Commission now in charge of PM office are all strategically placed TPLF operatives. Likewise, reporter Kaleysus that freelance on AIN online works for Media Communication Center — the publisher of The Reporter masquerade as Free Press since 1991 led by CEO Amare Aragawi, a member of TPLF party. No wonder they don’t raise TPLF party owned and affiliated enterprises’ massive corruption, moneylending, extortion and conspiracy to defraud the people of Ethiopia in the last 27 years and going as we speak.

Therefore, beside rubberstamping the already predetermined ‘domestic and foreign investors to gabble up more public enterprises; no one knows what members of the Advisory Council on privatization of public asset can do but, be spectators. Nor, except the few familiar political figures with no clue of the complex legal, financial and security preparation and process that requires in the privatization of public assets; no one knows the undisclosed background of the rest of the members to the public.

Tewodros Dawit, with a title of CEO of Ethiopian Airports Enterprises  staged interview on the government owned EBC Media with unnamed reporter summarizes the intricate development, finance, management of Airports at the public expenses in preparation in takeover of undisclosed preapproved domestic and foreign investors as it was planned by TPLF operatives in diaspora led by the infamous Zemedenhe Negatu, the Former Ernest Young  East Africa Managing Partner and the Present Chairman of Fairfax Africa Equity Fund that invest in Ethiopia on undisclosed investment.

With no independent data and institutions available to protect the public interest nor the opportunity for the ‘Free Press’ to investigate the shoddy ‘domestic and foreign  investors’, corrupt government officials, TPLF operatives and members of the Advisory Council with all kinds of conflict of interests in privatization, “to ensure the utmost transparency and accountability of the process” coming from Fesum Arega shows his complicity and cover up to undermine PM reform effort through shoddy individuals in the Advisory team to use-and-abuse the rest as fall guys for the most elaborate hostile takeover of public assets scum never heard in modern history of Africa.

Therefore, once again; Fesum and his diaspora accomplices that lack transparency and accountability themselves failed to disclose who-is-who in TPLF affiliated domestic and foreign investors he oversaw under his long tenor in the Investment Commission before he conveniently become the Chief of Staff/Secretory of the new PM to outsource the blame on clueless members of the Advisory Council. In that regard, some of the members of the Advisory Council on privatization disguised as innocent individuals speaks volume how the new PM is being played while distracted by the chaos created throughout the country.

Incidentally, Media outlets and concerned civic societies’ dismal record on investigating contemporary dysfunctional elites’ ‘the cart before the horse’ politics and massive corruption and conflict of interest left the people of Ethiopia in perpetual confusion before the new Prime Minster can figure out what is going on to reform the intricate Mafia State TPLF created. It would remaine the # 1 problem for PM reform efforts as well as the people of Ethiopia until the Free Press and independent institutions began to sort out who-is-who undermining the reform and playing the people of Ethiopia as suckers.

Here are the Advisory Council members listed on official tweet of the PM’s Chief of Stuff/Secretory Fesum with some of their public profile found in public domain.

Representing international institutions and investors

#3. Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse, Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), according THEIGC. The Washington based IFPRI that opened office in Addis Ababa in 2008 to advice the government of Ethiopia on food policy has strange fellows in its rank-and files. Regardless, no one knows what a food policy research fellow can contribute in privatization of public assets.

#5. Bekele Geleta the Former Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies between 2008 and 2014. Previously he served as Secretary General to the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (1984-1988), Head of Africa Department (1995-2003) and Head of the South East Asia Regional Delegation (2004-2007). His LinkedIn Profile   reviles he has no official job at present and no one knows what a world renown charity organization Head would do in Advisory Council on privatization. 

# 6. Abebe Aemiroselase,  the little-known Former Economic Adviser for the Transitional Government of Ethiopia in the early 90s was recommended for IMF position by the late PM Melse Zenawi. At present he is African Head at IMF responsible to oversee the Fund’s policy in Africa (see his Bio according to IMF). It is not clear what IMF interest may be in the privatization of public enterprises of Ethiopia beside to insure international creditors including IMF are paid from the proceeds of privatization.

# 15. Kassi Kebde (real name Kassaye Kebede). The X-husband of the renowned international model Liya Kebde was the Founder and CEO of the New York based Panton Wealth Management he established in 2004 until it was closed in October of 2017 for undisclosed reasons. He is also the Founder and CEO of a Cayman Island based Panton Alternative Private Fund established in 2009, according U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In 2016 Kebde and his Addis Ababa based partner established Cepheus Growth Capital where he serves as Managing Partner. The ‘Ethiopia focused private equity Cepheus Growth Capital’, according to European Investment Bank (EIB) 12 October 2017 Press Release.  is claiming to invest in local SMC (Small-and-Medium companies).

With nearly a billion dollars fund of undisclosed individuals under Kassaye Kebede’s Cayman Island Firm management and several investment portfolios in Ethiopia prior establishing Cepheus, it is not clear who picked him to be part of the Advisory Council on privatization of public assets nor why his background was not disclosed to the public. In addition, no one knows whether the ‘private funds’ he managed participated in buying some of the over 360 public enterprises sold in the last two decades under TPLF appointed Head of the Privatization & Public Enterprises Supervising Agency (PPESA).

#14. Dr. Tegegnework Gettu is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He previously held the post of Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management. It is not clear what a conference management expert provides in the Advisory Council on privatization.

Representing the Government of Ethiopia

# 18. Dr. Abraham Tekeste, Minister of Finance and Economic Cooperation of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Governor of Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank since December 31, 2016.

# 19. Dr. Yinager Dessie, the present Governor Bank of Ethiopia appointed in June of 2018 replacing the Former Long-time Governor Teklewold Atnafu. Dr. Yinager previously served as National Plan Commissioner, according to public record.

# 21. Ambassador Girma Birru, the infamous long-time Ethiopian Ambassador to U.S. previous posted as Ambassador to Kenya. He is the current member of OPDO central committee.

Representing the Media

# 4 Wzro Maaza Birru, general manager at Sheger FM102.1 radio Ethiopia. The only Media representative in the Advisory Council not known to promote the Free Press nor to criticize the ruling party’s atrocities and corruption.  But, from all Medias in-and-out of the country it is not clear why and who picked Maaza Birru of Sheger FM102.1 and what the station could contribute to investigate the Councils members’ conflict of interest is not known.

Representing the private sector

#1. Eyesuswork Zafu, ‘a corporate leader with global experience in the insurance business, has assumed the position of Chairperson of the Board for United Bank S.C’, according to public record.

#10. W/ro Sara Aberra, the celebrated entrepreneurial and fashion designer of Muya Ethiopia PLC, a wholesale exporter. Again no one knows what she knows about privatization of public asset.

Representing ‘opposition’ political parties

# 5. Prof. Bekele Gerba, the General Secretory of the Oromo National Congress party that came out of jail by PM Abiy not long ago.

# 7. Lidatu Ayallew, the controversial Former Chairman of the Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP) is quoted by Addis Fortune saying; ‘the part we play will be in political side of the privatization of state enterprise”.   No one knows what “the political side of the privatization of state enterprise” means beside demanding a complete disclosure of the background and conflict of interest of the Advisory Council’s members and all participants in the process.

# 8. Prof. Beyene Petros, the long-time self-described representative of the Southern Peoples Nations and Nationalities in the opposition.

#16. Ato Girma Seifu, the former lone-opposition party in the parliament until the ruling EPRDF party took all the seats. No one knows if he is affiliated with any political party at present since he migrated to U.S. under undisclosed status.

# 17. Ato Lencho Batti, the Former member of Oromo Liberation Front and the relatively new Oromo Democratic Front (ODF) party Secretory General that recently returned to Ethiopia with ODF leaders after decades in exile.

No one knows why the oppositions leaders volunteered in privatization of public enterprises Advisory Council instead of tending their parties’ affairs for the upcoming national election and in helping the PM’s initiated political and economic reforms.  With no access to data on public asset and who-is-who investing and divesting in Ethiopia under TPLF instigated political turmoil to blindly accept and participate in selling off the last remaining public asset amount to volunteering to self-incriminate.

Representing Academia

# 3. Dr. Aynalem Megersa, Assistant professor at Addis Ababa University in the Center for Gender studies, and expert on Rural women’s employment and marriage in Ethiopia. No one knows what he would contribute on the Advisory Council on privatization.

# 12. Prof. Tasew Woldehana Kahsay – President of Addis Ababa University since February 2018 Tassew is a part-time Assistant Professor in the Agricultural Economics and Rural Policy Group at Wageningen University. His main research interests are farm and off-farm employment, and farm household economics. He is also part of the Ethiopian Development Research Institute, according International Growth Centre (IGC)

Representing Civic organizations

# 13 Dr. Tsegaye Berehe, Director of Africa Programs for Wide Horizons for Children and Member of TPLF politburo. Again, no one knows what he can advices on privatization of public enterprises.

Conclusion

In article, The Plot to sell Public Enterprises is not reform but, plunder by a different name

we showed how TPLF oligarchs and operatives masquerading as innocent Ethiopians are holding the new PM hostage.

Therefore, once again; ‘Is Prime Minster Abiy gamed or is he part of the game on privatization of public enterprises’ is timely question to ask. Thus, given his unprecedented will to reform the rotten and corrupt ethnic apartheid regime within, the more plausible explanation for the contradiction on privatization of public asset and the lack of transparency and conflict of interest by the dozen members of the Advisory Council on privatization and surrounded by the same old TPLF operatives as reflected by some of the members of his cabinet including Fesum Arega and Teklewold Atanafu as well as Foreign Minister Wokenhe Gebyew, it is wise to freeze any asset transfer until independent committee is formed to the satisfaction of the public and all other stakeholders  and until the Free Press have access to the data and investigate the participants.

But, when that wasn’t enough, way before the new PM North America trip on July 19, 2018 the Ethiopian Embassy in the EU Capital of Belgium put out a Press Release titled Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund ready to start collecting funds’ and gave a list of 20 money transfer companies to use.

It is not clear why the Embassy in Belgium as oppose the Foreign Ministry under Workenhe Gebeyhe put out a Press Release and before the Diaspora Trust Fund Advisory Council Chaired by Professor Al Mariam was formed remained a mystery.

About a week after the PM returned home, on Aug 9, 2018 another Press Release claiming; The Office of Prime Minster of Ethiopia announced the formation of the Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund Advisory Council with a list of 15 members tweeted by Chief of Staff/Secretory Fesum Arega stating;

“HE Prime Minster Dr. Abiy Ahmed announce the formation of the Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund Advisory Council and its members. He thanks and encourages all individuals and groups who have taken initiative to cooperate with the council”

Once again, it is not clear why all the Diaspora Advisory Council’s members listed were only U.S. nationals and who picked the 20 money transfer companies listed on the Ethiopian Embassy in Belgium’s Press Release and, how and who evaluated for their transparency.

Interestingly, unlike the 21 members Advisory Council on privatization on public enterprises in Ethiopia, the 15 members Diaspora Trust Fund Advisory Council partial profiles in the U.S. were provided on the Chief of Staff/Secretory Fesum Arega tweet attached with Press Release.

No one knows who recommended the members of the two Councils to the Prime Minster nor what they know about privatization and trust fund to volunteer as members. Even with the little information provided; it is obvious some of the members have serious conflict of interest to be part of the council.

Incidentally, by some strange coincidence or by design; the only member on both Advisory Councils is “Kassahum (Kassy) Kebede” of the 15 members Diaspora Trust Fund Advisory Council referred as “Kassi Kebde” on the 21 members Advisory Council on privatization. How a little-known U.S. private fund manager of nearly a billion dollars of undisclosed individuals out of Cayman Island registered firm as well as investor in Ethiopia ended up on both Advisory Councils remained a mystery that requires investigation.

Luckily, the person who took responsibility for the Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund Advisory Council as a Chairman is the prominent Californian Constitutional Law Professor and Defense Attorney Al Mariam. He is expected to vet the members backgrounds and provide regular information to the public as well as comply with established laws concerning the  activities of the Council.

Though Professor Al endorsed PM reform effort and his diaspora visit on publicly unannounced conference organized by unknown volunteers in Washington D.C. led by a person named Besufekad Kasegn few weeks before PM anticipated visit as reported by Solomon Abate of VOA,  it is not clear how he ended up as the Chairman of the Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund Advisory Council that was setup before the PM visit in North America.

Regardless, if there is one person capable of making sure members have no conflict of interest, and the Advisory Council is transparent regarding the laws and regulations governing its operation, he come up on the top.

But, the tragedy contemporary dysfunctional elites with professional credential can’t even agree what conflict of interest and transparency means let alone comply; only independent institutions and the Free Press are the only entities that bring about transparency and accountability on behalf of the public we witness is astounding.

Thus, to see many play hide-and-seek from the public on basic rule of engagement on public affairs illustrates; dysfunctionality among contemporaries that led to all kinds of misconduct at the expenses of the people of Ethiopia is the norm not the exception.

As Prime Minster Abiy’s reform goes forward, the most important thing Ethiopians can’t afford to ignore is; the right to know what is being done without their knowledge i.e.  lack of transparency from government officials and one-and-all involved in the public affairs.

Academic credential, job title and experience polished for the occupation nor the ‘dog eat my homework’ excuse and empty rant on social Media to divert the issue of transparency and accountability can no longer be a substitute not to disclose public information as Ethiopians experienced in the last 27 years under Woyane rule.

They say, “if a slaughterhouse has glass walls, everybody will be vegetarian”.

In that note, the PM and his official must do their job by disclosing all public information to the people of Ethiopia so that the people know; no conflict of interests arises when they make decisions on behalf of the people of Ethiopia. The Free Press and civic organizations must also do their job to make sure one-and-all, including Media operators masquerading as Free Press and civic organizations masquerading as independent are transparent and accountable to the public.

If they fail to do the basics to bring about transparency and accountability in governance; dysfunctional elites will continue to undermine the PM reform effort and will continue to cause more havoc on the people of Ethiopia as we are witnessing unfold.

The rights of people of Ethiopia to know can’t be outsourced to the same old dysfunctional elites that operate in the shadow TPLF’s oligarchs.

The article is dedicated to our people that continue to die needlessly just because dysfunctional elites of the old guard refuse to surrender for the people will and, their accomplices chose to look the other way to sustain their petty corruption.  

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Article 39: Oromo Nationalism, Abyssinian Exceptionalism and Expectations Raised by Dr. Abiy Ahmed’s Premiership (Part II Continued, Revised)

By Mekuria Bulcha, PhD, Professor

Inclusion that excludes – a myth used to distort history

As I have noted in the previous section of this article published on this website on July 12, the Abyssinian myth of exceptionalism was used to conquer and colonize the non-Abyssinian peoples during the European scramble for Africa. However, in the Orwellian language of Ethiopianist historians, and indeed the opponents of Article 39, the Ethiopian state is designated distortedly as beacon of freedom in colonial Africa. The propaganda has served the purpose of hiding the crimes committed by black colonialists who built the Ethiopian empire state at the end of the nineteenth century.  As I have indicated, distorting historical facts, the opponents of Article 39 will turn reality upside down and make us believe that Emperor Menelik was a benefactor rather a conqueror, colonizer and enslaver of the Oromo and other peoples in the south. Many of the commentators will, as mentioned above, call his occupation of the south as an act of unification, denying the fact that what had occurred was not a voluntary union of peoples but a violent conquest of independent states and peoples. Thus, as John Markakis has pointed out,

One of the immediate consequences of the Ethiopian expansion was the dismantling of indigenous states that vanished from the face of the earth along with their history. In this respect, the impact of Ethiopian imperialism was the same as that of the European onslaught elsewhere in Africa.[1]

The Abyssinian onslaught on and treatment of their subjects was worse than that of the European colonialists in other parts of Africa.  The British journalist Evelyn Waugh stated that “The Abyssinians imposed what was, by its nature, a deadly and hopeless system.”[2] Comparing the Abyssinian and European treatment of the peoples they had colonized, he wrote that the non-Christian “peoples of the south and west were treated with wanton brutality unequalled even in the Belgian Congo” in the Abyssinian empire. He noted that the Boers in South Africa and the Abyssinians were “the most notoriously oppressive administrators of subject peoples in Africa.” By Abyssinians, Waugh meant the ruling elite and the naftanya settlers in the south. From Emperor Menelik II to the regime of the late Ethiopian Prime Minister, Melese Zenawi, the historical record confirms Waugh’s assessment.

The other difference is that the Europeans left their colonies and went home; the Abyssinians did not after their years of occupation and exploitation. They simply changed their narrative. The Abyssinian elites who hitherto were counting themselves among the ranks of colonial powers joined the anti-colonial movement of their “African brothers”. Haile Selassie championed this movement, building the Organization for African Unity (OAU) headquarter in Addis Ababa. The proud “conquerors” and “civilizers” became “unifiers,” and even leaders of Africa. Colonized Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) became the seat of the OAU which is now renamed Africa Union (AU).  Emperor Haile Selassie championed the question of African freedom and could hide the truth about the colonial makeup of his empire from the rest of Africa. While the African states were supporting anti-colonial struggles in the rest of Africa with Finfinnee as headquarter, the colonial policy against the Oromo continued in its vicinity

What is asserted above is not what the Habesha elites will acknowledge. They claim that Menelik unified Ethiopia by reclaiming lost territories of the Abyssinian state in the past. In other words, the geography of the empire created by Menelik II (the present Ethiopian state) is juxtaposed with the geography of the state ruled by the mythical king Menelik I about 3,000 years ago in the stories narrated by Habesha political activists and scholars. Consequently, the histories of ancient Abyssinia and modern Ethiopia are intermeshed, resulting in the “disappearance” of the histories, territories, and identities of the conquered peoples in the process. Biblical reference is used as evidence for Ethiopia’s ancient and an everlasting covenant with God.[3] Since the story is told by a host of commentators again and again, some people have taken it as the truth and exceptional history of the Ethiopian state and polity. The colonial relationship of the Abyssinian ruling elites and the conquered peoples is overshadowed and forgotten by the myth. As I indicated in the first part of this article, the myth is used as an evidence and justification to oppose Article 39 and propagate the Abyssinian heritage as an Ethiopian history writ large.

It is important to note here that the Oromo have never opposed the Abyssinian elites’ interest in preserving their own heritage. What they have always sought has been the acknowledgement that their political history is different from the Abyssinians’ autocratic heritage. They want the end of the Abyssinian elites’ interference in Oromo affairs and the preservation of the Oromo language, culture, and heritage. Article 39(2) states that “Every Nation, Nationality, and People in Ethiopia has the right to speak, write, and develop its own language; it also guarantees the right to express, develop, and promote its own culture and preserve its history.” Those who want to annul Article 39 want to deny the Oromo and other peoples these rights altogether and revert to the pre-1974 imperial system. That is tantamount to the declaration of a war.

Dr. Abiy’s concept of meddemer needs definition

The lack of clarity with what Dr. Abiy means by መደመር, “meddemer” (“addition”) has become a source of confusion rather than solution to the most recent crisis of the Ethiopian state. As I have discussed in the first part of this article, the speeches made by Prime Minister Abiy since he came to power three and half months ago has encouraged the opponents of Article 39 to demand the annulment of the revival made by the Oromo and the other non-Abyssinian peoples during the last forty years. His “rhetoric” of meddemerhas been praised and interpreted as a policy for the promotion of a unitary state. Taken together with his admiration for Abyssinian emperors, particularly Menelik II, and the denigration of Oromo nationalism, meddemer is interpreted as a rejection of not only the Oromo struggle for independence, but also a dismissal of Oromo history and culture that has been unearthed and recorded by scholars of Oromo studies during the last forty years. Censored by consecutive Ethiopian regimes, much of that knowledge is not yet accessible to students, researchers, and the public in Oromia and Ethiopia.  If the Habesha elites assume the role of gate-keepers for what is to be read by the Oromo and the history taught in schools and universities in Ethiopia once again, the knowledge built up by scholars of Oromo studies will never be accessible to the Oromo at home. As understood and used by the Habesha elites, Dr. Abiy’s concepts of  meddemer and fiqir (love) are sugar-coated; while advancing Abyssinian history as a common heritage, they obfuscate Oromo history.

Let me be clear why I refer to the Habesha elites here. It is because I know that the common people who have been longing for peace are also jubilating with the steps taken by Dr. Abiy because of the peace it promises. Among others, they are happy about the release of tens of thousands of political prisoners during the last three months. But that is not precisely what is in the minds of the Habesha elites who are caught in an ecstasy prompted by Dr. Abiy’s speeches about Ethiopia’s ancient glories, the history of her emperors, and spirit of Ethiopiawinnet, in general. They have interpreted his words as a positive response to their demand for “one language, one alphabet, one nation, and no national states” such as Oromia. Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam expresses the ecstatic feeling ignited by Prime Minister Abiy’s “restorative” politics among the Habesha elites as follows:

Since Abiy Ahmed became prime minister a little over 100 days ago, I, and one hundred million Ethiopians have been gripped 24/7 by Abiy Mania (a/k/a) “Hooked on Abiy”), a psychological condition in which we cannot stop talking about Abiy Ahmed. We wake up in the morning and scour the internet for information on Abiy Ahmed. We call each other and ask, ‘What did he do today?’ We call each other to pray for him.  We always close our conversations with the question, ‘God heard our prayers.’[4]

I do not mind if the Habesha elites feel like that; they have the right to be ecstatic about and devour every word spoken by Dr. Abiy. I object the generalization of their happiness to every person in Ethiopia. I object particularly to Professor Alemayehu’s statement because his “one hundred million Ethiopians” who thank God for sending them Dr. Abiy also include the more than one million who were displaced by the Somali Liyu Police and live in horrible conditions since November 2017. His assertion includes also the inhabitants of scores of Oromo communities in the eastern, southeastern and southern Oromia who are under daily attack from the same force. Regrettably, these people have no reason to thank God regarding Abiy’s “doctrine.” The atrocities of the Somali Liyu Police which killed thousands of their men, women and children, and displaced them from their homes in the Ethiopian Somali State and eastern, southeastern and southern Oromia in 2017 and 2018 is the worst disaster that has affected them in their recent history. Whatever Dr. Abiy may mean by meddemer (addition, inclusion), they are negatively impacted by his government and their plight ignored by the Ethiopian news media. Dr. Abiy has been visiting different places in Ethiopia and meeting many communities and even hospitalized individuals who were victims of conflicts. While that is commendable, the dire situation of the displaced Oromos was ignored. Thanks to artist Hacaaluu Hundeessa who used his talent to speak truth to power in public, reminding Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Oromia’s President Mr. Lemma Magarsa the urgency of the situation of victims of the Somali Liyu Police, it seems that at least the security needs of these people is given some attention now. Hacaaluu is being criticized for using the time he got at reception organized in honor of President Isaias Afeworki on July 15 for divisive politics (being voice for the Liyu Police victims) instead of singing about unity. But for Hacaaluu not to use that rare opportunity to expose the silence over the atrocities of the Somali Liyu Police and the prevailing lack of engagement of the Ethiopian regime to stop them was to forget the horrific situation he saw with his own eyes in the camps of the displaced Oromos.[5]

In an article titled “Walelign Mekonnen, the Question of Nationalities and Ethiopia’s Persistent Crisis,”mentioning well-known historical personalities who spoke truth to power, I wrote that those individuals had acted, not for fame or power, but were compelled by their “inner” morality when they spoke truth to power, although it was risky. Artist Hacaaluu Hundeessa’s performance on the reception for President Isaias Afeworki at Finfinnee Millennium Hall on July 15, 2018 should be seen in that perspective.  That was also what Fayissa Lelisa did in Rio at the conclusion of the 2016 Olympics?  In both cases, the young Oromo heroes have achieved their commendable goals of bringing about the much needed regional and global awareness of the plight of the Oromo and other oppressed peoples in Ethiopia at the risk of their own careers and fortune.

Two young Oromos who have the courage to be voice for the voiceless

What Hacaaluu did at the Finfinnee Millennium Hall on July 15, 2018

To go back to the Professor Alemayehu’s comment, the Habesha elites including the well-known Oromo-phobic scholars see Dr. Abiy as Ethiopia’s Mesaiah. They tend to believe that he is sent by God to save the ancient empire. Altogether, his speeches are interpreted as an introduction to long-awaited policy of “Ethiopianization” and meddemer, key concepts for an erasure of the current federal structure and rejection of the right to self-determination. As many other concerned Oromos have done, I will too ask Dr. Abiy to define what he means by meddemer and save us from the prevailing state of confusion and unnecessary discursive violence.

Article 39: education and history

The Oromo have struggled for decades to realize the rights encoded in Article 39. As I have pointed out in the first part of this article, the contents of Article 39 were first adopted as Article (2) of the Transitional Charter of 1991. The Article was at the core of a “contract” entered by the OLF when it formed the Transitional Government of Ethiopia with the TPLF. The TPLF violated the contract and the OLF left the Transitional Government, but the program which the OLF had put in place had many positive results. One of them was the right to own language.  The Oromo have exercised that right with an amazing speed and enthusiasm. When the Oromo language became a medium of instruction, education was sought eagerly and acquired spontaneously by millions of Oromo children. The result was what I have called elsewhere a “vernacular revolution.”[6] The qeerroo are the offspring of that revolution; they are the youth who started school in 1991-92 and became the first cohort of the current Oromo qeerroo generation.

Those who have been following developments in Ethiopia know that the youth who have forced Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to resign and brought Dr. Abiy Ahmed to power are, by and large, the qeerroo. Brought up in an educational system that valorizes the Oromo language and celebrates Oromo culture and history, they have taken pride in their Oromo identity more than the older Oromo generations have ever done. The celebration of Abyssinian emperors who committed mass murder and destruction in Oromia as venerable heroes nauseates them. In general, names like Tewoderos, Yohannes and Menelik remind the Oromo not about unity but war, conquest and the destruction of Oromo lives with impunity. That is why the Oromo youth will not join the recyclers of the Abyssinian myth and sing or ululate the names of Abyssinian emperors. To expect them to do that will be absurd.

The renowned historian Geoffrey Barraclough has stated that “Man is an historical animal, with a deep sense of his own past; and if he cannot integrate the past by history explicit and true, he will integrate it by a history implicit and false.”[7] Building on that, another historian John Tosh tells us “If the ambition to know the past is completely surrendered, we shall never be able to determine how the present came to be. The social function of history is not to be so lightly abandoned.”[8] It is possible to state here that, for the Oromo majority, to abandon their national identity and heritage through the process of meddemer amounts to committing collective suicide. They have no objection against individual assimilation. Their resistance concerns ethnocide. They respect the rights of their neighbors to their history and culture; in return, they expect respect, including the acknowledgement of their rights to their own history and identity as a people. This has been the vision and expectation of Oromo intellectuals since the 1960s. In short, while the Habesha elites are nostalgic about the pre-1974 imperial order, the disposition of the Oromo people is the opposite. They want to get rid of the last vestiges of the Abyssinian imperial order in Oromia.

Concluding remarks

To sum up the main points in this article, as captives of the myth about the ancient Abyssinian state, the Habesha elites fail to recognize the colonial makeup of the Ethiopian state. While portraying Ethiopia as a mythical state that existed for thousands of years, they are reluctant to accept that the Oromo and the other non-Abyssinian peoples have their own histories and homelands. Emperors such as Menelik and Tewodros are presented as heroes of, not only the Abyssinian people, but also of the peoples affected by the Abyssinian conquest at the end of the nineteenth century. Respect for the humanity of the victims of the atrocities of the conquest or the sensibilities of their descendants are rarely taken into account. The position of the opponents of Article 39 regarding the history of Ethiopia is that of religious zealots. Like religious fanatics, they do not respect views that critique the reliability of the story about the mythical Abyssinian-cum-Ethiopian state. They deny the historical facts of imperial conquest of which the present state is an outcome, and hark back to the myth of an ancient Abyssinian state to argue that nations such as the Oromo did not exist on what is today considered the Ethiopian soil. To criticize their views is to commit a crime; evidence is not accepted.  Although unarticulated, in their opinion the purpose of power is not to serve justice, but perpetuate the existence of a state. Impunity is normal for that purpose; those who mention the crimes of the past Ethiopian rulers are not tolerated. They talk about democracy as a solution to Ethiopia’s historical political problem and many of them raise the case of South Africa as an exemplar for solving its current crisis of the Ethiopian state, yet they are not ready to acknowledge the crimes committed against the Oromo and others non-Abyssinian people by the Abyssinian emperors. This is why conscious Oromo scholars and politicians find conducting a dialogue with them, not only an uncomfortable task, but also often a regrettably meaningless undertaking.

_____________________
[1] Markakis, J. Ethiopia: the Last Two Frontiers. James Currey, 2011, p. 106.
[2] Evelyn Waugh, Waugh in Abyssinia, Louisiana State University Press, 2007, p. 26.
[4] Alemayehu G. Mariam, ”Memorandum No. 13: PM Abiy Ahmed, Challenge Accepted, Mission Possible”, ZeHabesha, July 16, 2018
[5] I advise Hacaaluu’s critics to listen to an interview he gave to a journalist on OBN Oromiyaa TV on June 31, 2018 regarding his feelings about the misery of the displaced Oromos in eastern Oromia.
[6] Mekuria Bulcha, Contours of the Emergent and Ancient Oromo Nation: Dilemmas in the Ethiopian Politics of State and Nation Building, Cape Town: The Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society, Second edition, 2016.
[7] Cited in The Pursuit of History by John Tosh with Sean Lang, Fourth Edition, Pearson/Longman, 2006, p. 50.
[8] Ibid. p. 205.

The post Article 39: Oromo Nationalism, Abyssinian Exceptionalism and Expectations Raised by Dr. Abiy Ahmed’s Premiership (Part II continued) appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

africanews

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has spoken on the country’s security situation stressing that lawlessness was not going to be tolerated.

His comments come at a time when there is a rising concern about issues of internally insecurity that has led to deaths, destruction of property and mass displacement.

The PM “underscored that since rule of law is the glue and foundation that keeps our society together the government won’t tolerate the increasing tendency to disregard the law,” his chief of staff Fitsum Arega wrote on Twitter.

Abiy made the comments during an event at the country’s Defense Command College. The PM was joined by his deputy Demeke Mekonnen joined other top government officials at the event.

“Respect for the law implies a recognition that only the state has exclusive policing power. More than any time, our law enforcement agencies need to demonstrate their fidelity to the constitution by bringing to justice chaos instigators and those who disregard the law,” Arega added.

Despite having set Ethiopia on a path of massive democratic reforms since coming into office in April 2018, Abiy’s biggest challenge yet has been the deterioration of internal security.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a recent report noted that insecurity across the nation threatened the reforms for which Abiy has earned praise home and abroad.

HRW enumerated instances of violence resulting in deaths across other parts of the country. “At least 15 people in other parts of the country – DireDawa city, Shashemene, Tape town, and Adama city – were also killed in ethnically-charged mob justice and rioting in August.

“The political and ethnic dynamics around these recent killings show that despite reforms and improved rhetoric on human rights from the federal government, insecurity is still a problem – particularly where Liyu police roam unchecked.

“Bringing perpetrators swiftly to justice is the only way to not only stem the violence, but also signal to Ethiopians that the country is changing for good,” its statement added.

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By Alemayehu G. Mariam

Those who refuse to uphold the rule of law will invite dictators who rule with an iron fist, but they will never be victorious. PM Abiy Ahmed, speaking at a military graduation on August 18, 2018.

Throwing the gauntlet of the rule of law

For weeks, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been hectored, lectured and exhorted to “uphold the rule of law”, particularly in Eastern Ethiopia.

The call has come from all sectors — opposition leaders, civil society and human rights  activists, local and foreign journalists, the man and woman in the streets, and most surprisingly, a gathering of top interdenominational religious leaders in the country.

In an unprecedented action in the country’s history, on August 13, 2018, prominent religious leaders of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, the Ethiopian Catholic Church, the Evangelical Churches Fellowship of Ethiopia, the Seventh Day Adventist Church, the Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus and Ethiopian Kalehiwot Church issued a statement  demanding “the government uphold the rule of law and to take all the necessary steps to stop the violence in different parts of the country.”

They say, “The voice of the people is the voice of God.”  And what do we make of the voice of faith leaders?

But lo and behold!

Even the Forces of Darkness have joined the chorus demanding PM Abiy take measures to uphold the rule of law. Their rallying cry today is, “Lawlessness is taking root in the country. The Constitution is being violated.”

Their fake news rumor mill everyday proclaims the country is going to hell in a hand basket.

Why? Because PM Abiy has not taken “action” to deal with those causing death and destruction in certain parts of the country.

Of course, they say nothing about the fact that they are the root cause of the lawlessness and trashing of the constitution.

Abdi Illey, the recently removed president of Somali region in his public confession  fingered and named exactly who is responsible for the violence, death and destruction in Eastern region of Ethiopia.

The alleged lack of “action” by PM Abiy is said to be proof positive that he is a weak, spineless and fainthearted leader who is afraid to face and confront those who are putting the country’s peace, stability and integrity at risk.

PM Abiy did not disappoint

Two days ago, in his statement at a military graduation, PM Abiy did not disappoint. He threw the gauntlet of the rule of law at the “shiftas” (thugs) who have been wreaking havoc, particularly in Eastern Ethiopia.

He took advantage of a military graduation ceremony to send out his message, which sounded more like final warning.

Flanked by the Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces, General Saere Mekonen clad in battle fatigues, PM Abiy issued a thinly-veiled “don’t push me” last warning to those engaged in anarchy, death and destruction throughout the country.  

But PM Abiy was speaking softly in his signature tone of peace and reconciliation. For the first time since taking office in early April, he made it clear that inside the velvet glove he wears is an iron fist.

His message to the “shiftas” (thugs) was unmistakable. “Don’t be fooled by the silky velvet glove on my hand. Don’t test me. Don’t mistake my soft talk about love, reconciliation and peace for wimpiness. There is a solid iron fist you don’t want to see inside my velvet glove.”

He gave the shiftas two choices. “Stop your violence, death and destruction now or our defense forces will drop the sledgehammer on your head hard!”

The Abiy Ahmed we saw in the past few days is unlike the Abiy Ahmed we have seen over the past six months who spoke softly. The Abiy Ahmed we have seen in the past few days still speaks softly but carries a big stick.

For the first time, we saw Abiy Ahmed, the combat veteran, spoke the hard truth softly to hardened thugs in the “thugese” language they understand.

PM Abiy said (author’s translation):

… Those who confuse freedom with anarchy and engage in lawlessness, disregard the rule of law and due process must stop their  street politics of mob justice (rule) must stop. If we weaken the rule of law, tolerate mob rule and allow vigilante justice, we would be adding insult to injury which will result in (social and political) bankruptcy for our blossoming peaceful (democratic) transition. It is the obligation of each and every citizen to know, preserve and uphold the law. In this regard, our defense forces have a double obligation.

The absence of rule of law and a government that tolerates anarchic insurrection will nullify (gravely harm) our country. It must be our daily mission to keep our national unity in a manner consistent with the rule of law. To be modern is to respect the rule of law. Those who refuse to uphold the rule of law will invite dictators who rule with an iron fist, but they will never be victorious.

When I say “Enedemer” (count up/let’s stand together), let us and reconcile and build one (united) country, it does not mean we go into anarchy, disregard the rule of law or allow the proliferation of (shiftas) thugs in the streets.

The aim of our reconciliation is to regain (the freedom) what we have lost and not to destroy what we have preserved. It is the daily obligation of every citizen to love and support our military sacrificing their lives for low pay…

When there was no rule of law in Ethiopia

U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower said, “The clearest way to show what the Rule of Law means to us in everyday life is to recall what has happened when there is no Rule of Law.”

Let us recall the past 27 years without the rule of law in Ethiopia.

There was one-man, one party rule.

There was rule by dictat.

There was rule of the jungle/bush.

There was rule by a kleptocracy.

There was ethnic apartheid rule.

There was rule by a state of emergency and command post.

The rule was shoot first and ask questions later.

But there was never the rule of law in Ethiopia over the past 27 years.

They trashed their supreme law of the land, their constitution. Now, they moan, groan and whine about “constitution is being violated”.  They demand respect for the rule of law. They are like the proverbial Ethiopian wolf priest who prays among lambs.

 When there is rule of law in Ethiopia

Today, for the first time in living memory, Ethiopia is experiencing the rule of law under a young leader.

The Economist two days ago wrote, “Abiymania Ethiopians are going wild for Abiy Ahmed.”

Ethiopians love Abiy Ahmed so much they become hysterical and exhibit withdrawal symptoms if they don’t see him in public for a just a few days.

Why do the people of Ethiopia love Abiy Ahmed?

Because his entire world view is based on the rule of law.

For Abiy Ahmed, keeping tens of thousands of citizens as political prisoners is against the rule of law. What did he do? He emptied the jails of political prisoners!

For Abiy Ahmed, arresting and jailing journalist and shuttering newspapers and other independent media is against the rule of law. What did he do? He opened the media wide open and invited opposition media outside of the country to come and open an office.

For Abiy Ahmed, violently clamping down on opposition leaders and parties, harassing and intimidating is against the rule of law. What did he do? He gathered opposition leaders and pleaded with them to come together, organize and be ready for a fair and free election in 2020.

For Abiy Ahmed using a bogus anti-terrorism law to suppress all opposition is against the rule of law. What did he do? He issued amnesty to all persons accused of terrorism.

For Abiy Ahmed guilt by association and collective punishment are against the rule of law.

In 2008, the Meles Zenawi/TPLF regime, following an attack on Chinese-run oil installation in Somali Region by the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), launched a scorched earth policy of guilt by association and collective punishment.

Human Rights Watch reported, Meles Zenawi’s regime launched a “brutal counter-insurgency campaign in the five zones of Somali Region primarily affected by the conflict: Fiiq, Korahe, Gode, Wardheer, and Dhagahbur. In these zones the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) have deliberately and repeatedly attacked civilian populations in an effort to root out the insurgency.”

What does Abiy Ahmed believe? An indiscriminate campaign of counterinsurgency that deliberately and repeatedly attacks civilian populations in an effort to root out an insurgency is against the rule of law.

What does Abiy Ahmed want to do? He wants to bring to the bar of justice each and every shifta (thug), street criminals and looter who is responsible for causing violence, death and destruction and the fat cat criminals who have used their official positions and stolen wealth to support, organize and financing the violence, death and destruction.

In 2009, 40 individuals accused of planning to “assassinate high ranking government officials and destroying telecommunication services and electricity utilities and create conducive conditions for large scale chaos and havoc” were all convicted in kangaroo courts and given long prison sentences. At the time, I wrote, “There is no judicial system in the world where suspects are arrested for  committing crimes after being investigated for 2 years and then the prosecution asks for two more weeks to gather additional evidence.”

Police officials accused of involvement in a failed assassination attempt on PM Abiy in June 2018 are today free on nominal bail. Two persons died in that cowardly attempt and more than 160 were injured.

There is definitely rule of law in Ethiopia under the Abiy Ahmed administration!

Rule of law is not a suicide pact

When push comes to shove and shove becomes death, destruction and displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, the velvet glove must be taken off and the street and official criminals must not be allowed to escape the long arm of the law.

The late distinguished Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, who also served as Chief United States Prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals following World War II,  reflecting on the rule of law – the American Bill of Rights – mob violence and riots wrote that civil liberty does not mean “crowds who engage in riot and looting cannot be subjected to restraints” or that

all local attempts to maintain order are impairments of the liberty of the citizen. The choice is not between order and liberty. It is between liberty with order and anarchy without either. There is danger that, if the Court does not temper its doctrinaire logic with a little practical wisdom, it will convert the constitutional Bill of Rights into a suicide pact.

In my view, PM Abiy Ahmed perfectly captured the essence of the rule of law when he warned dire consequences to “those who confuse freedom with anarchy, engage in lawlessness and disregard the rule of law and due process choosing to practice the  street politics of mob justice.”

The principle of the rule of law is not and must not be a suicide pact for Ethiopians.

In defense of the rule of law

I pride myself for two things: 1) speaking truth to power and 2) defending the rule of law.

I do not bite my tongue when it comes to these two things. I always say what I mean and mean what I say. I tell it like it is.

The principle of the rule of law is something that is very special to me.

I have spent a good part of my adult life defending, promoting and litigating the rule of law in American courts.

I have spent as much time teaching it in the classroom and lecturing and sermonizing it in the court of public opinion at least every Monday for the last 13 years.

I have written extensively on the rule of law in Ethiopia and in America.

I have defended the rule of law in the International Criminal Court Forum and relentlessly pursued African criminals against humanity and did everything I could to ensure they faced justice.

I have made a special trip to The Hague to observe the rule of law in action and come face to face with former Congolese general Bosco Ntganda and former Cote d’Ivoire president Laurent Gbagbo, the monstrous criminals against humanity.

I have seen Ntganda and Gbagbo in a rule of law tribunal. Those were the two smallest big men I have seen in my life. When they pretended to be the rule of law —  the givers and takers of life — they looked so big. They were feared for their brutality, cruelty, atrocity and inhumanity.

But sitting just a few feet away from them separated by a plate glass at the ICC, I stared into their eyes as my heart ached and rage roiled in my mind.

All I could see through their eyes were the dead souls of the thousands of people they murdered, massacred and tortured.

How I deeply envied the ICC prosecutor laying out the evidence against Ntganda and Gbagbo.

But I am proud to defend PM Abiy’s conception of the rule of law and his method of preaching and practicing it every day. Last month he said:

Given our current politics, there is no option except pursuing a multiparty democracy supported by strong institutions that respects human rights and rule of law. This will allow us to mediate our differences peacefully and to ensure lasting progress.

I could not have said it better!

The choice is between the rule of law and the rule of the lawless

In 1920, Mahatma Gandhi faced a similar moral dilemma reflected on the use of violence when the alternative choice is cowardice, fear of doing the right thing because of one reason or another. Gandhi said:

I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence… I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should, in a cowardly manner, become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonor.

But I believe that nonviolence is infinitely superior to violence, forgiveness is more manly than punishment. Forgiveness adorns a soldier…But abstinence is forgiveness only when there is the power to punish; it is meaningless when it pretends to proceed from a helpless creature….

But I do not believe India to be helpless….I do not believe myself to be a helpless creature….Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

We do want to drive out the beast in the man, but we do not want on that account to emasculate him. And in the process of finding his own status, the beast in him is bound now and again to put up his ugly appearance.

The world is not entirely governed by logic. Life itself involves some kind of violence and we have to choose the path of least violence.

In 1939, Gandhi explained further:

For I cannot in any case tolerate cowardice. Let no one say when I am gone that I taught the people to be cowards… I would far rather that you died bravely dealing a blow and receiving a blow than died in abject terror…fleeing from battle is cowardice and unworthy of a warrior… cowardice is worse than violence because cowards can never be non-violent.”

PM Abiy’s message to the beast in shiftas (street/bush thugs) and official criminals organizing and financing the street thugs

The shiftas (thugs), street and official criminals who are wreaking havoc in Ethiopia may mistakenly believe PM Abiy is afraid to take decisive action against them.

They may believe he does not have the guts to hammer them down.

They may underestimate him because he speaks the language of love, peace and nonviolence.

How so sorely mistaken they are!

I have listened to PM Abiy’s speeches over the past few days many times to fully discern his message.

He is acutely aware of the grim realities of using military action to solve a problem that can best be addressed through dialogue, discussion and compromise.

He is acutely aware that military action must be the absolute last resort.

His message to the criminals who are causing violence, death and destruction resonates Gandhi’s prescription.

There always comes the time to deal with the beast in those men who wreak havoc in society.

There always comes a time to deal with those who mistake patience, restraint, good will, moderation, humility, forbearance and leniency for cowardice.

PM Abiy said those thugs and the thugs in designer suits who finance them will never win, but they will surely invite the hand that will lower the hammer down on them.

I would imagine violence is nothing new to a man who spent two decades of his life in combat in the military.

I would imagine violence is nothing new for a man who lost his family members fighting in a war, witnessed his fellow soldiers die in battle before his eyes, witnessed the deaths of thousands of people in a needless border war and stood tall in the face of a bomb thrower.

As Gandhi said, “Forgiveness adorns a soldier.”

Violence is the easiest thing to do. It is nonviolence that is the most difficult.

They say still water runs deep. Those who want to test Abiy Ahmed should tread lightly into the deep.

When push comes to shove, the velvet glove will be taken off

I have never believed in the use of violence to solve any problem.

Those who renounce and abhor violence should not be mistaken as cowards.

Those who believe and practice nonviolence are the most courageous people in the world.

But when the rule of law is flouted, mocked and disregarded, the only alternative becomes the rule of men – nasty, ruthless and bloodthirsty men.

Ethiopians know what it means to have no rule of law over the past 27 years.

Those shiftas (thugs), street and official criminals should take heed. DON’T TREAD ON ABIY AHMED!

Abiy Ahmed wants to take the path of Gandhi.

Abiy Ahmed believes that nonviolence is infinitely superior to violence and forgiveness is more manly than punishment.

Abiy Ahmed believes forgiveness adorns a soldier.

Abiy Ahmed also believes abstinence is forgiveness only when there is the power to punish.

Ethiopia is not helpless. Abiy Ahmed is not helpless creature. He has 100 million people having his back.

Abiy Ahmed does not believe strength does not come from physical capacity, the power to unleash violence.

Abiy Ahmed believes strength comes from an indomitable will. The will to say to street and official thugs, “We will never give in to your violence, death and destruction. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour, good sense and the rule of law. We will never yield to your violence, death and destruction.”

Abiy Ahmed wants to forgive, not exact vengeance.

Abiy Ahmed wants peace, not war.

Abiy Ahmed wants reconciliation, not bloodshed.

Let’s all join hands with Abiy Ahmed in his blessed mission of forgiveness, reconciliation and peace for all Ethiopians!

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There is a saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words” and that is absolutely true when you looked at the following pictures of Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed.

Dr. Abiy is great leader who cares about others. Great leaders always treat others like family, sacrifice for others and pay the prices others. The hearts of true leadership is putting others ahead of you. Great leader make the hard choice, and self-sacrifice in order to enhance the lives of others.

Ethiopians are blessed to have such an amazing human leader. At the heart of each great and successful leader, you will find unconditional love of his/her people and country, unshakeable principles.

Metho Obang

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WASHINGTON, DC, August 17, 2018 /Press Release/

• Never Again In Jigjiga Relief Association (NAJRA) has launched its fundraising platform to raise money for an emergency relief Program to assist victims of the recent conflict that affected thousands of civilians in the Somali Regional capital of Jijiga, Ethiopia.
• The emergency relief program is aiming at raising $100,000.00 and planning is underway to provide emergency relief assistance for up to 15,000 civilians, including the elderly and children who are sheltering at St. Michael Church and other shelters in Jigjiga town.

Never Again In Jigjiga Relief Association (NAJRA) is a registered not-for-profit association established by friends of Jigjiga from different parts of the country. NAJRA is committed to alleviate the suffering of the conflict victims and improve their living conditions by providing them with food, water, temporary shelter, sanitation facilities, clothing, household items and educational materials.

Through its committed and experienced team who will be working very closely with the community on the ground, NAJRA will ensure that the urgently needed aid will reach the beneficiaries on time. To further facilitate the relief work and avoid duplication of activities, NAJRA will coordinate its program with other actors that are engaged in similar emergency programs.

In order to acquire the required funding, NAJRA team members are tasked with promoting their cause, spreading the word over social media and mobilizing the Ethiopian community and other humanitarian individuals/organizations and organizing a fundraising event.

All are invited to participate in this life saving effort by making generous donations on the following accounts:

Bank of America CHECKING ACCOUNT Number                                  2260 0240 5788

 ACH Routing Number                                                                            054001204

 Title on Account                     NEVER AGAIN JIJIGA RELIEF ASSOCIATION    

You can also donate on gofundme for NEVER AGAIN JIJIGA RELIEF.

email:najrajijiga@gmail.com

call  @763-2914172,571-2247796 and 202-3455603

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Two years ago, the state branded him a terrorist. Now, after years in exile, activist Jawar Mohammed is back – and determined to see democracy in his country

Global development is supported by

Tom Gardner in Addis Ababa

Jawar Mohammed never travels alone. When the US-based Ethiopian activist returned to his home country on 5 August, he was treated like royalty. A posse of sharply suited young men hovered by him at all times. Jeeps carrying security guards patrolled his hotel in central Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. Supporters from the provinces arrived in droves to pay their respects. Over the course of a two-week visit he held about 25 to 30 meetings a day, according to an exhausted aide.

After meeting with the Guardian in his hotel suite he rushed off to give a lecture at the capital’s main university, entourage in tow.

Nothing demonstrated the breathtaking transformation in Ethiopian politics over the past four months quite like the red-carpeted return of a figure who was once the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front’s (EPRDF) most wanted man.

From a studio in Minneapolis, where he founded the controversial Oromia Media Network, Jawar has spent the past decade agitating over social media for political change back home in Ethiopia, which he left as a scholarship student in 2003. This was his first time in Ethiopia since 2008.

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So effective was he as an activist that by late 2016, as anti-government protests billowed across the country compelling the EPRDF to impose a state of emergency, the Oromia Media Network was labelled a terrorist organisation and Jawar accused of crimes against the constitution.

By early 2018 the revolutionary fervour had grown so loud that Hailemariam Desalegn was forced to resign as prime minister, paving the way for his enormously popular successor Abiy Ahmed, a young reformist from Oromia, Jawar’s home and the country’s largest and most populous region.

The Oromia Media Network, along with some smaller outlets and activists, has used social media to devastating effect over the past few years, coordinating boycotts and demonstrations and bringing Ethiopia’s large and often brutal security apparatus close to its knees.

“We used social media and formal media so effectively that the state was completely overwhelmed,” Jawar says. “The only option they had was to face reform or accept full revolution.”

During the course of a triumphant homecoming, the former terrorist (charges were dropped in May) toured the country, mostly around Oromia, where he was welcomed by vast and jubilant crowds. On his first day he led a tub-thumping rally in the capital’s main concert hall.

Later he travelled to Ambo, the epicentre of the Oromo protest movement – a struggle for political freedom and for greater ethnic representation in federal structures, which Jawar played a main role in orchestrating. Tens of thousands arrived to greet him, more than when Abiy visited the town shortly after his inauguration in April.

As Jawar had promised his supporters – mostly young, politically active Oromo men known as the Qeerroo – he took off his shoes and walked prophet-like through the streets of the city. He then planted a tree at the site where a young man was killed by security forces nearly 15 years ago, long before the rise of the movement that threw him into the national spotlight.

“They used to make me so happy and proud with what they did,” he said of Ambo’s Qeerroo. “So I told them: ‘One day I will come to your city and show my respect by walking barefoot.’ That day came and I had to deliver.”

Few doubt the importance of Jawar in recent Ethiopian history. Perhaps more than any other single individual, he took the once-marginal politics of Oromo nationalism and made it mainstream. Today, Oromos – the country’s largest ethnic group – dominate the highest offices of state, and Jawar enjoys significant personal influence over the country’s new leaders, including Abiy himself.

In a recent interview with local media he claimed – to the dismay of many Ethiopians – that the country now effectively has two governments: one led by Abiy, the other by the Qeerroo. This puts him in a position of extraordinary responsibility, since he is “one of the Qeerroo” and “a significant portion of the country listens to me”, he admits.

Many are uncomfortable with the whiff of demagoguery that accompanies Jawar. One Ethiopian journalist (who asked to remain anonymous) notes his “Trumpian sense of truth when inconvenient facts surface”.

He has been accused of inflating the numbers of protesters killed by security forces and, infamously, telling his followers (73,000 on Twitter and more than 1.4m on Facebook) that army helicopters fired live bullets at civilians during the tragic stampede that occurred during an Oromo cultural festival in October 2016. Independent journalists present confirmed this did not happen. He has a history of smearing journalists he disagrees with as government “agents”.

He has also been accused of inciting ethnic and religious violence. In a 2013 video, for example, he is heard saying: “My village is 99% Muslim. If someone speaks against us, we cut his throat with a machete.” Jawar says the clip was doctored, adding that he would not say such a thing because his father was a Muslim and his mother a Christian.

In recent years, he has whipped up his supporters against the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, the once dominant ethnic Tigrayan wing of the ruling coalition, which critics argue led to attacks against Tigrayan civilians as well as those of other ethnic groups. Jawar says that he has long sought to steer his supporters towards “non-violent resistance”, and adds that “even when TPLF was in power and actively killing our civilians we ensured Tigrayan civilians were not subject to attacks”.

These days, Jawar comes across as a more moderate and conciliatory figure. He says he plans for the Oromia Media Network to set up offices across Ethiopia and become a professionalised outfit. He points to the BBC and NPR as models. He insists he has no intention to enter formal politics, preferring to remain an activist.

“I want to help us in the next couple of years transition to democracy. And for that I want to use my influence over the population so that they can calm down, contain themselves, and ensure peace while the political leadership works out arrangements for transition,” Jawar says.

The last point is especially significant. In recent weeks instability across Ethiopia has escalated sharply, especially in his own region. The day after his interview with the Guardian a rally in the town of Shashamene turned violent, as a crowd of Jawar followers publicly hung a man they suspected of carrying a bomb. Two more died in the carnage that followed. Many Ethiopians blame him for the unrest, and he was compelled to cancel the rest of his tour.

Jawar nonetheless remains optimistic about the country’s future, and about the prospect of a peaceful politics free from violent expressions of ethnic identity. “I do believe if we democratise the Ethiopian state – allowing people of all ethnicities to participate in the political process and to get a fair share of power and wealth – there is a possibility the next generation will be proud Oromo and proud Ethiopian at the same time. I think that is possible.”

• This story was amended on 21 August to include a response from Jawar Mohammed and to clarify claims against his organisation.

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Colloquium on post-conflict transition in Ethiopia

First call for papers, August 20, 2018

Following the special meeting that was held in Washington D.C. on July 27 2018, between H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, and Ethiopian academics, professionals and civil society representatives, the Board of Vision Ethiopia is pleased to announce that it plans to hold its seventh conference in Addis Ababa in the December 2018-January 2019 period. We also take this opportunity to apologize to our guests of July 27, 2018 who were either not allowed to enter into the meeting or those who anticipated an extended engagement with the Prime Minister but were not able to do so. It was beyond our control.

Consistent with our mission, the primary aim of the seventh conference (colloquium) is to continue the dialogue on post-conflict transition in Ethiopia. In both theory and evidence, post-conflict transitions are difficult, and the escalation of conflict, communal violence, mob justice and lawlessness observed in certain parts of the country require urgent attention. Solutions and mechanisms are however contextual, for what worked in one country may not be successfully replicated in another country. Therefore, Ethiopian scholars and professionals are reminded to rethink about alternative ways and means of transition into successful post-conflict political order. A practical roadmap is important. For example, we could ponder: What are the possible ways and means of successful and democratic transition for Ethiopia? Election or transitional government or something else? Etc.

One line of argument is that the next election can be a means of transitioning Ethiopia from an authoritarian system to a democratic system. Credible and transparent elections are critical to ensuring the voices of all citizens are heard. When it comes to Ethiopia and the way forward, we all know that there are both intersecting and conflicting forces and interests. The ruling party’s record of accomplishment on election is bad and hence it cannot not be considered as a reliable agent of change. On the other hand, there is a popular leader at the helm of the same party. It is also important to recognize that the process is as important as the outcome. History has shown that many transitional elections in Sub Sahara Africa (SSA) have failed to be free and fair, and such failures have exacerbated preexisting conflicts. We believe that careful analysis of the reality on the ground is necessary, and this requires a multidimensional perspective, far beyond having good rules in the statue books and the parading of foreign election observers.

Another line of argument is that a transitional government of national unity should be the interface between the EPRDF led government and the election. Supporters of this view argue that a transitional government will allow all political and civic groups to participate in the process of the change we are witnessing. It allows all sectors of the society to be represented and counted in shaping the future of the society and to fully and unconditionally support all elements of the change in the country from the get- go. On the other hand, given the type of change the new Prime Minister is making, and the instability we are observing, transitional government becomes a debatable proposition. Opponents of a transitional government argue that it is impractical and weakens the powers of the reformists as it introduces further instability, factionalism and encourages some region(s) to defy the center.

The colloquium is aimed at assisting the transition from a multidimensional perspective, and the sequencing and prioritization of policy options. It will have themes planned to run in a form of plenary and concurrent (parallel) sessions. In regards to the socio-politico side, the colloquium will contextualize the Ethiopian election with the geopolitics of the region; peace & security; internal human displacement; minority rights; rights of people of mixed heritages; territorial disputes and the current form of federation; governance and constitutional reform; separation of powers; truth and reconciliation; independence and reliability of systems and processes; electioneering, alliances/counter alliances; the reintegration of armed groups and exiles into the political system as well as the political behaviors of various actors. The economic and finance aspect of the colloquium will include, inter alia, privatization and restructuring; political party owned and controlled companies; national debt; the country’s corruption conundrum and relevant methods of reducing it; public interest and finance, accounting & auditing. The colloquium aims at identifying current and potential problems and finding mitigation strategies.

The volume and quality of the papers submitted for presentation will determine the nature of the concurrent sessions. We particularly encourage academics and professionals in Ethiopia to share their research findings and experience. Papers must have theoretical depth and be supported by reliable local empirical evidence or experience, and must have solution orientation. Note that we are not looking for theoretical papers that are discipline specific, which may be presented at normal academic conferences. Instead, we are looking for policy papers, which are well articulated, dispassionate, forward-looking, supported by relevant theory and practice, appropriately sequenced, coherent, and a series of interconnected action points that can be implemented easily. We are looking for papers that are innovative and easy to implement. Authors are advised to avoid using anecdotal evidence, and must dwell more on the future rather than on the past. Case experiences have to be put together in a coherent way so that they can provide useful policy options. Authors must articulate why their proposal should be a priority in the transition period, identify the incremental cost of the new regulation, and indicate how it is going to be financed.

The papers will go through a normal review process with the above rubrics. Papers that fail to clearly address review comments will be excluded from the program. Whether a paper will be presented at the plenary or concurrent session is the sole discretion of Vision Ethiopia. The article may be written in either Amharic or in English but speakers need to consider reaching a wider local and diaspora audience. Presentation time is about 30 minutes. Consistent with Vision Ethiopia’s past practice, all proceedings will be transmitted live. Media outlets other than ESAT that wish to transmit the proceedings live, must obtain prior approval. Completed papers not exceeding 5000 words in length along with an abstract and a conclusion must reach visionethiopia18@gmail.com on or before October 20, 2018.

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AFP

Security forces have arrested 171 people for various “illegal acts” in Ethiopia’s troubled Oromia region, state media reported on Monday, after a spate of ethnic clashes in the region.

Addisu Arega, an acting spokesperson for the regional state, said the suspects were accused of various crimes including incitement to violence, illegal land seizures, looting and ethnically motivated attacks, reported state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate.

Oromia, the largest and most populous regional state in Ethiopia, has been the site of nearly three years of often deadly anti-government protests by ethnic Oromos who feel marginalised by the central government.

The swearing into office of ethnic Oromo Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in April, with his talk of reconciliation and inclusiveness, largely dampened the protest movement in Oromia.

Ahmed has moved to institute political reforms in the tightly run east African country, releasing thousands of political prisoners and helping delist several rebel groups from a terror list.

However, a series of deadly ethnic clashes between ethnic Oromos and other groups residing in the region, believed to spring from long-simmering land disputes, has left hundreds of thousands displaced, and led to widespread calls on social media for law and order to be restored in the region.

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Arrest warrant issued on former spy chief Getachew Assefa. An Ethiopian court has issued an arrest warrant on former spy chief, Getachew Assefa, whom ESAT sources say has escaped to neighboring Sudan.

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VOA Amharic Daily Radio News Thursday 23 August 2018

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By Haile-Gebriel Endeshaw
August 23, 2018

Nowadays I am wondering whether we are slipping in to mobocracy; a system ruled by the mob. A number of incidents currently occurring in our country seem to prove this.

A few weeks back our young people in Debre-Markos Town took to the street and rounded up a big hotel. The reason was a word that went around the town concerning a notorious government official allegedly happened to be in the hotel. The enraged young people who have now turned in to a mob, chanted slogans against the individual and at length asked for his arrest. They were not approached by any government officials of the town. Their request fell on deaf ears. The surprising thing was that police supposedly did not try to do anything to help the situations be directed smoothly. No one gave the mob a damn! No measures were taken to stop them from performing illegal actions. Then after, the angry mob started to search for the said individual in the hotel. When they failed to find him, they burned down the hotel including a vehicle which was thought to transport the official in to the town.

The measures taken by the mob are completely illegal. What astounded the people were that the governing body and the police of the town were watching the incident with folded hands. What does this mean? Is it not their duty to stop unlawful actions? Is it not their responsibility to report the situation to the concerned body at the top?

Amhara Regional State announced at the time via its Information Bureau that the young people acted based on false information disseminated across the town. Apart from giving this information, nothing was said regarding the measures taken against the preparators.

The other young citizens who saw that nothing happened to their brothers that had committed illegal actions in Debre-Markos took to the street in Dessie Town and banned the transportation of heavy duty trucks which were loaded with teff (staple food) and driven to Tigray. Nothing happened to them and other youngsters in Gonder Town followed suit by taking measures to burn bundles of Kats by confiscating from poor traders.

Then after, down in Tarcha Town of Dawro Zone, young people went crazy and set fire that gutted down government offices and properties. Delinquents in Tepi Town, of Sheka Zone, continued committing atrocities against innocent compatriots in the town.

Youngsters of Little Shashemene, the town only 25 kilometres before Hawassa Town, seemed to take turn to perpetrate the ruthless action ever witnessed over the past four months. The situations aggravated. As any measures were not taken against the offenders by the government or concerned bodies, others seemed to be encouraged to cause similar and worse destructive actions seen than ever before.

No need to ask for the cause of all these. Whatever the cause, what has happened is totally illegal. This has never been expected from us, Ethiopians. We are God-fearing people. I am proud of my people for their kindness, goodness, politeness… These are expressed in many ways. Any guests who happened to be in any places of this country are wholeheartedly welcomed by the local people. People of my country feed, entertain, respect and give abodes to visitors who happened to be in any part of the country. I feel confidence this social value will be kept intact.

When we are ruled by mobocracy’, people will inhumanly be beaten to death. There will not be rule of law. Properties will be destroyed, and citizens are forced to lead desperate lives. The government, police and the entire people in general should work in unison against such brutal and illegitimate actions.

When citizens feel they have little trust in the government and the police, they incline to take whatever measures they think are right. This is a dangerous game. The government should have known the threats laying ahead. To prevent this, it is expected to play things in a transparent and responsible ways. The country is taking a new direction which can easily be thwarted by reactionaries. We know the new government is expressing desire for democratic governance. But, we need reliable and tangible actions from its side. Things happening now should prompt the government to explain to the people what has happened las June at Meskel Square. Tell the people who were involved in the criminal acts of the bomb blasting and the killing of Engineer Simegnew Bekele. Failing to do this may cause deep outrage among the people.

There are no bad people. There are, of course, bad governments. People need neither collective punishment nor meritocracy. No one needs to lead life through mob justice. Only few feeble-minded individuals want mobocracy’ surfacing in this country. This is the only way through which they can proceed with their immoral, injustice, unfair and undemocratic governance. They like to see citizens leading lives of misery. This is how they can succeed with their plan of obstructing economic development. Peace-loving people should be very careful not to fall in to their pit falls.

The government has been given a big assignment to correct this messy situation. It should take serious measures against those who are trying to push the country in to an abyss of misery. I am of the opinion that the government can go as far as shutting down ‘Face Book’ connections for the time being. Face Book has been used as a weapon of mass destruction by those who do not need the good of our country. The police should come forward to protect innocent civilians against the misled and offending youngsters or mob justice promoters. The media should also be responsible to dwell on the issue of teaching citizens about mob justice. Religious organizations and schools should also play significant roles in teaching about morals and peaceful co-existence. Religious leaders and school teachers should teach citizens to treat one another favourably. All peace-loving activists and political leaders should come forward to teach the community about rule of law and peaceful co-existence. Parents should know that good manners start at home and thus take serious measures to advise their children on politeness, good behaviour, respect and kindness.

End item

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By Muluken Gebeyew

This writer  was one of the first article contributor on  what direction and measures the would be Prime Minster and elected chairman of EPRDF  should embark following Dr Abiy Ahmed’s election on 27 March 2018 ( see articles titled: Ethiopia: Agenda for Dr Abiy  in goggle search or   http://ethioforum.org/ethiopia-agenda-for-dr-abiy-ahmed-by-muluken-gebeyew/ ).

That article  was wrote on the early hours following his election as chairman of EPRDF  before he assumed the Prime Minster (PM)  post  and  few days earlier before we listen his wonderful and inclusive first speech as PM  in the Ethiopian parliament which enshrined  most Ethiopians at home and Diaspora in optimistic  outlook about the future of our country.

This writer listed 15 points on that article on what Dr Abiy Ahmed as the would be prime minster at that time  to consider as the writer believed those points would help to sail safely the complicated challenge our country has been.  I am pleased the PM Dr Abiy Ahmed and the new leadership team have started tasking most of the 15 lists I put forward. It seems leadership listen the suggestion of Ethiopians or his ( his team) intended plan coincided with the writer and most Ethiopians quest. Hopefully the remaining list will be implemented during his premiership.

It is very encouraging Dr Abiy chose to travel all over the country to form his own people army which gave him the confidence and immunity from TPLF to progress the change. He made a bold, inclusive, realistic, optimistic and Ethiopian speech which gave the public  hope of democracy, unity, reconciliation and revision of  the  TPLF’s  made Ethiopian history.  The release of most political prisoners, activists and journalists; the invitation to the banned political organisation to operate in the country and decriminalising the party leaders; engaging the public and intellectuals, reaching out to the Diaspora Ethiopians, helping to unify the Orthodox Christian religious fathers difference and Muslim leaders, forming  new relation with neighbour countries and peace agreement with focus of people to people relation with Eritrea in very short period of time are great achievements.

Then we question  what should be the next move. Here are some of my thoughts  for the next move the leadership team can consider.

The fundamental cornerstone in a fair society or country are peace and stability, justice, fairness and equal opportunity of Citizens. To ensure this, there is a need for personal commitment from new leaders and strong infrastructure installed in the country to keep for longevity.

It is paramount to revisit our culture, values, norms and history to get  the wisdoms  for fair society. We can also learn from other society and select what is appropriate to Ethiopia’s situation. We should never copy something that doesn’t fit us.

It is important to respect and ensure individual rights in a society. This has been ignored  while group rights were superficially acknowledged in the last three decades. Every human being by nature has distinct own feeling, thought and volition. The biology of each individual is distinct. Our DNA is different.   This natural reality needs a free medium to express itself. This entails individual freedom and responsibility. People abhor when treated as herd. We have been treated as herd for so many generations.

Individual freedom with responsibility allows people to be creative, productive and attain self potentials.  When people understand others right and adhere to  self responsibility, fairness would prevail in a society. A fair society ensures justice.

Group right should be respected in a society as there are natural and nurture difference among people. Individuals  with similar inclination, value, history and attitude make up groups.  It should be acknowledgment  of the groups right which is important but not domination of one group against the other.  The constitution should be revised in such way that ensure these reality of individual and group rights and responsibility.

We need to build a fair justice system in our country. When justice is ignored, individuals and group rise for change. This can be either in peaceful or destructive way. The infrastructure that ensures justice in modern society should be free from the influence of politicians, rich individuals or dominant groups. The police, prosecutor and the judge and jury system should be established or reformed  without the influence of the powerful. The army and security system  should be reformed to serve the interest of the nation not that of the politicians on power. Individuals who work in this system should be loyal to the law or constitution the society agreed on.

In a fair society, the weak and poor ones will not be subjected to ill treatment or injustice by the strong and rich ones. We can aim such system provided that we build  infrastructures that ensure that.

In a fair and justice prevailing society, peace reigns. Peace doesn’t need arm but human consciousness. That is why we see in many civilised modern society the police in the city doesn’t carry weapon.

It is a must that  the educational system in our country should be revised in such away that is positive, fair, solution oriented and crafted in producing a confident graduate who is able to create jobs, not  depend on others for jobs. Education is all about bringing change otherwise it is wastage. A learnt and free society can cruise life at its maximum potential.

Rushing for election or forming another government without an infrastructure that ensure peace and stability, fairness, justice and equal opportunity is futile attempt. Unless we have a system that ensues election is genuine and made in fair playing field, it will serve as playing tool for those on power. That was the reality in our country for so many  years. Election must be a means for the public to have a say on the way how it is governed. Through election the majority vote can change or maintain the course of a government.

Economic development is one of the vital survival means for Ethiopia. Feeding more than 100 millions people with limited economic activity is a challenge and probably impossible. The economic field should be open to every Ethiopians in private or group capacity. The state can have a role in ensuring a fair system is undergoing and participating in areas where the private sector will not actively participate. Foreign investment can be encouraged in areas that can be beneficial for the society. The financial system should support individual and group creativity, growth, employment and production.

The question of land should get an answer in Ethiopia. It is vital for the economy. Land ownership shouldn’t be left to the state. This has been leading to embezzlement, corruption and favouritism by those on power.

As conclusion, the new leadership has to be commended for most of the progressive change  ensured in the short period of time.  The new leadership needs support and direction towards the establishment of fundamental political infrastructure in our country in areas of justice, fairness, individual and group right, education and economic sector.

The new leadership should follow wisdom-full approach in tackling the artificial obstacles laid by those who lost the power or influence that attempt to derail the progress by inciting and encouraging violence, lawlessness and fragmentation. Balancing the moral human aspect, reconciliation and  justice are essential  for our Ethiopia. It is understandable you recognise the minimum requirement of a government is maintaining law and order.  Your careful approach is admirable but should be effective and efficient by not allowing gaps.

The youth, the intellectuals and professionals should support the new leadership to ensure those changes we desperately needs for. Political parties of every colour should also actively participate and support the change  in such way that a fair and justice system is established in our country. Rushing to election or power sharing without clear political infrastructure laid in the ground will be a futile vicious circle which will not achieve the majority Ethiopians’ desire.

The post Dr Abiy Ahmed and the team, What is next? appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

by Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban

Ethiopia’s ruling coalition, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has given full backing to the need to respect rule of law in holding the country together.

The EPRDF’s Executive Committee stressed at the end of its regular meeting on Wednesday that failure to respect rule of law was a sure means to derailing current reform efforts being undertaken.

The Executive Committee also underscored the need “to ensure full and total respect for the rule of law without which justice and order will break down and the promise of the current reform initiatives will not fully be realized,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s chief of staff said in a tweet.

The 36-member committee of nine representatives each from the four EPRDF coalition parties also endorsed wide ranging reforms being carried out by the administration.

They expressed trust in the speed at which the reforms were being pursued and also emphasized the need for the reforms to be institutionalized to ensure their stability, chief of staff Fitsum Arega added.

The four parties under the EPRDF are Abiy’s party – the Oromo Peoples Democratic Front (OPDO), the Southern Ethiopian Peoples Democratic Movement (SEPDM), the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

Internal security has been a primary headache for PM Abiy and his fast-paced democratic and economic reforms since he took over the reins in April 2018.

Ethnically motivated attacks in parts of the country have led to deaths, property destruction and mass displacement. Such attacks have been identified as a flash point that the administration needs to address as quickly as possible.

The PM last week stressed at a graduation ceremony for top military officers that the authorities were not going to tolerate lawlessness because rule of law was the glue that binded the society.

Fitsum Arega

@fitsumaregaa

HE PM Dr Abiy Ahmed congratulated the 2018 graduates of Defense Command College. During the event he underscored that since Rule of Law is the glue & foundation that keeps our society together the Government won’t tolerate the increasing tendency to disregard the law. #Ethiopia

12:36 AM – Aug 18, 2018

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