Mahlet Fasil/AS

Addis Abeba, September 05/2019 – Despite complaints from the Joint Council of Political Parties, representing 107 opposition parties, and a threat to boycott Ethiopia’s 2020 general elections, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) chairwoman, Birtukan Mideksa, stood by the new Electoral and Political Parties Law of Ethiopia.

In a press briefing she gave to local media on September 04, Birtukan said that three different discussions involving all stakeholders have taken place before the national parliament approved the new Electoral and Political Parties Law on August 24.

Birtukan’s statement came in the backdrop of a threat to boycott the 2020 general elections by a coalition of opposition parties. One of the main issues the opposition block complained about is the amendments in the electoral law raising the number of founding members to establish a national party 10,000, up from 1,500; and 4,000 to establish regional parties, up from 750. The opposition block are also contesting the provision in the new electoral law that should a civil servant wishes to participate in elections s/he should take unpaid leave from office.

According to Birtukan before the national parliament approved the new law, it has been discussed for three times on broad by all relevant stakeholders including the ruling coalition EPRDF, parties that returned to Ethiopia from exile and those whose leaders have been released from prison. “It is not a problem to say that these discussions were not enough, but to say “we did not see it [or] did not participate in it” is a lie because we can release minutes of each discussions including the list of political parties that participated in the discussions and points raised during the discussions,” she said.

With regard to the reforms that are taking place within the NEBE, Birtukan said that the board has now the complete list of its independent members and is working to bring the reforms and restructures to the lower levels. Works to assign some 250, 000 election implementing officials throughout the nine regional states and the two chartered cities are also underway with emphasis to separate the works of the board from wereda and kebele offices and officials, which used to be the norm in the past, raising legitimate concerns of impartiality.

The Board is also working on setting qualification requirements for election officials, which stipulates heads of election officials to hold first degrees and five years of work experiences in either of the following academic disciplines: political science, management, information technology, statistics and related fields. Those who hold masters degrees in the any of the above disciplines are expected to have four years work experiences.

Asked if the electoral board considers holding the next election without conducting census, which was postponed for the second time, as a challenge, Birtukan said that the delayed census will have no impact since the board will be conducting the election based primarily on registered voters, which is expected to be around 50 million. The board will however collect data from the central statistic authority other and other secondary sources as additional input to restructure its polling stations, which is primarily done by the 547 parliamentary constituencies. “As I mentioned repeatedly in the past, at the end of the day the numbers that matter the most are the numbers of registered voters which the board will be in possession of,” she said. AS

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By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam

More than two months after Herman Cohen made his unprovoked, depravedly hateful and  arrogantly insulting comments about the Amhara people, he has finally issued a twitter  apology “about the pain and discomfort he caused in the Amhara community”.

On June 26. 2019, I wrote  a commentary entitled “Herman (Harm Man) Cohen’s Second “Coup” in Ethiopia? We Demand an Apology!”

In that commentary I  lambasted Cohen for his insensitive and downright hateful comments about Amharas in Ethiopia.

In concluding my commentary I observed:

The teachable moment for Herman Cohen is this: Should he continue in his defamation, demonization and persecution campaign against Amharas or any Ethiopians, I am ready, willing and able to defend and wage a vigorous and unrelenting anti-defamation campaign against him and his ilk. We demand an apology from Herman Cohen for his defamation of Amhara people. Apology not forthcoming, NOTICE SERVED.

To me, what Herman Cohen tweeted in June was pure and simple hate speech.

He demonized an entire group as ethnic hegemons in exactly the same way others have demonized Jews over the centuries.

If Cohen had said what he said about Amharas about a religious or ethnic group in the United States, there would have been hell to pay.

But Cohen undeterred, expanded on his comments in a BBC interview.

Over two months later, Cohen now issues an apology.

Is that a “crocodile apology” or a genuine act of contrition?

In my June commentary, I noted, “Herman Cohen will be held accountable in the court of world public opinion!”

Cohen may be willfully ignorant but there is a massive anti-Cohen grassroots movement coalescing among Ethiopians globally to hold him accountable.

To be perfectly frank,  I  do not know if Cohen is apologizing now out of genuine remorse or because he sees a global gathering storm of grassroots campaign to hold him accountable and  expose him as a racist and a bigot.

I understand some Ethiopians have even taken their protest to his office door in Washington, DC.

Is it true contrition or damage control that has impelled Cohen to issue his apology?

Following my commentary in June,  Cohen was unrepentant. He ignored much of the outcry against his outrageous remarks.

Even when Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Demeke Mekonen condemned his remarks publicly, Cohen remained tone deaf, dismissive and defiant.

What brought about the sudden change of heart?

Regardless, Cohen has apologized and as the first Ethiopian to respond to him following his outrageous remarks and demand an apology, I accept his words of contrition in good faith.

One of the most important lessons I have learned from observing H.E. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in action over the past year is the fact that we must forgive even in the absence of apology.

We must forgive because it is in our self-interest.

I do not want to carry with me anger and antipathy every time Herman Cohen’s name is mentioned. I don’t want to preface his name with a few choice expletives every time someone mentions his name.

That would be giving Cohen enormous power over my mental state.

Gandhi said, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

I am one strong Ethiopian.

By accepting his apology unconditionally, Herman Cohen to me becomes a figment of my imagination.

In other words, Cohen becomes one of those brain dead windbags and empty barrels in my book. I treat such people with my long standing policy of mind over matter. I don’t mind and they don’t matter.

I have buried the hatchet with respect to Cohen and have moved on to more important things.

But I offer Cohen free advice.

In the movie Magnum Force, Harry Callahan says, “A good man’s got to know his limitations.”

So should an 87 year-old man.

I urge all who have been offended by Herman Cohen to follow my policy of mind over matter.

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Recently, I read an article written by Asfaw Regasa which is an open letter to professor Alemayehu Gebre Mariam. I also read many articles by the same writer, whom I believe is a very dedicated and well-educated Ethiopian who wrote exceptionally constructive viewpoints for our country’s glaring issues with conceivable solutions. I commended Asfaw Regasa on his bold approach to write about Ethiopia’s current affair.

Yet, on this open letter to Professor Alemayehu Gebre Mariam, I scratched my head as to why Asfaw Regasa went too far to question professor Al’s integrity that he is passionately supporting the current prime minister of Ethiopia. He was also trying to raise doubt on Professor Al’s honesty and question professor Al’s motive why he doesn’t write with the same width and breadth about the current prime minister as he does with the late Meles Zenawi. I believe, professor Alemayehu has every right to adore and admire whomever he wants, and I will leave this to the respected professor to answer as he sees fit and defend his position.

In my opinion, almost all Ethiopian citizens believe that education is a best tool ever created to develop and enhance maturity of consciousness, perception and acumen of all humans who gets a chance to fulfill their quest for enlightenment. As a result, majority of Ethiopian poor farmers, who still uses two oxen to till their land paid dearly to educate their sons and daughters and greets their well-educated young with all respect and reverence.

Unfortunately, most who consider themselves as literate are not as insightful as many of us think that they are when it comes to politics. Those who thinks that they are on the know are the ones who created confusion and misery for Ethiopia and Ethiopians. People could pursue their academic study or other discipline and be graduated from some academia with one or more degrees. Those same people who studied basic algebra as 1 plus 1 equals 2 theory in their school day may not consent to a Boolean algebra or binary mathematics which is commonly called duality. Boolean laws are obtained by changing every AND to OR and every OR to AND alternatively. i.e. all 1 s and 0 s. This is the basic mathematics theory which creates our modern computer system that we all enjoy seeing the world as a small village today. Contrary to most of our cultured elites’ belief, one plus one may not always be two as there are hundreds of reasons and moving parts that refute one plus one equals two theory in politics.

If one chooses to be a politician, he should minimize the number of disgruntled people from his constituency at any cost or in other words the leader of a nation should bend backwards to appease the electorate.  This is where, one plus one is not equaling to two argument. There might be a very few politicians who could be remembered fairly in history, that they talk the truth to their people, solve most problems that were there when they took office and work hard to fulfill the citizen’s demand in seeking justice, equality, democracy and fair distribution of wealth within a limited terms that they’ve been elected for the office that they held or when they grab power the African way, by all means necessary.

Again, one plus one equals two approach is disastrous or a political suicide for any politician who are on the drive seats at this volatile world. One could argue that they should mean what they say or at least be in the right direction, but the truth of the matter is that we witnessed, year in and year out in any given geographical locations that they are the same old the same old, and it is disgusting. We, as a people need to have the quest for a silver bullet for all our issues? Yes. Do we need to fight for having a better politician? Sure, we do! but how, is the question I would like to ask those who think that they are concerned for the wellbeing of their people and country.

From my perspective, politics is a process and it has been always choosing the lesser of two evils, so I suggest not to be vile opposition figures and nasty detractors all the time to every politician who is there to work. We don’t have to be venomous to any leader who is working to the advancement of unity integration and prosperity of the nation as we used to be for Meles Zenawi, and Mengistu Hailemariam. We don’t need to be in a pause mode and oppose everything regardless. Do our adversaries who are working day and night to create havoc in Ethiopia see our fight as a blessing? Of course, they do and are more than happy to see this fight every single day.  Or do we think that opposing everything will make us look a better educated? No, I don’t think so!!

The educated ones are those with unfathomable wisdom who always see things in its entirety and suggest a workable solution. One should show his level of education by analyzing a situation, seeking alternatives and examine the pros and cons, considering peace and safety of the people and see eminent dangers at hindsight and show the way out or be part of a solution rather than being a barking opposition that seeks attention in every instance.  As the saying goes, “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness”. Everyone from the street can talk about the gloom and doom of a nation and complain all day along, but our educated ones should select their words and should not attack dignity of their fellow citizens who are trying to deliver but hand-tied. Instead, they should show us a way out from the depth of a hole that we all are in. It is easy to seat afar and complain without trying to understand the complexity of leading a nation of 105 million plus with tens of thousands of different mind-boggling issues. As we all could understand, cumulative distressed situation that all Ethiopians are living day in day out could not be fixed in months and years. Or if someone thinks bad mouthing and condemning the siting prime minister might be a boost for him to deliver a magic bullet to resolve all issues at once, that is deplorable to say the least.

Sky is near for those who sat is one of Ethiopian adage.  Currently, our situation goes from the subsistence farming, to eight million citizens who needs world’s food assistance, to the scarcity of clean drinking water, lack of health institutions, lack of a quality education, to an old and broken infrastructure, to inflation, to the mounting debt of the country and shortage of hard currency, to the 70 % of the population which is under the age of 35 with no future, wide spread of lawlessness and concern of disintegration as a country… etc. I want my respected fellow Ethiopians, to look again deep into a Boolean algebra theory and I will conclude my writing by saying the aged, but a beautiful aphorism practiced in northern part of our country and in Arabian Peninsula. “If my brother and my cousin are fighting each other, I stood by my brother even though my brother is at fault. If my cousin and a stranger are fighting each other, I stood by my cousin even though my cousin is at­­­ fault. This is a proven experimental bridge to a society and a Boolean algebra to me. If your opposition to one entity enhances and boost your adversary, it is better not to be a cannon fodder to hit your own home turf. We should not be an echo chamber for Woyane, OMN, Tigray online fake and hate news propaganda machine and disseminate hateful information about the prime minister who is doing his best to Ethiopia and we don’t have to be played on their hand to infuriate us, creating a wedge among us and see from afar how effective they become to disintegrate this nation.

There is no truth in politics, no permanent enemy or permanent friends, but there is permanent interest. So, as they say, you don’t need to throw the baby with the bath water. If you have concerns about the fate of your country, praise in public and criticize in private and address it to the right place. Unlike TPLF regime, there are many open channels these days.  Besides, there is a third dimension called time factor for everything in the world. In other words, if your vicious attack to the current prime minster emboldens woyane, and OLF, and consequently that causes a civil unrest, weakens and disintegrate your beloved country, you become a short sighted looser who works day and night for your demise. Please don’t shoot your leg.

As an educated person we always have a choice and we shouldn’t let our emotions blind our judgment. Ones we feel that we are clear from danger, then we have time and peaceful land where we can stand, confront and question our captain and we could ask him then, why you chose this route which causes us a relatively big loss, why you do that at this time, why you prefer to act this way…. if we, the people are not getting a worthwhile answer, then we will vote him out thru the ballot box. This is a process that we need to learn and educate our people. Don’t look far, if you turn around you will see the best constitution written ever and practiced for more than 229 years and considered as an envy of the world. Look at 45, more than half of the population believes that he is unfit for the highest office in the land, a disastrous and horrible leader in the history of this nation, but if we are fair and law-abiding citizen, and if we trust in the rule of law, we wait, go out and vote. Help our people, organize and create a society that could help changing the world to be a better place.

 

Yohannes E. Temesgen.

September 7, 2019

I can be reached at: yohannestemesgen@gmail.com

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Anudalem Arage wonderful speech and Dr. Birhanu Nega interview

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By: ELIAS MESERET, Associated Press
Sep 8, 2019

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) – A group affiliated with Ethiopia’s Orthodox Church is condemning what it calls the government’s silence on homosexuality in the country.

Speaking at a conference Sunday in Addis Ababa, the capital, Dereje Negash of the Orthodox Church group dedicated to an Ethiopian saint, said the government’s indifference on the issue is helping the LGBT movement in the East African country.

“We are witnessing foreign elements that are trying to spread homosexuality in Ethiopia using aid, politics and technology. To this end, they are spending millions of dollars,” Dereje said in his presentation to hundreds of people inside a conference hall. “People of same sexes are secretly marrying here in Ethiopia. This should stop, and stop now.”

He urged authorities to enact strong laws against same-sex relations.

An event planned in 2014 to publicly denounce the LGBT community in Ethiopia was cancelled at the last minute for unknown reasons. Organizers of that event told The Associated Press at the time they feared aid groups and the international community influenced government officials.

A local LGBT activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity told AP he fears for his safety, citing widespread misconceptions such as the belief that gays are rapists.

Ethiopia has a deeply religious society, with Christianity and Islam having many followers.

Under Ethiopian law, homosexual acts are punishable with jail terms of up to 15 years.

Same-sex relations are criminalized in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where many regard homosexuality as imported from the West.

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DW

A purple tint covers the evening sky over Shashamane, home to Ethiopia’s remaining Rastafarians. Inside the house of the Ethiopian World Federation (EWF), a few Rastafarians are watching a documentary about how science is threatening people of color. “Yeah, that’s right,” they mutter now and then. In the front row, Ras Paul, wearing a red, yellow and green beanie, is in charge of the projector.

Initially, “the EWF [was] a black organization, not a Rastafarian one,” said Ras Paul, the only employee of the place. The federation was launched in the US in the 1930s to support Ethiopia during the Italian invasion and to promote black unity. After World War II, Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie granted 200 hectares of land to descendants of slaves who wished to find a home on the continent. The EWF was to administer and attribute the land in Shashamane. “We can only gain political power if we become self-sufficient and rule ourselves, and the only way we [people of color] can do that, is to return home to Africa,” Ras Paul explained.

Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie was hailed by Rastafarians as the Messiah who would unite Africa

Whereas the Rastafarians were not the only ones being targeted by Selassie’s land donation, they ended up being the vast majority to undertake the journey from Jamaica and other countries to Ethiopia. Haile Selassie was widely viewed by Rastafarians as the Messiah who would one day bring them back to Africa. This belief added a strong religious component to the repatriation movement. It was encouraged by Selassie himself, who visited Jamaica in 1966 and urged the Rastafarians to move to Shashamane.

“The land grant was originally corporate land, but the Rastafarians spiritualized it,” Ras Paul said in a British accent. He arrived in Ethiopia from the UK 20 years ago. “Religiously speaking, we were enslaved by the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church. We learnt that for most world religions, you can find their foundations inside of Africa.”

• HARAR, ETHIOPIA’S HOLY MUSLIM CITY

  Harar Jugol, the ancient town of the East

  The town of Harar is said to have been founded by Arab immigrants somewhere between the 10th and 13th century. The old town or Harar Jugol, can be accessed through five ancient gates. It is the capital of the country’s smallest regional state and home to a majority of Oromos. Located in the east of the country, Harar has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006.

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Rastafarian belief is founded on an interpretation of the Old Testament. “The Bible was the only thing we were given to read as slaves; we see Ethiopia in the Bible and we identify with that. We can also identify with the story of Israelis going into Egypt and being slaves for 400 years,” said Ras Paul. But for the Rastafarians, the Holy Land is in Ethiopia. In Ras Paul’s office, the thin face of Haile Selassie gazes down from every wall. Rastas see him as the true reincarnation of the Christ, in accordance with biblical prophecy.

Read more: Ethiopia: Ethnic strife threatens church’s unity

Clash of Rastafari generations

A first influx of Rastafarians into Shashamane took place during the late 60s and the mid-70s. A second wave arrived from Jamaica in the early 1990s, after the Ethiopian Civil War. Nowadays, a discrepancy persists between the ones who were here “from the beginning” and those who made the journey in recent decades.

The older generation prefers not to talk about their past which they describe as a traumatic experience. But for those who settled over 50 years ago, the newcomers had it easy here and don’t have the legitimacy to speak in the name of the community.

Ras Paul, who left the UK for Ethiopia 20 years ago, believes Ethiopia is the Holy Land

“For many decades, they’ve held the political power within our community because they have some legitimacy, and for many years they were the only legitimate ones,” Ras Paul recalled. “So you find there will be a clash in that way: I’ve personally witnessed this.” The tall Rasta-man regrets that his community is to some extent “dysfunctional.”

Read more: “Refugees and Migration in Africa” Project

Legal status and integration

Internal squabbles, economic struggles and the difficulty of integrating with the local Ethiopian community have led many Rastafarians to leave town, either to find work in the capital Addis Ababa, or to move to another country. Only about 200 still live in Shashamane. In the late 90s, they numbered approximately 2,000.

Watch video03:30

My City Addis Ababa

Recently, the Ethiopian government started the allocation of national residence cards to Rastafarians who have been living in the country for over 10 years. This was an important step, not only because it gave them the right to legally live in Ethiopia, but also because it stopped the payments “illegal residents” had to make in order to be able to travel outside Ethiopia. According to Ras Paul, “Now it’s their chance to travel, see their families, they can come back when they want to… I’d say about a third of the population is out of the country now.”

The allocation of the residence permit, which gives Rastafarians the status of “Foreign National of Ethiopian Origin”, was celebrated as a major step towards the community’s recognition and integration. They now have the right to work and can legally send their children to school. But it is not enough for some. “I consider myself to be an Ethiopian returned home, and I have no desire to leave this country to live anywhere else,” Ras Kawintesseb, who born in Trinidad and Tobago, said.

Most of Ethiopia’s Rastafari community made the long trip from the Carribean to Africa, as this map by Ras Kawintesseb shows

“It makes sense to me that I get to become an Ethiopian citizen. I’m not satisfied with being a foreign national, so I’ve applied for my Ethiopian citizenship,” the Rastafarian who landed in Addis Ababa 23 years ago added. Married to an Ethiopian, Ras Kawintesseb is in touch with the Ethiopian community through his family and his multi-lingual music. But that’s not the case for all Rastafarians in Shashamane: some are afraid that Ethiopians want to take their land away; others haven’t had the chance to learn Amharic or adapt to the Ethiopian culture.

Ras Paul says he wishes to mingle more with Ethiopians. “But here it’s very tense, because of the political problems of the country and the political emphasis on the land grant. There is big tension here, attacks on Rastafarians, seizing of Rastafarian land… Most of us have a story of a house being burgled, especially on his Imperial Majesty’s birthday. On our most holy days they target us,” he exclaimed, aggrieved. Others disagree and say that Ethiopians appreciate the Rastafarians and are flattered that their country is seen as the Holy Land.

Read more: Scientists unveil ‘complete’ skull of key human ancestor

Rejecting colonialism

Over the years, some European Rastafarians have also settled in Shashamane, adding an element of complexity to the interpretation of the movement. “Some of them are much more learned than most of the Caribbeans. Rastafarian brothers and sisters are from all nations, from around the world!” assured Ras Paul. Although when it comes to the land grant, he is categorical.

Ras Kawintesseb originally from Trinidad and Tobago is seeking to become an Ethiopian citizen

“What is their position on repatriation? What is their position on reparations? If a group of people have had something done to them over a period of 500 years, those people need repair. If you’re talking about going from one country to the next, to inhabit land that was given [for a specific purpose], nobody should have the right to take it away,” Ras Paul said angrily. “We’ve had Europeans come on this land grant, take the land and sell it to other Europeans. That is colonialism,” he said.

It was precisely to flee colonialism in all its forms that the Rastafarians settled here. Ethiopia, though briefly occupied by the Italians, was never officially colonized.

Here in Shashamane, Ras Kawintesseb feels free to express his spirituality more than ever. “As a musician, I am not only free to live it, but to express it to the world: the simple proclamation and chanting and vibration have that spiritual power,” he said.

“We’re not taught in school, or hardly ever, about basic ideas of your inner mind, your inner being,” said Ras Kawintesseb as he climbed into his favorite tree for his daily reading routine. “You’ve got to go and look for those ideas yourself.”

 

DW

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Ethiopia Says Economy Imbalanced, Needs Corrective Actions

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Addis Abeba, September 11/2019 – General Berhanu Jula, Deputy Chief of Staff and military operations head of the Ethiopian Armed Forces told Ethiopian Press Agency that the national defense force have recently captured “some members” of ISIS in Ethiopia.

According to the General, although repeated attempts by ISIS to mobilize itself around various places in Ethiopia have largely been foiled, the government has enough intelligence about the presence of individuals hailing from various places in Ethiopia and who are trained and indoctrinated by ISIS militants.

“At the moment members of ISIS, what they are doing, where they are moving around, who they have established contacts with, the identities of their members in cities and what they are doing, as well as what their plans are and other details that cannot be mentioned here are under our strict surveillance,” EPA quoted General Berhanu.

The General emphasized that the national defense forces were working day and night to protect the people of Ethiopia from any kind of danger. “Members of the national defense force know no break. There is no time we are resting.”

According to him, at times it is unnecessary to apprehend an individual because greater care should be exerted not to lose sight of the bigger picture and considering the ease to follow the rule of law to apprehend suspects.

He however dismissed information by ISIS that it has a presence in Ethiopia as a “psychological warfare. “The people of Ethiopia will not be intimidated and scared by this,” he said and added ISIS has no capacity to enter and operate in Ethiopia.

addisstandard

AS

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SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 

BY E4CM DISPATCH

The City of Alexandria, at the behest of Mayor Justin Wilson and the City Council, proclaimed Thursday, September 12th as “Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year) Day”. This is yet another milestone for the Ethiopians in America, one that marks our growing presence and influence in Virginia and America as a whole. Alexandria is home to the largest community of Ethiopians outside of our homeland; it is an honor to be recognized by Mayor Wilson for the contributions that we make to Alexandria, the Commonwealth of Virginia and to the United States of America dating back since the first arrival of Ethiopian merchants on the shores of New York in 1808.

Normally celebrated on the 11th of September, due to leap year in the Orthodox calendar, Ethiopia New Year will be celebrated on September 12th this year. Enkutatash is joyous occasion for all Ethiopians as we commemorate the passing of a year and the arrival of a new day. Enkutatash is a biblical holiday, it is rooted in the story of Queen Makeda of Sheba and King Solomon. During Queen Makeda’s visit to Israel, she received both enku (diamond) and tata (trouble). After Solomon lured Makeda through guile, for her troubles Queen Makeda received a diamond by way of a child named Menelik I. It was through Menelik that the Solomonic line was established.

Enkutatash is thus a celebration of the bad times that eventually give way to God’s blessings. Though we might have our challenges as a community, a time arrives to flip the page and blessings come with the turning of the year. Let us turn the page of the age of divisiveness and instead embrace our commonalities. If we are united as a people and work for the common good, the potentials for us as a community and the possibilities for Ethiopia is limitless.

We wish all #Ethiopia|ns throughout the world Melkam Addis Amet (Happy New Year), may your new year be blessed and may God grant you happiness and success in 2012 (Ethiopian calendar).CLICK TO TWEETIf you are in the Northern Virginia area, Ethiopians for Constitutional Monarchy, in conjunction with KinetBeth, will be hosting an event to present the proclamation to the public and celebrate Enkutatash at Makeda Ethiopian Restaurant on Thursday, September 12th from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The address is 516 Van Dorn St. Alexandria, VA. Click on the picture below to RSVP or email us at info@ethiopians4cm.org for further information.

An enkutatash message from the Chair of Ethiopians for Constitutional Monarchy Lij Teodrose Fikremariam

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By Damo Gotamo

Jawar Mohammed couldn’t handle his fifteen-minutes fame. He thinks he is a big shot and above the law. He says anything he wants and gets away with it. Everywhere he goes, he makes controversial statements and agitates the youth to resort to lawlessness. His reckless actions have divided people and caused deaths and destruction in the country. Jawar’s thoughtless speeches and reckless actions are nowhere more apparent than in the SNNPR.

Jawar, the self-appointed Oromo activist and shallow political analyst, has enraged many people in the Southern region. His close personal and business association with Sidama extremists and his support for their illegal activities has caused so much suffering to the people of the region. Jawar’s flirtation with Sidama extremists and his disdain for the rest of the people in the region has made him the most despised man in the region. Talk to anyone in Awassa about Jawar, and you will observe how quickly the expression on the face of the person changes.

In his recent interview with LTV, Jawar has tried to deflect and play down his role in the crimes in Awassa and Sidama zone. He vehemently denied any wrong doing and downplayed his role in inspiring and supporting the Sidama extremists to resort to violence if they wanted to achieve their political agenda. Instead of answering the question put to him by the interviewer, he tried to rebuke her and blamed the government authorities for the problem in the Southern region. Once again, he has shown no concern about the death and destruction in the region. The ethnic extremist’s contempt for the military and federal forces who have sacrificed their lives to restore law and order in the region was apparent in the interview.

Jawar’s role in supporting the crimes of Sidama youths dates back in his refugee days in the United States. In every illegal activity that has taken place in the SNNPR and lack of peace in the area, Jawar’s finger prints are all over the place.

Through his OMN (Oromia Media Network), Jawar played a pivotal role in radicalizing the Sidama youth and sowing the seeds of suspicion among the groups. From his base in Minnesota, home of Oromo extremists, Jawar used to invite people of Sidama origin in his programs to disseminate hateful messages against people in the SNNPR. On many occasions, the self-appointed Sidama activists appearing on OMN preached division and tried to undermine the unity of the people in the region. His guests belittled the current regional structure and disseminated hate against groups in the region. The Sidama ethnic entrepreneurs often made bizarre statements to divide the people of the region.

Jawar was responsible for instigating the conflict between the Sidama and Wolita youths in Awassa in 2018. My sources told me Jawar advised his friends, the leaders of the Ejjeetto, to follow Queros tactics to achieve their goals. He told his criminal friends to restore to violence.

Last year’s mayhem claimed the lives of many people and left thousands of people homeless. Jawar didn’t condemn the crimes. Instead, he sided with the Sidama extremists and defended their crimes.

Nothing good happens in places where Jawar sets his foot. After overseeing the horrid lynching of an innocent man by his followers in Shashmene many months ago, Jawar went to Awassa to agitate and give moral support to his extreme Sidama friends in the city. He advised the Sidama extremists to be persistent in causing lawlessness in Awassa to achieve their goals. As soon as he left Awassa, we saw the Sidama extremists wreak havoc in the city that lasted for more than a year. The extremists forced the closure of government institutions, Banks, and hotels. They committed many crimes in the city that reduced Awassa into an economically weak city.

Little did the Sidama extremists know that Jawar had been undermining the interest of the Sidama people and others to achieve his objectives. While the value of land and property in Shashmene and other cities Oromia regions has gone up, the real estate market in Awassa has declined significantly. The slowdown has affected everyone in the region. Because of the reckless acts of the Sidama ethnic entrepreneurs, people have avoided businesses owned by hardworking Sidama businessmen. Many Sidama businesses were forced to close their doors forever.

During the 2019 Chamebella Holiday celebration, Jawar Mohammed  made one of his divisive speeches to date. He encouraged the Sidama extremists to put more pressure on the government by resorting to violent tactics regularly. Inspired by the speech of the ethnic thug, the Sidama extremists unleashed a series of crimes in Awassa and cities in Sidama Zones.

The infamous 11-11-11 caused so much suffering to the non-Sidamas in the cites in Sidama zone. Among other crimes, the lynching of an 83-year grandfather; the murder of two brothers in Aleta Wondo; the brutal killing of a father and son that ended in cutting their genital caused anger and uproar among Ethiopias in the country and overseas.

Jawar didn’t condemn the crimes of the Sidama extremists. Rather, he poked fun at the misery of the people in the region and expressed his anger over the arrest of the perpetrators of the crimes. He pointed his finger at the members of SEPDM while praising the Ejjeettos and their criminal leaders. He laughed at the sacrifices of the military and the federal police forces.

Jawar is mentally unstable. He is a repeat offender and easily gets carried away if he is a center of attention. A few years ago, he made an inflammatory statement that angered many people. He made the following statement to a gathering of Oromo Muslims in Saint Paul Minnesota:

“What I say to the Oromos is this: I started talking about Islam after meeting
my friend from Gonder. At the place I live, 99% of the people are Muslims.
No one dares speak anything against us. If he does, we hit him with Mencha.’’

Jawar is a violent man. The above statement clearly shows how violent the man is. He won’t shy away from saying anything to instigate violence between different groups. In his speech in Saint Paul, Jawar was advising his fellow Muslims to resort to violence if a Christian said anything against them.

Jawar must know he is just another ethnic extremist. He should stop acting and behaving like the head of the country. His behaviors and actions are unacceptable and are hurting many people. If he doesn’t stop behaving erratically, he will further plunge the country into lawlessness. He reminds people of the first two years of the TPLF regime.

Some Tegdaleyes and their relatives were acting as if they had conquered the world soon after the TPLF took power in the country. They were loud and boastful. However, unlike Jawar and his friends, at least the TPLfies fought the Derge regime tooth and nail. Jawar’s empty bravado is an enigma to many people. Why is Jawar acting like a bigwig? Many believe Jawar’s bizarre behavior is because of the role he played in directing the young Oromo youth to throw dung at Woyane soldiers and instructing his friends in Addis Ababa to steal the 12th grade Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE) .

No ethnic group in the Southern region has asked Jawar to be its spokesperson. He should keep his activism to the Oromo cause and stop poking his nose in the affairs of the people in the region. People in the region don’t appreciate his attempt to divide the country’s ethnic group along Kusthtic and Semitic group. They are way far advanced than a narrow ethnic extremists like Jawar. They have lived together for generations and know how to coexistence.

If the people of the SNNPR need advice on any matter, Jawar will be the last person they will look for help. There is nothing in common between the people in the region and ethnic lords like Jawar. For the people of the region, Jawar is just another ethnic extremist. They won’t easily fall for a fast talker, ethnic and religious extremist who makes a living by pitting one group of people with another.

Jawar is a friend of ethnic extremists everywhere. By defending the Sidama extremists, he has shown his utter disdain for the 55 ethnic groups of the region. We haven’t heard him talk about Wolitas, Hadiyas, Kemebatta, and others in the region. He only talks about the Sidama extremists who have a business relationship with him. We know that he is nine million birrs richer today after brokering a deal for the acquisition of the SMN (Sidama Media Network).

Carrying an American passport won’t absolve Jawar from his destructive activities. Being an American citizen comes with responsibilities. From his divisive behavior and actions, it doesn’t appear Jawar has changed much even if he lived fifteen years in the United States.

Citizens everywhere are questioning the government why it has tolerated the destructive behavior of Jawar Mohammed. Many people believe the government should do something to stop the extremist from playing a destabilizing role in the country. He is severely undermining the efforts of the PM and hist team in restoring  peace and security in the country. He belittles government officials and the military. He doesn’t know the limits of his actions. Jailing people who haven’t done anything and leaving an ethnic extremist like Jawar to say anything that destabilizes the country is unacceptable.

Jawar is responsible for the criminal activities of Sidama extremists in the SNNPR. If he doesn’t stop his destructive behavior, he must be forced to join his Ejjeetto friends in jail. He shouldn’t be allowed to continue his reckless behavior. Innocent people and members of the armed forces shouldn’t die because of a dangerous lunatic who doesn’t care about human life. No one is above the law. Jawar must know either his fifteen-minutes fame or the Queros he loves to talk about will not protect him if he tries to break the country.

The post Why Jawar Mohammed is Responsible for the Unrest in the Southern Region of Ethiopia appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News/Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Author’s Note: Today, September 11 (12), 2019 is Meskerem1, Ethiopian New Year’s Day (Enqutatash “gift of jewels”).

I wish all Ethiopians a HAPPY, PEACEFUL AND PROSPEROUS MEDEMER NEW YEAR.

Ethiopia uses the Julian calendar consisting of 12 months of 30 days with a 5 or 6 day “13th month” (leap year, this year). The Ethiopian calendar is 7 years and 8 months behind  the Gregorian calendar which is used in most parts of the world.

In this commentary, I share my best wishes for peace, understanding and prosperity in Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Horn region.

“Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

9/11/2001—A date that shall live in infamy in American history

September 11 is a paradoxical date for me. It is a sad and a happy day.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, a gang of 19 terrorists managed to coordinate four heinous attacks that resulted in the deaths of nearly 3 thousand people and injury to more than 6 thousand. Many hundreds died from 9/11 related illnesses. Damage to property exceeded $10 billion. The criminal mastermind of the terror attacks was killed in May 2010. The U.S. launched a “global war on terrorism” which continues to be waged today. Untold millions of innocents throughout the world continue to suffer the consequences of that vicious act of terror.

Only the survivors of that heinous crime can tell the horror of that day.

On 9/11/2001, I watched the Twin Towers crumbling on television in stunned disbelief.

In denial,  I tried to reassure myself I must be watching a sequel to the Towering Inferno.

Alas! The Twin Towers were the real towering inferno!

The genie that came out of the bottle on 9/11 haunts millions of people throughout the world every single day.

9/11 changed America as did 12/7/1941 (the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry in WW II).

We shall remember the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001.

We shall remember all the innocents throughout the world who became collateral damage in the years following the 9/11 terror attacks.

9/11/2018 – A date that shall live in glory in Ethiopian- Eritrean history

Between 1998-2000, Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a war that resulted in the deaths of an  estimated 50,000-100,000 people and displacement of nearly million.

The Ethio-Eritrean conflict inflicted “substantial damage to the economic growth and development of Ethiopia and Eritrea and has led to humanitarian suffering on both sides of the border.”

On September 11, 2018 (Meskerem 1, 2010 E.C.), Ethiopia and Eritrea opened their borders for the first time after a 20-year no-war, no-peace stalemate.

At the center of the prolonged conflict was a dispute over the implementation of the Ethio-Eritrean border arbitration commission decision which sought to “delimit and demarcate the colonial treaty border based on pertinent colonial treaties (1900, 1902 and 1908) and applicable international law.”

On September 11, 2018, I was privileged to accompany H.E. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, H.E. Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen, H.E. President Isaias Afeworki and other government officials during the opening of the borders between Ethiopia and Eritrea in the town of Zalambessa and an area called Bure.

It was an incredibly poignant moment for me.

After an absence of 48 years from Ethiopia and Africa, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to witness live and in person the official opening of the borders between the two countries.

For 20 years, leaders of the two countries exchanged salvos of bitter and acrimonious words. Their soldiers occasionally exchanged volleys of mortar and artillery rounds.

As the African saying goes, “When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.”

When the leaders of the two countries locked horns for two decades, the people suffered in unimaginable ways.

Families on both sides of the border suffered enforced separation. They were prevented from even attending funerals. All they could do was watch from a distance in sadness and despair.

There were mass expulsions and deportations of ethnic Eritreans from Ethiopia in flagrant violation of international human rights conventions.

Ethiopia could no longer access the ports of Assab and Massawa and had to seek less favorable alternatives.

Eritrea could not access Ethiopian markets and imports.

The U.S. put Eritrea on the list of countries not cooperating with its anti-terrorism efforts followed by U.N. sanctions.

The Ethio-Eritrea border became a theater of no-war and no-peace, and indeed a theater of the absurd.

Fear and loathing characterized the relationship between the two countries for twenty years.

All that changed in June 2018.

PM Abiy made a surprise game-changing announcement.

He declared Ethiopia will accept a 2000 peace agreement with Eritrea over their disputed borders.

In July 2018, he made a historic official state visit to Eritrea and finally broke the ice.

He received a reception fit for a rock star in Asmara.

After his three-day meeting with President Isaias, PM Abiy announced [auth. translation]:

We have agreed to have our airlines and ports to start working, our people to exchange [freely], our embassies to open and for us to come to Asmara with our families on the weekends and enjoy ourselves. Eritreans can come and visit their families in Ethiopia. The rest of the little items on the agenda we will solve by tearing down the border wall and building bridges. We have torn down the wall at the border and are building a bridge over it.

He said his core message to the people of Eritrea is

Medemer” (synergistically come together as force multipliers for each other). If we [engage in] medemer, we could surmount all [our challenges]. We have a broad range opportunities in Northeast Africa. We have amazing people who are brothers. What we need is to abandon hatred and come together in love in medemer.

Following PM Abiy’s visit, President Isaias traveled to Addis Ababa where the people gave him a reception fit for a rock star.

In his Millennium Hall speech, President Isaias said [auth. translation]:

I wish to express the happiness I feel as I bring the greetings, love and good wishes of the Eritrean people to you. I wish to congratulate you on the historic change you have achieved. Within the framework of our traditional and historic mutually beneficial relationship, we have defeated the conspiracy of those who sought to foster hatred and revenge among us. We are fully determined to now focus on development, prosperity and stability and march forward together in all fields of endeavor.  Who, who will dare to ruin our love, sow discord and instability among us, damage us or thwart and destroy our development and progress? We will not allow anyone to [get in our way]. Together, we will recover our losses, work hard together and achieve victory. We will strive for a better future. I am certain of it.

In just a few meetings, the two leaders managed to dissolve the hardened enmity that had kept their countries apart for 20 years.

On September 11, 2018, PM Abiy and President Isaias made history.

They busted down the border wall of hate, death and destruction that had separated them for two decades.

I was a witness at the moment the 20-year old wall was torn down and a new bridge built to reconnect the two peoples for ages to come.

The historic moment occurred at Bure, a desolate arid landscape with little vegetation on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea and Zalambessa, a town located in Tigray region on the Ethio-Eritrean border.

In the early morning hours of September 11, 2018, we flew from Addis Ababa to Assab where we met up with President Isaias and other government officials. From Assab to Bure was a short helicopter flight. Ethiopian and Eritrean troops lined the dusty road in Bure. We walked a few kilometers to reach the ceremonial site where a jubilant crowd of hundreds awaited with great expectation.

As we walked by, I tried to read the faces of the soldiers who stood at attention. They greeted us with welcoming smiles. Some waved their hands. There was not a hint of tension. PM Abiy and President Isaias walked at pretty good clips as the rest of us tried to keep up with them. Women ululated joyously. We shared traditional bread and water under the canopy as the border opening ceremony was conducted.

Following the Bure ceremony, we flew to Asmara and then to Zalambessa.

The turnout in Zalambessa was incredible.

In my estimation, there were at least ten thousand people and possibly more. Women were out in their best traditional dresses ululating, crying, wiping tears from their faces, singing and waving their hands and the flags of the two countries. The crowd shouted out the names of the two leaders. Throngs of young people followed the vehicles carrying the VIPs to the ceremonial site.

It was truly a joyous event.

For me, it was absolute sensory overload.

It was an overwhelming experience of which I will probably write at length in the future.

The border opening event was also a moment of sober reflection and great expectation for me.

If ever someone had told me I would be present at the opening of the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, I would have had that person involuntarily committed for psychiatric observation.

There were many poignant moments that gave me pause for reflection.

As I saw PM Abiy and President Isaias walking side by side on the dusty road in Bure to bury the hatchet at the border, I came to understand the futility and absurdity of war.

Is war ever necessary?

I remembered the lines from Robert Graves: “To you who’d read my songs of War/ And only hear of blood and fame,/ I’ll say (you’ve heard it said before)/ “War’s Hell!”

It must have been hell in Bure in February 1999. No one knows for sure how many died in that parched wasteland.

How many were buried or left abandoned in the trackless sand and turned to dust?

Bure is a surreal place. It reminded me of the sun-scorched Death Valley desert in Eastern California.

I tried to imagine the thousands from both sides who died in that desolate desert and their surviving families and loved ones.

What was gained for all the lives lost, for the broken bones and mangled and maimed bodies?

I paused to look for evidence of enmity between the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea in the rocks and sands of Bure.

Dead men speak never. But if only the rocks could speak. What horrors they would have related.

The sands of time speak only in the hourglass and rocks are stone deaf.

Thomas Hobbes opined the rule of human existence in the state of nature was “the war of all against all.”

In two countries that were one for eons, with their civilization that goes back for thousands of years, the rule should be “the peace of all for all.”

When I returned to Ethiopia after nearly five decades, the only greeting I heard everywhere was “Selam neh?” (Are you at peace?) “Selam hun” (stay in peace).

No one ever asked me, “Are you at war?” Nor wished me, “War be upon you.”

It is always “Peace be upon you.”

In my youth, the greeting “Selam Neh” did not exist. For us, it was “Tadias?” (What’s happening?)  The response was “Alena!” (the equivalent of “hanging in there”).

I remember a special moment when we were all walking to the ceremonial event venue in Zalambessa.

As I looked back, thousands of people were following them at a distance.

I paused for a moment and asked myself, “Who is really leading this march for peace? Are the people leading the leaders from behind or the leaders leading the people from the front?”

There was no question in my mind that the people were leading the leaders to peace from behind, thousands strong. The two leaders and their officials were being shepherded by the people.

I lapsed poetic. “How beautiful to see the sheep finally herding their shepherds!”

If the two leaders for any reason had wanted to change their minds that day and decided not to go through with it, could they have done so?

I had agonized over the Ethio-Eritrean conflict for a very long time because I have always believed the two people are one and the same.

Kings, princes, presidents, prime ministers and even colonial powers had reasons to divide the two peoples.

I agonized because untold numbers of Ethiopians have died defending Eritrea and untold number of Eritreans have died defending Ethiopia.

If only the dead could speak.

I always hoped (to a point of conviction) peace will reign between Ethiopia and Eritrea in the not too distant future.

But often, my hopes for peace were dashed.

In a 2016 commentary, I vented the leaders of both countries were not having a war, just playing war games of mass distraction.

But I never imagined I would live to see, feel and experience my own prophesy for myself.

In my June 10, 2018 commentary entitled, “Blessed Are the Peacemakers”, I wrote of my deepest wishes for peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia:

The guns silenced, the suffering people of Ethiopia and Eritrea may now speak, shout out, that the two countries hereafter “shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” Witnessing swords beaten into plowshares is a source of great joy for me.

On September 11, 2018, almost exactly 4 months to the day I wrote that commentary, I was blessed to experience the great joy I yearned as I witnessed the leaders of the two countries officially open their borders, bury their hatchets and take a vow before the world that they will beat their swords into ploughshares and become a beacon of peace for the Horn and the rest of Africa.

All I can say is, “my cup runneth over”.

War and peace

It is said “war is hell”.

I say, “To hell with war.”

What I saw in Bure and Zalambessa on September 11, 2018 was that war can destroy the human body and crush bones, annihilate and lay waste to the landscape, but it can do nothing to the human spirit to survive and thrive in peace.

What was the cause of the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea that resulted in so many deaths?

Was it really about resetting of the colonial border?

Irredentism?

Wounded pride?

One-upmanship?

Brinksmanship?

Gamesmanship?

Revenge?

Peace is not about leaders and what they do or do not.

In history, kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers and generals have started wars but there is nary an example in history where the people rose up on their own and demanded to go to war.

History also shows that those who have started wars are rarely the ones to finish it.

In my view, peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea was inevitable.

I would like to think of the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea as a family feud that sometimes gets way out of hand.

Desmond Tutu said, “You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.”

That I believe is the case in the Ethiopian-Eritrean families.

Ethiopians and Eritreans are God’s gift to each other.

They must come together in a process of atonement, healing and reconciliation.

Ending the no-war, no-peace situation could have taken longer, but it was destined to occur.

That is because the flip side of the peace coin is brotherhood and sisterhood.

Peace is not simply the absence of war. Is the Middle East today at peace or at war?

Peace is not an option for the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea, indeed for the whole Horn region. It is the only thing.

In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the people in the Horn of Africa “must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

Regardless of the propaganda of the war and hatemongers, the people of Ethiopian and Eritrea are brothers and sisters who have been manipulated into becoming enemies of each other.

They are part of a single garment of destiny.

To paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Ethiopians and Eritreans are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Put simply, Ethiopians and Eritreans will swim or sink together.

I shall prophesy in a few years Ethiopia and Eritrea will neither swim nor sink.

They shall spread their wings and soar over the borderless African skies to the amazement of all.

The naysayers, the prophets of doom and gloom, the cynics, defeatist, skeptics, pessimists, losers, bellyachers, grumblers, dogmatists, fanatics, bigots and the haters will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Ethiopians and Eritreans do not have a separate racial or ethnic identity or even nationality. Such classifications are “social constructs”, artificial institutions created by societies.

Their natural and irrevocable identity is their humanity.

But their natural identity is infected by the deadly man-made diseases of ethnocentrism, sectarianism, tribalism, nationalism, authoritarianism, chauvinism, dogmatism, egotism, fanaticism, etc.

We must support peace, reconciliation and good relations between the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea not because of their leaders but despite them.

Our support for peace must not be based on our perception of the actions or inactions of the leaders.

Leaders come and go, but the people stay, and as new generations come, the prospect for peace increases.

At the elementary level, peace to me is an existential condition in which people resolve their differences without violence but through dialogue, discussion, negotiation and compromise.

In America, there is a popular slogan of dissent, “No justice, no peace.”

In other words, if there is no justice, there will be violence.

If justice and peace are related, then the rule of law must reign supreme to protect the rights of people.

There must be accountability and political, social, legal and gender equality. The people have a natural right to personal security and equal opportunity to meet their basic needs.

Over the past year, I have mulled over the teachable moments in the Ethio-Eritrean war.

As elementary and obvious the lessons are, they have profound significance for me.

Lesson #1:

Ethiopians and Eritreans are not enemies. They are brothers and sisters. They have family feuds, but what family doesn’t?

Ethiopians and Eritreans are one people divided by misunderstanding, misinformation, miscommunication and miscalculation.

Both peoples have deadly common enemies called poverty, ignorance, disease, bigotry, gender inequality, youth unemployment, etc.

Lesson #2:

The borders between the two countries exist in the minds of people who want to keep the two peoples separate and at each other’s throats. The physical borders are mere reflections of the narrow borders of the minds of those who want to keep the two peoples in a state of fear and loathing. What is the point of having open borders but closed minds? I am greatly inspired by the firm commitment of the two leaders to tear down the mental wall of hate, distrust, suspicion and doubt separating them and build bridges of love, friendship, good will and good faith.

Lesson # 3:

The war of bullets and words must now be replaced by a battle for hearts and minds of the people. Leaders must reach out to the people and engage them in shaping the destines of their countries. The alternative will leave the people in perpetual poverty.

Karl Marx in the 19th century warned, “A specter is haunting Europe—the specter of Communism.”

Today, I would say, “A specter is haunting the world – the specter of globalization.”

In the 19th century, it was the “scramble for Africa”. In the 21st, it is a scramble for the globalization of Africa.

Global inequality is accelerating at breakneck pace. In Africa, millions of people continue to suffer from limited access to education and basic health care services. Africa carries crushing foreign debt, and without some massive debt forgiveness program, I can see only the darkness of poverty and privation at the end of the endless tunnel.

Leaders must create channels for the people to communicate with them. They must listen to the people and engage them in give and take. Leaders not only lead but also teach. The best way to teach the people is by exemplary leadership.

Lesson #4: The future belongs to the youth. The greatest challenge for all leaders in the Horn and throughout Africa is to win the hearts and minds of their youth. While Africa has the youngest population in the world, youth unemployment remains high and the prospect for youth economic development is dismal. Leaders must leave a lasting legacy for the next generation. They must put the interests of the new generation in front of the last. John Donne wrote, “the dust of great persons’ graves is speechless.” Only the changed and improved lives of the youth will speak of the greatness of their leaders. Nations do not die from wars nor live because of peace. They die when their youth lose hope and confidence in their future and live when their youth have faith, optimism and conviction that tomorrow will be better than today and next year better than this year.

Lesson # 5:  The only way for Ethiopians and Eritreans to survive and thrive is through Medemer. They can become force multipliers for each other if they work together for mutual benefit. PM Abiy has spoken about his ideas of “Medemer”.

As I explained in my recent commentary, “‘Medemer’” is the road map out of the wilderness of the Valley of Fools in the Horn of Africa.

In that commentary, I speculatively explained how PM Abiy and President Isaias did the impossible.

I concluded as follows:

As goes the Horn of Africa, so goes the rest of Africa.

The Horn is the laboratory, the proving grounds, for all of Africa.

Will there be endless wars and conflicts that will bury the continent in the abyss of poverty?

Are we on the cusp of a new era of collective prosperity and progress that will ensure Africa’s rightful place on the international stage?

If the Horn countries can come together (Medemer), make peace and build the foundation for peaceful and prosperous relations, the rest of Africa will follow in their footsteps.

Wishing all Ethiopians and Eritreans a Happy Prosperous Medemer 2012!

The post 9/11- A Date That Shall Live in Infamy in America and in Glory in Ethiopia and Eritrea appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News/Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Hope for 2012: A Just Ethiopia for All Its People!

September 11, 2019

As Ethiopians across Ethiopia and throughout the world gather with family and friends, I want to wish everyone a very happy and healthy Ethiopian New Year. This is always a hopeful time, as we celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another. Even though 2011 was difficult for millions of Ethiopians, we must also look back on this year with the knowledge that brighter days are ahead of us. Although our current challenges of ethno-nationalism and others are greater than ever before, each of us Ethiopian from every ethnic and religious groups must have the courage and determination to rise up and meet them. It is that spirit of (Ethiopiawinet) or togetherness that has kept us together as proud Ethiopians for generations, and it is that Ethiopiawinet spirit that will keep Ethiopia together for generations to come.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his team of change makers unexpectedly came to power in 2010, Ethiopian (Gregorian) calendar and 2018 in Julian calendar, bringing excitement, joy and hope for the future beyond the imagination of Ethiopians.

At the beginning of 2010 Ethiopian Calendar and 2018 Julian calendar, no one would have thought that months later, thousands of political prisoners would be released or that peace talks between Ethiopia and Eritrea would help restore a longstanding hostile relationship between neighbors or that information would begin to flow with an opening up of the media or that opposition leaders and human rights advocates, previously denied entry into the country, would suddenly be welcomed back. It seemed impossible; yet, as these initial steps of democratic progress were taken, expectations for the future soared, only to magnify the disappointment when problems continued in certain areas.  

Who said it would be easy? Transitioning from repressive structures of government based on ethnicity, put in place over the last 27 years, to a working democracy is not easily accomplished. Along the way, we have seen strongholds of resistance to that change from embedded structures, mindsets, vested interests, and habits of the past, all of which have lingered on, becoming obstacles to change. Bright hopes for speedy change have rapidly diminished as human impacts are seen and felt by many.

After the 2011 Ethiopian New Year, we saw one of the worst impacts from the rise in ethnic fighting as tensions between groups increased. It resulted in the internal displacement of more than two millions of Ethiopians from various places across the nation, particularly in the South. As PM Abiy tried to unite the people; ethno-nationalists were trying to divide them. Now we are witnessing the harvest of what was planted by a system built on the foundation of ethnic hatred and ethnic nationalism. It is dangerous.

Ethno-nationalism may have been a factor in the assassination of the president of the Amhara region and his attorney general as well as the assassination of the head of Ethiopian army and his advisor; all of whom may have been threats to the rising ethnic extremists. This barbaric violence has shocked the nation and is threatening the legacy of harmonious co-existence among the diverse people in this country.

It has not yet been addressed and must be if we are to see peace and stability established in Ethiopia, without which there can be no sustainable prosperity. At the core of this impasse is a Constitution which is set up on the basis of ethnicity. It must be challenged and changed in order to create institutional structures that promote justice for all people. Those who believe in ethnic nationalism are holding on to it while others are looking for way to simply live together.

Right now, most everything in Ethiopia is based on ethnicity; for example:1) the Preamble to the Constitution, 2) the demarcations of the states, which are based on ethnicity, not geography, 3) the political parties, including the ruling party which is based on ethnicity and is not inclusive of the majority of ethnic groups, 4) the media, which is organized around ethnicity and tends to be biased towards promoting its own interests above any national agenda, 5) the banks, which are named after ethnic groups, 6) sports clubs, which are now organized by ethnicity, and now, 7) some want to organize religion based on ethnicity. Our Creator does not have ethnicity, but created us as human beings equal. 

At the same time as many Ethiopians are focusing on ethnicity; people are forgetting about other issues of importance like jobs and the slowing economy. Unemployment is extremely high, especially among the young who make of 70% of the population. Now, add to this the challenge of holding an election in May 2020 when there is still no consensus about a great many important issues; neither has there even been a genuine, in-depth dialogue on what the basic structure of our government and the Constitution should be.

Ethiopia should be moving away from tribal-based or personality-based politics to more principle and idea based platforms. Additionally, our regional states should be changed to be based on geographical boundaries rather than based on ethnicity. Anyone should be free to live wherever they want, which will require private land ownership rather than government ownership of all land. Similarly, jobs should be given based on competence rather than ethnicity.

If these issues are not resolved, it can create more problems; like in the Southern region of Ethiopia, where 10 different ethnic groups are asking to form their own regional state because they believe it may be the only way to be treated fairly.

All of these tensions will only worsen if some of these issues are unresolved prior to the election. Many worry that competing ethnic groups within regions or among regions may not be allowed to freely campaign without the permission from the local ethnic groups, causing some to worry that the election may lead to instability. We must talk about these issues, especially where there is hostility and resentment. Avoidance can be more dangerous.

Knowing this, people must work very hard to bring meaningful reforms, including Constitutional and institutional, which will lead to greater justice, peace and reconciliation to the people of Ethiopia. This also will require self-examination of oneself so as to go beyond self interest or ethnic interest at the cost of justice. Key stakeholders must see the bigger picture and have a greater responsibility to advance truth and justice for all.

In closing, we cannot simply wish for a better 2012 Ethiopian calendar, but we must seriously work together on common vision and national unity, especially as we face a crisis of ethnic-extremist competition that could bring our mutual downfall like that of Syria, Libya and Yemen. Do we want Ethiopia to be added to that list? Where are we going to run to next if that happened?

President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa recently said, “Ethiopians need to focus their energy on common vision and national identity not ethnic identities. Ethiopia cannot fail and must not fail.” He meant that the consequences of our failure would not only be disastrous to Ethiopia and East Africa, but would affect the whole continent. We have a responsibility beyond ourselves.

May God help us to follow universal principles of valuing the humanity of others, putting humanity before ethnicity or any other differences and caring about these others like we care about ourselves, not only because it is right thing to do, but because no one is free until all are free. May this be the year that the leaders and the people of Ethiopia humble themselves to see beyond their own interests for the common good of all.

The post Mr. Obang Metho offers his best wishes for the Ethiopian New Year 2012 appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News/Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Asmelash Yohannes, PhD
Mekelle University School of Law)

We are pretty pre-occupied with politics.  Our life is consumed with political rumours. Social media posts are awash with ADP said this; Jawar Mohammed  said that; Lemma Megersa said this: Getachew Reda blurted this or that …..  However, there is something that must be dealt with immediately.

Our universities are becoming a place for extremism and intolerance as a result of the unbridled participation of university instructors in politics. University instructors are spending a large chunk of their time and energy licking their political masters’ tails.  It is not an exaggeration to say that an entire generation is being sacrificed for cheap political gains. You have university instructors who have been teaching at public universities for more than a decade. These people are dominating the social media and main stream media. You see them almost on daily basis on national and regional TVs. They don’t talk anything new. They are like parrots: they simply repeat what they said year ago. You see them uttering words that you don’t expect from a university instructor. Moreover, they post facebook messages almost on daily basis.

However, if you dig deep into their academic records, you quickly realize that most of them were mediocre students and you wonder how they have landed an academic position. These people have been teaching at public universities for more than a decade. But they miserably failed to publish a single article worth of academic discourse. Their world vision is very narrow. They defend a political party that is based in their respective regions. For example, a university instructor based in Tigray fiercely defends TPLF. Another instructor based in Gondar or Bahirdar is engrossed disappointedly in the politics of ADP and his unhinged criticism of TPLF or ODP is appalling. A university instructor from Ambo or Jimma is acting submissively as a mouthpiece for ODP.

It is shame to see colleagues being used by political parties to make cheap political points.  I have sympathy and sometimes an absolute disdain for my colleagues. My sympathy is based on the fact that my colleagues cannot survive on their meagre government salary.  Inflation is skyrocketing and life has become unbearable for them. Thus, they have to do some odd jobs to support their family. This in fact includes writing what they are being instructed to write by their money masters.  TPLF, ODD and ADP understand my colleagues’ loopholes. These parties have the money and my colleagues need that money. Consequently, Ethiopian politics have created a new market that is not doing any favour to the democratic transition of the country.

On the other hand, my disdain emanates from two facts.  For one thing, my colleagues are not writing something that could be used as an input to the economic and democratic development of the country. They write rubbish posts on facebook and they talk nonsense on their TV appearances. For the other thing, they are not allocating sufficient time for academic works. They are always short of time. You cannot even have a proper talk with them during coffee time. Their eyes are always stuck on their facebook pages. They spend their time counting the number of likes they get for their facebook posts. This is really embarrassing.  My colleagues’ obsession with social media fame is destroying a generation right in front of our eyes. Being a university instructor is a prestigious position. Our students come from different corners of the country. Some of our students may be supporters of TPLF while others may support ADP or ODP. However, when a university instructor posts extreme ideas on social media and stands in front of his students to teach the next day, he definitely loses the respect and trust of his students. They do not believe that he would treat them equally with the other students who share the instructor’s political views. I had numerous discussions on this matter with several students over the past few years. One of the issues that repeatedly pop up during our discussion is that university instructors are giving them the lowest grades (‘C’ or ‘D’ or even ‘F’) because they are from a certain ethnic background or because they support a certain political party.  I always take their complaints with a pinch of salt. I don’t believe that my colleagues would go that low to hurt their students. But university instructors should blame themselves for creating such perception due to the toxic messages they are posting on social media.

My advice to colleagues all over the country is that you can support any political party that you like. As a human rights lawyer, I understand that you are entitled to hold or express any political view. But it should not be at the expense of the future of the country and your insatiable appetite for 15 minutes political fame is destroying an entire generation.  My concern is that the views you are promoting on social media are biased and imbalanced. Some of the views border extremism and they are not based on facts. I also urge the ministry of education to come up with some kind of guideline on the use of social media and main stream media by university instructors. At the end of the day, these colleagues are employees of the federal government irrespective of the location of the university where they teach. Therefore, the ministry of education needs to get to grips with the gravity of the current situation as quickly as possible.

The post Our universities are becoming hotbed of intolerance: the culprits are none other than university instructors   appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News/Breaking News: Your right to know!.

This is short English summery of Wazema Radio 20 pages assessment report on Ethiopian economy.

[Wazema Radio] – With his election as the chairperson of the ruling EPRDF, Abiy Ahmed (PhD) instantly become the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. He came to the throne as three years of wide spread public protest, accompanied by two State of Emergency Declarations, pushed the ruling elite to look inward and undertake adjustment. One among the many promises of reform that Abiy made in his election was reforming the economy in a way that could create jobs for the youth, ensure macro stability, reform State-Owned Enterprises (SoEs), bring the private sector to the fore and open key sectors of the economy for private investment. And at the core of these promises lay the objectives of resolving the imbalances of the economy, increasing the inclusiveness of the economy and maintaining the growth momentum of the past 16 years.

In light of this, Abiy’s administration has spent the last year grappling with an economy that hosts serious structural as well as transitory challenges. In terms of actions, the administration has brought peace with Eritrea, opened the logistic sector for foreign investment, approved a Public Private Partnership (PPP) law, issued a law that reforms the telecom sector, embarked on massive Doing Business reform and has given Ethiopians living abroad a chance to engage in various investments previously out of their reach.

If one is to scrutinize Abiy’s first year in office, in light of structural and transient economic affairs, it could be concluded that the year was one with more talks, but less did. Abiy’s promises of restrained fiscal policy, for instance, has not materialized. What has been visible over the past year was that recurrent expenditure of the state has been increasing, new (formally unappraised) projects are coming to the scene, multiple events and ceremonies are being held and massive renovation of public offices (including the PMO) is going on. As such, it is puzzling where the budgetary restraint is going to come.

Although monetary stability is one of the areas of promise of Abiy, it failed to achieve it in the last year, with the gap between the formal and parallel markets staying around 13 Br and inflation standing at 18%. The administrative measure taken by law enforcement on parallel market has pushed it to evolve to a decentralized function.

Ethiopia’s debt distress remains in the moderately high regime. Although Abiy’s administration managed to reschedule some outstanding debt payments, it did not bring fundamental change in the debt management framework. Total debt stock remains increasing, although new additions are largely concessional. In this regard, the strain in the relationship with China is putting huge pressure on the administration.

With export remaining static, at around 2.8 billion dollars, and import continuing to increase, debt repayment has become a huge challenge for the administration. Nothing new has come in changing the performance of exports.

A major challenge for the administration, however, comes from massive youth unemployment. As such, the administration, except institutionalizing the problem under a newly formed Job Creation Commission, is yet to introduce a new jobs pack with defined focus areas, operational mechanisms, business development support and financing backup. The trend is that of using the old, but largely inefficiency and confused, systems of organizing SMEs. Although the state still funds the Revolving Youth Fund, a dedicated financing window, the effectiveness of the fund is hugely challenged by poor administration, lack of business development support, inflexibility in list of businesses financed, mismatch between financing demand and supply, lag between approval and disbursement, and many more. Weak and infant private sector means that the job creation impact of the sector remains low.

In terms of industrialization, too, the approach has been to attract as much FDI as possible. But many of the Industrial Parks, developed by use of financing obtained through Ethiopia’s debut Euro Bond, are still looking for investors. Total annual export of the Parks stays at 110 million dollars, way lower than the 2 billon dollar target. Although it is decided that the Parks will be privatized, the process and whether it is feasible is not yet clear.
The financial sector also remains under distress. The way forward for Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) is not clear, with its NPL standing at 33%. CBE also hosts huge state related liability, although its credit portfolio is not public. The private banks are well capitalized for the current market, but this does not mean that they can withstand competitive pressure from outside, if the sector is liberalized. As such, the guidance from the central bank in terms of creating competitive banks was no different than before.
In line with this, it is recommended that:

1. The government ought to indicate clear policy lines to address structural challenges (such as lower productivity, static export, unemployment, low industrial growth, high trade deficit, expanding current account deficit, inflation, exchange rate depreciation….).
2. Support to private sector ought to be aligned with the national job creation agenda.
3. Suspicion between the federal and regional governments ought to be resolved as this hampers effective economic policy implementation.
4. Expenditure saving fiscal policy ought to be the day-to-day norm in the state.
5. Supply chains of basic consumables ought to be returned back to the private sector.
6. Debt management policy ought to be reviewed
7. Monetary policy ought to be disentangled from fiscal policy and it needed to get away from its long overdue deficit financing orientation.
8. Job creation schemes ought to be integrated and so should the financing of SMEs.
9. Relation with neighbors, particularly with Eritrea, ought to be based on principles and ought to be arranged in a way that avoids economic meddling.
10. Overall market reform should precede privatization.

Wazema Radio, 2019

You can access full Amharic version report here

The post Ethiopia’s Economy under Abiy Ahmed: Hopeful Trajectory or Distant Dream? appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News/Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters that talks over the $5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam had stopped for more than a year before restarting in Cairo earlier in the day.

The long-running dispute centers on the filling and operation of what will be Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam.

Egypt fears the dam could reduce its share of the Nile River which serves as a lifeline for the country’s 100 million people. Ethiopia, which has roughly the same population size, maintains that the dam will help its economic development.

Shoukry said he hopes that Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia can agree to a timetable to reach a deal over the soon-to-be-completed dam.

Shoukry said his county “respects Ethiopia’s right to development” but “without affecting Egypt.”

He said Egypt has been ready to reach a settlement, but warned against any side “to attempt to establish a de facto situation on the ground” without an agreement.

In May last year, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan reached an agreement to set up a scientific study group to consult on the filling of the dam. But no progress was reported since then.

Shoukry said Sunday’s talks were “scientific” and that Egypt was open for further discussions.

The dam is now more than 60% finished, and Ethiopia hopes to become a key energy hub in Africa upon its completion. The dam will generate about 6,400 megawatts, more than doubling Ethiopia’s current production of 4,000 megawatts.

Egypt received the lion’s share of the Nile waters under decades-old agreements seen by other Nile bastion countries as unfair.

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BY E4CM DISPATCH

We become our names. That is why one of the most important decisions parents make is what to call their children. This truism became glaringly evident two days ago as a young Ethiopian lady claimed the microphone with the soul of arbegnoch and spoke defiantly in defense of Ethiopiawinet. In a paradigm where many are flocking to zeregnenet (tribalism) and seeking the easy way by catering to people’s tribal disposition, a poet reminded us of the inherent love of Ethiopia that is embedded in our DNAs.

As noted, people become their names. Where Jawar declares wars with his jaws and splinters Ethiopians along ethnic lines, Hilina Desalegn gladly became our conscience and extolled the essence of unity through her verses. Without mentioning names, she reduced the playbook of demagogues to ashes and did so with the elegance of a butterfly and the tenacity of jegnas at Adwa.

There is a reason why despots tremble before ideas more than they fear bullets. Words have a way of awakening the spirits of dejected people. For forty-five years, Ethiopians have been subjected to one repression after another and have been conditioned through a mix of propaganda and anguish to a point of collective depression. Where some choose to isolate behind indifference or mirror the tactics of ethnonationalism that landed our country into a state of disrepair, Hilina courageously opted to stand for Ethiopiawinet and preached unity in the face of sectionalism.

In her wake, she left a trail of disheveled ethnic extremists who’ve had almost a free reign to peddle their toxic snake oil of factionalism. Hilina did not speak against just one group but against all tribal ministers without bias to ethnicity; the ones who are screaming the loudest today are the ones who have been barking about ethnic grievances the hardest. It is a sight to behold seeing grown adults being so unnerved by a young lady who spoke harsh truths about their poisonous trade.

Hilina is proof that the spirit of Ethiopiawinet is not dead, there is hope yet that love of country and our common humanity will rise above the ghettos of narcissistic ethnicity. We have been saying for a while that we need an Adwa Awakening in our time, one that revisits the strength of our forefathers and takes a step forward with the spirit of unity and andinet. Hilina, with her strong advocacy for Ethiopiawinet, might have just whispered a mighty wind into the sails of this movement.

This is the point that was articulated in our Enkutatash message, if we are to rise as a nation and restore hope for future generations, we can only do so through togetherness. This is the essence of Ethiopiawinet that must not be lost, unity does not mean conformity, we can acknowledge our differences without erasing our national heritage. Hilina knows what many refuse to see, focusing on just our own without realizing our connective existence is the reason why “our dogs of surpassed us” as she so eloquently stated in her poem.

Now is a time that calls for open conversations with the intentions of healing, there are pains that many communities within Ethiopia feel that need to be heard. Dismissing the injustices felt by various ethnic groups will only lead to further strife and inflames passions. However, the ways that zealots are inciting emotions and pitting one against another is nothing short of evil, all Ethiopians irrespective of our differences have suffered in the past, only by hearing each other out and being compassionate can we better our nation. Ethiopiawinet is not about “just us” but about inclusive justice that considers the interests of all 110 million back home and abroad.

Though our present condition of Ethiopia is one of adversity, there is a brighter day that awaits us the minute we put aside anger and embrace love. We can either get better together or become poorer apart. Ethiopiawinet is not just some slogan from the past, it is a roadmap to redemption.

The post Spotlighting Excellence: Hilina Desalegn Rises in Defense of Ethiopiawinet appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News/Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Hilina Desalegn and her Defense of Ethiopiawinet

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PUBLISHED ON : SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 

BY E4CM DISPATCH

Exactly forty-five years after the last emperor of Ethiopia was deposed by lawless criminals who went on to commit a genocide against our people, Ethiopians for Constitutional Monarchy’s website was indexed (included) in Google News. This is a big development, one that confers an additional layer of legitimacy to our initiatives while expanding the global reach of our communications. In the age of information overload, it is vital to be seen as a fair and unbiased source of knowledge; being included in Google News is another step in this direction and demonstrates the continuous growth of our organization.

Though we are not a media company, the analysis and solutions that we present requires a media footprint in order to reach the broader public in Ethiopia and throughout the world. Not only is our reach magnified by being included in Google News, it is an significant step in our efforts to rebuild and restore an institution that served Ethiopia well for more than 3,000 years. The Solomonic Crown is not about one person or about personalities, it is a governmental body that is mandated to look out for the long term interests of Ethiopia and advocate on behalf of all Ethiopians.

There are many hurdles ahead of us as we continue the work of restoring the Ethiopian monarchy; if we are to succeed in our efforts, it will not be out of decree or through a radical revolution but through incremental steps built on the foundation of hard work. Our interest is not politics—we have zero desire of being a political party—our aim is to rise above politics and be a source of hope and solutions for the people. We believe in the empowerment of Ethiopians; give the people the means and they will feed themselves.

It is for this reason that our core message is about empowerment rooted in Ethiopiawinet. Given the dearth of media sources in Ethiopia advocating this message and given that most political parties are interested in fostering ethnocentrism more than they are in national unity, we have made it our core mission to speak on behalf of economic reforms that better the lives of Ethiopians and creates ownership society. Only by improving the lives of everyday Ethiopians and giving people hope for the future can the sense of lawlessness and zeregnenet (tribalism) that is metastasizing like cancer be lessened.

This is why our inclusion in Google News is such an important development. We will use our platform to speak on behalf of unity and speak against those who incite ethnic resentment and stoke tribal hatred. Even before our inclusion in Google News, the number of Ethiopians and people who have a passion for Ethiopia who visit our website has grown exponentially over the past couple of months. Instead of piling on top of outrage and trafficking in sensationalism, our objective analysis inspires people to think critically and seek answers instead of ruminating in negativity.

Last month we hosted an event centered on mental wellness in the Ethiopian community, last week we worked with the Alexandria City Mayor to declare September 12^th “Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year) Day”. Our objective is simple, don’t complain and swim in the swamp of victimization, rise up from despair and lead by inspiring people with ideas and a vision of success. Ethiopians for Constitutional Monarchy is not a talking society, we are intent on being a bridge for our communities and country through action.

Going forward into the new year, as we continue to host events, put forward viable solutions and build platforms that will encourage collaborative efforts, we will also dedicate resources to enhance our media arm by creating Ethiopian Crown Media that will incorporate video streaming, podcasts and invite innovative thinkers to take part in fostering dialogues that is rooted in inclusiveness and values Ethiopiawinet. We understand that restoring the Ethiopian monarchy in a constitutional framework requires us to earn the trust of the people, we are dedicated to doing just that.

If you are interested in being a part of our ongoing endeavor and if you have a passion for media (content creation), email us at info@ethiopians4cm.org with a subject header “Ethiopia Crown Media”. Enamesegenalen.

This video is a dedication to the Ethiopian Crown but more importantly an homage to the Ethiopian people who are the crown jewels of our nation.

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