The ruling coalition in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which has four member political parties, has agreed to unite and form a new party.

The new party involves five political parties, which has been leading the peripheral regions of Ethiopia as partners of EPRDF for over two decades.

Over the past three days, the Executive Committee members of the coalition have discussed the draft program of the new party that replaces the coalition and approved the formation of Ethiopian Prosperity Party (EPP).

The new national party – EPP – will have offices in all parts of the country and uses different languages in Ethiopia depending on the preference of the people on the ground, according to the draft program of the EPP.

The next step will be to further develop the program during the upcoming congress of the EPRDF, according Fikadu Tesema, member of the Executive Committee of EPRDF who spoke to the state broadcaster – ETV.

Mr. Fikadu indicated that the new party will then go through registration process of National Electoral Board of Ethiopia to in order to run for the upcoming May 2020 general election. He indicated that new party will be led by a president and deputy president.

As Ethiopia is approaching general election, political parties operating in the country has been merging over the past months.

After coming to power in April 2018 the reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been advising the at some point over 100 political parties operating in the country to come together narrowing their differences and get more vote that enables them to advance their agendas in the parliament.

The EPP will be following a pragmatic capitalism, unlike the old EPRDF, which used to be revolutionary democratic front.

Some political observers suggest that the formation of EPP will pave the way for exercising civilized politics based on ideas and ideology, unlike the EPRDF era, which has been often characterized by divisive ethnic politics.

EPRDF, which is the brain child of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), comprises four political parties namely TPLF, Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) and Southern party. While the first three parties are ethnic based parties, the Southern party involves 56 ethnic groups found in Southern party of Ethiopia.

The formation of EPRDF was facilitated as the TPLF and Eritrean Liberation Front of Isais Afwerki were about to conclude in victory the civil war with the Marxist Derg regime of Ethiopia around the year 1990.

Unofficial reports from this week EPRDF Executive shows that majority of TPLF executive members are not happy about the liquidation of the coalition into one national party involving all ethnic groups and regions in the country.

Those who advocate for the liquidation of the coalition into a single national political party argue that it will enable anybody in Ethiopia from any ethnic group or region to run for prime minister position of Ethiopia as long as she/ he qualifies.

On the other hand, some TPLF members oppose the changing of the coalition into a single party as a threat for the existing ethnic-based federalism and consider it as the comeback of a unitary state in Ethiopia, against which they claim to scarify tens of thousands of lives during the civil war of the 1980s and 1990s.

Speaking to Tigray TV last night, Deputy Mayor of Addis Ababa city and Executive Member of TPLF Solomon Kidane (Dr. Eng.) indicated that the TPLF oppose the unification and will continue the struggle aligning itself with ‘the democrat forces in the country’.

Commenting on the future politics of Ethiopia he stated that the struggle will be between those anti-people forces and those who stand for the people.

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by Ermias Tasfaye

Since June, the Sidama campaign for a new federal state in southern Ethiopia was on a rollercoaster, riding the political contortions of a diverse and divided region and country.

Now, after a violent dip back in mid-July, it is on the verge of probable triumph. The electoral board announced in late August that an unprecedented referendum on regional statehood would be conducted and now up to 2.3 million people are set to vote in Sidama Zone today, November 20.

“The fixing of the date in August renewed hope,” said Kinkino Kia, a Sidama legal activist. “The situation proves the resilience of the Sidama quest, and the consequent crisis for the southern ruling party.”

While a tortuous autonomy struggle does indeed appear to be in the final stretch, there are still potential obstacles and critical unanswered questions. This may intensify threats to the integrity of the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples state (SNNP), a multi-ethnic region containing around one-fifth of Ethiopia’s more than 100 million people.

Paramount among unresolved issues is the fate of a rump SNNP region, which will lose its commercial and administrative capital if Sidama—the most populous and prosperous part of it—leaves, taking Hawassa city with it. Southern leaders are also faced with constitutional demands to become regions from ten other zones, which will be harder to contain if Sidama sets a precedent.

The challenges are rooted in constitutional arrangements that prioritize group rights and self-determination. There are tensions within ethnic federalism between autonomy and efficiency, and volatilities as political actors exploit the growing weakness of a recently upended ruling coalition that has imposed its will on Ethiopia for the last quarter of a century.

Novel challenge for Ethiopia’s constitutional system

Over recent decades, a Southern Question has emerged: to what extent should the constitutional right to greater administrative autonomy be exercised? Christophe Van der Beken, an Associate Professor at the College of Law and Governance Studies at Addis Ababa University explained the disagreement over this question as being partly driven by a “serious tension between constitutional provisions on the right to territorial autonomy and the predominant political tendency of ‘holding together’.”

While ‘holding together’ may have been a prevalent dynamic since 1991, more recently, Ethiopia’s federation and its key guardian, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), have been closer to falling apart.

Upheaval in the country for more than four years stemmed from discontent with, and within, the ruling coalition, which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has chaired since March 2018. His leadership seemed to present an opportunity to restructure the south according to local desires, as EPRDF authority suffered from unabating protests, internal upheaval and divisions.

Over the last year, the south’s inherent diversity and unrestrained political aspirations have threatened its constructed unity. Ethnic zonal administrations have used the opening created by turmoil within the ruling coalition to lean on an inviting constitution and seek their own regional states, whose number has remained steady at nine since the constitution listed them in 1995.

The zonal leaders are doing so during a destabilizing transition supercharged by Abiy’s ambitions, the twists and turns by factions of a flailing regime, and a renewed national struggle over federal arrangements. This presents a novel challenge for Ethiopia’s constitutional system, whose most decentralizing provisions have rarely been tested in the past, primarily due to the ruling coalition’s vice-like grip on state and society.

Deflation

Mirroring Kinkino’s current optimism about the impending referendum, early in July the proponents of the planned Sidama National Regional State were also in a buoyant mood. The campaign’s strength had been demonstrated through large rallies in February and April in Hawassa city. Many Sidama, members of youth movement Ejetto (a term describing a ‘heroic’ subset in Sidama’s stratified society), legal campaigners from Hawassa University, diaspora activists, and Sidama officials from various tiers of the federation appeared united.

“Welcome to Sidama State” signs were visible near proposed future regional borders and a constitution was drafted as the movement prepared to ignore legal procedure and self-declare a region on July 18, 2019, the date that marked the expiry of a one-year window for the regional government to hold a referendum.

Yet before the end of July, a deflated Sidama statehood movement lay in tatters.

On July 17, the eve of self-declaration, Sidama Zone’s now suspended chief administrator Karre Chawicha and some campaigners had changed tack because the day before the electoral board belatedly promised the delayed referendum.

The board argued that the one-year countdown started from November 22, 2018 the day it received the referendum request from the State Council. However, Article 47 of the constitution stipulates that the right of any Nations Nationalities and Peoples entities (NNPs) to form its own state is exercisable when its referendum demand has been presented in writing to the State Council and the latter has organized a referendum within one year.

It appeared as if the electoral board was seeking to justify additional time in light of the Sidama self-declaration plan. But its interpretation of when the one-year countdown began contravened the constitution, Van der Beken says. As confusion reigned, the Ejetto tried to attend a public meeting-place in Hawassa on July 18 to seek answers, but clashed with security forces, and set up roadblocks of burning tires. Shots were fired by police, killing four, and chaos spread into Sidama Zone.

Recalling the authoritarian methods of Ethiopian rulers throughout the ages, rather than those of a self-declared democratic administration, the government used lethal force against rioting Sidama, some of whom reportedly killed local minorities, as occurred the previous July during unrest in Hawassa. At least 53 people were killed in the unrest across Sidama Zone in the days following the aborted self-declaration.

The authorities put in place a regionwide de facto state of emergency on July 22. More than 1,000 were arrested with activists jailed and the welcome signs torn down. Leading figures from Ejetto, Sidama Media Network, and Hawassa University legal activists were detained. The Committee to Protect Journalists said the arrests from the satellite broadcaster raised questions about the government’s commitment to freedom of expression.

SNNPR administrative map, 2017, OCHA

Although on July 17, a day prior to the outburst of anger, the authorities had set a deadline for the referendum, Kinkino only saw a smokescreen: “All the political machinations, including portraying the Sidama case as a security threat and installation of military control of security, while suspending zonal leadership and eliminating Ejetto, showed there was an intention to curb the Sidama quest.”

The security approach was in keeping with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s warning in parliament on July 1 that anyone taking the law into their own hands would be treated the same as the former government of Somali region, whose abusive president was removed by a federal military intervention in August 2018, reportedly as he was preparing secessionist procedures.

On July 25, Hawassa City and Sidama Zone officials were suspended for agitation by the ruling party. Indicating the broader problems, the ruling Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM)—a fragmenting member of an embattled, disoriented, and divided ruling coalition—also suspended officials from Hadiya Zone, another administrative area seeking to become a state by carving itself out of Southern Nations.

For a few weeks thereafter, the authorities looked to have suppressed the Sidama, as Prime Minister Meles Zenawi did in 2006. According to academic Lovise Aalen, Meles’s tactics at the time included replacing a pro-statehood Sidama Zone leader with one who opposed it, a move resembling the recent one. But Meles’s intervention was part of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front’s (EPRDF) political management of competing interests in a diverse federation; an ability that today’s disorientated coalition has largely lost.

Despite the brutality, due presumably to Abiy’s relative popularity and the recently emboldened opposition to ethnic federalism, but also concerns over potentially spiraling instability, domestic criticism of the crackdown was limited. Former backers of the Sidama movement, such as Oromo activist Jawar Mohammed, also stayed silent, possibly as they did not want to speak out against the Prime Minister at that time.

The relief for statehood opponents, however, was short, as constitutional obligations and the strength of the Sidama campaign led the electoral board to schedule the referendum. Still, the authorities have still not made progress in resolving the broader debate over self-rule in southern Ethiopia, which has been ongoing since group rights were promoted in the 1995 constitution.

Chaos theory

Amid EPRDF disarray, the Sidama took the first steps towards statehood in July 2018, collecting petitions at wereda level and then voting for a referendum at the zonal council. Bucking its integrationist tendencies, SEPDM, whose chairwoman Muferiat Kamil is from Silte Zone, gestured towards greater self-determination at its Congress on September 29.

Following the Sidama, the other zonal councils also voted for referenda and, reportedly, made written requests to the State Council, in line with constitutional requirements. On November 26, presumably spooked by the prospect of wholesale southern fragmentation, SEPDM returned to form, as it criticized the salvo of requests.

Perhaps as a consequence of the ruling party position, only the Sidama request was sent by the region to the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, which is mandated by law to hold referenda. While other SNNP elites claim double standards, a Sidama insider says the inconsistency is justified. He suggests the subsequent statehood requests only occurred because non-Sidama SEPDM leaders mobilized their own zonal councils to request referenda to try and prevent Sidama breaking free. “The premise was that if everyone asks then nobody gets,” the insider said.

Wolayta activists say that is a Sidama-centric narrative is designed to delegitimize other autonomy claims, and is symptomatic of the manner in which Sidama elites and activists dominate the discourse. The Sidama insider says ongoing political struggle between the Sidama and non-Sidama members of the regional council has occurred for decades. In this instance, the alleged wheeze to dilute the Sidama claim backfired anyway, as statehood movements in Wolayta, Gurage, Hadiya, and Keffa have gathered their own momentum, although it is yet to be seen whether they will gather the force of the Sidama’s.

Zones requesting statehood (population in millions, recent official estimate)

Regardless of political shenanigans, the Sidama movement prepared for statehood and then intensified self-declaration mobilization, even after the SNNP region made the formal referendum request, as regional and federal authorities still appeared paralyzed by the prospect of fragmentation. SEPDM eventually showed some signs of urgency, holding a 10-day meeting of its Central Committee until July 15. It deliberated on an expert study and pledged to address demands, yet its gnomic concluding statement elicited bemusement. A day later, the electoral board made its last-minute intervention—chaos and confusion ensued.

Legal activist Kinkino, who is based in Belgium, believes there was a plan to delegitimize the statehood movement. He makes the same allegation of covert external provocation that Ethiopian political actors often employ, despite lacking evidence, when violence occurs following elite agitation. “The moment Abiy said Sidama was a national security threat and warned of imminent military intervention, those opposing Sidama state planned to create instability and attacks on property by using unknown mobs,” he says. “The purpose was to justify federal control of security and send a message that demands for new regions have produced serious violence, so they should not be granted.”

Whether the violence was the result of Ejetto frustration at the last-minute deviation or, as Kinkino claims, the result of external incitation, the arrests, suspensions, and crackdown has had the somewhat perverse effect of calming the political situation and focusing minds on the referendum.

Sidama activists are now set to achieve statehood and there have been positive signs for months. In September, the regional council removed its Sidama leader Million Mathewos, who backed the autonomy campaign, and replaced him with Ristu Yirdaw from Gurage Zone. That looks like preparation for a Sidama state, with Muferiat and allies now focused on holding the rest of the region together after accepting Sidama would leave, and so withdrawing the carrot of regional leadership from the departing elite. Demonstrating the zero-sum tendencies ingrained in the existing Ethiopian federal politics, an emerging concern is that the Wolayta and Keffa statehood campaigns will be energized by a belief that Gurage Zone will benefit disproportionally in terms of government resources now that it occupies the regional presidency.

Political science

Generally, rather than adopting a democratic approach to dealing with the various interest groups imposing their demands, the reoriented ruling party and authorities have so far favored a familiar mix of force and top-down, sometimes opaque, procedures.

On December 8, 2018, SEPDM announced a “scientific” restructuring study to assess the statehood demands over a period of six months. This was actually more a re-restructuring study because a similar process led to the decision a month before to create three new zones and 44 weredas, demonstrating that regional administrators are familiar with administrative upheaval. The changes included splitting Gamo-Gofa Zone in two and Konso receiving a zone after campaigning against a 2011 amalgamation into Segen Zone.

These processes recalled earlier ones, such as the successful restive 1998 campaign for the Wolayta to administer their own zone rather than be part of North Omo Zone with the Gamo, Gofa and Dawro. That also featured a controversial integration effort after the composite Wogagoda language was created—its name stemmed from the first two letters of each group—only to then be violently rejected.

On July 22, 2019, the study group disclosed three possible scenarios: maintaining the southern region as it is; dividing it into two or more regions; or freezing the statehood demands. It claims that the people of the region preferred the first option. Like the electoral board’s late intervention, the conclusions seemed more political than legal; let alone “scientific”, as they were based on a sample size of less than one percent of the region’s population. The SEPDM-commissioned research appeared to be part of the latest effort to hold the south together.

Members of SEPDM Central Committee, October 2018

These EPRDF political failings aside, the constitutional rights to self-determination also present significant legal challenges. Coerced integration and untrammelled fragmentation both contain risks.

The administrative chaos and deadly conflict in the former Segen Zone, which is bordered to the west by South Omo Zone and to the north by Gamo Zone, is just one recent worrying example of the possible fate of the entire southern region. Segen, formed against the wishes of some leaders from the eight ethnic groups that it incorporated, was dissolved in 2018 following persistent Konso requests and protests. Though the demand followed legal procedure, SEPDM delayed and denied, before being compelled to comply. This led to the suspension of Segen Zone, which left the administrative status of the Amaro, Burji, Dirashe and Ale Weredas pending. A destructive conflict ensued. After some delay, the remaining weredas are to become special weredas and the division of property in the former seat of the Segen Zone has begun.

According to the SNNP constitution, zone and special wereda councils have the power to determine the working language of their district; protect rights to develop and write their languages and preserve their history; enact laws on matters uncovered by federal and regional laws; approve its budget; and appoint a speaker, deputy speaker and chief administrator. Weredas are in charge of local plans for social service and economic development and implementing rules and policies issued by higher authorities.

Diversity in amalgamation

SNNP was created 24 years ago as an administrative home for no less than 45 (now, 56) officially recognized ethnic groups, whose ascribed classification into ‘nations’, ‘nationalities’ or ‘peoples’ has been subject to ambiguity and controversy since the regional state’s conception. As such, it constitutes a microcosm of Ethiopia’s unity in diversity; a multi-ethnic federation within a multi-national federation.

Its population, now more than 20 million, made it a suitable fourth regional pillar in the EPRDF system. It acted as a counterweight to Amhara and Oromia, the regions dominated by two groups that have historically impinged on southern communities’ autonomy, who now possess around 29 and 37 million people respectively, according to extrapolations from the 2007 Population and Housing Census. The political component of the set-up was the SEPDM, which, like its sister EPRDF parties and their affiliates, not only controls all elected seats, but has been largely indistinguishable from the state itself.

The recent flurry of statehood requests have created bitter disagreement between integrity and statehood advocates. The key proponent of cohesion over the years has been the SEPDM leadership. It was formed in 1992 as the Southern Ethiopian People Democratic Front (SEPDF), an amalgamation of 14 Political Development Organizations that the victorious rebels proceeded to create and merge after taking power from the Derg in 1991.

Political Development Organizations that formed SEPDF

SEPDF was renamed SEPDM in 2003 as a result of the renewal (tehadso) campaign of 2001 which sought to consolidate support for Meles’ leadership in the EPRDF after his own Tigrayan party split over the Eritrea war and ideology; some of the dissidents purged by Meles had been primarily responsible for developing the southern PDOs, according to historian Christopher Clapham. More recently, SEPDM was chaired by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who hailed from Wolayta, giving it more federal leverage. Now, SEPDM threatens to disintegrate into something like its original units, as the NNPs push against the integrationist tendency.

The SEPDM position rests on the achievement of a “southern identity” rooted in respecting diversity and Ethiopian unity. Often supported by academics like Kinkino, statehood advocates argue for dignity through equal recognition, as smaller groups such as the Harari received a region when the federation was designed. The SEPDM leadership argues that SNNP is a cost-effective arrangement, while activists and local elites claim that smaller regions would be more administratively efficient. For example, Keffa, a western Zone with a history of autonomy is a long way from Hawassa. Arguably, even the relatively sparsely populated South Omo Zone—whose extreme ethnic diversity, with its many agro-pastoral peoples—adds yet another layer of complexity and could potentially become a viable region with a seat at Jinka. Much will now depend on how Sidama fares in its unprecedented bid to become the federation’s tenth member.

Granting rights

Among the criticism of Sidama leaders’ autonomy drive is that they already largely control Hawassa City administration and run Sidama Zone, as well as using the Sidama as the main administrative working and primary education language. However, there are substantive political and economic reasons why Sidama and other zones may want to become regions.

Critics are likely to cast Sidama’s achievement of statehood, including full control of Hawassa city, as the final step of decades of Sidama’s political elites increasing their influence over its administrative institutions through their dominance in the SEPDM party apparatus. A gradual process which, van der Beken says, has negatively affected governance of the city and soured relations with non-Sidama representatives.

Another consequence of the existing situation is that SNNP can intervene upon SEPDM’s instruction in any zone or special wereda’s business any time it considers necessary, even if such interference has no formal legal basis. The only option for complaints by sub-regional authorities is to the regional and then national upper parliamentary chambers.

Despite the autonomy granted on paper, SNNP did not devolve powers such as taxation to the zones or special weredas, as Tigray has. Instead, the region controls taxation, including concurrent powers with the federal government; economic, social and development policies; and administration of land and other natural resources. Therefore, a driver of Sidama statehood is economic self-determination; Sidama could advance self-rule by levying taxes and administering land and natural resources.

Fiscal decentralization in Ethiopia allocates federal transfers to regions by estimating their revenue raising capacity and expenditure needs in order to calculate fiscal gaps, which become the percentage share of the overall grant allocated to each region. The proportion allocated to each region is roughly equivalent to population share, with the south in the past raising more from federal subsidies and less from business taxes than other EPRDF-run states.

The federal government annual grant to SNNP this year is 27.8 billion birr out of a total national regional subsidy of 140.8 billion birr. In total, the region says it currently generates its own revenue of 8 billion birr. Sidama statehood would reduce the basic federal grant to SNNP by a considerable amount because of Sidama’s large population. Another factor determining regional needs is ethnic diversity and related costs of the legislature, which in the south includes the Council of Nationalities, a regional version of the House of Federation, which interprets the constitution and rules on identity and inter-regional disputes.

According to the regional government, Hawassa City administration generates revenue of 1.5 billion birr, while SNNP gives matching fund subsidy of up to 200 million birr for infrastructure construction to Hawassa. There is no other subsidy from the region to Hawassa. The lakeside city partly has strong revenues because it is the regional capital and a popular tourist destination. Hotels benefit from visitors and trips by officials for meetings throughout the year, while investment has been strong.

Federal subsidies

It is tricky to estimate the winners and losers of a reconfiguration, as, for example, businesses and investment may locate from Hawassa due to political tensions and because it is no longer the wider regional capital, although, significantly, the State Council has decided it could stay in the city for up to two full election cycles. Attention is likely to decrease if the capital is moved, and politics is already having an impact: some non-Sidama business-owners complain of discrimination by the Sidama-dominated city government. This situation has reportedly shifted investment to other major southern towns.

Currently, Sidama Zone is lumped in with other lower revenue-raising capacity zones and special weredas in SNNP, while Hawassa City is the only self-sustaining administration in the region. SNNP provides a subsidy of 3.2 billion birr to Sidama Zone, which has livestock and cereal and is the leading coffee-producing zone in Ethiopia, the single largest grossing export commodity. More than 40 percent of Ethiopia’s washed coffee comes from Sidama, but it has no powers to levy taxes on this production, which could lead to a regional request that primary commodities have similar federal-regional tax revenue-sharing arrangements to extractive industries.

By comparing with other regions, the data suggests that a new Sidama region might receive a more than 50 percent increase in its federal subsidy, although there are many factors to consider, such as how House of Federation number-crunchers would account for Hawassa’s relatively high-level of development and revenue-raising capacity.

Largely as a product of EPRDF’s unitary-like de facto control of a de jure radically devolved system, despite the right to raise taxes, regions rely on federal grants and, despite the right to grant weredas and zones revenue-raising powers, weredas and zones rely on regional transfers. Moreover, there is little tax competition between states, again presumably because it is EPRDF and affiliated parties that have jointly set policy.

With the EPRDF system more strained than ever before, these federal dynamics could begin to shift. And with increased inter-regional tensions, better performing states may start objecting to subsiding those that rely more on federal grants. Regional administrations would be in a better position to adjust to this new scenario than zones or special weredas because of regions’ constitutionally guaranteed revenue-raising rights.

Defective inception

Appreciating Ethiopia’s Southern Question, which could destabilize the entire country, requires understanding the groups’ history and how they were fused into one region. During the pre-Menelik II period, the south was largely under customary administrative systems. Some groups with large population like Kaffa and Wolayta had formed kingdoms, creating localized hegemony. Communities were relatively autonomous until forcibly incorporated into Emperor Menelik II’s administration after he led territorial expansion southwards in the 1890s. The communities were then forced to pay tribute to new local rulers appointed by the center.

Menelik II’s rule and that of subsequent emperors involved economic exploitation, social domination, including slavery, and political inferiority for southerners. But the forcible incorporation of the south also sowed seeds of resistance in southern areas like Sidama, which would periodically surface in struggles for greater autonomy under Haile Selassie I, in the form of Sidama Liberation Movement under the Derg and under the early imposition of ethnic federalism by EPRDF, and now during the current power vacuum.

After the last emperor, Haile Selassie I, was overthrown in a 1974 socialist revolution, the military Derg regime put “Ethiopia First”, leaving ethnic autonomy trailing. A fresh opportunity for self-rule came during the transitional period from 1991 to 1994 where priority was given to the rights of what became known as NNPs—whose definition in the Ethiopian constitution borrowed from Joseph Stalin’s theory of nationalities and definition of the nation.

The 45 southern groups during the Transitional Charter period

With ethnic groups in Ethiopia accordingly designated as “nations, nationalities and peoples” (NNPs), this implied a hierarchical categorization based generally—there were plenty of exceptions—on population size that influenced their administrative status within the federation, despite the terms having the same definition. Some ethnic groups (‘nations’) such as Afar, Amhara, Oromo, Somali and Tigray were thus granted regional statehood, while other often smaller groups (‘nationalities’ and ‘peoples’) were lumped together into multi-ethnic regional states—notably the southern NNPs, but also the Agew in Amhara, and the five communities that administer Benishangul-Gumuz and Gambella. Yet regardless of how they were originally classified, all groups were granted the same right to self-determination, up to and including secession from the federation, encouraging potentially never-ending demands for increased autonomy.

In the Transitional Charter, 63 NNPs were grouped into 14 regions, with the original 45 NNPs of the south spread across five multi-ethnic districts.

Yet the constitution, drafted by a commission selected by transitional parliamentarians, eventually compressed the five regions into one. The official reasoning was partly a concern about a lack of qualified civil servants, according to a recent SNNP government-commissioned study. The Sidama and others saw the consolidation as inconsistent with the creation of Harari, Gambella and Benishangul-Gumuz regional states, which had much smaller populations than a number of southern NNPs, and this triggered the ongoing disagreement.

2007 populations of select regions and SNNP zones (millions of people, SNNP zone unless stated)

Legal confusion

In its July 16, 2019 statement, the electoral board detailed issues that it said needed to be negotiated prior to the referendum, including the future rights of non-Sidama minority groups and the division of assets in Hawassa. It also requested a security plan from the region. The preconditions raised opposition—although opposition was muted as activists did not want to interrupt the path to a referendum with legal challenges—as the board is only mandated to organize elections and referenda. Sidama Zone said local minorities would face the same legal situation as in any other Ethiopian region as the constitution guarantees their rights.

But it is not only some of the board’s interventions that have caused controversy among activists. There are also reasons to be concerned about aspects of the legal procedures themselves.

The EPRDF’s travails combined with the democratization agenda, which should mean respecting the rule of law, are leading to the constitution being tested more than ever, according to Ethiopian federalism expert Van der Beken. He stresses that critical parts of the constitution have now become important practical considerations after lying largely dormant. Provisions such as Article 39, the secession clause, and Article 47, the rules for statehood requests, were largely theoretical, as there had only been the Somali case for secession in the early years of the federation, a short-lived claim by the Berta in 2001 for separate statehood from Benishangul-Gumuz, as well as a previous Sidama statehood push in 2006.

For example, if, rather than threatening self-declaration, the Sidama had followed procedure and appealed to the House of Federation, a 2001 law defining the chamber’s procedure says their case would be seen within two years. If there was then no decision during that period, the law is silent on what is supposed to happen next. This could create a future dilemma for the Wolayta, who promise to follow legal procedures in their so far unanswered pursuit of statehood.

And despite the constitution promising that an NNP that votes to become a region “directly” becomes a member of the federation “without any need for application”, federalism expert Yonatan Fiseha has suggested a constitutional amendment may be necessary, which would need approval by a simple majority in two-thirds of State Councils and by a two-thirds majority at a joint session of both houses of federal parliament. A source suggested some officials at the Prime Minister’s Office and electoral board support this position.

Because of recent developments, there needs to be debate on potential new laws that would detail issues like how a State Council should manage statehood referendum requests, for example by explaining the relationship with the electoral board, and detailing preconditions, said Van der Beken. “Outstanding issues created by loopholes such as those in Article 47 and the division of powers between the federal and regional governments should be discussed, not only as political issues but also as legal ones,” he said.

Disunity

The Southern drama is not just a product of local divisions. If Sidama activists claim rights to statehood as part of democratization promised by Abiy, opponents of ethnic federalism see it as a classic example of the blinkered ethno-nationalism they say is tearing the country apart. Instead, they want Hawassa to become an autonomous city accountable to the federal government like Addis Ababa; and possibly a campaign for that eventuality will emerge if Hawassa City is shown by disaggregated results to have voted against statehood. Abebe Gellaw, the Managing Director of ESAT, has crowed that fragmentation in Southern Nations would provide conclusive evidence that ethnic federalism has failed.

While Oromo nationalists received widespread support when they stoked unrest against the EPRDF, and against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front in particular, under Abiy, there is no reason for opposition elites that back the prime minister to support ethno-nationalist agitators. Sidama might have expected support in July from Oromo activists like Jawar, but he was not forthcoming. Other than the Oromo Liberation Front, Oromo parties sat on the sidelines, presumably because they faced the no-win outcome of upsetting either the government or Sidama campaigners.

While these types of positions are part of the broader debate surrounding the Southern Question, the most acute issue is within the ruling coalition. Under assault from opponents, EPRDF has also been internally fraying due to suspicion and competition among its members, as shown by the heated rhetoric between Tigray and Amhara’s ruling parties following the June 22 assassination, which put the bad blood on public display. The TPLF position that SEPDM should handle the statehood requests (basically, by accepting them; contravening the TPLF’s earlier stance during the Meles era) and the latter’s rejection of that interference was another sign of ruling coalition’s internal trauma.

Members of SEPDM Executive Committee, October 2018

The EPRDF has been ruled by each of its four parties having a quarter of the share of the vote in the coalition’s decision-making committees, regardless of their demographic weight. This arrangement is already under pressure with the country’s most populous region, Oromia, in the ascendancy, and would come under increasing strain if one or several new southern states emerged. Some Sidama leaders want to remain part of the SEPDM even after statehood is fully achieved, at least until after the next elections—although they fear resistance to that plan from the Ejetto.

But the broader risk is that the EPRDF’s unraveling could be triggered by the disintegration of SEPDM, if its efforts of holding together the region fail, which would then undermine its own raison d’être. Abiy’s answer is for EPRDF’s bickering members to merge into a single national organization, while also adding the affiliated ruling parties from five other regions into the mix of what would be called the Prosperity Party.

But this untested and bold move—for which a new method of apportioning voting weights between regional chapters has not yet been agreed upon—could create further instability in the federation. The first signs of this are indicated by Jawar’s criticism and TPLF’s vote and statement in opposition to Abiy’s proposal. Yet, the move to merge also contains the potential for positively re-balance the political spectrum by at least moving the EPRDF beyond its current travails, albeit into an uncertain future.

Federal democracy

The SEPDM has admitted that its internal affairs are partly responsible for the escalation of regional insecurity in Sidama. Meanwhile, the party continues to deliberate on outstanding statehood demands; keen to avoid a ripple effect which in the worst case could lead to not only the break-up of the Southern Nations, but would make the SEPDM itself superfluous. Contingency continues to reign, however, as the status of other requests is far from certain, with the electoral board set on only starting the one-year countdown from the day it officially receives demands to conduct referenda over statehood, and the de facto state of emergency dampening political activity across the region.

One lesson from the recent deadly saga over Segen is the folly of imposing administrative structures against the will of the concerned people. Unless they answer the Southern Question through genuine political and public consultation, SEPDM leaders risk making the same mistake on a much larger scale.

As far as a protagonist in the Segen drama was concerned, who at different times found himself under attack from activists and imprisoned by local officials, the root problem was vicious zero-sum politics that characterized the EPRDF era. “Impartiality and independence are not acceptable in Ethiopian politics,” said Yakob Yatane, now a senior official at Konso Zone. Mirroring that complaint, the Sidama insider said that during the July unrest he felt “sandwiched” by, on the one side, the regional and federal elite, and, on the other, militant Sidama youths.

The situation suggests that SEPDM must approach statehood demands in a more pro-active, communicative, and transparent manner—taking into account the historical background of the formation of SNNP, seeking to de-escalate the current tension, and upholding the constitutional basis of the right to self-determination, although perhaps on a modified basis.

In the case of Sidama, statehood advocates have pursued legalist arguments to advance their cause, making recourse to specific articles of the Ethiopian constitution. However, the unresolved Southern Question exposes far deeper problems inherited from the early 1990s transitional period and a constitution that invites agitation for greater autonomy.

Where upgrading administrative status to a regional state, however, becomes a real possibility, as is the case of Sidama Zone, a string of political, economic, and socio-cultural issues and recalibrations are suddenly at stake. Yet it is almost impossible to guarantee a just outcome for all actors involved and the danger is that any outcome of a referendum would only pit winners and losers against each other.

Still in the background, sensitive issues such as the geographic location of the Gedeo community, who suffered mass displacement from Oromia last year, and which would be cut off from the rest of Southern Nations if Sidama Zone upgrades into a region, are yet to come to the fore. This could add further discomfort on the rocky Southern road ahead. To date, there has been little discussion by a single-minded Sidama campaign of how to mitigate that group’s disadvantages and risks, even though further aggravation of the momentarily calmed Gedeo-Guji crisis could have wider political ramifications.

The broader contours of the Southern Question, which has returned with vengeance under Abiy, continues to divide opinions over ethnic federalism.

On one hand, opponents of ethnic federalism imply that demands for greater autonomy would disappear under a liberal or pan-Ethiopian government. This seems a rather simplistic claim which does not acknowledge the problems that dismantling ethnic federalism would create. On the other hand, the contention that untrammeled self-determination—given the uneven and inconsistent application across the federation—is a sustainable system appears equally untenable. Either way, the path ahead seems to pass through more political turbulence, with the constitution under increasing pressure.

In July and September, Prime Minister Abiy visited Wolayta Soddo and Kaffa to promote his Green Legacy Ethiopia tree-planting initiative, which even policy analysts supportive of Abiy’s reforms consider primarily a campaign for national unity. During the visit Abiy discouraged the statehood aspirations in the Southern Nations. An intervention which advocates for greater autonomy may well consider an affront, and one that is in keeping with the top-down approach of previous EPRDF leaders.

Rather than inhibiting greater autonomy, supporters of the federal system initially hoped that Abiy’s premiership would seek to uphold its democratic potentials and guarantee constitutional rights. In its handling of the Sidama demands—use of lethal force and mass arrests, a lack of adherence to due process, and a de facto state of emergency—the supposedly reformed and soon to be merged EPRDF under Abiy Ahmed has looked more like the original version in terms of its ruthlessness—but without any of the past purpose, organization, or discipline.

Meanwhile those claiming greater rights are still largely locked in a destructive cycle with the state. Until activists expect an impartial application of the law, they are likely to retain violence as an option to press constitutional claims—thus partly legitimizing a further authoritarian response.

Given this, it is questionable whether further statehood demands in Southern Nations can be contained or worked out peacefully. But breaking that chain could be a vital first step in unlocking a convoluted and entrenched set of disputes—and beginning to formulate an answer for Ethiopia’s increasingly confounding Southern Question.

Query or correction? Email us

Editors: William Davison and Jonah Wedekind

Editing assistance from Christophe Van der Beken and Chris Preager

Main photo: Overview of Hawassa; Mimi Abebayehu

Published under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. Cite Ethiopia Insight and link to this page if republished. 

Related Insight

May 5, 2019 Sidama declares state of impatience

Dec. 30, 2018 Segen shambles shows sense in splitting South

Nov. 28, 2018 As Southern Nations break free, pressure mounts on EPRDF

Nov. 3, 2018 Sidama take another step towards statehood

July 18, 2018 Fugitive mediator clubbed by activists then charged with sedition as protests cleaved Konso

The post Southern comfort on the rocks appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News:.

By Yared Tibebu – November 17, 2019

Introduction

Wallelign Mekonnen’s article “On the Question of Nationalities in Ethiopia” was published 50 years ago today on Nov 17, 1969. From the outset Wallelign admits that “the article suffers from generalizations and inadequate analysis”. It is no exaggeration if I say this five-page article influenced the fate of Ethiopia for the next five decades. It is also important to underline that there has not been a significant discussion and national debate on this article, except for the excerpts that ideologues on both sides used to advance their agendas based on the perceived beliefs.

Even though in 1972 the Ethiopian Students Union in North America (ESUNA) split on this very same question between the old guards like Andreas Eshete and the young activists like Mesfin Habtu, owing to the tumultuous and hasty sequence of events that ensued, subsequent studies and debates were lacking. But true to Ethiopian tradition, positions were hardened and splits occurred before adequate, meaningful, and substantive discussions could be held. This weakness, the inability to debate issues thoroughly before hardening one’s position, has remained to be a weakness of the political culture witnessed in our country for the past 50 years. Looking back, what still amazes me is the lack of will and effort exhibited by Ethiopian intellectuals and political leaders to engage in a constructive political discourse since the publication of the article.

Wallelign’s Basic Arguments

Wallelign expresses the sentiment of the period in that certain fundamental issues were kept in the dark for fear of being misunderstood, and he found the question of nationalities to be one of these fundamental issues that needed to be addressed. Then he goes on to affirm that some people call it tribalism but that he calls it nationalism, and proceeds to explain why he called it nationalism instead of tribalism.

Wallelign tells us that there were serious discussions amongst a small minority on this “delicate” issue beginning in 1968, but that the discussions although private, were leaked to the student population, thus creating misunderstandings, exaggerated rumors and backbiting. He proceeded to say that “the only solution to this degeneration, as witnessed from some perverted leaflets running amock [amok] these two weeks, is open discussion.” Hence, we learn that it was under a very divisive and dangerous situation that the article was released to the student body. Wallelign paid heavily for his courage, being sentenced to five years in prison but ended up serving only a few months before being released on pardon.

Wallelign asks the question “what are the Ethiopian people composed of?” and proceeds to answer by stating that Ethiopia is not a single nation, and defines what a nation is as follows:

“I stress on the word peoples because sociologically speaking at this stage Ethiopia is not really one nation. It is made up of a dozen nationalities with their own languages,

ways of dressing, history, social organization and territorial entity. And what else is a nation? Is it not made of a people with a particular tongue, particular ways of dressing, particular history, particular social and economic organization? Then may I conclude that in Ethiopia there is the Oromo Nation, the Tigrai Nation, the Amhara Nation,… and however much you may not like it the Somali Nation.”

Wallelign wrote this before Professor Levine published Greater Ethiopia. I say this because Levine compellingly argued why there was a nation called Ethiopia. On receiving an award from

SEED in May 2014, Professor Donald Levine (ፊታውራሪ ሊበን ገብረ ኢትዮጵያ as he preferred to call himself within his Ethiopian circle), reiterated what he wrote in his two books on Ethiopia, saying:

“Indeed, Adwa has long stood in my mind as a potent symbol of Ethiopia’s distinctiveness. Those who would deny Ethiopia’s long existence as a multiethnic society must be embarrassed by the Adwa experience. If the empire consisted of nothing but a congeries of separate tribal and regional groups, how then account for the courageous collaboration of 100,000 troops from dozens of ethnic groups from all parts of the country? How then explain the spirited national patriotism of such diverse leaders as Rases Alula, Mengesha, and Sibhat of Tigray, Dejazmatch Bahta of Akale Guzay, Wag Shum Guangul of Lasta, Ras Mikael of Wallo, Negus Takla- Haymanot of Gojjam, Ras Gobena and Dejazmatch Balcha of the Mecha Oromo, Ras Wele of the Yejju Oromo, Fitawrari Tekle of Wollega, Ras Makonnen of Harar, as well as Ras Gebeyehu (who died fighting at Adwa) and Ras Abate of Shoa–sustained, please note, by massive material support to the war effort by the entire population, from north to south?”

Compared to Wallelign’s narrow definition of the term nation and declaring that Ethiopia is a prison of nationalities and concluding that these nations have a right to secede, Levine’s deeper search for Ethiopia’s distinctiveness is much more appealing to the student of Ethiopian history and politics today.

Wallelign never accepted the existence of Ethiopian nationalism. He argued that “there is of course the fake Ethiopian Nationalism advanced by the ruling class and unwillingly accepted and even propagated by innocent fellow travellers”. He thought Ethiopian nationalism was the language and culture of the ruling class, that of the “Amhara -Tigrean supremacy”. Of course, this fails to answer the question as to how Ethiopia survived as an independent state if it had no nationalism that binds its multi-ethnic forces in a common front against invading enemies. Wallelign seems to have ignored this fact and ended up declaring Ethiopian nationalism as fake. Wallelign further declares:

“Ask anybody what Ethiopian culture is? Ask anybody what Ethiopian language is? Ask anybody what Ethiopian music is? Ask anybody what the “national dress” is? It is either Amhara or Amhara-Tigre!!”

My recollection about the national culture of the time is different than what Wallelign tried to paint. It was common to watch various ethnic songs and dances during the weekly Hibre T’r’iit (ኅብረ ትርዒት) shows, and what was occasionally depicted at the National Theatre, and in the annual festivities of T’mqet, Mesqel, and other national religious festivities. I distinctly remember attending a show at the National Theatre, most probably the same year Wallelign wrote the article, that was hosted in alliance with UNESCO, where all ethnic cultures were presented on stage, and I remember being distinctly infatuated by the folk dance from Sidamo where Aselefech Ashne and other female dancers looked as if they were kissing with their male counterparts on stage. Hence Wallelign’s assumption that the cultural heritage of other ethnic groups of Ethiopia were not recognized as being Ethiopian is wrong.

But of course, there was subtle discrimination in the cities based on facial features, tone of skin, and one’s linguistic skills in speaking the Amharic language well, etc. However, it is important to note that the Amharic skill issue was more of an urban rural divide, where even provincial folks from Shoa, Wollo, Gojjam and Gondar were being ridiculed for being “country”, not being

modern or as commonly called (ፋራ) and were made targets of light-hearted jokes based on their regional accents. But these subtle discriminations never materialized as state policy in denying citizenship rights to members of other ethnicities in jobs, training, scholarships for higher education etc. To my understanding and long observation of the Ethiopian political scene for the last half century, the question of nationalities in Ethiopia was more of recognition, equal treatment and RESPECT. Of course, the question of land ownership was the central issue since as an agrarian society land ownership was the measure of one’s honor and even one’s humanity. Hence the peasants who were dispossessed from owning land were also treated with disrespect, thereby adding insult to injury. The primary issue was the implementation of a just and fair land tenure system that primarily ensures a decent livelihood to the farmers who are the core drivers of the agrarian economy of Ethiopia.

On Ethiopian Nationalism

In his own way, Wallelign attempted to deconstruct Ethiopian nationalism as Amhara-Tigre chauvinism by arguing:

“to be a ‘genuine Ethiopian’ one has to speak Amharic, to listen to Amharic music, to accept the Amhara-Tigre religion, Orthodox Christianity and to wear the Amhara-Tigre Shamma in international conferences. In some cases to be an “Ethiopian”, you will even have to change your name. In short to be an Ethiopian, you will have to wear an Amhara mask (to use Fanon’s expression). Start asserting your national identity and you are automatically a tribalist …”.

I wonder if this presentation of the facts is acceptable to the follower of Ethiopian politics and history. What we are dealing here is more a problem of perception than reality, more of an urban life with a conformed norm built on multi-ethnic presence than a targeted strategic identity modification. What is not questionable is that the Ethiopian state never issued any verbal or written policy accepting a given dress code as acceptable as formal wear, or excluding certain cultural outfits as unacceptable or rejecting non-Amhara names. It never had such a policy. Individuals were changing their names willingly to fit the mood of the period. Currently with the ascendancy of Oromo power, we are witnessing individuals accenting their Oromo heritage or preferences to fit the mood of the period. It used to be common, and still is, among Chinese immigrants to change their first names when they become naturalized Americans and get their citizenship. Now with China becoming a world power, the Chinese may not even emigrate let alone change their names. It is important to remember that Ethiopians like Dejazmatch Balcha Safo, Dejazmatch Geressu Duki, Ato Bulcha Demekssa, Dr. Duri Mohammed, Dr. Abdul Mejid Hussein, General Jagama Kello, the Deressa brothers…many, many more rose to prominence and served with distinction without changing their names or cultural identities. The choices individuals made due to opportunism to shape their career, or fit in a society that has evolved in a way that promotes urban identity cannot and should not be mistaken for a state endorsed policy. I think Wallelign failed on that front, in his inability to differentiate between state policy and individual preferences. Those who changed their names should take responsibility for their individual decisions instead of blaming the Ethiopian state.

Let me add another argument.

At the time of Wallelign’s paper (1969), the level of urbanization in Ethiopia was only 5%. Most of these urban dwellers were Amharas, Gurages, Dorzes (Gamo) or Amharic speaking Oromos. The rural life was largely unaffected by government interference. The state’s encroachment into the life of the peasant stood between negligible to non-existent. As long as the peasant pays his taxes through the local tax collectors, he didn’t have to deal with the state. As a result, the peasant was free to speak his language, adhere to his tradition, demonstrate his culture, wear his cultural outfit, and celebrate life with songs in his own language. In addition to this when one considers the non-missionary policy of the Ethiopian Orthodox church, one will be at a loss to understand the significance of national oppression in Ethiopia. It is therefore appropriate to conclude that Amhara-Tigre supremacy was a highly exaggerated, ideologically induced concept. The ethnic contradictions were limited to the urban areas where elite competition in schools, trades and businesses could have been prevalent. And even that was undermined by the camaraderie in the student movement, a camaraderie where students from other ethnic groups were playing leadership roles. Haile Fida, Berhane Meskel Redda, Aid Ahmed, Mulugeta Mosisa, Aboma Mitiku, Yohannes Letta, Yohannes Benti, Gebru Mersha, Gebru Gebrewold, Yirga Tessema, Tilahun Gizaw, Mesfin Habtu, Tesfu Tesfaye etc. were all non Amharas. The student movement both at home and globally accepted these individuals as its leaders throughout the life of the movement. And as a result, there was little doubt that elevating the ethnic issue for equality would endanger the existence and continuance of Ethiopia as a multi ethnic society. It was believed even recognizing the agenda of the right to self-determination including secession will solidify the brotherhood and rank of the progressive forces thereby denying the possibility of the disintegration of the state due to ethnic tensions (what was coined as national oppression). That is why we find Wallelign’s indulgence in accentuating the right to secession at a time when a truly ethnic disenfranchisement was practically non -existent. Calling Ethiopia’s ethnicities as nations was like administering an adult dose of antibiotics to an infant with cold symptoms. Ethiopia was misdiagnosed and given the wrong medication and the wrong dosage.

Wallelign’s Solution

Wallelign diagnosed Ethiopia’s malady as being, practicing national oppression and moved to the question of how this can be resolved. He wrote his perception of a “genuine national” state as one that operates on the basis of equality for all as a solution. He declared in his article:

“what is this genuine national-state? It is a state in which all nationalities participate equally in state affairs, it is a state where every nationality is given equal opportunity to preserve and develop its language, its music, and its history. It is a state where Amharas, Tigres, Oromos, Aderes [Harari], Somalis, Wollamos [Wolaytas], Gurages, etc. are treated equally. It is a state where no nation dominates another nation be it economically or culturally.”

That was the promised land and vision of Wallelign, but Zemecha Wallelign, the final campaign that facilitated the ascension of the EPRDF forces to the seat of power at the palace of Emperor Menelik, delivered what he did not anticipate. After the decimation of the progressive forces both by the Dergue, the TPLF and their own mistakes the vanguard that was to keep Ethiopia’s unity was missing from the political landscape.

As a result, two ethnic parties for all regions except Tigray were formed, the constitution was framed with Wallelign in mind, ethnic homelands were formed as Kilils for the larger ethnic groups. Every ethnicity was free to use its language in schools, courts, and local governments, and in some cases, a new language was created (WeGaGoDa “ወጋጎዳ” concocted from Welayta, Gamo, Gofa, Dawro) and forced upon people as a medium of instruction in schools. This was done out of sheer spite, and it was an ill-conceived notion of clearing the minds of the people from the perceived influence of the Amhara through the use of Amargna.

It has become apparent that what our ethno-nationalists aspire was contrary to the great strides we have taken to address the ethnic issue in the past 50 years since Wallelign wrote his article on the question of nationalities. Unfortunately, despite the several efforts to reform the political system, the demand for a separate homeland is still harbored by the ethno-nationalistic groups without considering the socio-economic fabrics that have woven the current Ethiopia; perhaps without learning from the lessons of other countries that chose to secede and have failed to fulfil the promise of utopia in a new homeland.

In the past half century, the advent of capitalism even in its limited statist form, has only consolidated the demand for more individual rights as the propertied class in each ethnicity learns its separate nationalism from its market, in its bid to control it alone. This will only get intensified as the economy expands widening the appetite of the ethnic entrepreneur not only to control his own market but also to dominate other markets within its reach. How to curb this insatiable appetite for more markets and control and end the competition and rivalry among the different ethnic business and political elites, remains an agenda for the present generation to address. Changing the constitutional framework from a unitary state to that of ethnic federalism and granting more rights to the federal entities has only empowered the ethnic entrepreneurs only to demand for more rights and drive the issue to its fringes.

Thirty years ago when TPLF and OLF ascended to power non-Oromos, but mainly Amharas became the targets and hundreds were slaughtered in Arbagugu, Bedeno, Weter etc. A year ago, when OPDO came to power hundreds were killed in Burayu, Legetafo, and other places in what is known as the Oromo kilil. The Burayu killings seemed to be politically motivated as the targets were a minority group called the Gamo. Two weeks ago, Amaras were targeted for looting and killing in Dodola, Bale zone. As I write these lines Orthodox Christian churches and monasteries are being burnt in Eastern Hararghe, the laity of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian faith and its priests are continually targeted for persecution. There are reports that over 15,000 died just in the last three years alone. Most of these killings are concentrated in areas where Oromo moslems reside. It is not difficult to understand that this is a calculated move to destabilize the country and continue to benefit from the chaos and misfortune of innocent victims.

Is Wallelign’s Solution Working?

Foreign Policy magazine in its January 15, 2019 edition warned Ethiopia is moving in the direction of Yugoslavia articulating:

“Empowering ethnic groups through territorial autonomy has been a double-edged sword: While allowing self -government has reduced tensions stemming from the dominance of a particular group, it places ethnic belonging at the center of politics, links it to territory, and therefore risks an eventual increase in ethnic tensions.”

Showing a way out of this quagmire FP pointed “Without careful management of the delicate transition, Ethiopia risks a dangerous fragmentation along ethnic lines.”

Comparing Ethiopia’s situation with that of Yugoslavia FP noted:

“Some differences work in Ethiopia’s favor. First, the units of the Ethiopian federation did not previously exist as separate states. Second, loyalty to the Ethiopian state irrespective of ethnic or national allegiance and identification is strong. (Even the few extreme nationalists, such as the Oromo Liberation Front, are generally reacting to rampant injustice in the past rather than challenging the existence of the state.) Third, the bond among nationalities appears stronger. After all, all groups remember the common struggle against the Italian invasion…”

Now, with the federal arrangement assured into the foreseeable future, some ethno nationalists are still nervous about its guarantee. In their bid to squeeze more advantages for their ethnic group they are demanding self-rule and total control of their resources. Even though theoretically no one opposes self-rule and controlling of one’s resources, the interpretation of these concepts has become destabilizing. To the young Oromo nationalist Jawar Mohammed and his Qeerroo young hooligans, self-rule and controlling one’s resources is interpreted as dislocating non-Oromos from “Oromo land” and confiscating the businesses of non-Oromo Ethiopian entrepreneurs, evicting Ethiopians from their hard earned wealth and built houses. Hundreds of businesses are closed, and those which are open work under duress, paying heavy illegal penalties to the Qeerroo for every business engagement they make. And the ruling party in the region watches on the sidelines or collaborates with the hooligans who are just a fortnight away from becoming the Interahamwe of Oromia.

What Oromo nationalists of the Jawar ilk do not understand is that the so-called Oromo land belonged to other Ethiopians before the Oromo Migration since 1520. Ethiopians who live there should have equal rights to the resources and politics of the region and any attempt to continue to disenfranchise and ultimately dislocate non-Oromos will be resisted. It is only by redefining and negotiating the terms of self-rule and control of resources that a stable political system can be a reality. The present status where hooligans became the police and the court, and where the ruling party ODP collaborates by standing on the side or openly assisting the Qeerroo cannot continue for long. It must come to an end.

At present, the other contentious issue is that of Addis Ababa. The Oromo nationalists want to have a special privilege and interest over the city. In principle, self-rule cannot be granted to the Oromo Killil and at the same time be denied to the residents of Addis Ababa. It is in the nature of the principle of law that it is either all-encompassing or void (non-existent). Ethiopia’s resources have been invested in the capital for over a hundred years. The majority of the loans

borrowed by Ethiopia are invested in Addis Ababa. The residents have lived in the city for over 130 years. They are its natural owners. The fact that Meles drew an administrative line for the Oromo around the capital should not grant special privileges to the Oromo Kilil. Ethiopia did not start with Meles or Menelik. There were Oromo Migration, Ahmed Gragn, Gelawdewos, Zerayakob, Amde Tsion etc. before them, and a king called Dawit and his city called Berara in what is now called Addis Ababa. Hence playing with the self rule of Addis Ababa by Oromo nationalists will undermine all the efforts done so far to create a lasting peace in a shared view of the future.

What is to be Done?

What we have witnessed in Ethiopia over the past few years is an alarming outcome of the ethno-nationalist agenda propagated by the various actors with varying vested interest and mandate in the current political environment and enabled primarily by the powers to be. This sets a dangerous precedent, lest we learn from the mistakes of countries like Rwanda, we are heading towards a dangerous path. Unless appropriate actions are taken swiftly to bring to justice the perpetrators and ensure peace and stability, the silent majority might rise up to defend its existence, and that would be a day of reckoning we all should pray not to see.

As I write these lines TPLF is being pushed out of the coalition it created 30 years ago because of an abrupt ideological shift within EPRDF and forced to think of alternatives such as creating an independent state of Tigray. It has already committed to run its own election on time and creating a de facto state. This move may make Eritrea nervous and can lead to a preemptive strike by Isayas, and the Ethiopian government may push the Amhara region to push for territorial demand from Tigray, engulfing the whole region into endless chaos and destruction. The Prime Minister should show leadership to avert such a catastrophe. If slowing the EPRDF merger process could keep the TPLF within the coalition, the PM should reconsider his position of ‘party merger at any cost’. Party merger can wait the election can wait, transitional justice can wait while we Ethiopians as a nation embark on National Reconciliation.

It is time for Ethiopia to finally debate the issue initiated by Wallelign 50 years ago. All stakeholders including the TPLF should come to the table and discuss and negotiate in good faith. All issues must be placed on the table. Those who seek session should not be shy to utter their interest. Those who believe in sanitized homeland where no other language speaker should inhabit their “God given” land should feel free to share their passion. Those who believe why a unitary state is a panacea for the country’s problems should reason out their positions. Those who think ethnic federalism empowers them better while keeping Ethiopia’s unity intact should feel free to share their thoughts. And finally, those who think federalism is a better option, but its present ethnic arrangement is destabilizing should present their option. It is only through a transparent and full debate followed by negotiations that we can resolve our current predicament and allow ourselves to concentrate on other economic and job creation issues. But to embark on this protracted and long voyage, all of us should start with the intent of preserving Ethiopia’s unity and make every effort to make it a reality.

Ethiopian unity must be preserved because as the Israeli nationalist Yoram Hazony said:

“the national state offers a great improvement in the possibilities for the collective self-determination of the tribes [ethnicities]. This is because the great obstacle to the self-determination of clans and tribes [ethnicities] when they are armed and politically independent is the incessant harm they do to one another through their relentless warfare.”

A unified Ethiopia will save its ethnicities, that Wallelign wrongly called nations, from relentless warfare and create mutual loyalty based on the shared history of resisting colonialism and Fascism. I believe a multi-ethnic federation is possible as long as we dedicate ourselves to a common nation-state called Ethiopia where every citizen lives anywhere in the country with full economic and political rights.

The post “On the Question of Nationalities in Ethiopia” – A Historical Review of Wallelign Mekonnen’s Article Half a Century Later appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News:.

A referendum in the south of Ethiopia is being seen as a test of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s abilities to control the forces of ethnic nationalism, which have threatened to increase divisions within the country.

More than two million people in what is known as the Sidama zone are able to vote on whether they want their own regional state within Ethiopia’s federal system.

Voting got off to a calm start on Wednesday morning with long queues of people being seen in the main city, Hawassa.

The referendum will see if tensions around ethnic separatism can be resolved peacefully.

Also, ahead of a general election scheduled for May next year, the vote is a test for the country’s electoral process.

Why is this happening now?

Since coming to power in April 2018, Prime Minister Abiy has been praised for his wide-ranging liberalising reforms.

He has transformed what was considered a tightly controlled security state. He also spearheaded a peace process with long-time foe Eritrea – a move which won him this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

Image copyrightAFP

But his more relaxed approach to organisations and parties campaigning for greater rights for different ethnic groups has lifted the lid on underlying tensions. Clashes in different parts of the country have forced an estimated three million people from their homes in the past 20 months.

The referendum on creating a new region is part of a constitutional process that it is hoped could help satisfy ethnic ambitions in one part of the country. The constitution says that every ethnic group has the right to demand their own regional state.

A delay in holding the vote in Sidama earlier this year, triggered violence in which at least 25 people died.

What do those backing a Sidama regional state want?

Ethiopia’s 1995 constitution created nine regional states, which are mostly based on ethnicity. In other words, Tigray is dominated by Tigrayans, Amhara is dominated by Amharas, and so on.

But the Sidama became part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), home to more than 50 ethnicities.

Making up some 4% of the population, the Sidama are Ethiopia’s fifth largest ethnic group, and many feel that they deserve greater political power and recognition.

Under the previous constitution there was a separate province known as Sidamo, which, though it contained several ethnic groups, recognised the Sidama in its name.

A new federal state would mean the Sidama could make their own policies, control a regional police force and be in charge of a budget that could be spent on the priorities of the Sidama people.

It would also give them greater linguistic and cultural recognition.

One man waiting to vote told the BBC: “This is the happiest day of my life. I believe this is a day signalling peace and freedom. I believe the people will get peace now. So the joy I feel inside is incomparable.”

What are the implications of creating a new state?

While there does not seem to be much opposition among the Sidama for the proposed new regional state, there are concerns that this referendum could set a precedent for other ethnic groups to follow.

For example, within SNNPR some among the Wolayta and the Hadiya peoples are also agitating for their own regional states. Similar calls for greater autonomy can be heard from groups in Amhara and Tigray.

The challenge for the prime minister and the government will be how to appear to be dealing fairly with all these demands without encouraging further tension, or risking further divisions within the country.

How does the vote work?

To take part in the vote, people had to prove that they had been living in the Sidama administrative zone for at least six months.

On the ballot paper, voters will be asked to mark one of two boxes.

Image copyrightAFP

Those who want a new regional state will mark the ballot paper next to a symbol of a shafeta, a Sidama traditional bowl or jar. Those who want the Sidama regional zone to remain within SNNPR will mark the ballot paper next to the sign of a hut.

The electoral commission says the result should be known on Thursday.

The post Ethiopia: Sidama poll could test Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News:.

By Damo Gotamo

The vote on a referendum for the Sidama autonomy in Awassa and Sidama Zone took place on Wednesday, November 20, 2019. We were told by government officials and journalists that the voting process was peaceful, free, and fair. But, the reality on the ground was a complete opposite of the claims of the people associated with the government. The residents of Awassa observed a fraud they had never seen before and were dismayed by the false claims the officials. In this short article, I will state what had transpired on the date in Awassa. I hope what had taken place in Awassa will give readers a glimpse of the entire process in the Sidama zone where no independent election observers were stationed.

To begin with, the government officials said the polling stations would be open at 6 a.m. local time. Contrary to what the residents of Awassa were told, almost all the stations in the city were open at 2 a.m. local time. This was done on purpose by the Sidama extremists to allow illegal ID holders, who came from villages in the Sidama zone, to cast their vote in the absence of the watchful eyes of the residents of Awassa. Thousands of Illegal residents of the city cast their ballot in Awassa and left immediately for their villages to vote again. The residents of Awassa saw thousands of strangers driven by several buses and offloaded at the polling stations in awassa. There were no government officials or security forces to prevent the illegal activity at the polling stations. The ‘observers’ and those who opened the polling stations were the remnants of the Ejjeetto sympathizers who had been disturbing the peace of Awassa.

After 6 a.m., in several polling stations in Awassa, many strangers were seen standing in line to cast their votes. A few residents of the city who chose to cast their ballot were dumbfounded to see strangers waiting to cast their ballot. The city residents whom I spoke told me they felt strangers themselves among the people who came from different villages in the Sidama zone.

Two polling stations in the city were closed because of the confrontation between the strangers and city residents, who could not stand what was taking place in front of their eyes. I heard many innocent people were rounded up and thrown into jail by the Sidama police, which was left to do whatever it wanted. There were no officials from the Command Post at the stations to maintain law and order. It was clear to everyone from what was taking place in Awassa that the government of Abiy gave the Sidama extremists the green light to do whatever they wanted. Nothing was done in the days that preceded the voting when the Sidama extremists engaged in massive fraudulent activities, including issuing thousands of illegal IDs to none residents of Awassa.

Many residents of Awassa were appalled by what they saw on the voting day. They said the 27 years of the TPLF elections were by far more transparent and more open than the Sidama referendum for the statehood. At least, they said, the TPLF rigged the election behind closed doors, away from the watchful eyes of the people. However, last Wednesday, the voter fraud was taking place in open and in front of the public. The fraudulent referendum has proven to the residents of Awassa beyond any doubt that the government in Ethiopia is in name only.

The vote ‘observers’ and those who were tasked to open and close the voting stations hailed from the same group voting for statehood. They instructed people to cast their votes in the box that favored a Sidama statehood and closely monitored people where they cast their ballots. A few Awassa residents who who decided to participate in the farce vote and cast their ballots against the Sidama statehood were scolded by the ‘observers.’ I heard many were threatened by the thugs who were masquerading as ‘observers.’ As I write this article, two individuals were caught engaging in criminal activities. An individual by the name of Tesfaye Dengiso was caught leading none residents of the city to vote and intimidating Awassa residents to cast their vote for the Sidama statehood. Another individual was apprehended transporting several sacks of illegally cast registration cards from one location to another. The two incidents, however, don’t describe the extent of the fraudulent activities that took place on Wednesday in Awassa.

In Bahel Adarash Kefle Ketema, Adare Kebele, where only one ethnic Sidama lives, 800 voter cards were cast for ‘Shafeta,’ in favor of Sidama statehood. In the same district, where 600 residents voted against the statehood and 300 in favor, the official result was removed illegally and reversed in favor of the Sidama statehood. I also heard in many districts in Awassa the votes were disqualified because of the angry profanity the people of Awassa scribbled on voting cards belittling the entire illegal process that took place in Awassa.

In Awassa, there was not a single independent person from the so-called National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to observe the vote. The members of the military were also absent at the polling station to prevent the criminal activities that were taken place in open and to prevent the Sidama extremists from harassing the people of Awassa at the stations.

The government officials who were bombarding the people of Ethiopia with false claims about the referendum should be ashamed of themselves. Everything they said on TV about the vote was a blatant lie. The so-called press conferences and statements leading up to the vote and on the date of the vote were embarrassing to say the least. They didn’t have the gut to call the fraudulent activity illegal and declare it null and void.

The residents of Awassa have a message to Birtukan Medekesa; resign effective immediately. It is an enigma to the people in the city why the woman who made a name for herself by fighting the TPLF criminals and standing for the truth ended up associating herself with a fraudulent and illegal activity that tarnishes her reputation? Birtukan should not have associated herself with a scam whose outcome was already determined.

The Sidama referendum was conducted illegally. It was not free and fair as the government officials tried to tell us. The officials of the SNNPR, including the president, lied to the people of Ethiopia about the transparency of the referendum. They did nothing when none residents of Awassa in thousands were allowed to vote in Awassa. Nothing was also done to stop the Sidama ethnic thugs from intimidating the residents of Awassa to vote in favor of the Sidama statehood. The newly elected mayor of Awassa also did absolutely nothing when illegal activities were taking place under his watch. It was for everyone to see that both officials cooperated with the Sidama extremists to compromise the results of the Sidama referendum.

Abiy and his government are sinking the country into a new low by allowing mass murders to do whatever they wanted and watching on the sidelines. Thousands of people and members of the military died for a sham referendum whose outcome was already determined by the government and its cadres. The people of Ethiopia will not be surprised if Abiy’s government illegally hands over Awassa, which was established and developed by the hard work of the people of Ethiopia to a few ethnic thugs who migrated to Awassa a decade ago.

Ethiopia -ESAT Amharic News November 21,2019Ethiopia -ESAT Amharic News November 21,2019

By Giulia Paravicini

HAWASSA, Ethiopia (Reuters) – Government forces displayed the severed heads of Yerusalem Kawiso’s relatives in the market after the two men fought to carve out a state for Ethiopia’s Sidama people. Forty years later, the Ethiopian mother rose before dawn on Wednesday to vote for the referendum her family dreamed of.

“From today, there will be no more killing in the name of the Sidama cause,” she said, ink from the polling station staining her finger.

The story of Yerusalem’s family encapsulates the divisions – and the hopes – of Ethiopia today. The government has promised to liberalise Africa’s second most populous nation, which has been one of the continent’s fastest growing economies for a decade.

But decades of abuse have bred deep mistrust of the central government, driving citizens to seek safety within their own ethnic groups.

Then Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed rode a wave of popular protests to power last year. He is directing domestic and regional political reforms that won him the Nobel Peace Prize last month. The reforms have also allowed the Sidama to hold their long-dreamed of referendum.

But it may be too late for the government to overcome its legacy of violence.

“We lived our whole lives under oppression. I still remember my brother-in-law’s head hanging from that pole in the market,” 48-year-old Yerusalem told Reuters, hours after casting her vote.

Four decades later, she wept as she described biting her collar to stop the tears. Showing public sympathy for so-called traitors was dangerous under the Derg military regime in power at the time – even for an eight-year-old girl.

The Derg, which took power after overthrowing the Ethiopian Empire’s 700-year-old dynasty in 1974, was toppled in 1991 by a coalition of parties led by guerrilla fighters that kept a firm grip on the country. The coalition remains in power, but has loosened its hold under Abiy.

A 1995 constitution guarantees ethnic groups the right to hold referendums on creating their own regions. But the government previously suppressed such efforts.

Abiy released political prisoners, lifted bans on exiled groups, and allowed the Sidama to finally hold their referendum. But greater freedoms have also unleashed long-repressed anger against the government and intensified ethnic rivalries between groups with leaders building rival power bases.

Violence forced nearly 3 million Ethiopians to flee their homes last year, making Ethiopia home to the largest number of displaced people in the world, said the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

NATIONAL ELECTIONS APPROACH

Abiy is racing to unify Ethiopia before next year’s national elections. But many citizens are rallying behind ethnic leaders who plan on challenging the government for power.

More than a dozen other ethnic groups are debating whether to demand their own regions. They see Sidama as a litmus test of the government’s sincerity. Granting their wishes could further fragment the country and fuel ethnic divisions. But denying their constitutional rights could spark bloodshed.

The Sidama referendum was originally due to be held in July. After the government missed a constitutionally mandated deadline, 17 people died in clashes between security forces and Sidama activists.

Dukale Lamiso, head of the activist Sidama Liberation Front, said if Wednesday’s vote were to be rigged, “of course there will be violence.”

Reuters interviewed 30 voters in the Sidama referendum. All voted for statehood, which would bring greater control over taxes, security, and official recognition of their language.

The Sidama are about 4% of Ethiopia’s 105 million people. Their new state – Ethiopia’s tenth – would be carved out of the ethnically diverse Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples region.

But other minorities fear a new Sidama state could make them targets, citing previous attacks. Such fears could also play out in other referendums.

Sundado, 45, a Hawassa-based real estate broker from the Wolaita ethnic group said, 50 Sidama people destroyed his home in 2018 with no warning.

“I still don’t know how I am not dead,” he said, declining to give his full name for fear of reprisals. “We fear that by the creation of this new region, a crisis will be created.”

(Reporting by Giulia Paravicini; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Katharine Houreld and Peter Graff)

Addis Abeba, November 21/2019- In a statement sent to Addis Standard, Mohammed Olad, media and communication advisor of Mestafe Omer, Somali regional state vice president, said that Eng. Mohamed Shalle, SDP Central Committe Bureau Head announced via the Somali Region State Boradcaster that the party’s Executive Committee (EC) and Central Committee (CC) members “don’t have the power to dissolve SDP, Somali Democratic Party.”

“He unequivocally declared that it is only party congress that has the mandate to do that,” Mohammed said in the statement sent late tonight, further quoting Mohamed Shalle as telling the regional state broadcaster that as of now, EPRDF don’t have the mandate to dissolve SDP or any other Agar [allied] party.

“All they can do is offer a merger. And for that to happen, our EC, CC as well as party wide congress and cadres should all debate and approve if and only if they think it is in the best interest of the Somali people and their unwavering demand for self-autonomy and the protection of the constitutionally enshrined sacred pact – that is multinational federalism,” Mohamed Shalle told Somali regional state broadcaster, according to the statement from Mohammed Olad.

The news comes as today’s meeting of the EPRDF Council, which was boycotted by TPLF for the same legal reasons, approved EPRDF’s merger, and Prosperity Party manifesto.

A document obtained by Addis Standard stated that “when the Somali Democratic Party (SDP), agreed “in principle” to join the proposed formation of Prosperity Party (PP), it did so on the agreed upon formula that:

1. The existing multinational federal system shall be safeguarded.
2. The right to self-rule and autonomous decision making at regional level, which is enshrined in the constitution, shall be guaranteed.
3. The use of Somali language as official language of administration in SRS and medium of instruction in schools will not be changed.
4. Somali Language shall be given official federal status in line with Amharic Afaan Oromo and Tigrinya and others…
5. The current structure of SDP and membership organs shall remain intact .
6. The political program of the PP shall take into consideration the socio-economic make-up and livelihood of the Somali society .
7.  The power sharing formula shall take into consideration the size of our population, huge land mass, natural resources, geopolitical strategic location and significance.

However a source told Addis Standard that SDP rank and file believe that the current proposed PP bylaw “violates at least two of the stickiest conditions: the party structure (discussed under 5) and the representation in the new party that is to be established after merger (discussed under 7).” The same source said that in addition to the two points above, most party members are raising questions on the lack of clarity on the question of autonomy and self-rule (discussed under 2). The news has set in motion several consultations among the rank and file members of the party as well as its senior leadership, Addis Standard learnt.

AS

By Prof, Alemayehu G. Mariam

Special Author’s Note: For years, I have memorialized the month of November by remembering the hundreds of innocent Ethiopians who lost their lives or were maimed and disfigured in the Meles Massacres of 2005.

Indeed, I joined the Ethiopian human rights movement in 2005 ONLY because of the Meles Massacres. [1]  Prior to that time, my interest in Ethiopia was purely academic.

It is said that in the course of human events, most people face their own “defining moments”. Often that “moment” is a point in time when we gain a certain clarity about things that may have eluded us in the past or cloud our judgment.

The Meles Massacres were the defining moments in my life. [2]

As I remember the victims of the Meles Massacres in November 2019, I am both deeply saddened and supremely elated.

I am deeply saddened because 1) it seems I am the only one in the world who cares enough to remember the victims of the Meles Massacres, and 2) the criminals who committed the crimes against humanity have yet to be brought to justice.

I must say, however, I have received a measure of satisfaction in seeing at least one of the central criminal figures in the massacres, Meles Zenawi’s right hand man, today is standing before the bar of justice although on different charges.

I am glad to say I have “indicted” that criminal against humanity for prosecution in the court of world opinion, if not in a court of law.

I am supremely elated because my prophesy about the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front has come to pass.

Indeed, I can say my prophesy was fully realized this past weekend when the various political parties in Ethiopia came together to create “Prosperity Party”.

For years, I had counselled the TPLF to redeem themselves from their evil ways or they will surely be consigned to the dustbin of history and inherit the wind.

In my June 2010 commentary, I told the TPLF leaders to mend their ways or prepare for their “rendezvous with the dustbin of history.”

In November 2019, the TPLF had its final rendezvous with the dustbin of history.

In my February 2013 commentary, I told the TPLF in the end they will inherit the wind because of all the evil they have done:

Scripture teaches that “He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.”  Meles and his worshippers have profoundly troubled the Ethiopian house and they shall inherit the wind!

For 27 years, the TPLF troubled the Ethiopia House. Today, the TPLF has inherited the wind.

In January 2016, the TPLF mocked and laughed at me:

Al Mariam still believes that EPRDF’s days are numbered. The only change, if you can call it that, is a patent slippage from certainty to ambiguity in the time-line of his latest forecast of Woyane’s predetermined doom – a move which might possibly have taken the clever among his readers by unexpected surprise.

How could they whilst they are too busy praying for at least one of Al Mariam’s seemingly endless prophecies to come true?

Slaughter is no laughing matter!

I don’t think the TPLf is laughing at my “seemingly mindless prophesies” now.

Well, suffice it to say, “He who laughs last laughs best.”

Today, the washed up. low down and down and out leaders of the TPLF are drowning their sorrows in vodka and whiskey holed up in bar rooms and pubs.

They are hanging out in Ethiopia’s skid rows chomping on khat and getting high smoking shisha, pot and whatever else they can get their hands on.

I don’t want to gloat, but I just gotta say it: “I DONE TOLD YOU SO TPLF!”

Ha!

They say, “Let lying dogs lie.”

I say, “Let those lying liars of the TPLF (LF stands for Lie Factory) in the dustbin of history lie to themselves that they will one day come back to power.” (That is when hell freezes over and the devil goes ice skating. )

But not all is lost.

There is still redemption for the TPLF. I truly believe that!

I say to the TPLF leaders, “Be wise. Be reasonable. Be contrite. Don’t be arrogant. Don’t be haughty. Don’t be stubborn and stupid. Join your brothers and sisters in peace, forgiveness and love.”

We have tried hatred. We have tried revenge. We have tried domination one group over another. We have FAILED MISERABLY!

TPLF, you have failed with your gospel of hate, division and antagonism.

Heed wise counsel in the prophesy,  “The wrath of God pales beside that of man.”

If you continue your arrogant and evil ways, only two words will describe your legacy and destiny:

RIP, (Rust in Pain) TPLF!, 

The best Days of Ethiopia are yet to come…

I always knew Ethiopia’s best days were to come. It was always crystal clear to me that Ethiopia and Ethiopians are unique people.

I called that “Ethiopian exceptionalism” and offered my evidence to support my contention.

In May 2013, I wrote a poem foretelling my vision of Ethiopia rising from the graveyard of ethnic apartheid tyranny.

I knew without a doubt in 2013 the TPLF’s ethnic apartheid would be buried in the very grave dug up for Ethiopia through the struggle of Ethiopia’s young people when I wrote my poem:

Ethiopia up-Rising! Africa Rising!

Ethiopia Africa’s bright gem
Shall rise up from the ashes of tyranny
Like the spring sun rising at dawn over the African horizon
Like the full moon rising over the darkness of the African night
Ethiopia shall rise and shine!

Ethiopia shall rise from the heights of Ras Dejen
To the peaks of Kilimanjaro
From the pits of the politics of identity
To the summit of national unity and diversity
Ethiopia shall rise and shine!

Ethiopia of the wise
Shall rise above the streetwise
Its people to galvanize, mobilize and organize
To humanize, harmonize and compromise
Ethiopia shall rise and shine!

Ethiopia Africa’s hope and destiny
Shall rise and its tyrants shall fall
Their lies, cruelty and corruption
Buried with them in the steel coffin of history
For “justice will rise in Ethiopia like the sun, with abundance of peace forever.” 

Ethiopia shall rise by the sinews of her youth
Up-rise on the wings of her persevering children
Ethiopia shall rise and rise
Her youth will up-rise
Rise Ethiopia, up-rise.

In a risen Ethiopia, there shall be no place for a philosophy that holds one ethnic, religious, linguistic or gender group superior to another.

There shall no longer be first class and second-class citizens in a risen Ethiopia.

In a risen Ethiopia, ethnicity, religion, language, region or gender shall have no more significance than the color of  one’s eyes.

In a risen Ethiopia, human rights shall be guaranteed to all.

In a risen Ethiopia, there shall be peace and justice!

The thousands of victims of the Meles Massacres will not rise.

But because of their supreme sacrifices, their country shall rise like the rising sun.

That is why I remember the thousands of victims of TPLF massacres over 27 years while they were in power and countless others they victimized in the bush.

I REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER 2019 THE VICTIMS OF THE MELES MASSACRES:

I will always remember in November, and in December and in January and in February and in April…

Rebuma E. Ergata, 34, mason; Melesachew D. Alemnew, 16, student; Hadra S. Osman, 22, occup. unknown; Jafar S.  Ibrahim, 28,  sm. business; Mekonnen, 17, occup. unknown; Woldesemayat, 27, unemployed; Beharu M. Demlew, occup. unknown; Fekade Negash, 25, mechanic; Abraham Yilma, 17, taxi; Yared B. Eshete, 23, sm. business; Kebede W. G. Hiwot, 17, student; Matios G. Filfilu, 14, student;Getnet A. Wedajo, 48, Sm. business; Endalkachew M. Hunde, 18, occup. unknown; Kasim A. Rashid, 21, mechanic; Imam A. Shewmoli, 22,  sm. business; Alye Y. Issa, 20, laborer; Samson N. Yakob, 23, pub. trspt.; Alebalew A. Abebe, 18, student; Beleyu B. Za, 18, trspt. asst.; Yusuf A. Jamal, 23, occup. student; Abraham S. W.  Agenehu, 23, trspt. asst.; Mohammed H. Beka, 45, farmer; Redela K. Awel, 19, taxi Assit., Habtamu A. Urgaa, 30, sm. Business.  Dawit F. Tsegaye, 19, mechanic; Gezahegne M. Geremew, 15, student; Yonas A. Abera, 24, occup. unknown; Girma A. Wolde, 38, driver; W/o Desta U. Birru, 37, sm. business; Legese T. Feyisa, 60, mason; Tesfaye D. Bushra, 19, shoe repairman; Binyam D. Degefa, 18, unemployed.

Million K. Robi, 32, trspt. asst.; Derege D. Dene, 24,  student; Nebiyu A. Haile, 16, student; Mitiku U. Mwalenda, 24, domestic worker; Anwar K. Surur, 22, sm. business; Niguse Wabegn, 36, domestic worker; Zulfa S. Hasen, 50, housewife; Washun Kebede, 16, student; Ermia F. Ketema, 20, student; 00428, 25, occup. unknown; 00429, 26, occup. unknown; 00430, 30, occup. unknown; Adissu Belachew, 25, occup. unknown; Demeke K. Abebe,uk, occup. unknown; 00432, 22, occup. unknown; 00450, 20, occup. unknown; 13903, 25, occup. unknown; 00435, 30, occup. unknown. 13906, 25, occup. unknown; Temam Muktar, 25, occup. unknown; Beyne N. Beza, 25, occup. unknown; Wesen Asefa, 25, occup. unknown; Abebe Anteneh, 30, occup. unknow; Fekadu Haile, 25, occup. unknow; Elias Golte, uk, occup. unknown; Berhanu A. Werqa, uk, occup. unknown.

Asehber A. Mekuria, uk, occup. unknown; Dawit F. Sema, uk, occup. unknown, Merhatsedk Sirak, 22, occup. unknown; Belete Gashawtena, uk, occup. unknown;  Behailu Tesfaye, 20, occup. unknown; 21760, 18, occup. unknown; 21523, 25, occup. unknown; 11657, 24, occup. unknown; 21520, 25, occup. unknown; 21781, 60, occup. unknown; Getachew Azeze, 45, occup. unknown; 21762, 75, occup. unknown; 11662,45, occup. unknown; 21763, 25, occup. unknown; 13087, 30, occup. unknown; 21571, 25, occup. unknown; 21761, 21, occup. unknown; 21569, 25, occup. unknown; 13088, 30,  occup. unknown; Endalkachew W. Gabriel, 27, occup. unknown.

Hailemariam Ambaye, 20, occup. unknown; Mebratu W. Zaudu,27, occup. unknown; Sintayehu E. Beyene, 14, occup. unknown; Tamiru Hailemichael, uk, occup. unknown; Admasu T. Abebe, 45, occup. unknown; Etenesh Yimam, 50, occup. unknown; Werqe Abebe, 19, occup. unknown; Fekadu Degefe, 27, occup. unknown Shemsu Kalid, 25, occup. unknown; Abduwahib Ahmedin, 30, occup. unknown; Takele Debele, 20, occup. unknown, Tadesse Feyisa,38,  occup. unknown; Solomon Tesfaye, 25, occup. unknown; Kitaw Werqu, 25, occup. nknown; Endalkachew Worqu, 25, occup. unknow; Desta A. Negash, 30, occup. unknown; Yilef Nega, 15, occup. unknown; Yohannes Haile, 20, occup. unknown; Behailu T. Berhanu, 30, occup. unknown; Mulu K. Soresa, 50, housewife, Teodros Gidey Hailu, 23, shoe salesman; Dejene Yilma Gebre, 18, store worker; Ougahun Woldegebriel, 18, student; Dereje Mamo Hasen, 27, carpenter.

Regassa G. Feyisa, 55, laundry worker; Teodros Gebrewold, 28, private business; Mekonne D. G.Egziaber, 20, mechanic; Elias G. Giorgis, 23, student; Abram A. Mekonnen, 21, laborer; Tiruwerq G.Tsadik, 41, housewife; Henok H. Mekonnen; 28, occup. unknown; Getu S. Mereta, 24, occup. unknown;W/o Kibnesh Meke Tadesse, 52, occup. unknown; Messay A. Sitotaw, 29, private business; Mulualem N. Weyisa, 15, Ayalsew Mamo, 23, occup. unknown; Sintayehu Melese, 24, laborer;  W/o Tsedale A. Birra, 50, housewife; Abayneh Sara Sede, 35, tailor; Fikremariam K. Telila, 18, chauffer; Alemayehu Gerba, 26, occup. unknown; George G. Abebe,36, private trspt.; Habtamu Zegeye Tola, 16, student; Mitiku Z. G. Selassie, 24, student; Tezazu W. Mekruia, 24, private business; Fikadu A. Dalige, 36,  tailor; Shewaga B. W.Giorgis, 38, laborer; Alemayehu E. Zewde, 32, textile worker; Zelalem K. G.Tsadik, 31, taxi driver; Mekoya M. Tadesse, 19, student; Hayleye G. Hussien, 19, student; W/o Fiseha T. G.Tsadik, 23, police employee; Wegayehu Z. Argaw, 26, unemployed.

Melaku M. Kebede, 19, occup. unknown; Abayneh D. Orra, 25, tailor; W/o Abebch B. Holetu, 50, housewife;  Demeke A. Jenbere, 30, farmer; Kinde M. Weresu, 22, unemployed; Endale A. G.Medhin, 23, private business; Alemayehu T. Wolde,24, teacher; Bisrat T. Demisse, 24, car importer; Mesfin H. Giorgis, 23, private business, Welio H. Dari, 18, private business, Behailu G. G.Medhin, 20, private business; Siraj Nuri Sayed, 18, student; Iyob G.Medhin, 25, student; Daniel W. Mulugeta,25, laborer; Teodros K. Degefa,25, shoe factory worker; Gashaw T. Mulugeta, 24, student; Kebede B. Orke, 22, student; Lechisa K. Fatasa, 21, student; Jagama B. Besha,20, student; Debela O. Guta, 15, student; Melaku T. Feyisa, 16, student; W/o Elfnesh Tekle, 45, occup. unknown; Hassen Dula, 64, occup. unknown; Hussien Hassen Dula, 25, occup. unknown; Dejene Demisse,15, occup. unknown; Name unknown; Name unknown;  Name unknown; Zemedkun Agdew, 18, occup. unknown;  Getachew A. Terefe, 16, occup. unknown; Delelegn K. Alemu, 20, occup. unknown; Yusef M. Oumer,20, occup. unknown.

Mekruria T. Tebedge, 22, occup. unknown; Bademe M. Teshamahu, 20, occup. unknown; Ambaw Getahun,38, occup. unknown; Teshome A. Kidane, 65, health worker; Yosef M. Regassa, uk, occup. unknown; Abiyu Negussie, uk, occup. uk; Tadele S. Behaga,uk, occup. unknown; Efrem T. Shafi,uk, occup. unknown; Abebe H. Hama, uk, occup. unknown; Gebre Molla, uk, occup. unknown; Seydeen Nurudeen, uk, occup. unknown; Eneyew G. Tsegaye, 32, trspt. asst; Abdurahman H. Ferej, 32, wood worker; Ambaw L. Bitul, 60, leather factory worker; Abdulmenan Hussien, 28, private business; Jigsa T. Setegn, 18, student; Asefa A. Negassa, 33, carpenter; Ketema K. Unko, 23, tailor; Kibret E. Elfneh, 48, private guard; Iyob G. Zemedkun, 24, private business; Tesfaye B. Megesha,15, private business; Capt. Debesa S. Tolosa, 58, private business;Tinsae M. Zegeye,14,  tailor;Kidana G. Shukrow,25, laborer;Andualem Shibelew, 16, student; Adissu D. Tesfahun, 19, private business; Kassa Beyene Yror,28, clothes sales; Yitagesu Sisay,22, occup. unknown; Unknown, 22, occup. unknown.

Police and security officers killed by friendly fire (security officers  killed in each other’s crossfire):  Nega Gebre, Jebena Desalegn,  Mulita Irko, Yohannes Solomon, Ashenafi Desalegn, Feyia Gebremenfes.

I remember the hundreds of victims maimed, injured, battered and mutilated.

List of prisoners massacred while trapped in their cells at Kaliti Prison on November 2, 2005:

Teyib Shemsu Mohammed, age unknown, male, charged with instigating armed insurrection. Sali Kebede, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Sefiw Endrias Tafesse Woreda, age unknown, male, charged with rape. Zegeye Tenkolu Belay, age unknown, male, charged with robbery. Biyadgligne Tamene, age unknown, male, charges unknown. Gebre Mesfin Dagne, age unknown, male, charges unknown. Bekele Abraham Taye, age unknown, male, charged with hooliganism. Abesha Guta Mola, age unknown, male, charges unknown. Kurfa Melka Telila, convicted of making threats. Begashaw Terefe Gudeta, age unknown, male, charged with brawling [breach of peace]. Abdulwehab Ahmedin, age unknown, male, charged with robbery. Tesfaye Abiy Mulugeta, age unknown, male, charged with instigating armed insurrection. Adane Bireda, age unknown, male, charged with murder. Yirdaw Kersema, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

Balcha Alemu Regassa, age unknown, male, charged with robbery. Abush Belew Wodajo, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Waleligne Tamire Belay, age unknown, male, charged with rape. Cherinet Haile Tolla, age unknown, male, convicted of robbery. Temam Shemsu Gole, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Gebeyehu Bekele Alene, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Daniel Taye Leku, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Mohammed Tuji Kene, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Abdu Nejib Nur, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Yemataw Serbelo, charged with rape. Fikru Natna’el Sewneh, age unknown, male, charged with making threats. Munir Kelil Adem, age unknown, male, charged with hooliganism. Haimanot Bedlu Teshome, age unknown, male, convicted of infringement. esfaye Kibrom Tekne, age unknown, male, charged with robbery. Workneh Teferra Hunde, age unknown, male, no charges indicated.

Sisay Mitiku Hunegne, charged with fraud. Muluneh Aynalem Mamo, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Taddese Rufe Yeneneh, charged with making threats. Anteneh Beyecha Qebeta, age unknown, male, charged with instigating armed insurrection. Zerihun Meresa, age unknown, male, convicted of damage to property. Wogayehu Zerihun Argaw, charged with robbery. Bekelkay Tamiru,  age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Yeraswork Anteneh, age unknown, male, charged with fraud. Bazezew Berhanu, age unknown, male, charged with engaging in homosexual act. Solomon Iyob Guta, age unknown, male, charged with rape. Asayu Mitiku Arage, age unknown, male, charged with making threats. Game Hailu Zeye, age unknown, male, charged with brawling [public disorder] Maru Enawgaw Dinbere, age unknown, male, charged with rape. Ejigu Minale, age unknown, male, charged with attempted murder. Hailu Bosne Habib, age unknown, male, convicted of providing sanctuary. Tilahun Meseret, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Negusse Belayneh, age unknown, male, charged with robbery. Ashenafi Abebaw, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Feleke Dinke, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Jenbere Dinkineh Bilew, age unknown, male, charged with brawling [public disorder].

Tolesa Worku Debebe, age unknown, male, charged with robbery. Mekasha Belayneh Tamiru, age unknown, male, charged with hooliganism. Yifru Aderaw, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Fantahun Dagne, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Tibebe Wakene Tufa, age unknown, male, charged with instigating armed insurrection. Solomon Gebre Amlak, age unknown, male, charged with hooliganism. Banjaw Chuchu Kassahun, age unknown, male, charged with robbery. Demeke Abeje, age unknown, male, charged with attempted murder. 58. Endale Ewnetu Mengiste, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. Alemayehu Garba, age unknown, male, detained in connection with Addis Ababa University student  demonstration in 2004.  Morkota Edosa, age unknown, male, no charges indicated. 

JUSTICE FOR Yenesew Gebre 

On 11/11/11, Yenesew Gebre, a 29 year-old Ethiopian school teacher and human rights activist set himself ablaze outside a public meeting hall in the town of Tarcha located in Dawro Zone in Southern Ethiopia. He died three days later from his injuries.  Before torching himself, Yenesew told a gathered  crowd outside of a meeting hall, “In a country where there is no justice and no fair administration, where human rights are not respected, I will sacrifice myself so that these young people will be set free.”

Immortalizing the Victims of the Meles Massacres 

The Ethiopian massacre victims now belong to the whole of humanity.

They must be remembered by all freedom-loving peoples throughout the world, not just Ethiopians.  By remembering the atrocities and spreading word about gross human rights abuses in Ethiopia, we not only keep alive the memory of the innocent victims of 2005 but also hasten the day when the criminals will be brought to justice.

“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing.” Affirmatively stated, I believe all that is necessary to triumph over evil is for all good men, women and young people to do something.

The slaughter of 2005 must be made a warning to each new generation of Ethiopians of what happens when human rights are abused, the rule of law trashed, democracy trampled and freedom crushed.

To paraphrase Elie Weisel, we must seek justice for the victims of yesterday not only because it is the right thing to do, but also to protect the youth of today, and the children who will be born tomorrow from similar injustice and wrong. We do not want the past to become the future of our children and grandchildren.

That is why all of the criminals responsible for the 2005 massacre must be held accountable. Delaying justice to the Ethiopian massacre victims is to invite the harsh verdict of history upon ourselves and future generations: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

================ 

Footnotes:

[1] For the first time in my life, I understood the true meaning of the expression, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing.” More specifically, for young men and women to do nothing.

[2] For nearly fourteen years, I have stood against the evils perpetrated by the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its leaders. following the Ethiopian parliamentary elections in May 2005, security and police forces under the direct command and control of Meles Zenawi, the late leader of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), massacred and seriously injured hundreds of unarmed protesters in the streets and scores of defenseless inmates at Akaki prison.

An official Inquiry Commission established by Meles Zenawi documented 193 unarmed men, women and children demonstrating in the streets and scores of other detainees held in a high security prison were intentionally and deliberately shot and killed by police and security officials. An additional 763 suffered life-threatening gunshot injuries.

The killings occurred on June 8, 2005 in Addis Ababa and elsewhere throughout the country during November 1-10, 2005 and November 14-16, 2005.

Based on my personal discussion of the Inquiry Commission chair, there were likely to be many hundreds of additional victims who were excluded on other dates but were outside the scope of the Commission’s investigative charge.

For additional data, graphic photographs of the victims of the Meles Massacres, see Testimony of Yared Hailemariam, Ethiopian Human Rights Defender, “CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY IN ETHIOPIA: THE ADDIS ABABA MASSACRES OF JUNE AND NOVEMBER 2005” before the EXTRAORDINARY JOINT COMMITTEE MEETING THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT COMMITTEES ON DEVELOPMENT AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AND SUB-COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS May 15, 2006.

The Inquiry Commission completely exonerated the victims of the massacre and pinned the entire blame on the police and paramilitary forces.  The Commission concluded, “There was no property destroyed [by protesters]. There was not a single protester who was armed with a gun or a hand grenade as reported by the government-controlled media that some of the protesters were armed with guns and bombs. [The shots fired by government forces] were not intended to disperse the crowd but to kill by targeting the head and chest of the protesters.”

A 2007 official Inquiry Commission report on post-election “disturbances” examined 16,990 documents, and received testimony form 1,300 witnesses. Commission members visited prisons and hospitals, and interviewed members of the regime’s officialdom over several months. In the end, the Commission determined that the police shot and killed 193 persons and wounded 763. Further, the Commission documented on November 3, 2005, during an alleged disturbance in Kality prison that lasted 15 minutes, prison guards fired more than 1500 bullets into inmate housing units leaving 17 dead, and 53 severely wounded.

Commission Chairman Judge Frehiwot commented: “Many people were killed arbitrarily. Old men were killed while in their homes, and children were also victims of the attack while playing in the garden.” Over 30,000 civilians were arrested without warrant and held in detention.

The Commission made specific factual conclusions about the “disturbances”: 1) The persons killed or wounded during the violence were unarmed protesters. “There was not a single protester who was armed with a gun or a hand grenade (as reported by the government-controlled media that some of the protesters were armed with guns and bombs)”. 2) The shots fired by government forces into crowds of protesters were not intended to disperse but to kill by targeting the head and chest of the protesters. 3) There was no evidence that any security officers involved in the shootings were attacked or killed by the demonstrators: “Security forces which are alleged to be killed by demonstrators were not taken to autopsy, even there is no evidence of either photograph or death certificate showing the reason of death and couldn’t be produced for police as opposed to that of civilians.”

Understanding the Historic Significance of the Meles Massacres  

On March 21, 1960, South African police without provocation slaughtered 69 unarmed black protesters in the township of Sharpeville and wounded 180, exposing the savagery of the apartheid system for the world to see.

In 2005, security forces loyal to Meles Zenawi slaughtered 193 unarmed protesters and wounded 763 others. As the Ethiopian protesters were “targeted in the head and chest” and shot, as documented by the Inquiry Commission, nearly all of the black South Africans in Sharpeville were shot in the back as they tried to flee the scene.

Sharpeville and the massacres in Ethiopia were not random events.

Both the apartheid and Zenawi’s regimes used cold blooded massacres as a deliberate tactic to ruthlessly crush and wipe out all political opposition. It was their way of saying that they will do anything to stay in power.

The Sharpeville massacre was intended to “teach the kaffirs a lesson” they will not forget.

Zenawi intended to teach his opposition a lesson they will not forget by indiscriminately massacring men, women and children in the streets or in their homes, as the Inquiry Commission has documented. It was a deliberate and calculated act designed to break the backbone of the opposition and make sure that no opposition will ever rise again.

Sharpeville caused the apartheid regime to intensify its repression by tightening the pass laws (pass books required for black South Africans to travel within their country) and rigidly enforcing regulations to keep black South Africans in the Bantustans (black African “homelands” or “reservations”). Sharpeville also stoked the imagination of black South African youth and energized and inspired all freedom-loving South Africans to fight against apartheid with determination.

The Meles Massacres caused the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front and its boss Meles Zenawi to become extremely repressive. In 2010, Meles Zenawi declared he had won the election by 99.6 percent. His underlings claimed to have won 100 percent of the seats in parliament in the 2015 election

Ephream Sileshi

Addis Abeba, November 23/2019 – The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) announced today that the preliminary results of Sidama referendum showed of the votes counted so far, voters have voted in favor of a future Sidama regional state based on the votes tallied as of yet. There were more than 2.3 million registered voters, 1,692 polling stations and more than 6000 election officials all facilitated by the reforming NEBE.

The referendum, held on Wednesday November 20, is the first of its kind in Ethiopia ever since the current constitution was adopted in 1995, and long sought by the Sidama people.

The choices on the ballot paper were for Sidama to be organized in its own regional state, which was represented by the election symbol of “Shafeta” and for Sidama to stay in the Southern People’s Nations, Nationalities and Peoples regional state (SNNPR), represented by the “Gojo” (traditional Sidama hut) symbol. The latter choice got a measly of votes, an expected result given the popularity of the statehood quest among the Sidama and the lackluster campaigning by the SNNPR.

The result means Sidama will become Ethiopia’s 10th semi-autonomous regional state, with its own regional constitution and regional council, enjoying a degree of sovereignty enshrined in Ethiopia’s multinational constitution.

The Sidama regional state, the 10th regional state, will border Guji and West Arsi zones of the Oromia regional state and Wolayta and Kembata (both of which have approved statehood quests at zonal levels) as well as Gedeo zones of the SNNPR.

The question of what to do about the city of Hawassa in Sidama zone, which is also the capital city of the SNNPR but would be outside of the region when the Sidama state is officially declared, was a sticking point for sometime, but was addressed when regional council decided that the SNNPR government would stay in Hawassa for two consecutive election terms during which it would facilitate its own future capital city.

The November 20 referendum came five months after it was constitutionally mandated to have been held, an anomaly that was met with a bout of violence resulting in dozens of deaths back in July 2019.

It is to be recalled that 10 other zonal councils have already approved statehood quests, raising the possibility of more regional states.

AS

By Obang Metho
November 24, 2019

On Sunday, November 17, 45,000 Ethiopians participated in the Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa.  Mr. Obang Metho, the Executive Director of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE) was one of the participants in that race. He wore the official T-shirt similar to all participants; however, at the finish line of the race, as planned by some of the youth leaders in the organization, Obang removed his race T-shirt to reveal a different one. On the front of that shirt was written in Amharic:                                        “I’m Human.”                                                                              Everyone got it. Why? It not only confronts today’s reality that has resulted in a shocking rise of ethnic violence and conflicts, but it also points to Ethiopia’s 30-plus-year history of the politicized, divisive and self-centered exploitation of ethnicity/tribe in Ethiopia, used to advance the power and self-interests of a dominant group or the elite of that group over others. The idea and the phrase quickly went viral, spreading via the social media and by word of mouth.

Following the race, Mr. Obang was invited to attend an event featuring esteemed speakers, a poetry and literature night at the national theater. Most of the main speakers, chose to focus on this same phrase, “I’m Human,” one speaker, concluding his remarks by calling on all present to start a large-scale “I’m Human Movement” of the people in Ethiopia.

The overall response to the “I’m Human Movement” has been overwhelmingly positive and is expanding; however, others are reacting negatively. For example, one person wrote: “I don’t want to be a human, I am [his ethnic group first]. We don’t want it.” Another person said, ‘“Who came up with this [expletive] “I’m Human” thing?” We don’t need it. Make sure our young people don’t hear about it!”

Right now in Ethiopia, we are witnessing an atmosphere where fear and tensions of ethnic based violence have reached an all-time high. It is not what we hoped for after the emergence of the new administration under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who recently was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. However, there are ethnic extremists and ethno-nationalists from many different groups who want to steal his vision and replace it with their own that does not embrace the wellbeing of all. They also seek to mislead those within their own groups in order to advance their own ethnio-nationalists agenda, which is self-interest and ethnic interest.

Instead of national reconciliation, peace and increased unity, Ethiopians have been horrified by the worsening ethnic-violence seen in the country that has resulted in gruesome killings of 86 people, the burning of 30 churches and 2 mosques, the destruction of property and the forced expulsion of many from regions where their ethnicity did not match that of the mainstream population.

The failure or resistance to move beyond ethnicity to affirm the humanity of others is an alarming indication of the danger ahead in Ethiopia, a danger which could affect all of us. If you recall, it is what preceded the genocide of over 800,000 Rwandans. The world said, “Never again!” How can we say, “Never” to such a large scale disaster in Ethiopia? This is what the “I’m Human Movement” is about. The “Never” must come now before it is too late and must come from all of us.

Background

The “I’m Human Movement” has evolved from nearly 16 years of work to change the way we value the lives of others outside our own groups in Ethiopia. It began as a result of December 13, 2003 Massacre, when more than 400 Anuaks were targeted and massacre based ethnicity in Gambella town to be “taught a lesson.” According to Human Rights Watch Report of March 2005 Vol. 17, No. 3(A) titled: “Targeting the Anuak: Human Rights Violations and Crimes against Humanity in Ethiopia’s Gambella Region”.  “ENDF soldiers and highlander civilians launched a brutal attack on Gambella town’s Anuak population. The commander of Gambella town’s military garrison, Major Tsegaye Beyene, was in Gambella town throughout the massacre and took no apparent action to stop it; indeed, he appears to have directly taken part in the violence”.

The bloodshed of that day did not start or end with the Anuak, but has involved many other groups as well. It led to the formation of the Anuak Justice Council and then to the SMNE and its foundational principles that could free a society to flourish and prosper. They are:

1. HUMANITY BEFORE ETHNICITY OR ANY OTHER DIFFERENCE:

Do we need to be reminded that we did not create ourselves? Neither did “ethnicity” create us. It was our Creator who created us as human beings. God is the one who values and loves every one of us; in fact, even more than we value and love ourselves. Self-centered-love of ourselves is not like God’s love for us in that He wants what is best for us whereas we often fail to do the same. He loves others in the same way. Our Creator brought us to this world for a reason—not to kill or to be killed. However, if we believe we created ourselves—or live as if we did— we will rebel against what is right and fail to resist what is wrong, setting up our own self-serving rules. It becomes all about “ourselves” or how others, even those from our own “tribe,” might be used or bullied to further our own personal ambition for power, wealth or position. Yet, it is the truth that matters.

In almost every tribe in Ethiopia, from early times we recognized from the world around us that there was a Creator. We did not create ourselves, meaning we are accountable to our Creator.

In the Bible God said: “bloodshed pollutes the land.” Our land is already polluted with bloodshed and we are seeing the consequences of that on victims, perpetrators and bystanders. Has God given us an opportunity to break this curse on our land? As our tribal thinking is bringing us to a point of desperation, genocide and possible disintegration, how can we choose to live God’s way and see the restoration of freedom, justice, peace and prosperity to our land? Without the first three, there can never be prosperity; instead, we will only see in endless poverty and underdevelopment regardless of any foreign aid.

1. NO ONE WILL BE FREE UNTIL ALL ARE FREE

In a healthy, well functioning society, we uphold the rights of others like we seek the same for ourselves, knowing our own freedom and rights are most secure when they are inclusive. Likewise, when we care about our neighbors as we care about ourselves regardless of their ethnicity, it creates a societal foundation where people and communities can flourish and prosper. When we fail to do so, problems develop. When a society and government not only fails to do so, but oppresses its people, such a society will ultimately implode. This is what we are now facing, causing none of us to be free.

Ethiopia’s ethnic federalism was socially engineered, in 1992 to silence most of the 86 ethnic groups in Ethiopia and give nearly total advantage to one ethnic group, but not the whole of that group. In particular, it benefited those at the top of that group who caved into the temptation of self-interest and exclusion of others. In other words, it gave license to these few to exploit the system for their own benefit and did NOT include all within their ethnicity. That’s the way these efforts go; make promises to the “masses” so they can be used as your “currency” in order to exploit their support for your own personal ambition and advancement. It’s a characteristic of Marxist-Leninist Fascism as well as the tribalistic ideology, gone wrong, under which we live today.

The effort was accompanied by oppression, theft, injustice, corruption, death and the crushing of any resistance in order to maintain control; however, what is now being harvested has come from the seeds planted—ethnic hatred, division, and violence. Thirty years of this kind of exploitation has reached to the point that it is now threatening genocide and the survival of everyone in Ethiopia as well as the existence of Ethiopia as a country. 

Resistance has come from groups mostly operating for their own freedom without realizing that no one is sustainably free by themselves. It is a hijack of the promises and hopes we shared just over a year ago when Prime Minister Abiy came to power. What can we do to help him so this vision cannot be sabotaged by ethnic-nationalist or ethnic-extremists? 

III. LET’S TALK TO EACH OTHER NOT JUST ABOUT EACH OTHER

The only way to reclaim our freedom and lasting peace in Ethiopia is to go back to the basics—I am a human and so are you, created equal and to be loved, nurtured and valued as a human being. Each of us is also created to live out our God-given purposes and responsibilities and to contribute to the betterment of others human beings—especially our neighbors, but even our enemies; or, those we “assume” are our enemies.

Being human carries with it responsibility; and sadly, that has been sabotaged by the toxic environment in which we now live. Ethnic federalism, ethnic cronyism, and ethnic extremism have contributed to the dehumanization of others, dividing and isolating us from each other.

In Rwanda during the genocide, Hutu and Tutsi students at one of the schools were remarkable for refusing to participate, even as guns were pointed at them. When commanded to identify the ethnicities of others, they refused, despite threats. Gunmen killed one of the young women, trying to incite them to turn on each other. They still refused. The gunmen then started shooting others and everyone ran, but many were saved.  Their resistance to violence has led many to wonder and examine what made the difference? ^[1] The short answer ended up to be that the human relationships between them connected them as human beings first, rising above their ethnicity despite their divided culture.

Could talking to each other rather than about each other improve those human connections enough to give us the strength, courage and conviction to resolve our conflicts in Ethiopia without violence?

We the people of Ethiopia have been reduced from what God intended for us and the result is now being seen as a neighbor kills another neighbor and student kills another student. We see the devaluing of human life, the destruction of property, the absence of the rule of law, the blocking of roads or destruction of opportunity, the lack of respect towards others and the failure to help others. This cannot be a “blame game” against another group; for we have all failed in many ways, but let us heed the warning signs before our failures lead to our mutual destruction. Our existence in this century is being threatened like someone in a burning house. No one has time to focus on who started the fire; but instead, a shared effort should be made to stop the fire. 

Can we recognize the humanity in others, not selfishly picking and choosing to exclude or include membership into one’s own “self-defined tribe of worthy human beings” based on one or more favored parts  of our own multiple sub-identities—like ethnicity, language, culture, nationality, gender, religion, skin color, age, ability or disability, socio-economic level or political view?

If we deny life, liberty and dignity to others, we can be assured that security, peace and prosperity will escape us and possibly lead to mutual destruction. In light of this, how can we build enough stability to work out the challenges before us? We must be willing to talk to each other. 

Will you join the “I’m Human Movement?”

Even when the law of human kind breaks down; there is still a greater law that exists from our Creator to not take the life of another human being. This is what makes us human. We cannot avoid the responsibility or accountability for we know the difference between right and wrong. Our consciences can direct us.

Where mass atrocities have taken place throughout human history, too many give in to the pressure and end up joining in or turning a blind eye to that evil thing around you. Look what the conscience of one man achieved during the Holocaust when he saved so many Jews from certain death. His main regret was not saving more lives—even one more. His actions were portrayed in the movie, Schindler’s List. He did not forget his human responsibility towards others.

Are we obsessed with ethnicity, like food (injera), or are we looking for what it can give us—power, easy loans, wealth, land, resources, foreign bank accounts and privilege where we have not earned it, but forced it from the hands of others? We might rationalize that these others are not using it, but why are they not using it? Is it because of structural deficiencies due to blatant favoritism and others to marginalization in order to exploit them? For example, the land grabs in Ethiopia were partly facilitated by easy loans for regime cronies who ended up taking the money and never investing it in the land—with no consequences.

Ethnicity continues to be seen in Ethiopia as the ticket to power and riches by some. This is hypocritical as many are of more than one ethnicity. Additionally, many gained power by protesting against a regime who advanced the same ideology. It has also been justified as payback time for past grievances. Will the horrible acts we have seen in recent weeks and months serve to fuel the next cycle of victims? This is a recipe for perpetual defeat, violence and poverty.

No wonder some think the solution is to separate from the country; however, that is short-sighted. How can we be isolated in this global world? Will it provide needed jobs for our youth? Who will buy their goods?  How will they transport their goods to the market and how will needed goods to improve their economy and their livelihoods be obtained?

Right now, more than ten ethnic groups from the southern Ethiopia have voiced the same desire to have their own regional states. Is it because they believe it is the only way to find security, freedom and justice for themselves? Is it not better for all of us, big, medium or small, to work together to secure freedom, justice, peace and prosperity for everyone?

The grievances of our fellow Ethiopian brothers and sisters should not drive us apart, but should become a bond that inspires us to work together to create a different kind of nation because we are willing to let go of past bitterness and nobly demand a movement of the people for a better Ethiopia for all.

We cannot see any other way to save this country without being aware of our responsibilities given to us by our Creator, to be a good neighbor to all the people of Ethiopia and beyond, and acting on it. Our Creator has called us to something better; but, we have resisted and rebelled against His ways too often in the past—ways that can bring meaningful reforms to our country. Let us listen now with new ears, minds, hearts and souls to the truth that will set us free and then let us take action.

A Call for Action

People cannot wait, hoping for a solution to come from somewhere else. We the people must organize, engage and mobilize to become the solution. Anyone who agrees with this movement should become part of this “I’m Human Movement” for all of us. It is a call to take personal responsibility for the betterment of our beloved country of Ethiopia.

You are called to this movement:

• If you are someone who is afraid for our safety; its yours.
• If you are against violence; join us.
• If you or your family are of two or more ethnicities, you are part of this.
• If someone in your family, community or those in your faith group face persecution; this movement is for you.
• If you are parents or grandparents who care about the future of your descendants; this is your time.
• If you are a youth who wants a better future; you are part of this.
• If you are someone who has witnessed the rising ethnic hatred; this movement is yours.
• If you know family and friends who have suffered now or in the past; it is your time.
• If you are someone who knows your responsibility to help others; you are part of it.
• If you see what is happening as wrong and you believe in righteousness and good, even though we all fall short; this is for you.
• If you see a future with no opportunity unless you are in the “right group”; this is for you.
• If you are a human; this is for you.

So, if any of these describe you, this is your movement. This is your call to action. This is the time to reach out to those around you to organize in small groups—as family, friends, fellow students, community members, elders, people of faith, members of a church, mosque or synagogue, association groups or other informal or formal structures of society, both in Ethiopia and beyond. Cross bridges of differences. Reach out to others to build relationships and trust. Advance morality, righteousness, justice and freedom for all. Engage in informal and structured dialogue, research and study, next steps and upholding an equitable system of justice.

One of the most common struggles is because many Ethiopians are not one ethnicity, but a mix of two or more. Your grandmother might be of one ethnicity that is in conflict with that of your grandfather. Why do you have to choose? The same could be the case of other identity differences. At the end of the day, it comes back to one thing, we are all one family, one race— the human race. Listen to your consciences.  

We should not be pushed by the ethnic extremists and ethno-nationalists who want us lose our morality and humanity in a rush of crazy emotion and violence like we have recently witnessed. We are better than this. We must reject this kind of thinking and action if we want greater security and wellbeing in Ethiopia. What we have in common is: “I’m human and so are you.”  People recognize this.

As you organize, engage and mobilize, agree to talk about the issues that are a threat to all of us. All of us want peace and harmony. No one wants our descendants to inherit intergenerational hatred and bitter vendettas. We can work together to build a better society. If anyone has a dream for better education, better roads, better healthcare, more and better jobs, access to clean water, adequate food, access to land, or ways to better the lives of the people; this is your movement. It is for you and for the future of the next generation.

The “I’m Human Movement” is yours to own. It is a call to save lives, to revive a dying society and to rebuild our nation. Organize and start the work and we will go forward to connect all these cells of commitment as best we can. Everyone has to do their share. 

This movement will help bring about the advancement of an inclusive and humane vision for Ethiopia, and will also support the vision as laid out by Prime Minister Abiy that brought such an enthusiastic response a year ago. May God help us to use our humanity— our greatest common bond— to save us from each other.

Become the voice of reason to speak up for all of us. May God bless our nation

For more information, contact us at: Teamleader@Iamhumanmovement.com or Mr. Obang at Obang@solidaritymovement.org

^[1]For more information, you can refer to the book, Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing, co-written by Dr. Emmanuel Katongole, a Rwandan, and a Professor of Theology and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and Chris Rice, both who are also co-directors of the Center for Reconciliation at Duke Divinity School.

DW

Ethiopia’s Sidama people have voted in favor of autonomous rule by a huge margin. The result may inspire other groups to push for autonomy in Africa’s second-most populous nation.

Residents of Ethiopia’s Sidama zone voted in favor of a new federal region, with about 98.5% choosing autonomous rule, the country’s electoral board said on Saturday. Voter turnout was 99.8%.

The official preliminary results of a referendum held on Wednesday were released by the deputy head of the National Electoral Board, Wubshet Ayele, in the regional capital, Hawassa, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Addis Ababa.

“The November 20 polls was peaceful and didn’t have major logistical challenges, although in some places there were larger than projected queues of voters,” Ayele said.

By creating their own federal region, the Sidama — Ethiopia’s fifth most numerous ethnicity — hope to regain control of land resources, political representation as well as to reaffirm their cultural identity.

Long road to independence

Ethiopia’s Sidama zone, home to about 4 million residents, is part of the country’s Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), home to over 40 ethnic groups.

For decades, the Sidama have been longing to break free from the SNNPR and gain regional independence, a right enshrined in the constitution. But years of autocratic rule had failed to fulfill this provision.

Rapid change

Saturday’s result paves the way for the Sidama region to become Ethiopia’s 10th state, but it also could act as inspiration for other ethnic groups keen to carve out their own region.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the move was an “expression of the democratization path Ethiopia has set out on.”

Ethiopia, once one of Africa’s most repressive nations, has been undergoing rapid changes since Abiy was appointed last year, promising to forge a more open society.

Last month, Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize for his political reforms and for making peace with Eritrea.

By Alemayehu G. Mariam

There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always.” -Mahatma Gandhi

Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.” -Mahatma GandhiEthiopia rising from the ashes of ethnic apartheid

For decades, we have heard of the “Asian Miracle”.

Beginning in the early 1960s, the “Four Asian Tigers” — Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan – managed to industrialize and attain extraordinary economic growth and today are hubs for high tech manufacturing and international finance.

Are we beginning to see an “African Political Miracle” and the rise of an “Ethiopian Lion”?

The political transformation that has taken place in Ethiopia over the past 19 months can best be described as miraculous.

I use the word in both its original Latin root meaning “miraculum” (“object of wonder”) and common understanding suggesting divine intervention in human affairs creating an object of wonder.

In January 2018, all indications were the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was hunkering down to defend its ethnic apartheid system.

The TPLF leaders always bragged without them at the helm of power, there will be no Ethiopia. Everyone feared the TPLF leaders will not hesitate to blow up the country into smithereens if they felt they were going to lose power.

In February 2018, I had given up all hope of a peaceful democratic transition.

I was convinced Ethiopia was on the precipice of a civil war.

I wrote in The Hill, “To save Ethiopia from civil war, solutions must work from the ground up.” I concluded, “Time is running out for Ethiopia and the point of no return nears.”

By April 2018, the game had changed. It was clear the TPLF was in the throes of its final battle to remain in power.

On April 1, 2018, the day before Abiy Ahmed officially became prime minister, I wrote, “After 27 years nearly to the month, there is no doubt that T-TPLF wounded beast is in retreat but not in defeat.”

On April 2, 2018 when Abiy Ahmed was named prime minister, the TPLF and Ethiopia had crossed the point of no return.

The TPLF was going down, down, down into the dustbin of history!

Ethiopia was going up, up, up from ethnic apartheid into multiparty democracy.

On November 24, 2019, the TPLF bit the dust. More poetically, the TPLF was dumped into the dust bin, garbage heap, of history.

That was surely miraculous!

Since the TPLF took power in 1991, its leaders had bragged and boasted about how mighty, invincible and untouchable they are.

They used to brag about how the mountains would shake, rattle and tremble at their mere presence.

The late Meles Zenawi used to taunt the opposition with contempt. “We got power by shedding our blood. If you want to get power, you must fight your way to power just like we did. The TPLF will remain in power for a hundred years.”

The tragedy is Meles Zenawi and his gang came to power by shedding their blood and stayed in power for 27 years by shedding the blood of others.

Then came Abiy Ahmed and declared, “To kill is to be defeated. Victory must be achieved only in the battlefield of ideas.”

He proclaimed we “shall beat our swords into plowshares, and our spears into pruning hooks.”

No more lifting sword against one another nor against neighbor.

In less than a month, Abiy Ahmed and Isaias Afeworki removed the dark clouds of war and made pece.

Abiy Ahmed was named the  Nobel Peace Laureate for 2019.

In 2010, Meles Zenawi told American diplomats how he will teach a lesson the opposition will not forget: “We will crush them with our full force… and they will vegetate like Birtukan (Midekssa) in jail forever.”

In 2019, Birtukan Midekssa is the Election Commissioner of Ethiopia and Meles Zenawi and the TPLF are dead, forever.

The little big man Meles Zenawi did not understand the greatest men and the empires they forge are nothing more than sands in the hourglass. Nor did he understand, “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.”

The evil Meles Zenawi and his TPLF gang have done will live after them. But there is a major cleanup of evil underway today.

The TPLF and its 27-year rule of oppression, corruption, human right violation came to an end suddenly, not with a bang but a whimper.

In December 2015, I had wondered what the “end of the story will be for the T-TPLF in Ethiopia.”

I argued the only outstanding question was whether the TPLF story will end with a bang or a whimper.

Two months later in February 2016, I knew the TPLF’s end would come with a whimper.

I knew the TPLF was an evil beast with feet of clay. When gazed upon, the TPLF appears awesome, formidable and infinitely powerful. It has guns, tanks, rockets, planes and bombs. Though the TPLF has legs of iron, its feet are made of clay.

In May 2016 when the TPLF celebrated its silver jubilee (25^th anniversary) extravaganza, I prophetically warned them their end is near but they cannot see it because they are blinded by arrogance and ignorance. “There is no doubt about it. The day of reckoning for the T-TPLF will come ‘unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.’”

On November 20, 2019, the end came like a thief in the night for the TPLF Alibabas and the Forty Thieves.

What poetic justice!

The TPLF whimpered in a public statement and a letter, delivered it and then put its tail between its legs and moped into the sunset, beckoned by the garbage heap of history, hanging their heads low and blustering, “We will create a de facto state.”

How strange these TPLF blokes (or is it blockheads) are?

Are the TPLF Schrödinger’s cat saying they are legally dead but are alive in fact?

They will soon realize, if they have not already, the true meaning of Napoleon Bonaparte’s regrets. “Death is nothing, but to live defeated is to die every day.”

“Parting is such sweet sorrow” TPLF. We hope to never to see you on the morrow.

R.I.P. (Rest in Pain) TPLF!

The Ethiopian political miracle

The Ethiopian Miracle can be stated simply as follows: 1) Ethiopia’s youth managed to defeat one of the most repressive and brutal regimes in the world with nonviolent resistance and massive civil disobedience. 2) Ethiopians are today structuring a genuine issue-, -program and -ideology-based (not ethnic) multiparty political system.

Ethiopia’s nonviolent political revolution is simply unique in the history of post-independence Africa.

I have always believed the way of nonviolence change will prevail in Ethiopia.

I have always been an advocate of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience.

When I first joined the Ethiopian human rights movement, I launched my “new career” by writing two commentaries on nonviolent struggle.

In my first commentary (April 2006,) I argued civil disobedience and nonviolence in the face of oppression is both an act of uncommon virtue and valor, and an extraordinary act of patriotism by an individual in a given society.

In the second commentary (May 2006), I explained Gandhi’s use of “truth/love force” (Satyagraha) as a tool for human freedom, and how this force could revolutionize social ideals and do away with despotisms.

In my July 3, 2006 commentary, I announced nonviolence is the only way out of TPLF oppression: “I believe we prove the righteousness of our cause not in battlefields soaked in blood and filled with corpses, but in the living hearts and thinking minds of men and women of good will.”

I became a laughingstock at the time. My friends and relatives pitied me for my naiveite.

I knew all too well the saying, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

They said I have been away from home too long. I don’t understand the depth of evilness and depravity of the TPLF. They seized power by the power of the barrel of the gun. They can only be removed by the power  of the barrel of the gun.

But I had no doubts the TPLF would be defeated and not in the battlefield with the crash of guns.

They would be defeated in the epic and final battle for the hearts and minds of Ethiopians.

I knew from history how Gandhi led Indians to victory over British colonialism in a nonviolent struggle.

I also knew Gandhi was so convinced of the efficacy of his nonviolent methods that even Abyssinians (Ethiopians) could prevail over fascist Italian aggression using his method.

Gandhi explained, “if every Abyssinian man, woman and child refused cooperation, willing or forced, with the Italians, the aggressor would have to walk over the dead bodies of their victims and to occupy the country without the people.”

In a strange vindication of Gandhi, over 80 years later, young Ethiopians refused cooperation with the TPLF masters of ethnic apartheid who had clung to power for 27 years and won without firing a single shot.

That is simply miraculous!

Ethiopia’s miracles never end…!

In the first six months of his administration, H.E. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed had completely transformed the Ethiopian political landscape.

Abiy Ahmed came to power preaching the gospel of Ethiopiawinet, Ethiopian unity and Ethiopian reconciliation, forgiveness and love.

Abiy Ahmed declared there will be no collective punishment, mass arrests, mass persecution and massacres. Due process of law will be the law of the land in Ethiopia.

Abiy Ahmed ended the TPLF’s “state of emergency”.

Abiy Ahmed released some 30 thousand political prisoners.

Abiy Ahmed set the media free to do their thing and the internet is accessible without restriction.

Abiy Ahmed brought peace and reconciliation to contending religious factions in and out of the country.

Abiy Ahmed made peace with Ethiopia’s neighbors and played a leadership role to stabilize the Horn region.

Abiy Ahmed invited all exiled opposition to peacefully participate in the political process and organize as parties to seize power in elections.

Abiy Ahmed insisted there will be a free and fair election in May 2020 and he will be ready to earn the people’s mandate to govern.

Abiy Ahmed is no idealist. He is a man of action. A man of vision. A man with a mission.

His mission and vision: Transition Ethiopia from dictatorship to multiparty democracy without bloodshed, bloodletting, and bloodguilt.

On his first day on the job, Abiy Ahmed proclaimed:

Killing to remain in or to grab power is the politics of losers. Real winners do not kill, they heal. We have only one country and the only way we can solve our problems peacefully is through dialogue without mouths, not through the barrel of an AK-47.

Abiy Ahmed, nineteen months after taking office, has delivered on his promises.

Abiy Ahmed has cleaned out the cesspool swamp of TPLF corruption and criminality.

But the TPLF political garbage accumulated over 27 years will take more than 19 months to completely clean out.

Yet, the Chicken Littles and social media hounds  continue to cluck and bark and heave sounds of anger and fury signifying nothing.

Abiy Ahmed and his team continue to plug away with their shoulders to the wheel and noses to the grindstone,

Best of all, Abiy Ahmed has presented his blueprint (Medemer) for TPLF trash removal and now he has his clean up and construction crew (Prosperity Party) fired up and ready to put the pedal to the metal and drive Ethiopia on the highway to progress, prosperity and peace.

Medemer replaced “revolutionary democracy” and “developmental state”

After the TPLF came to power, it put a cloak of “revolutionary democracy” over its allegiance to Stalinist-inspired “Albanian socialism” and established a dictatorship.

The TPLF used “revolutionary democracy/developmental state” to suck Ethiopia dry to the bone.

Meles Zenawi blathered about “revolutionary democracy” and the “developmental state” but he never articulated either except use them as empty slogans.

He allegedly wrote a master’s theses on “revolutionary democracy” but he never had the intellectual confidence to publish and defend it in the court of public opinion. But the two slogans were Meles’ cure all for everything.

I knew Meles Zenawi was the master of cut-and-paste, the consummate charlatan and a phrase-monger.

He cut and pasted Marxist phrases and slogans to talk about “revolutionary democracy” and other such nonsense.

Meles was a shockingly hollow and shallow man.

I remember when Meles Zenawi defended his anti-terrorism law as the best in the world and “flawless.”

Meles Zenawi cut-and-pasted bits and pieces of legal language from anti-terrorism laws of different countries and called it “flawless”.

I tried to explain to him on his level that his cut-and-paste anti-terrorism law could be likened to the creation of an imaginary biological creature:

One cannot create a lion by piecing together the sturdy long neck of the giraffe with the strong  jaws of a hyena, the fast limbs of the cheetah and the massive trunk of the elephant. The king of the jungle is an altogether different beast. In the same vein, one cannot clone pieces of anti-terrorism laws from everywhere onto a diktat and sanctify it as “flawless in every respect”.

That was exactly how Meles and his TPLF gangsters used “revolutionary democracy and developmental state”.

They would collect words and phrases and babble them with an air of intellectual respectability.

One scholar who studied so-called revolutionary democracy commented, “Abyotawi [revolutionary] democracy seems neither revolutionary nor democratic… [It] is a powerful political tool, rather than a genuinely revolutionary programme. [It has been used] as a tool to fight and exclude internal and external enemies.”

Suffice it to say “revolutionary democracy” was nothing more than TPLF snake oil!

A bosom buddy of Meles Zenawi once asked him, “Why can’t we include the smaller minority parties in our coalition in their own right?”

Meles answered with arrogant dismissiveness, “Because they are pastoralists and they don’t have the institutions to practice revolutionary democracy.”

But PM Abiy declared, “Not only do we want the smaller minorities to join our party, we want them to become leaders and prime ministers.”

Today, Ethiopia is following a new road map called “Medemer”.

With “Medemer” road map in hand, there is no need for a guide, leader or follower.

Anyone can find his or her way to a shining City Upon a Hill called Ethiopia.

Ten things I like about Prosperity Party

On November 22, 2019, the new Ethiopian “Prosperity Party” came into existence.

The creation of Prosperity Party from the crucible of an ethnic apartheid coalition created by the TPLF is simply stunning. It is historic.

No one would have predicted such an occurrence even a year ago.

With the exception of the moping TPLF, the three other members of Prosperity Party include the  Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP), and Southern Ethiopia Peoples Democratic Movement (SEPDM) formed “Prosperity Party”.

Prosperity Party has published its party programs and procedures.

The core mission of Prosperity Party is to ensure the material prosperity of all Ethiopians in dignity and freedom.

Prosperity Party means no ethnic-based parties.

It means the end of ethnic apartheid party system in Ethiopia.

No kililistans! No divisive ethnic politics.

Only agreements and disagreements on political programs, ideology and philosophy.

Prosperity Party and the other political parties that are coming together for the 2020 election herald the dawn of a new day and new politics in Ethiopia.

With Prosperity Party and others competing in a genuine multiparty system based on ideology and programs, Ethiopia can now experience true federalism that recognizes and respects the diversity and contributions of all Ethiopians.

I have supreme confidence that with the formation of Prosperity Party and the other parties Ethiopians will be able to prove to the whole world Gandhi’s maxim, “Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.”

But I want to congratulate and express my appreciation to all political parties who are getting ready for the 2020 election.

I have no doubts Ethiopians, with a robust multiparty system, will soon prove to the world the beauty of their unity in their diversity!

The formation of Prosperity Party, on the grave site of ethnic apartheid,  is simply a miraculous act accomplished with divine intervention.

I know it was not the work of ordinary men and women, only inspired men and women.

I have read Prosperity Party’s political programs, bylaws and procedures.

There is a lot I like about Prosperity Party.

I will list just a few below.

First, I like the fact that Prosperity Party, unlike the TPLF’s EPRDF, will now include people from all ethnic groups, including those considered “pastoralists” and other groups considered too small to make a difference.

I applaud Prosperity Party for its open declaration that people who belong to minority groups will have as much chance to be leaders at all levels as those in the majority.

It is said, “A civilization is measured by how it treats its weakest members.” For me, a nation is measured by how it treats its poor, unrepresented, ignored, defenseless minority citizens.

As I wrote back in 2014, “I am always for the underdog. It could be the homeless veteran at a freeway exit asking for spare change or the throngs of young people I have never met in Ethiopia who are unjustly imprisoned merely because they spoke their minds or expressed their opinions in a publication. I guess I was born that way. That is why I never get discouraged even if others believe my efforts are ultimately in vain.”

I defended and advocated for the poor people living around Lake Koka when their water was being poisoned.

I was an environmental activist for the people of the Omo River Basin when they were displaced by the TPLF without proper environmental impact statement.

I defended the people of Gambella when they were victimized by the TPLF and World Bank-ruptcy.

Second, I like the fact that Oromiffa, Tigrigna, Somali, and Afar languages will also serve as national languages in addition to Amharic.

For the past 27 years, the gods of the TPLF built a “Tower of Babel” in Ethiopia dividing the people not only by ethnicity, religion and region but also language.

For 27 years, the TPLF shut the doors of opportunity by forcing groups in society to speak only “their languages” and by preventing the use of a common language for communication.

The Prosperity Party has declared it will open the language space if elected. Oromiffa, Tigrigna, Somali, and Afar languages will serve as national languages in addition to Amharic. Why not? That is the beauty of our diversity!

There is no greater proof of the value of multilingual proficiency than Abiy Ahmed himself. He speaks Oromiffa, Amharic, Tigrigna, English. I have even heard him speak in Arabic in certain forums. Because of his language proficiency, he can communicate with the diverse people of Ethiopia.

I look forward to the day when the coming generation of Ethiopians will be able to speak four or five languages like Abiy Ahmed. 

Mandela said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”

That is how Abiy Ahmed has been talking to the “heads” and hearts of Ethiopians over the past nineteen months.

Third, I like the fact that Prosperity Party will seek the best and the brightest Ethiopians and will appoint them to office based on merit rather than “ethnic balancing”.

The TPLF uber boss Meles Zenawi once said words to the effect, “We don’t care if you have a Ph.D. We value loyalty more than merit.”

Fourth, I like the fact that Prosperity Party will abandon the self-serving TPLF nonsense of  “revolutionary democracy/developmental state”. Prosperity Party will be led by Medemer philosophy and has pledged to open the economy to foreign investors and to strongly support the country’s private sector.

Fifth, I like the fact that the guiding principles of Prosperity Party are popular consent, democracy , rule of law, ethical professionalism and national and social unity.

Simply stated, Prosperity Party is about Ethiopiawinet. That suits me just find since I am the PROUD ETHIOPIAN.

Sixth, I like Prosperity Party’s values of human/people’s dignity, justice and national unity.

That’s suits me just fine too because that is what I fought for day and night and every week and month for the last nearly 14 years.

Seventh, I like the fact that Prosperity Party is open to any Ethiopian citizen to join by simply submitting a written application.

Unlike the TPLF’s EPRDF, Prosperity Party will enroll into its ranks those who meet the Party’s transparency and accountability requirements, e.g. knowledge, understanding and acceptance of the Party’s bylaws, strong belief in national unity and social diversity, commitment to public service and renunciation of corruption. A political party can be effective only if its leaders and members are well-informed, well-organized and well-intentioned.

Eighth, I like the fact that Prosperity Party will maximize the participation of young people and women.

Over the past nineteen months, PM Abiy has proven beyond any doubt that women and young people are playing an unprecedented role in the country’s political life. Ethiopia’s President, Chief Justice and one-half of all ministerial posts are held by women, mostly young women. Young  men are equally well represented.

That gives me great pleasure because I have been a defender and advocate for Ethiopia’s Cheetah’s (young people) for the past nearly 14 years.

Ninth, I like the fact that the Prosperity Party program places a high premium on accountability and transparency. What is even more impressive is the fact that ordinary party members have the right to demand accountability of the highest leaders by following established procedures.

Tenth, I like the fact that Prosperity Party has buried “democratic centralism”, the TPLF’s  Leninist practice of top down binding decision-making process in which the rank and file have virtually no voice.

Prosperity Party places a high premium on party member engagement, participation and discipline. Party policy making is intended to be a two-way street. Members as well as leaders can propose party policies based on shared ideas, values, programs. Unlike democratic centralism, the voices of the ordinary members will be heard by the leaders who will in turn engage the members. Such an approach should maximize party allegiance, cohesion and efficacy.

Tyrants and murderers always fall!

Democracy and truth crushed to earth shall always rise!

I am very glad to see the formation of a national, non-ethnic, -religious, -regional, -linguistic based political party in Ethiopia.

Truth be told, I never thought I would see the day when a national party could be forged out of ethnic parties after 27 long years of TPLF scheming, conspiracy, intrigue, collusion, machination and double dealing.

But the impossible has become not only possible but the die is cast fro multiparty democracy.

In 1994, Nelson Mandela in his inauguration speech said, “Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.”

I remember that moment vividly.

As I sat on the couch watching, tears welled up in my eyes and I thought, “Will there ever come a time in my lifetime when I can feel so confident to say to myself, ‘Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land of Ethiopia will again experience the oppression of one by another.”

And so it is…

Hope springs eternal in the human breast:
Man never is, but always to be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin’d from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

Indeed, a national political life of forgiveness, reconciliation and love to come!

I wish all Prosperity Party members, “Live long and prosper in peace.”

I wish all other parties preparing for the 2020 election, “Live long and prosper in peace.”

Congratulations to all who worked so hard in good faith and goodwill to form Prosperity Party!  

You have done the impossible!

Believe, Ethiopia’s best days are yet to come!

By Meredith WadmanNov. 25, 2019 , 12:55 PM

Tony Magana, chief of neurosurgery at Mekelle University School of Medicine in Ethiopia’s Tigray province, confronts his country’s high prevalence of neural tube defects nearly every day. His team operates on more than 400 babies annually to repair these severe, often lethal birth malformations, in which babies can be born without brains or with their spinal cords protruding from their backs. “Probably every other day we see a child that is so bad we can’t help them,” Magana says. The holes where the spinal cord protrudes “are so big that you can’t close them.”

This month, a team of nutrition experts converged in Addis Ababa to lay groundwork for an unproven but possibly highly effective intervention: fortifying Ethiopia’s salt supply with folic acid, a synthetic form of the B vitamin folate. In the first 4 weeks of pregnancy, folate is essential to proper closure of the neural tube, which gives rise to the brain and spinal cord, and since the mid-1990s, more than 80 countries have mandated flour fortification with folic acid. Ethiopia, where fewer than one-third of people eat flour, is not among them.

Last year, a pair of studies that surveyed births at 11 public hospitals there shook the global health community. The studies—one co-authored by Magana—found that among every 10,000 births, between 126 and 131 babies suffered from neural tube defects (NTDs). That’s seven times their global prevalence and 26 times the prevalence in high-income, flour-fortifying countries such as the United States. According to Ethiopian government data, 84% of Ethiopian women of reproductive age have folate levels in their red blood cells that put them at risk of giving birth to a child with an NTD.

“These numbers from Ethiopia are some of the worst anywhere and ever,” says Marinus Koning, a retired surgeon who is  founder of ReachAnother Foundation, a  charity based in Bend, Oregon, that has supported the training of dozens of Ethiopian neurosurgeons in the past 10 years. “Everybody knows something needs to be done about it.”

At the invitation of the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, Koning and scientists from the United States, Canada and the Netherlands began to work with experts at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) to develop a plan to address the high NTD incidence. The result was an issue brief released by EPHI in May, titled “Preventing Neural Tube Defects in Ethiopia”, that recommended the government consider salt fortification.

The prospect is winning praise from affected families. “We need prevention more than any intervention,” says Beza Haile, founder of the Addis Ababa–based advocacy group HOPE-Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. Haile’s 4-year-old son, Hezkiel, who has an NTD, can’t talk, walk, sit, or eat, except foods that are the consistency of soft porridge.

A method of fortifying salt—spraying it with buffered folic acid solution—had already been developed by chemical engineer Levente Diosady and colleagues at the University of Toronto in Canada. The same spraying equipment used for iodization of salt, already mandated in Ethiopia to prevent intellectual disabilities and thyroid disease, can deliver the folate. “One of the main reasons this project is moving forward and there is a lot of political support for it is it requires few adaptations,” says Christine McDonald, a micronutrient scientist at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California.

McDonald was part of the team that visited Addis Ababa this month. There, the team met with potential funders and with Hakan Kolenoğlu, chief executive of the country’s leading salt processor, SVS Salt Production PLC in Semera. Kolenoğlu on the spot promised to fortify, free of charge, 40 tons of salt for preliminary studies.

With initial funding from ReachAnother (more will be needed from other funders, the team says), researchers will test whether folate-fortified salt is stable in Ethiopian environmental conditions and whether its sensory qualities, including a slight yellowish tinge, are acceptable to Ethiopians. If the answers are encouraging, fortified salt’s effects on the gold standard measurement of folate sufficiency—red blood cell folate levels—will be put to the test in a randomized, controlled, double-blind trial of hundreds of women of reproductive age.

“There is no scientific evidence that adding [folic acid] to salt could improve the folate status of women,” says Masresha Tessema, a nutritionist at EPHI’s Food Science and Nutrition Research Directorate who was first author on the issue brief and is the Ethiopian lead on the studies. “The ministry needs evidence.”

If salt supplementation works, it could be game-changing for Ethiopia: A meta-analysis this year concluded that large-scale folic acid food fortification in low- and middle-income countries has lowered the risk of NTDs by 41%. “We have an amazing opportunity to do a lot of good,” says Kenneth Brown, the lead U.S. scientist on the team that met in Addis Ababa. Brown, an emeritus professor at the University of California, Davis, who was until recently a senior nutrition scientist at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, adds: “It’s shovel ready. We know what the problem is. We know how to fix it.”

Other experts hope an Ethiopian success story could spur efforts in more than 110 other countries that don’t mandate food fortification. Says Nicholas Wald, an epidemiologist at University College London, who in a seminal 1991 paper established that taking 4 milligrams of folic acid daily, before and in early pregnancy, reduces the risk of NTDs by about 80%: “It’s a global issue of which Ethiopia is an extreme example. Loads of countries should be fortifying a staple food with folic acid and aren’t.”

Netsanet Zeleke (Ethiopia)

Understandably, the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) is established with its own charter and is a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. These international humanitarian societies are bonded with the 191 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies worldwide with seven cardinal principles two of which are the following:-

• Impartiality – It makes no discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. It endeavors to relieve suffering, giving priority to the most urgent cases of distress.
• Neutrality – In order to continue to enjoy the confidence of all, the Movement may not take sides in hostilities or engage at any time in controversies of a political, racial, religious or ideological nature. (https://www.redcrosseth.org/who-we-are/funadamental-principles)

In light of the above, any staff of this organization shouldn’t involve in activities that may implicate them with a political or ethnic group. To the dismay of many, Mr. Abera Tola, the President of ECRS, was the major actor when different factions of the Oromo parties were signing an agreement to work together in unity. In principle, the involvement of this President of the ERCS may look harmless, but its political and ethnic implication is undoubtedly beyond expectation. What is more, he was also seen accompanying Oromo politicians and activist and media tycoon Jawar Mohammed in a recently held press conference at the house of the activist after the latter claimed that his personal guards were to be removed from his compound.

by Sumit Rehal
AIRLIVE.net

A Turkish Cargo Airbus A330 has collided with an Ethiopian Airlines Airbus A350. The incident happened at Kinshasa-N’Djili Airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 

What happened?

The Turkish Cargo A330-200F, registration TC-JOV was in Kinshasa following flight TK6512 from Istanbul. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian A350-900, registration ET-AWO arrived in the DR Congo capital after completing flight ET841 from Addis Ababa.

Aeronews shared a post by local citizen Magloire Kabwe, which showed images of the collision. The tweet explained that the wing of the Turkish airline aircraft hit the back of the Ethiopian Airlines plane.

magloire kabwe (NKM) @MagloireKabwe

#RDC: Collusion entre l’avion Turkish Airlines et fly ethiopian à l’aéroport de #Ndjili.

Voici comment L’aile de l’avion Turkish airline a cogné l’arrière, de l’avion Ethiopian Airlines.

6

8:42 AM – Nov 27, 2019

Twitter Ads info and privacy

See magloire kabwe (NKM) ‘s other Tweets

The close-up images show some minor damage to the outer body of the planes. Altogether, there doesn’t seem to be any major harm done from what we can see in the photos. However, we hope that any crew and passengers on board are safe.

 

Previous incidents

Turkish Cargo is the shipping subsidiary of Turkish Airlines. This is not the first time that the parent company has been involved in an airport collision. In April, a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9 collided with a Turkish Airlines Airbus A340 aircraft at Johannesburg Airport. This resulted in the grounding of both planes.

Additionally, The Independent reports that last year, an Asiana A330 began to taxi to take off and collided with the tail of a Turkish Airline A321. Thankfully, no passengers or crew were injured during this incident. 

Today’s incident comes a day after the collision of a fuel truck at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. This resulted in the damage of a couple of American Eagle Bombardier CRJ900s. Both of the planes were preparing for departure at the time before clashing.

 

More about the aircraft

Ethiopian is extremely proud of its A350. Earlier this month, the airline celebrated the first flight of the Airbus aircraft type to Toronto. According to Planespotters, it currently holds 13 units of the model within its fleet. The first of these arrived in June 2016 and the latest one came only last month. The carrier also has one more of the planes on order.

Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines holds 67 A330s within its fleet. However, only five of these are A330-200Fs. This is the Airbus range’s all-cargo edition, which is capable of carrying 140,000 lb.

Simple Flying reached out to both Ethiopian Airlines and Turkish Airlines for more information about the collision but did not hear back before publication. We will update the article with any further announcements.

&

ouece – AIRLIVE net

By JEREMY SHARON
NOVEMBER 27, 2019

Traditional Ethiopian Jewish celebration can help Israeli society ‘ understand that Ethiopian Jews are of the same flesh as all Jews from all over the world.’

In Pictures: Ethiopian-Jews mark the holiday of Sigd in the holy city of Jerusalem

Nairobi, 28 November 2019. As part of its mandate to advance democratic and participatory governance in Africa, the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) of the African Union Commission (AUC), in collaboration with the Association of African Electoral Authorities (AAEA), has organised the 6th Annual Continental Forum of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) on 28-29 November 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya on the theme: “Enhancing Participation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Refugees in Elections: Towards More Inclusive Electoral Processes in Africa.” The theme of the Forum resonates with the AU 2019 theme – “The Year of Refugees, Returnees and Internally IDPs and Refugees: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa” declared at the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in February 2019.

The EMBs Forum was preceded by a General Assembly of the AAEA on 27 November 2019. Together with the General Assembly of the AAEA, the EMBs Forum aims at exploring trends, policy directives and practical measures for promoting meaningful participation of IDPs and refugees in electoral processes. This marks the first time on the continent that senior electoral officials are collectively engaging with the policy issue of internal displacement, refugees and elections in Africa. The Forum brings together Chairpersons of Election Management Bodies across the continent, electoral stakeholders and partner organisation.

During the Opening Ceremony, on 28 November 2019, Her Excellency Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Political Affairs, remarked that “strengthening the participation of IDPs and refugees in elections is relevant and urgent.” She further recognised that, as key actors in the consolidation of democracy on our continent, the EMBs contribute directly to the realization of the 2063 Agenda of “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a force dynamic on the international scene.” Against this backdrop, she implored on the EMB leaders to seize the occasion to collectively reflect “on the relationship between democratic governance and the problem of internally displaced persons and refugees in Africa in order to develop sustainable solutions to the problem of the marginalization of displaced persons and refugees in electoral processes.”

In the same vein, Mr. Wafula Chebukati, Chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Kenya, and host Commission of this year’s EMB Forum, reiterated that “the issue of participation of Refugees and IDPs in the electoral process is a conversation we must have in order to avert the disenfranchisement of this section of humanity.”

Professor Adebayo Olukoshi, Regional Director for Africa and West Asia, International IDEA, delivered a comprehensive keynote address, emphasizing the inextricable nexus between governance and displacement, the acute research and policy gaps on the subject, and concrete areas of EMB intervention which could help assuage the problems that drive displacement on the continent.

The EMBs Forum was officially opened by Justice (Rtd) Paul Kihara Kariuki, Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya on behalf of His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya. Speaking on behalf of the President of the Republic of Kenya, the Attorney General noted that: “The participation of IDPs and Refugees in Elections is an area that must be approached with boldness, sensitivity, pragmatism and focus on the constant need to continually improve the socio-political climate in our Nations. This endeavour is by no means an easy one; with numerous political, social, financial, technical and logistical hurdles standing in its way. If improperly crafted and executed, the participation of IDPs and Refugees in Elections has the potential to exacerbate the tensions that have historically been prevalent during the election periods in most African Nations.”
During the 6th EMBs Forum, a Policy Brief of the 5th Continental EMBs Forum held in 2018 on the theme “Towards Corruption-Free Electoral Processes: Strengthening Electoral Integrity in Africa” was officially launched which offers policy trajectories for EMBs and other electoral stakeholders on fostering electoral integrity on the continent
For more information contact:

Mr. Guy Cyrille Tapoko, Head of Democracy and Electoral Assistance,
tapokog@africa-union.org

Mr. Robert Gerenge, Principal Advisor to EMBs,
gerenger@africa-union.org

Department of Political Affairs
African Union Commission