By CHIOMA NNAD
December 30, 2019

Menstrual cups, thought by many to be a relatively new phenomenon, actually date back to the 1930s. Invented by the American actress Leonora Chalmers as a discreet alternative to the cumbersome feminine hygiene contraptions that women once wore belted around their waists, menstrual cups are finally showing up on the shelves of major drugstores. This past July, the prestigious medical journal The Lancet issued an extensive global report endorsing their efficacy, the first of its kind.

Nevertheless, most people would be hard-pressed to identify the squishy, bell-shaped silicone receptacles, much less explain how they work. (To clarify, they’re designed to be inserted inside the vagina and can be worn for up to 12 hours at a time during menstruation; they’re also reusable for up to five years.) That fact is not lost on Sara Eklund, the woman behind Noble Cup, Ethiopia’s first menstrual cup brand. “On a recent trip to America, an immigration officer asked me what I do in Ethiopia, I told him I sell menstrual cups, but he had no idea what they were,” says Eklund. “When I explained it to him, he shook his head and said, ‘Oh, that would never work in America.’ So I told him, ‘Actually, it does.’”

While major strides have been made in the States to reduce the stigma surrounding menstruation, such conversations are still in their infancy in East Africa. As a teenager, Eklund remembers loading up her suitcase with tampons on family vacations to California which she would bring back to Ethiopia, where they are still considered taboo and not widely available. So when Eklund, who is now 30, discovered the menstrual cup as a 25-year-old grad school student living in New York, it was something of a revelation. At once cost-effective and environmentally friendly, the simple device had changed her life. Imagine what it could do for countless women in Ethiopia? “It was really the first time that I started to think outside of myself about how other women in Ethiopia were navigating this,” says Eklund, whose mother is an Ethiopian entrepreneur and father is an American member of the Peace Corps. “I knew I needed to do my research.”

The statistics she discovered were shocking: About a quarter of the women of reproductive age in Ethiopia have no access to menstrual products. Often fashioned from rags and/or newspaper, the homemade alternatives are ineffective and uncomfortable, also leaving women prone to vaginal infections. Given that most schools don’t have private bathrooms or running water, washing and disposing of menstrual products, improvised or otherwise, is often an insurmountable challenge, one that has contributed to widespread absenteeism. According to a recent report, the average high school girl in Ethiopia will miss around 20% of the academic year because they are on their cycle. With little to no information around women’s health available in schools, 70% of girls in Ethiopia won’t even know about menstruation before their first period.

Working under the slogan “Every Queen Bleeds,” Eklund takes a grassroots approach to raising awareness. To coincide with the launch of Noble Cup last year, she began hosting interactive workshops on menstrual management in universities and schools across the country with the help of a small team of friends, extended family, and volunteers. “There is such a stigma around periods to the point that even purchasing basic menstrual products can be quite difficult for young women. Even those who have the resources to buy pads might avoid going to the shop if the storekeeper is male because of shame that could arise from that interaction,” she says. As Eklund sees it, her primary goal is clear: for Ethiopian women to make the switch to reusable cups, the conversation around menstrual health and hygiene needs to be normalized first and foremost.

With buzz quickly building on a local level, Eklund’s campaign is now beginning to attract high-profile international attention. Over the summer, Pakistani activist and Nobel Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai was among those who joined a Noble Cup workshop at a high school in the capital Addis Ababa. Above and beyond providing products, these gatherings have been instrumental in helping create safe spaces where young women feel empowered to think differently about their own bodies. “I want girls to be able to reframe the conversation around menstruation in their communities and society as a whole,” says Eklund, who hopes one day to expand the social enterprise to create solutions for sexual and reproductive health issues in the future. “It starts by talking, sharing stories about periods. When we give out the cups, we encourage girls to give it a shot, but of course they’re scared. Maybe only a handful will try it at first, and that’s ok. The idea is that they will learn from each other, form new habits and dismantle the taboos together. I like to think of this as an activist movement that truly all women can be a part of, no matter where they are.”

https://www.vogue.com/article/noble-cup-sara-eklund-menstrual-cup-ethiopia

The post Meet the Woman Bringing the Menstrual Cup Movement to Ethiopia appeared first on Ethiopian Registrar News/Breaking News:.

By Prof. Alemayehu G, Mariam

Now the other myth that gets around is the idea that legislation cannot really solve the problem and that it has no great role to play in this period of social change because you’ve got to change the heart and you can’t change the heart through legislation. You can’t legislate morals. The job must be done through education and religion. Well, there’s half-truth involved here. Certainly, if the problem is to be solved then in the final sense, hearts must be changed. Religion and education must play a great role in changing the heart. But we must go on to say that while it may be true that morality cannot be legislated, behavior can be regulated. It may be true that the law cannot change the heart but it can restrain the heartless. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me but it can keep him from lynching me and I think that is pretty important, also. So there is a need for executive orders. There is a need for judicial decrees. There is a need for civil rights legislation on the local scale within states and on the national scale from the federal government. [Emphasis added]

— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s address at Western Michigan University, December 18, 1963,

Hate speech is a function and symptom of politics, a tool used to mobilize supporters in a country whose organizational structures center on ethnic identity. As such, no law alone can address the potential of hatred, or even disinformation, to be used to rally one’s supporters. What is needed is not necessarily more law but more speech— that is, more professional sources of verifiable information — and a broad and deep national dialogue aimed at creating an agreed process for addressing grievances and building democratic institutions.

— David Kaye, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, “End of Mission Statement”, December 2019. [Emphasis added.]

What Kaye is dismissively saying about the draft a proclamation aimed at controlling the lawless driven by hate was addressed long ago by Dr. King when he talked about the necessity of laws to deal with the heartless.  It is true that legislation will not solve the problems of hate speech, “in the final sense, hearts must be changed.” But there is a need for laws, proclamations, legislation and  judicial decrees to stop those who would use speech to incite the lynching of others because of their ethnicity, religion or language. There is a need for legislation on the local scale within the “kilils” and on the national scale from the federal government to deal with hate speech and disinformation.

— Alemayehu G. Mariam

Author’s Note:

David Kaye, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression recently issued an “End of Mission Statement” [hereinafter “preliminary report”] on the “situation of freedom of opinion and expression in Ethiopia today.”

In Part I of this commentary, I discussed my personal philosophy and experience in defense of freedom of expression and my reservations about David Kaye’s “preliminary report”.

In Part II here, I shall discuss the technical aspects of the draft “hate speech and disinformation proclamation” currently before the Ethiopian House of Peoples’ Representatives [hereinafter “parliament”] and issue a broad challenge to Kaye and others interested in defending and promoting freedom of expression in Ethiopia to join hands in good will and good faith and help refine the current draft into a model “hate speech and disinformation” law for Africa, and possibly the world.

In concluding Part I, I expressed my hope to “work cooperatively with Kaye in improving the draft proclamation.”

I have reached out to Kaye but have not heard from him. Regardless, my view is that if we cannot agree to work together, we can agree to disagree without being disagreeable.

Aah! The good old days of making “flawless”, “perfect” laws in Ethiopia!

Not long ago, Ethiopian “leaders” openly and unabashedly claimed they made “perfect” laws.

The late boss of the TPLF crime family, Meles Zenawi, in January 2012 described his anti-terrorism diktat (Anti-Terrorism Proclamation No.652/2009) not only as the best in the world but also “flawless”. In other words, Zenawi had written the “perfect” anti-terrorism law!

Zenawi offered the following description (video of Meles’ statement to “parliament in Amharic, author’s translation below) of his “flawless” anti-terrorism law: 

In drafting our anti-terrorism law, we copied word-for-word the very best anti-terrorism laws in the world. We took from America, England and the European model anti-terrorism laws. It is from these three sources that we have drafted our anti-terrorism law. From these, we have choosen the better ones.  For instance, in all of these laws, an organization is deemed to be terrorist by the executive branch. We improved it by saying it is not good for the executive to make that determination. We took the definition of terrorism word-by-word. Not one word was changed. Not even a comma. It is taken word-by-word. There is a reason why we took it word-by-word. First, these people have experience in democratic governance. Because they have experience, there is no shame  if we learn or take from them. Learning from a good teacher is useful not harmful.  Nothing embarrassing about it. The [anti-terrorism] proclamation in every respect is flawless. It is better than the best anti-terrorism laws [in the world] but not less than any one of them in any way… 

When I heard Meles Zenawi saying these words on video, I was not sure if I should laugh or cry. It hurt too much to laugh.

Meles Zenawi believed by wholesale plagiarism, cherry picking words, phrases, sentences and clauses from the “anti-terrorism” laws of different countries, he could craft a “flawless” law for himself.

At the time, I tried to tutor Zenawi that though imitation may best the highest form of flattery, to boldly claim that a mindlessly patched diktat as “flawless” is just mindless.

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

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”.

The fact of the matter is that Zenawi weaponized his “flawless” anti-terrorism law to jail journalists wholesale, persecute dissenters, shutter newspapers and create a climate of fear and loathing in the country.

The draft “hate speech and disinformation” proclamation [author’s translation: “Hate Speech and Disinformation Prevention and Suppression Proclamation”; the author is not aware of any official English version of the draft proclamation] currently before   parliament is not a “flawless” or “perfect” law. However, it is a narrowly drafted proclamation aimed at the prevention and penalization of speech reasonably likely to incite violence and lawlessness and dissemination of false information within the existing framework of Ethiopian criminal law and procedure.

It is regrettable David Kaye finds little that is socially redeeming in the draft proclamation. He declares it DOA (dead on arrival) for “excessive vagueness” and “overbreadth” at the altar of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Kaye’s final word on the draft proclamation is, “What is needed is not necessarily more law but more speech.”

More hate speech and disinformation!?

David Kaye’s “End of Mission Statement” or parade-of-horribles about the draft proclamation?

In his “End of Mission Statement”, David Kaye trots out a parade-of-horribles about the draft “hate speech and disinformation” proclamation:

The draft ‘Hate Speech and Disinformation Proclamation’ would threaten freedom of expression. As constructed presently, it could reinforce rather than ease ethnic and political tensions.

The Government’s draft Hate Speech and Disinformation Proclamation, which it recently presented to Parliament, goes far beyond the command of Article 20(2) and the limitations on restrictions required by Article 19(3) of the ICCPR. (See my comments in the attached document.)

Unlike other draft legislation proceeding through the Advisory Council, this proclamation was developed outside that process. I am concerned that the draft Proclamation will exacerbate ethnic tension, which in turn may fuel further violence.

Inter-ethnic conflict spurred on by hate speech and disinformation demand not just legal solutions but political ones in which the Government and its opposition pursue reform at each state and district level. Law can support that process, but ultimately political will must exist to allow it to survive and thrive.

The reform process may be at risk from the near-term threat of inter-ethnic politics and the emergence — or at the very least the perceived emergence — of hatred and disinformation as tools of politics.”

There is seeming consensus social and broadcast media are fueling disinformation and hatred.

The Government is obligated under Article 20(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to prohibit by law “advocacy of national, racial and religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence.

The problem of hatred in the media should involve legal steps. But that is only part of the approach, for hate is very much a function of politics and, as such, it requires first and foremost a political, national solution.

Because of the failure to limit the offense by principles of intent, context, and other factors found in the Rabat Plan of Action, by its terms the draft could lead to the criminalization of people who merely re-post or otherwise share content deemed “hate speech” or “disinformation”. The scope of such an approach could be enormous, in particular because the problem of hate speech is often not merely the content but its virality, the ease by which it may be shared by hundreds or thousands of people.

The draft’s excessive vagueness means that officials at the federal and regional level would have practically unbounded discretion to determine whom to investigate and prosecute, leading to an almost certain inconsistency in approach and a potential wave of arbitrary arrests and prosecutions.

Several interlocutors expressed the fear that the law could be used to silence critics. This is not fantasy. Because of the ethnic definition of politics and governance at the national and regional level, it is possible that robust political debate could be penalized under the Proclamation.

An old Ethiopian proverb: “The sky is near for those who sit and point an index finger”.

I have presented ten reasons highlighting my reservations about Kaye’s “end of mission statement” in Part I of my commentary and will not rehash them here.

However, I find several things curious about Kaye’s parade-of-horribles.

Kaye has been a U.N special rapporteur since 2014. Indeed, he claims, “My mandate has undertaken considerable study of the human rights law pertaining to hate speech and disinformation, and by this informal comment I wish to share with you some of that work.”

Manifestly, Kaye has vast knowledge and experience in human rights law and from  previous reports he has issued, it is abundantly clear that he has “evaluated” similar laws and proclamations in a number of other countries.

It seems obvious to me that if there is anyone who can fix a broken “hate crimes and disinformation” law, Kaye would be one of the very few people in the world who could.

With all due respect to Kaye, to me Kaye sounds like a broken record talking over and over about how other countries he had evaluated have drafted “excessively narrow and vague” and “overbroad” laws.

All countries Kaye has “evaluated” got it wrong on drafting “hate speech and disinformation laws!

After reviewing Italy’s law, Kaye concluded:

I am concerned that the Protocol is incompatible with the standards of international human rights law. I am concerned that the restrictions on “fake news” established by the Protocol are inconsistent with the criteria of legality, necessity and proportionality under article 19(3) of the ICCPR…

I am concerned that the Protocol would disproportionately suppress a wide range of expressive conduct essential to a democratic society, including criticism of the government, news reporting, political campaigning and the expression of unpopular, controversial or minority opinions.

After reviewing Malaysia’s law, Kaye concluded:

Section 3 of the Act broadly criminalizes any act with a “seditious tendency”, including any act that conjures feelings of “hatred”, “contempt”, “disaffection”, “discontent”, “ill will”, or “hostility”. I remain concerned that the vague language of the Sedition Act could result in disproportionate restrictions on freedom of expression…

The broad remit of the Sedition Act confers excessive discretion on the Government to suppress criticism, political campaigning or the expression of unpopular, controversial or minority opinions…

Section 233’s broad criminalization of online content is a disproportionate restriction on freedom of expression. The use of subjective terms such as “indecent”, “obscene”, “false”, “menacing”, or “offensive” gives the Government largely unfettered discretion to target government criticism or unpopular or controversial opinions.

After reviewing Singapore’s draft law, Kaye concluded:

I am concerned that the Bill, if adopted, would be incompatible with international human rights law… I am concerned that the Bill confers on select executive officials excessive authority to restrict, censor and punish online expression it designates as “false,” with limited opportunity for appeal.

[The] Bill gives Ministers virtually unfettered discretion to label and restrict expression they disagree with as “false statements of fact.”

The criminal penalties that may be imposed for the communication of a ‘false statement of fact’ or the failure to comply with a Direction also heighten the risk of censorship and government overreach. The broad discretion afforded to select executive officials to police ‘false statement[s] of fact,’ coupled with the threat of heavy fines and custodial sentences, is likely to create a significant chilling effect on freedom of expression.

After reviewing Ethiopia’s draft law, Kaye concluded:

The draft’s excessive vagueness means that officials at the federal and regional level would have practically unbounded discretion to determine whom to investigate and prosecute, leading to an almost certain inconsistency in approach and a potential wave of arbitrary arrests and prosecutions.

Because of the failure to limit the offense by principles of intent, context, and other factors found in the Rabat Plan of Action, by its terms the draft could lead to the criminalization of people who merely re-post or otherwise share content deemed “hate speech” or “disinformation”.

Show us the right way to do it!

In the movie “Jerry Maguire”, the lackluster sports agent wants to convince his client to stay with him. But the client unimpressed by his agent’s cheap talk declares, “Show me the money.”

I say to Kaye, “Show us the best model legislation for hate speech and disinformation.”

As I argued in Part I, it seems to me that Kaye indulges in excessive cut and paste to make his generic case against laws and proclamations aimed at regulating “hate speech and disinformation”.

But that begs questions.

Since Kaye is arguably one of the most authoritative experts in the world, at least by UN designation, on freedom of expression, why does he not draft a model “hate speech and disinformation law” and share it with the world? (Is the answer to that “It’s outside the scope of my mandate?)

Could he piece together the best parts of the world’s best “hate speech and disinformation” laws and, like Meles Zenawi, create a “flawless” and “perfect” law for adoption by all countries? (Is the answer to that, “It’s outside the scope of my mandate”?)

Could he get the U.N. Human Rights Council to propose a draft model “hate speech and disinformation law” for adoption by the U.N. General Assembly or the U.N. Human Rights Council? (Is the answer to that, “It’s outside the scope of my mandate?”)

Could he Perhaps lead a diverse body of international experts on freedom of expression such as the body that drafted the “Rabat Action Plan” to develop practical guidelines, recommendations and language for use in “hate speech and disinformation” laws? (Is the answer to that, “It’s outside the scope of my mandate?”)

Could he and others like him help regional human rights  organization like the African Human Rights Commission to develop capacity,  guidelines and recommendations for “hate speech and disinformation” laws that are relevant to the African experience and consistent with African traditions? (Is the answer to that, “It’s outside the scope of my mandate?”)

Could he organize expert workshops for countries like Ethiopia to help them write the “hate speech and disinformation” that pass Article 19 muster and effectively meet local needs and standards? (Is the answer to that “It’s outside the scope of my mandate?”)

Could he “customize” the Rabat Action Plan (which talks about standards in broad generalities) for Ethiopia?  (Is the answer to that, “It’s outside the scope of my mandate?”)

The problem I have with Kaye’s approach and analysis to “hate speech and disinformation” laws is that he believes Article 19 is the only and ultimate standard of perfection and measure for freedom of expression.

Kaye seems to believe only a few chosen oracles are capable of interpreting and fixing the meaning of Article 19 and all others must accept their interpretations as gospel truth.

Kaye condemns the draft proclamation as “go[ing] far beyond the command of Article 20(2) and the limitations on restrictions required by Article 19(3) of the ICCPR.”

I am perplexed. Is Article 19 one of the Articles of Faith or the equivalent of the Apostles Creed for freedom of expression?

Article 19 is not a dogma of divine ordination.

Neither do I believe that the U.N. Human Rights Council is the equivalent of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for freedom of expression established to undertake inquisitions and punish/excommunicate heretics of freedom of expression.

I will state it plainly. I regard Article 19 and related articles as aspirational and inspirational. I regard them as directory, not mandatory. Nations can aspire to maximize freedom of expression and use Article 19 as a guideline.

But article 19 is not the equivalent of the Nicene Creed to be followed by all guided by the chosen few.

The Rosetta stone of Article 19/20 is the so-called Rabat Action Plan, prepared in 2013 under the auspices of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

That Plan synthesizes and summarizes the expert opinions, “suggestions and recommendations of international expert bodies who held a series of expert workshops on the prohibition of incitement to national, racial or religious hatred and observations on legislative patterns, judicial practices and policies.”

I will concede that I know little about the credentials, expertise and composition of the “international body of experts” that issued the Rabat Action Plan.

My understanding of “expert opinion” testimony is limited to the procedural rules practiced in American federal and state jurisdictions.

In 27 years of law practice, I have jousted in the “battle of experts” from time to time.

Those who give “expert opinions” testify from a carefully crafted “script”. Experts are often paid handsomely to give preferred testimony. Expert testimony can be rebutted by other expert testimony and evidence.

I propose a battle of experts against the forces of hate, disinformation and fake news promoting violence and lawlessness.

The draft “hate speech …”

[Special Note: Discussion of the draft proclamation herein are based exclusively on the author’s translation of the Amharic text into English. There could be translational disagreements on words and phrases. I am not sure Kaye has proficiency in the Amharic language to be able to understand the draft proclamation in its original formulation. Until an official English version of the draft proclamation is released, there is no point in debating translational issues.]

In his broadside against the draft ‘Hate Speech and Disinformation Proclamation’, Kaye presents two arguments. In the first, he argues the proclamation as drafted “could reinforce rather than ease ethnic and political tensions.” He claims, “Inter-ethnic conflict spurred on by hate speech and disinformation demand not just legal solutions but political ones in which the Government and its opposition pursue reform at each state and district level. Law can support that process, but ultimately political will must exist to allow it to survive and thrive.”

I will not address Kaye’s first “political” argument since he has avoided it by disclaiming, “The basket of problems I am describing is deeply political and beyond the scope of my mandate to review fully.”

In his second line of argument, Kaye alleges the draft proclamation is fatally flawed  because it could lead to “criminalization of speech” due to its “failure to limit the offense by principles of intent, context, and other factors found in the Rabat Plan of Action.” Specifically, Kaye asserts the “draft’s excessive vagueness” and “overbreadth” could result in “arbitrary arrests and prosecutions” by local and federal authorities.

Kaye argues the “definitions” in the proclamation “provide excessive scope for interpretation and, by their breadth, would not meet the legality standard in Article 19(3) [20(2)] .”

In other words, the definitions are “overbroad”, “unclear [about] what may be covered by speech that “promotes hatred, discrimination or attack against a person…” and would not sufficiently guide law enforcement authorities. He recommends, “laws to combat hate speech must be carefully construed and applied by the judiciary not to excessively curtail legitimate types of expression.”

Kaye’s second argument is familiar to me and resonate constitutional debates in America.

In American constitutional law, there are two methods commonly employed to challenge the constitutionality of a law/legislation. There are “facial” challenges in which proponents aim to show the law is unconstitutional by the very terms and language used in crafting it. In an “as applied” challenge, the claim is that while the law may generally valid, it operates improperly against a particular individual or group.

I believe what Kaye is arguing is that the draft proclamation is facially invalid (without ever being applied at all)  under Articles 19, 20 or other human rights conventions.

In his  mechanical, speculative and declaratory interpretation, Kaye believes that if the draft  proclamation becomes law it will not, ipse dixit, “not meet the legal standards of Articles 19 and 20.”

To declare a draft proclamation or a law that has not been implemented as facially invalid by simply reading the words is the height of intellectual arrogance and hubris or the pit of intellectual folly. Kaye dismissively presumes Ethiopian authorities will naturally and inevitably abuse and misuse the law, implement it in bad faith and are fundamentally incompetent in the performance of their duties.

Kaye offers no evidence to support bad faith and incompetence on the part of Ethiopian authorities.

The right and quintessentially relevant question for Kaye to ask was whether the draft proclamation passes muster the requirements of Ethiopian criminal law and procedure.

To paraphrase a popular saying, “The devil is in the procedural details.”

The draft proclamation defines “hate speech” as speech that “promotes hatred, discrimination or attack against a person or an identifiable group or community on the basis of ethnicity, religion, race, color, national origin, gender or disability.”

“Disinformation” is defined as “speech that is false, is disseminated by person who knew or should reasonably have known of the falsity of the information and its likelihood of causing a public disturbance, riot, violence or conflict.”

Kaye argues, “while the definition seems to assume that ‘false’ has a fixed meaning, it does not. As a result, the definition raises serious overbreadth concerns under the legality test of Article 19(3), which does not provide for such restrictions.” He further contends it “is unclear whether the knowledge standard applies not only to falsity but to the likeliness of causing a public disturbance.” He further points out the “definition evidently excludes the element of intention” particularly “if a person were to share false information, knowing it was false, but intended to imply disagreement with the content.”

Kaye does not seem to be aware of the unusual procedural requirements of “intent” and “burden of proof” under Ethiopian criminal law and procedure.

According to one scholarly analysis (see discussion pp. 288-290):

There are provisions in the [Ethiopian] Criminal Code that allow proof of facts constituting an element of a crime, mainly intention or knowledge, by presumption. In some cases, the public prosecutor does not even have to prove any basic facts for those facts to be deemed to exist. Some of the provisions even preclude contrary proof of facts that are presumed to exist. Courts routinely impose the burden of proof on the defendant. These state actions and legislative provisions that shift the burden of proof to the defendant not only restrict (and sometimes nullify) the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence, but also negatively impact the fairness of the criminal justice system administration in a fundamental way.

Intention exists where a person commits ‘an unlawful and punishable act with full knowledge and intent in order to achieve a given result’ or that ‘he, being aware that his act may cause illegal and punishable consequences, commits the act regardless of such consequences may follow’ (Article 58 “Criminal Intention”).

Under Ethiopian criminal law and procedure, the defendant bears the burden of raising affirmative defenses to overcome the prosecution’s proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

There is even an irrebuttable presumption regarding such intention or knowledge that constitutes an element of the crime. Thus, with regard to crimes committed through the mass media, the Criminal Code provides that ‘[i]n determining the liability of a person … for the crime committed through the product of mass media, the content of the matter shall be deemed to have been inserted, published or disseminated with … full knowledge and consent’ of the editor-in-chief, deputy editor, publisher, printer, disseminator, etc. It is further provided that ‘[n]o proof to the contrary may be admitted in such a case’. These are not evidentiary provisions; they are substantive provisions which establish guilt by presumption because they preclude contrary proof.”

Kaye is barking up the wrong tree. His quarrel is not with the draft proclamation but the Ethiopian criminal law and procedure.

For Kaye to argue the draft proclamation must be held to Articles 19 and 20 in disregard of Ethiopia’s criminal law and procedure shows that he is either uninformed, naïve or dogmatic.

Since the crux of the issue for Kaye in the draft proclamation is arbitrary prosecution of persons engaging in “hate speech” and “disinformation”, the question is whether to follow Ethiopian criminal procedure or disregard it in favor of Articles 19 and 20 standards.

The bottom line is the draft proclamation is consistent with current Ethiopian criminal law and procedure.

Do I believe there is a need for revising Ethiopian criminal procedure with respect to “hate crimes and disinformation”?

Do I believe there is a need to revise Ethiopian criminal law and procedure in its entirety?

Do I believe it is time to overhaul Ethiopian laws to measure up to the legal standards of the so-called advanced industrialized  societies?

Those are questions I shall reserve for my forthcoming commentary, “The Need for Medemer Jurisprudence”.

The bottom line is simply this: The draft proclamation if enacted into law will become part of the criminal law and subject to applicable criminal procedural requirements. To do what Kay wants done with the draft proclamation, it will be necessary to revise substantial areas of Ethiopian criminal procedure!

David Kaye and the myth that legislation cannot really solve the problem of hate speech in Ethiopia

Kaye argues, “hate is very much a function of politics and, as such, it requires first and foremost a political, national solution.”

What Kaye is dismissively saying about the draft a proclamation aimed at controlling the lawless driven by hate was addressed long ago by Dr. King when he talked about the necessity of laws to deal with the heartless.

It is true that legislation will not solve the problems of hate speech, “in the final sense, hearts must be changed.”

But there is a need for laws, proclamations, legislation and  judicial decrees to stop those who would use speech to incite the lynching of others because of their ethnicity, religion or language. There is a need for legislation on the local scale within the “kilils” and on the national scale from the federal government to deal with hate speech and disinformation.

There is a need for a “hate speech and disinformation” law in Ethiopia!

W.E. Gladstone, the 19^th century British Prime Minister observed, “The American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.”

The draft “hate speech and disinformation” proclamation before the Ethiopian parliament is by no stretch of the imagination the “most wonderful” piece of legislation “ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man”. Nor do I believe the draft is gospel that is unchanging and eternal.

It is a narrowly tailored proclamation that deals with the problem of hate speech and disinformation within Ethiopian criminal law and procedure.

Kaye argues, “Combating hate speech is a delicate endeavour, which requires an in-depth knowledge of the local context, proficiency in local languages, and understanding of social and cultural habits, among so many others.”

The draft can certainly be improved and refined with the collaborative effort of all stakeholders of goodwill and good faith who are committed to making  Ethiopia second to none in the practice, protection and preservation of freedom of expression.

It can be improved through practice, careful judicial interpretation and attentive legislative oversight.

But the draft proclamation cannot be improved by boilerplate criticisms, furtive disclaimers and dogmatic appeals to Articles 19 and 20.

Kaye’s concerns remain speculative since no one has been or could be prosecuted under the draft proclamation. There are many practical (not just academic) aspects of enforcement of hate speech and disinformation laws. Judicial determination of violations of the  proclamation if enacted will require consideration of the totality of the circumstances, not just quibbling over abstract academic definitions.

How do judges determine when heated political rhetoric is transformed into incitement? Could courts consider evidence of prior statements encouraging or inciting violence? Should a framework be developed to enable courts to identify incitement based on set criteria? Could the experiences and laws of other countries dealing with hate speech and disinformation be relevant to Ethiopia?  Could Ethiopia adopt standards from the U.S. such as the Brandenburg test?

I take a practical, let’s-wait-and see approach to the draft proclamation. If it is enacted, let’s see if there is abuse and misuse.

Would the courts use a test for incitement that is arbitrary and capricious? Would the courts be able to provide standards regarding the elements of “imminence” and “likelihood” of imminent lawless action?

None of these questions can be answered easily. The line between what is freedom of expression and incitement speech has not been clear even in the United States. For more than five decades, U.S. courts have been struggling to develop systematic framework for determining the categories and contexts of speech acts that are most likely to cause imminent harm or injury.

The power of hate advocacy cannot be understated. Charismatic and populist leaders are more likely to influence behavior if they are perceived to be important by a particular audience.  The Nazis rose to power by systematically advocating a message of hate and by demonizing minority groups in German society. Long before the Holocaust, Jews were consistently depicted by the Nazis as threats and  “enemies of the German people” and labeled “Untermenschen” or  sub-humans.

Speakers can promote fear,  resentment and violence among their followers by accentuating historical grievances and scapegoating others.  Speakers can spread disinformation to incite lawlessness.

In June 2019, YouTube issued notice it will ban supremacists and remove Nazis and other extremists from using its services. Similar actions are being taken by Facebook.

Whether a given speech is intended to cause violence is a factual matter to be decided on a case-by-case basis by a fact finder. However, hate speech and disinformation laws are not contradictory to the exercise of robust political speech and prevention of lawlessness by advocacy of hate.

Medemer Jurisprudence….  to follow.

The post Hate, Hearts and Minds: “Creating an Ethiopia That is Second to None in Its Guarantee of Freedom of Expression” (Part II) appeared first on Ethiopian Registrar News/Breaking News:.

-Background

On January 9, 2019, Federal investigators have arrested Ermyas Amelga, Diaspora returnee and former investment banker, founder of Access Real Estate, Zemen Bank, in connection with an ongoing corruption probe on the former executive of Metals & Engineering Corporation (METEC). Ermyas was arrested on suspicion of transferring the former Imperial Hotel to METEC for 72 million Br, without a proper procurement process. Ermyas appeared before the 10th Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court on Friday, January 11, along with other senior executives of METEC.

-Arrest on False Grounds and Misleading Charges

The facts indicate that Ermyas arrest itself was made on inaccurate premises.  Charges against him claim that government has suffered a loss of 20 million birr (again ignoring accurate purchase and sales price and VAT charges). Also ignoring fact that due to escalating real estate prices, the current value of Imperial Hotel is now estimated to be over 300 million birr.

In response to the charge that he brought a hotel for 60 million birr and sold it for 72 million birr, resulting in a 20 million birr loss to government, Ermyas has said in court, that there is always this consistent omission of the sales figure breakdown by police/prosecutors to exaggerate the sales price and strengthen the case against him. The difference in sales price is due to VAT and interest payments, for which there is evidence.

Ermyas explained in court, as CEO of Access Real Estate (ARE), he  sold Imperial Hotel, previously purchased from Asfaw Tefera’s family, for 60 million birr (47 million cash and 13 million to cover existing hotel debt)  to METEC, in 2013, for 61.2 million birr (net of VAT). There was also a payment plan included to be implemented over an 18 month period. After including 2.5 million birr in bank interest payments, there is actually a loss of 1.2 million birr to ARE/Ermyas on the sale. Again actual sales price to METEC was 61.2 million, and then 10.8 million was added for VAT, bringing the total sales price to METEC to 72 million birr.

-Ermyas’s Lawyer’s Response

(i)  The charges made against Ermyas are under criminal legislation codes 111 and 112 but they don’t provide the evidence for these charges. There is no reference to the time and place where the alleged crimes took place. There is also no explanation how the alleged crimes directly or indirectly took place took place as required by criminal code 32 (1);

(i) – Ethiopia operates a free market economy. What is the barometer that the Attorney General is using when he is charging Ermyas with selling the hotel at an exorbitant price? One can’t be charged with corruption for selling a property at a higher price than was purchased. The sale was taken in an open and transparent manner. Before the property was fully transferred to ARE, METEC stepped in and purchased it directly from the original owner representative. This means that Ermyas, representing ARE, was removed from this transaction.

(iii) – Knowing that the final sale was between METEC and the original property owner, Asfaw Terefe, the Attorney General should not try and make Ermyas legally accountable for this transaction and cannot cite him as guilty for any crime under legislation they have cited.

(iv) – Since it is not a crime to sell property registered under ones name/company’s name and the Attorney General’s office has no evidence to support the charges they have made, the court should dismiss the charges they made and release Ermyas.

-Denial of Bail

Ermyas’s lawyer has appealed to the Supreme Court for bail rights, only to be told, that the District Attorney A may link the case to possible corruption activities so bail can’t be allowed.

How is it that one of the METEC officials originally part of the group, charges  is quietly acquitted while defendants like, Ermyas, simple business man, arrested without any evidence, cannot even be allowed  bail rights?

UPDATE ON ERMYAS’S CASE

-Regression of the Judicial Process

On December 27, 2019. Ermyas and lawyer appeared in court, nearly a year after being in jail. The court, in July had asked for almost 3 months to deliberate and provided a verdict on Tikemt (October) 20. Since then they asked for two extensions, on December 27, when they had promised to make a final decision, AGAIN they asked for a month extension, with a list of reports that they needed.

Some of the data relates to, again, the building assessment of Imperial Hotel- (assessment was provided 5-6 months ago). The judges had almost 5 months to raise these questions, why at the time of verdict is this being asked?  It was clear that this information was missing when witness cross examination (in Ermyas case, mostly property valuation experts) was taking place back in July.

In addition, a lot of the additional data they are requesting does not even relate to Ermyas’s case. Given the strategy to annex him to the 10 METEC officials- he will again be dragged along with them…These actions demonstrate a deliberate strategy to drag out the judicial process ensuring Ermyas gets dragged on with the lawsuits against the 10 other defendants.

QUESTIONS THAT NEED AN URGENT RESPONSE

-Why is a simple hotel sale (Actually resulting in a net loss to Access Real Estate) treated as a crime on par with charges leveled at high level METEC officials accused of billion dollar corruption activities, without any evidence?

-Why is Ermyas Amelga still kept in jail, denied bail, one year later, WITH THESE VAGUE, UNSUBSTANTIATED CHARGES?

-Is there a strategy to keep him in jail while the other 10 cases are being processed?

-What is behind this continuing miss-carriage of justice- in this era of democratic reform?

IS UPHOLDING HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM NOT PART OF ETHIOPIA CURRENT REFORM PROGRAM?

JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED!

  THIS CASE REPRESENTS A RED FLAG FOR POTENTIAL INVESTORS DIASPORA OR OTHERWISE:

PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

WE DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF ERMYAS AMELGA

THIS STATEMENT IS PREPARED BY SUPPORTERS OF ERMYAS AMELGA

The post PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE- ERMYAS AMELGA STILL IN PRISON ONE YEAR AFTER BEING ARRESTED AND DENIED BAIL DESPITE ANY EVIDENCE OF COMMITTING A CRIME appeared first on Ethiopian Registrar News/Breaking News:.

By Jeff Mazzeo

Angelina Jolie is raising her kids to be citizens of the world!

The mother of six took her daughter, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, to her birth country of Ethiopia just over a week before her 15th birthday and they had the honor of meeting the country’s first female president, Sahle-Work Zewde.

A source told Hollywood Life that Angelina thought the trip would be a good experience for her kids.

“Angelina Jolie has taken the kids on a trip to Ethiopia, they left a couple of days ago. It’s where Zahara was born, so it’s important to Angelina that they keep the connection strong,” the source told HollywoodLife. “They’ll be doing sightseeing and getting to know more about her beautiful birth country.”

Watch Them Embrace The President

Jolie and Zahara wore matching flowy white dresses as they were being escorted to meet Zewde. Shiloh also tagged along but opted for a dark jacket. Jolie went in for a very respectable handshake with the president but Zewde opened her arms wide to embrace Zahara. Shiloh also got a hug but, judging by the awkward moment, the 13-year-old was not expecting it. The whole event was captured by the Ethiopian News for the world to see.

It is really cool to see how grown up Zahara looked now that she is almost as tall as her mother.

Jolie Plans To Move Her Kids Abroad

Gettyimages | Monica Schipper

Angelina sat down with Harper’s BAZAAR in November and expressed her desire to move abroad with her kids. Maddox already moved to South Korea to attend college and Jolie has that international bug. There is only one big problem… Brad Pitt.

Pitt and Jolie have been going back and forth of the details of their divorce for years and one of those details is about the custody of their kids. In the interview, the actress revealed that Pitt is actually keeping her and her kids in the United States.

“I would love to live abroad and will do so as soon as my children are 18,” Jolie told the magazine “Right now I’m having to base where their father chooses to live.”

The post Angelina Jolie Takes Daughter Zahara To Her Birth Country To Meet Ethiopia’s President appeared first on Ethiopian Registrar News/Breaking News:.

Unidentified armed gangs have shot and killed six teenagers in northern part of Ethiopia Amhara region Tsegede area at a place called Adman.

Before killing the gangs have kidnapped eight children and were demanding for 500,000 birr (about $15,723) for each child from the parents, according to local sources. Then out of the eight children they kidnapped they shot six of them and killed.

One of the child managed to escape while the other one was wounded and survived. The armed gangs known as Shifta, have escaped after committing the crime in Sanja wereda or district, according to local reports.

Behak

The post Armed Gangs Kill Six Children In Ethiopia appeared first on Ethiopian Registrar News/Breaking News:.

On December 20, 2019, an Ethiopian microsatellite was launched into space by the Long March 4B carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in North China’s Shanxi province. About 7,900 km away from this space station, the historic milestone streamed live for government officials and select individuals at the Entoto Observatory and Research Center. The mission was considered a national pride and a dream come true. Hopefully, the success of Ethiopia’s maiden satellite, dubbed ETRSS-1, will trigger subsequent technological endeavors.

Both government and independent news outlets depicted ETRSS-1’s role in modernizing agriculture, weather monitoring, urban planning, forest management, and mining efforts in Ethiopia. The nation’s leaders earnestly cheered the technology as a catalyst for a wide spectrum of developmental changes. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed epitomized it as “Ethiopians’ time.” Deputy Prime Minister Demeke expressed it as a “historic journey to prosperity”. Dr. Solomon, director-general of the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI), equated it with food, jobs, sovereignty, and poverty reduction.

Partly arising from these wishful promises, some news media and social media have overstretched ETRSS-1’s dividends. Fana designated it as the outer space guardian “Ye-Semayu Zeb“. Others portrayed it as a weapon and dared to threaten our historic rival (“Egypt Gudish Fela!“). Contrastingly, some conspiracy theorists forewarned that the satellite project is secretly China’s way of detecting the whereabouts and whatabouts of precious mineral resources in Ethiopia and ultimately exploit them in the guises of investment.

The headline was not entirely localized in Ethiopia. It spread like wildfire globally. While most media outlets appreciated the milestone, a few jumped to ridicule it. Express-News stated, “Poverty-stricken Ethiopia is to launch its own space program – all while receiving millions of pounds in foreign aid from Britain”. It further vented that “Ethiopia, which is receiving £300 million in British aid this year, will now become the fourth country to have developed a space program while receiving support from UK taxpayers”. Soon after the news of the satellite launch, the Department for International Development (DFID), which has an £11.1bn budget for international aid, was forced to defend its funding to Ethiopia and promised “not a penny” of British cash is going towards the space program.

Obviously, the unexplained or the unknown attributes of ETRSS-1 outweigh the publicly known facts and specifications. For instance, the number of bands/channels, the type (wavelengths) of bands, the duration of satellite revisit, etc. are unpublicized. I strongly believe that unless the capabilities of ETRSS-1 are clearly articulated and the specifications are outlined, these augmented promises will likely morph into far-fetched expectations and even open floodgates for wild speculations. Eventually, when the acquired gains fall short of expectations, immense disappointment would reign. This in turn might discourage the appetite for consequent technological initiatives.

As a remote sensing academician, I personally subscribe to most of the potentials claimed by authorities. My bone of contention is that ETRSS-1 alone won’t turn all the stated promises into reality. In fact, it looks like the above-stated potentials were cherry picked from diverse satellites elsewhere and attributed to our ETRSS-1. Earth-observing satellites are richly varied and specialized for diverse applications. Weather satellites, aqua satellites, terra satellites, forest satellites, etc. are good examples. Until Ethiopia launches dozens of earth-observing satellites, we can’t reap the stated benefits. Connecting direct and indirect information from Chinese news reveals that ETRSS-1 consists of a wide-range panchromatic multispectral camera developed by China and a wide-field imager developed by Brazil. At an altitude of 700 km above sea level, ETRSS-1 belongs to a group of sun-synchronous satellites that are orbiting the earth. This information hints that ETRSS-1’s revisit interval, i.e. days elapsed between observations of the same point on Earth, is 31 days.

Against the backdrop of the satellite revisit interval, the examples offered by some Ethiopian authorities becomes questionable. In the interviews, they stated that ETRSS-1 assists soil moisture monitoring and helps schedule planting times. However, soil moisture is volatile and changes its volume by the hours, stipulating constant detection. The satellite is also promised to detect whether a single sugarcane plant, citing Kuraz Sugar Plantation in South Omo as an example, is stressed by water shortages or diseases before the problem spreads into a larger area. Furthermore, the satellite is poised to detect the Ethiopian train: from its start in Addis Ababa to all the way to Djibouti. Such claims could be a reality if we own another category of satellite, called geo-synchronous satellites. Unlike sun-synchronous, the speed of geo-synchronous satellites matches the Earth’s rotation and are focused on a specific location to capture real-time data. Such satellites are orbiting at a high altitude and are used for communication, espionage, weather, etc.

Contrary to widely-held beliefs, remote sensing technologies are unable to penetrate the subsurface and detect deep-seated minerals. The exception is the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). SAR is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is not used by the ETRSS-1. SAR can detect old human settlements and artifacts that have been buried by shifting sands, just a few feet below the surface. What satellites can do is speculate about internal geologic features, which in turn are suggestive of mineral resources, based on the detection of forests for the understanding of the underlying rocks. Regrettably, our officials are of the opinion that satellites can directly identify minerals. For that matter, some high-profile scientists and politicians have been openly claiming that remote sensing enables to detect the minerals in Ethiopia.

Certainly, owning a satellite saves Ethiopia from purchasing data using hard currencies. Decades ago, the price of satellite scenes were unaffordable even for high-budget projects. In recent years, however, accessibility to the Earth’s satellite data improved substantially. Several satellite data sources, except for high resolution (sub meter) commercial satellite imagery, have become freely available. After 2008, for instance, the analysis-ready Landsat data became freely accessible. Even before 2008, Landsat was providing free access to Africans. Currently, USGS, NASA, NOAA and others provide data at no charge. Under such a scheme, it would be far-fetched to foresee a hefty hard currency from selling satellite imageries to other countries.

It is vital to recognize that remote sensing experts are authoritative voices on appraising data scanned by ETRSS-1. A good number of them conduct research in water resources, forestry, agriculture, and teaching in undergraduate or graduate programs at the geospatial departments of Addis Ababa, Mekelle, Bahir Dar, and Haramaya Universities. The Ethiopian Mapping Agency also house remote sensing specialists that have routinely harnessed this data for mapping purposes over decades. Even under ESSTI, remote sensing is one of the entities, currently conducting various projects. Counting on these professionals at the front and center would elevate the quality of information flow in the media. Undeniably, Astrophysicists did the groundwork and the original goal was exploring outer space. Nevertheless, we are witnessing that the mission has matured enough to embody earth-ward looking satellites. Accordingly, it is high time for ESSTI to rephrase the motto – “we explore the universe for the benefit of our people” on its website.

This article is primed neither to poke holes in the project nor to eclipse the public celebration. Rather, the public deserves a break from the barrage of bad news coming from the perturbed political landscape now. Guaranteed, ETRSS-1 allows us to acquire pertinent data from a large swath of geographic space in a short period of time. It grants us access to the inaccessible areas (due to flooding, forest fires, etc.) at a cheaper cost than ground-based surveys. Even more, it detects data beyond the range of human eyes in the infrared and thermal spectral regions. However, while applauding the benefits, we shouldn’t lose sight of the limitations. Finally, as we honor the launching of ETRSS-1, it is imperative to bear in mind that the satellite symbolizes unity. It supersedes the differences that divide us by canvassing far and beyond our national boundaries to gather remotely sensed data.

  Daniel Kassahun (PhD)is Associate Professor, Geography/GIS, Austin Community College, Northridge Campus. He can be reached at daniel.waktola@austincc.edu

The post Commentaries on the Promises and Limitations of Ethiopian Satellite appeared first on Ethiopian Registrar News/Breaking News:.

THE “I’M HUMAN MOVEMENT”

A PATHWAY TO A NATIONAL DIALOGUE, GENUINE RECONCILIATION, JUSTICE, PEACE AND FLOURISHING TOGETHER

SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 2020
2:00 PM TO 5:00 PM
ELIANA HOTEL
Churchill Avenue, Piazza, Arada, 1000 Addis Ababa

Why is this “I’m Human Movement” so critically important right now?

The “I’m Human Movement” is a movement to affirm the God-given value of every human being, while still acknowledging our human tendency to advance one’s own self-serving goals, sometimes at the expense of others.

How can we, the people of Ethiopia, better listen to our conscious regarding the responsibilities we have towards treating others as we want to be treated ourselves? How then can we structure our society to reflect the equal value of every one of us, while building a system that provides safeguards to assure equal rights and accountability?

In Ethiopia, we hear of people being killed simply for being of a different ethnicity than the perpetrator.  We hear of universities closing due to ethnic conflicts and killings on campus. We hear of churches and mosques being burned down and businesses destroyed due to religious or ethnic differences. Right now, ethnicity has become an obsession, but other identity factors, such as religion, region, political view, socio-economic level, age or gender, have also lead to similar abuses.

The artificial elevation of one’s own group, the dehumanization of others and the deadening of conscience have all facilitated the self-centered or ethnic-centered struggle for power, domination, wealth, unearned privilege, opportunity and vengeance.

How can we survive as a society and nation if this current systemic illness is not remedied? Its roots are deep, due to being cultivated in many places; however, how might we as a society of many parts, stop the growth of this toxic and pervasive crop of hatred and violence? What is the role of families, ethnic and religious communities, leaders in various sectors of society, political groups and local and regional governments in holding their members accountable? What is the role of individuals wherever they are?

What would Ethiopia be like if we, as a society, were to embrace the humanity of others, integrating this principle into everyday life as well as into our institutions? How can each of us, one by one, commit to making a difference?

This is the first event for the ‘I’m Human Movement,” which will be followed by continued events and actions at other times and locations throughout Ethiopia. This movement is a continuation of the work and principles of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE) that has been ongoing for the last sixteen years. Its principles are at its foundation. They include embracing the humanity of all others—putting humanity before ethnicity or any other differences and caring about the freedom and well-being of others, not only because it is right, but because no one will be sustainably free until all are free. Another principle is: to talk to each other rather than about each other as the way forward to a more inclusive, more just and more free Ethiopia for all.

We have invited representatives of the government, political leaders, religious leaders, elders, women leaders, student leaders and many others to attend. This is about all of us! We hope you will join us!

THE PROGRAM WILL INCLUDE:

1. Dramatic and musical premieres: The program will include musical and dramatic performances meant to reawaken Ethiopians to the value of each human being.  These were created specifically for their premiere showings at this event.
2. Perspectives: Hear the viewpoints from a variety of Ethiopians about what it means to be human.

• A Medical surgeon
• A Lawyer
• A Theologian
• Ethnic representatives from two different groups
• A representative of mixed ethnic background

III. Stories from the heart: Hear from family members who want to see an end to the overvaluing of ethnicity over humanity after sending their children to universities for an education, but instead losing them when they were targeted based on their ethnicity.

• Two different family members from different ethnic groups

1. A Rwandan Story and Warning: Hear from a speaker from Rwanda as he brings a warning to Ethiopians. Now is the time to build a different future so no future museum is built in Ethiopia to display the skulls and bones of its people whose ethnicity is no longer identifiable.
2. Closing Words from Obang Metho, Executive Director of SMNE

For more information contact:

Mr. Obang Metho, Executive Director of SMNE
Email; obang@solidaritymovement.org

Phone፡ +2519 65 55 16 55
Website; www.solidaritymovement.org

The post JOIN US FOR THE LAUNCH OF THIS NEW MOVEMENT appeared first on Ethiopian Registrar News/Breaking News:.

Zehabesha named Athlete Derartu Tulu the 2019 Person of the Year .….Read more

The post Zehabesha named Athlete Derartu Tulu the 2019 Person of the Year appeared first on Ethiopian Registrar News/Breaking News:.

Getaneh K Yismaw

As we begin the new year and third decade of the 21^st century, here are some musings on Ethiopia.

Government Propaganda

Watching government propaganda media such as ETV, FANA, Walta or other servile outlets and/or some motivational speakers who frequent the grounds of Menelik II Palace, or ESAT, one would think Ethiopia has, in fact, become utopia: on fast track transition to democracy (just don’t ask details) —where its current government is the best thing that happened to it, and that prosperity–powered by Prosperity Gospel (a strand of US Protestantism), is just around the corner—we just need to water it with a firehose, of course with Canon Camera crew in tow, you know.

Election is four months away and Prosperity Party, without holding a general meeting and electing its leaders, has been recognized and certified as legit—curtesy of Birtukan Mediqsa lead Election Board. Hooray!

Stubborn Reality

The reputable and independent Crisis Group has put Ethiopia as one of top 3 countries in the world to watch for major conflict and instability—correctly so. Ethnic political inferno—just on about all issues—where hatred is medium of currency, is at its fever pitch, ready to unleash mayhem (already saw its dry in the form of #October2019Massacre as well as the Burrayyo massacre a year prior, both in Oromo region). Universities are nonfunctional, especially more so those in so called Oromo Region. Thousands of Amhara student have been forced to flee for their lives, dropping out of classes and headed to their families—after violence and warning from Qeerroo; several students have been murdered across several Universities. Classes have been suspended many times across many of them. Some Universities are closed altogether and it’s not even news anymore. Just in the last few days Wollega and Dire Dawa University have shutdown altogether (just in the last two days, 14 students died from a car crash in route to their families from Wollega Universtiy).  Lawlessness, crimes and impunity have never been this high—ever.

Yet the Abiy government has decided to hold election. How in the world can one hold legitimate election in Oromo region (and elsewhere) where road blocks are just common events?

(Asymmetrical) Region of Special Privilege and Lawlessness

Oromo Region has been granted both de facto lawlessness and special privilege. Since PM Abiy came to power, this region has been increasing its military (camouflaged as Police or Special Force—but it’s just ethnic military force whose loyalty is not to enforce the law equally but to discriminate against non-Oromos. Given the false grievance narrative of Amhara hatred which is the currency of Oromo extremists, this growing armed force, at the hands of extremists like Shemelis Abdissa, may conduct ethnic cleansing and worse. Just in the last few days, the Oromo regional govt has graduated thousands of military forces—with North Korea style parade and pomp—increasing its ethnic para-military ranks to tens of thousands. While Amhara Region was not permitted to do the same (and the person who’s leading the training in Amhara region was immediately singled out for elimination long before the June incident that left the region with leadership void).

In Oromo region, we have seen all kinds of gruesome crimes and displacements are being carried out by organized and hierarchical Qeerroo—with impunity. Targeted assassinations have become common. Attacks on Orthodox Churches and its believers have become common. Amharas are openly persecuted. These crimes are met by deafening silence by PM Abiy and almost all Oromo politicians (contrast that with a torrent of condemnation if anything slightest thing happens in the so-called Amhara region).

Any Non-Oromo Political party cannot travel or hold a public meeting let alone to campaign for election. Even the docile EZEMA, whose leader gushes loyalty and admiration for PM Abiy and his government, is not permitted to hold meetings.

The Economy

The Economy is seriously unbalanced with massive Forex shortage, high unemployment and high inflation and burdened with increasingly larger level of foreign debt that the country has difficulty servicing it. With IMF and WB new approved loans comes likely serious of preconditions: flexible exchange rate—which is inflationary without any of the benefits (the minuscule Ethiopian export sector doesn’t really respond to exchange rate fluctuations)—may likely add misery to those who are already struggling, among other conditions, like austerity in the form of price increase and service cuts, that we don’t know yet.

No Opposition

With all the hellish situations discussed above, one would think there should be an organized opposition to credibly articulate against the government of PM Abiy. But, no! At this point, there is no credivle and organized pan-Ethiopian opposition force to be had. EZEMA’s whole strategy is blind faith-based: believing Abiy its leader Dr Berhanu Nega just confirmed for the umpteenth time in recent days that his whole strategy is “believing Abiy”, despite his party is unofficially but practically banned to operate in PM Abiy’s home region.

EZEMA’s leader reminds me the veteran political fixture Vladimir Zhirinovsky of Russsia who runs for president only to defend, praise and support Putin’s re-elections. He has willingly suspended reality and has assumed out the real issue of the Region of Lawlessness and special privilege.

By misleading, at least a portion of the public, into believing some workable transition is in order, when the federal government even can’t maintain minimum law and order, EZEMA has become ancillary to Oromo Nationalists’ dystopian power projection and domination, instead of a check on them.

TPLF that lost power in Addis Ababa, has taken Tigray as de facto confederation state –out of the reach of the Federal government. TPLF is licking its wounds and, at times, contemplating to unleash war but afraid of an old dog to its north.

Assassinations, criminal hostage taking, and organized robberies are becoming daily occurrences—even in Addis Ababa, displacements are becoming common, Universities are either being closed or regular suspending their normal operations while scores of students are assassinated—all of which constitutes failed-state status—where PM Abiys government is unable to fulfill its primary responsibility to protect the people’s safety. How can a sane mind think credible election is possible in this atmosphere?

The Amhara Question

Despite ant-Amhara narrative has been government ideology for three decades and preached for two decades, the able and capable Amhara elite–save a handful few who are trying—and are clearly able to see through these façades, are keeping quiet, safe and on the sidelines. As the country faces existential threat and the lives of millions is at stake, apathy, indifference and inability to see beyond themselves by many capable people, is the most troubling. To some extent, these people are morally inadequate for abandoning their people.

The corollary to this apathy is that many who are trying to advocate for Amhara in politics and media are, at best, 3rd rate imbeciles and chopped livers who are being taken for cleaners by those whose existence is Amhara hatred. Some young social media activists who are trying to play as opinion makers in Diaspora based Satellite media are one who should take ESL classes and do some basic readings at community colleges but are audacious enough to present themselves as journalists. ADP (ANDM) is safely back to its former servile role and just comfortable playing secondary role.

The state of Amhara security, political and economic situation is worse than you can possibly imagine, even when you take account of the fact that it is worse than you imagine possible (to borrow a quip from a dismal scientist).

I hope this status is changed in the new year before the tipping point is crossed.

The post Reality 2020 appeared first on Ethiopian Registrar News/Breaking News:.

Ethnicity has shaped Ethiopians’ political choices for the past decades. In the face of upcoming elections, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is trying to find a more unifying alternative, spurring hope but also skepticism.

In less than five months, Ethiopia is set to hold a national election that will likely change the country’s outlook. With Abiy Ahmed recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, many eyes will be on Africa’s second most populous nation as its citizens cast their ballots. And the prime minister has ambitious plans. His recently created the pan-Ethiopian Prosperity Party (PP), which is poised to replace the current ruling coalition, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). He did this not only to shift away from a much-criticized legacy, but also to break with a political landscape of strongly ethnicized politics.

Politics shaped by ethnicity

For the last three decades, Ethiopia’s political culture has been one focused on ethnicity. Parties, most of them formed along ethnic lines, pushed the agenda of their group, with little focus on cross-cutting topics such as social or economic issues. This, some say, favored populist agendas and is one of the reasons for interethnic conflict and internal displacement.  “[The parties] try to justify their existence by claiming that others are going to attack you as an ethnic group. They don’t have any other reason to exist,” says Girmachew Alemu, a law professor at Addis Ababa University. “Ethnicity makes it difficult for people to come together and fight for their rights, they think they are more different than similar,” he adds.

For almost 30 years, some ethnic groups were kept out of the decision-making process, while authoritarian practices left many without a voice. After Abiy came to power in 2018, increased freedom of expression made it easier to manifest grievances, further fomenting revengeful discourses within the country’s nine self-administrated regions. In many parts of the country these dynamics, coupled with a fast-growing population, contributed to conflicts and divisions linked to land ownership, border issues and political representation. In the past year, the country has experienced a regional push for self-determination, as seen in the Sidama referendum and unrests in Oromia.

Trying to reconcile ethnic and national identity

To counter this climate of division, Abiy created ‘Medemer.’ Translated as synergy or addition, the word has become a slogan for the prime minister. Its ideology is said to promote togetherness in diversity. Consequently, the new party merges regional parties to create a multiethnic platform, where members from all groups are allowed to join. But the element of ethnicity will not disappear. Political representation in the decision-making body will be largely based on group’s population size.

“The member parties [of EPRDF] used to have equal representation in the central committee, although they represent different sizes of population,” explains Befeqadu Hailu, an Ethiopian blogger, writer and activist. “For example, the Oromo group used to represent more than 30 million people while the Tigrayans represent less than 10 million people. So it gives one group disproportionate powers.”

In addition to three former EPRDF parties, five other regional parties who were already affiliated to the ruling coalition joined the PP. This includes the Somali Democratic Party, representing Ethiopia’s third most populous region. “[These] political parties were serving EPRDF interests, but they have now become part of the new national party, and they will not be subject to any patronism or clientelism,” argues Yohannes Gedamu, a lecturer of political science at Georgia Ginnett College. “[They] will now have direct participation in party affairs and in national politics.”

By safeguarding ethnic representation while creating a more inclusive party, the PP hopes to find a middle ground between Ethiopia’s strong ethnic identities and national unity. According to Yohannes Gedamu, this is a major breakthrough: “The Prosperity Party seems to be ready to equally protect both group and individual rights, so that would be a very good first step to move away from ethnicized politics.”

In this vein, ethnicity would be only one of many issues included in the parties’ agendas. With the PP appointing regional leaders, it would be able to discipline overly populist discourses. “People want to have their language, culture and other issues linked to ethnicity respected, but we can make it one issue among others,” says Girmachew Alemu.

Opposing voices

Not all influential personalities and groups have however welcomed the party merger. Dissident voices point out, for instance, that the party has so far failed to publish a comprehensive manifesto. They also see ‘Medemer’ as a marketing tool, lacking concrete solutions for pressing issues, as religious and ethnic violence continues.

In addition, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), who dominated Ethiopia’s political scene since the early 1990s, refused to join the new party, stressing that it disregards the country’s political reality. “[Its] program and bylaws are hardly known to members [of the EPRDF]. This is absolutely unacceptable,” argues Getachew Reda, a TPLF senior official. “People really care about their identity. They still attach extreme importance to it. To assume away diversity and to expect everything to go smoothly simply because the prime minister decides to bring these parties together, that’s not going to work,” he insists.

But other factors could also explain why the TPLF is wary of the change. “TPLF lost considerable power last year and that’s really playing into its opposition to the new party”, explains William Davison, an analyst at the international non-profit International Crisis Group. “In addition, TPLF also opposes Abiy’s sharp pivot to economic liberalism, as it views it as an undoing of its state-led development model.”

Opposition to the PP also stems from other sides, including Abiy Ahmed’s Oromo group. Lemma Mergesa, an influential Oromo politician and ally of the Prime Minister, has expressed his concerns, and it is still unclear whether he will join the party. Other voices in Oromia have adopted the same tone. “That could be for principled reasons to do with the Oromo rights, or it could be due to more pragmatic concerns that they think the Prosperity Party is a vote loser in Oromia,” explains Davison.

Strengthening ethno-nationalist parties?

It is thus worth noting that the outcome of the election is far from certain in some regions. The resources PP inherits as a successor of the EPRDF as well as its glow of newness might ensure it a majority in the national parliament. But in the regional bodies, ethno-nationalist parties might profit from the end of EPRDF, collecting votes from those who feel the PP doesn’t do justice to their groups’ aspirations. “There is a strong possibility that the governing party or coalition at the center will face opposition from political parties that are controlling regional governments,” says Davison.

This would create a new political landscape for Ethiopia, likely to foster new dynamics. Nonetheless, it could also be subject to critical backlashes if not handled carefully, including ahead of elections. A delay of the vote, according to analysts, is therefore still possible.

DW

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Joan Taylor, a Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism at King’s College London, reckons Jesus had short hair, darker skin and a short beard

For thousands of years Jesus Christ has been imagined as a fair skinned man with blue eyes, long dark hair and a beard.

But this could actually be very different to what the son of God really looks like, an expert has sensationally revealed.

Thousands of paintings and sculptures over the centuries have similarly depicted what the Messiah looked like.

Some have dared to show a completely different interpretation of the son of God, but been waved away in favour of the popular long haired and bearded portrayal.

Only a professor has stepped forward to reveal Jesus may not be how we imagined at all.

Joan Taylor, a Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism at King’s College London, reckons Jesus could have had short hair and darker skin.

Not only that, but she says his beard would have been short and that his clothing would have been plain and un-dyed – unlike the colourful outfits some paintings depict.

She even reckons there is one picture that most realistically depicts what Jesus would have looked like

In an article for American Schools of Oriental Research, Professor Taylor opens by saying: “Everyone knows what Jesus looks like: he is the most painted figure in all of western art, recognised everywhere as having long hair and a beard, a long robe with sleeves (often white) and a mantle (often blue).

“But what did he really look like, as a man living in Judaea in the 1st century? This subject has long been of interest. I have already written on John the Baptist and his clothing, but not about Jesus.

“Nevertheless, over the years, numerous television documentaries have asked me for guidance on dramatising aspects of ancient life.

“In order to give them clear directions, I gathered information about what Jesus looked like, or rather, what he is said to have worn. I would like to share this here.

“It is worth emphasising that images of Jesus over time give us clues on how Jesus was imagined in different environments, but say absolutely nothing about what he really looked like.

“Our images of Jesus were largely created in the Byzantine era (4th-6th centuries). Byzantine images of Jesus were based on the image of a Graeco-Roman deity, for example the famous statue of Olympian Zeus by Phidias in the 4th century BCE.”

In her piece, Professor Taylor describes Jesus as having a beard, saying: “I think he would have had one, simply because he did not go to barbers.”

Summing up how she thinks Jesus looked, and which painting she thinks is the most accurate, Professor Taylor writes: “And what about Jesus’s face? In the mummy portraits, the people were Greek-Egyptian, but there was a large Jewish population also in Egypt and some ethnic mixing. Their faces, so realistic, are the closest we have to photographs of the people of Jesus’s own time and place.

“If we are to imagine Jesus then, as a Jew of his time, the mummy paintings provide a good clue to his appearance. However, there is one other place to look: to the synagogue Dura Europos, dating from the early 3rd century.

“The depiction of Moses on the walls of the synagogue of Dura-Europos is probably the closest fit, I think, since it shows how a Jewish sage was imagined in the Graeco-Roman world.

“Moses is shown in undyed clothing, appropriate to tastes of ascetic masculinity (eschewing color), and his one mantle is a tallith, since one can see tassels (tzitzith). This image is a far more correct as a basis for imagining the historical Jesus than the adaptations of the Byzantine Jesus that have become standard.”

The Daily Star

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BY HAILE M. LAREBO, BD, STL, PhD

The Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Higher Education has recently published history teaching material for students of higher learning institutions, entitled “Module For History of Ethiopia And The Horn For HLIS [Higher Learning Institutions Students, hereinafter “the Module”]”. The writers of the Module are four academicians: Drs. Surafel Gelgelo, from Addis Ababa University, Deressa Debu of Jimma University, Dereje Hinew of Wallaga University, and Mr. Meseret Worku, from DabreTabor University. These are undeniably men (unfortunately there is no woman), with considerable academic credentials. Three of them are honored with terminal degrees in the field of history, and the two (Surafel and Deressa ) have monographs apparently by the same publisher, VDM Verlag Dr. Muller, which is known for publishing “works that received a passing grade”, and is described as “a predatory vanity press” which, contrary to its claim of being an academic publisher,  does “not apply the basic standards of academic publishing”.

The Module is divided into seven units, and an introductory chapter. The first discusses the nitty-gritty of history, including its meaning and use, sources and methods, and its geographical context. The second deals with the peopling of the region and cultural evolution. The following three units are dedicated to polities, economy, and socio-cultural processes in the successive centuries: from the early period to the end of the 13^th centuries is dealt in unit three, and those up to 16^th century are addressed by unit four, whereas unit five discusses those from the early 16^th to the end of the 18^th century. The last two units, namely six and seven, deal with internal and external social and political dynamics and the forces at play, the first, from1800-1941, and the second, up to 1994.

The present paper has only a very limited objective: that of making a few remarks that I consider useful, highlighting mainly the most questionable aspects of the Module. As we all know, History is too important a subject to be ignored. It is a recorded memory of a society, and any society to function effectively, needs to know about its past. History is important not only to understand the society in which we presently live, and the processes by which it came about, but also to make informed judgements about the policies and personalities of those presently in power.

It is a good idea that before embarking on the topic I should highlight a few basic things when talking about history. History can be broadly defined as the study of the human past. Traditionally, very distant part, the period before the birth of the first human civilizations and the invention of writing, the period over 5,000 years ago, is the domain of Anthropology, whereas the very recent past, namely the events within the past five years or so, are the terrain of the Political Science and Sociology. What makes history different from other humanities and social sciences, History deals with hard facts. If there are no facts, there is no history. History, while sharing a common ancestry with epic poetry, novel, legend and mythology, it is different from them because its subject is based on documentary evidence in the form of writing, art or building work. In the past, both the subjects and the methods of ascertaining them were quite narrow, but in the twentieth century, they have expanded tremendously. Accordingly, mdern historians through DNA testing have discredited Anna Anderson’s claim that she was the grand duchess Anastasia, the daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, and with the use of carbon-14-dating technique were able to establish the age of the Shroud of Turin and discount the long-standing association of the fabric with Jesus’s burial cloth.

Yet History involves judgment, and because of the element of judgment that is why History is not a science, namely an academic discipline with an authoritative, unbiased statement of what really happened, THE TRUTH. Yet that does not mean the hard facts narrated in history never happened or existed.

To establish the falsehood of this statement, we have to make two important but very distinctive elements: “past facts”, or “human past” are the people and society who lived and the events that occurred during the times under study; “history” itself is our attempt to study, namely to investigate, explain, interpret and understand these past facts. “Past facts” are eternal truths, which are fixed, unchangeable, and beyond the control of every succeeding generation. By contrast, History changes continuously from generation to generation, from individual to individual, and according to the time and place, as the values and understandings of the “past facts” change due to improved analysis, or discovery of new facts etc… Italy’s defeat at  the Battle of Adwa in March 1896, for example, is a past [historical] fact, and both the fact and the date of the event are unquestionable certainties, and any contrary argument to them can be nothing but completely false as it runs against a simple hard fact.  Yet how the victory happened, why it happened, who played a major role, is a matter of debate, and the truth depends on the discovery of new documents or improved analysis of the existing ones.  These are the basic facts that we should bear in mind when discussing the Module.

The Module aims to achieve identical assets that most western institutions of higher learning intend to equip their freshmen and sophomores through their required core curricula courses, which stress, among other things, the attainment of the following specific objectives as their goal:

• Ensure that student possesses fundamental intellectual skills among which the most significant include critical thinking and writing;
• Broaden student’s perspective beyond that afforded by his/her major or minor, instilling in him/her sense of appreciation of the inter-relatedness of knowledge;
• Facilitate student’s search for identity and meaning, emphasizing his/her national heritage, and his/her connectedness to the broader world;
• Foster ethical behavior, civic engagement and leadership in his community, nation-state and beyond.

In the pursuit of this consciousness raising and self-empowering effort, it can be quite confidently stated that no other subject is as crucial as history. The writers of the Module seem to be aware of this fact, as they state that its purpose “is to help students understand a history of Ethiopia and the Horn from the ancient to 1994 as a base for shaping and bettering of the future”.

For history to attain this high objective, it should be understood and taught in all its complexities, both the pleasant and unpleasant, the heroic and the disastrous. Failure to adhere to this basic rule will result in bad history. We know that as there is good history, equally there is also bad history. Only good history will serve as a good guide to illuminate and shape students’ lives and problems. Good history takes into account as much evidence as it can and makes the most reasoned judgment as it can.  The Ministry’s Module badly fails to meet this challenge. It can be confidently stated that it is the worst kind of history filtered to serve the needs of the regime in power, written by selecting only those facts that “prove” its perspective, or just to make its constituents feel good.

In fact, no academic discipline in Ethiopia had become a subject of so much ridicule, controversy, contention and propaganda as does the country’s history. Each regime that followed the monarchical rule has used and abused it for its political agenda, blaming it for the depth and extent of the country’s social malaise, justifying its cruel and rapacious rule, and to engineer a new society in its own image. Both the Derg and the EPRDF regimes have practically transformed the country’s population into a human guinea-pig for their contemptible ideological laboratory. Their experiments miserably failed, but they left a complete mayhem behind.

Derg believed that the backwardness of Ethiopia was due to its exploitative social structure, where a handful of feudal lords in cohort with their twin bedfellows, the Church and the monarchy, abused the masses for millennia, exploiting their land and labor. However, Derg’s attempt to build a socialist El Dorado through an exported foreign doctrine, Marxism-Leninism, was nothing but an extreme disappointment. The Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front [EPRDF], which ousted Derg, fared no better. Primarily because as a hodge-podge of individuals and groups, handpicked by the victorious Tegrean nationalist liberation front [TPLF], a guerilla band, assumingly fostered and groomed by the Eritrean Liberation Front, has no national vision of any sort beyond hatred and blatant discriminatory rule, perhaps quite unheard and unseen in Ethiopia’s millennial history. TPLF attributed Ethiopia’s backwardness to the trinity of [USA] imperialism, monarchical feudalism and, what it described as, the Amhara overlord-ism, namely economic exploitation and political oppression. With its surrogate, EPRDF, TPLF vowed to fight tooth and nail, these evil trio. Accordingly, a constitution was drafted, followed by an administrative system that created ethnic enclaves, which apparently seemed to be useful instrument for the government’s agenda:  to eliminate, hunt down, and drive back, the oppressive Amhara to their putative homeland. Yet TPLF’s saga ended with the Front itself being unceremoniously driven back by a sustained popular protest to the land of its origin.

What is amazing and extraordinary in all these developments is not only the fact of these regimes’ fanatical adherence to their elusive and ill-begotten mythology, but also their inability to learn from their predecessors’ historical mistakes.  Beyond pontificating to be all-knowing, the regimes demonstrated their utter ignorance of Ethiopian history and social milieu. Whatever history they claimed they knew, happened to be a figment of their imagination, not reality.

This is the context in which the Ministry of Science and Higher Education module is written. It is apparently part of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Prime Minister, Doctor Abiy Ahmed’s grand vision of future Ethiopia. Abiy seems to have a good intention of bringing Ethiopia to its past historical height. As many understand, in the imagination of many nations in Asia, Europe and Africa, Ethiopia’s image is that of a shining black nation that served as a torch of freedom, a model of peaceful co-existence of disparate religions and languages, a country of proud ancient civilization. However, the vast chasm exists between Abiy’s speech and practice, and the Module typifies this abnormality. It is my conviction that the Module’s underlying interest is nothing else but the perpetuation, and therefore legitimization of, the usual false narrative by the new governing elite in the new dressing.

The major shortcoming of the Module lies in the very government’s attempt to dictate what the higher education institutions should teach. Institutions of higher learning are communities of scholars and students, assembled with a mission to preserve, interpret, cultivate, advance and disseminate knowledge for its own sake rather than for any immediate political, social, or economic goal. It is these institutions, and not the government, who own the curriculum, with the power to develop, amend, change, or dispose of. By writing down, or stipulating, what course and how the higher learning institutions should teach, the government is clearly infringing on the very basic and sacred rights of these institutions.

The government’s intention to unashamedly dictate its lopsided interpretation of Ethiopian history as perceived by the new ruling elite was apparently came to the fore a few months before the publication of the Module. A secret memo written to the Prime Minister Abiy by his top legal advisor, encapsulates the new perspective. This is what the advisor states about Ethiopian history.

“What we refer to, and used as, Ethiopian history to-date, is nothing but [an epic] that commemorates the hagiography of some nations. It is an isolationist history, which does not even mention the history of most Ethiopian nationalities, but particularly the history of the Oromo. (Highlight is mine).”

The advisor has definitely no understanding of the evolution of historical writing in the world, in general, and Ethiopia, in particular.  It is an established fact that for several thousand years and until the end of the 18^th century, written history was the political history of the upper classes, by the upper classes, and for the upper classes, which are made up of small ruling elite (stories of kings, their governments and wars), and their immediate servants, the clergy and the clerks. As the focus of history is on change, it is quite wrongly believed that this group alone was responsible for any changes in human sphere. It alone was in position to shape the course of history through its policies, leadership, personality or creativity. So, until a few decades  back, the lower classes, that is the vast majority of the human population, made only sporadic appearances on the stage of history as starving masses, or the suffering masses, or the rebellious masses, or served as tourist attractions, or crowd scene to highlight the visibility and presence of a high class officials in their midst. As we know it, the writing of local and ethnic history is a very recent phenomena everywhere, including the west, and Ethiopia is no exception to this general global trend. Yet contrary to the advisor’s statement, no ethnic group in Ethiopia has been the subject of so much historical interest as the Oromo ethnic groups were. Not only that. Some of the most prominent Ethiopian history writers themselves since the early days of their expansion, such as Dajach TakleSellassie, known as Tinno, and Abba TaklaIyesus Wakjira, just to mention a few, were scholars with Oromo background. 

The Module’s close reading suggests that as the TPLF regime was intoxicated with the hatred of the Amhara, the present ruling elites appear quite inebriated with what they claim Oromo’s uniquely distinctive culture, particularly as manifested in the Gada system, and other related institutions, such as Gudifecha and Mogasa. Overwhelmed by the “Gada euphoria”, the authors of the Module seem to have ignored the basic tenets of historical methodology, confusing myth with facts, lies with truths, opinions with certainties, and making judgements, that are lopsided, unashamedly biased, and mystifyingly false. They write profusely about the Oromo, ignoring, or simply making passing remarks on, other nationalities. According to them, the Oromos are the largest ethnic groups not only in Ethiopia, but in Africa as well (a statement lately echoed by the Prime Minister Abiy himself). Yet they provide no tangible evidence to back up their position beyond making such general public pronouncements.

A few centuries back, a European visitor wrote that,

“the Galla neither till, nor sow, nor gather anything the land produces… the spacious vales and rich plains they are masters of, only serve to pasture their cattle… They look after thy flocks, drink their milk, and eat thy flesh, which is all their food, without any bread …. They occupy the land if find any bread they do not mislike, but eat it, with a very good appetite, and yet not sow.”

However, the authors of the Module do not seem to share this view. According to them, the Oromos had already possessed quite sophisticated astrological know-how that enabled them to establish the oldest calendar in the planet, which went back to 9000 years (p. 63).

For many Ethiopian and foreign scholars, Gada is an ossified primordial and atavistic political institution, historically notorious for both its genocides that wiped out several ethnic groups from their homelands, and militaristic conquests that turned prosperous cities into deserts. Merid WoldeAregay, a leading scholar on the Oromo migration, in his magisterial thesis, Southern Ethiopia and the Christian Kingdom, 1508-1708 with Special Reference to the Galla Migration and their Consequences, 1971), states that “each new luba inaugurated its eighth year term by launching offensives for new conquests… Those who suffered most were the Muslim towns and cities (p. 334); “The Galla fell on every town and village and destroyed over 100 towns (p. 348)”.

As regards the much celebrated Mogasa, Merid has this to say:

“the Galla maintained the distinction between themselves and the subjugated peoples by adopting the social system that fitted their needs, they made sure that the strangers were kept out of the age-sets….”

In the eyes of “the peasants, the Gallas were not mere intruders, but aliens and enemies, who had caused much damage and upset their sedentary way of life (p. 417)”.

The writers, however, present a rosy picture of the democratic Oromo movement. They are completely silent about the wholesale devastation of cities, massacre of populations, and destruction of civilizations. They do not, however, extend such kindness to others.

A careful reader of the Module will notice that Ethiopian history is portrayed as a continuous and sustained struggle between power-hungry northerners (whom they call with so many confusing terms, The Abyssinians, or the Christian Kingdom, or the Ethiopian Empire, just to mention a few)  who are bent in dominating others and peace-loving Muslim sultanates, or the Oromos in the medieval ages;  and again, between colonialist Shawans and their northern Christian allies, as represented by Emperor Menilek and his Oromo collaborators, who conquered  inherently democratic and peace-loving Oromos and other minority ethnic groups. Thus, Menilek’s unification effort is presented as brutal colonial conquest, which in some extreme instances, as in Arsi’s case, involved the use of biological warfare, accompanied by breast mutilation and limb amputation and castration (p. 136).  Yet they have offered no shred of evidence in support beyond their audacious claim.

Beyond their attack of the ‘Abyssinian Empire’, the writers reserve the vengeance of their deleterious pen to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. They assert that the Church followed the footsteps of the conquering northern ‘Christian kingdom’. The conquered people were converted by force, and with the monopolization of burial places by the Church, total surrender became their fate (39).

The Module ends with a perfunctory review just in a single paragraph the EPRDF’s coming to, and consolidation of, power, including its over twenty-seven years’ rule. Reflecting the government’s propaganda, the authors describe the notorious ethnic enclaves that the TPLF invented  as based “on identity, language, settlement patterns and peoples consent”, and the non-sensical federal arrangement of the language-based states as a wise creation intended  to “rectify past injustices and imbalances perpetuated by an unrepresentative state through the decentralization of power … by accommodating the country’s various ethno-linguistic groups.(highlight is mine)” (p.194).

Definitely, the conclusion is most fitting summary that clearly indicates the true character and significance of the Module: a government ploy to present to the young students as normal and as a true reflection of the people’s will a tottering and unjust political order.

With these few pointed observations, I halt my remarks. However, I feel obliged to stress an absolute lack of additional readings for students to further their knowledge and curiosity beyond those provided by the Module/textbook, the absurdity of monolithic assessment method (only essay questions are provided), a cumbersome cacophony of names and words that may do nothing good but crush to the ground the student in agony and destroy his enthusiasm for any effective learning; the enormity of grammatical inaccuracies, typographical oversights, syntactical errors, and poor choice of words.

As regards the use of a foreign language for instructional purposes, I would like to throw out a few words. One of the mechanisms the former western colonial powers continue to maintain their dominance on their former black African colonies is the use of their languages as the official means of communication. Luckily, Adwa has freed Ethiopians from such degradation and enslavement; yet our educational institutions continue to use European rather than our own language. This is definitely a humiliating slap on the face of Adwa and those who fought and sacrificed their lives for our uncompromising freedom and independence. Therefore, I find extremely hard to grasp the reason for choosing a foreign means of communication in a country that has a longstanding national language and proud literary tradition that predate most of those in the west. It is said that the statesmen, who are normally considered as being far-sighted, care about the next generations whereas politicians, often selfish, unintelligent and vainglorious, look only for their next election. Instead of dictating the curriculum to higher education institutions, the government should work out a realistic plan and rewarding mechanisms to liberate Ethiopia’s institutions from the yoke of foreign linguistic dominance. In doing so, any enlightened government would save thousands, if not millions, of our precious students who fail their exams, or are discouraged from furthering their education, because of language hardship.

Finally, unless there is some covert and ulterior motive, perhaps intended to appease certain quarters or a few self-serving and narrow ethno-nationalists, who find even the mere mention of the name Ethiopia hard to swallow,  the term “And The Horn” in the title of the Module, is quite misnomer, not to say superfluous, as there is no relevant discussion concerning other surrounding Horn states beyond a few uninteresting remarks.

From an honest historian’s perspective, the Module is nothing, but the regime’s hidden propaganda parading as an academic history course. From the start to finish, it is an embarrassing document, and any serious historian will be faced with no other option but to throw it out – lock, stock and barrel. The design and instruction of an academic course is the preserve of higher learning institutions. It is for them to take the responsibility to develop their students’ curriculum freely and responsibly, and for the government to keep far away from it.

The post A FEW REMARKS ON ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT’S NEW HISTORY MODULE appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News:.

By XINHUA
More by this Author

The governments of Ethiopia and Sudan have emphasised the crucial significance of cooperation on port service and utilisation as landlocked Ethiopia aspires to enhance its access to ports.

This came as high-level officials from the two neighbouring countries met on issues of port service and utilisation, comprising the Ethiopian Minister of Transport Dagmawit Moges and Sudan’s Undersecretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure Omar Ahmed Mohammed and Director General of Sudanese Sea Ports Corporation Onour Mussa, state-run Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported on Wednesday.

As part of the two countries’ cooperation ambition on port service and utilisation, Sudan’s Sea Port Corporation “will provide all the necessary support for Ethiopia to use the Ports of Sudan for its import-export commodities,” according to the report.

The Sudanese Sea Port Corporation is also expected to offer back-office for Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Service Enterprise (ESLSE) – an Ethiopian government entity mandated to undertake shipping and logistics service – in order to facilitate the import of fertilizer which is expected to be delivered shortly, it was noted.

During the meeting, high-level officials from Ethiopia and Sudan also “agreed to establish a technical committee to smooth the progress of the port service,” the report added.

The agreement includes implementing the 2003 pledge by the government of Sudan to offer 875,000 square meter area of land close to Port Sudan for Ethiopian logistics service, it was noted.

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Youth for Peace Ethiopia: Cross-Regional Dialogue and Experience Sharing Workshop, Building the capacity of Young People in nation building, governance and peacebuilding efforts

Addis Ababa, 29 November 2019: As part of wider efforts to build the capacity of young people in nation and peacebuilding processes, the Youth for Peace (Y4P) Africa Program of the African Union Commission, managed by its Peace and Security Department, in collaboration with the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Ministry of Peace (MoP) of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, convened a two-day workshop themed: “Youth for Peace Ethiopia: Cross-regional Dialogue and Experience Sharing” with youth representatives from Ethiopia and across the continent, from 26 to 27 November 2019, at the AU Headquarters.

The two-day workshop provided a platform for young people to share experiences on the roles and contributions of youth in nation and peacebuilding in Ethiopia and across the continent. The forum also identified threats to national cohesion, peace and security in Ethiopia and proposed strategic options to transform the threats including envisaged roles for youth; as well as interrogated the challenges hindering the meaningful participation of youth in all spectrums of peace and security in Africa and recommended ways to address them. The cross-regional workshop brought together 200 participants composed of youth from the different regions and cities of Ethiopia, the newly appointed African Youth Ambassadors for Peace, youth representatives from other African Member States, representatives from IGAD, Civil Society Organizations, the Ministry of Peace and the AU Commission.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Ambassador Smaïl Chergui, Commissioner, Peace and Security Department of the AUC, commended the Government and People of Ethiopia for the ongoing political and institutional reforms particularly their efforts to promote and ensure the empowerment and participation of the youth in peace and development initiatives in the country. “It is my greatest hope that we can indeed achieve the main objective of dissuading youth from all acts of violence, transforming the stereotypes that they are perpetrators of violence and effectively working with them in peacebuilding efforts to achieve sustainable peace, security and development,’’ he said.

In her opening remarks, H.E. Muferihat Kamil, Minister of Peace, Ministry of Peace of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, stated ‘Peace’ has always been a valuable asset for all citizens and in order to sustain peace, Ethiopians have always preserved their indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms intact. “Togetherness, humanity, brotherhood and peace are paramount in the shared values ??of conflict resolution and traditional justice systems in all parts of our country. The role and contribution of youth in re-establishing these values is critical”.  Following the Minister’s remarks, the African Union Youth Envoy, Ms. Aya Chebbi, also stated that the Youth4Peace Ethiopia program is a good opportunity for creating a network of fellow youth across the continent “because we live in an interconnected world and our actions affect our neighbors and other parts of our continent”.

For further information, please contact:

Ms. Lulit Kebede, Communication Officer
AU Peace and Security Department
Tel.: +251911211183
Email: lulitk@africa-union.org

About Youth for Peace Africa (Y4P) Program

The Youth for Peace (Y4P) Africa Program of the African Union Commission, managed by its Peace and Security Department, was launched in September 2018, in Lagos, Nigeria, with the mandate of implementing Article 17 of the Africa Youth Charter (AYC), United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2250 and all relevant regional, AU and international instruments, relating to the role of the youth in the promotion of peace and security in Africa and to contribute towards the actualization of Aspiration four (4) and six (6) of  Agenda 2063, especially its flagship project –Silencing the Guns by 2020.

The Program primarily seeks to promote the meaningful participation of youth in all spectrums of peace and security by engaging them as leaders, partners and implementers of peace initiatives but also working to dissuade them from all acts of violence.

Ethiopia towards political and institutional reforms to build and consolidate democracy

The Government of Ethiopia, within its broader effort to build and consolidate democracy has embarked on a series of political and institutional reforms nation-wide. These reforms focus on good governance, strengthening the democratic system and its institutions, promotion of human rights and opening up the political space. These political reforms are expected to create a more accountable and transparent governance that is responsive to its citizens. It also involves guaranteeing democratic rights to ensure the participation of citizens, including women, youth and all other parts of society in political governance and socio-economic development. Although, Ethiopia is still at a very early stage of the political reform process, various initiatives and programs have been launched with the objective of strengthening and transforming institutions, frameworks and practices, to facilitate the democratic transformation process.

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by: Alemayehu G. Mariam

When I listened to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed introducing his Prosperity Party to a gathering of youth at Millennium Hall in Adds Ababa a few days ago, I had two reactions.

The first was pure elation.

In my lifetime, I have never heard an Ethiopian leader teaching the youth to put peace above politics, humanity above ethnicity, civility above nationality, amity over animosity and prosperity above poverty.

The Ethiopian “leaders” I know always talked about using violence to force people to submit to their rule. The military socialist Derg that took power in a coup in the mid-1970s massacred 60 top officials of the imperial regime and later waged a campaign of Campaign of Red Terror in the name of “class struggle”. Some 500,000 people, most of them young, were killed and tens of thousands more disappeared.

The regime of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that replaced the Derg similarly undertook its own campaign of “ethnic struggle” under the name “ethnic federalism” and  massacred tens of thousands of young people committing atrocities worse than the white minority apartheid regime in South Africa, as I have previously documented.

Today, we have a young Ethiopian leader who is teaching the youth:

Don’t die or kill to please your politicians or for politics.

Don’t die or kill for what you believe in because you could be wrong.

Cast your votes to fight for your cause, not rocks.

If you don’t like me or my party, punish us by withholding your vote not spreading violence in the streets.

If my party loses, I will hand over power within 24 hours and become the loyal opposition.

If your party loses, accept the people’s judgment and live (not die) to fight another day.

Our problem is not the politics of identity and ethnicity. Our problem is poverty. Lack of prosperity. Lack of empathy.

We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, not our brothers’ and sisters’ jailers, torturers and tormentors.

The time for divide and rule using ethnic and religious dog whistles to grab power is over.

Prosperity is as much a state of mind as poverty is a physical state of existence.

You are what you think.

If you think of yourself as always being in poverty, you will never achieve prosperity.

If you think hate, you become haters.

If you think love, you become lovers.

Negative thoughts produce negative actions. Positive thoughts produce positive actions.

Negative energy is disempowering. Positive energy is empowering.

Fear produces inaction and indifference. Courage produces action and change.

In the end, we all become what we think.

Think solutions. Feel solutions. Don’t wallow in problems.

Work hand to achieve prosperity. Aspire prosperity. Dream prosperity. Hope for prosperity.

Don’t become friends with poverty for it will take you down and keep you down.

There is a poverty of mind. People who hate and use violence are sick in the mind.

Avoid the poverty of spirit. People who have no faith seek to lead the faithful into perdition.

For decades, you have been taught to feel like victims because of your identity, ethnicity or nationality. You are victors not victims. You are victors, captains of your fate.

You cannot be winners thinking like losers. You must always have a can-do attitude.

Fight your common enemy POVERTY with the powerful weapon of MEDEMER.

It is simply mind blowing.

I could talk about a paradigm shift in leadership in Ethiopia with PM Abiy.

In a political paradigm shift, one restructures the way one thinks and does politics.

PM Abiy is changing hearts and minds of the youth in a way I cannot fully explain.

To the best of my understanding as a member of the Hippo Generation (older generation), his approach to the Cheetah Generation (younger generation) seems straightforward: You can make Ethiopia a great and prosperous nation only if you can convince the young people to put their noses to the grindstone, shoulders to the wheel and their eyes fixed on the prize.

In order to convince the youth, you must first win their hearts and minds.

To do that, you must be  able to inspire them, uplift their spirit, touch their souls and stoke up their creativity for Ethiopia’s prosperity.

In short, Abiy Ahmed is campaigning not to win votes but to win hearts and minds!

I believe the 2020 election is going to be a referendum, a verdict on Ethiopia’s future, not an election of leaders for a government.

Ethiopia is at a crossroads today. Whichever road it takes will determine what will happen for generations to come.

The opportunity Ethiopia has been granted today, I believe, is divinely ordained.

Learning from the selfish child who became President of the most populous country in the world

PM Abiy was teaching and preaching to the youth with real life examples and metaphors.

He talked about a story he had read about Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Xi was a selfish little brat when he was child. He cared only about what he wanted and did not care about others. He could not keep friends but always blamed his friends for not liking him.

One day, Xi’s father wanted to teach his son a lesson in how to make friends and influence people. He prepared two bowls of noodles and placed one egg (a holiday delicacy during Xi’s days) on one of the bowls. Xi’s father told his son to choose one of the bowls and start eating. Xi instantly chose the bowl with the egg on top. Xi’s father started eating from the other bowl and covered by noodles at the bottom of the bowl were two eggs.

Xi was disappointed. His father noticed and gave him a piece of advice. “Son, what your eyes see may not always be true. By being greedy and taking advantage of others, you will eventually lose.”

A few days later, Xi’s father made two bowl of noodles and asked his son to choose one and eat. Xi, having learned from his previous experience, chose the one without the egg on top. But when Xi stirred to the bottom of the bowl, there were no eggs.

Xi was terribly disappointed missing out on the rarely available delicacy. His father gave him another piece of advice. “Son, do not trust too much in previous experience because life can be unpredictable.”

A few days later, Xi’s father did the same thing and asked his son to make a choice. But this time Xi had learned his lesson. “Father, you deserve to make the first choice because you have  sacrifices so much for our family. Please make your choice.” The father made his choice with the bowl with an egg on top. Then he gave him another piece of advice, “Son, always remember, when you think about others, good luck will come your way.”

PM Abiy changed part of the advice. “When you think about others, the Creator will help you.”

I learned the profound lesson PM Abiy taught to the Ethiopian youth today in my own youth long ago from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

Every man [and woman] must decide whether [s]he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’

Dr. King taught us the method for “Conquering Self-Centeredness” in his 1957 sermon. He said, “one of the best ways to face this problem of self-centeredness is to discover some cause and some purpose, some loyalty outside of yourself and give yourself to that something.”

True it is!

The allegory of the good and bad wolf in all of us

PM Abiy used the allegory of the two wolves that are always fighting in the hearts and minds of every human being. He said:

There are two fearsome wolves that live in every human being. One is a bad wolf who is  filled with hate, discriminatory and likes to belittle others. He is lazy and trash talks those who work hard. He lies, steals and cheats. He is greedy and self-centered.

The other is a good wolf who speaks truth, works hard and loves his neighbor and is willing to forgive others. He understands history and believes in making progress my practicing Medemer.

If you should ask which of the two wolves will win, the answer is, “the one would you feed the most”.

If you feed jealousy, thievery and hate to the bad wolf, he will grow large and eat the good wolf.

But if you feed the good wolf truth, honesty, good will and altruism, then he will grow large and swallow the bad wolf.

So, the choice is yours.

Beware, the wolf that’s grows in you, whether good or bad, will not be limited just to you. The bad wolf will eat you and all that is around you. If the good wolf wins, he will spread love, goodness, forgiveness around you.

So young people, put your energy knowledge efforts to do good and may the Creator enlighten your  hearts and minds.

My apologies to Ethiopia’s youth: How much I regret my generation which has been wolfed down by the bad wolf!

I wish there was a leader to teach my generation what PM Abiy is teaching this generation.

I am full of regrets.

On behalf of my generation, I apologize to the present generation what folly it is for my generation to have fed the bad wolf in Ethiopia the raw meat of ethnic hatred, national disunity, communalism and sectarianism.

I regret and apologize for my generation that has been feeding the bad wolf a high caloric diet of hate, anger, division, strife and ethnic superiority.

I regret and apologize for my generation that has raised and nurtured the bad wolf  that has beaten down, torn to pieces, overpowered and crushed the good wolf living in the hearts and minds of the young people of Ethiopia.

I regret and apologize for my generation that has taught the young people of Ethiopia the proverbial, “Man is wolf to man.” (homo homini lupus) and create a toxic political environment of ethnocentrism, communalism and sectarianism.

My hopes and dreams for the young people of Ethiopia: A future of Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Liberty

I say to the young people of Ethiopia, never look back. “The only time you should ever look back is to see how far you have come.”

Do not be worried about that big bad mangy old wolf that once roamed the Land of 13 Months of Sunshine wolfing down everything in its way. He is gone, gone forever. He will never, never come back!

I know today that big old bad wolf is huffing and puffing to blow down the Ethiopian House.

Never fear. The Ethiopia House is built from stone and bricks and the big bad wolf can huff and puff until the cows come home. The Ethiopia House shall not be mover. It shall stand strong atop the hill.

So, know that the old wolf pack is disbanded, discombobulated, disheartened and disinherited.

Indeed, the big bad old wolf has inherited the wind, gone with the wind!

How sweet it is to see the big bad wolf curled up under the rock from whence it came.

Now that the big bad wolf is gone, it is now your responsibility to raise the good wolf!

Young people of Ethiopia:

If you allow the bad wolf of negative thinking and hate to rule your hearts and minds, you will deplete your mental and spiritual energies. You will become angry, hateful,  bitter and even violent.

If you allow the good wolf in you to feed on love, reconciliation, forgiveness, tolerance, civility and humility, you will be energized so you can  build a great society and shining city upon a hill.

I am supremely confident you have the will, the capacity and determination to raise a strong, fearless and determined good.

You must know it is not the size of the wolf in the fight that determines the winner. It the size of the fight in the wolf that does.

The young good wolf of prosperity can and will beat the bad wolf of poverty, illiteracy, disease, hate and strife.

The young good wolf you must now raise shall have many names. Peace. Love. Forgiveness. Reconciliation. Prosperity. Tolerance.

For ages and ages, Ethiopians have lived together in holy matrimony, as brothers and sisters, as friends, as neighbors and as compatriots.

We have always been “man is man to man”, not “man is wolf to man”.

We have lived our daily lives in hardship, in fellowship and holy worship.

Have faith. The victory of the good wolf is preordained.

My warning to Ethiopia’s young people… Ethiopia’s destiny is in your hands and in your hands only!

I would like to share the allegory of the boy, the bird and the old man with the young people of Ethiopia.

In a small village lived a wise old man to whom everyone turned for guidance and advice.  One day, a young boy decided he would trick the old man with a question that he knew the old man could not answer correctly.

The boy’s plan was to find a little bird and hold it cupped in his hands hidden from sight. He would then ask the wise old man to guess if the bird he holds covered between his pals is alive or dead. If the old man said the bird is dead, he would open his hands and let it fly showing the old man is not as wise as everybody believed. If the old mad said the bird is alive, the boy would squeeze and kill the bird proving the old wise man wrong.

So, the boy approached the old man and asked, “Wise old man, can you tell what I have in my hands?”

“Of course, I can,” replied the old man. “From all the feathers sticking out of your hands I can tell you have a little bird.”

“That is true! But as wise as you are, can you tell me if the bird alive or dead?”

The old man paused for a moment, looked at the boy compassionately and responded, “ “Whether the bird is alive or dead is in your hands my child. The choice is yours.”

So, it is with Ethiopia. Whether Ethiopia will live to be a land of peace, prosperity, progress and liberty in in your hands, Young People of Ethiopia. And only in your hands!

On a personal note…

I believe the 2020 election will be a referendum on Ethiopia’s future.

As I think of my generation, I regret how we weaponized the bad wolf of tribalism, communalism, socialism, communism, Marxism, sectarianism and all the other “isms” in our feeding frenzy for power, influence and money.

In our obsessive quest for “what’s-in-it for I, me and myself”, we have decided to feed the tens of millions of poor Ethiopians who can barely feed themselves to the bad hungry wolf.

Luckily, we are the last of our breed.

The young good wolf is rising and winning the hearts and minds of the common struggling people of Ethiopia.

I believe in my heart and mind, without doubt or reservation, Abiy Ahmed is wholly and fully committed to lifting Ethiopia up from poverty with his Party Prosperity.

I believe Abiy Ahmed is campaigning for the future of Ethiopia, its young people.

I believe Abiy Ahmed carries the cause of generations to come. He does not look at the rearview mirror to drive Ethiopia forward.

Some countries pride themselves as “Land of the brave and home of the free.”

I know as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow that Ethiopian will one day be known as the “Land of Peace and Home of Prosperity and Liberty.”

With age, I suppose, comes a certain amount of poetic sentimentality.

I shall indulge in such sentimentality for the benefit of the Ethiopian youth paraphrasing a verse in Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken”:

YOU shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood in Ethiopia, and YOU—
YOU took the one less traveled by,
That road named “Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Liberty”
And that has made all the difference for the coming generations.

LET US ALL HOLD HANDS AND TRAVEL ON THE ROAD TO PEACE, PROSPERITY, PROGRESS AND LIBERTY IN ETHIOPIA!

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ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) — Ethiopia’s lower house of parliament on Friday approved the country’s first legislation on gun control.

The Weapons Administration and Control Proclamation, passed by the House of People’s Representatives, envisages streamlining the administration and control of weapons possession, state-run Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported.

The new legal framework is believed to facilitate Ethiopia’s efforts to combat the illegal trafficking of weapons across the country.

The proclamation will help maintain rule of law and ensure peace and stability, and address “the lack of uniformity with regard to regulating and controlling weapons and their usage in the country,” ENA said.

Arms smuggling is relatively common in northwest Ethiopia, where people use firearms as protection against blood feuds and as a personal trophy.

Smuggled firearms have been used by criminals to commit robbery and by rebel groups to fight the government.

However, armed anti-government acts have dropped significantly in Ethiopia in recent years following government efforts to reconcile with armed opposition groups.

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US President Donald Trump seems to think that he was overlooked for last year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

Why, what did he say?

“I’m going to tell you about the Nobel Peace Prize, I’ll tell you about that. I made a deal, I saved a country, and I just heard that the head of that country is now getting the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country. I said: ‘What, did I have something to do with it?’ Yeah, but you know, that’s the way it is. As long as we know, that’s all that matters… I saved a big war, I’ve saved a couple of them.”

A video clip of him talking to supporters at a campaign event in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday evening was shared on Twitter:

Image Copyright @atrupar@ATRUPAR

Report

Who was he talking about?

Although he did not name the Nobel Peace Prize winner or the country, it is clear that Mr Trump was referring to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Mr Abiy, 43, is Africa’s youngest head of government.

Image copyrightAFP

He came into office in April 2018 after months of anti-government protests forced his predecessor to resign.

Mr Abiy has introduced massive liberalising reforms to Ethiopia, shaking up what was a tightly controlled nation.

He freed thousands of opposition activists from jail and allowed exiled dissidents to return home. He has also allowed the media to operate freely and appointed women to prominent positions.

And in October last year, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize – the only head of state to win the prize since Mr Trump was elected in 2016.

Why did he win the Nobel Peace Prize?

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said Mr Abiy was honoured for his “decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea”.

The two countries fought a bitter border war from 1998-2000, which killed tens of thousands of people. Although a ceasefire was signed in 2000, the neighbours technically remained at war until July 2018, when Mr Abiy and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace deal. So for two decades, the long border was closed, dividing families and making trade impossible.

The Nobel Committee said it hoped the peace agreement would help to bring about positive change to the citizens of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Since the peace deal with Eritrea, Mr Abiy has also been involved in peace processes in other African countries, the committee said.

Did Trump help broker peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea?

Not really – the US’s influence in the peace talks was minimal. The United Arab Emirates, which has a lot of influence in the Horn of Africa, was key in helping to bring the two parties together, says the BBC’s former Ethiopia correspondent, Emmanuel Igunza.

Saudi Arabia also played a key role in helping end the dispute.

The peace deal helped bring back Eritrea from the cold after sanctions were imposed in 2009.

The UN Security Council lifted the sanctions in November 2018, four months after the peace deal was signed.

Why did Trump make the comments now?

This is not clear, given that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on 11 October last year, and Mr Abiy gave his acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway, on 10 December.

Interestingly, Mr Trump has not officially congratulated Mr Abiy but his daughter, Ivanka Trump, who serves as his senior adviser, and the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have done so.

However, Mr Trump has publicly said he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for, among other things, his efforts to convince North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un to give up nuclear weapons.

BBC News

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CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Ethiopia will hold a parliamentary election in May or June despite security and logistic concerns, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Sunday.

The election will be the first under Nobel Peace Laureate Abiy, who took office in April 2018 and launched political and economic reforms.

His reform agenda has also stoked violence and highlighted ethnic divisions in the country of about 105 million people, and the election board said last June that the security situation could delay the 2020 election.

“On the schedule, I am not sure whether it is May or June, because the schedule will be declared by the election board but I think we will conduct an election this year because it is a constitutional mandate,” Abiy said in response to a question at a media briefing with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“There might be lots of challenges, not only logistics but also peace and security… It is better for Ethiopians and for Ethiopian parties to conduct the election on time in a very peaceful and democratic manner,” he said.

Ahmed is on an official state visit to South Africa. The two governments signed agreements to enhance cooperation, including on tourism and health.

Ethiopia has regularly held elections since 1995 but, with the exception of the 2005 election, no election has been competitive.

In the 2005 election, riots erupted after the opposition cried foul, security forces killed nearly 200 protesters, and the government jailed many opposition politicians.

Opposition politicians have warned against any delay in the election, and critics have said that postponing the vote could cause an adverse social reaction, fuel regional conflicts and damage Abiy’s democratic credentials.

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