(The following is extracted from Dr. Aleme Eshete’s paper)

In January 1990 EPLF or Shaabia, then a close military ally of Woyane) had in collaboration with the OLF and the Sudanese army invaded Assosa in Western Ethiopia. On that date Shaabia was all-powerful since its victory of Afabet in 1988 and the destruction of the famous Nadew division. Following its victory of Shire in February 1989, the TPLF had on its part liberated the whole of Tigrai in 1989 without any resistance from Sergeant Legesse Asfaw who took the road to Addis Ababa.. We were in the last days of the Cold War under the Glasnost of Gorbaciov. While the U.S imperialism multiplied its support to theShaabia-Woyane, the collapsing Soviet Union of Gorbaciov had abandoned Menghistu..The EPLF and TPLF were now full of arms and confidence counting the days when they will occupy Asmara and Addis Ababa respectively.

It was in that context that the EPLF had marched accompanied by the army and tanks of another former ally -the Sudan- as well as a few members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) to occupy Assosa, capital of the Beni Shangul Awraja, and inhabited by the Nilotic Berta, a largely Arabic speaking largely Muslim group, (but also by the Sese, the Mao etc), whom the LF, as former Welega Galla aristocracy, considered an inferior race whom they called “black Galla!” claimed as Galla territory.1 We remember the claim of the Jote brothers who were among the Galla princes descendants of the Galla monarchies established at the end of the Galla invasion (1520’s to 1855) taking the place of the Gada system: The primitive Galla communal Gada system of the pastoralist nomadic Borana had given place to a settled society with a hereditary aristocracy following the introduction of private land property and a ruling class, exploiting not only peasant gebaro labor but also gold mines of the region and controlling the Sudan-Ethiopia caravan trade including a lucrative gold and slave trade. Upon Fascist occupation of Ethiopia (1936), the Jote brothers were among the rival Galla princes who subdivided and governed the Leqemt-Gore region paying tribute to Addis Ababa since the recon quest of the region by Menelik. There were as yet no clear-cut provinces of Welega and Ilubabor. Assosa was being governed since the days of Menelik as an autonomous region by its local ruler, Sheikh Hojele, paying tribute to Addis Ababa, which warded off the Galla threat.

Upon Fascist occupation, the Jote brothers will exploit the occasion to claim anew the rich caravan trade link of Assosa and subsequently end Assosa autonomy with a brutal military invasion forcing Berta native chief Sheik Hojele into exile. (See Amharic letter of the Jote brothers to the Fascist Italian governor -Italian State Archives)

The objective of January 1990 EPLF-OLF march and invasion of Assosa was therefore, other than the robbery of banks and other infrastructure installations in the area, was to chase out the highland “Amhara ” peasant victims of famine or otherwise poor peasants who had following the millenary south-north, north south movement of peoples and the contact between Gojam, Gondar and the countries south of the Abbai, pre- and post-Galla, mainly Welega, crossing the Abbai to try their fortune in trade and agriculture. The official resettlement programme of famine stricken highland peasants to the sparsely populated hot western lowlands had started under Haile Selassie’s government and amplified, as we know, under the military Derg. At the end of the 1980’s. There were said to be fifty settlement villages in Assosa, largely Derg improvised and imposed collectivized villegized settlements, counting some 80,000 settlers.

The other EPLF-OLF objective was to chase out the 42000 thousands of Sudanese refugees the border town of Assosa who were being cared for by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. The Khartoum government accused these refugees of serving as the source of military recruitment for the SPLA. And hence the collaboration of the Khartoum government in the invasion of Ethiopian territory.

So upon arrival in Assosa the EPLF and OLF fighters had divided the population of Assosa by ethnic and linguistic identity. The Tigrigna speaking settlers were separated from the rest to be taken back to Tigrai, which, in retrospect, makes one strongly suspect the presence among the armed invaders of the Tigrai Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) – another offspring of the EPLF strategy for the tribal dismemberment of Ethiopia, which EPLF armed and organised since TPLF inception in 1975 The Amharic speaking peasants of “Gojam Sefer” were separated and told to leave the country in five days These poor peasants included some who have settled there for generations. They were told that they had come to liberate Assosa as a Galla territory. The peasants had naturally responded this was their country where they have lived some for decades, where they have toiled to earn what ever they have earned as farmers or as small traders, and that they had nowhere to go. They had particularly targeted the Amharic speakers of “Gojam sefer” (“Gojam town”) the area inhabited mainly by the Gojamese who were treated as “neftegna” armed colonizers.

Following this, early on Tuesday (15 Tir or January 1990) the EPLF/OLF armed men had called on every tucul in Gojam Sefer inviting all – men, women and children, to an urgent assembly. When the people arrived, they took them to a school building and divided them into two classrooms. here were among the invited peasants pregnant women, mothers with newly born babies, as well as children and men and women in ad vanced ages. Then
the EPLF/OLF and certainly also TPLF forces ordered the doors of the class rooms closed and those inside were brutally massacred by hand bombs and launchers, following which the school building was put on fire. Thos who managed to run away were searched and gunned down. Among the estimated 300 dead were men, women children, and newly born babies. Many others had survived with heavy wounds and mutilations. It was the tale as told by these videotaped survivors that the world has come to know about the Assosa massacre.

The other victims of the EPLF-OLF invasion were the southern Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia who were gunned and terrorized to flight in the direction of the Sudan where they were received by the Khartoum government’s armed killers. The UNHCR was well aware of all that happened in Assosa. And yet in the UN in the West complete silence.

The EPLF itself had confirmed its Assosa massacre through no other but its leader Issayas Afework:
“Within the framework of our co-operation with the Oromo Liberation Front The situation created by the destruction of communication installations, State mines Surveying installations, witnesses a political and military development that cannot be underestimated.”

See also Radio Broadcast reports, Africa ME/0733 B/2, Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea in Amharic 1630 GMT 3 April 1990)

“The offensive of Assosa was launched by the OLF and EPLF units. This is not the first time we have operated in the area. Our relations and co-operation with the OLF and various other forces are known to everyone. Due to the joint offensive launched, it was possible to bring the area under the control of the OLF.”3

The OLF gave further details on the Assosa massacre. In its communiqué of January 10, 1990 the OLF said that their forces for the liberation of  “western Oromia” (mark the total exclusion of Berta and other Nilo-Saharan Ethiopian inhabitants of Beni Shangul) had won victory over the government forces of the Derg in the Assosa region between January 3 and 7 killing 500 soldiers. OLF claimed to have taken complete control of Assosa,  through a report of January 11. Eventually Assosa was reconquered (26 tir, February 3 1990) by the Derg and the EPLF-OLF forces had taken to flight;

Let me quote some basic declaration of OLF extracted from its media finance by EPLF and I will finalize my comments shortly. The OLF says

” However democratic it is, no alien will give independence to the Oromo people. It is
foolishness to hope for that;

If we heard this from its radio broadcast, why do some people believe OLF will abandon its agenda and trust the opposition groups? It clearly is telling us quoted above “how democratic it is no alien will give independence to the Oromo people..” Is not the Ethiopian Opposition groups considered alien by OLF? It also have arrogant, silly and unchangeable agenda which describe its own agenda in a clear way through the EPLF financed Radio of Oromo broadcast telling us from its past broadcast and present broadcast as the following “One can only liberate oneself. Like all other peoples, only the Oromos will liberate themselves and establish their own system of rule”. Now, I ask Dr.Gelawdewos Araya to explain us how OLF can work together with Ethiopians with such a stand? Let me also bring some remaining issue about the OLF stand and some tribal parties included in the opposition parties and elsewhere in the Ethiopian struggle with Dr.Aleme Eshete’s view on tribal parties and other issue and I will conclude saying hope I am not violating my Dear teacher, leader prof.Aleme Eshete’s copy Wright. I only did this to educate and debate. Please read the following how OLF, TPLF, EPLF and other tribal parties definition of oppressed tribe and the oppressive tribe in Ethiopian politics.

Bt Alemayehu G.Mariam

“Wonders never cease!”

Well, “not only do they never cease, but new and ever new wonders come crowding on their heels.”

The “latest wonder” is Tedros Adhanom, the foreign minister of the Thugtatorship of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (T-PLF), who wants to run WHO.  That is the World Health Organization.

(Truth be told, I thought Adhanom was gunning for the T-TPLF prime ministership booting out Hailemariam Desalegn, that pitiful and pathetic puppet T-TPLF prime minister (PPPPM) (or is it crime (against humanity) minster?).

The T-TPLF, the ruling regime in Ethiopia, is, as everyone knows, a certified terrorist organization listed in the Global Terrorist Database.

Adhanom is a malaria researcher by profession and training. He received his doctorate in Community Health from the University of Nottingham (UK) in 2000. Five years later, Adhanom became T-TPLF health minister, a position he held until 2012 when he was elevated to foreign minister following the death of the infamous and late T-TPLF thugmaster Meles Zenawi.

Adhanom is now trying to slingshot his way from a community health organization to the World Health Organization.

Adhanom’s official biography claims  he is a “globally recognized researcher on Malaria” and has “been recognized for his leadership in the rapidly evolving field of global health”.

(Suffice it to say that I have reviewed Adhanom’s  “research publications” on malaria and global health at what appears to be his website  and I am not impressed. We can discuss his “scholarly contributions” later assuming Adhanom will not decommission the website or remove webpages following publication of this commentary, as T-TPLFers often do when compromising data on them is publicized.)

Adhanom became foreign minister even though he had little diplomatic experience. In fact, he is pretty clueless not only about international diplomacy and relations but in general. (He just does not seem to know what time it is, to speak idiomatically.)

Adhanom’s cluelessness became painfully clear when he was duped and flimflammed by a 14 year-old girl from the Land Down Under in March 2015, three years after he became foreign minister.

They say, “you can’t con a con man.”

Perhaps. But you can con a clueless con man especially if you are a 14 year-old eight grader!

I wrote about the incredible hustle job the 14 year-old eight grader did on the T-TPLF con man in my March 15, 2015 commentary, “A Tale of Tall Tales and Ethiopia’s Diplomat-in-Chief”.

Here is a short version of that incredible but true story.

In March 2015, a 14 year-old Australian girl of Ethiopian heritage came out of nowhere (maybe the Australian outback), sat with Adhanom at a press conference in Addis Ababa and offered to spend AUD$20 million prize she had won in Australia building schools in Ethiopia. (See press conference video (Amharic) HERE.)

The 14 year-old eight grader told her story at a press conference:

I won a competition of 20 million Australian dollars so I came here [to work] with the government of Ethiopia and Australia to begin my project and structures in the area and the land…

A T-TPLF foreign affairs ministry spokesman told the rest of her story:

The main thing is that she used to participate in clubs [in Australia].  One of the clubs she led worked in human affairs. In that club, she and other club members exchanged ideas about how to help others. The main idea she raised was how to give others an opportunity for learning. When people heard that (in Australia), supporters put together the award (of 20 million dollars). This happened in 2014. When she came home for a visit, as you have heard it from her, she wants to build a school in the Gara Muleta area in Harer with the award of 20 million dollars she got.  She will begin her work soon with the cooperation of the responsible authorities.

How did the “Foreign Ministry” find out about the AUD$20 million awardee? The spokesman explained:

When the young lady came, we saw her documentation. She came to us through her family.Our honorable [foreign] minister learned about her and said it is necessary to speak and encourage her so that she can be a role model to other young people. So he called and talked to her. He encouraged her in a very strong way. He assured her if there is support the government can give her, she will get all the support she needs.

The problem with the “AUD$20 million prize” is that it never existed. The teenager never received such a prize.  Neither the “honorable minister” nor his minions bothered to make a phone call and verify the eight grader’s story. They believed the  “documentation”  allegedly given to them by the eight grader. Adhanom fell for the hustle hook, line and sinker.

 Abebe Gellaw, the fearless young Ethiopian journalist-in-exile, known for his relentless exposés of T-TPLF corruption, scandal, fake degrees and abuses of power  published an investigative piece on the duping of Adhanom by the teenager.

Abebe contacted the elementary school principal where the alleged AUD$20 million teen awardee attended. The principal  of that school “was quite mystified” and had no knowledge of any competition or prize for AUD$20 million.  Abebe contacted Baden Powell College in Melbourne, Australia which allegedly organized the fundraising and the Government of Australia. Both denied any knowledge of any AUD$20 million prize.

Adhanom mounted a pathetic counter-offensive on his Facebook page on March 7, 2015 once he figured out he had been had, been took, been bamboozled and led astray. He wrote with feigned magnanimity:

As you know the young lady is a growing child. I hope you will agree with me that children are innocent and without malice. If they make a mistake it originates from innocence not maliciousness. Because of this, I prefer to believe what children tell me. If it is a mistake to trust children, I prefer to make that mistake. Therefore, I still prefer to believe the young lady. We should not write inappropriate things and hurt the young lady. Her planned project is blessed. I am strongly confident  her project will be successful. The main thing now is to encourage and support [the young lady] her.

The fact that a 14 year-old eight grader could make a sucker out of  the “foreign minister of Ethiopia” was shocking and mind-boggling.

I felt bad for Adhanom because he would have been better off buying the Brooklyn Bridge. (Perhaps I  can belatedly recommend purchase of Trump University (of Scamming) to Adhanom. That way every T-TPLF ignoramus could be awarded a doctorate in any field for a small flat fee.)

Under Adhanom’s watch: T-TPLF diplomacy 

Adhanom’s record as T-TPLF health and foreign minister is festooned with ineptitude, cluelessness and inanity.

The man who was  bamboozled by a 14 year-old eight grader is now in charge of the Nile Dam negotiations with Egypt.

The Egyptians must think negotiating with Adhanom is “like taking candy from a baby.”

I wonder if the Egyptians had offered to sell Adhanom the Brooklyn Bridge. The make-believe Renaissance Dam  for the Brooklyn Bridge sounds like a square deal to me.

I have followed Adhanom’s diplomatic escapades and pranks for a while now.

I have cringed (eek!) watching his videotaped speeches and shaken my head in disbelief reading his statements to the press.

Adhanom’s shallowness and cluelessness in matters of foreign policy and diplomacy are simply incredible.

His public speeches and statements generally lack not only substance and coherence, but are simply nonsensical. In July 2015, Adhanom said  Ethiopia  is a democracy with one hundred percent of the vote! (Of course, so did Obama. Two “nonsenses” don’t make one bit of sense!)

Adhanom’s diplomatic speeches are chock full of platitudes, clichés, buzzwords and hokum. He has a distinct proclivity to frame complex issues in worn out and left over phrases from the days of student activism of his late boss, thugmaster Meles Zenawi.

Adhanom manifests little understanding of international diplomacy and appears to lack even an elementary understanding of international law, treaties and conventions.   

In 2013, Adhanom and PPPPM Desalegn pulled the race card and went on a wild goose chase accusing the International Criminal Court (ICC) of “race hunting” and conspiring to “destabilize Africa”. Their essential claim was that some white judges and prosecutors in The Hague were hunting down black African leaders and charging them with crimes against humanity.

It was all a BIG lie.

I defended the ICC in my commentary, “The International Criminal Court on an African Safari?”

Adhanom and Desalegn were phrase mongering as usual when they came up with their “race hunting” catchphrase. The fact of the matter is that of the 19 ICC judges, only 9 come from Western and Eastern Europe. There are 4 judges from Africa and the rest come from Asia and Latin America.

The ICC prosecutor was not out to lynch black African presidents.

For crying out loud, the chief ICC prosecutor  Fatou B. Bensouda is a Gambian (African) lawyer. She was the Deputy Prosecutor in charge of the Prosecutions Division of the ICC since 2004.

An African woman “racing hunting” innocent African men in leadership positions and trying to lynch them? What a crock of s _ _t!

The notorious American bank robber Willie Sutton was once asked why he robbed banks. His response: “Because that’s where the money is!”

The ICC prosecutor went after criminals against humanity in Africa under the Rome Statute (which applies to such crimes committed after 2002) because that is where the majority of the criminals against humanity are today.

Adhanom tried to coordinate a mass walk out of the Rome Statue at a special meeting of the  African Union (AU) in October 2013 during the debate over the trial of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and  his deputy William Ruto at the ICC.

Adhanom  demonized  the ICC and demanded charges against Kenyatta and Ruto be dropped or else.

In his “Opening Remarks” at the special meeting Adhanom declared:

[T]he [International Criminal] Court has transformed itself into a political instrument targeting Africa and Africans. This unfair and unjust treatment is totally unacceptable and that is why we have been expressing our serious concerns against the ICC…. [O]ur request to the Court to allow the President of Kenya and his Deputy to choose the sessions they wish to attend in accordance with their constitutional obligations and duties has not received a positive response… We do not want this simplistic suspect/victim approach destabilize Kenya and our region… We should not allow the ICC to continue to treat Africa and Africans in a condescending manner.

In his  “Closing Remarks”, Adhanom was jubilant:

[W]e have rejected the double standard that the ICC is applying in dispensing international justice. [W]e have once again clearly and unambiguously expressed our serious disappointment against the ICC and its selective approach vis a vis Africa.Particularly, we are deeply troubled by the fact that a sitting Head of State and his Deputy are for the first time being tried in an international court, which infringes on the sovereignty of Kenya…

“Infringes on the sovereignty”? Does that mean African presidents are above the law and are immune from ALL legal accountability?

Adhanom’s “race hunting” narrative was all a lie.

Adhanom lied when he argued that  the ICC “has transformed itself into a political instrument targeting Africa and Africans.”

Adhanom lied when he claimed the ICC has treated “Africa and Africans in a condescending manner.”

In his “race hunting” caper, Adhanom trivialized the heinous crimes committed by Kenyatta and Ruto in which nearly 2 thousand innocent Kenyans were slaughtered and over 600 thousand displaced.    (See the 155-page ICC charges of murder, deportation or forcible transfer, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts (article 7(l)(k) against Kenyatta/Ruto and others HERE.)

I have followed the William Ruto/Uhuru Kenyatta ICC “trial” assiduously. I read the trial transcripts on a regular basis. I have been a member of the ICC Forum (Human Rights International Criminal Law) at UCLA since 2013.

In the end, the Adhanom conspiracy worked. The Kenyatta/Ruto trials were fixed.

The ICC dropped charges against Kenyatta in December 2014.

Ruto was acquitted last month for “insufficiency of evidence”.  One of the judges declared it a mistrial because of a “troubling incidence of witness interference and intolerable political meddling”.

I got a bad feeling when the trials were postponed time and again. I could smell a rat in the repeated delays. It became clear to me a year before Kenyatta walked out of the ICC with his middle finger pointing to the sky and his back to the ICC that theoutcome would be rigged.

Adhanom must be proud of  his efforts to save two of the most notorious criminals against humanity in the 21^st century.

The man who made Africa safe for the plague of crimes against humanity is now trying to save the world from the bubonic, septicemic and pneumonic plagues as a WHO Czar.

Under Adhanom’s Watch: Persecution of Ethiopian domestic workers in Saudi Arabia

Adhanom was clueless and callous during the persecution of Ethiopian migrant workers and refugees in Saudi Arabia in November 2013. That month thousands of Ethiopian domestic workers and migrants weer brutalized, tortured and humiliated by the Saudi Arabian regime, police and vigilantes.

Adhanom said he did not know  Ethiopian domestic workers and migrants were being deported  from Saudi Arabia until the Saudis began deporting them! Clueless!?

Adhanom delivered an obsequious apology to the very regime that was committing crimes against humanity on Ethiopians. It was sickening. Adhanom said, “Ethiopia would like to express its respect for the decision of the Saudi Authorities and the policy of deporting illegal migrants.” He also said what is happening to Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia “may be accepted when nations are at war to deport like this in a very rapid fashion people may understand, but not in peaceful situation.”

The dude is crazy clueless. Article 7 (d) and Article 8 (vii) of the Rome Statute classify “deportation or forcible transfer of population” as a crime against humanity during war time.

Under Adhanom’s Watch: T-TPLF abductions and kidnappings

In July 2014, Tedros Adhanom, with the aid of his security forces, committed the crime of extraordinary rendition by causing the abduction of Andaragatchew Tsege, a British national of Ethiopian origin and General Secretary of the Ethiopian opposition group known as Ginbot 7 Movement for Justice, Freedom and Democracy.

The practice of extraordinary rendition constitutes a violation of article 3 of the Convention against Torture and article 7 of the ICCPR” (United Nations Economic and Social Council, Situation of Detainees at Guantanamo Bay, E/CN.4/2006/120, 15 February 2006, para. 55). To the “honorable foreign minister”, international law means nothing.

(I wonder if Adhanom knows the World Health Organization’s standards for the physical and mental health of prisoners prohibit extraordinary renditions. I wonder also if he will insist the T-TPLF uphold those standards if he becomes WHO Czar.)

Adhanom publicly  mocked  Andaragatchew Tsege following his abduction by  suggesting that the TPLF government has provided him with a laptop to finish writing his book and “was shown around the various development projects underway in the country.”

Andaragatchew is denied the right to counsel but given a laptop to write a book. I can only guess the “book” is the coerced confession of Andaragatchew which the T-TPLF seeks to use for legal purposes in their monkey courts or to humiliate him politically.

This month Andaragatchew’s  9 year-old daughter Menabe sued the British Foreign Office over the mishandling of her father’s case. Menabe said, “After two years he is finally going to get a lawyer but I don’t think it’s going to actually help my dad. The government needs to demand he comes back – they should have done it ages ago.”

She also said of the British Government, “I think they would try harder if my father was a white Englishman.”

Out of the mouth of babes, the truth is spoken.

Under Adhanom’s Watch: Persecution of Ethiopians in South Africa

For the past three years, Ethiopian refugees in South Africa have faced extreme violence and persecution at the hands of  vigilantes and thugs in South Africa. Tedros Adhanom has failed to take any action with the Government of South Africa to stop the violence that continues to be committed on Ethiopians and refused to demand  the arrest and prosecution of the criminal perpetrators. He has chosen to remain silent. I can understand why he is indifferent; he may even get a measure of perverse pleasure from their persecution.

Under Adhanom’s Watch: Visit of President Obama to Ethiopia 

My regular readers know that I am no longer in Obama’s cheerleading section. Though I have lost respect for Barack Obama the man for calling the T-TPLF “a democratically elected government”, I respect the constitutional office Barack Obama occupies.

When Adhanom’s foreign ministry rolled out  a 99-cent polypropylene welcome door mat to receive the President of the United States and gave him a Mickey Mouse honor guard review, I  was  not a happy camper.

For all the billions American taxpayers have doled out to the T-TPLF over the years, the best Adhanom could do was a 99-cent polypropylene welcome door mat. At the time, I wrote, “Donald Trump said, ‘America needs to be respected again because the rest of the world has lost respect for America.’” I thought that iconic moment represented the T-TPLF’s flip of the bird to American tax payers.

Under Adhanom’s Watch: T-TPLF diplomatic missions go bust

In January 2016, Adhanom announced to the T-TPLF rubber stamp parliament, “One of the biggest challenges is that we are suffering from hard currency shortage especially for the execution of diplomatic missions in most of our embassies and consular offices.” In other words, due to cash flow problems, T-TPLF diplomatic missions are sitting on their duffs twiddling their thumbs. As everyone knows, the so-called “diplomatic missions” are havens for illiterate T-TPLF supporters who spend most of their time escorting T-TPLF bosses and their wives/mistresses around the shopping malls than doing diplomatic work. We know that!

Under Adhanom’s Watch: T-TPLF trying to infiltrate the Voice of America

In November 2015, Tedros Adhanom got me fuming!

On the evening of September 26, 2015, Adhanom and his sidekick T-TPLF ambassador to the U.S. Girma Birru, “sneaked” under cover of darkness during the weekend  into the headquarters of the Voice of America for a secret meeting with selected reporters and staff of VOA Amharic Service (AS) and another VOA service.

I was apoplectically outraged when I learned the details of the secret weekend night meeting. (Read all about it HERE.) For years, I have defended the VOA AS against T-TPLF attacks; and I am proud of that!

I have severely criticized those who have tried to intimidate VOA AS reporters in public places.

Adhanom and Birru tried to arm-twist VOA reporters. They did not succeed. I can say without reservation that the vast majority of VOA Amharic Service reporters are consummate professionals. I disagree with VOA Amharic Service on quite a few things, but I have had no reason to doubt their professional integrity. The VOA has subsequently announced that it will take appropriate measure to make sure there is no repeat of the Adhanom/Birru caper.

Under Adhanom’s watch: The health sector in Ethiopia

The statistics on health care services in Ethiopia are grim and heartbreaking. I first wrote about health care in Ethiopia in my October 2009 commentary, “Mothers of Ethiopia, Mother Ethiopia”.

According to a 2006 World Health Organization (WHO) report, Ethiopia’s population was estimated to be 77 million. To serve this population, there were 1,936 physicians (1 doctor for 39,772 persons); 93 dentists (1: 828,000); 15,544 nurses and midwives (1: 4,985), 1,343 pharmacists (1: 57,334) and 18,652 community health workers (1: 4,128). Total expenditure on health as a percentage of gross domestic product was 5.9 per cent. General government expenditure on health as a percentage of total expenditure on health was 58.4 per cent, and private expenditures covered the balance of 41.6 percent. Hospital beds per 10,000 population was less than 25. Per capita expenditure on health was US$ 3 at an average exchange rate. WHO’s minimum standard is 20 physicians per 100,000 population, and 100 nurses per 100,000 population.

In October 2010, in a five-part series entitled, “Mothers of Ethiopia,” investigative journalist Hanna Ingber Win painted a portrait of a country that is the epicenter — the ground zero– of Africa’s maternal and child health crises. Win wrote, “In Ethiopia, the maternal health statistics suggest that the nation’s health care system needs an overhaul. Less than six percent of women have access to a health professional while giving birth, according to Ethiopia’s 2005 Demographic and Health Survey. The maternal mortality rate is one of the worst in the world. For every 100,000 live births, 673 women die giving birth, according to the survey.”

In March 2007, the late Meles Zenawi at a health conference said, “We don’t need doctors in Ethiopia….Let the doctors leave to wherever they want.”

At the time, I condemned Meles Zenawi for making such a callous statement. I argued, “No effort must be spared to retain Ethiopian doctors in order for them to serve in the country, particularly in the rural areas. It is also an obvious fact that the flight of Ethiopian doctors necessarily means the importation of expensive foreign ones or the vast majority of Ethiopians will continue to die from preventable diseases and lack of basic health services.”

The fact of the matter  is that

Medical personnel in Ethiopia receive low wages, for this reason, the majority of them often seek out second jobs to make ends meet. This has resulted to frequent absenteeism in medical staff. The management is reluctant to challenge the physicians over their frequent absences from work as well as their tendencies to take long breaks and arrive late at work. Lower level workers have followed the same behaviour as the physicians, leading to high absenteeism and low productivity at all levels.

According to a 2010 Foreign Policy report, “there are more Ethiopian physicians practicing in Chicago today than in all of Ethiopia, a country of 80 million and Africa’s second-most populous country.”

The T-TPLF health minister in 2013 “complained there are more Ethiopian doctors in Chicago than in his own country.”

The latest (January 2015) “WHO Statistical Profile” on Ethiopia  is filled with bogus statistics. The report identifies its data sources as follows: “Source: Country statistics and global health estimates by WHO and UN partners”. In other words, the data came from the T-TPLF statistics office (the same office that has been churning out bogus “double-digit growth for 10 years”, which I proved beyond a shadow of doubt to be a lie, damned lie and statislie).

The 2015 WHO report alleges life expectancy at birth for both sexes in Ethiopia increased by 13 years over the period of 2000-2012. In the comparable WHO region, the average increase was  7 years in the same period. How is that possible? The T-TPLF cooks the numbers to make itself look good, fully confident no Ethiopian or others will dig deep into their bogus databases and expose their statistical frauds.

The WHO claims  (based on T-TPLF provided data) life expectancy in Ethiopia increased from 48 in 1990 to 64 in 2012. The under 5 mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births)  declined from 205 in 1990 to 64 in 2013. HIV/AIDS incidence rate per 100,000 population declined from 148 in 2001 to 51 in 2012.

In a 2014 report (based exclusively on WHO data) entitled, “Ethiopia The Health System”, WHO reported the following data on the health workforce and available medical equipment:

Physicians density (per 1000 population) in 2003 was 0.027; in 2009 was 0.025.

Dentistry personnel density (per 1000 population) in 2003 was 0.001; 2006-2013, no data reported.

Nursing and midwifery personnel density (per 1000 population) in 2003 was 0.220; in  2009 was 0.253

Pharmaceutical personnel density (per 1000 population) in 2003 was 0.019; in 2009 was 0.031.

Psychiatrists working in mental health sector per 100,000 in 2011 was 0.04.

Total density per million population computed tomography units (CT Scans) in 2010   was 0.25; in 2013 it was 0.36.

Total density per million population radio therapy (cancer radiation therapy) in 2010 was 0.02; in 2013 was 0.02.

In 2008, Ethiopia had a population of 82 million. To serve that population, there “were  a total of 149 hospitals  in the country; 40 belong to the private sector, while 100 are State owned and 9 are supported by non-governmental organisations.”

In February 2015, Adhanom announced that certain Middle Eastern investors were going to build a resort for “medical tourism” in the capital. Adhanom exhorted Qatari businessmen  to “participate in Ethiopia’s efforts to make itself a nucleus of medical tourism in Africa.”

I wondered if Adhanom was negotiating with the Qatari investors for “medical tourism” or “sex tourism”.

Adhanom’s legacy: International aid to improve health care

The USAID’s Office of the Inspector General Audit of USAID/Ethiopia’s HIV Care and Treatment Activities (AUDIT REPORT NO. 4-663-14-006-P MAY 23, 2014) paints a portrait of ongoing corruption, incompetence, delays, cost-overruns, lack of oversight, cooking the numbers, mismanagement and indifference in its programs in Ethiopia. Among the heartbreaking findings are:

Several significant activities Tetra Tech  conducted were outside its scope of work.

Commodity storage conditions were not good, and inventory was poorly documented. We found mouse droppings near food commodities paid for by USAID.

Internal controls did not prevent or detect ineligible costs.

Data for FBP [Food By Prescription] were not reliable. The quality of data gathered for nutritional counseling and number of patients receiving supplemental food was not good.

The task orders for the first five health centers stated that all should have been completed on or before August 8, 2013. However, as of November 2013, only one center was fully constructed, and USAID/Ethiopia estimated that one more would be completed by December 31, 2013.

The main reason the health centers would not be operational until long after construction was completed was because delegations of responsibility were not well defined between the Ethiopian Government and USAID/Ethiopia.

The mission significantly reduced the number of health centers it would construct and renovate… because the EHIP budget was reduced and Tetra Tech designs were significantly over budget… Although the USAID contracting officer instructed Tetra Tech on June 29, 2011, to modify the design to meet the budget of $250,000 to $300,000 per health center, the average cost for the first five health centers was $756,431 each, and the COR told auditors that future health centers could cost more.

New Health Centers Did Not Address Community Needs. Despite planning to build larger health centers, the centers’ size and functionality did not always meet the needs of the communities where they were being built.

Excluding renovations at health centers that were not structurally sound eliminated the most needed improvements. For example, Meshenti Clinic in Amhara used a mud and stick building with an unfinished roof because the Ethiopian Government cut off funding for the project after constructing only two of the three buildings. The clinic also lacked running water because its water tank had been cracked for more than a year without being repaired. The staff said they sometimes treat 80 to 100 patients a day. Their activities include preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. This clinic should be a prime candidate for renovation, but it would be excluded because it would involve building a new structure.

The USAID’s Office of the Inspector General Audit of  USAID/ETHIOPIA’S PEPFAR-FUNDED ACTIVITIES FOR PREVENTION OF TRANSMISSION OF HIV (AUDIT REPORT NO. 4-663-12-007-P APRIL 23, 2012) presented similar findings:

People living with HIV and AIDS were counted incorrectly… Mission officials wanted to take credit for the numbers of people being reached.

The numbers of people from targeted populations reported as having attended education sessions under the sexual transmission prevention indicators are overstated because they included “untargeted populations” as defined by OGAC guidance.

Despite these [Automated Directives System (ADS) 203.3.5] requirements, the  audit found errors and inconsistencies with data that USAID/Ethiopia  reported to external parties… [A]uditors found significant problems with the underlying information. Specific examples are listed below…

The Executive Council of the African Union (AU) has endorsed Adhanom’s bid to become WHO Czar.

Adhanom says, “If elected I plan to work with regions to create blueprints to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which provide a global mandate to achieve universal health coverage and provide access to safe and effective medicines and vaccines for all”. (Phrases scarfed off of WHO webpages.)

That means Adhanom will bring to the WHO the same “blueprints” he used to revolutionize health care in Ethiopia! If only things could be solved by phrase mongering and spewing platitudes and cliches.

Margaret Chan of China who is the current director general of the WHO will be leaving in 2017. Can Adhanom fill her shoes?

Adhanom “trying to get the hell out of T-TPLF Dodge”?

My general impression is that Adhanom  is sick and tired of the T-TPLF crap. He wants to make a clean break from the T-TPLF.

I have reason to believe that Adhanom thinks he is a cut above the other T-TPLF guys; and most likely, in a class by himself. Meles felt the same way.

Just like Meles, Adhanom may be right in thinking he is better than his comrades.

Adhanom may be using Meles’ playbook. The late thugmaster got himself appointed to all kinds of international gigs: climate change convention, G20 and other summits, Tony Blair’s Commission on Africa, etc.

I do not believe there is another T-TPLF leader today who has the audacity to go for a big job like WHO Director General.

It takes chutzpah to go for the top world health job even though one manifestly lacks the qualifications and experience, mental fortitude, judgement or savvy for the job. (But I admit it: I am biased. I think a pig with lipstick at the end of the day is just a pig. By the same token, to me a thug in a designer suit with academic acronyms after his name, at the end of the day, is still a thug. So there!)

Let me repeat that I am reasonably confident in saying that Adhanom is sick and tired of all the T-TPLF shenanigans and horsefeathers. He sees the T-TPLF ship sinking slowly. Why not jump now?

My adaptation on the old saw is this: “When the going gets tough, the smart-tough skip town, or abandon ship.”

There it is!  Adhanom setting it up for the final exit.

Ciao! Good bye! Ma-Salama! Au Revoir! Sayonara! I’m outta here, T-TPLF chumps!

My personal opinion is that Adhanom’s appointment to the top WHO job would be a travesty and a colossal disservice to the cause of preserving world health.

I believe John Steinbeck wrote in the Grapes of Wrath, “I hate catching spiders. Still, a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.”

Adhanom has got to do what Adhanom has got to do. I can’t blame a man for jumping ship to save his skin.

I have nothing personal against Adhanom. I “know” the man only from his public statements and from statements of those who claim to know or have known him.

I think Adhanom sees the WHO job as his Pontius Pilate moment. He snags the top WHO job and washes his hands of  T-TPLF crimes and declare: “I am innocent of the blood the T-TPLF has shed. It is their responsibility. I am going away to save the world (at least the World Health Organization). I am outta here!”

If Adhanom manages to pull off the WHO top job, he can skip town and live in style and high on the hog leaving the other TPLF thugs holding the bag.

Good for him! That would be pretty slick.

If he pulls it off, my kudos to Slick Teddy.

I do not know how the other T-TPLF bosses view Adhanom’s potential getaway as they are stuck holding the crimes against humanity bag.

My view is that the T-TPLF leaders and their cronies and followers are the most cruel, hateful, spiteful, vengeful, malicious, resentful and ruthless gang of thugs that walked the earth.

Put simply, the T-TPLF is like “crabs in a basket.” Figure that one out!

I would not be surprised if “they”  have a plan underway to torpedo Adhanom’s bid for the top WHO job. That is just the way they are. They will not wince as they cannibalize each other. They can’t help something that is genetically coded in them, I am sorry to say!

To be fair, I can also appreciate the frustration and possible envy of other T-TPLF bosses watching Adhanom making a clean getaway flipping them the bird with a little na-na, na-na, boo-boo ( I am better than you. I got away with murder.)

Well, it is what it is.

I believe every human being (even the ones I loathe) has the right to aspire for the best they can achieve. Just like the old US Army slogan, “Be all you can be.” A wo/man has got the right to be all s/he can be.

I oppose Adhanom’s candidacy for the top WHO job just like I opposed Gayle E. Smith’s confirmation  to head USAID.

I believe Adhanom will be very bad news at WHO. But I realize that it is all about global bureaucratic politics and political correctness. The powers that be gotta have a black  African face in that position. Why not Adhanom? They just need to meet their quota. It is the wrong man at the right time.

If Adhanom snags the top WHO job in 2017, well, he would have outsmarted, outfoxed, outmaneuvered and out-capered all of the other TPLF thugs just like the late crafty thugmaster Meles Zenawi did. There is something to be said for that even though begrudgingly.

If he snags it, I will congratulate him. After all, noblesse oblige, if you know what I mean!

They say, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” Or is it Director General of WHO?

P.S. Does anyone know if the WHO is located in Dr. Seuss’ Whoville?

NTERVIEWBy Addisalem Mulat

Would you please introduce yourself to our esteemed readers?

My name is Major Bekele Gululat. I was born in 1928 EC in Harar city. I have got a sister and four brothers. My mother was a housewife while my father was a farmer. I started out in religious schools, before completing my primary and secondary school in Ras Mekonnen and Medhanialem Secondary School respectively. Our teachers were Americans and Canadians.

What was your childhood days like?

As any Ethiopian children do, I loved to play football day in, day out in the place where I was born and raised. I can even go on and say that I was an excellent footballer. Saying that there was nobody better than me in football in my home town would not be a hyperbole statement. I was that good. Most of my time was devoted to playing football and other childhood plays during those early years of my life. Mostly, I played with Gebre-Kirstos Desta as he was my best friend and next-door neighbour. But despite all this, I used to spend ample time concentrating fully on my studies.

When did you get married?

If truth be told, I got married to my wife fifteen years ago. I got married very late because of many unforeseen reasons. Anyhow, we have got a son. At this moment in time, he is attending school in ‘Cathedral’ Elementary School. He is an eighth grader.

How and when did you join the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force? What inspired you? And what was the teaching-learning process like when you were in there?

To begin with, when I was at Harar Medhanialem Secondary School, instructors from the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force were lobbying all the students to join the academy. Our hearts and minds were captured by their interesting stories all the time. At the end of the day, I entered the Air Force in a little while after I completed my high school. Our instructors at the time were Swedish. They trained us air-frame, which take account of fuselage, wings and undercarriage. What is more, they trained us an aircraft engine, which is the ingredient of the forward motion scheme for an aircraft that brings mechanical power.

They also educated us in aerodynamics. It, for the most part, deals with the forces of haul and lift which are caused by air passing over and around solid bodies. Everything considered, they trained us in a range of aircraft bodies. Passing through an assortment of challenges to achieve the intended target was mandatory. Five years later, I graduated from the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force in aviation engineering.

It took me another five years to become a commissioned officer. The requirement to join the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force was having good grades in mathematics and physics, as they were compulsory subjects. English language was mandatory as well; and we communicated through English language in the Air Force.

For what purpose was the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force was established?

Well, the flight school was established with a view of producing combat aircraft and passenger plane pilots. As a matter of fact, the main focus of the centre was to guard the entire country from possible threats. It was up-to-the-minute Air Force. Despite its small size, the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force was equipped with everything that is needed.

Ethiopian Airlines

Why and when did you resign?

It is a long story. I do not know where to start the heart-rending situation I was in during the Ethiopian revolution. I was made to resign before my retirement day in 1968 EC. The thing was, immediately after, the downfall of Emperor Haile-Selassie, there were problems in every nook and cranny of the country. The sole causes of the revolution were lack of infrastructure and democracy. The other reasons were the living standard of the general public, the Eritrean demand for democracy and the cost of the fuel price. There was political unrest across the country following the aforesaid reality on the ground and thus power came into the hands of a committee of low ranking officers and enlisted soldiers.

In spite of the fact that several group got involved in the overthrow, the Derg succeeded to power in a short time. At that specific juncture, the Derg was popular following the coup against Emperor Haile-Selassie who came to power under the slogans, “Land to peasants”, “Democracy and equality to all” and the likes. After the downfall of the Emperor, a military committee was established from several divisions of the armed forces. General Amman Andom was elected as Chairman for the Derg.

Be that as it may, things began going day in, day out from the frying pan into the fire. After some months of unrest, the emperor was overthrown and imprisoned by the military. Shockingly, the Derg carried out mass execution which broke the heart of many Ethiopians across the country. Most people began joining different political parties with the intention of bringing a radical change across the country. Countless students, teachers and ordinary Ethiopians were thrown into prison exclusive of charge. Some of them were tortured and executed. Most bodies were left on the street where many people could see them. Nobody was allowed to mourn and bury their beloved ones.

At that point in time, there was a boy called Sisay Habte. He is an amazing person. He obtained his MA from America in electrical engineering. He was an orator. He out-shined Colonel Mengistu Haile-Mariam. He made all civil organizations made struck convincing all of them. I was one of the coordinators. He was killed along this line. Ultimately, I was urged to give up my job.

Where did you work afterwards?

Sadly, I was banned from taking part in any organizations across the country through circulars. Can you imagine what my feelings would be like at that time? Our situation was heart-rending. There were not able to find employees in every part of the country. When they were at a loss what to do, they lifted the sanction. I was even asked to join the Ethiopian Airlines. I said no for I hate to death socialism. At the end of the day, I began running my own business. I was even requested to work in America. I could not help it as life is not a bed of roses.

What line of work did you get yourself involved in after resigning?

I began working as commission agent. I get commission from an ad agency as per closed deals. The commission is usually charged as a percentage of the costs that went into providing advertising services to that client. I was working as a foreign agent. I sold coffee sorting machine. I also used to sell aero-system for police aviation and the Ethiopian Airlines. I even started selling an aircraft called ‘G Triple Three’ aircraft. It was made in Italy. The motor was from America. To everybody’s surprise, it took a long time for me to introduce Hercules aircraft in Ethiopia. Its motor is made by the General Electric Company while its body is made in Rome.

Thank you very much!

Published June 08, 2016

Associated Press

Mike Smith, Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Eritrea. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

Eritrea’s “systematic, widespread” human rights abuses should be referred to the International Criminal Court as crimes against humanity that include enslavement of up to 400,000 people, a United Nations commission of inquiry said Wednesday.

The commission said the government of the small Horn of Africa country has made no progress on most critical rights violations the group first documented a year ago.

Eritrean refugees are one of the largest groups trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. The new report says 47,025 Eritreans applied for asylum in Europe in 2015.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, in power since 1991, has become increasingly repressive, say rights groups.

“The crimes of enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, persecution, rape, murder and other inhumane acts have been committed as part of a widespread, systematic campaign against the civilian population since 1991,” commission chair Mike Smith told reporters.

The commission’s role was investigative, not prosecutorial, Smith said, stopping short of identifying potential suspects or saying how many there are.

“Officials at the highest levels of state” bear responsibility for crimes against humanity, the report said, and the commission has compiled evidence for a number of officials that “will be made available at the appropriate time to relevant institutions, including courts of law.”

Eritrea’s government quickly shot back. A statement from presidential adviser Yemane Gebreab accused the panel of being “entirely one-sided.”

A Dutch documentary program about 40 minutes on a flower farm in Ziway, Ethiopia, owned by the Sher flower farm a multi-million company run by father and daughter from Holland, was shown on Holland TV last week. The documentary was translated by Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) in Amharic for its Ethiopian audience. All who care about planet earth and its inhabitants need to watch it and take a clear stand !!!

June 9, 2016

Was Muhammad Ali “The Greatest”?

Ali told  British actress Joanna Lumley in 1989 that it was all a publicity stunt to promote his fights.

Lumley:  “Ali. You are the greatest. How are you the greatest champion in the world?”

Ali: “That was only publicity, that I am the greatest. Just to build the fight. I never really believed that.

Lumley”: “You didn’t believe it?

Ali: “Still don’t.”

Lumley: “I believed it.”

So did everyone else in the world including the great George Foreman.

Foreman said, “People ask me. ‘Was Muhammad Ali the greatest boxer?’  I feel almost insulted because boxing is something he did. That is no way to define Muhammad Ali. He is one of the greatest men to appear on the scene of the earth.”

I agree wholeheartedly!

But what is it that makes Muhammad Ali “The Greatest”?

I can answer that with one word: COURAGE!

Muhammad Ali had the COURAGE to stand up in the face of racism, injustice, oppression and  unfairness and refuse to back down come hell or high water.

On April 28, 1967, Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted in the armed forces.

His reasoning was simple.  He would not go to war thousands of miles away to free some people he did not know when his own people were suffocating in a cauldron of  injustice and oppression right here in the U.S. of A.

On June 20, 1967, they threw the book at him: 5 years in prison for draft evasion, a $10,000 fine and a banning from boxing for three years.

Muhammad Ali did not flinch. His response to the whole drama was captured in two words, “So what!”:

Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned that to take such a stand would cost me millions of dollars. But I have said it once and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality. If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years.”

Muhammad Ali used courage to determine his self-destiny and bring defiant pride to all who felt crushed by a system white supremacy, white democracy , white plutocracy  and white conspiracy.

In a dictionary to be written in the future, the definition for the word courage will be a photograph of Muhammad Ali.

Men and women of courage in our time are few and far between.

Nelson Mandela was a man of courage. “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”

Martin Luther King was a man of courage. “We must build dykes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.”

President Lyndon Johnson was a man of courage. Vietnam was Johnson’s dark legacy. But without Johnson’s courage there would have been no Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the Voting Rights Act of 1965. During the signing of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965, Johnson remarked, “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”  Barack Obama became the 43rd President of the United States exactly 43 after the Voting Rights Act was signed.

Malcom X was a man of courage. “A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.”

Mahatma Gandhi was a man of courage. “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”

Aung San Suu Kyi is a woman of courage. “Human beings want to be free and however long they may agree to stay locked up, to stay oppressed, there will come a time when they say ‘That’s it.’ Suddenly they find themselves doing something that they never would have thought they would be doing, simply because of the human instinct that makes them turn their face towards freedom.”

Noam Chomsky is a man of courage. “Governments will use whatever technology is available to them to combat their primary enemy- their own population.”

Malala Yousafzai, the 15 year-old Pakistani school girl who was shot by the Taliban was a young woman of courage. Malala survived, became a leading spokesperson for  education and women’s rights and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. She said, “We were scared, but our fear was not as strong as our courage.”

Susan B. Anthony was a woman of courage. “I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.”

Ella Baker was a woman of courage. “In order for us as poor and oppressed people to become part of a society that is meaningful, the system under which we now exist has to be radically changed… It means facing a system that does not lend its self to your needs and devising means by which you change that system.”

My friend Eskinder Nega and so many other Ethiopians languishing in prison and massacred by the Thugtatorship of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (T-TPLF), a terrorist organization organization listed in the Global Terrorism Database, are men and women of courage. They cannot speak of their boundless courage as terrorist captives, so I must testify on their behalf in the court of world opinion every Monday.

Courage and greatness should not be confused.

Shakespeare wrote, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

I say all humans are born with courage. Most lose courage over their lifetimes. The vast majority are willing and eager to succumb to a life of cowardice and die in quiet desperation.

A few months after being born, a baby finds the physical and spiritual strength to stop crawling and stand up. That I think is the first act of courage in the human being. The baby struggles to stand up  after falling time and again, and even crying in pain. No baby will willingly keep crawling because trying to stand up may prove to be painful in the fall.

As the baby grows older and becomes an adult, it learns that crawling is better and safer than  standing up and falling down.

Muhammad Ali is one of the few human beings who was born in courage, lived in courage, stood up in courage, fell down in courage and died in courage. He died with his boots on; better yet, with his gloves on.

Muhammad Ali’s guiding principle in life was not “Never give up.” It was fight back and never back down, Never!

What will happen to the boxing world after The Greatest is gone?

Muhammad Ali knew exactly what will happen:

Boxing will always continue without me. The Concorde, I believe, is not too economical and they are talking about grounding it. I am the Concorde of boxing. The other fighters are jets. I am high altitude than the rest, moving faster than the rest. But you just have to get used to riding on jets again. You can’t ride Concordes again.

The screaming eagle of Louisville and the booming Concorde will be heard no more. But both shall live on in our memories and the pages of history as the greatest of all time.

Muhammad Ali knew he was loved the world over. He joked about it. “I’m the most recognized and loved man that ever lived cuz there weren’t no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around, so people far away in the villages didn’t know about them.”

The English journalist David Frost once asked Muhammad Ali, “What would you like people to think about you when you’ve gone?

Muhammad Ali the poet-cum-boxer summed it all up:

I’d like for them to say:
He took a few cups of love.
He took one tablespoon of patience,
One teaspoon of generosity,
One pint of kindness.
He took one quart of laughter,
One pinch of concern.
And then, he mixed willingness with happiness.
He added lots of faith,
And he stirred it up well.
Then he spread it over a span of a lifetime,
And he served it to each and every deserving person he met.

Giving love, showing patience, generosity, kindness, concern and mixing it all up with laughter and faith and handing it out every day to every deserving person sounds like a great recipe to become The Greatest.

It is up to each one of us to take The Greatest Recipe and aspire to become The Greatest.

Muhammad Ali left us a few core principles to live by: “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life… Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it…  Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”

Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar, “Cowards die many times before their deaths/ The valiant never taste of death but once.”

I say, The Greatest of All Time never die.

Muhammad Ali is a great American hero and the greatest world citizen.

Farewell and RIP Muhammad “The Greatest of All Time” Ali (1942-2016)

Thank you for your inspiration!

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

Posted in Al Mariam’s Commentaries By almariam On June 4, 2016

Farewell, The Greatest…

They say The Greatest is no more. Muhammad Ali is gone to join the ages.

But he did not die. No Sir!

I say it in the poetic words of  John Donne, “Death, be not proud” for having taken The Greatest:

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill [The Greatest].
…
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
[Muhammad Ali, The Greatest of All Time, shall live forever!]

MOGADISHU, June 11 (Xinhua) — The Africa Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and East African bloc IGAD have commended Ethiopian troops serving with AMISOM for repulsing an Al-Shabaab attack and inflicting heavy casualties on the militants on Thursday.

Al-Shabaab militants raided an AMISOM base run by the Ethiopian troops in Halgan in central Somalia but were pushed back.

AMISOM said its troops killed at least 110 Al-Shabaab militants.

“IGAD condemns this senseless act of violence and commends the heroic forces of the AMISOM who have repulsed the latest attack to ensure that the industrious and peace loving people of Somalia live in peace and stability after two decades of war and destruction,” the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said in a statement received on Saturday.

Al-Shabaab claimed it killed 60 Ethiopian soldiers in the attack. AMISOM has not revealed whether there were casualties on its side.

AMISOM’s acting force commander, Maj. Gen. Nakibus Lakara, visited the Halgan Forward Operation Base in Hiiraan region on Friday. He commended the troops for repulsing the attack and vowed to step up security to defeat the militants.

“Al-Shabaab has been exploiting AMISOM weaknesses but over time we have been able to learn lessons and share the experiences and this is evidence of the troops being able to pick those lessons from previous experiences,” he said.

An AMISOM statement said a cache of arms seized from the militants was displayed during Lakara’s visit and that the battlefield was still strewn with bodies of Al-Shabaab fighters.

AMISOM Sector Four deputy commander, Col. Ayenom Mesfin, said the fighting at the military base lasted more than four hours.

“We were attacked by about 400 enemies from four different fronts at dawn and the fight ended after 9:30 a.m.,” Mesfin said.

AMISOM force spokesperson, Lt. Col Joe Kibet, dismissed Al-Shabaab’s claim that its militants had overrun the camp. “It is pure propaganda to say that they overran this camp,” he said.

After beating Lesotho 2-1 on Sunday in the second leg of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers the national side extended their hope of going through to the finals. Two goals from Getaneh Kebede helped Ethiopia win 2-1 away to Lesotho in Group J, to boost their hopes of finishing as one of the best runners-up.

This is the fifth goal for Getaneh in the qualification series. He scored double in the 3-3 draw against the African football powerhouse Algeria here at the Addis Ababa Stadium.

The national side have now eight points from five games. With only one match at hand, there are five runners up who have 10, nine and eight points. The chance for qualification depends on the win of the national side and defeat of other groups’ runners-up. For the national side the win gave a light at the end of the tunnel.

The national side will meet Seychelles in early September. According to the CAF schedule, all group matches will take place same day and same time in September.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian National football team went two steps down to take the 125th position comparing to April in the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) world rankings place in the June 2016 edition of the list. In March rankings the national side improved four places to take 120th position.

Neighbours Uganda, well known as Cranes, remained 72nd in the men’s FIFA world ranking positions and top countries in the Council of East and Central African Football Associations, widely known as CECAFA.

Kenya is down to the 41st places in Africa and 129th in the world. The Kenyan side are two places below Ethiopia who stand 125th in the world and 39th in Africa while Sudan are 128th in the world and 40th in Africa.

Burundi are far below in CECAFA zone. They are 132nd in the world and 42nd in Africa. In April they were 122nd. The other CECAFA nation Tanzania stand 136th in the world and 44th in Africa. In April their rankings were 130th.

South Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia are the bottom sides in the June 2016 rankings. This shows that the Eastern part of African countries do not fare well in world football.

In a related report, Algeria remain the top side in Africa and 32nd in the world. Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Egypt and Tunisia occupy from second to sixth places, in the order of that. There is no change of places for the top 6 sides in Africa in April and May standings.

FIFA ranking procedure goes along strict course of action: All points are awarded on a “World Cup cycle,” the four-year period between tournaments, per FIFA’s fact sheet. Of the international “A” matches taken into account for a month’s ranking, most of them are continental qualifiers in Europe, Africa and CONCACAF, other fixtures for friendly also considered.

Considering this, the national side’s position slumps regularly simply because they concede defeats in the qualifiers and regional competitions. Though it is slim, now they have the chance to go to the 2017 Gabon African Nations Cup as one of the best runners up.

Newly-appointed coach Gebre-Medhin Haile succeeded in collecting the full thee away points beating Lesotho on Sunday. If other runners up drop points in next match it is possible to advance. The coach said, “We’re looking to cause a few upsets and surprise by getting a place in the final. Of course, that doesn’t depend on our win alone. We get a place with a combination of our win and the defeat of other runners up.” He added that that his side will take that mantle on and see what we he can achieve.

Meanwhile, Euro 2016 qualifiers Northern Ireland have moved up to 26th in the FIFA world rankings, their best ever placing.

Wales slumped seven places to 24th in the latest list, England fell one spot to 10th, and the Republic of Ireland dropped two positions to 31st.

Scotland – who failed to qualify for the tournament in France – enjoyed a jump of five places into 40th place.

Argentina moved ahead of Belgium to top the rankings, with Chile, Colombia and Germany completing the top five.

Unverified SOCMINT and OSINT intelligence reports show Eritrean army has conducted a large scale ground attack against the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF).

No official statement have been issued by either Ethiopia or the Eritrean Ministry of Defense.

If verified, it’s likely Ethiopia will retaliate through both mobilization of military resources and heavy deployment of the resources at the affected area.

An escalation is likely with Ethiopia conducting counter strikes against Eritrean military positions.

Reports Eritrea Army Attack Ethiopia; Large-scale Ground Attack Reported by INT Assets

By Prof.  Alemayehu G Mariam

Author’s Note to the Reader: Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced an agreement in which the Thugtatorship of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (T-TPLF), the ruling regime in Ethiopia,  agreed to pay some USD$6.5 million dollars in “disgorgement” (a legal act by which someone who has obtained profits or something of value by illegal or unethical acts is forced to return the ill-gotten gains to the rightful owner) for selling unregistered bonds over a period of 4 years. The SEC announcement is an extraordinary legal development.

This commentary may appear to be a bit technical and infused with legalese (legal speak) for some readers.

But the substance of the discussion is not technical at all. It is a simple story of a massive fraud perpetrated by the T-TPLF  against Diaspora Ethiopians in the United States of America.

It is a story of how the T-TPLF used the pretext of  raising funds for the so-called Renaissance Dam to effectively extort and bleed its Diaspora Ethiopian supporters and others seeking its good favors in the U.S.

It is a story of how the T-TPLF conducted a 4-year shakedown of Diaspora Ethiopians in the U.S. by disguising a protection racket in a bond sale program.

Fraud and corruption are a way of life for the T-TPLF criminal enterprise.

Indeed, fraud and corruption are the hemoglobin and plasma in the T-TPLF body politic.

Ethiopia under the T-TPLF is the only country in the world for which the World Bank has prepared a massive 448-page corruption study entitled,  Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia.

The real story of the T-TPLF conspiracy to defraud and victimize Diaspora Ethiopians is yet to be told.

The action by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced on June 8, 2016 is only the tip of the iceberg of T-TPLF criminality in the U.S.

For nearly four years, I have spoken publicly and written in my Monday Commentaries  that the so-called Renaissance Dam Bonds are worthless securities and a bogus creation of  T-TPLF scammers and con artists to scalp Diaspora Ethiopians and fill their pockets and off shore accounts.

I feel fully vindicated in the SEC Order that my warnings a little over 3 years ago came true precisely as I predicted.

While I would have been more pleased if the T-TPLF had refrained from committing crimes in the U.S., (and there is absolutely no question whatsoever that selling unregistered bonds in the U.S. is a crime, See  “Securities Act of 1933”, sec. 20 (b)), the fact that the T-TPLF was caught with their hands in the cookie jar and held accountable for their criminal activities gives me infinite pleasure.

I have made a number of predictions about the T-TPLF over the years.  I believe quite a few of them have come to pass.

I will now predict that the T-TPLF will be held to account for all its high crimes, crimes against humanity and misdemeanors it committed in Ethiopia.

When?

Ask the T-TPLF. They know!

But…

I told them so!!!

I told them!

I told the T-TPLF ignoramuses not to do it!

I told the T-TPLF criminals not to sell unregistered bond in the U.S.A. (A “bond” is a debt investment in which an investor usually loans money to a governmental entity  which borrows the funds for a defined period of time at a variable or fixed interest rate for a specific purpose such as a public project.)

I even told the T-TPLF criminals how to do it right; to do it legally; to do it with respect to American laws and the U.S. Constitution.

I did! I did!!  I did!!!

But the TPLF thugs kept on selling unregistered securities in the U.S. just like the Mafiosi keep on doing extortion, loansharking and racketeering with knowledge the criminal nature of those acts.

Why did the T-TPLF kept on selling illegal unregistered securities in the U.S. after they were publicly warned what they were doing is without a doubt criminal?

The answer is simple:

The TPLF thugs for over two decades have been getting away with murders and massacres.

The TPLF thugs for over two decades have been getting away stealing elections. Last year, they claimed to have won 100 percent of the votes. Yes, 100 percent!

The TPLF thugs have been getting away for over two decades stealing billions of dollars and stashing it in off shore banks and investments abroad. (According to Global Financial Integrity (GFI),  “Ethiopia, which has a per-capita GDP of just US$365, lost US$11.7 billion to illicit financial outflows between 2000 and 2009.”)

The TPLF thugs for over two decades have been getting away stealing and converting U.S. aid to strengthen their “apparatus of control” as Human Rights Watch documented in its report, “One Hundred Ways of Putting Pressure: Violations of Freedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopia.”

The TPLF thugs for over two decades have been getting away committing all types of crimes inside Ethiopia and flouting the rule of law using their monkey courts and parliaments.

The TPLF thugs for over two decades have been getting away with monumental crimes against humanity as they massacred hundreds of thousands of innocent Ethiopians.

The TPLF thugs for over two decades have been getting away with one crime after another, confident in their belief that there is nothing under the sun that could hold them accountable, including the U.S. Government.

TPLF thugs came to America and sneered  at American laws and kept on selling unregistered securities, and thought they would get away with it.

The TPLF thugs came to America and fleered at the U.S. Constitution and kept on selling unregistered securities, and thought they would get away with it.

The TPLF thugs came to America and though they could profiteer flouting American state laws and constitutions, and thought they would get away with it.

The T-TPLF kept on selling unregistered securities in the U.S. for years because they believed they could get away with it.

In the end, the T-TPLF thugs learned a hard lesson. The United States of America is not Ethiopia, and the T-TPLF is not Wall Street!

There is a price to be paid in America for racketeering in bogus bonds.

I warned the T-TPLF NOT to do it on May 6, 2013

On May 6, 2013, in my commentary, “Shadowboxing Smoke and Mirrors”, I told the T-TPLF, a terrorist organization listed  in the Global Terrorism Data Base, that selling unregistered securities in the United States is a crime and they should stop committing crimes in the U.S.:

Criminal violations in selling unregistered securities in the U.S.

There have been questions raised about the legality of the sale of Meles Dam bonds as “securities” in the U.S.  Under federal and most state laws, a “security” is broadly defined and includes stocks, bonds, debt and equity securities, notes, investment contracts, etc. Unless exempted, all securities must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and/or relevant state agencies prior to selling or offering for sale to the public.

A security which does not have an effective registration statement on file with the SEC and/or the relevant state agency is considered an unregistered security. Buying or selling  unregistered securities is a crime under federal and state laws.

The SEC can prosecute issuers and sellers of unregistered securities under section 20(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 (which regulates original issuers) and seek injunctions if the Securities Act has been violated, or if a violation is imminent. Section 8A also allows the SEC to issue orders to issuers of unregistered securities to cease and desist and seek civil penalties under Section 20(d) if an issuer violated the Securities Act, an SEC rule, or a cease-and-desist order.

Like most states, California Corporations Code sections 25110-25118 set strict guidelines for any securities sold in that state. Any person or entity who willfully sells or transports unregistered securities through interstate commerce or buys such securities could face serious criminal liabilities under California Corporations Code section 25540, subd. (a) with penalties of incarceration for up to three years and a fine up to $1 million. California prosecutors, like their federal counterparts, could also seek injunctive relief and civil penalties.

There are a few limited exemptions to the registration requirement. One of them is an exemption “for certain foreign government securities brokers or dealers”.

Pursuant to 17 CFR 401.9, “A government securities broker or dealer (excluding a branch or agency of a foreign bank) that is a non-U.S. resident shall be exempt from the provisions of sections 15 C(a), (b), and (d) of  the Act (15 U.S.C. 78o–5(a), (b) and (d)) and the regulations of this subchapter provided it complies with the provisions of 17 CFR 240.15a–6…” In other words, the bond “brokers and dealers” sent to the U.S. to sell the Meles Dam bonds must meet the multifarious requirements of  federal securities law and other regulatory requirements including full disclosure, proof of maintenance of required books and records relating to the bond issues and written consent to service of process for any civil action arising from disputes in bond related transactions. It is highly unlikely that the “brokers and dealers” selling the Meles Dam bonds in the United States qualify under 17 CFR 240.15a–6 and 15 U.S.C. 78o–5(a).

On June 8, 2016, an announcement  by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)fully vindicated my warnings of May 8, 2013.

The SEC announcement stated:

Ethiopia’s electric utility has agreed to pay nearly $6.5 million to settle charges that it violated U.S. securities laws by failing to register bonds it offered and sold to U.S residents of Ethiopian descent.

According to the SEC’s order:

Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) conducted the unregistered bond offering to help finance the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Abay River in Ethiopia.

EEP held a series of public road shows in major cities across the U.S. and marketed the bonds on the website of the U.S. Embassy of Ethiopia as well as through radio and television advertising aimed at Ethiopians living in the U.S.

EEP raised approximately $5.8 million from more than 3,100 U.S. residents from 2011 to 2014 without ever registering the bond offering with the SEC.

The settled findings in the SEC Order specify,

the EPP offered unregistered bonds to U.S. residents of Ethiopian origin to help finance construction of a hydroelectric dam in Ethiopia. The bonds were offered  in the U.S. through television and radio advertisements targeted at the Ethiopian diaspora community. Bonds were offered for sale through the website of the Embassy of Ethiopia in Washington, D.C., which also sponsored events to promote bond sales. EEP did not register its bond offering with the Commission, and there was no available exemption from the requirement that the offering be registered. EEP’s unregistered offer and sale of securities in the U.S. violated Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act.

Section 5(a)  provides it is unlawful for any person to sell securities in interstate commerce by any means without a registration statement or to transport securities for sale delivery after sale without prior registration.

Section 5(c) provides  it is unlawful for any person to sell or offer to buy  any security,unless a registration statement has been filed or while the registration statement is the subject of a refusal order or stop order or other legal challenge.

(See also 15 U.S. Code sec. 77e)

The principal purpose of the SEC Order is to “ensure that investors get all of their money back plus interest.”

The sleazy details of the T-TPLF’s “roadshow” to sell unregistered bonds

The SEC Order “Instituting Cease and Desist Proceedings Pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act of 1933” provides the sleazy details of what the SEC called a “roadshow” to sell unregistered bonds.

According to the SEC, the EEP began selling unregistered bonds for a hydroelectric dam in 2011 and continued to do so until 2014. The Bonds had maturity dates ranging from 5-10 years, with LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) of 1.25% (for a 5-year maturity date) to 2.0% (for an 8-10 year maturity date).

From 2011 through 2014, EEP conducted marketing of unregistered securities in the U.S. using the “Ethiopian Embassy” website, “Embassy”-sponsored events,  radio and television advertisements targeted at the Ethiopian diaspora community in the U.S. and in a series of public “road shows” sponsored by the “Embassy” throughout the U.S. including the following:

Date of Road Show              Road show Location          Funds Raised/ Pledged  

August 2011                                      Denver, CO                                 $130,000
June 2012                                         Washington, DC                         $1,500,000
June 2012                                         Chicago, IL                                  $110,000
April 2013                                         San Diego, CA                             $43,000
April 2013                                         Houston, TX                                $50,000
May 2013                                           New York, NY                             $100,000

(*** It is interesting that the SEC should describe the T-TPLF sale of unregistered securities as a “road show” because that  phrase is normally reserved to describe “mass marketing fraud” usually involving fictitious unregistered bonds.***)

According to the SEC

more than 3,100 U.S. residents purchased Bonds in denominations of $5 to $10,000, for total investments per investor ranging from $50 to $1 million. In aggregate, U.S. purchasers invested approximately $5.8 million in the Bonds. Most of the investors—64%— reported that they were U.S. citizens.

The T-TPLF undertaking—What the T-TPLF MUST do under the SEC Order

The T-TPLF has agreed to the following conditions and sanctions imposed by the SEC.

EEP shall cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Section 5 of the Securities Act.

EEP shall pay a total of $6,448,854.87 consisting of disgorgement of $5,847,804 and prejudgment interest of $601,050.87.

No later than July 8, 2016, the EEP shall deposit the full amount of $601,050.87   into an escrow account at a U.S. financial institution and shall provide the Commission staff with evidence of such deposit to the SEC.

There shall be an independent third party administrator  to carry out the tasks of administering the distribution payments to Bondholders.  The costs and expenses of administering the distribution payments to Bondholders  shall be borne by EEP.

No later than August 8, 2016, the Administrator shall submit a proposed distribution allocation  to the Commission staff for review and approval. The proposed Distribution Payment File will include, to the extent available and reasonably ascertainable, (a) the name and contact information for each Bondholder; (b) the exact amount of the payment to be made to each Bondholder; and (c) a description of how the payment amount to each Bondholder was calculated.

The distribution of payments to Bondholders shall be made no later than June 8, 2017.

If the Administrator is unable to distribute any portion of the payments due to inability to locate an affected Bondholder or beneficiary,  the Administrator shall transfer any such undistributed funds to the Commission for transmittal to the United States Treasury.

The BIG unanswered questions in the SEC Order

Questions Set #1:

According to the SEC, “EEP shall pay a total of $6,448,854.87 consisting of disgorgement of $5,847,804 and prejudgment interest of $601,050.87.” This figure appears to be a tiny fraction of the money officially claimed to have been gathered by T-TPLF officials.

According to statements  of T-TPLF officials on March 16, 2016:

Of the total finance mobilized for the project, much of the figure, about 6.96 billion Birr or 377.52 Million USD was generated from domestic sources while about 0.6 billion Birr and 0.092 Million Birr were obtained from Diaspora community and donations respectively.

Even after factoring Ethiopian Diaspora contributions from various countries, it seems Diaspora Ethiopians in the U.S. were by far the largest purchasers of Renaissance Dam Bonds.  It seems that 0.6 billion Ethiopian Birr would have a conversion value of approximately USD$28 million. What percentage of the total Diaspora bond purchases came from Diaspora Ethiopians in the U.S.?  One can reasonably infer from official T-TPLF statements that the share of bond purchases by Diaspora Ethiopians is far greater, possibly two to three times more than the amount the T-TPLF settled for in the SEC Order. By agreeing to settle for nearly USD$6.5 million, did the T-TPLF get away like a robber even after it was caught like a robber?

What proof is there showing that the money collected  from Diaspora Ethiopians actually went to the so-called Dam project instead of T-TPLF pockets?

Questions Set #2:

Why did the T-TPLF continue to sell unregistered bonds for at least 4 years and particularly after they were informed by in clear and unambiguous terms that they were committing a crime? Did the T-TPLF do minimal due diligence before selling unregistered securities in the U.S.? Did the T-TPLF seek legal counsel or advice in the U.S. when it launched its unregistered bond sales in the U.S.?

Was the T-TPLF represented by legal counsel in its sale of unregistered bonds prior to the SEC action? If the T-TPLF did not seek legal counsel in the U.S., why did it fail to do so?

The T-TPLF has paid USD$50 thousand per month to the law firm of D L A Piper to defeat legislation aimed at ensuring human rights in Ethiopia. Why did it fail to seek legal counsel in its efforts is to sell bonds in the U.S.? (***In a memo sent to congressional offices, DLA Piper, “representing Ethiopia”, argued, “The terms ‘political prisoners’ and ‘prisoners of conscience’ are undefined and mischaracterize the situation in Ethiopia,” and should be removed from a bill that condemned the Ethiopian regime for detaining opposition activists.***)

The official “Great Millennium Dam Bond Brief Description” clearly demonstrates that the T-TPLF had substantial knowledge of the legal requirements in offering to sell unregistered bonds.  Did the T-TPLF knowingly, deliberately and intentionally sell unregistered securities in the U.S. with the intent to defraud? Are the T-TPLF so clueless and so ignorant that they had no idea that selling bonds is the same as selling used clothes at a flea market? Did the T-TPLF avoid the mandatory registration process of its bond offering or seek exemption because 1) it intended to defraud Ethiopian Diaspora investors, 2) conceal information on the bond that would show that the bond offering is a fraud and a scam, 3) did not want to make its fraudulent prospectus available for public scrutiny.

Questions Set #3:

In December 2014, the T-TPLF marketed  a 10-year Eurobond which allegedly raised $1 billion to fund electricity, railway and sugar-industry projects. “The 10-year bonds priced to yield 6.625 percent, at the lower end of the 6.625 to 6.75.”

The Renaissance Dam 5-10 bonds offered to Diaspora Ethiopians in the U.S. had LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) of 1.25% (for a 5-year maturity date) to 2.0% (for an 8-10 year maturity date).

Why were Diaspora Ethiopians offered the short end of the stick?

Questions Set #4:

Under sec. 20 (b) of the   “Securities Act of 1933”,  the SEC “may transmit evidence of violation of the provisions of [the Securities Act] or of any rule or regulation prescribed under authority thereof  to the Attorney General who may, in his discretion, institute the necessary criminal proceedings under this title.”

The SEC had an open-and-shut case, a slam dunk, against the T-TPLF.  The SEC order suggests there is ample evidence the T-TPLF acting through its electric power agency and embassy engaged in wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering. Why didn’t the SEC refer the matter to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution?

It is clear from the SEC Order that the “Ethiopian  Embassy” facilitated and made possible the sale of unregistered bonds by making such bonds purchasable online through its website, sponsoring events and other activities? Did the T-TPLF use its “Embassy” to commit bond fraud with knowledge that the “Embassy” personnel involved in the fraud are protected by diplomatic immunity?

Why didn’t the SEC refer the names of those officials at the “Ethiopian Embassy” to the Justice Department for prosecution for among other charges, conspiracy to sell unregistered, conspiracy to sell fictitious instrument, conspiracy to transport a fictitious instrument, attempting to sell and selling a fictitious instrument and transporting a fictitious instrument in interstate commerce?

Why didn’t the SEC transmit the evidence of criminal wrongdoing  in this case to the Attorney General for prosecution given the flagrant 4-year pattern and practice of  violation of the Securities Act by the T-TPLF, its embassy and other agencies under its control, supervision and guidance?

Is the SEC Order, a form of “plea bargain” offered to the T-TPLF to avoid criminal prosecution? In other words, did the T-TPLF readily agree to pay 6.5 million to avoid criminal prosecution and to avoid imprisonment of its Embassy officials, EPP personnel and others?

Why did the SEC order makes an implied finding of fraud instead of an express finding since there is ample and demonstrable evidence that the T-TPLF engaged in a 4-year scam aimed at defrauding Diaspora Ethiopians in the U.S.?

Questions Set 5#:

The SEC Order acknowledges  that the SEC “appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Department of State.” Exactly what kinds of “assistance” did the State Department provide to the SEC? Did the State Department participate in the negotiations between the “Government of Ethiopia” and the SEC? Did the State Department facilitate a deal between the “Government of Ethiopia” and the SEC? Did the State Department use political pressure to prevent criminal prosecution of T-TPLF agents?

Questions Set 6#:

Under the Securities Act, the SEC may not bring actions on behalf of individual investors, but the Securities Act allows individual investors to bring civil actions under several provisions:

What are the rights of Diaspora Ethiopian investors and bondholders  under section 11 of the Act victimized by the T-TPLF unregistered bond scam?

What are the rights of Diaspora Ethiopian investors and bondholders  under sections 5 and 12(a)(1) which allow purchasers to sue sellers for offering or selling a non-exempt security without registering it?

What are the rights of Diaspora Ethiopian investors and bondholders under section 15 which helps investors by making “control persons,” or persons who “control” defendants liable under Sections 11 and 12 by owning stock or under agency principals, jointly and severally liable?

What are the rights of Diaspora Ethiopian investors and bondholders  under section 17(a) which provides for liability for fraudulent sales of securities? Or under section 10b of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 (principal provisions against fraud)?

Questions Set 7#:

Is the sale of unregistered bonds the tip of the iceberg in T-TPLF crimes in the U.S.? What other crimes have been committed and continue to be committed by the T-TPLF in the U.S. against American citizens or laws?

In 2014, an American citizen known as “Mr. Kidane” (pseudonym used to protect his identity) sued the “Ethiopian Government” person “for infecting his computer with secret spyware, wiretapping his private Skype calls, and monitoring his entire family’s every use of the computer for a period of months.”

Is the T-TPLF secretly still conducting illegal wiretapping in violation of U.S. laws and the U.S. Constitution?

Questions Set 8#:

What legal recourse do states in which the T-TPLF sold unregistered bonds have in terms of holding the T-TPLF accountable?

For instance, under California Corporations Code sections 25110-25118, 25540 set strict guidelines for any securities sold in that state. Any person or entity who willfully sells or transports unregistered securities through interstate commerce or buys such securities could face serious criminal liabilities under California Corporations Code section 25540, subd. (a) with penalties of incarceration for up to three years and a fine up to $1 million.

Is the T-TPLF legally accountable under California state law, independent of its settlement with the SEC, for violations of the above-referenced sections of the Corporations Code?

Questions Set 9#:

Who can Ethiopian Diaspora investors and Dam bondholders call to get more information on the T-TPLF scam?

Investors seeking more information should contact the administrator of the distribution, Gilardi & Co. LLC, at 844-851-4591.

Questions Set 10#:

Given the scope and magnitude of the T-TPLF bond fraud in the U.S., is a Congressional investigation warranted?

What evidence does the SEC have that it has not publicly disclosed concerning the T-TPLF fraud?

 Is the SEC Order the final chapter in the case?

The SEC Order is not the end of the T-TPLF  fraud and crime spree investigation in the U.S.

It is just the beginning!

Daily Mail‎

• UEFA have punished Russia after their fans attacked England supporters
• Russians charged at Three Lions followers after Stade Velodrome draw
• European governing body impose ‘suspended disqualification and a fine  
• England and Russia already threatened with expulsion from tournament
• UEFA will call emergency to panel to distribute points if Russia kicked out

Russia have been handed a final warning from UEFA with a ‘suspended disqualification’ from Euro 2016 imposed for their supporters’ disorder during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with England in Marseille.

Any further instances of crowd disturbance inside stadiums at Russia’s matches this summer would see them thrown out of the tournament after the Russian Football Union (RFU) were charged with crowd disturbances, use of fireworks and racist behaviour.

However, the suspended sanction only applies to the trouble inside the stadium. The RFU are permitted to appeal the punishments.

Neamin Zeleke interview with Netsanet Le Ethiopia Radio : COIE report on Eritrea and TPLF’s aggression\

Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of attacking its territory – CCTV

Ethiopian security forces killed more than 400 people in the recent wave of anti-government demonstrations, US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.

In its most comprehensive report into the Oromo protests, HRW lists the names of more than 300 it says were killed.

The government has acknowledged that protesters have died but said HRW was “very generous with numbers”.

Protests were sparked by fears that a plan to expand the capital into Oromia region would displace Oromo farmers.

They began in November last year, but the government dropped the proposal to enlarge Addis Ababa’s administrative boundaries in January.

Africa Live: BBC news updates

The Oromo protests and Ethiopian unity

Why Ethiopia made ‘master plan’ U-turn

Oromia is Ethiopia’s largest region, completely surrounding the city.

The change of policy has not stopped the demonstrations, but they have reduced in their intensity.

At the last census in 2007, the Oromo made up Ethiopia’s biggest ethnic group, at about 25 million people out of a population at the time of nearly 74 million.

An investigation, released last week, by the Ethiopia Human Rights Commission, appointed by parliament, found that 173 people had died during the unrest.

It said the dead included 28 security officers and local government officials.

Information Minister Getachew Reda said that in the main the security forces conducted themselves “in a very professional and responsible manner”.

He put the killings down to “a few bad apples”.

The government has said that it will investigate and deal with those responsible.

Analysis: Emmanuel Igunza, BBC Ethiopia correspondent

Image copyrightAFP

In March, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn apologised for the death and destruction of property caused by protests in Oromia region.

While his statement was bold, and came as a surprise, some protesters said it was a case of too little, too late.

The acknowledgment by the country’s information minister that deaths had occurred is not different.

There will also be questions about the sincerity of investigating police officers who used unnecessary force.

Can it really do that while dozens of protesters are still being detained and are yet to be charged?

While the protests have died down recently, they remain significant as some believe they are highlighting the alleged marginalisation of the Oromo people.

‘Electric shocks’

The HRW report is based on interviews with more than 100 victims and witnesses and accuses the police and army of using excessive force, reports the BBC’s Ethiopia correspondent Emmanuel Igunza.

Some of those interviewed allege they were hung by their ankles and beaten while others described having electric shocks applied to their feet while in detention.

Several women also claim to have been raped and sexually assaulted.

HRW also says that tens of thousands of people were arrested and hundreds have disappeared.

ESAT Daily News DC Thu 16 June 2016 Ethiopia