Insert picture of the innocent.

Is it democracy?

Ethiopia has hardly been a paragon of democracy — human rights groups have constantly cited the government’s repressiveness — opposition within the country had been limited, with dissidents effectively silenced. Many have been exiled, jailed, killed or driven to the far reaches of the desert.

But that may be changing.

The governing party and its allies got the last seat the opposition had held and now control 100 percent of the Parliament. At the same time, tensions are rising along the border with Eritrea; a battle along that jagged, disputed line claimed hundreds of lives in June.

Several factors for last one year protest in Ethiopia.The first and the most one is there is no freedoom of experssion in ethiopia.Everybody lives with fear.The goverment jailed too many journalists, which is the 3rd in the world to jailed the journalist.The second one the power of the goverment only with TPLF,which is only belonges to 6 millions ethiopian out of 90 millions.Other nations in ethiopia has not any power.That way now a day  poltics hard in ethiopian.

Only in the past couple of years have large numbers of Ethiopians been able to communicate using social media as cheaper smartphones became common and internet service improved. Even when the government shuts down access to Facebook and Twitter, as it frequently does, especially during protests, many people are still able to communicate via internet proxies that mask where they are. Several young Ethiopians said this was how they gathered for protests.

There is more solidarity between Oromos and Amharas, Ethiopia’s two largest ethnic groups. Oromos and Amharas are not natural allies. For eons, Amharas from Ethiopia’s predominantly Christian highlands flourished in politics and business, exploiting the Oromos, many of whom are Muslim and live in lowland areas.

The biggest protests have been in Amhara and Oromo areas. Many Amharas and Oromos feel Ethiopia is unfairly dominated by members of the Tigrayan ethnic group, which makes up about 6 percent of the population and dominates the military, intelligence services, commerce and politics..

The result, many fear, is more bloodshed.

The last time Ethiopia experienced such turmoil was in 2005, after thousands protested over what analysts have said appeared to be an election the government bungled and then stole. In the ensuing crackdown, many protesters were killed, though fewer than in recent months, and that period of unrest passed relatively quickly.

Development experts have praised Ethiopia’s leaders for visionary infrastructure planning, such as the new commuter train, and measurable strides in fighting poverty. But clearly that has not stopped the internal resentment of Ethiopia’s government from intensifying. And it is taking a dangerous ethnic shape.

Now, we need freedom. All ethiopian want new goverment. Stop killing oromo and amhara.Still we have dictator goverment in our country.Ethiopia before 25 years and now are the same in most situation.During derg regiem there all ethiopian have no right over all ,Now also every right are not on the ground. All right on the hand of dictator goverment.That is why we are craying.

Through the years of my life Ethiopia has lived unraveling turmoil of political instability. Reflecting back to Ethiopian Student movements organized by Haile Selassie (Now renamed Addis Ababa) University Student Association brings the nostalgia how young Ethiopians felt responsibility to lend their voices for the voiceless super majority of the Ethiopian population during the Imperial rule. The change initiated and facilitated by courageous, conscious, selfless, and determined student body brought unexpected ruthless military rule for of seventeen years with the final outcome of unprecedented bloodshed and loss of hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians by Ethiopians. The Dictatorial Regime of Derg exposed millions of Ethiopians to unfamiliar and degrading option of becoming refugees. The caring and trusting Ethiopian masses preferred to allow the TPLF/EPRDF to march freely to the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, and other cities and towns of their nation believing that this political organization made up of people from the Student Movements was really the democratic and inclusive party to bring the elusive Democracy to Ethiopia instead of defending the unpopular dictatorial regime. Twenty-five years of TPLF/EPRDF rule broke the trust of Ethiopians and has demoralized the spirit of the nation by pitting ethnicities against each other for the purpose of staying in power. Ethiopia is not a monolithic, one language, and one religion nation. Its beauty is its mosaic of nations, languages, and religions lived together for generations of generations. That beautiful mosaic of peoples functioning as ONE unit has kept external invaders away from conquering our beloved land and country from generations to generations. That is why we can boast and be proud of our three thousand years of Independence and Freedom. It is saddening that the three thousand years of Independence and freedom from foreign invasion cannot be translated into a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by the people directly or indirectly through a system of representation involving timely held regular free elections. I do not think that Ethiopians imagined that they will go through the same scenario of being fooled and undermined by the organization seen as better and democratic twenty-five years ago to be at the worst level of oppressing and dehumanizing the Ethiopian people than the Derg regime.

The very essence of a free government consists in considering offices as public trusts, bestowed for the good of the country, and not for the benefit of an individual or a party. What happened to that essence of a free government? The free government of the people, by the people, for the people has become the government of the oligarchy instead of the commoners. The public trust bestowed on TPLF/EPRDF by Ethiopians has unashamedly been ignored and laughed at by the functionaries of the government. While the vast majority of Ethiopians deal with the economic uncertainty manifested by lingering joblessness, continuous increasing cost of living, and ever stagnant income except for few privileged members of the governing party and its ass kissing affiliates. How on this good earth can land and properties cost more in Addis Ababa than lands and properties in most cities and towns of United States of America?

A rational and honest government that believes in serving the people of the country do not rely on military power to govern the people it is supposed to represent. In true sense of democratic rule, government officials are servants of the people not rulers of the people. The people dictate the government officers and officials not vice versa. How painful it is to witness from generation to generation the decay of humanity exposed through the actions of heartless and soulless individuals in power. For those in power at this moment in Ethiopia, you are not more and better Ethiopians than the rest of Ethiopians. Your assumption that you know what is best for Ethiopia by oppressing and suppressing Ethiopians is misguided as the assumptions of the government you succeeded. How stupid can the collective leadership of TPLF/EPRDF be to keep the failing attitude of military might in order to stay in power? History repeats itself. It seems that time has come for Ethiopians to break the chain of tyranny imposed on them by greedy human vultures hovering over Ethiopians for the last twenty-five years.  Ethiopia belongs to all of Ethiopians not personal property of TPLF/EPRDF.

The TPLF/EPRDF government may have control of the money by selling the land for profit by forcing the indigenous people out of their lands which they owned for multiple generations. Land is the identity of the people. The inhabitants of the specific land define the existence of that land. Ethiopians define the existence of the land of Ethiopia. But TPLF/EPRDF seems that it does not care about the people but the monetary value of the land they sell for highest domestic and foreign bidders by displacing the rightful land owners in Gambella and southern Ethiopia. How can people become devoid of their humanity for the money and material wealth? Can TPLF/EPRDF leadership remember Meles Zenawi who died and buried wrapped in a four-meter piece of cloth? Has he taken any jewelry, cash, building, or any material wealth except his mortal body? I do not think so. We all belong to the land and the land belongs to all of us. In that regard, here is my version of Woody Guthrie’s 1940 song titled “This Land”

This land is your land, this land is my land

From Tigray to Sidama land

From the Bale Forest, to the Abai stream waters,

The land called Ethiopia l love always.

God blessed Ethiopia for you and me

This land was made for you and me.

As I went travelling that ribbon of muddy way

And saw above me that endless skyway,

And saw below me the golden valley, I said:

God blessed Ethiopia for you and me

This land was made for you and me.

I roamed and rambled and followed my footsteps

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts,

And all around me, a voice was sounding:

God blessed Ethiopia for you and me

It is the land that was made for you and me.

When the sun come shining, then I was strolling

In Teff fields waving and dust clouds rolling;

The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting:

God blessed Ethiopia for you and me

This land was made for you and me.

One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple

By the UN Relief Tent, I saw my people —

As they stood hungry, I stood there wondering if

God blessed Ethiopia for you and me, if

This land was made for you and me?

I came to realization with all the sufferings

My people endured through generations

Imprisonment, hunger, poverty, and oppressions.

With all the cruelty my people witnessed

Nobody takes away from the heart and mind

Of my people, the land that God has blessed.

Ethiopia belongs to you and me

This land was made to you and me!

The current political atmosphere in Ethiopia predicts that change is on the horizon. The Ethiopian people from Tigray to Southern Ethiopia, from Gambella to Somaliland have been frustrated with the heavy handedness of the tyrannical regime of TPLF/EPRDF. Twenty-five years of divide and rule of this patriotic seeming destructive force that undermined the long-lasting fabric of unity has reached to the boiling point. It is the moral obligation of this governing body to think deeply (if it is equipped with commonsense) to avert any unnecessary bloodshed and losses of lives. Ethiopians have suffered a lot. It should be a collective duty of all Ethiopians to resolve the common problems with conversations and dialogue. The main responsibility of accommodating the platform falls exclusively on the shoulder of the TPLF/EPRDF government because it relies on its security and military might. As History reminds us, nobody and no military might can stand against the anger and rage of people that brings the political tsunami. How long can regime stay in power by defying the will of the people it needs to govern? How long can a government deny the democratic rights of the people it allegedly governs “democratically”? How long can a government refute the legitimate quest for political participation in governing the nation by the opposition political parties? TPLF/EPRDF should start to listen to the political heart beats of the nation which is echoing further and further. I say to my Ethiopian compatriots belonging to the privileged political party of TPLF/EPRDF that you have to question your loyalty if it is for the nation as a whole or to keep the oppressive party in power by all means necessary. Remember the following saying:

“ALWAYS PUT YOURSELF IN OTHER’S SHOES. IF YOU FEEL THAT IT HURTS YOU, IT PROBABLY HURTS THE PERSON TOO.”

As the world is overwhelmed with selfishness and attitude of I-do-not-care for the plight of others, we are everyday reminded about our vernability, fragility, need of empathy, sympathy, and compassion by events around us. We are not islands of men and women. As we share the land, air, water, the sun light, darkness, and whatever nature offers us, we share ourselves with each other in many ways. So if we refuse to feel the pain and grief of others for the sake of our political biases resulting in material benefits, we prove to ourselves and others that we denude ourselves of humanity. 

So God blessed Ethiopia for you and me. Ethiopia is the land that was made to all Ethiopians from North to South and from West to East. It should not be your and my land of conflict and armed struggle but the oasis of our agreement and peace. Let us not make your land and my land the land of incompatibility but that of harmony. Stop the atrocity on Ethiopian brothers and sisters. Demand for Democracy is a universal demand for justice and equality. Your pain is my pain. Your plight is my plight. Your tears are my tears. That is what I feel and that is what I expect from Ethiopian brethren and sisters towards each other.  Ethiopia was made to you and me. It is our common land that God blessed for you and me.

LONG LIVE YOUR AND MY ETHIOPIA!

Colonel DEMEKE ZEWDU Addressing WELKAIT COMMITTEE Public MEETING in Gondar

Thousands mourn Gonder youths shot dead by TPLF Aagazi Troops – August 17, 2016

Minneapolis – Aug. 17, 2016

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”  John F. Kennedy, the 35^th US President, 13 March 1962

Ethiopia’s political landscape is changing rapidly and irreversibly. Protests demanding better living conditions face brutal crackdown. Security forces have killed at least 100 protesters two weeks ago and there are reports about another 100, of which 55 confirmed deaths of protesters since then. The government remains in defiance to the UN Human rights commission call for investigation. Land grab seems the impetus, but the root causes remain, among others, delayed democratization, controlled religious freedom, widespread corruption, ever-declining political space, and income inequalities.

Internationally, the Ethiopian government has utilized poverty eradication and counter-terrorism as critical vehicles to garner western development assistance. Ethiopia has received significant development aid and registered impressive economic growth. US security assistance has been instrumental to strengthen Ethiopian military and maintain its dominance over the state power.

Domestically, ethnic-based federalism brought mixed results. While some minorities enjoyed cultural freedom, largest ethnic groups, especially the Amhara and Oromo, are the most marginalized due to their perceived militancy to opposition groups. The government has actively maneuvered historical grievances to keep its opponents further fragmented and fragile.

A united struggle by the Amhara and Oromo oppressed groups, which constitute together more than two-third of the 100 million population, seems now emerging. The current solidarity that transcends ethnic boundaries had unprecedentedly transformed the Ethiopian political discourse in the ruling party’s twenty-five years tenure.  The steadily intensifying unrest has resulted in the deployment of federal forces in most of Oromia and parts of the Amhara regions.  The federal government still controls security forces, but increasing number of local militia, born out of frustration, seems emerging. Organized under newly emerging local leadership, the protesters demand the government open political space, free all political prisoners, and end economic inequality and injustice.

The relatively stable Ethiopia in a volatile Horn region has been a key US ally in counter-terrorism. As such, the US has ignored Ethiopia’s poor human rights record despite continued criticism from freedom House, international rights groups, UN specialized agencies, and governments including the US Department of State annual report. The same groups has accused the US of double standard and undermining its ideals of democracy and human rights.

Many observers have criticized the US for not pressurizing Ethiopia adequately to reform.  There are signals that the US government official statements on Ethiopian repression seem changing, at least in tone and word choice.  As a government in which counter-terrorism is a central foreign policy agenda, it is understandable that the US will continue to look for collaborator against terrorism, especially al-shabaaab.

On the other hand, in the absence of any single opposition in the parliament, political reform is unlikely. The Government’s 100% victory during the 2015 election has closed all venues for reform and left protests as the only viable choice. Protests lack organization and structural mechanisms that are necessary to undertake a reform. In the absence of political space and tools, protests could turn violent and create fertile ground chaos. Ethiopia has seen two revolutions in its recent history but utterly failed to establish a political system acceptable, by at least the majority of its people.  Thus, continued intransigence to address the growing unrest is likely to undermine political stability. Declining economic growth, high unemployment, and growing inequalities pose serious threat to the country’s territorial and political integrity. Recent signposts raise a question whether Ethiopia could maintain the status quo and serve as a bulwark against radicalism.

Notwithstanding strong Sino-Ethiopian political and economic ties, Ethiopia’s dependence on US security assistance will most likely grow to curb growing domestic unrest. Pro-democracy forces have no option but build a broader coalition and influence the government for an immediate negotiation. A litmus test could be to work together to bring 100,000 Ethiopians for demonstration in Washington, DC and hold similar peaceful march in Germany, Brussels, and Australia, at the same time. The implication of such organization could not be overstated. As the current impasse is unsustainable, the government will undoubtedly come to a reform table. Failure to respond for this historical opportunity undermines the on-going sacrifices and unreformed Ethiopia could most likely slide into ethnic conflict suggesting aggravated humanitarian crisis.

For comment: malembitew@gmail.com

ESAT Breaking News – 21 August 2016 Ethiopia

ESAT Breaking News – 21 August 2016 Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA (HAN) August 21.2016. Public Diplomacy & Regional Security News. BY: Engidu Woldie. The Ethiopian regime puts its air force base in Debre Zeit and Mekele on high alert ahead of the planned protest rally in the capital Addis Ababa on Sunday morning, according to ESAT’s intelligence sources.

Reliable intelligence sources told ESAT that the regime has put the airforce transportation wing in Debre Zeit and Mekele on high alert. The sources said regime officials have prepared an escape route if the planned protest in Addis threatens the survival the regime and the safety of its high ranking officials.

Surafel Zewidie, a former airborne commander speaking to ESAT said it was clear that the high ranking officials of the regime have prepared an escape route to Mekele if the protest in Addis would force them out of their office in the capital Addis Ababa.

Surafe said the Tigrayan intelligence and security have already isolated non-Tigrayans and have ceased any communication with non-Tigrayan members of the intelligence. This, he said, was a clear sign that the high ranking officials of the TPLF have planned to escape to Tigray if things get worse in Addis Ababa, leaving behind their army and the non-Tigrayan security staff.

Surafel believed regime officials have come to the realization that they could not kill their way out in Addis Ababa like they did in the rest of Ethiopia when Addis residents come out in protest starting Sunday.

Residents of Addis Ababa are expected to take to the streets on Sunday but information as to what’s happening in the capital was difficult to obtain as the internet and telephone has been chocked as has been the case in previous anti-regime protests.

Representative Mike Coffman representing the 6th District of Colorado addressing the Ethiopian Protesters

2016 Rio Olympics – Athletics – Final – Men’s Marathon – Sambodromo – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 21/08/2016. Feyisa Lilesa (ETH) of Ethiopia celebrates. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

By Scott Malone | RIO DE JANEIRO

Ethiopia’s Feyisa Lilesa held his arms over his head, wrists crossed, as he finished second at the Olympic marathon on Sunday in a gesture of support for members of his Oromo tribe who have been protesting at government plans to reallocate farmland.

Plans to allocate land surrounding the capital for development prompted fierce demonstrations in November and spread for months, in the country’s worst unrest in more than a decade.

Ethiopia has long been one of the world’s poorest nations but has industrialised rapidly in the past decade. However, reallocating land is a thorny issue for Ethiopians, many of whom are subsistence farmers.

Authorities scrapped the scheme in January, but protests flared again this month over the continued detention of opposition demonstrators.

Rights groups say hundreds have been killed. The government disputes the figures and says illegal protests by “anti-peace forces” have been brought under control.

“Oromo is my tribe … Oromo people now protest what is right, for peace, for a place,” Lilesa explained after his silver-medal performance, adding that he feared he would face consequences for the gesture when he returned home.

“Maybe I move to another country … you get the freedom if you support only the government. You cannot work without that.”

P.O. Box  643

Washington D.C. 20044

Tel 240-473-3235

office@advocacyethiopia.org

www.advocacyethiopia.org

www.advocacyethiopia.or

August 22, 2016

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

UNOG-OHCHR

1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

zraad@ohchr.org

Dear High Commissioner:

We, members of the Ethiopian Advocacy Network (EAN), would like to commend you for calling for an immediate probe into the killings of peaceful protesters in Ethiopia.

In our letter addressed to you on June 20, 2016 we had asked for UNHRC to open an investigation into the massive human rights violations against peaceful protesters committed by the current Ethiopian regime.  Specifically, we requested for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur to investigate the ongoing egregious human rights violations in Ethiopia, similar to the inquiry conducted by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Arbitrary or Summary Executions in Kenya following the post-election violence in December 2007 and January 2008.

Unfortunately, we have neither received a reply nor even an acknowledgement of our letter. However, we would like to assure you that we strongly support your call.   We understand, but not surprised, that the Ethiopian regime has promptly turned down the request. This is not the first time and will not be the last time that the regime steadfastly refuses to grant permission to impartial international agencies to look into its egregious human rights abuses.

The Special Rapporteur on The Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Maina Kiai has sent request letters to Ethiopia in 2011 and 2013.^[1]

As a newly elected member of the UN Security Council, long time member of the Human Rights Council and a founding member of the United Nations, Ethiopia cannot be allowed to remain hostile to any and all legitimate probes into its abysmal human rights record and continue to flaunt internationally recognized rights.

We urge the UN and all international governments allied to the regime to aggressively press Ethiopia to allow international observers to investigate the killings. Ethiopia

While the abuses and flagrant human rights violations committed by the Ethiopian government have been well documented by independent, established, and respected human rights organizations, there has been no action to hold the perpetrators accountable.  Shockingly, the perpetrators of these acts—some of which are tantamount to crimes against humanity and genocide—remain unpunished.

The criminals continue to act with impunity. It is our opinion that the intervention of a highly regarded and influential office such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is critical towards ensuring that justice and respect for international human rights law prevails in Ethiopia.

The pattern of serious international crimes committed with total impunity cannot be rationalized as the conduct of a few undisciplined soldiers. Ethiopian security forces are routinely responsible for arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, extrajudicial executions, rape, and other serious crimes. The volatile political atmosphere in Ethiopia threatens the peace of this increasingly small world we live in, violating international laws, fundamental human rights, and basic human values.

The Ethiopian government must not be allowed to continue to commit such dire crimes

and to skirt accountability for committing atrocities against the population.  The people of Ethiopia have suffered enough. It is absolutely imperative for the global community to respond with a formal investigation similar to the Commission of Inquiry for Eritrea (COIE) on behalf of these victims and their families.

We express our solidarity with the people of Ethiopia, and express our deep commitment to the struggle for freedom and justice in Ethiopia. We appreciate your attention to our request and look forward to hearing from you very soon.

We thank you for your immediate attention to this urgent matter.

Cc: Members of the Human Rights Committee:

Mr. Yadh BEN ACHOUR  Tunisia

Mr. Lazhari BOUZID  Algeria

Ms. Sarah CLEVELAND  United States

Mr. Olivier de FROUVILLE France

Mr. Ahmad Amin FATHALLA Egypt

Mr. Yuji IWASAWA (Vice-Chairperson) Japan

Ms. Ivana JELIC  Montenegro

Mr. Duncan Laki MUHUMUZA Uganda

Ms Photini PAZARTZIS  Greece

Mr. Mauro POLIT  Italy

Sir Nigel RODLEY  United Kingdom

Mr. Victor Manuel RODRÍGUEZ RESCIA  Costa Rica

Mr. Fabián Omar SALVIOLI  (Chairperson) Argentina

Mr. Dheerujlall .B. SEETULSINGH  (Vice Chairperson) Mauritius

Ms. Anja SEIBERT-FOHR (Vice-Chairperson) Germany

Mr. Yuval SHANY Israel

Mr. Konstantine VARDZELASHVILI (Rapporteur) Georgia

Ms. Margo WATERVAL Suriname

Mr. Tom Malinowski Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

Amnesty International

Article 19

Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE)

Civil Rights Defenders

Defend Defenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Right Defenders Project)

Ethiopia Human Rights Project (EHRP)

Front Line Defenders

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

Ethiopian Advocacy Network is a grassroots organization that was formed in January 2015 by Ethiopian-Americans, Ethiopian activists and community organizers to promote democracy, human rights, and justice in Ethiopia through advocacy, civic education and grass roots mobilization. EAN has a global presence with members in the USA, Africa, Canada and Europe.

[1] http://freeassembly.net/country-info/country-invitation-status/

Statement of my credo: Hate is the one crumbling wall that now stands between the people of Ethiopia and freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia.  The T-TPLF has weaponized and politicized hate. But the mud walls of hate erected by the T-TPLF are today collapsing on the T-TPLF everywhere under the volcanic pressure of a popular uprising . The kililistans  (T-TPLF’s equivalent of apartheid’s “Bantustans”) are dissolving before our eyes. The glue that made it possible for the T-TPLF to monopolize and cling to power for the past quarter of a century has been the politics of hate – blind ethnic and religious hatred. But everywhere the people of Ethiopia are breaking out of the prison gates of  T-TPLF’s kililistans. The people of Ethiopia are rising up against the Masters of Hate. The young people of Ethiopia are raising and crossing their arms in resolute nonviolent defiance and proclaiming  that no amount of violence by the T-TPLF will break their spirit; and they will continue to march in the spirit of “Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.”

As victims of T-TPLF hate, the people of Ethiopia have become united as one in their pain and suffering. When protesting Oromo children are massacred Amhara, Tigray, Gurage and all other parents cry for them because they are children of Mother Ethiopia. When Amhara, Tigray, Gurage children are massacred, Oromo parents cry for them because we are all children of Mother Ethiopia. Those who planted the seeds of hate are now beginning to see the harvest of unity against hate. The T-TPLF has long traded on the myth that its fate and destiny is in fact the fate and destiny of the people of Tigray. The truth is that the T-TPLF represents no one but its members, supporters and cronies from all ethnic groups and religions who feed at its trough of corruption.

Feyisa Lelisa, Rio Marathon Silver Medalist gesturing Ethiopian Youth Power salute

The funny animal characters in that comic strip lived in a swamp community, which figuratively represented the diversity of American society and issues facing it. That community began to disintegrate because its residents were incapable of communicating with each other over the most important and urgent issues facing them. They wasted time squabbling and bickering over non-issues.Let me begin my commentary with the wisdom of a cartoon character named Pogo who appeared in a comic strip back in my day.

One day, Pogo saw the swamp they lived in filled with debris and litter. In reflective frustration he sighed, “We have met the enemy. He is us!”

I want to declare,  paraphrasing Pogo, in reflective frustration over the politics of hate the T-TPLF has created and nurtured in Ethiopia over the past quarter of a century:

“We have met the haters. They are us!”

I am gratified to learn that my commentary last week, “Ethiopia: Rise of the “Amhara Retards” and Oromo “Criminals and Terrorists” in 2016?” has attracted considerable attention from my regular readers and others. The reach of this particular commentary online and social media can only be described as  beyond extraordinary. Why?

The reactions to my commentary from those who reached out to me have been varied and could be summarized along the following lines:

1) I should have dealt with the subject of “hate talk” and hate-mongers more delicately and should not have presented the issues in the media in its raw “shocking” and “ugly” form.

2) I should not have discussed or brought out such a long-avoided taboo subject of “ethnic vilification” and “ethnic hate” into public discourse because “it is not in our tradition” to talk about it in the public (“newur new”, poor taste?).

3) I should not have written the commentary because it could sour ethnic relations and “add fuel” to the fire of ethnic hatred.

4) I should have named and shamed the person who was ranting and raving in the audio included in my commentary since that person is a well-known T-TPLF operative in the Ethiopian Diaspora.

5) I should not have given attention to the rantings and ravings of “low lifes” who spew hate on the internet globally and radio stations in Ethiopia.  By commenting on the “ignorant” tirades of the “low-lifes”,  I have “validated” and “legitimized” them.

6) I have now made it possible for all hate-mongers to be more emboldened to spew their hate  because they expect they will get the attention of the wider public through my future commentaries.

7) I should not have brought out the subject of hate and haters at this critical time in the country because it could make some people angry and incite them to “act impulsively”.

8) By writing the commentary, I am in fact promoting hate against specific groups because I am “wittingly or unwittingly” resonating the message of the hate-mongers.

9) I have now made it possible and acceptable for the T-TPLF to preach to its supporters and followers that “THEY” are ganging up on “US” and for everyone on the “US” side to circle the wagons.

10) I am myself a hate-monger by repeating the message of the hate-mongers; and also because I have long been a “harsh” and “dogmatic” critic of the T-TPLF and have “NEVER” given credit “for anything the government has done”.

11) I should have focused my commentary on “all haters”, and by singling out only one group of haters “for special treatment”, I was “unfair”.

12) It was courageous of me to talk about the subject of hate in public because it is an issue  which most Ethiopians avoid talking about candidly even in private.

13) I am the right person to raise the issue in public because of my long “record of moral leadership” and should continue to do so.

14) Others should be encouraged by my commentary and deal with other  “taboo” subjects.

15)  I should write more commentaries on subjects that are usually avoided “such as harmful and outmoded traditions”,  and so on.

I do not doubt that people reading my commentaries will interpret them consistent with their own agendas, views, preferences and prejudices.  That is human nature and to be expected in public debates and discussions.

My short answer to many of the points above is that my commentary is about hate, not the haters that hate.  As Mohandas Gandhi counseled, “Hate the sin and not the sinner.”

People in general avoid and fear to acknowledge the frightening power of hate.

Hate is the most powerful negative power in the universe known to human beings.

But hate resides in all of our hearts. We may deny it and pretend that is not so. But as we lay in bed, hate whispers to us in the dark language of revenge and evening the score.

No one is above suspicion when it comes to hate.  No one or no society has a monopoly on hate.

There are Amhara, Oromo, Gurage… American, Russian, Chinese… haters.

Hate begins with “Us and Them” mentality.

I hate hate itself, not necessarily the perpetrators of hate. I will speak truth to haters but will not hate them.

For I know the history of mankind is that “Man is wolf to man” (Homo homini lupus est). I would say hate is the wolf in the man.

Donald Trump preaches the gospel of hate in America from the pulpit of his presidential campaign.

But the true Gospel teaches, “The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live.”

In my religious tradition, there is only one person who is beyond all evil and infinitely good.

But “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”

As I contemplated many of the foregoing reactions and sentiments, it dawned on me that they all share one thing in common,  intended or not: Censorship.

The kernel of most of the reactions, it seems to me, is that I should not have written about the subject of hate and hate-mongers. Alternatively, I should have maintained the unofficial code of social silence (the “Ethiopian Omerta”)  and continue to pretend hate talk does not exist; and even if it does, it happens only in the netherworld of the “low-lifes”. I should ignore hate talk altogether.

In other words, I should have self-censored and not written the comment; or that the blogosphere and social media should have censored my commentary from wider dissemination.

Hate talk does not disappear or vanish because it is ignored or treated with contempt and indifference. Hate talk, like mushrooms,  mushrooms in the dark. But it does not thrive in the light of critical analysis and inquiry.

Censorship, ipso facto, (by that very fact) is anathema to me.

I trace my absolute abhorrence to censorship to John Milton’s Areopagitica, in which Milton made the most soul-stirring philosophical defense of the principle of the right to freedom of speech and expression.

I have had my share of defending the right of hate-mongers to speak their hate in criminal cases and in public discourse.

I have spoken truth to haters whether they are U.S. Supreme Court Justices propagating hateful messages on young African Americans, presidential candidates  arrogantly proclaiming the mass banning of people of a particular faith or  rogue police officers who shoot and ask questions later because they believe black lives do not matter.

I have on a number of occasions called for the establishment of interfaith councils to combat sectarian hate in Ethiopia.

Most of my readers are familiar with my uncompromising and impassioned defense of the late Meles Zenawi’s right to speak at Columbia University in 2010.  (See my  commentary, “Mr. Zenawi Goes to College!”.)

Meles is widely regarded as the master tactician of hate by the Ethiopian opposition. He is credited for refining the use of ethnic division and antagonism to consolidate his power.

There was near unanimous opposition in the Diaspora Ethiopian American opposition to Meles’  “keynote address” at the World Leaders Forum at Columbia.

There was even push back from some prominent journalists in Ethiopia. It was agonizingly heartbreaking for me to break rank with my personal hero and heroine Eskinder Nega and Serkalem Fasil who wrote a passionate and moving  letter asking Columbia University president Lee Bollinger to disinvite Meles. To put principle above people one loves and adores as generational heroes and heroines is painful beyond description.

Suffice it to say that I subscribe to Prof. Noam Chomsky’s admonition: “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” Even the master tactician of hate has the right to speak his mind.

As a student and practitioner of American constitutional law, my views on censorship are best articulated by the late U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart:

Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime. Long ago, those who wrote our First Amendment charted a different course. They believed a society can be truly strong only when it is truly free. In the realm of expression, they put their faith, for better or for worse, in the enlightened choice of the people, free from the interference of a policeman’s intrusive thumb or a judge’s heavy hand. So it is that the Constitution protects coarse expression as well as refined, and vulgarity no less than elegance. A book worthless to me may convey something of value to my neighbor. In the free society to which our Constitution has committed us, it is for each to choose for himself [herself]…” (dissenting  in Ginzberg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463, 498 (1966); emphasis added.)

My regular readers over the last ten years know that I have chosen for myself the motto, “Speak truth to power”; and also to the power-hungry, power-thirsty, the power abusers, the power misusers and the plain powerless.

I “speak truth to power” because I believe in the Scriptural wisdom that “The truth shall set you free.”

I take my inspiration in my “truth-speaking mission” from Prof. Edward Said and Prof. Mesfin Woldemariam, both peerless intellectual giants.

Prof. Said observed that in the 21^st century, the intellectual has taken the mission of advancing human freedom and knowledge by “speaking the truth to power, being a witness to persecution and suffering, and supplying a dissenting voice in conflicts with authority.”

Prof. Mesfin took upon the cross of speaking truth to power in Ethiopia in the second half of the last century. (See my November 2015 commentary, Reflections on Prof. Mesfin’s “Adafne”: Saving Ethiopians From Themselves?)

When I began my human rights advocacy in Ethiopia following the massacres that took place in the aftermath of the 2005 election, I resolved to become a witness for the victims in the Meles Massacres.

I was initially outraged by the fact that the late Meles Zenawi could feel so powerful and so totally unaccountable as to direct his security and military forces to shoot at unarmed demonstrators indiscriminately. When my outrage subsided somewhat, I mulled the question: What kind of a human being would authorize the massacre of unarmed citizen protesters?

The conventional answers were not satisfactory to me. Of course, dictators will use all means at their disposal to cling to power. Dictators will kill, steal, cheat and beat to keep their hold on power.

I was not convinced that the conventional logic of dictatorship held true in the case of Meles and the T-TPLF.

As I delved deep into the history of the “TPLF”, studied the TPLF Manifesto, listened to hours of audio and video tapes of former TPLF members divulging TPLF secrets and reading scholarly analysis by former TPLF leaders, it became crystal clear to me that Meles’ and his organization’s lust for political power was driven above all by H-A-T-E.

From the very beginning,  Meles and the T-TPLF have always cultivated and operated in an environment of “Us” vs “Them”.  Hate coursed in the bloodstreams  of Meles and his T-TPLF comrades.

Meles and the T-TPLF understood the power of hate and used it craftily in aggrandizing more political power.

At the slightest provocation, hate would ooze out of Meles’ mouth as maggots would from carrion.

Meles once told the esteemed and distinguished Ethiopianist and my good friend, the late Professor Donald Levine: “The Tigreans had Axum, but what could that mean to the Gurague? The Agew had Lalibela, but what could that mean to the Oromo? The Gonderes had castles, but what could that mean to the Wolaitai?”

What is the meaning and connotation of such questions?

Meles also said the Ethiopian flag is nothing more than a “piece of rag” and that “Ethiopia is only 100 years old. Those who claim otherwise are indulging themselves in fairy tales.”

Meles believed and his T-TPLF  today conveniently believe that there is no such thing as Ethiopia, only a collection of “nations, nationalities and peoples” in an imaginary land, ideological garbage they snatched from the demented writings of Koba the Dread, a/k/a Stalin. (See my may 2016 commentary, “Does Ethiopia Need a Constitution?”.)

What Meles and the T-TPLF could not fathom is the simple fact that there is a real Ethiopia with a history dating back to Biblical times.  (See my November 2014  commentary “The de-Ethiopianization of Ethiopia”.)

All Ethiopians have the moral and legal right to claim Axum, Lalibela, Lucy (Dinqnesh), Harar Jugol (considered to be the fourth holiest city of Islam by UNESCO), the “Gadaa” and “Gumii Gaayoo” systems of governance and many others.

The T-TPLF has always sought to deflect attention from its hateful and criminal actions by mythologizing the alleged hateful acts of others. They have tried re-write and miswrite history to conceal their own crimes against humanity. They have paid millions to erect a statue depicting  Emperor Menelik II as a brutal king who lopped off women’s breasts and thereby memorialize for eternity hate between Oromos and Amharas.

When it comes to brutality, is there anyone more brutal and cold-blooded than Meles Zenawi and his T-TPLF?

Meles’ personally established Inquiry Commission laid full blame for the intentional and deliberate massacre of at least 193 unarmed protesters and the severe wounding of  763 others following the 2005 election at Meles’ feet.

Human Rights Watch laid full responsibility for the massacre of 400 unarmed protesters in Oromia in its June 2016 report, “Such a Brutal Crackdown”.

Meles personally ordered the massacre of over 400 civilians in Gambella, in western Ethiopia in 2004.

Meles personally authorized the bombing and strafing of villages in the Ogaden. Steve Crawshaw, the United Nations advocacy director for Human Rights Watch described the crimes against humanity committed by Meles and the T-TPLF in the Ogaden as “a mini-Darfur.”

Of course, the T-TPLF’s ethnic hate propaganda is completely bogus.

I challenge any Ethiopian who claims to have one and only one ethnic genotype. I am willing to bet my bottom dollar that if every Ethiopian gave a DNA sample, not only will they find out that they have genetic markers from every ethnic group within Ethiopia but also, much to their surprise, everywhere else in the world. These days for a measly USD$99, it is possible for anyone to trace one’s genealogy, if one is prepared to “handle the truth”.

There is no one who is “pure” Amhara, Oromo, Tigray, etc.

I have long preached that there is an ancient land called Ethiopia that is our motherland. Ethiopia cannot be sliced into “kilils”, diced into “ethnic federalism” or priced for fly-by-night investors or secretly handed over into a border “agreement”.

But for the T-TPLF the “Us” vs. “THEM” dichotomy has been a cleverly disguised strategy.

There is the “Us”, namely the leaders, members and cronies of the Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front”,  of which they speak in glorious terms of military prowess,  and then there is the implied “Us”.

There is the T-TPLF “Us” wallowing in corruption, crimes against humanity and abuse of power.

Then there is the implied “Us”,  the ordinary people of Tigray, who like the rest of ordinary Ethiopians have suffered the slings and arrows of a bloodthirsty gang of thugs from the time when the TPLF was a rebel army.

The T-TPLF has taken the people of Tigray as hostages.

But do the ordinary people of Tigray have a say in whether the T-TPLF can use their name for its own criminal  purposes? Do the ordinary people of Tigray freely, willingly and voluntarily support the T-TPLF?

To answer these questions, we must examine the evidence.

That evidence comes from none other than one of the original founders and former defense minister of the T-TPLF, Seeye Abraha.

In a “retrospective on the 2010 parliamentary election” (in which Seeye ran in Tigray), Seeye exposed the T-TPLF police state which controlled every aspect of the life of the ordinary people of Tigray. He  documented the trials and tribulation the people of Tigray had to undergo in supporting the T-TPLF.

Seeye showed how the TPLF used state resources, institutions, cronyism, favoritism, bribes and corruption to force the ordinary people of Tigray to pledge allegiance to it and how the TPLF punished  those who refuse to tow its party  line or openly oppose it.

Seeye argued, “For the TPLF [in Tigray], there is no separation or distinction between partisan political work and official service as a state employee. Party work is carried out using government office facilities, transportation, per diem, etc. along with government work.” He explained:

In the Tigrai Region, the TPLF has created two structures, at the village level, which serve as the basic building blocks for the tightly-woven network of security and political structure in the rural area: the Wahio and the Development Gujille (DG). In the structural hierarchy of TPLF, the lowest unit is called Wahio and consists of up to 20 TPLF party members. In one village, there can be up to twenty Wahios, depending on its size. The chairpersons of the Wahios in a village are in turn organized in a primary group called Primary Widdabe (PW). They choose their own chairpersons and control all government and party activities at the village level.

The TPLF had conducted a study on every person in every village suspected of being in any way related to me. There are many veteran TPLF members who had participated in the armed struggle against the Derg but they were pushed out of the party’s fold during the TPLF split because they were suspected of siding with me or others like me. Moreover, there are many families that had sacrificed not one but two or three of their children during the armed struggle and who are now left without anyone to care for them. I have received reports on how TPLF cadres were manipulating the process to undermine the secret ballot. Voters were told that the TPLF had installed cameras in secret places that showed who voted for TPLF and who did not.

Seeye concluded:

The election of 2010 was a travesty of democracy carefully organized and managed by the TPLF for the TPLF. Putting aside the claim of the Election Board as being neutral, the elections were under the strict control and supervision of the TPLF’s kebele and wereda administrators. The majority of the farmers in the rural kebeles and villages have been forced to become TPLF members. Wherever one goes TPLF members are everywhere. Practically every avenue of benefit is closed to those who are not members. Those who are not members are labeled as enemies and their lives turned into a living hell. The chains binding the people are Safety Net and Emergency Assistance programs. These programs are used to manipulate and intimidate the people into total submission to the ruling party.

Does the T-TPLF actually represent the people of Tigray? Do the people of Tigray freely and of their own will support the T-TPLF? Are the people of Tigray T-TPLF hostages?

Or are the people of Tigray just as helpless victims of the T-TPLF as the people of Oromiya or those in the Amhara region and elsewhere?

Let us further consider the evidence provided by Dr. Negasso Gidada, former state president under the T-TPLF.

Dr. Negasso described an identical situation in Dembi Dollo, Qelem Wallaga Zone of Oromia Region in September 2009. The T-TPLF applied the Meles Master Plan/ Playbook in Oromia and Tigray.

The police and security offices and personnel collect information on each household through other means. One of these methods involves the use of organizations or structures called “shane”, which in Oromo means “the five”. Five households are grouped together under a leader who has the job of collecting information on the five households… The security chief passes the information he collected to his chief in the higher administrative organs in the Qabale, who in turn informs the Woreda police and security office. Each household is required to report on guests and visitors, the reasons for their visits, their length of stay, what they said and did and activities they engaged in. … The OPDO/EPRDF runs mass associations (women, youth and micro-credit groups) and party cells (“fathers”, “mothers” and “youth”). The party cells in the schools, health institutions and religious institutions also serve the same purpose….

Do the people of Oromia freely, willingly and voluntarily support the T-TPLF?

The T-TPLF operates using the Meles playbook, the Meles Master Plan to steal elections by forcing people to vote for it, or else.

I could add much anecdotal evidence which amplify on these facts.

On the other hand, it has been argued by some that the people of Tigray have disproportionately benefited from T-TPLF economic largess in the form of infrastructure programs, investments and international aid.

What is the evidence to support this claim?

In 2016, the Tigray and Afar regions of Ethiopia were among the most affected by the “drought that is estimated to be the worst in 50 years.”

According to a March 2016  Foreign Affairs report,  “Crop production in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray and Afar regions has dropped between 50 and 90 percent.”

What did the T-TPLF do to help the people of Tigray and Afar? Run to the international poverty pimps with its begging bowls.  That’s what!

Of course, Meles in one of his first interviews after taking power in 1991 said, “he would consider his government a success if Ethiopians were able to eat three meals a day.”

Meles also said Ethiopia will be self-sufficient in food production by 2015. So much for MeLies!

It may be recalled  that the T-TPLF touted SAERT (Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Rehabilitation in Tigray) as the silver bullet to make Tigray self-sufficient in food production by utilizing smaller dams and irrigation methods by 2008. Yet in 2016, the T-TPLF is out with its begging bowls to feed the people of Tigray?

According to a 2014  report  of the Ethiopia Central Statistical Agency and the World Food Programme, the “highest prevalence of food energy deficient households was found in Addis Ababa (50%), Amhara (49%), Dire Dawa (42%), and Tigray (42%).” In terms of food poverty, “The highest regional prevalence was found in Amhara (35%) and Tigray (30%).” Nothing for the T-TPLF to brag about.

According to “The National Regional State of  Tigray, Bureau of Planning  and Finance”, “75% rural and 61 urban” population in the Tigray Region are “living below the poverty line”.  Nothing to brag about for the T-TPLF.

It is claimed that Tigray is “the industrial powerhouse” in Ethiopia.

According to one report, there are said to be “66 companies [are] are owned and managed by ethnic Tigreans” with investment capital of over Birr 20 million in Ethiopia.

The Birr 20 million question is, “How many of them are in Tigray?”

According to a November 2015 United States Department of Agricultural Office Foreign Agricultural Service report, “Ethiopia aims to become one of the world’s top 10 sugar producers.”

The data on sugar factories under construction throughout the country and their estimated production capacity does not support claims that the T-TPLF has invested disproportionate amounts of resources to make Tigray an “industrial power house”. Quite to the contrary!

What is the investment data on Tigray?

According to Tigray Investment Process Owner Goytom Gebrekidan, in 2015, the “Tigray Regional State Urban Development and Construction Industry Office” licensed “over 800 projects with a capital of 10.5 Billion ETB.” Gebrekidan said, “829 industries have already registered operating in agriculture, social services, culture and tourism sectors in the past nine months.”

(The 800 projects happened when Santa Clause made a crash landing in Gebrekidan’s neighborhood after the GPS on the reindeer sled pulled by Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen malfunctioned.)

In 2009, the Millennum Cities Initiative and Vale Columbia Center issued an 80-page  report on “investment opportunities in Mekele, Tigray State, Ethiopia.”  What is the status of “investments” touted under that report in 2016?

Perhaps the answer to this question may be found in this report by Tigray Regional State, Industry and Trade Office.

It is not my aim here to refute every claim about T-TPLF propaganda and what it has “done for the people of Tigray.” That discussion will have to be reserved for another time.

My point is that the T-TPLF’s propaganda about what it has done for the people of Tigray should be taken with a grain of salt.

Simple truth be told, the T-TPLF power structure that is in power represents no one but itself, its supporters, cronies and friends.

The T-TPLF is using the people of Tigray as hostages as its crimes against humanity pile up.

The lesson to be learned is that it is morally and factually wrong to lump the ordinary people of Tigray with the T-TPLF and condemn them as though they are willing accessories and aiders and abettors of the T-TPLF.

This is not to suggest that many individuals and businesses with capital in the multi-millions are not ethnic Tigreans closely allied with the T-TPLF.

This is not to deny that the T-TPLF has used its patronage and nepotism system to give special advantage to its ethnic Tigrean supporters and cronies.

This is not to suggest that  the racketeering organization known as EFFORT is not set up specifically to benefit T-TPLF leaders, cadres, cronies and supporters who happen to be ethnic Tigreans.

This is not to suggest that the T-TPLF has not handed out hundreds of millions of birr in public works contracts and non-repayable “loans” from national banks to its members who happen to be ethnic Tigreans.

This is not to suggest that ethnic Tigreans are not advantaged in getting public service jobs, enrollment in higher education, getting public benefits, etc.

This is not to suggest that T-TPLF members, cadres, cronies  and supporters who happen to be ethnic Tigreans do not have to pay taxes, pay the least amount or avoid paying import duties.

The point is that anyone from any ethnic  group who is willing to sell his/her soul to the T-TPLF Devil can get the same benefits.

The T-TPLF is willing, able and ready to make a Faustian deal with anyone, at any time in any place!

Goethe’s Dr. Faust made a pact with the Devil, exchanging his soul for wealth, success, worldly pleasures and power.

The T-TPLF is an equal opportunity Devil.

The T-TPLF will promise and deliver wealth, success, worldly pleasures and power to anyone, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, religion, etc., who is prepared to sell his soul.

The T-TPLF does not give a damn who you are and will make a deal with you at any cost provided, in the end, it gets your soul.

As Meles liked to say, loyalty to the T-TPLF is far more important to the T-TPLF than ethnicity, religion, education, work experience or anything else.

Loyalty to the T-TPLF is the Devil’s  litmus test.

There are as many Amharas, Oromos, Gurages and others who have sold their souls and become T-TPLF’s loyal servants and hirelings. Can anyone deny that?

The most important fact I want to stress is that we must all be fair and refrain from finding guilty by ethnic association the ordinary people of Tigray for the sins and crimes of the T-TPLF.

Guilt by association is the most immoral and shameful because its logical outcome is a battle cry for collective punishment.

It is unfair to condemn the ordinary people of Tigray for the sins and transgressions of the T-TPLF Devils.

The T-TPLF leaders always present their perceived threats as a threat not to themselves per se but as a life and death threat to the people of Tigray. The T-TPLF tries to tie its fate and destiny with the destiny of the people of Tigray in a narrative of persecution and even potential genocide.

We must always see the ordinary people of Tigray as separate from the T-TPLF who live in Corrupt-istan.

What the T-TPLF leaders have done for the past 25 years in Ethiopia closely tracks what the Nazi leader Herman Goering once told an investigator during the Nuremberg trials:

Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.

The T-TPLF can bang its drumbeat of hate and loathing and try to tell the people of Tigray “they are being attacked” and that the “Amharas” and “Oromos” are “ganging up” against Tigreans, but it is not going to work.

Not this time, T-TPLF!

Our enemy is hate

In July 2008, I wrote acommentaryentitled, “We’ve Met the Enemy. They are Us”.  It was a study in the word “enemy”.

In August 2016, I write that “We have met the hate-mongers; and they are us.”

The simple fact of the matter is that hate is a sickness of the soul. It is the other side of the coin of violence. To paraphrase philosopher and peace-builder Daisaku Ikeda, hate is  

born from a wounded spirit: a spirit burned and blistered by the fire of arrogance; a spirit splintered and frayed by the frustration of powerlessness; a spirit parched with an unquenched thirst for meaning in life; a spirit shriveled and shrunk by feelings of inferiority. The rage that results from injured self-respect, from humiliation, erupts as violence. A culture of [hate] and violence, which delights in crushing and beating others into submission, spreads throughout society, often amplified by the media… From a healed, peaceful heart, humility is born; from humility, a willingness to listen to others is born; from a willingness to listen to others, mutual understanding is born; and from mutual understanding, a peaceful society will be born.

Ethiopia is now at the crossroads looking to a future beyond enemies, haters and the politics of hate.

It is a future that we can all shape, mold, create and build for our children, ourselves and generations to come.

It is a future free of fear, violence, hatred and religious and ethnic bigotry.

It is a future firmly founded on the consent of the people, the rule of law and vibrant democratic institutions.

It is a future very much similar to the one envisioned by Nelson Mandela for South Africa: “Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world.”

It is a future about a society where government respects the rights of its citizens and protects individual liberties; and leaders are accountable to the people and the law of the land.

It is a future where our young people will take over the helm of state and society.

Haters have no place in Ethiopia.

Haters, of course, have no race, no nation, no nationality, no ethnicity, no religion and no gender.

Haters have their own Planet Hate.

“Haters are gonna hate.” Our job is to make sure, they remain on their solitary, nasty and brutish planet as long as they insist on spewing  hate.

To paraphrase Mandela, “Holding onto hate is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”

We are wasting too much time and energy talking about things that separate us instead of bringing us closer together.

Our problem is a deficit of justice, denial of human rights, deprivation of liberty and theft of our voice to govern ourselves.

We should be talking about Us, the other Us, the Us known as the united people of Ethiopia.

We shoudl be talking about our cause, who we are and who we are not, what we stand for and believe in, how we can help each other and avoid harming ourselves, cooperate and collaborate with each other to help our less fortunate brothers and sisters.

We are all Ethiopians – a nation of brothers and sisters victimized by a brotherhood of gangsters.

Our victory in the cause of freedom, democracy and human rights is in our unity, not enmity.

Our victory in the cause of freedom, democracy and human rights is our united rejection of the politics of hate and our united embrace of the politics of inclusion and diversity.

We should be talking about brotherhood and sisterhood and how to complete the long road to a destination at the end of which is a rainbow of green, yellow and red.

We should be talking about the pot of priceless treasure at the end of that rainbow: human rights protected by law, democratic institutions sustained by the consent of the people and public accountability secured by the rule of law and law of the land.

But we cannot get to our destination trash talking hate against each other and traveling the same old road paved with accusations, recriminations and insults. Nor can we get to the end of that rainbow on the wings of bitterness and pettiness.

We must take a different road, the road less traveled. In the verse of Robert Frost:

… I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I — I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Now that we have met the hate-mongers, let’s hold hands in friendship and head into the future on the road less traveled by, the road not taken.

It will make all the difference for us as human beings! It will make all the difference for us as a people, and as a nation!

George Bernard Shaw wisely observed, “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

Let us change our minds from the politics of hate to the politics of brotherly and sisterly love and “Be the change that [we] wish to see in the world.”

Hate begets hate. Love conquers all.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom’s (foreign minister of Ethiopia) candidacy for the Director General position of the World Health Organization (WHO) must also be disqualified pending international investigation on recent killings by forces loyal to the regime

On March 1, 2011, Switzerland’s Joseph Deiss, President of the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly, stated the “hopes of Libyan people must not be dashed.” He was expressing his grave concern and dismay over the excessive use of force by Muammar Al-Qadhafi loyalists in various parts of the country.  Following his plea, the UN unanimously adopted a resolution suspending Libya from the United Nations Human Rights Council. During his passionate speech, H.E. President Joseph Deiss stressed “The credibility of the international community, the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Human Rights Council was at stake in ensuring that fundamental rights were respected and violations were punished.” Following his passionate speech, the UN rose to the occasion showing extraordinary leadership, so desperately needed at the time, condemning the Libyan regime’s brutality against civilians and suspending Libya from the Commission.

Today the UN is facing the same critical challenge that requires once again bold and decisive leadership to respond to the systemic killings of peaceful and unarmed civilians in Ethiopia by the regime that sits at the table along with the forty -six member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council. This, by any measure of imagination and by any interpretation of international law, is not only unjust, but also contradictory to all sacred values, principles and norms that the UN and the Commission stand for. Imagine for a moment an individual who committed a heinous crime as serious as taking one’s life sits as a juror at his or her own trial. Imagine a top diplomat of a country that continues to use a brute force against unarmed civilians is allowed to compete for one of the most prestigious positions within the UN system. This “see no evil, hear no evil” attitude, if allowed to continue, could seriously taint the already damaged reputation of the UN system. One cannot remain neutral or ambiguous in a situation where women, men, young and old, are massacred simply for demanding their basic rights.

Certainly, the ongoing killings, torture, mass arrest and disappearances of pro-democracy activists, human rights defenders and political leaders in Ethiopia are not new.  As credible human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have been reporting, it has been going on for the last twenty-five years. The only new dimension this time is that the patience of the people of Ethiopia has reached a point of no return demanding a fundamental change of the political, economic and social architecture of the country. All indications are that no matter the degree of the use of brute force by the regime, the determined people of Ethiopia will continue to demand fundamental change. Thus, this state engineered brutal and bloody crackdown on unarmed civilians and peaceful protestors in Ethiopia calls for extraordinary leadership and upholding of the fundamental tenets of human rights and human dignity at the highest level of the international order.  Indeed, in the current political architecture of Ethiopia there may not be a single demagogue, like Muammar Al-Qadhafi, Bashar Al Assad or Hosni Mubarak, but there are many shadowy figures with their own scale and degree of demagoguery behind the scenes, engineering mass murder, torture and fomenting an unprecedented degree of inter-communal violence, which could explode into a full-scale civil war.

While the UNHRC’s recent call demanding a full and transparent investigation by the international body on the killings is a positive development (although rejected by the regime in Addis Ababa) the Council must immediately recommend the suspension of Ethiopia from the Security Council and General Assembly. Those who violate the basic tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) should not be allowed to sit at the table of the Council and discuss or make a decisions defending the values and principles they violate so routinely and with utter impunity.

If history is any lesson, the people of Ethiopia have a bitter memory etched in their minds about the UN system, especially its predecessor the League of Nations. It has to be recalled when Emperor Haile Selassie appeared before the League appealing for help following Fascist Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia. The Emperor said, “I ask the fifty-two nations, who have given the Ethiopian people a promise to help them in their resistance to the aggressor, what are they willing to do for Ethiopia? And the great Powers who have promised the guarantee of collective security to small States on whom weighs the threat that they may one day suffer the fate of Ethiopia, I ask what measures do you intend to take? Representatives of the World I have come to Geneva to discharge in your midst the most painful of the duties of the head of a State. What reply shall I have to take back to my people?” He said this passionately urging the League to listen to the pledges of the Ethiopian people. His plea and call for a support was ignored and the Ethiopian people, with minimum support from friendly nations, defeated and drove the Italian forces from the sovereign territory of the country.

The call from the people of Ethiopia to the International community today is the same as the one echoed by Emperor Haile Selassie eighty years ago. What is the international community, especially the United Nations system, going to do in response to this urgent call by the Ethiopian people for justice, freedom, equality and democracy? The responsible bodies in the international architecture could do something and stop this institutional and systemic slaughter of unarmed civilians or look the other way while the country descends into unprecedented and potentially catastrophic civil war, which could engulf the region of East Africa with serious consequences for global peace and security.

Considering the gravity of the situation, the current President Mogens Lykketoft of the seventieth session of the United Nations General Assembly must call upon the General Assembly to consider the suspension of Ethiopia from the Council, as well as to disqualify the candidacy of Dr. Tedros Adhanom, the foreign minister of Ethiopia, for the Directorate position of the World Health Organization (WHO). The United Nations system must redeem itself from the dark shadow of history that hangs on its record vis-à-vis Ethiopia. It must speak unequivocally and unambiguously about defending human rights and holding violators accountable. In doing so, the UN could be able to mend the historical ills and build a new relationship with the people of Ethiopia. The time to act is today! Tomorrow might be too late!

The writer can be reached at alem6711@gmail.com

Ethiopia’s Dangerous Human Rights Crisis

An Appeal for Support  

August 2, 2016

Ethiopia is going through one of the most troublesome but least reported popular uprisings in the world. BBC reported that the July 30, 2016 massive demonstration “in Gondar, a city in Amhara region, is a rare example of an anti-government demonstration in the country. It was organized on social media.” Despite insinuations by the Ethiopian government that the peaceful protest involving more than 100,000 people was instigated by “Eritrea, terrorist groups and bandits,” there isn’t a shred of evidence to confirm this allegation. Two weeks earlier, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a minority ethnic groups from Tigray that wields overwhelming power in Ethiopia sent a special armed hit squad to arrest members of a committee known as the Wolkait Amhara Identity Committee. Members were designated by the local population to negotiate land and ethnic identity rights with the federal government in line with the constitution. The land has been annexed by the TPLF and incorporated into its home base, Tigray. The Committee has been negotiating and demanding the reinstatement of annexed lands into the Amhara region for more than a year. This is the source of the current crisis.

Instead of respecting the legitimate demands of the population, the TPLF decided to abduct all committee members in the wee hours of the night and take them to Tigray where they would have been tortured and ultimately killed. Resistance ensued. Fire was exchanged and there were some causalities, including the child of Colonel Demeke Zewdu, a member of the Committee. The morning after the incident the people of Gondar came out in droves in support of Colonel Demeke and his colleagues. As the BBC put it, “The demonstration comes two weeks after another protest in the city in which 15 people died, including members of the security forces and civilians.” The incident could have been resolved through negotiation and the settlement of the dispute in accordance with the Constitution.

This regional issue has been scaled up dramatically and the demand for justice, fairness, the rule of law is spreading like wild fire. As Bloomberg news put it accurately on August 1, “Observers say that Ethiopia’s governing coalition is dominated by the party from the small Tigray region (TPLF), and some see the protests as a way of criticizing the country’s government.” From November last year, wide-spread protests, security led killings, maiming, imprisonment of thousands and disappearances have been taking place in Oromia.

The Amhara and Oromo population constitute more than 61 percent of Ethiopia’s 101 million people; while the Tigrean population is 6 percent. Both Amhara and Oromo are marginalized and excluded from policy and decision-making positions. Close to 97 percent of the top level officers in the security and defense establishment are Tigrean. The composition high officials of the diplomatic and other key institutions is similar. A bulk of the modern economy is owned by the TPLF, its endowments and loyal Tigreans.

Further, the Muslim population feels suppressed and persecuted. According to Bloomberg, “People on Sunday were also calling for the release of a group of 18 Muslims who were imprisoned last year under controversial anti-terror legislation.” The draconian Anti-Terrorism law is used to accuse, jail and torture any dissenter of any religious or ethnic group.

In the case of the Gondar demonstration, the TPLF propagated the incredible and untrue story that the Amhara population of the region was anti-Tigrean and that Tigreans faced the prospect of being killed and their properties destroyed. The Amhara and Tigrean people have lived side by side for thousands of years. They are intermarried. They belong to the same Ethiopian Orthodox Christian faith. They share lands, churches, cultures, history and civilization. There is not an iota of evidence to suggest that Tigreans are targeted. The Amhara population of Gondar makes a clear distinction between the punitive TPLF and the Tigrean people. Despite this reality on the ground, the TPLF spreads untrue, hateful and war mongering rumors in order to galvanize the support of the Tigrean population against the rest of Ethiopia.

On August 1, 2016, a declaration by the TPLF core group based in Tigray presented the following four demands and guide to the Federal government in Addis Ababa controlled and managed by the TPLF:

1. “Amhara activists and nationalists in Gondar supported and encouraged by the government of Eritrea have embarked upon an anti-Tigrean campaign of ethnic cleansing of Tigreans. Our regional administration has agreed with the federal government to take immediate action against the Amhara.”

2. “Members of the Wolkait Committee are in jail in Tigray awaiting trial for terrorism and intent to overthrow the government. The regional and federal officials agree that these criminals must be held accountable and must be punished.” They declared that Colonel Demeke will be charged for terrorism and forcibly sent to the higher court in Addis Ababa for trial.”

3. “The Tigray police commissioner has conducted due diligence of potential unrest in Wolkait, Tegede, Telemt, Jansha, all occupied lands that belong to the Amhara population and region, to protect and defend by force of arms the Tigrean settlers and their properties  in the area.”

4. “Amhara protestors replaced the current TPLF flag with the Ethiopian national flag, a crime against the state, government and constitution. This anti-TPLF protest should therefore be persecuted; and Tigreans must hold a regional protest against the Amhara led demonstration in Gondar.”

In short, the TPLF is calling for revenge against the peace loving population of Gondar and the rest of the Amhara region who demand justice, equal treatment under the law and constitutional democracy.

We are deeply horrified and alarmed by this development. We are deeply concerned that the TPLF will massacre innocent people in a pattern similar to massacres in Gambella, the Omo Valley, Gondar, Oromia, Afar, the Ogaden and Addis Ababa.

We urge you to do all in your power to persuade President Obama to intervene before it is too late.

https://www.gofundme.com/2kykuuxs

We are calling on all Ethiopians and human rights advocates to make contributions to funds needed to support Marathon athlete Feyisa Lelisa who exhibited extra-odrinary heroism by becoming an international symbol for #OromoProtests and Ethiopian Freedom Movement after winning a medal at the Rio de Janeiro
Olympic games today August 21, 2016.

Feyisa Lelisa faces persecution if he goes back to Ethiopia and he has decided to to seek assylum.  Funds are needed to support him and his family in the meantime,  Please donate whatever amount you can.  We assure you all the money collected will go to support this Oromo/Ethiopian hero.

Co-sponsered by Abdi Fite, Lalisaa Hikaa and Solomon Ungashe

https://www.gofundme.com/2kykuuxs

….

By Tom Malinowski

The Obama administration’s top official promoting democracy and human rights,Tom Malinowski, says the Ethiopian government’s tactics in response to protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions of the country are “self-defeating”. Writing ahead of the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Nairobi for talks on East African issues, including security, Malinowski says Addis Ababa’s “next great national task is to master the challenge of political openness.”

The United States and Ethiopia have years of strong partnership, based on a recognition that we need each other. Ethiopia is a major contributor to peace and security in Africa, the U.S.’s ally in the fight against violent extremists, and has shown incredible generosity to those escaping violence and repression, admitting more refugees than any country in the world. The United States has meanwhile been the main contributor to Ethiopia’s impressive fight to end poverty, to protect its environment and to develop its economy.

Because of the friendship and common interests our two nations share, the U.S. has a stake in Ethiopia’s prosperity, stability and success. When Ethiopia does well, it is able to inspire and help others. On the other hand, a protracted crisis in Ethiopia would undermine the goals that both nations are trying to achieve together.

The recent protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions present a critical challenge. They appear to be a manifestation of Ethiopian citizens’ expectation of more responsive governance and political pluralism, as laid out in their constitution.

Almost every Ethiopian I have met during my three recent trips to the country, including government officials, has told me that as Ethiopians become more prosperous and educated, they demand a greater political voice, and that such demands must be met. While a few of the protests may have been used as a vehicle for violence, we are convinced that the vast majority of participants were exercising their right under Ethiopia’s constitution to express their views.

Any counsel that the United States might offer is intended to help find solutions, and is given with humility. As President Barack Obama said during his July, 2015 visit to Addis Ababa, the U.S. is not perfect, and we have learned hard lessons from our own experiences in addressing popular grievances.

We also know Ethiopia faces real external threats. Ethiopia has bravely confronted Al-Shabaab, a ruthless terrorist group based on its border. Individuals and groups outside Ethiopia, often backed by countries that have no respect for human rights themselves, sometimes recklessly call for violent change.

Ethiopia rightly condemns such rhetoric, and the United States joins that condemnation. But Ethiopia has made far too much progress to be undone by the jabs of scattered antagonists who have little support among the Ethiopian people. And it is from within that Ethiopia faces the greatest challenges to its stability and unity. When thousands of people, in dozens of locations, in multiple regions come out on the streets to ask for a bigger say in the decisions that affect their lives, this cannot be dismissed as the handiwork of external enemies.

Ethiopian officials have acknowledged that protestors have genuine grievances that deserve sincere answers. They are working to address issues such as corruption and a lack of job opportunities. Yet security forces have continued to use excessive force to prevent Ethiopians from congregating peacefully, killing and injuring many people and arresting thousands. We believe thousands of Ethiopians remain in detention for alleged involvement in the protests – in most cases without having been brought before a court, provided access to legal counsel, or formally charged with a crime.

These are self-defeating tactics. Arresting opposition leaders and restricting civil society will not stop people from protesting, but it can create leaderless movements that leave no one with whom the government can mediate a peaceful way forward. Shutting down the Internet will not silence opposition, but it will scare away foreign investors and tourists. Using force may temporarily deter some protesters, but it will exacerbate their anger and make them more uncompromising when they inevitably return to the streets.

Every government has a duty to protect its citizens; but every legitimate and successful government also listens to its citizens, admits mistakes, and offers redress to those it has unjustly harmed. Responding openly and peacefully to criticism shows confidence and wisdom, not weakness. Ethiopia would also be stronger if it had more independent voices in government, parliament and society, and if civil society organizations could legally channel popular grievances and propose policy solutions. Those who are critical of the government would then have to share responsibility, and accountability, for finding those solutions. Progress in reforming the system would moderate demands to reject it altogether.

Ethiopia’s next great national task is to master the challenge of political openness, just as it has been mastering the challenge of economic development. Given how far Ethiopia has traveled since the days of terror and famine, the United States is confident that its people can meet this challenge – not to satisfy any foreign country, but to fulfill their own aspirations. The U.S. and all of Ethiopia’s friends are ready to help.

Tom Malinowski is the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

A crowd-funding campaign has raised more than $40,000 (£30,000) to help Ethiopia’s Olympic marathon silver medallist Feyisa Lilesa seek asylum.

He crossed his hands above his head as he finished the race – a gesture made by Ethiopia’s Oromo people who have suffered brutal police crackdowns.

He says he may be killed if he goes home but Ethiopia’s government says he will be welcomed as a hero.

However, state media is not showing photos of him crossing the line.

There has been a wave of protests in Ethiopia in recent months over a series of frustrations, including attempts by the governments to reallocate land in the Oromo and Amhara regions.

US-based Human Rights Watch says security forces have killed more than 400 Oromo protesters, a figure the government disputes.

Rule 50 of the Olympic charter bans political displays or protests and the IOC say they are gathering information about the case.

More on Ethiopia’s unrest:

Image copyrightAFP

The BBC’s Emmanuel Igunza in neighbouring Kenya says Mr Feyisa is being described by some as the bravest Olympian at the Rio Games for his anti-government protest, but he now faces the prospect of a life in exile.

Within hours of his protest, a crowd-funding page was set up, saying the runner had displayed “extraordinary heroism” and that he had become an “international symbol” for the Oromo protests.

The California-based organiser had initially set a target of $10,000 but it was exceeded within an hour.

“We raised the bar to $25,000 and that too was exceeded in a few hours,”Solomon Ungashe wrote on Facebook.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image copyrightAFP

After the race, Mr Feyisa explained why, as an Oromo, he supported the protests about land and resources.

“The Ethiopian government is killing my people so I stand with all protests anywhere as Oromo is my tribe. My relatives are in prison and if they talk about democratic rights they are killed,” he said.

A legal team hired by Ethiopians in US is headed to Rio to try and help Mr Feyisa, who has a wife and two children in Ethiopia, with a request to seek asylum in the US.

But Information Minister Getachew Reda told the BBC the government had no reason to arrest him and it respected his political opinion.

He also said none of Mr Feyisa’s relatives had been jailed over the Oromo protests.

Ethiopian state-owned television station EBC Channel 3 covered the race live, including the finish, but did not repeat the clip in subsequent bulletins – focussing instead on the winner Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge.

በባህርዳር የሚደረገው የስራ ማቆምና ከቤት ያለመውጣት ተቃውሞ ለሁለተኛ ቀን ቀጥሎአል።

ESAT News Amsterdam Aug. 22, 2016 Ethiopia

CNN Video : Ethiopia: Marathoner has nothing to fear after Olympic protest