By Achamyeleh Tamru

Achamyeleh Tamru

The Ethiopia that has been ruled by a formally declared state of emergency for the last 4 months has conducted an election this past year in a system that has been set up to tick the boxes the West requires as to say Ethiopia has a democratic process rather than being set up to actually fit the circumstances of the country.

As part of their mafia, cunning, hypocritical and deceiving tactics, state of emergency is one of the political expressions Fascist weyyanes used to present themselves as if they have been running the country as civil government before the October of past year. But for most Ethiopians who know their real fascist face, divisive nature, extremely racist and tribal mindset and jungle mentality, a civilian government can’t be imaged ever under the Tigrian oligarch’s rule.

For the past one year, the terrorist Tigrian regime has been on the offensive and stepped up its terror attacks in the norther western, central and eastern parts of the country targeting civilian Amhara and Oromo youth, children, the elderly and women. The loss of life and suffering of the victims due to the state terrorism in Ethiopia is the cost we Ethiopians have been paying for the West and East strategy of supporting the fascist Tigrian regime ignoring the totality of the country’s issues. This same strategy of the West and East is responsible for the more than two decades of misery and anguish to an East African nation that is on a verge of leaving up to its tag of a failed state.

The TPLF declared state of emergency has nothing to do with brining peace and security in Ethiopia. The Tigrian oligarchies have declared the state of emergency with the aims of legalizing their day light killing, looting, arresting and plundering of Ethiopians, and to justify the launching of a new wave of violence by Tigrian troops against Amharas and Oromos of Ethiopia who demand justice. The declared state of emergency has also the grand aim of trading fear where the regime has been using it as its source of strength for the last 25 years.

Had the declared state of emergency state of emergency and/or local emergency had the of securing peace and stability, the regime mercenaries would have not been involved in killing, kidnapping, torturing, arresting peaceful people and they would haven’t been heavily involved in trading fear and drives away all the comforts the Ethiopians need as a human.

On top of all these, had the state of emergency been declared with the intention of “restoring” peace and stability in the country, the situation on the ground wound haven’t gone from bad to worse in a matter of days after the walking dead puppet prime minister appeared on the regime’s owned propaganda machine to read to the Ethiopian people the scripts a state of emergency written by his Tigrian masters.

If we deconstruct the Western and Eastern backers of the terrorist regime of Ethiopia, we can also see the different conflicts of interest among the backers. This conflict of interest, among the backers, coupled with the regime’s fascist nature and its desperation to scare its subjects into submission by slaughtering, torturing, arresting and interrogating have increased the death and slaughter of civilians on an unprecedented scale and the humanitarian plight of the Amharas and the Oromos of Ethiopia that does not receive media attention since the outbreak of Amhara Resistance and Oromo Protest in 2016.

In the Ethiopia of today, one can’t walk from one destination to another without fear for his/her life. In the Ethiopia of today, fear overrides any kind of thought. Under such uncertain circumstances, let alone with a state of emergency, Ethiopia will not triumph even under a civilian administration.
It is true that Weyyane is a regime forced upon us by European union and other Western countries to destroy the historic greater Ethiopia. If the European union and United States of America want peace in our Ethiopia, they should not back our detormentor and that is when our struggle to bring Ethiopia to power borne a fruit.

For a nation to thrive, every part is important and it is a huge jigsaw. An economy will not function unless it is hedged to a political system that works, and unless that in turn is hedged to social and cultural values which support the whole system. This can’t be imagined while the Tigrian oligarchy and fascist system is forced upon us. The only solution to Ethiopia’s current crisis is the dismantling of Meles Zenawi’s bureaucratic criminal regime that had nothing to do with democracy and human rights. Right now, the biggest impediment to doing so is the support Meles Zenawi’s roving bandit is receiving from the West and the Eastern World backers.

All Westerners and Easterners involved chasing their interests by backing a terrorist regime in Ethiopia and at the same time have the conscious and willingness to do something humane for other fellow human beings can at least do one little thing for Ethiopians who are under vitriolic attacks by the terrorists on the throne. While playing for their own interest, they can at least position themselves as honest brokers of the situation in Ethiopia. This is the first step big step we those who suffered under fascist weyyane’s bestiality for the past 25 years need the Westerns and Easterners should take to keep their interest maintained and for us to end the 25 years of political bedlam and create a condition that ALL Ethiopians at least buy into and believe it.

ESAT Radio Monday January 9 2017

ESAT News in Brief Jan 09 2017

By Kaleab Tessema

To start with, Jawar is a political amateur who engages in preaching of the ethnic animosity. He has a deep-seated ill will towards the  Amharas that threatens to kindle hostility between the Oromo and the Amhara. He has been emulating the OLF’s political rancor towards the Amhara ethnicity for the last fifty years. As soon as he landed in America, Jawar immediately plunged into the OLF camp to pursue the politics of hate. This anti-Amhara zealotry is a ‘political business cycle’,  which Jawar would immensely benefit from by raising money from credulous audiences.

To the point, OLF is a political miscreant, that murdered innocent Amharas in the early 90’s for no reason other than merely being an Amhara. Those actions have left an indelible and unalterable impression. Jawar’s recent guileful speech on Amhara nationalism was striking. In the speech, Jawar implies that the Amhara should organize and struggle to create the Amhara nation as if he has any regard for the demonization of the Amhara at the hands of the TPLF for the last 25 years. I have scrupulously listened and watched Jawar’s vacuous speech and videos that preach sectarianism and seek to destroy Ethiopia in order to create a new ‘Oromia nation’, which will never happen.

It is interesting to note that Jawar’s recent speech about the Amhara resistance is reflective of the long time OLF doctrine that aims to expunge the name Ethiopia and replace it with the Oromia. Of course, the Oromo extremists are very much aware that ‘secessionist’ agenda is a venture, which has been an intractable political issue in Ethiopia, and roundly rejected by the Ethiopian people. The OLF tried to cajole Jawar into doing it by giving a passionate speech to the new Amhara resistance to create its nation, which will give the OLF a free ride to complete its struggle to create an independent Oromia. Therefore, the Amhara will become an extreme secessionist movement. Then, the Ethiopiawinet will vanish from the minds of the Amhara and other ethnic groups. Jawar and the OLF, deviously and systematically support the Amhara resistance to achieve their goals which is a sinister idea that could have dramatic results.

In spite of this, the Amhara protesters in Gondar showed their solidarity with the Oromo protesters by saying that “Oromo’s blood is my blood, stop killing our brothers”. This slogan made the Ethiopians come together against the fascist regime, which effectively exposed the TPLF’s poly, ‘divide and rule’ of the last 25 years. It is true that the regime was seen panicking when the Oromos and the Amharas marched together to give voice to the voiceless. These two ethnicities were rifted and looked at each other as enemies for the last 25 years by the TPLF’s fabulist propaganda.

Funny enough, while the Oromo and the Amhara youth were protesting in every city in the country against the TPLF brutal rule, the Diaspora Oromo extremists instantly held a convention in London that announced to destroy Ethiopia, which halted the impending departure of the TPLF rule.  It seems the OLF politicians are detached from the real political issues when the Oromos are killed and massively arrested by the TPLF, the OLF hypes their old and moribund secessionist agenda that helps the TPLF to stay in power. That is why I am forced to say Jawar is an amateur politician. Politicians should be very wise and systematic to know well the time and condition regarding how to win the enemy, but the OLF never comes out from its own political quagmire.

I have recently listened to a comparison analogy about the Ethiopian identity from one of the hate preachers, an OLF extremist who lives in Australia. He was trying to explain that there is no such thing as Ethiopian identity. In other words, he was trying to tell us his contempt that “Oromo nation,” which has been colonized by Ethiopia, and the Oromos are forced to accept the Ethiopian identity by Minillik. I can infer this from his fatuous utterance. This extremist should have a better understanding of the Ethiopian identity before Minillik was born. This is not a new denial of the Ethiopian national identity by the OLF, it has continued for over fifty years, and maybe this extremist thinks that his new distorted rhetoric could be a new political strategy for the OLF. Talking about the Ethiopian identity is a very impolitic idea at this point unless the goal is to help the TPLF regime to continue killing and arresting the people. However, the Ethiopian national identity is an immutable fact.

To that extent, when Shabia and Woyanne were in the bush, their hidden political agenda was to evanesce Ethiopia into nonexistence by creating an envious environment between Ethiopia’s ethnic groups that leads to the war. For the record, the late Melese openly said that ‘Ethiopian history is only 100 years, and its flag is a piece of rag’, but when his erstwhile friend, Isayas Afeworki, invaded Bademie, he gave a speech to Ethiopians standing alongside the flag that he belittled it, to retake Bademie from Shabia by saying that ‘Ethiopian history is three thousand years,’ which later made him under pain of ignominy.

As far as I know, the Amhara nationalists are not as narrow minded as the OLF. Everyone knows that when the TPLF seized Addis Ababa, the TPLF’s major role was supporting the Bedeno and Arbagugu genocide by campaigning for other ethnic groups to look with an invidious eye upon the Amharas. I have mentioned in my previous pieces the TPLF’s diabolical actions against the Amharas. I am so glad that the Amhara resistance is fighting this vampire regime in Gondar without respite that will bring the demise of the TPLF era once for all.

Interestingly enough, Sebahat Nega and Samora Yenus the TPLF officials, bragged that they buried the Amhara and the Orthodox church. Obviously, the TPLF could not eliminate the Amhara and the Orthodox church; this was indirectly a threatening message for non Amhara ethnicities who may try to resist their power that they will have the same fate, what the Amhara had.

But the heroic Gondare showed its determination more than ever before to curtail the TPLF brutal rule at any cost. It was stupid of the TPLF to undermine the Amharas, who are a ferocious warriors who can not bargain with their identity or land. There is good evidence that the Amhara resistance in Welkait and elsewhere dislodged the TPLF hireling armies within less than a year. The TPLF thinks that annexing fertile lands from Gondar and Wollo by force will bring prosperity for the people of Tigray. Rather, this creates a big enemy that the Tigray people will have to bear the repercussions of with high grimaces on their face from the rest of the Ethiopians.

Of course, millions of Amharas have been killed by the TPLF for the last 25 years, but the TPLF will pay the price sooner or later. The TPLF, like it or not, the Amhara people are not going to remain silent until they get back their land that was forcefully taken by the expansionist, TPLF regime.

As I mentioned above Jawar turns his face with his adroit tongue to propel the Amhara nationalist into his dirty ethnic political acrimony that pushes the ethnicities into an endless war, which threatens the existence of Ethiopia as a country. Jawar assumes the non-Oromo opposition party is an Amhara party, as if the Amhara ethnicity is the arch-enemy of the Oromo ethnicity; whereas the Oromo and the Amhara lived peacefully side by side for thousands of years. That is how history has been written.

If I recall correctly, about five years ago, the OLF was lead by General Kemal Gelichu, and G7 was lead by Dr. Berhanu Nega. These parties announced that they would work together and their announcement was posted on several Ethiopian outlets. Then quickly, Jawar wrote an article criticizing the G7, which was posted on Ethiomedia and entitled “The ‘new’ OLF: Much ado about nothing.” Jawar decries that the OLF has been hijacked by the G7. He insinuates that the G7 is an extreme Amhara party.

I criticized Jawar’s article that the G7 was not an extreme Amhara party. It can be viewed at the following link.

Jawar Mohammed vs. Ginbot 7[Kaleab Tessema]

Finally, I have been extremely critical of the Oromo extremists and the way that they poison the minds of the Oromo youngsters to have repugnance towards Amharas. It does not matter that Jawar is an adroit speaker, it is obvious he is not very adroit when it comes to Amhara nationalist. The Amhara resistance will never be enticed by Jawar’s recent venomous speech that promotes secession element, is a sign of a criminal epidemics that affects society.

New York – Public Diplomacy & Regional Security News

by Amala Karri. 
Almost a year ago, the Ethiopian government announced the Addis Ababa Master Plan, which proposed an expansion of Ethiopia’s capital into surrounding farms within the Oromia region. The Oromo, who make up 40% of Ethiopia’s population, frequently complain about their lack of representation in the capital, and, following the announcement of the master plan, Oromo demonstrators gathered to show their disapproval and anger. The protests quickly turned violent. On December 16, 2015, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn declared that he would show no mercy towards the protesters.

In July, the protests worsened, expanding into Ethiopia’s Amhara region. After the Oromo, the Amhara are the second largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, and over the past few months, tens of thousands have come together to demonstrate against government oppression and ethnic violence.

The government’s response has been brutal. Since the protests began, approximately 800 people have been killed. The police have responded to peaceful protests with violence, exacerbating the existing tensions: Al Jazeera reports that in one instance, the police fired tear gas and warning shots at a group of protesters attending a religious festival. When the protesters turned to run away, several people were crushed to death, leading to a total death toll of approximately 100 according to human rights groups, and 55 according to the government. Furthermore, the government has conducted mass arrests as part of a larger campaign to silence civilians. According to Al Jazeera, more than 11,000 people have been arrested since the demonstrations began last year. Of these, more than 300 are women. The government has also restrained free speech by shutting down all mobile Internet to prevent communications and isolate those dissidents outside of prison. On December 2, the government partially restored Internet, but social media and messaging platforms are still blocked throughout the country.

Unfortunately, the government refuses to acknowledge the valid concerns of Oromo and Amhara dissidents and the legitimacy of their protests. Rather, they have denounced dissidents for disturbing the peace. In a recent statement, a government spokesman vowed to hold those that “started” the chaos responsible. In another statement, a spokesman declared Egypt and Eritrea responsible for the violence, alluding to the possibility that the government would ban protests to try to end the unrest.

These protests have the ability to lead to political change. For the first time, the Oromo and Amhara oppositions have coalesced into a single force against the government, and now pose a greater threat to Ethiopia’s political leadership. The authoritarian regime’s increasing fear of subversion could make it more responsive to its citizens’ needs. The Oromo need a stable government just as much as the government needs the Oromia region—the source of much of Ethiopia’s food and most of its coffee (a large export).

Political change in Ethiopia is critical. The Oromo are a historically oppressed group that have not been offered the same economic and political opportunities as the Tigrayans. It is unlikely that the protests will end until the government acknowledges their legitimacy and agrees to implement reforms. For now, it is unlikely that the opposition will trust the current ruling coalition, the EPRDF, to make necessary changes. For years, it has simultaneously promised to implement reforms and violated human rights. Until they are truly held accountable to their people or a new coalition comes to power, hundreds more Ethiopian dissidents will likely be mercilessly killed and tortured, and thousands imprisoned.

In addition the the need for internal reforms, other countries must fundamentally change the way that they deal with Ethiopia. Human Rights Watch has called for influential countries, such as the US (Ethiopia’s largest donor) and the UK, to publicly condemn the Ethiopian government’s actions. These allies should also push for an international investigation of Ethiopia’s deteriorating human rights situation, both increasing increasing the transparency of how the Ethiopian government deals with dissidents and political opponents and sending a powerful message that such actions will not be tolerated. Now is not the time for the US to stay silent.

Amala Karri is STAND’s policy intern and attends Hunter College High School in New York.

ESAT Radio Sat 07 Jan 2017

Voice of Amara Radio – 07 Jan 2017

January 7 is Christmas Day in countries as far afield as Russia, Ethiopia and Greece. But why choose this day to celebrate? And how is the occasion marked?

By Harriet Alexander, and Harriet Line. Graphic by Rory Norton
While in the UK, USA and much of the world Christmas Day is December 25, in a surprisingly-high number of countries celebrate Christmas on January 7.
This is because some countries use a different calendar.
In the West we use the Gregorian calendar, originally proposed by Pope Gregory in 1582.
But in much of the former Soviet bloc and Middle East they remain on the Julian calendar, created under the reign of Julius Caesar in 45 BC.
Germany didn’t accepted the Gregorian calendar until 1775, while Bulgaria didn’t do so until 1917.
And nowadays most countries use the Gregorian calendar, but retain the Julian one for their traditional holidays. There are 13 days in difference between the two calendars.

“December 25 on the Julian calendar actually falls on January 7 on the Gregorian calendar,” said Archimandrite Christopher Calin, dean of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection.

“So strictly speaking, Christmas is still kept on December 25 – which just happens to fall 13 days later on the Julian calendar.”

Some of the same Christmas traditions are shared among most countries which observe the Julian calendar.

Christmas is preceded with a period of fasting, where meat is off cut out of the diet for 40 days. A manger scene is often recreated, sometimes with hay being brought into the house to decorate the rooms. Christmas Eve is marked with a special dinner, which frequently features 12 dishes to represent the 12 apostles. And feasting is sumptuous on Christmas Day itself, with prized delicacies from that particular country.

^{A Christmas service at Christ the Saviour cathedral in Moscow, Russia (EPA)}

But other traditions are unique to that particular nation.

In Ethiopia, people dress in white to attend church services and afterwards play sporting tournaments.

And in Serbia, families set out on Christmas Eve to find an oak branch in the forest (or in their market, in urban areas) to decorate their homes.

^{Orthodox Christians attend a Christmas Mass in Tbilisi, Georgia (AFP)}

When the head of household finds a suitable tree, he stands in front of it facing east. After throwing grain at the tree, he greets it with the words “Good morning and happy Christmas Eve to you”, makes the Sign of the Cross, says a prayer, and kisses the tree. He may also explain to the oak why it will be cut: “I have come to you to take to my home, to be my faithful helper to every progress and improvement, in the house, in the pen, in the field, and in every place.”

He then cuts it slantwise on its eastern side, using an axe. The tree should fall to the east, unhindered by surrounding trees. It must not be left half-cut, as then it will curse the house of the man. In some regions, if the tree is not cut down after the third blow of the axe, then it must be pulled and twisted until its trunk breaks.

Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in Africa. It still follows the ancient Julian calendar, so Ethiopians celebrate Christmas on January 7. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s celebration of Christ’s birth is called Ganna. It is a day when families attend church.

The day before Ganna, people fast all day. The next morning at dawn, everyone dresses in white. Most Ethiopians don a traditional shamma, a thin, white cotton wrap with brightly colored stripes across the ends. The shamma is worn somewhat like a toga. Urban Ethiopians might put on white Western garb. Then everyone goes to the early mass at four o’clock in the morning. In a celebration that takes place several days later, the priests will dress in turbans and red and white robes as they carry beautifully embroidered fringed umbrellas.

Most Ethiopians who live outside the modern capital city, Addis Ababa, live in round mud-plastered houses with cone-shaped roofs of thatched straw. In areas where stone is plentiful, the houses may be rectangular stone houses. The churches in Ethiopia echo the shape of the houses. In many parts of the country there are ancient churches carved out of solid volcanic rock. Modern churches are built in three concentric circles.

In a modern church, the choir assembles in the outer circle. Each person entering the church is given a candle. The congregation walks around the church three times in a solemn procession, holding the flickering candles. Then they gather in the second circle to stand throughout the long mass, with the men and boys separated from the women and girls. The center circle is the holiest space in the church, where the priest serves Holy Communion.

Around the time of Ganna, the men and boys play a game that is also called ganna. It is somewhat like hockey, played with a curved stick and a round wooden ball.

The foods enjoyed during the Christmas season include wat, a thick, spicy stew of meat, vegetables, and sometimes eggs as well. The wat is served from a beautifully decorated watertight basket onto a “plate” of injera, which is flat sourdough bread. Pieces of injera are used as an edible spoon to scoop up the wat.

Twelve days after Ganna, on January 19, Ethiopians begin the three-day celebration called Timkat, which commemorates the baptism of Christ. The children walk to church services in a procession. They wear the crowns and robes of the church youth groups they belong to. The grown-ups wear the shamma. The priests will now wear their red and white robes and carry embroidered fringed umbrellas.

The music of Ethiopian instruments makes the Timkat procession a very festive event. The sistrum is a percussion instrument with tinkling metal disks. A long, T-shaped prayer stick called a makamiya taps out the walking beat and also serves as a support for the priest during the long church service that follows. Church officials called dabtaras study hard to learn the musical chants, melekets, for the ceremony.

Ethiopian men play another sport called yeferas guks. They ride on horseback and throw ceremonial lances at each other.

Ganna and Timkat are not occasions for giving gifts in Ethiopia. If a child receives any gift at all, it is usually a small gift of clothing. Religious observances, feasting, and games are the focus of the season.

In France, meanwhile, children prepare for Christmas by leaving their shoes by the hearth so Pere Noel, or Father Christmas, will fill them with gifts. Keep reading to learn more about Christmas traditions in France.

Riyot: Interview with Dr. Fikre Tolossa

Voice of Amara Radio – 09 Jan 2017

All-inclusive consultative conference in Washington DC – Jan 13-14

Is TPLF prison empire in Ethiopia silently approach towards half a century !….???Since TPLF fights for 17 years as a guerrilla fighter against the military junta Derg Mingistu Hailmariam here are facts about the prison cell and situation are it’s major characteristics features of the group . Tigray people liberation front from the grass roots history they have got a famous prison cell which is highly secret full know as BADO SHIDESTE which is used to arrest those who are against them and prisoners who are sundered, wounded or hijacked by TPLF . It is used to torture , harsh keeping of prisoners like starvation and denial of medical assistance in addition if it is necessary extra killings individual and mass according to AREGAWI BEREHE and Gebermedhin Araya former and founder of TPLF documents about story the massacre time Hinfish fish , Thadesso , Halw lew and other campaign are witnessed for the tragedy no body knows still now the number is expected to be thousands or millions During 17 years of fight against the Derg regime how much people are arrested and lost their lives it needs a grave evidence and let alone this for research and discovery in human tragedy .Let’s try to see the quarter decade (25) years of TPLF’s prison empire in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has the second highest number of prisoners in Africa, 93, 044 running after south Africa has which has a total of 165, 398 inmates in April 2014, according to the international center for prison studies (ICPS).As some organizations and CPJ reports prison in Ethiopia is on it’s highly increasing point from 2000 were prison population 55, 209 until 2014 prison population number 104, 467 according to ICPR data. in 2015 and 2016 it is believed to be increasing sharply. More than 600 people have been killed in unrest since last year, rights groups say , triggered initially by anger over a development scheme for the capital, Addis Abeba .The crack down on the media comes amid mass arrests following large protests that led the government to declare a state of emergency on October 9, security forces have detained more than 11, 000 people since the state of emergency was declared, Tadessa Hordofa , of Ethiopian governments state of emergency inquiry Board, said in a televised statement on November 12, 2016.According to the internal sources from activists and human rights groups more than 24, 000 people’s are under arrest since after the state of emergency declaration and still mass arrest is going on in different solitary confinement of the country .where prison places are in several parts of the country. As of 2015, Ethiopia’s prison system consists of six federal prisons , 120 regional prisons , and many unofficial detention centers are used. Since the unrest begins Addis Abeba , Bahir Dar, Oromia region, North-western and southern regions, Ambo, Dembi Dolo and Nekemet. Due to a major problem causes are:

-hundreds of killings and thousands of arrests by federal and command force soldiers.
-human rights abuses (detention of opposition, demonstrates) In Oromia region.
-Official status dispute over Welkaiet belongs to the Gonderian .
-unfair distribution of wealth.
Political marginalization in Oromia, Amhara, Gambela and Konso.
-Land seizures by the Ethiopian government.

It’s of grave concern that there are now over Ethiopians prison population continues to raise , ,despite the fact that imprisonment is a highly expensive option for the Ethiopian Government , as well as being in appropriate and ineffective for the majority of prisoners who are from the two majority and marginalized ethnic groups Oromo and Amhara which accounts for more than 60 % of the population , also from the minority Gambella, Konso and others, the highest number of prisoners among supporters , journalists , political party leaders , blogger , members the civil society protest and demonstrate against the TPLF regime during the one year arrest are on its beyond the highest level .

If Ethiopians are under the TPLF mafia thugs brutality , supported and financed by western hypocrites and educationalists for 25 years and then ?
Harassing , arresting and killing impunity with or without their Kangaroo Courts review is common in the past .not a single official or security officer is prosecuted with 25 years of corruption , bad governance or crimes . Ethiopian civilians ranged from torture, murder , ethnic cleansing to genocide and mass arrest in different parts of the country solitary confinement can not be a guaranty to stay in power more than 25 years.

The constitution and laws are always punishing everybody else , except the corrupt TPLF criminal Ganges , so what the average Ethiopian to loose ?
It is the same for Ethiopians under tyranny as usual, but for the brutal TPLF government with its financiers, a legitimate cover to quash any critic , commit more mass murder , tortures and imprisonments Ethiopian dictatorial TPLF regime arresting peoples massively throughout the year from 2000 and until now it costs very expensive to mobilize the military to attack and arrest those who are activists or civilians who are protesting against the regime specially the past one year the government spent a huge amount of money to recover from this strong protest and demonstration one can imagine still the loss of financial cost to perform this but one of the poorest country on the planet can’t cover all this cost it is real there are hidden financial suppliers behind for the cruel government of Ethiopia it is believed to be the USA, UK and the western just to prefer only national interest knowingly done no responsibility, humanity , moral values and shame , Ignoring Ethiopia’s political issue even by international medias . Ignoring fact full documents and human rights abusive data’s like HRW, ,AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL,USA state department annual reported human rights advocacy organizations . They don’t give a legal right for these international organization , they don’t respect their report, they don’t give them power for these organizations. This will not prevent a long last peaceful security in Ethiopia where more than 85 ethnic groups and language with multi cultural and the worst poor country and people the final outcome will be a collateral damage and destruction for the country and for EPRDF . Finally if there is a willingness , time is not yet let .Measures like free all political prisoners, free media, free press, freedom of expression, the respect for constitutional right, respect for the rule of law and multi party system or a true reform can restore and make a stable Ethiopia where as if continuous mass arrest in the concentration camps the story becomes true and dangerous !

by TEMESGEN TESFAYE MENGESHA.X
From NORWAY.
27/12/16.Is TPLF prison empire in Ethiopia silently approach towards half a century !….???

ESAT Radio Tue 10 Jan 2017

Daily Motion

by TomoNews US

WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence agencies briefed Donald Trump about allegations that the Russian government is in possession of compromising information about the president-elect.

A two-page summary of a 35-page dossier was presented to Trump and President Obama last week in meetings with the CIA, FBI, National Security Agency and director of national intelligence, CNN reported.

The dossier from a former British spy claims Russia has been cultivating Donald Trump for the past five years.

It claims Russia asked Trump for intel on oligarchs living in America. They also wanted Trump to play down Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, which Trump can do once he becomes president next week.

In exchange, they would help Trump defeat Hillary Clinton via Wikileaks.

Russian intelligence also promised not to use the ‘kompromat’ they compiled on Trump. The dossier said Trump wanted prostitutes to defile a Ritz Carlton hotel room because the Obamas had once stayed there.

To his credit, Trump didn’t take Russia up on the business opportunities offered him. He only seemed interested in the sex parties.

 

Ex-British spy claims Trump has been cultivated… by tomonewsus

by Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban with REUTERS

Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, says the country needs to consolidate gains made since October before lifting the current state of emergency.

“As far as the date of lifting the state of emergency is concerned, it should be seen in the perspective that we have to consolidate the gains that we have made so far,” the Prime Minister told a news conference.

He also buttressed the position of the Command Post administering the state of emergency, that the measure had helped restore ‘normalcy’ in the Horn of Africa nation.

As far as the date of lifting the state of emergency is concerned, it should be seen in the perspective that we have to consolidate the gains that we have made so far.

The country had suffered from anti-government protests especially in the Oromo and Amhara regions. The attendant security clampdown led to deaths and mass arrests of activists. Some of whom the government has ‘rehabilitated’ and released whiles others await trial.

Human rights groups have estimated that over 500 people lost their lives in the spreading violence in regions deemed to tilt towards the political opposition. The initial protests which started in November 2015 were sparked by anger over a development scheme for the capital but broadened subsequently for calls for political rights.

The 6-month state of emergency was declared in October to quell the protests. The government declared the curfew following a discussion by the Council of Ministers on the loss of lives and property damages occurring in the country.

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

January 10, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn said on Monday that his country will not free a prominent opposition leader from the restive Oromia region being jailed under the state of emergency decree.

Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn (Allafrica)

The Chairman of the Opposition Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) party, Merara Gudina, was arrested last month upon return from a meeting with European Union (EU) lawmakers in Belgium.

In Brussels, Merara appeared at the EU parliament to testify on the recent political crises and reports of alleged human right violations in the horn of Africa’s nation.

Merara appeared at EU Parliament along with Birhanu Nega, leader of Ginbot-7, an exiled opposition movement long branded by Ethiopia as terrorist entity.

Also present at the EU Parliament was Feyisa Lellisa, Ethiopian Olympic Athlete who staged a protest sign at the Rio Olympics when he came second in a marathon race.

Ethiopian officials told Sudan Tribune Tuesday that the opposition leader was arrested for trespassing the state emergency ruling. Ethiopia imposed a six-month state of emergency in October following months of deadly protests in parts of the country.

The country faced an unprecedented wave of protests mainly in Oromia and Amhara regions over territorial as well as wider political and economic rights.

The decree’s directive Article-2 prohibits any individual from communicating with banned opposition organisations or other “anti-peace” elements.

However, the Ethiopian Prime Minister on Monday said his country would not release the prominent opposition leader, but rather allow him face the courts of law.

“Individuals in EU Parliament who are harbouring anti-peace elements can’t save those who trespass the law of the country”, Hailemariam told reporters.

Opposition officials today told Sudan Tribune that Merara is likely to be tried under the country’s anti-terrorism law, which right groups allege is being used as a tool to stifle freedom of speech and to arrest opposition members and critical journalists.

They say the state emergency law has severely affected opposition activities.

Right groups have also said that the decree has affected freedom of expression, dissent and independent reporting.

Ethiopian authorities have arrested over 20,000 suspects since the decree was declared last October in a bid to arrest violence.

The state emergency set to end in May is Ethiopia’s first in over quarter a century.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister said the state of emergency decree has brought calm and could be lifted, considering the gains it had so far achieved.

“As far as the date of lifting the state emergency is concerned, it should be seen in the perspectives that we have to consolidate the gains that we have made so far” he added, but did not hint on whether his government would extend the decree after its end.

(ST)

Global Alliance for Justice – The Ethiopian Cause regarding this year’s commemoration of the Yekatit 12 event.

Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia in various countries and cities throughout the world are kindly requested to commemorate this year’s 80th anniversary of the Fascist Italian genocide in Addis Ababa in February, 1937 when, as you know, 30,000 people were massacred. The event could be commemorated in the form of prayers, meetings and/or a public demonstration.

The specific date, time and location of the commemoration event should be inserted in the attached flyer form and disseminated in the respective cities.

With thanks for your support and dissemination of the flyer,

Kidane Alemayehu
(www.globalallianceforethiopia.org)
Global Alliance for Justice – The Ethiopian Cause

An analysis on what the rising ethnic nationalism among the historically powerful Amhara means for the country’s future.

A man from Ethiopia’s Amhara, the second largest ethnic group in the country [ K Muller/De Agostini/Getty Images

byKalkidan Yibeltal

Amba Giorgis, Ethiopia – Etenesh* sits alone on a worn cow skin in her mud-walled home in Amba Giorgis, a small Ethiopian market town in the northerly Amhara region. Her husband, a merchant, was arrested early in November, due to his alleged participation in anti-government protests over the last few months.

“He was taken to a military camp,” says Etenesh, a mother of two who sells coffee to farmers from her shack. “I know that because he called me twice.”

She does not know when, or if, he will come back, but she does know that life without the family’s primary breadwinner is tough. “It’s just me now, trying to provide for my kids.”

Talk of arrests is prevalent in Amba Giorgis, which is part of the North Gondar district experiencing clashes between armed farmers and the military.

On the edge of town, government soldiers man a new checkpoint. They moved into a road construction camp, following the declaration of a sweeping state of emergency on October 8 in response to the unrest among Ethiopia’s two largest ethnic groups: the Oromo, who make up around one-third of the population, and the Amhara.

On July 31, residents of Gondar, which is around 700km north of the capital, Addis Ababa, came out to demonstrate amid a long-standing territorial dispute with the neighbouring Tigray region. During Ethiopia’s transition from a unitary to a federal state in the early 1990s, some Amhara claim they lost territory to Tigrayans when the country was restructured along ethnolinguistic lines.

The demonstrations have been used as a platform to voice discontent over alleged government repression of the Amhara as well as to promote a budding ethnic nationalism among them. The Amhara are the second-largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, constituting 27 percent in the country of nearly 100 million people.

The ruling coalition, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), is a grouping of four ethnic-based parties, including Oromo, Amhara and Tigray parties. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front ( TPLF), is the founder of the EPRDF and is perceived to be the powerhouse  of the coalition, even though Tigrayans represent just six percent of the population.

WATCH: Ethiopia – Ethnic Tigrayans flee to avoid anti-government protesters (2:40)

Pro-TPLF  commentators believe that the Amhara wing of the coalition, the Amhara National Democratic Movement, gave its blessing to the Gondar protest as part of an attempt to reduce TPLF dominance. But events gathered momentum, when the sentiments on display in Gondar reverberated in the following weeks, as thousands of ethnic Amhara hit the streets in towns like Amba Giorgis.

During the protests, slogans reflected a sense of victimisation.

“Being an Amhara is not a crime,” read one. “Respect Amharaness,” said another.

Properties associated with the ruling coalition were attacked, and the main road leading to the tourist-magnet Simien Mountains was blockaded.

The government’s emergency decree, which, among other things, bans most political activity, including watching opposition satellite channels, has seen tens of thousands detained on suspicion of being party to the unrest.

“Some 11,607 individuals have so far been detained in six prisons, of which 347 are female, in connection with the state of emergency declared in the country,” official Taddesse Hordofa said in a televised statement on November 12 after the state of emergency was implemented.

The measure has returned a degree of order to Ethiopia. However, underlying issues remain.

READ MORE: Ethiopia state of emergency arrests top 11,000

Amba Giorgis, in North Gondar, in Amhara region, has seen increased demonstrations and a rise in nationalist identity [William Davison/Al Jazeera]

Split identity

The Amhara held privileged positions during the imperial era that ended with Emperor Haile Selassie’s overthrow in 1974. Some EPRDF’s federalists insist that they remain loyal to ideas from that time and are suspicious of the current arrangement.

For hundreds of years, the language and culture of Ethiopia’s imperial courts was Amharic and, for many, advancement in career or social status depended on assimilating to it and many ambitious members of other ethnicities adopted Amhara customs.

By the 20th century, the Amhara culture had become the culture of the educated and of urban “elites” who were often ethnically mixed, according to the historian, Takkle Taddese. As a result, the Amhara can be seen as “a supra ethnically conscious ethnic Ethiopian serving as the pot in which all the other ethnic groups are supposed to melt,” writes Taddese in his essay, titled: Do the Amharas Exist as a Distinct Ethnic Group?

READ MORE: The ‘Ethiopia rising’ narrative and the Oromo protests

INSIDE STORY: What is triggering Ethiopia’s unrest? (25:00)

When the EPRDF came to power in 1991 and ushered in federalism, the Amhara were treated just as any other ethnic group: a collection of people with their own identity and territory – a premise with which proponents of contemporary Amhara nationalism agree.

The Amhara have existed as a distinct community for thousands of years, fulfilling “all the basic markers of an ethnic group: distinct language, distinct culture, collective national memory and experience and so forth”, argues Wondwosen Tafesse, an academic based in Norway and a commentator on Amhara issues.

But even with surging ethnic assertiveness, many Amhara are still likely to give precedence to pan-Ethiopian identity, as Amhara nationalism is not an end in itself, according to Wondwosen.

Rather, it is a reaction to “fend off multiple attacks, real and imagined”, he says. The expulsion in 2013 of thousands of Amharas by regional officials from Southern People’s Regional State and Benishangul-Gumuz , according to a report by The Human Rights Congress of Ethiopia, is raised to support allegations that the government deliberatelytargets ethnic Amharas.

For opposing Amhara elites, who had to grapple with the pre-eminent questions of identity during EPRDF rule, ethnic nationalism was antithetical to pan-Ethiopian nationalism.

OPINION: The Oromo protests have changed Ethiopia

An unknown future

Even with a growing sense of ethnic nationalism, pan-Ethiopian nationalism still enjoys wider acceptance among the Amhara elites, argues Chalachew Taddese, a contributor for Wazema, a non-profit radio station founded by exiled Ethiopian journalists based in Europe and the United States. Amhara nationalists, therefore, have to tackle those who see an excessive ethnic focus as compromising the nation’s integrity.

Taddese says two factors have contributed to the increase in Amhara identity: “A growing perception of ethnic discrimination” by the government and “persistent anti-Amhara campaigns” by Oromo elites, who portray the group as “a historical coloniser and victimiser of all other ethnic groups”.

If Amhara nationalism grows in prominence, the relationship with Oromo nationalism might be decisive for the country’s future.

The market town Amba Giorgis, in the North Gondar region, where farmers have been clashing with the military in nearby areas recently [William Davison/Al Jazeera]

During the protests, Oromo and Amhara nationalists displayed signs of solidarity in the face of what they believed to be a common enemy: the TPLF. But, there were always questions   about the camaraderie and whether it was meaningful and sustainable.

The Oromo rose up in November 2015 amid complaints that they have been politically and economically marginalised under a federal system that promised them autonomy. The protests were a testament to a reinvigorated Oromo nationalism.

READ MORE: Oromo nationalism on the rise in Ethiopia

Unlike its nascent Amhara equivalent, Oromo nationalism goes back a half-century, with an established ideology, institutions and aspirations.

Any secessionist Oromo tendencies cause alarm among Amharas, who promote their identity within a multinational Ethiopia.

But Oromo nationalism is also predicated upon alleged persecution by Amhara elites during the imperial era. Accordingly, Amhara nationalism, if it solidifies, “will be forced to counteract the narratives of Oromo elites”, Chalachew says.

One battleground will be the legacy of Menelik II, a late 19th-century emperor whose military campaigns shaped the boundaries of modern Ethiopia. Oromo nationalists, who want to remove his statue in the heart of Addis Ababa, see him as an Amhara imperialist conqueror.

Amid these immediate and pressing challenges, the rise in Amhara nationalism creates more turbulence in the region, raising questions that no one yet seems able to answer.

A section of the royal castle compound in Gondar. The city’s history as a power centre is playing into recent ethnic-related unrest [William Davison/Al Jazeera]

*Names has been changed for privacy purposes.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

Source: Al Jazeera

Voice of Amara Radio 11 Jan 2017