Ethiopian Review Editorial
Ethiopia’s eminent scholar, human rights advocate, and one of the founding fathers of Kinijit, Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, gave interviews to the DW (German Radio) and VOA on Tuesday from his hospital bed in India. Both interviews focused on the leadership crisis inside Kinijit.
DW: Click here to listen [forward to the 16:00 minute mark].
VOA: Click here to listen [forward to the 27:00 minute mark].
The professor’s interview on VOA, in particular, was a complete rebuke of Hailu Shawel’s failed leadership. It may well have sealed Ato Hailu’s fate as chairman of Kinijit. At the same time, his endorsement of Bertukan Mideksa to lead the party is a big boost to Kinijit’s collective leadership. In that sense, Prof. Mesfin’s VOA interview was beneficial. But many of his other points were uninformed, confusing and off the mark. His interview with the DW was particularly negative and demoralizing. Fortunately, the VOA interview, which followed a few hours later, was much better and some what uplifting.
Let’s start with Prof. Mesfin’s argument that the current leadership crisis inside Kinijit is in large part caused by a power struggle between Ato Hailu Shawel and Dr Berhanu Nega, which is far from reality. The fact is that Dr Berhanu is not going after Ato Hailu’s job. He is not even in line to be the top leader of the party any time soon. Kinijit’s bylaws require that some one has to be an executive committee member to be elected as a chairman. Berhanu Nega is not an executive committee member. Prof. Mesfin’s argument that there is a power struggle between Hailu and Berhanu is therefore baseless.
Even if it is true that Dr Berhanu is going after Ato Hailu’s job, what is wrong with that as long as he does it by trying to get the majority of the central council members on his side? Does that warrant Ato Hailu’s recent divisive comments and his refusal to implement the majority decisions of his colleagues?
In politics it is normal to forge alliances in order to attain power as a means for turning one’s vision into a reality. If it is done within the bounds of the party’s rules and procedure, and without being divisive (undermining the party’s integrity as Hailu Shawel is doing now), there is nothing wrong with vying for power. That is what politicians do.
Having said that, charismatic, domineering leaders like Berhanu Nega must be closely scrutinized and forcefully challenged. Otherwise, their blind supporters usually turn them into demagogues and dictators. If Dr Berhanu falters, it would be because of friends who lie to him and fail to challenge him, not because of his detractors. Look how Hailu Shawel’s corrupt friends brought about his disgrace and political demise. In that context, Prof. Mesfin’s stinging criticism (unfairly) directed at Dr Berhanu does no harm to him, depending on how he takes it. It can only make him a better leader, and a greater asset to Kinijit. The emotional reaction to Prof. Mesfin’s criticism by SOME OF Berhanu Nega’s supporters is disappointing, to say the least. Stop being sycophants.
The other point Prof. Mesfin raised is that the Kinijit delegation should have stayed in Ethiopia to resolve the problems faced by the party instead of going on a worldwide tour. Perhaps Prof. Mesfin was not informed that Kinijit didn’t have a penny when the leaders got out of jail, thanks to Hailu Shawel’s friends who left the party’s treasury empty. Without money Kinijit cannot move an inch.
On top of raising funds, the Kinijit delegations are currently conducting intense diplomatic works in Europe and the U.S., with a great deal of success. The delegates’ presence in the U.S. Congress when H.R. 2003 was voted on last month no doubt had a positive influence. However, raising funds for the party was a top priority and that is what the leadership is currently doing. Even if Ato Hailu disagrees with the majority on this matter, he doesn’t have the right to do what he is doing now. In a democracy, the majority has the right to make mistakes. As a chairman, his responsibility is to chair, not to dictate.
It is also hard to believe that had the delegation delayed its travel to the U.S., as Prof. Mesfin suggested, the leadership crisis would have been resolved. The reason Ato Hailu did not want the delegation to travel to the U.S. is that he doesn’t want them to investigate his corrupt friends in North America — Shaleqa Joseph Yazew and Ato Mogus Brook. That is why he changed his plan to go to Germany and rushed to the U.S.
As expected, the so-called financial report that was presented at Hailu Shawel’s public meeting last Sunday (Oct. 14) in Washington DC attempted to exonerate the Shaleqa group. The report states that only $72,000 was sent to Ethiopia in the past two years. This is out of close to $1.2 million that was collected from Kinijit supporters in North America. Currently, only $12,000 remain in the account, according to the report that was accepted and endorsed by Ato Hailu. Of the $72,000 that was sent to Ethiopia, reportedly to support the families of the jailed Kinijit leaders and members, $0 was given to those who needed the money the most, like the families of Kinijit Central Committee member Wzr. Nigist Gebrehiwot who went through terrible financial hardships. When Wzr. Nigist and others came out of jail, Ato Hailu gave them some money, which some of whom took as a personal favor and started accusing the other Kinijit leaders of ignoring their plight. What Wzr. Nigist and the others who were ignored do not realize is that the money they received from Hailu Shawel as a personal favor was in fact collected in their name. The question remains: if Wzr. Nigist and others did not receive any of the $72,000 that was sent to Ethiopia, who took it? And where is the over $1 million that was collected for Kinijit if only $12,000 remain in the account now? It is because Ato Hailu doesn’t want to answer such questions that he is creating all this mess. Corruption – that is the bottom line here.
What Hailu Shawl got himself in now is the worst financial scandal in the history of Ethiopian opposition parities — for which he is responsible both by commission and omission. And it is this scandal and the attempt by Ato Hailu to cover it up — at any cost — that is the root cause of the leadership crisis — not power struggle, as Prof. Mesfin argued.
Prof. Mesfin has also said that the jailed leaders should have not excluded members of Kinijit Central Council who joined the Woyanne parliament from the decision making process when they got out of jail. Let’s not forget that many of the Council members who were not jailed had failed to respect the party’s majority decision not to join the parliament. It would have been a mistake to bring back those council members to the decision-making process right away without establishing some kind of procedure that would inquire into their failure to adhere to the party’s most important decision that had required total compliance from every one. A political party must be able to enforce its decisions. Otherwise, it will cease to exist as a viable organization. Those council members who joined the parliament disregarding the council’s decision must be held accountable. That doesn’t mean they should be banned from the party permanently. But they have to explain themselves first through a formal proceeding before they are brought back to the decision making process of the party.
The Kinijit leaders, according to Prof. Mesfin, think that just because they were jailed they think of themselves as big heroes and that the accolade they are receiving from Kinijit supporters in Ethiopia and around the world is getting to their heads. There is no evidence of that so far, but this kind of criticism is needed to help keep the leaders humble. We need some one like Prof. Mesfin, a fatherly figure, to keep the Kinijit leaders on their toes. We have had too many bad experiences with popular leaders going astray.
Prof. Mesfin said in his interview with the VOA that Hailu Shawel has failed to provide leadership and has been unable to keep the party united. Ato Hailu not only failed to provide leadership, he is totally immersed in gross corruption. He must be impeached and removed from the chairmanship before he does further damage to the party and the struggle. Make a good case study out of him for future leaders.
Without saying it in so many words, that was the message Prof. Mesfin tried to convey — a message for Ato Hailu to resign.
As Prof. Mesfin said, Wzt. Bertukan is more than qualified to lead Kinijit. She is intelligent, competent and caring. What is even more required from a Kinijit leader at this point is the humble, low-keyed, yet firm personality of Bertukan who is careful not to bruise the egos of Kinijit’s big men.
We wish Prof. Mesfin Woldemariam a speedy recovery.
74 thoughts on “Corruption, not power struggle, the root cause of Kinijit's leadership crisis”
Dear fellow Ethiopians,
I have been quite stunned by the apparent worshipping like act of the diaspora on the Professor. His word is not God’s word! With due respect, it his comments on the absence of idiological differences among the parties who forged kinjit is just his wish. Realizing that his mission of forming a homogenous kingit couldn’t materialize at least in the presence of incompatible people in many ways since Lidetu’s times, he had to attack the major players. If I cannot believe him on his comment about Berhanu’s book which I read, how can I believe him on other critical issues only an insider has access to counter check. Good to respect elders, but don’t forget the fact that positive change happens when the student at last outsmarts his teacher by an inch.
Dear Elias,
Dear Elias,
What a dispassionate and concise and good analysis, this a change of style, even more on the part of Elias, please keep it. With all disrespect, I beg to disagree with good Prof. It is disingenuous of him to reduce the current crises with in Kinjit to power struggle between the two. For all the negative things people say about Dr .Brhanu, I have yet to hear or see what intent or action taken by him led them to believe that he (Berhanu) is doing to aspire to power using improper ways. The way the Prof. played down the importance of Dr. Brhanu book is an insult to the enormous effort Berhanu put to portray and document the intense time full of events which could have been forgotten easily. I have read the book, and I can safely say that the book is a wonderful narrative of events took place in and around kinjit before and right after the election 2007 written eloquently and with professional touch. That comment of Professor is a great disservice to all who would like to read the book, but didn’t get the chance.
Thanks once again Elias
BT.
Dear Elias,
What a dispassionate and concise and good analysis, this a change of style, even more on the part of Elias, please keep it. With all due respect, I beg to disagree with good Prof. It is disingenuous of him to reduce the current crises with in Kinjit to power struggle between the two. For all the negative things people say about Dr .Brhanu, I have yet to hear or see what intent or action taken by him led them to believe that he (Berhanu) is doing to aspire to power using improper ways. The way the Prof. played down the importance of Dr. Brhanu book is an insult to the enormous effort Berhanu put to portray and document the intense time full of events which could have been forgotten easily. I have read the book, and I can safely say that the book is a wonderful narrative of events took place in and around kinjit before and right after the election 2007 written eloquently and with professional touch. That comment of Professor is a great disservice to all who would like to read the book, but didn’t get the chance.
Thanks once again Elias
BT.
ወገኖች:
ፕሮ. ተናገሩ ጋዜጠኛውም ተነተነ ሁሉም ያመኑበትን ለሰሚው አስተላልፍዋል:: በህይወት ዘመናችን ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ በግልጥ መነጋገር መቻላችን በጣም የሚያስደስት ነው:: በተቃዋሚው ጎራ ያሉት ሁሉ አላማቸው አንድ ሆኖ ሳለ በመንገድ ቢለያዩ ልንገረም አይገባም:: በአውሮፓና በአሜሪካ ያሉ ትልልቅ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎችም ቢሆኑ በውስጣቸው ልዩነቶች አለባቸው:: ቢሆንም የሚያስማማቸው ነገር ስለሚበልጥ አንዳንዴ በህሳብ ላለመስማማት ተስማምተው የጋራ ተቃራኒያቸውን በህብረት ይታገላሉ:: ለቅንጅት መሪዎች ያለኝ ምክር ቢኖር ከዚህ እንዲማሩ ነው:: የተለያዩ ሃሳቦች ጎን ለጎን አብረው መኖር ካልቻሉ ታዲያ ዲሞክራሲው ሚኑ ላይ ነው? ይህንን ማድረግ የማይችሉ ከሆነ ግን በራሳቸውና በህዝባችን መካከል ቁስልን ከሚዘሩ ቢለያዩ ይመረጣል:: ለሃገራችን መፍትሄ ከመሆን ይልቅ ችግር እንዳይሆኑ መጠንቀቅ አለባቸው::
ለኛ ከውጭ ላለነው ደግሞ ጎራ ይዞ መዋጋቱን እንተው:: እንዲያውም ሰዎች ከእኛ የተለየ ሃሳብ ስላላቸው ደስ ይበለን:: የአሜሪካው ፕሬዚዳንት በአንድ ወቅት ሲናገሩ “ከእኛ ጋር ያልሆነ ሁሉ የእኛ ተቃዋሚ ነው” እንዳሉት በቅንጅት ውስጥ የሚሆኑትን ነገሮች የማይደግፍ ሁሉ የቅንጅት ጠላት እንደሆነ ይባስ ብለን ደግሞ የኢህአዲግ ደጋፊ አድርገን ልንወስደው አይገባም:: ለእድገት የተለያዩ ሃሳቦች ያስፈልጋሉና:: እኛ ኢትዮጵያውያኖች የዲሞክራሲ ልምድ የለንም:: ሃይለ ስላሴም, ደርግም አላስተማሩንም:: ኢህአዲግም ቢሆን በ2005 ሞከረ እንጂ ዲሞክራሲን አልፈጠረውም:: ታድያ የዛሬ ትውልድ ከነዚህ ሶስት መንግስታት ካላለፈ የዲሞክራሲ ልምድ ለኢትዮጵያውያን ከየት ሊመጣ ይችላል? ምናልባት አንዳንድ የተማሩ ቲየሪውን ሊያውቁት ይችላሉ ልምድ ግን እነዚህም ቢሆኑ የላቸውም:: ይህ ግልጥ ከሆነ ፖለቲካን እንሰራለን ብለው ለተነሱት ወገኖቻችን የመሳሳትንም እድል ልንስጣቸው ይገባል እላለሁ:: ማንም ከእነርሱ በፊት በአገራችን ያላደረገውን የዲሞክራሲን ስራ ለመስራት የሚያስከፍለውንም መስዋእትነት ለመክፈል ተዘጋጅተዋልና:: ስለዚህ ጨቅላ የሆነውን የተቃዋሚ ዲሞክራሲ ከአነጋገር ወይም ከአጻጻፍ ዲፕሎማቲክ ማነስ (ሪቶሪክ) ከአሁኑ እንዳንቀጨው እንጠንቀቅ::
Elias,
I like your commentary better today than at any other time. Please keep it up this way. Don’t try to drag somone even if you disagree with him/her. I take it Prof. Mesfin’s interview as his personal opinon. He has a right to do that but it doesn’t mean I agree with him all he said.
Elias, You must keep it up just like this if you want to save kinjit and to bring the true Democracy in Ethiopia.
Thank you
Truth will previal!!
I think neither Berhanu nor Hailu are power mongers. If so,there is a shortest and cheap way to secure it on top, join EPRDF. Hailu is responsibel for all these messes.He has failed to not only to lead the party but also to know
what a chairman mean at all. Let me forward just three clear questions about him. Who authorized him to
1.do alone what he is doing now in the first place?
2. call guys like Bedru who is not a memeber of the centeral committee?
3. make whatever he feels is good for him?
Well, if the delegation lead by Birtukan not authorized by the party, he has to wait in ethiopia and take corrective measure calling up on members of the council or whoever. A leaft over guys like Bedru, gangesters like Yoseph, some low level thinkers in ethiopia have worked hard to brainwash Hailu. Go to andnet page and see Hailus pictures while making tour in the USA. You will find all of his old freinds with him. How come politics be a game played by old friends? POLITICS IS AN ART! THERE IS NO FRIENDSHIP IN POLITICS
The Professor has said what he thinks. I accept his comments and characterization with a grain of salt. He has the right to say what he wants in a Democracy. I learn from it and correct my mistake, if I were Hailu and Berhanu and continue the Ethiopian People’s business, getting Democracy in the country. I respect Proffesor Mesfin, for his unrelentless struggle for years and old age. I wish him speedy recovery.
As far as Corruption is concerened, is there any one who can show me in black and white, how much money is collected? And when, from whom and on what auccation hasw been collected this $1.2 million? How much money, you, Elias and anyone else has given to Kinijit? The reason I am asking is that, I know the process of political fund raising. When I collect money for political reason, it has to be recorded and reported, especially over $50. where it comes who gave it, in federal, state, and local forms. It is subject to IRS. I know A lot of Ethiopians says, “genzebachen belut” even without giving a penny to the cause. That is a fact of Ethiopians everywhere. We exagrate money collected without even giving and participating in the action. I know for fact.
Anyway, eventhough I disagree 90% with your analysis, thank you Elias, for giving us the forums to read various types of comments. Thanks.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH !
WE SHOULD MAKE A PROTEST AGAINST THE HAILU-SHALEKA-TAYE DEFUNCT GROUP.
After stealing our hard earned money, the want us to shut up.
In a Democracy YOU SHOULD SPEAK UP!
Elias,
This is a good analysis of Professor Mesfin’s interview. However, I strongly disagree with his assertion that the Kinijit current crisis is a result of the power struggle between Berhanu and Hailu. We all know that neither of these individuals do have power and there is no reason for them to be at each other’s throat. I am completely befuddled by the assertion that Dr. Berhanu is using Bertukan as a tool to maneuver himself into Kinijit’s top leadership position.
What I would really like to know is, which of Berhanu’s actions qualify him as a power monger? What did he say or do which indicates that he is out there to oust Hailu and/or replace him as a chairman? Throughout the tour, all I keep hearing Berhanu and the other delegates say is, that Kinijit should live up to its promise of accountability and transparency; that if Kinijit is going to bring openness, honesty and transparency to Ethiopian politics, it has to start implementing that among its own rank and files first. Loosely translated, this means that we need to hold Shaleka Yoseph accountable for the millions that he has allegedly embezzled, that Hailu Shawl needs to explain why and by what power did he appoint Dr. Taye weeks before his release from jail. Why is Hailu behaving like a mini Napoleon or demigod among his deranged feudal leftovers, and why is it such a terrible blasphemy to criticize him for what he is doing to Kinijit and Ethiopia?
We repeatedly hear that Hailu didn’t want the delegates to come to the US and Europe so soon. WHY NOT? And why did he authorize the mission in the first place? If he didn’t want them to come, then why did he follow in their footsteps a week later? In his first and probably last town hall meeting last Sunday, he said that Kinijit is not divided and all he has to do is fire some undesirable elements among its rank and file. Does this mean he is going to fire all the delegates that are currently touring, restructuring all the chapters that were cannibalized by his incompetent protégées, namely Shaleka Yoseph and Mogus Brook and raising phenomenal amount of funds so that Kinijit could start functioning as a party? Does this mean Kinijit=Hailu and Hailu=Kinjit and NO Hailu NO Kinijit? Is Kinijit a jointly owned company by Hailu Shawl and Shaleka Yoseph? The reason I am asking is; every time there is a disagreement between members, instead of trying to resolve matters through discussion and negotiation, the corrupt and incompetent Shaleka and the incompetent Chairman w/o vision, threaten to fire their own members (equals) as if Kinijit is their own private property and their colleagues are employees serving at the pleasure of the duo.
Regards,
Surafel
Dear elias , I apperciate your ananlyse. and i totally agree with it. In the first place prof mesfin was not supposed to ban himself from CUDP instead of exposing those who are a trouble maker with in kinijit. I do not see any sign to believe whether there is a power struggle or not. the problem with in kinijit is eng hailu’s cover up about kinijit’s corruption by eng hailu’s old friends. i wish prof mesfin a speedy recovery
I heard the auditors interview yesterday. I am one of many that send money via the internet to Kinijit. Nobody send me any receipt. This bothered me at the time but I thought the reason to be shortage of staff to handle money issues. From yesterday’s interview it is more than likely that my money may not have gone to Kinijit at all but rather to the other party that the gentleman mentioned. This means that I among others who have unkowingly financed a dictator. So what is the lesson to be learned here? Would it have been possible to ask for a refund for service not delivered if we had a receipt? Should we ask for a receipt from now on for any donation that we make? What is the solution? We trusted but the people in charge violated our trust so what should we do to avoid such kind of mistake again?
I think HS has been taken hostage by corrupt individuals. He himself has more money than he and his children can spenD in a life time. The real problem lies in the gang which wants to (re)establish an ethnic party and use that money to bribe people. They might even have used it for personal enrichment. THIS GROUP WILL DO ANYTHING TO KEEP THE MONEY.
The approach of Hailu Shawel to power is fundamentally flawed and in direct contradiction with everything for which Kinijit stands and for which very reasons the Ethiopian people are supporting it. He wants to make Kinijit a one-man show and he wants to use the power of Chairmanship without any transparency, accountability and limits, none whatsoever. He does not want to see the Upper Council (Lay Lay Mekir Bet) of Kinijit as the deliberative, debating and decision making body of the party but rather use it just as a rubber-stamp for whatever he wants and decides to do. The by-laws of Kinijit for Hailu Shawel is just what the current TPLF constitution in Ethiopia is for Meles. For Hailu the by-laws and ideals of Kinijit for which hundreds died, tens of thousands herded to terrorist TPLF concentration camps and as many have been forced to flee their beloved families, relatives, country, hometowns and villages is a rubbish piece of paper even unworthy of the price of the ink used to print it. What we see on Hailu are typical characters of a dictator. His only difference with tyrant thuggish Meles is he does not have the state power to wield. Had he had the power, I think he would have put all who have different views from him in prison or would have, God forbid, killed his opponents. We are not struggling to replace one vicious savage dictator with another one. If that is what Hailu thought Kinijit is fighting for, it is a big mistake and we are waving a red flag to him. We are not struggling for a face change, but rather we are struggling to bring about a real freedom and democracy for the Ethiopian people. We have had enough of dictators throughout our history. We do not need to be a rocket scientist to observe and understand that. The reality in which the country finds itself today after long history of statehood speaks for itself. It is not accidental or a curse or only natural calamity (as some want to ascribe to) or unyielding mother-nature that we are starving. Our starvation and backwardness has everything to do with the worst kind of governance of the country. Look at terrorist TPLF is doing today, terrorizing the people and displacing them from their daily economic activities for all kinds of excuses. How can the people lead a stable, free of intimidation and productive country while the very government that was supposed to protect them is terrorizing and displacing them and also mobilizing the productive sector of the society to endless wars to use them as cannon fodders and minesweepers. Needless to mention terrorist TPLF is building up for yet another round of senseless war with Eritrea in the coming months in less that a year after its terrorist aggression to Somalia. When will this grinding mill of human beings come to a halt and the Ethiopian people breathe a sigh of relief?
Therefore, we are saying loud and clear for everybody to listen including Hailu Shawel ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. When we say that we do not want to be heard only, but also listened to. The fact that Hailu Shawel has a dictatorial instinct is not a mere inference from how he has been behaving most noticeably very recently but he himself corroborated it in one of the interviews he with talkshows in Washington, D.C. Metro area. BTW one of the talkshows on which he talked is the most disgraceful, disdained and boycotted by the majority, if not all, of the Ethiopian Community in the area. That in and of itself tells you volumes about Hailu Shawel and the people he is surrounded with right now. In the interview he gave us an insight into the way he thinks about power and how he intend to (ab)use it. He was asked about collective leadership and dictatorship and he replied using an ethiopian fable, something to the effect of: ‘…A group of people were standing at a riverside and discussing (debating) about which way to take to get to their destination. While they were debating, a flashflood arrived and wiped them all.’ Therefore his conclusion is collective leadership is not good and he does not believe in it and he wants to run the show by himself and himself only. He is entitled to his opinion but that is not what Kinijit is or what Kinijit stands for or how it operates internally or how it envisions to lead Ethiopia in the future, and hopefully in a not too distant one. Hailu Shawel is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kinijit is not for Hailu Shawel.
Hailu Shawel wants the Kinijit Lay Lay Mekir Bet to play only TPLF parliament rubberstamping his decisions. He does not want the Council to take part in the decision making process. Thanks God that we are clever enough to know that the quality of a decision depends on the quality of the decision making process and unless Hailu Shawel and his corrupt cronies are insulting our intelligence we expect them to know that we know also what a one-man dictatorship has gotten us into. If he were in the position of state power, Hailu Shawel would like to talk with people who differ in views with him with guns only rather than engaging them in debating to make his points as the democracy we aspire to build in Ethiopia would dictate. Basically democracy is the war of ideas and I do not think that Hailu Shawel got that point. Democracy is where you fight for your ideas by debating and where you MUST be ready to be ruled by the will of the majority. It is a take-it or leave-it package. We have had enough of sham democracy and our struggle is for true democracy.
The reasons why Hailu Shawel hates collective leadership are pretty clear. One of the reasons he hates collective leadership is because he does not have the skill and wit of debating, making his point on an issue in a meeting and attracting support (votes) for his positions. That is also part of the reason why he does not show up for meetings more often than not. To be fair to him, it is imperative to mention that he is in a shaky state of health. However, it is also important to stress that he does not like meetings as he is not convinced that he would get his way by debating for his positions. The alternative he has is to excuse himself from meetings blaming poor health even when he is well enough to attend meetings. Dictators do not like meetings and debating ideas because there are smarter people around with superior and more attractive ideas. Therefore dictators are not at ease in meetings and they always try to avoid it whenever possible. Whenever they can, they also revert to either handpicking their own council members (bunch of yesmen) that serve them as rubberstamps for their decisions or disrespect, attack and ignore the council (if the members are independent and able) and boycott meetings citing every feeble excuses. The latter is exactly what Hailu Shawel is doing.
The choice is ours, however. Do we want a dictator who takes us no where as far as the bigger picture is concerned or a deliberative collective leadership that has a vision, capability, credibility and plan to take us past the finish line in our struggle for freedom and democracy for the Ethiopian people. Ethiopia is at a very important juncture. We are at a crossroads and the choice is ours to make. It is not in the hands of terrorist TPLF, it is not in the hands of the U.S nor EU nor others. It is for us to make the final call. I dare say, the fate of our country in the next 20-30 years will be largely dictated and certainly affected by the call we make in the next couple of months at this trying time. Let us pull it off keeping, above all, the Ethiopian people that deserve a better day.
Hizbu
Let’s wake up, guys! HR 2003 deserves priority of the priorities. Woyane is working 24, 7 to collapse it on its final stage. Don’t worry about CUD’s inka selekamtia. we will fix the CUD’s internal problem easily by showing the door to Emperior Hailu.
Hi Elias!!
You are the man!! I respect you and I like you. Good job!!!
God bless you!!
Dear friends and comrades
Do not see the ongoing “shikutcha”” emanating from Kinijit leadership as a negative development. The party and its leaders are going through a ligitimate and necessary filtration and purification process which will undoubtedly result in the party becoming more vibrant, dynamic, and democratic. This will be the day for Ethiopians, particularly its poor subjects for whom some of us are in politics and/or development business. However, do not forget that as we spend more time arguing, the per capita income of the privileged EPRDF/TPLF leaders and their disciples is growing exponentially – We have to reverse this trend without further delay! By the way, I do not mind having Birtukan as my leader!!!
I read all the comments above,and I am encouraged by the fact that most people are well informed and know what they are doing “STANDING WITH THE TRUTH”.My problem is with those, who literally pick a part&parcel of gossip and disperse it any where their foot stepped.My genuine advice to all peace loving,hard working true Ethiopians is,Please lets not worship pesonalities be it Eng.Hailu Shawel,Dr. berhanu Nega or Judge Birtukan etc..,But to stand firm with the principles of Democracy and rule of law.Remember we don`t want to be like the followers of David Koresh,who lost thier lives in Waco,Tx.for their wrongfull thinking ,that David Koresh was God.I pray to Almighty God to save the motherland from the wicked, demagogy personalities like Moges Biruk,Seyoum Solomon Shaleka Yoseph and the likes!!!!!!!!
Hi Elias!!!
I read most of your analysis and agree with them. I think the wise Proffesor Mesfin gave a very diplomatic interview and it was 100% in favour of DR. Berhanu in the major issue of democracy. I think he was saving Dr. Berhanu for our future!! Wrt Betukan is a very ideal choice to lead kinijt. She can lead any democratic meetings and I believe she cannot infulence personaly on the party decsion as Hailu does to kinijit. Prof. addresed this main coming issue being hard on his friend. The other things Proff said about Dr. Berhanu are secondery issues in my opinion and we should not waste more time on them. Some may arise from information.
Hi Elias!!
In my opinion there is power struggle. This is between Eng Hailu and Dr. Berhanu. Eng Hailu want to make kinijit AEUP party by the help of friends and family on the other hand Dr Berhanu and honest kinijit members and supporters to make kinijit for all Ethiopians. In short there is a question. Kinijit for all ethiopians or kinijit for few feudals period. The feudals are being represented by Hailu and we the people of Ethiopia are represented by Dr Berhanu period.
Thank You Elias!!!
It makes sense. I am one of the advocates of the professor but I am now confused on what he wants to say. He should give us instances that show the strugle for power.Anyway, ER I like your analysis. keep it up!
God bless you Elias. I am supporting HR-2003 because this bill supports freedom of press. This is just what you are performing for Ethiopia now.
Birtukan Midekssa leads us to our dream land.
ONLY TIME will tell who is realy working to keep KINIJIT ONE UNDIVIDED,KACHISAW and HIS friends think the CURRENT CHAIRMAN ENG.HAILU SHAWEL is the PEOPLES CHOICE AS you all know at present time he is the only responsible HEAD OF THE KINIJIT any thing every thing must pass through him.And ALSO he has the right to request about the kinijit activities any where in the world.GOD BLESS CHAIRMAN HAILU AND WE WISH HIM FAST RECOVERY FROM HIS HOSPITALIZATON and WE WILL WALK THE WALK with him.
Professor Mesfin is one of the respected Freedom Fighters in Ethiopia. He was the only one who dared to tell the Former Regime of wrong deeds.He was the one who established the Ethiopian Human Right Councel and a man who calls spade is spade. I have listened to his comment regarding the current problem of Kinijit and I agree to the substance of his view to be correct because he is one of the high ranking members of the Organization. I am not down grading the issue of corruption but making it a primary cause to the current problem does not hold water. My advice to all of US is to leave the issue for the memebrs of Kinijit to iron out their differences because every time we beat the drum we are playing to the hands of the current Regime we are trying to change.
Thank You