In preparation for the upcoming local elections in Ethiopia, Woyanne has issued multiple identification cards (up to 5 per person) to its supporters so that they can vote several times. Those Kebele and Woreda officials who complained about this day light robbery were given stern warning to keep quite… Read more >>
10 thoughts on “Woyanne issued multiple id cards to its supporters”
I think th best strategy is to use the purple ink that does not go off withing 48 hours. This way one person can only vote one time only.
That is what they have been doing in Irak. I remember during the Derg they used tu use also the ink.
Of course, this will happen if the TPLF want to implement it.
Anyway, this election is already dead before it is born. Already the whole world knows that it anything but an election.
Muziky
I am not surprise,What can we expect the mafia groups. Weyane is a group of mafia people.Realy they are a groups of mafia people.By any cost any means we use we have to rid of this groups from our beloving land.
Of course!! what are you expecting from woyane?
Here we go. Democracy in action. The Weyane Style. Killers’ style.
The solution: Learn from Kenya and Somalia. And ACT!!!!!
Its not surprising. What else we can expect from Woyanie. Guys, the only way we can regain our freedom is through armed struggle. That is the only and only means.
Libreation to Ethiopia and death to Meles and his followers.
The fugitive, Meles Naziawi and his crime family are on Ethiopia’s most wanted criminal list.
whether it is local or national election, the voice of Ethiopians has already stolen. What else could ask? Well, what sort of punishment the crime families would be awarded when they are caught dead or alive?
This crime ridden family knows in the end or at the end of the day, all members of the crime family, including those madames, will be standing infront of Ethiopians and receive appropriate punishment tantamount to the gross crime that they committed against Ethiopians.
punishment to crime family!!!!
Victory to all Ethiopians!!!
The Woyanne vice FM was in Washington, DC before the 2005 election. He was asked at point blank if the Woyannes are ready to relinqish power if they lose the election. His response was that they are not crazy. For far too long the Ethiopian peoples political aspirations had been dashed.The main culprit in this fiasco is the Ethiopian elite and pseudo intellectuals inseshable desire for power. Who have conceived this nighmare scenario, from the lofty ideals of Kinijit, to take Ethiopia and Ethiopians to the promised land,to the gutters we find ourselves today. The Ethiopian revolution is ready to explode. The question is who is to rise to the occasion and guide it. The power monger elite is daily becoming the laughing stock of the Dedebit Mafia.It won’t come as a surprise ,if we find out that the Woyanne tugs, because of their good fortunes, are partying with Al Amudi at the Sheraton 24/7.
Oh! Yah! Is That Right? No Need to be issued multiple identification cards actually. Why not created another “Loyal Oppositions again and again”? It works in the past? Wasn’t it? And I am sure it will work again! For many many more elections to come!! That’s the reality and that’s how the game is going to be play!!!
Peace to all. I LOVE ETHIOPIA!!!
Woyane is a horrible curse to the people of Ethiopia that should be removed by any meanse .It is a criminal clique who is intimidating Ethiopians and sabotaging their resource.The clique’s business companies are robbing the resources of Ethiopians with a magnitude of noone can imagine.The so called woyanes business conglomerates are controling and stealing the nations wealth.
Peaceful struggle for change is Zenawi’s nightmare
By Melaku Assefa| February 11, 2008
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“Little minds spread rumors; average minds discuss ideas; superior minds generate ideas”, Source: Unknown
Thanks to superior minds that generated it! It was the peaceful historic election of 15 May 2005 that forced Zenawi to declare state of emergency and claim victory by robbing votes in broad daylight; it was the atrocities of his regime that gave birth to HR2003; it was the persistent stiff opposition to his stealing of victory that led him to his diversionary adventure in Somalia where his forces are bogged down and the poor taxpayer is bleeding through his/her nose to maintain to defray the cost of the war.
Zenawi held on to his loot due to the support of the Bush administration. Otherwise victory through the ballot box would have been possible, contrary to the argument of those that he can only be evicted from power through armed struggle.
Surely, peaceful struggle worked and will work. It has become a nightmare for Zenawi for he has once, albeit for a moment, swallowed the bitter pill of defeat and is now facing the prospect of another one from which his ingenuity for deceptive survival cannot save him. He will face justice and the fallen martyrs of peaceful change in the aftermath of that victory shall forever be glorified.
Therefore, any attempt to seize power by force would be unnecessary; it would amount to playing into the hands of Zenawi. That is what he wants and that is what any responsible opposition must deny him. The vicious cycle of seizing power by force must be broken once and for all. The opposition should do nothing that would resuscitate the miserably failed Interhamwe project of Bereket and Zenawi.
There is a new altogether unexpected political dynamics, unfortunate as it is, in which neighboring Kenya is embroiled. It has caught the lame-duck Bush administration by surprise and perhaps with regrets for exchanging principle for short time political expediency in the case of Ethiopian election. This unfortunate development will provide an opportunity to engage western democracies to review their double standards and send a clear message to the ruling EPRDF regime.
The decision of Ato Seeye Abraha to join the peaceful struggle for democracy is a significant development – a great addition to Zenawi’s nightmare. After listening to his interview with the VOA radio, I have come to the conclusion that Ato Seeye is a changed person worthy of engaging in a constructive political dialogue. In this article, I have included an episode in our history to express that the Dergue-TPLF war was destructive. I for one cautiously welcome his commitment to peaceful change now that he has admitted his past political mistakes.
There is no doubt that Esias Aferworki sets the agenda for the liberation movements with their offices in Asmara. I have argued in this piece that the struggle for peaceful change is the best course of action to achieve victory over tyranny.
Snapshot of indispensable gains
The absurdity of making a mockery of the reality of “Ethiopianess” is loosing its steam because its parochial perpetrators are on the verge of defeat as victims of their own ridiculing of the ancient history and uniquely diverse culture of the Ethiopian people for political gain. There is light at the end of the tunnel that the overwhelming majority of Ethiopians are very much in the process of setting aside hatred and bigotry in order to set the stage for peace and reconciliation and create a political environment in which trust and mutual respect will flourish. The historic election of 15 May 2005 should in my opinion be the baseline for evaluating results in the enormous tasks ahead in building a powerful, democratic and prosperous Ethiopia united in diversity and revered as an embodiment of justice.
The Interhamwe project of Bereket and Zenawi has failed because of the history and culture of the Ethiopian people of living in harmony in a spirit of tolerance. The Zenawi regime has for far too long exploited the patience of the Ethiopian people in its unbridled abuse of the rule of law. It can no longer count on that patience for time has run out for it to continue with its heinous crimes against humanity. HR2003 has played an indispensable role of uniting opposition forces. It has become a real nightmare for Zenawi adding to his tarnished image due to his gross human rights violations confirmed by the international community. All in all, it is a propitious moment to seize for forcing the TPLF regime to come to the negotiating table.
HR2003 has reached the level of and indisputable moral force globally. Demand for peaceful change and respect for human rights have become two potent weapons to achieve that lofty goal. Struggle for peaceful change is a hard choice given the intransigence and intrigue of the reigning communist power. Nevertheless time is of the essence that it must be intensified. I strongly believe that the author of “The prison speaks Oromiffa” has masterfully provided the moral basis for action.
A lesson on my lucky day I wish to share
I was driving west for one hour when I suddenly decided to take a turn to the left. I negotiated the inclined road that brought me to the premises of the famous Kidist Mariam (Saint Marry) Church standing in grandeur atop the hill overlooking the panoramic view of the fertile environ of the town of Addis Alem.
The view was mesmerizing. It reminded me of the famous speech by Emperor Haile Selassie on land reform upon his return from a much publicized first state visit to the developed world. I was a school-boy under ten. He called on the Ethiopian people to go to the top of the mountains and see the vast uncultivated fertile land below. He challenged his subjects to brace for its development declaring that the landless will be given land. I thought that His Majesty must have said this from experience of observing the breath-taking Ethiopian landscape from mountain tops or probably got inspiration from the aerial view of the magnificent European farm lands and forests during his flight to the United States.
Indeed, Ethiopia is blessed with myriads of hills and mountains from the summits of which we can harvest inspiration, courage and the love of freedom to build a caring, tolerant, democratic and prosperous society firmly united in diversity; a society where the rule of law is supreme, justice for all is assured, poverty and serfdom are remembered as cursed phenomena of myopic political views of political leaders in the past.
As school boys my generation sang the Ethiopian national anthem that epitomized the strength of our mountains and courage of our patriots as guarantors of our independence. I hold and cherish this dream of Ethiopian renaissance the spirit of which will propel the present and future generations to build a home of peace and tranquility in their motherland to which their kin and kith in the Diaspora shall have unrestricted access by right as a place of their origin. So the struggle for liberty and freedom is a matter of civic duty for all Ethiopians.
Let me now relate what transpired at the Church. After so much thoughts and a short prayer at the main of the Church, I turned back to see a graceful figure in priestly attire standing in front of me on this ordinary working day where my family and I were among few visitors. There was no mistaking that he was someone with authority, a fact that I was soon to learn that the person was actually the Administrator of the Church with the rank of Nebure Ed, at the time one of two highest ranking clergymen in Ethiopia in charge of a parish church with that coveted title. I bowed in reverence with my hands clasped and he stretched his hand holding a cross which I kissed to receive his blessing. And so did my wife and children.
It turned up to be my lucky day for the Administrator invited me and my family to visit the small church museum, which was by all accounts impressive by the quality and variety of its collection ranging from sacred relics, attractively embroidered uniforms of Ethiopian warriors, traditional weapons of war, donations in golden jewelries to mention but a few.
The Administrator derisively pointed to a rusty dagger among the magnificent collections and, in what seemed to me a visible anger, said that it was found in Segele Meda where the shameful fratricidal battle took place in 1908, Ethiopian calendar. He said that the dagger does no deserve to be among weapons of valor with which our forebears fought to deter external aggression. That was for me a memorable lesson in as far as distinguishing between just and unjust wars. It was a lesson learnt at the time that TPLF and Dergue, ironically both professing Marxist-Leninist ideology, were locked in raging fratricidal ruinous war fought at the expense of the children of poor peasants. I understood that the Administrator deliberately drew a parallel between the Battle of Segele and that of the two Stalinist rivals – TPLF and Dergue. I got the lesson that no sane person could be proud in participating as a leader in internal wars of destruction in terms of precious lives and stupendous sacrifice in human capital and property.
The Administrator pointed to a photograph of a clergyman in silence for a moment as a mark of respect. He then told us the late Keis (Priest) Teklemarim carried from monastery to monastery to save the sacred golden treasures in the museum from capture by the Fascist Italian aggressors during World War II. He handed the treasure of which no one knew about to church authorities after the Fascists were driven out of our country. The thieves in Menelik’s Palace may take Keis Teklemariam for a fool for not having appropriated the treasure. To decent and honest people, however, he exemplified a paragon of honesty. This was another humbling lesson for me.
The Administrator made no secret of his reverence and admiration for Emperor Menelik. He said Immye Menilik was a military genius and a foremost political leader, with unusual ability of bringing harmony in the face of acrimony. He said the generous Monarch died penniless because he refused to own crown as well as private land insisting that land should belong to the people. The Administrator expressed his sorrow that the senseless civil strife after the death of the Emperor should claim so many lives of young Ethiopians at their productive age, leaving their parents that needed them most in their last days.
I politely took leave of the Administrator and drove my car to my intended destination elated by the lessons I learned on my lucky day. I regret to this day that I did not tell him that my Oromo mother, eleven years old lass at the time, watched the Battle of Segele from her distant abode and that my ancestors hailing from Wegeda in northern Shewa, the birthplace of Ras Gobena Dache, might have taken part in the infamous Battle. I did not disclose to him that Immye Menilik is my role model of a genius leader. However, when he exalted Emperor Haile Selassie as the founder of the now defunct Organization of African Unity, I did mention to him that Kwame Nkrumah is my hero.
True heroes of just wars
Consider Ras Abebe Aregay, Colonel Abdisa Aga, Ras Alula Aba Nega, Dejazmatch Balcha Abanebso, Dejatch Belai Zeleke, Ras Gobena Dache, and Dejazmatch Takele Wolde Hawariat written in alphabetical order of their first names. These distinguished patriots have one noble thing in common. They are few among many patriots who had bravely fought foreign aggressors to safeguard the territorial integrity of Ethiopia and freedom of their fellow citizens.
In contrast, the TPLF assailed the Dergue regime to dismember Ethiopia and entrench politics of inter-ethnic hatred in order to stay in power by gun and divide-and-rule strategy. Both sides professed adherence to communist ideology but their hunger for power blinded them to the truth that they were feeding the children of peasants to the raging flame of battles between them.
I recall my school days at Taffari Makonnen Secondary School and a lesson in geography by a Jesuit teacher from Canada. In the text book on the subject, Ethiopians are described, to the best of my recollection, as war-liking people with curly hair. I think the book was written by Geoffrey Last. At the time I thought it was a compliment for our bravery. As time went on, I began to ask why we were characterized as war-liking. Is it a genetic hereditary curse or a necessity arising out of repeated internal conflicts coupled with external aggression? I believe that the answer is by and large the latter. So we can stop internal civil strife. I believe we are on the right track.
The adage: “Little minds spread rumors; average minds discuss ideas; superior minds generate ideas”, appeals to me tremendously although I do not know its coiner. Professor Mesfin Woldemariam created ideas that often provoked public debate. Having dug deep into the millennium years of our history he succinctly argued that the culture of capturing political power by force must stop and be replaced with a political process of dialogue and the ballot box. This is his legacy to the country he so much and truly loves. He truly is a legendary Professor with great ideas.
Self-determination versus secession
The subject in caption has made it extremely difficult to foster strong unity. Secession is unacceptable to the overwhelming majority of Ethiopians who had come en masse to declare in what amounted to a referendum that they want one Ethiopia. This unprecedented voice of the people must be respected.
Zenawi knows that those engaged in armed struggle are weak and he dismisses their claims of success in skirmishes as rubbish. The rest of us have deep suspicion about their motives for keeping their offices in Asmara where they are completely dependent on Esaias who is engaged in a proxy war game with Zenawi. The OLF claims that the Oromos are the largest ethnic group the second largest in Africa. As a free individual, I ask why then struggle for secession? Why not take power proportionally through the ballot box and participate in the governance of a united Ethiopia?
The ONLF is reportedly as unpopular as the Zenawi regime for the atrocities in the Ogaden. OLF has not forced the Zenawi to the negotiating table despite its claim of popularity among the Oromos. Oppression is taking its toll and the claimed popularity could be reversed. So, national liberation movements should objectively reassess their strength and consider a paradigm shift to join the camp of forces for peaceful change. Support for AFD will then gather momentum adding to the nightmare of Zenawi.
Right to think and foster democratic culture
Academic freedom in tertiary institution was abruptly curtailed as soon as the Dergue took power in 1974. The situation exacerbated with the assumption of power by EPRDF. I recall expressing my shock and disbelief that Zenawi would dismiss 41 professors from the Addis Ababa University where he schooled, and harshly cracked down on students protesting the visit of Butros Butros Ghali, the biased Egyptian Secretary General of the United Nations at the time.
Zenawi is a die-hard Stalinist as his predecessor Mengistu Hailemariam. He is bent on brain-washing our children. Stalin elevated to prominence the biologist Lysenko for the theory of genetic selection of the radical scientist was in concert with his ideas, among which was that communists can also be multiplied through genetic selection. Mengistu sent young Ethiopians to Cuba for indoctrination. His successor Zenawi is more cunning in doing the same thing, vide the following paragraph.
The renowned activist for human right and foremost proponent of HR2003 has in his article entitled, “Tyranny in the Academy” has laid bare the official evil policy of the Zenawi regime to stifle academic freedom and the dire consequence for those, including professors and students, who do not toe the party line. Tertiary institutions are in effect prisons where students are forcibly indoctrinated with Zenawi-thoughts much like the so-called Wuyiyit session (political discussion) actually meant to convey Mengistu-thoughts by his loyal cadres.
In closing
The article entitled “Uplifting democratic culture” written by none other than the renowned scholar, Professor Mammo Muche, contains a lot of food for thought. The contents of the article and the force of its message is a nightmare to Zenawi.
I am confident that owners of pro-democratic media and all Ethiopian democrats will work in concert for “uplifting democratic culture” in our beloved country. The Zenawi regime can no longer hide its secret resolve to stifle the development of democratic culture in Ethiopia. His recent public remarks following the unfortunate election fiasco in Kenya has more than ever before exposed his true color to his mentors in the western democracies. This is a welcome development in that it will isolate the tyrant and weaken his resolve.
We have inherited longstanding pride in freedom and independence as well as enviable blend of mosaic culture. It should be our cherished duty to defend our heritage collectively. The right to self-defense is natural; it is politically justified and morally sanctified. But fratricidal wars in the pursuit of power are repugnant. To ensure sustainability of the right to self-defence, unity in diversity must be our potent weapon. To unite, it is absolutely necessary to work in concert where reason and foresight play the leading role.
As a living tribute and mark of respect for martyrs in the struggle for democracy:
Let HR2003 triumph!
Let prisons speak Oromiffa or any other language no more!
Let the walls of hatred, bigotry & mistrust disappear!
Let true justice prevail at all times!
Let love, unity and trust prevail at all times!
Let the Anuak people of Ethiopia and others face genocide no more!
Let there be Kangaroo court no more!
Let there be prisoners of conscience no more!
Let freedom of the individual triumph!
Let cultural identity be nurtured, respected and preserved!
And for all of the above to happen, let us believe in the fact that Ethiopia belongs equally to all of us and that we are descendants of our ancestors who were all there from time immemorial.
God Bless Ethiopia!