A delegation sent by the Woyanne junta patriarch Aba Gebremedhin has arrived in Arizona today to start negotiations with the exiled Ethiopian Orthodox Church synod. ESAT has details. Listen below:
A delegation sent by the Woyanne junta patriarch Aba Gebremedhin has arrived in Arizona today to start negotiations with the exiled Ethiopian Orthodox Church synod. ESAT has details. Listen below:
22 thoughts on “Ethiopian Orthodox Church officials travel to Arizona for negotiation”
February 10, 2012
Two Sudans Near Brink in Oil Dispute
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN KHARTOUM, Sudan —
Sudan and the breakaway nation of South Sudan are locked in an exceedingly dangerous game of brinkmanship over billions of gallons of oil, seizing tankers, shutting down wells and imperiling the tenuous, American-backed peace that has held — just barely — between the two countries after decades of war. Not for years have north-south relations been so poisonous, aggravated by spreading rebellions on both sides of the border and a proxy war between the two nations that has already flared into direct Sudan-South Sudan clashes. The jagged, disputed frontier separating Sudan from its newly independent neighbor is now probably the most combustible fault line in Africa, with big armies that fought each other for generations massing on either side. “I, personally, expect full-fledged war,” said Mariam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, a leading opposition politician in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital. “This is like the previews before a film.” Both sides desperately need the oil to run their governments, feed their people and stamp out insurrections. And theoretically, both sides need each other. The conundrum of the two Sudans is that 75 percent of the oil lies in the south, but the pipeline to export it runs through the north. Because of this, oil was once thought to be the glue that would hold the two nations together and prevent a conflict. Now, it seems, oil is becoming the fuse. The African Union, the United States and China, which is a major oil partner for both Sudans, are pressing the two nations to move beyond the language and tactics of mutual destruction. Oil negotiations have been scheduled to resume this weekend, and though the two sides have stepped back from the brink many times before, few analysts are optimistic that a compromise will be reached easily. When South Sudan broke off from Sudan last year, after years of guerrilla struggle, its independence was heralded as the triumphal capstone ending one of Africa’s deadliest civil wars. But the question of how exactly the two sides would share oil profits loomed ominously over the separation, unresolved. Now that both nations are struggling to make it on their own, the issue has proved to be as prickly — and perilous — as many had feared. It was South Sudanese oil that drove Sudan’s economic boom of the past decade and made the repression by Sudan’s Islamist government (which is still heavily penalized by the United States) tolerable to many Sudanese. When South Sudan declared independence, it took billions of dollars’ worth of oil with it, gutting Sudan’s economy and creating one of the deepest crises that President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has faced in his more than 20 years in power. Mr. Bashir is now battling high inflation, a shrinking economy, student protests and several simultaneous rebellions — in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile State — as well as genocide charges related to the massacres several years ago in Darfur. At the same time, South Sudan, one of the poorest countries on earth, is facing a major food crisis and heavily-armed ethnically-based militias that have been sweeping parts of the countryside, killing hundreds and making a mockery of the South Sudanese security forces. Stoking the tensions, Sudan and South Sudan are covertly backing rebels in each other’s backyards, leading to border clashes and relentless aerial bombings. The more than 1,000-mile border between them is now effectively closed, with millions of pounds of emergency food and just about all trade held up in a two-way stranglehold. In the current fight over oil, the south has refused to turn over royalties for using Sudan’s pipelines. Sudan upped the ante in late December by seizing oil tankers filled with South Sudanese crude. Then, the south took the drastic and possibly self-destructive step of abruptly shutting down all of its oil wells, which could quickly bring the economies of both north and south to their knees. Southern Sudanese officials openly admit that they are now using their oil to squeeze Khartoum to make concessions on all sorts of issues, including the disputed area of Abyei, insisting that oil production will resume only after “ all the deals are signed.” The south is even threatening to sit on its oil for years while it builds an alternative pipeline through Kenya. But it is not clear how the new country would survive that long; oil provides about 98 percent of government revenue. Experts question whether the Kenya pipeline is even feasible. It would have to run uphill, requiring many expensive pumping stations, and most likely slice across Jonglei, a South Sudanese state that, with all its marauding militias, is essentially a war zone these days. In Khartoum, many people are still struggling to swallow the fact that the south is gone. Nobody likes the new map of Sudan. It used to be Africa’s biggest country. Now it looks as if it has been crudely amputated, with the ragged edges of a raw wound. “I still can’t get used to it,” said Nada Gerais, a sales manager in Khartoum. “It looks, looks …,” she struggled for the right word. “Weird.” Mrs. Gerais is a perfect example of the nose dive Sudan’s economy has taken. She works in a meticulously polished Nissan dealership that used to sell 50 cars a month. Now, sometimes, it is down to five. She is thinking of switching to pharmaceuticals or food. “People can stop buying cars, but they can’t stop eating,” she explained. During the past decade, Sudan’s oil wealth fueled new factories, roads, countless shish kebab joints and plans for a futuristic minicity, a billion-dollar airport and the entire reconfiguring of this capital to include a breezy promenade along the Nile. But so many of these plans have been shelved. High-rise buildings stand half-finished, and the plummeting value of the Sudanese pound has pushed electronics, books and even tomatoes out of reach for many. Officials in Khartoum say the south owes them nearly $1 billion in pipeline fees, money needed to keep their economy from collapsing, and they recently sold some of the oil from the seized tankers before releasing them. South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, said the amount Khartoum wanted, $32 per barrel, was “exorbitant” and “completely out of international norms.” Sabir M. Hassan, a Sudanese government negotiator, said that the north was willing to be flexible, but that the southerners were “too emotional” and still saw themselves as rebels. “If you give them two choices, they’ll choose the one that hurts the north, not the one that helps the south,” Mr. Hassan said. Southern Sudanese leaders say the same about Khartoum, which has blockaded roads leading south and recently held up humanitarian shipments, all to punish the south at the cost of millions of dollars in lost business. Many political analysts wonder whether Mr. Bashir will be able to survive all these crises. But it is hard to see who would replace him. Sudan’s political opposition is deeply divided and run by white-bearded septuagenarians. The rebel movements do not have much support in Khartoum. Sudanese students started an Arab Spring-like movement last year, but they failed to gain any traction. The security forces were quick to arrest protesters and string them up from ceiling fans. And Sudan has a resilience that transcends the turmoil. Every Friday, in a dusty ring on Khartoum’s outskirts, hundreds of Nuban men gather to watch traditional wrestling. Ethnic Nubans are leading the rebellion against Khartoum in the Nuba Mountains. But there is little evidence of that here. “Things are fine,” said one elderly spectator. Just as he was about to elaborate, a young wrestler scooped up his opponent and body-slammed him in the dirt. “You see that!” the old man hollered. “My God, I love this.”
For the agenda of TPLF/Meles/outsiders, they do research inside out to break down society because that is the goal. Therefore they ask what unites peaceful and stable society? In our case, they determined to create divison through religion and ethnicty and increase poverty, via Wahabism, Evangelism/Pente, pro Tigray and anti Amara, etc.. An attack on the Orthodox religion is increasing and it is not an accident: in Arab countries, through converted Pentes/Evangelist, and now certain ethio blogs are now having instigators of division posting negative comments. Remember, every idelogy being introduced i.e: communism, socialism, marxism, capitalism, democracy for the better of next society, new religions, increased religions, altered religions, bla bla, brainwashing us that the “past systems” are bad and archaic is based on a lie and future worse enslavement. If every little things we have experienced and have virtues, be it Orthodox that maybe “archaic” has shown prove and indication that it has at least stabilized and unified majority of societies, even with those of other religions, IT IS A GOOD THING. If Orthodox which is our unifying indicator is gone, consider the breaking down of our society and you can bet on it. It doesn’t have to be Orthodox, it could have been anything else that unified, stabilized our society or any other society. Yes, we have lived in capitalist society now that we have out grown this belief systems, etc.. but we have to look at this beyond, it is not just about religion, what we have to think about, it is the breaking down of society. We cannot guarntee on the unexercised system TPLF/Meles etc, promised us. Look at Mengistu the promise guarnteed by Derg showed to be a failure. Yet, people cheered and supported it. Same thing today under TPLF/Meles, again disaster and yet through money and power many people were/are now behind TPLF/Meles which TPLF/Meles has become “too big to fail”. We have to nip it in the but before such groups once observed, take deep control of our society. What does it require for the society to identify and nip such failing system? Through our unity, one voice, one flag, etc. Why did Isayas refuse to let other faiths to come in convert Eritrean people which is nothing to do with being against freedom of religion? It is because such ideologies and faiths will start to divide people and eventually disintegrate the country. It is democracy to allow people be what they want to be but we are not like the West who have experimented and exercised fully with careful regulation of law. Their system worked because they are: because they have one language and nothing to worry about ethnicity and tribes, religion is private, etc. . It is also it is not once size fits all. Countries differ from one region and to another based on their location, type of people, etc. Ethiopia has many ethnicities, different dialects, where relgions is emphasized. Therefore, we can’t add fire into fire by introducing different idelogies and religions, etc, without proper excercising and having a system where there are checks and balances not to disturb a stable and peaceful society. Of course, some past systems that are failure could be reformed with careful regulations. For instance if people want to have different religon other than Orthodox fine but what people have to question is why forced conversion and spreading of beliefs like fire is only to increase division in a society which will benefit also those who push it.
God help Ethiopia.
While the faction led by Abune Paulos is obviously grossly un-Ethiopian, let us examine what the other faction, the exiled one, has done in short so far:
1. As if their authoriterian, Gotenga, imcompetent and self-serving reign was not enough during the Derque era, they abandoned the sheepfold and exiled themselves to America seeking a comfortable lifestyle that included frequent-flying and church franchising and disfranchising.
2. In an unprecedented move, they divided the Ethiopian Orthodox Church into two by applying secretly to Baltimore’s World Church Organization, just prior to 9/11/2001, for sparation from the Ethiopian Church, declaring the new Synod as Ethiopian Orthodox Church – North America.
3. Now that the worldly lifestyle that they chose bore no fruit after 20 years, they would like to reconcile with the same core church they abandoned, distanced from and rejected, because, as their pleasure-seeking lives once again demands, would like to go back home as they please and extend their comfy lifestyle to a nostalgic dimension.
This is a cycle of darkness: we have the above kind of church leaders never heard of before in the previous generation. We have a new generation, the generation in general, who does not know the church let alone care or indignantly right the wrong like the righteous previous generation. It is a strange, scary and dark times. While the sun is alight on the rest of the world, it is too bad darkness casts on Ethiopia in 21st-century. It is as if the devil has Azima on us, as if we have been Azima-ed.
I don’t know their name but from my observation and experience, the Papas in Ethiopia looks fake and he seems to like the media and inflates his ego. That is not about faith, you have to be down-to-earth. How can you be a religious person while carrying a gun? Is he going to kill if someone approaches him, is that the message who should be a role model of a person of faith?
On the other hand the Oakland Papas is rude, and bigot. When the church is raising fund, he insults other ethnic individuals he knows of that may have money, other than Amaras why they are not donating or talks to them in sarcastic way. No wonder sometimes the Amaras are being demonized. They brought this on themselves. So much for faith. What ever happened to being down to earth?
That being said, while the Ethiopian Papas has evil agenda, the Oakland ones should reform himself that he should as the person of faith not be bigot. I think it is so common such sarcasm that it is accepted and should be accepted as a result it leads to the problem we are facing to day such as the TPLF playing the ethnic card for its own agenda. People need to speak out about this and not be tolerated so that we can have just and peaceful society.
I think Aba Merkerios and Melketsedek is calling thier own downfall. who are they? aren’t we the people organize them protect them put them in leadership? so with whome are they gona nogtiate? On what? wait and see. In the mean time we have to prepare our selves regardless of Melketsedek and others, we will continue to worship true god but not the woyane one.
THE ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AROUND THE WORLD SHOULD AND MUST COMPLETELY CUT ALL TIES WITH THE SELF APPOINTED WOYANE TYRANT PATRIARCH IN ETHIOPIA THAT IS TRYING TO BREAK UP AND DIVIDING THE ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH, PERIOD! THIS WORLDLY SO CALLED PATRIARCH MAN, NEVER EVER ONCE CRITICIZED MELES FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS HE HAS BEEN COMMITTING ON INNOCENT ETHIOPIANS FOR THE LAST TWENTY ONE YEARS! THIS WORLDLY MAN IS THE DEVIL HIMSELF IN SHEEP CLOTHING! I HEARD, THE FAT SELF CLAIMED RELIGIOUS MAN, USED TO CHASE YOUNG WOMEN AND HARASSING THEM, HOW DISGUSTING!
wow replies:
February 12th, 2012 at 8:27 AM
Is it true? The Weyane Papas has a son from African American woman in Atlanta?
Anonymous replies:
February 13th, 2012 at 11:44 PM
it doesn’t mater, but if he he failed to respect his people you can call him anything.
We the Ethiopian Orthodox followers should relax and stay out of this drama created by the priests.
Check- list for Abune Paulos for redemption, atonement and reconciliation with Ethiopian people.
1) Abune Paulos (Aba Gebre Medhene) should denounce TPLF because TPLF is anti- religion,
anti-Ethiopia and anti- peace.
2) He should return the seat of the Patriarch to the legitimate Patriarch, Abune Merkorious.
3) He should ask for forgiveness from GOD for the killing of Bagetawi Fekade Sellassie.
4) He should remove his own statute ጣኦት from its location.
5) he should go to one monastery in remote part of the country and live the rest if his life.
Aba Gabramedhine is a morally corrupted,one of those memebers of the group that lootes resources and kills citizens in Ethiopia.This man is as much determined as his boss,the criminal, Zinawi to remain on power and accumelate wealth and continue killing citizens who oppose and fight him.Can there be any sort of negotiation that is good for Ehiopia and Ethiopians while the current criminal group is on power?
It is a fact and a reality that those Abunes who have been serving Aba Gabramadhine are limped and numed,and can not differentiate between good and bad;in fact,they are dressed in religious garbes but have become morally corrupted,mentally weakened,and extravagantly wasteful.
Wait a minute! Ethiopians,is it kindness or foolishness that our Abatachen thinks good and better can for sure,be achieved or gained for the curch,the religion,the people by sitting around the table with the representative of Aba Gabramadhine and Zinawi,who in the past twenty years had remained hurting and damaging our Orthodox churches and millions of believers,followers,and churchgoers?
Our Abatachen and his advisers clearly don’t have good thinking and lacks clarity of vision.I don’t doubt that our Abatachen will fail to his eternal shame,and we too lose hope and will abandone our Lord and walk on the path of darkness and will fall into miles deep ditches;for sure,we will,if we don’t stop the madness of our Abatachine.
Ethiopians,what is going on with us,and what happens to our Abatachine?
As thousands of Ethiopians forced to leave their country by the group that has been ruling our country and people with fascist and nazi fist,our church has been away from home and exiled to different parts of the world;thank lord,we have been keeping our faith and helping our churches well and alive,but now,when I Watched our Abatachen on ESAT TV progrom, and was not quite adequate to stand against or to chalange the Aba Gabramadhine’s agents,I got shocked and feared for everything that you and I care about our religion and church would be hurt badly.
Ethiopians,take for instance what acctually happened in the past twenty years;was there a time that Zinawi and his authorities have come to a negotiation table and genuinely resolved any political issues or social issues,for that matter?
in 2005, people won but Zinawi refused to surrender power to people.Today,look what Zinawi is doing?
Our Abatachine must be mindful of any tendency of Aba Gabramadhine’s corrup life.
I am sure our Abatachine might have been spritually stronger than the devil,Aba Gabramadhine,but now,when I see and examine things around our Abatachine,I feel and see weaknesses in our Abatachine.Quite a shock! isn’t it?
I’ll for sure,say to all Ethiopians that this negotation has been set up by Zinawiè’ sypes and Aba Gabramadhinè’ agents quite well,and has now took us by surprise that our Abatachine and his advisers gave in to Zinawi and Aba Gabramadhine well planned scheme.
I agree with Qujjo comment #9 above. There should be no dialogue or negotiation with the Devil, “Aba” Gebre Medhene. The best thing to do is to be far away from the gangs and killers of TPLF and “Aba” Gebre Medhene.
Long live Ethiopia and E.O.T.C.
Are you all crazy? Do you think one group is better than the other? Do you think that Abune Merkorios and his synod are cleaner or better than Abune Paulos and his? Do you think either set of bishops is concerned about their country or their church? They are only interested in POWER! Abune Merkorios owed his throne to the intervention of the Derg, just like Abune Paulos owes it to the EPRDF. The bishops in exile all voted to elect a new Patriarch under EPRDF and only left when their candidate failed. Let’s be real people. There are no saints in this set of fathers. On the other hand, reconciliation and reunion of the Holy Synod can only strengthen the church. Abba Paulos and Abba Merkorios will not live forever. If you are truly concerned about your church then pray that reunion will bring us a true father in the future instead of the oportunists that have reigned over her recently.
kA replies:
February 14th, 2012 at 6:38 AM
Well said my brother. These fathers will not live forever, and uniting will benefit the orthodox church morethan any body. I want to see a united church!
Please all you people do not waste your time. This is another plot to destruct and delay what people are about to do. Believe me there will be another drama come out of this meeting. They will have a perfect access to divide these spiritual fathers. Don’t expect that good will come out this. Please, please learn from your past. Don’t waste your time. They already have plan A plan B. Does our spiriutual fathers have that? Think about it
Not only the corrupted Woyanes and their fake Patriarch, the majority of Ethiopians who got influenced by Ferenji missionaries and converted to Ferenji Evangelical religions, literally dislike even to the point of despise Ethiopian Orthodox Churches. Most Evangelical Church members see the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as a cult and work extremely hard to convert members of Ethiopian Orthodox Church members to their religions and would like to see the fall of Ethiopian Orthodox religion.
THE ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH LEADERS AND MEMBERS MUST STAND STRONG, BEWARE AND BE ALERT AT ALL TIMES! NO ONE SHOULD TAKE OR THREATEN THE FREEDOM OF OUR RELIGION!!
@ Beware
You must be a typical TPLF’ because your fundamental principles are creating division among Ethiopians, by way of their spiritual back ground, ethnicity, social status and so on. To prolong your own interest and greedy habits. You guys have played the game for so long and so well for up to now. Buck off now because the time is up for your old games. For many of us form all walks of life and life style as well us ethnic back ground, we have one common place and one country called Ethiopia. This country called Ethiopia is not a joke. Ethiopia will be home not only for Ethiopians alone but Ethiopia will become a home for many people around the world. If you are lucky enough to see that day coming you better do the right thing now. We have one common enemy. Many of us know that because of our ignorance of God, we have been suffering so much for so long. As long as our religious fathers are like any other ordinary people there will be no progress. Please go back to our country’s history. The religious fathers died for their country. Our kings depended on God completely went to the killing fields and won the war of the giants. It was a christian country and will always be. Be ware of your old enemy he is at work. Wake up or go to Ethiopia to see what is going on. It is another Jerusalem state which every body want their hands in it.
Ethiopia,
Stop barking at the wrong tree. Every statement I made is the truth and you know it. It is not a secret that Evangelical Christians consider the Ethiopian Orthodox Religion as a cult and they go to Ethiopia to convert members of Ethiopian Orthodox to Evangelical Christians, and millions of Ethiopians have left their Ethiopian Orthodox Church and have converted to Evangelical Christians. That is the truth. and it has nothing to do being a member of TPLF mafia group. How dare you insult me like that for telling the truth? If you are one of millions who left the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and joined the Ferenji Churches, congratulations and celebrate Christmas, Timiket, Facika and Meskel and other Orthodox religious ceremonies with your Ferenjis, period! You know what one thing I would like to add, I’ve met quiet a lot of Ethiopian Evangelic Church members, and so far I haven’t seen a difference of their personal behavior, except saying Jesus, Halleluiah and Father God, twenty to fifty times a day–there is racism, gossip, jealousy, adultery, selfishness, fornication, stealing, and other sins that is in every religion as well as in Orthodox Churches.
yes replies:
February 16th, 2012 at 12:04 AM
Beware,
Well said. Ethiopia evangelists/Pentes are learning to be hypocrite I guess. Here follow my faith but you can do whatever you want. If what they preach is really true, then they should be tolerant of others especially other faiths, this is the true why they are not real because they are becoming increasingly aggressive. Next, they will start burning Orthodox churches. How can Orthdox be cult is it because it is ancient faith and not contemporary and capitlist like? Orthdoox is peaceful, it doesna’t go around converting people forcibly unless it is in natural way. Pente/Evangelism by the way comes with money and power, if the Ethiopian leaders of these groups really tell the truth, how much money they were given to spread the religion. So if it is based on money, that by itself tells you, it is unnatural.
ከኢትዮጵያ የመጡት የወያኔ ሰራ አስፈጻሚዎች እንጅ የሐይማኖት ሰዎች ናቸው ማለት አይቻልም። እነዚህ የአባ ገብረመድህን አጃቢዎች መስቀሉን፣ ካባውን፣ በትረሙሴውን፣ መጠሪያውንና ሌላም ሌላውን ይዘዋል ግን ከሚናገሩትና ከሚሰሩት ስንመለከት ምንም የሃይማኖት አባትነት የላቸውም። ለአለማዊ ገዥዎች ለሆዳቸውና ለጥቅማቸው የተንበረከኩ እንጅ። በዚህም ምክንያትለኢ/ኦ/ተ/ቤ/ የሚፈይዱት አንዳንችም ነገር የለም። ማፈሪያዎች ናቸው።
Ato Elias my hero I am sorry if I offended you. I have great respect for you. With so much respect I would like to say I love you. You are great man/son of my beloved country. I am so proud of you. You are a good example of what Christian mean. I can go on and on about you. You are wonderful. But I want to say two things if you excuse me with one exception. I completly agree with Reda. Please inform our spiritual fathers about it. Do not give them chance to come and contaminate them with this devilish tactic and prolong his time by creating division among them. Last but list of these two words amazes me. As Christian there are two powerful words to me, Ethiopia and Jesus.
1. Many people and nations hate the existence and the name my country Ethiopia. One good example Meles Seytanwe. 2. Many people call themselves Christian but hate the name of Jesus. To my understanding this is also Seytanwe. I beg every one to please,please stop our tit for tat included me and all of us focus on our common ground than our differences. “ Dir beabir Anbesa Yasir”
Our Orthodox Church leaders need to focus on the true meanings of Orthodox Church teachings that loving Jesus means loving and respecting one another, regardless one is converted to other Christian religion or a Muslim. I’ve seen it all my friends, people use the name Jesus and believe to be better Christians than others, and at the same time their hearts are filled with hate and racism. Loving Jesus means, loving and accepting others as we want to be loved and accepted by others. I’ve met many Evangelical Christians who are loving and kind, and at the same time so many go to Church on Saturday or Sunday and be the most racist and hateful as they can be towards people of other ethnic group, ethnicity and belittling other religion that is different than theirs. Amazingly, there are quiet a few Ethiopians out there who are brainwashed to still believe that, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians hate Jesus and do not believe in Jesus Christ. It is unfortunate, that people intentionally distort other religious believe to gain members and the evil criminal Woyanes use it to divide and cause hate between Ethiopian Orthodox Church members and Evangelical Christians. Loving the living God and his son Jesus means loving one another–without that Christianity is meaningless! I wish you all peace and love! Good day all!