Ethiopia’s spy agency – the Information Network Security Agency (INSA) — has stepped up surveillance and internet censorship. INSA has adopted Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology to eavesdrop, data mine, censor and intercept communications, according to the TOR Project.
Repressive governments such as China, Iran and Kazakhstan routinely employ DPI technology. Ethiopia’s spy agency conducts much of its surveillance through Ethio Telecom, the government monopoly that controls telephone and internet communications.
According to information security experts, Deep Packet Inspection allows a spy agency to “ look inside all traffic from a specific IP address, pick out the HTTP traffic, then drill even further down to capture only traffic headed to and from Gmail, and can even reassemble e-mails as they are typed out by the user.”
TOR promotes an open network that helps users defend against a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy. TOR stopped working in Ethiopia on or around May 24, 2012.
Click here for TOR report on surveillance by Ethiopian authorities:
Update: How to bypass the censorship
By Runa | The TOR Project
June 3. A few days ago, we published a blog post exposing the use of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) to filter all Internet traffic in Ethiopia, including connections to the Tor network. We concluded that they are doing some sort of TLS fingerprinting, but had not been able to figure out exactly what they are fingerprinting on. Since then, we have managed to determine exactly how Ethiopia blocks Tor and we have developed a workaround. We will publish a full technical analysis very soon.
The long-term solution for Tor users in Ethiopia is to use the Obfsproxy Tor Browser Bundle. The bundles are, unfortunately, not up to date at the moment, but this is something we are working on (see #5937 for details). In the meantime, try using one of the following three bridges:
213.138.103.17:443
107.21.149.216:443
46.137.226.203:55440
If the bridges are not working, or you have questions, send an email to [email protected]
8 thoughts on “Ethiopia’s spy agency steps up internet, phone surveillance”
Desperation and great fear forces them to turn every stone on the way or out of the way. How else can they stay at the tip of power and keep on land grabbing and 3wealth amassing?
They know from the fate of Mubarak but NOT Barack the fact that they have to either catch the wave will itself catch them RED handed. :)
Dear Elias:
It is not enough to provide this info. Not many of us are tech savvy. So and others like you need to assure Ethio-bloggers and website managers and the general public how these hurdles are overcome. One tactic the Ethiopian regime uses is to sow fear. Please share your ideas with other groups. Thanks.
Fellow Ethiopians
To understand how deep packet inspection works and the potential threat it poses to your privacy, you need to know that your PC packages all the information you send and receive online into packets of data. Internet routers read the labels on those packets to determine what they are, who they’re from, and where they’re going; this is how most Internet traffic works, and it’s how the firewall on your router distinguishes which packets of data make up that email message from your sister and which packets of data are from a spammer in Georgia.
When your Internet service provider engages in deep packet inspection, it uses powerful software from vendors like Procera Networks to scan all of the data packets that pass through its network. The contents of each packet are scanned (and sometimes logged), and then blocked or routed to the appropriate destination. There are plenty of great reasons for your ISP to do this on your behalf: Deep packet inspection helps your ISP block the spread of computer viruses, identify illegal downloads, and prioritize the data transmitted by bandwidth-heavy applications like video chat and VoIP applications to alleviate network congestion and improve your service. Law enforcement officials (with a court order) can use these tools to lawfully intercept communications of suspected criminals.
But deep packet inspection has a dark side, and in the absence of strict legal restrictions, your ISP is free to root through all the information you exchange online and use it as they see fit. Personal data like your age, location, and shopping records can be logged and sold in anonymized batches to advertising companies, and law enforcement agents can monitor and curtail your Internet access without your knowledge. Without strict limitations to preserve user privacy, this sort of deep data filtering can significantly impair your ability to remain anonymous online.
This level of surveillance is nothing new; Internet service providers in China already employ deep packet inspection software to scan for sensitive keywords and block access to sites like YouTube. Chinese citizens often employ foreign VPN services to access websites blocked by the Chinese government, and you can do the same. “If you want to prevent this sort of inspection, you could use someone else’s network,” says Steven Andrés, founder and CTO of Special Ops Security. “I imagine if Congress [ever] enacts SOPA into law, a number of VPN services will crop up in other countries.”
The key thing to remember is that, even if your ISP or the government is monitoring your online activity, you can proactively protect your privacy by visiting only websites that offer an encrypted connection and establishing a secure connection to a VPN overseas to visit blocked websites. You can use a free tool like HTTPS Everywhere to ensure that SSL encryption is always enabled when available, or go one step further and sign up for a paid VPN service like WiTopia or HideMyNet to circumvent Internet censorship by your ISP or local government. You could even start using a service like XeroBank or the Tor Network to anonymize your online activities via a series of proxy servers. Or you could do nothing, and trust your ISP not to mishandle your private information.
No matter what you choose, know that deep packet inspection software is cheap, sophisticated, and employed by governments and Internet service providers around the world.
Remember that there is always a way to fight back evil, do your research and always put your God in all your actions.
Never give up.
Fellow Ethiopians,
To understand how deep packet inspection works and the potential threat it poses to your privacy, you need to know that your PC packages all the information you send and receive online into packets of data. Internet routers read the labels on those packets to determine what they are, who they’re from, and where they’re going; this is how most Internet traffic works, and it’s how the firewall on your router distinguishes which packets of data make up that email message from your sister and which packets of data are from a spammer in Georgia.
When your Internet service provider engages in deep packet inspection, it uses powerful software from vendors like Procera Networks to scan all of the data packets that pass through its network. The contents of each packet are scanned (and sometimes logged), and then blocked or routed to the appropriate destination. There are plenty of great reasons for your ISP to do this on your behalf: Deep packet inspection helps your ISP block the spread of computer viruses, identify illegal downloads, and prioritize the data transmitted by bandwidth-heavy applications like video chat and VoIP applications to alleviate network congestion and improve your service. Law enforcement officials (with a court order) can use these tools to lawfully intercept communications of suspected criminals.
But deep packet inspection has a dark side, and in the absence of strict legal restrictions, your ISP is free to root through all the information you exchange online and use it as they see fit. Personal data like your age, location, and shopping records can be logged and sold in anonymized batches to advertising companies, and law enforcement agents can monitor and curtail your Internet access without your knowledge. Without strict limitations to preserve user privacy, this sort of deep data filtering can significantly impair your ability to remain anonymous online.
This level of surveillance is nothing new; Internet service providers in China already employ deep packet inspection software to scan for sensitive keywords and block access to sites like YouTube. Chinese citizens often employ foreign VPN services to access websites blocked by the Chinese government, and you can do the same. “If you want to prevent this sort of inspection, you could use someone else’s network,” says Steven Andrés, founder and CTO of Special Ops Security.
The key thing to remember is that, even if your ISP or the government is monitoring your online activity, you can proactively protect your privacy by visiting only websites that offer an encrypted connection and establishing a secure connection to a VPN overseas to visit blocked websites. You can use a free tool like HTTPS Everywhere to ensure that SSL encryption is always enabled when available, or go one step further and sign up for a paid VPN service like WiTopia or HideMyNet to circumvent Internet censorship by your ISP or local government. You could even start using a service like XeroBank or the Tor Network to anonymize your online activities via a series of proxy servers. Or you could do nothing, and trust your ISP not to mishandle your private information.
No matter what you choose, know that deep packet inspection software is cheap, sophisticated, and employed by governments and Internet service providers around the world.
check this site;
http://www.pcworld.com/article/249137/what_is_deep_packet_inspection.html
Remember that there is always a way to fight back evil, do your research and always put your God in all your actions.
Never give up.
Recently ZTE Corp., China’s second-largest maker of phone equipment, has bid for a contract worth about $1.3 billion to “improve” Ethiopia’s telecommunications network .
The company, based in Shenzhen, is competing with Huawei Technologies Co. for work that will include boosting the capacity of Ethiopia’s among other unspecified services the woyane requests .
ZTE, about one-third owned by the Chinese government, has worked with Ethiopia’s state-owned monopoly provider Ethio Telecom over the past six years to improve phone and Internet services in Ethiopia.
Huawei and ZTE see all of Africa as worthwhile,” Deborah Bräutigam, a professor at the School of International Service at American University in Washington, said in an e-mail. “Africa is part of what made Huawei one of China’s most successful multinational companies.”
Ethiopia’s population may be 93.8 million in July and is growing at 3.2 percent a year, the fifth-fastest rate in the world, according to the CIA World Factbook.
. The plant has the capacity to produce as many as 3 million mobile phones a year that will cost about 370 birr each.
“We will look after it until it becomes a big success in five years,” Zhang said. TIRET is owned by Woyane.
Ethiopia: The Futile GTP Propaganda Campaign in the Diaspora
By Barii Ayano
Introduction
The TPLF/EPRDF regime is trying to export the so-called Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) propaganda (disinformation) to the Diaspora communities residing in the West. Dozens of leaders and propagandists of the regime visited a number of cities in the USA and Canada, and still plan to visit cities in Europe for dialogues about the GTP with the Diaspora.
Oromia/Ogaden/Ethiopia: Diaspora’s ‘Day of Rage’ Against Zenawi’s GTP on April 10, 2011, in Minneapolis.
From the ads put forward in the pro-TPLF website of Aiga to attract participants, the explicit objectives of the GTP propaganda campaign in the Diaspora are crystal clear. According to Aiga Forum, the core focus of the GTP scheme is to motivate the Diaspora community to: “boost Ethiopia’s foreign currency reserve by sending … remittances legally; open a foreign savings account in Ethiopia and get a better rate of interest; purchase EEPCO’s Millennium Bond and get good return for it; and investment in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, ICT, construction, consultancy.”
The above quote unequivocally proves that the GTP propaganda in Diaspora has foreign exchange (hard currency) raising mission as its core objective. The underlying fundraising mission makes a lot of sense since the TPLF/EPRDF regime is foreign exchange strapped at the moment, and hence in a dire need of raising hard currency. Despite the billions of dollars of financial inflows into Ethiopia, the foreign currency reserve of the regime is meager, which cannot even cover 3 months imports. Moreover, the regime faces current account deficit, balance of payment problem, devaluation-induced inflation, and market distortions due to extensive government interventions in market operations.
I contend that the GTP campaign to lure investments into the GTP will be effective only in mobilizing members and supporters of political parties of the regime in the Diaspora than the Diaspora public in general. The scheme sounds like the regime was paying the TPLF/EPRDF regime recruits in the Diaspora, and now the reverse is being set in motion. The regime has designed a scheme to make its Diaspora members and supporters pay up to finance the regime. Of course, some gullible elements in the Diaspora, who are not members and supporters of the political entities of the regime, may also fall for the GTP propaganda and its fundraising mission.
The GTP meetings held in the USA and Canada solidify the above argument. There were more opponents to the GTP propaganda than supporters in all cities where the meetings were held. Moreover, the GTP meeting participants were not new faces but the familiar supporters and members of the regime in the Diaspora, who entered the meeting halls heavily guarded by police forces of the host cities. The campaign against the GTP propaganda (disinformation) in the Diaspora is loud and clear. Simply put, there was no dialogue about the GTP that entertained diverse and differing ideas and views. The GTP mission was a total disaster in reaching out to the larger Diaspora communities in order to involve the larger public in the GTP meetings. If the GTP propaganda is meant to attract new participants in the Diaspora to lure investments into the GTP, it ended up a total failure. The GTP meeting participants, as were other pro-TPLF/EPRDF meetings before it, were dominated by regular TPLF members and supporters. These groups of people are regular visitors to Ethiopia, and known supporters of the regime’s agendas and plans for two decades. The government agents don’t need to cross oceans to meet the same people again unless it’s all about foolhardy pretension or else the GTP meetings were sought to attract the larger community in the Diaspora it did not. Actually, the regime’s representatives have already met many of the regimes supporters in Diaspora several times in Ethiopia as well as in the West, and lectured them about the so-called GTP. There is nothing new about the over-hyped GTP meetings in the Diaspora.
Of course, the delusional cadres of the regime have already claimed the utter failure of the GTP campaign in the Diaspora as a grand success, and embellishing the accomplishment they didn’t garner. But facts abound that the GTP delegations have hardly attracted new participants for the GTP dialogue.
Economic Populism and Self-interest Driven GTP Propaganda
Techniques dictators use to stay in power, among others, include indoctrination, disinformation, controlled participation, scapegoating, and sheer force. The TPLF/EPRDF regime uses the GTP indoctrination and disinformation to launch the divide and rule agenda to the last frontier the regime has not conquered yet: the Diaspora. The purpose of GTP indoctrination and disinformation is to create like-minded people in the Diaspora who believe that the regime’s policies in the GTP will lead to economic growth and transformation in Ethiopia.
Once dictators establish control over the bureaucracy and armed forces, their long-term political survival largely depends on their management of problems in the economy. Economic development is generally regarded as a ‘good thing’ and almost everybody wants more of it, particularly in economically less advanced countries like Ethiopia the need for economic development is manifest. The rhetoric about economic growth and propaganda thereof are the main goals of ensuring political stability for dictators. Dictators tend to bank on economic populism to survive in power since their records in democratic tenets and human rights are always questionable. If the people consider that repression is too high and their economic welfare is too low, the plan for an uprising attracts more supporters and deepens to depose a dictator. Thus a dictator always embellishes economic success of a country under his rule. However, real economic change is generally hard under a repressive regime, and hence the focus of a dictator is on economic growth propaganda in order to grab and divert the attention of the people through launching repeated disinformation using catchwords about the economy.
The TPLF/EPRDF regime has to increase financial inflows to finance the large scale projects such as so-called Millennium Dam, and hence the regime is launching the GTP fundraising propaganda in the Diaspora since there are limits to the amount of saving that can be forced out of the population in Ethiopia whose annual income per capita is very low. The GTP propaganda campaign presents GTP as a scheme consonant with the enlightened economic self-interest of the Diaspora. The regime claims that the Diaspora public who participate in the fundraising and investment scheme of the GTP will economically benefit more than the regime itself. And then the disinformation spices it up by presenting GTP agenda as solid plan that can transform the country’s long-term economic self-interest and convert Ethiopia into a middle income economy. The regime’s representatives act as if they were against their own self-interests for the larger goals of the GTP scheme, merely to gratify their least credible passions of transforming the living standards of the majority of people in Ethiopia and get rid of poverty and secure food self-sufficiency through the so-called GTP.
Although the propaganda to lure Diaspora investment uses economic impulses of self-interest of making money via involvement in the GTP, it offers false, garbled or incomplete evidence for such success. The propaganda avoids logical argument and seeks to influence its victims by the mere repetition of catchwords like growth and transformation embellished by patriotic duties of transforming Ethiopia and the lives of people in Ethiopia via participating in the GTP. Under the prevailing high rate of inflation in Ethiopia, real interest rate (real returns) on bonds is negative, and hence buying Millennium Bonds is not a smart investment. Similarly, with the current inflationary pressure in Ethiopia, opening a foreign saving account in Ethiopia does not yield a better rate of interest as the pro-TPLF Aiga Forum claims. Thus the investment scheme itself is a scheme where investors lose money than make money, and hence the regime’s bond market in Ethiopia sounds more like a fundraising campaign than a lure for profitable investment venture. Moreover, the propaganda to lure the people to buy Millennium Bond to finance the so-called Millennium Dam has taken over the news media in Ethiopia, and extensively used as propaganda tool to raise and exploit nationalist sentiments about the use of Nile tributaries for Ethiopia’s benefit. The regime’s propagandists are also roaming Universities in the country in order to garner support for the dam and divert attention of the students from taking part in popular uprising that may take place in Ethiopia against the regime.
The success of the fundraising scheme in Diaspora will be limited. The Diaspora opponents described the GTP meetings as scams intending to swindle the Diaspora of their hard-earned money. Government Millennium Bond selling plan to fund (finance) Millennium Dam is not flying high and not raising nationalist sentiments, and it is understood as part of deceptive propaganda to scam the Diaspora of their money to enrich the dictators in Ethiopia.
GTP as Means of Attention Diversions and Ruling via Hope
Due to atrocious political repression and limited political space, shortages of staple food commodities, very high unemployment rate, and souring inflation, there are widespread frustrations among the people in Ethiopia. The economic pain caused by shortages and very high inflation has become unbearable, particularly in big towns and cities. The impoverishment of the majority who are already very poor is not easily tolerated, especially when the mechanism of expectations has been built up via growth propaganda. Thus the TPLF/EPRDF regime resorts to shifting economic growth propaganda tools to keep the hope alive that tomorrow will be better. There are two main instruments with which dictators try to persuade the masses to hope for an increased future income and better tomorrow: entrenched propaganda and repression of other media about what ensues in the economy. The GTP propaganda has become whole range of activities to distract attention from present economic hardship, and to justify it in terms of assured future happiness and improved living standards. The propaganda about the beautiful dawn of prosperity in the future is one the most effective propaganda tools dictators rely on. Some dictators also tend to bank on investing in large projects; mainly using government owned and affiliated economic institutions and companies. For the uninformed elite, economic development propaganda considers the national goal of modernization with the personal goal of expanded career opportunities. For the new generation of educated citizens, economic development is taken as a guarantee of employment. And the unemployed intelligentsia is a major threat to many regimes as proven in North Africa and Middle East, and hence the TPLF regime cries about the better tomorrow the GTP brings.
Dictators’ reliance on the GTP type propaganda (disinformation) is not new either. In their propaganda modern day dictators rely for the most part on repetition of catchwords of economic growth, accompanied by suppression and rationalization of their moribund rules. The repetition of catchwords like economic growth, transformation, etc., which mouthpieces of a dictator wish to be accepted as true; the suppression of facts which they wish to be ignored; the arousal and rationalization of nationalist passions, which may be used in the interests of a dictator in power, are very common. Although dictators have rigid political culture, their political survival tactic is very flexible. As dictators’ ongoing propaganda manipulation understood to be false, dictators combine new catchwords and techniques with the non-stop distractions to drown in a sea of irrelevance the rational propaganda essential to build democratic institutions and pave a way for sustainable economic development. Meles is very well known in relying on his shifting propaganda tools based on catchwords, which include revolutionary democracy, agricultural-led industrialization (ADLI), etc., and when they all proved futile propaganda tools that bring no tangible change for the welfare of the masses, the regime resorts to the new catchwords. The ongoing GTP rhetoric is just new propaganda tool designed to divert attentions and prolong the survival of the regime. In view of that the core objective of the GTP itself is not to achieve economic development per se but launching an entrenched and sustained propaganda campaign to limit situations that could lead to popular revolt.
Therefore, the implicit objectives of exporting the GTP propaganda to the Diaspora community are attempts of misinforming the Diaspora about the situation in Ethiopia in general and economic growth-GTP in particular, and hence diverting attentions from the ongoing human rights abuses and dividing the Diaspora by presenting the regime as committed to concrete economic growth and transformational economic plan. The divisionary politics of a desperate regime, which rules with iron fist of a moribund tyranny, does not seem to work in the Diaspora.
Growth Propaganda and a “Benevolent” Dictator
An equally important aim of GTP propaganda is to persuade the masses that the TPLF/EPRDF leadership is the most efficient vehicle of modernization and economic growth in Ethiopia. The regime has been extensively using GDP growth rate figures as propaganda tool, and also tries to present the leadership of the regime, particularly Meles, as an indispensable asset for economic development and transformation of Ethiopia.
On the other hand, hiding behind the GTP propaganda, the regime has heightened political repressions further derailing demands for democratic change, using the whole range of political police activities, which aim at suppressing political activities of the opposition groups in Ethiopia by surveillance and imprisonment, intimidating the masses by displays of force, and preventing the circulation of rival internal and external information, including about the so-called GTP by controlling the media, and inhibiting public discussions. As the regime’s GTP delegation members are touring the West to launch the GTP propaganda campaign, the agents of the regime are harassing, imprisoning and killing people in Ethiopia. The regime wants no attention on such tragedy.
The contradiction between reality and propaganda of dictators is due to the fact that dictators like Meles by definition are despots, absolute rulers, often with trappings of perceived popularity, and believe that the life and death of the people lie fully in their hands. Despotism is fundamentally built on the lie that a dictator’s leadership is all it takes to make a change, including economic growth and transforming a country into modernization.
Therefore the oxymoronic myth of a “benevolent dictator” Meles, who will transform Ethiopia to the middle income economy, is as old as recorded history itself. Tyrants often project benevolence and transformational rhetoric in an attempt to divert attention from their cruelty and autocratic draconian rule. Dictators’ benevolence propaganda includes resorting to large scale projects like construction of large dams and militarization. The value of being at the center of public attention, particularly in raising the economic populism that affect the livelihood of the people in general, is priceless for a tyrant whose aim is to garner a people’s loyalty and obedience. Hence the GTP propaganda is geared towards prolonging the goals and dictates of despot Meles and his regime. The government-run media feed the people in Ethiopia more than their daily dose of propaganda material about the so-called GTP every day. The same disinformation is crossing the oceans and reaching the Diaspora in the West.
However, the larger Diaspora public knows that all agendas and plans of dictators, including economic schemes and projects, are self-serving and non-benevolent. Literally, every initiative and plan of a dictator embodies self-preservation and an attempt to stay in power as long as possible. When a dictator faces pressure and challenges to stay in power, the propaganda rhetoric the raises and exploits nationalist sentiments and economic growth heightens. Moreover, hardly can economic growth absolve brutality of tyrants and their draconian rules. The argument in support of dictators-led Developmental State itself has been seriously challenged since the mass uprising in dictators-led countries classified as examples of developmental states like Tunisia, Egypt, etc. We learned that GDP growth rate driven propaganda does not stop popular uprising and a demand for economic and political freedoms. The argument against the developmental state rhetoric of Meles is even more real since Ethiopia under the TPLF/EPRDF regime lacks both economic freedoms and political freedoms, and does not even pass the test of a developmental state itself.
Dictators Obsession with Economic Control
By definition, a dictatorship is a system of government where the power is centralized, including economic power. Dictators search for all opportunities to strengthen their grip on the population, including in a control of wealth and economic influence on the people they lord over. Even more so, it is true under the TPLF/EPRDF regime, which literally controls and dominates the Ethiopian economy. Under the government owned and affiliated oligarchy-driven economic system of the regime, the majority of the people in Ethiopia are suffering from both economic suppression and political repression. In the economy controlled by the TPLF/EPRDF regime owned-and aligned- oligarchies and weak private sector, the economic growth benefit does not significantly trickle down to the larger public to improve their living standards.
Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) April 2011 Report states that state-led development model of the TPLF/EPRDF regime creates barriers to private businesses and hence hinders private sector growth. The regime cannot transform the economy by neglecting and marginalizing the private sector. EIU report also states that the regime’s interventionist policies have created market distortions that have led to shortages of staple food products and have deepened economic pains of the people. In addition, the state-led development model emphasis public investment rather than private-sector growth. The lack of economic freedom for the private sector in Ethiopia is also echoed in the Economic Freedom Index (2011) prepared by the Heritage Foundation and Wall Street. Inefficient government services infested by lack of rule of law and pervasive corruptions are the norms of the TPLF/EPRDF regime. These are hardly signs for sustainable and transformational economic growth model.
But according to the GTP propaganda real transformational growth is taking root in Ethiopia, and it is supported by available evidence fully and honestly set forth. It’s true that the regime has achieved GDP growth rates for certain periods mainly by providing secure property rights, unfettered bank loans, tax exemptions, and other good business conditions to firms owned and aligned with political powers, which have taken forms of oligarchies in different sectors of the economy. Thus the growing GDP of Ethiopia has been mainly enriching the government-owned and affiliated-oligarchies. Hence GTP is just an extension of the scheme that enriches the already rich oligarchies. There are also widespread real estate bubbles in Ethiopia, which heavily contributes to the GDP growth rate.
Thus a deeper look reveals that there is no grand growth trend that addresses the economic plights of the majority of the people in Ethiopia, let alone being sustainable and transformational in nature. Considering the reality on the ground, Ethiopia’s economy is very far from being set on a road of transformation to the level of middle income economy as the regime’s cadres claim. Sustainable economic growth that improves the living standards of the masses requires not only secure property rights, but also uncensored growth of entrepreneurial class and human capital. This in turn requires level playing fields for all actors in the economy. Dictatorship-bred oligarchies, which control the Ethiopian economy under the current regime, don’t guarantee long-run sustainable economic growth and economic stability. An economy develops by building the right institutions that lay grounds for economic freedoms, which are missing in Ethiopia today. Due to the lack of opportunities and political repressions, the brain-drain from Ethiopia under the TPLF/EPRDF regime is the highest it has ever been and among the highest in the world. Therefore, the TPLF/EPRDF regime’s rhetoric about growth and transformation contradicts what ensues on the ground in Ethiopia.
Conclusion
The TPLF/EPRDF regime claims that with the GTP agenda Ethiopia’s economy will be transformed into the middle income economy and Ethiopia will be food self-sufficient, and health care access for all will be achieved by 2015. The goals sound not only overly ambitious but also unrealistic considering what unfolds on the ground in Ethiopia. Let alone the GTP transforming the Ethiopian economy into the middle income countries, basic necessities, including staples food commodities, are becoming dire in Ethiopia, and beyond the reach of the large chunk of the population. Hence the GTP is more of propaganda than transformational ‘Marshal’ plan for the Ethiopian economy. EIU report also predicts that the regime will find it difficult to accomplish the ambitious GTP plan due to various reasons.
People in Ethiopia suffer from brutal economic, military, political and social repressions under the TPLF/EPRDF regime. The economy needs a fertile ground to grow on a sustainable basis. Countries that have achieved sustainable economic growth enforce economic freedoms such as property rights, respect the rule of law and create a level playing field for private-sector, and for the population at large. They develop institutions for collective decision-making that prevent economic power from being taken over by strongmen or narrow cliques in the political power. Political and economic institutions reforms, accompanied by capacity building in human capital, pave the way for sustainable economic growth. Thus the heart of economic policy for sustainable economic growth and transformation agenda should be genuine desire to give all economic actors more choices and opportunities. The oligarchies-controlled economy under the TPLF/EPRDF regime does not permit that, and sustainable economic growth does not happen under the economic system controlled by vested interests of few oligarchies owned and aligned with dictatorial regime. All evidences are in indicating that the oligarchies of the regime break all the economic rules that foster free and fair competition in the economy. Rather cronyism, rent-seeking and corruptions are rampant.
The government controlled media carry out the regime’s propaganda service about the GTP every day. The media frame economic growth in terms of the GDP growth rate rather than income distribution, macroeconomic policy effects on inflation and on unemployment. The irresponsible macroeconomic policies that significantly contribute to the economic problems are never raised. Instead, the private sector is a scapegoat for all economic ills in Ethiopia.
Finally, sustainable economic development is no longer seen primarily as a process of capital accumulation and building large projects (dams) but rather as a process of organizational and institutional change and reforms. Rent-seeking, inefficient institutions and underinvestment in research and development (R & D) and training coordination failure handicap economic growth. Ethiopia has all of these ills in abundance under the current regime. Instead of dealing with the core handicapping problems in order to genuinely transform the economy for the benefit of the majority, the TPLF/EPRDF regime resorts to propaganda of attention diversion and disinformation while maintaining the control of the economy via the regime’s oligarchies like EFFORT.
Dr. Barii Ayano can be reached at [email protected]
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Re-Cushitization of Ethiopia and the Triangular Struggle for Freedom
By Fayyis Oromia*
As far as my hitherto understanding of our history is concerned, Ethiopia, as also depicted in the Bible, is Cushland, which is located south of Egypt and now stretches from Meroë in the northern part of Sudan to Mombasa in southern Kenya. The current geographical Ethiopian empire is only part of this Cushland. But, according to the rhetoric of the Abyssinized elites, Ethiopia is equivalent to only the de-Cushitized/Abyssinized part of Cushland in the northern part of the present empire, traditionally known as Abyssinia. This part of the empire is the main region, which has passed through the Abyssinization process in the last 3000 years.
To make clear about which Ethiopia I am writing here, it is important to look at the different definitions given till now. For the ancient Greeks, the country called Ethiopia was where those with “burned face” lived, i.e. the land of blacks, which included the whole of Africa; for the Biblical Jews, it is the land of Cush located south of Egypt; for the international community now, it is the currently existing state in the Horn of Africa; to the people like Prof. Megalomatis, Ethiopia is equivalent to the non-Abyssinian part of the Cushland; for the Abyssinized people of the Horn, Ethiopia means only Abyssinia; for the nostalgic and conservative politicians of the empire, “true Ethiopia” is the same as being Amhara; and, for the currently ruling class of the Tigreans and for their mouthpieces like AigaForum, Ethiopia simply means Weyane. Such a Babylonic confusion of the term Ethiopia is also reflected in the Oromo liberation camp. For some Oromo nationalists, Ethiopia is the current modern state in which Oromia is located and need to be liberated; that is why the rhetoric Oromia-Ethiopia is not as such contradictory for it is possible to talk about Oromia in particular, and Ethiopia in general. To the other Oromo nationalists, Ethiopia is the same to Abyssinia, the neighbouring country of Oromia, which occupied its neighbouring country, from which Oromia should separate unconditionally; for this group, talking about Oromia being within Ethiopia now is thus logically wrong and de-Abyssinization here means independence of Oromia from Abyssinia.
But what does the Abyssinization process I am talking about here mean? It is the anti-thesis to the values of the Cush peoples, who existed in the eastern part of Africa, all sharing a common cultural heritage, since 8000 years ago. As the linguistic evidences testify, the ancient Cushitic languages had been divided into four branches starting from 5,000 B.C, thus now the branches having their different linguistic and national identities. Some of their common positive values included their monotheistic faith system, in which they did believe in only one Supreme Being known as Waaqa by the Oromo, the faith system with no concept for Satan and Hell to punish a human being after death; their egalitarian social norm; their democratic values like the Gadaa administration of the Oromo; their tendency to cultivate harmony, love and peace as major social values; as well as their good tradition regarding peaceful transfer of power as practiced in the Gadaa democracy. In the Abyssinization process, the Cush peoples in the present Abyssinia started to accept the language, the aristocratic rule, the theocratic tradition and other values of the Middle East, including the namings in both the aristocracy and the theocracy. That is why the names given to most of the kings and popes of Abyssinia were in non-Cushitic languages.
Before the beginning of the Abyssinization process in the Axum empire (in today’s Tigrai and Eritrea), the inhabitants of the area were mostly the Cushites; that is why Axum civilization is said to be part of the Cush civilization. The so called Solomonic dynasty in the Axum empire was in reality the dynasty of the Abyssinized (Semetized) Agew, who accepted the values of the aristocracy and theocracy, including the creation of the Ge-ez language (a combination of the Agew, Hebrew and ancient Yemenite Hebrew languages). This dynasty was later taken over by the non-Abyssinized Cushitic dynasty of Zagwe. The same trend seems to have had happened latter in Hankoo-bar (Shoa), where the Cushitic Oromo used to live. In reality the Solomonic dynasty in Shoa and Gondar were the dynasty of the Abyssinized Oromo. The ruling class of this dynasty created its own language, the “Lisane-Nigus” (Amharinya), in 1270 from the combination of Afaan Oromo, Ge-ez/Tigrinya and Agewinya. It controlled only about 1000SqKm around Hankoo-bar in the 14th century, being surrounded by the non-Abyssinized Oromo. The ruling class gradually expanded its territory to include all the present Amhara part of the North Shoa. In the 16th century, after the Oromo defense forces successfully protected their nation from the attack by both the Ottoman Turks and the Portuguese (the time when all the foreigners were driven out and since when Ethiopia was considered to be isolated), this same Oromo dynasty continued to rule in Gondar till the rise of the Abyssinized Agew warlord, Atse Theodros, who started to defeat the Oromo dynasty for the first time being supported by the Europeans, so that the Abyssinization of the Oromo could continue.
Some of the negative impacts of the Abyssinization on the affected part of the Cush nations include the forceful conversion of peoples to Judaism and Orthodox-Christianity; the authoritarian tradition, including the terrorization of the non-Abyssinized neighbours; the autocracy and dictatorship replacing their democratic tradition; the intrigues as well as the inculcating of war as their motto for keeping power; and the taking over of power from each other by using the means of murder and violence. These negative impacts of the Abyssinization process were to some extent checked by the non-Abyssinized Oromo till the rise of Atse Theodros in mid-nineteenth century. The first victim of the Abyssinization process was the Agew nation, the main base of Abyssinia; it was then followed by the victimization of the Oromo in the northern part of Oromia. Some history writers think that the Cush peoples were physically pushed from the north to the south, but I think they were rather more de-Cushitized, both culturally and linguistically, than only being pushed physically. The later military and political moves of the Abyssinized Agew kings (Theodros and Yohannes IV) as well as that of the Abyssinized Oromo kings (Minilik and Haile-Sillasie) were then the further attempts of Abyssinizing the non-Abyssinian part of the Oromo and that of the other nations in the southern part of the current Ethiopian empire. The Abyssinized Oromo king Minilik and the non-Abyssinized Oromo General Gobanaa together succeeded in invading the non-Abyssinized Oromo and the other Cushitic and Nilotic nations of the southern region.
When we look at the recent history of the Oromo, this nation can be regarded as part and parcel of both the Abyssinized and the Abyssinizers in the history of the existing Ethiopian empire. The Abyssinized/Amharanized kings of Shoa Oromo from Ye-Kunoo-Amlak to Haile-Sillasie Guddisa were the classical examples. The move of the Oromo in self-defense against both the Europeans and the Ottoman Turks during the sixteenth century war in the Horn, including the rule by Oromo kings in the Gondar dynasty; the ruling Oromo federalists of Ejjuu Oromo from Ras Ali-I to Ras Ali-II during the so called “Zemene Mesafint” (Era of the Princes); the contribution of Tewabech (daughter of Ras Ali-II from Oromo origin), the wife of Atse Theodros, for the success of her husband; the contribution of Itege Taayitu Bitul (the Oromo lady) to coordinate the moves of both Minilik and Gobanaa during the invasion of Oromia and during the Adwa war against Italian colonizers; the contribution of such Oromo generals in consolidating “Ethiopian unity” and the mysterious death of Gobanaa; the rejection of Lij Iyassu (a non-Abyssinized Oromo) by the European Christian Kings and his premature death being accused as Muslim; the role of the Oromo generals like Qusee Dinagde to consolidate Haile-Sillasie’s rule; the role of Oromo generals like Jakamaa Keello in defending Haile-Sillasie from the coup attempt by the Neway brothers; the role of Oromo patriots like Abune Phexros, Abebe Aregay and Belay Zeleqe in defending Ethiopia from fascist Italy during the Second World War; the heroic deeds of Abdissa Aaga in Italy; the role of Oromo revolutionaries like Walellign Mekonen, Haile Fida, Baaroo Tumsa, Senay Likke, Dabalaa Dhinsaa and Teferi Bantii to topple the last monarchy; the “last minute” attempt of General Tesfaye Gebre-Kidan and Tesfaye Dinqaa (both being Oromo) to save the empire during the fall of Derg; the role of OLF in bringing down the Derg brutal rule; the main opposition against Weyane since 1991, which is coming mainly from the Oromo nation; and even the fact that the prominent Ethiopianists in the present opposition camp, such as Birtukan Midhagsaa and Hailu Shawel, being from Oromo roots do show the involvement of Oromo elites in both the Abyssinization process and in the defense of the non-Abyssinized Cush nations against this same process.
Today, the Abyssinization process is going on under the influence of the tyrant Weyane regime. The false national identity, belonging to “Ethiopia = Abyssinia with 3000 years history” is still propagated. Tigrean elites consider themselves as belonging to the “Semetic” nation, the false identity given to them by the European and Israeli ethnologists, whereas Amhara elites try to deny the existence of Amhara as a nation, which is the wrong way of trying to “save” the Ethiopian identity. The reality on the ground seems to be that the Tegaru are the Abyssinized Agew (except the few Abyssinized Oromo in the southern Tigrai) and the Amhara are the Abyssinized parts of Agew and Oromo in the regions of Gondar, Gojjam, Shoa and Wallo. But, this version of Ethiopian history should not be used as a justification for the cry to reclaim unitary Ethiopia. We know that all Cush nations have developed their own distinctive languages, identities and ways of life to deserve their own free nation-states. Their amalgamation within a unitary state by disregarding their right to self-determination was not, is not and will not be as such constructive.
Just disregarding the unitary state, it is interesting that we can now observe the non-Abyssinized nations, example the Oromo people, are the most tolerant in the empire to allow “others” to live among them in comparison to the Abyssinized nations in the north. Just let’s look at the relatively very few presence of Gurage, who tend to move to all corners of the empire for the sake of making business, in the Abyssinized region, in comparison to what they do enjoy all over Oromia and in all areas in the southern regions. It is this tolerance of the non-Abyssinized nations, including the Oromo, which invites “others” to work with them together against all injustices. The ongoing resistance against the current tyranny, perpetrated by the rulers of the Abyssinized elites from Tigrai, needs such an all-inclusive alliance in a form of both the liberation struggle and the democratization process including the re-Cushitization. Here we need to see the importance of the “two against one” phenomenon in the triangular struggle of the Amhara, the Tegaru and the Oromo elites for either domination or liberation.
To make this phenomenon practical, Oromo forces, in our policy, should consider to liberate not only the Oromo people, but also the Cush nations of Agew (both Agew-Amhara and Agew-Tigrai) in Abyssinia, which are still victims of the negative impacts of the Abyssinization process. Our move in the future should be the liberation move from the status quo of tyranny —– through a genuine federation (national autonomy for each nation) —– and through national freedom (independence of each nation-state) —– towards the Cush Confederation (union of independent Cush nations) in the Horn. Surely again, it is the Oromo liberation movement which can be the main factor for the coming demise of the current Tigrean tyrannical regime, that is why the regime is more brutal on the Oromo. Abyssinized rulers, as the confused part of the Cush, should be compelled to move toward this concept of Cush Confederation, so that they will stop the ongoing subjugation of the Cush peoples under their rule. These rulers still disregard their true roots and want to identify themselves with the Semetics, which is almost the same to the rhetoric of the past rulers, who talked about the “Solomonic dynasty” myth, bragged about being from “Ze Negede Yihuda” (from the nation of Juda) as well as conceited by calling their aristocrats and theocrats with Jewish names.
That is why the re-Cushitization of Oromo in particular, and that of the other Cush nations in general, should be part and parcel of the Oromo’s struggle for self-determination. It must be part of the Oromo/Cush liberation movement, which wants to foster the re-Cushitized Ethiopia, which stretches from Meroë to Mombasa. Such renaissance of the Cush must be the true Ethiopian renaissance in contrast to the further Abyssinization going on under the rule of Meles Zenawi; the Ethiopian renaissance is now wrongly described as such. The genuine Ethiopian renaissance is the reversing of the negative 3000 years Abyssinization of the Cushites. The liberation of Agew-Amhara and Agew-Tigrai from this negative impact should be accompanied by the re-Cushitization movement; i.e. the Oromo liberation movement should include the liberation of these two highly Abyssinized nations and to help them be re-Cushitized. In this regard, specially during the last one and half century, there was the struggle between the elites of the two Abyssinized nations (Amhara and Tegaru elites) and those of the non-Abyssinized Oromo for domination or for liberation. Except the short break during the rule by the Agew-Tigrai warlord Atse Yohannes IV, the elites from the Amhara nation dominated for more than a century. But the elites of all the dominated nations, specially those of the Oromo and the Tegaru, fought together against this Amhara domination.
The feasible approach in the liberation struggle was and still is the optimal use of the “triangular struggle” in the Empire. In Ethiopia, the fact that at least three forces (Amhara, Tegaru and Oromo) are fighting against each other for either domination or liberation is unique. This triangular struggle needs wisdom in knowing and using the possible alliances of the “two against one.” Till 1991, there had been no confusion, Oromian liberation forces and Tigrean “liberation” forces had formal or informal alliances against the dominating and ruling Amhara elites. From 1991 till 2006, there was a confusion for the Amhara opposition forces and the Oromo liberation forces could not trust each other to foster an alliance against the now dominating Tigrean elites. The Tigrean ruling elites successfully divided and polarized the Amhara and the Oromo liberation forces so that these two couldn’t foster similar alliance of the “two against one.” One of the methods applied by the ruling Tigrean elites is acknowledging Amharinya as the only federal language and denying Afaan Oromo the same status. With this manipulation, Tigrean elites could make the Oromo feel as if we are still dominated by the Amhara elites and made the Amhara elites sense as if they are still the privileged ones in the empire.
This was/is a reason why the ultra conservative Amhara elites still prefer being ruled by Weyane to being liberated by the Oromo forces. The notorious handshake with Meles Zenawi and the frivolous opposition against the opposition by some prominent Amhara elites was the classical example. From 2006 (the first attempt of forming AFD) till now, there is an approach-avoidance conflict between these two forces, which seem to be diametrically opposite (some Amhara elites still crying for an unconditional unitary Ethiopia and some Oromo elites singing about an unconditional independent Oromia without a possibility for regional union). Now these two currently oppressed big nations seem to be on a crossroad to choose between either forging an alliance against Weyane fascists or suffering further under the tyranny. I know that there are now debates and discussions going on between the opponents and proponents of the alliance in both camps.
Weyane cadres are, of course, pouring kerosene to the fire as usual by camouflaging as the opponents in both camps against the “unholy” alliance. In Oromo camp, they preach that Amhara elites are still the primary enemy of the Oromo nation; and in Amhara camp, they teach that Oromo elites are not to be trusted for they are “anti-Ethiopia,” as if the Oromo elites are worse in this regard than the ruling Tigrean elites. It seems that they are successful with this polarization till now. Time will tell us if the leaders of both the Amhara liberation camp and the Oromo liberation camp are smart enough to deal with this divide-and-rule machine of Weyane. I personally encourage them again to come together in order to get rid of this tyrant Tigrean regime and to pave a way forward for the future re-Cushitized Ethiopia in a form of a union of independent nations (Cush Confederation). I hope they will break the advantage taken by the ruling tyrants and make the struggle to be the triangular struggle of “two (Amhara and Oromo liberation forces) against one (Tegaru fascist rulers)” for freedom, but not for domination. As repeatedly quoted: “coming together is the beginning, keeping together is a progress and working together is a success.” By the way, not mentioning other nations here in the triangular struggle does not mean they are insignificant, but the opinion here suggests that the other nations can be categorized in one of the three angles of the struggle.
From the Oromo perspective, the best way to forge an effective alliance against the enemy is by empowering the Oromo or by strengthening the Oromo liberation camp. When we do have a strong and efficient liberation force, all our neighbouring nations, including the Amhara, who are now suffering under the Tigrean tyrants, will surely seek an alliance with us. That is why I tried to promote the formation of only one big and efficient OLF, the formation of which now seems to be unlikely. Yet, we should have Plan B, i.e. having two competitive OLF’s just like the two Palestinian organizations (Fatah and Hamas) is not as such bad. It is good that OLF-KY and OLF-SG had agreed to merge; if OLF-QC fails to join them, it should try to merge with ULFO and form the second stronger OLF. I am sure that both OLF’s will have no difference of Kaayyaoo, but they may move with different strategies to the same goal. This is not bad so long they be careful not to fight each other, but target the enemy from different directions. Let OLF-SG move using the tactical alliance with Habesha democratic forces towards the goal and let OLF-QC move without such tactical alliance; here, I do see no contradiction.
Parallel to this liberation move, one of the re-Cushitization process we need is the revival of Waaqeffannaa as it is going on now as seen in the link: http://waaqeffannaa.org. Beside this, it is also interesting to observe and, is important to keep, the Cushitic version of Islam (the very liberal and tolerant one) as well as good to maintain the tolerant Cushitic versions of Christianity, both the Orthodox and Evangelical movements in the Horn, being the liberal interpretations of Cushitic Africans. Thanks to Waaqa, we seem to move forward in all these aspects. Waaqeffannaa is the core of the Cush culture, which lost its importance due to the Abyssinization of different Cush nations, including the Oromo, in the last 3000 years. This time-span, which the Abyssinized elites (the confused Cush) narrate as the “good” history of Ethiopia, is actually the time in which the Cush nations had to slowly give up their constructive norms and values in order to accept the unproductive values of the Semitic peoples of the Middle East. Now, it is the time for the renaissance and revival of this lost Cush culture. Reviving and modernizing Waaqeffannaa must be part and parcel of such re-Cushitization move. This monotheistic faith system of the Cush in particular, and that of Africa in general, needs to be developed further.
The de-Abyssinization process should also include the mechanism to get rid of the unitaristic notions like “Ethiopia belongs to all of us,” the approaches like “we know better for you,” the assertions like “our language is your language,” the ideas like “we don’t exist as a nationality, neither do you,” the absurdities like “we are not Africans/blacks,” and it should help get rid of the still existing colonizer mentality of the Abyssinized elites. Actually, the Oromo liberation struggle already made such elites to think twice, and it will continue to do the same till the confused part of the Cush (Amhara and Tegaru elites) start to feel as free and proud Cushites so that they can begin to allow their neighbouring other Cush nations to also be free. At the end of the day, they will be proud of being part of the Cush community, be happy about having their own nation-states and being ready to foster a union of independent nations (Cush Confederation). Certain concrete facts, which support the necessity of our move towards such a union, are that we do, for example, see Lake Tana in Abyssinia and Tana River in Kenya as well as that we do have the Weyito people in Abyssinia around Lake Tana and the Waata Oromo in Kenya around Tana River, both of them revealing the reality that the common denominator for these two regions (Abyssinia and Kenya) is being an Oromo/Cush. Can this suggest that the Wayito at the source of Mormor (Abbay) river are the Waata Oromo?
Anyways, the way forward for all the Cush nations is first to achieve freedom from the destructive mentality and from the tyrannic rule of the Abyssinized elites and then to allow each Cush nation to decide on its own destiny, be it for an independence within a union or without a union. As long as there is domination of any kind, there will always be a move for liberation. That is why the best way to get rid of the liberation fronts in the empire is to deal with the domination forces. It is like fighting the fire (i.e. the cause) (an effective approach), but not struggling with only the smoke (i.e. the symptom) without dealing with the fire (the futile exercise). Thus, the concrete steps to be taken in the re-Cushitization process should include: the revival and development of both Agew culture and language in Gondar, Gojjam, Lasta, Tigrai and Eritrea; the re-Oromization of those who lost their identity in Rayya, Wallo, North Shoa, Finfinne, and in the other big towns of Oromia; getting rid of the myths like the rhetoric about the Solomonic dynasty and the fiction about “Ze Negede-Yihuda”; getting rid of the confusing and destructive Abyssinized elites’ way of doing business by brute force; as well as the renaissance and the modernization of the lost Cush values like the Gadaa democracy and the Qalluu institution, which were practiced even around Axum before the beginning of the Abyssinization.
The main features of the future political community in the re-Cushitized Ethiopia (the Cush Confederation) will then be a political union of independent Cush nations; the region with freedom of religion; the nation-states exercising democracy and enjoying their liberty; the region with economic prosperity; as well as the area of social harmony and peace between all the nations in the region. Beside the effort that our liberation forces must show to materialize this vision, let Waaqa/Rabbi help us all move in this beneficial direction!
Alem
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