The Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party’s International Leadership (K.I.L.) announced yesterday that it is handing over political leadership back to the recently freed top leaders of the party in Addis Ababa.
At a press conference that was attended by several Ethiopian editors, publishers, and radio hosts, Dr Moges Gebremariam, chairman of the K.I.L., said that his committee has ceased its activities. Dr Moges explained that the K.I.L.’s mandate was to represent the party’s executive committee only until its members are released from jail.
Earlier yesterday, the Kinijit executive committee sent a letter from Addis Ababa to all Kinijit groups in the Diaspora announcing that it is taking over leadership responsibilities from the party’s international leadership. Click here to read the letter.
Dr Moges, joined by his colleagues Ato Berhane Mewa, Ato Andargachew Tsige, Ato Dawit Kebede and Ato Daniel Assefa, expressed his appreciation for the contribution made by the Ethiopian independent media in the effort to secure the Kinijit leaders’ freedom, and keep the struggle going.
He also thanked Ethiopians around the world who had supported and rallied around the K.I.L. in the past 15 months of its existence.
Following the opening statement by Dr Moges, Ato Berhane Mewa read what he called “K.I.L.’s last official statement,” which announces the end of the leadership group.
The statement outlines K.I.L.’s accomplishments and jobs left unfinished. It is a positive and forward-looking statement.
In the 3-hour press conference, the media representatives took turns to ask questions and make their own comments.
Ethiopian Review asked the K.I.L. members what the future of Kinijit movement in the Diaspora would look like.
Ato Andargachew answered that a high-level Kinijit delegation composed of some of the top leaders will arrive in the United States shortly and it is they who would make such a decision after consulting with the various support groups. Until then, Kinijit North America, which has a democratically elected leadership, will continue to moblize support for the party from Ethiopians in the U.S.
Ato Andargachew said he believes that their decision will be in line with helping Kinijit’s culture of democracy to be firmly established through out the party.
33 thoughts on “Kinijit Int’l Leadership hands over political leadership back to the freed leaders”
nice one
I really want to thank those KIL members what they did for release of the CUD leaders, to make their effort for the real Democracy to be in Ethiopia and finally to give the position for released leaders with fair and on time. And this is what the Ethiopians looking for from our leaders. I hope they will continue on supporting the leaders for their work to bringing democracy In Ethiopia .Now CUD is one.
good job
Ethiopia has no shortage of individually competent and hard working citizens. But they lack the very important part of modern human behaviour, which is unity with open heart, and mind understanding the situation our country is facing. Meles Zenawi, Sebhat Nega(father of Tigry and EFFORT), Abbay Tshay(Tigry President and high security official), Kidusan Nega
(Mayer of Mekele, wife of Abbay Tshay and Sebhat’s sister) and few others with wild animals behaviour are united in Dedebit for bad purposes to commit the crimes we are witnessing since then. Yet, our educated and have enough understanding the situation in the country and internationally became unable to unite for good purpose and as the result innocent Ethiopians are suffering by those united for bad purpose.
“Dr Moges, joined by his colleagues Ato Berhane Mewa, Ato Andargachew Tsige, Ato Dawit Kebede and Ato Daniel Assefa”
Each of the above mentioned individuals could mach the entire TPLG gangs with politics in and outside the country. They have abilities with international standards. Yet, until now they too lack how to use it. Unity and respect one another, country and people first and sacrifice mentality and other important substances are seems to have no value among true Ethiopia children to save her from crises she is facing for so long.
Read the respected CUD leaders addressed to you again and again. It teaches all of us to become up to our sense of doing things the right way. Learn from past and move on to the better (Best) future. Don’t try to play games that could slow down or jeopardize the people struggle. If you are in you have to be in. or if you are out you have to be out. In and out is not working. You have to be in or out. Any one who is looking his/her personal benefit while he is living the way he does in abroad must be the one who has no idea how the majority of the Ethiopian people outside the cities are living. If you know how people back home are living, it would motivate you working hard and the right way as far as the last breath.
I hope, from now on the above mentioned competent true Ethiopian individuals and others would behave the human way rather than behaving as cats and mouse ways. I admire ER, EM, warka and other sites valuable and tireless work.
I also hope they will continue doing their job the way they are doing giving the short and as well as long term Ethiopian interest first priority rather working with Principe of the saying ”
My enemy enemy is my friend”. There are groups which are against the Meles regime because of the regime is standing against their wish to implement the kinds of policies the hard way to affect the very foundation of Ethiopia. All enemies are not bad. Because Some of them are worst. When we say meles is bad to Ethiopia, we have to know there the worst enemies around Ethiopia out there waiting their time for negative purposes
The point is we have to fight these groups too, rather than advocating their propaganda in the Internet because they are against meles. They are not only against meles but their foundation and final goal is being against Ethiopia.
I think CUD and other parties with one and united Ethiopia mentality need to sit down with the Meles regime in order to find the best solution to our country. The Ethiopian people in and outside the country need to work hard to make this happen forcing Meles to agree with the people demand. The peace way is an easy and certain one . hostility benefits nobody. It costs much for negative outcome. In order to build Ethiopia, we have to talk as much as it takes and agree in they name of Ethiopia.
God bless Ethiopia and her good children.
Great news. Thanks , ER for your great job. keep it up.
good job
Nice one. But hopefully the TPLF may not rob directly or indirectly the leadership power returning from exile. What guarantee?
Indeed! a great work has been a great work has been accomplished by the leadership of KIL.A fair minded person cannot deny this.
I applaud the timely decision by KIL to transfer power back to the executive committee of CUDP.
Thank you KIL,we are proud of your temporary leadership!
I very much like the answer given by Ato Andargachew for ER.
Sooner or latter the power of TPLF`s tyrannical rule will disappear from the face of Ethiopia but when we all work in unity and understanding by developing the most paramount and scarce element in the struggle i.e. TRUST
Hello, I have a question. Does the kinijit leadership consist of people from different Ethiopian ethnicities? Can other ethnicities join Kinijit even if they are not from the Amhara ethnic group ?
I’m curious in asking this important question. Thank you
i like the letter but CUD leaders should do things they want to do very fast.may be tommorow not their day!!!( they might back to kaliti)..yeseytan(meles) joro ayesmana!… woyanen mamen kebro new!!
thanks mr.Elias for your dadication, thanks all the intrnational leaders for your smart dicition. this kind of movement may send a signal for those who need to realaise the right from the wrong. keep your good work ethiopia will be free soon if we work hard as befor. our leaders are free but ethopian free jouranlist and others are still in jal. therfor, the work is not finshed yet we have long way to go.
With due respect to the CUDP leadership, decision to “dissolve” kil with a statement on a piece of paper is disrespectful to diaspora supporters and KIL patriots in particular. How could patriotic individuals who stood firm for 22 months and gave unwavering leadership be treated similarly to an 11th hour gang of opportunists who tried to associate themselves to that corrupted individual Shalequa Yoseph. No matter what the intention of the Cudp leadership is or what objective they are trying to achieve, championes of democracy who were at the forefront of the struggle at all times had to be recognized and credited. How could cudp dare to destroy the diaspora structure just with a stroke of a pen. It is rather a slap on the face for thousands of diaspora volunteers organized under KIL while trying to cover up those inexcusable messes caused by an old friend Shalequa and CO.
KIL compatriots – you were indeed the vanguards of the popular struggle. Millions have witnessed your leadership capabilites and with out you cudp would have been history long ago which woyane had worked hard to achieve. keep up with your popular work – Cud and Ethiopia still need you
Great, I was expecting this!
Next KIC should announce its part that it dissolved!
great job. You guys are hounest.
Praise God!!! Finally we have our leaders. The leadership in diaspora has shown that Ethiopians are poletically mature no matter we are far from our homeland. Ethiopians are engaged in their countrys poletics and they stand firm in the fight for democracy. CUD leadership at home will give the guidance, we will do every thing possible to achieve our goal. DEMOCRACY !!!
Great Job KIL
Great work guys. You were effective in filling the void created as a result of the imprisonement of our brave leaders. I look forward to hearing the high level delegation when it gets here and I hope the delegation includes Dr. Berhanu and Ato Hailu. It is time to set the record straight, craft a commonly shared vision, and go forward.
God, history and fellow Ethiopinas will always remember your good work.
Thank you Er
There are groups which are against CUDP leaders like Dr Taye I hope they will resain from any kind of Kinijit activities
This ought to be done.It’s a nice move by KIL.Understandably, the Diaspora’s role is not over and of course need to be further strengthened as the stuggle for democracy and human rights in Ethiopia is untouched to say the least.Freedom, justice and democracy can’t be treaded for a release of unjustly imprisoned leaders of the ppl.This is what they are saying and doing even the Shimagles before we even thanked them enough.
Things would get tougher and we need toget going!!!
Never again! A poltical leadership from abroad specially of from the US and Europe is a very bad idea that will never work.
Before going to Prison, Eng. Hailu Shawel was asked “who will be responsible to lead the struggle if you are arrested today?” – The great Hailu Shawel fired back: “There are so many out there! It is like a layer of an onion – you peel the first layer and then another layer pops up”. That was his answer at the time but that didn’t translate into practice. I hope now they will work on that. Never and ever give an enemy the time and space he needs to organize by exiling the leadership. Never again.
The Diaspora Ethiopians however dedicated they are to their country they all have a flawed charcter inherited from the days of the students movement in the ’60s & ’70s. As we have seen it time and again they are a bunch that can not get along. Leaving the CUD leadership and managing the Ethiopian crissis on their hand means like throwing a treasured fish on a shark infested water.
As we have seen it KNA vs KIL and then KIL vs KIC – scoring a point against one’s opponent is a very important thing than the cause of the movement. And then comes a war between two factions who stands for the same cause. Hidden charcters comes out in the open as the young refused to respect the older. To put it mildly it was a catastrophie. Thanks to the wise leaders they put it to rest.
Now we will go back to our root of organizing ourselves by community level. Who would have thought in 2005 the Diaspora movement will end up this way? Berhane Mewa’s intreview and press release, guidance and articulated speech of the time still echoes in my ear.The demonstration and the anger in every major city of the world is still on my eyes. To be honest I though a new generation of the Diaspora leaders has been created and intrigue & Squabbles were the thing of the past. I was dead wrong.
We have now to pool our resources and get united and do what we know best: Support the struggle at home. For those who want to lead the struggle, they have to do what Dr. Yacob did by giving up his comfortable University teaching job, and that is buy your thicket and go home.
The person who asked a question above under commennt number 9 should be new to politics. Where were you been? I personally advise you to read more about why CUD is established and you better make effors to know the composition and back history of at least some of the political leaders of CUD.
We are all thankful that Kinijit leaders are out of jail and the ill advised KIL has met its proper demise.
Contrary to what some believe, the KIL group had no choice, but to disband. The Kinijit leaders had already spoken and the KIC group had been and is their representative.
What I believe is despicable, is the fact that the KIL group now says that the group they created and being led by Aklog Limeneh is the representative of Kinijit Ethiopia. My fellow Ethiopians! Please open your eyes and see what these prevaricators and agents of Meles Zenawi are doing to people who support Kinijit and its ideals.
Meles did not free our leaders out of the goodness of his heart. The tempest in the bottle was getting stronger by the minute and political leaders in the US were becoming rather unwilling to go along and finance his -Meles’s-continuing rule of Ethiopia. So, what does Meles do? He starts to deal with so called shimageles who are now working to defeat HR 2003.
If everybody remembers well, the KIL group came to existance when the Diaspora Kinijit supporters were getting stronger by the day. KIL came and completely destroyed the impetus.
My question to the reading public is
1- Why would KIL not work with KIC unless KIL was/is not an agent provocateur for Aite Meles?
2- If the leaders of Kinijit have already made their wishes known, why are supporters not following the wishes of Kinijit Ethiopia.
3- It seems that the Kinijit North America Support group has been telling the truth about the shenanigans of the KIL group. Should we not ask the disbanding KIL group why are you not supporting the Kinijit NA group as opposed the support group that they had created when they left the Kinijit North Amerca Support group that was being led by Shaleka Yoseph?
I appreciate K.I.L. leaders for thier and proper action. They have been doing a marvelous job. They have been counteracting a big monster group, the Shaleka Yoseph group. Without the K.I.L leaders it would have been a condusive play ground for the bunch of gangsters and opportunists.
It it is my sincer advice once again for the group to keep hands off the people’s party. And I warn the KINIJIT leaders that if they do not purge Dr. Taye and the indigenous Gangs and the so called mediators but cheaters the party will fall in a serious danger. Do you realy know the background of Dr. Taye? I am sure he represents the disappointed and the losing EPRP. Please be aware of him. he carries danger. As the saying goes, ‘sifejegn bemankia, siberdilign be’eje’, is him.
If you don’t purge him soon he will purge you later.
Let the ALMIGHT GOD bless mother Ethiopia and her true children.
It’s good move, but we need to look back and make clear what the problem was between KIL and KIC and learn from that. Otherwise, if we let it go uncovered it might surface out in the future. As suporter of Kinjit we have the right to know what was going on our leaders.
First of all our united effort,within or outside of Ethiopia, has bare fruit. The realese of CUDP political leaders is the result of our persistent struggle against all odds. However, we have just won one battle not the war against TPLF/EPRDF tyrncal regi me yet. Our enemies within or without will double their diabolcal effort to snatch every successesful victory if we are contented and congragulate each other prematurely. Beware of those who point fingers at the wrong people or praise those above everybody for things they have not done.
Good job all leaders of kil. This is what all Ethiopian should be practice. This is the only way to develope democracy in our country. We Ethiopian lack to give their power(sit) for the one elected by the people. I think kic should learn here a lot. Don’t love to be president unless you are elected by people. I can’t wait to hear kic will be dissolve. Once again I appreciate kil for all what you are did.
God Bless true Ethiopian ppl
Please do not take time talking about the past.The future is great.All are correct and they are now one. that is good news.Bravo CUD leaders.
A Machiavellian shrewd move
As though they have invented democracy in CUD to claim it. Berhane and Andargachew did not organize the support groups, they smooth talked their way to the helm of an already well organized body. Now they are setting the tone for confrontation between the leaders and support groups by hinting as though the support groups have more say in the name of democracy. At the time when we need undivided attention to put such an obstacle is the worst kind of betrayal.
The support groups have the right to organize in what ever way they want and they have been doing that since their formation before Berhane and Andargachew. After Berhane and Andargachew they did not get any especial role, except they become instruments of muzzling individuals who have differing opinion than the two smooth talking stars.
I hope no one will fall for this ploy. And if any confrontation is created between the elected leaders of the party and the support groups it should be known that it is the making of this individuals and they should not be allowed to profit from it.
beles,
You have a good point. Tsegie and Mewa joined the North American Kinijit movement late after the organization has been set up by hard working individuals but now they want to push those hard working individuals through smooth talk. The KIL group of six have been showen the exit door in a civilized way but they will try to fight back by setting up confrontation between the support group and CUD leaders. The editor of Ethiomedia who has been siding with the KIL group through out the conflict has reflected confrontational tone with the CUD leaders in his editorial of today. I am pretty sure the wise leaders have already figured out the right and wrong and they will soon get rid off this confrontationl view of the KIL group.
One of the main reason of the conflict between the leaders of Diaspora was the legitmicy of the “directives coming out of Kaliti”. Now they are freed and it is not difficult for them to figure out who is at fault. And they already made that decisions based on the facts.
Thank you kil for what you did.We learn from this for those who come to power bieng a leader for ever.We should not struggle not for thier owen existance.
the only way peace is coming through democratically way.i.e free election.the majorty elected one take the power for limited year say for five years,or two five years.no more who ever he his.this is in the hands of the the government to accecpt this way of passing power to the elected.The other one is taking power by war which by killing poeple and destraction property.war is not good for our country,reconcliation
I’m Thankful for KIL and the incredible leadership they have given. If they didn’t ignore the splinters and focus on their target our leaders would have been still in jail.
Shaleka Yoseph and Mogus stole public money.
There is no excuse for that.
There is no comparison between KIL leaders and the arrogant thieves
“YELEBA AYNEDEREK MELLISO LIB YADRIK”
I appreciate the struggle you have made for the realization of democracy in Ethiopia.
Your loyalty to the released leaders made Ethiopians at home and in the diaspora very happy, unlike AYELE CHAMISO & TEMESGEN ZEWDIE who fought for taking the leadership of CUD party when the top leaders were arrested.
This kind of non sense is beneficial only to the tyrant regime in Addis Ababa but not to anybodyelse. So, I hope that they will learn much from what you did.
A message for Engineer Hailu Shawel
Chairman of CUD
It is my honor to address my sincere greetings and congratulations to your honorable chairman of CUD. I thank you and the other members for what you have done so far. You contributed more than your share. You sacrificed your priceless life while you are still alive. You are the Mandelas of Ethiopia. You are lucky on the one hand; you have got a chance to pay a price for that great country. We are all proud. Your sacrifice will have a place in history.
We are, however, worried because we are not sure what is going on within yourselves. Unfair and unfavorable rumors are hunting around. You have overcome the most difficult and challenging job; I am sure you will not fail on the simple ones.. Though looks simple the consequence could be devastating. You know that a train having enormous mass could be derailed by a snail. I am sure that would not happen to you. We are eager to know your stand in regard to your representatives in the Diaspora. Some offices are closed by your instruction while few claim to still exist. In fact they claim that they have still the mandate to represent CUD. That is where we are disappointed and worried, anticipating this to cause any kind of divisions amongst yourselves. If you have let such a thing to happen it will be a prelude to your own downfall.
There have been two groups, KIL &KIC having developed long lasting conflicts. There should be a good reason for there differences. One fact is obvious; both cannot be without fault. Most of us believe that Shaleka Yoseph is the primary cause of all the conflicts. It is clear that he has something to hide. As a cover-up he generated all these potential dangers. He has tried to use opportunists as a way out. He was blamed for embezzlement; But he does not want to mention anything about it. He has been trying to jam the accusation rather than showing that he is innocent, thus the chain effect. Without doubt he is the criminal. He is the cause for all these internal degenerations. Sooner or later he will be ousted. He brought about another a sneaky opportunist, Dr. Taye. These are the major role players; They are playing the game of symbiosis.
Your stand in this case should be as usual firm and decisive. Once a friend could be a foe in other times. My worry is it should not derail you as well. I sincerely advice you not to side anyone until proven innocent. We respect you for what you did so, it will be your responsibility to enjoy the respect from all we Ethiopians. No matter what we believe that no one is indispensable, but you are. We don’t want to lose you for such trivial matter. Be aware of the EPRP invisible hands. A loser wants every one to lose.
May the ALMIGHTY GOD bless that great country, Ethiopia.
Respectfully,
Menilik