Forwarded message
From: Abraha Belai
To: xx
Dear Ebin Nat and friends:
Thank you for your kind words, and I truly feel humbled when you refered to me as “the true son of {www:Ethiopia}.” In these trying moments of our country, I work and live as an ordinary journalist trying to serve in my modest capacity the news and information needs of our people.
About Tesfaye Gebreab’s Yegazetegnaw Mastawesha? I’d be a liar if I didn’t tell you how I enjoyed reading it. I know Tesfaye was a gifted writer, but I never knew he would rise to the degree of comparing him with the great writers of our country, like Sibhat Gebre-Egziabher. The late Ba’alu Girma used to revere Sebhat so much his book, Deraseew, was all about the life history of Sebhat.Tesfaye was lucky to have Sebhat as his editor for his Efoita magazine, as I was lucky that Sebhat was also my editor at Ethiopian Herald. Sebhat is gifted in both English and Amharic editing. He is infact admired as the father of writing short essays. I remember in his book, amist-sidist-sebat, there is one short, memorable story covers only half of the page.While reading Yegazetegnaw Mastawesha, I felt I was reading the works of Sebhat. He has this tremendous ability to describe situations in very short and yet powerful words and sentences. Impressive among Tesfaye’s chapters, for instance, is Ye-quindedo Feresoch. It was phenomenal. I found it full of action, and the description was almost like watching a video clip. Congratulations, Tesfaye!
So far I haven’t responded to Tesfaye’s accusations. As a matter of principle, I don’t use a pen name; therefore, trust me friends that I haven’t said a word about the book. A few guys wrongly thought the article written by Ethiopia Yingalish was mine.But trust me, when the writer’s mood sets in, I will write comment on Tesfaye’s memoir. This is only to clarify things, to add to the literary dialogue, and not to accuse Tesfaye of doing this or that. That is not my concern. I’m a journalist interested in promoting factual information, and not a politician with a vested interest of a certain group.But for the sake of honoring the few friends I see here, like my dear friends Fekade Shewakena, Ephrem Madebo and of course Obang Metho, I’d like to clear a few things that made me really sad:
1. In his book, Tesfaye labelled me a “{www:Woyanne} informant” who jumped onto the TPLF bandwagon when he was chief of the Press Department. When the brutal 17 years of the {www:Derg} regime came to an end, I never thought a regime worse than the Derg would come. Never. The end of the Derg for me was the beginning of a new era of peace, democracy, and justice. As a young man, I was overjoyed, and expressed my support for the “new government in public” at a meeting held on the premises of Berhanena Selam Printing Press (which used to house offices of The Herald and Addis Zemen). There is no secret about it. After TPLF took control of power, Ethiopian Press Department manager was Mezmoor Fente, member of the Central Committee of Tamrat Layne’s Party of the time (Edin?). Then after a while, Mezmoor was transfered to ENA, and Tesfaye Gebreab came in as replacement. Since those Esepa members were expelled, Tesfaye, the new manager, was counting on us the young employees of the press for any information toward getting the job done. Since I clearly expressed my support for the “new government,” I was one of those individuals Tesfaye would ask for information on who is better for the Herald (may be a staff of eight). This is about who is better qualified for being a news editor, sports editor, culture editor etc. I genuinely gave my advice since I’ve lived and worked with the Herald for 7 years. When I was sent to Lake Tana along with a high-ranking delegation led by then Prime Minister Tamrat Layne, I wrote what one farmer said, among other things, about Tamrat Layne: “The prime minister is young, tall and handsome.”I didn’t do this to be favored and get promotion. Never; it is not my nature. In fact, I’m very defiant to bosses and governments. Tesfaye pulled this line out of context and projected me as if I were an “Adir Bai” gazetegna. Even if the words were mine, it was no big deal to describe the prime minister in nice words. After all, the medium is English. It may sound odd in Amharic but it was pretty fine in English. In the meantime, what was in my mind at that time was the “era of writing with fear, the era of self-censorship” was over, and I’m a free man who can write without the fear of government retribution. I was wrong.The problem with EPRDF started early on as the Editor in Chief of the time, Ato Kiflom Adgoi, called me to his office and handed me the phone: The call was from the palace. It was in 1992, and Derartu Tulu had won the Barcelona Olympics: I wrote the story whose headline was something to the tune of: Derartu crowned as the queen of women’s Olympic marathon. Since Derartu was the first African woman to win an Olympic gold medal (Abebe Bikila was the first African to win an Olympic gold medal, 1960 Rome Olympics), it was a fitting headline for the news. But a top EPRDF official scolded me like a kid saying,”Do you know Derartu is the daughter of a poor peasant?” Yes, I do.Why do you then refer to her as a “Queen”? Are you an admirer of the feudal monarchy? No, sir. It is because you don’t want to give credit to EPRDF, which is the guardian of the poor peasants? No, Sir. Then why did you portray her as if she was member of the royal family of Haile-Selassie? It is an English expression that doesn’t have any connection with Derartu’s royalty. Are you trying to teach me English? (The tone this time was threatening). (And honest to God), I shot back, “Are you threatening me for what I wrote?”The call ended there.Shortly, I didnt stay long with the Press, I was sent to ENA, where Amare Aregawi was the manager. If I were an Adir bai gazetegna, how is that I will ran into conflict with Tesfaye, then Amare, and others before I left for the US on my own?
SECONDTesfaye said the cause of his conflict with me was when a certain Mulugetta Ashenafi wrote story on Ethiomedia alleging that Tesfaye had made away with half a million Birr when he fled the country about eight years ago. The normal practice of a journalist is to send a rebuttal, or even ask the editor to post a correction, or remove the material altogether. Tesfaye didn’t do this. He rather waited several years until he wrote his memoir that included a few pages he thought would destroy my reputation. In fact, when Tesfaye called one close friend of mine and asked him if he has read his book, the question from the friend to Tesfaye was: “How come you were more bitter about Abraha than Bereket Simon, the man who you said forced you to flee Ethiopia?” Well, Tesfaye knows what he answered.
THIRD AND THE LAST: When Tesfaye’s interview appeared on EMF, he accused me of disseminating copies of his book to sabotage the sale. This is truly sad. For any journalist worthy of his profession, this is not only ethically shameful but also criminal.I read about the existence of the book like everyone of you – when Elias Kifle posted a few excerpted pages of the memoir on Ethiopian Review. Period. Later in the interview with EMF, Tesfaye added another accusation and said I had asked him to pull out the negative pages about me before he got the book published. He said he ignored my request, and as a revenge, “Abraha disseminated copies of the book to sabotage sales.” Oh, Lord! Can Tesfaye share the email message that he said I begged him to pull out the pages written against me? Can he post it for the public that I begged him? I had no idea he was writing a book, and how is it possible for me to do that?
Tesfaye should answer this. Do I’ve any more to say about the book? Oh, yes, at least on two serious issues: the political murders linked to Hayelom Araya and Kinfe Gebremedhin.Given that Tesfaye had access to top EPRDF officials, I don’t think Tesfaye has been honest, and telling the truth about the killings which for me remained as political murders. Tesfaye dismissed Hayelom’s assassination as the work of a “silly Eritrean” who had smoked hashish, and went to bed directly. That was a slap in the face, Tesfaye. But all said, again, thank you for a wonderful reading.
Abraha Belai, Editor of Ethiomedia.com
From: Ebin Nat
To: xxx
Dear Ethiopia Yingalish,
I read your 6 pages reaction on Tesfaye Gebreab’s book. I have the following observation:
1. First and foremost I liked your pen name, Ethiopia Yingalish. It reflects the reality that Ethiopia is still in the dark and your wish is very good. Amen! Ethiopia Yingalat!
2. You are absolutely right TPLF and Shabia have used Derg to eliminate their enemies. Derg was so useless and did kill many honest Ethiopians on the basis of deliberately disseminated wrong info about individuals. Thank you for bringing this issue. It is quite interesting. Our historians are not writing anything about such diabolic acts so far. Let us hope they will write in the future.
3. I beg you to differ from your cautious reaction on Tesfaye’s book. I wish you could explain to me why you think Meles and Bereket may produce such a book? For “tactical” reasons??? It is very unlikely. I remember each and every details of Tesfaye’s comment about Bereket, Abadula etc? I remember how he characterized Walwa’s teletafi so called “biaden”? What to benefit Meles and Bereket may write such a book. Your suspicion that Tesfay’s book could be Weyane’s tactic to divide the opposition is far fetched, to say the least.
4. Let me tell you a true story. Fascist Italia was surprised by the fighting capability of our Patriots and tried to know about the leaders. Graziani heard about the shumet i.e fitawrari, dejazmach etc. Graziani asked the bandas how much he would pay if he appoints them {the bandas} as dejazmach, fitawrari etc.. The Bandas told him nothing. They told him those shumets are just titles of honor. Graziani ordered people to gather at janmeda and made everybody dejazmach, fitawrari, balambaras etc. Five solid years after Italy was defeated and the Emperor came back to power. The Emperor shamelessly acknowledged the Shumet by fascist Italy and even made those bandas his close aide with their unearned title intact. Our historians kept quiet in fear of retribution from the Emperor. They said, Yewushon neger yanesa wusho yihun and buried it under the rubble. This stupid move of the Emperor made pro Ethiopia forces anti Ethiopia and Jebha and shabia of ertrea came into the picture. Many Pro Ethiopia individuals committed sucide not to see themselves as subordinates of the fascist bandas. I recommend you read Zewde Reta’s ‘Ye-Eritrea Guday”. 30 years after i.e in 1974 during the revolution many patriots expressed their opposition about what the emperor did. I don’t know if you know some of those in power now are sons and daughters of those bandas. If their fathers were rebuked promptly for their treason, those bandas would have drilled Ethiopian nationalism into their off springs and the present anti Ethiopia forces ruling clique would not have had such chance to destroy Ethiopia to the extent of making our beloved country with 80 million people the only landlocked with huge population while leaving (“donating”) the entire red sea to the shabia horses according Meles Zenawi’s explanation on the national TV. Those bandas raised their children in their own image as bandas with banda mentality and another banda generation could be left behind. Please read Prof Mesfin’s Yekihdet Qulqulet in which he blames the parents of the traitors for making them so much anti Ethiopia.
The Emperor had to call a spade spade immediately after victory. His courage failed him to do that and moreover took it as an opportunity to counter balance the challenge from the patriots. He could have accommodated the bandas as a result of national reconciliation, while their crime being documented for posterity. Our society is very secretive and strongly believes THAT IT IS BETTER IF SOME TRUTHS ARE LEFT UNSAID. I say all truths have to be told. I appreciate Tesfaye for telling us ALL HE KNOWS. I encourage him to tell ALL THE REMAINING HE KNOWS in his volume II, the journalist memoir.
5. I have not read what Tesfaye said about Abraha Belai. I got the 400 pages copy, not the 412 pages. I cannot comment until I get those 12 pages. My respect and admiration to Abraha Belai is very great. Leave alone in a situation when Abraha is saying it is not true, even if he says it is true my respect and admiration to Abraha Belai remains undiminished. I believe his ineffable service as ethiomedia editor offsets any real or perceived foul play some years back in the past. I hope either you or Tesfaye will send me the 12 pages missing to make my record complete.5. In your article you have not come up with anything concrete and convincing that disproves any one of the things what Tesfaye said. You only want to cast doubt as to his motive. You want to cast doubt by two ways: (i) his parents happened to be from Eritrea (ii) he was weyane. He knew this would happen and mentioned it in his book. . He told us his parents are from eritrea. he told us too he was weyane. He asked us to evaluate the book just as a memoir i.e an honest narration of a one time event and independent of his parents ethnic affiliation and his own political background. I did that and liked the book very much.
6. Andargachew Tsige was a weyane. He left them and joined the opposition. Nobody questioned his motive. He wrote two books and then accepted by the opposition with open arms. The same logic should apply to tesfaye’s case. He is an out and out Ethiopian. I hope his dream will come true and will live in Busheftu in liberated Ethiopia for the rest of his life.
7. The person severely attacked/exposed in Tesfaye’s book is Bereket Simon. Funny enough you accuse him of being soft on Bereket. You remember what Alemseged said to Tesfaye about his conflict with bereket? Alemseged said, “when it comes to ertrawinet, both of u r from there. it can’t be a bone of contention”.
8. Unlike many of us, Tesfaye confessed all his wrong acts against individuals. He regrtetted. We have to appreciate this also.
9. Above all, he gave us a fantastic book. I kindly urge Tesfaye not to be discouraged by such comments coming from different corners.
10. I read a 25 pages response from weyane to Tesfaye. In that response, weyane wants to widen the rift between Tesfaye and Abraha Belai. My observation is that both are forces of unity. Tesfaye has to play it down and try to reduce distance, rather establish contact with Abraha Belai. Abraha Belai is a true son of Ethiopia and did a great job as ethiomedia editor. We expect a lot more from him. We don’t want him to be discouraged when the neaty greatys of the past resurface in any form. Whatever might have happened some 15 or more years before we have to bear in mind that no human being has a clean, flawless, spotless record. After all we are human beings. We see something, we think it works. We try it, it doesn’t work. We accept mistakes and change our position.
I urge all concerned Ethiopians to intervene and bring these two persons together. One tactic of weyane is to create, widen etc silly antagonisms between individuals, ethnic groups, intellectuals, students etc. When a man joins weyane, they make sure he comes into conflict with different sectors of the population. They order you to say in public that will let you go into conflict with the people or a specific group. Dawit yohannes was once ordered by Meles Zenawi himself to make on a national TV and radio a silly statement. Dawit said, ” ethiopia in her entire history has never won a war. Now under EPRDF leadership won a war for the first time in her history; be it 100 or 3000 years”. Many got angry. Dawit himself was shocked by the reaction. Meles was laughing out loud.
Yours, Sincerely,
Ebin Nat
25 thoughts on “Abraha Belai reacts to Tesfaye GebreAb’s book”
everybody knows Abraha Belai is still a woyane informant and a secret agent using his website ethiomedia.com to write anti-eritrea articles. he has also crowned the criminal siye abraha as an opposition leader to full beyene petros and others who are now working with siye.
siye was never apologetic. we know why!!! he wants to use the “opposition” to perpetuate woyane in power. in the next election EPRDF will win only 40% and become a minirity so that the Siye controlled FAKE OPPOSITION (siye controlled opposition, beyene, lidetu,etc) gets 35% votes. the other 25% will be controlled by the REAL OPPOSITION (like bulcha, merera and UDJ)
i am sure the real opposition will expose the agent siye. once siye is exposed, the final blow to woyane agent abraha belay will arrive!!!
የ’ፍታ ቀማሽ ማስታወሻ
ውድ ተስፋዬ ለድንቅ ሥራህ ምስጋናዬ በእጅግ እጥፍ ይድረስህ። “ደራሲ የሚወለደው አንዴ ብቻ ነው!…” የሚለውን እምነቴን ነው… እንደማተብ ያጠናህብኝ፡፡ አዎን ይሆንከውን ትሆነው ዘንድ ተወልደሃልና አንድዬን ስታገኘው ግምባሩን ሳመው። መባረክ ያለያም መታደል ማለት ይሄው ነው።
ይህ ሥራህ ከቀዳሚ ሥራዎችህ ይልቅ ብስለትክን በአምንክዮ፥ በጭብጥ አመራረጥ፥ በአተራረክ ስልት፥ በቋንቋ ርቀት/ጥልቀት ረገድ… በብዙ ብዙ መንገድ ተልቋል:: እጅግ ግልጽነትህና ትህትናህ ያንባቢህን አንጀት እየበላ እንቅልፍ ለምኔ አድርጎ ያሳድራል… ገጽ በገጽ ሲያጣጥሙህ። ባንደኛ መደብ ትረካ አንጣር “እኔ…” እያሉ በንተኔን መተረክ ቀላል ፈተና አይደለም፡፡ ብዙ ጸሃፍት ይህን አንጣር አይፈቅዱትም … አልመች ስለሚልና የራስ ገመናን ካልሸሸግሁ እያለ ስለሚያስቸግር። አንተ ግን እራስክን እንደቢሾፍቱ ሰማይ ገላልጠህ አሳየህን፡፡ እንድናምንህም እንድንከተልህም እንድንሰማህም ያደረከውን ብርቱ ምጣኔ ያላንዳች ማወላወል እንድንቀበል ተገደናል። ልትማርከን በመቻልህም አሜን ብለን እጅ ሰተንሃል… ለተባው ብእርህ።
ይህ ከኢልቦለድ አጣጣፍ ጥበብ ቤተኝነት የሚመደበው ድንቅ ሥራህ፤ “የሕይወት ታሪክ ማስታወሻ” (Memoir) ተሚባለው ምድብ የሚውል ነው። የሕይወት ታሪክ ማስታወሻ በባህሪው የጸሃፊውን የለት በለት ውሎ፥ ያለያም ያንድ ወቅት አጋጣሚ ፥ ያለያም ያንድ ዘመን ትውስታ ወዘተ… ገጠመኝ መደላድሉ አድርጎ፤ ባተራረክ ቴክኒኩ ረገድ አንደ ሞላ ፈረሰኛ ወንዝ ደንገላሳ እየጋለበ የሚፈስ ነው። የጸሃፊው አንጡራ ትዝታዎች እንደ ሃር ፈትል እየተደሩ ከምእራፍ ወደ ምእራፍ ይሸመናሉ። አጀብኛን ለተደራሲው እያስኮመኮሙ እኒያ ድንቅ ምእራፎች ወደፊት ይፎገላሉ። እንደጢስ አባይ ፏፏቴ እየተገማሸሩ ተውስጥ ህሊና ዘልቀው፣ እንደገና ተመልሰው ሽቅብ ይጎናሉ፥ ይጤሳሉ፥ ያርጋሉ… ውብ ያተራረክ ክሂልና ምናባዊነት እንደመልካም ባለቅኔ ሥራ ግዘፍ አንስቶ ይታያልና። ሥራህ ተዚህ ተዚህ ረገድ ሁላ ያንበሶን ድርሻ ያስመትራል።
ተስፋዬና ጓደኞችህ (እነታምሩ ከፈኔ፥ የቀድሞው ገጣሚ የኋላው ዘመን የብሩሽ ምርኮኛ ጠቢብ) የቢሾፍቱውን ቆሪጥ አፈታሪክ በየለቱ ስንተዜ አኝካችሁ አላምጣችሁ ትውጡትና ትሰለቅጡት እንደነበር ተብእር ብርታትህ መረዳት ከቶም አያዳግትም። እንደቀዩ ዛፍ ዓይነቱን ምትሃታዊ ምናብ ያጠነጠነ ሁላ እንደምን የብእር ትሩፋቱ ከቶውንም ቢሆን ብሽቅ ሊሆን ይችላል? የትሩማን ትሪ ዛፍ ጥላው አድባር ሃድራስ መች እንዲህ ትክን ስክን ያለ የጣፈጠ ወጥ ከመሥራት ያስታጉላል? የሆራ ሃይቅና ያቦጋያ ጥንተ ዘላለም ቀርኝትና ቤተኝነትም ብዙ ብዙ ያናግራል፥ ያሳስባል፥ ያጫውታል።
አንድን የኢልቦለድ ሥራ በተደራሲው ዘንድ ተአምኒ የሚያደርገው፣ የደራሲው እራሱ ለራሱ በቅድሚያ ታማኝ ሆኖ መገኘት ነው። ጸሃፊው በሕይወት አሻራው ደጃፍ ላይ ያለፈውን ገጠመኙን ሁሉ እንደመልካም ካሜራ በትክክል ቀርጾ ማቅረብ ከቻለ ሥራው አሸናፊነትን ይቀዳጃል። ከዚህ ካንተ ሥራ የምናገኘው እውነት ይህ የጥሩ ኢልቦለድ ሥራ ባህሪ ግዘፍ ማንሳቱን ነው። ግነትና አድሏዊነት፥ መረጃን ሰዋሪነት፥ ግልጸትን ማጠጥ ወዘተ… በዚህ ሥራህ ውስጥ ስፍራ ኖሯቸው አላየንም። እራስክንም ሆነ በታሪኩ ውስጥ ተጠቃሽ የሆኑ ግለሰቦችን ሁሉ በቀጥታና በቀጥታ ገልጽሃል። ይህም የቆዬ ደገኛ የግልጽነትና የነጻነት ውስጣዊ ባህሪህ ነጸብራቅ በመሆኑ፣ እኛን ተደራሲዎችህን በብርቱ ሰው ሰው ሸተህናል። አዎን በዚህ በዘመነ ግልቢጦሽ እንኳን ያንድ ደራሲ ሥራ ቀርቶ፤ የራስ ልብም አልታመን እያለ፣ ስንቱ ከራሱ ጋር ሞት ቀረሽ ግብ ግብ ገጥሞ ማየት የተለመደ ሁኗልና ነው። እናም ተባረክ… በካልአይ ሥራህም እንዲሁ እንገማሸርብህ ዘንድ ምኞቴ ነው።
ማሳሰቢያ፤ ያብርሃ በላይ ዓይነቱ ድስት ጥዶ አልቃሽን ወዲያ በልልኝ። ይልቅስሞ ብልጥ ሁን በለው… “ ተሳስቻለሁና ይቅርታ አድርግልኝ” ብሎ ባራድኛ ሳይሆን በሥልጡንኛ ምላሽ ቢሰጥህ፣ ሁላችንንም በትህትናውና በጨውነቱ ምንኛ በታደገን ነበር። ኋላ ምን ያድርጋል ይቺ ቀርነት እንደግመል ሽንት የኋሊዮሽ እያለችን ይሄው ተጋዳላይ አብርሃን ሰንጋ ይዛ ክፉኛ ታናፍጠው ይዛለች። እስቲ እንግዴህ አሸናፊው የውስጡ አብርሃ ይሁን ወይም የውጪው ውለን አድረን እንያ እናንተዬ።
በኢብሳ ኩራዙ (ተዲያስፖራ ተራ)
I found Abrahas allegation as honest and truthfull.
Abreha has created a learning platform where hagerwodads get-together and fight the sectarian regime of Meles Zenawi
I don’t know what Abreha has done in the past, but I know for sure who Abreha is recently. He is the voice and concern of Ethiopian people. His love for Ethiopia cannot be questioned by anyone.
Abreha keep doing the good job
Abreha Belai…
You did not still say why you put on your website the article which informed us that Yemane Gebre-ab was elder borther of Tesfaye Gebre-ab…etc…you surely knew that he was not…If you advocate that you are a real journalist who strives to give the correct information why did you allow to post that article? How can we trust you?
The story about Derrara (alleged OLF sympatizer) is not right. Fact is he was killed by unidentified TPLF mercenaries. The rest of the story is mixed up and far from truth. I was surprised to hear from Tesfaye that Dakka (OPDO sympatizer) was one of the candidates to be killed. By the way Dakka was already killed by mercenaries before it happened to Derara. Hint, there was some bad blood between these two for some time before they both lost their life. This was the work of TPLF divide and concer policy of the time. Period.
A small reply to Abraha Belai!
I have read your reaction to Tesfaye Gebre-ab’s memoir with immense interest.
I would like to take you back to that fateful meeting where you said you expressed your support for the EPRDF government. What happened at that meeting and what was your role? Weren’t you the primary actor of that kangaroo court? Didn’t you bring forward the names of employees for expulsion? Most of the victims of that misguided TPLF vengeance are still alive.
Do you dare describe yourself as defiant? What if I call you an opportunist? Former journalists of the press department can write volumes about your opportunism. Let me give you one reminder. I have been at the establishment which invited you to come to the United Sates. I had the privilege of reading your final paper. Didn’t you say in your work that before coming to the U.S, you used to think that Abai Bridge was the largest in the world?
The manner in which your contradiction with the EPRDF unfolded (for describing Derartu as queen) was very interesting. Why didn’t you mention the name of the palace official who threatened you? I doubt if this incident ever happened. Kiflom Adgoi may throw some light on this. Even if this encounter were true, it has to do all with the ignorance of the EPRDF official and nothing with your journalistic integrity. So when you injected the physical attributes of Tamrat Layne, by quoting a peasant, you were testing the waters of EPRDF’s promised freedom. This, I call a trivialization of the bitter struggle for press freedom.
You sounded as though your transfer to the government mouthpiece ENA was a sort of banishment. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, that was a promotion; from senior editor of the Ethiopian Herald to editor-in-chief of ENA’s international Desk.
One final question, Abraha! Weren’t you a TPLF member? Please give a definitive answer. One who is not honest about himself, cannot write with honesty, no matter the language proficiency.
You need to come out clean, Abraha? You haven’t disproved any of the comments Tesfaye made in his memoir.
Sultan Misikir,
Gainesville, FL
Abreha Belay! I think Tesfaye said that he was one of the officials who expelled the former employees of the press by labeling them ESEPA and DEHNINET informants He indicated that you were on their side giving ideas as who should be eliminated. You know that all off them were not dehninet informants and even though some were ESEPA members they were not criminals to be thrown out of their jobs. As Tesfaye disclosed later in one of the interviews he gave they did that in order to get space for their Tegadalays like Ataklti Tklay. It seemed that you enjoyed the free ride created by the situation. Remember you said: “…the new manager, was counting on us the young employees of the press for any information toward getting the job done.”
Regarding the killing of Haylom I believe Tesfaye as the killer- Gimyas was a businessman who had no political motive. When he was killed he was in Mesheta Bet and no wonder he was shott by someone who was drunk. After all do not forget that Hayelom was the one who fought with Shabya at the Masawa front and helped them to raise their flag by occupying Masawa. So why should Shabia kill him?
The other point is that you said some bloody EPRDF official shouted at you and you were transferred to Ethiopian News Agency- ENA. Being transferred from Press Dep. To ENA is not punishment. I would consider it sort of promotion because ENA is the one that covers most of the news covered by news papers, radio and television.
One thing is common between you and Tesfaye you tried to maximize your benefit by working for woyane and when you were not able to do that you exposed those whom you disliked. That is not bad both of you are doing fine and we know that you are cautious depending on your motives. Go on expose woyane thugs at lease you are doing something
Thanks Abraha you have cleared the cloud. Tesfaye want to show us himself as saint. Abraha, I admire what you have been doing for your beloved country.
Thank you Elias Kifle for publishing Abraha’s response.
Thank you all
Dear Elias,
When you post views from different sides we will have a complete picture of what what have been happening. I appreciate the response of Abraha Belai but I still disagree with regard to the murder of Hayelom with Abrah. If the murder of Hayelom had been politically motivated, Shabiya could have used a bit complicated technic instead of sending one of the rich man in Addis to kill Hayelom and go home and sleep. I think there is no conspiracy. The way Tesfaye puts it in his intereview, which was posted on EMF, much makes sense.
Dear Abraha,
Please put what you know, what you did and while you were under the weyane regime for us to read in a book format. Please write the truth and what is relevant to the Ethiopian people. Self criticisim is a good thing, but it must be constractive.
Tesfay has written and nice book and I loved it. Let others attempt to learn from this and share the inside stories of the worest goverment (TPLF)in Ethiopia’s history. Narrow minded, Ethnic based and dominated by one single blind group of people. Never this has happened to our beloved country. Come on, Abraha, but pen and paper and tell us all.
I do have utmost respect for both Abraha and Tesfaye .And Woyenes divisive and evil mission to create rifts between various religious,ethnic,regional etc..diffrences also applies to individual great Ethiopians like this two.We all Ethiopians must learn from tesfaye’s book the deep rooted TPLF’s crime against Ethiopia and Ethiopians and Focus on how to librate our selves and Our beloved nation Ethiopia from this Ruthless Ethno-Aparthied Missioneries
ሰላም
አረ አንድ በሏቸው? እስካልተሻሻለ ድረስ መጨቅጨቄን አላቆምም:: አሁን ምን ይባላል- በአማርኛ እያሰቡ በእንግሊዘኛ መጻፍ? ሁለቱም የሚሉት ሊገባኝ አልቻለም:: ለሄራልድ ሊሰራ ይችላል ግን ለዚህ ድህረ ገጽ መስራት የለበትም:: እነ ፕሮፌሰር አለማየሁ ገ/ማርያም እነ…..ቢያነቡት ወዴት እንገባለን? ለነገሩ እዚያው ተጨመላለቁ ብለው ገጹን የተውልን ይመስላል! እባካችሁ በምናውቀው ቋንቋ! እባካችሁ እድሉ እያለ? ምን ነካን?
መልካም ቀን
የ’ፍታ ቀማሽ ማስታወሻ
ውድ ተስፋዬ ለድንቅ ሥራህ ምስጋናዬ በእጅግ እጥፍ ይድረስህ። “ደራሲ የሚወለደው አንዴ ብቻ ነው!…” የሚለውን እምነቴን ነው… እንደማተብ ያጠናህብኝ፡፡ አዎን ይሆንከውን ትሆነው ዘንድ ተወልደሃልና አንድዬን ስታገኘው ግምባሩን ሳመው። መባረክ ያለያም መታደል ማለት ይሄው ነው።
ይህ ሥራህ ከቀዳሚ ሥራዎችህ ይልቅ ብስለትክን በአምንክዮ፥ በጭብጥ አመራረጥ፥ በአተራረክ ስልት፥ በቋንቋ ርቀት/ጥልቀት ረገድ… በብዙ ብዙ መንገድ ተልቋል:: እጅግ ግልጽነትህና ትህትናህ ያንባቢህን አንጀት እየበላ እንቅልፍ ለምኔ አድርጎ ያሳድራል… ገጽ በገጽ ሲያጣጥሙህ። ባንደኛ መደብ ትረካ አንጣር “እኔ…” እያሉ በንተኔን መተረክ ቀላል ፈተና አይደለም፡፡ ብዙ ጸሃፍት ይህን አንጣር አይፈቅዱትም … አልመች ስለሚልና የራስ ገመናን ካልሸሸግሁ እያለ ስለሚያስቸግር። አንተ ግን እራስክን እንደቢሾፍቱ ሰማይ ገላልጠህ አሳየህን፡፡ እንድናምንህም እንድንከተልህም እንድንሰማህም ያደረከውን ብርቱ ምጣኔ ያላንዳች ማወላወል እንድንቀበል ተገደናል። ልትማርከን በመቻልህም አሜን ብለን እጅ ሰተንሃል… ለተባው ብእርህ።
ይህ ከኢልቦለድ አጣጣፍ ጥበብ ቤተኝነት የሚመደበው ድንቅ ሥራህ፤ “የሕይወት ታሪክ ማስታወሻ” (Memoir) ተሚባለው ምድብ የሚውል ነው። የሕይወት ታሪክ ማስታወሻ በባህሪው የጸሃፊውን የለት በለት ውሎ፥ ያለያም ያንድ ወቅት አጋጣሚ ፥ ያለያም ያንድ ዘመን ትውስታ ወዘተ… ገጠመኝ መደላድሉ አድርጎ፤ ባተራረክ ቴክኒኩ ረገድ አንደ ሞላ ፈረሰኛ ወንዝ ደንገላሳ እየጋለበ የሚፈስ ነው። የጸሃፊው አንጡራ ትዝታዎች እንደ ሃር ፈትል እየተደሩ ከምእራፍ ወደ ምእራፍ ይሸመናሉ። አጀብኛን ለተደራሲው እያስኮመኮሙ እኒያ ድንቅ ምእራፎች ወደፊት ይፎገላሉ። እንደጢስ አባይ ፏፏቴ እየተገማሸሩ ተውስጥ ህሊና ዘልቀው፣ እንደገና ተመልሰው ሽቅብ ይጎናሉ፥ ይጤሳሉ፥ ያርጋሉ… ውብ ያተራረክ ክሂልና ምናባዊነት እንደመልካም ባለቅኔ ሥራ ግዘፍ አንስቶ ይታያልና። ሥራህ ተዚህ ተዚህ ረገድ ሁላ ያንበሶን ድርሻ ያስመትራል።
ተስፋዬና ጓደኞችህ (እነታምሩ ከፈኔ፥ የቀድሞው ገጣሚ የኋላው ዘመን የብሩሽ ምርኮኛ ጠቢብ) የቢሾፍቱውን ቆሪጥ አፈታሪክ በየለቱ ስንተዜ አኝካችሁ አላምጣችሁ ትውጡትና ትሰለቅጡት እንደነበር ተብእር ብርታትህ መረዳት ከቶም አያዳግትም። እንደቀዩ ዛፍ ዓይነቱን ምትሃታዊ ምናብ ያጠነጠነ ሁላ እንደምን የብእር ትሩፋቱ ከቶውንም ቢሆን ብሽቅ ሊሆን ይችላል? የትሩማን ትሪ ዛፍ ጥላው አድባር ሃድራስ መች እንዲህ ትክን ስክን ያለ የጣፈጠ ወጥ ከመሥራት ያስታጉላል? የሆራ ሃይቅና ያቦጋያ ጥንተ ዘላለም ቀርኝትና ቤተኝነትም ብዙ ብዙ ያናግራል፥ ያሳስባል፥ ያጫውታል።
አንድን የኢልቦለድ ሥራ በተደራሲው ዘንድ ተአምኒ የሚያደርገው፣ የደራሲው እራሱ ለራሱ በቅድሚያ ታማኝ ሆኖ መገኘት ነው። ጸሃፊው በሕይወት አሻራው ደጃፍ ላይ ያለፈውን ገጠመኙን ሁሉ እንደመልካም ካሜራ በትክክል ቀርጾ ማቅረብ ከቻለ ሥራው አሸናፊነትን ይቀዳጃል። ከዚህ ካንተ ሥራ የምናገኘው እውነት ይህ የጥሩ ኢልቦለድ ሥራ ባህሪ ግዘፍ ማንሳቱን ነው። ግነትና አድሏዊነት፥ መረጃን ሰዋሪነት፥ ግልጸትን ማጠጥ ወዘተ… በዚህ ሥራህ ውስጥ ስፍራ ኖሯቸው አላየንም። እራስክንም ሆነ በታሪኩ ውስጥ ተጠቃሽ የሆኑ ግለሰቦችን ሁሉ በቀጥታና በቀጥታ ገልጽሃል። ይህም የቆዬ ደገኛ የግልጽነትና የነጻነት ውስጣዊ ባህሪህ ነጸብራቅ በመሆኑ፣ እኛን ተደራሲዎችህን በብርቱ ሰው ሰው ሸተህናል። አዎን በዚህ በዘመነ ግልቢጦሽ እንኳን ያንድ ደራሲ ሥራ ቀርቶ፤ የራስ ልብም አልታመን እያለ፣ ስንቱ ከራሱ ጋር ሞት ቀረሽ ግብ ግብ ገጥሞ ማየት የተለመደ ሁኗልና ነው። እናም ተባረክ… በካልአይ ሥራህም እንዲሁ እንገማሸርብህ ዘንድ ምኞቴ ነው።
ማሳሰቢያ፤ ያብርሃ በላይ ዓይነቱ ድስት ጥዶ አልቃሽን ወዲያ በልልኝ። ይልቅስሞ ብልጥ ሁን በለው… “ ተሳስቻለሁና ይቅርታ አድርግልኝ” ብሎ ባራድኛ ሳይሆን በሥልጡንኛ ምላሽ ቢሰጥህ፣ ሁላችንንም በትህትናውና በጨውነቱ ምንኛ በታደገን ነበር። ኋላ ምን ያድርጋል ይቺ ቀርነት እንደግመል ሽንት የኋሊዮሽ እያለችን ይሄው ተጋዳላይ አብርሃን ሰንጋ ይዛ ክፉኛ ታናፍጠው ይዛለች። እስቲ እንግዴህ አሸናፊው የውስጡ አብርሃ ይሁን ወይም የውጪው ውለን አድረን እንያ እናንተዬ።
በኢብሳ ኩራዙ (ተዲያስፖራ ተራ)
People did you notice that Tesfaye wrote the “yeGazetegnaw Mastawesha” after 8 years hibernation? And run his Internet café during that time? On the contrast Abraha was/is serving his people since 1994. Abraha earned the trust, but Tesfaye isn’t yet. second, Abraha left EPRDF after staying only 3 years, but Tesfaye served EPRDF for 10+ years and he was kicked out didn’t left voluntary. That is big difference.
Ayee … Abraha Belai!
Your attempt at damage control wont work.
When you were welcoming your tigre brothers to the palace, you never thought they would be worse than the derg. So are you telling us that your enthusiasm for the new government gave you the right to lie on people and decide their fate, which journalists would get employment and which ones are to be fired.
And don’t try to minimize your crimes by saying that you only lied on 7-8 people working at the Ethiopian herald, what about the consequence of your lies on their immediate and extended families.
Mind you, your idealized government showed its brutality right away by shooting innocent university students and firing university professors just becaue they were amara.
This was also during the period when they were openly mocking our flag and calling it cherk and right and left inciting ethinc hatred.
Rather than trying to minimize your crimes by saying that you lied on 7-8 people at that time were working at the Ethiopian herald and defending the indefensible, you should simply apologize and go on with your work.
And after apologizing to the Ethiopian people, stop promoting known murderers like Eseye and Gebru Asrat if you really mean these guys were worse than the derg. You cannot have it both ways! Why don’t you also try to promote col Mengistu then, is it because he is not tigre?
Otherwise, Abraha, as an insincere collaborator you’re damaged goods! You’re toast!
Abraha belay has created a web site which is widely used against the regime in Addis ababa and it is banned in ethiopia. What do you want from him to show you he is anti-woyanne? Siye suffered for years in prison and he is an outspoken critic of woyanne.
I think it is not enough for you. I think you want them to apologize for being TIGRAY. To be honest if I were Tigre, I see no reason to apologize for my identity. I have not seen any ethnic group which has accomplished so much(and they are minorty)in history and even now. They have defeated Derg, jebha, EDU, EPRP, Shabiya etc. That is hard to swallow but it is true.
Thank you Abraha Belai for your explanation.
We know and the WORLD know Abraha Belai is one of brave jounalist prmote democracy, freedom and Human Rights in Ethiopia.
Abraha, Elias and Tesfaye are working very hard to promote Democracy in Ethiopia.
Death for Woyane and May God Bless Ethiopia.
Obo Bekalu
What about for those of us who can’t read and understand amharic?, the book has to be translated in other languages especially in Tigrigna…
Dear Fellow Ethiopians, Watch out carefuly what Mr Abraha tried to tell us? what the moral of the reading of his response actually was. what is the essence of his writing?
Honestly this person was the most argogant and the most baised person who try to deceive every one of us by labeling himself a “Jouranlist”. Why he reacted nearly after 2 months? are there any push or pressures from his website readers? Abraha couldn’t tell us or acknoweldge if there are any such question from his website readers. if there are some is it fair to ignore those question and pretend as he did it on his own time and will? Over a week ago, before he circulated this articles I sent him email asking him are you netural? not baised toward people from his ethnic groups? do you have fair and balanced views towads all ethnic groups? are your news are balanced? With regards to what Tesfaye said, what is your reaction? Silence means agreement. If not why you prefer to keep quite? if what Tesfaye said is true how can we trust you? Can you an alternate sources of information? etc are a few of the questions I asked him through email. Ofcourse every body knows as hi is not an alternate sources of information and as he is extremily baised to wards his criminal cousins like Siye Abereha and the like. He always tried to present them as angels before the blood of innocent Amharan and Oromo people dry on their hand.
In his reaction I have not read a line denying what Tesfay said. Rather he admitted openly as he was big supporter and fun of TPLF/EPRDF which he didn’t tell anyone for years.
Sadly he is not a jouralist as he tried to paint himself. His reaction to Tesfaye’s book was a show off to present himself as matured professional journalist to win the hearts and minds of Ethiopian. From what I have seen and learned from Mr. Abraha’s website I reached on the conclusion that let alone any other things, even his website moto is purposely designed to distract the attention of Ethiopians from getting who this person acturally is. No doubt about it his TPLF undercover agent whos main mission and purpose is spying for those sinisters TPLF leaders. Such moto can cover up his true color help him to get closer to those who truly want to fight TPLF evil mission and spirit.
Sadly Abraha was not honest at all. In his article he even couldn’t mention the questions many of us asked him. So who one can trust this person who is even not willing to acknowledge those who pressured and pushed him hard for his recent reaction. If he deny this facts I will post the email I send him so that every one can and make his/her mind up to give their independent judgement about the true personality of this person.
I am not a fan of abraha belay for many reasons. However, Abrha Belay can not be blamed for the expulsion of journalists by telling Tesfaye who the esepa’s and dehninets are. the derge was a meticulous organizer. the list of esepa and dehninet members was readily available. I don’t think Tesfaye needed Abrahs’s input to know who is who. It was all in the books!! I loved tesfaye’s boo but I am surprised why he left information that were crucial in the early years of ethio-eritrean relation.
ኤቢን ናት አስተያየቲን በተመለከተ ቁትር 3 ላይ ለተመለከተው አስተያየትህ በመደምደሚያው ላይ የገለጽከው አስተያየት መልስ ሊሆኒልህ ዪችሂላል ያንን እንደ መልስ ካልተቀበልክ ግን ሁለቱ ሃሳቢህ የተጋጨ እንደሆነ እንድታውቀው:: ሌላውን በተመለከተ ከላይ አቶ አብርሃ ከጻፈው ጋራ አጣቅሰህ ብትጽፈው ኖሮ በበለጠ ጊልጽ ዪሆን ነበር ነበር : በተረፈ ጊን በጣም ደስ የሚል ገንቢ የሆነ አስየያየት ሆኖ አስተማሪ የሆኑ አሳቦን አግኚጤበታለሁ::
Abreha Belay said : “It was in 1992, and Derartu Tulu had won the Barcelona Olympics: I wrote the story whose headline was something to the tune of: DERARTU CROWNED AS THE QUEEN OF WOMEN’S OLYPMIC MARATHON.Since Derartu was THE FIRST AFRICAN WOMAN to win an Olympic gold medal (Abebe Bikila was the first African to win an Olympic gold medal, 1960 Rome Olympics), it was a fitting headline for the news.”
Is it my eyes or Abreha really said DERARTU won MARATHON in the Barcelona Olympic…….yes, Derartu won a gold medal for Ethiopia in that olympic ,but that was in 10K not MARATHON…………It is KUTERE DULECHA who won Marathon and that is in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic but not 1992 Barcelona……..how come Abreha mixed up this things…..Offcourse Kutre’s victory in Maraton was the first gold in women Marathon for both Ethiopia and Africa..
Amanu
Dear Abrha,
U would be more trusted when u write detail book like Tesfaye did. He is a hero , at least by writing the book Yegazetegnaw Mastawesha. I know u do have, probably ,more acess to many secrets and do have the potential and the courage to write . Why not u write a book and quench our thirst of truth .
please do it
I vote for peace between Tesfaye and Abraha. YES WE CAN.
Simply amaized. We never learn from our mistakes. Both Abrha and Tesfaye are people with mission. Tesfaye, with a deeprooted mission while insulting our itlegence and comparing his highscool dropout-ass with great authors our country, is only trying to help his motherland leadears, the shabias,realize their ultimate dream, weak and disintigrated Ethiopia(his sympathy and support for the cause of OLF is case in point). Abraha is another “aderbai” “yewyane ashker” who sold his identity and willing to prostitute his soul for anything and everyhing. So why in F should we care and talk about these “Yetalian Bandas” and “Zerenga weyanewoch”?