South Sudan has drawn an international attention because of the week-long referendum now underway in that part of the country. The struggle of the people of South Sudan under the leadership of The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the political wing, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the military wing, began three decades ago. It resulted, however, in the death and displacement of millions southern Sudanese. The war had been dubbed by the international media as as a war between the Muslim North and the Christian South.
Indeed it was. However, besides its tinged color of religion, the people of South Sudan had remained one of the most oppressed peoples on our planet. They had been called slaves by the Northerners. They had no share in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the country. Their representation in the government was nominal. In the 1990s, there was a nominal vice president, a state minister in the foreign ministry, and a few diplomats.
During my stay in Sudan for four years, I had never seen a South Sudanese who had a small enterprise, even a shop in the capital city Khartoum. What I saw instead were house maids, guards, and gardeners in the affluent residencies of Northern Sudanese. Observing such a reality, a senior from South Sudan once remarked: “Every Northerner has a dog and a maid or servant from South Sudan.” He equated his people with dogs. Indeed the people of South Sudan were the wretched of the Earth, the miserable.
In my visit to 10 countries, I had never seen people oppressed to such a low degree as the people of South Sudan and North Korea. It needs no telling that the kind of oppression that the people of North Korea are subjected to. Besides the grinding poverty they wallow in, they are under complete control of the Communist regime. They are deprived of any form of right. They live under gun point discipline. The only difference between the two people is that the Koreans live in a developed infrastructure, the South Sudanese in agrarian country at its lowest level of development.
John Garang and Salva Kirr
I saw the late SPLM leader Colonel John Garang in an international airport in the 1990s. He sat alone in a comfortable sofa in the VIP lounge escorted by long and burly body guards. Fully equipped with sophisticated arms, the body guards watchfully scan the people in the lounge. Garang was sober, quiet and seemed to contemplate on his future plan — the guerrilla warfare in South Sudan. The bearded guerrilla leader had a furious look. As soon as a civilian passenger aircraft had arrived and dropped off the passengers, Garang with his guards boarded the plane to Nairobi where he resided.
Dr. Garang was a senior officer in the Sudanese army. He defected from the military and began to head the tortuous struggle to its logical conclusion — the referendum that enables Southerners to decide on their destiny. Unfortunately Dr. Garang has not lived to see it. He died in a mysterious helicopter crash on the common border of Uganda and Sudan upon his return from working visit to Uganda. He was vice president of Sudan for a very short period of time.
I saw Salva Kiir, presently Vice President of Sudan, in Nairobi two times. He was then called “Commander.” He was delegated by Garang to lead the delegation of the SPLM in the negotiation with the delegation of the government. Salva Kiir logically argued his position, the position of the SPLM during the negotiation. Right from the outset he hammered out referendum. The two negotiations held in Nairobi were unsuccessful. Salva Kiir and Co. went straight ahead to the bushes of South Sudan to continue their armed struggle. It was later on that they reached a conclusive agreement — vote on Referendum. Now after 17 years their dream has come true. Southern Sudanese are exhilarated and are casting their ballots. They are eagerly waiting for the result to be revealed at the end of the ballots.
South Sudan has a size equal to France. It has a fine weather, fertile land and oil. Its population is 4 million with three main ethnic groups, Dinka being the main one. Garang was from Dinka ethnic group. Provided that they have good governance, the people of South Sudan can develop and prosper.
What about Federation?
To sum up, I don’t in principle, support secession or separation of a part of a country. At the same time, I strongly oppose oppression from within or outside. The net result will be equality in all walks of life. In the absence of equality, there is the presence of oppression — then struggle not for few years but even decades like Southern Sudanese. Here I would like to present my humble proposal that the Horn of Africa countries should, sooner than later, embark on loose FEDERATION. This mechanism will help them to avoid war, to muster and accelerate economic, social and cultural development. Al Bashir’s dictatorial regime should stop instigating a new war in South Sudan. He is already an indicted war criminal because of his barbaric actions in South Sudan and the Darfur state.
The Woyanne ethnic apartheid junta in Ethiopia has sent thousands of troops to Sudan in a convoy of over 100 military trucks and equipment late last week, according to eyewitnesses at the Ethiopia-Sudan border.
Ethiopian Review sources have reported that the military convoy was heading to the Sudanese city of Al Qadarif.
Yesterday and today South Sudan is holding a referendum on independence and it is feared that the outcome of the vote could lead to violence, although Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has said he will let the oil-rich south secede peacefully.
AP has reported that at least 30 people were killed today in Abyei region along Sudan’s north-south border.
United Nations spokesman Martin Nesirky said Monday the organization is “extremely concerned” about the reports of clashes and casualties in Abyei.
“The mission is in the process of confirming the numbers (of casualties), and containing the situation with enhanced patrols and engaging with the top leadership,” Nesirky said at a regular news briefing at U.N. headquarters.
The Woyanne junta is expected to take Khartoum’s side in any dispute, creating a possible favorable environment for Ethiopian opposition groups to establish relations with South Sudan.
AP reports that jubilant voters in South Sudan flooded polling stations for a second day on Monday. The seven days of balloting are likely to produce an overwhelming vote for independence.
U.S. President Barack Obama praised the timely start of the referendum on self-determination for southern Sudan and urged all sides to refrain from intimidation, coercion or violence and to allow voters to freely and peaceably express their will.
“The world will be watching in the coming days,” Obama said in a January 9 statement. He said the United States is fully committed to helping all Sudanese solve post-referendum issues such as borders, refugees and the sharing of oil revenues “regardless of the outcome of the vote.”
Obama warned that some Sudanese may try to disrupt the process, and said voters “must be allowed access to polling stations, and must be able to cast their ballots free from intimidation and coercion.”
“All sides should refrain from inflammatory rhetoric or provocative actions that could raise tensions or prevent voters from expressing their will,” he said, adding that violence in the Abyei region, where 36 people reportedly have been killed since the start of the vote, “should cease.”
U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration and Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry are in Sudan to witness the referendum.
Speaking to reporters January 9, Senator Kerry said the voting “sends an important message about the ability to solve problems in ways other than in choosing violence.”
The Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA) is falling apart in the face of leadership crisis and an impending boycott. The 28-year-old organization has been confronted with numerous problems during the past five years after it was hijacked by the ruling party in Ethiopia through its money man Al Amoudi. The problems include corruption, declining attendance at the annual events, lack of discipline, and poor management.
ESFNA’s problems surfaced in the media when the executive committee arbitrarily reversed the 27-member board’s decision last October to invite Judge Birtukan Mideksa as a guest of honor at the July 2011 event in Atlanta and refused to have an independent CPA audit the organization’s finances.
Recently, the finance head of ESFNA, Ato Abework Abay, resigned after pointing out financial mishandling and lack of transparency on the part of the chairman and other members of the executive committee. The new finance head, Ato Million Gebreyesus, and other members of the board have also questioned the competence of the chairman and the secretary in a recent confidential memo. Some have called on the resignation of the chairman, arguing that it would be impossible to hold the scheduled July 2011 event in Atlanta unless solutions are found urgently.
Meanwhile, Ethiopians in Atlanta are preparing to boycott the July 2011 event. Community leaders have warned the executive committee that unless the board’s decisions are implemented, they will advise members of the Ethiopian community to stay away from the event.
To make matters worse for the ESFNA, the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel has canceled its $250,000 contract citing security problems that have occurred at last year’s event in San Jose where rooms had been vandalized and guests were harassed.
During the past five years, the ESFNA has become a source of embarrassment for the Ethiopian community in North America and a political tool for the Woyanne ruling junta. If there is any chance of salvaging ESFNA, the entire executive committee must resign and be replaced with competent individuals who are free of corruption and Woyanne connection.
Prof. Ted Vestal is releasing a new book titled The Lion of Judah in the New World: Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and the Shaping of Americans’ Attitudes toward Africa
The book relates how Emperor Haile Selassie helped shape America’s image of Africa and how that image continues to evolve in the United States today.
Haile Selassie was the first African head of state to be honored with a tickertape parade in New York City and the first African head of state to spend the night at the White House. What was it about this charismatic leader that so captivated Americans? How did he become a symbol of all Africa?
The book tells the story of a dynamic ruler who influenced the perception of an entire continent. Documenting the Emperor’s state visits to North America, the book explores U.S. foreign policy towards Ethiopia and Africa over two decades. At the same time, it seeks to understand why Haile Selassie enjoyed such celebrity in the United States and how he became so important in determining U.S. attitudes toward Africa.
The book includes a brief biography of the Emperor and also explores the geography and long, colorful history of Ethiopia. The tensions and contradictions that marked Haile Selassie’s life are highlighted in significant episodes that underscore his astute use of public relations and personal diplomacy. His leadership of postcolonial Africa during the Cold War is examined, as is his ultimate rejection by the United States in 1973 that marked the end of the monarchy and ushered in the tragic fratricide of Ethiopian civil war.
Highlights
• Analyzes how Emperor Haile Selassie shaped Americans’ perceptions of and attitudes toward Africa and its people, shedding light on U.S. relations with African nations today
• Covers two decades of U.S. policy towards Ethiopia and Africa as reflected in the six state visits of Emperor Haile Selassie to the United States
• Delves into the personality of Haile Selassie, one of the 20th century’s most charismatic figures, and explains why he enjoyed such celebrity
• Explores the fascinating history of Ethiopia, one of the world’s oldest civilizations
In a recent speech on civil liberties, British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that the U.K. coalition government would restore civil liberties with the same systematic ruthlessness with which the former government took them away. It is this corrupt U.K. libel law that Ethiopia’s ruling party and its billionaire financier Al Amoudi are trying to exploit in their campaign to shut down Ethiopian Review. Read more about DPM Clegg’s speech below.
(BBC) — […] Mr Clegg said the coalition government would restore civil liberties with the same systematic ruthlessness with which the former government took them away.
And he said he wanted to reform libel and turn the law from “an international laughing-stock to an international blueprint.”
He said a forthcoming draft libel bill would propose a statutory defence for those speaking out in the public interest, “whether they be big broadcasters or the humble blogger”.
That move, which was being considered by the former Labour government when it ran out of time, comes after a string of cases in which scientific writers have been sued over legitimate academic research or studies.
Mr Clegg said libel should also be reformed to better reflect “the realities of the internet” and also to end “libel tourism” under which foreign claimants sue foreign publications or writers in the British courts.
“We want public-spirited academics and journalists to be fearless in publishing legitimate research. Not least when it relates to medical care or public safety,” he said.
“It is a farce – and an international embarrassment – that the American Government has felt it necessary to legislate to protect their citizens from our libel laws.”
The disgraced chairman of AEUP and Kinijit, Ato Hailu Shawel, and his deputy, Ato Yakob Likie have been attacked by AEUP members at the party’s office in Addis Ababa yesterday. The 76-year-old Hailu Shawel sprinted to his car and escaped while Yakob, who couldn’t run as fast, was caught and pummeled by angry AEUP members who accused them of handing over the party to the ruling party, Woyanne.
The problem started when Hailu Shawel manipulated the AUEP election and got himself elected two weeks ago through bribery after previously announcing his retirement.
The person who was favored by most members to take over as chairman was Ato Tadios Tantu, who was not Hailu Shawel’s choice. Hailu wanted Yakob Likie to become the new chairman. When the members rejected Yakob, who is accused by AEUP activist of having close ties with Woyanne, Hailu Shawel’s employees hijacked the election process and demanded his reelection.
Hailu’s action angered most of the senior members of the executive committee, including Ato Mamushet Amare, and Wzr. Mesobework Kitaw.
During an acrimonious meeting that was held last Saturday, Mamushet Amare told Yakob, “You can inherit Hailu Shawel’s personal properties, but not AEUP.” When the meeting became hard to control, Hailu Shawel called Woyanne police and removed several senior AEUP members from the meeting.
The members who rejected Hailu Shawel’s actions and his return to AEUP held their own meeting and formed an emergency committee to be chaired by Wzr. Mesobwerk Kitaw. The emergency committee has released a statement explaining its objectives (click here to read).
Ethiopian Review sources have reported that the military convoy was heading to the Sudanese city of Al Qadarif.