A moving, inspiring, and galvanizing speech by Dr. Gregory Stanton, President of Genocide Watch, is a blessing in disguise for all of us Ethiopians, especially for some of our Tigrean brothers and sisters who are intentionally or unintentionally ignoring our every day calls to them to openly denounce the most oppressive government of Meles Seitanawi (Zenawi) and join the solidarity movement without hesitation.
Dr. Gregory Santon’s advice [watch the video here] and warning to the Tigreans are simple, direct, and clear: Meles Zenawi is vicious, barbaric, criminal, and greedy; he wants to colonize the entire country of Ethiopia, using the old tactics — divide and rule, and at the same time exposing those Tigreans who support his goal for their own selfish benefits to a precarious situation.
Dr. Gregory, as a president of Genocide Watch, has the first hand knowledge about human tragedies in Ukraine, in Burma, in Ghana, in Sudan, in Uganda, in Ruanda, in Cambodia, and in many other parts of the world, and such wide range of knowledge and experience of his has enabled him to unequivocally predict what is going to happen to those Tigreans who are looting the country, selling its fertile lands to foreigners, and amassing great wealth for themselves and for their friends, leaving the other Ethiopians hopeless and desperate.
Since he knows very well what happened in Rwanda between the Tutsi and the Hutu tribes, Dr. Gregory expresses his innermost fear of such genocide may happen in Ethiopia against the minority tribe, the Tigreans unless they stop their support for the oppressive regime of Meles Seitanawi (Zenawi). God forbids, if genocide takes place in Ethiopia, it will first, Dr. Gregory foretells, destroy the Tigrean political elites who are now enjoying life to the fullest and send thousands of them to jail and many of them to exile.
Knowing the strength, the wealth, the greed, and the cruelties of dictators of our world, Dr. Gregory sends a strong message to all political opposing parties that such powerful dictators such as Meles Zenawi, who is armed to the teeth, will not easily be removed from power unless the opposing political party is well organized and united, regardless of ethnicity, religion, and geographical location. And the best place, Dr. Gregory suggests, for organizing solidarity movement is Washington that has attracted thousands of Ethiopian politicians. It was from this great city of ours, Dr. Gregory says, that the Ghanaian politicians were able to overthrow the dictator of Ghana, and from this Washington city the Ethiopian solidarity moment could bring down Meles Zenawi from his power.
Having freely offered to his, mostly, Ethiopian audience the techniques how to bring down Meles from power, Dr. Gregory denounces the atrocities Meles have committed on his own people, especially the genocide on the people of Gambella in 2003 in which over 1000 people were murdered; he recalls what happened in the 2005 election where Meles was defeated, but angry about the outcome of that election, Meles murdered over 100 Ethiopian civilians and sent to jail thousands of people on suspicions of opposing him.
Angry by the deaths of so many Ethiopians under Meles the dictator, Dr. Gregory recommends that we must track of each killer, and when these criminals come to Washington, they can immediately be caught and sent to jail. He believes democracy is the solution for genocide; genocide occurs when people are excluded from voting, and he firmly attests that women are the best for defeating genocide and bringing peace to the world. Of course, he is not talking about Jezebel (Azeb Mesfin) or about the wives of Al Amoudi here; he is talking about the great women such as the Burmese Aung San kyi,
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, and many other noticeable women who advocate democracy and the rule of law for their people in their respective countries.
Finally, his perfect message to all Ethiopians and particularly to the Tigreans who adore Meles Seitanawi (Zenawi) is related to Martin Luther King’s statements: “I think we all have moral obligations to obey just laws. On the other hand, I think that we have moral obligations to disobey unjust laws because non-cooperation with evil is just as much a moral obligation as cooperation with good.”
I agree with him that Ethiopia has the most ancient civilization, and I may add to his factual statement that the main factor for that ancient Ethiopian civilization is the existence of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, which he calls the Coptic Church. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church has an absolute right to build a Church in Gambella or anywhere else in Ethiopia. Its mission is to spread the word of God to all people by building Churches, church schools, hospitals, training theologians and missionaries.
Ethiopians in Dallas confronted a Woyanne delegation that called a public meeting to discuss Meles Zenawi’s 5 year plan. A few weeks ago, a similar Woyanne meeting was dispersed by brave Ethiopians in Seattle. In the Dallas meeting, about 50 people showed up. Watch the video below.
Al Amoudi’s aid Abinet Gebremeskel has apparently ordered his servants Ayaya, Fassil and gang at the ESFNA to stay firm on Birtukan disinvitation and ride out the storm, according to Ethiopian Review sources. Having Birtukan as ESFNA’s guest of honor is simply unacceptable to Al Amoudi and Abinet who are currently under the crosshairs of Meles Zenawi’s wife Azeb Mesfin and must demonstrate their loyalty to Woyanne more than ever.
Meanwhile, at least four of the nine executive committee members are demanding reinstatement of Birtukan’s invitation. Several teams have expressed their intention to go public with their demand. In Atlanta, which has been chosen to host the July 2011 event, community leaders and activists are preparing to give a warning to the executive committee that they will call for boycott of the event if Birtukan is not invited. As a way out of the quagmire, the Ayaya-Fasil group within the executive committee is now asking the host team in Atlanta to invite Birtukan without mentioning ESFNA’s name.
Birtukan’s invitation, however, is not the only issue at hand. Equally important is the rampant corruption and malfeasance inside the ESFNA leadership.
It is not a secret that the 27-year-old Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA) has been infiltrated and hijacked by Woyanne through billionaire businessman Sheik Mohammed Al Amoudi. As a result, for the past 5 years, the organization has been transformed into a political tool for Woyanne. On top of that, the misconduct of some of its officials has been a source of embarrassment for the Ethiopian community in North America. In recent events, we have heard reports about hotels being vandalized, vendors being abused, as well as increasing incidents of illicit drug use and sexual harassment during the annual events. Much of the money that is collected from soccer games and concerts has been embezzled by a group within the executive committee that operates like a mafia group. ESFNA’s 2008 tax return [see here], shows an income of $1.6 million and a total expense of $1.5 million. The bulk of the expense ($1.2 million) is simply itemized as “other expenses.” If an independent accountant combs through the return, it could be uncovered that much of money that is spent for “other expenses” has been misappropriated.
The misconducts, some of criminal nature, are too many to list here. To put it simply, the Al Amoudi-controlled ESFNA is a totally corrupt organization that is an embarrassment to the Ethiopian community in North America.
Is reform possible?
ESFNA’s corruption and shameful acts are recently brought to the surface by a group of concerned individuals within the organization who are determined to reform it and make it a genuine Ethiopian institution that reflects the values of the community. As a first step, the individuals who are striving to reform ESFNA have proposed two things at the board meeting that was held late last month in Atlanta:
1) hire an independent CPA to perform a thorough audit
2) invite Judge Birtukan Mideksa as a guest of honor
The executive committee has rejected both requests, and the Ayaya group threatened to physically attack the individuals who put forward the requests. Some of the team representatives who make up the 27-member Board of Directors fought back and forced the chairman to take a vote. The majority voted for inviting Birtukan. However, in a show of utter contempt to the board’s authority, the lawless Ayaya and gang demanded the members to withdraw their votes, and when they refused to do so, Ayaya, joined by Sebsibe, and Fasil demanded the chairman to reverse the decision. The chairman, who is a puppet of Al Amoudi, complied, causing five teams to walk out in protest.
Before a decision was to be made on auditing ESFNA’s fiances — another even more contentious issue — the executive committee hurriedly adjourned the meeting and started to hand out $2,000 checks to every team representative as a hush up money. The corrupt executive committee handed out a total of over $54,000 just to the board members at the end of the Atlanta meeting. Their hotel and other accommodations were also fully paid. The executive committee squanders the organization’s money in this manner.
Recommendations
1. Dismiss all the executive committee members — with the exception of three or four who are thought to be honest individuals.
2. Remove all individuals in the leadership who are associated with Al Amoudi and Woyanne, namely Ayaya (Eyaya) Arega, Sebsibe Assefa, Fassil Abebe, Endale Tufer, and Demis Lemma (Arawit).
3. Bring in an independent accountant and audit ESFNA’s finances.
4. Remove Al Amoudi’s ESFNA permanent guest of honor status.
If ESFNA is unable to reform itself due to the entrenched power of the Al Amoudi gang, it must be forced to cease operating in the name of the Ethiopian community in North America.
It is known that despots imitate each other. Here is a glaring example. The ethnic apartheid junta in Ethiopia released the leader of a major opposition party, Birtukan Mideksa, shortly after it conducted a fake election in May 2010. Similarly, the military junta in Myanmar (Burma) has decided to release Aung San Suu Kyi, the popular leader of the country’s opposition party, after conducting and winning a fake election last week.
Aung San Suu Kyi release: the lady goes free but nothing changes
By Ian MacKinnon
On the face of it, Burma will have experienced a tumultuous seven days.
The woman known simply as The Lady to her fellow Burmese will taste freedom. Her worldwide following will cautiously rejoice.
But the more significant event has already happened. Last Sunday’s nationwide election provided the junta with a civilian face for the first time since it seized power in 1962.
It was an outcome that Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been relegated to the sidelines since her National League for Democracy (NLD) dominated the last elections in 1990, was powerless to prevent. Now the generals, many of whom have exchanged their uniforms for lounge suits, are confident they can curtail Mrs Suu Kyi despite her enduring appeal as the rallying point for Burma’s opposition.
When Mrs Suu Kyi’s NLD contested the 1990 poll it was the only serious opposition and it won by a landslide. Now the opposition in Burma has been fractured by Sunday’s elections. A splinter group of the NLD broke away to form the National Democratic Force (NDF) after Mrs Suu Kyi and her party decided to boycott the “sham” poll.
The NDF has so far only garnered a handful of seats out of the 164 it contested, but the divisions in the opposition ranks may dilute the voices raised against the pro-military government.
The Burmese people have been so cowed by years of repression that culminated in the brutal crackdown on the 2007 monk-led “Saffron Revolution” that they would not take to the streets again even if Mrs Suu Kyi issued the call.
Similarly, her impact abroad will be limited by her continued refusal to travel outside her country. The former Oxford housewife fears that she would be permanently exiled if she did.
In common with the jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, she was conspicuously absent from a gathering of Nobel laureates in the Japanese city of Hiroshima yesterday.
SMNE’s response to the following statements by the Chief Executive Officer of the Karuturi Global Ltd, Mr. Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi:
1. *No one has been displaced.
2. They chose Gambella as it is relatively thinly-populated. He said like in Nevada you can drive 100 kms without seeing anyone. If they had chosen the shores of Lake Tana in heavily-populated Amhara then the ‘land grab’ critics would be justified.
3. *Ethiopia has 80 million hectares of arable land and only 12 cultivated. Foreign investment is needed to add the 3 million more the gov’t is targeting. “What is the argument” when so much money will enter the economy?
4. *There was discussion of relocation of the people of Elliah [Ilea] – the only settlement in the farm area – but the company did not want this. 5.
5. Elliah’s residents have been provided mosquito nets and electricity and live in “perfect communion” with the farm.
1. No one has been displaced.
The land has been taken over by Karuturi, but the clearing and cultivation is still in the beginning stages. Many people have been told that they should expect to be removed from their homes and land during the dry season which has just begun, but many of these have not yet been forced to leave. Reportedly, they have been told that they can move themselves now or later be taken to a resettlement village.
This is the case not in Ilea, but also in other areas around the Openo (Baro) River, and also in other districts; namely, Abobo, Jor, Dimma, Gog and Goderie whose local district and village leaders have received a similar mandate to be resettled elsewhere by officials sent from the regional and federal government. Most of the people in these villages are refusing to cooperate; saying they will never leave their homes and land; however, Ethiopian military troops have become more prevalent in the area and people are fearful that these troops will use force to evict them. Two weeks ago, a young man was arrested in Abobo because some government officials assumed he was advising the elders not to leave their homes and land.
Another highly sensitive issue is the fact that Karuturi has cleared Anuak burial ground that they have taken over; causing anger to simmer right beneath the surface. People cannot openly express their outrage due to fear of punitive actions on the part of the government; however, such an absence of public protest should in no way be reconstructed into thinking there is public approval of these land grabs. All of these issues have taken place without any input from the local people who have almost no information on what is going on even though it greatly impacts their lives and futures. Although Karuturi has commented about providing some kind of compensation to the people, no compensation has been given or even discussed with them.
2. They chose Gambella as it is relatively thinly-populated. He said like in Nevada you can drive 100 kms without seeing anyone. If they had chosen the shores of Lake Tana in heavily-populated Amhara then the ‘land grab’ critics would be justified.
This would never happen in the Tigray region that this ethnic-based government favors so why is it permitted in other parts of the country? You can say that the land is not cultivated—and there are many reasons for that—however, the land still belongs to the people of Ethiopia and in Gambella—to the indigenous people.
Karuturi is doing business with an unelected and illegitimate government that took power by force, manipulation and corruption. The Ethiopian people do not consider them the rightful negotiators of their national assets; particularly while they are forced into silence by one of the most brutal dictatorships in Africa.
The people of Gambella should be welcome at the negotiation table instead of being excluded and kept in the dark. It is like someone walking into your house and saying your house is too big for you so I’ll take these rooms over without consulting you and giving you any benefits. Is this right? This is why it is a land grab and justifies the criticism.
When I use the term “land grab” it means you “grabbed something” that was not rightfully yours without consulting the rightful owners. Is it not “land grabbing” when you exploit the vulnerability of people living under a repressive system where any protest is criminalized?
This is the Neo-colonization of Africa. If what is going on in Gambella was happening in New Delhi, India; in Oxford, England; in Bismarck, North Dakota; in Saskatoon, Canada; this would be unthinkable. If it is not allowed in these places, why is it justified in Ethiopia? Wrong is wrong! Just because the people are not educated or because, for a time, they are being controlled by a self-serving kleptocrat; it still does not make it okay to carry on such unethical business practices.
If one of the local Gambellans went to India and took over that much land without consultation with the people; would Indians be silent? This is a repeat of the Berlin conference where western colonizers met together; divvying up portions of Africa for themselves without ever including the Africans in the decision making.
3. Ethiopia has 80 million hectares of arable land and only 12 cultivated. Foreign investment is needed to add the 3 million more the gov’t is targeting. “What is the argument” when so much money will enter the economy?
Who is looking out for the best interests of the people? It is certainly not the leadership of Ethiopia; nor is it a company like Karuturi who denies the truth of the injustice carried out in their name.
If these deals are truly in the interest of Ethiopians, why is it all so hidden? If the people of Gambella are to benefit, why are the people of Gambella not in charge in any way? The same question can be asked of similar deals being executed in Benishangul-Gumuz, in the Southern Nations, in the Afar region, in Oromiya, in the Amhara region and elsewhere in the country—why are the people not consulted?
Secondly, no Ethiopians have confidence in ever benefiting from these deals, but instead see it as robbing them of their and their children’s future as their land is being leased for up to 99 years. This is more than a lifetime for most. Will this land always be “under-utilized” or could Ethiopians develop their own land in 5, 10, 20 or 50 years if they had a government that actually invested in the people; advancing agriculture in a freer market economy where people could actually own land?
Ethiopians have seen how little aid has ever made it to its destination and believe that this investment will again benefit only a select few. How will Ethiopians reap benefits from such economic development when they are already excluded from any decision-making? Instead, it is highly unlikely that the fruits of these land grabs will ever make it beyond the pockets of Meles, his cronies and those foreign partners willing to make these secret, backdoor deals.
4. There was discussion of relocation of the people of Elliah – the only settlement in the farm area – but the company did not want this.
They can say this now; however, it is only temporary as Karuturi has “claims” on land now that government officials assert will require the relocation of the people. Either Karuturi is not being told the “real” story or they are denying what is happening on the ground. In other words, if Karuturi was not there, this upcoming forced relocation would not be necessary. Ilea is only one place where this is happening as there are many more villages in the region being potentially impacted. It is not only affecting the Anuak, but some of the villages inhabited by the Nuer and Manjangir people are also targeted. Why is there no transparency? Why is there no honest discussion with the people? Karuturi may say they did not approve such resettlement, but the truth is that the people are being told they must be moved. No dates are set yet, but they know it is to happen in the near future.
5. Ilea’s [Elliah’s] residents have been provided mosquito nets and electricity and live in “perfect communion” with the farm.
This is false. Reports from the ground adamantly deny any knowledge of such improvements in a community where such news would be widely known. There is no electricity. Mosquito nets have not been distributed. As of November 9, 2010, the only bore hole being drilled for water was located within the Karuturi compound. Karuturi has told some that the local people can come inside the compound to use the water if they wanted to do so; however, if the water was supposed to bring the “farmers” in “perfect communion” with Karuturi, why are there no bore holes for access to water outside a compound that potentially could easily be closed off to the public for a multitude of reasons?
Karuturi has promised to bring health clinics, clean water and other benefits to the people but so far; there is no sign or mention of any of this according to reports from the local people.
What does “perfect communion” mean when peoples’ homes and farmland are being taken? What does this mean when burial grounds are being cleared? What does this mean when the people have never been consulted? What does this mean when the people say they will refuse to leave their homes for resettlement camps? Such a statement is strictly a denial of reality; flimsily supported only through the propaganda of government officials.
The people of Gambella live in a repressive climate where most all are afraid to speak out for fear of arrest, detentions, beatings or extra-judicial killings; all of which have taken place in the last year as Karuturi and others have endeavored to force this plan on the people.
The Anuak have already endured one genocide in 2003 at the hands of this TPLF/EPRDF government as they eliminated any leaders who might oppose the development of the oil reserves in the region. No one knows what will happen this time, but Karuturi should reassess their approach if they truly seek such “perfect communion!”
(For more information please contact Mr. Obang Metho, Executive Director of the SMNE at [email protected])
Residents of Sululta, a suburb of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, have revolted against land giveaway and attacked government officials. It’s a good beginning. Ethiopians need to take back their country from the vampire regime that is selling every thing — from children to fertile lands — in Ethiopia, and invest the money in developed countries. Watch the report below.
But the more significant event has already happened. Last Sunday’s nationwide election provided the junta with a civilian face for the first time since it seized power in 1962.