Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front (EPPF) is in the forefront of the battle to end the Tigray Liberation Front’s tyranny against millions of Ethiopians. Our young and brave EPPF fighters are operating under tremendous difficulties to bring freedom and democracy in Ethiopia.
Given its own rise to power, TPLF is keenly aware of the lethal power of EPPF fighters, therefore it wants to quash them. Reminiscent of Derge’s time, TPLF is using its propaganda machines to paint EPPF freedom fighters as terrorists and foreign agents.
Ethiopians, who have lived the past 18 years of horror under the TPLF regime, know that TPLF is the true terrorist party. It has not only destabilized Ethiopia but the entire Horn of Africa.
Going forward, we must be strategic in our approach to the politics in the Horn of Africa. It is in the best interests of Ethiopians to form partnership with Eritrea to rid off TPLF so countries in the Horn of Africa can begin to establish diplomatic and economic relationships based on mutual respect and interests. The post TPLF era will turn the now war-ravaged Horn of Africa into a peaceful and prosperous place, where the next generation of kids will be allowed to go after their dreams.
We are at a crossroad, we will either topple the ruthless TPLF regime, or we will continue to be enslaved by them. Clearly, for the first time TPLF is fretting over EPPF. That should motivate every Ethiopian to give support to our EPPF liberation fighters for they are sacrificing to free Ethiopia from the menace of TPLF regime.
It is time to think regionally rather than parochially for the future is brighter than ever for the peoples in the Horn of Africa. Support EPPF!
Eritrean authorities are reporting that yesterday morning, January 1st 2010, several soldiers under the Woyanne regime in Ethiopia launched attacks on Eritrean forces at Zalambesa.
The Woyanne forces were driven back after 10 of their soldiers were killed and two captured. They left behind six AK-47 automatic rifles, a machine gun and communication equipments, according to Eritrean Ministry of Information’s shabait.com.
Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that two Eritrean rebel groups said on January 1st they have killed 25 Eritrean government soldiers and wounded at least 38 others in ambushes on two military camps.
Rebel spokesman Yasin Mohamed said the attacks by the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization (RSADO) and the Eritrean Salvation Front (ESF) rebels were in retaliation for the repression of the Afar minority and others by the government.
“The joint forces earlier today, made a surprise attack at the camp of 13 sub-division of the 2nd brigade at the vicinity of Kokobay, killed 13 and wounded 20 others,” Yasin said.
He said a separate attack killed 12 members of an intelligence unit and wounded 18 others in Kermeti area.
Three years ago around the same time, U.S. Ambassador Jendayi Frazer, against the strong advise other U.S. officials, had encouraged the Woyanne junta to invade Somalia, which resulted in the slaughtering of 20,000, and displacement of 2 million Somali civilians. Now, the new Obama Administration Ambassador, Dr Susan Rice, gave another Christmas gift of more bloodshed to the Horn of Africa by pushing through a sanction against Eritrea in the U.N., emboldening the Woyanne junta to engage in another military adventure.
Jendai Frazer is now a highly paid lobbyist for foreign regimes such as Woyanne that brutalize and terrorize their people.
The people of United States must be aware of the crimes being committed by these corrupt, incompetent ambassadors who are creating havoc around the world.
The two reported clashes yesterday and today at the Ethio-Eritrea border are direct results of the U.N. sanction against Eritrea, which was authored by Susan Rice, and submitted by her puppets in Uganda.
To my Fellow Ethiopians at home and abroad: Happy Ethiopian Christmas, and Temqat, and a Blessed and prosperous European New Year! I send this respectful and kind letter of appeal to you, my brothers and sisters: educated Ethiopian political, religious, educational, business, and intellectual leaders.
Ninety-nine percent of the Ethiopian people, Christians, Moslems, Jews, Traditionalists, Oromos, Amhara, Tigre, Gurage, Somali, Walayta, Hadya, Kaffa, Afar, Nuer, Anuak, and other beloved nationals, are deeply spiritual and ethical peoples. We also all have the same DNA – one family even if different language. Our people love and respect human beings.
Why can we, the about one-percent educated Ethiopians, not learn from them? Why are we stuck on the philosophical values of Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Marx? Why not respect and uphold the teachings of peace and reconciliation of our own wise teachers like, Zar’a Ya’aqob, Kristos Samra, Abba Gedas, and others? When are we going to wake up and see that tens of millions of our babies are crying for milk, tens of millions of our old people are yearning to go to bed in peace and wake up in peace, and tens of millions of our young people are thirsting for knowledge and learning?
Ethiopia is lucky to have us, her about 1% western educated children. It is also very gratifying to see so many successful Ethiopians in education, technology, business, law, and other important professions. I am very proud of my fellow educated Ethiopians. I wish everyone more success and strength during this coming year.
Brothers and Sisters: In spite of our impressive achievements, it cannot be denied that some of us educated Ethiopians have also squandered our energy on philosophizing politics and promoting group hate.
I have witnessed Ethiopians who have given so much for their country. Yet, I have also witnessed for almost forty years varieties of inter-group hate-badmouthing and quarrel, fighting and killing. I have seen how a good deal of our energy has been wasted for over half a century on verbal or armed power struggle. But we have gotten nowhere!
As your older brother, almost fifty years ago I started preaching mutual love and respect, commitment to each other, and promoting education and development. Please forgive me if I must repeat it again. Everything in this life requires commitment and action – thinking far, making a firm decision to act, making every effort to realize our decisions, and acting in good faith.
Can we decide this year to forgo negativity and change our thought and actions to positive energy? Can we, with all our hearts and all our minds decide to stop inter-group conflicts and fighting? I appeal especially to our political and religious leaders to set the example of mutual respect and love to all our educated people. Can we stop bad-mouthing each other? Can we stop the killings? We have it in one of our traditional songs:
“How are you?’ ‘How do you do?’ can’t we greet each other?
One sometimes reconciles even with his father’s killer…”
For the sake of our poor, sick, and illiterate, I respectfully ask each and every Ethiopian, especially our political and religious leaders, to set an example of mutual respect and love. Yes, let us continue to buy guns and artilleries. Let us continue to shoot them at each other. But when we shoot, let milk pour out of our guns to feed the babies and grains out of our artilleries to feed the hungry. Yes, let us continue to open our mouths and write with our pens opposite each other. But let beautiful words of love and respect come out of our mouths and words of love out of out pens!
Ethiopian champion runner Haile Gebrselassie has won the Trier Corrida. The 36-year-old runner is now preparing for next month’s marathon in Dubai.
Two-time Ethiopian Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie has won the Trier Corrida in Germany. The 36-year-old runner finished the eight kilometer race with a time of 22 minutes and 22 seconds, beating out Kenyan runners Shadrack Lagat and Paul Kipkorir. German runner Arne Gabius of Tuebingen placed fourth with a time of 23 minutes and 19 seconds.
On the women’s side, Russian Jelena Sadoroschnaja won the five-kilometer race, finishing it in 15 minutes and 48 seconds.
Twenty-thousand spectators celebrated Gebrselassie’s win in Trier, as he warms up for next month’s marathon race in Dubai. Gebrselassie is an icon in Ethiopia, where he’s seen as a role model for how to escape the country’s extreme poverty.
“Running is a gift that has allowed me to leave poverty behind,” he said.
In Dubai, the Ethiopian hopes to beat his world best of 2 hours, 3 minutes and 59 seconds, which he set in Berlin in September 2008.
Choosing “Person of the Year” at the end of every year has been Ethiopian Review’s tradition since 1995. This year other Ethiopian media have joined in the tradition and made their own choices. Ethiopian Review’s choice, however, remains the most anticipated.
The individual who is chosen as “Person of the Year” is believed to have contributed the most for the betterment of Ethiopia in the past 12 months. The choice is based not on popularity, sympathy, nostalgia, or past achievements. It is solely based on measurable accomplishments during the past 12 months.
This year’s choice was particularly difficult since many of those who made the short list have made significant contributions. What tipped the balance in favor of the final choice is the individual’s visionary outlook and capacity to do even more in 2010.
As we enter a new year, we remember those whom we are leaving behind. It was this past year that Ethiopian national icon Tilahun Gessesse left us. We remember those who are unjustly languishing in jail. It’s has been 12 months since our sister Birtukan Mideksa was thrown in jail, along with tens of thousands of other innocent Ethiopians who are suffering in disease-infested jails through out the country. Let’s not forget about those Ethiopian women who are being enslaved and abused in Arab counties; the desperate fellow citizens who are drowning in the Gulf of Eden as they flee the brutal dictatorship in Ethiopia; the 6 million starving Ethiopians while “the president” of Ethiopia eats 8 times per day; the people of Ogaden who are being systematically exterminated; Ethiopian freedom fighters who are shooting back at their Woyanne tormentors. Let’s resolve that in 2010 we will work harder than ever to bring an end to Ethiopia’s long nightmare.
We are not alone in the fight to bring change in Ethiopia. We have powerful allies who have stretched their hands to us in solidarity.
One of these great friends of Ethiopia, and our choice for the “2009 Person of the Year” is Ato Ali Abdu, Eritrea’s Minister of Information.
Ali Abdu is a person who is determined to help free not only Eritrea, but Ethiopia, the Horn of Africa, and the whole Africa from dependency on Western aid. There is one major obstacle: the narrow-minded Woyanne tribal junta in Ethiopia that is kept in power by the poverty-mongers at the U.S. State Department, the World Bank and IMF.
Ato Ali and the Eritrean leadership, including the president, Isaias Afwerki, believe that a united and strong Ethiopia will help Eritrea grow and prosper. Unlike the narrow-minded Woyannes, whose motto is “Tigray Esktilema Ethiopia Tidma” (Let Ethiopia bleed until Tigray develops), Ato Ali and comrades believe that the interests of Ethiopia and Eritrea are intertwined, and that as long as either is suffering, both cannot prosper or be free. It is this belief that is driving Ato Ali to work day and night to facilitate an improved relationship between Ethiopians and Eritreans. And it is this solidarity between the two people that the Woyanne junta fears the most.
One of Ato Ali’s measurable accomplishments in 2009 was facilitating the historic interview President Isaias gave to Ethiopian Review and EPPF’s Sileshi Tilahun last May. In that interview, President Isaias has articulated his government’s vision and policy toward Ethiopia and reached out to all Ethiopians to work together for change in Ethiopia and the whole region. As we all have witnessed, the interview had created a political tsunami in both the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities. As a result, currently all serious Ethiopian opposition political parties are building ties with the Eritrean government as they strive to bring about an end to the Woyanne era. It is a new day for relations between Ethiopians and Eritreans, due, in large part, to Ato Ali Abdu’s vision and hard work.
Ali Abdu
Facilitating President Isaias Afwerki’s interview was not the only thing Ato Ali has accomplished in 2009. Under his leadership, currently EriTv (Eritrean TV) Amharic program is the most popular TV channel in Ethiopia. The Eritrean Radio Amharic Service is listened by millions of Ethiopians through out the country. Also this year, Ato Ali has authorized the launching of a radio program for the Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front (EPPF).
Through such information outlets, the people of Ethiopia are being informed about the activities of Ethiopian freedom fighters. These increasingly powerful radio and TV programs are giving Ethiopians hope that change is coming, and inform them how to coordinate their struggle. When the world media chose to ignore the crimes against the people of Ethiopia by the genocidal minority junta, the Eritrean media led by Ali Abdu have been giving voice to the voiceless Ethiopians.
For these reasons we choose Ato Ali Abdu as Ethiopian Review’s 2009 Person of the Year.
Erik Gates (center) with Adam Savage (L) and Jamie Hyneman (R)
Discovery Channel’s “Mythbusters” TV show regular Erik Gates dies from a tragic 30 feet fall. Gates owned the electric company “Gateco Electric” and he and his CFO appeared on a few episodes of the popular Discovery Channel TV show, “Mythbusters”.
Gates, 47, fell through a skylight on the building and died of blunt force injuries to the chest. He was lucid and talking at the scene immediately after the fall, but died later at the hospital, reported Gather.com.
Gates was accompanied by a colleague during the accident but the colleague was not able to see how or why Gates plummeted to his death. No further investigation into his death is reported to be launched.
The building where Erik Gates fell and later died is owned by Gates’ brother,Dirk Gates, who is president and CEO of Xirrus, Inc.
MythBusters is a show that is on each Wednesday where cast members work on “separating truth from urban legend” on each episode. The cast features Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage. Erik Gates was a regular guest on the show as an “honorary MythBuster. A Rocketry expert, Erik provided rockets and his rocketry expertise in several myths, starting with the very first experiment—the legend of the Jet Assisted Take-Off Chevy Impala.
