Ethiopian under the Woyanne junta continues to rank at the bottom among other nations in every development scale. After 20 years of Meles Zenawi’s dictatorship, most Ethiopians live under obscene poverty where children in some areas scavenge for food in trash dumps. In this information age, only 1 percent of Ethiopians have access to computer, and Ethiopia ranks 135th out of 138 countries in Internet usage, 129th in freedom of the press, 138th in mobile phone subscription, 132nd in electricity production, and 133rd in adult literacy rate, according to a recent report by the World Economic Forum (read the report here). That is why Ethiopians are saying Beka (enough) to Meles Zenawi’s 20 years of misrule, repression, and corruption.

Two weeks ago, Ethiopia’s khat-addicted tyrant Meles Zenawi sent a 35-member high level delegation to North America to promote his new gimmick, “Growth and Transformation Plan” “Grand Theft Plan” (GTP). The dictator who cannot stay one week in power without foreign aid has spent close to a million dollars for the 14-city tour in the U.S. and Canada involving 35 government officials and the 10 “journalists” who accompanied. In every city they visited, the delegates were confronted by protesters, and in Washington DC and Los Angeles, they were forced to cancel their meetings. The tour was a major public relations disaster for the decayed regime.

The two senior TPLF members, Berhane Gebrekirstos and Arkebe Equbai, who led the delegation were particularly shaken by the intensity of the protests and accused Girma Birru and other non-TPLF diplomats of not doing enough preparations. It is now rumored that Girma’s days as Woyanne ambassador to the U.S. are numbered.

Girma and the other puppet diplomats are in a quandary since they have little say to begin with. It is the TPLF cadres at the embassies who are the decision makers. In Girma’s case, he reports to Wahde Belay, a TPLF cadre whose official position is head of public relations, but in reality he is the real ambassador who gives orders to Girma and every one at the embassy.

Just a few months ago and for 20 years before that, Meles Zenawi and his ethnic apartheid junta have been taking the side of Egypt when it comes to Abay (Nile River). In fact, shortly after Meles came to power in 1991 with the help of Egypt, he flew to Cairo to sign a secret agreement with Mubarak (see here) that strips Ethiopia’s claim.

(Updated with some corrections)

1) As of August 22, 2010, 7 months ago, EEPCO’s 5-year-plan did not include Nile River, according to an EEPCO official (read here).

2) When the north Africa and Middle East popular uprisings broke out, the state-run Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPC) revised its 5-year plan to include Nile basin projects as part of the Woyanne so-called “Growth and Transformation Plan” (GTP). (see here)

This is one more proof that Meles and his propaganda chief Bereket Simon concocted the Abay dam idea in a desperate attempt to divert the public attention from saying BEKA (enough) to 20 years of dictatorship and misrule. The people of Ethiopia have had enough of Meles-Bereket’s lies for the past 20 years. What we Ethiopians need is freedom, not fake plans by a gang of proven thieves, rapists and murderers. For Ethiopians trusting the Nile issue with Meles is like some one trusting his daughter with a rapist. (see EEPC’s five-year-plan here. It doesn’t mention Abay.)