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Author: Elias Kifle

Obama failed to stand for the cause of freedom

By Elias Kifle

President Barack Obama has been a terrible disappointment for many Ethiopians and freedom loving people who supported him and voted for him in 2008. It is unforgivable that the Obama Administration had befriended, supported and praised the late Ethiopian dictator, Meles Zenawi, a genocidal tyrant whose hands were soaked with the blood of thousands innocent Ethiopians. Obama’s own State Department accused Meles of gross human rights violations. And yet Obama’s envoy referred to him as a ‘dear friend’ and a wise man. How can any Ethiopian who cares for Ethiopia and stands for freedom supports such an administration that financed and encouraged a genocidal dictator and a thief?

It is said that people deserve their government. In Ethiopia, we do not have the freedom to elect our government. The country is ruled by blood thirsty tyranny that is bankrolled by the Obama Administration and European Union to the tune of $3 billion per year. What excuse do those of us in the U.S. have for supporting Obama, a “dear friend” of the dictator who spilled the blood of so many of our brothers and sisters? By supporting Obama, we are encouraging him and other presidents after him to continue bankrolling tyrants in Ethiopia and other countries around the world.

The Obama foreign policy is one of the many areas where he didn’t keep his promise. He betrayed freedom loving people around the world by keeping in place the U.S. foreign policy that supported some of the most brutal and corrupt tyrants around the world. In fact, Obama took it the next level. Other U.S. presidents before him were holding their noses when they dealt with dictators. Obama made them his ‘dear’ friends. In the case of Ethiopia, dictator Meles Zenawi was accused by international human rights groups of committing genocide and war crimes. Let me ask you this: Would the Jewish community in the U.S. support a president who is friendly toward Nazi Germany. Meles is our Hitler. If we support Obama, we deserve to be ruled by a Hitlerian like Meles.

Another reason not to vote for Obama is not to repeat the mistake of the African-American community. For the past 40 yeas, the overwhelming majority of the African-American community has been supporting the Democratic Party. What have they benefited from such loyalty? Nothing. The African-American community is the most neglected voting group in the United States because of its loyalty to one party, even though the social values of a large majority of African-Americans are contrary to the Democratic Party. When Obama went on a ‘job tour’ in October last ear, he didn’t visit any African-American neighborhood. But the jobless rate among blacks (14.3%) is almost double that of the national rate (7.9%). When Obama won the presidency in 2008, the jobless rate among blacks was 9.1%, according to the Department of Labor.

Unlike the Jewish, Asian and other communities, the African-Americans relegated themselves to irrelevancy in the U.S. elections by blindly supporting one party. If the growing Ethiopian-American community wants to have voice, it must not allow itself to be taken for granted like the African-Americans. Vote for candidates who share your values, and you will see both parties competing for your votes.

Tomorrow, vote for Romney because many of his values are closer to ours, and if we support him, we may have a leverage with him when it comes to the U.S. policy toward Ethiopia. (What we want the U.S. to do is to stop funding murderous dictators.) Right now we have zero leverage because our vote is taken for granted by Obama.

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ENTC names Uganda diplomatic representative

PRESS RELEASE

[pdf]

The Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC) has appointed Ato Dereje Begashaw as its Diplomatic Representative in Uganda.

One of Ato Dereje’s first tasks as a diplomatic representative was to establish communications with the Government of Uganda. In a letter sent to Mr. Sam Kutesa, Foreign Affairs Minister of Uganda, he requested a diplomatic recognition on behalf of ENTC.

Before being forced into exile, Ato Dereje Begashaw was a prominent young journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Satenaw Newspaper and Asqual Newspaper in Ethiopia. He had also served as an election observer for the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) in 2005.

Ato Dereje’s letter to the Government of Uganda explains ENTC’s mission, and discusses the political, economic and security crises in Ethiopia, as well as the need for the Ugandan government to help with a peaceful transition to democracy.

ENTC was founded at a 3-day conference in Dallas, Texas, that was convened from July 1 – 3, 2012, with the participation of representatives from over 30 cities and countries.

For more info:
ENTC Foreign Relations
85 S. Bragg St. Alexandria VA, 22312 USA
Tel: 202-735-4262
Email: [email protected]
Website: etntc.org

Ethiopian Muslims continue protests, as new PM continues the legacy of interference

By Mohammed Osman

A couple of days after Ethiopia’ new Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn voiced his government’s stubborn stance towards the legitimate demands of the country’s Muslims, the faithful continued their nationwide protests against government interference in religious affairs.

The mosque-based protest was staged on Friday, October 19, at Anwar and Nur mosques, two major mosques in the capital Addis Ababa, as well as at mosques in a number of towns across the country. Friday’s protests took place in predominantly Muslim cities such as Harar, Dessie, Bati and Kemise, among others.

Muslim communities have been staging similar weekly peaceful protests for the last eleven months. The last of such massive protests was staged in Addis Ababa and several cities across the country on October 5, 2012.

The October 5 nationwide protest was meant to send a strong message to the government that Muslim communities all over the nation are not taking part in the ruling-party-orchestrated election of Majlis leadership that was slated for October 7.

The October 7 election was significantly boycotted by the country’s Muslims, but that did not prevent the ruling EPRDF from orchestrating a politico-farce drama employing every means, which included coercion, intimidation, involvement of non-Muslims as well as unwary Muslims, especially in rural areas.

The election drama was accentuated by the EPRDF-controlled TV station, which gave a 25-minute-long coverage for a selection of well-orchestrated election-proceedings and interviews. With a carefully-framed close-ups and long shots, the TV report was “effective” in attaining its sole purpose – that of cheating the public. And, for a party that cherishes its own follies, that was sufficient to make the claim: “Ethiopian Muslims have elected their leaders in a free, fair and democratic election.”

Mockery at the Highest-level

What was screened on ETV was also sufficient for the newly appointed Prime Minister to “congratulate” Ethiopian Muslims for “electing their leaders democratically.”

In his first appearance at the Parliament after swearing in as Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, the successor of the late PM Meles Zenawi, Hailemariam appeared no less stubborn than his former boss did. “I would like to congratulate the Muslim population for being able to elect their leaders in a free and democratic election!”

For Ethiopian Muslims the Premier’s congratulatory remark is a mockery at the highest level. It is a mockery at democracy, the rule of law and, above all, the country’s constitution. If anything, Friday’s nationwide protest was a direct reaction to this mockery.

The popular Muslims’ movement was prompted by years of accumulated grievances over the failure of the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, otherwise known as Majlis, to deliver meaningful services to the Muslim community.

In a clear violation of the country’s constitution, the Majlis has been under the full control of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) for the past 18 years. The Muslims’ accumulated grievances burst out in December last year after the government set out in a bold attempt to impose a Lebanese-born sect called al-Ahbash on the Muslim population.

The unconstitutional and adventurous project was jointly launched in July 2011 by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and the Majlis, whose leaders were followers of Ahbash, and appointed by the ruling party.

For Ethiopian Muslims, who continued their peaceful protests for the past eleven months, changing the Ahbash-dominated leadership of the Majlis through a truly democratic and free election is a matter not only of asserting constitutional rights, but also of defending their faith and unity. It is also about reclaiming and protecting their institution.

For EPRDF, analysts say, it is a matter of asserting its ideology of Revolutionary Democracy, which dictates full control of all mass-based institutions. This assertion puts the ruling-EPRDF in full collision with the constitution, which is regarded as the supreme law of the land. Over the years, this collision has manifested in several instances.

In this particular instance, EPRDF’s continued desire to control the Majlis is in clear contravention to Article 11, sub-Article 3 of the constitution, which stipulates non-interference of the state in religious matters, and that of religion in state affairs; as well as Article 27, sub-Article 2, which provides for the rights of believers “to establish institutions of religious education and administration in order to propagate and organize their religion.” Alas, that is how Ethiopian politics has been going since the constitution was endorsed 18 years ago, amidst jubilant “nations, nationalities and peoples.”

Nevertheless, EPRDF denies all accusations from every direction. In his last appearance at the Parliament, the late Prime Minister was asked by a fellow MP about the allegation of government interference in Muslim religious affairs. The late PM responded: “No, we did not interfere in religious affairs, and we cannot interfere in religion. … That is because the constitution does not allow us to do so.”

The new Prime Minister, in his first appearance to the parliament last Tuesday, repeated this statement verbatim. He not only repeated the statement, but also imitated the gestures of the late PM. That seems as per his promise “to continue the legacy of the great leader.”

Al Amoudi’s human trafficker in Ethiopia identified (update)

In March 2012, I posted the report below about the trafficking of Ethiopian women to the Middle East and identified one of the major players behind it. The report was a result of thorough investigations, corroborated by multiple witnesses who are residing in Addis Ababa. Several months after the report was published, the TPLF regime banned the trafficking of Ethiopian women to UAE, but not to Saudi Arabia and other countries. Meanwhile, Jemal Ahmed, Al Amoudi’s business partner who is identified in my report, has filed a defamation lawsuit against me in the United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia. The notorious law firm, DLA Piper, is representing Jemal in the lawsuit. DLA Piper has hired a $250-per hour private investigator, a former FBI agent, to follow me all over the Untied States. In a court document, the private investigator, Harold Corpus, testified that he has observed me at the balcony of my parents’ residence, among other places. Since the apartment has a security gate, he must have committed trespassing to enter inside. Human trafficking is just the tip of the iceberg of the predatory business practices that Jemal Ahmed and his partner, Mohammed Al Amoudi, are involved in with the backing of the TPLF regime in Ethiopia. In just recent months, they have forcibly removed tens of thousands of people in western Ethiopia after confiscating their land which they are using to grow flower and vegetable to be exported to Saudi Arabia and UAE. If Al Amoudi, Jemal and their allies in the TPLF junta think that they can intimidate and silence me by hiring former FBI agents and a mercenary law firm, they chose a wrong target. I will continue to expose them until they stop plundering my country and robbing my people. I am confident that the U.S. justice system will not allow them to trample upon the freedom of exiled Ethiopian journalists.

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Al Amoudi’s human trafficker in Ethiopia identified

By Elias Kifle

It’s been suspected that Sheik Saudi agent Mohammed Al Amoudi is behind the planned “export” of 45,000 Ethiopian women per month from the Amhara and Oromo regions of Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia. The women, most of whom are teenage girls, will be working in slave-like conditions, often subjected to beatings and other kinds of abuses. Ethiopian Review Intelligence Unit has now confirmed Al Amoudi’s involvement in this massive human trafficking, and also we have been able to identified the person whom he has put in charge of the operation.

His name is Jemal Ahmed. He is an Ethiopian, resides in Addis Ababa, and frequently travels to Saudi Arabia and other Arab counties as an employee of Al Amoudi.

Jemal’s responsibilities extend beyond human trafficking. He is also in charge of Horizon Plantations, one of Al Amoudi’s companies that is engaged in destructive commercial farms that are used for growing and exporting cash crops. In 2009, the Woyanne gave Al Amoudi 250,000 hectares of land in southern and western Ethiopia, in many cases forcibly removing local farmers from their lands. Because of excessive use of chemical fertilizers, the land will be totally useless in just a few years. The ground water will also be unusable

Jemal and other partners of Al Amoudi who are pillaging and plundering Ethiopia, and selling our women as slaves to Arab countries, must be stopped. Share this information and take the necessary action.

We Ethiopians currently have no government to protect us. So let’s protect each other and fight to save our country.