By Kebede D Gashaw

April 6, 2006 is one of those days that will long be remembered as the day the tide has finally shifted against the Meles government by Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia. HR 4423 the bill drafted by Congressman Chris Smith, Republican from New Jersey’s 4th District and chairman of the House Sub-Committee on International Relations, has passed in a party line vote with a 6 to 4 margin on its way to be considered by the full Committee and the House. Just the fact that this bill made it through the sub-committee is a victory to the people of Ethiopia and to democratic struggles all over Africa. Our admirations and thanks go to Congressman Smith and the cosponsors Rep. John Barrow [D-GA], Rep. F. Allen Boyd [D-FL], Rep. Zoe Lofgren [D-CA], Rep. Cynthia McKinney [D-GA], Rep. James Moran [D-VA], Rep. Charles Rangel [D-NY], Rep. Dana Rohrabacher [R-CA], Rep. Edward Royce [R-CA], Rep. Martin Sabo [D-MN], Rep. Loretta Sanchez [D-CA], Rep. Thomas Tancredo [R-CO], Rep. Edolphus Towns [D-NY], Rep. Diane Watson [D-CA], Rep. Frank Wolf [R-VA], and the sub-committee members that voted for it. Although the objective is still not fully attained until Congress as a body approves it. After which the bill goes to the president for signature and the president signs it, it doesn’t become the law of the land and become part and parcel of US Foreign Policy. So, the hard work of continuing to get the support it needs from all members, first of the House and then the Senate is still ahead of us and our efforts should intensify to get that accomplished. Ethiopian in the Diaspora and especially Ethiopian Americans should make every effort to contact their Congressmen/women and Senators and ask for their support to ratify or pass HR 4423.

Another milestone that April 6, has given us is the statement from Ambassador Vicky Huddleston, the charge d’ affaires at the US embassy in Addis Ababa. The Ambassador who has been less than candid in dealing with the Meles government openly and at times seemed to tow the line of the ruling party has made a startling and honest assessment of the situation in Ethiopia and has openly called on the Meles government to release all political prisoners and to start negotiating with the opposition. As an Ethiopian American, I am finally pleased of the fact that two major events will transform the political landscape in short order. HR 4423 and the statement by Ambassador Huddleston calling for the release of all political prisoners and for a negotiated settlement of the crisis in Ethiopia. These two events have reaffirmed my faith in the American traditions of fairness and justice. This was what we expected to see from the US administration and what was lacking until now. We welcome that change and hope that it is sincere and fully backed by not only by the State Department but by the Department of Defense to be meaningful and result in averting the escalation of the crisis in Ethiopia. The moral high ground that the EU had taken on matters about the crisis in Ethiopia is exemplary and more nations should follow that route, as there is no other alternative to diffuse the crisis and avert further bloodshed and chaos.

Along the same lines, another major milestone coming from our side (the Ethiopian Diaspora and from within Ethiopia) is the Memorandum that was published by a group of Ethiopians from the Tigrai region. The Memorandum calls specifically for the prime minister to step down, for a negotiated settlement of the crisis and for the formation of a National Unity Government, followed by a national election. It seems to me, for the first time in along time, several factors are aligning or coming together at about the same time. If we are all believers in peace, justice, equality and democracy for Ethiopia, this is an opportunity that should not be missed. And if the prime minister and his party are not willing to listen to reason, they should be taken to task and the whole world should condemn them for choosing further chaos over peace and stability, the two major factors for economic growth and development.

Thank You to Congressman Smith, Ambassador Huddleston, and the Ethiopians that are signatories of the Memorandum. Most of all, Thank you is in order to those individuals (Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia), that have been working hard to get the bill passed. Thank you to those untiring Ethiopians in the Diaspora that have been continuously participating in rally’s, demonstrations, sit-ins, hunger strikes, have written letters, faxed and made phone calls to political figures, government agencies, the UN, and the World Bank. And to those that got involved in numerous activities to represent and give voice-to-the- voiceless, thank you and continue the struggle until our people have their victory and democracy reigns in Ethiopia.

By Liben Gebre Etyopiya (Donald Levine)

Commenting on the current political state of affairs, a knowledgeable journalist said to me in Addis: “People here have been attacking one another all year. But they never talk about things they are really mad about.” His comment rang a bell. Don’t we all know family members who quarrel about things that substitute for what they are really feeling hurt and angry about?

Time and again in October, Government and Opposition were on the verge of coming to an agreement that would have prevented the November violence and subsequent imprisonments. For a moment, if possible, let us set aside the question of who is to blame. Let us entertain the hypothesis that whatever the unprovoked harassment of CUD leaders by Government security personnel and whatever perceptions the Government had about insurrectionary ambitions of the opposition, there was something in the air that enabled the talks–for which the Prime Minister had at one point given assurance that everything was on the table–to break down. The parties had been talking about Parliamentary procedures, access to the Press, and the like. But what were the two sides really mad about?

Ever since the Derg was overthrown fifteen years ago, I have heard Ethiopians of different positions hurl insults at one another, accuse one another of the basest motives, and dig ever deeper the moats that distance them from one another. For fifteen years, I have wondered when the time would come that the underlying issues of their discontent might be addressed and resolved. Perhaps it took the killings and imprisonments of 2005 to force the issue, to get good Ethiopians of different persuasions to thinking in and about a new way.

That will take effort. To get beyond feeling aggrieved and injured, although grief and injury are abundant all around. To get beyond pouring blame on one another, although there are many things to blame. Perhaps the effort may involve realizing that what has been at stake all along has been two seemingly incompatible narratives about their country’s history.

Narrative One.
1. Modern Ethiopia is an empire created by a hegemonic Amhara elite under Emperor Menilek II who conquered and dominated all of the historically separate and independent ethnic groups in the area.

2. It was dominated by a ruling class that had to be overthrown and prevented from regaining power or control of the land of peasants in the conquered territories.

3. The Derg was a ruthless, centrist regime that survived by terrorizing Ethiopian citizens.

4. TPLF troops, supported by EPLF, were the only viable opposition force to rebel against the Derg. For some seventeen years, they struggled as guerilla fighters and, after enormous sacrifice and suffering, succeeded in defeating the Derg and forcing its much-hated leader to flee.

5. Although they fought during those years under the banner of the Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray, they abandoned communist ideology as the Cold War came to an end and formally embraced liberal democracy.

6. They felt badly treated, after all that sacrifice and suffering, when their victorious entrance into the capital was met with hostility by those who sat out the Derg years in relative comfort.

7. Once in power, they proceeded to create a novel system of ethnic federalism to ensure dignity for all of Ethiopia’s peoples, and to prevent a resurgence of private plutocracy through continued state ownership of land and many industries.

8. To ensure the success of their program, they had to spread a network of EPRDF cadres across the country.

Narrative Two.
1. Modern Ethiopia is the outgrowth of a two-thousand-year-old polity rooted in Aksum. It became unified and remained independent thanks to the leadership of Emperors Tewodros II, Yohannes IV, and Menilek II.

2. It came to fruition under Emperor Haile Selassie I, who advanced national centralization, instituted ministries and standing armies and, though mostly Shoan Amhara and surrounded by Shoan nobility, included Eritrean, Tigrean, Oromo, and others in the national elite he fostered.

3. The Derg was a ruthless communist regime that survived by terrorizing Ethiopian citizens.

4. TPLF troops, supported by EPLF, became the only viable opposition force to rebel against the Derg, although EDU and EPRP had been forces to contend with at one time. For some seventeen years, they struggled as guerilla fighters and, after enormous sacrifice and suffering, succeeded in defeating the Derg and forcing its much-hated leader to flee.

5. Although the TPLF leadership abandoned communist ideology as the Cold War came to an end and formally embraced liberal democracy, they never truly embraced the principles of liberal democracy.

6. Joy at the overthrow of the Derg was muted by apprehension about the revanchist tenor of TPLF anti-Amhara sentiments, their elevation of tribal ethnicity above Ethiopian nationhood, their Leninist political style, and their reluctance to de-collectivize land.

7. Once in power, EPRDF = TPLF excluded other ethnic groups from the center, imposed a system of ethnic federalism without broad national consensus, and continued state ownership of land and many industries. To defend these changes, they consistently harassed opposition parties, clamped down on a free press, and prevented an independent judiciary.

8. To ensure political control, they spread a network of EPRDF cadres across the country, who year after year abused the rights of civilians and did little to promote economic development.

These contrasting narratives bloomed fully in the months after May 1991. Beyond whatever strivings for power animated the leaders of the various parties in 2005, it was underlying antagonisms about these contrasting visions of the past and what they implied for Ethiopia’s future that fueled an underground current of fire. The differences they embodied have never been addressed quietly and resolved amicably.

This way of framing the matter was suggested to me by a lecture given in Berlin by a seasoned scholar who discussed the essence of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He pointed out how chronic hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians flowed from contrasting narratives about their pasts. Jews live with a picture of their past that depicts them as perennial victims, deprived of their sacred land by ruthless Babylonian and Roman conquerors, abused by host societies for millennia thereafter, and subject to an effort at total annihilation so monstrous–ha-shoah, the Holocaust–that it gave rise to a new concept in human criminality, genocide. Palestinians live with a picture of their past that depicts them as resident in their land from time immemorial, proud caretakers of the holy places of Christianity and Islam, then confronted by a robust immigrant population that began with intrusive settlements and–through al nakbah, the Catastrophe–frightened many from their homes forever and eventually dominated them in their homeland territory. It would seem impossible for peoples with such incompatible stories ever to live together harmoniously–except, the lecturer pointed out, those narratives resembled the incompatible narratives that oriented France and Germany, now friendly neighbors, for a long time and impelled them into three horrible wars within one century.

To be sure, the centuries-old histories of Jews and Palestinians cannot really be said to have a counterpart in opposition between political parties who came into being les than two decades ago. And so, beyond the contrast of narratives, perhaps we must locate another factor. Perhaps it is what Dr. B. T. Constantinos, in a response to my Getz #2–“Ethiopians in Prison”
www.eineps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7)m, described suggestively by observing that

[[the Ethiopian political elite [has debated] problems of our democratisation… largely within a particular tradition of political thought, argument and struggle that has origins in the radical student movement; in ideas of “national liberation”, “class struggle”, “national democratic revolution” spawned by that movement; and in the Marxist-Leninist tradition of political thought, discourse and action that has been a decisive influence over the current political impasse. At a time when the tradition seems a spent force in much of the former second world, including post-Dergue Ethiopia, a toned-down and somewhat reconstructed version of it seems to have gained a new lease on life among Ethiopia’s political elite in the country and abroad.]]

Although Dr. Constantinos and I might disagree on details of that diagnosis, we probably agree on the hallmarks of that tradition: clever talk, arrogance, demonization of the other, presentation of preconditions in tight formulaic terms that are not amenable to alternative formulations and mediation (shimgilna), urbanite insurgency, and identification of one’s position with the good and the will of the “people.”

In this sense, then, the problem is not to move beyond Ethiopian traditions, but to restore the rich traditions of civility, forgiveness, neighborliness, and respect for one another that antedate the uncivility of the Marxist tradition. For this purpose, Ethiopians could scarcely do better, for example, than return to the political culture embodied in that remarkable Ethiopian tradition, the gumi gayo of the Boran and Guji peoples, which opens each parliamentary debate with a caution not to look for the worst in what others have said in order to undermine their position and win an argument, but to look for the best they have to offer so as to find a common ground:

Dubbi qarumman dubbatani miti. Warri qaro qarumman laf keyyaddha.
This is not the place for clever talk. Clever people should leave their cleverness behind.

For today’s political elite, that could mean listening to one another’s narratives and perhaps even learning something.

By Daniel Alemu, Jerusalem

On March 16, 1935, under the direct orders of Adolf Hitler, Germany re-armed itself, introduced military conscription and built an enormous navy, in a clear violation of the Versailles Treaty. These concerning developments went unnoticed by the World and particularly by Britain and France, victors of the First World War and architects of the Treaty. A year later, Germany moved troops into the Rhineland, hereafter annexed Austria and occupied Czechoslovakia and Poland. Only in September 1939, after it became too late, did Britain and France declare war on Germany. The consequence was of course, the total occupation of France by German forces, and the near destruction of Britain’s military power by Germany. This irresponsible and frivolous policy towards Germany followed by Britain’s Premier Neville Chamberlain and France’s Daladier came to be known as “appeasement,” and it is believed to be one of the main causes that led to World War II, and all the destruction and death that ensued.

This historical anecdote is sadly evoked when one speaks of Ethiopian-Egyptian relations. And it becomes the more evident if one chooses to examine all the developments that have been taking shape and engulfing the Ethiopian monastery of Dabre Sultan in Jerusalem for the past decades. The monastery, which is in Ethiopian hands but claimed by the Copts of Egypt, has been used by Egypt in addition to the Nile question as yet another ground to confront Ethiopia and its historic role in Africa and further deter it from performing this role in any meaningful way. Since Nasser’s emergence to power, his self-conceived political ideology that came to be known as Nasserism attempted unsuccessfully to contend Ethiopianism in 20th century African political thought and contemporary politics. This failure was followed by Nasser’s uncompromising attempts to exert unprecedented control over the Coptic Church and all its emissaries abroad through which he hoped to influence developments in Ethiopia in his own favor. It is to be recalled that the Italians tried to attain the same aim but by separating the Ethiopian Church from the Coptic one and appointing their own Ethiopian Patriarch. Nevertheless, this intervention by the Egyptian establishment culminated in the forced abdication of the Coptic Patriarch Yusab in Alexandria in 1955, an ally of His Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie. Ethiopian mediation for a peaceful settlement and reinstatement of the Patriarch was unwelcome by the Copts of Egypt and unjustly perceived as an attempt to relocate the Coptic Patriarchate and the See of St. Mark to Addis Ababa. These developments that brought the Coptic-Ethiopian relations to a stalemate led to the inevitable separation between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church in June 1959 marked with the consecration of the first Ethiopian Abuna.

Subsequently and through further boosting Coptic concerns over their Church’s vague future, Dabre Sultan functioned as a pawn in Egypt’s hands to manipulate Ethiopia and exert pressure over it to make political concessions to Egypt. Emperor Haile Selassie, who as regent, began intensive efforts for the recovery of the monastery, and who went to Egypt in 1924 with the two aims of working towards the appointment of an Ethiopian Abuna with the power to consecrate bishops, and demanding the restoration of the keys to the Dabre Sultan Monastery to Ethiopia, was undeterred from these manipulations and resolutely carried on these efforts after his coronation. Doing so, Haile Selassie followed Emperor Menelik’s footsteps and perceptive understanding of Dabre Sultan’s importance not only for Ethiopia but also for the whole of Africa. As recalled, Emperor Menelik was the first Ethiopian Emperor to officially fight and work for the restoration of the monastery. In this spirit, he was responsible for the dispatch of three official delegations from Addis Ababa, and even ready to sign an agreement with the Czar of Russia that stipulated that out of each twelve ancient possessions and privileges Russia mediated to recover for the Ethiopians, it would have two. In the midst of all these efforts, Egypt through the influence it gained in the Coptic Church continued to stifle the relations between the Ethiopians and the Copts, and the question of Dabre Sultan proved decisive towards attaining this aim. On the part of the Copts, the monastery of Dabre Sultan, now turned into a national question, provided a unique and convenient opportunity to stress their Arab identity, after being alienated from the Egyptian-Muslim society following the 1952 revolution. While on the other hand, it gave the Coptic Church and particularly those circles in it that could not come to terms with the independence of the Ethiopian Church, which they perceived as the beginning of the disintegration of their own Church, the ability to supposedly nurture a form of dependence of the Ethiopians on Alexandria. For this reason, today we find that those secular Coptic circles that were willing in the past to concede to the wishes of Emperor Haile Selassie and return the keys of the monastery, which were eventually retrieved by the Ethiopians in 1970, are even fighting more aggressively for the alleged claims of the Copts over the monastery. In this spirit, it can be said that beginning from the 1960’s the conflict over the monastery took a new dimension, one of a national and even international nature. Through demonizing Ethiopia, portraying it as a historical enemy of Islam and usurper of Coptic rights in the Holy Land, Egypt sought both to undermine Ethiopia’s role in Africa and thus to tip the balance of power in its favor, at a time where the Emperor overshadowed Nasser and any potential role he could have played particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, and also to alleviate internal strife between the Muslim establishment and the Copts in Egypt. This is what explains the fanatic interest – particularly in the last few decades – the Copts have been expressing in a monastery, which they do not have any need for. The main victims of the Status Quo agreement in the past centuries till today are the Ethiopians, who lost all their possessions and properties in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and were confined only to this small and petty place on the roof of the Holy Sepulcher that came to be known as Dabre Sultan. Now they are fighting and prepared to give their life for this last foothold of an ancient Black Church that have survived persecution from different western powers, in its attempts to safeguard its interests in the Holy Land, as it has done for many centuries. The Copts have maintained their rights in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and are still in possession of the main monastery of St. Mark adjacent to Dabre Sultan, which some claim have been also originally in the possession of the Ethiopians. Nevertheless, since Egypt’s and the Copts’ interests seem to be politically motivated, constant provocations, harassment and persecution of the Ethiopian monks and nuns guarding the monastery, have been sustained and intensified through the years.

Recently, in March 2006, the Egyptian monk, who has been occupying a room in the Ethiopian monastery, decided to brazenly violate the Status Quo and thus undermine our rights in the monastery through invading different parts in the monastery, which he never dared invade and through which we might risk loosing keys of important sections of the monastery to. Even though, the Church fathers reported his actions to the Israel police and relevant authorities, which came and gave him a warning, the absence of a firm stand of the Ethiopian leadership in this matter, can surely portend bloody events from the kind that were witnessed in August 2002, and open a door for the Copts to carry on their violations as they already did this past week, till they forcibly expel the physically feeble Ethiopian monks and nuns from their rightful property. The measures of the Israelis on their part, who are the only legal authority liable to take any legal or other action in this concern, are more politically motivated. Israel’s understanding of Egypt’s role in the Middle East, and its willingness to begin peace negotiations with the Palestinians, have reduced its willingness and ability to act justly in this matter, a fact that proved to be to the detriment of the Ethiopians, particularly since the 1993 Madrid Peace negotiations. Furthermore, the diplomatic gestures that Ethiopia has been expressing to Egypt, in retrospective, would exceed Nasser’s expectations if examined today, and undermine the very fundamental core of international relations that rests on the principles of the zerosum theory. The national pride that once characterized Ethiopian rulers have been replaced with an atmosphere of incompetence and dim view of history that paralyzes the current leadership from effectively advocating on behalf of this vital and historical place.

From here it remains crucial to reaffirm the obligation of all the relevant Ethiopian authorities to uncompromisingly advocate on behalf of this monastery and reestablish our possession of it by any means necessary. Appeasement as far as this monastery is concerned can only prove to be counterproductive and destructive to all parties involved as history teaches. Egypt has repeatedly and derogatively warned Ethiopia that any contentions over its rights on the Nile will be considered as a casus belli. Appeasement over Dabre Sultan can only make the Egyptian deterrence capacity the larger and thus the threat the more real. Sadly, many Ethiopians still fail to grasp the invaluable importance of this monastery to Ethiopia and Ethiopian interests. If Badme’s significance to Ethiopia is debatable at all, then I will suffice by saying that Dabre Sultan is unquestionably an integral and vital part of Ethiopian and African history that supersedes any political debates, considerations or compromises.

Therefore, my call is for all Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia at this difficult time, to unite behind this paramount cause and fight uncompromisingly for our historical rights over this monastery, through independently organizing public debates, demonstrations, workshops and conferences and using all available media to raise the awareness to the plight of this monastery, the tragic suffering of the Ethiopian monks and nuns and the very concerning recent developments. Take an immediate action and please sign this petition:
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/DabreSultan

Daniel Alemu, Jerusalem
Email: [email protected]

By Irena Knehtl, Buzzle.com

Zeritu Kebede’s songs are different. I became her fan after few minutes of listening tp her songs. Young Ethiopian artist Zeritu Kebede, nicknamed ‘Baby’, first burst into public attention when she impressed every one with her fresh style of singing in ‘Esti Mela Belu’ – Lets find a way out from HIV, a group song performed by selected artists, veteran and emerging artists. The group included artists like Alemayehu Eshete, Menelik Wessenachew, Tamrat Molla, Tsegaye Eshetu, Tighist Makonnen and Tsedenia G/Markos. Zeritu performed her part brilliantly, distinguishing herself both with her powerful voice, youthful face and a fresh inspiring style.

She told Selome Kifle in an extensive interview for Capitol, and Addis based magazine, that she wants public to expect good and different songs from her. She and Elisa Melks worked hard on her first album, named “Zeritu”. It is a great album and it has won her wide audience. The album is “different” because she herself is “new”. She sings what she herself likes to hear when listening to the music. She wrote lyrics for ten songs in the album, one song was written by Abinet Agonafir, a popular Ethiopian singer, and another one jointly with Elias. She worked a year and a half on her first album, in which she raised different issues with varying song writings and composition.

Music has been a part of her since the age of nine or ten. A hideaway from books, she recalls. They would sing spiritual songs at elementary school. Her talent developed after fifth grade when her Math teacher discovered her talent. They formed a group. The Spice Girls came, she remembers, they wanted to be like them. They too believed in ‘girls power’.They begun to write songs and practice at her home. But she knew she wanted to sing and be a singer long before she heard the Spice Girls.

Zeritu creates music in terms as “rich. She says, she just sings her songs and does what she herself likes to see and listen. She fells that the present rebirth of Ethiopian music, an explosion in artistic or musical creativity and talents, is a visible improvement and one can notice that there are many positive changes. She does not think, this is the peak. She feels they can do even better.

She is not just creating new music, she is seeking to preserve her country’s musical identity. This evolving culture of dynamism is the rich resource that flows from heart and mind. She notes that there is a deep-rooted music culture in Ethiopia. This diversity comes in handy and serves as a background from which to develop. Ethiopia owes a lot of its rich musical heritage to its location and history. Zeritu believes that the potential of this heritage is poised for a big leap. New performers arrive on the scene and new ideas are being created all the time. The artist must hold on to all that is original within.

ABOUT ETHIOPIA
Few nations can boast the historic splendor of Ethiopia, evidence of whose extraordinary past is everywhere. Ethiopia is a nation of surprises, full of diversity and contrast. The oldest independent nation in Africa, is a land of stunning natural beauty. A rich diversity of culture and geography that will captivate the visitor. The welcome that comes from the mosaic of people with over 80 different languages and as many cultures is warm and spontaneous. The climate is dependent on the physical terrain and its position close to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, but for much of the year it is warm and pleasant in low-lying areas and cool and bracing in the highlands. There are two principal seasons, rainy from June to September, and dry for the rest of the year.

Ethiopia is a land of rugged mountains (some 25 are over 4,000 meters high), broad savannah, lakes and rivers. The unique Rift Valley is a remarkable region of volcanic lakes, with their famous collections of bird life, great escarpments and stunning vistas. Tissisat, the Blue Nile Falls, must rank as one of the greatest natural spectacles in Africa today. With 14 major wildlife reserves, Ethiopia provides a microcosm of the entire sub-Saharan ecosystem. Bird life abounds, and indigenous animals from the rare Walia ibex to the shy wild ass, roam free just as nature intended. Ethiopia, after the rains, is a land decked with flowers.

With a population of more than two million people, Addis Ababa is not only the political capital but also the economic and social nerve-centre of Ethiopia. Founded by Emperor Menilek in 1887, this big, sprawling, hospitable city still bears the stamp of his exuberant personality. More than 21,000 hectares in area, Adis Ababa is situated in the foothills of the 3,000 meters Entoto mountains and rambles pleasantly across many wooded hillsides and gullies cut through with fast-flowing streams.