Africa

ኢትዮጵያ፡- ሃለፊነታቸውን የዘነጉት ግድ የለሽ ምሁራን

Posted on January 23, 2013, Updated on January 23, 2013 by Alemayehu G. Mariam

ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም

ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ

በቅርቡ ናኦም ቺሞስኪ: የኤም አይ ቲ (M.I.T.) ዩኒቨርሲቲ የስነ ቋንቋ ፕሮፌሰርና የአሜሪካ ቀደምት ምሁር፤ ለአልጀዚራ ስለአሜሪካ የቀለም ሰዎችና ምሁራን በሰጡት ቃለ መጠይቅ ላይ ምሁሮቹ ሃላፊነት ጉድለትና ግድ የለሽነት አንደሚያሳዩ መግለጫ ሰጥተው ነበር፡፡ ላለፉት 4 አሰርት ዓመታት የ84 ዓመቱ ቺሞስኪ ተጋፍጠው ፤ ሃይላነ ጉልበተኞች ነን የሚሉትንም በሃቅ አለንጋ ሲሸነቁጣቸው ነበር፡፡ በቅርቡም የፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማን ደካማ ጎን አስመልክቶ ትችቱን ሲያሰሙ ፤ ፕሬዜዳንቱ ‹‹የዓለም አቀፍ የግድያ ዘመቻ ለመፈጸም›› የድሮን (ሰው አልባ አሮፕላን )ጦርነት አካሂደዋል›› በብለወ ነበር:: በሃቅኝነታቸው ምክንያት ቺሞስኪ ‹‹ግራ ክንፈኛ›› ‹‹አክራሪ ፖለቲከኛ›› ከዚያም አልፎ ‹‹ኮሚኒስት›› በመባል ተኮንኗል፡፡ በርካታ ዋጋ ቢስ ቅጽል ስሞችም ተለጥፎባቸዋል፡፡ ያሻውን ቢባሉም ተናጋሪው የዕድሜ ባለጸጋ ከቆሙበት ዓላማ ዝንፍ ሳይሉ፤ ያነሱትን ነጥብ ሳይለቁ ሳይስቱ ተጠናክሮ እንደቀጠሉ ነው፡፡አሁንም ካታሊዝምን፤ ኒዎ ሊቤራሊዝምን፤ግሎባላይዜሽንን፤ጦር ሰባቂነትን፤ ሙስናን፤ ጭቆናን፤ ስልጣንን አለአግባብ መጠቀምንና በስልጣን መባለግን፤የሰብአዊ መብት መደፈርን፤በአሜሪካና በሌሎችም ሃገሮች ያለውን ሁኔታ ይተቻሉ፡፡ ከዚያ ባሻገር ደሞ የስነ ቋንቋ ምሁራዊ ተግባራቸዉን ከማከናወን ዝንፍ አላሉም ፡፡

‹‹ኖአም ቾምስኪ፡ የተሳካላቸው ሃላፊነት››፤ በሚል ለአልጄዚራ በሰጡትው ቃለ መጠይቅ፤ ቾምስኪ የአሜሪካንን ምሁራን ስልጣናቸውን መከታ በማድረግ የዜጎችን ስልጣን ለመግፈፍና ግራ በማጋባት ወደ ግዑዝነት በመለወጥ፤ተለማማጭ በማድረግና መከታ በማሳጣት ረገድ ማሕበራዊ ሃላፊነት ማጣት፤ንፉግነት፤ዘራፊነታቸውን አስመልክቶ ተችቷል፡፡

አል ጀዚራ፡-በፖለቲካ ውስጥ መካተት የምሁራንና የሌሎችም አዋቂዎች ሃላፊነት ነው?

ቾምስኪ፡- ሰብአዊ ፍጡሮችን ሁሉ ያካትታል፡፡ ሃላፊነት እኮ በምቹ ጊዜ ላይ ነው የሚለካው፡፡ ድሃ ሰው ከሆንክና በዝቅተኛ ቦታዎች የምትኖር ከሆነ፤ ምግብህን ለማግኘት ብቻ በሳምንት 60 ሰአታት የምትለፋ ቢሆን፤የሃላፊነት ደረጃህ ከምታገኘው ጥቅም አኳያ የሚለካ ይሆናል፡፡

አልጀዚራ፡- የተሻሻለ ጠቀሜታ ካለህ በምላሹ የበለጠ እንድትሰጥ ትገደዳለህ?

ቾምሰኪ፡- ነውና፡፡ የበለጠ ተጠቃሚ ከሆንክ፤ የበለጠ ስለሚመችህ ያንኑ ያህል ማበርከት ይኖርብሃል፡፡ የበለጠ ተጠቃሚ ስትሆን ሃላፊነትህም ያንኑ ያህል ነው፡፡ ይህ እኮ በጣም ተራ ግልፀ ነገር ነው፡፡

አልጀዚራ፡- ይህን ሁኔታ ታዲያ ለምን በአሜሪካ አናየውም? ስለሰዎች በሃብት እየደረጁ መሄድ ብዙ ይሰማል፤ በርካቶችም ወደ ድህነቱ እየወረዱ ነው፤ያም ሆኖ በሃብት የደረጁትና ያካበቱት ጊዜያቸውን፤ከሃብታቸው፤ ከችሎታቸው ከጥቅማቸው አኳያ ሲያውሉ አይታዩም?

ቾምስኪ፡- እንደእውነቱ ከሆነ ሃባታሞች የሆኑት እኮ ለዚህ ነው፡፡ህይወትህን የምትመራው እራስህን ብቻ ለማበልጸግ ከሆነና ጥቅምህና ሃሳብህ ያ ከሆነና የሌሎች ችግር ካልታየህና ግድ የለሽ ከሆንክ፤ ስለሌሎች ማሰቢያ ሕሊናም አይኖርህም፡፡ ይህ ‹‹እራስ ወዳድነት ነው›› እንደሙት አካል መሆን ነው፡፡ ይሄ የአያን ራንድ ፍልስፍና ነው:- ‹‹ስለማንም ግድ የለንም፡፡ እኔ እራሴን ለማደርጀት ብቻ ነው የማስበው፤ያ ደሞ ክቡርና የተቀደሰ ተግባር ነው፡፡”

ዕውቁ ጋናዊ ኢኮኖሚስት እና በአፍሪካ ግንባር ቀደሙ ምሁር፤ ጆርጅ አይቴ በአፍሪካውያን ምሁራንና ዕውቀት የዘለቃቸው ታዋቂዎች ስላጡት የሃላፊነት ብቃት ቅሬታውን ከማሰማት አልቦዘነም፡፡ የአፍሪካ የምሁራን ክፍል ‹‹ከአፍሪካ ደም መጣጭ መሪዎች›› ጋር አንሶላ በመጋፈፍ ከመናጢውና ምስኪኑ ሕዝብ ላይ በመግፈፍ ኪሳቸውን ለመሙላት አሸሼ ገዳሜ ላይ ናቸው፡፡ በ1996 ለአፍሪካ ምሁራን ስለምንነታቸው ከምር የሚያምንበትን ነግሯቸዋል፡፡ “የፖለቲካ ሰዎች፤ የበቁ መምህራን፤ጠበቆች እና ሃኪሞች እራሳቸውን እንደሴተኛ አዳሪ በችሎታ ከነሱ አናሳ የሆኑትን ወታደራዊ ወሮበሎችን ፈላጭ ቆራቾችን ላመገልገል እራሳቸውን አቅርበዋል፡፡ ደግመው ደጋግመው መልሰው መላልሰው እየተደፈሩ፤ ክብራቸው እየተገፈፈ፤ እየተሰደቡ፤ተሰልፈው ካገለገሉ በኋላ እንደቆሻሻ ጥራጊ ይጣላሉ—የባሰም ሊሆን ይችላል፡፡ እነዚህኞቹ ሲጠረጉና ሲጣሉ፤የበለጠ ክህሎት ያላቸው ምሁራን ሴተኛ አዳሪዎች በቦታቸው ለመተካት አንዱ በአንዱ ላይ በመጨፈላለቅ ይሽቀዳደማሉ›› ነበር ያሉት አይቴ፡፡

የታደሉትና የተሟላላቸው ኢትዮጵያዊ ምሁራን ሃላፊነት ማጣት

እና ታዲያ ለምንድንነው የኢትዮጵያን ምሁራን በፖለቲካው መስክ የማናያቸው? ምናልባት በአሜሪካን አቻዎቻቸው እግር በመተካት ላይ ይሆኑ? ወይስ የአያን ራንድ ፍልስፍና ተከታዮች ሆነው ይሆን? ‹‹ስለማንም ደንታ የለኝም፡፡ እኔ ስለራሴ ብቻ ነው ጭንቀቴ፤ያ ደሞ የተቀደሰና ክቡር ምግባር ነው::›› የአይቴ ነቃፊ ትችት ለኢትዮጵያ ምሁራንም ይሰራ ይሆን?

በጁን 2010 አንድ ጥያቄ አንስቼ ነበር፡- ‹‹የኢትዮጵያን ምሁራን ምን በላቸው የት ገቡ?›› የሚል፡፡ በዚያን ወቅት መልስ አላገኘሁም ነበር:: አሁንም ምላሽ ባላገኝም ቀድሞም ሆነ አሁንም፤ ጉልህ በሆነው ከሕዝባዊ መድረኩ መጥፋታቸው ለረጅም ጊዜ ግራ ተጋብቻለሁ፡፡ ድርጊታቸው የጥንቱን ‹‹የግሪክ ፈላስፋ ዲዎጋንን፤ በጠራራ ጸሃይ ፋኖስ ይዞ ታማኝ ሰው ፍለጋ›› በአቴንስ ጎዳናዎች ላይ የወጣውን አስታወሰኝ፡፡ ልክ እንደዲዎጋን፤ ዓለም አቀፎቹን የምእራቡን የምሁራን አምባ፤ የስነጥበብን የሳይንስ ሙያ ሰፈሮችን ገዳም መሰል መሸሸጊያዎችን፤ችቦ በመያዝ የኢትዮጵያን ምሁራን በየጉዳንጉዱ ሁሉ መፈለግ ያስፈልግ ይሆናል::›› ሆኖም የትም ቢዳከር አልተገኙም፡፡ምናልባትም በማያሳይ ልዩ መጠቅለያ ተጀቧቡነው ተሰውረው ይሆን?

እውነቱን ለመናገር እኔም ለረጅም ጊዜ በዚያ የኢትዮጵያዊያን ምሁራን በተሸጎጡበት ያልታወቀ መደበቂያ ውስጥ ምንም ላለመተንፈስ፤ መስማት የተሳነኝ ድምጽ አልባም የሆንኩ ነበርኩ፡፡ ከዚህ የተሸፈንኩበት ዋሻ ለመውጣት ያበቃኝ የመለስ ዜናዊ ጦረኞች 196 ንጹሃን ዜጎችን እያነጣጠሩ ለሞት ሲዳርጓቸውና ከ800 በላይ የሚሆኑትን ሲያቆስሉ ማወቄ ነው፡፡ መቸም በሴቷም ሆነ በወንዱ ሕይወት ውስጥ አንድ ወሰኝ ወቅት አለን:: ከታፈንበት ማነቆና ዝምታን በመስበር በሰው ልጆች ላይ የሚፈጸመውን ኢሰብአዊነት፤ግድያ፤ ለማውገዝና ከተጎጂዎች ጋር ቆመን ለመጮህ የምንቆርጥበት፤ ክፉ ዘመንን አስወግደን ነጻነትን የምናመጣበትን ጊዜ የምናመቻች የምንሆንበት ወቅት ይመጣል፡፡ ላንዳንዶቻች አንደዝዚህ ይሆናል::

ነገር ግን ትንፍሽ ላለማለት ለእራሳቸው ቃል ገብተው መኖርን፤ ምርጫቸው፤ የነቃ ሕሊናቸው፤ የወሰነላቸው በማድረግ የተሸሸጉ አሉ፡፡ምርጫ በጠራራ ጸሃይ ሲሰረቅ እያዩ በውቅታዊ መታወር መኖርን ምርጫቸው ለምን አደረጉ? ለምንስ ንጹሃን ዜጎች በዘፈቀድ በደህንነት አባላት ሲያዙ፤ በእርባና ቢሱና ፍትሕ አልባ በሆነው ‹‹ችሎት›› ሲፈረድባቸው፤እየሰሙ ጆሮ ዳባ ልበስ ማለታቸውስ ለምን? የዕምነት ነጻነት ሲደፈርና ሕብረተሰቡ ነጻነትን ሲማጸን እየመሰከሩ ለምንስ አብረው አልቆሙም አልወገኑም? ሕሊናቸውን በማጽናናትና በዝምታ በማማረር በማላዘን፤ በሰሙኝ አልሰሙኝ መቆጨት ምርጫቸው ለምን አደረጉ? በዝምታ ተሰውረው መኖር ነው ሕይወታቸው፡፡

ይህን መገንዘብ በጣም አስቸጋሪ ነው፡፡ ምናልባት ዝምታ ወርቅ ነው የተባለውን በማመን ይሆን? ወርቅ ከፈለግህ ዝም በል ማለት ነው? ጭቆናን የምያራዘመው ዝምታ አንደሆነ ዘነጉትን? ምናልባት ምናልባት፤ ዝምታቸው መሃይምናን እና ኋላቀር ብለው ለሚገምቷቸው፤ ስለሚያሰሙት ጩኸት ተቃውሟቸው ሆኖ ይሆን? ‹‹አረመኔያዊ የሆነው ውሸት በጸጥታ መገለጹን›› ቸል ብለውት ይሆን? አረመኔያዊ ድርጊቶች በጸጥታ መታለፋቸውንስ? ይህ ስሜትን የሚነካ ተግባራቸው ‹‹ለማንም ደንታ የለኝም፡፡ እኔ ስለራሴ ብቻ ነው ጭንቀቴ፤ያ ደሞ የተቀደሰና ክቡር ምግባር ነው›› የሚለውን የአያን ራንድን ፍልስፍና ተቀብለውት ይሆን?

ነገር ግን ዝምታ ወርቅ አይደለም፤ ዝምታ ገዳይ ነው፡፡ የጅርመን ምሁራን ናዚ ወደስልጣን መወጣታቱን በተመለከተ በዝምታ ሲዋጡ የታዘበው ናይሞለር ምሬቱን ሲገልጽ፡-

በቅድሚያ ኮሚኒስቶች ላይ አነጣጠሩ፤

የዚያን ጊዜ ኮሚኒስት ስላልነበርኩ ዝም አልኩ፤

ቀጥለው በሶሻሊስቶች ላይ አነጣጠሩ፤

የዚያን ጊዜ ሶሻሊስት ስላለነበርኩ ዝም አልኩ፤

ለጥቀው ወደ ሠራተኝው ማሕበር አነጣጠሩ፤

የዚያን ጊዜ የሠራተኛው ማሕበር አበል ስላለነበርኩ ዝም አልኩ፤

መጨረሻ ላይ ወደኔ መጡ፤

በዚያን ጊዜ ለኔ የሚጮህልኝ አንድም አልተረፈም ነበር፡፡

ዶክተር ማርቲን ሉተር ኪንግ ጁኒየር እንዳስጠነቀቁት፤ ‹‹በመጨረሻው የምናስታውሰው የጠላቶቻችንን ቃላትና ድርጊት ሳይሆን የወዳጆቻችንን ዝምታ ነው::››

የኢትዮጵያዊያንምሁራንማሕበራዊሃላፊነት?

የሕዝብ ድምጽ የዓምላክ ድምጽ ነው (vox populi, vox dei) ይባላል፡፡ ሆኖም ጸጥታ ከተጨቆኑ ጋር መነጋገርያ መገናኛ ሊሆን አይችልም፡፡ ምሁሩ ለመናገር፤ለማሰብ፤ ለማወቅ፤ ለመፍጠር፤ በሃሳቡ ለማየት የታደለ ነው፡፡ ጸጥታ ዝምታ የተጨቋኞች፤ የተወነጀሉት፤ የተፈረደባቸው ከታደሉት አነስተኛው ሁኔታ ነው፡፡ ዝምታ የምስኪኖች፤ የአቅመቢሶች፤ መከላከያ አልባ ለሆኑት የመጨረሻው የችግርና የአማራጭ ማጣት የመኖራቸው ምርጫ ነው፡፡

ምሁራን በዝምታ ለታገዱት የመናገር የሞራል ግዴታና ሃላፊነት አለባቸው፡፡ በዝምታ ቆሞ ምንም ሳያደርጉ በችግር ጨኸት ስር ማጉረምረም ጨርሶ ምርጫቸው ሊሆን አይገባም፡፡ ለመማር፤ ለማሰብ፤ ለመጻፍ፤ ለመፍጠር የታደሉት፤ በቁሳቁስ እጦት ለተጎዱት ብቻ ሳይሆን ሰብአዊ ክብራቸው ለተገፈፈባቸውም ሕዝቦችም መልሰው መስጠት፤ መክፈል መቻል አለባቸው፡፡

በዝምታ የተዋጡት የኢትዮጵያ ምሁራን የሳቱት አንድ ነገር አለ፡፡ ዝቅ ተደርገው ለሚታዩት፤ ለተናቁት፤ ድምጻቸው ለታፈነባቸው መናገር ጫና ሳይሆን መታደል ነው፡፡ ድምጽ አልባ ለሆኑት ድምጽ ለመሆን መብቃት የተለየ ክብርና ሞገስ ነው፡፡ ለገዢዎችና ለጉልበተኞች፤ ኃይል ያጡትን ወክሎ ዕውነትን ማሳወቅ፤ዋጋ የማይተለምለት ታላቅ ስጦታ ነው፡፡

ዝምተኛው ምሁር፡- የሞራል ግዴታውን በመርሳት፤ደስታውን ከማሳደድ ባሻገር፤ ከራስ ለማትረፍ ከመሯሯጥ ባለፈ፤ በፕሮግራም ታስሮና ተለጉሞ ከዚያ ውጪ የማይንቀሳቀስ የከፍተኛ ትምህርት ምሩቅ ግኡዝ ሮቦት ከመባል ውጪ ሊሆን አይችልም፡፡ በአንድ ወቅት ኒትዝኪ እንዳለው፤ ሁሉም ከፍተኛ የትምህርት ተቋማት ‹‹ሰዎችን ወደ ማሺንነት የሚቀይሩ ተቋማት ናቸው›› በሱ ዘመን ሮቦት (በራሱ የሚንቀሳቀስ ተሽከርካሪ)አልተፈጠረም ነበርና፡፡

በኔ እምነት ምሁራን የሞራል ዝግጁነት ሃላፊነት ሊኖራቸው ብቻ ሳይሆን፤ በተግባርም ሊወጡት ተገቢ ነው፡፡ ማለትም አንድ ሰው ለአንድ ዓላማ ሲቆም፤ ይህ ውሳኔው ከራሱ ጥቅምና ፍላጎት ባለፈ በርካታ መስዋእቶችን እንደሚያስከፍለው መረዳት አለበት፡፡ በርካታ ምሁራን ስለሰብአዊ መብት መደፈር የመቃወም ግዴታ እንዳለባቸው አበክረው ቃል ይገባሉ፤ በዚያ ጉዳይ ላይ ለመናገር ግን ዝግጁ አለያም ፍቃደኝነቱ በተግባር የላቸውም፡፡ በስልጣን የሚካሄድን ብልግና ለማጋለጥ አፋቸው አይደፍርም፡፡ ለመጻፍም ብዕራቸው ይዶለድማል፡፡ እርሳሳቸውም መቅረጫው ተሰብሯል፡፡ አንዳንዶች አይናፋር ናቸው፤ሌሎች ደሞ ድንበር የለሽ ፈሪዎች ናቸው፡፡ስለዚህም የሚናገሩት ድምጻ አልባ በሆነው ዝምታቸው ነው::

በ1967 ቾምስኪ ሲጽፉ ‹‹የገዢዎችን ቅጥፈት ማጋለጥና እውነቱን ማሳወቅ የምሁራን ግዴታ ነው:: ተግባራቸውን በመመርመር፤ ዓላማቸውንና ድብቅ እቅዳቸውን ይፋ ማድረግ…ለዕውነት መቆም የምሁራን ድርሻ ነው እንጂ ተከታዩን የነጻነትን ጥያቄ ለማጭበርበሪያነት እንዲጠቀሙበት መፍቀድ አይደለም::›› እንደኔ እምነት የኢትዮጵያ ምሁራን ሊሸከሙት የሚገባቸውም ይህንኑ ነው፡፡ ሙግት መግጠም ያለባቸው በስልጣን ላይ ያሉት ጨቋኞች ጋር ብቻ ሳይሆን እርስ በርሳቸውም ነው፡፡ የኢትዮጵያን ሕብረተሰብ ስለገጠመው ሁኔታና ችግሮች የተሻለ አማራጭ ብርታትና አለኝታነታቸውን፤ የጠነከረ ተስፋ ማቅረብ ይገባቸዋል፡፡ አምባገነኖችን በአዳዲስና ጠንካራ አስተሳሰቦች መዋጋት ከፍተኛ ግዴታቸው ነው፡፡ ታሪክ እንደሚያረጋግጠው ጊዜው የደረሰ ጠቃሚ ሃሳብ ጨርሶ ሊሸነፍ አይችልም፤ ሊገታም አይሞከረም፡፡

ኢንተርኔት በጭቆና ተግባሪዎችና በነጻነት ድል አድራጊዎች መሃል ያለውን ትግል አኩል ለማድረግ ችሏል፡፡ኢንተርኔት የቅሬታን ክረምት በመግፈፍ በመካከለኛው ምስራቅ ላሉ በሚሊዮን ለሚቆጥሩ የችግርና የመከራ ሰለባዎች፤ በጋውን የበለጸገ የነጻነት ወቅት በማድረግ እስካሁንም ሳይጠወልግ እንደቀጠለ ነው፡፡ ሙባረክ፤ ቤን አሊ፤ ጋዳፊ፤ ባግቦ፤ እና በርካታ ሌሎችም በሕዘቦቻቸው ውስጥ ዘልቆ የገባውን የጭቆና ስርአት በነጸነት የመተካቱ ሃሳብ ጨርሶ በህልማቸውም ታይቷቸው አያውቅም፤ የሚታሰብም አልነበረም፡፡ የኢትዮጵያም ዲካታተር ጨቋኝ ማን አለብኝ ገዢዎች፤ ምንም እንኳን ጋዜጦችን፤ ቴሌቪዥንን፤ ኢንተርኔትን እንደገል ንብረታቸው ይዘው፤ በርካታ ለሕዝብና ለሃገር የሚጠቅም ተግባር ሊከናወንበት የሚችለውን ከሕዝቡ በታክስና በተለያየ መነሾ የሚሰበሰበውን ገንዘብ በማውጣት ከውጭ ዕውነት የሚያጋልጡትን መገናኛ ብዙሃን ለማፈን ቢያውሉም፤ዕውነትን ሳንሱር በማድረግ ሕዝቡ መስማት የሚፈልገውን እንዳይሰማ ለማገድ ቢፍጨረጨሩም፤ ሕዝቡ የሚፈልገውን ከማድመጥና ከማወቅ ሊያቆሙት አልሆነላቸውም፡፡ ይህ በገሃድ የሚታይ አዉንታ ነው:: በዚህም ኢትዮጵያዊያን ምርጫቸውን እያዳመጡና እየተገነዘቡ ናቸው፡፡ የኢትዮጵያ ምሁራን በዚህ የትም ባለው መገናኛ ላይ ድርሻቸውን ለመወጣት አልተቻላቸውም፡፡የዚህም ውጤት ወጣቱ ትውልድ ኢንተርኔትን ለርካሽ መዝናኛዎችና ለግሳንግስ ተረብ ሚዲያውን መጠቀሚያ ሊያደርገው ተገዷል፡፡

የኢትዮጵያ ምሁራን የሶሻል፤ፖለቲካዊና የሳይንሳዊ ለውጥ ግንባር ቀደም ሃላፊ መሆን አለባቸው፡፡ ይህን እያቆጠቀጠ ያለውን ሚዲያ፤ ለወጣቱ ትውልድ ትክክለኛውን እውቀት ለማስጨበጥና ሃገራቸው ላይ የተከመረውን መከራ መግፈፊያነት እንዲውል ማድረግ ገዴታቸው ነው፡፡ ወሳኙ ትንቅንቅ የወጣቱን አስተሳሰብና ልብ ለመያዝ መቻሉ ላይ ነው፡፡ ለዚህ ከዲክታተሮችና ከጨቋኞች ጋር ያለውን ግብግብ በድል ለመወጣት አስፈላጊውና ወሳኙ፤ ጠመንጃና ታንክ ሳይሆን አዲስና ሃሳብና ፈጠራ ነው፡፡ ለኢትዮጵያ ከዚህ በማነቆ ከያዛት አስከፊ ስርአትና እርባና ቢሶች የስርአቱ አጎብዳጆችና ባለስልጣናት ማነቆ ለመላቀቅ ያለው ወሳኝ አማራጭ፤ የኢትዮጵያ ፖለቲካ፤ኢኮኖሚ፤ ዕውቀት እስካልሆነና ምሁራኑም የመሪነት ሚናቸውን ለመወጣት እስክልተንቀሳቀሱ ድረስ፤ ከዚህ እራሱን በራሱ በመኮፈስ በዙፋኑ ላይ ከተከመረው ጨቋኝ ገዢ መላቀቂያው አስቸጋሪ ነው፡፡

የኢትዮጵያ ምሁራን መላ ችሎታቸውን ጉልበታቸውን ጊዜያቸውን በኢትዮጵያዊያን ወጣቶች ላይ ነው ማዋል ያለባቸው (በአቦሸማኔው ትውልድ ላይ):: አዳዲስ ጥልቅ ሃሳቦችን ለወጣቱ ትውልድ ነው መወርወር ያለባቸው፡፡ አዳዲስ ሃሳብን እንዲሞክሩትና በውጤቱ ሃይል ላይ እንዲጨምሩት፤ ሂሳዊ አስተሳሰቦችን በመዝራት እንዲያለሙት፤ ነጻ አስተሳሰብንና መጠያየቅን በውስጣቸው እንዲያስተላልፉ፤ ዘወትር በባለስልጣናት ገዢዎች ላይ ብቻ ሳይሆን፤ በምሁራኑም በራሳቸው ላይ ተጠራጣሪ እንዲሆኑ ማበረታታት፤ ጥላቻን፤ቡድናዊ ስሜትን፤መንጋ አስተሳሰብን መዋጋት ማስተማር፤እራሳቸውንና አስተሳሳባቸውን የሚመዝኑበት መሳሪያ አስታጥቋቸው፤ተጻራሪ አስተሳሰቦች በማስረጃ ተደግፈው አሳማኝ ከሆኑ፤ሃሳባቸውን እንዲቀይሩ አስተምሯቸው፤የቆዩ ችግሮችን በአዲስ አስተሳሰብና መፍትሔ እንዲያርሙት አመላክቷቸው፡፡ስህተት ሲሰሩ ስህተታቸውን አምነውና ተቀብለው ለመታረምና በስህተታቸውም ይቅርታ እንዲጠይቁ ዝግጁ አድርጓቸው፡፡ ለዕውነት እንዲቆሙ፤ለሰብአዊ መብት መከበር ጥብቅና እንዲቆሙ በማስተማር መሆን ያለባቸውን ትክክለኛ ሆኔታ ለመሆን እንዲችሉ መንገዱን ምሯቸው፡፡

በጁን 2010 ባቀረብኩት ጦማሬ ላይ የኢትዮጵያን ምሁራን ከተጨቆኑት ጋር እንዲወግኑ አሳስቤም ተማጥኘም ነበር፡፡ያን ከጻፍኩ በኋላ፤የኢትዮጵያ ምሁራን ዝምታ አደናቋሪ ነበር፡፡ ይህን መልዕክት ልብን በሚያደፋፍሩ ቃላቶች ብዘጋው ደስ ባለኝ ነበር፡፡ ግን የዚያን ጦማር የመዝግያ አስተሳሰቤን አሁንም የቅሬታ ስሜቴንና የጨለመ ተስፋዬን እንደያዘ ሰለሆነ ደግመዋለሁ፡፡

አመልካች ጣቴ ወደሌሎች በጠቆመ ቁጥር፤ ቀሪዎቹ ሶስት ጣቶቼ ወደኔ እንደሚያመላክቱ ቢጨንቀኝም አውቀዋለሁ፡፡ ሁሉም ኢትዮጵያዊያን ምሁራን ወዴት እንደደረሱ አውቃለሁ:: በዓለም ማእዘናት ገሚሶች ያልተዘጉት ዓይኖቻቸው ሳይጨፈኑ፤በዝምታ ውስጥ ታግተዋል፡፡ የትም ይሁኑ የትም፤ ደጋገሜ በድፍረት ላስጠነቅቃቸው የምሻው፤ በመጨረሻው ወቅት የ‹አይቴ አጣብቂኝ› ጥያቄ ጋር መጋፈጥ አይቀሬ ነው፡፡ ወይ ለኢትዮጵያ መወገንን ምረጥ፤ አለያም ከጨቋኞችና ከአምባገነን አውሬ መሪዎች፤ አስገድደው ከሚደፍሩ፤ ስልጣናቸውን አለአግባብ ከሚጠቀሙ፤ እና ሃገሪቱን ከሚያረክሱት ጋር አልጋ ተካፈል ፡፡

*የተቶረገመው ጽሁፍ (translated from):

http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/2013/01/20/ethiopia_the_irresponsibility_of_the_privileged

(ይህን ጦማር ለሌሎችም ያካፍሉ::) ካሁን በፊት የቀረቡ የጸሃፊው ጦማሮችን ለማግኘት እዚህ ይጫኑ::

http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic

http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24

Coup Attempt by Rebel Soldiers Is Said to Fail in Eritrea: NYT

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Negash

By Jeffrey Gettleman | New York Times
January 22, 2013

GARSEN, Kenya — Eritrea, a sliver of a nation in the Horn of Africa that is one of the most secretive and repressive countries in the world, was cast into confusion on Monday after mutinous soldiers stormed the Ministry of Information and took over the state-run television service, apparently in a coup attempt.

According to several people with close contacts inside Eritrea, the coup attempt failed, with government troops quelling the would-be rebellion and no one rising up in the streets. But many analysts said it was only a matter of time before President Isaias Afwerki, Eritrea’s brash and steely leader for the past 20 years, is confronted again — and most likely from within.

“There’s a lot of dissatisfaction within the armed forces,” said Dan Connell, a professor at Simmons College in Boston and the author of several books on Eritrea. “If this is suppressed, it won’t be the end.”

Eritrea is often called the North Korea of Africa because it is so isolated and authoritarian, with few friends and thousands of defectors in recent years as Mr. Isaias tightens his grip and the economy teeters on the brink of ruin.

In the early 1990s, when Mr. Isaias first took power, Eritrea was hailed as a beacon of hope in Africa, a country of low crime, ethnic harmony and can-do spirit along the Red Sea. The Eritreans fought for years in trenches and from craggy mountaintops to defeat a Soviet-backed Ethiopian government and win their independence.

But the euphoria did not last. In the late 1990s, Eritrea and Ethiopia waged a costly war over their shared border, in which tens of thousands of people died. Shortly afterward, Mr. Isaias rounded up political dissidents and journalists, dooming them to years in prison, often in sweltering, underground shipping containers.

Thousands of young Eritreans have been drafted into the army and then required to work indefinitely for the government for pittance wages in what is called “national service.” Each year, many young people risk their lives to escape. Eritrea has waged war with just about all of its neighbors, and the United Nations has imposed sanctions on Eritrea over what is suspected to be its support of Somali militants.

By nightfall on Monday, it seemed that the government had beaten back the mutineers, with some analysts saying that the government broadcaster, Eri-TV, was back on the air.

The rebel soldiers, believed to number around 100, made it as far as the director’s office in the Ministry of Information, forcing him to read a statement on air calling for the release of political prisoners. Then the broadcast abruptly cut out. They also may have briefly taken hostage Mr. Isaias’s daughter, Elsa, who is said to work in the ministry.

It was not clear what happened to the renegade soldiers; analysts said that troops loyal to the government had surrounded the Ministry of Information and that the mutineers would most likely be captured and imprisoned.

The State Department said that the situation remained fluid, and the small embassy in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital, sent out a warning on Monday to the few American citizens living there. “The U.S. Embassy has been made aware of increased military presence in some sections of Asmara,” the warning said. “Employees of the U.S. government have been advised to limit their movements within the city, avoid large gatherings and exercise caution. We strongly recommend that private U.S. citizens do likewise.”

Conflicting reports about coup attemp in Eritrea: CBS

Posted on January 21, 2013, Updated on January 21, 2013 by Negash

Possible failed coup attempt in Eritrea

CBS News (January 21, 2013)

More than 100 dissident soldiers stormed the Ministry of Information in the small East African nation of Eritrea on Monday and read a statement on state TV saying the country’s 1997 constitution would be put into force, two Eritrea experts said.

The soldiers held all of the ministry workers – including the daughter of the president – in a single room, said Leonard Vincent, author of the book “The Eritreans” and co-founder of a Paris-based Eritrean radio station. The soldiers’ broadcast on state TV said the country’s 1997 constitution would be reinstated and all political prisoners freed, but the broadcast was cut off after only two sentences were read and the signal has been off air the rest of the day, Vincent said.

By late afternoon there were indications the soldiers’ attempt would fail. A military tank sat in front of the Ministry of Information but the streets of the capital, Asmara, were quiet, and no shots had been fired, said a Western diplomat in Eritrea who wasn’t authorized to be identified by name.

Vincent stopped short of calling it a coup d’etat and said it wasn’t immediately clear if the action was a well-organized coup attempt or what he called a “kamikaze crash.”

Later Monday government soldiers surrounded the ministry, an indication the action by the dissident soldiers had failed, said Martin Plaut, a fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies in Britain.

“It looks like it’s an isolated attempt by some soldiers who are completely frustrated by what is going on. But it wasn’t done in a coordinated manner,” Plaut said. “They did seize the television station, they did manage to put this broadcast out, but the government is still functioning calmly. There is nothing on the streets.”

Eritrea is an oppressive and politically isolated neighbor of Ethiopia and Sudan situated on the Red Sea that broke off from Ethiopia in the 1990s. The U.S. government’s relations with Eritrea became strained in 2001 as a result of a government crackdown against political dissidents, the closing of the independent press and limits on civil liberties, conditions that the State Department says have “persisted to this day.”

U.N. slams Eritrea for Islamic militant support
Isaias Afworki has ruled the country as president and head of the military since 1993.

If the power grab attempt by the dissident soldiers fails, they are likely in for severe punishments, Vincent and Plaut said.

“People call it the North Korea of Africa and that is accurate, so you either win or you’re dead, and I think these people are dead,” Plaut said. “One can’t be absolutely sure but that’s what it looks like.”

Ethiopia: The Irresponsibility of the Privileged?

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Recently, Naom Chomsky, MIT Professor of Linguistics and arguably America’s foremost public intellectual, gave an interview to Al Jazeera on the social (ir)responsibility of American academics and intellectuals. Chomsky, 84, has been raising hell for over four decades, getting into the faces of the powerful and mighty and whipping them with the truth. He recently excoriated President Obama as lacking a “moral center” for using drone warfare to “run a global assassination campaign”. Chomsky has been called a “left winger”, a “radical activist” and even a “communist”, and has been on the receiving end of a few distasteful epithets. But the firebrand octogenarian is undeterred and as strong, as plain-spoken and outspoken as ever. He remains a relentless critic of capitalism, neoliberalism, globalization, warfare, corruption, repression, abuse and misuse of power and human rights violations in America and abroad. Along the way, he has continued his scholarly pursuits in linguistics.

In his Al Jazeera interview, “Noam Chomsky: The Responsibility of Privilege”, Chomsky chafed at the social irresponsibility of American intellectuals and denounced the greedy and rapacious elites for using their power to disempower ordinary people, confuse and render them intellectually inert, servile and defenseless.

Al Jazeera: Is it the responsibility of academics and other intellectuals to be engaged politically?

Chomsky: Or every other human being. Responsibility is basically measured by opportunity. If you are a poor person living in the slums and have to work 60 hours a week to put bread on the table, your degree of responsibility is less than if you have a degree of privilege.

Al Jazeera: If you have privilege, are you more obligated to give back?

Chomsky: Yes. The more privilege you have, the more opportunity you have. The more opportunity you have, the more responsibility you have. It is elementary.

Al Jazeera: So why don’t we see that in the U.S.? There has been so much talk about people getting richer, many, many more people are getting poorer, and yet the rich are seemingly resistant to giving more of their time, more of their wealth and talent?

Chomsky: For the most part, that’s why they are rich. If you dedicate your life to enriching yourself and those are your values and you don’t care what happens to anyone else, then you won’t care what happens to anyone else. It is self-selecting. It is also institutional. In its extreme pathological form, it’s Ayn Rand’s ideology: “I don’t care about anybody else. I am just interested in benefitting myself and that is just and noble.”

George Ayittey, the noted Ghanaian economist and one of Africa’s foremost public intellectuals, has long been chagrined by the social irresponsibility of Africa’s best and brightest. He argued that Africa’s intellectual class is in bed with those who have built “vampire states” to suck billions of dollars out of the pockets of their impoverished people to line their own pockets. In 1996, he told African intellectuals exactly what he thought of them: “Hordes of politicians, lecturers, professionals, lawyers, and doctors sell themselves off into prostitution and voluntary bondage to serve the dictates of military vagabonds with half their intelligence. And time and time again, after being raped, abused, and defiled, they are tossed out like rubbish — or worse. Yet more intellectual prostitutes stampede to take their places…” Ouch! Ouch!

So why don’t we see more Ethiopian intellectuals engaged in politics? Are they merely following in the footsteps of their American counterparts? Could they be followers of Ayn Rand’s ideology: “I don’t care about anybody else. I am just interested in benefitting myself and that is just and noble.” Could Ayittey’s mordant criticism apply to Ethiopian intellectuals?

In a June 2010 commentary, I asked: “Where have the Ethiopian intellectuals gone?” I had no answer at the time, nor do I have one now; but I was, and still am, bewildered and puzzled by their conspicuous absence from the public square and the cyber square. Their absence reminded me of “the Greek philosopher Diogenes who used to walk the streets of ancient Athens carrying a lamp in broad daylight. When amused bystanders asked him about his apparently strange behavior, he would tell them that he was looking for an honest man. Like Diogenes, one may be tempted to walk the hallowed grounds of Western academia, search the cloistered spaces of the arts and scientific professions worldwide and even traverse the untamed frontiers of cyberspace with torchlight in hand looking for Ethiopian intellectuals.” They are nowhere to be found. They seem to be shrouded in a cloak of invisibility.

Truth be told, I was once a member of that invisible empire of Ethiopian intelligentsia– disengaged, silent and deaf-mute. I was forced to uncloak myself when Meles Zenawi’s troops slaughtered 196 unarmed demonstrators, and shot and wounded nearly 800 more in the streets after the 2005 election in Ethiopia. I suppose there comes a time in a man’s or a woman’s life when s/he has to step out of the shadows of sheltered anonymity and silence, remove the veil of smug indifference and proclaim outrage at tyranny and crimes against humanity.

But there are tens of thousands of Ethiopian intellectuals who have chosen, made a conscious decision, to take a vow of silence and inhabit the subterranean recesses of anonymity. When they see elections stolen in broad daylight, they become afflicted by temporary blindness. When they hear innocent people being arrested and convicted in kangaroo courts, they become stone deaf. When they witness religious liberties trashed and the people crying out for freedom, they don’t try to stand with them or by them; they assuage their own consciences through a ritual of private grumbling, moaning and groaning. Above all, they have made a virtue of silence. They live a life of silent anonymity.

It is rather difficult to understand. Could it be that they are silent because they believe silence is golden? That is to say, if you want to be given the gold, stay silent? Do they not know “oppression can only survive through silence”? Could they be thinking that their silence is a manifestation of their contempt against those they consider ignorant and barbaric? Is it not true that “the cruelest lies are often told in silence” and the cruelest acts overlooked in silence? Is their silence a practical expression of Ayn Rand’s ideology: “I don’t care about anybody else. I am just interested in benefitting myself and that is just and noble.”

But silence is not golden; silence is a silent killer. Pastor Martin Niemöller expressed his silent outrage over the silence of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power:

First they came for the communists,

and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,

and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,

and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for me,

and there was no one left to speak for me.

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. admonished, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

The Social Responsibility of Ethiopian Intellectuals?

It is said that the voice of the people is the voice of God (vox populi, vox dei). But silence is no way to communicate with oppressed people. The intellectual is to privileged to think, to speak, to imagine, to create, to understand and to envision. But silence is never the privilege of the intellectual. Silence is one of the few privileges of the oppressed, the persecuted and the victimized. Silence is the ultimate survival technique of the weak, the powerless and defenseless.

The intellectual has the moral responsibility to speak up for the silenced. S/he does not have the privilege to stand by idly and shake her head in dismay or mumble complaints under one’s breath. Those who have been privileged to study, to think, to write, to innovate and to create have the duty to give back to the people, particularly those people who have been dispossessed not only of material things but also their human dignity.

The silent Ethiopian intellectuals are missing the point. It is a privilege, not a burden, to be a voice for the downtrodden. It is a distinct honor to be the voice of the voiceless. It is a priceless gift to speak truth to power on behalf of the powerless.

The silent intellectual — without a sense of moral commitment or obligation to something other than the pursuit of happiness through greed or without some sacrifice of personal interest — is merely a well programmed robot of higher education. Nietzsche once remarked that all higher education is “to turn men into machines”; they did not have robots in his day.

I believe the intellectual has the responsibility not only to make a moral commitment but also to act on them. In other words, when one commits oneself to a cause, one must accept the fact that the pursuit and fulfillment of that cause will involve a measure of sacrifice of one’s self-interest. Many Ethiopian intellectuals have professed moral commitment to human rights but they are not willing to speak, write or do anything meaningful about exposing human rights abuses or defending against abuses of power. Some are timid, others are downright fearful. So they speak and sing in the language of silence.

In 1967, Chomsky wrote, “It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and to expose the lies of governments, to analyze actions according to their causes and motives and often hidden intentions… It is the responsibility of the intellectual to insist upon the truth” and not to “tolerate the deceptions that will be used to justify the next defense of freedom.” It seems to me that Ethiopian intellectuals must shoulder the same burden. It is their responsibility to challenge not only those in power but also each other. It is their responsibility to critically think about issues and problems facing Ethiopian society and to offer and imagine better alternatives and braver futures. It is their highest moral duty to fight tyranny with the power of ideas. History shows that an idea whose time has come cannot be defeated; it cannot be stopped.

The Internet has been the great equalizer in the struggle between the practitioners of tyranny and champions of liberty. The Internet helped end the winter of discontent for millions of disenfranchised peoples in the Middle East and ushered in a glorious summer which continues to simmer. Mubarak, Ben Ali, Gadhaffi, Gbagbo and many others were simply no match for the ideas of freedom that had penetrated deep into the psyches of their citizens. Despite the complete monopoly over the press, telecommunication services and electronic radio and satellite jamming technology obtained at great cost, the tyrants in Ethiopia have not been able to censor the truth or filter out ideas they do not like from wafting into the ears, heart and mind of any Ethiopian interested in alternative perspectives. But Ethiopian intellectuals have not been able to take full advantage of this ubiquitous medium. As a result, the Internet is used by the younger generation mostly to seek cheap thrills and entertainment and conduct mindless chatter on social media.

Ethiopian intellectuals have the responsibility to be the vanguard of social, political and scientific change. They must use this burgeoning medium to provide real education to the young people and as a forum for serious discussion of the major issues facing the country. The real struggle against tyranny is for the hearts and minds of the young people (70 percent of Ethiopia’s population), and the irresistible weapons in this struggle are not guns and tanks but new and creative ideas. Until Ethiopian society, its economy and politics become knowledge- and ideas-based and its intellectuals play a guiding role in the process, that country will have great difficulty escaping from the clutches of a benighted dictatorship.

Ethiopia’s intellectuals should focus their energies and invest their efforts on Ethiopia’s young people (the Cheetah Generation). They should pitch new ideas to the younger generation; plant and cultivate the seeds of critical thinking in thier minds; promote free thinking and inquiry; encourage them to always be skeptical of not just authority but also themselves; preach against hatred, herd mentality and groupthink; give young people the intellectual tools they need to examine themselves and their beliefs; encourage them to change their minds when confronted by contradictory evidence; help them look at old problems in a new way; teach them (after learning it themselves) to admit mistakes when they are wrong, apologize and ask forgiveness; urge them to speak the truth, defend what is right and stand for human rights. They should inspire them to be all they can be.

The examples the intellectuals are setting today are disappointing and discouraging, to put it charitably. The message they telegraph to the younger generation is unmistakable: When confronted by abusers of power, be a conformist and remain silent. When faced with the arrogance of power, be submissive and obedient. When you can ask questions, seal your lips. When faced with the truth, turn a blind eye and deaf ears. When the opportunity for free thinking is available, be dogmatic, doctrinaire and obdurate. When you can speak truth to power, forever hold your peace.

In my June 2010 commentary, I urged Ethiopian intellectuals to act in solidarity with the oppressed. Since I wrote that piece, the silence of Ethiopian intellectuals has been deafening. I wish I could close this commentary with a more heartening message; but restating the last paragraph of that commentary still captures my disappointments and hopes:

As intellectuals, we are often disconnected from the reality of ordinary life just like the dictators who live in a bubble. But we will remain on the right track if we follow Gandhi’s teaching: ‘Recall the face of the poorest and the most helpless man you have seen and ask yourself whether the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he be able to gain anything by it? Will it restore to him a control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to Swaraj (independence) or self-rule for the hungry and spiritually starved millions of your countrymen? Then you will find your doubts and yourself melting away.’ Let us always ask ourselves whether our actions (and words) will help restore to the poorest and most helpless Ethiopians a control over their own life and destiny.

As I point an index finger at others, I am painfully aware that three fingers are pointing at me. So be it. I believe I know ‘where all the Ethiopian intellectuals have gone’. Most of them are standing silently with eyes wide shut in every corner of the globe. But wherever they may be, I hasten to warn them that they will eventually have to face the ‘Ayittey Dilemma’ alone: Choose to stand up for Ethiopia, or lie down with the dictators who rape, abuse and defile her.

To whom much is given, much is expected.

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.

Previous commentaries by the author are available at:

http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/

www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/

Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:

http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic

http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24

ኢትዮጵያ፤ የመዳኛ ወቅትና፤ የዕረቀሰላምጊዜ

Posted on January 16, 2013, Updated on January 16, 2013 by Alemayehu G. Mariam

ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም

ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ

የረፖርተር ድሕረ ገፅ ሲዘግብ:

‹‹በጎሳ ላይ የተመሰረተ ግጭት በአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎች መሃል በመጸዳጃ ቤቶች፤ በቤተመጻህፍትና በመኝታ ቤት ግድግዳ ላይ፤የተጻፉ አስፀያፊ ክብረነክ ጸሁፎች ከስድስት በላይ የሆኑ ተማሪዎችን ለከፍተኛ የመቁሰል አደጋ ተጠቂ ዳርጓቸዋል:: በርካታዎችንም ለእስር አብቅቷል፡፡ ለላለፉት አሰርት ዓመታት፤በዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎች መሃል ግጭቶችን ሲያስነሱ ከርመዋል፡፡ ይህም መሰረታዊ ችግሩና መንስኤው አስተዳደራዊ ድክመት ነው፡፡ ከዚሁ ጋር በተመሳሳይ ባለፈው በእለተ ዕረቡ ጃንዋሪ 2 2013 የተቀሰቀሰው ግጭትም በተለይ በሁለት ጎሳዎች በኦሮሞና በትግራይ ተማሪዎች መሃል የተከሰተ ነበር፡፡ ምስክሮች እንደሚሉት፤ግጭቱ የተቀሰቀሰው የትግራይ ተወላጅ የሆነው ተማሪ፤ በመጸዳጃ ቤት፤ በቤተመጻህፍትና በተማሪዎች መኝታ ቤቶች ግድግዳዎች ላይ የጎሳን ክብር የሚነካ ጽሁፍ በመጻፉ ነበር፡፡››

እንደ የአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ባለስልጣን አባባል ‹‹ግጭቱ የተቀሰቀሰው ያንን የጎሣ ክብር የሚነካ ክብረነክ ጽሁፍ በተመለከቱት ተማሪዎች መሆኑን ነው::›› በዚህም የተነሳ 20 ተማሪዎች መቁሰላችውንና 3ቱ የጠናባቸው ወደ ሆስፒታ፤ል መወሰዳቸውን በተጨማሪ ሁለቱ የቀዶ ጥገና እንደተደረገላቸው ታውቋል፡፡ ሌሎች 20ዎችም በፖሊስ ባልለየለት ውንጀላ ለእስር ተዳርገዋል፡፡

ስለኢትዮጵያ ‹‹የብልሆች መፍለቂያ ከነበረው ዩኒቨርሲቲ›› ይህን ሁኔታ ሳነበው ያደረብኝ ግብታዊ አስተያየት፤ ማመን እስኪያቅተኝ ነበር፡፡ ሳስበዉም ‹‹ይህ ፈጽሞ ሊታመን የሚችል ጉዳይ አይደልም፡፡ ይህ ከኢትዮጵያ አነሮች ትውልድ (ወጣቱ ትውልድ) በዚህ ፈሪነትና የማያስፈራራ አስከፊ ሁኔታ ውስጥ መግባት ተግባራቸው አይደለም፡፡ የኢትዮጵያ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎች በዚህ ቆሻሻ እና እጣቢ አተላ የጎሳ ፖለቲካ ውስጥ ከመንደፋደፍ የተሸለና የበለጠ ተግባር ማከናውን ይችላሉ›› አልኩኝ :: ይህን የመሰለ የረከሰ የጥላቻ ምግባር፤የወዲፊቶቹ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ምሁራን፤የቀጣዩ ትውልድ መምህራን፤ ሳይንቲስቶች፤ እና የፈጠራ ሰዎች ምግባር እንዳልሆነ ነበር እራሴን ማሳመን የሞከርኩት፡፡

ነገሩን የበለጠ ሳጤነው አምአሮ የሚነካና የሚአስቀፍፍ ሆኖ አገኘሁት፡፡ እራሴንም ጠየቅሁ፡፡ ምናልባትስ ይህ የጎሳ ክብር የሚነካ ጽሁፍ በሌሎች የአ አ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎች የተፈጠረ ቢሆንስ? ይህን የመሰለው ዝቃጭ፤ወኔቢስ፤ባለጌ ተግባር ስለነዚህ ተማሪዎች ምን ይላል? ስለአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎችስ? ስለአጠቃላዮቹ የኢትዮጵያ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎችስ? ስለ መላው የኢትዮጵያ ወጣቶችስ?

ከዚህ ጥየቄ ጋር በመታገል ላይ እንዳለሁ፤ ሊገታ የማይችል ሃፍረትና ውርደት ሰሜት ወረረኝ፡፡ እራሴን ደጋግሜ መረመርኩት፡፡ ‹‹የኢትዮጵያ ምርጥና ብሩህ አእምሮ ያለቸው ተማሪዎች—- የኢዮጵያ አነሮች —- ይህን በመሰል ኋላ ቀር፤ አረመኔያዊ፤ ጨካኝና አሰቃቂ፤ ተናካሽ፤ ተንኮል የተመላበት፤ተግባር አንዴት ሊሰሩ ይችላሉ? በምን መንስኤ ነው፤ አንድ የኢትዮጵያ ተማሪዎች ስብስብ ሌላውን ወገን ስብእና ለመድፈር፤ የጋኔን ተግባር ለመፈጸም፤ ዝቅ አድርጎ ለመመልከት፤ አውሬ በማስመሰል፤ አካሄድና ተግባር የሚሰማሩት? ለምን? እኮ ለምን? ለነዚህ ጥያቄዎች አንዳችም ምክንያታዊ ምላሽ ላገኝ አልቻልኩም፡፡

ይህ የ ጎሳ ጥላቻ ወንጀል የተፈጸመው ባለፈው ሳምንት ሰለ አትዮጴያ ወጣቶች ክብርና ወደፊት ላገራቸው ሰለምተበቀባቸው ግዴታ በመፅፈበት ወቅት ነበር :: ሆነ በተባለው የጎሳ ጥላቻ ወንጀል የበለጠ ግራ እየተጋባሁ ሄድኩ፡፡ ይህን አስጠያፊና አስፈሪ፤ ቀፋፊ ሁኔታ በምክንያታዊነት በጥልቀት ለመረዳትና በዚህ አስገራሚ ትርኢት ውስጥ አንዳንድ የኢትዮጵያ አነሮች እንደ ጉማሬዎቹ በመንቀሳቀስ እንደጅቦቹ ለመሆን መከጀላቸው አስገረመኝ፡፡ አሳፈረኝ፡፡ አሳዘነኝ፡፡

ያን ግልብ ስሜቴን ወደ ጎን አልኩና ረጋ ብዬ ማሰብ ጀመርኩ:: ከምር ጠንክሬ አሰብኩ፡፡ ይህ በዩኒቨርሲቲው የተከናወነው ‹‹በጎሳ ላይ የተመሰረተውን አልመግባባት›› ድርጊት ከጥሩ እምነት ካላቸው ሁነኛ መደበኛ ተማሪዎች ተጠንስሶ በስራ ላይ የዋለ ነው ለማለት ምን ማስረጃ ሊቀርብ ይችላል? በእውነትስ የተባለውና በዚህ በየግድግዳው ላይ የሰፈሩትን ክብረ ነክ ጽሁፎች የጻፈው ‹‹ተማሪ›› ማነው? በዚህ ዩኒቨርሲቲ የሙዚቃ ሸክላ አጫዋች መሰል የህዝብ ግንኙነት ጽህፈት ቤት ተቀምሞ የተበተነውን መሸንገያ አባባል ማመን አለብን? እንዴት ነው የዩኒቨርሲቲ አስተዳዳሪዎች ‹‹ለአሰርት ዓመታት በዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ሲከናወኑ የነበሩትን የጎሳ ግጭቶች” ያሳለፏቸውና አሁንም ሲቀጥሉ አጃቸዉን አጣጥፈው መመልከት የቻሉት? በዩኒቨርሲቲውስ ውስጥ ምራቃቸውን የዋጡና የበሰሉ፤ችግሮችን ለማክሸፍና ለማግባባት ፈቃደኛ የሆኑ አመራሮች የሉም?

ጥርጣሬ ቀስ እያለ፤ድንጋጤዬንና ሃፍረቴ መተካት ስለጀመረ፤ የዚህ ‹‹በጎሳ ላይ የተመሰረተ ብጥብጥ›› በገዢው መንግስት ጀብደኛ ባለማዕረግ የተዋቀረና፤ የተተለመ እንደሆነስ የሚለው ጥያቄ አያፈጠጠ ያየኝ ጀመር፡፡ በኋላም የወንጀል መመርመርያ ማስረጃ ማፈላለጊያ “መነጽሬን” ሳደርገው፤ እንደገና በመሹለክለክ ድምጽዋን አጥፍታ ጨለማና ወቅትን መከለያ በማድረግ አንዲት መናጢና ቆሻሻ አይጥ ተንኮሏን ከፈጸመችና ተልእኮዋን ከፈጸመች በኋላ ሳትታይ ጥላው የሄደችውን የእጇንና የእግሯን አሸራ በግድገዳ ላይ ከተጻፈው አስጠያፊ ጥሁፍ አግርጌ ታትሞ አየሁት፡፡

በሜይ 2010 ጃዋር ሲራጅ ሞሃመድ ወጣቱ ኢትዮጵያዊ የፖለቲካ ሐተታ ሰጪ እንዲሁም የኮሎምቢያ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ተመራቂ ተማሪ እንደዘገበው በዩኒ ቨርሲቲው ግቢ ውስጥ ከተማሪዎች ጋር በርካታ ውይይት ካካሄደ በኋላ እንዲሁም በሁለት ክፍል በሃራማያና፤በአዳማ ዩኒ ቨርሲቲ በ2006 የተከናወነውን ድርጊት ሰበቡን የአካዳሚክ ነጻነት ማጣትና በኢትዮጵያ የደህንነት ሚስጥራዊ ተቀጣሪዎች ተማሪ በመምሰል ሰርገው በመግባት የግጭቱ መሰሪ ጠንሳሾች መሆናቸውን ለማመን በቅቷል፡፡

ደግሞም በሴፕቴምበር 2011 ላይ በይፋ የዎጣው ማስረጃ አንዳሳየው በሴፕቴምበር 16 2006 “ የኢትዮጵያ የደህንነት ሃይሎች በኢትዮጵያ ዋና ከተማ አዲስ አበባ 3 ፈንጂዎች መቅበራቸውንና በመፈንዳቱና፤ በወቅቱም የአፍሪካ ሕብረት ስብሰባ የሚካሄድበት ስለነበረ ከረር ያለ ጥያቄ ያስነሳውን ፍንዳታም ኤርትራንና የኦሮሞ ነጻ አውጪ ግንባርን ተጠያቂ እንዳደረጉ ነበር::” በአዲስ አበባ የሚገኘው የአሜሪካን መንግስት ኤምባሲ ባካሄደው ‹‹የሚስጢር ዘገባ›› በጉዳዩ ላይ የመርማሪዎቹ ጣት ወደ ኢትዮጵያ ገዢ መንግስት የደህንነት አባላትን በመጠቆም ለዚህ የወንጀል ድርጊት ተጠያቂ አድርጓቸዋል፡፡

በሌላም በኩል በ2006 የተገኘው ሚስጥራዊው ባለ 52 ገጽ በውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር የተዘጋጀው ሰነድ፤ የዲያስፖራው ዳይሬክቶሬት በዲያስፖራው ያሉትን የተቃዋሚ ሃይላትና አባሎቻቸውን የሚነዘንዝ፤ በሃይማኖት፤ በዘር፤ በፖለቲካ ጥላቻ የሚከፋፍልና ማንኛቸውንም ገዢውን ፓርቲ የሚቃወሙትን ለመከፋፈልና በመሃላቸው መግባባት እንዲጠፋ ያደረገው ጥረትና ዝግጅት ተጋልጦ ነበር ፡፡ ስለ አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎች አጋጣሚ በይበልጥ ባሰብኩ ቁጥር፤የገዢው መንግስት ተቃዋሚዎችን ለማስጠላት ለመከፋፈል ለመበታተን ለማክሸፍ ብሎ የሚዘራውን ቆሻሻና የብልግና ባህሪ ያጋልጡት ጀምረዋል፡፡

በተጨባጭ ምርምሬ አንደተርዳሁት ‹‹በጎሳ ላይ ለተመሰረተው ግጭት›› ወንጀል በአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ተጠያቂው ማን እንደሆነ ግልጽ የሆነው ማስረጃ የሚጠቆመው ወደ ተለመዱት ወንጀል ፈጻሚ የገዢው መንገስት ወንጀለኞች ነው፡፡

ሊታለፍ የማይችለው መደምደሚያም፤ (ሌላ ተቃራኒ ማስረጃ እስካልቀረበ ድረስ) በጃንዋሪ 2 በአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ለተፈጸመው ወንጀላዊ ተግባር ተጠያቂዎቹ፤ በግቢው ውስጥ በድብቅ የተቀመጡት መዘዝ ፈጣሪዎችና ምግባረ ብልሹ ሕሊና ቢስ ወኪል ተንኳሾችና ደባ ፈጻሚዎች እንጂ ጨርሶ ለጥሩ ዕምነት የተፈጠሩት ወጣት አቦሸማኔዎቹ የነገ የሃገር አለኝተ ዎች ሊሆኑ አይችሉም፡፡

የማጠቃለያው ግምገማም ይህንን መደምደሚያ የማያጠያይቅ ማስረጃ በመሆን ያረጋግጠዋል፡፡ ያለዉን ማስረጃ በጥቂቱ ብንመለከተው: በመጀመርያ እንድ ብቸኛ “ተማሪ”ብቻ ነው ድርጊቱን በመተንኮሱ የተወነጀለው፡፡ ይህ ደግሞ ተማሪዎች በአንድ ጎሳ ስር ተቧድነው ለዚህ ድርጊት መንቀሳቀሳቸውንና በዩኒቨርሲቲው ቅጥር ግቢ ውስጥ ሰላም ለማጥፋት ወንጀል ለመፈጸም፤ መደራጀታቸውን ተአማኒነት ያሳጣዋል፡፡ ይህን እንቅሳቃሴ ለመጀመርና መነሻ ሆነ የተባለውም ብቸኛ “ተማሪ” የየት ጎሳ አባል እንደሆነ በግልጽ አልተረጋገጠም፡፡ የዩኒቨርሲቲው ባለስልጣናት: ስምና መለያው ያልታወቀ፤ አንድ ተማሪ በማለት ወንጀለኛ ብለውታል፡፡ ይሁንና ይህ ‹‹ተማሪ›› ዓላማ ያለው እርገግጠኛ መደበኛ “ተማሪስ” ነው? ወይስ ተቀጣሪ ነገር ቆስቋሽ የስለላ ድርጅት ወኪል ግን እንደተማሪ ተመሳስሎ ተወሻቂ አባል (የቀበሮ መንኩሴ በግ መሃል ይጸለያል አንደሚባለው ሁሉ ) ነው? ይህስ ተማሪ በዘር ላይ የተመሰረተ የጥላቻ ባሕሪ ግለ ታሪክስ ያለው ነው?

ሶስተኛ፤ በሶስት ቦታዎች ማለትም በላይብረሪ፤ በመጻሕፍት ቤትና በተማሪ መኝታ ቤት ይህን መሰሉን የጎሳን ክብር የሚያዋርድና የሚያንቋሽሽ ጽሁፍ ለመጻፉ ምንም የተጠቀሰ ማስረጃ የለም፡፡ በጥላቻ ወንጀል ድርጊት፤ እንዲህ መሰሎች የጥላቻና የማዋረድ ተግባር ያለባቸው ጽሁፎች ሲጻፉ ዓላማቸው አንድን የጎሳ አባል የሚመለከቱ ሲሆኑ፤ ኢላማ የተደረጉት ግለሰብም ይሁን ቡድኖች ሊደርሱበትና ሊያዩት በሚችሉት ስፍራ ይሆናል እንጂ የግል ጥላቻውንና ብሶት ጣውን ከተለያዩ ብዙ ጎሳዎች የመጡ በሚገኙበት ግቢ ውስጥ የማይመለከታቸውም እንዲመለከቱት ለምን ይደረጋል?

አራተኛ፤ ከዚህ አስቀያሚ የግድግዳ ጽሁፍ ሌላ ማስረጃ ሊሆን የሚችል አንዳችም ነገር ከዚህ የችግሩ ጠንሳሽ በተባለው ‹‹ተማሪ›› ላይ አልተገኘም፡፡

አምስተኛ፤ በጃንዋሪ 2 በአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ የተፈጸመው ደባ የተለየ ሁኔታ ሆኖ ሊታይ አይችልም፡፡ ላለፉት በርካታ አሰርት ዓመታት ይህን መሰል በጎሳ ላይ ተመሰረተ አምባጓሮ ይነሳ እንደነበር የማያጠያይቅ ነው፡፡ ለምንስ የዩኒቨርሲቲው ባለስልጣናት ጉዳዩ ሲያቆጠቁጥ አፋጣኝ እርምጃ በመውሰድ ለዚህ ከመብቃቱ ቀደም ብለው አላከሸፉትም፡፡ ድርጊቱ በአስከፊና ሊቀለበስ ወደማይችልበት ሁኔታ ከደረሰና አዳገው ሁሉ ከተከናወነም በኋላ በሌሎች ተማሪዎች ላይ አመጹ ተስፋፍቶ እንዳይቀጥልም ባለስላጣናቱ የወሰዱት እርምጃ የለም፡፡

ስድስተኛ፤ በነጻ አካላት ጉዳዩ ሙሉ በሙሉ ከመጣራቱስ አስቀድመው የዩኒቨርሲቲው ባለስልጣናት “አመጹ የተጀመረው በግድግዳዎች ላይ የተጻፈውን ምግባረ ብልሹና ጎሳን የሚያንኳስስ ጥሁፍ ያዩት ተማሪዎች ነው በማለት ለምነስ መግለጫ አወጡ? ጉዳዩን ከመሰረቱ አንስተው የሚያጣሩ ገለልተኛ ወገኖች በማዋቀርና በመመርመር ለወዲቱ ይህን መሰል ድርጊት በድጋሚ እንዳይከሰት ማድረግ የሚቻልበትን ዘዴ ለምን አልቀያሱም? የዩኒቬርሲቲው ባለስልጣናት ጉዳዩን እራሳቸውን ከተጠያቂነትና ከሃላፊነት በማግለል ለፖሊስ ሙሉ በሙሉ ለምን አስረከቡት? ምናልባት በዩኒቨርሲቲው የሚከሰተውን የጎሳ ጥላቻ ወንጀል ቸል ያሉት አይታችሁ እንዳላየ ሁኑ የሚል መመርያ ስለተሰጣቸው ይሆን?

ሰባተኛ፤ የዚህ የጥላቻ ብጥብጥ ወንጀል ተጠቂ የሆኑትስ በፖሊስ ለመደብደብ ለመያዝና ለመታሰር ለጉዳት ለምን ተዳረጉ?

በአጭሩ በአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ በተፈጸመው የጥላቻ ወንጀል የቀረበው ሁኔታና ማስረጃ ጨርሶ ወደ ተከሳሾቹ ተማሪዎች ጣት አያመላክትም፡፡ ይልቁንስ ያአመልካች ጣት በወንጀለከኝነት የሚጠቁመው ወደ ከሳሾቹ ነው፡፡ የዚህን የጥላቻ ወንጀል ፈጻሚዎች ለማጣራትና ለመያዝ የሚያስፈልገው፤ ያንን የግድግዳ ላይ ጽሁፍ የከተቡትን የማይታዩ ጣቶች ብቻ ሳይሆን እነዚያን ተማሪዎቹን እስኪጠወልጉ ድረስ የቀጠቀጡና ያሰቃዩ፤ ከዚያም በረጩት የአመጽ ነዳጅ ላይ እንዳይጠፋና የበለጥ እንዲቀጣጠል ንዳድ የረጩበትንና የጎሳ ግጭቱን ያቀጣጠሉትን፤በተማሪዎች መሃል ጥላቻ ንትረክና ዉዝግብ አንድፈጠር የሚዶልቱ ወንጀል ጠንሳሶች ነው፡፡

ያም እንዳለ ሆኖ፤አሁን ወቅቱ ነው፤ አስፈላጊው ወቅት ነው፤ትክክለኛው ጊዜ ……..

የማገገሚያጊዜ፤የመቀበያውየመተቃቀፊያ የእርቀሠላምጊዜ አሁን ነው

በክዱስ ጽሁፍ እንደሰፈረው፤ ‹‹ለማንኛውም ሁኔታ ወቅት አለው፤ከሰማይ በታች ላሉት ነገሮች ሁሉ ለየምክንያቱ ጊዜ አለው::›› ለማልቀስ ጊዜ አለው፤ ለሃዘንም ወቅት አለው፤ ድንጋይ ለመወርወርም ጊዜ አለው፡፡ ለመገንባትም ጊዜ አለው፤ ለመናገርም ጊዜ አለው፡፡ እንዲሁም ለመተቃቀፍም ጊዜ አለው ለሠላምና ለማገገምም ጊዜ አለው፡፡ ለእርቀሰላምም የራሱ ጊዜ አለው፡፡

አሁን ነው ጊዜው፤ — ትክለኛው ጊዜ– ለኢትዮጵያውያን ወጣቶች በትምህርት ቤቶች፤ በዩኒቬርስቲዎች፤ በስራ ቦታዎች፤ በአጎራባች መንደሮችና በመንገድም ላይ የማገገሚያው ወቅት፡፡ ጊዜው—– ትክክለኛው ጊዜ—- የኢትዮጵያ ወጣቶች በወንድማማችነት በአህትማማችነት ስሜት መተቃቀፍ መተሳሰብ እጅ ለእጅ በመያያዝና አንድ በመሆን ብዛታቸውን ለቅድመአያቶቻቸው ክብርና ለታሪካቸው መከበርያ ማድረግ የሚገባቸው፡፡

ለሁሉም ኢትዮጵያዊያን ወጣቶች የጎሳ ጥላቻን የብጥብጥን አዙሪት የመበጠሻ ጊዜው አሁንነው:: አላስፈላጊውን የቅሬታ ልምድ የማክተሚያ፤ የፍርሃትን ባህል፤ ጥላቻን፤ አውልቆ የመጣያው ትክክለኛው ጊዜው አሁን ነው፡፡

ለኢትዮጵያውያን ወጣቶች ጣቶቻቸውን በማቆላለፍ እጅ ለእጅ በመያያዝ የፍርሃትን እከክ ማራገፊያቸው፤ ጥላቻን፤ግጭትን፤ከልባቸው ፤ ከሕሊናቸው፤ ከመንፈሳቸው አውጥተው መጣያ ጊዜያቸው አሁን ነው፡፡ ጓደኞቻቸውንና የትምህርት ባልደረቦቻቸውን እንደጠላትና ባላጋራ መመልከትን ማቆሚያቸው ጊዜ አሁን ነው፡፡

ሰላም ፈጥረው እርስ በርሳቸው እንደወንድምና እህት የሚተቃቀፉበት ጊዜ አሁን ነው፡፡ የኢትዮጵያ ብልህና ምርጦች አንድ ላይ በመስራትና በመተጋገዝ የተሸለን ነገ ለመፍጠር የሚችሉበት፤በረጋና ጠንካራ በሆነ የሕግ የበላይነት ላይ፤ ሰብአዊ መብትና ዴሞክራሲ የተከበሩበት አማራጭ ሂደቶች ያሉበት መትለሚያው ጊዜ አሁን ነው፡፡ ኔልሰን ማንዴላ እንዳስተማሩት ‹‹ከጠላት ጋር ሠላምን መፍጠር ካስፈለገህ፤ከጠላትህ ጋር ተጓድነህ መስራት አለብህ፤ ያን ጊዜ ጠላትህ ወዳጅህ ይሆናል::›› እነዚያን ጠላት የምንላቸውን ወንድምና አህት አብሮ ተማሪዎች ና ወዳጅ ማድረጊያ ጊዜው አሁን ነው፡፡

በዩኒቨርሲቲ ግቢያችን ውስጥና ከግቢያችንም ውጪ ጥላቻንና የጥላቻ ወንጀልን ለማጥፋት መተባበርያው ጊዜ አሁን ነው፡፡

ከሕሊናችንና ከመንፈሳችን ውስጥ የጥላቻ ቋጠሯችንን ማጥፊያው፤ የፍርሃትን ሰንሰለትና ካቴና መበጠሸውጊዜ አሁን ነው፡፡ የኢትዮጵያ አቦሸማኔዎች ካለፈው ጫና እራሳቸውን ለማላቀቅና ነጻ ለማድረግ ጊዜው አሁን ነው፡፡

ለሁሉም ኢትዮጵያዊያን ወጣቶች ቆንጨራውን በመቅበር ለአንድዬና ለመጨረሻው ጊዜ ‹‹አሻፈረን! አንዳችን ሌላውን የዚህ ወይም የዚያ ጎሳ ስለሆንን ለመጠላላት አሻፈረን፤ እምቢ! መባያችን ጊዜው አሁን ነው፡፡ አሻፈረን! ምክንያቱም ሁላችንም በተለያየ ስም በምንጠራው የጋራችን በሆነው አምላክ ስር አለያም የሁላችን በሆነችው ሀጋራችን የተለያየ ማእዘን ነዋሪዎች ነንና፡፡ እምቢ! በምንም መልኩ ለመጠቀሚያነትና እንደ አሻንጉሊትነት ሆነን በሚጠቀሙብን ለጥላቻ ለእርስ በርስ መቆራቆስ መጠቀሚያ አንሆንም፤ እምቢኝ! የሠለጠንን ነንና ለጥላቻ አንሰለፍም፡፡ አዳኝ እንደሚያሳድደው የሚታደን አውሬ ለመሆን እምቢኝ!

ከአንድጉማሬጥቂትቃላትለበርካታዎቹአቦሸማኔዎች

በርካታ አቦሸማኔዎች ምናልባትም ጉማሬውን ትውልድ ማዳመጡ ያስገርማቸው ይሆናል፡፡

እኛ ጉማሬዎች ‹‹በዕውቀት የተጋረድን›› ‹‹ራዕይ የጎደለን›› ‹‹የራሳችን ምንጭ እስካልደረቀብን ድረስ ጠቅላላው ሃገር ቢደረማመስ ደንታ የሌለን ›› ነን ተበለን አነታወቃለን:: ያም ሆኖ ወጣቱን ትውልድ በአክብሮት እባካችሁ ጆሯችሁን አውሱኝና ለመደመጥ እድል ስጡኝ እላለሁ፡፡

ጀግኑ!

የመጀመርያው የኢትዮጵያ ትውልድ በመሆን፤ እራሳችሁን ከሰንሰለቱ ነጻ በማድረግ ካለፈው የጫና ሰቆቃ እኛንም አራሳችህሁንም ለማላቀቅ ብቁ፡፡

የመጀመርያው የኢትዮጵያ ትውልድ በመሆን፤ ታሪካዊ ጥላቻን፤ ቅሬታን በማጥፋት፤ መግባባትንና መቻቻልን በማምጣት አዲስ እርቀሰላም በኢትዮጵያ ታሪክ ጀምሩ፡፡

የጥላቻን ቁስል ለማዳን የመጀመርያዎቹ ትውልዶች በመሆን ለዘመናት ያመረቀዘውን በማጥፋት ለመጪው ትውልድ ያለፈው ትውልድ ስህተትና ጥፋት እስረኞች እንደማይሆኑ አረጋግጡላቸው፡፡

የመጀመርያዎቹ ትውልዶች በመሆን ሁላችንም በእኩልነት የሰው ዘር አባላት በመሆናችን ይህንንም በጎሰኝነት ለማቀደም ብለን አዘቅት አንውረድ ::

የመጀመርያዎቹ ትውልዶች በመሆን አንደኛችን ለሌላው ይቅርታን በመቸር ለአንድዬና ለመጨረሻ ጊዜ ቆንጨራውን በመቅበር፤ ጣቶቻችንም የጠመንጃ ቃታና ምላጭ ለመሳብ፤ጣቶቻችን የጥላቻ መነሾ የሆኑ ቃላትን በየግድግዳው ላይ ለመለቅለቅ ሳይሆን እጆቻችን የሚዘረጉት የመግባባት የመተሳሰብ ሰላምታ ለመለዋወጥና ለችግርም ይሁን ለደስታ እጅ ለመዋዋስ ብቻ አንድሆን ማረግ ያሻል፡፡

የመጀመርያዎቹ ትውልዶች በመሆን የተለያዩት እምነቶቻችን መለኮታዊነታቸውን ማረጋገጥ እንቻል::

የመጀመርያዎቹ ትውልዶች በመሆን አሻፈረኝ! አምቢ! በማለት ውስጥ ውስጡን ከሚበላን የጎሳ የሃይሞነት የጻታ ልዩነት በተቃርኖ እንቁም::

የመጀመርያዎቹ ትውልዶች በመሆን በመኝታ ቤቶች፤ በቤተመጻህፍት፤በመጸዳጃ ቤቶችም ያሉትን አስነዋሪና በታታኝ፤ ጎሰኝነትን የሚያቅራሩ ቃላታን በእርቀሰላም፤ በመግባባት፤ በውህደት፤ በፍቅር አሰባሳቢ ቃላቶች እንሸፍናቸው፡፡

የመጀመርያዎቹ ትውልዶች በመሆን የወደፊቷ ሃገራችን መሪ ሻምበሎች እናንት ኩሩ አቦሸማኔዎችእንጂ፤ የደከሙት፤ሙሰኞቹ፤ ምግባረብልሹዎቹ፤ እራሳቸውን የሚያስተናግዱ ጉማሬዎች ሊሆኑ አይችሉም፡፡

የመጀመርያዎቹ ትውልዶች በመሆን ለመሆን የምትመኘውን ሁሉ በመሆን፤ለመሆንም ለማሰብ ቀደምት አንሁን፡፡

የመጀመርያዎቹ ትውልዶች በመሆን የትላንቱን የመረረ ስሜት በዛሬውና በነገው ጣፋጭ እርቀሰላም፤ መግባባት፤ አንድነት፤ መሰረት ላይ መልሳችሁ አዋቅሩት፡፡

የሃቅ ወቅቱ ደርሷል፡ አቦሸማኔዎቹ እራሳቸውን በማዳን ለእኛም መድህን ይሆኑን ይሆን ?

ለኢትዮጵያ ምርጡና ብሩሁ የሃቅ ወቅት ደርሷል!

የኢትዮጵያ ምርጥና ብሩህ አቦሸማኔዎች ካለፈው ጫናና መከራ እራሳቸውን በማዳንና የጎሳ መጎጃጃ፤ የሃይሞነት አክራሪነትን የጨቋኝ ስጦታ በመጣል እራሳቸውን ማዳን ይችሉ ይሆን?

እነዚህ አቦሸማኔዎች ተጠራጣሪዎቹን፤ የመሸጉትን ምስኪን ጉማሬዎች ከራሳቸው ነጻ ያወጧቸው ይሆን?

ከጎሳ መቆራቆስ ወደ ጎሳ ፍቅር፤መቻቻል አንድነት፤ መግባባትን ያበቁን ይሆን?

አቦሸማኔዎቹ ስብእናችንን ከጎግፍ ማነቆና ከአውሬ አስተሳሰብ ያላቅቁን ይሆን?

አቦሸማኔዎች የእርቀ ሰላምን ጥበብ ያስተምሩን ይሆን? በእርቀሰላም ቋንቋ ያናግሩን ይሆን?

የኢትዮጵያ ብልህና ብሩሆች አንድ የወጣት ግብረሃይል በመሆን 2013ን የአቦሸማኔዎች ዓመት ያደርጉት ይሆን? አንድ ላይ በመቆም የጎሳ ጥላቻን ቆንጨራ በመስበር የወገንተኛነትን ጎራዴ በማቅለጥ የእርቀሰላምን ሙሉነት ያስመርቱን ይሆን?

የአላንዳች ጥርጥር አዎን ይቻላቸዋል!

ባለፈው ሳምንት 2013 የኢትዮጵያ አቦሸማኔዎች ዓመት ብዬ ስተነብይ፤ የኢትዮጵያን ወጣቶች ለማስተማር፤ ለማዳረስ፤ለማሳመን ቃል ገብቼ ነበር፡፡ አኛ ጉማሬዎች አቦሸማነዎችን አናስተመራለን የሚል አምነትም ነበረኝ:: ጉማሬዎችን አቦሸማኔዎችን ያስተምራሉ ብዬ አልገመትኩም ነበር:: ለዚህ ነው እኛ ጉማሬዎች ግራ የተጋባ ሸውራራ (የተዛባ አመለካከት) ቅርብ አዳሪነት፤ጠባብ አስተሳሰብ፤ የምያጠቃን:: ለአቦሸማኔዎች የማስተማርያ ወቅት ሊኖር ስለመቻሉ ጥርጣሬዬ የመጣው::

ስለዚህም የኢትዮጵያ አቦሸማኔዎችና ጉማሬዎች በርካታ ግብግቦች የሚገጥሟቸው፡፡ የአቦሸማኔዎቹ ፈታና ጉማሬዎቹን የእርቀሰላምን ጥበብ ማስተማሩ ላይ ነው፡፡ የጉማሬዎቹ ፈተና ደግሞ ከአቦሸማኔዎች የእርቀሰላምን ጥበብ መማሩ ላይ ነው፡፡

አቦሸማኔዎች ታሪካዊ ገድል የመፈጸም እድል ቀርቦላቸዋል፡- ይሄዉም በምሳሌነት ማስተማር፡፡

በአዲስ አበባው ዩኒቨርሲቲ አጋጣሚ የተሳተፉትን፤ ወዳዳጆቻቸውንና ሌሎቹም ጭምር በግቢያቸው የተፈጸመውን አስጸያፊ የግጭት ሁኔታና ሁከት አስመልክቼ የማቀርበው ጥሪ ሁኔታውን ወደ ውብና ያማረ ፍቅርና ሰላም የሞላበት ፍሬያማ ውጤት ለማምጣት የአንድነት አውድማ ላይ እንዲሰባሰቡ ነው፡፡ እያንዳንዳቸው ወደ ሌላው በመቅረብ ይቅርታን እንዲጠይቁና እንዲቀባበሉ እጠይቃለሁ፡፡ አንዲት በጣም ትንሽ የሆነችውን ‹‹ይቅርታ›› የምትለውን ቃል ለመተንፈስ ወኔ ይጠይቃል፡፡

በራሳቸው ውህደት እንዲፈጥሩ እጠይቃለሁ—-አንድ ለአንድ፤ በትንሹና በበርካታው ስብስብ—–ልዩነታቸውን ይወያዩበት ይነጋገሩበት ይምከሩበት፡፡ አንደኛቸው የሌላው ጉዳትና ግፍ ይሰማው፡፡ አንዱ የሌላው ፍርሃትና ጥርጣሬ ይሰማው:: አንዱ ለሌላው እንባ ንቀት አይኑረው፡፡

በብሩህ ህሊና፤ በንጹህ ልቦና፤ አእምሮና መንፈስ ሊነጋገሩ ግድ ነውና ይህንንም እጠይቃለሁ፡፡

እያንዳንዳቸው የሌላውን ስሜትና ጥርጣሬ እንዲረዱ እጠይቃለሁ፡፡ በጓደኞቻቸው ጫማ ውስጥ ሆነው ለኪሎሜትር እንዲራመዱ እጠይቃለሁ:: በመጫሚያም ይሁን በባዶ እግራቸው ፈገግ ሊያሰኛቸው የሚችል ሁኔታ ያጋጥማቸዋል፡፡

የኢትጵያ አቦሸማኔዎችን 2013ን የእርቀሰላምና የሰላም ዓመት እንዲያደርጉት እጠይቃለሁ፡፡

ጃንዋሪ 2 1013 በታሪክ የኢትዮጵያ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎች የጎሳ ጥላቻን ቆንጨራ፤የሃይሞነት ወገንተኝነት፤ የጾታ ልዩነት የተቀበሩበት ዕለት ሆኖ ዘወትር አንድታሰብ ይሁን፡፡ በአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ የተከሰተው አስጸያፊ ሁኔታ ለሕዝብ ማስተማሪያነት ያገልግል፡፡

ጥንካሬን ከችግር ወልዳችሁ፤ አንድነትን ከከፋፋይ ተምራችሁ፤ ከጓደኞቻችሁ ተማሪዎች ጋር ለመደማመጥና የመግባባትን፤ የመቻቻልን፤ የውህደትን ዘር ለማፈስ እንድትበቁ እማጸናችኋለሁ፡፡

የኢትዮጵያ አቦሸማኔዎች ጉማሬዎችን እንደመሩ እጠይቃለሁ፡፡ እኛን አትከተሉን፤መሄጃችንን አናውቀውምና፡፡እኛ የጠፋው የጉማሬ ትውልዶች ነን፡፡

ይህን ግብግብ በመቀበል፤ትክክለኛውን እንደትክክል፤ስህተቱንም ወደ ትክክለኛነት ካልለወጣችሁት፤ አቦሸማኔዎች በስልጠና ላይ ያሉ ደካማ ጉማሬዎች ናቸው የሚል ትችት ላይ መውደቅ ይመጣል::

ለሁሉም ጊዜ አለው:: ለኢትዮጵያ አቦሸማኔዎች፤ ለማገገምና ለእርቀሰላም ሰዓቱ አሁን ነው፡፡

የኔ ጥያቄ ለእዮጵያ ወጣቶች ይህ ነው:- አሁን ስንት ሰአት ነው!?!

የተባበሩት የኢትዮጵያ አቦሸማኔዎች ፈጽሞ ለውድቀትና ለሽንፈት አይዳረጉም!

*የተቶረገመው ጽሁፍ (translated from):

http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/2013/01/13/ethiopia_a_time_to_heal_a_time_to_reconcile

(ይህን ጦማር ለሌሎችም ያካፍሉ::) ካሁን በፊት የቀረቡ የጸሃፊው ጦማሮችን ለማግኘት እዚህ ይጫኑ::

http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic

http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24

Ethiopia: A Time to Heal, A Time to Reconcile

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Last week, The Reporter reported:

An ethnic-based conflict between Addis Ababa University (AAU) students following derogatory graffiti posted on toilet-walls and library walls has left half a dozen students with severe injuries while others had faced arrest. For decades, the clash between students at universities has witnessed many ethnic-based conflicts which many observers claim it to be the weakness of the administering body. Likewise, the Wednesday [January 2] conflict was particularly between those from the ethnic lines of Oromo and Tigre. Reports indicate that the conflict was instigated when member (sic) of the latter ethnic group scrawled derogatory remarks on the walls of toilets and the library and in his own dormitory as well.

An official of Addis Ababa University alleged the “conflict was instigated by students who found derogatory statements posted on the wall”. Some 20 students were reportedly injured in the incident and three hospitalized including two who underwent surgery. Police reportedly arrested 20 students on unspecified charges.

My initial reaction reading this report about Ethiopia’s “best and brightest” was sheer disbelief. “This just can’t be true. It is beneath the dignity of Ethiopia’s Cheetah Generation (young people) to engage in such a cowardly and dastardly act. Ethiopia’s university students know better than to wrestle in the filth and sewage of ethnic politics.” I kept on reassuring myself that such wicked hatemongering could not possibly be the work of Ethiopia’s budding intellectuals, future scholars, scientists and literary men and women.

My certitude slowly gave way to gnawing disquietude. I asked myself, “Supposing the inflammatory graffiti and “derogatory statements” were written by bona fide AAU students? What would such a vile, gutless and vulgar act say about these students? About the injured students who reacted with righteous indignation? About the AAU student body? About all Ethiopian university students? About all of Ethiopia’s young people?”

As I wrestled with these questions, I was overcome by an irrepressible feeling of shame and ignominy. I kept interrogating myself, “How is it even possible for Ethiopia’s best and brightest — Ethiopia’s Cheetahs — to engage in such backward, barbaric, cruel, vicious and villainous act? Why would one group of young Ethiopian university students deliberately plan and scheme to dehumanize, demoralize, demonize, degrade and brutalize another? Why? Why? I could not come up with a rational answer.

I became even more bewildered trying to answer these questions as I was drafting my “proclamation” to make 2013 the Year of the Ethiopian Cheetahs. I could not logically fathom the occurrence of this disgusting and horrifying drama in which some Ethiopian Cheetahs were acting like Hippos and behaving like hyenas.

I put aside my roiled emotions and paused to think, and think really hard. What evidence is there to factually establish the “ethnic-based conflict” was the work of a bona fide AAU “student”? Who really is the alleged “student” who put up the offensive “graffiti and derogatory statements”? Must we believe the story line about the incident concocted by a wily university public relations desk jokey? How is it that Ethiopian “universities have witnessed many ethnic-based conflicts for decades” and continue to witness them with predictable regularity? Are there no adults in charge at the universities ready, able and willing to take preemptive and preventive action?

Doubt slowly began to displace my disappointment, shock and shame as I pondered the real possibility of this so-called “ethnic-based conflict” being stage-managed by the invisible knights of the empire.

When I finally put on my forensic lenses, I could clearly see the fingerprints and footprints of a dirty rat lurking on campus once again undetected.

In May 2010, Jawar Siraj Mohammed, a young Ethiopian political commentator and graduate student at Columbia University reported, “After interviewing several students involved in these [campus] conflicts and witnessing two violent episodes in Haramaya and Adama universities in 2006, I have come to the conclusion that lack of academic freedom at the universities and infiltration by agents of Ethiopia’s secret police and security services are the major sources of conflict.”

It also dawned on me that in September 2011 we learned “Ethiopian security forces (had) planted 3 bombs that went off in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on September 16, 2006 and then blamed Eritrea and the Oromo resistance for the blasts in a case that raised serious questions about the claims made about the bombing attempt against the African Union summit earlier this year in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.” It was the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa which conducted its own “clandestine reporting” and fingered “GoE (Government of Ethiopia) security forces” for this criminal act.

I also recalled a 2006 secret 52-page document written in Amharic and prepared by the so-called Directorate of the Diaspora of the Foreign Ministry in Addis Ababa detailing strategy and tactics to harass, persecute and smear critics and opponents of the ruling regime and spread ethnic strife in the Ethiopian Diaspora. As I thought more about the AAU incident, the anecdotal evidence of regime dirty tricks used to undermine, neutralize and destroy opposition parties, harass and persecute dissidents and others kept popping out.

My preliminary analysis of the circumstantial evidence on who is responsible for the “ethnic-based conflict” at the AAU campus points exclusively at the usual suspects. The inescapable conclusion (until substantial counterfactual evidence is presented) is that the hate crime that took place on the AAU campus on January 2 is likely the work of anagent provocateur (s) (one or few individuals placed on campus to act as agitators and instigators) and not a bona fide student(s).

A summary review of the uncontroverted evidence supports this conclusion. First, a single “student” is officially blamed for causing the incident. This factually negates the existence of an organized hate group of students of one ethnic group engaged in the persecution of another and intent on causing ethnic strife, dissension and discord on campus. Second, the identity, background and affiliation (ethnic and otherwise) of the “student” who is said to be responsible for the criminal act has not been factually established. University officials fingered an unidentified student as being responsible. But is this “student” a bona fide student or a regime undercoveragent provocateur masquerading as a student? Does this “student” have a history of ethnic animus against students of other ethnic groups?

Third, no motive has been established for the “student” who put up the graffiti and derogatory statements in multiple locations including the “walls of toilets, the library and in his own dormitory as well.” In hate crime situations, when derogatory graffiti are directed toward a group, they are usually displayed in locations likely to be seen by the target group and intended to spark random expressions of outrage. Why would the “student” fingered for this crime target all students of an entire ethnic group as the object of his personal fury?

Fourth, other than the graffiti depicting the offensive statements, no additional evidence of hate crime was found in the possession of the “student” who committed the hate crime.

Fifth, the January 2 hate crime incident on the AAU campus cannot be seen as an isolated incident. The fact that periodic and recurrent campus hate crimes have been occurring “for decades” on Ethiopian university campuses is uncontro- verted. Why haven’t university officials taken swift and decisive action to prevent campus hate crimes with full foreknowledge of the occurrence of such incidents? Is the lack of action and intervention by university officials evidence of official tolerance, complicity, indifference and/or gross incompetence in the investigation and prevention of the occurrence of campus hate crimes? The evidence further shows that in the aftermath of the hate crime, university officials took no decisive action or implemented no preventive measures to ensure the safety of other students who could be targets of ethnic harassment on campus from a potential flare up of violence.

Sixth, why did AAU officials publicly announce, without a full and independent fact finding investigation, that the “conflict was instigated by students who found derogatory statements posted on the wall”? Why haven’t AAU officials empaneled an internal and/or outside independent investigation to thoroughly examine the causes and participants in the hate crime and make recommendations to prevent such incidents in the future? Why have university officials left this incident entirely to the police? Could it be that university officials turn a blind eye to campus hate crimes because they are directed to do so?

Seventh, why are the victims of this hate crime also the targets of arrest and detention by police?

In short, the totality of the circumstantial evidence on the hate crime committed on the AAU campus does not point an accusatory finger at students. The evidence points an accusatory finger at an invisible hand. To identify and apprehend the perpetrators of this hate crime, one must look not only for the invisible fingers that wrote the graffiti and derogatory statements on library and dormitory walls but also the hands that beat up the students to a pulp and ceaselessly bellow blasts of hot air to spread and ignite ethnic strife, fear, hate and loathing among university students.

Be that as it may, it is now time, high time, the right time…

A Time to Heal, A Time to Embrace and a Time to Reconcile

It is written that “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” There is a time to weep, a time to mourn, a time to cast away stones. There is a time to build up and a time to speak up. Then there is a time to embrace, a time for peace and a time to heal. There is a time to reconcile.

This is the time — the right time — for Ethiopia’s young people to heal in the schools, universities, the work places, the neighborhoods and in the streets. This is the time — the right time — for Ethiopia’s young people to embrace each other in the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood; to hold hands and celebrate their diversity and honor their common ancestry and history.

This is the right time for all of Ethiopia’s young people to break the cycle of ethnic hatred and violence; the right time to end the futile tradition of grievance and victimhood; the right time to abandon the culture of fear, hatred and loathing.

This is the right time for Ethiopia’s youth to lock fingers and join hands to heal the open wounds of fear, loathing and antagonism in their hearts, minds and souls. This the right time to stop seeing fellow students as enemies and adversaries. It is the right time to make peace and embrace each other as brothers, sisters and partners. This is the time for Ethiopia’s best and brightest to work together for a better future, to dream of alternative futures built on a solid foundation of the rule of law, respect for human rights and democracy. As Nelson Mandela taught, “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” It is time to make those we perceive to be enemies our partners.

This is the right time to unite against hate and hate crimes on and off campus. It is the right time to purge hatred from our minds and hearts; the right time to break the chains of fear that shackle and cripple young minds and hearts. It is time for Ethiopia’s Cheetahs to liberate themselves from the burdens of the past.

This is the right time for all of Ethiopia’s young people to bury the hatchet, to declare once and for all, “No! We refuse to hate each other because we belong to one ethnic group or another. No! we refuse to hate each other because we worship the same God by a different name or live in different corners of the land. No! We WILL NOT be manipulated or puppet-mastered to hate each other. We will not hate because we are civilized humans. We will not behave like predatory beasts who prey.”

This is also the right time not to do the wrong thing. This is the wrong time to engage in finger-pointing, teeth-gnashing, bellyaching or revenge planning. This is the wrong time to demonize and scapegoat one group of students as predatory beasts and disempower another group as helpless and hopeless prey. Both groups of students are the prey of those who write words of hate on library and dorm room walls.

A Word or Two from One Hippo to Many Cheetahs

Many young Cheetahs may find it amusing to listen to a member of the Hippo Generation. After all, we Hippos are known for being “intellectually astigmatic”, “lacking in vision” and “not caring if the whole country collapses around us as long as our pond is secure.” But I respectfully ask the youth to lend me your ears and hear me out.

Be courageous!

Be the first generation of Ethiopians to unchain yourselves and the rest of us from the burdens of the past.

Be the first generation to put an end to historic hatreds and resentments, sow the seeds of understanding and tolerance and open a new chapter of truth and reconciliation in Ethiopia’s history.

Be the first generation to close the wounds of hatred that have festered for generations and declare to future generations that they will not be prisoners of the mistakes and blunders of the past generations.

Be the first generation to accept the fact that we are all equal members of the human race and will not race to the bottom to affirm our ethnicity over our common humanity.

Be the first generation to make a peace offering to each other; to bury the hatchet once and for all; to use your fingers not to pull triggers and write hateful graffiti but stretch out your fingers to shake hands, to hold hands and to lend hands.

Be the first generation to affirm the divinity in our religious diversity.

Be the first generation to say No! to insidious ethnic, religious and gender divisions.

Be the first generation to cover the walls of the libraries, dorm rooms and even toilets with graffiti of reconciliation, understanding, harmony and love.

Be the first generation to declare that you, the proud Cheetahs, are the captains of your country’s destiny and not the tired, corrupt, scheming, unprincipled and self-serving Hippos.

Be the first generation to be all you can be and to think what you will.

Be the first generation to win the war declared on our human dignity and common humanity, on our civility, morality, cordiality, integrity, and national unity by winning the struggle for the hearts and minds of your fellow youths.

Be the first generation to end the bitterness of yesterday and restore it with the sweetness of reconciliation today and tomorrow.

The Moment of Truth Has Arrived: Can the Cheetahs Save Themselves and Us?

The moment of truth for Ethiopia’s best and brightest has arrived!

Can Ethiopia’s best and brightest Cheetahs rescue themselves from the burden of the past and the legacy of ethnic prejudice and religious bigotry?

Can these Cheetahs save the cynical, wretched and laggard Hippos from themselves?

Can they teach us to create ethnic harmony out of ethnic strife, understanding out of intolerance? Can they transform sectarian discord into spiritual concord for themselves and the people of Ethiopia?

Can the Cheetahs rescue our humanity from clutches of ethnic and sectarian inhumanity and bestiality?

Can Ethiopia’s Cheetah teach us the art of reconciliation? Can they enlighten us on the science of reconciliation? Can they show us the path to reconciliation? Can they speak to us in words of reconciliation?

Can Ethiopia’s best and brightest come together as one Youth Force and make 2013 the Year of Ethiopian Cheetahs? Come together and bury the hatchet of ethnic strife and beat the swords of sectarianism into ploughshares and harvest a plenitude of reconciliation?

Yes, indeed they can!

When I “proclaimed” 2013 as the Year of Ethiopia’s Cheetah Generation last week, I promised to reach, teach and preach to Ethiopia’s youth. Little did I think about the possibility of Cheetahs reaching, teaching and preaching to me and my fellow Hippos. (That is why we Hippos are astigmatic (have distorted view) and myopic (near-sighted and narrow-minded; natural hazards of being a Hippo). Little did I think of a teachable moment coming for Cheetah’s and Hippos so soon.

So Ethiopia’s Cheetahs and Hippos face an enormous challenge. The challenge for the Cheetah’s is they must now teach the Hippos the art of reconciliation. The challenge for the Hippos is that they must learn the art of reconciliation from the Cheetahs.

The Cheetahs now have a chance to play a historic role: Teach by example.

So I call upon the young men who were involved in the incident at Addis Ababa University and their friends and all of the other students to transform this ugly moment of conflict and strife on their campus into a beautiful moment of reconciliation. I ask them to reach out to each other and ask forgiveness. It takes great courage to say something as simple as, “I am sorry.”

I call on them to come together on their own — one-on-one, in small and large groups — and discuss their differences. Try to feel each other’s pain and anguish. Be sensitive to each other’s fears and never scorn each other’s tears.

I ask them to talk to each other with open minds, open hearts and open spirits. I ask them to listen to each other’s concerns, fears, hopes and despair. I ask them to walk a mile in the shoes of their fellow students. If their fellow students do not have shoes, I ask them to walk a mile bare feet and feel the sharp-edged rocks. I believe if they walk hand in hand for a mile, with shoes or bare feet, they will have reasons to smile.

I ask Ethiopia’s Cheetahs to make 2013 the Year of Reconciliation and Peace.

Let January 2, 2013 be remembered in all history as the day Ethiopia’s university students buried the hatchets of ethnic division, religious sectarianism and gender inequality. Let the ugly incident at AAU serve as a teachable moment for the nation.

Take up the challenge to talk and listen to your fellow students and sow the seeds of understanding, tolerance and harmony.

I ask Ethiopia’s Cheetah Generation to lead the Hippo Generation. Do not follow us, for we know not where we are going. We are the Hippo Generation, the lost generation.

If you don’t accept the challenge and do what is right and right what is wrong, then you would have proved to the world that Ethiopia’s Cheetahs are only Hippos in training.

To everything there is a season, a time. This is the time for Ethiopia’s Cheetahs to heal and to reconcile.

Ethiopia’s Cheetahs! What time is it?

Ethiopia’s Cheetahs united can never be defeated!

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.

Previous commentaries by the author are available at:

http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/

www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/

Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:

http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic

http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24