A 4th District Court judge has dismissed charges against a Utah Valley State College student accused of providing false information while purchasing two assault weapons.
Kidus Yohannes – a 20-year-old Ethiopian refugee who is a permanent U.S. resident – was charged with two third-degree felony counts of giving a false statement on a background check. He allegedly using a non-existent alien registration number.
In dismissing the charges, Judge Gary Stott found the background check form was confusing as to what information is required and what is optional, according to prosecutor Donna Kelly. The statute used to charge Yohannes applies only to “required” information.
But Kelly claims the only place on the form marked “optional” is for the applicant’s Social Security number.
Yohannes purchased four assault rifles last year from an Orem gun seller, according to preliminary hearing testimony. Two purchases in October 2006 were made using a different alien registration number than the one Yohannes had previously used.
Both numbers were approved by the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification, the agency responsible for running background checks on gun buyers. Police who later checked with immigration officials found the second number did not exist.
Kelly said the Utah County Attorney’s Office had not decided whether to appeal the judge’s decision to a higher court.
Meanwhile, Yohannes, who remains charged in a credit card fraud case, will appear in court today 01/03 to ask for a reduction of his $250,000 bail, now that the weapon’s related case has been dismissed.
If Yohannes is released from jail, it is unclear if the guns – semi-automatic variants of the AK-47 – would be returned to him by police, Kelly said.
Prosecutors had requested a mental evaluation of Yohannes based on his alleged statements that he is “consumed by violent depictions of the death of U.S. servicemen, as well as human execution by gunfire.” He also made statements about killing a police officer, court documents allege.
In September, the court ruled Yohannes competent to stand trial.
Psychologist Ellen McGrath calls it ‘the rumination rut’…. a style of thinking in which, like a hamster in a cage, you run in tight circles on a treadmill in your brain. It means obsessing about a problem, about a loss, about any kind of setback or ambiguity without moving past thought into the realm of action.’ This in turn makes us loose our focus. While our problem stays constant our focus wonders aimlessly. It is like trying to hit a moving target.
‘Land to the tiller’ was a cry in 1968. ‘Land to the tiller’ is still the cry of the vast majority of our people today. ‘Democracy, the Rule of Law and respect for basic Human Rights’ was the issue raised by Kinijit and other opposition parties during the May 2005 general election. ‘Democracy, Rule of Law and respect for Human Right’ are still the main demand today.
The last two years have shown the ‘Diaspora’ to be an agent of positive change in the affairs of our homeland. So much has been accomplished in such a short time. On the other hand those who will loose from positive change have not been idle either. Innumerable hurdles were thrown to derail the march for true Democracy.
Those within the ‘organization’ were used to disrupt the organization. It is a scientific method Biologists use to fight insects and other pests that threaten both humans and animals. They utilize what is known as ‘Sterile insect technique’. This method of biological control works by releasing millions of sterile or genetically modified insects in the general population thus disrupting the normal reproduction cycle.
When it comes to ‘human organization’ the same method is applied by inserting agents camouflaged as committed members. Properly handled they could even rise up to leadership position. Ato Ledetu is a perfect example of the ‘sterile insect technique’. Intentional or not it was executed perfectly. The opposition was in disarray. The population was subdued. The movement lost focus. There was too much up on the screen.
The same technique was exported among the ‘Diaspora’ organizations. The North American population was ideal. Since the fall of the Monarchy it has accommodated every breed of self declared ‘opposition’ to any existing regime. A few have manipulated the ‘love for mother Ethiopia’ the vast majority have to their own selfish ends. Most have used it as a ‘a cash machine’ to enrich themselves. It did not take long before there were illegal account transfers, undemocratic firings and name-calling. The ‘Diaspora’ in North America with the most population and money was in disarray. The movement lost focus. There was too much up on the screen.
It was Abraham Lincoln who said ‘you can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.’ The ‘Diaspora’ in North America at long last said enough was enough and refused to be fooled. It chartered a new path. The new organization was built from the bottom up. Appointment was replaced by elections. ‘Sterile Insect technique’ is not effective in such environment.
The movement stayed in focus. Focus, purpose and simplicity work together to create success. This time the movement took a step forward. The regime was forced to back down and release the detainees. Those who were watching the struggle from the periphery were willing to join. The pressure was mounting. The now famous HR2003 sailed thru the US House of Representatives unanimously. Passage in the Senate was around the corner.
‘Sterile insect technique’ was unleashed in a spectacular manner. It was dramatic. The ultimate betrayal. The giant turned out to be a dwarf. It was meant to demoralize us, break our back, and send us to a hellhole of depression. Bullies underestimate their victims. Never again is North Americas reply. We have risen beyond personalities. As the Ethiopian people have persevered under the constant onslaught of Woyane terror, we pledge to stand up against feudal impersonators.
We have learned to stay in focus. We are not going to be sidetracked. We have defined our goal and purpose and no amount of background noise is going to take our attention from the prize. No matter how long it takes we will stay the course and win. Keeping quiet is not an option. Staying neutral is not an option. Losing is not an option. We will not be distracted by our worries and fears, but rather take strength from the lofty goal we have set for our country and people, ‘Freedom and Democracy’ and Ethiopia will rise up again.
Our focus is the struggle to bring ‘Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law’ to our motherland. Nothing more. Nothing less. We will not be distracted by shameless ‘leaders’, nor by negative propagandists. The possibility of losing does not compare to the certainty of wining. The ultimate prize is a glorious Ethiopia leading the Horn of Africa in science, technology and human value. As they say in US Navy Seals ‘the more you sweat in peace time the less you bleed in war’. We will focus and work hard today, so tomorrow our sons and daughters will benefit from our effort.
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Ato Yilma Bekele can be reached at [email protected]
I am not upset you lied to me, I am upset from now on I can’t believe you.
(Friedrich Nietzsche, German Philosopher)
The key is to get to know people and trust them to be who they are, instead we trust people to be who we want them to be, and when they are not, we cry. (Anonymous)
1. Introduction
Time flies. In comes 2008! Yet another year is replaced by a new year in the eternal dance of time. Our country had a new year in September 2007. It shares also the New Year on January 2008 with the rest of the world. It has the opportunity to pause, reflect, interrogate, evaluate and select what would work from what would not twice, as moments like New Years help concentrate a nation’s priorities and map and shape its future.
The time from the Ethiopian millennium in September to the current New Year has been unsettling to say the least to the vibrant democratic movement that emerged after the May 2005 election. What we expected was the release of the elected MPS that were sent for 20 months in jail will stimulate and invigorate the democratic movement, solve with maturity the difficulties in the Diaspora by displaying the moral authority of the released MPs and move into a higher level of clarification and mobilisation united to build systematically the movement. Unfortunately what happened was a lack of unity and division by those who came out from jail leading to a split that appears to have gone beyond any attempt to repair and rescue. The split is unfortunate as there are wild allegations that would have been very good to clear up. With the split the truth will not be known. We now know who has been rude and who has remained civil through the ordeal, but we will not know who is culpable and who is not, concerning the issues that triggered this destructive turn. This will not be cleared as long as each side remains with its sectarian narrative unexamined and protective of its story. For the moment, there appears to be no way that there can be unity within knjit. It is time in the New Year to resolve and re-think how a post- knjit powerful social-democratic movement and realignment of social forces can be forged. This commentary will attempt to show the obstacles Ethiopians must overcome and put forward a few proposals to strengthen and build the democratic movement for debate.
2. The Obstacle: Social Capital Deficit despite Ethiopia’s Age!
Our readers may recall previous NES commentaries that by some accounts the likely origin of the Ethiopian state formation has become now 7,000 years or even 8,000 years depending on which myth of origin one takes to begin the count!! China has 5000 years of such history. For Ethiopia seven or eight thousand years indeed makes it the most ancient country in the world. If we take the 4000 years that used to be 3000 years until last September’s Ethiopian millennium, it still makes Ethiopia belong in the oldest groups of countries such as Egypt, Persia and China. Even the 2000 years that Ethiopia entered after celebrating its millennium in September 2007 makes it yet still amongst the oldest groups of countries in the world. This is not to suggest all can or should agree on this age of Ethiopia. Those who think very often look back in order to see how far to look ahead into the future.
The question we must ask is this: Given such long historical memory, why has the country failed to invent an ethically anchored, consultation rich politics that works and constructs the nation rather than the divisive, cantankerous and cruel politics that destroys and unsettles all to a point where we all worry whether we can ever evolve a shared national direction to shape Ethiopia’s sustainable future that beats the fear of time? Even after the people made choices, voted and expressed their voice, why is that the very persons involved that helped to bring about this creative trajectory are at each others throat trying to undo what seemed to all indeed a record historical achievement gained also in a record time? Why are we back to the drawing board every time history opens a historical possibility to move in more constructive directions? Why is the seed planted often threatened with such desire to cut and pluck it out and even kill it? When are we going to stop wondering whether the particular way politics plays out in the country may or may not deliver an Ethiopia that will endure? When are Ethiopians to be liberated from the tyranny of a particularly uncongenial politics that disrupts all from mustering and sustaining the ability to relate and interact with each other to undertake substantial coordinated and collective action that is productive based on a shared project for freedom, equality, human dignity and justice for all in order to build and improve comprehensively the welfare of the people, the nation and the country?
3. Counting Age comes with a price of an oppressive inter- generational tyranny!
We continue to repeat reminding all concerned Ethiopia’s old age and historical longevity not to celebrate the few and far in between successes such as the epic African victory at Adwa in 1896 for example, but more as a call to all to reject and extricate the country from the oppressive litany of horrid failures that have existed from time immemorial to the present and threaten to continue to the future. We invoke the long gone past to bring home forcefully how much age old problems continue today to persist and threaten to pile up in the future by imposing something like an inter-generational tyranny over the people and their successive progeny rather than freedom and development. There can be no complacency by retelling the age of any country. We recall historical age in order to review a particular community’s national history where the secret of unleashing the opportunities to shape the future are locked. In order to appreciate the transformations that can make a difference, we must always examine and reflect on the complexities of a country’s historical journey and national history.
Ethiopia’s accumulated historical memory-the good, the bad and the tasteless- can be a source of learning to find the knowledge and the way to help prolong Ethiopia’s life hopefully by injecting a positive transformation dynamics of its age-old static society. That is to say, having lived for so long, one can only hope that this country will live on and on with an age that defies the law of gravity, solving the twin persistent problems of hunger and governance for good with justice and fairness to all.
In and of itself, counting years of vegetative existence of a country’s life, as well as a person may not be interesting. What would be most interesting would be, if indeed, when there is quality to the life-world for an individual as indeed also similarly to the strength, dynamism and self-reinforcing vitality of the system-world that has been driving the specific Ethiopian national history. There is no intrinsic value in counting ages per se however long and rich they are. What is of value is in what each age, as indeed each generation bequeathed to future ages and generations. Problems unsolved or newly created ones, more often than not, can pile up to a mountain top and become additional burdens on the generations that come after previous generations.
Because, the way Mwai Kibaki came to the presidency in the first place is diametrically opposed to the other tyrants whom we hate to know in our region, coupled with his long record in public service, no one expected he would stoop this low.
Having heard the press conference of the four ECK commissioners preceded by Mr Kipkemoi Kirui who first exposed the alteration of poll tallies, I am inclined to believe that there is universal agreement by now that Kenya joined those African nations who squander millions of their national currencies on farcical elections. To make matters worse, Kenya which was considered an oasis of stability in the highly volatile region, surpassed all in violence and killing in just three days.
The worst violence which cost lives of 199 people due to election rigging took place in Ethiopia in 2005. Also the whole process in Kenya up to the infamous Kibaki’s swearing-in smacks of the Ethiopian vote rigging which to many of us Ethiopians is still a traumatic experience.
Of course, Ugandans too because of their contiguity to Kenya and their own fair share of sham elections may feel that the blueprint for rigging has been handed down to Kibaki from their home.
Whatever the case, election has been rigged, resource squandered, and lives have been lost. The way out of this quagmire is not by pampering another cheat and shying away from telling him the ugly truth.
Nor is it by trying to squash the legitimate grievance of a populace swindled out of its vote. Not so long ago, history has taught us that tyrants who scavenge ballot boxes also make sure to have a kangaroo court that dances only to their tune.
So, this unduly pressure on Raila Odinga, instead of Mwai Kibaki, to take the matter to court serves no purpose except pushing the last bastion of peace and stability in the region to the precipice.
Besides, Kenyan judiciary is notorious for flouting the cardinal principle of “justice delayed is justice denied.” Past election disputes are still dragging on. The Kenyan judiciary has shown no qualms when it pressed charges of murder recently against a poor fellow after imprisoning him for 18 years with no explanation (reported recently on BBC Network Africa).
Thus, let alone in Kenya where corruption is rife and has infected every segment of the society, even in America where the law is thought to be blind, partisanship reigned in Al Gore vs. Bush thereby earning the Rehnquist court a legacy called “In calendars we trust.” Also Kenya is not America where someone says “country before party” and walk away. Hence, if this latest joker is left alone there is no guarantee that he won’t be emboldened to lift the presidential term like his colleague in the vicinity.
All told, Raila Odinga is right when he said, “I will not go to court and I will not give Kenyans anesthesia. Rather, those who think their interest will be affected by the further instability and chaos of the region should bring down all their influence on Mwai Kibaki.”
The writer is an Ethiopian refugee in Uganda.
Watch the following press conference by Raila Odinga.
The Committee to Protect Journalists
Press Release
New York, January 2, 2008— Three Ethiopian journalists told CPJ the government denied them applications to launch new newspapers on Tuesday. All the journalists spent 17 months in prison following the country’s 2005 elections. The newspapers were slated to become the country’s first independent political publications since authorities banned eight local papers and forced at least a dozen others to close after the 2005 deadly post-election unrest.
Award-winning publisher Serkalem Fasil, her husband, columnist Eskinder Nega and publisher Sisay Agena fulfilled all legal requirements and submitted applications for Lualawi and Habesha—two current affairs Amharic-language weeklies—since mid-September. By comparison, newly launched current affairs weekly Addis Neger cleared its registration with the ministry within one hour in October, according to owner and editor Mesfin Negash, who was never jailed.
Ethiopia’s 1992 press law stipulates that a new newspaper is considered registered if the government fails to issue an official letter of certification within 30 days, but the document is required to obtain a mandatory commercial license, according to CPJ research.
Ethiopian Woyanne Information Minister Berhanu Hailu and ministry spokesman Zemedkun Tekle did not return CPJ’s calls for comment today. Another ministry official, Fantahun Asres, head of Press Licensing, declined to comment on the matter to CPJ on Monday, but informed the journalists by phone on Tuesday that their applications had been denied, according to Nega.
“Despite public assurances in July that it would allow former prisoners to resume their work, the Ethiopian government [Woyanne] instead is using bureaucratic tactics to deny independent journalists an outlet,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said. “We call on the government to remove such obstacles and allow our colleagues the right to publish newspapers.”
Fasil and Agena, the former owners of four banned newspapers, had their former publishing companies fined and dissolved in July 2007, three months after Ethiopia’s High Court acquitted them of anti-state charges. Authorities subsequently withdrew an appeal to reinstate the charges in October, according to local journalists.
Ethiopia’s Woyanne ministry of information is mandated to “facilitate conditions for the expansion of the country’s media both in variety and in numbers,” according to the press law, but independent media outlets remain scarce, according to CPJ research. Last October, authorities allowed two independently owned media outlets to open: private commercial station Sheger Radio and current affairs weekly Addis Neger, although both operated under intense self-censorship, according to local journalists.
The Committee to Protect Journalists named Ethiopia the world’s worst backslider on press freedom in 2007.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.
Reports that reached our service desk from the city of Fiiq, Ogaden, confirm a fierce battle that took place in the outskirts of the city on Wednesday December 26th, 2007. It is reported that this fierce firefight took place in an area known as Cagajiid, which is about fifteen kilometers east of the city.
As indicated by eyewitnesses on the ground, many Tigray People Liberation Front (Woyanne) troops and a local militia consisting mainly of civil servants of the so-called local administration, left the city for Cagajiid where it was reported that a large contingent of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) military personnel were present at the time.
Locals reported that ONLF reconnaissance units succeeded in getting information of the impending attack plans of the TPLF and the local militia, which was spearheaded by a man known as Abdi Ileey who claims to be the head of the security bureau for the local administration.
The locals who were at the time passing through the area indicated that ONLF was able to position itself in both the main road that passes through the town as well as many of the straits that dot Cagajiid to prepare for a well coordinated ambush. This version of ONLF plans was later confirmed by a member of the civil servants conscripted to be part of the militia that went to Cagajiid.
The civil servant intimated to our reporter that knowing how a conventional armed movement operates, they avoided the main road as to avoid possible ONLF ambushes. However he said, they encountered well-entrenched ONLF units in the straits that they thought ONLF would not be positioning itself.
This source said that these units were able to annihilate many of the TPLF and the local Somali militia. He added that ONLF succeeded in capturing at least two thirds of the TPLF and the local militia personnel.
Furthermore this eyewitness reported that the units that caused the most damage were reported to be way less than those ONLF units that he said we later found out were the most armed and with the most weaponry and numbers. It is confirmed by locals that victorious ONLF units dug more trenches in preparation for any counter attack from TPLF and its associated local militia.
Fiiq city dwellers confirmed so far that up to four Somali men who were members of the conscripted civil servants have been among the many injured. Up to the time of filing this report though our reporters in the area have not been able to get an accurate number of the dead and injured on this fierce battle.
Having realized the magnitude of the military loss, the heads of the TPLF militias immediately ordered the conscripted civil servants together with a reinforced TPLF militia to wage a counter attack to the ONLF units positioned in Cagajiid. However, many of the local militia members mutinied and refused to be part of any attack or counter attack plans against ONLF units in Cagajiid.
Our reporters in the city indicate that the city and its environs have lately witnessed some of the fiercest battles between ONLF and TPLF and its local conscripts. It is reported that given its strategic value, ONLF positioned many more well trained and well-equipped military personnel in this area. This they say resulted in the last three months alone the loss of more than 330 TPLF militia personnel and many unaccounted for local conscripts.
