Letter to Dr. Taye and his friends from a Concerned Ethiopian
By Netsanet Yimetal
Why do you do this to us? Better yet, why do you do this to yourselves? Yes, I am talking to those of you who are standing in the way of democracy. The prospect for better Ethiopia has never been better. This is a historic time when multiple events are converging at the same time: The freedom of the strongest non-violent opposition group in the history of the country; the unanimous support to HR 2003 by the House of Representatives, hence the American People; the unworthy war against our neighbor Somalia, the brutal war against our own people, the Ogadenis and the tension with Eritrea. I truly believe we have come to this point of our history for a reason. And that reason is an awesome change.
A change that frees our people from tyranny!
A change that gives individuals in our country equal footing to compete with each other!
A change that provides our nation the platform to shine globally!
A change that gives our Educated the choice to stay and serve!
A change that opens the door for possibilities whatever the possibilities maybe!
But! But, you are standing in the way. I have a simple question for you. Do you realize that you are standing in the way though? Do you realize that you are like a goal keeper who is trying to block the ball of democracy? I don’t think you do realize the extent of the damage you are doing. I don’t believe you realize it because if you did you wouldn’t stand in the way. Not against your own people anyways, would you? I know I am right because you were a proud EDU or IHAPA who legitimately fought for the cause of your people.
That was then! This is now! Now, time has changed in Ethiopia. Ethiopians are not interested to live and relive their past. Ethiopians are ready and eager to move forward.
They are excited at the prospect of seeing their nation submerge under freedom. They also found honest and energetic leaders who are ready to lead by example. Just look at the excitement of the Ethiopians around the U.S. The excitement in Washington D.C, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles. Come hell or high water, I will experience this excitement as well when these leaders arrive at my home town, Atlanta, GA this coming Friday.
So, here is my humble message to you. Our people are tired; Tired of in-fighting. We are ready to follow leaders who are Ethiopians! Who stand for all Ethiopians. The time has passed for ethnic based leaders of any type including Amaras, Oromos, Tigreans or Gurages. The time is ripe for leaders who stand for human rights.
Human rights for Oromos!
Human rights for Tigreans!
Human rights for Anuaks!
Human rights for Gurages!
Human rights for Amaharas!
Human rights for Ogadenis!
Human rights for Afars!
Human rights for Ethiopians!
We would like you to join us and support our leaders as they are preparing to continue the fight for the freedom of Ethiopians. As you clearly know, it is tough enough fighting a government with abysmal human rights record.
Won’t you then join us support the legitimate leaders of the opposition, Wzt. Bertukan and her delegation as they get ready to finalize their U.S tour and leave for their nation, Ethiopia?
The recent promotion of a number of officers to top ranks went largely to Tigrayans.
Four of the six generals promoted to the rank of major general and ten of the seventeen colonels promoted to brigadier general at the end of September are Tigrayans, members of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF, hard core of the governing coalition). Their promotion strengthens still further the control Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the TPLF have on the armed forces. All the more so since on the same occasion, 400 officers in the Northern Command, overwhelmingly Tigrayans, were also promoted during a ceremony at Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray Regional State. The Ethiopian Army Chief of Staff, Samora Yunis, also a Tigrayan, was promoted to the rank of general even though he has not even had a modern military training… continue reading
By Obang Metho
The celebrations of the Ethiopian Third Millennium going on all over the world have ended, but we still have reason to celebrate! Why? Just this past month, the recently released Kinijit leaders began a tour of the United States, Australia, Africa, Canada and Europe, speaking to thousands of excited Ethiopians in the Diaspora who are hoping that there will now be strong guidance towards stopping the oppression of the people in Ethiopia and instead bringing true freedom, justice, equality and peace to the nation.
Just this week, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the bill H.R.2003 which will directly connect the receipt of financial aid and diplomatic privileges with the upholding of human rights and democracy within the country. This was accomplished despite the alleged huge financial investment Meles and the EPRDF made to the lobbying firm, D.L. Piper, to block the bill’s passage.
More cause for celebration was given when on the same day and close to the same time of the vote on HR 2003, Kinijit leaders and an Ogadeni human rights representative were given the opportunity to testify before The House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, “The Human Rights and Humanitarian Situation in the Horn of Africa: The Cases of Somalia and the Ogaden Region of Ethiopia”
All of these successes can be seen as a great advancement in the struggle, but it is not a time to sit back and rest. There is major work still to be done and we cannot stand by and be spectators, waiting for others to do it for us. Instead, we all must get ready for what may be the most difficult part of our battle for a new Ethiopia—a movement of united people—representative of all Ethiopians—that will bring about the Ethiopia we want for tomorrow. Right now, the celebrations must be quieted and the difficult work of transformation must begin. May God be our leader, guide and protector as each of us humbly carries out whatever our part might be.
Our success, if we are to achieve it, is about all of us doing our share, contributing to the whole, if we are to find our way out of the “valley of the shadow of death” that now encompasses all of Ethiopia. That valley is like a maze that brings us into unknown regions. If we Ethiopians are currently going to find our way out of such dark confusion, it will require the eyes of the Afar, the ears of the Ogadeni, the legs of the Gurage, the hands of the Tigray, the shoulders of Oromo, the head of the Berta, the feet of the Amhara, the arms of the Sidamo, the mouth of the Anuak……and the hearts of each of us to make it safely and completely to the other side. Then we will have cause to celebrate. Until then, our people remain in jeopardy.
Tremendous atrocities—what some now call a genocide—are being perpetrated against the Ogadenis. This is going on today and is a silent Darfur that we must do more than our best to stop before the lives and livelihood of these fellow Ethiopians are destroyed. This should be cause for outrage for all of us. This government’s poison has crossed the border into Somalia and the people there are suffering similarly at the hands of Meles and those under his command. We must speak up for them as well as people of moral courage who are against such evil or we may be found culpable at some later date.
Besides the ongoing human rights abuses and the suppression of the people by Meles, many areas of our country have been victims of natural disasters. Reportedly, 200,000 Ethiopians, from Gambella to Amhara have been affected by the recent flooding—many being displaced or losing their homes, crops and property. To add to this cause of misery, the rate of inflation has been climbing at record speed, causing such hardship that more and more people cannot afford the basics to survive. We have seen recent reports that more and more educated Ethiopians, in particular, those in the medical and health professions, are leaving the country for better opportunity elsewhere, leaving an already crippled health system, even worse off than before even though Mr. Meles Zenawi, says Ethiopia does not need doctors!
Now, with all of these realities, we should know that if this bill, HR#2003, goes to the Senate and becomes law, we can be thankful for what it will accomplish and should heartily congratulate those who worked so hard on this, but please know that the struggle is not over. More importantly, it is critical to recognize that we need the average Ethiopian, not only the politicians, to make themselves available to contribute to creating a better Ethiopia for those who follow us. Ethiopians need to regroup and reorganize. Like when nature struck, it affected seven regions of the country, making it important to work together because what is happening is affecting many of us. Ethiopians on the ground must do the work because we know outsiders have their own interests.
For instance, with Burma, as the monks courageously stood up this past week and said enough to a tyrannical government, it is Ethiopians who must do the same in our own country. If there is a message to the people of Ethiopia it is to be ready to not be a spectator but instead to become an active participant. The Ethiopian problem cannot be solved by one political party, but will require all of us. They deserve our gratefulness for starting this struggle, but now, it will require all groups to come together because one group cannot do it by themselves. Yet, the Kinijit can take a strong stand by reaching out to all Ethiopian organizations. In fact, the most effective way to go forward is with unity, even more than democracy.
For Ethiopians to succeed, problems within organizations, not only within the Kinijit, should be quickly resolved and then each should start by reaching out to others to be coalition builders. Insulting each other, infighting, backbiting and rumormongering will only hold back the new millennium hopes for a new Ethiopia. Instead, it will be through tolerance, putting aside one’s personal interests, agendas and resentments that we will be able to move on. In the meantime, let us remain calm, but persevering in our goals and reflect on some of our strengths as well as the obstacles we must overcome…
An editorial by The Vanguard, a Nigerian newspaper
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EDITORIAL
Rescuing Ethiopia
The Vanguard
ECHOES of tyranny and its attendant discord in Ethiopia have been sources of major concern to democrats from other parts of Africa. Attempts at gagging the opposition have resulted in stiff sentences and convictions of human rights activists and journalists. As is often the case in many parts of the continent, the contentious issue is the result of last May’s elections, which was in favour of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. There have been mass protests. The opposition challenged the results on the streets.
The government was miffed. It ordered police to disperse the unarmed demonstrators with maximum force.
Official figures put the dead at 193, 99 of who were women and children while six police officers were said to have died. In addition, 1,000 demonstrators were wounded. In annoyance, the Zenawi government arrested and arraigned 100 people opposed, to it, for “plotting against the constitution”.
Among the persecuted were members of the Coalition of Unity and Democracy, an opposition party, Professor Mestin Wolde Mariam, founder, Ethiopian Human Rights Council and many others, including some journalists. Last July, 30 accused were sentenced to life imprisonment, five others were sentenced in absentia — two journalists and other s were sentenced to various jail terms.
From the manner the trial was conducted, it is doubtful if the accused persons were given fair hearing. Zenawi did everything to hang those who dissented with him. Abraham Tetmke, state prosecutor, asked the court to impose death penalty on some of the accused just for standing up against official trampling on their political rights.
Zenawi is holding to the power he got 16 years ago, when the military chased Mengistu Hailemariam out of office. Mengistu had been in power for 16 years, following his coup that ended the reign of Haile Selassie, Africa’s longest ruling despot, who ascended the throne at 38 and was killed in the 1975 coup, 45 years on. Zenawi has learnt well. In the past 77 years, he is Ethiopia’s third ruler.
Its development is also indexed on the fact that each of these three rulers spent his time battling for their long stay in power.
National and international umbrage does not seem to matter when the conviction of his perceived political foes is his focus. For Zenawi, the throne is his and no rivals are permitted in what is deemed a democracy. The world must stand up against Zenawi’s conduct. The world is now a global village where every country should abide by civilised conduct. Belated responses to the situations in Iraq, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Liberia allowed them to degenerate to colossal loss of lives and pure agony for those who survived.
International pressure is required to make Ethiopia, where the African Union, with its Human Rights Commission, is ironically still headquartered, to comply with the ideals of the founding fathers of that organisation, ideals rooted in protecting the rights and dignity of our peoples.
President Girma
Speaker of the Woyanne Parliament, Ambassador Teshome Toga said the 3rd year office term of the Parliament would be launched on Oct. 8 2007.
Teshome told ETV on Saturday that “election of a new president would be carried out during the inaugural meeting.”
The joint meeting to elect a new Ethiopian president will be aired Live to people, he added.
President ‘Puppet’ Girma Woldegiorgis’ six-year term has ended this month.
