If you are angry at the Woyanne kangaroo court’s decision against Andualeam Arage and others, here is the chance to do some thing about it. Turn your anger into action.
Patriotic Ethiopians in the Washington DC area are organizing a protest rally against the Al Amoudi blood money festival that will start this coming Sunday, July 1.
The purpose of the protest is to disrupt and make the event fail because:
1. Al Amoudi and the Woyanne junta are thieves and mass murderers.
2. The $2 million that is being spent for the festival is stolen from the people of Ethiopia.
3. It is a Woyanne political event under the cover of sports that is intended to divide the Ethiopian community in the Diaspora.
4. Al Amoudi and the Woyanne junta continue to commit gross injustice against the people of Ethiopia.
Give voice to our voiceless people in Ethiopia by participating in the protest rally Sunday.
Date: July 1, 2012.
Time፡ 5፡00 PM
Place: RFK Stadium, Washington DC.
Regardless of whether the use of mass protests, strikes, boycotts, sabotage or nonviolent coercion… is chosen as the primary mechanism for gaining total liberation, violence against any other human being must be avoided in a strategic nonviolence campaign… [read more]
KHARTOUM (AFP) — About 1,000 people were detained and hundreds injured — many by tear gas — during anti-regime protests on Friday in Sudan, an activist group said on Saturday’s anniversary of President Omar al-Bashir’s coup.
The information minister called the protesters “rioters” who threaten the country’s stability.
“Some were arrested and released,” said an official from the Organisation for Defence of Rights and Freedoms.
The organisation’s figures indicate a dramatic rise in the number of arrests on Friday, the 14th day of anti-regime demonstrations sparked by inflation.
“The figure of those arrested before yesterday (Friday) was about 1,000 in the whole country,” said the official who asked not to be identified because of the tense situation.
Many are still being held in prisons or “ghost houses,” the location of which is unknown, he alleged.
“They don’t tell you where they are. You are not even allowed to ask,” he said.
One of those detained is Sudanese journalist Talal Saad, who had brought some freelance photos of the protests to the AFP bureau in Khartoum on Friday.
Armed national security agents raided the bureau, ordered AFP’s correspondent to delete the photos and took Saad away.
He has been unreachable for about 21 hours.
Police said in a statement that “some of the rioters” were arrested and would be brought to trial after “small groups” demonstrated in Khartoum and elsewhere.
Police contained the situation “with a minimum use of force,” they said.
The Organisation for Defence of Rights and Freedoms said “a few hundred” people were injured during the Friday protests.
Many elderly people were affected by tear gas, but other injuries came from rubber bullets, tear gas canisters or beatings, the Rights and Freedoms official said.
Information Minister Ghazi Al-Sadiq issued an appeal for people “not to allow the rioters to undermine security and stability of the Sudan.”
In a statement on the official SUNA news agency, he said Sudanese have the right to peaceful expression without resorting to violence “to allow the enemies to exploit these protests to carry out foreign agendas against the country.”
Activists had called for a major day of protest on Friday.
In one key disturbance, witnesses said police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of peaceful protesters who had gathered in Hijra Square beside the mosque of the opposition Umma party in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman.
One witness said demonstrators carried Sudanese flags and banners reading “The people want the regime to fall,” a slogan used by protesters during the Arab Spring uprisings against regional strongmen over the past year.
They burned tires and threw stones at police before running for cover, the witness said.
Similar running battles between protesters and police took place elsewhere in Khartoum, the witness added.
International criticism of Sudan’s crackdown increased on Friday with Canada’s top diplomat expressing concern.
“We condemn the arrests of bloggers, journalists and political activists that have taken place over the last week and call for their immediate release,” Foreign Minister John Baird said.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has urged the government to avoid “heavy-handed suppression” of protests and to immediately release those detained for exercising their rights to freedom of assembly and expression.
Britain and the United States have also sought the release of those detained for peaceful protest.
On June 30, 1989, Bashir seized power from democratically elected prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, who currently leads the Umma party.
Bashir was declared winner of a multi-party election in 2010, but observers from the European Union and the US-based Carter Centre said the ballot failed to come up to international standards.
Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide allegedly committed in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.
He has played down the demonstrations as small-scale and not comparable to the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and elsewhere, maintaining that he himself remains popular.
The headlines screamed ‘Ethiopian court convicts 24 of terrorism charges’. As usual it was a misleading and incorrect statement. There is no such animal called Ethiopian court. There is a TPLF controlled judicial arrangement in Ethiopia. Prime Minster Meles and his politburo are the directors behind the scene of this farce. For the last twenty-one years they have been using the power of the state to marginalize, terrorize, demean and undermine the Ethiopian citizen. We are so used to their bullying the average Ethiopian does not even dwell on it. We make that peculiar noise with our lips you know that hissing sound and move on.
Our brothers Eskinder Nega, Andualem Arage, Wubshet Taye our sister Reyot Alemu and the others whose names are not publicized were convicted for exercising their right to speak and write freely. They only used their voice and their choice of weapon was the pen and paper. There was no evidence to show otherwise. Ato Eskinder has the audacity to speculate the chance of Arab Spring migrating to Ethiopia. Ato Andualem was simply trying to organize and recruit people to his legally recognized party. Reyot and Wubshet were doing their job as journalist and reporter. In any other country this is a normal and routine kind of job. But we are not like any other country or any other people. Our Ethiopia has always been different. Not only we got strange and bizarre leaders but we also have a different breed of people.
Yes we are different both inside Ethiopia and in the Diaspora. A vast majority of us have decided to accept shame as normal behavior and we even celebrate it loudly and wear it with pride. We victimize each other our country and people and we are the first ones to holler foul. It is done so much and so often it is becoming a little boring. I am afraid we have lost any semblance of respect for our selves and what is sad is others are losing respect for both victim and victimizer. They deserve each other is what comes to mind.
Asians have this philosophy referred to as Ying and Yang to describe how opposites are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world. Nothing is totally yin or totally yang. Female and male, dark and light, cold and hot, water and fire are manifestations of yin and yang. ‘Just as the state of yin is reached yang begins to grow. Yin contains seed of yang and vice versa. They constantly transform each other. The classics state ‘yin creates yang and yang activates yin’. I am afraid that philosophy is not true in our country. Our yin and yang are not in balance. The harmonious change envisioned in the philosophy has gone haywire when it comes to us. Too much of one is bound to weaken and consume the other. That is happening in our society. This phenomenon is so clearly manifested in the Ethiopian Diaspora community.
Let us start with our yearly soccer tournament. It is such a beautiful and positive activity that it has energized our community for the last twenty-five years or more. It should be our pride and a showcase of how much good we can do when we work together. Unfortunately it is also the other side of us where a few can use this positive energy for negative purpose. Those that have been leading the organization have been using the proceeds as cash cow and also as a vehicle to undermine our unity and sell our country to the highest bidder. We let them do that. We see, we hear but we choose to be silent. We have this notion that ignoring bad deed will make it go away.
Thus the Ethiopian Soccer Federation in North America (ESFNA) governing body at long last voted to start fresh and reform this rogue outfit. Of course those who are so used to working behind the scene in the dark were not willing to go silently. They were taken to a real court that ordered to cease and deceit from using the name of the organization and also answer a few question regarding finances and book keeping. What did they do? They went to their sugar daddy and applied for welfare. The same person that is fully integrated with that other rogue outfit called the TPLF supposedly gave them $2 million US to carry out their mission of dividing us and setting us against each other. They, like their father and mentor Meles Zenawi do not believe in self-imitative but run to the nearest welfare donor to get their funding. He sells our land, borrow in our name and steals in consort with his friends, sells our daughters to Middle East degenerates and ours squander their payment in renting stadium to entertain the rich and greedy. Money can buy you anything including entertainers that got their start from the Diaspora but now serve a new master to undermine their benefactors. Definitely Yin and yang are not in harmony or in balance.
If we look at our Church in exile it is something to be proud of. It is a place where our rich culture and ancient religion is celebrated like never before. It is a place where our fathers and mothers in exile find peace and happiness and every week and mentally transport themselves to that place they call home. It is a place where our children learn how social we are and how we respect and value our culture and country. It is such a beautiful feeling to see our children come in front of the congregation when they graduate from high school to be blessed by the priest and proudly inform us their choice of college. Then we have the troublemakers in every city and town. Their mission is to disrupt and divide us. There is no church spared from these prince’s of darkness that scheme behind the scene and attempt to take over the leadership. If that does not succeed they have no qualms in waging a relentless war to undermine and weaken and disparage all those that stand between them and their evil scheme. Our city is going thru such a painful process and it is sad to see families and friends in turmoil. Most of us allow them to do that by our silence and apathy. It is another instance yin and yangs are not in harmony.
A few days ago we had a fund raising activity for ESAT and also celebrate Ato Abebe’s heroic stand for his people and country by exposing the tyrant in front of his enablers and the whole world. There was no question a vast majority of our people was empowered by his action. There are most certainly over ten thousand Ethiopians in the Bay area where the event was held. Less than two hundred brave souls showed up to help raise fund to make ESAT a powerful force in the struggle against tyranny. A good amount was collected from those who came. We are happy and grateful. But I find it odd that out of all these country and freedom loving folks only a handful showed up. Why do you think it is so?
They all seem to harbor negative feelings against the TPLF regime. It is odd to meet some one that would speak favorably regarding the actions of the dictator or his polices. Every Starbucks and every coffee house is full of these talkers parsing the actions of the TPLF party. How come they don’t take the next logical step, which is to help bring this ugly regime to its knees? Why is there such a wide gulf between talk and action? Here is what President Obama said on his visit to the Holocaust Memorial in Washington a few months back speaking of the victims of nazi horror:
He said “Let us tell our children not only how they died, but also how they lived—as fathers and mothers, and sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters who loved hoped and dreamed just like us — we must tell our children about how this evil was allowed to happen – because so many people succumbed to their darkest instincts, and because so many others stood silent – We must tell our children. But more than that, we must teach them. Because remembrance without resolve is a hollow gesture. Awareness without action changes nothing. In this sense, “never again” is a challenge to us all—to pause and to look within.”
‘Awareness without action changes noting’ is the key phrase and that is what is escaping us. That is so many of us talk but are unable to move beyond that. We kid ourselves or we expect someone else to do the job for us. Is that why when Kinijit kicked Woyane’s ass so many people were pushing each other to get to the center of the action? We had a visitor to our church from Canada. Abune Michael of Calgary gave a memorable sermon a few Sundays back. What stuck in my mind was his saying ‘meswatenet yelelew emnet’ or belief without sacrifice I believe that is ying without yang.
Fear not all is not lost. We also have our Ethiopian Heritage Society of North America (EHSNA). They are celebrating their second anniversary from July 27-29 in Washington DC. Last years event with Judge Bertukan Mideksa was a huge success. This is one venue where our flag fly high our culture is celebrated with all its diversity and our history is told with all its glory. It is a family affair and our young ones and children are given the respect and attention they deserve. The March 2012 Adwa Victory celebration organized by EHSNA gave our ancestors gallant effort the highest honor reserved for such Herculean deed. We salute the organizers for shining a bright light on our accomplishments as people in this time of doom and gloom. This is one organization that is trying to bring balance between our yin and yang. We can see perfect harmony between the opposites.
Each one of us is faced with a choice. We can be carriers of change or we can follow the path of destruction. Change does not happen without effort. Those that are hell bent in bullying and dividing us are not going to leave voluntarily. No one willingly gives up his privileged position. It has never happened. They are unable or unwilling to see the freedom train coming at them at full speed. That is what happened to Mubarak, Gadaffi faithfully believed his people loved him and we see Assad for some reason thinking that he can save himself and his clan by killing all Syrians if necessary. Dictators are a rare breed of people. Meles honestly believes he can last a while longer. Locked in his palace surrounded by his yes men reading his own review and watching his one channel TV he is intoxicated by his own lies. Twenty-one years is a long time to be isolated from normal people. It is possible to create ones own make believe world.
How come we see Libya, Egypt, Yemen and now Syria and do not learn? How come we do not work a little harder to avoid such catastrophe? Why do we allow Eskinder, Andualem and all the other fellow Ethiopians pay the price on our behalf? How come we are unable to say no and show outrage at such act of injustice by a handful of people? Do you think Meles jailed our brothers and sister or do you think we allowed him to do such ugly deed due to our indifference and apathy? Is the blame on the dictator or on the vast majority that lets him gets away with this criminal act? I am sure we are all disgusted with this farce of jailing people for life because they spoke what the regime does not approve of. What is next, to go to prison accused of bad thought? Why not the dictator has no incentive not to follow that route. He knows we will take it silently. Didn’t we when Professor Asrat was denied medical treatment, when Asefa Maru was gunned down, when Judge Bertukan was jailed twice, when Gambella was sold, when our children are left to die in the jungles of Central Africa and their bodies scatted on the highways of Tanzania and the waters of Lake Malawi or Gulf of Aden? Yes no question about it we are responsible for the jailing of Eskinder and all the rest. Frankly I am bored and tired of shifting the blame.
Further reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ying_and_Yang
At a time when many Ethiopians in the Diaspora are disenchanted with President Obama’s gestures toward the Ethiopian tyrant Meles Zenawi, it is ironic that the work of an Ethiopian scholar, Dr. Berhanu Alemayehu, is cited as significant scientific evidence supporting the concurring opinion of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) decision. The article Dr. Berhanu co-wrote with Dr. Kenneth Warner, “The Lifetime Distribution of Health Care Costs”, was cited approvingly as evidence of the skyrocketing cost of health care in the U.S. The citation to the article follows the majority opinion which ends on p. 59. Justice Ginsburg’s concurring opinion immediately follows and the citation to the article appears on p. 4.
Asked about the significance of the citation, Professor Al Mariam of California State University, San Bernardino, wrote: “While such citation in a U.S. Supreme Court opinion may not mean a whole lot to those in the scientific community, those of us in the legal community appreciate its significance in the outcome of one of the most important constitutional cases of recent decades. It is a great honor to have one’s work cited by the highest court in the U.S. on such an important issue. I am sure there were thousands of other scientific studies on health care costs the Court could have cited, but Dr. Berhanu’s article was selected because it made a special impression. We should all be proud of Dr. Berhanu for his exemplary scientific work.”
It is common knowledge that most Ethiopians in the Diaspora have stellar records of unparalleled sacrifice and unrelenting tenacity in their fight against tyranny and injustice perpetrated by successive authoritarian regimes in their native land. It is therefore befitting that the work of one such remarkable Ethiopian is used to support a landmark decision that will positively impact the lives of millions in his adopted country.
It may be recalled that Ethiopian-Americans passionately supported Barrack Obama’s presidential bid in 2008, and were optimistically inspired by his promise of support for those fighting against tyranny and injustice all over the world. Unfortunately, the misguided policies of his administration toward Zenawi and the continuing association of the Pentagon with the dictator as an ally “against terror”, have caused many Ethiopian-Americans to reevaluate their support and options in the coming presidential election.
Many observers now believe that Ethiopian-Americans have a unique opportunity to assert their electoral potency in the upcoming elections in the various swing states. It is important that all Ethiopian-Americans who stand for democracy, freedom and human rights should demand of their congressional candidates and presidential contenders before the November 2012 election to officially censure Meles Zenawi’s regime for its continuing abuses of human rights and denial of the democratic rights of the people.
(The writer, Selam Beyene, Ph.D., can be reached at beyene50@gmail.com)
In some cases, such as that of Ethiopian Review, it’s apparent why official frustration at the media boils over. The US-based website, the Ethiopian Review is virulently opposed to Meles’s regime, which has ruled the country since helping overthrow a Marxist military junta in 1991. It publishes a torrent of anti-government agitprop. Last year, Saudi billionaire Mohamed al-Amoudi, who invests huge amounts in the nation he was born in, won about $272,000 in damages in a British court from Elias Kifle, the website’s owner, after it falsely accused him online of hunting down his errant daughter so she could be stoned to death. Ethiopian Review’s “insurgent journalism” and outspoken criticism from the likes of Fiteh make them enemies of the state in a divisive political landscape. “They still have the guerrilla mindset,” a local journalist says about the former rebels now in charge. “They think the free media is the enemy of them.” … [read more]
