Today, Meles Zenawi’s kangaroo court is expected to follow-up its June 11th guilty verdict with harsh penalties on the jailed leaders of CUD-Kinijit. Once again Meles seems to have ignored public opinion, international mediation, and even the pleas of the “shimagles” to release the prisoners unconditionally. His latest decision to take his hostages through the sentencing phase comes after months of back-and-forth mediation by the so-called “shimagles.” Predictably, that effort seems to have succeeded only to lure the prisoners into a compromise agreement that they may have committed some mistakes in the May 2005 election fiasco in which the prime minister ordered the indiscriminate massacre of more than 193 peaceful protesters. In his veiled attempt to share the blame for the crimes he committed, it is little wonder that the shifty prime minister once again has lied to the shimagles and the Kinijit leaders into an agreement that he wouldn’t respect.
There should be little doubt that Meles Zenawi is determined to keep these prisoners of conscience in prison for as long as he wishes through lies and subterfuge. It is high time that Ethiopians, Ethiopian-Americans and their friends roll up their sleeves for a long and all out lobbying and political campaign across the world. If the prime minister refuses to release the prisoners and resolve the political impasse in a round table negotiation, then it is incumbent upon us to begin waging a final assault on one of the worst dictatorships on the African continent. First and foremost, we should go after his international financial spigot which has enabled him to run a vicious lobbying, propaganda, security and corrupt state machinery. There is nothing that concerns Meles more than the filling of his begging bowl by European and American alms givers.
Our campaign should primarily focus on exposing the tyranny, corruption, and inhumanity of the regime, as well as isolating its key leaders from the world community. We should, as never before, show the entire world the lies, cunning and malfeasance of the TPLF leadership who have become the “lords of poverty” in an impoverished land. The campaign will target a handful of the leaders of the regime along with their families to be made international pariahs unwelcome anywhere in the world. Their bank accounts shall be frozen and their travels restricted, and held accountable for their crimes against humanity. For starters, the June 21st European Parliament resolution and the pending Congressional House Rule 2003 should be viewed as big steps forward.
Our fight should continue until our heroes in prison are released and become part of the national political reconciliation process. No one should misunderstand that the purpose of our campaign is a fight against a system that has bondaged our people to unspeakable poverty, disease, civil strife, division and unremitting subjugation. We have to stop the continuing killings, tortures, imprisonments, beatings and muzzling of the people by tyrants whose systematic lies and cunning have never been witnessed before in Ethiopian history.
Each one of us should make a solemn pledge to do our part to contribute to the struggle for democracy, unity and freedom in our homeland. All of us who believe in the principles of democracy should promise that we will support the struggle in any capacity we can. To wage our struggle for democracy, unity and freedom, we shall utilize tried and true tactics used by such successful movements as the liberation of South Africa from the oppressive apartheid system.
Apartheid South Africa and Present-day Ethiopia
The fight against tyranny, division and corruption in Ethiopia should be modeled after the struggle that abolished apartheid in South Africa, because both present-day Ethiopia and apartheid South Africa have a lot in common. Consider the following:
1. Ethiopia is divided into tribal homelands as racist South Africa was during the days of apartheid.
2. Both regimes used age-old divide and rule tactics to subjugate their subjects indefinitely by recruiting local stooges like Buthelezi who cow-tow to their whims. In return the cohorts enjoyed the regime’s largesse and lived in comfort and corruption while holding down the masses under them.
3. Just like apartheid South Africa, the Ethiopian dictators use the bulk of their budgets and foreign donations to finance their extensive network of informants, security and military apparatus.
4. Both regimes made adventurous military forays into their neighboring states presumably to fight against insurgents. In South Africa – Angola, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Zambia, the so-called frontline states, were the targets, while in Ethiopia, it is Somalia now, and who knows where it would be next.
5. The South African government squandered millions of tax dollars on lobbying Washington and Europe just as the despotic regime in Ethiopia does now.
6. Both regimes had the United States government behind their backs to give them diplomatic, military and financial support. You may recall President Reagan’s shameful support of apartheid South Africa in the 1980’s ostensibly to counter Soviet expansionism. He even had a name for his South African policy called “constructive engagement.” Today, the Bush Administration uses a similar policy in Ethiopia with a different name called “counter terrorism.” Once again the Unites States administration is on the wrong side of history.
The Reagan administration made a mockery of justice and democracy by supporting a ruthless and corrupt apartheid system. Consequently the administration’s misguided policy helped galvanize the collective conscience of the American people for justice. Universities and churches played a key role in helping the American people to stand up against the South African tyranny. Congress, state houses and cities passed laws to help freedom fighters and human rights advocates incarcerated in South Africa prisons. We can do the same to raise the consciousness of the American people and the international community to take the side of democracy in Ethiopia. So far, we have achieved success in some cities and states including California, Oregon, Massachusetts, the US Congress and the European Parliament, but the effort needs to expand and intensify to bring about the results we want.
This is just an example of what Ethiopians in the Diaspora can do to help fellow countrymen and women overcome the dictatorship that is suffocating them. All we need are organization, know-how and determination which we have in abundance. We don’t even need to match the all-out South African campaign that did crippled the apartheid system because the European Parliament is already on record condemning the Ethiopian dictatorship and the support of the American administration for the incompetent and half-baked former Marxists in Addis Ababa is lukewarm at best. Most of all, the regime is rejected and despised by many democratic countries and every sector of the Ethiopian society including by its own tribal community of origin.
Today the parasitic regime lives off international handouts and donations. Early in 2006, it was widely reported that the regime’s military and security apparatus were in disarray or crumbling because the European Union and the World Bank had suspended their financial assistance in protest of the regime’s abuse of the human and civil rights of its citizens. What is still needed now to bring the regime down on its knees is to once again turn off the tap of its international financial and diplomatic support. In short, our action plans include:
1. Organizing campaign and lobbying groups in cities, states, universities and churches.
2. Work to get the World Bank and the international community to refrain from propping up the regime with their financial assistance.
3. Identifying the key leaders of the regime, like Meles-Bereket-Sebhat, and expose their crimes.
4. Persuading the United States and European countries to restrict travel privileges of the key leaders and their families.
5. Seeking the assistance of the international community to find the bank accounts of the leaders and persuading them to freeze their assets.
6. Campaigning for the boycott of the businesses of the leaders and their associates.
It is important to know that history is on our side. The world is sick and tired of dictatorships and the poverty, strife, dislocation and human misery they cause. Today, the international community is well aware of the human rights abuse, political turmoil and the attendant misery in Ethiopia. We have lots of conscientious, determined and capable fellow citizens prepared to lead this campaign to free our people from one of the worst dictatorial regimes in the world.
It is sad we have to resort to such extreme measures that may also impact the reputation of our country in the long run. However, we hope against hope that the Meles regime will see the potential damage such a wide range and worldwide protest would engender and come to its senses. If not, then fellow Ethiopians, we have our work cut out for us. Let us get on with it and pledge ourselves to do our part and contribute whatever we can to bring democracy to our long-suffering fellow citizens and gain the release of the elected representatives of the people.
Ethiopians and Ethiopian-Americans for a Democratic Ethiopia (EEDE) [email protected]
A retired Norfolk State professor awaits his fate in Ethiopia. Dr. Yacob Hailemariam left NSU and returned to his native country to run for office. Even though he won he was still jailed by the ruling regime.
That was a year ago. Now an international effort is going down to the wire to save his life. The court process has gone on now for months however the former professor could know his fate as early as tomorrow.
It has been an agonizing year not only for Hailemariam, but for his family.
“It’s very much up and down,” said Hailemariam’s daughter Seyenie Yacob. “You hear things that might be a little bit hopeful here and there, so you get excited and then it doesn’t come through.”
Seyenie worries about her father who is more than 7,200 miles away. He could be sentenced to death by the Ethiopian government. Hailemariam retired from NSU in 2005 and decided to run for a parliament seat in his native country. Not only did he win, he became the instant leader of his party. However he never took his seat in office. The ruling government threw him in jail and charged him with treason.
“We knew that there was going to be many challenges and risks,” added Seyenie.
Hailemariam was convicted in June. He’s now waiting to be sentenced. Seyenie was able to visit her dad in March.
“It was very tough especially cause I had not seen him in over a year,” said Seyenie. “I saw him in a very public setting for the first time with the other fellow prisoners.”
The U.S. is trying to help out. Trying to free a man who just wanted to help people who were in desperate need of help. He did that by taking a risk, a risk his daughter says is worth it.
“Big changes like this don’t happen easily for any country,” added Seyenie. “We are really hoping that he will be a part of something great for Ethiopia one day.”
Seyenie says her father has no regrets about leaving NSU and heading back to Ethiopia. Amnesty International, a human right organization is working very hard to see that he is released. Of course we’ll keep you posted.
Or so it is spoken of by many. So the road from Nairobi to Ethiopia, is supposed to be tough, really tough. I met a guy, the morning I was leaving, who came from North to South, and he simply said, “it’s a test.” So many travelers come in from the journey, beat and worn, with dust on their faces and embedded in their clothes. I will say that in all honesty, I was nervous before setting out. Perhaps that is why I took so long in Kenya. Regardless, however, I did set out last Sunday from Nairobi, entering upon what has been my greatest adventure thus far.
So this is how it works. From Nairobi to the border with Ethiopia (at a town called Moyale) is 901 km. The first 400 or so of that is all good road, tarmack with few potholes. There is constant transport on this stretch of road which starts in Nairobi, and ends in a small trucker town called Isiolo, which by all accounts was supposed to be a very scary place. It was, in some ways, but people like to exaggerate. But I’ll get to that. So I left Nairobi on Sunday, around 11a.m. to Isiolo. I arrived into Isiolo at about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. The ride was easy, and once I got there the people were a bit grabby, but it was nothing too bad. This leads to part two.
Part two goes like this. Once in Isiolo it is 508km to the border. The problem, however, is that there is no tarmac, really no road, for all of those 508km. There is nothing, leaving lorries (big cargo trucks) as the only real option for travel. Most lorries arrive into Isiolo from Nairobi between midnight and 4a.m. so obviously when I arrived, I was too early. I met a couple “brokers” (guys who find trucks for people for a small fee), and one agreed that he could get me a ride in the afternoon, around 6. Having nowhere to go, I hung out in some back alley cafe, read and wrote a little, and waited. After about an hour I got antsy and decided to walk around the town a bit (this will become important later, so just bear with me), and I did. The town is poor, most definitely, and there are a ton of street kids puffing glue and grown men chewing mirra (it is a local legal drug), which turns their mouths green and their eyes bright red. Still, I encountered no problems, even as I walked in the back alleys. While walking I met this woman named Mariam, a local shop owner. I sat with her and her sister for a while, stumbling through a conversation. About a half hour later, two young men came by, we were introduced, and I was invited up to their apartment–I went. They were great guys, both of which spoke good English. We hung out, talked about music and politics, and whatever else, and then I left to meet my transport.
Ready to leave I showed up at the stage, and of course, there was no vehicle. I was told something happened but that I should come back around 2a.m. I was pissed, but without options, I started thinking and decided to go back to Ibrahim’s apartment, to ask if I could stay ’till early morning. He obliged happily, thank God, and I was treated to dinner by Mariam. Ibrahim and I watched movies until late night, and then passed out for a couple hours. At 2a.m., I walked back over to the stage, and guess what, there was no vehicle. I waited and waited, drunkards and drugees all around, all of which were friendly though, I must say, and finally the transport arrived, but guess what? It wouldn’t take me, haha. I waited for lorries that were supposedly on their way, but which never came. At 6a.m. I gave up, and went back to Ibrahim’s. I slept most of the day, and waited for phone calls which never came about trucks. Finally at around 7pm I went back out to the stage.
I’ll shorten this up, but it suffices to say that at midnight, I finally got a lorry with a couple of guys I had met heading to Marsabit town, half way to the border. It was an amazing experience. There were about 20 – 25 of us, packed into the cargo bin, surrounded by mounds of sugar and other cargo. I won’t say it was comfortable, but it wasn’t bad. It did rain, but a small tarp covered us partly, so it was alright. It was so beautiful, watching the stars above and the nothingness around. I can’t describe it.
We went on like that for the next 10 hours, passing through small wild west looking towns and national parks, until finally we reached Marsabit. At first I was going to try and catch another lorry immediately to the border, but I was too tired, and there was no transport, so I took a room close by and slept. I’m glad I did. Marsabit is beautiful. It is high in the mountains, which is an amazing contrast to the vast desert and plains that surround the range on all sides. Because it is so isolated the people have maintained their cultures very well, and people dressed in tradtional tribal wear, piercings and all, can be seen all over town. It is really quite impressive. Besides the cultural aspect, I was also told of a Catholic Shrine up on this hill in the mountains, so I went. It is gorgeous, and no doubt one of the holiest places I have ever been. You can feel God everywhere.
Due to liking the place I decided to stay in Marsabit an extra day, making Thursday the day of my next expected travel. Thursday morning I went out to the stage to wait for trucks that were supposed to come by 7am. Surprise, surprise, they didn’t come. I waited and waited, and nothing. I started to get antsy again, especially because my money was running very short, and i was fearing having to pay another night. At about noon, I was starting to give up, but God, who is so good, sent me a great gift. Right after I finished eating my lunch, a small truck came up. I asked if they were going to Moyale, and they said no, but pointed to a small pick up about 400 yards away that was leaving right then. No one has ever seen me run so fast. I got to the truck, and began asking questions. They were going, but the guy managing the truck was not having it. He asked for my passport, made faces at me, and basically said no. Thank God, I had been waiting with this gentleman all morning, a local, who took to my aid. He began asking the man for me, pleading my case, until finally I got the ok. It was the greatest ride ever. What I hadn’t realized was the following. The truck was a government truck, which meant that we were riding for free. Secondly, the ride, which was supposed to take 20 hours or so to the border in a lorry, took six, and a comfortable six at that.
The ride itself was impressive. We dropped out of the mountains into the desert, and for the next 6 hours, that is all we saw–endless desert. Absolute nothingness. There were a few tribes here and there, and tons of camel, but during that whole time, I saw only two towns, both of which could not have consisted of more than 300 people. It felt like Mad Max’s world. (and actually it is in many ways. Throughout the region there has been much fighting. Soldiers can be seen all over. As recently as 3 or 4 months ago there was fighting between tribes, mostly over water and grazing rights. but all was well, and many of the problems that existed do not now, or at least at the present moment.)
I arrived into Moyale at around 7pm (sorry this is so long, but this part is cool), and since the border was closed by that time, I had to stay the night in Kenya. I got a hotel with the man that helped me get the truck (his name was Simon), and woke up as early as I could to cross the border, which was really pointless since, and I didn’t know this before hand, the Ethiopian side didn’t open until 8am. I waited, ha, and actually I forgot, but once I got into immigration, the guy working had no idea, and I mean no idea what he was doing, so I had to process myself, haha. I took over the computer, and began typing everything in, and this at his begging. For some reason the system wasn’t working so someone else processed me, and hour later, manually, but the funny thing, is the original guy kept begging me to come in and explain the system to him. I left.
Ethiopia struck me at once, but there are so many things that I love about this country that it will have to be another blog itself.
So now the next part of the trip. I wanted to get to Addis (the capital) to sort out money and figure out what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. The problem is the distance is like 900km, and transport is scarce. I waited four hours at a roadblock, until finally, at around 2pm, I got a truck carrying camels to take me. We road out of the flatlands and into the mountains. Unfortunately, the truck sucked, and broke down within the first 2 hours. After about a half hour, they fixed it, and we carried on, from town to town, mountain to mountain.
It is important to note that I speak no Amharic (the national language), and the guys I was riding with spoke no English (or Spanish, surprisingly, haha), so communication was difficult. After a while, I did ascertain, however, that they were actually going closer to Addis than I had initially asked them to take me, so I asked if I could ride with them as close to Addis as possible, and they said ok. We rode, and rode, and rode, and rode, and rode. We rode through the night, and the early morning. They asked me if they could borrow $20 for fuel, and I gave it to them, under the condition that they gave me collateral, and promised to pay it back that day. They said ok, and we were all happy. We kept driving north, so I was happy. What I didn’t realize, however, was that they could not pay me back until they made the sale of their camels, and another thing I didn’t know was that that sale, was to take place about 200km east of the capital. I never noticed them taking a right off our main road, and so it came to pass that at 7am or so, I found myself in a town, far off my original course, though unknowing, involved in a camel trade, haha.
I have never been in such a situation. The trade took about 2 hours, because bargaining, and unloading the animals took so long, plus one of the camels died upon arrival (it was sad and gross), and we had to, self included, take it out to the fields where it was to be devoured by vultures (there were carcasses all around). What an experience!!! Finally after the sale, I got my money, we had breakfast, and I was told where we were. I got pissed. They knew I wanted to go to Addis, and they took me so far out of my way. I got really upset, and then I came to a decision. On the map, I was far from the Capital, but I was relatively close to a city I wanted to visit called Harar(about 200km). So, totally off the cuff, I decided to just go to Harar first. I left the guys, and thank God again, got a free ride from a rich local Muslim family, who fed me and let me sleep.
Alas, after another small mini bus ride, I arrived into Harar on Saturday afternoon, six days after leaving Nairobi, and that is where I find myself now. I will say that it has all worked out. It turns out that the city is celebrating it’s thousandth anniversary over the course of these four days, and so it is packed with people and cool cultural things. I have made local friends, and am having a great time.
I am well, I have much more to write, but I have no more time. Take care. Sorry this was so long, but I hope you got some enjoyment from it.
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Insurgents threw grenades at Somali government soldiers in Mogadishu’s Bakara market on Sunday, and the troops responded by firing their weapons indiscriminately, witnesses said.
It was the second straight day of attacks in Bakara, famed as the site of one of the world’s biggest open-air arms markets, which has thrived in the anarchy the Horn of Africa nation has suffered since 1991.
“Five grenade explosions have occurred in Bakara market. Some of them we directed at government forces but they injured no one. I don’t know if there are any civilian casualties,” senior police officer Ali Nur told Reuters.
A Reuters reporter saw troops firing heavy machineguns from their trucks after the grenades were hurled. He saw one land near some troops patrolling near the Shabelle radio station.
“Government troops are firing indiscriminately after several hand grenades were thrown at them. Some of the troops are looting people. It’s total chaos here,” said one shopkeeper who declined to be named.
“I don’t know who they are firing at. Bakara is becoming a battlefield.”
Many businesspeople have complained that soldiers, who are often unpaid for months, have taken their property at gunpoint. The government has declined to comment.
A grenade attack on Saturday in Bakara wounded five people. Somali and allied Ethiopian soldiers on Thursday and Friday swept through the market seizing weapons.
They say it is a hideout for insurgents, including militant Islamists, who have increasingly attacked the government, employing Iraq-style guerrilla tactics including assassinations, roadside blasts and suicide bombings.
Police in Golden Valley detained a 21-year-old man sought for questioning in the stabbing death of a woman at her Crystal City (Minnesota) home early Saturday, authorities said.
Rahina Mohamed, 45, was found dead by her husband, Abdisalam Abdullahi, when he returned home from his second-shift job at an Edina hospital shortly before 1 a.m., said Crystal Police Capt. Dave Oyaas.
The young man was picked up about 5:20 p.m. Oyaas didn’t identify the man as a suspect but said he could become a suspect.
Police said there was no evidence of forced entry to the home and no murder weapon was found.
Rahina came to America from Ethiopia in 1982 at age 18 with her 20-year-old husband, whom she had married in a refugee camp. They were among the first Oromo people to settle in Minnesota, where the largest contingent of Oromo people in the nation now live.
Hundreds of Oromo immigrants went to the home of the victim’s sister in Brooklyn Park to mourn. They said Rahina had helped many immigrants from Oromia, a region of Ethiopia, adjust to life in America.
Abdullahi said he spoke to his wife from work about 7 p.m. Friday and again about an hour later, when she wished him good night. He said police were verifying the times on his cell phone, which they had taken. Mohamed’s mother spoke to her about 11 p.m., relatives said, and all was well.
Abdullahi said when he arrived home from work, he saw lights on in the kitchen and garage that she usually turned off late, and knew something was wrong. Inside, he saw that a door from the house into the garage was open. He said he found his wife dead in the living room.
“I lost my heart,” Abdullahi said, sobbing as relatives tried to comfort him Saturday afternoon. “She’s my heart.”
Rahina had no known enemies and was honest, peaceful and religious, praying five times a day in devotion to her Islamic faith, her husband and many others said. They said she never hesitated to help other immigrants by providing money, clothes and advice. And she worked to preserve the cultural traditions of Oromia, where she continued to send money to help people.
“It is a very, very huge shock in our community — this is horrible for us,” said Mahdi Ahmed, a leader of Oromo immigrants in Minnesota.
Dallas, Texas – The North America chapter of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit) has formed a Kinijit Youth League on Thursday at a conference in Dallas.
According to Kinijit North America (KNA) officials, the Youth League was formed by representatives from several states who gathered in Dallas and drafted the organization’s objectives and bylaws.
At the end of the founding conference, a 3-member provisional executive team was formed. The main objective of the executive team is to organize Kinijit Youth League chapters through out the world, particularly in college and university campuses.
Tesfaye Mamo from Washington DC was elected to chair the executive team. Mikael Deribe from Boston and Tsega Besha from Washington DC were elected to service as vice-chairman and secretary.
The Kinijit Youth League was inaugurated by Ato Berhane Mewa, Secretary General of Kinijit International Leadership, Professor Alemayehu Gebre-Mariam and artist Tamagn Beyene.
Ato Berhane said that the party’s jailed leaders in Qaliti will be happy to hear about the formation of the Youth League.
The creation of the Youth League is a major development for the party and Ethiopian politics. It could play a major role in mobilizing resources, as well as serving as a recruiting ground for future Kinijit leaders.
Young members of Kinijit who fled to Kampala, Uganda, sent a message to the conference expressing their wish to be part of the Youth League.
The young leadership of Kinijit North America led by Ato Aklog Lemeneh has been quietly working to expand the party’s structure abroad. Recently, it helped create Women’s League. The Youth League is the latest effort of the KNA to widen Kinijit’s constituent base and make the party a genuine grassroots popular movement.
