ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia’s Ministry of Mines on Tuesday announced the discovery of a mine containing more than 40 tonnes of gold deposit worth 1.7 billion dollars (1.1 billion euros).
The state-run Ethiopian News Agency reported that the new find, announced by the ministry of mines and energy, will require some 200 million dollars to extract and process.
“Geological survey indicates that… an estimated 500 tonnes of gold deposit is found in the country,” the agency said, providing a figure for the whole of Ethiopia.
Some 44 companies are engaged in gold exploration, earning Ethiopia about 105 million dollars in export every year.
“No alternative in the opposition,” they whispered anonymously. What a disgusting phrase to use in justifying support for a ruthless dictatorship? That is apparently the scuttlebutt on Embassy Row in Addis Abeba. Reuters’ Barry Malone reported last week, “Most Western governments want Meles to continue because there is no alternative in the opposition. As long as the elections are semi-democratic, they’ll probably stay quiet, keep giving aid, hope for liberalisation of the economy and leave full democracy for later.” Is this the ultimate proof of the triumph of Western moral relativism, hypocrisy and skullduggery in Ethiopia and Africa? Is this the new 21st Century Western paradigm of moral capitulation and appeasement of evil? Is the West going to a moral hellhole in a hand basket?
We now have a clear answer to a question that had puzzled us for the past two decades: Why do Western governments and their multilateral lending institutions support Zenawi’s dictatorship with billions of dollars in loans and foreign aid? Answer: Because “there is no alternative in the opposition!” Why do they turn a blind eye to the gross violations of human rights in Ethiopia? Turn a deaf ear to the bootless cries of the thousands of Ethiopian political prisoners rotting in Zenawi’s jail? Pretend to be mute on Birtukan Midekssa’s unjust imprisonment? Prop up a regime that ruthlessly decimates its opposition, crushes the free press, chokes civil society organizations, squanders and defalcates foreign aid and loans and lords imperiously over a famine-ravaged country? Why do “most Western governments want Meles to continue?” Answer: “Because there is no alternative in the opposition!”
It is agonizing to finally come face to face with the banality of depraved Western diplomatic indifference in Addis Abeba. It is heartbreaking to learn that Western governments have earnestly resolved to humanize and normalize a brutal regime while preaching to Africans in forked tongue that their dictators are on the wrong side of morality and history. They shed crocodile tears for the victims of African dictators. They comfort the helpless and frightened African masses with sweet words of hope and grand promises of democratic renaissance. Now we have come to find out that the hypocrites are secretly in bed with the very dictators they condemn in public! It must be true that “politics makes for strange bedfellows.”
The “no alternative in the opposition” Western diplomatic mantra and mindset could have devastating consequences on Ethiopia and other African countries suffering under the stranglehold of dictatorial rule. It means the seeds of the rule of law will die on the barren soil of African dictatorships; that totalitarianism and police states are morally justified and compelled in Africa whenever Western governments conclude there are “no alternatives in the opposition”; that state-sponsored violence and repression are necessary moral imperatives for the nurturance of an “emerging democracy”; and that dictatorship is necessary to save Ethiopians, and Africans in general, from themselves. Simply stated, the triumph of dictatorship in Africa is a necessary precondition for the rapture of democracy in Africa. Such has become the pitiful logic of moral decay and duplicity of Western governments in Africa today!
Of course, the whole notion of “no alternative in the opposition” is absurd and patently false in its premise and conclusion. There is definitely a viable alternative it the opposition in Ethiopia, but Zenawi ruthlessly eliminates and roots out any opposition before it poses a real challenge to him. Birtukan Midekksa and her Unity, Democracy and Justice party represent a viable opposition; but a year ago Zenawi jailed Birtukan for life on the ridiculous charge of denying a pardon. Medrek, an alliance of eight parties, is a viable opposition, but Zenawi refuses to jointly develop a consensus-based election code of conduct with it. He wants to shove down the opposition’s throat his own self-serving election code of conduct while grandstanding for Western governments that he is willing, ready and able to have free and fair elections.
Zenawi has completely paralyzed the real opposition by intimidation and brutal repression. Just last week, “documents were given to Reuters by four opposition parties listing [450] prisoners’ names, the dates on which they were arrested and the jails in which they were being held.” Gizachew Shiferaw, deputy leader of the Unity for Democracy and Justice party told Reuters, “These jailings stop our members running in elections. It has become a strategy for the ruling party. Ethiopia is a one-party state.” The All Ethiopia Unity Organization has recorded seven politically-motivated murders of its members over the last 12 months. Last month, Ethiopia’s former president, Dr. Negasso Gidada, presented a mound of anecdotal evidence documenting the complete absence of a “level playing field” for the 2010 “election”. If there is “no alternative in the opposition,” as the Western governments claim, it is because a real opposition can not survive in a totalitarian police state!
In the Catch-22 diplomatic netherworld of Addis Abeba, the strategy is obvious: “It is better to deal with a devil you know than an angel you do not know.” In Ethiopia’s case, one must grudgingly give the “devil his due.” For the past two decades, Western governments have been confounded, hoodwinked, bambozzled, bluffed, duped, manipulated, seduced, beguiled, flim-flammed and sandbagged by a master of deception into believing that there is “no alternative in the opposition”.
But the canard of “no alternative in the opposition” could mask something more sinisterly selfish. Western governments apparently have their eyes transfixed on getting a lion’s share of the “lucrative telecommunications and banking industries in a nation of more than 80 million people” and “exporting commodities and exploring Ethiopia for probable oil and gas deposits.” They are scared that “if the opposition takes power, the future would be uncertain and investments delayed as foreign governments and lenders jostle for influence.” Hidden under the thick layers of hypocrisy is a deliberate decoupling of dictatorship from democracy and good governance and a coupling of calculated long-term economic interests with the strengthening of a stable dictatorship to advance a scheme of globalized economic exploitation in Ethiopia. In the old days, they called such things neo-colonialism. It is not clear what they call them these days, but there is no doubt that Ethiopian democracy and the Ethiopian people are held hostage in the grand cut-throat global competition for oil, gas and exports.
Western governments and multilateral lending institutions know better. As President Obama said, “Africa needs strong institutions, not strong men.” Or in the common idiom, “It is not about the man. It is about the plan.” They should be engaged in institution-building, not armor-plating the clenched fists of African dictators. They should use their financial leverage to help build strong multiparty institutions, facilitate clean fraud-free elections, establish structures of accountability, institutionalize the rule of law, fortify the protection of human rights and strengthening civil society institutions in Africa. That’s how viable alternatives in the opposition are created, nurtured and sustained in Ethiopia and the rest of Africa.
It is a truism to say that full democratization will take time in Africa. There will be many uncertainties and obstacles to Africa’s democratic development. Having an “alternative in the opposition” is not a panacea to Ethiopia’s decades-old problems. Any “alternative” to dictatorship in Ethiopia would have to deal with the legacy of human rights violations, economic mismanagement, corruption and the social chaos spawned by the dictatorship’s catastrophic “ethnic federalism” program. There will be many false starts and trials and errors on the road to democracy under an “alternative opposition.”
Western governments should be careful not to cerate and perpetuate an insidious myth that Africa has no alternative to dictatorship. It is psychologically devastating to tell 80 million Ethiopians that Western governments will support Zenawi’s dictatorship because they believe there are “no alternatives in the opposition.” Such a callous and cold-blooded attitude conveys a defeatist message to Ethiopians. It sends a signal that Ethiopians should abandon all hope of freedom and democracy because they are doomed and destined to eternal dictatorship. This attitude inherently de-legitimizes, disregards and ridicules the efforts of emerging opposition groups, and effectively tranquilizes them into stunned silence, depriving them of the confidence needed to stand up for democracy, freedom and human rights. Ironfisted dictators will no doubt be emboldened by this windfall of appeasement. Ultimately, this attitude of do-nothing-now and turn-a-blind eye to dictatorship will undermine the long-term policy interests of Western governments in Ethiopia and the rest of Africa by incapacitating them from using the vast financial leverage they have to aid Africa transition from dictatorship to democracy and pursue their geopolitical interests.
None of the foregoing is intended to suggest the Ethiopian opposition is blameless. Those genuinely in the opposition must accept responsibility for their inability to come together and articulate a vision for the country. They deserve blame for squandering valuable opportunities to build organizational alliances, develop alternative policies and train young leaders. Of course, there have been Judases in the opposition who have been willing to sacrifice the cause of democracy on the altar of dictatorship and kneel down and kiss the blood-drenched hands of Herod for thirty pieces of silver. But that is no excuse for not closing ranks against dictatorship now, and presenting a united front in support of democracy, freedom and human rights.
The catchphrases bandied around in the Western diplomatic cocktail circuits in Addis Abeba today probably go something like this: “Democracy is a dead end road in Ethiopia. Dictatorship is the beacon of light for Ethiopia’s future. Forget about the famine, human rights violations, corruption and the rest of it. Ethiopia is doomed because she has ‘no alternatives in the opposition!’”
Excellencies, it is said you will support Zenawi’s dictatorship “as long as the [2010] elections are semi-democratic”. To believe a dictatorship can be semi-democratic is to believe a woman can be a little bit pregnant. Do not deceive yourselves, and do not write us off just yet. In the long run, Ethiopians, and Africans in general, will receive the blessings of democracy by evolution or revolution! For now, we want you to know that Ethiopians are double victims of crime. They are victimized by dictators who have perpetrated upon them crimes against humanity with impunity. They are also victims of the crime of depraved indifference to their suffering by those who continue to coddle, aid and abet the criminals who have committed upon them crimes against humanity. Let it be known that we make no distinctions between the two types of criminals. Excellencies, that is why every patriotic and human rights-loving Ethiopian shall face you in righteous indignation, and charge: “J’Accuse!”
(Alemayehu G. Mariam, is a professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino, and an attorney based in Los Angeles. He writes a regular blog on The Huffington Post, and his commentaries appear regularly on Pambazuka News and New American Media.)
SANA’A, YEMEN (Saba) — Yemen police detained 72 Ethiopians, including 15 women, who have entered the country illegally by boat, Interior Ministry has reported.
Security authorities have said that the migrants who landed off Ahwar Coast in Abyan Governorate tried to reach Aden city but they were stopped by the security forces and sent to a refugee camp in coordination with the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Two weeks ago, security forces arrested 101 Ethiopians who entered Yemeni territories illegally.
Taiz Governorate authorities said that 800 Ethiopians, many of whom women and children, entered Yemen illegally in October.
“He who has lost honor can lose nothing more.” – Publilius Syrus
The term ‘honor’ comes from the Latin honos in which a person is assessed based on the individual’s actions, mainly his or her honesty, dignity and integrity. The recent political theater performed by four honourless characters (Hailu Shawel, Ayele Chamiso, Lidetu Ayalew, and Meles Zenawi) is an atrocious act of deceit, lies and dishonesty that has appalled all of those who long for democracy, freedom, justice and human rights in Ethiopia.
It is not far fetched to say that politics is perhaps the lone profession in which some dishonorable individuals are granted the title of ‘honorable.’ What a pity. Dishonesty and deceptions are honored and dignified. How long should the people of this magnificent land be subjected to such cheap gamesmanship. It is this very fact of political opportunism that considerably delayed the process of democratization in Ethiopia.
We all know too well that if it wasn’t for the support provided to the military junta by some opportunistic intellectuals, the duration of the regime’s power may have been shorter and the suffering of the Ethiopian people could have been less traumatic and extensive. Those who betrayed the Ethiopian people at the time did it for nothing more than a few crumbs thrown at them from the military regime.
The recent choreographed publicity stunt, primarily prepared for the consumption of donor countries, is so juvenile in nature that we would hope it could impress neither donor countries nor the people of Ethiopia. No self-respecting soul with minimum integrity should buy into this vicious assault on the hopes and aspirations of the Ethiopian people for a true democracy.
It is an open secret that the history of TPLF shows its unmatched record of manufacturing surrogate political organizations deliberately created to advance its goals and objectives at the expense of the Ethiopian people. Before, coming to power TPLF used captured soldiers of the military regime to invent ethnic-based political parties, which currently form the so-called EPRDF. No one, particularly the Ethiopian people, believes for a fraction of a second that a TPLF-led regime has truthfulness or an inch of integrity.
I remember what one of my good friends from Ethiopia told me during a telephone conversation. “The only reliable information we get from the TPLF run TV, radio and print media is the date. The rest is pure lie and deception.” Well, ironically, the same was said about the military regime. The publicity stunt shown on the state-run TV and posted on the pro-TPLF website is awash with the declaration that Ethiopia has made a great advance toward democracy. Sadly, as long as TPLF is in power there will never be democracy.
As I said above, no one expects truthfulness or a hint of integrity from the TPLF regime. Some, however, would be surprised by Hailu Shawl’s political acrobatics and the bow of loyalty that he delivered to Meles Zenawi. The question one needs to ask is this: Did Hailu Shawel betray the cause of true democracy, justice, human rights and freedom in Ethiopia or did he come full circle in returning to where he began his political life?
We all know that Hailu Shawel was a Minister of Agriculture under Mengistu Hailemariam’s military regime. Although he claims that he resigned or left his post because of his profound difference with the regime’s policy, one could ask a question about his rise to a cabinet position under a regime that terrorized its citizens for 18 years. Even lower level bureaucratic positions are rewarded to those who showed unwavering support to the regime and participated in the atrocities committed against the people of Ethiopia. Therefore, the question is what don’t we know about Hailu Shawel? Is he a born opportunist who will say anything and do anything to have that “honorable” title and the power that comes along with it?
Political compromise and concessions are part of a political discourse. However, such deals are often made under one condition and that is the advancement of the greater good. In the case of the recent so-called ‘electoral code of conduct’ deal, the only thing being advanced is the strangle hold of power by the TPLF. The reality is that the TPLF and the common good are irreconcilable. The political principle of TPLF is deliberate polarization, oppression and the infliction of maximum suffering and trauma on the people of Ethiopia.
The recent article by Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, founder and CEO of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), titled “Will The Real Poor Farmer Rise” is a praiseworthy contribution to a serious public dialogue on matters of national interest. It is also courageous for a prominent figure who supports the government of Ethiopia to opt to engage in civil dialogue about complex issues in the public domain. This being a new phenomenon in Ethiopia, inability to draw a line between a personal capacity and an official capacity is totally understandable; although, the bar might be higher for individuals who grew up in a society where public dialogues and opinions are at the central core of democracy and who are rather expected to be models of democratic and civil communication, the lack of which has left the whole Africa incapacitated. It is crucial for all of us to learn to involve in intellectual discussions setting aside personal feelings and egos and rather focusing on the substantive issues at stake, in this case the problems brewing in Ethiopia’s coffee sector.
The conversation about ECX and the problems in Ethiopia’s coffee sector – a topic that provoked Dr. Eleni to weigh in — has been running for weeks now, the recent development being the secretly planned event that was held in Addis Ababa, October 21 – 24, 2009, between ECX, the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), and others. Throughout, many questions have been raised, including the government’s use of ECX to secure its interests, the merits of the country’s property right laws, the government’s responsibilities in protecting farmers from exploitation, the risks of commoditizing the country’s finest coffee brands, ECX’s distraction from its initial noble mission, which is to help eliminate famine by creating an efficient domestic agricultural commodity market, and more. The reason why ECX is particularly scrutinized in relation to its coffee trade is because the stakes in that crop are high, too high to be left for a trial and error. Well informed industry observers warn that the government’s handling of the coffee sector could be destructive to the development of domestic private sector in general and the untapped coffee resources in particular. But, ECX seems to be maintaining its positions that all is well, as if nothing had happened. At best, the take away from reading the above article is that the problems at hand need to be spelled out in a clear and undistorted manner so that everyone who claims to have a stake in Ethiopia can have the same understanding and view from anywhere in the globe. Therefore, it will be necessary to pause the discussion about the gravity of the impending consequences of the sticky situation that ECX and the coffee sector found themselves in and first set the records straight. To that effect, the following paragraphs trail on Dr. Eleni’s main points cited in the above article for the sake of clarity and to fill the gap in ECX’s understanding of what had just happened in Ethiopia.
“Coffee trading in ECX was a hastily conceived, ill-prepared affair by people who knew nothing about the complexity of the coffee market”
The credentials of ECX’s officers has never been a point of contention throughout the discussions as there is no reason to believe that Ethiopia is short of able experts in the coffee sector. Doing so would amount to disrespecting the people who preserved the sector through three consecutive regimes. This, however, does not exempt the poor handling of the media frenzy that followed the interruption of the Specialty coffee trade because neither the government nor ECX displayed wisdom or competence in dealing with the situation. That being said, there are ample evidences to show that ECX was not prepared to trade coffee and that the project plans that led up to the realization of ECX anticipated a coffee exchange at this early stage. ECX was established as a domestic exchange for grain, not for coffee trade. The first evidence for this is found nowhere but in the Policy Working Paper prepared by Eleni Z. Gabre-Madhin and Ian Goggin, Chief Executive, Africa Commodity Exchange (Malawi) and former President, Zimbabwe Agricultural Commodity Exchange. The document dated November 2005 and titled “Does Ethiopia Need a Commodity Exchange?: An Integrated Approach to Market Development” does not mention the coffee crop anywhere in the 24 pages – not even once.
Also, ECX’s lack of experience and resources were central factors that have contributed to the coffee trade problem. The then eight-month old ECX had hardly established its own institutional capabilities, much less gaining the experience in trading agricultural commodities, when it was surprised by the government with the unexpected task of trading the global crop. Although Dr. Eleni now denies it, ECX’s understandable frustrations are documented in the PBS/Market Maker film that featured Dr. Eleni. Here is a portion of the transcript taken from pertinent segments of the film:
Narrator (Aeron Brown): “Eleni’s strategy for building the ECX is so to start to walk before you run; start with a few commodities, work out the kinks, take on more, slowly when you know the system works. … Coffee is to Ethiopia what oil is to Saudi Arabia. The coffee crash [summer of 2008] threatened the entire economy. At the highest levels of government, the question was raised: what if the ECX with its open market, efficient pricing, took up coffee now? Not years from now, but right now? Could the downturn be avoided? For Eleni, for her team, for the ECX, this is both an extraordinary opportunity and an extraordinary risk.”
Dr. Eleni: “We had a nine-hour meeting over two days with very senior people in the government, very intense, and finally the Deputy Prime Minister looked at me and said: if we said, let’s have all that come, [sic] can you handle it? And, I looked at him and said “yes.” … I was very scared. It was a very, very funny moment. I came out of that meeting and called my management team and said, ‘we are going to be trading all of Ethiopia’s coffee. This will change everything.’ ..Much better for us in the longer term but ‘can we do it?’ is what I don’t know. … Coffee is just an overwhelming situation; doing too much with too little staff, too little equipment, too little time.”
That’s it. That is what it took for the government to decide to route the coffee trading to the commodity exchange platform. The point is, the decision to trade coffee on ECX is completely a political decision driven by the government’s needs to control and enhance the flow of coffee exports.
“The inclusion of coffee in ECX was for the purpose of government control and to monopolize the coffee market”
The law that established ECX clearly states that ECX’s Board of Directors should be composed of six government and five privately appointed directors. Despite, the current Board is dominated by directors with vested interests in promoting the government’s business. Of the eleven directors, only three sits (27%) are occupied by the private sector. To argue that somehow Ethiopian Grain Trade Enterprise (EGTE) and Kality Food factory (whose managers are incumbent directors) are privately appointed is deceiving. Plain and simple. These enterprises are owned by the government and report to – through their respective Board of Directors – to the Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervisory Agency, a government body also with a sit on the ECX Board.
EGTE is now, for the first time in its history, the major player in the coffee trade as is GUNA Trading House PLC, an endowment which, according to Bloomberg, is owned by the ruling political party. GUNA has publicly announced its plans to tap into the coffee trade after five years of abandoning the sector. Independent institutions, such as the World Bank have voiced public concerns that these enterprises benefit from privileged access to policymakers and resources which gives them unfair leverage in the marketplace. If this is not a sign to monopolize the market, what is?
“ECX was an instrument to take action against private exporters”
This dimension of the problem is exhaustively discussed by many writers within the context of the country’s legal and political situation.
“The Exchange had simply not thought about specialty coffee trading until forced to by international coffee buyers in 2009”
Regardless of what ECX might have had privately thought about Specialty coffee trading, what is known for sure is that ECX’s system has effectively disrupted the export of Specialty coffee trade and all coffees are sold at commodity prices and market to this day, with the exception of some stocks sold by cooperatives and commercial farms. There is no “single origin” Specialty coffee leaving the country until ECX finds a solution because the system eliminates “traceability”. Two questions arise here: 1) If the legislation that was passed in November 2008 provided ECX the mandate to separately or concurrently handle Specialty coffee as it deemed necessary and ECX decided to trade the Specialty coffees as commodities until it finds a solution, doesn’t it also mean that ECX is solely responsible for the disruption of the trade? 2) Why didn’t ECX allow the Specialty coffee transactions to continue as is until a new system is put in place?
The bigger problem is that because ECX was of the notion that only about 3.7% of the country’s coffee production qualifies to be branded as a Specialty coffee, its focus has been on the bulk coffee trading. [3] It was only after the 2009 SCAA event in Atlanta that SCAA and ECX formed a joint working group to find a solution for the problems. The working group reported its proposal to SCAA at the ECX Specialty coffee event held late October in Ethiopia. Here is where we are now.
What’s next?
The coffee exchange strategy should look beyond the commodity market. The global coffee trade is controlled by a hand-full of multi-national corporations and international prices for commodity coffee are mostly determined by these multinationals. The daily fluctuations in price are mainly driven by the buyers’ bargaining power and speculations about coffee supply, which in turn is dependent on factors affecting coffee growing regions in the world. The competition between the biggest coffee producers, including Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico, often helps multinationals as increases in supply result in a decline in prices. The compound effect on coffee dependent economies, such as Ethiopia, is that they have no say whatsoever in influencing commodity coffee export prices. Therefore, it is incumbent upon ECX to adopt cutting-edge marketing strategies that will enable Ethiopia beat the competition by making the best use of the wealth of coffee resources. The unique attributes of Ethiopia’s coffee are the strengths that the country can exploit as leverage in the fast growing Specialty coffee niche market. At this juncture, and in the short term, the best that ECX can do to help the country is to devise a system that will be conducive to the Specialty coffee trade and provide incentives to the farmers. To that end, there are impending issues and outstanding questions that need the immediate attention of the government and ECX. Hopefully, ECX will continue to lead a forward-looking dialogue by sharing the outcome(s) of the recent meetings with SCAA and the agreement the parties have reached.
(The writer, Wondwossen Mezlekia, can be reached at [email protected])
Keep your eyes on the prize By yilma bekele
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 demands today.
The last few 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.
It was not long ago that the regime utilized its supposedly big gun to confuse and demoralize us. Upon the release of ‘Kinijit’ leaders from Woyane jail TPLF unleashed Hailu Shawel, Bedru Adem and other minions on us. ‘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 was the Diasporas reply. They forgot we have risen beyond personalities. Hailu and company were discarded and went back home with their tail between their legs. As the Ethiopian people have persevered under the constant onslaught of Woyane terror, feudal impersonators did not fool the Diaspora.
They are at it again. All you have to do is look at what has been going on the last few weeks. The TPLF machine has been busy. It is a relentless machine. It works 24/7. The main goal is to confuse and cause disarray. It manufactures news. It is constantly trying to define the news for us. The TPLF is a moving target. When we are worried about land give away to Sudan they reinvade Somalia, when we are stressing about political prisoners they release Teddy Afro and we forget the others, when we are concerned about the famine they give us Hailu Shawel and an empty code of conduct. The TPLF is one evil machine designed to kill hope.
It is de ja vu time. Hailu Shawel the crown prince of betrayal is in the process of being unveiled as the right hand man of the petty tyrant. Since Ledetu has been completely disgraced in front of our people Woyane was forced to bring out this senile old man to saw mistrust. They say during high noon in Ethiopia standing in the middle of the town square Ledetu doesn’t even cast a shadow. It is that much that he has been rendered useless. It is Hailu’s turn now. All that free money offered by the Banks, all that business empire built by Shawel engineering is coming home to roost. It is pay back time baby. Park your pride outside, discard your principles, betray your country and friends and bend over comrade Hailu. We will leave the rest to the fertile mind of Meles and friends.
The news yesterday is about the millions of our people dying of hunger. The news today is about famine and the wrong and cruel policy designed by Ato Meles and company. The news tomorrow is about pinning responsibility on those who are causing such anguish and terror on our people. No amount of ‘code of election’ is going to fix that. Without fundamental change taking place our old country cannot survive the rape and pillage by the TPLF minority mafia. As far as we are concerned the so-called election is a dead issue. With Ato Meles in charge of the nation, the security under TPLF, the judiciary under TPLF, election board under Meles, the media muzzled and under TPLF, the foreign Ambassadors echoing Ato Meles’s lies, how in the world can you have a fair and open election? Let TPLF rant about elections. Our job is to work harder to isolate the minority regime from its international supporters. Our job as the Diaspora is stop feeding dollars to the TPLF mafia. Our job is to have the nerve to be upset and do what is right to save our motherland.
The movement should stay in focus. Focus, purpose and simplicity work together to create success. Our message should be both direct and simple. Our demand should be clear and consistent. We should never react to the agenda set by others. We should set our own agenda.
We should learn to stay in focus. We should not be sidetracked. We have defined our goal and purpose and no amount of background noise should take our attention from the prize. No matter how long it takes we should learn to 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.
My advice to our AEUP friends that were cruelly used by Shawel and friends is please don’t go limp on us again. Do not try to manufacture your phantom evidence to show Hailu as a freedom fighter. Do not mistake country with tribe. Do not stand with Woyane and pretend you are equal while in fact you are by the feet leaking that dirty boot. As far as the Ethiopian people are concerned Hailu is dead. Good riddance of bad rubbish.
So as you lay in your hospital bed, with no one by your side
I hope you keep on asking, what’s the reason why.
When your casket lowers, no one will shed a tear..
So good bye dear Hailu, your life is near the end
You will die a lonely death, with not one friend
So when its finally over, and you take your last breathe
Ethiopia will start life again..start fresh.
