In my first weekly commentary of the new year, I “proclaimed” 2013 “Year of Ethiopia’s Cheetah Generation” (young people). I also promised to reach, teach and preach to Ethiopia’s youth this year and exhorted members of the Ethiopian intellectual class (particularly the privileged “professorati”) to do the same. I have also been pleading with (some say badgering) the wider Ethiopian Hippo Generation (the lost generation) to find itself, get in gear and help the youth.
The SOS I put out in June 2012 (Where have Ethiopia’s Intellectuals Gone?) and now (The Irresponsibility of the Privileged) has been unwelcomed by tone deaf and deaf mute “Hippogenarians”. My plea for standing up and with the victims of tyranny and human rights abuses has been received with stony and deafening silence. I have gathered anecdotally that some Hippos are offended by what they perceive to be my self-righteous and holier-than-thou finger wagging and audacious, “J’accuse!”. Some have claimed that I am sitting atop my high horse crusading, pontificating, showboating, grandstanding and self-promoting.
There seems to be palpable consternation and anxiety among some (perhaps many) Hippos over the fact that I dared to betray them in a public campaign of name and shame and called unwelcome attention to their self-inflicted paralysis and faintheartedness. Some have even suggested that by using the seductively oversimplified metaphor of cheetahs and hippos, I have invented a new and dangerous division in society between the young and old in a land already fractured and fragmented by ethnic, religious and regional divisions. “Methinks they doth protest too much”, to invoke Shakespeare.
My concern and mission is to lift the veil that shrouds a pernicious culture and conspiracy of silence in the face of evil. My sole objective is to speak truth not only to power but also to those who have calculatedly chosen to disempower themselves by self-imposed silence. I unapologetically insist that silently tolerating wrong over right is dead wrong. Silently conceding the triumph of evil over good is itself evil. Silently watching atrocity is unmitigated moral depravity. Complicity with the champions of hate is partnership with haters.
The maxim of the law is “Silence gives consent” (qui tacet consentiret). Silence is complicity. Silence for the sake of insincere and hollow social harmony (yilugnta) is tantamount to dousing water on the quiet riot that rages in the hearts and minds of the oppressed. Leonardo da Vinci said, “Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.” I say nothing strengthens tyranny as much as silence — the silence of the privileged, the silence of those who could speak up but choose to take a vow of silence. One cannot speak to tyrants in the language of silence; one must speak to tyrants in the language of defiant truth. Silence must never be allowed to become the last refuge of the hypocritical scoundrel.
There have been encouraging developments over the past week in the crescendo of voices speaking truth to power. Several enlightening contributions that shed light on the life and times of tyranny in Ethiopia have been made in “Ethiopian cyber hager”, to borrow Prof. Donald Levine’s metaphor. A couple of insightful analysis readily come to mind. Muktar Omer offered a devastating critique of the bogus theory of “revolutionary democracy.” He argued convincingly “that recent economic development in Ethiopia has more to do with the injection of foreign aid into the economy and less with revolutionary democracy sloganeering.” He demonstrated the core ideological nexus between fascism, communism and revolutionary democracy. Muktar concluded, “Intellectuals who are enamored with the ‘good intellect and intentions’ of Meles Zenawi and rationalize his appalling human rights records are guilty of either willful ignorance or disagree with Professor John Gray’s dauntingly erudite reminder: ‘radical evil can come from the pursuit of progress’”. My view is that revolutionary democracy is to democracy as ethic federalism is to federalism. Both are figments of a warped and twisted imagination.
An Amharic piece by Kinfu Asefa (managing editor of ethioforum.org) entitled “Development Thieves” made a compelling case demonstrating the futility and duplicity of the so-called “Renaissance Bond” calculated to raise billions of dollars to dam the Blue Nile. Kinfu argued persuasively that there could be no development dam when the people themselves are damned by the damned dam developers.
I am told by those much wiser than myself that I am pursuing a futile course trying to coax Hippos to renounce their vows of silence and speak up. I am told it would be easier for me to squeeze blood out of turnip than to expect broad-gauged political activism and engaged advocacy from the members of Ethiopia’s inert Hippo Generation. The wise ones tell me I should write off (and not write about) the Hippos living on Planet Cheetah. I should stop pestering them and leave them alone in their blissful world where they see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil!
Should I?
Restoring Faith With the Cheetahs
We have a problem! A big one. “We” are both Cheetahs and Hippos. Truth must be told: Hippos have broken faith with Cheetahs. Cheetahs feel betrayed by Hippos. Cheetahs feel marginalized and sidelined. Cheetahs say their loyalty and dedication has been countered by the treachery and underhandedness of Hippos. The respect and obedience Cheetahs have shown Hippos have been greeted with disdain and effrontery. Cheetahs say Hippos have misconstrued their humility as servility; their flexibility and adaptability have been countered by rigidity and their humanity abused by cruel indignity. Cheetahs feel double-crossed, jilted, tricked, lied to, bamboozled, used and abused by Hippos. Cheetahs say they have been demonized for questioning Hippos and for demanding accountability. For expressing themselves freely, Cheetahs have been sentenced to hard labor in silence. Cheetahs have been silenced by silent Hippos! Cheetahs have lost faith in Hippos. Such is the compendium of complaints I hear from many Ethiopian Cheetahs. Are the Cheetahs right in their perceptions and feelings? Are they justified in their accusations? Are Hippos behaving so badly?
A word or two about the youths’ loss of faith in their elders before talking about restoring faith with them. Ethiopia’s youth live in a world where they are forced to hear every day the litany that their innate value is determined not by the content of their character, individuality or humanity but the random chance of their ethnicity. They have no personality, nationality or humanity, only ethnicity. They are no more than the expression of their ethnic identity.
To enforce this wicked ideology, Apartheid-style homelands have been created in the name of “ethnic federalism”. The youth have come to realize that their station in life is determined not by the power of their intellect but by the power of those who lack intellect. They are shown by example that how high they rise in society depends upon how low they can bring themselves on the yardstick of self-dignity and how deeply they can wallow in the sewage of the politics of identity and ethnicity. They live in a world where they are taught the things that make them different from their compatriots are more than the things they have in common with them. Against this inexorable message of dehumanization, they hear only the sound of silence from those quietly professing allegiance to freedom, democracy and human rights. To restore faith with Ethiopia’s youth, we must trade silence with the joyful noise of protest; we must unmute ourselves and stand resolute against tyranny. We must cast off the silence of quiet desperation.
But before we restore faith with the young people, we must restore faith with ourselves. In other words, we must save ourselves before we save our young people. To restore faith with ourselves, we must learn to forgive ourselves for our sins of commission and omission. We must believe in ourselves and the righteousness of our cause. Before we urge the youth to be courageous, we must first shed our own timidity and fearfulness. Before we teach young people to love each other as children of Mother Ethiopia, we must unlearn to hate each other because we belong to different ethnic groups or worship the same God with different names. To restore faith with ourselves, we must be willing to step out of our comfort zones, comfort groups, comfort communities and comfort ethnicities and muster the courage to say and do things we know are right. We should say and do things because they are right and true, and not because we seek approval or fear disapproval from anyone or group. George Orwell said, “In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act.” We live in times of national deceit and must become revolutionaries by speaking truth to abusers of power, to the powerless, to the self-disempowered and to each other.
To be fair to my fellow Hippos, they defend their silence on the grounds that speaking up will not make a difference to tyrants. They say speaking truth to tyranny is a waste of time, an exercise in futility. Some even say that it is impossible to communicate with the tyrants in power with reasoned words because these tyrants only understand the language of crashing guns, rattling musketry and booming artillery.
I take exception to this view. I believe at the heart of the struggle for freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia is an unending battle for the hearts and minds of the people. In the battlefield of hearts and minds, guns, tanks and warplanes are useless. History bears witness. The US lost the war in Vietnam not because it lacked firepower, airpower, nuclear power, financial power, scientific or technical power. The U.S. lost the war because it lacked the power to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese and American peoples.
Words are the most potent weapon in the battle for hearts and minds. Words can enlighten the benighted, open closed eyes, sealed mouths and plugged ears. Words can awaken consciences. Words can inspire, inform, stimulate and animate. Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the greatest military leaders in history, feared words more than arms. That is why he said, “Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.” That why I insist my fellow privileged intellectuals and all who claim or aspire to be supporters of democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law to speak up and speak out and not hide behind a shield of silence. I say speak truth to tyranny. Preach faith in the divinity of humanity and against the bigotry of the politics of identity and ethnicity; champion loudly the causes of unity in diversity and practice the virtues of civility, accountability, amity and cordiality. Never stand silent in the face of atrocity, criminality, contrived ethnic animosity and the immorality of those who abuse of power.
It is necessary to restore faith with the Cheetahs. The gap between Cheetahs and Hippos is not generational. There is a trust gap, not generational gap. There is a credibility gap. There is an expectation gap, an understanding gap and a compassion gap. Many bridges need to be built to close the gaps that divide the Cheetah and Hippo Generations.
Rise of the Chee-Hippo Generation
There is a need to “invent” a new generation, the Chee-Hippo Generation. A Chee-Hippo is a hippo who thinks, behaves and acts like a Cheetah. A Chee-Hippo is also a cheetah who understands the limitations of Hippos yet is willing to work with them in common cause for a common purpose.
Chee-Hippos are bridge builders. They build strong intergenerational bridges that connect the young with the old. They build bridges to connect people seeking democracy, freedom and human rights. They build bridges across ethnic canyons and connect people stranded on islands of homelands. They bridge the gulf of language, religion and region. They build bridges to link up the rich with the poor. They build bridges of national unity to harmonize diversity. They build bridges to connect the youth at home with the youth in the Diaspora. Chee-Hippos build social and political networks to empower youth.
Are You a Chee-Hippo or a Hippo?
You are a Chee-Hippo if you believe
young people are the future of the country and the older people are the country’s past.
the future is infinitely more important than the past.
a person’s value is determined not by the collection of degrees listed after his/her name but by the person’s commitment and stand on the protection of the basic human rights of a fellow human being.
and practice the virtues of tolerance, civility, civic duty, cooperation, empathy, forgiveness, honesty, honor, idealism, inclusivity and openness.
You are a Chee-Hippo if you are
open-minded, flexible, and humble.
open to new ideas and ways of communicating with people across age groups, ethnic, religious, gender and linguistic lines.
unafraid to step out of your comfort zone into the zone of hard moral choices.
courageous enough to mean what you say and say what you mean instead of wasting your time babbling in ambiguity and double-talk.
prepared to act now instead of tomorrow (eshi nege or yes, tomorrow).
prepared to blame yourself first for your own deficits before blaming the youth or others for theirs.
eager to learn new things today and unlearn the bad lessons of the past.
committed to finding opportunity than complaining about the lack of one.
able to develop attitudes and beliefs that reflect what is possible and not wallow in self-pity about what is impossible.
fully aware that the world is in constant and rapid change and by not changing you have no one to blame for the consequences except yourself.
Any Hippo can be reinvented into a Chee-Hippo. Ultimately, being a Chee-Hippo is a state of mind. One need only think, behave and act like Cheetahs. The credo of a true Chee-Hippo living on Planet Cheetah is, “We must not give only what we have; we must give what we are.”
Damn proud to be a Chee-Hippo!
Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.
Previous commentaries by the author are available at:
http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/
www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/
Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:
A ‘villagisation’ programme has left many people from Ethiopia’s Gambella region bereft of land and loved ones, casting donor support in an unflattering light
A family in Kir, Gambella. Ethiopia’s controversial resettlement programme has forced people to leave their villages.
The accounts are broadly similar, but the details reveal the individual tragedies that have shattered their lives: they say they were forced to leave their villages, beaten by soldiers, and sent to remote areas lacking all basic services under a controversial “villagisation” programme.
Eventually, they fled to Kenya, joining nearly half a million displaced people living in the world’s biggest refugee complex, a sprawling expanse of tents and rudimentary houses set in the sun-hammered scrub and sand outside Dadaab.
“We don’t have any means of retrieving our land. We decided to find an organisation that could be our lawyer and stand up for us so that those who are funding these organisations to displace us will be stopped,” Mr O said. He spoke through a translator in the language of the Anuak, an indigenous people who live in Ethiopia’s western Gambella region.
“Britain is a very big power in the world. Britain is Ethiopia’s top donor,” says Mr O, whose identity is being protected for his safety. The 32-year-old wears a stained white shirt, white trousers and a blue-beaded bracelet on his left hand.
Ethiopia is one of the biggest recipients of UK aid and Britain, alongside other international donors, contributes significant funding for the Protection of Basic Services (PBS) programme. Lawyers for Mr O say that, by contributing to this programme, DfID contributes to villagisation, be it by financing infrastructure in new settlements or paying the salaries of officials overseeing the relocations.
DfID says it does not fund any commune projects in Ethiopia. A spokesman said the agency was aware of allegations of abuses and would raise any concerns at the highest levels of the Ethiopian government. Leigh Day is waiting for a response to its letter to the UK government in December.
The three-year villagisation programme aims to move 1.5 million rural families to new “model” villages in four regions, including approximately 45,000 households in Gambella. Official plans say the movements are voluntary, and infrastructure and alternative livelihoods will be provided in the new villages.
In January 2012, a Human Rights Watch report said the Ethiopian government was forcibly relocating thousands of people in Gambella, with villagers being told the resettlement was linked to the leasing of large tracts of land for commercial agriculture.
For the four Anuak in Dadaab, relocation has been a catastrophe: Mr O has not seen his wife and six children since he left, Peter’s wife was raped by soldiers, widow Chan and her eldest son were beaten, and Ongew was detained 11 times on charges of inciting villagers. The four did not want to give their full names for fear of retribution.
There is a desperate sense of powerlessness among the refugees, who link the recent abuses to years of alleged targeting of their ethnic group, including a 2003 massacre of Anuak in the town of Gambella. “I feel so very bad because I have been separated from my family, which shows we do not have the power to protect ourselves … Unless you decide to leave that area there will not be hope for you,” Mr O says.
Powerlessness
Peter, a 40-year-old who lost his sight 20 years ago, bows his head as he tells how he was beaten when he asked the soldiers to take his disability into account before moving him in October 2011. Then, his wife was taken away and raped.
“I’m powerless. There was nothing I could do to stop that. Also, my cousin was taken by the soldiers and is still missing today,” Peter says. He left through South Sudan and arrived in Kenya with his wife and five children in March last year.
When soldiers came almost two years ago to move Chan, a 37-year-old farmer and mother of four, they beat her on the arm and face with a stick. The skin on the right side of her face, just below her ear, is uneven and marked. The soldiers also beat her then 18-year-old son on the head with a gun. Nobody could fight back.
“Because we don’t have power,” she says, her hands upturned helplessly on her lap. “Whenever these soldiers come to a village, there are very many. How will you fight? If you try to beat even one soldier, they will attack the whole village.”
Chan, whose husband was killed during the 2003 massacre, moved to the new village. “There was no water, no school, no clinic, not even good farm land because it is dry land,” she says. People were still being abused, so she decided to leave with her children. She arrived in Kenya last February. Despite the creeping insecurity in the Dadaab refugee camps, she says life is better “because nobody is coming to beat you in your home”.
Mr O, then a farmer and student at agricultural college, was forced from his village in November 2011. At first he would not leave, so soldiers from the Ethiopian National Defence Force beat him with guns. He lifts the faded black baseball hat he is wearing, marked with the words “Stop violence against women”, and shows a thin, long scar on his head. Strong men were forced to lie down and then beaten while women were also beaten, and those who resisted were taken and raped in a military camp, he says.
He was forced to a “new place” which did not have water, food or productive land. He was told to build a house for his family, but when work didn’t progress as quickly as expected, he was taken to a military camp and beaten again. After one month he left, sneaking past village leaders and “local militias” who controlled the area, refusing to let people leave. He arrived in Kenya in mid-December 2011.
Ongew, a 35-year-old wearing a red baseball cap and blue jeans, believes the international community can stop the alleged abuses. “There are powerful countries that control the world. So we are requesting those international communities … to stand firm and force Ethiopia to leave our land and stop this villagisation,” he says.
Ongew used to distribute food to the new villages for the government but when villagers began to complain about the absence of services, he was blamed for inciting them. The father of four was beaten many times. He gets news of his family sometimes from a relative in Britain. He has heard that police have repeatedly questioned his wife about his whereabouts.
Mr O’s wife and children are now in a new village. He has not seen them since he left but news of them reaches him through new arrivals.
The four Anuak say the relocations are continuing, with new refugees still arriving in Kenya.
Mr O says he is not taking legal action in order to get money. “Money will not bring any change for me and my family … What we want from the court is our land back. We will go there, produce what we like, and we will support our lives as before.”
By Jeffrey Gettleman | New York Times
January 22, 2013
GARSEN, Kenya — Eritrea, a sliver of a nation in the Horn of Africa that is one of the most secretive and repressive countries in the world, was cast into confusion on Monday after mutinous soldiers stormed the Ministry of Information and took over the state-run television service, apparently in a coup attempt.
President Isaias Afewerki
According to several people with close contacts inside Eritrea, the coup attempt failed, with government troops quelling the would-be rebellion and no one rising up in the streets. But many analysts said it was only a matter of time before President Isaias Afwerki, Eritrea’s brash and steely leader for the past 20 years, is confronted again — and most likely from within.
“There’s a lot of dissatisfaction within the armed forces,” said Dan Connell, a professor at Simmons College in Boston and the author of several books on Eritrea. “If this is suppressed, it won’t be the end.”
Eritrea is often called the North Korea of Africa because it is so isolated and authoritarian, with few friends and thousands of defectors in recent years as Mr. Isaias tightens his grip and the economy teeters on the brink of ruin.
In the early 1990s, when Mr. Isaias first took power, Eritrea was hailed as a beacon of hope in Africa, a country of low crime, ethnic harmony and can-do spirit along the Red Sea. The Eritreans fought for years in trenches and from craggy mountaintops to defeat a Soviet-backed Ethiopian government and win their independence.
But the euphoria did not last. In the late 1990s, Eritrea and Ethiopia waged a costly war over their shared border, in which tens of thousands of people died. Shortly afterward, Mr. Isaias rounded up political dissidents and journalists, dooming them to years in prison, often in sweltering, underground shipping containers.
Thousands of young Eritreans have been drafted into the army and then required to work indefinitely for the government for pittance wages in what is called “national service.” Each year, many young people risk their lives to escape. Eritrea has waged war with just about all of its neighbors, and the United Nations has imposed sanctions on Eritrea over what is suspected to be its support of Somali militants.
By nightfall on Monday, it seemed that the government had beaten back the mutineers, with some analysts saying that the government broadcaster, Eri-TV, was back on the air.
The rebel soldiers, believed to number around 100, made it as far as the director’s office in the Ministry of Information, forcing him to read a statement on air calling for the release of political prisoners. Then the broadcast abruptly cut out. They also may have briefly taken hostage Mr. Isaias’s daughter, Elsa, who is said to work in the ministry.
It was not clear what happened to the renegade soldiers; analysts said that troops loyal to the government had surrounded the Ministry of Information and that the mutineers would most likely be captured and imprisoned.
The State Department said that the situation remained fluid, and the small embassy in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital, sent out a warning on Monday to the few American citizens living there. “The U.S. Embassy has been made aware of increased military presence in some sections of Asmara,” the warning said. “Employees of the U.S. government have been advised to limit their movements within the city, avoid large gatherings and exercise caution. We strongly recommend that private U.S. citizens do likewise.”
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow” (Albert Einstein).
Let me start by introducing myself. I immigrated to U.S. in 1988 for political reasons and I have been living in New York City for several years. Repression, imprisonment, and forced exile-this is a common story of my generation and others after that in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is always in my mind and I have been through a lot due to my involvement in the struggle for freedom in my country. I have a sporadic education for many years, but recently completed my BA degree in Sociology and I am a student at Hunter College-School of Social Work, Masters in Social Work Program. I am also a hardworking man who at times holds two jobs; until recently I worked for non-for-profit organization as Assistant Director and I want to contribute to my people and country as a professional Social Worker. My areas of interests are sustainable development of Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular, Social Justice, and Social Change. Currently, I work as Students’ Adviser at Bank Street College’s Liberty Leads Program.
Our country Ethiopia is one of ancient and very divers countries in the world. It is called a “cradle of humanity” and “Mosaic of peoples.” However, the Ethiopian people have been ruled brutally for centuries by Monarchs and Dictators. I was born in the time of the last monarch of Ethiopia, Heileselasse I (1945-1974) and lived in Ethiopia at the time of the consecutive military junta known as Derg. I throw my first rock of protest against the feudal regime as elementary student, I was also a member of EPRP which fought against Derg, and I was the youngest prisoner of conscious in southern city of Ethiopia called Bedela, in 1970s. I joined the Medhin Party since its inception in early 1990s and served for two consecutive terms as a council member. Now, I am a part of ENTC leadership council.
In 2012, I sat down to reflect and reminisce on our common past, to think about the future of our country Ethiopia, and wrote this piece in my message to a group of Ethiopian friends around New York. Nothing much changed in Ethiopia since last year and I decided to update it and share with you all. In last 40 years, especially in last 20 years, there were repeated discussions among Ethiopians at home and abroad about missed opportunities and mistakes we have made in the past and lessons we should learn for the future. First in my memory is the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution which meant to solve the old problems, end the misery of the people, and build a foundation for a new Ethiopia. However, our good intentions and efforts failed by misguided Socialist ideology and our dream has been hijacked through use of force, by the then military Government. It was a time where a progressive and forward thinking was not a favorable approach and any bright idea other than Marxism and Leninism is condemned as “tesfena” or wishful thinker. What follows after the infighting between the only two leftist opposition parties at that time, the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Party (EPRP) and All Ethiopian Socialist Movement (MESON) and the subsequent suppression and a joint military assault on the armed wing of EPRP, by TPLF and EPLF, and the Red terror by DERG was a long pose of direct action by Unity and Democratic Forces in Ethiopia. On the other hand, the ethnic based organizations lead by TPLF and EPLF marched to power in Addis Ababa and Asmara, in 1991. We Ethiopians regretted our support for those secessionist groups and we talked about the importance of unity and persistence in the struggle against dictatorship. However, a few us dared to look for a new alternative and continue our struggle after CODUFE failed.
In the end of 1980s, the wind of change was blowing through Eastern Europe and Gorbachov paved the way for change and the good news of “Perestroika” or “openness” spread in Russia and other communist countries around the world. The popular music by one of exiled young Russian rock band “Rego Park” from Queens, New York, called “Winds of Change” raised to number one on the music charts and appropriately captured what happened in East Europe and around the world at that time. While we Ethiopians were happy about the fall of the Derg regime, our hopes were dashed again by the fabrications of ethnic based organizations and exclusion of Multi-ethnic parties from the Transitional Government.
Moreover, in the year 2000, I was sitting at home in New York, when Boris Yeltsin of Russia came on live television and gave a new year’s gift speech to the next generations of Russians by ending the very long history of tyranny in Russia, when he became the first Russian president to resign from office. I remember thinking why Melese Zenawi of Ethiopia will not do the same, and many Ethiopians ask themselves: “When will be this kind of democratic change will take place in our country?” I also remember sitting in front of TV screen in Washington DC, and seeing the celebration of the Ethiopian New Millennium, were by Melese Zenawi danced to Tigrean and Sudanese songs, which seems to me a celebration of the assurance of TPLF’s military victory and willingness to stay in power as long as it could. By then it was clear why Boris Yeltsin chose the democratic path and a better future for his people, while Melese Zenawi chose one ethnic party hegemony, wanted to rule Ethiopia forever, and another era of misery for next generation of Ethiopians. It is because, Boris Yeltsin is a Russian democrat, but Melese is a mercenary, an ethno-centric traitor (Banda) and a root-less dictator.
Then, came the election of 2005 which for the first time in our history, we Ethiopians held a democratic election and CUD won, but its leaders, supporters and journalists who reported the truth ware jailed. It was another missed opportunity to fulfill our dream for democratic government of Ethiopians, by Ethiopians, and for Ethiopians. The years of post-2005 Ethiopian election turn out to be the continuation of another Ethiopian sad story of misrule by one individual, and one party ethno-fascistic dictatorship. In August of this year, dictator Meles Zenawi died and many Ethiopians felt relived, even though our people forced to hold a North Korean style funeral. The newly “appointed” prime minister, Ato Hailemariam Desalegn had a chance to take measures to the right direction and the country to democratic path, but he turn out to be a servant of the Woyanes and promised to carry on the vision of Meles. The vision of Meles, as we witnessed it in last 21 years is to assure the dominance of one party and one ethnic-group and to strengthen the gripe on power by the ruling Tigrean elite and to continue robbing the resources of other Ethiopians and to make the Tigray region an industrial zone.
Now, we are celebrating second year of “The Arab Spring” of freedom which a self-immolation in Tunisia led to weeks of protests and the fall of the government. Also, a man has set himself on fire in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, in an apparent protest over poor living conditions. The action echoes that of a Tunisian student whose self-immolation sparked a wave of protest in the country that brought down the government. We Ethiopians talked about how the living and political conditions lead to the Egyptian revolution is existing in Ethiopia even in worst form and magnitude, but was not much action yet. On the other hand, the tribal junta is taking measures everyday resulted from fear of losing power and the life of our people is sinking below inhumane condition of degrading extreme poverty, humiliation, and repression. Since EPRDF took power in 1991, the situation in Ethiopia is getting from bad to worse every day. After the split of Kinijit that severely demoralized our people, Ethiopia seemed to me like a “Zombie land” and Woyane turn our country to a land of a living dead. One elderly women in Southern Ethiopia described the situation as “We {Ethiopians} are dead alive – Enna bekumachen motenal.”
On 11/11/11, Yenesew Gebre, a 29 year-old Ethiopian school teacher and human rights activist set himself ablaze outside a public meeting hall in the town of Tarcha located in Dawro Zone in Southern Ethiopia. He died three days later from his injuries. According to eye witnesses, he said: “In a country where there is no justice and no fair administration, where human rights are not respected, I will sacrifice myself so that these young people will be set free.” Since then, I ask myself every day, why Yenesew’s action could not bring the instant results of nationwide revolutions that has been witnessed in Tunisia and Egypt? How long do we live like this? And, when is it that we say enough is enough-BEKA?
Currently, there is a creditable report that TPLF is continuously divided and fractured. The Muslim protest has been going strong for over a year. The TPLF appointed bishop of Ethiopian Orthodox Church died soon after Meles and Woyane is trying to appoint another agent against fierce opposition by all Christians. Another action of Woyane turning the ancient Waldeba monastery into a sugar cane plantation is also generating many different forms of protest from members of Orthodox church and I believe more is to come soon. There has been a sporadic protest against the Woyane regime at Addis Ababa in the center, Deradewa in the East, Jima in the south, and other Universities all over Ethiopia. Beyond the recent ethnic clashes in Addis Ababa University, there is a good news that the youth is determined to be united and organized. Moreover, the Woyane army is disintegrating. In addition, there is a fresh fire from Ginbot 7 Peoples Force and other armed groups that include a non-Wayne Tigrian group. In general, an all-round civil disobedience and armed straggle that can’t be stopped by the Woyanes is underway. I believe, the “African spring” that will be lead by the new generation of Ethiopian freedom fighters will start in Ethiopia soon. Recall that as it is made clear above in this writing, our nation had missed several opportunities of transition to democracy. ENTC wants us to get prepared this time and make sure that we will not miss another chance. Our mission is to “Facilitate conditions for an all inclusive transition process where the territorial integrity of Ethiopia and human rights of its citizens are protected.”
Wake up Ethiopians! This is our future and we have to fight for it. If we want to see a democratic, united, and strong Ethiopia and we envision freedom, equality, respect for human rights, and fair treatment for all ethnic groups in our country, we have to fight for it. We have to march to Meskel Square and protest as Tunisians and Egyptians did. We have to also fight the tribal junta like Libyans did against Gadhafi and his deadly forces, like Yemenies against Saleh government, and like Syrians are doing against the brutal Assad’s regime. Then, and only then slowly but surely victory will come. I want to remind all of you that the Ethiopian people staged their peaceful protest, in front of American Embassy, the very first day EPRDF touched the ground of Addis Ababa. Moreover, too many sacrifices have been made by young and old, men and women, even children for freedom in Ethiopia. Just think the students of Addis Ababa University and other Colleges who paid the ultimate sacrifices since 1960s to 1992, to 2005, and present.
I agree with the intellectual analysis of many Ethiopian scholars that our major problem is being victimized by divisive policies and ethnic politics of TPLF. It is repeatedly said that TPLF is on power today because of disunity among opposition groups, but not by its own strength. However, I have seen and witnessed many Ethiopians here in New York and other major cities of North America and around the world united for collective action against the tyrannical Wayne regime. Moreover, Ethiopians turn out in great number to polling booths around the country, stood on line up to 10 hours, and voted EPRDF out of office, in 2005. The question for me is: what more could we had done? Probably the more fitting question will be: what needs to be done now? I conclude that there is lack of collaborative and ethical leadership among us, opposition groups, which hindered us from achieving our dreams for our beloved country in the past. Thus, there is a need to build a new generation of emerging, effective, and ethical leaders. So, lets talk how!
I believe that leaders are made, not born. To begin with, consider this statement: “I suggest in the strongest terms possible that those of us who wish the new generation of Ethiopians a better life, and for the survival of a unified and democratic country have a moral obligation and duty to come together and arrive at a shared understanding of the nature, and origin of the problem that emanates from ethnic minority elite political and economic capture.” (Ethiopians Can Indeed Unite if they are Willing, Part Six (c) of Six. Aklog Birara, PhD). Thus, can fostering Ethiopian unity, assuring it’s territorial integrity, respect for Human rights, and an all-inclusive transitional processes to democracy be our minimal agenda for the way forward together?
Dear, Ethiopian brothers and sisters, Ethiopia is at cross-roads again. The ruling TPLF strategy is to use EPRDF as cover and increase its repressive capacity of spying and military assault on our people. The secret meetings among top TPLF leaders reveals, their plan to turn Ethiopia to the China-like rigid state by strengthening more the power of the Tigrian elite to the level of the central committee of the Chinese Communist Party. If we are not actively participate in the struggle and save our country, EPRDF will succeed turning our people to human machines or slaves of the Woyanes in the name of economic development. However, if TPLF felt it could not stay in power, they will instigate a civil war along tribal and ethnic lines and our country will disintegrate. The current report from National Intelligence, an umbrella organization of US intelligence agencies, conforms this fact and justifies the fear and argument of many Ethiopians that the illegal secession of Eritrea sets a dangerous precedent in Africa. Thus, please come to ENTC and participate actively to save our people and country. This is an organization where everyone is a leader in many different ways and capacities. Come with your families and friends, and come with free spirit. It does not matter if you are a member of any political or civic organizations. Expect the worst which is to gain something positive but little, and hope for the best that our efforts will be successful in removing the Woyane regime and replacing it with an all-inclusive democratic transitional government that leads to a democratically elected government in Ethiopia.
More than 100 dissident soldiers stormed the Ministry of Information in the small East African nation of Eritrea on Monday and read a statement on state TV saying the country’s 1997 constitution would be put into force, two Eritrea experts said.
The soldiers held all of the ministry workers – including the daughter of the president – in a single room, said Leonard Vincent, author of the book “The Eritreans” and co-founder of a Paris-based Eritrean radio station. The soldiers’ broadcast on state TV said the country’s 1997 constitution would be reinstated and all political prisoners freed, but the broadcast was cut off after only two sentences were read and the signal has been off air the rest of the day, Vincent said.
By late afternoon there were indications the soldiers’ attempt would fail. A military tank sat in front of the Ministry of Information but the streets of the capital, Asmara, were quiet, and no shots had been fired, said a Western diplomat in Eritrea who wasn’t authorized to be identified by name.
Vincent stopped short of calling it a coup d’etat and said it wasn’t immediately clear if the action was a well-organized coup attempt or what he called a “kamikaze crash.”
Later Monday government soldiers surrounded the ministry, an indication the action by the dissident soldiers had failed, said Martin Plaut, a fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies in Britain.
“It looks like it’s an isolated attempt by some soldiers who are completely frustrated by what is going on. But it wasn’t done in a coordinated manner,” Plaut said. “They did seize the television station, they did manage to put this broadcast out, but the government is still functioning calmly. There is nothing on the streets.”
Eritrea is an oppressive and politically isolated neighbor of Ethiopia and Sudan situated on the Red Sea that broke off from Ethiopia in the 1990s. The U.S. government’s relations with Eritrea became strained in 2001 as a result of a government crackdown against political dissidents, the closing of the independent press and limits on civil liberties, conditions that the State Department says have “persisted to this day.”
U.N. slams Eritrea for Islamic militant support
Isaias Afworki has ruled the country as president and head of the military since 1993.
If the power grab attempt by the dissident soldiers fails, they are likely in for severe punishments, Vincent and Plaut said.
“People call it the North Korea of Africa and that is accurate, so you either win or you’re dead, and I think these people are dead,” Plaut said. “One can’t be absolutely sure but that’s what it looks like.”
