The Los Angeles Little Ethiopia neighborhood hosted its 9th annual street festival on Sunday, September 12. Over 20 Ethiopian businesses in Los Angeles took part in the festival. Shockingly, the Woyanne cadres in Los Angeles were also given a table to promote their ruling junta through the Woyanne occupied Consulate General.
While the organizer of this event, Little Ethiopia Business Association, deserves credit for hosting a great festival, they should not have allowed representatives of the fascist tribal regime in Ethiopia to be part of the event.
Ironically, a few feet away from the Woyanne Consulate General’s table there was a booth by FreeBirtukan.org that works to free Birtukan Mideksa and other prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia.
Hopefully in the future the organizers will correct such a major blunder that is offensive to most Ethiopians in Los Angeles who have suffered under the Woyanne junta.
In the afternoon, Ethiopians started to confront the Woyanne cadres and forced them to pack up and leave. But they remain disappointed at the organizers who allowed them to step up their table at the event in the first place.
Below, Woyanne cadres laugh at Birtukan Mideksa supporters who have confronted them.
Ethiopians every where need to challenge and confront the Woyanne junta. They must not be allowed to move freely among us while they are brutalizing our people at home.
The biggest loser in this week’s reshuffle inside the TPLF top leadership is the 72-year-old Sibhat Nega, who was a one-time chairman and most powerful person inside the tribal organization that is currently ruling Ethiopia.
The media that is under the control of Meles reported that Sibhat was not re-elected due to his age, which is far from the truth.
The reshuffle took place at Tigray People Liberation Front’s (TPLF) 10th conference in Mekele this week.
The feud between Sibhat Nega and Azeb Mesfin, the wife of Meles Zenawi, came out in the open about a year ago when she managed to force him out of EFFORT, a conglomerate of 60 corporations, to make a space for herself. That was followed by his ouster from the TPLF politburo. He expressed his displeasure publicly about his forced resignation when he was interviewed by VOA in June 2009 (listen here).
According to sources close to TPLF (Woyanne), Sebhat Nega is bitter about the way he was sent off from the organization by Meles and Azeb. After all, it was Sibhat who groomed Meles for leadership and brought him to power. He was a father figure and mentor to Meles. When Siye Abraha, Gebru Asrat and others were about to remove Meles from power in 2002, it was Sibhat who protected him and helped him remain in power. Now that Meles has secured his position, he returns the favor by throwing out Sibhat like an old rug. When a founding member and long time leader of an organization retires, one would expect at least some fanfare as a show of appreciation.
TPLF rank-and-file members are also unhappy about the promotion of Azeb Mesfin to the TPLF executive committee, which is the de facto supreme governing body of Ethiopia. They had hoped that new faces would come to the top leadership. Instead, the change was simply a consolidation of power by Meles and Azeb, who have now an unchecked power by surrounding themselves with loyalists and yes-men. Some are wondering if the next person to come to the executive committee is Semahal Meles.
EthioMedia.com has been publishing a series of articles [1, 2] by some one pen named Tikur Chaka in the past few weeks. I have received requests by some EPPF supporters and Ethiopian Review readers to address the issues raised in the articles.
Ato Melke Mengiste, one of the senior members of EPPF who helped found the organization, has also asked me to publish a confidential report he presented to EPPF chapters and central committee members on August 1, 2010. Ato Melke’s report highlights some of the main problems facing EPPF. Click here to read.
The issues surrounding the Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front (EPPF) are too complicated and after reading both articles by “Tikur Chaka,” I think it is important to address some of them based on my own personal observation. Again, the following are my personal observations.
1. The writer accuses many individuals, including me, of not taking a public stand regarding the problems currently facing EPPF. As a matter of fact, some of us have been fighting hard to fix the problems inside EPPF behind the scene, and there have been some serious, tangible steps that have been taken recently. For example, a few weeks ago, EPPF chapters have passed a joint resolution calling for suspension of all fund raising activities around the world on behalf of EPPF until a proper system for handling its finances has been put in place. The resolution also calls for revamping of the leadership. (click here to read the resolution.) There are a number of other steps that are being taken — the details of which I cannot discuss at this time.
2. The claim the writer makes that Eritrean officials do not want EPPF to become a strong Ethiopian polico-military force has NOT been supported by solid facts. The main reason EPPF is failing to make advances is that it has been infiltrated by corrupt individuals who seek fame and financial gains at the expense of the organization, as detailed in Ato Melke’s confidential report.
3. As the writer correctly points out, some members of the EPPF top leadership have been engaged in embezzlement of funds that were collected for the organization. I don’t think this will happen any more, because many of the newly elected central committee members have taken a strong stand against such gross misconduct. I am confident that those who have misappropriated funds from the organization will be held accountable.
Lastly, the writer is hell-bent on trying to convince his readers that the main source of EPPF’s problems is the Eritrean government or Shabia. This is a weak argument. If we continue to externalize our problems, instead of looking at ourselves and examine our own actions, we cannot find solutions. EPPF, and all Ethiopian opposition parties, for that matter, are weak because they are plagued with corruption, nepotism, parochialism and incompetence. The opposition parties need younger, well-educated, dynamic leaders with laser-sharp focus on removing the Woyanne cancer from Ethiopia. The opposition leaders need to also be immune to corruption, self-aggrandizement, and manipulation by other powers. A concerted effort is currently being made to bring such leadership to EPPF.
The 10th conference of the ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (Woyanne) this week selects new executive and central committees. The selection brought little change. Some of the changes are:
Sibhat Nega has been forced out. His ouster has been engineered by Meles Zenawi’s wife Azeb Mesfin who wanted to take over EFFORT, the TPLF business conglomerate that he has been controlling.
Seyoum Mesfin, Arkebe Equbay, and Abay Tsehay have been removed from the Executive Committee, but they remain in the central committee. They were the only remaining voices inside the executive committee (politburo) who some times stand up to Meles.
Azeb Mesfin, Debretsion Gebre-Mikael, and Beyene Mikru have been promoted to the Executive Committee.
The other six members — Meles Zenawi, Tsegay Berhe, Abay Woldu, Abadi Zemo, Tewodros Hagos, and Dr Tewodros Adhanom — remain in the 9-member executive committee. Meles will continue as chairman and Abay Wolde, currently Vice President of Tigray, has been selected as vice-chairman of TPLF, replacing Seyoum Mesfin.
Among the new Executive Committee members, Debretsion GebreMikael is known to be Meles Zenawi’s yes-man who has been assigned to block news web sites and jam radio stations as head of Ethiopian Information and Communication Technology Development Agency. His primary task as head of the agency is to make sure that most Ethiopians will not have access to information technology.
Beyene Mikru is another Meles Zenawi loyalist who has served as head of the Tigray Region Education Bureau.
Tsegay Berhe is another Meles loyalist who is currently the president of Tigray Region. He was appointed to that position after the former president of Tigray, Gebru Asrat, had a fallout with Meles. Gebru Asrat now heads the opposition Arena Party.
Of course we all know Azeb Mesfin, the first lady of Africa’s corruption who, along with her husband, has stolen hundreds of millions of dollars of Ethiopia’s treasure. Her new position as one of the 9 people who rule Ethiopia will allow to do more looting.
Dr Tewodros Adhanom is currently the Health Minister. Under his watch, Ethiopia’s health care system has become one of the worst in Africa. These days people in Ethiopia go to a hospital to die, not to get treatment.
Mulugeta Alemseged, Dr. Gebreab Barnabas, Dr. Adhane Haile, Tewolde Gebru (Director of TDA), Dr. Hailemikael Abera, Fiseha Zerihun (Mayor of Mekelle), and Dr Wolderufael Alemayehu have resigned from the Central Committee.
Gebreab Barnabas is responsible for the Anuak massacre (genocide) in Ethiopia’s western region of Gambella.
There is little surprise in the selection of members to both the the Executive and Central committees. It is simply a reshuffle of existing members to allow Meles Zenawi solidify his grip on the organization.
Similar reshuffles have taken place in TPLF’s puppet groups, OPDO and ANDM. Addisu Legese, Tefera Walwa, Aba Dula Gemeda, Junedin Sado and other high-profile puppets have been removed from top leadership positions, while tail-wagging loyal adghis Demeke Mekonnen, Gedu Andargachew, Alemayehu Atomsa, and Kuma Demeksa were promoted to chairmanships.
The opposition party leader is an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, serving a life sentence in Kaliti prison in Addis Ababa. A single mother and former judge, she was among dozens arrested after the disputed 2005 elections, freed, and then re-arrested for saying her release had been due to opposition pressure on the government rather than a request by her for pardon.
Mideksa and others arrested in 2005 were pardoned after spending nearly two years in jail. In November 2008 she spoke at a public meeting in Sweden about her pardon, attributing her release and that of others to political negotiations between the opposition and the government rather than an official request made through legal channels.
While people who were in jail with her the first time say this reflected the truth, the government said it equated to denying asking for a pardon. When she returned to Ethiopia, authorities asked her to retract her statement, failing which she would be re-arrested. She refused and was re-arrested in December 2008, when the ministry of justice revoked her pardon and re-imposed her life sentence.
Since a court ruling on a complaint she filed against the prison, Mideksa – the only female leader of a main opposition party in Africa – has been allowed more regular visits from her immediate family, including her mother and her five-year-old daughter. However, she has reportedly had only intermittent access to legal representation.
Mideksa’s imprisonment has garnered increasing public attention. Her supporters are planning a run for her in Turbingen, Germany on 19 September.
In its annual report on human rights around the world, the US state department’s section on Ethiopia said: “Human rights abuses reported during the year included unlawful killings, torture, beating, abuse and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, often acting with evident impunity; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of suspected sympathisers or members of opposition or insurgent groups…”
Opposition parties and human rights groups say Mideksa’s case is stark evidence of the authoritarian tendencies of Meles Zenawi, the prime minister, a major recipient of western aid.
There is a grass root (net root) movement currently going on in Facebook that is calling on every one who supports the release of Birtukan Mideksa to change his/her profile photo to Birtukan’s picture.
Ethiopian Review endorses this call, which could attract an international attention if most Ethiopians and friends of human rights around the world participate in it.
The call is for September 8 until the Ethiopian New Year, September 11, 2010.
We join the net rooters in asking every one to upload Birtukan’s picture above as your Facebook profile photo starting on September 8.
The biggest loser in this week’s reshuffle inside the TPLF top leadership is the 72-year-old Sibhat Nega, who was a one-time chairman and most powerful person inside the tribal organization that is currently ruling Ethiopia.
