EDITOR’S NOTE: It was a costly mistake for the U.S. to prop up the Woyanne thugocracy in Ethiopia with billions of dollars during the past 18 years while there are better and more reliable partners in the Horn of Africa region. Hopefully the U.S. Gov’t is finally waking up to the reality that Woyanne is a criminal gang that deserves to face justice, not receive financial and political support.
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States condemned Ethiopia’s blocking of Voice of America broadcasts, calling the country’s accusations of the US radio service “baseless and inflammatory.”
Ethiopian Prime Minister war criminal Meles Zenawi earlier admitted to jamming the US government-funded VOA broadcasts in Amharic, saying he was prepared to censor the broadcasts because of the service’s “destabilizing propaganda.”
He said Ethiopian authorities had been testing jamming equipment although there had been no formal decision to block the US radio station.
But Washington said Addis Ababa was already jamming VOA transmissions in Amharic, Ethiopia’s main language. The United States “opposes” the move, US State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said in a statement.
The Ethiopian leader warlord also compared VOA to Radio Mille Collines of Rwanda, which incited the population to exterminate minority Tutsis during the Rwandan genocide.
Duguid condemned the comparison to the infamous Rwandan station.
“Comparing a respected and professional news service to a group that called for genocide in Rwanda is a baseless and inflammatory accusation that seeks only to deflect attention away from the core issue,” he said on Friday.
“The prime minister may disagree with news carried in Voice of America’s Amharic service broadcasts; however, a decision to jam VOA broadcasts contradicts the government of Ethiopia’s frequent public commitments to freedom of the press.”
He noted that the Ethiopian Constitutions upholds people’s right to freedom of expression “without any interference” and that freedom of the press includes “prohibition of any form of censorship.”
“We look to the government of Ethiopia to abide by its constitution,” Duguid said.
Addis Ababa often accuses VOA of bias toward the opposition and of attempting to foment chaos in the country.
The Horn of Africa nation holds elections on May 23, but human rights groups have accused Meles’s regime of instilling a climate of fear ahead of the polls.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned Ethiopia for “maintaining hostilities.”
“Invoking the Rwandan genocide is an excuse to silence legitimate criticism and scrutiny. The Ethiopian government used this reasoning to crack down on the country’s once-vibrant Amharic press after the disputed 2005 elections,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes.
“As Prime Minister Meles Zenawi stands for re-election in May, we urge him to show leadership on constructive reforms to make press freedom, as guaranteed under Article 29 of the Ethiopian constitution, a reality.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: For Meles and gang dialogue is a tactic to be used as a trap, not a way to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. Every one who tried dialogue with Woyanne has been burned. OLF and Kinijit are good examples. Eritrean government knows this more than any one else. For peace to prevail in the Horn of Africa, Woyanne must be eliminated.
By Barry Malone
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) — Ethiopian Prime Minister warlord Meles Zenawi said he is willing to meet Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki despite more than 10 years of bitter words and a bloody border war.
Eritrea last month accused Ethiopia of blocking its participation in African Union (AU) summits in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa — seat of the 53-nation body.
Responding to questions, Meles denied the claims and said Isaias was welcome in Ethiopia.
“If the Eritrean government is eager to send any person, whether the president himself or any person, and participate in meetings they will be treated exactly like any other delegation,” Meles told reporters late on Thursday.
Meles said it was Addis Ababa’s obligation as AU headquarters.
The 1998-2000 war between two of the world’s poorest countries killed at least 70,000 people. An independent border commission in 2002 awarded the flashpoint town of Badme to Eritrea but Ethiopia still occupies the territory.
“I am prepared to talk to anybody on matters that help peace in the neighbourhood,” Meles said. “So as I have made it very clear on many occasions we are ready to talk to them at any level, at any time, any place.”
Meles did not say whether he was willing to discuss the border issue.
“I have no obligation to meet him at the airport,” Meles added.
In December, the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Eritrea, accusing it of backing rebel groups in Somalia, where at least 21,000 people have been killed in violence since the beginning of 2007.
The sanctions, adopted in December and backed by 13 of the 15 members of the U.N. Security Council, include an arms embargo, travel restrictions and asset freezes for some of the country’s top officials.
Asmara says the Security Council is a proxy for the United States and says the multi-state body continues to ignore the fact that their territory is being occupied by Ethiopia, Washington’s strongest ally in the Horn of Africa.
New York (CPJ) — Ethiopia’s regime is preparing to jam the Amharic-language broadcasts of the U.S. government-funded Voice of America (VOA), Prime Minister dictator Meles Zenawi declared Thursday in a press briefing with international media correspondents based in the capital, Addis Ababa.
The prime minister dictator accused VOA’s Amharic service of “engaging in destabilizing propaganda,” comparing it to Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, the Rwandan station whose inflammatory broadcasts helped stoke the 1994 genocide. In a statement, VOA rejected the comparison as “incorrect and unfortunate.”
The issue arose Thursday when a reporter asked Zenawi about interference that VOA listeners had experienced since late February. Zenawi said the government has been testing equipment that would allow it to block VOA broadcasts, according to news reports. He said a final decision on the jamming had not been made.
“We have to know before we make the decision to jam whether we have the capacity to do it,” Zenawi told reporters, according to news accounts. But he left little doubt he would authorize jamming once the government had the capability, saying “I can assure you” the plan will go forward once it is feasible.
Zenawi’s statements were the first acknowledgment of government interference with VOA broadcasts, which are beamed by satellite from Washington and received in Ethiopia via short-wave radio. Just two weeks earlier, Shemelis Kemal, a government spokesman, told CPJ that any suggestion of government involvement in the interference was an “absolute sham.” He said such practices were unconstitutional.
“Invoking the Rwandan genocide is an excuse to silence legitimate criticism and scrutiny. The Ethiopian government used this reasoning to crack down on the country’s once-vibrant Amharic press after the disputed 2005 elections,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes. “As Prime Minister Meles Zenawi stands for re-election in May, we urge him to show leadership on constructive reforms to make press freedom, as guaranteed under Article 29 of the Ethiopian constitution, a reality.” The Ethiopian government has taken draconian measures to limit independent coverage of the May elections, revising a media law to stiffen penalties for libel and adopting anti-terrorism legislation that requires journalists to disclose sources, according to CPJ research. This month, the National Electoral BoardofEthiopia issued a code of conduct for the media restricting the activities of journalists covering the polls, according to news reports. Meanwhile, the government has continued to jail and persecute its critics in the press.
I am sure you are familiar with all the big numbers thrown around when it comes to the number of Ethiopians in the US. Hundreds here thousands there add up to make an impressive amount. My travels the last few years have taken me to different parts of the Country. To tell you the truth I was not ready for DC metro area. The sheer number of Abeshas in all walks of life begs the question ‘who is left in Ethiopia?’
Why bother traveling to Addis when you can just drop by U Street. The smell of freshly brewed coffee with a whiff of caramelized onions and itan (እጣን) smoke was permeating the air. On U Street the mind plays tricks on you. One is virtually transported back to Ethiopia. A certain UN describable spirit takes over. It is Merkato tossed with Bole and a sprinkle of Piazza but cleaner. And a procession of never ending Ethiopians. This scenario is repeated in most metropolitan areas of the continent.
From Toronto to Vancouver BC, from New York to LA and from Seattle to Dallas there are Ethiopian enclaves mimicking life at home. Telegraph Avenue of Berkeley/Oakland is the same as Little Ethiopia in Los Angles. 12th. Street of Seattle resembles U Street of DC. It is all about Ethiopians working with Ethiopians making each other proud for being able to create such a vibrant community in exile. The Restaurant owner, the shop keeper, the lawyer, taxi driver, university professor, house wife, Beauty saloon operator, contractor, real estate agent etc. etc. mingling to help their community thrive.
Damn, I said to myself ‘there sure is plenty of us in exile.’ All available evidence points to a resourceful people that have managed to adapt to a new and strange environment. We have also managed to make our new home resemble the one we left behind. We can make any mother proud. But, there is always a ‘but’ isn’t there? That’s life. It is a shock to find out the appearance is what we are into. Just like Hollywood creates illusion to simulate the imagined event we have created our own façade to hide our indifference. We wave the flag to show our love while we feed the monster that devours the flag.
Our behavior is very perplexing. It is very unreasonable. It is just not like us. When did we change? That is what brought the memory of Ato Ketema into my head. The story of Ato Ketema was a ‘teachable moment’ in my life. It was a powerful lesson. It was an incident that was etched in my brain.
I was in my teens in a small town in southern Ethiopia. It was a time an organization called ‘From Alem Gena to Wollamo road building project.’ (ከአለም ገና አስከ ወላሞ የመንገድ ሥራ ድርጅት) was founded. As the name implies the idea was to build a highway between the two cities. They were going to issue stocks to build the road and recover their investment by running a bus system on the new highway. Thus the directors of the organization travel to all the major towns and meet town elders to assess the situation. Based on income they will levy an amount the individual or his family is expected to invest in the project.
So one summer they showed up in our little town. They went about their business of asking merchants for investment. I remember my family being exited about the shares they acquired. There is always one nay sayer in any gathering. Ato Ketema was one. Ato Ketema is a well to do shop keeper with a thriving business. In fact his store was so big that it has two doors. I believe the investment asked of him was not much. It was definitly something he can afford. For some odd reason Ato Keteka refused to buy shares and help his people. His friends, family and neighbors were sent to appeal to him. He refused. What do you think they did? They decided to punish his anti social behavior by utilizing the power of boycott. A gathering was called and his refusal to give back to the community that sustains him was condemned. People were instructed not to enter his store, associate with him and not even invite him to weedings and funerals. He was made a pariahs by the town.
It was not long before Ato Ketema was reduced into a shadow of his former self. His store was empty and his friends were avoiding him like the plague. Within a matter of weeks Ato Ketema was walking down the street talking to himself and dispalying strange behavior. Ato Ketema was finding out the cost of his one man stand against the many. Ato Ketema was forced to come infront of the elders accompanied by religious leaders and beg for forgivness. He was made to pay a fine and the social curse was lifted. No matter, Ato ketema never recovered from the humiliation.
As a young person I was impressed by the powerful show of force by the community. The good of the many can not be overriden by the benifit to the individual. I saw the effect of social sanction to modify a persons anti social behavior.
Imagine my surprise later in life when I found out what the people of my town did was duplicted both by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Our town used the weapon to change the behavior of an individual while our two teachers used it to challange and change an unjust law.
In 1930 the British colonizers passed the Salt Tax. It made it illigal to collect salt from the coast, sell or produce salt. The British assumed monopoly on salt. Gandhi wrote to the viceroy and told him of his plan to march 248 miles to the coast in defiace. He said ‘I regard this tax to be the most iniquitous of all from the poor man’s standpoint. As the Independence movement is essentially for the poorest in the land, the beginning will be made with this evil.’ The Mahatma gathered seventy-eight of his pupils and made the jorney attracting many followes along the road. The salt march ushered in the struggle for independence that ultimately succeed and was able to create a stable democracy.
Martin Luther King led the boycott of Montegomery, Albama bus system to oppose the city’s policy of racial segrgation on its transit system. The boycott caused financial hardship on the transit system. The refusal of Mrs. Rosa parks to surrender her seat to a white person led the US supreme Court to rule segregation of the bus system to be unconstitutional.
Gandhi challanged the British law. Gandhi showed the Indian people that un just law does not have to be obyed. Disobdience comes with a price. Being shot at, thrown in jail or exiled is the price leaders pay. That is what is called the burden of leadership. Ask Gandhi, ask Mandella, ask MLK or ask Bertukan. They will tell you freedom by petition is not going to happen. Experience shows freedom is attained using a combination of bullets, boycots, marches and international awareness. That is what is called the stick and the carrott approach.
Martin Luther King took the route of boycott as a weapon of prefrence to challange the system. He was aware that the system will not tolerate killing. They can use water hose, tear gas, police dogs or police battons but not live bullets. He used that to the maximun.
In todays Ethiopia where the dictator has his own Agazi militia, Kilil dogs and the whole military under his command the picture is a little different. He shots to kill. He has been killing the last seventeen years. Whether we like it or not a force will emerge that will successfuly challange the clueless regime. Where there is repression there is resistance. That is the law of nature.
On the other hand one can’t just sit and wait for a redemer. When it comes to our self interest we seem to be action oriented. We walk/fly over oceans and mountains to get away and start a new life. That is why we are here. Because we wanted to do better. To be free. To thrive. How come that is not translated into helping those that were left behind. ‘Is it a case of I got my share the rest be damned?’ (እኔከሞትኩ ሰርዶ አይብቀል እኮ የአሀያ አስተሳሰብ ነው።) That is not going to work. That little voice inside of us can not be silenced.
We should do what we can to help. We should be very careful not to hurt. We should use everything in our power to uphold the sacredness of human life. We should work to shame those that abuse human beings and bring sadness and agony on their people. We are not against individuals. It is their lawless act we fight against. When we say no and deny them our support they will be forced to modify their destructive behavior. When we refrain from being part of their ponzi investment scheme, when we refuse to fly their private airlines, when we do not participate in their illigal land grabs they will be forced to listen to us. Money is their aphrodisiac. Without it they shrivel. My town people knew the power of not rewarding a destructive behavior. We should learn to use the power of “NO”!
Interview with newly elected central committee members of the Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front (EPPF) following the organizations General Assembly early this month:
(BBC) — Ethiopia’s ruling junta, Woyanne, has admitted it is jamming the Voice of America’s (VOA) broadcasts in Amharic, accusing the radio station of engaging in “destabilising propaganda”.
Prime Minister Warlord Meles Zenawi said Ethiopia his regime had been testing jamming equipment, although there had been no formal decision to bloc the US station.
The Amharic Service has experienced interference since late February.
Meles also compared the VOA’s transmissions to broadcasts in Rwanda in the mid-1990s that incited genocide.
‘Unfortunate’ comments
“We have for some time now been trying to beef up our capacity to deal with this, including… jamming,” Mr Meles said on Thursday.
In a statement, VOA director Danforth Austin said that any comparison of VOA programming to Rwandan broadcasts inciting genocide in the 1990s was “incorrect and unfortunate”.
“The VOA deplores jamming as a form of media censorship wherever it may occur,” he said, adding that the station’s Amharic Service was required by law to provide accurate and objective information.
The VOA and other foreign media organisations say broadcasts in Amharic – the country’s most widely spoken language – have been jammed around elections in the past.
The next polls in Ethiopia are in May and human rights groups say there has been a crackdown on the press.
The last elections saw opposition accusations of widespread rigging.
Thousands of opposition supporters were arrested after protests and some western countries reduced aid to Ethiopia.
Meles also rejected calls to free opposition leader Birtukan Medeksa from jail.
She was sentenced to life in prison in 2005 after the election protests, pardoned in 2007 and then re-imprisoned in 2008.
The prime minister dictator said she would remain in prison “permanently” and that diplomats and journalists could not visit her – the same rules as for other prisoners in Ethiopia.
Separately, Meles again denied claims in a recent BBC report that he had ordered the diversion of food aid money to buy arms to fight the government in the 1980s.
“We did not need to [do it]. We were not short of ammunition or arms. That was never our problem. Our main problem was that we were operating in an environmentally very fragile area unable to feed itself,” he said.
