Ethiopia, the oldest independent country in Africa, will celebrate its millennium Wednesday, September 12. The Ethiopian calendar falls seven to eight years behind western dates as a result of the disparities between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, concerning the date of the creation.
As part of their millennium celebrations, Ethiopians in the United States have organized a five-day extravaganza. A one-day symposium Saturday looked at the past, present and future of Ethiopia. One of the topics for the symposium was the quest for democracy in the new millennium.
Mesfin Araya, professor of African studies at the City University of New York, looked at the quest for democracy and the lessons from the 2005 election. He said the ruling party of Ethiopia is organized along ethnic lines. But Professor Araya said Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been able to stay in power because the opposition is fundamentally weak and fragmented.
“Their political history in the past has been marked by internal crisis, invariably disastrous fragmentation. And that tendency to fragment can also be seen today. De facto enhancing the longevity of the current regime. At the outset, an effort to form a broader national coalition that can critically confront Meles and his ruling party, the opposition forces decided to participate in the election at two splinter coalitions,” Araya said.
He said the opposition’s lack of consensus from within has continued to give Prime Minister Zenawi the opportunity to play the game of divide and rule.
Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic country with Amhara the predominant ethnic group. Ephrem Madebo, systems engineer for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration addressed the topic “Democratic Response to what he called the national question in Ethiopia. He proposed a decentralized federal government.
“I brought two alternatives. It could be federalism but not ethnic federalism. It could be interpreted in a way that the Ethiopian masses agree, or it could be kind of regional autonomy. Those are my two alternatives,” Madebo said.
Dima Sarbo, political science professor at the University of Tennessee addressed the topic: Challenges of balancing collective and individual rights. He said the rights of self-government and fair representation for national groups form the fundamental basis of democracy for a multi-national politic like Ethiopia.
“My argument is that if Ethiopia has to survive as a viable politic, it has to democratize and institute (a) guaranteed rights of citizenship for all its citizens irrespective of gender, ethnicity, language, religion or other differences, and (b) guaranteed national rights of autonomy and self-government through its linguistic and other national groups irrespective of their size and claims,” Sarbo said.
Getachew Metaferia, professor of political science at Morgan State University looked at Ethiopia-U.S. relations and its impact on the quest for democracy in Ethiopia. He says the U.S. has frustrated the quest for democracy by its support for unpopular governments in Ethiopia.
“The U.S. has also contributed to the dismal situation in Ethiopia by supporting and abetting an unpopular government and failing to listen to the people. Rectifying such a situation and fostering progressive, not conventional foreign policy, will cultivate Ethiopian peoples’ support for the U.S. and ensure mutually advantageous long-term U.S. national interest,” Metaferia said.
Metaferia urged the United States to assist in fulfilling the Ethiopian people’s quest for democracy. He also called on the U.S. to critically examine the effectiveness of its foreign assistance to Ethiopia because Metaferia said despite U.S. technical, military, and financial assistance, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world.
(AP – ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia Woyanne briefly detained what it said were four U.S. soldiers trying to contact a rebel group that has been fighting for greater autonomy for eastern Ethiopia, Ethiopian Woyanne officials said Friday.
Bereket Simon, a senior [propaganda] adviser to Prime Minister dictator Meles Zenawi, declined to say when the soldiers were detained or give any further details. Asked about the U.S. soldiers, he told the AP: “Four soldiers, or some soldiers, were detained. They were trying to contact the ONLF (the Ogaden National Liberation Front). That was not permitted.”
An official at the U.S. Embassy couldn’t immediately comment on the issue.
In an interview published in this week’s edition of Time magazine, Meles said Ethiopia had no proof the U.S. soldiers made contact with the rebels but they could have been “moving in that direction.”
“As far as we know, these personalities did not have official sanction to do that what they were doing. They were violating their own code of conduct,” the premier told Time in an interview conducted last month.
An official familiar with the case said the soldiers were detained in May in the eastern region of Somali State, as the Ogaden is known. The official said they were immediately released and their Ethiopian-American interpreter released in August.
At the time, the U.S. soldiers’ detention wasn’t made public.
NAIROBI, Aug 31 (Reuters) – International aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) accused Ethiopia’s [Woyanne regime] on Friday of denying it access to the remote Ogaden region where battles are raging between government troops and a rebel movement.
“The government of Ethiopia [Woyanne] has denied MSF access to the five zones of the Somali region under military operation, often referred to as the Ogaden region,” it said in a statement.
Woyanne launched a campaign several months ago to flush out Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebels after they carried out one of their bloodiest attacks to date, on a Chinese-run oil field, killing 74 people.
A United Nations fact-finding mission is in the region, assessing allegations by the rebels and rights groups of human rights abuses, as well as the food, water and health needs of Ogaden’s ethnic Somali people.
“MSF urgently calls on the Ethiopian authorities to allow MSF teams to provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable civilians living in that area,” the group added in a statement released in Nairobi. But a senior Ethiopian official said the group’s accusation was unfounded.
“Ethiopia does not have any no-go zone,” Bereket Simon, special adviser to [dictator] Meles Zenawi, told Reuters.
MSF said an “exploratory mission” by its personnel in the region prior to the ban had revealed “urgent health needs and a deteriorating humanitarian crisis.”
“Despite a signed agreement with MSF, the authorities in Addis Ababa continue to deny MSF access to the area, in order to help the civilian victims of the conflict.”
Earlier in August, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had pulled out of the Ogaden following a government order.
The ONLF accuses [Woyanne] of blockading food relief, choking commercial trade and risking “man-made famine.”
The government denies that, saying the ONLF are Eritrean-backed terrorists peddling lies to the world.
The claims and counter-claims are hard to verify, as the arid region, populated largely by nomadic herders, is effectively off-limits to most rights workers and journalists. (Additional reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse in Addis Ababa)
The crisis that has engulfed the Debre Selam Kidist Mariam (DSKM) Ethiopian Orthdox Church in Washington DC continues to worsen. The latest development is that on Sunday, the Church’s board had called police on members and officials of the Debre Selam Kidist Mariam Idir who demanded the board to tell the truth. The DC police with five cruisers rushed to the Church when board member Abebe Aboye made an emergency call. The police left the church premesis grumbling after observing that there was no emergency. But the presence of the police inside the church served as a wake up call to many of the DSKM members who remained silent or indifferent ጆሮ ዳባ ልበስ up to now when their church is being taken over by a rogue group of opportunist individuals who wish to go back home and do business with Woyanne, à la Aba Melaku of another Ethiopian church in DC.
This Sunday’s confrontation started when board chairman Frew Bulbula told the congregation that a new executive committee has been elected to take over the Idir. This angered a lot of people who felt lied to. The fact is that there was a meeting on August 19 that was attended by over 150 members of the Idir. The meeting was held at the Cathedral Catholic Church in Washington DC after the DSKM board refused to allow it to take place inside the church’s meeting hall. At that meeting, the Idir members asked the current executives to remain in their position until the attempted ‘hostile takeover’ of the Idir by the DSKM board is repulsed. Funds were also collected to cover legal expenses. Unbeknown to the Idir members and officials, the DSKM board had also called a meeting on the same day where less than fifty of their collaborators showed up. Bililign Mandefro and cohorts told the participants that they are called to the meeting to elect new officials for the Idir.
Last week, when a relative of one of the Idir members died, Ato Seyoum Garedew, chairman of the Idir, gave $7,000 to the family of the deceased. However, on Sunday, Ato Frew Bulbula told the congregation that the Idir’s new board gave the money to the family. This outright lie inside a church angered several people who were aware of the fact. Some of them shouted: “stop lying!” It was this angry response from the congregation that caused Ato Abebe Aboye to panick and call the police. The church members were angry, and they were shouting at the board that is acting and smelling like Woyanne. But they would not resort to violence or engage in any harmful action inside their own church.
The DSKM board has the backing of some of the priests. After members of the church pointed out Frew Bulbula’s lies on Sunday, the head priest said, let them shout, they will get it in court! What arrogance (ዕብሪት) coming from a ‘spiritual’ leader!
Some who don’t know the story behind the story may wonder why the DSKM board is aggressively going after an independent idir (self-help organization) and its officials. After all, Idir by its definition is an ad hoc group of individuals who get together and contribute some money that is used to pay for funerals and weddings. In Kidist Mariam Idir’s case, they only pay for funeral expenses. The money that is in the bank — $300,000 — also is not that much. The DSKM board could spend close to that amount for legal fees alone by the time the whole thing is over.
The real issue behind the DSKM board’s attempt to take over the independent Idir is politics. As reported previously, the DSKM board that had been slouching toward the Woyanne camp for a long time is now out of the closet. They used to claim that DSKM is an independent church, i.e., they are under the authority of neither the Woyanne-installed patriarch in Addis Ababa, nor the legitimate patriarch who is currently in exile. Now, after … continued to next page >>
The crisis that has engulfed the Debre Selam Kidist Mariam (DSKM) Ethiopian Orthdox Church in Washington DC continues to worsen. The latest development is that on Sunday, the Church’s board had called police on members and officials of the Debre Selam Kidist Mariam Idir who demanded the board to tell the truth. The DC police with five cruisers rushed to the Church when board member Abebe Aboye made an emergency call. The police left the church premesis grumbling after observing that there was no emergency. But the presence of the police inside the church served as a wake up call to many of the DSKM members who remained silent or indifferent ጆሮ ዳባ ልበስ up to now when their church is being taken over by a rogue group of opportunist individuals who wish to go back home and do business with Woyanne, à la Aba Melaku of another Ethiopian church in DC.
This Sunday’s confrontation started when board chairman Frew Bulbula told the congregation that a new executive committee has been elected to take over the Idir. This angered a lot of people who felt lied to. The fact is that there was a meeting on August 19 that was attended by over 150 members of the Idir. The meeting was held at the Cathedral Catholic Church in Washington DC after the DSKM board refused to allow it to take place inside the church’s meeting hall. At that meeting, the Idir members asked the current executives to remain in their position until the attempted ‘hostile takeover’ of the Idir by the DSKM board is repulsed. Funds were also collected to cover legal expenses. Unbeknown to the Idir members and officials, the DSKM board had also called a meeting on the same day where less than fifty of their collaborators showed up. Bililign Mandefro and cohorts told the participants that they are called to the meeting to elect new officials for the Idir.
Last week, when a relative of one of the Idir members died, Ato Seyoum Garedew, chairman of the Idir, gave $7,000 to the family of the deceased. However, on Sunday, Ato Frew Bulbula told the congregation that the Idir’s new board gave the money to the family. This outright lie inside a church angered several people who were aware of the fact. Some of them shouted: “stop lying!” It was this angry response from the congregation that caused Ato Abebe Aboye to panick and call the police. The church members were angry, and they were shouting at the board that is acting and smelling like Woyanne. But they would not resort to violence or engage in any harmful action inside their own church.
The DSKM board has the backing of some of the priests. After members of the church pointed out Frew Bulbula’s lies on Sunday, the head priest said, let them shout, they will get it in court! What arrogance (ዕብሪት) coming from a ‘spiritual’ leader!
Some who don’t know the story behind the story may wonder why the DSKM board is aggressively going after an independent idir (self-help organization) and its officials. After all, Idir by its definition is an ad hoc group of individuals who get together and contribute some money that is used to pay for funerals and weddings. In Kidist Mariam Idir’s case, they only pay for funeral expenses. The money that is in the bank — $300,000 — also is not that much. The DSKM board could spend close to that amount for legal fees alone by the time the whole thing is over.
The real issue behind the DSKM board’s attempt to take over the independent Idir is politics. As reported previously, the DSKM board that had been slouching toward the Woyanne camp for a long time is now out of the closet. They used to claim that DSKM is an independent church, i.e., they are under the authority of neither the Woyanne-installed patriarch in Addis Ababa, nor the legitimate patriarch who is currently in exile. Now, after … continued to next page >>
The following is a speech delivered by Ato Obang Metho in Minnesota at a conference organized by the Ogaden Youth Network:
Let us Break Down the Invisible Fences of Ethiopia!
August 11, 2007
It is an honor to be here in front of you to talk about human rights in Ethiopia. Human rights abuses are going on all over the country, but right now, the people of the Ogaden are paying the heaviest price. What is happening in the Ogaden is a silent Darfur. I am here with you today as a brother who knows what you are going through. I am here to grieve with you as part of your Ethiopian family. I am here as a fellow worker in a battle against the same injustice that is killing all of our people—the people of Gambella, the Ogaden and in all of Ethiopia!
I want to thank the Ogaden Youth Network for inviting me to first Annual International Ogaden Youth Committee and for all the excellent work you have done in organizing this conference. I thank the Ogaden Human Rights Committee, the University of St. Thomas who is hosting this conference and the many others who assisted in bringing this about.
I am glad to be in this great state of Minnesota. Minnesota has become my second home. Since 2004, I have been coming here many times to speak, starting with the Anuak. You may not know that most of the Anuak in the United States live in Minnesota, as do my family members, friends and some of my work colleagues. More recently, I have been here to speak at the University of Minnesota and just two weeks ago to speak to the Oromo.
More Oromo live in Minnesota than anywhere else in the country, but I have just learned from some of my hostesses that there are 15,000 to 18,000 Ogadenis here in Minnesota as well—again, more than in any other place in the country! I now feel all the more strongly that Minnesota is my second home because I feel so at home with not only the Anuak, but now also because it is the largest US home of Ogadenis and the Oromo. You all are my new brothers and sisters and we have much in common, but the Anuak and the Ogadenis have had little chance to meet in the past.
I first met some of you in January of this year when we were in Atlanta at a meeting about the human rights abuses in Ethiopia that was organized by African Americans. During our stay, some of us met informally in a hotel room and talked for hours. There were four Ogadenis, one Amhara, one Oromo and me, an Anuak. While we were there, Abdulhakim, an Ogadeni, commented that it was unbelievable that we were all there together in the same room. He went on to say that previously there had been an invisible fence that had blocked us from each other that had been set in place by the Dergue and now was reinforced by the Woyane government.
