Ethiopian Review Editorial
The Shaleqa mafia is an unholy alliance of:
1) The former chairman of Kinijit North America Shaleqa Yoseph Yazew, and Ato Moges Brook, who is the shaleqa’s friend of over 30 years from their EDU days. These two individuals are long time friends of Hailu Shawel and have close family ties. The two individuals allegedly have diverted over $1 million of Kinijit’s funds to accounts they personally control.
2) Former president of the Ethiopian Teachers Association (ETA), Dr Taye Woldesemayat, who once proudly announced in a public meeting that he did not vote for Kinijit in the 2005 elections. Last month, the ETA executive committee fired Taye (see here) for, among other things, not handing over financial and other forms of assistance he had received on behalf of the ETA from teachers’ association in other countries.
3) Radio talk show host and former abiyot tebaqi (Derg’s revolutionary guard) Merchaw Sinishaw who used to torture high school kids suspected of being EPRP members.
4) Woyanne web sites.
5) EPRP web sites such as asimba.org.
6) Millionaire businessman Solomon Bekele who is now practically out of the group because of his recent change of heart.
What made these groups with conflicting interests come together?
For Shaleqa Yoseph and Ato Moges, who formed this unholy alliance, their sole and overriding objective at this point is to create diversion through chaos so that the Kinijit leadership will be unable to conduct an investigation into their corruption. They have found a perfect weapon in the unemployed and power-hungry Taye Woldesemayat. Shaleqa Yoseph put Taye on salary and is sending him from city to city falsely presenting himself as the head of Kinijit in the Diaspora. Now all Shaleqa Yoseph and Ato Moges are doing is just sit back and watch Taye carry out their mission.
Before accepting the invitation to join the shaleqa group, Dr Taye was busy attending EPRP- sponsored public meetings and attacking the jailed Kinijit leaders. After being anointed as chairman of the Kinijit International Council (shaleqa’s Trojan horse), Dr Taye brought with him several of his friends who are either members of or have close ties to EPRP. In short, the KIC is an EPRP outfit that is being financed by Shaleqa Yoseph and Ato Moges with the money they stole from Kinijit.
The KIC serves two purposes and two different interests:
1) to create diversion for Shaleqa Yoseph and Ato Moges;
2) to facilitate the Taye-EPRP take over of Kinijit.
For Shaleqa Yoseph and Ato Moges, it is a matter of covering up their corruption — not a quest for power. For Taye and EPRP, it is a matter of hijacking Kinijit. Both of them are exploiting Ato Hailu’s poor health and shaky state of mind.
The Shaleqa-Taye-EPRP plan
This is what will happen in the next few weeks:
1) Ato Hailu and friends (the shaleqa group), with the help of the EPRP media, will start labeling members of the Kinijit executive committee as Woyanne agents and sympathizers. They will say that Ato Hailu signed the apology letter that got him and others out of jail after being pressured by the other Kinijit officials. They will talk about how Ato Hailu is the only leader with the conviction to stand up against Woyanne, bla bla bla…
2) Next, after gauging the effectiveness of their propaganda, Ato Hailu will declare that he has dismissed most of the Kinijit executive committee members. He believes, and is being told by the shaleqa group, that he has the power to decide any thing on behalf of Kinijit by himself.
3) In about six month or less, Hailu Shawel will announce that due to his poor health he is unable to remain as chairman and will appoint Taye Woldesemayat to replace him.
Ethiopian Review has been informed about this plan from a source inside the shaleqa group who is against it. According to the source, all the mediation, negotiation, excuses, etc. are just delaying tactics to buy time until Dr Taye and crew prepare the ground for the next step.
Some parts of this plan are already being implemented. They have started making various accusations against the executive committee members in private meetings with small groups of individuals. Soon EPRP media outlets will be filled with attacks against Kinijit Vice President Bertukan Mideska and the other members of the executive committee.
The effort to save Hailu Shawel
The concern of many people is not that Kinijit will be harmed or divided because of what Shaleqa Yoseph, Ato Moges, and Dr Taye are doing now taking advantage of Ato Hailu’s condition. Last Sunday’s successful public meeting in Washington DC has demonstrated that individual leaders may come and go, but Kinijit will move forward because it is built on principles rather than personalities. Kinijit supporters were also reassured that the Kinijit leadership is united and intact. The concern of most Kinijit supporters now is not Kinijit’s integrity or viability, but Ato Hailu’s legacy. It would be indeed unfortunate if the first chairman of Kinijit leaves the party without proper farewell, even worse, in disgrace.
Ato Solomon Bekele and a few others who became aware of the Shaleqa-Taye-EPRP plan are now making an effort to save Hailu Shawel from disgracing himself in such a way. Ato Hailu’s legacy and their own reputation is at stake. Ato Solomon has been imploring Hailu Shawel to re-establish contacts with the executive committee and attend public meetings together. In a further attempt to change Ato Hailu’s mind, yesterday, Solomon Bekele had arranged a meeting between Hailu Shawel and Aklog Lemeneh, chairman of Kinijit North America chapters. During the meeting yesterday (Tuesday), Ato Aklog advised him that he is making a grave mistake and that he should change course before more harm is done. He invited Ato Hailu to join the delegation at the scheduled public meeting in Boston this coming weekend. Ato Hailu said he will think about it. Don’t count on that.
Over the weekend, some prominent Ethiopians who reside in the Washington DC area, including Ambassador Ayalew Mandefro and Dr Gebreye Wolde-Rufael, had a chance to meet with Ato Hailu. They begged him to reconcile his differences with the executive committee — to no avail. Ato Hailu kept repeating to them the false information he is being fed by Dr Taye and the shaleqa group. These individuals left the meeting terribly disappointed.
It is Ato Hailu’s frailty that Taye and the shaleqa are exploiting to their advantage. He is now completely encircled by the shaleqa group and has very limited access to individuals outside of the group. They carry his phone so unless he makes calls himself, no one can reach him by phone other than selected individuals. Many long-time friends of Ato Hailu are unable to reach him. When some individuals get a chance to see him, the people Dr Taye put around Ato Hailu, such as Assefa Dires, get nervous and find some reason to interrupt the meeting. All Ethiopian media are prevented from interviewing him. The only media personality who is allowed to interview Ato Hailu is Merchaw. Taye and the shaleqa have managed to control Ato Hailu’s every movement. He is now virtually a hostage. As a result, the likelihood that the effort of Solomon Bekele, Aklog Lemeneh and other will succeed is little to none.
According to inside sources, the shaleqa group held a meeting Monday night with Ato Hailu. They proposed to him to take a break for two weeks and then come back to Washington DC for a meeting on Sept. 30 with invited individuals only. Similar closed meetings would be held in other cities, too, according to the proposal. Dr Taye argued that public meetings that are open to every one would expose Ato Hailu to insults. Ato Hailu agreed and has accepted the proposal. This morning Hailu Shawel went to Reagan Airport accompanied by Shaleqa Yoseph, Solomon Bekele and Merchaw Sinishaw and took off for Minneapolis.
Why Shaleqa, Taye and EPRP will not succeed
It is because the Kinijit central committee members are united in their stand against any form of lawlessness and dictatorship inside the party. With the exception of Shaleqa Getachew Mengiste, who is currently in South Africa on a working visiting leading a Kinijit delegation, none of the other executive committee members approve what Ato Hailu is doing now. Some try to portray that the leadership crisis inside Kinijit is caused by a conflict between “the Hailu and the Berhanu factions.” This is far from the truth. There is no such a thing. The leadership problem is caused by the disagreement between Ato Hailu and two or three individuals on one side, and the whole Kinijit leadership, on the other. Simply put, the root cause of the leadership crisis inside Kinijit is Hailu Shawel’s recent dictatorial behavior that is encouraged and promoted by the shaleqa group. The strongest opposition to Ato Hailu’s disregard for the executive committee decisions is coming from members of his own former party, AEUP.
The Kinijit leadership has so far been extremely patient with Ato Hailu and his crooked friends. But not for long. The leadership needs to take steps to protect the party’s credibility and integrity.
More than the leadership, the people of Ethiopia would not allow the Shaleqa-Taye-EPRP plan to succeed. Taye and his EPRP buddies will be challenged and confronted every step of the way with the same vigor and energy Woyanne is being fought. In short, the Taye-EPRP plan to hijack Kinijit has a snowball’s chance in hell.
As to saving Ato Hailu’s legacy, it is in his hands and the hands of those who truly care for him, if he has such friends around him. The effort has already started by some. Let’s hope they will succeed.