By Aklog Birara, PhD
“Hunger is actually the worst of all weapons of mass destruction, claiming millions of victims every year. Fighting hunger and poverty and promoting development are the truly sustainable way to achieve world peace. There will …
Blog Archives
TPLF Inc. as a ‘silent killer’
Aklog Birara, PhD
Have you ever wondered, as I have, why Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people are caught in a vicious cycle of disillusionment, dispossession and disempowerment? Have you pondered, as I have, the simple truth that the vast majority …
Nile project: a hidden bomb? or a pomise for shared prosperity?
By Aklog Birara, PhD
This paper is third of a series on Ethiopian fascinations concerning the “Arab Spring.” Beyond these current fascinations, there are strategic economic and diplomatic dimensions that require deeper analysis and understanding with regard to relations between …
ድህነት ወይንስ ደህንነት?
አክሎግ ቢራራ (ዶር)
ከሌሎች በፍጥነት እያደጉ ከሚሄዱ አገሮች ጋር ሲነጻጸር፤ በሃገር ቤትም ሆነ በውጭ፤ ባለፉት አርባ አመታት፤ እኛ ኢትዮጵያዊያን፤ የሃገራችን ሕዝብ ችግሮች ለመፍታት፤ በጋራ፤ በመከባበር፤ በመተሳሰብ፤ በጨዋነት፤ ተነጋግረን፤ ተወያይተን አማራጮችንና መፍትሄወችን አቅርበን አናውቅም። ራቅ ብሎ ለሚያየው፤ አሁንም “ጦርነት” የምንሄድ የሚመስል …
Posted in Ethiopia News
የታሪክ ተጠያቂወች አንሁን፤ ክፍል አስር
የታሪክ ተጠያቂወች አንሁን፤***
አምባገነን ቢያልፍም፤ አምባ ገነናዊ ስርአት እንዳለ ነው።
ከፍል አስር
አክሎግ ቢራራ (ዶር)
ከ June 19, 2012 ወዲህ የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ በᎃሉ ሲያነጋግር የቆየው የጠቅላ ሚንስትር መለስ መኖር አለመኖር በኦፊሻል ደረጃ ለአለም ህዝብ ከዚህ አለም ማረፋቸው August 20, 2012 …
Posted in Ethiopia News
Can Ethiopians Afford to Ignore TPLF Inc.’s atrocities?
By Aklog Birara, PhD
“The people occupying the plateau of the Blue Nile are conscious of a glorious past and proudly call themselves Ethiopians.” – Elise Reclus, Philosopher
Ethiopian ethnic-based political elites, most prominently, the champion of ethnic politics and …
Reject TPLF Inc.’s ‘flood of fear’ philosophy
By Aklog Birara, Ph.D.
“He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.”
“We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I …
Posted in Ethiopia News
TPLF Inc. Survives on repression and not public trust
Aklog Birara, PhD
Those of us who enjoy freedom from constant purges, harassment, intimidation and fear need to remind ourselves each day that the Ethiopian people continue to suffer from poor and repressive governance-induced hyperinflation, hunger and malnourishment that is …
TPLF Inc. and the ‘aid’ hurdle
Aklog Birara, PhD
“Men’s hearts ought not to set against one another, but set with one another and all against evil today.”
Thomas Carlyle
Ethiopia is, potentially, one of the richest countries in the world. This is the reason why …
Posted in Ethiopia News
TPLF Inc. institutionalization of ethnicity, party and state
TPLF Inc. institutionalization of ethnicity, party and state and the undoing of shared power and resources – Commentary 7
By Aklog Birara, PhD
The pursuit of justice and political pluralism in Ethiopia has been severely compromised deliberately and systematically by …
Posted in Ethiopia News
The hazards of merging party, state and ethnicity
By Aklog Birara, PhD
“The promises of ethnic-federalism were short-lived, and soon betrayed TPLF/EPRDF’s “divide and rule” strategy aiming at securing Tigreans’ political supremacy resulting notably in a pro-Tigrean public good allocation due to an excessive financial dependence of the …
Posted in Ethiopia News
Kilil system is an instrument of Ethiopian disenfrachisement – Part 4
Aklog Birara, PhD
“…the present regime’s ethnic based federal setup, which is designed along a liberal democracy trajectory, appears to be failing to produce the desired result” of “equitable share of power and resources.” In effect, it is a policy …
Posted in Ethiopia News
Ethiopia’s ethnic junta is a barrier to alternative
Aklog Birara, PhD
“Rather than fixing African lack of infrastructure, Chinese entrepreneurs and Africa’s governing elites look as if they are conspiring to use the development model as a pretext for plunder.”
The Economist, August 13, 2011
“Ethiopia’s long-awaited democratization …
Posted in Ethiopia News
Ethnic federalism undermines national cohesion: commentary
Aklog Birara, PhD
“They gave the land and we took it. This is green gold.”
Karuturi on land grab in Gambella
“The government is killing our people through starvation and hunger…We are dying here with our children. Government workers get …
Posted in Ethiopia News
Ethiopians can indeed unite if they are willing, Part Six (e) of Six
Aklog Birara, PhD
In Part Six (d) of this last of thirteen commentaries and viewpoints, I suggested that the cry of the young woman at a large meeting of Ethiopian domestic workers in the Middle with a TPLF/EPRDF delegation is …
Posted in Ethiopia News
Ethiopians Can Indeed Unite if they are Willing, Part Six (d) of Six
Aklog Birara, PhD
The December 28, 2011, video on “Ethiopian domestic workers in the Middle East” represents the ugly and inhumane face of uncaring, callous and debilitating governance in Ethiopia today. The voice of the young woman whose cries and …
Posted in Ethiopia News
Ethiopians Can Indeed Unite if they are Willing
Ethiopians Can Indeed Unite if they are Willing, Part Six (c) of Six
Aklog Birara, PhD
In my capacity as the World Bank Group’s first and only Senior Advisor on Racial Equality (SARE), I had the privilege of representing this …
Posted in Ethiopia News
Ethiopians can indeed Unite if they are Willing
Ethiopians Can Indeed Unite if they are Willing, Part Six (b) of Six—continuation
Aklog Birara, PhD
In Part Six (a), I offered a set of suggestions about our individual and group behaviors that must change in order to advance the …
Posted in Ethiopia News
Ethiopians can Indeed Unite if they Choose
Ethiopians Can Indeed Unite if they Choose, Six (a) of Six
Aklog Birara, PhD
The road ahead calls for sea changes in mindset
I should like to set the framework for the set of specific suggestions promised in Part Five …
Why Ethiopians Must Unite, Part Five (b) of Six
Aklog Birara, PhD
In Part Five (a) of this series, I presented what I believe is a compelling case why the current political and socioeconomic system is inimical to the vast majority of the Ethiopian people. Among other things, the …
Posted in Ethiopia News
Why Ethiopians Must Unite, Part Five (a) of Five
Why Ethiopians Must Unite, Part Five (a) of Five
Aklog Birara, PhD
“Give a man a fish and he will eat it for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a life time.”
Confucius
In …
Why Ethiopians Must Unite, Part Four (b) of Five
Aklog Birara, PhD
“Ethiopia’s long-awaited democracy has stalled over the last half decade…Today; there are fewer constraints on the EPRDF’s power than at any time in its 20 year rule.”
Leonardo Arriola, Countries at the Cross-roads, 2011
The above sums …
Why Ethiopians Must Unite, Part Four (b) of Five
By Aklog Birara, PhD
In part three of this series, I indicated that there are major social and economic hurdles ordinary Ethiopians face each day that should compel Ethiopian opposition groups within and outside the country and the rest of …
Why Ethiopians Must Unite, Part three of five
Why Ethiopians must unite
Part three of five
Aklog Birara, PhD
“In addition to its complete dominance of local and national government institutions, a number of large businesses are linked to the ruling party, either directly or through family members.” …
Why Ethiopians Must Unite (Part 2)
By Aklog Birara, Ph.D.
(Part two of five)
In part one, I provided basic socioeconomic arguments of why unity of purpose and action among opponents of the TPLF/EPRDF is no longer an option for those who wish to see a …
Why Ethiopians Must Unite
(Part one of three)
By Aklog Birara, PhD
As people, Ethiopians do not lack a history of courage and resiliency or a culture of collaboration and mutual tolerance. This is how generations of Ethiopians fought side by side, sacrificed their …
Posted in Ethiopia News
Let us give meaning to Ethiopia and being Ethiopian
By Aklog Birara, PhD
It will be an understatement to state that, regardless of ethnic, religious, gender, age or ideological affinity, Ethiopians and people of Ethiopian origin discuss their country of origin with passion and genuine interest. Broadly, they share …
What do Ethiopia and being Ethiopian mean to us?
By Aklog Birara, Ph.D.
It will be an understatement to state that, regardless of ethnic, religious, gender, age or ideological affinity, Ethiopians and people of Ethiopian origin discuss their country of origin with passion and genuine interest. Broadly, they share …
Posted in Ethiopia News
Ethiopian fascination with the “Arab Spring.” Part II of III
Part II of III
By Aklog Birara*
Part one identified similarities and differences between the Egyptian and Tunisian popular revolutions on the one hand and conditions in Ethiopia on the other. Differences aside, the Ethiopian admiration for an interest in …
Is Ethiopian fascination with Egypt, Tunisia uprising justified?
By Aklog Birara*
Part I of 111
I tend to think that, in Sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopian fascination with the Tunisian and Egyptian popular revolutions exceeds any other. This admiration emanates from wishes and aspirations among Ethiopia’s youth and the small …
Ethiopian fascinations with the ”Arab Spring” – Part II
By Aklog Birara
Part II of III
Part I identified similarities and differences between the Egyptian and Tunisian popular revolutions on the one hand and conditions in Ethiopia on the other. Differences aside, the Ethiopian admiration for and, interest in …