Lucky Woyane!

By Fikru Helebo

I had a conversation recently with a friend which made me say: "oh my goodness, how much more lucky can Woyane get!" Here is how my conversation with the friend went:

Me: It looks like Beyene is trying hard to rehabilitate his political fortune through his involvement in the newly founded group, Medrek.

My Friend: Yeah, he is trying, but the Ethiopian people will never forget what he did in 2005 and will not be fooled.

Me: Yes, I agree. But, it is good that he is trying.

My Friend: Most of them in that Medrek group are enemies of Ethiopia. They should not be allowed to fool Ethiopians again.

Me: Well, I think that some of the folks in Medrek have some accounting to do with the Ethiopian people, but I do not think this is the time for it.

My Friend: I think the time for accounting is now. If they don't confess the crimes they committed against the Ethiopian people now, they can't be trusted with leadership positions. And Medrek is infested with Woyane agents.

Me: You have a point to some degree, but I do not agree with labeling them as Woyane agents and as enemies of Ethiopia. Doing so won't accomplish anything. If anything, this kind of politics will only help the Woyane. I do not have high expectation for the Medrek grouping, but I am all for anyone trying do what they can to challenge the Woyane and, in particular, I find challenging the Woyane in its own home turf as Medrek seems to be doing to be a positive development.

My Friend: I totally disagree with you. Medrek is a collection of Woyane agents and they must be exposed.

Me: Do you think the UDJ (Andenet) would join Medrek if they think Medrek is a tool of Woyane?

My Friend: Andenet itself is also infested with Woyane agents. Birtukan herself is a Woyane agent.

Me: Hold on a minute. Are you telling me that Birtukan is going through the hell she is going through to help the Woyane?

My Friend: Yes, I think so. Here are the reasons why I thnk she is a Woyane agent:

1. She deliberately said that there are only 100 political prisoners in Ethiopia in her testimony before the US Congress in 2007.
2. She apologized to the Tigrean people on behalf of Kinijit on her visit to Minnesota in 2007 without being authorized to do so by her party.
3. Her statement in Sweden that led to her re-imprisonment was timed to help Woyane.

Me: You have got to be kidding me! It is fair to criticize Birtukan, but to quote her out of context and malign her character is not fair, and I find the suggestion that she is, somehow, a Woyane agent to be a ridiculous suggestion. This is the epitome of cynicism and a very good indicator of the futility of our culture that does not tolerate differences of opinion.

Our conversation got a bit heated at this point, but I am happy to say that we ended it in an amicable way.

My point of relating to you this story is to show how self-destructive the Ethiopian political culture has become. The story above is a conversation that took place between two individuals. Multiply that thousands of times and that is how we end up with this self-destructive political culture that does not tolerate criticism and where moderation is an undesired political currency. This, my friends, is one of the main reasons why Woyane has survived for this long and has a good chance to continue on ruling with iron fist for the foreseeable future.

As of today, the Woyane have ruled Ethiopia for 6501 days, and this is 1 year and 1 month longer than the time the Derg ruled Ethiopia. Lucky Woyane!

Woyane has, indeed, been one lucky political machine. The main reason for the longevity of its rule has, of course, been its implementation of the strategy of divide-and-rule along ethnic lines, which has worked to almost perfection, up until now at least. The self-destructive nature of the opposition, however, is without question another big reason for why Woyane's rule has lasted this long. Here are a few of the main episodes from the self-destruction of the opposition:

The COEDF Debacle

The COEDF was the first Ethiopian real coalition of Ethiopian political parties. It brought together most of the major political forces that were excluded from the London talks of May 1991 that was brokered by the Americans and the subsequent conference in Addis Ababa. Although COEDF set a useful precedent for coalition building in Ethiopian politics, unfortunately it was riddled with factionalism based on party affiliation and personalities and could not achieve cohesiveness as an organization.

The Alternative Forces Fiasco

The Alternative Forces was born out of the Paris Conference of 1993 that attempted to bring all the political actors together in the spirit of reconciliation. It had good will but no clear strategy on how to mobilize and lead the people. As a result, it died a long and miserable death orphaned by its own creators.

The UEDF Debacle

The UEDF was a valiant effort made by Ethiopians for Ethiopians to bring most of the opposition around a minimum political program in the hope of challenging the Woyane peacefully and constitutionally. It had laudable goals, but it was also dicapitated as soon as it was created because it was unable to bridge the trust gap among the different factions and its organizational structure had no binding effect on its members as were the structures of the coalitions before it. Some of the dissatisfied groups left UEDF within a short time and formed their own coalition (Kinijit), but only to devour each other a few years later.

The Kinijit Fiasco

The seeds for the demise of Kinijit were sown during the process when some of its member organizations left the UEDF. Kinijit's downfall was a classic case of self-destruction. Some of its leaders saw one another with more suspicion than they did vis-a-vis Woyane. They preached tolerance, transparency and reconciliation just like all the other opposition groups do, but they failed terribly when it came to practicing these tenets of democracy amongst themselves. As a result, they have made it more difficult than it was before for the public to have trust in their political leaders.

And so it goes.

What could be the opposition's next gift to Woyane? Cannibalism within UDJ (Andenet)? Character assassinations on folks like Yacob Hailemariam, folks who are doing their level best under very difficult circumstances and whose motive in getting involved in politics in their golden years is to give back to the country that has given them so much? We shall find out in the not too distant future. But I hope the opposition will learn from its mistakes and avoid giving Woyane more life lines. And, I hope I don't ever have to say "Lucky Woyane!" again.

A Moderate Perspective on Ethiopian Current Affairs

By Fikru Helebo

If there is one word that best characterizes a great majority of the views expressed on this blog, I think it is "moderate" as opposed to "extreme". This is not to suggest that extreme views on either flank of the political spectrum won't be entertained here -- as there are times taking what may be considered an extreme position is the most reasonable thing to do -- but, rather, it is to say that most of the views that you will encounter here advocate seeking the middle ground in Ethiopian politics, the realistic middle that is.

In post-1991 Ethiopia, where the Ethiopian state has been constitutionally subordinated to its constituent ethnic parts (please see Maimire Mennasemay recent superb article), the defining feature of Ethiopian politics has been politics based on ethnic identity. In this environment where ethnic politics reigns supreme, the alignment of the political forces in the country has been predominantly determined by their view on the role ethnic identity should play in the political life of the nation. On the one end of the political spectrum, there are those who advocate the disintegration of Ethiopia along ethnic lines, and on the other end are those who want ethnic identity to play no part in politics.

The Woyane, the incumbent ruling clique of Ethiopia, has politicized ethnicity for their own nefarious reasons. The trick is how to reconcile these two extreme positions by creating a political environment where those who have been marginalized because of their ethnicity can feel confident that their concerns can be satisfactorily addressed in a united Ethiopia. This is why I think a "moderate" point of view on the ethnic issue is the only realistic point of view that will thwart the Woyane hegemony and enable their opponents to replace the Woyane with a democratically elected government.

When I started blogging in October of 2005, I didn't expect I would be going at it for this long. I felt that I had some ideas that were worth sharing in those tense times and I thought views from the region of Ethiopia that I come from needed to be accentuated. That was the reason why I put the caption "A Southern Perspective on Ethiopian Current Affairs". But now I feel that the Ethiopian ideas market place has matured sufficiently enough for Enset blog to forgo advertising itself as merely "southern" and, so, I have changed the caption to "A Moderate Perspective on Ethiopian Current Affairs" to reflect this evolution. Mind you, this is not to say that the views expressed by me or others who happen to come from the Ethiopian south cease to be "southern" as I had attempted to explain here. It is just that the view I dubbed "southern" has been subsumed in the broader category of a "moderate" view.

As you can imagine blogging is a time consuming undertaking and I do not think I would still be doing this if it was not for the contribution by others, especially Ephrem. Now that the blog's identity is broadened, I would like to invite contributors who hail from all corners of Ethiopia to share their perspectives on this blog. But there is a catch, any one who wants to contribute must use his/her real name. The only exception to this rule is if you currently reside in Ethiopia. If you are interested in being a regular contributor, that is even better, and I will add you to Blogger as a team member. Please remember that I do not have the time to edit your contribution. At the risk of sounding redundant, I would like to reiterate that political moderation is the best antidote for Ethiopia's ills. If your views fall into this category (you know who you are), you are invited to contribute and make a difference.

Racism in Ethiopia

By Fikru Helebo and Ephrem Madebo

Obang Metho of the Anuak Justice Council recently asked a rhetorical question: "Is there racism in Ethiopia?" Yes, there is racism in Ethiopia, no doubt about it. What may be debated is in what forms is racism manifested in Ethiopia and the degree to which that racism affects one’s social life. It would not be far from the truth to suggest that there is some form of racism in every country around the world -- Ethiopia is not an exception. Sadly, one of the worst kinds of racism, slavery, existed in Ethiopia until about three generations ago.

Slavery was officially abolished in Ethiopia only in 1942! It was even used by the Italians as a justification for their invasion in 1935. Unfortunately, the vestiges of the ugly legacy of slavery are still with us today. This legacy is primarily manifested in the form of prejudice towards our compatriots who come from the peripheral regions in the southern and western parts of the country. Ethiopians, as a people, should be ashamed for allowing this kind of racism to continue unabated in the dawn of the 21st century.

By the way, what is racism? When we think of racism, we mostly think of the institutionalized form of racism that we see in the West which is directed mostly towards people of African descent. In reality, however, racism is a phenomenon that exists anywhere between groups of people when one discriminates against the other based on any inborn physical attributes and considers their group to be superior. Ethiopian racism is based on the tone of skin color and physical traits such as facial features and hair texture. For the purpose of this article, racism is discriminating against or denigrating a fellow Ethiopian or human being based on skin color and/or physical characteristics.

Mind you, though racism in Ethiopia has its roots in our ethnic differences, it should not be confused with discrimination based on ethnic affiliation or economic status. This is true because in Ethiopia ethnic slurs are different from racial slurs, and no matter what one’s economic status is, he/she might not be free from racial abuses. Some ethnic groups might be bombarded with bone piercing ethnic slurs, but not necessarily with racial slurs, whereas some other ethnic groups, especially from western and southern Ethiopia, face both ethnic and racial abuses. Even today, social contacts (for example, marriage) with Ethiopians of Nilotic origin are considered a taboo. We all know that any Ethiopian whose physical characteristics has resemblance to Nilotic or Bantu people faces daily verbal abuses and is showered with ugly and discriminatory nick names such as baria, mesheto, wefcho-lash, etc…

The other strange face of Ethiopian racism is that it is not limited to within Ethiopia or between Ethiopians. When we travel abroad, our racist attitude travels with us. Here in the United States, Ethiopians display splendid respect for white Americans, but do not accord the same respect to black Americans. Some of us even use the derisive Amharic word baria to refer to darker-skinned black Americans. In whatever foreign country we are, when we see a black person with straight nose, large eyes, and zoma hair, we tend to say “he/she looks like an Ethiopian”, knowing that the person is not an Ethiopian. On the other hand, our heart does not accept a darker skin, a flat nose or a kinky hair person as an Ethiopian. Basically, in Ethiopia or outside Ethiopia, we Ethiopians have certain physical characteristics and features that we ascribe for ourselves, and anyone outside that artificial provenance is subject for abuse or ridicule.

In the last 35 years many Ethiopian expatriates have lived in places like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Djibouti, and Somalia (pre-1991). Some oral and written accounts and many real life experiences in these and other African countries have indicated that many Ethiopian refugees displayed superficial cultural and racial superiority, and in many cases bombarded the natives with racial slurs. However, the cultural superiority and the racial slurs were non-existent among Ethiopian refugees who lived in Somalia and Arab countries. The reader can easily guess why! I [Ephrem] very well remember my personal experience when I was a refugee in Kenya. I had a Kenyan girl friend from Machakos who has to endure daily mocking and racial slanders [monkey, baria] from almost all of my Ethiopian friends [male, female]. To some Ethiopians, racism might look like a simple joke among equals, this is not true because when racism is expressed in the form of joke, the joke is always one directional and it is based on one side always taking pride in its superiority.

Racism is a broad topic and probably as old as humanity itself. We recognize that racism in the Ethiopian context has its own unique characteristics and should be addressed with care and sensitivity. We also recognize that there are some cultural preferences that are exhibited by some Ethiopians that could unfairly be labeled as racist in some quarters. Be that as it may, Ethiopians must rid ourselves of any kind of prejudice towards any one based on his/her skin color or physical characteristics. If and when anyone of us exhibits such foolish and backward racist behavior, as was clearly the case when the AigaForum web site attempted to denigrate the tireless human rights campaigner Obang Metho, we have a moral responsibility to confront the perpetrators and unequivocally condemn their behavior. Not only must we condemn such racist behavior, we should also put the perpetrators to public shame. If we fail to do this and turn a blind eye to racism, then we are just as guilty as the offending party.

Obang has made an eloquent call for Ethiopians to address the issue of racism in Ethiopia. We concur. We believe that the time is now for us, as Ethiopian people, to acknowledge that racism in Ethiopia is a real problem that must be confronted sooner than later. Trying to deny, hide, or downplay this very sensitive and agonizing problem will only compound our existing political divide. We do not see any valid and over-riding reason to delay this issue from being discussed at this point in time. Fighting racism is as important a human rights issue as any and by proactively and responsibly addressing this very important issue at this time head on (lest we regret not heeding this call), we will only help ensure that our struggle for human rights and democracy will be a more complete one.

Birtukan Mideksa: Hope of a Nation

No, I have not met her, but I have been watching her, perhaps like a lot of you, as she blossomed right in front of our eyes, since she burst onto the Ethiopian political scene in 2005. The more I watch her, the more I am convinced that she may be the ONE, the one leader that may be able to pull Ethiopians together and inspire us all to dream big.

"Hold it right there...she is just another politician." You might be tempted to say.

Yes, she is a politician, alright. But she is definitely not just an ordinary one. I had some doubts in the beginning if she was for real, and I am sure some of her own colleagues probably did, too. However, my doubts were erased five weeks ago when she drew the line in the sand and authored that now famous letter of hers to unequivocally affirm her unwavering stand for truth and justice in defiance of the Woyane regime's intimidation.

Here is what the blogger Dagmawi wrote about Birtukan's defiance:

Birtukan Mideksa's imprisonment demonstrates truth in a way that directly engages our conscience. And it is that conscience that makes us restless. We can't sit quietly. From Birtukan's prison cell comes some force that reaches out and touches us. What is it? Something spiritual? Metaphysical? Moral strength? Human dignity?... Even the supporters of the TPLF/EPRDF have to deal with this moral force.

That moral force, a force that no earthly power can break, like the Rosa Parks kind of force if you will, is what Birtukan will now forever be remembered for. Thank you, Birtukan, for leading by example and inspiring a nation to believe in itself again. You will not be forgotten!

Victory always follows unity, even in the dictionary!

By Ephrem Madebo

It is a shame and it is a dreadful indignity to submit our right, freedom, and our country to the few timid.

If we Ethiopians have any boundless resource, it is our unrealized potential!

The political fallout of the last four years and its consequences, such as the sudden crack in the opposition camp has left many Ethiopians in the dark looking an answer for the question – Oh my God! What in the hell did go wrong? For those who started the long journey well aware of the daunting path, there was no a single justifiable answer; hence they gathered the pieces of the crack, put it together, and continued the journey. Yet, for many of us, the past four years were times of perplexity and political hibernation. In general, for millions of Ethiopians who witnessed the genesis of a new era [in May 2005], the past four years have been times of hope and despondency, elevation and degradation, agony and short lived ecstasy. Today, the key question is not what happened four years ago, but what can and what should we do in the next four years. Don’t take me wrong, I’m not telling you to ignore yesterday. All I’m saying is let’s not allow our paralysis of yesterday rule over our analysis of tomorrow.

Thanks to our fathers and forefathers, the name Ethiopia has for long been synonymous with national pride and valor. For all of us, especially, for those of us who reside outside Ethiopia, this national pride has been our last hiding banner where we all sought refuge from television screens that showed Ethiopian hunger and from the cover pages that read “Ethiopia the Poorest Nation on Earth”. Today, our problems are not just hunger and poverty. In a matter of days, the land that bears the precious blood of our ancestors will no more be ours. Our mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers do not have a tiny fraction of the rights that we enjoy here in our adopted land. Ethiopia is as old as the word democracy itself, but thanks to the villains from ‘Dedebit’, Ethiopians have never tasted the fruits of democracy. Should this continue unabated and unchallenged? Well, it goes without saying that your answer as a reader is no, but “no” by itself has never been good enough. Some of us said no almost 50 years ago, some 30 years, and many of us 15 to 25 years ago. It is evident that no matter how toned our “no” was; it has been fruitless with out a coordinated action! It is imperative to know that strong words, opinions, and reactions are very important to our struggle, but without action they waste our time and ruin our soul.

In the last 18 years, in spite of our magnitude and superior cause, we as a society have been despised, ridiculed, and considered inconsequential. We have been called “Tooth less lions” and “Paper Tigers”. For how long do we allow this humiliation and suffering to continue? Where is our anger? Where is our rage? Where is our determination to be free? Where is the courage to say “enough is enough”, and where is the wisdom and the strength to vigorously follow our vision and live the life we imagined? It is very difficult to understand why our anger and teeth gnashing can’t grow into a rage! When our patience is taken for fear, and when our farsightedness is mistaken for ignorance, rage should be our source of energy that gives us the strength to overcome the bad guys. Make no mistake, rage is necessary to heal a nation that suffers from wounds inflicted by home made enemies. Our struggle for freedom and democracy lacks emotional reactions. Trust me, emotional reactions are not inherently bad, wrong, rude, or immature. They can often add valuable context to our struggle and give us the momentum when we think we are dozed off.

Over the past two decades many Ethiopians have increasingly been concerned over the human rights conditions of their people and the territorial integrity of their country. In particular, millions of Ethiopians have shown a grave concern on the ever worsening conditions of the country’s north western border with Sudan. During the last 18 years, a plethora of human rights activists, journalists, concerned citizens, academicians, foreign governments and international organizations have issued calls to action highlighting the dramatically deteriorating human rights conditions of the Ethiopian people. Today, after two decades of national and international outcry, human right conditions in Ethiopia are one of the worst in the world, and the challenges to overcome them have become accelerated and more acute.

How do we overcome these challenges? All in all, what should we do to free our people from the bondage of the TPLF gangs? There are so many things that we need to do, and the very first of all is, the willingness to sacrifice what we are for what we want to become. If we truly love our country, then we must understand that love always involves responsibility and sacrifice. Our country Ethiopia is a large nation where there are different stakeholders who have conflicting interests. In spite of size and past political history, we must treat every stakeholder equally and make sure that their voices are heard. We must be willing to compromise on our differences, and work collectively in areas of common interest. Most of us share a culture where compromise is usually a sign of weakness, or an admission of defeat. Actually, compromise is the art of coming together, and the science of avoiding conflicts. When we compromise we bend a little, but we fit in; without compromise, we break apart, and we stand alone. Remember, to move the sprit of a nation, we should first move our own sprit. Let’s move our sprit and shake off the ghosts of fear!

If there is anything so fundamental and anything so important that warrants a “do or die” urgency, it must be the unity of the Ethiopian opposition groups. This unity is not just between groups and parties; it should be with and within the different organized stakeholders and ordinary citizens. If the beauty of democracy that we fought for years means anything to us, and if we want to free our people from the ethnocratic rule of one man, we must utterly free our mind from the solo attitude of yesterday and start a collective journey with a collective sense of purpose. It is true that we have the option to do some things separately or individually, but still unity is not an option for any conscious Ethiopian that understands the calamitous circumstances of our mother land. Yes, we have the right to choose among alternatives, but we have to realize that our choice is not always the right choice. The day before yesterday, yesterday, and even today we chose a solitary journey, but we got no where. What about tomorrow? Well, we have neither the option, nor the ability to fix the mistakes of yesterday. But, if we are ready to make the right choice today, freedom and justice for our people are just a choice away. That choice is unity!!!

Sometimes the tiresome journey of freedom may burden us with the dire forces of hopelessness and helplessness; and such a burden is agonizing if we are struggling in our daily life. Sometimes we can be disappointed at people around us, sometimes death may claim the life of our comrades, and sometimes the pace of the struggle against tyranny may diminish our patience, however, in spite of all these adversities, we should never loose hope in our country, for hope is the only force that gathers our spirit for a new beginning. Even when we are confronted with seemingly hopeless situations, let’s hope that peace freedom, and justice will be the norms of our nation. Let’s all live in this hope and live for this hope. For the Ethiopian people, hope is more than just a democratic government; it is mending many broken hearts and healing many tortured minds.

As much as we love dialogues and as deeply as we are engaged in party politics; it is perplexing that we often are so committed to our own position and fail to consider the position of others. We also fail to reason out why we are holding this position, and whether such a position is likely to achieve our interest. Often, one of the parties defines its objectives in terms of negotiable interests while the other defines in terms must accept “Bible” like creeds that are not usually considered negotiable. Such disagreements make a resolution very hard to obtain. In general, obstinacy, lack of listening and the attitude of “My way or the highway” have always been the chronic diseases of our political establishment.

When we deal with others, it is very important that we have the courage to stand up and speak; and have that same courage to sit down and listen. Human beings are logical as well as emotional; therefore, as much as we like to deal with their logical side, we have to be thoughtful that there are many people who are emotionally charged. When we are engaged in dialogue(s), we have to be very careful not to hurt the feelings of others. Evidently, dialogues empower people and provide shared meaning; therefore, it is impossible to talk, or to even be in the same room when all parties start the dialogue with the assumption - “we are right” or “we must win”. It is so important to enter into dialogues with a willingness to change. The fruits of a dialogue must force our heart to open itself and replace the misfortunes of the past with the hope of the future. When we are engaged in dialogues, we have to honor all parties involved, we have to seek collective intelligence, develop a shared understanding, and embrace possibilities. The people in the dialogue may forget some of the things we said, but they will never forget how we made them feel and the respect we gave them.

It is not a coincidence that I selected “Unity” as the subject matter of this article; actually, it is a conscious move driven by the people from the blood lands of Bademe to the dry lands of Moyale and from the western cost of Assosa to the eastern tip of Jijjga. Unity is the loud spoken word that I heard from coast to coast, and of course, unity is the only vehicle that takes the north, the south, the east and the western parts of our country to the promise land as a single unit. Unity is the weapon that the TPLF gangs fear the most. The Meles machine doesn’t fight our superior idea, if it did or if it does, TPLF would have been a party in the opposition since May 2005. The TPLF gang fights our unity for it is our unity that makes this killing machine out of gas.

I don't think any Ethiopian would actually say that he/she supports oppression or injustice. Evidently, to what degree one supports or objects the TPLF regime may be debatable; what is not debatable is that the TPLF regime is taking our country to its grave. In order to stop this problem, we all need to come together. We can't ignore our differences; we need to work with them because our differences are the sources of rich idea. We can't discount the people next door, for all the work they do compliments ours; and we can’t ignore the idea of others, for that alone gives us width and depth. The day before yesterday we tried my agenda, yesterday we tried your agenda, today, it’s about time that we try our agenda. The survival of our nation depends on the willingness of our generation to sacrifice its time, finance, and when necessary, its life. If we don’t; our country dies, and we all die too. If we want to be remembered like our fathers and forefathers, let’s be willing to sacrifice ourselves for a cause greater than our life. Amen!

Tamrat Layne and Debteraw

I just read an open letter addressed to Tamrat Layne, a former prime minister of Ethiopia, by a group called Assimba Forum. The group welcomes Tamrat's generic confession at a church in Addis Ababa after he was released from 12 years of incarceration by a regime he helped to come to power, but it is skeptical about the breadth and depth of his confession. The letter implies that Tamrat knows the whereabouts of their colleague by the name of Tsegaye Gebremedhin (Debteraw) and implores him to come clean.

Ethiopian Recycler

If you have not yet discovered it already, a keen observer of Ethiopian politics has been blogging his thoughts on Ethiopian Recycler since September 2008, and I highly recommend that you check him out regularly by bookmarking his blog or using the link provided on the right. Here is his take on Meles's attempt to adopt to the Obama Administration:

If you complained Ethiopian rulers lacked originality to a point of parroting the outgoing President Bush and his "war on terror," you haven't seen the half of it.

Here we go:

President Obama says, "Change we need. Change we can believe in."

PM Meles' response?: “At some time and at some stage things will be changed and we are ready for the changes to come.” [He is so eager to please the incoming Administration that he used the word “change” twice in the same sentence.] In the coming months be prepared to hear a lot of “soft power” [applied to Eritrea and Somalia with the exception of any opposition NOT tied to the ruling minority by ethnicity or loot; we will also be bored to tears by another round of ‘development’ or the ‘developmental state.’]

We are aware by now that government bailout of failing institutions in the West has replaced “war on terror” for authoritarian regimes; the ruling minority in Ethiopia is so audacious that it has effectively centralized major political, financial and civic activities [and enacting the Charities and Societies Law.] The World Bank would not dare to look authoritarian rulers in the eye and preach its gospel of “free market” or non-state intervention! It can’t get any better than this for those threatened by democracy and public accountability!

The Opposition in and outside Ethiopia [if ever it could muster a consensus] has a lot of grounds to cover.

1. Begin with Alamoudi. We now know Alamoudi's donation to Clinton Foundation to date is $5 million [not $20 million as we were led to believe, though the amount was pledged.]

2. Today Hillary Clinton was confirmed as the Secretary of State [don't believe for a moment there will not be a conflict of interest.] Hillary is already talking about development and 'soft power' to guide her department. And Bill Clinton's war on HIV/AIDS and poverty should go hand-in-hand like the husband and wife. Don't forget Clinton Foundation has operations in Ethiopia. Go figure.

You can read the rest here.

President Barack Obama

Godspeed! But...

Elders: Time to Speak Up is Now

By Fikru Helebo

Elders in Ethiopia are well respected and, in some cases, they are revered. I reckon that most, if not all, languages of Ethiopia have words in them with which one expresses respect to an elder (such as Gashe, Abba, etc...), and the fact that a plural form of a verb is used to describe an elderly person indicates that the Ethiopian culture gives much respect to wisdom and perspective that can only be attained with getting older. This is not to say that all elderly Ethiopian people are wise. Truth be told, some aren't. And then there are those elders who abuse this respect that society has accorded to them. This, too, as unfortunate as it is, must be taken into account when discussing about the role of elders.

Elders play a significant role in settling disputes within a family or among community members at the local level. However, I am not familiar with elders playing a role in settling disputes at the national level in modern Ethiopian political history, although there have been some instances where elders have played a role in bringing peace at a regional level (please correct me if I am wrong in this assumption). So, when I learned in the summer of 2007 that a group of Ethiopian elders led by Professor Ephraim Issac had played a key role in securing the release from prison of CUD (Kinijit) leaders, I was very skeptical about it and did not think it was worth mentioning in my blog entry at that time.

Now that Birtukan Mideksa, one of those leaders who were released as a result of the elders mediation efforts, is back in jail for speaking about the process that led to the release of the political prisoners, it is increasingly becoming apparent that the role that the elders had played was tainted as many, including myself, had suspected. To understand how tainted the role that the elders had played was, one only needs to read the very first statement the prisoners of conscience had issued after their release and score that statement against what the elders have and have not done between then and now. So, if any of these elders have any allegiance to the truth and have respect for the role elders play in Ethiopian society, it is incumbent on them to come forward and explain the role they had played in the release of the prisoners and the whole mediation process to the Ethiopian public now.

Here is a portion from an article by Professor Mesfin Worldemariam, a fellow prisoner of Britukan's, that underscores the necessity for the elders to speak up:

Solidarity with Birtukan Mideksa

The incarceration of Birtukan Mideksa, the first female leader of a major Ethiopian political party, by the Woyane regime a week ago is a sad commentary on the state of politics in Ethiopia.

The regime, which is being forced to end its occupation of Somalia and is in the process of retreating, believes this action will distract attention from its defeat in Somalia while at the same time breaking the resolve of Ethiopians to demand freedom from tyranny. Tough luck. With Birtukan willing to go to jail, again, to defend the truth, Ethiopians may have found a leader with backbone and a steely determination to stand up to Meles.

"The values that guide me are truth and fairness." -- Birtukan Mideksa, October 29, 2008

ESAi Literature Contest

The Ethiopian Students Association, international (ESAi) is sponsoring a literature contest among high school students in Ethiopia and is inviting Ethiopians from arround the world to read the ten finalists of the submitted writings (in Amharic) and vote for their favorite piece online starting January 5, 2009 on their web site. A portion of the statement from ESAi reads as follows:

ESAi invited one hundred Ethiopian high schools to participate in a Literature Contest. Students were invited to choose from many topics that range from social and economic issues to politics, or choose their own topic. Three winners were to be selected from the entrants and be awarded a total of $1000 depending on their ranks.

We received entries from high schools in the different regions of the country over summer 2008. Judges selected from the ESAi membership have read each one and selected ten finalists. The next and final step is putting these finalists up for two rounds of public vote to select the three winners.

This project was initiated, funded and managed by members and friends of ESAi, most of who are young students. As such, we are very proud of it. And we would like to share this achievement with the global Ethiopian community.

Sharing our achievement, however, is not the only reason we are extending our invitation. We want to showcase the works of those students to the world. We believe that they have poured their hearts into sending us these entries and the least they deserve is to be heard.

Kudos to ESAi for organizing such an event! Please help them out by reading the literature and by voting for your favorite one.

"Wonderous Creation" by Dereje Kebede

By Fikru Helebo

Two years ago I shared the song "Ethiopia" by Dr. Dereje Kebede here on this blog by posting the lyrics to the song and creating a video for it on YouTube. From the number of visitors the song has received on YouTube, it is safe to assume that the song has stuck a cord among Ethiopians. And so, here I am again with another favorite song of mine from Dereje's 4th album titled "Denq Sera". I believe the song was recorded in the late seventies (please correct me if I am wrong) and Dereje uses the Krar (Ethiopian lyre) to sing about the marvels of God's creation.



In the couple of years since I posted the "Ethiopia" song, public interest in Dereje Kebede has picked up steam. This may be partly because of people like me who grew up listening to Dereje's songs and are now craving to hear him sing his old songs. A recent appreciation event organized in Addis Ababa to honor Dereje gives you a good indication of how much respect and admiration Dereje has among his Protestant base. Here is another good example of this from a Dereje Kebede Facebook fan club: "Yemaideferes Selam Alegn" by Behiwot Benyam (a superb rendition bro, keep it up!).

Another reason for the rise in interest in Dereje might be that a lot of Ethiopians are starting to discover his timeless songs. Regardless, I am glad to see this renewed interest. Dereje also gave an in-depth interview this past July to Mathetes magazine (which you can find on Ethiocross) in which he indicated that he is working on his next album (I can't wait to hear it!). Speaking of the interview, I found his interview to be a breath of fresh air and I hope that he will continue to speak out against false teachings and materialism that is prevalent in many churches today and I highly recommend that you read it!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[All pictures used to make the video are from Ethiopia]

Oromo Separatism on the Decline

By Fikru Helebo

Back in the early 90s, when email was still considered a novel communication medium, there was an Ethiopian email discussion list called EEDN that served as the first meeting place for Ethiopians on the Internet. The list was a hotbed of lively, though sometimes vitriolic, political discussions about Ethiopia. I participated in the discussions, but my participation was limited to occasional replies on threads started by others. There were plenty of contributors to the list who initiated discussions on various topics and one of them was an Oromo separatist from Wollaga who used the name "Makobili".

Makobili was passionate about Oromo issues and his contributions on EEDN were mostly characterized by a scathing, though largely appropriate and deserved, criticisms of the Amhara and Tigrean ruling classes of the last 140 years. Although Makobili tried hard to make a case for his views, his separatist arguments were apparent and did not win him much support. My take on Makobili was that he was an ideologue whose main interest in the discussions was to re-define the political relationship between Amharas and Tigrayans (whom he refered to as Abyssinians) on the one hand and Oromos and other southerners on the other just solely on the basis of Ethiopian history which, for him, begins with the conquest of the Ethiopian south by Minilik II.

One day in 1992, in an attempt to bolster his arguments, Makobili decided to use the issue of slavery in Ethiopia in one of his postings by putting the blame for slavery in Ethiopia exclusively on Amharas and Tigrayans. I do not recall whether Makobili raised the slavery issue himself or he used a thread that was started by someone else, but I vividly remember that he was making his case in a forceful way. Needless to say, I was bothered by Makobili's assertion and I decided to contact him privately to find out if he really believed in what he was writing. Makobili promptly replied to my query and said that he did believe in his assertion.

I was surprised by Makobili's admission. To my surprise, he added something else in his reply which startled me even more and remains etched in my memory till this day. Makobili informed me that I was too naive to understand the objective of his missives on EEDN. He said that his objective in the discussions on EEDN was not to have a give-and-take type discussion, which assumes that we all have something to learn from the discussions but, rather, his sole objective was to project an "Oromo" world view which will act as a counterbalance to that of the "Abyssinian" world view. In other words, what he was essentially trying to do was to plant further seeds of division between Amharas and Tigreans on the one hand and Oromos and other southerners on the other, instead of trying to build a bridge of understanding among them.

Presto! If there is such a thing as a Road to Damascus moment in politics, that was it for me. I admit, up until that time, I was too innocent to believe in the best of intentions of all Ethiopians in the discussion list where, I thought, each one of us were attempting to shed light on the complex issues that have kept Ethiopia in the dark ages for far too long. Unfortunately for Makobili, and fortunately for me, what that email reply of Makobili managed to do was turn me into a skeptic, albeit a well-meaning one (I have since become more discerning of what I read and I have learned to read between the lines). I wish everybody was straightforward and more reflective in their writings. Unfortunately, that is not the world we live in.

From Makobili's point of view, separating the Oromo from Ethiopia is the only way to correct the injustices of the past, and he is willing to throw away all the progress that has been made since the fall of the monarchy in 1974 in addressing the injustices just to achieve his singular goal of an independent Oromoland. I would have given Makobili a pass if the injustices of the past were only committed by the Amhara and Tigrean ruling classes. The truth, however, is that the ruling classes of most, if not all, ethnic groups in Ethiopia have committed injustices of one degree or another. For example, the Oromo ruling class used their Gada system to conquer the Hadiya people. Not only did they conquer the Hadiya, they forced the Hadiya to assimilate and loose their identity. I know this doesn't bother Makobili (sorry you would need a Google account to view this link) and he probably doesn't consider the conquest of the Hadiya by the Oromo an injustice.

So, "what is the point of this story about an obscure separatist named Makobili?", you may be asking yourself. Well, the point is that the separatist ideas that Makobili has been propagandizing all these years seem to be coming apart at the seams in the last few months as evidenced by the unravelling of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), where Makobili is a behind-the-scene power player. The Woyane regime has taken a note of this development and is working hard to take advantage of the situation by employing a multi-pronged strategy to decapitate the OLF by: 1) stepping up its harassment of independent-minded Oromo political activists, 2) increasing its military and propaganda efforts against the OLF, and 3) luring older and perhaps disillusioned former leaders of the OLF to its den to neutralize their influence.

While the decline of Oromo separatism is, in my view, a positive development, the fact that the Woyane regime is using this opportunity to intensify its persecution of innocent Oromos is extremely troubling and, unfortunately, it may end up strengthening the separatists within the OLF. People like Makobili probably want to see this happen and they will not, for sure, admit that their own mis-adventure is contributing to the suffering of innocent Oromos. This is to be expected, but I sincerely hope that they will soon start re-thinking their separatist position which, in all likelihood, will never be realized as there are so many forces arrayed against them. On the other hand, Ethiopians who believe in building bridges among the various ethnic communities of Ethiopia should stop being by-standers and be proactive in reaching out to Oromo separatists like Makobili and other separatist groups.

What I mean by reaching out is conducting an honest but principled dialogue with the separatists at the grassroots level. It is preferable to start such dialogue at a personal level in a coffee shop or at a dinner table where people are most comfortable. Political organizations should also do their own reaching out, but I do not put much stock on them at this time since the credibility of the political classes in conducting such a dialogue is at an all time low. The likes of Makobili, who are very successful in their own professional lives and have constructed an artificial wall of separation between themselves and the larger Ethiopian Diaspora community may not be open to such a dialogue, but we don't loose anything for trying. The first step in such a reach out is to educate yourself about the views of the separatists. These separatists have produced voluminous literature in the last couple of decades which reveal the strengths and weaknesses in their arguments in favor of separation, and it is your responsibility to understand their perspective before you reach out to them. Besides, they are as much, if not more, versed in your point of view and you need to be well armed with incisive ideas and have the willingness to see and appreciate their point of view. If you really want to see a united, just, peaceful, democratic and prosperous Ethiopia, you will do that. Good luck!

Obama's Africa

By Fikru Helebo

Barack Obama's victory over John McCain last night was one for the ages. Considering how close the last two presidential elections were and with the history of racism looming over the election, Obama's victory was a very impressive one and it proved once again that America is truely the greatest country in the world. McCain was very gracious in defeat and it showed his character.

Now that the election is over, there are many questions that beg for an answer, like, what direction will the policy of the incoming Obama Administration take with regards to the challenges that Afiricans are facing? Will President Obama stay the course over the genocide in Darfur? Will he continue to treat Africa as an afterthought as all American presidents have done before him? Will President Obama continue America's coddling with dictators like Meles Zenawi? Etc, etc...

Well, we won't know the answers to these types of questions until well into the first year of an Obama Administration, but we have a good clue as to what general direction Obama's policies will take from his own words. Please listen to this thoughtful podcast Obama recorded for his constituents back in September of 2006, shortly after his first visit to Africa as a US Senator. Here is a quote from the podcast:

...there are a couple of things that Africa has to do to help itself and we can be good partners in it. Africa has to take upon itself (the nations of Africa have to take upon themselves) to rid themselves of corruption and politics that are organized around ethnicity and tribe. Unless Africa is able to create a transparent government with rule of law and accountability, ordinary people will continue to be victimized by those in power, and unless Africa rids itself of the vestiges of tribalism and ethnic conflict, you can never create enough political stability to truly develop the country...

Cheers!

Intimidating the Opposition

By Fikru Helebo

Mesfin Wolde Mariam, the retired Addis Ababa University professor and former head of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, is now one of the leaders of UDJ (Andinet) party. He wrote an article recently describing how Ethiopian government security personnel had cornered him in his car in the middle of a busy street in Addis Ababa and tried to intimidate him. You can read the piece at ethiopiazare.com (you need Ethiopic/Geez font). This incident Mesfin wrote about is eerily similar to another story I recently heard about a harassment of an opposition activist who was followed by Woyane security agents every where she went and where, one day, the agents attempted to create a bogus traffic accident with the intention of causing injury.

It is an open secret that the Woyane regime routinely employs various intimidation tactics like these ones above and many others to instill fear in the minds of its political opponents. Sometimes, if the target of the intimidation ignores the message and does not change her behavior or tone down her opposition activities, then the regime uses various extrajudicial methods to eliminate her. Just to mention one example, a vehicle accident was used as a means to kill a top fighter pilot named Daniel Beyene in 2006. Stories like these are prevalent in Woyane's Ethiopia, especially in the aftermath of the crackdown on the opposition after the stolen elections of 2005.

The intimidation regime that the Woyane government has put in place, which I believe rivals that of the Derg, seems to be accomplishing its objective very well, at least in the short term. Tired of the constant harassment and afraid for their dear lives, most opposition activists have fled the country and sought asylum in all corners of the globe. Those who remain in the country either do not have the means to flee the country or have resigned themselves to whatever punishment may come their way. Mesfin seems to be in the latter group. In the long term though, I believe this extreme harassment of the opposition is bound to backfire and help to hasten the demise of the regime itself. Newton's law of physics -- "for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction" -- works in politics, too!

Not a Transformational Figure

By Fikru Helebo

Barring unforeseen developments, Barack Obama is poised to coast to a comfortable victory over John McCain in the US Presidential election in a little over a couple of weeks. In spite of my center-right political disposition, I had previously expressed my view that America would be better served with a Democrat in the White House in the next four years. I will certainly celebrate an Obama victory for the reasons I had expressed before and also because of the powerful message of hope that his election would send to all people of African decent and, for that matter, to all of humanity.

However, I am troubled by an oft-repeated claim in the media that Barack Obama is a "transformational figure". The latest political heavy weight to throw this loaded phrase in describing Obama is the former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who endorsed Obama's candidacy for President today. I hope Obama is a smart enough politician not to allow all such hype about him to to get into his head. But I have to say that his rhetoric about changing the world gives me reason to be concerned.

My understanding of a transformational figure, in so far as a politician goes, is someone like Nelson Mandela, who has an unparalleled capacity to win the respect of his opponents by what he/she says and does. As far as I can tell, aside from some of his recent speeches, there is very little evidence from Obama's political career which remotely suggests that he is such a figure. To be sure, Obama has reached across the aisle to work with Republicans on some issues since he has become a US Senator and talk of bipartisanship has been a part of his stump speech on the campaign trail. But the issues that Obama has worked with Republicans in the Senate, which he has touted in his advertisements, are not issues that are considered marquee issues that divide the right and left in the US and, in my opinion, do not give credence to Obama possessing a transformational quality. On the other hand, a far better argument can be made for John McCain about his willingness to buck his own party and work with Democrats, but that still doesn't make McCain a transformational figure, not by a long shot.

That said, I believe Obama has the potential to be a transformational figure if he is willing to put aside some of his orthodox liberal political beliefs, such as the concept of using the government as a tool to spread wealth around and to push down the throats of Americans wacky social engineering experiments, in favor of ideas that have broad support by the American electorate. For example, a President Obama would be well advised to concentrate on spending his precious political capital in the first couple of years on national security issues like energy independence and improving America's image around the world, a world that is getting more and more interconnected by the day. But, he will have to get elected first, and then, after taking his oath of office, he must stare down on some of his narrowly focused liberal constituencies if he really wants to be a transformational figure who can inspire a broad section of American society to getting something lasting accomplished during his presidency. We shall see.

This Music is Really Good for You - III

We all probably need some respite from all the negative news that surrounds us -- the turmoil in the stock markets around the world, the starvation and inflation in Ethiopia, etc. Please enjoy this fascinating Gnawa music from Morocco titled "L'Hadiya, L'Bossoyé" by Zakaria HOUAOURA. Beware, you could fall into a trance while listening!

Food Aid as a Weapon of War

It looks like the Woyane rulers of Ethiopia have taken a calculated risk in using food aid as a weapon in the war against the Ogaden rebels. They thought they could get away with it. They should have known better. Weren't they at the receiving end of the food aid war in the 80s?

What a difference a year makes!

By Fikru Helebo

In a piece titled "Is Kinijit the Way?" a year ago today I had expressed cautious optimism that Kinijit had the better chance of all the political groups out there to lead Ethiopians towards democratic pluralism. In that same piece I had also expressed my doubts on whether or not Kinijit was up to the task. I was optimistic because a few days earlier I had gone to a meeting in Alexandria, Virginia which was called by leaders of Kinijit who, having been released from two years of incarceration by the Woyane regime, did not show bitterness at their fate and their jailers but rather preached hope and reconciliation among Ethiopian political groups. On the other hand, I had reason to be guarded in my optimism because there were signs of division within Kinijit and I was concerned about the negative implications of that division for Kinijit supporters and the Ethiopian opposition groups at large.

In less than a month's time after I wrote that piece, the acrimonious division within Kinijit had gotten out of control and its partitioning had become a foregone conclusion. And in the months following the split within Kinijit, the Woyane regime added insult to injury by handing over the rights to the name and logo of Kinijit to groups that had betrayed Kinijit. In less than a year, Kinijit had gone from being called a "spirit" among its hardcore supporters to being seen as just another one of the long list of Ethiopian political parties that proved to not have what it takes to survive its first major test.

Kinijit may have become history, but the causes that it symbolized and championed (democracy, human rights, etc) still remain the cries of the Ethiopian people and are in desperate need of a party that is capable of offering a vanguard leadership. Unfortunately, by going their separate ways, the former Kinijit leaders have made the struggle for freedom, democracy and the rule of law in Ethiopia a more difficult task than it already was. Hailu Shawel's faction of Kinijit was the first to drop off the Kinijit bandwagon. Then the group which was aligned with Berhanu Nega came unhinged. That left the group led by Birtukan Mideksa as the only group that remained true to the original "spirit" of Kinijit that had won over the support of the Ethiopian people. Hailu's group reverted to its old name of the All Ethiopia Unity Party, whereas Berhanu's group has reinvented itself as Ginbot 7 movement. Birtukan's group was forced to reorganize itself under a new name called Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (Andenet). My sympathies are with Birtukan's party and I wish her and her Andenet colleagues good luck.

What surprised me the most about the partitioning of Kinijit in the last year was its abandonment by the Berhanu Nega group. I have tremendous respect for Berhanu and his Ginbot 7 colleagues for the sacrifices they have made to help the cause of freedom and democracy in Ethiopia, and I still do think that Berhanu is the most effective advocate the Ethiopian opposition has got on its side. However, I do believe that Berhanu and his colleagues have made a serious political error in judgment in abandoning their former Kinijit colleagues and forming a group which neither complements the efforts of Andenet and others, who are determined to use what narrow political space that is left, nor fills a vacuum that is not already addressed by an existing Ethiopian political group.

What a difference a year makes! Unfortunately for Ethiopians, this was not the difference they were looking for from their political parties at the begining of the Ethiopian millenium.

Back from Exile

The obelisks of Axum arguably represent the Golden Age of ancient Ethiopian civilization. Ethiopians of all backgrounds should unite in celebrating the return of our national treasure from Italy where it spent 70 years in exile. Happy Ethiopian New Year!