The attack dogs of “Dedebit”

By Ephrem Madebo

Unlike the other eleven months, the month of “Ginbot” is a unique month rich with distinctive cultural and political events. Examples are: “Ginbot-Lideta”, “Ginbot-8”, “Ginbot-20” and “Ginbot-7”. As eventful as “Ginbot” is, it is also a dismally disappointing month. “Ginbot 8” 1990 dawned as a day of hope for millions of Ethiopians, but it quickly turned into unprecedented day of carnage. In Ginbot 2005 [Ginbot 7], Ethiopians saw the sparks of a democratic process, yet as they enthusiastically jumped into the wagons of the democratic process, they were compellingly pulled back to only find themselves far-flung from democracy. I don’t think there is a comparable dictionary word that characterizes the ill-fated day of Ginbot 20, 1992 except calling it a national day of mourning!

I’m not here to offer any explanation on the events of “Ginbot” other than reminding you the depressing occurrences of Ginbot. I’m not even trying to prove or disprove anything anymore, or would I care to. I’m here to tell you about the fear that looms all over Ethiopia, the horror that conquered our very existence, and the voodoo that eluded our longstanding invincibility. Yes, I ‘m here to tell you about the ghosts of “Ginbot”, not the ghosts of “Ginbot Lideta”, but the phantoms of “dedebit” who also are known as - The attack dogs of Dedebit. If you are here to know the truth about the attack dogs of Dedebit, you must be open-minded, fascinated, and as mystical as I am. Enjoy the reading!

Recently, more frequently than any news outlet in their position, “aigaforum” and “The Reporter” have pitilessly attacked the entire Ethiopian opposition camp. In fact, these two websites have been the attack dogs of the TPLF regime for a long time. Aigaforum and “The Reporter” bark when Meles orders them to do so, and wag their tails and look hospitable when Bereket tells them to look friendly. For example, after years of name calling, cursing, and outright character assassination, it is surprising how these two attack dogs and their puppies are so concerned about AEUP party. I wonder where these two pathetic websites were when the president of AEUP [the then CUDP Chairman] was undeservingly suffering in Kality?

Both aigaforum and “The Reporter” love to portray themselves as hard-nosed defenders of democracy and staid challengers of orthodoxy and bad politics. Well, this is what they claim to be, the reality is the opposite. To be honest, there simply is no class of journalists more reverent of the TPLF establishment and more devoted to protecting and defending its prerogatives. If aigaforum and “The Reporter” were part of the free press, and most importantly if the name Ethiopia means anything to them, they shouldn’t have demanded a leader investigated for genocide be treated with the type of profound reverence typically reserved for national heroes, or religious leaders. Had the TPLF political machine had a tiny drop of democratic blood in its vein [as these two websites claim], Meles Zenawi and Bereket Simon wouldn’t have been the most entitled to be safeguarded from any kind of political criticism. The nastiest part of this depressing story is the irony- aigaforum and “The Reporter” have created for themselves. Often, these barefaced propaganda machines offer a shredded content of the full story of political events, totally disregarding the public’s right to know the evolution, development, and maturity of events. Sadly, instead of being faithful for owners of the machine, these dogs of lie stand for the machine that devours its owner.

Here is how the attack dogs mixed gold with gravel in aigaforum:

“Way before the cacophonous singing started though, I vividly remember reading an article written by five assorted PhD holders of various discipline-for what was then a Los Angeles based Ethiopian Mirror- predicting the inevitable journey of Ethiopia into the pitfall of anarchy”

Forget the “cacophonous singing”! Even Luchiano Pavarotti knows that the TPLF bandits have no shortage of harmonious voices, including the “flamboyant” patriarch who was in the millennium Karaoke contest with the planetary popular pop singer Beyonce Knowles. But this is far from the real story! The real story is that Ethiopia is a place where the powerless and the less-connected live at the mercy of the powerful. In Ethiopia, if you don’t belong to the “Golden” group you’re a rat that even a starving cat would ignore. The TPLF regime is a terror regime that terrorizes Ethiopians far more times than Bin Laden terrorized Americans. More than anything else, TPLF is an outlaw regime that has tossed a blanket over its own constitution and declared war on all opposition parties at home and abroad -- all in the name of a spurious- Safeguarding the Constitution! In fact, this is what the good PHD holders predicted. If this is not “anarchy”, then what is…..

Heaven knows what the definition of “anarchy” in the MoFA dictionary is, but I am absolutely sure that for both Meles and Bereket, the denial of chaos is a better definition of anarchy than its acceptance. The TPLF machinery and its ham-fisted system is terminally sick, otherwise, there is no need for the two architects of the system [Meles & Bereket] to repeatedly go public and deny its illness.

I’m not sure what peace means to the editor of aigaforum when a government he praises kills its own people; and I wonder how editor of “The Reporter” values peace when a leader he worships gets investigated for genocide. Yes, Amare Aregawi and Isayas Abay, you heard me right! Your goddess is being investigated for genocide! Do you think peace means the same to you and to the Anguaks who were massacred simply for being Anguak? Is Isayas Abay who lives in San Jose, California, confusing the Silicon Valley with Ethiopia? What about Amare Aregawi? Does he measure economic development by the number of high rises built to satisfy big time gluttons such as the ravenous Azeb Mesfin and the many-headed monster Sibhat Nega? What does economic development mean to these two lackluster pig-heads when the misery index (inflation rate + unemployment rate) of Ethiopia is a large number greater than the age of its octogenerian president? It is high time that Amare Aregawi and Isayas Abay answer these questions, or it is about time for self-flagellation!

Here is another doodle by the same attack dogs in aigaforum :

“Isolating Meles Zenawi and Bereket Simon from the rest of EPRDF leadership is an old trick, utilized to convey the appearance of division within EPRDF and have little bearing if any to the point of contention at hand, which is, the uncovering of a terrorist plot allegedly perpetrated by Ginbot 7-the brain child of Dr. Berhanu Nega”

To be honest, no one spends time trying to isolate things that weren’t meant to be together in the first place. Meles and Bereket have nothing to do with EPRDF. EPRDF is an incompetent amorphous entity created by the two criminals to give TPLF national mandate. Otherwise, Ethiopia is a one party polity, and that party is none than the ethnic conglomerate TPLF party created by the evil seeds of ethnicity. Evidently, there are some people of substance within the EPRDF party who like active volcano are waiting to explode, but for the most part, EPRDF is a ship willfully hijacked by the TPLF pirates.

Unlike what the paid attack dogs try to tell us, Ethiopians are terrorized by Meles Zenawi who is entrusted to lead them. In fact, his words of terror started in day one of his administration. Here is one of the most disdaining phrases belted out to the opposition by a person who vowed to lay the foundation of multi-party politics in Ethiopia: -- "Mengedun Cherk Yargilachehu", which basically means go to hell. Such shameless and despicable inflammatory statements are characteristic of Meles Zenawi’s dismissive ego whose arrogance is just beyond the pale. All in all, Meles Zenawi is a typical symbol of hypocrisy at the helm of the TPLF regime. When he speaks he speaks lies, when he makes a promise he breaks it, and when he is trusted he betrays his trust.

Ginbot 7 is not and has never been a party of individuals, and most importantly, Ginbot 7 is not a party that promises the impossible and tries to attain the in attainable. The promise of Ginbot 7 is freedom and, no matter how often Meles and Berket lie, freedom is attainable! Meles Zenawi is a person who lies to himself; his daily life is filled with denial of what he does, even what he thinks. He does this because he is afraid of what Ginbot-7 can do - Bring an end to his wealth making hierocracy. For Meles and his bandits denial is always the first step in their apparent attempt to prevent the inevitable. Otherwise, Ginbot-7 is everywhere in Ethiopia including at the back yard of Melses Zenawi. His attempt to kill Ginbot-7 is no different than Hercules trying to kill Hydra in the classic Greek mythology. Ginbot-7 is difficult to kill because when you cut off one head anywhere in Ethiopia, two more heads would grow back out of the stump elsewhere. I’m not quite sure about Berket because he has no brain of his own; but, I’m dead sure his master knows the significance of the Hydra, as the Hydra would be the eventual downfall of Hercules.

Here is one more ‘hushed’ bark by the attack dogs:

“Failing to remember that he has unequivocally condemned violence few years back, he is now adhering to dislodge a democratically elected government “by any means necessary.” This is what the world knows and there is no entity in this world able enough to fabricate what Berhanu has argued for to mean anything other than terror”

Dr. Berhanu, and millions of Ethiopians who adore him love peace and adhere to peaceful methods of struggle, but peaceful struggle does not mean bowing to Meles Zenawi and participate in a meaningless election to coronate the same “King” every five years. Peaceful struggle is pointless when a tiny 4% of the Ethiopian population decides on the fate of the other 96%. Yes, indeed, peaceful struggle is disingenuous when one party has roses, and the other has guns and knows no mercy. The only living organism that hates peace & tranquility is the one that needs turmoil for its survival, and that organism is Meles Zenawi. Actually, it is not just Meles Zenawi; essentially, the nature of the TPLF thugs is enmity against peace and democracy. Obviously, the result of such eccentric behavior is a continued warfare against their own constitution and against the society they’re supposed to lead. Let it be heard loud and clear! Given all the available choices, there is no human being that resorts to violence, and when there is no other option left, no human being gives up its freedom for fear of violence.

One other wavy-line in the above statement is: “he [Berhanu] is now adhering to dislodge a democratically elected government “by any means necessary.” Well, this is just a joke, and it’s the only joke that makes Colonel Mengistu chuckle who hasn’t chuckled in 18 years. Ironically, what makes bore-stiff Mengistu laugh is not the joke itself. It is the perception that his nemesis is using the same old election tricks that Mengistu himself used in the 1970s and 80s. If “Democracy” to Meles Zenawi is rising to power “by any means necessary” then what is wrong with Dr. Berhanu’s adherence to bring him down “by any means necessary? Who is the terrorist here? Is it Meles Zenawi who ascended to power by killing his opponents, or is it Dr.Berhanu Nega who has the courage to say no to Zenawi’s senseless arrogance?

Ethiopia’s political and economic future depends on the courage and capacity of its leaders to face the bold truth of the present. Facing the truth is the only thing that sets Meles Zenawi free, otherwise, covering the painful emotions of moms and dads whose children died defending democracy; and blocking the gross images coming from Ogden and Gambela is a senseless denial of reality that diminishes our ability to survive as a society. Evidently, Meles Zenawi and Bereket Simon are pathological liars; therefore, expecting honesty from them is a little more than a bad joke. However, no matter how bad liars they are, they should not swing like a hot wire. Meles Zeanwi has never been loyal to Ethiopia and Ethiopians ever since he and his rag-bag guerilla army set foot in Addis Ababa. His leadership has always been tainted with ethnicization of politics, systematic killing, and human right abuse even at times when many Ethiopians gave him the benefit of the doubt. So much can be said about Meles Zenawi and Berket Semon. These two self-indulgent mortals are liars, killers, crooks, and most importantly they are the ultimate symbols of human inhumanity. Their shallow strength may carry them through today, and may be tomorrow, but these wicked forces of evil will be defeated by the forces of good and excellence!

Bury the Spear!

This is a preview of a 2004 documentary film made by the anthropologist/filmmaking team of Ivo Strecker and Alula Pankhurst.

Bury the Spear! focuses on the 1993 peace-making efforts of the Arbore, Borana, Konso, Tsamai, Hamar and Dasanach to end decades of ethnic war in the southern Ethiopian Rift Valley. The title of the film comes from the climactic scenes of elders uttering curses as they use stones to blunt the blades of their spears.

I suppose the occupants of Minilik's palace and its aspirants can learn a thing or two from this film.

Mewa Remembering Mideksa

Tilahun Gessesse, RIP

Sad to hear the passing of Tilahun Gessesse, the one and only, the legendary, the irreplaceable Ethiopian singer of the last half century. I have to admit, he was not my favorite singer, but he was probably the greatest Ethiopian vocalist, ever! And, what can you say about this emotional and masterful performance? The fact that he has total control of his vocals while he is in tears is beyond me. Wow!

I had one brief encounter with him in 1984 (September, I believe). I was visiting a relative of mine at Amanuel Hospital in Addis and, lo and behold, Tilahun was being treated in the same ward of the hospital, accross the room from my relative, for a condition that was rumored (since I have no way to confirm it) to be inflicted on him by the Derg regime. His wife, Roman, was sitting right beside him on the bed and my relative, a soldier who had suffered emotional trauma after serving his country in the Red Star campaign of the Eritrean war, was joking with Tilahun. I also saw another great Ethiopian singer in the flesh that day, Alemayehu Eshete, as he was leaving the hospital after visiting Tilahun. Can you imagine what a thrill it was to see two musical legends in just an hour for this seventeen years old lad?

You can find an alternative biography of the late Tilahun Gessesse (PKA Daandanaa Ayyaano Guddata) from Ayyaantuu Oromiyya Portal.

Fikru

Photos from Africa by James Baigrie

Please take a look at these absolutely breathtaking pictures from Africa by James Baigrie, a native of South Africa. The one you see above is from somewhere in Shoa, Ethiopia. If you can read Amharic, there is one from Gojam which will cause you to laugh uncontrollaby! There are 47 pictures in all, 21 from Ethiopia and 10 from Eritrea. Enjoy!

War on Dysfunctional Behaviors

Comments on the article "Time to Declare War on Dysfunctional Behaviors"

By Mesfin Felleke

Even though this article by Ato Dessalegn Asfaw appeared more than two years ago, about every few months I look for it and read it to gain some new understanding of why we are who we are today as Ethiopians. I even pass it to friends and relatives to help them they ask themselves few questions so that they get into understanding their own dysfunctional behaviors.

The author of this article, I surmise, must be an expert in these areas of the human character as I probably would never have put it as succinctly and clearly as he did. However for long I have strongly felt the many character flaws in us Ethiopians is the basis for our continued inability to transform our struggle for democracy into an enduring force . I am not sure where and how we got all those flaws as described in Dessalegn’s article, but I suspect it is embedded in us as a result of our hundreds years of proud history as a geographically land locked people, fiercely guarding our own form of Christianity, our ancestors fighting many wars to guard off any outside influence of any form while living side by side with Muslims and other religious persuasions. As a result, for hundreds of years we forgot the world as the world also forgot us (from Edward Gibbons). This protectionism went on all the way to the start of the last century when Western influence poured in unmitigated in its various forms. Since then it has been nothing but outside influence mixed in its bad as well as good attributes. I think there is a great opportunity here for some learned Ethiopian to work on and find out how our historical background, mixed with Western influence shaped our current behavior.

The main reasons why I am commenting on this two years old article is:

1. In spite of so many appalling endings, the movement to free our country from dictatorial leaders never stops from re-emerging in some form, somewhere by some group of people. One always hopes there is a learning from past failures.
2. From what I have seen and heard these learning includes some amount of realization of the dysfunctional behaviors listed in this article. However I am not sure the desired remediation is formulated well enough by these emerging groups to underscore the changes needed to curtail another series of organizational failures.
3. This is where I believe Dessalegn’s perfect analysis and presentation of our many dysfunctional behaviors come to fill a hitherto forgotten gap. A gap that has so far managed to render our countless political and supportive organizations as ineffective and eventually disbanded.
4. To that end I will urge Ato Dessalegn to publish his article frequently. Maybe by reducing its lengthiness and changing its format here and there using short and bulleted points so that it creates curiosity, stays in our memory and turns to usability. In our fast paced life we have come to be time-sensitive towards long articles even though subject matters like his really need to be long to be effectively explained.

"Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time" (Mark Twain). And as such if we are repeatedly but systematically informed that our dysfunctional behaviors are formed habits and that habits can be reformed for the better, I know we will come to realize our short comings and listen to others who will provide us with well researched and practical solutions. Seldom did I see such a well done cause and effect analysis of "us". We could be lacking on those behavioral aspects, but I also know we are good people who, as a first generation newcomers to all the lands we spread into, we have managed to keep up with our educations, businesses, families and done well just like the locals. We will listen to a perfectly laid out analysis like Dessalegn’s if told repeatedly and intelligently enough.

Finally, as history will bear witness, we love our country and our people. We have shown that untold number of times, occasionally by willingly but foolishly paying the ultimate (Key Shibir) and often times by unselfishly contributing our money and time (Kinijit and its many supportive groups). I know this love and dedication may go up and down on the scale but will never fade away as long as there is an ounce of Ethiopian blood left in us and even in our children born and raised outside our country. So here today I urge Ato Dessalegn to expand on his study of analyzing "our dysfunctional behavior", finding the appropriate remediation and talk to us by publishing his works as often as possible till we get it right and take the necessary steps to fix it.

To those of you who agree with Dessalegn’s work, are endowed with public speech, and are actively involved in the Ethiopian Democratic movement, I beseech you to make it an active part of your organization building and group strengthening routine so that the rest of us take these character flaws seriously and actively work for remediation. Such recognition activities by our leaders, the remediation efforts duly practiced by them for good measure also goes a long way in forming strong followers and unrelenting loyalty to the cause of freedom.

Long live Ethiopia and the enduring fight by its children to create a better country where justice, equality, pursuit of happiness and the rule of just law will one day soon be practiced all across our land.

--
Readers who wish to contact the author can reach him at Geja@gbis.com

The People Who Lost Their Way

Looking at the Consequences of "Going it Alone"

By Maru Gubena

The problems facing Ethiopia and its people are too many and too complex to count or describe, but they all have been created and cultivated by the people themselves, as it is the group, the community and the society which are responsible for moulding and shaping our lives, cultures and habits -- bringing up and socializing its children. Even those who show cruel, inhuman and destructive behaviours, such the former dictator, Mengistu Hailemariam, or the current leader of the TPLF, Meles Zenawi, belong to and are an inseparable part and product of Ethiopian society.

It would not be wrong to state that that since most of us have not been tested, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to vigorously argue that we, the Ethiopians at home and abroad who are restlessly, relentlessly and sleeplessly demanding basic rights and freedoms for individual members of Ethiopian society, including a dramatic improvement in living conditions, could not behave in similar ways, just as inhuman and destructive as those two individuals, had we been given the opportunity to rule. Our own destructive actions and behaviours throughout the fall of 2005 and to the present day clearly suggest that we might not be so very different from those who have inhumanely committed the most horrifying, atrocious crimes against our families, friends, classmates, colleagues, neighbours and our most talented Ethiopian compatriots, whom most Ethiopians had seen as the future assets of the country and its people. Yes, I actually continue to wonder, often anxiously, whether we ourselves, who appear to have lost our way yet try to appear to be the guardians and defenders of human rights, are well equipped for these roles, and whether we would prove to be better, more responsible thinkers and relatively honest policy makers, policy executors and educators.

Imagine now just for a while, just for a moment, that we, the entire community of the Ethiopian Diaspora, had lived through the remarkable and testing four-year period, from winter 2005 to early 2009, a period marked by an irremovable black stain on the minds of the Ethiopian Diaspora community, on our own island. I will call it Zaldonia. We are there with no rules and laws of our own, just as we are living now. It should not be at all difficult for any member of our community with a healthy common sense who walked the rough paths of those high, treacherous mountains with us throughout those four remarkably tragic years to predict or guess what would have happened to some, or even most of us. Yes, the past few years have put the long-held grudges and deep-seated resentments many of us hold against each and every one of our own compatriots in a bright light. In fact, the past three and half decades, but especially this brief four-year period, have shown us unmistakably that we have completely lost our direction with respect to finding a path to togetherness and unity.

Yes, it is certainly true that each of us is talking through our own personal websites, newspapers, radios, paltalk rooms and other means of communication about Ethiopia and the unity of its people, including discussions of our country’s territorial integrity, but in actual terms those talks are just a means to an end, a ladder that can be used to climb to desired socio-political and economic positions or to help those related to us to achieve a degree of political power over others. Yes, it is true that all of us are talking and writing - but we are not changing ourselves, our behaviours and mindsets; we are just trying to influence and change others, so that we can share (or if possible remove) their political power and the economic positions at their disposal.

Yes, all of us are also writing, talking and complaining about opposition groups and those who love to "go it alone," and we want them to establish a united force and work together, but we ourselves, as website and radio owners and paltalk talkers don’t like and don’t want to hear about working jointly with other radios, websites or owners of other communications media. We, all of us who have been molded by exactly the same culture, love to go it alone so that we can continue to enjoy doing what pleases us to without being bothered by others, without the slightest feelings of shared responsibility or accountability, within our own lonely and fruitless circles of freedom -- going our own way on our own timetable.

Let me just share something with you, something which sometimes even scares me. But I hope I am terribly wrong. Yes, I sometimes think, imagine and get even so scared to death that if, just if, Ethiopia, our country, one day becomes very lucky and finds herself to be young and beautiful, exactly in the same way as some of our exceptionally elegant, beautiful Ethiopian girls, and much to her disbelief and shock, she meets someone, a kind prince. They fall in love and marry. She, our country, looks set to live happily ever after, becoming not just prosperous, a disease and prison-free land, but also kicking out all of those who have been and still are oppressing and repressing her children, taking their positions as President, PM and Information/Disinformation or whatever ministerial positions they may have held, becoming very democratic and commencing a joyful life with all of her eighty million children.

What do you think what would happen next? I really don’t know, but I am sometimes so scared that some, if not most, Ethiopian Diaspora talk shows and political groupings might possibly not give up their talking, unless their demands or the demands of those they support and with which they have been engaged and busy for so long are incorporated into the lifestyle of the newly born Ethiopia and its newly crafted socio-political and economic policies. They might not even want to attend her wedding. This is not just based on my wildest dreams or fantasies; it comes from my observations, for example when I have witnessed that many helpful ideas and visions presented to us by some open-minded thinkers who are free from family and group orientations, which have not been allowed to grow in our minds and hearts, or in our home country. Instead they were simply buried deep in the ground and forgotten, simply because such ideas and visions did not make a place for the political programmes of our current, ineffective political organizations and the plans and desires of privately owned business and media outlets.

In conclusion, I would dare to say that, although "going it alone" -- ignoring the direction that most social animals of the world community follow, living in respect and love with each other -- may have benefited a limited number of our compatriots, perhaps in economic terms or/and self-satisfaction, for the majority of us the direct and indirect consequences of losing our way and going it alone have been and are huge and may be difficult, if not impossible, to repair. The limited social and cultural fabric of the Ethiopian Diaspora community that existed previously has been shattered by those who are incurably addicted to going it alone and by those whose mindsets are firmly glued to a family and group orientation.

Why are we then talking and shouting, sometimes very emotionally and sometimes in an exceptionally concerned manner, saying that we are talking about the current problems and future direction of our country and its people, instead of simply admitting that what we are saying is on behalf of ourselves?

--
Readers who wish to contact the author can reach him at info@pada.nl

Observations from the DC Candlelight Vigil

Photo by Matt Andrea

By Fikru Helebo

I went to the candlelight vigil in Washington, DC which was held yesterday to remember Birtukan Mideksa and all the rest of the political prisoners in Ethiopia. The weather in the DC area was absolutely gorgeous and I decided to make the vigil a family affair. We got to the White House an hour ahead of the candlelight and took leisurely walk around the White House.

We arrived at the candlelight location at 6:05 PM and saw only about 30 Ethiopians, which got me concerned. I expected Ethiopians to be tardy for such gatherings but I thought more would show up as the minutes went by. When the time said 6:30, I thought I should ask one of the organizers about their schedule. So, I approached one of the guys who seemed to be one of the organizers and I introduced myself. When I informed the well dressed gentleman that I blog on Enset, he decided to introduce me to a person by the name of Alex who was in charge of organizing the event.

I related to Alex the concern I had about the low attendance. But he did not seem as concerned as I was. He gave me five plausible reasons why there were not as many people as I had expected there should have been at around 6:30:

1. Ethiopians' habitual disregard for punctuality.
2. Calendar change of the event.
3. President Obama's absence from DC.
4. Difficulty finding automobile parking spots close to the event's location.
5. Division within the ranks of the opposition.

Sure enough, while I was still talking with Alex, more and more people arrived. By the time the event got started around 7 PM, there were at least 200 participants by my estimation. The event lasted for about an hour and I returned home satisfied that there are a sufficient number of concerned Ethiopians who appreciate the sacrifices that Birtukan and the other political prisoners are making on behalf of their country men and women.

One thing that struck me about the event was the absence of many of the political activists that I knew from the time I was active in DC area opposition politics from 1994 to 2001. I very seldom go to political events nowadays mainly because of the toxic atmosphere that pervades Ethiopian politics. I saw only two people that were familiar faces to me from those days. This suggests to me that the last point that Alex pointed out for the low turn out was a factor. Sad to see that the more things change in Ethiopian politics the more they stay the same. When will Ethiopian opposition politicians ever grow up and learn to compromise and see the benefits of cooperation?

Another thing which pleasantly surprised me was the presence of younger people in proportions that is much larger than the political meetings and events that I used to go to in the 90s. I estimated that about half of the participants were under 40 years of age. This is an encouraging development. This suggest to me that the younger generation folks are engaged in the affairs of their homeland more than I thought they were. I think progressive opposition groups like Andenet should give serious consideration to tapping the energy and fresh perspective that younger folks bring to the table.

I estimated that less than one in five of the participants at the vigil were women. For me, this is a very low representation considering the fact that Birtukan is now the main symbol of the struggle to bring about change to Ethiopia. Overall, I thought the vigil was a moderately successful event, but I thought it should have been attended by at least twice the size of the participants in a city that has the largest number of the Ethiopian Diaspora. Kudos to the organizers for their hard work and determination to carry on the torch of freedom in spite of the adverse conditions.

The Genographic Project

"We all have one common place of origin: East Africa."



This video will give you a much better description of what the Genographic Project is about than anything I can tell you. But, in case you are hesitant to click on the video or the link and find out for yourself what the project is about, here is a brief summary of it from their web site:

Genographic Project is a five-year (2005-2010) research partnership led by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Spencer Wells. Dr. Wells and a team of renowned international scientists and IBM researchers, are using cutting-edge genetic and computational technologies to analyze historical patterns in DNA from participants around the world to better understand our human genetic roots. The three components of the project are: to gather field research data in collaboration with indigenous and traditional peoples around the world; to invite the general public to join the project by purchasing a Genographic Project Public Participation Kit; and to use proceeds from Genographic Public Participation Kit sales to further field research and the Genographic Legacy Fund which in turn supports indigenous conservation and revitalization projects. The Project is anonymous, non-medical, non-profit and all results will be placed in the public domain following scientific peer publication.

150 years after Charles Darwin published his seminal work on the theory of evolution and 55 years after the discovery of the structure of the DNA, there is now a near consensus in the scientific community about Africa being the single origin of modern human beings. The co-discover of Australopithecus afarensis ("Lucy"), the 3.2 million years old hominid skeleton found in the Afar region of Ethiopia, says the following in his article "Origins of Modern Humans: Multiregional or Out of Africa?":

There are two theories about the origin of modern humans: 1) they arose in one place -- Africa and 2) pre-modern humans migrated from Africa to become modern humans in other parts of the world. Most evidence points to the first theory because:

• fossils of modern-like humans are found in Africa
• stone tools and other artifacts support African origin
• DNA studies suggest a founding population in Africa

Research on Y and X chromosomes in the past 20 years, including early result from the Genographic Project, so far also support the first theory. I came across this project by chance back in December while browsing the internet. Ethiopia, being at the center of the Eastern Africa region where all human beings alive today are thought to have directly originated from, naturally I got interested in the subject and I started reading about it. Since the project is open to the general public, I thought it would be interesting to participate in it myself and contribute to the scientific understanding of where human beings originated from and how they were able to colonize the Earth in about 60,000 years from a single point of origin. I also thought that such an understanding of our common origins, regardless of the journey our ancestors may have taken to get to their current abode, may help to mitigate our modern infatuation with our ethnic differences. So, I have decided to participate in this project and I will post a summary of my deep ancestry, which is what you get with the Genographic DNA test, when I get my results.

I am not aware whether the Genographic Project folks have gotten DNA samples from population groups in Ethiopia for this study. I would be surprised if they have not. Regardless, it is my hope that my participation in this project will encourage Ethiopians and other East Africans from all ethnic backgrounds to participate in this project.

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.