December 21, 2009
Op-Ed Columnist
By FRANK RICH
AS we say farewell to a dreadful year and decade, this much we can agree upon: The person of the year is not Ben Bernanke, no matter how insistently Time magazine tries to hype him into its pantheon. The Fed chairman was just as big a schnook as every other magical thinker in Washington and on Wall Street who believed that housing prices would go up in perpetuity to support an economy leveraged past the hilt. Unlike most of the others, it was Bernanke’s job to be ahead of the curve. Yet as recently as June of last year he could be found minimizing the possibility of a substantial economic downturn. And now we’re supposed to applaud him for putting his finger in the dike after disaster struck? This is defining American leadership down.
If there’s been a consistent narrative to this year and every other in this decade, it’s that most of us, Bernanke included, have been so easily bamboozled. The men who played us for suckers, whether at Citigroup or Fannie Mae, at the White House or Ted Haggard’s megachurch, are the real movers and shakers of this century’s history so far. That’s why the obvious person of the year is Tiger Woods. His sham beatific image, questioned by almost no one until it collapsed, is nothing if not the farcical reductio ad absurdum of the decade’s flimflams, from the cancerous (the subprime mortgage) to the inane (balloon boy).
As of Friday, the Tiger saga had appeared on 20 consecutive New York Post covers. For The Post, his calamity has become as big a story as 9/11. And the paper may well have it right. We’ve rarely questioned our assumption that 9/11, “the day that changed everything,” was the decade’s defining event. But in retrospect it may not have been. A con like Tiger’s may be more typical of our time than a one-off domestic terrorist attack, however devastating.
Indeed, if we go back to late 2001, the most revealing news story may have been unfolding not in New York but Houston — the site of the Enron scandal. That energy company convinced financial titans, the press and countless investors that it was a business deity. It did so even though very few of its worshipers knew what its business was. Enron is the template for the decade of successful ruses that followed, Tiger’s included.
What makes the golfing superstar’s tale compelling, after all, is not that he’s another celebrity in trouble or another fallen athletic “role model” in a decade lousy with them. His scandal has nothing to tell us about race, and nothing new to say about hypocrisy. The conflict between Tiger’s picture-perfect family life and his marathon womanizing is the oldest of morality tales.
What’s striking instead is the exceptional, Enron-sized gap between this golfer’s public image as a paragon of businesslike discipline and focus and the maniacally reckless life we now know he led. What’s equally striking, if not shocking, is that the American establishment and news media — all of it, not just golf writers or celebrity tabloids — fell for the Woods myth as hard as any fan and actively helped sustain and enhance it.
People wanted to believe what they wanted to believe. Tiger’s off-the-links elusiveness was no more questioned than Enron’s impenetrable balance sheets, with their “special-purpose entities” named after “Star Wars” characters. Fortune magazine named Enron as America’s “most innovative company” six years in a row. In the January issue of Golf Digest, still on the stands, some of the best and most hardheaded writers in America offer “tips Obama can take from Tiger,” who is typically characterized as so without human frailties that he “never does anything that would make him look ridiculous.”
Perhaps the most conspicuous player in the Tiger hagiography business has been a company called Accenture, one of his lustrous stable of corporate sponsors. In a hilarious Times article, Brian Stelter described the extreme efforts this outfit is now making to erase its six-year association with its prized spokesman. Alas, the many billboards with slogans like “Go On. Be a Tiger” are not so easily dismantled, and collectors’ items like “Accenture Match Play Tiger Woods Caddy Bib” are a growth commodity on eBay.
From what I can tell, Accenture is a solid company. But the Daily News columnist Mike Lupica raised a good point when I spoke with him last week: “If Tiger Woods was so important to Accenture, how come I didn’t know what Accenture did when they fired him?” According to its Web site, Accenture is “a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company,” but who cared about any fine print? It was Tiger, and Tiger was it, and no one was to worry about the details behind the mutually advantageous image-mongering. One would like to assume that Accenture’s failure to see or heed any warning signs about a man appearing in 83 percent of its advertising is an anomalous lapse. One would like to believe that business and government clients didn’t hire Accenture just because it had Tiger’s imprimatur. But in a culture where so many smart people have been taken so often, we can’t assume anything.
As cons go, Woods’s fraudulent image as an immaculate exemplar of superhuman steeliness is benign. His fall will damage his family, closest friends, Accenture and the golf industry much more than the rest of us. But the syndrome it epitomizes is not harmless. We keep being fooled by leaders in all sectors of American life, over and over. A decade that began with the “reality” television craze exemplified by “American Idol” and “Survivor” — both blissfully devoid of any reality whatsoever — spiraled into a wholesale flight from truth.
The most lethal example, of course, were the two illusions marketed to us on the way to Iraq — that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and some link to Al Qaeda. That history has since been rewritten by Bush alumni, Democratic politicians who supported the Iraq invasion and some of the news media that purveyed the White House fictions (especially the television press, which rarely owned up to its failure as print journalists have). It was exclusively “bad intelligence,” we’re now told, that pushed us into the fiasco. But contradictions to that “bad intelligence” were in plain sight during the run-up to the war — even sometimes in the press. Yet we wanted to suspend disbelief. Much of the country, regardless of party, didn’t want to question its leaders, no matter how obviously they were hyping any misleading shred of intelligence that could fit their predetermined march to war. It’s the same impulse that kept many from questioning how Mark McGwire’s and Barry Bonds’s outlandishly cartoonish physiques could possibly be steroid-free.
In the political realm, our bipartisan credulousness has also been on steroids in this decade, even by our national standards. Many Democrats didn’t want to see the snake-oil salesman in John Edwards, blatant as his “Two America” self-contradictions were if you cared merely to look at him on YouTube. Republicans incessantly fell for family values preacher politicians like David Vitter, John Ensign and Larry Craig. Fred Thompson was seen by many, in the press as well as his party, as the second coming of Ronald Reagan. Karl Rove was widely hailed as a mastermind who would assemble a permanent Republican majority. Bernie Kerik was considered a plausible secretary of homeland security. Eliot Spitzer was viewed as a crusader of uncompromising principle.
But these scam artists are pikers next to the financial hucksters. I’m not just talking about Bernie Madoff and Enron’s Ken Lay, but about those titans who legally created and sold the securities that gamed and then wrecked the system. You’d think after Enron’s collapse that financial leaders and government overseers would question the contents of “exotic” investments that could not be explained in plain English. But only a few years after Enron’s very public and extensively dissected crimes, the same bankers, federal regulatory agencies and securities-rating companies were giving toxic “assets” a pass. We were only too eager to go along for the lucrative ride until it crashed like Tiger’s Escalade.
After his “indefinite break” from golf, Woods will surely be back on the links once the next celebrity scandal drowns his out. But after a decade in which two true national catastrophes, a wasteful war and a near-ruinous financial collapse, were both in part byproducts of the ease with which our leaders bamboozled us, we can’t so easily move on.
This can be seen in the increasingly urgent political plight of Barack Obama. Though the American left and right don’t agree on much, they are both now coalescing around the suspicion that Obama’s brilliant presidential campaign was as hollow as Tiger’s public image — a marketing scam designed to camouflage either his covert anti-American radicalism (as the right sees it) or spineless timidity (as the left sees it). The truth may well be neither, but after a decade of being spun silly, Americans can’t be blamed for being cynical about any leader trying to sell anything. As we say goodbye to the year of Tiger Woods, it is the country, sad to say, that is left mired in a sand trap with no obvious way out.
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December 17, 2009
Accenture, as if Tiger Woods Were Never There
By BRIAN STELTER
How do you Tiger-proof an entire corporation? At Accenture, you start by telling employees to tear down all the posters that say, now somewhat awkwardly, that “we know what it takes to be a Tiger.”
For six years, Tiger Woods was the advertising face for Accenture, the big consulting firm. But now that Mr. Woods has confessed to infidelities amid an assault of media coverage, Accenture wants him to disappear.
On Sunday, hours after Accenture ended its sponsorship deal, the golfer’s face was replaced by an anonymous skier on the company’s home page. His name was scrubbed almost completely from the rest of the Web site. The company’s advertising campaign is about “high performance,” and Mr. Woods “just wasn’t a metaphor for high performance anymore,” a spokesman for Accenture, Fred Hawrysh, said.
By Monday afternoon, Accenture staffers had swept through the company’s New York office and removed any visible Tiger posters. The next day, marketing and communications employees around the world were asked to turn in any remaining Tiger-emblazoned posters and other materials. Accenture marketing employees did not respond to requests for comment about the Tiger purge on Wednesday.
Accenture said it did not tell all of its 177,000 worldwide employees to toss their Tiger T-shirts, caps and tchotchkes away. But when asked about branded merchandise, Mr. Hawrysh said, “Our intention is to ensure we are no longer using it internally or externally.”
But it takes time to erase the golfer’s identity completely. Accenture spent $50 million on advertising in the United States last year, and Mr. Woods appeared in 83 percent of the company’s ads — far more than for any of his other major sponsors — according to TNS Media Intelligence.
The remaining billboards and ads, now outdated, inspire smirks and jokes. In ads at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, Tiger is seen crouching on the green, studying a golf ball’s trajectory and endorsing outsourcing. In Atlanta, he is posed as The Thinker, adorned with a Nike hat, promoting management consulting. At Dulles International outside Washington, he is peering into the distance, dark clouds on the horizon. That ad, forebodingly, says it is “tougher than ever to be a Tiger.”
“The Accenture ads with Tiger finally make sense,” Quentin George, the chief digital officer for Interpublic Mediabrands, an advertising holding company, remarked on Twitter Wednesday.
Mr. Woods provided a big boost to Accenture when he became the company’s worldwide public face in 2003. At the time, the Accenture name was less than three years old, and was still regularly called by its old name, Andersen Consulting. The campaign’s initial theme was “Go on. Be a Tiger.”
Mr. Woods “was a powerful device for our advertising, there’s no doubt about it,” Mr. Hawrysh said.
But as allegations of Mr. Woods’s extramarital affairs spread in recent weeks, the titan of golf was transformed into a distraction. In the early days of the media frenzy, Mr. Woods still greeted visitors to Accenture’s Web site next to the words, “It’s What You Do Next That Counts.” Then on Sunday, the company proclaimed that Mr. Woods was “no longer the right representative” for its advertising and began scrubbing his name and face away.
On Tuesday, that meant telling staff members in an e-mail message to review their sales pitches and slide shows to ensure that they “no longer include Tiger Woods.” In New York, employees were asked to bring posters and other physical assets to the company’s front desk for disposal. The company would not comment on exactly how they would be disposed of.
They may be trying to avoid having the materials recast as collectors’ items. Already, some Accenture magazine ads and memorabilia, including an Accenture Match Play Tiger Woods Caddy Bib, are on eBay (Asking price for the bib: $175.)
Mr. Woods’s private life remains a daily topic on TV talk shows and Web sites, but some of his sponsors, including Nike, have stayed by his side. Nike’s chairman, Phil Knight, told The Sports Business Journal last week that when Mr. Woods’s career “is over, you’ll look back on these indiscretions as a minor blip.”
Accenture, however, is already preparing a new ad campaign. Jon Swallen, a senior vice president for research for TNS Media Intelligence, said it seemed notable that the consulting firm chose not to hide under a no-comment cloak or hire a new celebrity spokesman; instead, it separated from Mr. Woods publicly and swiftly.
“It struck me that they were taking him to the woodshed,” Mr. Swallen said.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Adis Neger and the New Thing About Their War on Freedom of Expression in Ethiopia.
December 14, 2009
I don't write these days. I find all kinds of excuses not to do it. I am productively engaged in contributing my two penny's worth during meetings with a bunch of dedicated Ethiopians in the Washington, D.C. area. I gain an ounce of satisfaction when I get a chance to grab the microphone in the Civility or Geza Tegaru Pal talk rooms and give a passionate semi-sermon about the state of affairs in Ethiopia, or vent out my frustrations about a bunch of losers that show up in Alula Aba Nega room, an abode for TPLF defectors.
I do browse the net, Aiga Forum, EthiopiaFirst, Reporter, Ethiomedia, Abugida, Nazreth.com and a couple more, in that order. This, on top of trying to do a job that pays the bills.
You would think this should fill a gentleman's day and leave very little time for scribbling a few more words to articulate one point of view or another. But, once in a while, I come across articles that completely distort the real situation in Ethiopia or Ethiopian politics and force me to pick up my pen. I am used to the deceptions, legal meanderings and verbal diarrhea by the likes of Al Mariam. I have long desisted from responding to his lies. But, a new crop of press freedom fighters are showing up on the radar, starting with the likes of Abiy Teklemariam Megenta of the now defunct newspaper, Adis Neger.
Let me share a recent brief e-mail encounter I had with this gentleman, following his article on Bertukan Mideksa. Here is a man who closed down his newspaper business; because the circulation was hurting bad and run away to what he thinks are greener pastures, with an excuse of an alleged political harassment.
Dear Abiye,
I enjoyed reading your piece, enjoyed it painfully! What a waste of talent. What a sad commentary on the state of opposition papers in Ethiopia. You did not have the nerve to follow the path of your Heroine. You would rather go hiding, of all places in the UK, to spill your conspiracy theory and your doom and gloom for our emerging democracy.
Good luck in your new life that is fading away very fast.
Washera
Dear Washera,
Thank you for the comments. If people couldn't understand the darker pages of Hegel, nobody can say it is for the lack of freedom.
Very best,
Abiye Teklemariam Megenta
Research Scholar
Department of Politics and International Relations
University of Oxford
Dear Abiye,
Thank you for responding. May be a little bit of research and re-education at Oxford U will do you a little bit of good. May be you will improve your acuity and develop a more refined view of how to advance a burgeoning democracy in Ethiopia. I will follow your writings and progress at Oxford.
If you happen to pass by Washington, D.C., do look me up. I will be glad to buy you dinner and help you out with your thesis.
Good luck
Washera
That is the spirit. At least you admit that even a fastly fading life has a chance to get new perspectives. Sadly, you can't help me because my work is highly empirical. There isn't enough soil here to nourish the roots of brothers.
Respectfully,
Abiye
And here is another one, word for word with grammatical errors and all , from some old timer whose hate fangs mix logic, religion and politics. He was responding to my couple of paragraphs on Tiger Woods.
Tiger Wood 's recent failure was not a surprise to me as such incidents are the problem of American society. This is not the problem of one person. We have seen it on politicians, business people, Hollywood stars and famous athletes. I don't understand why you took it as an extraordinary event. Mind you, I am not supporting in fidelity. I don't care for Golf, but that doesn't mean what Tiger did is good. Five years ago, Bryant did it, I got mad 'cause he was my ideal and my son liked him. But, I forgave him and Bryant is a different person now.
My main point is not actually Tiger. Did u follow the Geneva meeting and what the US government said this week? If you did, where is your pen? Why do u spend time with a golfer where no one cares in Ethiopia? If you stand for the right and freedom of Ethiopians, then the world has spoken that those two things are not respected in Ethiopia. You need to open your mouth whenever you see evil. Otherwise, you are just a trumpet of Meles Zenawi....Actually, u are!
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in
Christ God forgave you Ephesians 4:32
The freedom of all is, the freedom to worship the Son of God
Eprem Madebo
Dear Ephrem,
I think I have heard about you, heard you and even read some stuff that you have written about that loser politician wannabe, Berhanu Nega. Yes, I just googled your name and proved my point.
I feel so sorry for you guys. You are coming to the end of your life and you may die complaining, without doing anything tangible for your country. In fact, I would like to do you a fever. Instead of trying to waste my time on e-mail, I would like to challenge you to a television or radio debate, not about Tiger Woods, but about the merits of Meles Zenawi and Ethiopian politics.
Forget your biblical quotes and come out to defend your allegations.
Can't wait to hear from you.
Washera
ps: While you are at it, remind the big fish that his days are numbered.
What a sad commentary about the modern day Ethiopian opposition camp politicians. A newspaper editor who blames his newspaper's bankruptcy on political persecution and a religious guy who quotes words from the Bible that he himself does not keep.
I invite all of these guys to come out from their dungeons and organize debates and dialogues among opposition groups, rather than confusing their own flock with allegations and innuendos.
Washera
I don't write these days. I find all kinds of excuses not to do it. I am productively engaged in contributing my two penny's worth during meetings with a bunch of dedicated Ethiopians in the Washington, D.C. area. I gain an ounce of satisfaction when I get a chance to grab the microphone in the Civility or Geza Tegaru Pal talk rooms and give a passionate semi-sermon about the state of affairs in Ethiopia, or vent out my frustrations about a bunch of losers that show up in Alula Aba Nega room, an abode for TPLF defectors.
I do browse the net, Aiga Forum, EthiopiaFirst, Reporter, Ethiomedia, Abugida, Nazreth.com and a couple more, in that order. This, on top of trying to do a job that pays the bills.
You would think this should fill a gentleman's day and leave very little time for scribbling a few more words to articulate one point of view or another. But, once in a while, I come across articles that completely distort the real situation in Ethiopia or Ethiopian politics and force me to pick up my pen. I am used to the deceptions, legal meanderings and verbal diarrhea by the likes of Al Mariam. I have long desisted from responding to his lies. But, a new crop of press freedom fighters are showing up on the radar, starting with the likes of Abiy Teklemariam Megenta of the now defunct newspaper, Adis Neger.
Let me share a recent brief e-mail encounter I had with this gentleman, following his article on Bertukan Mideksa. Here is a man who closed down his newspaper business; because the circulation was hurting bad and run away to what he thinks are greener pastures, with an excuse of an alleged political harassment.
Dear Abiye,
I enjoyed reading your piece, enjoyed it painfully! What a waste of talent. What a sad commentary on the state of opposition papers in Ethiopia. You did not have the nerve to follow the path of your Heroine. You would rather go hiding, of all places in the UK, to spill your conspiracy theory and your doom and gloom for our emerging democracy.
Good luck in your new life that is fading away very fast.
Washera
Dear Washera,
Thank you for the comments. If people couldn't understand the darker pages of Hegel, nobody can say it is for the lack of freedom.
Very best,
Abiye Teklemariam Megenta
Research Scholar
Department of Politics and International Relations
University of Oxford
Dear Abiye,
Thank you for responding. May be a little bit of research and re-education at Oxford U will do you a little bit of good. May be you will improve your acuity and develop a more refined view of how to advance a burgeoning democracy in Ethiopia. I will follow your writings and progress at Oxford.
If you happen to pass by Washington, D.C., do look me up. I will be glad to buy you dinner and help you out with your thesis.
Good luck
Washera
That is the spirit. At least you admit that even a fastly fading life has a chance to get new perspectives. Sadly, you can't help me because my work is highly empirical. There isn't enough soil here to nourish the roots of brothers.
Respectfully,
Abiye
And here is another one, word for word with grammatical errors and all , from some old timer whose hate fangs mix logic, religion and politics. He was responding to my couple of paragraphs on Tiger Woods.
Tiger Wood 's recent failure was not a surprise to me as such incidents are the problem of American society. This is not the problem of one person. We have seen it on politicians, business people, Hollywood stars and famous athletes. I don't understand why you took it as an extraordinary event. Mind you, I am not supporting in fidelity. I don't care for Golf, but that doesn't mean what Tiger did is good. Five years ago, Bryant did it, I got mad 'cause he was my ideal and my son liked him. But, I forgave him and Bryant is a different person now.
My main point is not actually Tiger. Did u follow the Geneva meeting and what the US government said this week? If you did, where is your pen? Why do u spend time with a golfer where no one cares in Ethiopia? If you stand for the right and freedom of Ethiopians, then the world has spoken that those two things are not respected in Ethiopia. You need to open your mouth whenever you see evil. Otherwise, you are just a trumpet of Meles Zenawi....Actually, u are!
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in
Christ God forgave you Ephesians 4:32
The freedom of all is, the freedom to worship the Son of God
Eprem Madebo
Dear Ephrem,
I think I have heard about you, heard you and even read some stuff that you have written about that loser politician wannabe, Berhanu Nega. Yes, I just googled your name and proved my point.
I feel so sorry for you guys. You are coming to the end of your life and you may die complaining, without doing anything tangible for your country. In fact, I would like to do you a fever. Instead of trying to waste my time on e-mail, I would like to challenge you to a television or radio debate, not about Tiger Woods, but about the merits of Meles Zenawi and Ethiopian politics.
Forget your biblical quotes and come out to defend your allegations.
Can't wait to hear from you.
Washera
ps: While you are at it, remind the big fish that his days are numbered.
What a sad commentary about the modern day Ethiopian opposition camp politicians. A newspaper editor who blames his newspaper's bankruptcy on political persecution and a religious guy who quotes words from the Bible that he himself does not keep.
I invite all of these guys to come out from their dungeons and organize debates and dialogues among opposition groups, rather than confusing their own flock with allegations and innuendos.
Washera
TIGER WOODS DISAPPOINTS
12/10/09
Al Sharp ton Blasts Tiger Woods for Lack of Mistress Diversity
The Rev. Al Sharp ton held a press conference today to blast Tiger Woods for the lack of diversity among his mistresses. Sharp ton claims that the lack of African-American women among Woods’ harem will have a negative affect on the black community, specifically young black girls.
“Why is it that a man who calls himself black can’t bring himself to cheat on his wife with a black woman?” said Sharp ton, speaking to a group of supporters in Harlem. “What does it say to young black girls everywhere when you pass them over? Shame on you, Tiger Woods. What would your daddy say?”
Sharp ton, who has long championed taking black women as mistresses, said that today’s black athletes need to stop neglecting black women when it comes to extramarital affairs, and should follow the examples of positive black role models such as Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King, Jr., both of whom cheated on their wives with black women. Sharp ton also stressed that cheating with African-American women would help the black community financially by giving black girls the chance to sell their stories to tabloids and gossip magazines.
Added Sharp ton, “I’m not asking you to not cheat on your wives, I’m just asking you to give back to your own community.”
I don't give a hoot for such remarks from Harlem or Harem. But on a serous note, I will have you know that I am very very mad with Tiger and I have expressed my feelings on the Golf Channel website. Millions of young people throughout the world looked up to this guy as a role model. Not you and me or our children, but millions that looked up to him as a hard working, successful, good man that they wanted to emulate. When they said, "I am Tiger", they were referring to his ethics, good manners and later a good family man. He let them down! All of them and all of us. He betrayed the honorable game of golf.
Our society needs role models and when you are in such a high position to make a difference, you are supposed to take your responsibility very very seriously. I was not enjoying his game as much as I used to, because he made it look very mechanical and muscular. He did not seem to smile and enjoy it. Golf is a game of feel and touch and he lacked that. I expected him to read more about the history of golf and become its ambassador. I wanted him to read about politics and be aware of what is going on around him and in the world. He only knew what to do to that white object to win millions. Even his mastery of the English language had a lot to be desired.
He also failed me in one other area. I believe that one way to narrow the Black-White divide in this world is through inter-racial marriages. He failed miserably on that count too.
So, here is what I suggest he do. He should go to Ethiopia, build a golf course and train young children to be golf champions. While he is at it, he should repent for his extra-marital affairs and make it up to his wife and children. I will give him ten years to do it successfully. After that, I may forgive him.
In the mean time, I am packing all my Tiger paraphernalia, and there is a lot of it, and put them in boxes and store them in the basement. I will have nothing to do with him or with his books and autographed pictures. I don't want to see him on TV selling products and I don't want to see him play golf on TV.
We all pay a price if we are caught cheating. The big ones pay bigger prices. There are many better role models in the world. Tiger is not one of them and his era is over.
So there!
Washera
Al Sharp ton Blasts Tiger Woods for Lack of Mistress Diversity
The Rev. Al Sharp ton held a press conference today to blast Tiger Woods for the lack of diversity among his mistresses. Sharp ton claims that the lack of African-American women among Woods’ harem will have a negative affect on the black community, specifically young black girls.
“Why is it that a man who calls himself black can’t bring himself to cheat on his wife with a black woman?” said Sharp ton, speaking to a group of supporters in Harlem. “What does it say to young black girls everywhere when you pass them over? Shame on you, Tiger Woods. What would your daddy say?”
Sharp ton, who has long championed taking black women as mistresses, said that today’s black athletes need to stop neglecting black women when it comes to extramarital affairs, and should follow the examples of positive black role models such as Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King, Jr., both of whom cheated on their wives with black women. Sharp ton also stressed that cheating with African-American women would help the black community financially by giving black girls the chance to sell their stories to tabloids and gossip magazines.
Added Sharp ton, “I’m not asking you to not cheat on your wives, I’m just asking you to give back to your own community.”
I don't give a hoot for such remarks from Harlem or Harem. But on a serous note, I will have you know that I am very very mad with Tiger and I have expressed my feelings on the Golf Channel website. Millions of young people throughout the world looked up to this guy as a role model. Not you and me or our children, but millions that looked up to him as a hard working, successful, good man that they wanted to emulate. When they said, "I am Tiger", they were referring to his ethics, good manners and later a good family man. He let them down! All of them and all of us. He betrayed the honorable game of golf.
Our society needs role models and when you are in such a high position to make a difference, you are supposed to take your responsibility very very seriously. I was not enjoying his game as much as I used to, because he made it look very mechanical and muscular. He did not seem to smile and enjoy it. Golf is a game of feel and touch and he lacked that. I expected him to read more about the history of golf and become its ambassador. I wanted him to read about politics and be aware of what is going on around him and in the world. He only knew what to do to that white object to win millions. Even his mastery of the English language had a lot to be desired.
He also failed me in one other area. I believe that one way to narrow the Black-White divide in this world is through inter-racial marriages. He failed miserably on that count too.
So, here is what I suggest he do. He should go to Ethiopia, build a golf course and train young children to be golf champions. While he is at it, he should repent for his extra-marital affairs and make it up to his wife and children. I will give him ten years to do it successfully. After that, I may forgive him.
In the mean time, I am packing all my Tiger paraphernalia, and there is a lot of it, and put them in boxes and store them in the basement. I will have nothing to do with him or with his books and autographed pictures. I don't want to see him on TV selling products and I don't want to see him play golf on TV.
We all pay a price if we are caught cheating. The big ones pay bigger prices. There are many better role models in the world. Tiger is not one of them and his era is over.
So there!
Washera
Thursday, June 11, 2009
THANK YOU ABOY
Washera_2000
June 11, 2009
I am not sure if this was a vacation to visit with his family or an educational tour of duty. In the last two weeks, Aboy Sebhat Nega, the most senior member of the TPLF organization, has had an EPRDF public relations stunt like no other!
We first met him at that well-attended Ginbot 20 celebration at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington D.C., where Ato Wondimu Asaminew gave a memorable speech about the occasion and introduced Aboy Sebhat as one of the key individuals who started and lead the heartrending armed struggle that lead to victory over the Derg regime. That night belonged to the young Wondimu, but Aboy took charge from that moment on and went on an educational tour of duty, appearing in nearly all of the Ethiopian Media outlets in America. He started out at a meeting of the Ethiopian community in the Washington D.C area and went on the talk show circuit, from Hagerfikir to VOA, from the famous Paltalk rooms like Civility with Aba Mela and Gezategaru to Ben's EthiopiaFirst internet radio and meetings with various EPRDF support organizations. I am not sure how the TV stations in our area lacked out.
Aboy Sebhat was born and raised in Adowa where he completed his elementary education and then moved on to Mekele for his High school education. After that, it was to college at Addis Ababa University followed by ten years of service as a teacher in various schools in "mehal ager" as he calls it or central Ethiopia. He was 39 years old when he joined the armed struggle, obviously much older than most other fighters and probably the wisest. During a mission near the town of Tsorona, a lady invited them for coffee and referred to him as "Aboy". That name stuck and has been called such ever since.
Most of the interviews had a relaxed atmosphere and he had plenty of time to respond to questions addressed to him. At the Ethiopian Embassy meeting, the questions ranged from constitutional concerns to the state of affairs with Moslems and Christians in Ethiopia and even problems with land allocation to Diaspora Ethiopians. He had that calm and collected tone of a wise elderly gentleman and responded to each question with confidence that could only come from years of experience and accumulated knowledge. He was the professor with a mission. Aba Mela provided the best opportunity for hundreds, may be thousands of participants throughout the world, listening to the interview and having the opportunity to ask questions. Ben of EthiopiaFirst needed to ask only two questions to get the most out of the professor.
Of all the interviews, I found the VOA portion very intriguing and interesting. Although it was done in three or so sessions, the interviewer appeared to have so many questions that he was throwing them at a fast pace, one after another. It did not phase Aboy and he responded without missing a beat!
Thank you for breaking the silence, but why are EPRDF officials prevented from accepting interviews with VOA Amharic? Not an EPRDF policy at all, although he has heard that the view at the station lacked balance, leaning more toward opposition politics. He will check on the facts on his return.
Why are you no more close to PM Meles, not a Politburo member and not a leader of EFFORT? I am no closer to the PM than others. I am not a Politburo member or a leader of EFFORT any more, because the party felt other more able individuals needed to be in a leadership position. Talk about empowering the next generation younger Ethiopian leaders.
He was grilled on the finances of EFFORT, press freedom, Election Board and the future of EPRDF. He did not back off on any of these issues. His explanation for the legal and democratic basis for resolving all the concerns raised was difficult to ignore and the interviewer was taken to task to articulate his questions.
Aboy enumerated some of EPRDF's achievements: Lasting solution for the Nations and Nationalities question; democratic basis of our constitution and the peace dividend we have had since liberation and our belief in unity with equality and bring about a capitalist economy. Believe it or not, the objective is to develop the country on the above basis and dissolve EPRDF. Through the freedom of the Nations and Nationalities and the development of an infrastructure throughout the country, our unity through equality is becoming a reality.
EPRDF believes in transfer of power through a multi-party democratic participation. He does not see any contradiction between the revolutionary democracy as articulated by the ruling party and the Ethiopian constitution. The growth of capitalism and a multi-party society will bring about the end of EPRDF as it exists now. An opposition group that tries to topple the government by force, like Ginbot 7, will be repulsed at any cost, whereas peaceful opposition forces will be encouraged and supported.
As usual, the Eritrean and sea port access issues were raised in many places. His response was unambiguous. Eritrea was liberated before the fall of Derg. Our participation in the succession of Eritrea was just a formality for a done deal. Ethiopia's legal right for access to the sea can be debated and possible solutions for this problem are open for discussion.
He was not shy to blame the ruling party for its weaknesses, for taking too much time to resolve its internal contradictions. But he sees a bright future, a road toward that ultimate democratic multi-party society economically empowered to deal with poverty and disease in our continent.
As he ends his tour, many of us will take stock of his achievements and our free education. He has addressed a variety of concerns and issues and has promised to take many more of the questions raised and address them to concerned officials back home. You cannot expect any more than that.
Thank you Aboy and may you have health and enjoyment in your twilight years.
The PR office of the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington D.C. pulled off a well-deserved public relations stunt. Next stop the National Press Club for the Prime Minister of Ethiopia.
June 11, 2009
I am not sure if this was a vacation to visit with his family or an educational tour of duty. In the last two weeks, Aboy Sebhat Nega, the most senior member of the TPLF organization, has had an EPRDF public relations stunt like no other!
We first met him at that well-attended Ginbot 20 celebration at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington D.C., where Ato Wondimu Asaminew gave a memorable speech about the occasion and introduced Aboy Sebhat as one of the key individuals who started and lead the heartrending armed struggle that lead to victory over the Derg regime. That night belonged to the young Wondimu, but Aboy took charge from that moment on and went on an educational tour of duty, appearing in nearly all of the Ethiopian Media outlets in America. He started out at a meeting of the Ethiopian community in the Washington D.C area and went on the talk show circuit, from Hagerfikir to VOA, from the famous Paltalk rooms like Civility with Aba Mela and Gezategaru to Ben's EthiopiaFirst internet radio and meetings with various EPRDF support organizations. I am not sure how the TV stations in our area lacked out.
Aboy Sebhat was born and raised in Adowa where he completed his elementary education and then moved on to Mekele for his High school education. After that, it was to college at Addis Ababa University followed by ten years of service as a teacher in various schools in "mehal ager" as he calls it or central Ethiopia. He was 39 years old when he joined the armed struggle, obviously much older than most other fighters and probably the wisest. During a mission near the town of Tsorona, a lady invited them for coffee and referred to him as "Aboy". That name stuck and has been called such ever since.
Most of the interviews had a relaxed atmosphere and he had plenty of time to respond to questions addressed to him. At the Ethiopian Embassy meeting, the questions ranged from constitutional concerns to the state of affairs with Moslems and Christians in Ethiopia and even problems with land allocation to Diaspora Ethiopians. He had that calm and collected tone of a wise elderly gentleman and responded to each question with confidence that could only come from years of experience and accumulated knowledge. He was the professor with a mission. Aba Mela provided the best opportunity for hundreds, may be thousands of participants throughout the world, listening to the interview and having the opportunity to ask questions. Ben of EthiopiaFirst needed to ask only two questions to get the most out of the professor.
Of all the interviews, I found the VOA portion very intriguing and interesting. Although it was done in three or so sessions, the interviewer appeared to have so many questions that he was throwing them at a fast pace, one after another. It did not phase Aboy and he responded without missing a beat!
Thank you for breaking the silence, but why are EPRDF officials prevented from accepting interviews with VOA Amharic? Not an EPRDF policy at all, although he has heard that the view at the station lacked balance, leaning more toward opposition politics. He will check on the facts on his return.
Why are you no more close to PM Meles, not a Politburo member and not a leader of EFFORT? I am no closer to the PM than others. I am not a Politburo member or a leader of EFFORT any more, because the party felt other more able individuals needed to be in a leadership position. Talk about empowering the next generation younger Ethiopian leaders.
He was grilled on the finances of EFFORT, press freedom, Election Board and the future of EPRDF. He did not back off on any of these issues. His explanation for the legal and democratic basis for resolving all the concerns raised was difficult to ignore and the interviewer was taken to task to articulate his questions.
Aboy enumerated some of EPRDF's achievements: Lasting solution for the Nations and Nationalities question; democratic basis of our constitution and the peace dividend we have had since liberation and our belief in unity with equality and bring about a capitalist economy. Believe it or not, the objective is to develop the country on the above basis and dissolve EPRDF. Through the freedom of the Nations and Nationalities and the development of an infrastructure throughout the country, our unity through equality is becoming a reality.
EPRDF believes in transfer of power through a multi-party democratic participation. He does not see any contradiction between the revolutionary democracy as articulated by the ruling party and the Ethiopian constitution. The growth of capitalism and a multi-party society will bring about the end of EPRDF as it exists now. An opposition group that tries to topple the government by force, like Ginbot 7, will be repulsed at any cost, whereas peaceful opposition forces will be encouraged and supported.
As usual, the Eritrean and sea port access issues were raised in many places. His response was unambiguous. Eritrea was liberated before the fall of Derg. Our participation in the succession of Eritrea was just a formality for a done deal. Ethiopia's legal right for access to the sea can be debated and possible solutions for this problem are open for discussion.
He was not shy to blame the ruling party for its weaknesses, for taking too much time to resolve its internal contradictions. But he sees a bright future, a road toward that ultimate democratic multi-party society economically empowered to deal with poverty and disease in our continent.
As he ends his tour, many of us will take stock of his achievements and our free education. He has addressed a variety of concerns and issues and has promised to take many more of the questions raised and address them to concerned officials back home. You cannot expect any more than that.
Thank you Aboy and may you have health and enjoyment in your twilight years.
The PR office of the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington D.C. pulled off a well-deserved public relations stunt. Next stop the National Press Club for the Prime Minister of Ethiopia.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
በዋሺንግተን ዲሲ የተከበረው የግንቦት 20 የድል በዓል።
ከዋሸራ_2
ግንቦት 22፣ 2001 ዓ.ም.
መታደል ሆነና በዕለቱ ዕረፍት ላይ ስለነበረኩኝ፣ በዓሉ ወደሚከበርበት ሥፍራ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ ኤንባሲ አመራሁ። እኔ እንኳን ከከተማ ራቅ ብዬ ስለነበር የምመጣው ትንሽ ዘግይቼ ነበር የደረስኩት። ሌሎች ተጋባዦችም ልምድ ሆነና ትንሽ ዘግየት (ብዙ ዘግየት!) ብለው ደረሱ። ይሄንን ዘግይቶ የመድረስ ጉዳይ አንድ ቀን ክነፉን ሰብረን መጣል ይኖርብናል። ለዛሬ ግን በዓሉ ላይ ላተኩር።
ታዲያ አዳራሹ እንደሞላ፣ እንግዶቹን በደመቀና በሚያኮራ ንግግር የከፈቱት ያንባሳደሩ ምክትል የሆኑት አቶ ወንድሙ አሳምነው ነበሩ። እውነትም እንኳን መጣሁ የሚያሰኝ፣ የበዓሉን ስብዕናና ተገቢ ትርጉም ያዘለ ንግግር ነበር ያደረጉት። የዕለቱን የክብር እንግዳ ክቡር አቶ ስብሃት ነጋን፣ "እያከበርን ያለውን ቀን እውን ለማድረግ በተኪያሄደው እልህ-አስጨራሽ የትጥቅ ትግል ከጀመሩትና ከመሩት ቁልፍ ሰዎች አንዱ" መሆናቸውን ካስገነዘቡን በሗላ ያደረጉት ንግግር፣ አንድም መሬት ጠብ የሚል አልነበረም።
"የግንቦት 20 በዓልን ስናከብር፣ ለዚች ቀን የተከፈለውን መስዋእትነት ማስታወሳችን አይቀርም። ይህችን ቀን ለማምጣት፣ ህይወትን ገና ያላጣጣሙ ለጋ ወጣቶች ተቀጥፈዋል። ወላጆች የሞቀ ቤታቸው ፈርሶ የወላድ መሃን ሆነዋል። በአሰርት ሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ጀግኖች የድሎት ህይወትን ንቀው፣ የወጣትንት ዘመናቸውን በበረሀ አሳልፈዋል። በዚች ቀን እነዚህን ጀግኖች እናስታውሳቸዋልን። በዚች ቀን፣ በከባድ መስዋእትነትና ድካም የፈሰሰውን የጨለማ ዘመን በማንኛውም መልኩ እነዳያንሰራራ የበኩላችንን ለመስራት ቃላችንን እናድሳልን።"
የጀመርኩትን የዲር ፓረክ ውሃ ቁጭ አድርጌ የሞቀ ጭብጨባ የጀመርኩት ብቻዬን አልነበርም። አዳራሹ ውስጥ የተሰበሰቡት ከ250 በላይ የሚሆኑት እንግዶች በሙሉ ባነድነት አጀቡኝ።
አቶ ወንድሙ ቀጥለውም፤
"ግንቦት 20 ልዩ ትርጉም የሚሰጠን የደርገ ስርዓትን ማፍረሱ ተልዕኮ በድል የተጠናቀቀበት እለት በመሆኑ ብቻ አይደለም። ግንቦት 20 የምናከብረው ማንኛውም አይነት ያድልኦ ስርአት በአገራችን ዳግም እንዳይመለስ፣ ኢትዮጵያን በአዲስ የፖለቲካና የኢኮኖሚ ስርዓት ላይ መገንባት የጀመርንብት ቀን በመሆኑ ጭምር ነው።
በህብረተሰባዊ ስርዓት ለውጥ ሂደት የአዲስ ስርዓት ግንባታ ምዕራፍ አስቸጋሪው ምዕራፍ ነው። ብዙ አገሮች አሮጌውን ማፍረስ ቢችሉም፣ አዲሱን መገንባት ተስኗቸው፣ ወደ ሗላ ሲንሸራተቱ እያስተዋልን ነው።
በኤርትራ፣ በሶማሊያ፣ በኮነጎ፣ በኢራቅ፣ በአፍጋኒስታን፣ ወዘተ... የምናያቸው የድህረ-ስርዓት ማፍረስ ትርምሶች፣ የግንባታውን ሂደት አስቸጋሪነት የሚያሳዩ ናቸው። በድህረ ግንቦት 20 ቀን 1983 ዓ.ም. የኢትዮጵያ ሁኔታ ከዚሁ በመሰረቱ የተለየ ነው። ኢህአዴግ ማፍረስ ብቻ ሳይሆን መገንባትም ጭምር ችሎበታል። ለዚህም ነው አገራችን በተተረማመሰ አካባቢ የልማት፣ የዲሞከራሲና የሰላም ደሴት የሆነችው።"
እንዲህ ነው እንጂ ያገሬ ልጅ! አቶ ወንድሙ፣ ምናልባትም ወደ ሰላሳዎቹ መጨረሻ ወይንም ወደ አርባዎቹ መጀመሪያ ገደማ ዕድሜ ያላቸው ብሩህ ጎልማሳ ናቸው። ንግግራቸውን በሚያደርጉበት ጊዜ ፊታቸው ላይ የሚነበበው ገፅታ በስሜትና በወኔ የተሞላ ነበር። ከዛሬ ሃያ ዓመት በፊት የተሰዉትን ወጣቶች ሲጠቅሱ፣ በዛ ዕድሜ እሳቸው የት እንደነበሩ ሁሉ እያስታወሱ መሆኑ በግልጽ ይታይባቸው ነበር። ይህን እነባ-አነቅ ንግግራቸውንም በመቀጠል፤
"በአሁኑ ወቅት አገራችን በአጠቃላይ ለውጥ ላይ ነች። አንዳንድ ታዛቢዎች በ80ዎቹ መጀመሪያ የነበረችው ቻይና ትመስላለች ይላሉ። ለውጡ፣ በበርካታ ታዳጊ አገሮች እንደሚታየው የመቀባባት ለውጥ አይደለም። በተወሰኑ ከተሞች የሚታይ የብልጭልጭ ለውጥ አይደለም። በጠቅላላ የአገሪቱ 80 ሚሊዮን ህይወት ከመሰረቱ እየቀየረ ያለ ለውጥ ነው።
ሚሊዮኔር ገበሬዎች ማየት ጀምረናል። ለዘመናት በማያቋርጥ እንቅልፍ ውስጥ የነበሩት ገጠሮች ህይወት እየዘሩ ናቸው። መብራት፣ ስልክ፣ መንገድ በየዳር አገሩ እየገባ ነው። ከ95% በላይ የገጠር ልጆቻችን ት/ቤት ገብተዋል። እአንዳነዱ የገጠር ቀበሌ፣ በሚያዳርስ መልኩ ከ45,000 በላይ የእርሻ ባለሙያዎች ተሰማርተው፣ ዘመናዊ እርሻና ዘመናዊ ህይወት ገበሬአችንን እያስተማሩት ነው። በእያንዳነዱ የገጠር ቀበሌ የተሰራጩት፣ ከ30,000 በላይ የሚሆኑ የጤና ባለሙያዎች፣ ቁስሉን እያከሙለት ነው። በተወሰኑ የጤና ጥንቃቄና የመከላከያ ዘዴ፣ ለዘመናት የገጠሩን ህዝበ ሲፈጁ የነበሩ በሽታዎች እየጠፉ ናቸው።
ህዝባችን፣ በሰለጠነው ዓለም ከሚገኙ የፓልቶክ አርበኞች በተሻለ መልኩ፣ የዴሞከራሲ ባህሉን እየገነባ ይገኛል። በኢትዮጵያ በህዝበ-ይሁንታ ከተመረጠ መስተዳድር ውጭ ምንም አይነት በእናውቅልሃለን ሽፋን የሚመጣ የጭቆና ስርአት የማይታሰብባት ደረጃ ላይ ደርሰናል። በውስጥ ጥንካሬአችንም ምክንያት፣ በዓለም-አቀፍና በአህጉራዊ ፖለቲካ ያለን ቦታ፣ ከምንም ጊዜ በላይ እየደመቀ መጥቷል። በአጭሩ፣ የኢትዮጵያ ትንሳኤ ከመፈክር በላይ ሆኖአል። የኢትዮጵያ ትንሳኤ የሚጨበጥ እውነታ እየሆን መጥቷል።"
እነዲህ እያሉ ነበር እንግዲህ አኩሪአችን፣ አቶ ወንድሙ ንግግራቸውን ወደ መደምደሚያው ያሻገሩት። አዎን ከውሃውም ተጎንጭተናል፣ ከቁም-ነገሩም ትንሽ ቀስመናል። ታዲያ ፕሮገራሙ ገና መጀመሩ ነበር።
"እዚህ ልናስታውሰው የሚገባ ቁምነገር፣ የሂደታችን ስኬት በአጋጣሚ የመጣ አለመሆኑ ነው። ስኬቱ የመጣው ያገራችን ችግሮች ቀላሎች ስለሆኑ አይደልም። ለነገሩ፣ የተጀመረውን ለውጥ ለማጨናገፍ ከውስጥና ከውጭ የተወጠኑት ሴራዎች ብቻ ሳይሆኑ ፣ የወረስነው ውስብስብ የፖለቲካ ችግር፣ ለዴሞከራሲ ባዕድ የሆነው የፖለቲካ ባህላችንና የደቀቀውና የተራቆተው ኢኮኖሚ፣ ሂደቱን የበለጠ እንዲወሳሰብ ያደርጉ ነበሩ።
የስኬታችን ዋነኛ ሚስጥር፣ መንግስት የአገሪቱን ቁልፍ ችግር ለይቶ፣ እነዚህን ችግሮች በተስተካከለ ፖሊሲና ስትራቴጂ መፍታት በመቻሉና በየወቅትዩ እንደ እሸን የሚፈሉትን ችግሮች፣ ያስቀመጠውን የመጨረሻ ግብ፣ በማያዛባ መልኩ በማስተዋል መፍታት ስለቻለ ነው።
ይህ ሲባል፣ በዛሬዪቱ ኢትዮጵያ ችግር የለም ማለት አይደለም። ከጅምሩም የ3,000 ዘመን ችግር በሀያ ዓመት እንፈታልን ብልን አልጀመርንም። የክርክራችን ነጥብ፣ ችግሮች አሉ ወይስ የሉም የሚለው ሊሆን አይችልም። ውይይታችን ችግራችንን በሚፈለገውና በሚቻለው ፍጥነት እየፈታን ነው ወይ? እያንዳንዳችንስ ለመፍትሄው ምን አስተዋፅኦ አድርገናል? ወይስ እያደረግን ነው ወይ? የሚለው መሆን ይኖርበታል። ችግሮቻችንን በዚሁ መልኩ ከተጋፈጥናቸው፣ አለምንም ጥርጥር ወደ መፍትሄዎቻችን በቶሎ እንደርሳልን።
በኢትዮጵያ አሁን ያለው ለውጥ፣ እንደ ክረምት ጎረፍ መመሰል ይችላል። ማንም ሊያቆመው አይችልም። የዚህ ጎርፍ ፍጥነት እንዳይቀንስ፣ የየበኩላችንን እናድርግ።"
ሌሎች ተናጋሪዎችና ግብዣው ለሰዓታት ቀጠለ። የአቶ ወንድሙ ንግግር ግን፣ የነገዋ ኢትዮጵያ በጥሩ እጅ መሆኗን አስረግጦ አለፈ። እኔም ደስታ በተሞላው መንፈስ ወደ ቤቴ አመራሁ።
ግንቦት 22፣ 2001 ዓ.ም.
መታደል ሆነና በዕለቱ ዕረፍት ላይ ስለነበረኩኝ፣ በዓሉ ወደሚከበርበት ሥፍራ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ ኤንባሲ አመራሁ። እኔ እንኳን ከከተማ ራቅ ብዬ ስለነበር የምመጣው ትንሽ ዘግይቼ ነበር የደረስኩት። ሌሎች ተጋባዦችም ልምድ ሆነና ትንሽ ዘግየት (ብዙ ዘግየት!) ብለው ደረሱ። ይሄንን ዘግይቶ የመድረስ ጉዳይ አንድ ቀን ክነፉን ሰብረን መጣል ይኖርብናል። ለዛሬ ግን በዓሉ ላይ ላተኩር።
ታዲያ አዳራሹ እንደሞላ፣ እንግዶቹን በደመቀና በሚያኮራ ንግግር የከፈቱት ያንባሳደሩ ምክትል የሆኑት አቶ ወንድሙ አሳምነው ነበሩ። እውነትም እንኳን መጣሁ የሚያሰኝ፣ የበዓሉን ስብዕናና ተገቢ ትርጉም ያዘለ ንግግር ነበር ያደረጉት። የዕለቱን የክብር እንግዳ ክቡር አቶ ስብሃት ነጋን፣ "እያከበርን ያለውን ቀን እውን ለማድረግ በተኪያሄደው እልህ-አስጨራሽ የትጥቅ ትግል ከጀመሩትና ከመሩት ቁልፍ ሰዎች አንዱ" መሆናቸውን ካስገነዘቡን በሗላ ያደረጉት ንግግር፣ አንድም መሬት ጠብ የሚል አልነበረም።
"የግንቦት 20 በዓልን ስናከብር፣ ለዚች ቀን የተከፈለውን መስዋእትነት ማስታወሳችን አይቀርም። ይህችን ቀን ለማምጣት፣ ህይወትን ገና ያላጣጣሙ ለጋ ወጣቶች ተቀጥፈዋል። ወላጆች የሞቀ ቤታቸው ፈርሶ የወላድ መሃን ሆነዋል። በአሰርት ሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ጀግኖች የድሎት ህይወትን ንቀው፣ የወጣትንት ዘመናቸውን በበረሀ አሳልፈዋል። በዚች ቀን እነዚህን ጀግኖች እናስታውሳቸዋልን። በዚች ቀን፣ በከባድ መስዋእትነትና ድካም የፈሰሰውን የጨለማ ዘመን በማንኛውም መልኩ እነዳያንሰራራ የበኩላችንን ለመስራት ቃላችንን እናድሳልን።"
የጀመርኩትን የዲር ፓረክ ውሃ ቁጭ አድርጌ የሞቀ ጭብጨባ የጀመርኩት ብቻዬን አልነበርም። አዳራሹ ውስጥ የተሰበሰቡት ከ250 በላይ የሚሆኑት እንግዶች በሙሉ ባነድነት አጀቡኝ።
አቶ ወንድሙ ቀጥለውም፤
"ግንቦት 20 ልዩ ትርጉም የሚሰጠን የደርገ ስርዓትን ማፍረሱ ተልዕኮ በድል የተጠናቀቀበት እለት በመሆኑ ብቻ አይደለም። ግንቦት 20 የምናከብረው ማንኛውም አይነት ያድልኦ ስርአት በአገራችን ዳግም እንዳይመለስ፣ ኢትዮጵያን በአዲስ የፖለቲካና የኢኮኖሚ ስርዓት ላይ መገንባት የጀመርንብት ቀን በመሆኑ ጭምር ነው።
በህብረተሰባዊ ስርዓት ለውጥ ሂደት የአዲስ ስርዓት ግንባታ ምዕራፍ አስቸጋሪው ምዕራፍ ነው። ብዙ አገሮች አሮጌውን ማፍረስ ቢችሉም፣ አዲሱን መገንባት ተስኗቸው፣ ወደ ሗላ ሲንሸራተቱ እያስተዋልን ነው።
በኤርትራ፣ በሶማሊያ፣ በኮነጎ፣ በኢራቅ፣ በአፍጋኒስታን፣ ወዘተ... የምናያቸው የድህረ-ስርዓት ማፍረስ ትርምሶች፣ የግንባታውን ሂደት አስቸጋሪነት የሚያሳዩ ናቸው። በድህረ ግንቦት 20 ቀን 1983 ዓ.ም. የኢትዮጵያ ሁኔታ ከዚሁ በመሰረቱ የተለየ ነው። ኢህአዴግ ማፍረስ ብቻ ሳይሆን መገንባትም ጭምር ችሎበታል። ለዚህም ነው አገራችን በተተረማመሰ አካባቢ የልማት፣ የዲሞከራሲና የሰላም ደሴት የሆነችው።"
እንዲህ ነው እንጂ ያገሬ ልጅ! አቶ ወንድሙ፣ ምናልባትም ወደ ሰላሳዎቹ መጨረሻ ወይንም ወደ አርባዎቹ መጀመሪያ ገደማ ዕድሜ ያላቸው ብሩህ ጎልማሳ ናቸው። ንግግራቸውን በሚያደርጉበት ጊዜ ፊታቸው ላይ የሚነበበው ገፅታ በስሜትና በወኔ የተሞላ ነበር። ከዛሬ ሃያ ዓመት በፊት የተሰዉትን ወጣቶች ሲጠቅሱ፣ በዛ ዕድሜ እሳቸው የት እንደነበሩ ሁሉ እያስታወሱ መሆኑ በግልጽ ይታይባቸው ነበር። ይህን እነባ-አነቅ ንግግራቸውንም በመቀጠል፤
"በአሁኑ ወቅት አገራችን በአጠቃላይ ለውጥ ላይ ነች። አንዳንድ ታዛቢዎች በ80ዎቹ መጀመሪያ የነበረችው ቻይና ትመስላለች ይላሉ። ለውጡ፣ በበርካታ ታዳጊ አገሮች እንደሚታየው የመቀባባት ለውጥ አይደለም። በተወሰኑ ከተሞች የሚታይ የብልጭልጭ ለውጥ አይደለም። በጠቅላላ የአገሪቱ 80 ሚሊዮን ህይወት ከመሰረቱ እየቀየረ ያለ ለውጥ ነው።
ሚሊዮኔር ገበሬዎች ማየት ጀምረናል። ለዘመናት በማያቋርጥ እንቅልፍ ውስጥ የነበሩት ገጠሮች ህይወት እየዘሩ ናቸው። መብራት፣ ስልክ፣ መንገድ በየዳር አገሩ እየገባ ነው። ከ95% በላይ የገጠር ልጆቻችን ት/ቤት ገብተዋል። እአንዳነዱ የገጠር ቀበሌ፣ በሚያዳርስ መልኩ ከ45,000 በላይ የእርሻ ባለሙያዎች ተሰማርተው፣ ዘመናዊ እርሻና ዘመናዊ ህይወት ገበሬአችንን እያስተማሩት ነው። በእያንዳነዱ የገጠር ቀበሌ የተሰራጩት፣ ከ30,000 በላይ የሚሆኑ የጤና ባለሙያዎች፣ ቁስሉን እያከሙለት ነው። በተወሰኑ የጤና ጥንቃቄና የመከላከያ ዘዴ፣ ለዘመናት የገጠሩን ህዝበ ሲፈጁ የነበሩ በሽታዎች እየጠፉ ናቸው።
ህዝባችን፣ በሰለጠነው ዓለም ከሚገኙ የፓልቶክ አርበኞች በተሻለ መልኩ፣ የዴሞከራሲ ባህሉን እየገነባ ይገኛል። በኢትዮጵያ በህዝበ-ይሁንታ ከተመረጠ መስተዳድር ውጭ ምንም አይነት በእናውቅልሃለን ሽፋን የሚመጣ የጭቆና ስርአት የማይታሰብባት ደረጃ ላይ ደርሰናል። በውስጥ ጥንካሬአችንም ምክንያት፣ በዓለም-አቀፍና በአህጉራዊ ፖለቲካ ያለን ቦታ፣ ከምንም ጊዜ በላይ እየደመቀ መጥቷል። በአጭሩ፣ የኢትዮጵያ ትንሳኤ ከመፈክር በላይ ሆኖአል። የኢትዮጵያ ትንሳኤ የሚጨበጥ እውነታ እየሆን መጥቷል።"
እነዲህ እያሉ ነበር እንግዲህ አኩሪአችን፣ አቶ ወንድሙ ንግግራቸውን ወደ መደምደሚያው ያሻገሩት። አዎን ከውሃውም ተጎንጭተናል፣ ከቁም-ነገሩም ትንሽ ቀስመናል። ታዲያ ፕሮገራሙ ገና መጀመሩ ነበር።
"እዚህ ልናስታውሰው የሚገባ ቁምነገር፣ የሂደታችን ስኬት በአጋጣሚ የመጣ አለመሆኑ ነው። ስኬቱ የመጣው ያገራችን ችግሮች ቀላሎች ስለሆኑ አይደልም። ለነገሩ፣ የተጀመረውን ለውጥ ለማጨናገፍ ከውስጥና ከውጭ የተወጠኑት ሴራዎች ብቻ ሳይሆኑ ፣ የወረስነው ውስብስብ የፖለቲካ ችግር፣ ለዴሞከራሲ ባዕድ የሆነው የፖለቲካ ባህላችንና የደቀቀውና የተራቆተው ኢኮኖሚ፣ ሂደቱን የበለጠ እንዲወሳሰብ ያደርጉ ነበሩ።
የስኬታችን ዋነኛ ሚስጥር፣ መንግስት የአገሪቱን ቁልፍ ችግር ለይቶ፣ እነዚህን ችግሮች በተስተካከለ ፖሊሲና ስትራቴጂ መፍታት በመቻሉና በየወቅትዩ እንደ እሸን የሚፈሉትን ችግሮች፣ ያስቀመጠውን የመጨረሻ ግብ፣ በማያዛባ መልኩ በማስተዋል መፍታት ስለቻለ ነው።
ይህ ሲባል፣ በዛሬዪቱ ኢትዮጵያ ችግር የለም ማለት አይደለም። ከጅምሩም የ3,000 ዘመን ችግር በሀያ ዓመት እንፈታልን ብልን አልጀመርንም። የክርክራችን ነጥብ፣ ችግሮች አሉ ወይስ የሉም የሚለው ሊሆን አይችልም። ውይይታችን ችግራችንን በሚፈለገውና በሚቻለው ፍጥነት እየፈታን ነው ወይ? እያንዳንዳችንስ ለመፍትሄው ምን አስተዋፅኦ አድርገናል? ወይስ እያደረግን ነው ወይ? የሚለው መሆን ይኖርበታል። ችግሮቻችንን በዚሁ መልኩ ከተጋፈጥናቸው፣ አለምንም ጥርጥር ወደ መፍትሄዎቻችን በቶሎ እንደርሳልን።
በኢትዮጵያ አሁን ያለው ለውጥ፣ እንደ ክረምት ጎረፍ መመሰል ይችላል። ማንም ሊያቆመው አይችልም። የዚህ ጎርፍ ፍጥነት እንዳይቀንስ፣ የየበኩላችንን እናድርግ።"
ሌሎች ተናጋሪዎችና ግብዣው ለሰዓታት ቀጠለ። የአቶ ወንድሙ ንግግር ግን፣ የነገዋ ኢትዮጵያ በጥሩ እጅ መሆኗን አስረግጦ አለፈ። እኔም ደስታ በተሞላው መንፈስ ወደ ቤቴ አመራሁ።
Thursday, May 14, 2009
THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN SOMALIA
May 14, 2009
Washera_2
So, I was invited to a panel discussion held at George Mason University on the current state of affairs in Somalia. The discussion was chaired by Professor Wallace Warfield of ICAR (Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution). The participants were faculty members and invited guests: Professor James Price (research), Mr. Hussein Yusuf (PhD student), Professor Terrence Lyons (faculty) and Mr. Mahdi Abdi from East African Policy Institute.
Professor James Price expounded on the conflict between religion and politics and the sacrilization to overcome and the secularization to be resisted by religious fanatics. It took a long time to resolve these issues in the United States; he said and will take even longer in the case of Somalia. The example he used of Jean Piaget's description of the preoperational stage children go through, lead him to conclude that religious fanatics do not have the mental actions that obey logical rules. Instead, their thinking is rigid, limited to one aspect of a situation at a time and tied to their own religious beliefs, without regard to the feelings of others.
Professor Terrence Lyons described the horrific violence going on in Mogadishu that had appeared somewhat calmer after the Ethiopian intervention was over. He went on to describe the rise of Al Shabab and the significant assistance that it is receiving from Eritrea and other countries (Saudi Arabia?). He did not mince words to accurately point out that, if Al Shabab were to control Mogadishu, Ethiopia will be there the following morning!
The PhD student, Mr. Hussein Yusuf, gave us a clearer view of the situation in Somalia. He talked about the main militant and radical wing in Somalia, Al Itihad al Islami, a non-tribal Muslim organization, prying on the young to build its membership. As early as 2001, both the Washington Post and the Daily Telegraph had reported that between 3,000 and 5,000 members of the al Qa'eda and al-Itihad partnership were operating in Somalia, with 50,000 t0 60,000 supporters and reservist. At the time, there were clear indications that bin Laden was setting up a new base of operations in Somalia and hence, the reason for US military strikes at the time of Ethiopia's intervention in Somalia. It is not clear what the numbers are at this time, but this group is very prominent in the Kismayo area and they control the ports and have accumulated massive arms. During their fight with the Transitional Government of Somalia for control of Puntaland, they were known to have caused fathers and sons to fight on opposite sides. They lost and were chased out of Puntaland. Their harsh rules go beyond banning cigarettes and Chat. One young man had his hand cut off for allegedly stealing a fishing net worth $90 dollars. Al Itihad seeks to establish an Islamic state in Somalia that adheres to a strict reading of the Koran, similar to the Wahabi interpretation used by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Mr. Hussein Yusuf moved on to enlighten us about another group with an alien ideology, Al Shabab. It was not clear where the funding for this group comes from (? Saudi Arabia). But its ties to Eritrea are clear and it has remained on the terrorist list of the US government. They have been winning concessions from the Federal Government of Somalia, including the leaving of foreign forces and the adoption of Sharia law before any negotiations could begin. Although Islamic faith is one of the horizontal identities that cuts across clan lines in Somalia, it is not clear that this Wahabi version of Islam has wide spread support and acceptance. President Sheik Sherif Ahmed, in his attempt to resolve issues through dialogue, has signed a bill enacting Islamic Sharia law, even as Al Shabab insurgents refused his call for dialogue and continued an assault on government forces in Mogadishu. President Sharif's government enjoys international backing, but has little control on the ground, beyond a few streets and key buildings in the capital.
When the time came to hear Mr. Mahdi Abdi, the gloves were off! He is an American citizen of Somali origin who has been out of Somalia for over 30 years. He talked about the US collaboration in the 'invasion' of Somalia by Ethiopian forces and demanded the removal of all foreign forces before any meaningful peace could come to Somalia. He was sentimental about the Somalia he left decades ago and lamented about 'mandel', the female camel in Somalia which is a symbol of freedom and unity like the Eagle in the US. He lost my support when he criticized the legitimate government of Sheik Sherif and added that the 'dictator' in Ethiopia had to be removed before peace comes to Somalia. He told us that the last time he was in Somalia, Somali forces were 40km outside Addis Ababa!. The 'invasion' of Ethiopia, he alleged, has caused more than 100 years worth of hatred toward Ethiopia. When my turn came for questioning, I had to correct all the allegations made by the gentleman from the East African Policy Institute and that opened up a very hot debate in the room.
At the end, it was clear that there was a lack of leadership in Somalia, but no consensus on the best approach to resolve the conflict other than to support the efforts of Sheik Sherif, the legitimate leader of the Federal Government of Somalia. It was also clear that Ethiopia was not going to watch a terrorist group take control of Mogadishu.
Washera_2
So, I was invited to a panel discussion held at George Mason University on the current state of affairs in Somalia. The discussion was chaired by Professor Wallace Warfield of ICAR (Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution). The participants were faculty members and invited guests: Professor James Price (research), Mr. Hussein Yusuf (PhD student), Professor Terrence Lyons (faculty) and Mr. Mahdi Abdi from East African Policy Institute.
Professor James Price expounded on the conflict between religion and politics and the sacrilization to overcome and the secularization to be resisted by religious fanatics. It took a long time to resolve these issues in the United States; he said and will take even longer in the case of Somalia. The example he used of Jean Piaget's description of the preoperational stage children go through, lead him to conclude that religious fanatics do not have the mental actions that obey logical rules. Instead, their thinking is rigid, limited to one aspect of a situation at a time and tied to their own religious beliefs, without regard to the feelings of others.
Professor Terrence Lyons described the horrific violence going on in Mogadishu that had appeared somewhat calmer after the Ethiopian intervention was over. He went on to describe the rise of Al Shabab and the significant assistance that it is receiving from Eritrea and other countries (Saudi Arabia?). He did not mince words to accurately point out that, if Al Shabab were to control Mogadishu, Ethiopia will be there the following morning!
The PhD student, Mr. Hussein Yusuf, gave us a clearer view of the situation in Somalia. He talked about the main militant and radical wing in Somalia, Al Itihad al Islami, a non-tribal Muslim organization, prying on the young to build its membership. As early as 2001, both the Washington Post and the Daily Telegraph had reported that between 3,000 and 5,000 members of the al Qa'eda and al-Itihad partnership were operating in Somalia, with 50,000 t0 60,000 supporters and reservist. At the time, there were clear indications that bin Laden was setting up a new base of operations in Somalia and hence, the reason for US military strikes at the time of Ethiopia's intervention in Somalia. It is not clear what the numbers are at this time, but this group is very prominent in the Kismayo area and they control the ports and have accumulated massive arms. During their fight with the Transitional Government of Somalia for control of Puntaland, they were known to have caused fathers and sons to fight on opposite sides. They lost and were chased out of Puntaland. Their harsh rules go beyond banning cigarettes and Chat. One young man had his hand cut off for allegedly stealing a fishing net worth $90 dollars. Al Itihad seeks to establish an Islamic state in Somalia that adheres to a strict reading of the Koran, similar to the Wahabi interpretation used by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Mr. Hussein Yusuf moved on to enlighten us about another group with an alien ideology, Al Shabab. It was not clear where the funding for this group comes from (? Saudi Arabia). But its ties to Eritrea are clear and it has remained on the terrorist list of the US government. They have been winning concessions from the Federal Government of Somalia, including the leaving of foreign forces and the adoption of Sharia law before any negotiations could begin. Although Islamic faith is one of the horizontal identities that cuts across clan lines in Somalia, it is not clear that this Wahabi version of Islam has wide spread support and acceptance. President Sheik Sherif Ahmed, in his attempt to resolve issues through dialogue, has signed a bill enacting Islamic Sharia law, even as Al Shabab insurgents refused his call for dialogue and continued an assault on government forces in Mogadishu. President Sharif's government enjoys international backing, but has little control on the ground, beyond a few streets and key buildings in the capital.
When the time came to hear Mr. Mahdi Abdi, the gloves were off! He is an American citizen of Somali origin who has been out of Somalia for over 30 years. He talked about the US collaboration in the 'invasion' of Somalia by Ethiopian forces and demanded the removal of all foreign forces before any meaningful peace could come to Somalia. He was sentimental about the Somalia he left decades ago and lamented about 'mandel', the female camel in Somalia which is a symbol of freedom and unity like the Eagle in the US. He lost my support when he criticized the legitimate government of Sheik Sherif and added that the 'dictator' in Ethiopia had to be removed before peace comes to Somalia. He told us that the last time he was in Somalia, Somali forces were 40km outside Addis Ababa!. The 'invasion' of Ethiopia, he alleged, has caused more than 100 years worth of hatred toward Ethiopia. When my turn came for questioning, I had to correct all the allegations made by the gentleman from the East African Policy Institute and that opened up a very hot debate in the room.
At the end, it was clear that there was a lack of leadership in Somalia, but no consensus on the best approach to resolve the conflict other than to support the efforts of Sheik Sherif, the legitimate leader of the Federal Government of Somalia. It was also clear that Ethiopia was not going to watch a terrorist group take control of Mogadishu.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
THE LEADER OF THE TOXIC DIASPORA SCRIBES, THE DARTH VADER OF OUR TIMES, PROF AL MARIAM STRIKES, AGAIN!
Washera_2
April 2, 2009
Professor (sic) Al Mariam, the most notorious anti-Ethiopian, has now directed his aspersion against the British Prime Minister and the African continent. He spares the Queen of England, but begins his diatribe by condemning the efforts of Prime Minister Gordon Brown "to help cash-strapped African countries manage their balance of payment as their incomes from foreign investments and aid, remittances and commodities prices vanish in with the collapsing global economy." He refers to the British Prime Minister spitefully as "Golden" Brown to set him up for an attack on the PM's management abilities as Chancellor of the Exchequer, over a decade ago. You would think that Prof Al is running for an office in England! The simple message he sends for PM Golden Brown and the G-20 members: “Give Africans a strong hand in establishing democracy and getting rid of dictatorships, and you will never have to worry about giving them handouts!”
The G20 meeting in the homeland of Prime Minister Gordon Brown is meant to be an informal forum that promotes open and constructive discussion between industrial and emerging-market countries on key issues related to global economic stability. The good professor translates it to mean a "meeting to accept cash, check, credit card or gold to bailout Africa." I fail to see the joke in such contemptible remarks when the whole world and especially Africa, is tittering on the brink of disaster as a result of the global crisis. Millions of African lives will be affected by the decisions of the G20 nations. These lives are of no concern to Prof Al who lives in a spacious villa in California and has never visited Ethiopia for over 30 years and who does not seem to hide his elation over Africa's demise as he directs his bloody pen towards that continent.
The African leaders are attacked in one scoop with no less zeal or hostility that has now become the style of this number one enemy of Africa. Their explanations for the fall out of this unprecedented global crisis are scoffed at and blamed on the lack of democracy on the entire continent. He ridicules their efforts to bring their case to the world leaders as "a chorus of African Chicken Littles clucking: "The sky is falling! The sky is falling! We must go and tell the king!" I wholeheartedly agree that if African governments want aid and loans from the G-20, they must agree to be held accountable for their acts and omissions in upholding the rule of law, protecting the human rights of their people, institutionalizing democratic practices and processes, releasing all political prisoners, allowing the free functioning of civic institutions and the independent media and ensuring judicial independence. For the most part, I believe IMF is trying to do just that. But wait!
Because, his next attack is the IMF. He accuses the IMF for conspiring to sell its gold stash worth 50 billion dollars to distribute to the poor nations of the world. Professor Al Mariam does not put it in those kind words. His version: "Now they are talking about “mid-sized banks”, selling billions of dollars worth of IMF gold and sharing the loot among African dictators". He goes on to attack the IMF and the World Bank for their lack of transparency and failed accounting practices. He finds their practice of praising African leaders in public for their successful economic policies. If you are in the business of lending money, what is wrong with acknowledging those that are doing a good job and paying back their debt? The good professor counters by accusing the IMF officials of documenting in their confidential reports, about corruptions and mismanagements by the same African leaders that they praised.
His final dirty arrow is directed, you guessed it, at our won Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. He starts with the sarcastic, but somewhat serious remarks of the Prime Minister regarding the regional administrations' "right to burn money." This out of context quotation was colored by alleged firing of the accountant and Ato Gebru Asrat, to add flavor to his corruption charges against the Prime Minister. This is the kind of corruption he was alluding to in the above paragraph. The IMF must have not known about this!
To be fair to the professor, he did mention about the gold bar fiasco in an Ethiopian bank while he was dreaming about the gold bars that the IMF is supposed to be selling to help Africa.
The other accusations against the Prime Minster were regarding his remarks as he was preparing to join the G20 meeting in London. He has quoted him verbatim and I would not do you justice if I did not include it all and live the judgment to you. Let me just warn you that the professor's conclusion is that the statements fall short of the Prime Minister's report about the double digit growth rate of the economy in the last several years.
“Africa was beginning to stand up and now it is being knocked down again by this crisis, which is not of Africa’s making. That is one of the biggest tragedies. They [G-20] should care about Africa because it is in their interests. Some African countries could go under and that would mean total chaos and violence. In the end the cost of violence is going to be much higher than the cost of supporting Africa… We are talking about the range of money that is being spent on the mid-sized banks [in the U.S.]. Consider Africa as one of those banks… Any stimulus money spent in developed countries is going to have less global impact than if the same amount of money were to be spent in Africa… One of the problems at the moment is that the situation is so volatile… It keeps changing every week. It destabilizes everything, including one’s thinking. If we knew where the bottom was we could start thinking as to how to get out of it….”
I am very proud of being an African and specially an Ethiopian. I am also proud that one of our own sons is chosen to be the voice of Africa and other developing nations. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has the knowledge, determination and support of all his African counterparts and the African people to represent them in this important economic summit. But I am ashamed of being related to such a hateful person who is running around, like a mad dog, on a smear campaign to undo the little good that was done for the poor people of Africa.
Professor Al Mariam's last remark may go against his faith so salivatingly expressed for the competency of President Barrack Obama. He puts his closing arguments as follows:
"The basic argument African dictators are making for a G-20 bailout package is a moral one: Unless G-20 taxpayers assume the responsibility for Africa’s economic problems by selling IMF gold and increasing aid, Africans will die by the millions and violence will consume African societies. This is a manifestly false and self-serving moral dilemma manufactured by African dictators to save their own skins. They know that economic problems often trigger social upheavals which result in the sweeping away of corrupt dictatorships.
The G-20 have a superior moral counter-argument to make: The proposed quick sale of IMF gold as a magic elixir to fix Africa’s current economic troubles is snake oil gimmickry. Any such sale requires approval of 85 percent of the 185 IMF member countries. The U.S. alone has 17 percent of these voting rights (enough to veto any decision), and there is no realistic chance that President Obama or Congress will."
Well, I have news for you, Professor Al Mariam the sick and "toxic" Diaspora mouthpiece! As I was finishing the last paragraph of this note, an unprecedented and comprehensive collective actions decision of the G20 nations was being announced by none other than your nemesis, Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whom you referred to sarcastically as the "Golden" boy, has been true to that name. The rules and regulations that will reshape the global financial system that he has been fighting for 10 years have finally come to fruition. He announced that unlike 20 years ago, the G20 nations have come around a table and come to a unanimous agreement.
They have pledged to remain firmly committed to meeting their Millennium Development Goals. They will provide 50 billion more for the developing nations. He said they will triple the resources to IMF, 500 to 700 billion dollars into IMF reserves, and a total of five trillion dollars going for a worldwide stimulus program. They also agreed to boost the money available for financial markets worldwide with a sort of financial stability board to be established in Switzerland to oversee world financial situations.
We are truly in a new world order. We see the beginning of collective actions of people working together to manage globalization. We may see a shift away from the old Washington Consensus that puts everything on the market with a possible worldwide nationalization of banks.
Eat your heart out Al Mariam! The joke is on you. Gordon Brown and Barrack Obama are laughing at you. Meles Zenawi was rewarded for his hard work and will go home to even more challenges. Your toxic views will come to haunt you. As you contemplate another conspiracy theory, the world will move on as it should.
Thank you Meles Zenawi. Thank you G20.
April 2, 2009
Professor (sic) Al Mariam, the most notorious anti-Ethiopian, has now directed his aspersion against the British Prime Minister and the African continent. He spares the Queen of England, but begins his diatribe by condemning the efforts of Prime Minister Gordon Brown "to help cash-strapped African countries manage their balance of payment as their incomes from foreign investments and aid, remittances and commodities prices vanish in with the collapsing global economy." He refers to the British Prime Minister spitefully as "Golden" Brown to set him up for an attack on the PM's management abilities as Chancellor of the Exchequer, over a decade ago. You would think that Prof Al is running for an office in England! The simple message he sends for PM Golden Brown and the G-20 members: “Give Africans a strong hand in establishing democracy and getting rid of dictatorships, and you will never have to worry about giving them handouts!”
The G20 meeting in the homeland of Prime Minister Gordon Brown is meant to be an informal forum that promotes open and constructive discussion between industrial and emerging-market countries on key issues related to global economic stability. The good professor translates it to mean a "meeting to accept cash, check, credit card or gold to bailout Africa." I fail to see the joke in such contemptible remarks when the whole world and especially Africa, is tittering on the brink of disaster as a result of the global crisis. Millions of African lives will be affected by the decisions of the G20 nations. These lives are of no concern to Prof Al who lives in a spacious villa in California and has never visited Ethiopia for over 30 years and who does not seem to hide his elation over Africa's demise as he directs his bloody pen towards that continent.
The African leaders are attacked in one scoop with no less zeal or hostility that has now become the style of this number one enemy of Africa. Their explanations for the fall out of this unprecedented global crisis are scoffed at and blamed on the lack of democracy on the entire continent. He ridicules their efforts to bring their case to the world leaders as "a chorus of African Chicken Littles clucking: "The sky is falling! The sky is falling! We must go and tell the king!" I wholeheartedly agree that if African governments want aid and loans from the G-20, they must agree to be held accountable for their acts and omissions in upholding the rule of law, protecting the human rights of their people, institutionalizing democratic practices and processes, releasing all political prisoners, allowing the free functioning of civic institutions and the independent media and ensuring judicial independence. For the most part, I believe IMF is trying to do just that. But wait!
Because, his next attack is the IMF. He accuses the IMF for conspiring to sell its gold stash worth 50 billion dollars to distribute to the poor nations of the world. Professor Al Mariam does not put it in those kind words. His version: "Now they are talking about “mid-sized banks”, selling billions of dollars worth of IMF gold and sharing the loot among African dictators". He goes on to attack the IMF and the World Bank for their lack of transparency and failed accounting practices. He finds their practice of praising African leaders in public for their successful economic policies. If you are in the business of lending money, what is wrong with acknowledging those that are doing a good job and paying back their debt? The good professor counters by accusing the IMF officials of documenting in their confidential reports, about corruptions and mismanagements by the same African leaders that they praised.
His final dirty arrow is directed, you guessed it, at our won Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. He starts with the sarcastic, but somewhat serious remarks of the Prime Minister regarding the regional administrations' "right to burn money." This out of context quotation was colored by alleged firing of the accountant and Ato Gebru Asrat, to add flavor to his corruption charges against the Prime Minister. This is the kind of corruption he was alluding to in the above paragraph. The IMF must have not known about this!
To be fair to the professor, he did mention about the gold bar fiasco in an Ethiopian bank while he was dreaming about the gold bars that the IMF is supposed to be selling to help Africa.
The other accusations against the Prime Minster were regarding his remarks as he was preparing to join the G20 meeting in London. He has quoted him verbatim and I would not do you justice if I did not include it all and live the judgment to you. Let me just warn you that the professor's conclusion is that the statements fall short of the Prime Minister's report about the double digit growth rate of the economy in the last several years.
“Africa was beginning to stand up and now it is being knocked down again by this crisis, which is not of Africa’s making. That is one of the biggest tragedies. They [G-20] should care about Africa because it is in their interests. Some African countries could go under and that would mean total chaos and violence. In the end the cost of violence is going to be much higher than the cost of supporting Africa… We are talking about the range of money that is being spent on the mid-sized banks [in the U.S.]. Consider Africa as one of those banks… Any stimulus money spent in developed countries is going to have less global impact than if the same amount of money were to be spent in Africa… One of the problems at the moment is that the situation is so volatile… It keeps changing every week. It destabilizes everything, including one’s thinking. If we knew where the bottom was we could start thinking as to how to get out of it….”
I am very proud of being an African and specially an Ethiopian. I am also proud that one of our own sons is chosen to be the voice of Africa and other developing nations. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has the knowledge, determination and support of all his African counterparts and the African people to represent them in this important economic summit. But I am ashamed of being related to such a hateful person who is running around, like a mad dog, on a smear campaign to undo the little good that was done for the poor people of Africa.
Professor Al Mariam's last remark may go against his faith so salivatingly expressed for the competency of President Barrack Obama. He puts his closing arguments as follows:
"The basic argument African dictators are making for a G-20 bailout package is a moral one: Unless G-20 taxpayers assume the responsibility for Africa’s economic problems by selling IMF gold and increasing aid, Africans will die by the millions and violence will consume African societies. This is a manifestly false and self-serving moral dilemma manufactured by African dictators to save their own skins. They know that economic problems often trigger social upheavals which result in the sweeping away of corrupt dictatorships.
The G-20 have a superior moral counter-argument to make: The proposed quick sale of IMF gold as a magic elixir to fix Africa’s current economic troubles is snake oil gimmickry. Any such sale requires approval of 85 percent of the 185 IMF member countries. The U.S. alone has 17 percent of these voting rights (enough to veto any decision), and there is no realistic chance that President Obama or Congress will."
Well, I have news for you, Professor Al Mariam the sick and "toxic" Diaspora mouthpiece! As I was finishing the last paragraph of this note, an unprecedented and comprehensive collective actions decision of the G20 nations was being announced by none other than your nemesis, Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whom you referred to sarcastically as the "Golden" boy, has been true to that name. The rules and regulations that will reshape the global financial system that he has been fighting for 10 years have finally come to fruition. He announced that unlike 20 years ago, the G20 nations have come around a table and come to a unanimous agreement.
They have pledged to remain firmly committed to meeting their Millennium Development Goals. They will provide 50 billion more for the developing nations. He said they will triple the resources to IMF, 500 to 700 billion dollars into IMF reserves, and a total of five trillion dollars going for a worldwide stimulus program. They also agreed to boost the money available for financial markets worldwide with a sort of financial stability board to be established in Switzerland to oversee world financial situations.
We are truly in a new world order. We see the beginning of collective actions of people working together to manage globalization. We may see a shift away from the old Washington Consensus that puts everything on the market with a possible worldwide nationalization of banks.
Eat your heart out Al Mariam! The joke is on you. Gordon Brown and Barrack Obama are laughing at you. Meles Zenawi was rewarded for his hard work and will go home to even more challenges. Your toxic views will come to haunt you. As you contemplate another conspiracy theory, the world will move on as it should.
Thank you Meles Zenawi. Thank you G20.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Re: Seeking paths to Ethiopian Diaspora Dialogue and Consultations (wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker) by Prof Al Mariam
I just did a quick search for how many times the word Pro-democracy appears in this article and the result was nine. The magic word, Pro-democracy, also appears to be the nucleus of this article.
I will try to comment on the paragraph which contains the word, pro-democracy, according to my word search numbered 1 to 9.
1. “At the beginning of the year, we pledged to help initiate and sustain an Ethiopian Diaspora dialogue and consultation process with the aim of building broad consensus for collective action. We expressed our hope that with the proper groundwork it is possible to clearly identifying a set of issues over which pro-democracy Diaspora Ethiopians could take a unified position and speak in one thundering voice. We boldly proclaimed the inspirational theme, “Ethiopian united can never be defeated!”
To me, it is an already tried strategy that has failed over and over again to get a unified position among Pro-democracy Ethiopian Diaspora. Ethiopian Diaspora, like everybody on this world view and see things differently. Here in Canada, there are Conservatives, Liberals, NDPs and to your surprise party Quebec with agenda of separating Quebec from the rest of Canada. All of them consider themselves as pro-democracy elements but differ in policy making that are vital to the country they want to lead.(I know I shouldn’t be the one lecturing you on this matter). Instead of trying to unify people, I think it is a better strategy to bring people closer by creating a workable atmosphere that could lead ideas to flow freely. People with different opinions should not be seen as enemy always, otherwise the wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker is doomed to fail from the start. Unless we clearly identify and understand this issue, there is no way we can move forward. This is the main stumbling block of our democracy.
2. “Our conception of civic dialogue and consultation (wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker) among pro-democracy Diaspora Ethiopians is based on four simple ideas.”
What are the criteria of selecting pro-democracy Diaspora Ethiopians from non pro-democracy Ethiopian Diaspora to begin with? I think our fundamental difference among Ethiopian Diaspora lies on this issue. Most of us consider ourselves as pro-democrats and label the other as an ENEMY.
3. “We believe most ordinary pro-democracy Diaspora Ethiopians have come to realize that they can play a direct role in helping to bring about major changes in Ethiopia.”
It would have been nice to see the word positive, inserted between direct and role. Since some of the Ethiopian Diaspora role have been negative toward Ethiopia so far. Among many, the decision to join, or not to join, parliament during the 2005 election was mainly made with the consultation of some hardliners in Washington dc with the then kinegit leader Engineer Hailu Shawel. The result as we remember is, damaging the infant democracy, seeing some great leaders being thrown into jail above all losing so many innocent lives…
4. “by working together with pro-democracy elements in Ethiopia to re-establish democratic rights and facilitate the free operation of the independent media and civic society institutions; by promoting free political competition and helping to ensure free and fair elections are held; and by exposing corruption and exploring legal mechanisms to bring to justice those who have violated international law. In the past, we believe, Diaspora Ethiopians have lacked the dialogic and consultative mechanisms to achieve these values through collective action. “
Good point. To review what was done in the past, could teach us not to repeat the same mistakes, again…
5. “Today, many in the pro-democracy sectors of the Ethiopian Diaspora have come to appreciate the futility of rancorous debate with each other, and have chosen the path of dialogue and consultation.”
This will be a dream come true, if the Ethiopian Diaspora, indeed chose the path of dialog rather than destruction… From the past experience we have a long way to go. Mind you, I am not a future teller…
6. “Polarized debates and personal attacks have rendered pro-democracy Diaspora Ethiopians weak, divided and ineffective; and we must grudgingly admit that we have made ourselves the laughing stock of dictators.”
“One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” and by the same token one man’s dictator is another man’s Pro-democrat. This definitely will take us to a wide and open interpretation before we even start the wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker. Some people definitely will take it as an insult and start boycotting the good wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker. It also encourages some ugly labeling of people as woyane or Dergist…We need to overcome the mentality that believes in if you don’t see and understand things the way I do...
7. “From our preliminary efforts to date, we have ascertained two basic facts which we would like to share with all Ethiopian pro-democracy elements. First, we have detected an overwhelming sense of “fierce urgency” to undertake broad dialogue and consultations now”
Wow… I have read an article by Washera that calls for a debate and an invitation for a dialog from Ben. Can’t wait for the dialog to start among two good pro-democracy Ethiopian Diasporas… I hope you are going to accept the invitation and prove yourself right that change should come from self first.
8. “We believe pro-democracy Diaspora Ethiopians want “win-win” solutions not for themselves or their special groups or parties, but for the glory of Ethiopia and progress of all Ethiopians. For instance, we are inspired to hear representatives of groups who have long perceived themselves as competitors and rivals resonating agreement on core issues that are vital to the motherland.”
I think there are a lot of pro-democracy Ethiopian Diasporas but chose a different path than yours. I hope they will listen to the invitation that you offer and start the dialog soon as well. It is good to see the invitation being accepted by the other side.
9. “How can we neutralize and marginalize those elements that will spare no efforts to drive multiple wedges among pro-democracy Diaspora elements and work furiously to ensure our dialogue and consultations process will fail?”
Although, it is good to be cautious, be optimistic about those groups that you think are going to see your idea fail. Listen to them, may be they have a good point to offer. Thru dialog and only dialog, you might be able to win their heart. Although by doing so, be open for any eventuality that might take you to the other camp as well. The other scenario could be for both parties to stay in their respective camp but work on building a bridge that could help in exchanging ideas freely eventually narrowing the gap. This to me is a win-win situation for all. Unless we make a soul search as to why so many wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker failed so far (like the two H.R XXXX , I forgot the numbers), I see no end in our misery. At the end of the day we need to talk to our opponents. Even the Americans, with all their power, are hinting toward talking to the Taliban. So why not consider talking to your own fellow
country man. Otherwise, what is the use of having a dialog with the likes of you? It is like trying to clap in one hand. Change is possible if you talk to the other side.
I am forwarding this article to both of you and in no way I consider myself as a politician who can pen down my reasoning by quoting those intellectual wordings that I read from your articles rather, as an individual who thinks dialog is the best way to bring us closer. This will help us play a positive role in building democracy and fighting poverty which I believe is our quest.
Although I want to give the wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker the benefit of the doubt, it sounds bemare yetekeba not even bemar yetelewese (Honey painted not even honey mixed) unless professor Alemayhu explain himself the criteria of being considered as pro-democracy Ethiopian Diaspora is. I am afraid my own interpretation leads me to those who oppose the current government fiercely vs. those who think it is possible to work with the current government.
Abeba T.
I will try to comment on the paragraph which contains the word, pro-democracy, according to my word search numbered 1 to 9.
1. “At the beginning of the year, we pledged to help initiate and sustain an Ethiopian Diaspora dialogue and consultation process with the aim of building broad consensus for collective action. We expressed our hope that with the proper groundwork it is possible to clearly identifying a set of issues over which pro-democracy Diaspora Ethiopians could take a unified position and speak in one thundering voice. We boldly proclaimed the inspirational theme, “Ethiopian united can never be defeated!”
To me, it is an already tried strategy that has failed over and over again to get a unified position among Pro-democracy Ethiopian Diaspora. Ethiopian Diaspora, like everybody on this world view and see things differently. Here in Canada, there are Conservatives, Liberals, NDPs and to your surprise party Quebec with agenda of separating Quebec from the rest of Canada. All of them consider themselves as pro-democracy elements but differ in policy making that are vital to the country they want to lead.(I know I shouldn’t be the one lecturing you on this matter). Instead of trying to unify people, I think it is a better strategy to bring people closer by creating a workable atmosphere that could lead ideas to flow freely. People with different opinions should not be seen as enemy always, otherwise the wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker is doomed to fail from the start. Unless we clearly identify and understand this issue, there is no way we can move forward. This is the main stumbling block of our democracy.
2. “Our conception of civic dialogue and consultation (wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker) among pro-democracy Diaspora Ethiopians is based on four simple ideas.”
What are the criteria of selecting pro-democracy Diaspora Ethiopians from non pro-democracy Ethiopian Diaspora to begin with? I think our fundamental difference among Ethiopian Diaspora lies on this issue. Most of us consider ourselves as pro-democrats and label the other as an ENEMY.
3. “We believe most ordinary pro-democracy Diaspora Ethiopians have come to realize that they can play a direct role in helping to bring about major changes in Ethiopia.”
It would have been nice to see the word positive, inserted between direct and role. Since some of the Ethiopian Diaspora role have been negative toward Ethiopia so far. Among many, the decision to join, or not to join, parliament during the 2005 election was mainly made with the consultation of some hardliners in Washington dc with the then kinegit leader Engineer Hailu Shawel. The result as we remember is, damaging the infant democracy, seeing some great leaders being thrown into jail above all losing so many innocent lives…
4. “by working together with pro-democracy elements in Ethiopia to re-establish democratic rights and facilitate the free operation of the independent media and civic society institutions; by promoting free political competition and helping to ensure free and fair elections are held; and by exposing corruption and exploring legal mechanisms to bring to justice those who have violated international law. In the past, we believe, Diaspora Ethiopians have lacked the dialogic and consultative mechanisms to achieve these values through collective action. “
Good point. To review what was done in the past, could teach us not to repeat the same mistakes, again…
5. “Today, many in the pro-democracy sectors of the Ethiopian Diaspora have come to appreciate the futility of rancorous debate with each other, and have chosen the path of dialogue and consultation.”
This will be a dream come true, if the Ethiopian Diaspora, indeed chose the path of dialog rather than destruction… From the past experience we have a long way to go. Mind you, I am not a future teller…
6. “Polarized debates and personal attacks have rendered pro-democracy Diaspora Ethiopians weak, divided and ineffective; and we must grudgingly admit that we have made ourselves the laughing stock of dictators.”
“One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” and by the same token one man’s dictator is another man’s Pro-democrat. This definitely will take us to a wide and open interpretation before we even start the wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker. Some people definitely will take it as an insult and start boycotting the good wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker. It also encourages some ugly labeling of people as woyane or Dergist…We need to overcome the mentality that believes in if you don’t see and understand things the way I do...
7. “From our preliminary efforts to date, we have ascertained two basic facts which we would like to share with all Ethiopian pro-democracy elements. First, we have detected an overwhelming sense of “fierce urgency” to undertake broad dialogue and consultations now”
Wow… I have read an article by Washera that calls for a debate and an invitation for a dialog from Ben. Can’t wait for the dialog to start among two good pro-democracy Ethiopian Diasporas… I hope you are going to accept the invitation and prove yourself right that change should come from self first.
8. “We believe pro-democracy Diaspora Ethiopians want “win-win” solutions not for themselves or their special groups or parties, but for the glory of Ethiopia and progress of all Ethiopians. For instance, we are inspired to hear representatives of groups who have long perceived themselves as competitors and rivals resonating agreement on core issues that are vital to the motherland.”
I think there are a lot of pro-democracy Ethiopian Diasporas but chose a different path than yours. I hope they will listen to the invitation that you offer and start the dialog soon as well. It is good to see the invitation being accepted by the other side.
9. “How can we neutralize and marginalize those elements that will spare no efforts to drive multiple wedges among pro-democracy Diaspora elements and work furiously to ensure our dialogue and consultations process will fail?”
Although, it is good to be cautious, be optimistic about those groups that you think are going to see your idea fail. Listen to them, may be they have a good point to offer. Thru dialog and only dialog, you might be able to win their heart. Although by doing so, be open for any eventuality that might take you to the other camp as well. The other scenario could be for both parties to stay in their respective camp but work on building a bridge that could help in exchanging ideas freely eventually narrowing the gap. This to me is a win-win situation for all. Unless we make a soul search as to why so many wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker failed so far (like the two H.R XXXX , I forgot the numbers), I see no end in our misery. At the end of the day we need to talk to our opponents. Even the Americans, with all their power, are hinting toward talking to the Taliban. So why not consider talking to your own fellow
country man. Otherwise, what is the use of having a dialog with the likes of you? It is like trying to clap in one hand. Change is possible if you talk to the other side.
I am forwarding this article to both of you and in no way I consider myself as a politician who can pen down my reasoning by quoting those intellectual wordings that I read from your articles rather, as an individual who thinks dialog is the best way to bring us closer. This will help us play a positive role in building democracy and fighting poverty which I believe is our quest.
Although I want to give the wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker the benefit of the doubt, it sounds bemare yetekeba not even bemar yetelewese (Honey painted not even honey mixed) unless professor Alemayhu explain himself the criteria of being considered as pro-democracy Ethiopian Diaspora is. I am afraid my own interpretation leads me to those who oppose the current government fiercely vs. those who think it is possible to work with the current government.
Abeba T.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
LETTER TO PRESIDENT CLINTON
ETHIO-AMERICAN CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS ALLIANCE
(EACAA)
12108 Benjamin Street, Beltsville, MD 20705
Telephone No.:(301) 256-8152,
Voice of the Patriots Somali Ethiopian Prof Assn
Ethiopian American Forum Union of Tigrean in N. A.
FDRE Discussion Forum EPRDF Support Group, Inc.
SEECDA Amhara Dev Assn, Inc NA
Somali Ethiopia Peace & Dev Agency Prof Assn For Network & Dev
Ethio-Somali Inc. Tigrai Women’s Assn
Oromo Econ & Cultural Dev Assn Oromo Consensus Forum
Harari’s Econ & Dev. Org Somali Ethiopian Community
Ethiopian Civility Form Gambela Development Assn
All Ethiopian Nationalities Cultural Resource Ctr Gambela Com Assn in Minnesota
Gambela Ethiopian Community
February 20, 2009.
The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton
55 West 125th Street
New York, N.Y. 10027
Dear Mr. President,
We recently came across a letter addressed to you about a donation made to your Foundation by Sheik Mohammed Al Amoudi. The authors of the letter, supposedly a lawyer group called Ethiopian Americans for Justice, seem to want to pass justice at random.
It is no secret that the Sheik has been involved in many business ventures and humanitarian activities in Ethiopia for decades. Among his various humanitarian activities in Ethiopia we would like to mention the recently inaugurated world class Children's Heart Center, which was the result of years of dreaming and hard work by a dedicated Ethiopian physician and the boundless generosity of the Sheik.
At the time of the donation, we all applauded the generosity of this great individual who has done a lot more to our own people in Ethiopia. We are also aware of the huge resources that the Clinton Foundation has put toward fighting HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. We would like to believe that your visit to that country was not only an affirmation of the good that your Foundation was doing, but was also an opportunity for you to see first hand, the efforts of the Ethiopian government to bring peace, prosperity and democratic rule to its citizens. In a way, we felt that the Sheik's donation is indirectly helping our own people. That was part of the reason for our applause at that time.
What was puzzling about the letter addressed to you by these’’ justice’’ seekers was how blinded they are to the benefits of such a donation, but also how presumptive they are that your foundation would accept donations without scrutinizing its origin and its potential for conflict of interest. They were quick to pass judgment on the workings of your Foundation and blame the Ethiopian government.
What is even more appalling is how fragmented their evidences are that were used to incriminate Sheik Mohammed Al-Amoudi. One such evidence, We quote (sic) " Mr. Al-Amoudi’s name has been mentioned in connection with the 9/11 tragedies." We are not aware of the "mentioning", but are they telling us that the American government ignored such an allegation or would they rather make a guilty verdict by an allegation?
This group would like us to believe that the donation made to the Clinton Foundation came directly from the Ethiopian government, actually directly from the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. They go on to allude that the Ethiopian government is so rich that it is buying US influence for the "continuation of the Bush administration’s policy of unquestioning US support for their controversial rule." While they are at it, it would be prudent to tell us the names of the US administration officials bought by such largesse.
At times, they seem to be pointing fingers at your foundation when they try to find fault by alleging that the Sheik, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gates Foundation are among the five donors to your foundation. When Mrs. Clinton passed the congressional hearings with flying colors before taking charge of the Department of State, we all believed that any conflict of interest issues with the Clinton Foundation were cleared once and for all. We also believed that with a 40 billion budget and over 50,000 employees, she is working hard to create a more democratic and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community.
The entire letter would have been dismissed as preposterous and contemptible if it were not for the identity of the individuals hiding behind "Ethiopian Americans for Justice" name. These few individuals continue to demonize the Ethiopian government and attempt to fracture the support of the international community for the emerging democracy and developmental endeavours in Ethiopia.
Mr. President,
We are more than aware of the work your Foundation is doing in Ethiopia. You have seen it first hand. You have built the largest pediatric HIV/AIDS clinic in the country, which has quickly become a Center for Excellence for treating children. That is not all. With a staff of over a 100, the Foundation has a gamut of projects which concentrates on HIV/AIDS, health systems, drug and medical equipment procurements, and more recently the establishment of the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI). To allege that this work and those dedicated employees of the Foundation are "closely intertwined with government operations" is nothing short of a slap on the face of the Foundation.
We will not tolerate such fringe elements besmearing generous friends of our country and people. Neither should you. Your presidency was a historic moment in American history. We have no doubt that the work of your Foundation will continue with the same energy and good will that it has shown all these years. We plead with you to repudiate such atrocious allegations and continue your support for our people.
Sincerely,
__________________________
Negussie Birratu
Chairman Executive Council
cc: Honorable Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Department of State
Honorable Ambassador Donald Yamamoto, US Embassy in Ethiopia
(EACAA)
12108 Benjamin Street, Beltsville, MD 20705
Telephone No.:(301) 256-8152,
Voice of the Patriots Somali Ethiopian Prof Assn
Ethiopian American Forum Union of Tigrean in N. A.
FDRE Discussion Forum EPRDF Support Group, Inc.
SEECDA Amhara Dev Assn, Inc NA
Somali Ethiopia Peace & Dev Agency Prof Assn For Network & Dev
Ethio-Somali Inc. Tigrai Women’s Assn
Oromo Econ & Cultural Dev Assn Oromo Consensus Forum
Harari’s Econ & Dev. Org Somali Ethiopian Community
Ethiopian Civility Form Gambela Development Assn
All Ethiopian Nationalities Cultural Resource Ctr Gambela Com Assn in Minnesota
Gambela Ethiopian Community
February 20, 2009.
The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton
55 West 125th Street
New York, N.Y. 10027
Dear Mr. President,
We recently came across a letter addressed to you about a donation made to your Foundation by Sheik Mohammed Al Amoudi. The authors of the letter, supposedly a lawyer group called Ethiopian Americans for Justice, seem to want to pass justice at random.
It is no secret that the Sheik has been involved in many business ventures and humanitarian activities in Ethiopia for decades. Among his various humanitarian activities in Ethiopia we would like to mention the recently inaugurated world class Children's Heart Center, which was the result of years of dreaming and hard work by a dedicated Ethiopian physician and the boundless generosity of the Sheik.
At the time of the donation, we all applauded the generosity of this great individual who has done a lot more to our own people in Ethiopia. We are also aware of the huge resources that the Clinton Foundation has put toward fighting HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. We would like to believe that your visit to that country was not only an affirmation of the good that your Foundation was doing, but was also an opportunity for you to see first hand, the efforts of the Ethiopian government to bring peace, prosperity and democratic rule to its citizens. In a way, we felt that the Sheik's donation is indirectly helping our own people. That was part of the reason for our applause at that time.
What was puzzling about the letter addressed to you by these’’ justice’’ seekers was how blinded they are to the benefits of such a donation, but also how presumptive they are that your foundation would accept donations without scrutinizing its origin and its potential for conflict of interest. They were quick to pass judgment on the workings of your Foundation and blame the Ethiopian government.
What is even more appalling is how fragmented their evidences are that were used to incriminate Sheik Mohammed Al-Amoudi. One such evidence, We quote (sic) " Mr. Al-Amoudi’s name has been mentioned in connection with the 9/11 tragedies." We are not aware of the "mentioning", but are they telling us that the American government ignored such an allegation or would they rather make a guilty verdict by an allegation?
This group would like us to believe that the donation made to the Clinton Foundation came directly from the Ethiopian government, actually directly from the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. They go on to allude that the Ethiopian government is so rich that it is buying US influence for the "continuation of the Bush administration’s policy of unquestioning US support for their controversial rule." While they are at it, it would be prudent to tell us the names of the US administration officials bought by such largesse.
At times, they seem to be pointing fingers at your foundation when they try to find fault by alleging that the Sheik, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gates Foundation are among the five donors to your foundation. When Mrs. Clinton passed the congressional hearings with flying colors before taking charge of the Department of State, we all believed that any conflict of interest issues with the Clinton Foundation were cleared once and for all. We also believed that with a 40 billion budget and over 50,000 employees, she is working hard to create a more democratic and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community.
The entire letter would have been dismissed as preposterous and contemptible if it were not for the identity of the individuals hiding behind "Ethiopian Americans for Justice" name. These few individuals continue to demonize the Ethiopian government and attempt to fracture the support of the international community for the emerging democracy and developmental endeavours in Ethiopia.
Mr. President,
We are more than aware of the work your Foundation is doing in Ethiopia. You have seen it first hand. You have built the largest pediatric HIV/AIDS clinic in the country, which has quickly become a Center for Excellence for treating children. That is not all. With a staff of over a 100, the Foundation has a gamut of projects which concentrates on HIV/AIDS, health systems, drug and medical equipment procurements, and more recently the establishment of the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI). To allege that this work and those dedicated employees of the Foundation are "closely intertwined with government operations" is nothing short of a slap on the face of the Foundation.
We will not tolerate such fringe elements besmearing generous friends of our country and people. Neither should you. Your presidency was a historic moment in American history. We have no doubt that the work of your Foundation will continue with the same energy and good will that it has shown all these years. We plead with you to repudiate such atrocious allegations and continue your support for our people.
Sincerely,
__________________________
Negussie Birratu
Chairman Executive Council
cc: Honorable Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Department of State
Honorable Ambassador Donald Yamamoto, US Embassy in Ethiopia
Sunday, March 8, 2009
HOW THE GUARDIAN CHEATS AFRICA: MARTIN KETTLE ANALYSES GORDON BROWN’S SPEECH TO THE US CONGRESS ON 3/4/09.
March 5, 2009
WASHERA_2
I know Gordon Brown makes good speeches and it was no different when he addressed the US congress on Thursday. Martin Kettle of the Guardian tried to give it his own spin, most of which I had no problem with. All politicians do try to appease their audience in one form or other.
The speech covered the strong ties between America and Britain/Europe, in the process bestowing accolades on President Barack Obama and paying tribute to an old guard, Senator Edward Kennedy, with an honorary knighthood from the Queen.
Gordon Brown covered the Iran-Iraq issue, his belief for a viable Palestinian state and most importantly concentrated on what he called “new priorities for our new times.” He talked about the lesson he learned from his minister father:
“ ..That wealth must help more than the wealthy, good fortune must serve more than the fortunate and riches must enrich not just some of us, but all of us.”
With this, he delves into the politically important part of his speech, that the US political leaders have to exercise global responsibility, not just look after their own voters. He goes on to explain how economic crisis does not stop at the water’s edge, but ripples across the world, hence the need for global solutions for the crisis.
His plea for US leadership to achieve tougher new targets on climate change and investing on environmental technology to end the dictatorship of oil got a standing ovation. He was also appealing for President Obama to give global leadership at the London G20 Summit next month. He believed trade to be the engine of prosperity and educating our children throughout the world as a major priority.
I was following Mr. Martin Kettle’s analyses until I came to the speech Mr. Brown makes regarding Africa, which starts off by saying, “And let us not forget the poorest.”
Except, Mr. Martin Kettle, the distinguished commentator, the mighty mouth piece of the Guardian, decides to remove the entire speech and replace it with a half-sentence created only to precede the next sentence in Mr. Brown’s eloquent speech. I kid you not! He added (sic) “As we strive to spread the values of peace, political liberty, and the hope of better lives across the world, perhaps...” and here he marries it with the actual speech, “the greatest gift our generation could give to the future, …” and continues without missing a beat. Did he receive a different version of the speech or is he at liberty to treat Africa just like his old colonial days? I was flabbergasted at his audacity to leave out the entire speech made by Mr. Brown on Africa. I am forced to bring that part of the speech, left out by Mr. Kettle, in its entirety and will leave the judgment to the reader.
“In the Rwandan Museum of genocide, there is a memorial to the countless children who were among those murdered in the massacres in Rwanda.
And there is a portrait of a child, David. The words beneath him are brief yet they weigh on me heavily.
It says name David, age 10, favourite sport football, enjoyed making people laugh, dream to become a doctor, cause of death tortured to death, last words - the UN will come for us.
But we never did. That David believed the best of us, that he was wrong is to our eternal discredit.
We tend to think of a day of judgment as a moment to come. But our faith tells us, as a writer says, that judgment is more than that.
It is a summary court in perpetual session and when I visit those bare, rundown yet teeming classrooms across Africa, they are full of children, like our children, desperate to learn.
But because we have been unable as a world to keep our promises to help, more and more children are being lured to expensively funded madrassas teaching innocent children to hate us.
So for our security and our children’s' security and their children’s' future, (and here the above paragraph comes to a conclusion) the greatest gift our generation could give to the future, the gift of America and Britain to the world could be, for every child in every country of the world, the chance millions do not have today; the chance to go to school.”
I thought the British Prime Minister made an impassioned speech to ask the world leaders to think globally in their deliberations. We applaud him for that and we will continue our struggle to become equal partners in educating all people to retool and reskill to invest and invent our way out of the downturn. We refuse to be deleted or excluded by the likes of the Guardian’s Martin Kettle.
WASHERA_2
I know Gordon Brown makes good speeches and it was no different when he addressed the US congress on Thursday. Martin Kettle of the Guardian tried to give it his own spin, most of which I had no problem with. All politicians do try to appease their audience in one form or other.
The speech covered the strong ties between America and Britain/Europe, in the process bestowing accolades on President Barack Obama and paying tribute to an old guard, Senator Edward Kennedy, with an honorary knighthood from the Queen.
Gordon Brown covered the Iran-Iraq issue, his belief for a viable Palestinian state and most importantly concentrated on what he called “new priorities for our new times.” He talked about the lesson he learned from his minister father:
“ ..That wealth must help more than the wealthy, good fortune must serve more than the fortunate and riches must enrich not just some of us, but all of us.”
With this, he delves into the politically important part of his speech, that the US political leaders have to exercise global responsibility, not just look after their own voters. He goes on to explain how economic crisis does not stop at the water’s edge, but ripples across the world, hence the need for global solutions for the crisis.
His plea for US leadership to achieve tougher new targets on climate change and investing on environmental technology to end the dictatorship of oil got a standing ovation. He was also appealing for President Obama to give global leadership at the London G20 Summit next month. He believed trade to be the engine of prosperity and educating our children throughout the world as a major priority.
I was following Mr. Martin Kettle’s analyses until I came to the speech Mr. Brown makes regarding Africa, which starts off by saying, “And let us not forget the poorest.”
Except, Mr. Martin Kettle, the distinguished commentator, the mighty mouth piece of the Guardian, decides to remove the entire speech and replace it with a half-sentence created only to precede the next sentence in Mr. Brown’s eloquent speech. I kid you not! He added (sic) “As we strive to spread the values of peace, political liberty, and the hope of better lives across the world, perhaps...” and here he marries it with the actual speech, “the greatest gift our generation could give to the future, …” and continues without missing a beat. Did he receive a different version of the speech or is he at liberty to treat Africa just like his old colonial days? I was flabbergasted at his audacity to leave out the entire speech made by Mr. Brown on Africa. I am forced to bring that part of the speech, left out by Mr. Kettle, in its entirety and will leave the judgment to the reader.
“In the Rwandan Museum of genocide, there is a memorial to the countless children who were among those murdered in the massacres in Rwanda.
And there is a portrait of a child, David. The words beneath him are brief yet they weigh on me heavily.
It says name David, age 10, favourite sport football, enjoyed making people laugh, dream to become a doctor, cause of death tortured to death, last words - the UN will come for us.
But we never did. That David believed the best of us, that he was wrong is to our eternal discredit.
We tend to think of a day of judgment as a moment to come. But our faith tells us, as a writer says, that judgment is more than that.
It is a summary court in perpetual session and when I visit those bare, rundown yet teeming classrooms across Africa, they are full of children, like our children, desperate to learn.
But because we have been unable as a world to keep our promises to help, more and more children are being lured to expensively funded madrassas teaching innocent children to hate us.
So for our security and our children’s' security and their children’s' future, (and here the above paragraph comes to a conclusion) the greatest gift our generation could give to the future, the gift of America and Britain to the world could be, for every child in every country of the world, the chance millions do not have today; the chance to go to school.”
I thought the British Prime Minister made an impassioned speech to ask the world leaders to think globally in their deliberations. We applaud him for that and we will continue our struggle to become equal partners in educating all people to retool and reskill to invest and invent our way out of the downturn. We refuse to be deleted or excluded by the likes of the Guardian’s Martin Kettle.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Open Letter to Professor Al Mariam
February 25, 2009
Dear Professor Al Mariam,
I read with interest and amazement your article on Ethiomedia entitled "Seeking paths to Ethiopian Diaspora Dialogue and Consultations (wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker)."
You make fairly radical statements about how to proceed with engaging the Diaspora in a civic dialogue and consultation to be able to take a coordinated action against the Ethiopian government. You seem to assign this role for what you call pro-democracy Ethiopians at home and in the Diaspora, who are willing to "bite" strategically to bring about substantial change in Ethiopia. You elaborate on how busy you have been trying to identify stakeholders from a broad-section of the Ethiopian Diaspora activist for the collective action you plan to take.
I felt you were convincingly mapping out your corner of opposition politics when, all of a sudden, I noticed a shift in your argument. After confessing your lack of expertise in the field of dialogue facilitation, you admit that you could be wrong about your long held beliefs. You then tell us how dialogue involves listening to each other respectfully and offer our views with sincerity and civility. You go further and tell us how you have become less judgmental of those who do not agree with your point of and let the gravitational power of truth to keep us all grounded in common sense and reality.
Whose truth my friend? Your truth or mine? If I disagree with you, does that make me a mean, nasty and vicious junkyard dog? Is Wu-yi-yit and Me me-ka-ker only for your own ilk?
I have followed your writings for a long time. You are very well versed in the English language and on a whole bunch of legal mumbo jumbo. But what seems to run as a main theme in all of them is how hateful and mean-spirited you are of the present Ethiopian government and will not live a single stone unturned to try to topple it.
The problem with your logic is that all you have are words. Words which you manipulate every which way, to convince us that your way is the right way. You have now cloaked yourself with a pro-democracy mantle and are lecturing us about dialogue and consultations, when you don't even understand who the dialogue should be with. You continue to burn your bridges with the ruling party in Ethiopia and its supporters, in the process creating a hostile environment among Diaspora Ethiopians where, I suspect, you have some support.
I would like to use this opportunity to plead with you to stop your mirth and reverence for evil things in life. Until you understand that we all have a stake in the success of the democratic process in Ethiopia and start a dialogue and consultation among opposition groups and supporters of the government, your efforts would be futile and bound to fail.
I have tried to get in touch with you on several occasions in the past. I even paid for a phone number search company and tried to leave you a message, but have never heard from you.
I hope you will take this as an invitation for a dialogue and consultation by one disgruntled Diaspora Ethiopian. I know Ethiomedia will not post this response, but I hope you can respond to me.
Washera
Washera_2@comcast.net
Dear Professor Al Mariam,
I read with interest and amazement your article on Ethiomedia entitled "Seeking paths to Ethiopian Diaspora Dialogue and Consultations (wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker)."
You make fairly radical statements about how to proceed with engaging the Diaspora in a civic dialogue and consultation to be able to take a coordinated action against the Ethiopian government. You seem to assign this role for what you call pro-democracy Ethiopians at home and in the Diaspora, who are willing to "bite" strategically to bring about substantial change in Ethiopia. You elaborate on how busy you have been trying to identify stakeholders from a broad-section of the Ethiopian Diaspora activist for the collective action you plan to take.
I felt you were convincingly mapping out your corner of opposition politics when, all of a sudden, I noticed a shift in your argument. After confessing your lack of expertise in the field of dialogue facilitation, you admit that you could be wrong about your long held beliefs. You then tell us how dialogue involves listening to each other respectfully and offer our views with sincerity and civility. You go further and tell us how you have become less judgmental of those who do not agree with your point of and let the gravitational power of truth to keep us all grounded in common sense and reality.
Whose truth my friend? Your truth or mine? If I disagree with you, does that make me a mean, nasty and vicious junkyard dog? Is Wu-yi-yit and Me me-ka-ker only for your own ilk?
I have followed your writings for a long time. You are very well versed in the English language and on a whole bunch of legal mumbo jumbo. But what seems to run as a main theme in all of them is how hateful and mean-spirited you are of the present Ethiopian government and will not live a single stone unturned to try to topple it.
The problem with your logic is that all you have are words. Words which you manipulate every which way, to convince us that your way is the right way. You have now cloaked yourself with a pro-democracy mantle and are lecturing us about dialogue and consultations, when you don't even understand who the dialogue should be with. You continue to burn your bridges with the ruling party in Ethiopia and its supporters, in the process creating a hostile environment among Diaspora Ethiopians where, I suspect, you have some support.
I would like to use this opportunity to plead with you to stop your mirth and reverence for evil things in life. Until you understand that we all have a stake in the success of the democratic process in Ethiopia and start a dialogue and consultation among opposition groups and supporters of the government, your efforts would be futile and bound to fail.
I have tried to get in touch with you on several occasions in the past. I even paid for a phone number search company and tried to leave you a message, but have never heard from you.
I hope you will take this as an invitation for a dialogue and consultation by one disgruntled Diaspora Ethiopian. I know Ethiomedia will not post this response, but I hope you can respond to me.
Washera
Washera_2@comcast.net
WHAT NEXT, PRIME MINISTER MELES ZENAWI?
Washera_2
February 16, 2009
For someone who devours anything I could find on PM Meles Zenawi, the last two weeks have been a very rich harvest. First, there was the endless question and answer session with the members of the Ethiopian Youth Association at their Annual Youth Conference. Then, there was hours and hours spent briefing, call it educating, the local media. That was followed by several hours of the same for local and foreign journalists, of course in English. I was so hooked to the Youth Conference that I had several windows open to download the nine minute sessions that I could listen to it one after another. That was the only inconvenience, but I heard them all. Thanks to Walta Information Center, I was able to listen to the English press conference in its entirety.
The man amazes me. His mastery of the two languages, in this instance Amharic and English tends to be forgotten as you travel with him through a vivid picture of a vast array of issues, from climate control to detailed economic analysis of not only the Ethiopian reality, but the global mess as a whole. I have watched many a US Presidential press conference in my life. But I have never witnessed one with the caliber and talent that I saw in PM Meles. Even President Obama lacks the economic prowess that our PM dispatches at will.
He seems to tap very easily to a large volume of knowledge, obviously accumulated through years of reading, leading and learning from the experiences of other world leaders. No question was left unanswered, except perhaps the human and material cost of our Somalia expedition. This was deliberate and I am sure the questionnaire got a satisfactory response to his sarcastic remark.
Let me try to summarize some of the issues that stuck in my mind as I listened to these question and answer sessions.
It was indeed gratifying to see Ethiopian youth organized throughout the Kilils and their representatives, 7,000 strong, show up for their Annual Conference. The Prime Minister was not there to give them money for their recreation centers or find them jobs, although a large financial outlay is in the works for exactly that purpose. What I saw to be priceless and a long-lasting investment was the advice that this dedicated, smart and knowledgeable young leader was bestowing in their blossoming young minds. He was not mincing words when he told them their responsibilities to a good work ethic. Neither was he campaigning for his party when he told them what democracy meant and how to participate in it and vote for any one they wanted to. His only demand was that each and every one of them fights to make it a peaceful and free election. He is one of a kind and they will not soon forget this moment, as he has left a mark in their budding brain cells. God willing, he will be around for a long time and will help them for many more years.
As we turn to the national and international media scene, we see a man capable of dealing with any issue, unlike any one I have ever known. The curve balls thrown at him by some smart aleck journalist land softly in the middle of his palm.
At the local level, the Bertukan Mideksa saga was inquired about on more than one occasion. But the simple and straightforward legal explanation he furnished shamed many of those doubters. The message was crystal clear to the opposition. Be peaceful, respect the constitution, obey the rules and the playing field is open to all.
On Somalia, he made it quite clear that the forces involved in organizing the conspiracy against Ethiopia (Eritrea), intoxicated Jihadists in Somalia (Al Shabab) and certain armed groups inside Ethiopia, had all suffered a knock out blow. The remaining elements inside Somalia are felt to be moderate and willing to work with Ethiopia in the long run.
He was not too enthusiastic about Gaddafi's United States of Africa concept and wants to make the economic platform palatable before dreaming about something akin to the United States of America. However, he does not think it is an impossible task in the very long run. He said he will take him on his desire to resolve the Ethiopian-Eritrean problem. But, he knows in his heart that the guy at the other end can never be trusted.
His detailed explanation of the global economic mess in general and our own country in particular was a masterful performance. You can see his economic genius shining through as he spells out the decisive steps he took to soften the impact on our economy. You couldn't have wished for any one better to author a path out of the quagmire we are all in.
He was asked about the mixed messages he was sending regarding his retirement from his present position. His explanation was simple and truthful. He hoped to see no contradictions between his desire to "move on", as he put it, and his parties desire for his services. People tend to forget that he is still very young and has a lot to offer in many other positions to the people and country that he has brought so much respect and economic growth, far beyond what his predecessors have done. Of course, he was humbled by the accolades he received for his hard work and successes, deferring it instead to his party.
I hope and prey that many in the Diaspora will truly understand this man and his tireless struggle for peace, economic prosperity and respect for the rule of law and contribute their part in the economic, social and political spheres to this old nation with an emerging democracy.
February 16, 2009
For someone who devours anything I could find on PM Meles Zenawi, the last two weeks have been a very rich harvest. First, there was the endless question and answer session with the members of the Ethiopian Youth Association at their Annual Youth Conference. Then, there was hours and hours spent briefing, call it educating, the local media. That was followed by several hours of the same for local and foreign journalists, of course in English. I was so hooked to the Youth Conference that I had several windows open to download the nine minute sessions that I could listen to it one after another. That was the only inconvenience, but I heard them all. Thanks to Walta Information Center, I was able to listen to the English press conference in its entirety.
The man amazes me. His mastery of the two languages, in this instance Amharic and English tends to be forgotten as you travel with him through a vivid picture of a vast array of issues, from climate control to detailed economic analysis of not only the Ethiopian reality, but the global mess as a whole. I have watched many a US Presidential press conference in my life. But I have never witnessed one with the caliber and talent that I saw in PM Meles. Even President Obama lacks the economic prowess that our PM dispatches at will.
He seems to tap very easily to a large volume of knowledge, obviously accumulated through years of reading, leading and learning from the experiences of other world leaders. No question was left unanswered, except perhaps the human and material cost of our Somalia expedition. This was deliberate and I am sure the questionnaire got a satisfactory response to his sarcastic remark.
Let me try to summarize some of the issues that stuck in my mind as I listened to these question and answer sessions.
It was indeed gratifying to see Ethiopian youth organized throughout the Kilils and their representatives, 7,000 strong, show up for their Annual Conference. The Prime Minister was not there to give them money for their recreation centers or find them jobs, although a large financial outlay is in the works for exactly that purpose. What I saw to be priceless and a long-lasting investment was the advice that this dedicated, smart and knowledgeable young leader was bestowing in their blossoming young minds. He was not mincing words when he told them their responsibilities to a good work ethic. Neither was he campaigning for his party when he told them what democracy meant and how to participate in it and vote for any one they wanted to. His only demand was that each and every one of them fights to make it a peaceful and free election. He is one of a kind and they will not soon forget this moment, as he has left a mark in their budding brain cells. God willing, he will be around for a long time and will help them for many more years.
As we turn to the national and international media scene, we see a man capable of dealing with any issue, unlike any one I have ever known. The curve balls thrown at him by some smart aleck journalist land softly in the middle of his palm.
At the local level, the Bertukan Mideksa saga was inquired about on more than one occasion. But the simple and straightforward legal explanation he furnished shamed many of those doubters. The message was crystal clear to the opposition. Be peaceful, respect the constitution, obey the rules and the playing field is open to all.
On Somalia, he made it quite clear that the forces involved in organizing the conspiracy against Ethiopia (Eritrea), intoxicated Jihadists in Somalia (Al Shabab) and certain armed groups inside Ethiopia, had all suffered a knock out blow. The remaining elements inside Somalia are felt to be moderate and willing to work with Ethiopia in the long run.
He was not too enthusiastic about Gaddafi's United States of Africa concept and wants to make the economic platform palatable before dreaming about something akin to the United States of America. However, he does not think it is an impossible task in the very long run. He said he will take him on his desire to resolve the Ethiopian-Eritrean problem. But, he knows in his heart that the guy at the other end can never be trusted.
His detailed explanation of the global economic mess in general and our own country in particular was a masterful performance. You can see his economic genius shining through as he spells out the decisive steps he took to soften the impact on our economy. You couldn't have wished for any one better to author a path out of the quagmire we are all in.
He was asked about the mixed messages he was sending regarding his retirement from his present position. His explanation was simple and truthful. He hoped to see no contradictions between his desire to "move on", as he put it, and his parties desire for his services. People tend to forget that he is still very young and has a lot to offer in many other positions to the people and country that he has brought so much respect and economic growth, far beyond what his predecessors have done. Of course, he was humbled by the accolades he received for his hard work and successes, deferring it instead to his party.
I hope and prey that many in the Diaspora will truly understand this man and his tireless struggle for peace, economic prosperity and respect for the rule of law and contribute their part in the economic, social and political spheres to this old nation with an emerging democracy.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Dr Berhanu Nega in His Own Words; So Who is the Pathological Liar?
A response to a report by Dr. Berhanu Nega, Ato Muluneh Eyoel and Ato Anteneh Mulugetta, on the release of the Kality prisoners.
January 24, 2009
Washera_2
I thought hard and long what language to use to respond to a nine page report forwarded by the above "gentlemen", explaining the circumstances of their release from Kality prison. I felt it necessary to respond in English, to provide the reader an opportunity to scrutinize the deceptions and fabrications that some opposition groups in the Diaspora, like the above authors, are engaged in.
It did not take me long to discern the real author of this report. If you have read Dr. Berhanu Nega's recent book, then the long, disparaging, name calling and authoritative first few sentences are a clue.
The premise of this report is that they were lied to before they signed the request for a Presidential Pardon. The report did not include a copy of the paper they signed, but I have taken the liberty to translate it and include it below to better understand Dr. Berhanu's argument. This is the only official document we have seen and none of the prisoners have denied signing it.
Sene 15, 1999 (October 2007)
His Excellency Ato Meles Zenawi
Prime Minister
Ethiopian Federal Democratic Republic
Addis Ababa
We the undersigned Kinijit leaders and party members, aware of the misunderstandings created following the 2005 (1997EC) elections, take the responsibility for our wrongful attempts to change the constitutionally created government bodies, by illegal means. We take both individual and group responsibility for the mistakes that resulted. We affirm that, from here to for, we shall refrain from participating in such illegal activities and that we will, as part of our citizenship responsibilities, abide by and uphold the constitution of the country, and also accept and respect the role of the different branches of the government. Recognizing our contrition and our apology to the Ethiopian government and the Ethiopian people, we ask your Excellency to pardon us for our transgressions.
Dr. Berhanu Nega used the entire first page to lecture us on his psychological analysis of pathological liars, basically a direct translation of the googled reference that he provided at the end of the report.
As he begins his explanation of what really happened to result in their release from Kality prison, Dr. Berhanu gives us a birds eye view of his opinions about the elders that mediated their release. By his own account, it took the elders (Prof. Ephrem, Pastor Daniel, athlete Haile, Ambassador Bekele, lawyer Tamiru...among 30 or more others), over 18 months to arrive at a resolution of this political crisis. However, far from being gracious and thankful to their efforts, Dr. Berhanu did not spare a dime to hurl a barrage of insults and chip shots in their direction.
Professor Ephrem Isaac, the Chairman of the Elders, is referred to as a simple messenger from the Prime Minister sent to beg and plead with them, sometimes falling on their feet and crying repeatedly, to give the government a leeway ('ye wond ber') to gracefully get out of this mess. Later, when the good professor arrives to inform them about the news of their impending release, Dr. Berhanu confronts him by saying, "...aren't you ashamed of yourself? You have been an instrument for the government all these months. If you have any respect for yourself, you will condemn these vagabond and reckless people and extricate yourself from their kind." With that, Dr. Berhanu walks out of the meeting within five minutes. The rest of the prisoners refuse to meet with Professor Ephrem from that point on. I am a little ahead of myself, so bear with me.
Pastor Daniel G. Selassie, the Assistant Chairman, is described as some one who has participated from the beginning, prays frequently during meetings with the prisoners. In a meeting toward the end of this ordeal, Dr. Berhanu boastfully documents how he chastised Pastor Daniel, "...Shame on you! How dare you say you are a religious leader and call yourself a Pastor?", and more scornful words that can put a child to shame, let alone a religious elder. According to Dr. Berhanu, Pastor Daniel responded sheepishly as follows: "...Dr. Berhanu, I will not blame you no matter what you say. It is truly a shameful act. I had refused to come, but they forced me to come, saying I am a member of the Pardon Board. I am preparing myself to get out of the country as soon as possible. This is a very humiliating situation...etc." At another instant in the same meeting, Dr. Berhanu lambasts the government officials as thieves and liars and asks Pastor Daniel why he was not telling the truth to the officials about the demands of the prisoners. Pastor Daniel arcs his head down in shame and says nothing.
Dr. Berhanu did not run out of choice words for the rest of the Elders. So let me just delve into the body of his thesis. Suffice it to say that there were many other private individuals involved in talking to government officials to resolve the crisis peacefully. The rest of the country and the Diaspora were hotly debating the merits of the case, ad noseum, and waiting for and end to the crisis.
Dr. Berhanu asserts that this was a negotiation taking place between the government and the prisoners, mediated by the Elders, not just to secure their release, but to agree on a program that would lead to a peaceful transition to a new democratic process. After weeks and months of negotiations, he alleges that they arrived at an eight point program. He and his co-authors of this report don't remember all eight points, but include the following among them.
1. As soon as the prisoners are released, an urgent conference of all concerned political parties will be held, mediated by a third party.
2. The government would apologize for the atrocities committed during the crisis and compensate the families of the dead.
3. The Kinijit leaders will pay their condolences to the bereaved and will apologize to the Ethiopian people for not being able to stop the crisis.
4. If they so desire, the Kinijit members can take their duly won seats in parliament and take control of Addis Ababa, while the party conference goes on.
5. All political prisoners shall be released all legal proceedings against them shall be terminated.
6. All concerned parties shall abide by the constitution and resolve their differences through the rule of law...etc.
I would like to remind readers that these were more or less the same preconditions the Kinijit members put forward to enter parliament.
Dr. Berhanu elaborates further and says that when the Prime Minister received the eight point program, not only did he approve of it, but that he improved on it in their favor. The only sticky point was the issue of the public apology. The government needed a wiggle room regarding the apology. After an intense two day negotiations, they arrived at final draft that included the eight point program, which was signed by two of the Kinijit representatives, one of them Dr. Berhanu. Dr. Berhanu does not say what that draft document said.
The following day, the Elders allegedly arrive with a different document placing the blame for the crisis on the prisoners and asking the rest of the prisoners, minus the two representatives from the night before, to sign the document. The first group of prisoners that arrived to sign the document was so disgusted by the lies and cheap tricks of the high government officials involved in changing the document that they refused to sign the paper and returned to their respective prisons. Dr. Berhanu's report gets better. The leader of the Elders allegedly said he did not know the content of the document they brought to be signed and he was as surprised as the prisoners. He then run out of the meeting to inquire about the "changed" document and never showed up for several months.
In the mean time the legal proceedings continue and the prisoners were getting close to being sentenced. The prisoners were asked to defend themselves and given permission to review the 70 or so documents alleging their crimes. By some mysterious turn of events, Dr. Berhanu alleges that the judges left for a ten minute recess and came back after two hours, to sentence them instead. He says they must have received directives from higher up to do so.
At about this time, the Elders reappear again and the drama thickens! This was the time Professor Ephrem would be falling on their feet and cry pleading and begging them to sign the document. If they sign the document, he tells them, their sentencing would be revoked and they would be set free. He further reassures them that the document would be kept by the Elders and that the PM has said that he does not care to see it as long as it is signed. Before they signed this document, they requested a meeting of all the prisoners and arrive at a consensus after two days of deliberations.
This is what allegedly transpired in the final two weeks of their incarceration and what they agreed on.
1. The final document to be signed shall be part of the overall document that includes the eight point program mentioned earlier. The request for the pardon shall be addressed to the Elders and not to the Prime Minister. The Elders shall use this to write their own pardon document to the government.
2. The prisoners shall be freed within two days of signing the document.
3. Neither the prisoners nor the government shall give any briefing regarding their release. The Elders shall inform the media about the negotiated settlement of the situation and that these negotiations shall go on to resolve the political crisis of the country.
4. Neither the government nor the prisoners shall use this situation for propaganda purposes.
5. All those in prison on charges related to the 2005 elections shall be freed.
The Kinijit leadership signs the above documents which were allegedly addressed to the Elders. The other prisoners were to sign the document the following day. At this point, we see Dr. Berhanu digressing to throw one insult after another at the government leadership, about some cheap propaganda campaign being broadcast on Ethiopian television that night.
When the other prisoners show up the following day, they found out that the document was addressed to the prime Minister and they sign it.
After two days, the Prime Minister appears in parliament and mockingly comments about a rumor circulating around town about the release of the prisoners. He assures that august body that such a pardon can only be considered only after the legal proceedings have been concluded.
The barrage of condemnations and insults would be thrown to the elders when they came to inform them about their impending release. Both the good Professor and Pastor Daniel were the recipients of ridicule mentioned in the introduction of this response. All the prisoners would walk out in disgust and go to their cells after this last encounter with the Elders. They would see them one last time on the night of their release.
The legal proceedings come to an end with terms ranging from years to life time. The government media go on full blast propaganda campaign about the signed document.
After a few days, Ato Assefa Kasito, the Justice Minister, a Professor Mesfin and Pastor Daniel, who were supposedly the Pardon Board members, show up in prison and talk to each prisoner in turn, to validate the legitimacy of their signature. When Dr. Berhanu was asked such a question, he insisted that what he had signed was addressed to the elders and walked out in disgust.
The last two pages of the report by Dr. Berhanu are not worth the paper they are written on. The first page is his own translation of the second page, which was printed from an internet site entitled "Identifying a Pathological Liar."
I will leave the psychological analysis and the aspersions and defamations of the Elders aside and instead conclude by posing several questions which will implicate major inconsistencies in Dr. Berhanu's report. I hope he will take the time to read it and respond to it in a timely fashion.
1. It did not take you long to write a 600 page book for sale, why did it take you two years to produce a nine page report?
2. Why didn't you refuse to talk to the Elders before you signed the pardon document? After all, you have repeatedly shown your disgust for their job.
3. You claim you only signed a document addressed to the Elders. Are we to understand that your signature that appears on the Pardon Document addressed to the Prime Minister was forged?
4. How dare you sign such a condemning document in the first place, no matter who it is addressed to, if you kept your innocence to the end?
5. How could both you and your collaborators of this report fail to remember all eight negotiating points or are you confusing it with the eight preconditions you put forward to enter parliament?
6. What is wrong in taking responsibilities for the causalities of the crisis, for the loss of leadership by your supporters when you went to prison, for giving the government enough reason to announce a state of emergency, and genuinely apologize to all parties concerned and go back to parliament to serve those that elected you?
Or did you have a different agenda? To get out of prison by all means possible and land in your Neighborhood University, where you have long been preparing to take advantage of the good gestures of people in that university. While you plan to renew your contract through lectures and writings lambasting the Ethiopian government, your family is running a successful business in Ethiopia. Talk about double-dipping!
If you are such a great politician willing to lead the Ethiopian people, how come you failed to convince Ato Lidetu to be on your side when you conspired with Professor Mesfin to deprive Ato Lidetu many of the seats that his party successfully won? How come this same Professor opined about your book, "the Berhanu book about Berhanu", and never saw eye to eye with you? How about the big break with Ato Hailu? Were you promised Ato Hailu's position after your service as Mayor of Addis? You could not even make friends with Wt. Bertukan, because she refused to go along with your motto of "overthrow EPRDF by all means possible".
What is wrong with you Dr. Berhanu? Why are you not able to love and care for all Ethiopians? Why are you filled with hate for everyone from the Elders, to high government officials to members of your own party?
Please re-read your own googled reference "Identifying a Pathological Liar" and see how much of that applies to you. There is still time to repent and do the right thing, instead of touring the world at the expense of innocent Diaspora supporters to spread your hate politics.
January 24, 2009
Washera_2
I thought hard and long what language to use to respond to a nine page report forwarded by the above "gentlemen", explaining the circumstances of their release from Kality prison. I felt it necessary to respond in English, to provide the reader an opportunity to scrutinize the deceptions and fabrications that some opposition groups in the Diaspora, like the above authors, are engaged in.
It did not take me long to discern the real author of this report. If you have read Dr. Berhanu Nega's recent book, then the long, disparaging, name calling and authoritative first few sentences are a clue.
The premise of this report is that they were lied to before they signed the request for a Presidential Pardon. The report did not include a copy of the paper they signed, but I have taken the liberty to translate it and include it below to better understand Dr. Berhanu's argument. This is the only official document we have seen and none of the prisoners have denied signing it.
Sene 15, 1999 (October 2007)
His Excellency Ato Meles Zenawi
Prime Minister
Ethiopian Federal Democratic Republic
Addis Ababa
We the undersigned Kinijit leaders and party members, aware of the misunderstandings created following the 2005 (1997EC) elections, take the responsibility for our wrongful attempts to change the constitutionally created government bodies, by illegal means. We take both individual and group responsibility for the mistakes that resulted. We affirm that, from here to for, we shall refrain from participating in such illegal activities and that we will, as part of our citizenship responsibilities, abide by and uphold the constitution of the country, and also accept and respect the role of the different branches of the government. Recognizing our contrition and our apology to the Ethiopian government and the Ethiopian people, we ask your Excellency to pardon us for our transgressions.
Dr. Berhanu Nega used the entire first page to lecture us on his psychological analysis of pathological liars, basically a direct translation of the googled reference that he provided at the end of the report.
As he begins his explanation of what really happened to result in their release from Kality prison, Dr. Berhanu gives us a birds eye view of his opinions about the elders that mediated their release. By his own account, it took the elders (Prof. Ephrem, Pastor Daniel, athlete Haile, Ambassador Bekele, lawyer Tamiru...among 30 or more others), over 18 months to arrive at a resolution of this political crisis. However, far from being gracious and thankful to their efforts, Dr. Berhanu did not spare a dime to hurl a barrage of insults and chip shots in their direction.
Professor Ephrem Isaac, the Chairman of the Elders, is referred to as a simple messenger from the Prime Minister sent to beg and plead with them, sometimes falling on their feet and crying repeatedly, to give the government a leeway ('ye wond ber') to gracefully get out of this mess. Later, when the good professor arrives to inform them about the news of their impending release, Dr. Berhanu confronts him by saying, "...aren't you ashamed of yourself? You have been an instrument for the government all these months. If you have any respect for yourself, you will condemn these vagabond and reckless people and extricate yourself from their kind." With that, Dr. Berhanu walks out of the meeting within five minutes. The rest of the prisoners refuse to meet with Professor Ephrem from that point on. I am a little ahead of myself, so bear with me.
Pastor Daniel G. Selassie, the Assistant Chairman, is described as some one who has participated from the beginning, prays frequently during meetings with the prisoners. In a meeting toward the end of this ordeal, Dr. Berhanu boastfully documents how he chastised Pastor Daniel, "...Shame on you! How dare you say you are a religious leader and call yourself a Pastor?", and more scornful words that can put a child to shame, let alone a religious elder. According to Dr. Berhanu, Pastor Daniel responded sheepishly as follows: "...Dr. Berhanu, I will not blame you no matter what you say. It is truly a shameful act. I had refused to come, but they forced me to come, saying I am a member of the Pardon Board. I am preparing myself to get out of the country as soon as possible. This is a very humiliating situation...etc." At another instant in the same meeting, Dr. Berhanu lambasts the government officials as thieves and liars and asks Pastor Daniel why he was not telling the truth to the officials about the demands of the prisoners. Pastor Daniel arcs his head down in shame and says nothing.
Dr. Berhanu did not run out of choice words for the rest of the Elders. So let me just delve into the body of his thesis. Suffice it to say that there were many other private individuals involved in talking to government officials to resolve the crisis peacefully. The rest of the country and the Diaspora were hotly debating the merits of the case, ad noseum, and waiting for and end to the crisis.
Dr. Berhanu asserts that this was a negotiation taking place between the government and the prisoners, mediated by the Elders, not just to secure their release, but to agree on a program that would lead to a peaceful transition to a new democratic process. After weeks and months of negotiations, he alleges that they arrived at an eight point program. He and his co-authors of this report don't remember all eight points, but include the following among them.
1. As soon as the prisoners are released, an urgent conference of all concerned political parties will be held, mediated by a third party.
2. The government would apologize for the atrocities committed during the crisis and compensate the families of the dead.
3. The Kinijit leaders will pay their condolences to the bereaved and will apologize to the Ethiopian people for not being able to stop the crisis.
4. If they so desire, the Kinijit members can take their duly won seats in parliament and take control of Addis Ababa, while the party conference goes on.
5. All political prisoners shall be released all legal proceedings against them shall be terminated.
6. All concerned parties shall abide by the constitution and resolve their differences through the rule of law...etc.
I would like to remind readers that these were more or less the same preconditions the Kinijit members put forward to enter parliament.
Dr. Berhanu elaborates further and says that when the Prime Minister received the eight point program, not only did he approve of it, but that he improved on it in their favor. The only sticky point was the issue of the public apology. The government needed a wiggle room regarding the apology. After an intense two day negotiations, they arrived at final draft that included the eight point program, which was signed by two of the Kinijit representatives, one of them Dr. Berhanu. Dr. Berhanu does not say what that draft document said.
The following day, the Elders allegedly arrive with a different document placing the blame for the crisis on the prisoners and asking the rest of the prisoners, minus the two representatives from the night before, to sign the document. The first group of prisoners that arrived to sign the document was so disgusted by the lies and cheap tricks of the high government officials involved in changing the document that they refused to sign the paper and returned to their respective prisons. Dr. Berhanu's report gets better. The leader of the Elders allegedly said he did not know the content of the document they brought to be signed and he was as surprised as the prisoners. He then run out of the meeting to inquire about the "changed" document and never showed up for several months.
In the mean time the legal proceedings continue and the prisoners were getting close to being sentenced. The prisoners were asked to defend themselves and given permission to review the 70 or so documents alleging their crimes. By some mysterious turn of events, Dr. Berhanu alleges that the judges left for a ten minute recess and came back after two hours, to sentence them instead. He says they must have received directives from higher up to do so.
At about this time, the Elders reappear again and the drama thickens! This was the time Professor Ephrem would be falling on their feet and cry pleading and begging them to sign the document. If they sign the document, he tells them, their sentencing would be revoked and they would be set free. He further reassures them that the document would be kept by the Elders and that the PM has said that he does not care to see it as long as it is signed. Before they signed this document, they requested a meeting of all the prisoners and arrive at a consensus after two days of deliberations.
This is what allegedly transpired in the final two weeks of their incarceration and what they agreed on.
1. The final document to be signed shall be part of the overall document that includes the eight point program mentioned earlier. The request for the pardon shall be addressed to the Elders and not to the Prime Minister. The Elders shall use this to write their own pardon document to the government.
2. The prisoners shall be freed within two days of signing the document.
3. Neither the prisoners nor the government shall give any briefing regarding their release. The Elders shall inform the media about the negotiated settlement of the situation and that these negotiations shall go on to resolve the political crisis of the country.
4. Neither the government nor the prisoners shall use this situation for propaganda purposes.
5. All those in prison on charges related to the 2005 elections shall be freed.
The Kinijit leadership signs the above documents which were allegedly addressed to the Elders. The other prisoners were to sign the document the following day. At this point, we see Dr. Berhanu digressing to throw one insult after another at the government leadership, about some cheap propaganda campaign being broadcast on Ethiopian television that night.
When the other prisoners show up the following day, they found out that the document was addressed to the prime Minister and they sign it.
After two days, the Prime Minister appears in parliament and mockingly comments about a rumor circulating around town about the release of the prisoners. He assures that august body that such a pardon can only be considered only after the legal proceedings have been concluded.
The barrage of condemnations and insults would be thrown to the elders when they came to inform them about their impending release. Both the good Professor and Pastor Daniel were the recipients of ridicule mentioned in the introduction of this response. All the prisoners would walk out in disgust and go to their cells after this last encounter with the Elders. They would see them one last time on the night of their release.
The legal proceedings come to an end with terms ranging from years to life time. The government media go on full blast propaganda campaign about the signed document.
After a few days, Ato Assefa Kasito, the Justice Minister, a Professor Mesfin and Pastor Daniel, who were supposedly the Pardon Board members, show up in prison and talk to each prisoner in turn, to validate the legitimacy of their signature. When Dr. Berhanu was asked such a question, he insisted that what he had signed was addressed to the elders and walked out in disgust.
The last two pages of the report by Dr. Berhanu are not worth the paper they are written on. The first page is his own translation of the second page, which was printed from an internet site entitled "Identifying a Pathological Liar."
I will leave the psychological analysis and the aspersions and defamations of the Elders aside and instead conclude by posing several questions which will implicate major inconsistencies in Dr. Berhanu's report. I hope he will take the time to read it and respond to it in a timely fashion.
1. It did not take you long to write a 600 page book for sale, why did it take you two years to produce a nine page report?
2. Why didn't you refuse to talk to the Elders before you signed the pardon document? After all, you have repeatedly shown your disgust for their job.
3. You claim you only signed a document addressed to the Elders. Are we to understand that your signature that appears on the Pardon Document addressed to the Prime Minister was forged?
4. How dare you sign such a condemning document in the first place, no matter who it is addressed to, if you kept your innocence to the end?
5. How could both you and your collaborators of this report fail to remember all eight negotiating points or are you confusing it with the eight preconditions you put forward to enter parliament?
6. What is wrong in taking responsibilities for the causalities of the crisis, for the loss of leadership by your supporters when you went to prison, for giving the government enough reason to announce a state of emergency, and genuinely apologize to all parties concerned and go back to parliament to serve those that elected you?
Or did you have a different agenda? To get out of prison by all means possible and land in your Neighborhood University, where you have long been preparing to take advantage of the good gestures of people in that university. While you plan to renew your contract through lectures and writings lambasting the Ethiopian government, your family is running a successful business in Ethiopia. Talk about double-dipping!
If you are such a great politician willing to lead the Ethiopian people, how come you failed to convince Ato Lidetu to be on your side when you conspired with Professor Mesfin to deprive Ato Lidetu many of the seats that his party successfully won? How come this same Professor opined about your book, "the Berhanu book about Berhanu", and never saw eye to eye with you? How about the big break with Ato Hailu? Were you promised Ato Hailu's position after your service as Mayor of Addis? You could not even make friends with Wt. Bertukan, because she refused to go along with your motto of "overthrow EPRDF by all means possible".
What is wrong with you Dr. Berhanu? Why are you not able to love and care for all Ethiopians? Why are you filled with hate for everyone from the Elders, to high government officials to members of your own party?
Please re-read your own googled reference "Identifying a Pathological Liar" and see how much of that applies to you. There is still time to repent and do the right thing, instead of touring the world at the expense of innocent Diaspora supporters to spread your hate politics.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Commentary on an Essay by Tesfaye Maru
January 22, 2009
Washera_2
Dear Ato Tesfaye Maru,
I read your article that was posted on Ethiomedia, with a lot of interest and anticipation. Although I have reservations about articles that are allowed to be posted on this site, a blog whose motto is “TPLF cannot be reformed; like apartheid, it should be abolished”, I had hopes that you may teach me a thing or two about the evolving Ethiopian democratic process.
Before I delve into the contents of your article, let me apologize for not responding to your article in Amharic. I have a good mastery of the Amharic language, but my Ethiopic fonts needed upgrading and I did not take the time to do so yet. So, I hope you are able to read and understand my comments.
Just like you, I have enjoyed reading the autobiography of Fitawurari Tekle Hawariat. It is a must read book for every Ethiopian. I especially enjoyed the part about the bees and the birds! There is some truth in what HIM said regarding hope. But I will leave that for another debate.
However, It did not take me long to realize the meaning behind your vituperations and tirades against the EPRDF government. It appeared that you thought hard and long to write this article, but such venomous attacks and innuendos against this government are the daily bread of people like Prof (sic) Alemayehu Haile Mariam. You might as well have taken a paragraph or two from his multiple entries on this blog, to arrive at your conclusions. I say this to indicate to you that there is no originality in your thesis.
To summarize your conclusions, you say:
1. Our lives are in danger.
2. Our ports, Bademe and parts of our land on the Sudan border have been given away.
3. The government will continue its ethnic and religious cleansing tactics.
4. This government will impugn any opposition and will soon announce a one-party system.
5. EPRDF must be overthrown by peaceful means or by force.
6. EPRDF will not leave power unless forced to do so.
To give flavor and gain legitimacy for your line of thinking, you have thrown in the “illegal” imprisonment of Teddy Afro, the re-arrest of Wt. Bertukan Mideksa and the “beating” of Professor Mesfin Wolde Mariam.
If you plan to go raise arms to overthrow this government, I cannot stop you. But, I plead with you to think about the innocent lives you may be engaging in such a failed struggle tactic, while you bask in a comfortable corner of the world.
If you plan to use such a remonstrance to advance your career in some community college or raise money from innocent Ethiopians in the Diaspora to pay your gas bills, I plead with you to spare them their hard-earned dimes, especially in such taxing economic times.
If you are one of those who left Ethiopia decades ago and whose reality of the situation in Ethiopia comes from disgruntled blogs and power hungry, spiteful extremist politicians, then I suggest that you think hard and long to go visit Ethiopia and experience the reality first hand. You will see overpopulation, poverty, hunger and disease aplenty. But you will also see a very dynamic society trying hard to make ends meet. You will see an amazing growth in the area of commerce, infrastructure, farming and communication. Most of all, you will see a very peaceful people going about their ways with the utmost discipline and respect for each other, not seen any where in the developing world. If they can afford three meals a day it is a luxury; if they can only do with one a day, they will survive. They do their best to share.
If you truly believe in helping your people, I beg you to modify your political stance and find ways to enter a dialogue with concerned Ethiopians at home and in the Diaspora.
Despite my misgivings about the 2005 elections and the deadly aftermath, most believe that the election was won by EPRDF. Democratic principles demand that you start by accepting and respecting the existing government and try to change it through the ballot box in Ethiopia. Try to support a party that articulates a clear alternative agenda to the existing one. You can even include, Assab, Bademe and the Sudan border as part of your party program. You can throw in land for sale and removal of secession from the constitution, if and when you get elected.
All this you can only do through a peaceful and legal means. So long as you respect and uphold the Ethiopian constitution to begin with and articulate your program to reflect your differences with it, which you can constitutionally change when you are in power, then you have room to organize, form, or support an opposition party in Ethiopia.
Most of all, if you do not consider the present leaders of Ethiopia as your own brothers and sisters, who are doing their level best to improve the lot of our people, then you will only be a dying voice in the dwindling Diaspora opposition.
Let President Obama’s speech be a guiding principle to scale down your hatred and demonization for the Ethiopian government.
“…To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.”
“…To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”
That statement works both ways. If you believe the government is on the wrong side of history, I expect you to extend a hand of peaceful dialogue. No where in your statements did you indicate that you will cleanse yourself from the hateful propaganda that you have long been immersed in.
That, my friend, will put you on the wrong side of history. When and if you are ready to unclench your hold on hate and armed struggle, you will have plenty of Ethiopian brothers and sisters who will endorse your views. A thriving democracy needs a refined and reputable opposition.
If you do not respond to me or do not see this letter posted on your favorite blog, Ethiomedia, I will understand. I have known that opinions that do not pander to their battle cry will be muted.
Stay tuned.
Washera_2
Washera_2
Dear Ato Tesfaye Maru,
I read your article that was posted on Ethiomedia, with a lot of interest and anticipation. Although I have reservations about articles that are allowed to be posted on this site, a blog whose motto is “TPLF cannot be reformed; like apartheid, it should be abolished”, I had hopes that you may teach me a thing or two about the evolving Ethiopian democratic process.
Before I delve into the contents of your article, let me apologize for not responding to your article in Amharic. I have a good mastery of the Amharic language, but my Ethiopic fonts needed upgrading and I did not take the time to do so yet. So, I hope you are able to read and understand my comments.
Just like you, I have enjoyed reading the autobiography of Fitawurari Tekle Hawariat. It is a must read book for every Ethiopian. I especially enjoyed the part about the bees and the birds! There is some truth in what HIM said regarding hope. But I will leave that for another debate.
However, It did not take me long to realize the meaning behind your vituperations and tirades against the EPRDF government. It appeared that you thought hard and long to write this article, but such venomous attacks and innuendos against this government are the daily bread of people like Prof (sic) Alemayehu Haile Mariam. You might as well have taken a paragraph or two from his multiple entries on this blog, to arrive at your conclusions. I say this to indicate to you that there is no originality in your thesis.
To summarize your conclusions, you say:
1. Our lives are in danger.
2. Our ports, Bademe and parts of our land on the Sudan border have been given away.
3. The government will continue its ethnic and religious cleansing tactics.
4. This government will impugn any opposition and will soon announce a one-party system.
5. EPRDF must be overthrown by peaceful means or by force.
6. EPRDF will not leave power unless forced to do so.
To give flavor and gain legitimacy for your line of thinking, you have thrown in the “illegal” imprisonment of Teddy Afro, the re-arrest of Wt. Bertukan Mideksa and the “beating” of Professor Mesfin Wolde Mariam.
If you plan to go raise arms to overthrow this government, I cannot stop you. But, I plead with you to think about the innocent lives you may be engaging in such a failed struggle tactic, while you bask in a comfortable corner of the world.
If you plan to use such a remonstrance to advance your career in some community college or raise money from innocent Ethiopians in the Diaspora to pay your gas bills, I plead with you to spare them their hard-earned dimes, especially in such taxing economic times.
If you are one of those who left Ethiopia decades ago and whose reality of the situation in Ethiopia comes from disgruntled blogs and power hungry, spiteful extremist politicians, then I suggest that you think hard and long to go visit Ethiopia and experience the reality first hand. You will see overpopulation, poverty, hunger and disease aplenty. But you will also see a very dynamic society trying hard to make ends meet. You will see an amazing growth in the area of commerce, infrastructure, farming and communication. Most of all, you will see a very peaceful people going about their ways with the utmost discipline and respect for each other, not seen any where in the developing world. If they can afford three meals a day it is a luxury; if they can only do with one a day, they will survive. They do their best to share.
If you truly believe in helping your people, I beg you to modify your political stance and find ways to enter a dialogue with concerned Ethiopians at home and in the Diaspora.
Despite my misgivings about the 2005 elections and the deadly aftermath, most believe that the election was won by EPRDF. Democratic principles demand that you start by accepting and respecting the existing government and try to change it through the ballot box in Ethiopia. Try to support a party that articulates a clear alternative agenda to the existing one. You can even include, Assab, Bademe and the Sudan border as part of your party program. You can throw in land for sale and removal of secession from the constitution, if and when you get elected.
All this you can only do through a peaceful and legal means. So long as you respect and uphold the Ethiopian constitution to begin with and articulate your program to reflect your differences with it, which you can constitutionally change when you are in power, then you have room to organize, form, or support an opposition party in Ethiopia.
Most of all, if you do not consider the present leaders of Ethiopia as your own brothers and sisters, who are doing their level best to improve the lot of our people, then you will only be a dying voice in the dwindling Diaspora opposition.
Let President Obama’s speech be a guiding principle to scale down your hatred and demonization for the Ethiopian government.
“…To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.”
“…To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”
That statement works both ways. If you believe the government is on the wrong side of history, I expect you to extend a hand of peaceful dialogue. No where in your statements did you indicate that you will cleanse yourself from the hateful propaganda that you have long been immersed in.
That, my friend, will put you on the wrong side of history. When and if you are ready to unclench your hold on hate and armed struggle, you will have plenty of Ethiopian brothers and sisters who will endorse your views. A thriving democracy needs a refined and reputable opposition.
If you do not respond to me or do not see this letter posted on your favorite blog, Ethiomedia, I will understand. I have known that opinions that do not pander to their battle cry will be muted.
Stay tuned.
Washera_2
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