Washera Ethiopian Politics

What Price The Fight for Democracy in Ethiopia?

2010-05-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

Washera

April 20101

In the last five years, I have been involved in the political debate affecting our country, Ethiopia. My interest peaked following the historic 2005 elections and the debacle that followed its outcome. The refusal of the opposition party members to join parliament and head to prison instead, caused me unimaginable grief and loss of hope to what could have been a remarkable achievement in the democratic movement in Ethiopian.
As a combination of luck, pursuit of professional career and family obligation, I was spared the successes or dramatic failures of political players in Ethiopia in the past decades. Except a brief stint in the early ninties, I was an unknown quantity in Diaspora politics. This afforded me an opportunity to explore the Ethiopian political landscape with pure objectivity. I consumed all the writings of Ato Lidetu Ayalew, Dr. Berhanu Nega’s diatribe and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s dissertation on his policy to improve the plight of the Ethiopian farmer. Countless other books on democracy and the numerous articles on the internet became my daily ration. The hundreds of hours I spent in paltalk political rooms educated me on Ethiopian politics more than the opportunity it gave me to polish my public speaking abilities. I met a large number of wonderful Ethiopians and Ethiopian political leaders through this medium. These and my own humble beginnings in Gara Kuffa, gave me a remarkable perspective about my role in Ethiopian politics, in the twilight years of my life.
As I was getting ready to formulate my political opinions and design the path I wanted to follow, I had all the information I needed minus the baggage of previous political junkies.
In addition to freely expressing my feelings on paltalk, radio or television debates, I practiced my desire at becoming a wordsmith through a personal blog and by sending articles to favorable outlets.
My participation in the debates to have the imprisoned political leaders from the 2005 elections released, brought me in close contact with some of the political leaders of EPRDF, both in Ethiopia and in the United States. Not only did these people impress me with their commitment for their political philosophy, but the fiasco that followed the release of the Kinijit leaders, was paramount in my decision to side with EPRDF. From early on, I have articulated, in no uncertain terms, why I supported EPRDF and what my reservations were. I have stood by those reservations, even as I ploughed alongside my EPRDF colleagues.
For someone who has spent over 30 years in the United States of America and become a proud citizen of this fascinating country, I should be the first one to speak about the need for following the principles of democracy and freedom of expression anywhere in the world. I believe in the rule of law and resolving differences through a civil dialogue and the ballot box and not through the use of a bayonet. I will hold all politicians to these same standards and will fight those who believe otherwise. I will leave no stone unturned to express these believes.
These expressions have come at some cost, though inconsequential, to me and my family from early on. A recent castigation by a certain Hana Teffera from Switzerland, and another anonymous individual, came to the attention of my wife and made for an intimate discussion between us. I will spare you the details, but assure you that the above authors made me even more convinced that I have been doing the proper thing all along.
We will not stop here. We will knock at all your doors and challenge you on your own turf. We will not sit idle as VOA, Ethiomedia, Al Mariam or some of the Washington, D.C. airwaves, continue to spew their hate politics toward our Diaspora members and Ethiopians at home. We will not stand still as fake Horn of Africa conferences mislead foreign sponsors to end up with laughable declarations on good governance, peace, security and sustainable development in Ethiopia.
We will not stand aside and watch the likes of Ato Seye Abraha use flagrant language toward our Ethiopian leaders and invite us to war against our Eritrean brothers and sisters. We will not watch as war mongers like Dr. Berhanu Nega, empty the pockets of confused Diaspora members to subsidize their trips abroad.
We will fight the good fight and leave the voting to the people.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH: The Paradox of its Exercise

2010-03-30T07:10:00.001-07:00

Mesfin Ayenew
March 29, 2010

I had remained in hibernation with the exception of few and far apart anonymous scribbling here and there on selected issues judged to be pertinent at the time. My reservation emanated from two basic reasons. One is the obvious necessity to remain outside the fray as I am developing my own capacity in civil society capacity building, advocacy and organizational work. Second, I had felt that an open expression of support or criticism of policy will be counter-productive in an often heated, partisan, and toxic Diaspora discourse. Instead I had chosen to express my views directly through the appropriate channels and mediums. I should mention that I have had misgivings about certain policies of the government of Ethiopia, and yet, I have always been one who sees the glass as half full not half empty.
So you may ask, why not remain anonymous and still write? What changed? For one, despite the challenges ahead, the seeds of democracy have been planted in our country, and the roots have a firm grip. Important and measurable economic progress has been made and the policy frame work for future development appears to be on track. Most importantly, in the past few years the government and the party have increasingly exhibited the desire to solicit and listen to the people’s opinions. Mistakes are readily acknowledged. These changes should be welcomed and deserve support.
Second, there appears to be ferocious and well orchestrated onslaughts to derail the progress made and discredit the achievements accomplished. These attacks have become vicious and frequent at a time when Ethiopia is prepared to hold its fourth national and regional elections. Obviously, these attacks are intended to incite violence and create disorder. This must be opposed categorically.

Having said this let me come back to the issue at hand. My deepest sensibilities and understanding of democratic values were recently caught in the crossfire between the Ethiopian government’s threat to jam VOA Amharic program and the US Department of State’s condemnation of that threat. The news, on the surface of it, incited an inner discomfort about interference with the freedom of speech by Ethiopian authorities. It was therefore, tempting to arrive at a certain conclusion regarding the government’s tolerance for the media or lack thereof. Putting temptation aside, I feel it is important to revisit aspects of the concept of the freedom of speech and its parameters.

To begin with, the essence of free speech is the ability to think and speak freely and to obtain information from others through publications and public discourse without fear of retribution, restriction, or repression by the government. And through free speech, people could come together to achieve political influence, to strengthen their morality, and to help others to become moral and enlightened citizens.

Freedom of speech is the single most important political right of citizens, although private property is required for its operation. Without free speech, no political action or resistance to injustice and oppression would be possible. Without free speech elections would have no meaning at all. The policies of contestants become known to the public and they in turn become responsive to public opinion only by virtue of free speech. Without this freedom it is futile to expect political freedom or consequently economic freedom. The end product of a democratic society is the freedom of speech.
On a more practical plane, freedom of speech serves many functions. One of its most important functions is that decision-making at all levels is preceded by discussion and consideration of a representative range of views. A decision made after adequate consultation is likely to be a better one which less imperfectly mirrors the opinions, interests and needs of all concerned, than a decision taken with little or no consultation. Thus freedom of speech is important at all levels of society.

Furthermore, freedom of speech is perhaps even most important for a government. A government which does not know what the people feel and think is in a dangerous position. The government that muzzles free speech runs a risk of destroying the creative instincts of its citizens. Freedom of speech is also important to governments because when criticisms of a government are freely voiced, the government has the opportunity to respond and to answer unfair comments and criticisms about its actions. On the other hand, when freedom of speech is restricted, rumors, unfair criticisms, comments and downright falsehoods are circulated by word of mouth. These have a habit of spreading across the length and breadth of the country through conversations and surreptitiously circulated writings. The government is in no position to answer to these views, because they are not publicly stated. It is in a government's interest to have criticisms in the public arena, where it can answer its critics and correct its mistakes.

The importance of freedom of speech to both the people and the government cannot be overemphasized. But both have responsibilities in the exercise of this important and inalienable right. A balance must be struck between the ability of individuals to be unrestricted in the free expression of thoughts and ideas, and the need to ensure that governments are able to efficiently carry out their function of administration, law and order, and preserving the rights of individual’s vis-à-vis each other. In a civil society no right to freedom, how so ever invaluable it might be, can be considered absolute, unlimited, or unqualified in all circumstances. The freedom of the media which is an important element of free speech, for instance, like any other freedom recognized under the constitution has to be exercised within reasonable boundaries. The strength and importance of media in a democracy is well recognized. The existence of a free, independent and powerful media is the cornerstone of a democracy. Media is not only a medium to express one’s feelings, opinions and views, but it is also responsible and instrumental in building opinions and views on various topics. However, there are always two sides to a coin. With this increased role and importance attached to the media, the need for its accountability and professionalism in reportage cannot be emphasized enough.

This therefore, raises a legitimate question. When does the government exercise the right to restrict freedom of speech without trampling upon those rights?
I am, for example, opposed to paternalism in general and that of government in particular. But I also believe there are certain instances when intervention is warranted. For example, if a public official is certain that a bridge will collapse; he can stop people from crossing it. If, however, there is only a danger that it could collapse, the people can be warned but not coerced. The decision here depends on the likelihood of a serious outcome; the more certain the danger becomes, the more legitimate the intervention. If we were to take this metaphor to its logical conclusion therefore, it is entirely within its legal boundary for the government to limit, restrict and prevent certain of these rights. Oliver Wendell Holmes, the celebrated United States Supreme court justice in the Schenk vs. US. Ruling affirmed, that, “a government’s act to restrict is legitimate if the speech in question poses a "clear and present danger" — i.e., a risk or threat to safety or to other public interests that is serious and imminent.

In conclusion, was the government of Ethiopia right or wrong in making good on its threat, much less the threat itself? The answer to this will depend on the following fact. Though the Voice of America Amharic program had long standing bias against the current government, the government must present that the programming indeed presents a “clear and present danger”. Not being privy to such concrete information, it will be difficult for me to arrive at that conclusion at this time. However, I can confidently say that the Prime Minister will not put the prestige and reputation of his good office on line, without having the information whose veracity and authenticity can be proven. Assuming that material evidence is present, the government therefore, is within its legal boundary to mitigate the danger posed by irresponsible reporting.

This will bring me to my second point i.e., the reaction of the US Department of State. The State department in its condemnation of Ethiopian government’s decision stated that “…. the decision to jam VOA broadcasts contradicts the Government of Ethiopia’s frequent public commitments to freedom of the press. We note that the Ethiopian Constitution states that all citizens have the right to freedom of expression “without any interference”. It is acceptable and it is within its right for the Department of State to raise concerns on issues it deems detrimental to democratic progress in any country much less with a friend, ally and important partner. It is clear, the long standing bilateral relations between the US and Ethiopia is enduring, vibrant, and based on mutual interest. Yet, the statement in relation to the VOA Amharic program can only be understood in the context of the State’s need to appease some of the opposition elements in Ethiopia, vocal Diaspora in the US, and their supporters in Congress. Otherwise, it is clear to any one that even under the 1st and 14th Amendment of United States Constitution, that guarantee to freedom of speech is understood to impose certain limitations to its exercise.

Without equating the relationship between Ethiopia and US to that of US and Hezbollah, I, as citizen, supported the US government’s decision in 2004 and in 2006 to ban Al Manar and Al Nour known to be the Hezbollah satellite television and radio station respectively primarily for their propaganda material. They were also designated as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity”. In addition, France, Spain, Germany and other European countries, have imposed similar ban without designating Al Manar or the Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Their sole criterion was the content of the broadcasted materials which was deemed to contain incitement of violence, racist and anti-Semitic programming. These steps taken by both the US and the European countries are indisputably within the bounds of guaranteed freedom of speech. It is done in the interest of protecting their citizens. Therefore, the benefit for the Ethiopian government to make such a legitimate decision should of course be accorded. This not, in any way is to suggest, that the government should have a free ride to trample on freedom of speech based on any flimsy excuse. When and where such concerns are raised, both by the government and other stake holders, the Department of State should take the allegations seriously, investigate them fairly. Should it establish transgression, it is then appropriate to take appropriate course of action. Otherwise, an attempt to gloss over the issue under the veil of lofty pronouncement can be nothing short of disingenuous. The need to appease should not be at the cost of promoting democracy or jeopardizing partnership.
By the way, the State Department should find nothing new in the Diaspora and local opposition’s assertion that everything the Ethiopian government does is evil. These extremists have their parallel in the US as well. It is called THE TEA PARTY, who also sees nothing good in the current US administration.

The Tragicomedy of the anti-sanctions demonstrations by the Eritrean Diaspora.

2010-03-06T09:58:00.001-08:00

March 4, 2010
Washera_2
From the outset, let us be very clear about the important points in the UN Resolution, which passed by a vote of 13-1, as a result of Eritrea’s refusal to withdraw its troops following conflict with Djibouti and arming groups undermining peace and reconciliation in Somalia.
Resolution 1907 (2009) stipulates:
1. Arms embargo.
2. Travel restrictions, and
3. Asset Freezes.
When you breakdown the above statements, it means that the resolution bans weapon sales to and from Eritrea, which has been known to supply weapons to opponents of the Somali government, including the Islamist insurgent group Al-Shabaab. It also imposes an asset freeze, and restricts the travel of those who violate the terms of the embargo and impede the resolution of the border conflict with Djibouti -- including black-listed individuals from Eritrea's political and military leadership.
Before these sanctions were imposed, there were endless talks and countless threats thereof for years in the unlikely hope that the Asmara regime would come to its senses where it did not have any. Its direct involvement in war torn Somalia and reckless encroachment into Djibouti demanded punitive action. It should be remembered thatthese sanctions are selective and do not target the economy or trade, to minimize its impact on the population at large.
The defiance of the Eritrea leadership could not have come any sooner. It instructed its diplomats abroad to blame the US, Britain and Ethiopia among others for this resolution and to go on the “offensive” by labeling the resolution "fabricated lies mainly concocted by the Ethiopian regime and the U.S. administration."Esaias Afewerki’s Al Jazeera interview, which predated the Diaspora anti-sanction demonstrations,was full of words like “lies”, “fabrications”, “cover ups”, “jokes”, “fantasy”, “deliberate distortion of facts”, “ never” done this or that, and placing blame on the US, Britain, France and Ethiopia. The journalist herself was not spared from being labeled as a fabricator of lies, putting to question her journalistic credibility. This interview would have been passed as comical and goofy, if it were not a response by Eritrea’s leader to very serious questions raised by the international community.
It would also have been discarded as another aha moment exposing the egomaniacal personality of Esaias Afewerki. However, the Eritrean Diaspora’s anti-sanction demonstrations was impacted by the Eritrean leadership which told its Diaspora members that they will not be considered Eritreans if they did not take part in these demonstrations. The implications are clear. Your family members and businesses in Eritrea will suffer if you did not take part in the protests.
These threats were taken very seriously by those few whose interests are intertwined with that of the regime in Eritrea. But, the best they could show for in the Washington, D.C. demonstrations was no more than 1,000 supporters, most of them allegedly bused-in from other states. There were very few foreigners and Ethiopian nationals were conspicuously absent from this demonstration. However, the sad part of this particular demonstration was the presence of several young children, who were potentially in harm’s way, if riots were to break. Although the freedom to protest is a basic human right in democratic countries, unlike in Eritrea, exposing these children to dangerous situations is tantamount to child abuse. What was more tragic was the choice of an 8 year old boy, to be the main spokesperson of the demonstration. This smart looking child, with a good mastery of the English language, was given the entire stage to spew very choice words for the United Nations and President Barrack Obama. You can see that he was well-coached and told to memorize his speech.
Is this how low we have fallen? Are we so incapable of articulating our differences on the adult forums that we subject our young to brainwashing and outright abuse for our selfish motives?
My hope is that our Eritrean brothers and sisters in the Diaspora will be able to see through this charade by Esaias Afeworki and his elk and that the sanctions will give them yet another opportunity to rally against the dictator in Eritrea.
In the meantime, U.N. member states are urged by the resolution to conduct inspections on suspicious sea and air shipments “to and from Somalia and Eritrea.”The regime´s notorious leaders will now have no additional arms to play with, their travels abroad will be banned and their bank accounts will be frozen. This will give a fresh opportunity and ammunition for Eritrean opposition forces and civil society members to weaken the regime in Asmara. Foreign investors and nations will realize the negative consequences of dealing with a ruthless and inept regime and will shy away from investing in Eritrea.
Let us vow to support the heroic peoples of Eritrea, who will soon see their independence and freedom that they have fought for many decades.

ከፍርሃት ነፃ መውጣት

2010-02-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

ከፊልስ ከርክ
ትርጉም - ከዋሸራ
Sunday, January 17, 2010

በዘመናችን የሰው ልጅ ዕድሜ ሰባ-አምስት ዓመት ገደማ ነው ብለን ብንቀበል በቅርቡ ሲሶውን ዕድሜዬን አገባድጄዋለሁ ማለት ነው። ሆን ብዬ ያለፈውን ህይወቴን ስቃኘውና ስመረምረው ብዙ አዳዲስ ግኝቶች ታይተውኛል። ብዙዎቹ ተስፋ ሰጪና የሚያስደስቱም ናቸው። በጣም የሚያስደነግጠው ነገር ግን የመጀመሪያውን የህይወቴን ክፍል በሙሉ ፍራቻ ማሳለፌና የተረፈውን ጊዜ ደግሞ እነዛን ፍራቻዎቼን ከሰው የምደብቅበትን ብልሃትና ጥበብ ስማርና ሳጠና ማሳለፌ ነው። የዚህ ድርጊቴ አሳዛኙ ክፍል፣ አለመፍራቴን ለሰዎች ለማሳወቅ የወሰድኩት የድለላ ተግባር መልሶ እራሴን መደለሉ ነው።

ፍርሃት በህይወቴ ውስጥ ያሳደረውን ትልቅ ተጽዕኖ ድንገት በተገነዘብኩበት ጊዜ ይህ ነው የማይባል ድንጋጤ አደረብኝ። ምክንያቱም ለህይወት ያለኝ ፍቅር መጠን የሌለውና ህይወትን ለመኖር የሚያስፈልጉትን ሙከራዎች በሙሉ ስራ ላይ የማዋል የፀና እምነት ስላለኝ ነው። ለፍርሃት በምናጎበድድበት ጊዜ የግላችንን ኑሮ ያለፍርሃት በመኖር የምናበርክተውን የሰውን ልጅ ህይወት ትርጉምና ዋጋ የመስጠት ሃላፊነት እንገድበዋልን የሚል የጠበቀ እምነትም አለኝ። በህይወት ኑሮአችን ጊዜ ለራሳችን ብቻ ሳይሆን ለርስበርሳችንም ጭምር ትልቅ ሃላፊነት አለብን ብዬ አምናለሁ።

ፍርሃት አለመቻቻልንና አግባብ የሌለው ጥላቻን እንድንፈጽም ከማድረጉ ባሻገር በጣም የሚያሳዝነውና እንደ ከባድ ወንጀል ሊቆጠር የሚገባው ድርጊቱ ለውጥን የመቀበል ችሎታችንን የመስበር ሀይሉ ነው ብዬ አምናለሁ። ፍርሃት የለውጥን ተፈጥሮአዊነትና ለውጥ የዕውቀትና የዕድገት ፍሬ መሆኑን እንድንዘነጋ ያደርገናል። የለመድነውና የማያሰጋ የሚመስለን ነገር ላይ እንድንጣበቅ ይገፋፋናል። በአንድ ዳሰሳ የማናውቀውን እንድንጎዳና ፍርደ-ገምድል እንድንሆን ይጋብዘናል። በፍርሀት ወጥመድ ውስጥ ሆነን የውጭን ፍቅር ለራሳችን ብቻ ስናሳድድ ውስጣችን ያለውን ፍቅር እንድንረሳ ያደርገናል።

በመፍራት የሃይማኖት ቤታችንን በር እንዘጋለን የአባሎቻችንንም መጠን እንወስናል። የምናውቀውን ዜማ ለማዜም ፈቃደኛ የሆነውን ሰው እንጠጋለን። የራስን ችግር አውቆና እምነትን በማጠናከር ጥሩ ምግባርን የበላይነት ቦታ ከሚሰጥ ይልቅ የምናመልክበትን ስርዓትና የአምላኪውን አምላክ ስም የበለጠ ከብሬታ እንሰጠዋለን።

በልጅነታችን የወላጆቻችንን ራዕየ-ቢስ የሆነ አግባብ የሌለው ስርዓት እንድንናውቅ እንደረጋለን። እኛም በተራችን ለልጆቻችን ይሄንኑ ወይም ይሄንኑ መሰል በፍርሃት የተመሰረተና የታጠረ ስርዓት እናስተምራቸዋለን። እኔ የማይፈራ የራሴ የሆነ ልጅ እፈልጋለሁ። የሱ ከፍርሃት ነፃ መሆን ግን ከኔ ይጀምራል ብዬ አምናለሁ። ምክንያቱም የግሌን ህይወት ያለፍርሃት በመኖር ለህይወት በሙሉ ያለኝን ሃላፊነት እወጣዋለሁ የሚል ፅኑ ዕምነት ስላለኝ ጭምር ነው። ልጁ ውስጤ ገና ስላልተጸነሰ የትላንትናውን ስህተት ለመቐቐም ዛሬ በቂ ዕድገት ማሳየት አለብኝ ብዬ አምናለሁ።

ነገ ተስፋ ያለው ቀን መሆኑንም አምናለሁ። ነገ ይህንን ዓይነት ተስፋ ካለው ከዛሬ የተለየ በመሆኑ ነገን መፍራት የለብኝም። በማውቀውም ሆነ መፍራት በሌለብኝ በማላውቀው ነገር ሁሉ ዳግመኛ ላለመፍራት ትልቅ ጥረት ማድረግ እንዳለብኝ አምናለሁ። ሁላችንም ጥፋት አጥፍተናል፤ ሁላችንም ብቸኛ ነን። ጥፋተኛም ሆንን ብቸኛ ሁላችንም በዚች ዓለም ላይ አብረን ነዋሪዎች ነን።

Freedom From Fear

2010-01-17T18:46:00.000-08:00

Phyllis Kirk - Hollywood, California

If it is accepted that the life span of the human being of our time averages approximately seventy-five years, I will, in a short while, reach the end of what may be the first third of my life. In the course of deliberately walking into the past of myself I’ve made many discoveries, some of them encouraging, even happy ones. But it disturbs me deeply to also discover that I’ve spent so much of this first portion of my life being afraid of almost everything and that I have spent so much of the remaining time in learning the myriad tricks there are by which one may hide one’s fear from others. It disturbs me to realize that in the seemingly harmless act of deluding others into believing me to be unafraid, I have also deluded myself.
The sudden awareness of the enormous part which fear has played in my living has been particularly shocking to me because I’ve always thought that I loved life in its fullest sense of loving it as I could, and I’ve always thought that I believed intensely in the experiment of living it. I believe that when we permit ourselves to fear, we negate the chance we are each given to contribute through the unique patterns of our respective lives to the meaning and validity of all life. I believe that in merely being alive we have a tremendous responsibility, and that the responsibility is not only to our separate selves but to one another.
I believe it is in fear that we commit the crimes of intolerance and prejudice and what seems to me to be perhaps the saddest, most grave crime of all, our resistance to change. Afraid, we fail to see that the change is the natural and good fruit of knowledge and growth. We cling to the familiar because it is familiar and seems, therefore, to be secure. We butcher the unfamiliar and slaughter justice with the same stroke. Frightened, we seek love only for ourselves and forget to search for love in ourselves.
In fear, we restrict the membership and close the doors of our churches. We court the man who is willing to chant the service least alien to ours. In fear, we make the manner of worship and the name by which a man identifies his god more important than a man’s knowledge of his need, and his striving for faith and a power of good greater than himself.
As children we are taught the visionless prejudices of our parents. We are taught and we, in turn, teach our children perhaps not the same prejudices, but each of them common to one another, for they are born and sustained in fear. I want a child of my own, and I want him to be unafraid. I believe that for him, freedom from fear can have its beginning now in me because I feel so strongly that in the living of my life, I have a responsibility to all life. Because of the child not yet conceived in me, I believe I must grow enough today to face yesterday’s mistakes.
I believe tomorrow is hopeful and that if I am to recognize tomorrow as promising, I must not fear its being different from today. I believe I must try with all I know—and without fear of all I don’t know—to never really be afraid again. Each of us has known guilt; each of us is alone. I believe that guilty and alone, we are all here together.
Actress Phyllis Kirk starred with Vincent Price in the horror film “House of Wax,” and with Peter Lawford in “The Thin Man” television series. She later worked in public relations at CBS. Throughout her career, Kirk was active in various social and civil liberties causes.

Tiger Woods, Person of the Year

2009-12-21T10:01:00.000-08:00

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.

Adis Neger and the New Thing About Their War on Freedom of Expression in Ethiopia.

2009-12-20T08:13:00.000-08:00

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

TIGER WOODS DISAPPOINTS

2009-12-20T08:08:00.000-08:00

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

THANK YOU ABOY

2009-06-11T21:32:00.000-07:00

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.

በዋሺንግተን ዲሲ የተከበረው የግንቦት 20 የድል በዓል።

2009-06-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

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።

THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN SOMALIA

2009-05-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

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.

THE LEADER OF THE TOXIC DIASPORA SCRIBES, THE DARTH VADER OF OUR TIMES, PROF AL MARIAM STRIKES, AGAIN!

2009-04-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

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.

Re: Seeking paths to Ethiopian Diaspora Dialogue and Consultations (wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker) by Prof Al Mariam

2009-03-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

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.

LETTER TO PRESIDENT CLINTON

2009-03-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

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

HOW THE GUARDIAN CHEATS AFRICA: MARTIN KETTLE ANALYSES GORDON BROWN’S SPEECH TO THE US CONGRESS ON 3/4/09.

2009-03-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

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.

Open Letter to Professor Al Mariam

2009-02-26T13:19:00.001-08:00

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

WHAT NEXT, PRIME MINISTER MELES ZENAWI?

2009-02-26T13:15:00.000-08:00

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.

Dr Berhanu Nega in His Own Words; So Who is the Pathological Liar?

2009-01-28T08:02:00.001-08:00

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.

Commentary on an Essay by Tesfaye Maru

2009-01-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

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

The Desperate Misinformation Campaign of the Vocal Diaspora Surrounding the Re-arrest of Wt. Bertukan Mideksa.

2009-01-19T11:28:00.000-08:00

Washera_2

January 10, 2009

Both the print, Radio and TV vocal Diaspora are having a field day distorting the circumstances surrounding the re-arrest of Wt. Bertukan Mideksa. Whether out of a desperate move to restore the tattered image of the dying Diaspora opposition or to use this incident as an excuse to fill up their pockets or even out of sheer hatred for the steps that the Ethiopian government took to resolve the debacle of the 2005 elections, many in the Diaspora are engaged in a major smear campaign against the government and the steps it took to uphold the rule of law in the country.

Many questions have been raised and continue to be raised regarding the revocation of the presidential pardon for Wt. Bertukan Mideksa. But before responding to these questions or statements, let me place here and now, an English translation (by me) of the letter of apology sent to the Prime Minister by the accused prisoners.

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.

What is inherent in such an apology and what the law assumes is that there is sincerity in the request for pardon and that the parties involved will go out to carry their obligations in good faith and for the good of the country. If the motive of the apology is to trick, to cheat, to bluff or to be used as a ploy to get out of prison, then the spirit of the law is broken right from the outset. It would be better to rot in jail than be out by trickery.

Let us now examine some of the points raised in defense of Wt. Berukan and the response given by several government officials.

1. The Prime Minister promised to have the case annulled before the court ruled on it, but reversed his promise and allowed the ruling to stand before the pardon.

It is to be remembered that the PM appeared in parliament at that time and in response to an allegation that negotiations were going on with the prisoners, he unequivocally responded in the negative, further explaining that it is inappropriate to talk about an issue that is being looked at legally and one where the request of some elders to get involved in this case will be looked into after the legal aspect of the charges have been concluded. He also affirmed that these are prisoners who have no right to negotiate with the government and that such rumors are baseless and untrue.

Therefore, Wt. Bertukan’s allegation that the PM reversed his prior assurance of a pardon before sentencing is false and is fabricated to imply that the apology letter that they signed was based on false promises.

2. Wt. Bertukan’s statement of denial of apology expressed in just one forum cannot be a reason to send her back to jail, unless it is done to weaken the thriving UDJ party. Other opposition political party members have expressed similar sentiment in the past and were left alone.

During her visit to Sweden and Germany, Wt. Bertukan, on more than one occasion, has stated "we did not apologize; we were released through pressure put on them by the world-wide community and you in the Diaspora". This, however, was not the only reason for her re-arrest. On her return to Ethiopia, the responsible authorities had asked her to recant her false statements. She was asked to appear, within three days, on TV and Radio and correct her stand on the issue of the pardon. Her response, after serious deliberation, was made in mockery of the legal system. In fact, she went on to argue that legally, they did not ask for a pardon, since the Prime Minister was the one who entered the apology. Such a statement was not made in error, as an impromptu response or out of slip of the tongue. An extension of the date for her response would have simply looked as a weakness on the part of the government and no more.

3. Wt. Bertukan did not deny asking for a pardon. She was simply arguing that the pardon procedure did not follow the formal proclamations set up for a pardon and hence, does not qualify as a legal apology. The issue then becomes a procedural matter and her elaboration on this issue should not result in putting her back to jail.

Wt. Bertukan alleges that they did not apologize in the legal sense of the word, and the government claims that they executed the pardon according to the law mentioned in the Pardon Proclamation. These two positions differ not only procedurally, but also in the end result. To claim that they received the pardon illegally makes the pardon null and void. Hence, it means that Wt. Bertukan and her colleagues were out of prison for over 18 months illegally. This by itself is a self-defeating argument.

According to the Pardon Proclamation, the request is made by the involved party or by the government. In a situation where the involved party claims not to have apologized and the government claims to have not requested the apology by itself, there is no apologizing and pardoning party. The result: the government has to abide by the rule of law and put the convicted parties to jail.

4. According to the Proclamation of the Pardon procedure, the apology and request for a pardon should have been entered to the Pardon Board by the prisoner, a family member or a legal representative and not the Prime Minister.

It is true that on Hamle 12, 1999 (December, 2007) the letter of apology was submitted to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister then passed it on to the Pardon Board. The Pardon Board members then visited the jail and spoke with each and every prisoner to confirm the validity of the apology and their request for pardon. Each prisoner agreed and signed the request again on Hamle 15, and entered the request directly to the Pardon Board. Thus, the claim that the apology and request for a pardon was not submitted by the prisoners directly to the Pardon Board is untruthful.

5. According to the law, an apology and request for a pardon is entered after a sentence has been rendered. In this instance, the request was made before the sentencing.

The sentencing occurred on Hamle 15 and the request for pardon was signed again after the sentencing. Other preparations for the pardon process, including collecting of signatures may have been accomplished prior to the sentencing. All such internal preparations do not amount to anything as long as it does not indicate that the pardon process relied on the pre-sentencing request. The only legal question would have been if the government had officially accepted the request for pardon prior to the sentencing.

6. Even if the concerned party denied asking for an apology in the legal sense, how does that qualify as a breach of the preconditions of the pardon? Isn't this in violation of the freedom of speech framed in the constitution?

The pardon process was activated as a result of the sentencing of Wt. Bertukan to life imprisonment. She was released from jail because of the successful execution of the pardon process as a result of her request for an apology. If Wt. Bertukan was released from jail without a proper legal process, it is either a mistake or the prisoner has denied the preconditions for her pardon.

Article 2 of the Chapter on Revocation of a Pardon states, "The decision to pardon would be null and void, if is found to have been obtained by cheating or deceiving." As a result, before entertaining the argument over the breaching of the preconditions, the whole pardoning process becomes invalid, if obtained by cheating. The result would be going back to jail and serving the sentence.

7. As stipulated in the Pardon Proclamation, when a pardon is revoked, the recipient is notified in writing about such and the recipient is allowed to respond within 20 days. Why was Wt. Bertukan denied her right for such a modes operandi and sent directly to jail?

First of all, the matter of pardoning an offender is purely a good will matter on the part of the government and not a question of one's legal right. If the pardon is revoked for any reason, the offender goes back directly to jail. As indicated in Articles 2 and 3 of the Pardon Proclamation, "...if it is confirmed that the pardon was obtained by cheating or deceiving... or if it is found that the preconditions of the pardon have been violated, the pardon will be worthless." And then on Article 4 it goes on to say, "in accordance with this Article and Sub-Articles 2 and 3, if the pardon is reversed, the Pardon Board can decide that the offender be returned to the prior area of confinement." The return of Wt. Bertukan to jail after the pardon was revoked was an appropriate and legal process.

The Pardon Proclamation elaborates as follows on the procedures to be followed after the pardon has been nullified.

"Once there has been enough evidence for the nullification of the pardon, the concerned party would be made aware of the decision in a transparent way and given in writing in a language that the party understands...The recipient party would be expected to respond to such a decision in writing within 20 days."

This article does not specify that the written notice be provided to the offender while outside jail. On the contrary, as mentioned on article 4 above, since the Pardon Board requires that the offender return to jail once the pardon is removed, it appears evident that the response from the offender is going to happen from jail. The removal of the pardon is followed by an administrative procedure and not a legal court battle and the offender can respond from jail. Also, there is no where in the Proclamation that obliges the Pardon Board to look at the response and make any other decision.

8. The Prime Minister promised to have the case annulled before the court ruled on it, but reversed his promise and allowed the ruling to take place before the pardon.

It is to be remembered that the PM appeared in parliament at that time and in response to an allegation that negotiations were going on with the prisoners, he unequivocally responded in the negative, further explaining that it is inappropriate to talk about an issue that is being looked at legally and one where the request of some elders to get involved in this case will be looked into after the legal aspect of the charges have been concluded. He also affirmed that these are prisoners who have no legal right to negotiate with the government and such rumors are baseless and untrue.

Therefore, Wt. Bertukan’s allegation that the PM reversed his prior assurance of a pardon before sentencing is false and is fabricated to imply that the apology letter that they signed was based on false promises.

9. Wt. Bertukan was manhandled at the time of her re-arrest. Her driver and Prof Mesfin were beat up. Why wasn’t she given the respect and dignity of a human being and president of her party when she was being taken to jail?

Every Ethiopian has the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In this regard, if such violations as mentioned above were committed, the alleged perpetrator shall be brought to the court of law.

However, the Addis Ababa Police Commission representative, during his appearance on Ethiopian Civility Pal talk Forum, has clearly indicated that no such violations were committed. It is possible that the elder Professor Mesfin is bent on using this incident to allege that Wt. Bertukan was treated in inhuman and degrading manner, so as to divert the issue to that of Human right violation. The alleged punch to his pelvic region by the butt of a rifle could cause serious damage to a man of his age and is too good to be true.

10. Even if Wt. Bertukan made a mistake, would it not have been prudent to exonerate her so as to deny her vocal supporters an excuse to rally around this agenda?

Indeed, the first issue that needs to be looked into is whether or not the lady is legally accountable for her transgressions and whether or not the government took steps, using the legal instrument of the law as set forth in the Pardon Proclamation. If looked at politically, differing opinions may surface. But, to ignore such transgressions, because of political considerations, will be tantamount to ignoring the rule of law and the enormous future ramifications of such an act. Lasting political gain can only come about through peaceful struggle and by accepting the rule of law.

The political instability that followed the 1997 (2005) elections did not come about suddenly. Opposition groups had been undermining the law of the land directly and indirectly. The space allowed to have a free and fair democratic process was gradually trampled on and reached a point of threatening the constitution of the country. If the audacity of Wt. Bertukan to repudiate the rule of law is left unchecked, the future consequences could be cataclysmic.

As very well articulated in an article by Adal Isaw, abiding by the Constitution is what is required of all citizens, no matter what their perception is. Safeguarding the Constitution from contempt is therefore unlike any other duty that we should be bound to carry.
“Washera” Or (Weyis) “Wushilshil”

05 February 2009

From YES WE CAN DO IT (ECADF)

I understand that almost all Ethiopians reach to the point that TPLF is an anti-Ethiopia party with rigid attitude and a story of all kind of fabricated lies. For this very reason TPLF (weyane) is too small to deserve a reply from Ethiopians but I am motivated to present my review to my fellow Ethiopians and innocent Ethiopians whom TPLF (weyane) tried to misinform. As I observed all parties in Ethiopia, TPLF is the only party that is formed without ear and conscious but only big mouth.

This literature is my review on the written document by “Washera_2” on January 10,2009 concerning the re-arrest of Judge Birtukan Mideksa by TPLF regime under the leadership of Melese Zenawi (http://www.ethiocivility.org/The_Desperate_Misinformation.html) had a smart approach in the beginning but suddenly it became contradictory , not only the reality but also with his own baseless literature. I we could say much more about his lies and disrespectful misinformation but I will bring out some of his fabricated lies and misconstrues as short as I can. Hereafter, for his literature is full of childish game, unlimited lies, bunch of contradiction and confused ideas, I prefer to his literature “wushilshil” hereafter.

Furthermore, to facilitate my style of writing as easy as possible to compare and contrast with all the ten points raised by “wushilshil” I will put my review for each issues point by point.

1. This first issue “wushilshil” raised that Wt. Birtukan’s allegation that the “The Prime Minister promised to have the case annulled before the court ruled on it, but reversed his promise” is false and is fabricated. Right from the beginning what “wushilshil” couldn’t realize that he is not one of the three groups who are directly involved in the process of reconciliation.

 The prime minister.
 The Board of Elders.
 The CUD leaders.

Since he is not directly involved in the process of the reconciliation, the comment of “wushilshil” supposed to be as the fourth party who put his own position, not as the direct participant in the process of reconciliation. If that is so then he supposes to collect all the information from the above participants and let them to explain themselves.

On his literature “wushilshil” said that “the prior assurance of a pardon before sentencing is false and is fabricated to imply that the apology letter that they signed was based on false promises” This was the first and the main issue that “wushilshil” raised to disqualify the position of Judge Birtukan Mideksa.

My position on this deliberately fabricated issue is simply to here from the horse mouth.

If we click on this link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGEWk6wVzxk) you will get an access to here from the leader of the Board of Elders, Professor Ephrem Isaq, confirming the position of Judge Birtukan Mideksa saying that “ The prime minister promised to annulle the case 5 (five) month before sentencing and the negotiation process took them about 18 month before sentencing” After we hear this story right from the leader of the Board of Elders , any Ethiopian can be able to conclude all the issues raised by “wushilshil” is completely fabricated and baseless. “Wushilshil” is engaged on baseless campaign against the truth with his completely blocked conscious in order to extend his financial link from TPLF.

2. The second issue that “wushilshil” pointed out his argument saying “ Wt Birtukan Mideksa had denied her apology” According to “wushilshil” Judge Birtukan Mideksa denied the reconciliation and the pardon process. My position to this baseless lie is to invite you to website that Judge Birtukan Mideksa gave her statement saying “The reconciliation and pardon process was through the Board of Elders but not through the so called Pardon Board of the government”. Click. According to this letter from Judge Birtukan Mideksa elaborated the negotiation of reconciliation and the pardon process was through Elders board but not the so called Pardon board of the government.

3. The third issue that “wushilshil” pointed out was that “The CUD party claimed that they received the pardon illegally”.

What “wushilshil” trying to deny is the intervention of the Elders board under Pro.Ephrem to facilitate the negotiation and reconciliation process and to replace with the so called Pardon board of the TPLF regime.

According to Ethiopian culture, we understand that in any kind of conflict, Elders can intervene to make reconciliation, not to take all issues to court case and it has been accepted legally and respected system in Ethiopia as the News transmitted by ETV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGEWk6wVzxk). Therefore, to explain the fact about the reconciliation and pardon process when and how it was done through the Board of Elders but not through so called pardon board can’t be an issue of illegality but it should be taken as clarifying the truth about the reconciliation and pardon process.

4. On the forth issue “wushilshil” pointed out that “It is the prime minister passed the letter of apology to the pardon Board” by which he wanted to divert the role of the reconciliation and pardon process from the Board of Elders to the so called pardon Board of the government.

My position to this big, fabricated and contradictory lie is to let the readers to compare what “wushilshil” said on his 4th point second paragraph. It reads as follows: “It is true that on Hamle 12, 1999 (December 2007) the letter of apology was submitted to the prime minister”. On the same paragraph the last line, it reads as follows: “Thus the claim that the apology and request for a pardon was not submitted by the prisoners directly to the pardon Board is untruthful”.

If you see these two sentences, we can understand that why I refer this man’s literature “wushilshil”. Someone with open and clear conscious can see that Judge Birtukan Mideksa is 100% right and “wushilshil” is writing nonsense to fill his hunger of lies. “wushilshil” said on his first sentence, it is the prime minister passed the letter to the pardon Board of the government, which was written and signed by CUD leaders but on the second sentence he said the CUD leaders gave their letter directly to the pardon Board. Again and again, this fact shows that “Wushilshil” can’t be qualified to discredit the honorable Judge Birtukan Mideksa at least until he learns and cease contradicting his own judgment. By now, we all understood the fact that “wushilshil” and the party he tries to defend are so dramatic to the extent to contradict their first and last sentences. For “wushilshil” to accept the truth, he doesn’t need an explanation from second or third person. If he is willing to believe his own literature, he would understand that Judge Birtukan Mideksa is clean and clear as crystal. At this stage I would like to advise, my fellow Ethiopian Brothers and sisters not to waste their time reading any kind literature written by “wushilshil”, even he himself doesn’t believe what he himself wrote a minute ago and write against it all of a sudden.

5. The fifth issue that “wushilshil” foolishly tried to complicate, as if the pardon process was not completed before the sentencing.

With all the evidences we have seen “wushilshil” has no concrete ground or base for his arguments. Since the Board of Elders witnessed that the negotiation, pardon and the reconciliation process started and finished prior to the sentencing. Therefore there is no doubt that negotiation, reconciliation process started and finished before sentencing. And the pardon process by the Board of Elders has no connection with the so called Pardon Board of the TPLF government.

6. The sixth issue raised, mixed and confused by “wushilshil” is deliberately denying and misinforming the different between:-

a. The Board of Elders: - Which interferes before the sentencing to point and facilitate common ground among the disagreed groups or parties and bring peaceful solution of reconciliation and Pardon.

b. The Pardon Board: - Which is a governmental organization that only sees the situation and a letter of apology of a criminal after the sentence passed and prisoned in the consequence of the sentencing.

Since the reconciliation and pardon process with CUD leaders started and finished through the Board of Elders with in the process of 18 month before sentencing, it is meaningless to quote articles, which are prepared for the so called Pardon Board . This simply shows that the writer is desperately tried to cover the open and clean truth by confusing and mixing the two parallel processes. The clear explanation of Judge Birtukan Mideksa on the differences between the two completely different processes can’t be interpreted as if she said either of the processes is illegal.

7. On the seventh point “wushilshil” tried to defend the truth on the fact why Judge….given only three (3) days while the displaced article states that is should be given 20 days.

My comment on this point is to remind the readers to differentiate the two processes, which are deliberately mixed by “wushilshil”. Since the Board of Elders is formed following the consequences of 2005 election, it has nothing to do with articles that are organized many years ago. But it absolutely a foolish approaches to present these articles as if they were made in 2005 for the Elders Board. Even if he want to you these articles where is not applicable, the article doesn’t talk about 3 days but only 20 days. This is one more an amazing story that shows the government of TPLF has never ever uses the law he claims that should be activated.

8. The eighth issue “wushilshil” mentioned has nothing new because he has raised it on his first point. The 8th point was just to play Psychological game to extend his points to 10 because he had no more lie to write. What “wushilshil” couldn’t realize is “false is always false, whether it is written one or more times”.

9. The ninth issue “wushilshil” mentioned that “In the government of TPLF, every Ethiopians has the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” quoting the position of un named police commission officer, who gave speech in one of anti- Ethiopia pal talk room.

A government who used excessive force, killed innocent people and jailed thousands of people, for being UN willing to give the power of leadership for the legal winner and elected party of CUD. Can these kind of massacred be reversed by a person denied all the excessive actions and talked about it through pal talk interview??

This dramatic situation reminds me the English expression “Action speaks louder than your words”. We have seen the blood of dear Ethiopians the streets our land, slaughtered, beaten, being made handicaps and thousands of people had been jailed. Isn’t foolishness to try to reverse all these actions, which we have seen with our own eyes with one day pal talk speech by unknown so called commissioner??

10. On the 10th point “wushilshil” sounds like he wanted to convict Judge Birtukan Mideksa, as if she made a mistake by presenting his contradicted baby style literature. But someone like “wushilshil” has no any moral and concrete knowledge of the law to convict Judge Birtukan Mideksa, in any measure.

As we have reviewed the literature of “wushilshil” he is totally confused and contradicting himself and mentally lost to understand the difference between the Board of Elders and the so called pardon Board of the TPLF government. Therefore he has no evidence to pull Judge Birtukan Mideksa into his ideal mistake.

Since all the points of “wushilshil” are denied the reality and full of contradiction, It seems he is engaged on this business only because he is badly hungry to support his blood baptized party (TPLF) but to strengthen his dollar strings from TPLF being out of conscious, without evidence and even having no harmony with his own writings.

Breaking News on HR2003 or S3457

2008-09-26T17:35:00.001-07:00

September 26, 2008

Washera_2000

Just like its predecessor Congressman Payne's HR2003, Senator Feingold's S3457 has come to a screeching halt on its way to the graveyard. A lame duck Congress has too many priorities on its table and the president has no intention of addressing this issue during his remaining term. So, S3457 or HR2003 is filed away, yet again!

This comes as a shock to its proponents like Prof (sic) Al Mariam and some desperate Diaspora opposition groups. What this means is that some misinformed Congressman has to give it, yet another name, and address it to the next Congress, after the US presidential elections. I can't imagine an Obama presidency will entertain such nonsense, let alone the next president, John McCain.

So, eat your hearts out Al Mariam. Good luck on your next dirty trick!

Prof (sic) Al Mariam's Verbal Diarrhea continues....

2008-09-22T05:37:00.000-07:00

September 22, 2008.

Dear "fake" professor Al Mariam,

I read your article of September 22 on Barack Obama, that appeared on Ethiomedia and soon to be copied by similar blogs all over the cyber space. Like all your articles of past, and believe me I have read most from your blog, I read it with fascination and disgust. Fascinated with your mastery of the English language, disgust because of your ability to manipulate words and statements and play around with them to send your poisonous message to the unsuspecting public, as you mercilessly slaughter any one opposed to your ideas. For me, it comes out as a verbal diarrhea, nothing more.

Most of what you wrote in this article and many others are quotations, or copies from your old law textbooks or regurgitations of what you have memorized from those books. I will give you credit for the memory part. How you exploit those true words and sentences to express your personal hatred for Ethiopia and foment your anger for its leaders, is what is seriously disturbing. In the process, you have succeeded in misleading a certain segment of Ethiopians in the Diaspora and made them slaves to your toxic ideas.

I can debate you on the republican values in American politics any day. I will also hasten by saying that Barak Obama has done very well for himself and his family. He will probably charge 30 or 40 thousand dollars for an appearance, after the elections. A book will follow and then a movie deal, if they are not in the works already. On top of that, he will be on the board of many corporations and will be a millionaire many times over. So, I have no crocodile tears to shade for him. However, it does not mean that I do not appreciate the role he is playing in American politics. Because of him, America and its future leaders will seriously look into some of his proposals to make them a reality. As long as he lives, he will continue to be a great leader and contribute for the well-being of America and the world.

But, to single him out as the only Messiah for the global economic turmoil we are all in and to point fingers to one individual or another is naive, unschooled and irresponsible, especially coming from a glorified professor (sic) of political science. Further more; to think that American foreign policy will change drastically because a democrat is in office is simply to wobble in a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Ethiopia has established a very strong relationship with America. That relationship will grow stronger and stronger for decades to come, no matter who is in the White House.

In conclusion, let me ask you one favor. Please allow me to re-write your Obama article word for word, but replacing McCain wherever Obama appears. All the quotations and words of the great that you pasted in your article apply to any aspiring leader. McCain will win, not because he is so much better than Obama, but because the republican ideals and the present global crisis needs a man of great experience, tremendous influence on the Hill and a man who can be militarily decisive if and when that time comes. A pre-emptive strike is one issue that McCain has no second thoughts about. Again, I can debate you about our achievements in Iraq in some future date.

Please do not hesitate to respond. If you do not, I will understand. This will not be the first time you ducked my challenges of past. The same goes for your sponsors at Ethiomedia. I will be surprised if this note appears on their blog. But, it will find its way in many other places.

With respect

Washera

IS TEDDY AFRO'S "YASTERSERIYAL" A TEST FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN ETHIOPIA?

2008-06-21T20:26:00.000-07:00

Washera_2000
June 21, 2008

Call me naive or clueless about Ethiopian politics, but my recent confrontation with the administrators of a paltalk room called "Ethiopian Forum for Political Civility" made me pause and take stock of what we have achieved or lost since the 2005 elections.

I have been a regular at many paltalk rooms over the last two to three years, mainly to use this medium to argue for the release of political prisoners in Ethiopia and introduce a new form of dialogue among all Ethiopians in the Diaspora. I felt that both the government and the prisoners had a lot to loose if this issue was not resolved peacefully. From the beginning, my position was for these elected leaders to accept the constitution unconditionally, join parliament and work side by side with their Ethiopian brothers and sisters, including those in power, to bring more democracy and good governance to our country. I strongly believed that they, the prisoners, owed the Ethiopian people and the government an apology for their mistakes and that such an apology will clear the way for the government to pardon them.

We spent hundreds of hours arguing this issue and some of us were fortunate enough to meet with some top officials in the Ethiopian government to register our concerns. To witness the release of these prisoners was the highlight of my trip to Ethiopia. However, my excitement for a bright day for Ethiopia would quickly turn sour when these prisoners showed up in the United States and started blasting the same government officials who secured their release. Worse of all, these were the same prisoners who had admitted their mistakes and asked for a pardon through the now famous "shimagiles", led by professor Ephrem Issac. If this was not enough, the so called "kinijit" ended up splitting into a multitude of mostly irrelevant entities. I never anticipated such a shameful end to what looked like a true democratic movement. One of those confused leaders who contributed to this deplorable act was one by the name of Berhanu Nega, who admitted that he was at a loss as to what direction to take in his struggle for "his" freedom and needed to climb up a Pennsylvania mountain for an epiphany, at the expense of my tax money. He is now back, actually he never left the paltalk rooms, and is seen criss-crossing the world, with "lame bora" money, preaching both peaceful and armed struggle to overthrow the Ethiopian government.

My paltalk days were numbered after the release of these prisoners and I started working closely with some government officials to add my two pennies worth to the democratic movement in Ethiopia.

That brings me to my present topic. My favorite paltalk room is Ethiopians Forum for Political Civility. I came across it during the numerous debates we had about the 2005 elections and have met most of the administrators and participants of that room. I appreciate their dedication and the service they bring to the Diaspora community and even to some people in Ethiopia, through the hundreds of interviews they have had with top government officials and other prominent individuals. We have struggled together to fight HR 2003 and many other anti-Ethiopian statements. Through it all, I have witnessed a fair and civil discussion in this room more than any other. The concept of EPRDF that empowers all ethnic groups in Ethiopia is one that appeals to me and is endorsed unanimously by the room's administrators.

Following a brief absence, I started showing up in this room occasionally and drop a word or two on issues of the day. Then one night, I put on the famous/notorious Teddy Afro song, "Yasterseriyal', hoping to comment on this song and his imprisonment. Within seconds, I was stopped and shut off from making any comments. My return a few days later to do the explaining did not last long and I was summarily banned from the room. I was told that such an insult to the woyane fighters was not to be heard or any commentary about the song was not to be tolerated.

The talk around town was that Teddy Afro was placed in prison for his temerity to speak against the leaders of the government in those famous/notorious words: " be 17 merfe bexeqomew qumixa; le lewix yagoferew zufan lay siwexa; indaminaw bale qen yaminawun keqexa; addis nigus inji lewux meche mexa." Translated loosely it means, "...When those fighters with afro hair-do, wearing tattered pants stitched together in 17 places climbed to the throne and started dolling out punishments to the leaders of the previous regime, it felt like the coming of a new monarch and not the expected change". He goes on to plead to the Almighty to forgive us all and teach us to live together in harmony. A few years ago, he allegedly refused to appear at a New Year concert at the Sheraton Addis, unless he was allowed to sing "Yasiteseriyal", forgoing $130,000 in appearance fee.

Teddy is an extremely talented Ethiopian artist, a well known composer, lyric writer and vocalist. He has since written and sang many famous songs and has toured the world attracting huge audiences, in the process becoming a millionaire many times over.

However, Teddy Afro is playing with fire. To expect absolute freedom, to go around the world and sprinkle his hatred for the EPRDF regime without some kind of repercussion back home, is being naive at best. Teddy Afro is no ordinary artist. He is famous and has sided with the opposition groups in Ethiopia and has upset many in the government. He should try to take a neutral position and work to bring opposition groups and the government together to resolve their differences. I have heard that he has apologized for "yasiteseriyal", and if true, I believe it is a good step in the right direction.

Having said that, I believe in his freedom of speech and most of all, I believe in the freedom of others to criticize or support his allegations in any forum they choose to. The cyber saber rattlers are in no position to curb such basic human rights and will only embarrass themselves. The fighters he refers to in his song, "yasiteseriyal", have nothing to be ashamed of because of the words he used to describe their clothing or the struggle they waged to come to power. To claim that he is in prison because these people were angered by his song is to demean the law of the land and to ignore the enormity of the crime that he has been accused of allegedly committing.

It is easy to see how his supporters, especially those demagogues in the Diaspora will run for such an excuse. But it behooves them to await the end of the trials before passing judgment on freedom of speech in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government should follow very closely the trial of this individual and see to it that justice is done to the perpetrator for the crime committed, but not as a vengeance for the words in his song "Yasteseriyal."

The other words in his song should be a lesson to all of us, including to Teddy himself. "Isti tewadedu be liyunetachihu; alebelezama bemin yastawiqal ignan mewudedachihu", which translates to mean, " Let our differences be a good reason for us all to love each other." Amen.

WHO IS BERTUKAN?

2008-04-13T17:19:00.001-07:00

Translated by Washera_2000 from an interview by Addis Admas.
April 9, 2008.

Q: When and where were you born? Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school?

W/t Bertukan: I was born on April 23, 1966 (E.C.) in the neighborhood of the French legation (Ferensay Legasion) and grew up right here in Addis Ababa. My parents were poor and so I received my primary education at Miazia 23 public school and then joined the Etege Menen High school. From there I joined the Addis Ababa University and received my law degree.

Q: How did you decide to study law?

A: It is a long story. Since I was an only child, there was no one to tell me what career path to follow. My parents were not educated enough to advice me on this matter. Once, when I was in 7th grade, my geography teacher was talking to us about marble and said the AAU law school building was made of marble and that it takes a very good grade to get admitted to that school. That stuck in my mind for a long time. At about the same, I heard on TV about a female Supreme Court judge, I think her name was w/o Atsedework Tekle. Although the benefits of education on the legal system were not understandable to me at that age, these two incidents sparked a desire in me for that profession.

Medical school was the other choice I thought about when I was in 12th grade. My nephew was a medical student at that time and he told me that it was one of the best professions in the country. As a result, I made medicine my first choice and social science as my second. Because my GPA was only 3.6, I did not qualify for medical school. So, I joined the Social Sciences department at Sidist Kilo. During my first year of college, I came to have a better understanding of what area of public service I wanted to be in. So, I made law my first choice and political science my second. I was assigned to law school based on my first year grades.

Q: What kind of a child was Bertukan? Quiet, playful, trouble maker or reclusive?

A: I have never been in a fight. I was the peaceful kind. I avoided conflicts so much that my mom used to think it may be from fear. Overall, I never liked brawls and fights and I never had any altercations with my friends.

I grew up alone at home. My older half brother was about 18, and he moved out when I was still very young. So, I grew up knowing only the good and kind side of life. Even as an adult, I could never think that any one would hate me. Although my parents had limited income, they paid special attention to me as an only child and I grew up with love and affection. As a result, I never knew the origins of fights, hate, or hurtful feelings.

Q: How were you with your school education?

A: As I said, I was educated in the public school system. When I was in elementary school, I was first most of the time. In secondary school I was in a "special" class where the competition was severe and I was some where between 1st and 5th place.

Q: Where did you get a job when you finished law school?

A: Assistant judge at the Federal court.

Q: why did you quit that job?

A: When I decided to study law, my ambition was to find a way to serve society and not to get money or benefits from it. I went to law school with the belief that I can bring about change, I can make a difference and when that difference is tied up with law and justice, I felt I will get personal satisfaction. As I proceeded in my law education and got maturity, I wanted to be a judge to be able to administer justice. At that time, it was very difficult to become a judge right out of law school and my friends used to make fun of me for wanting to be a judge knowing how difficult that was. But, my desire was so strong that I believed I would find a way to do it. And when most of my graduating class was employed as assistant judges I was ecstatic. However, I was deeply disappointed with the injustice that I saw. The legal system was in shambles. Most of the existing judges had been dismissed and were replaced by incapable and inexperienced people. What is now being managed by 20 courts was handled by only four at that time. Prisoners were languishing in jails without any justification. Most were just given a court date way beyond the 48 hour limit. That was a painful experience. But because of my determination to become a judge and my belief that I can make a difference, I stuck to it and served for a little over two years. After that, I was elected to be a judge. My naive belief that things will change with time and that an individual can make a difference to change the system were gradually becoming unrealistic and dim. The injustice I witnessed continued for a long time and it was at its worst when I got involved with Ato Seye Abraha's case. Whenever it appeared to have interfered with political issues law and justice were ignored. There was no fear or hesitation to use whatever power was at their disposal to have their way. For example, when we dismissed Ato Seye's lawsuit and released him, they pointed a gun at him and took him back to prison, right in front of my eyes. That was a scary, bitter and hopeless experience. Because of that, I started receiving administrative coercion and I made a conscious decision to resign.

Q: What did you feel when you gave the order for his release and saw him taken back to jail? Did you feel that the verdict you gave was not correct?

A: I never doubted for a second my righteousness or the correctness of the verdict. Anyone arrested has a constitutional right to be released on bail. We do consider political circumstances a little differently. There is usually a lot of wrangling back and forth. But, it never occurred to me that the decision we took at that time would cause such a huge war-like drama in that courthouse. Above and beyond that, I never thought it possible that a new law would be promulgated within two to there days to justify his detention. We were ready for the consequences of our actions. We took it as a job related consequence. But, I can say that it was a moment that frightened me and made me loose hope in the justice system. I should mention one thing here that I never talked about before. After his illegal detention and second time appearance in our court, our verdict was that Ato Seye should be free to go. When I went home that night, I started receiving threatening phone calls. This one man called and said to me, "we do not appreciate what you did in the Seye case. Neither history nor the government will forget your atrocious act. We will see to it that you will die in a car accident and your corpse will be thrown to the dogs". Such intimidation and political interference in the legal system was truly frightening and uncalled for. At that moment, I realized how the system believed in force rather than justice. That realization was very disturbing and hard to deal with.

Q: During your stay in that job, what are the accomplishments that you are proud of? What are your regrets?

A: I don't think these are issues that can be looked at separately. There were three of us assigned to see criminal cases. Most of our cases were the most difficult federal cases. Some of these included OLF cases or those accused of committing serious crimes. At that time, these people were kept in prison for a long time with an excuse of investigating their case. Their right to be released on bail was not being kept. It was a messy situation and we tried to fix some of this. My belief was to use my profession in a just way and be prepared to pay the ultimate price. The other judge on the chair with me had similar beliefs. Within 15 days we changed the way things were done. If the prosecution brought a prisoner after keeping him/her for more than 48 hours, we would call their supervisors, we would give out warnings or punish them monetarily. We believed that this should be done by all courts. We were aware of the shortage of manpower. But we wanted to protect the constitutional rights of the individual. This kind of practice was unknown before our arrival. As soon as we arrived, we started to play strictly by the rule of the law. We did not allow the police to take more time than the 48 ours to do their investigating and bring the cases to court. This kind of practice was not popular among the government officials. We started receiving warnings and threats and intimidations. Some members of the police would send us messages saying that they would have us caught with secretly placed Hashish (marijuana) in our pockets. Our superiors would use warnings or threats to stop what we were doing. In one instance, Ato Menbere came to my office and asked me why I was doing these things.

Q: What was the issue?

A: An individual in charge of the immigration office allegedly involved in bribery was appearing in our court. After the initial investigation and with the concurrence of the prosecutor, the individual was freed on bail. Ato Mesfin Girma (now diseased), assistant to Minister Weredewold made serious accusations of our act to our supervisor Ato Menbere Tsehay. When Ato Menbere examined the case, he could not find anything wrong with our verdict. The immigration official was released only after Ato Menbere examined the case. This was not the end. This and other issues were added up and a 70 page accusation was leveled against us. There was a demand for our dismissal, but Ato Bereket Simon got involved and asked that our case be reviewed without dismissing us. Ato Abdu Hijira (Comrade Abdu) was assigned to review our case and concluded that we were right in our verdict. We were vindicated and not dismissed. I am proud of standing firm in doing our job, without fear of dismissal or death. That was a memorable and trying time.

Q: Any disappointing decision?

A: I am not sure if the outcome would have been much different in some cases irrespective of what I decided. There were some bank officials accused on issues related to Ato Seye. There were others accused of bribery in the sugar industry. The police never produced enough evidence on these bribery cases beyond some minor indications. So, we gave them seven days to get the case to court. We had agreed to release them if the prosecution did not come with enough evidence. One or two days before the court date, a new law was passed that would prevent their right for release on bail. The case was referred to another court and we were prevented from having a say in the case. What I regret most about that case was not giving the verdict the very day the case came to us. To think that we would have another opportunity to give a verdict on this case was very naive of us. It is also possible that even if we have had a second chance, the final verdict would have been reversed. We all know what happened to Ato Seyoum after he was released on bail. By the way, those businessmen languished in jail for four or five years before their case was thrown out and they were set free.

Some people stay in prison for many years and are released when no fault could be found. Some stay much longer than their case would allow if found guilty and are then released. According to the law of the land, these people could sue the government for reparations or compensations. But, who would do that? When we look at it from that perspective, the legal ramifications are clear for a prosecutor who causes harm to a prisoner by illegal means or keeps him in jail beyond the allowed time before bringing him to court. He can be made to pay compensations for the prisoner. But, what is the situation with our court system? We see things getting worse and not better. It is the government itself that abuses the law and keeps these people in prison for much too long, on tramped up charges or false accusations. It is becoming more and more impossible to find a court which will accept a suit against the government.

When a prisoner is released after seven or eight years of incarceration and no fault is found he says, "thank you for letting me go free. It could have been worse. I could have been in jail for life". This shows that the system has no checks and balances. It shows the lack of trust in the justice system.

Q: What did you learn from the 1992 elections?

A: In the 2005 elections I did run for a sit in parliament. There were 12 of us running for a single sit. It was clear that EPRDF had a better party and government machinery to field many candidates. So, it was clear that they would win. Still, they did not want to give the opposition any opportunity to win. There was massive election fraud. Their election officials and supporters were doing anything they wanted to do. Compared to the 1997 (2005) elections, it was outright stealing. I used to follow it very closely and I am amazed at the greedy way they went about to win. I run a major campaign, distributing leaflets, having town hall meetings, driving around in a car and agitating people to vote for me. I tried to talk to neighborhood elders and women, young people and workers and this allowed me to meet all kinds of people in our society. At that time, people were hopeless about politics and one elderly woman asked me why I joined politics under these circumstances. What difference would I make? Is it to earn the $2,000 Birr salary? Ok, I will vote for you for your sake. There was no belief that the system will change through the ballot box. This allowed me to appreciate the level of political awareness in our society.

Q: What about in the 1997 (2005) elections?

A: To be honest, I had less enthusiasm about it. I was pregnant. and just had my baby and although I was asked to run I could not do it.

Q: How did you join Keste Demena?

A: Around the time of the formation of Keste Demena, Dr Berhanu Nega came and talked to me. I wanted to think about it and took my time to do so. To join a political party and continue the struggle was not an easy decision to make. I was asked to become one of the founding members. But, it took me some time to look into every aspect of the decision. I finally decided that I should continue my struggle from inside the party rather than criticizing from the outside and thus joined them.

Q: What was your stay in prison like?

A: My own profession comes to play in analyzing the prison conditions and how to survive it. I used to look into the case of every prisoner and why it was taking so long to get justice. This was something I had known before, but to see the misery with my own eyes put me in a sad situation. The lack of justice in our legal system was distressing. If you ask me what I learned from this, what I can say is that prison gives you the time to think deeply about issues and analyze them patiently. Since my upbringing has helped me to look into the positive things in life and the good side of people, I had time to ponder about human behavior. It may not be a big mirror in life, but I have seen enough.

You could say it is a place where criminals congregate and talk about their injustice. But, most of the prisoners in Ethiopian jails are innocent and the rest do not have deep-rooted offenses and are not hard core criminals at all. I would sit there and think about human behavior, about how we love each other, how we clash, how we make compromises to balance our different needs, how very minor issues become a reason for division and separation among human beings. Seeing prisoners fighting one day, making up the next day or going to solitary confinement another day, has made me examine in detail how the larger society resolves issues. At the end of the day, it is all about how to accommodate different political opinions and making compromises in the best democratic way possible. I used to sit and think about what I would do in the future. It gave me plenty of time to think and to contemplate. This was the biggest challenge that I ever had in life.

No kind of imprisonment is easy. For me, what was especially difficult to bear was my separation from my daughter when she was only eight months of age. There are family and friends too. But, the relationship with my daughter used to torture me. I missed her. I could not see her growth and development. When she comes to see me in prison, she had no idea what was going on. That would torment me. In addition, I missed my friends and the conversations we used to have.

In prison, you are with people who are completely different from you. That has its difficulties too. But, when you start to think and believe how big and noble our cause was and when you think of the kind of democracy that can be built for our children and grandchildren, far beyond our dreams, it gave you a special strength to continue to give your best. After a certain period of time, I took it as a normal thing. I received a good lesson in how to deal with difficult situations and to build the capacity to think beyond the difficulties.

Thank you W/t Bertukan.

All I can say is that you are the product of the legal educational system. You have gone to prison and come out under the same regime. You have established a political party to fight the alleged injustice and repressions in the legal system. You owe it to yourself and your people to "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship..." to accomplish what you set out to do.

Thank you Ato Bereket for your timely and just intervention.

We wish you all success.

The Intrinsic Genius of PM Meles Zenawi.

2008-03-16T14:44:00.001-07:00

Washera_2000
March 16, 2008

I was preparing for a debate at the Ethiopian Television Network in Virginia on a variety of issues including the remarks of Senator Feingold on the senate floor of the Foreign Relations Subcommitte, Human Rights Practices in Ethiopia, the upcoming Ethiopian elections and whatever crumbs are left over from HR2003, when I stumbled across a document sent to me by a friend a while back. It was a Preliminary Draft (Not for quotation) prepared by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on "African Development: Dead Ends and new Beginnings". It was a 50 pages plus draft for discussion with selected extracts of a monograph under preparation. Over 190 references were also included at the end.

It has been a while since I concluded that the PM is a hard working and very intelligent individual. I must say I was truly touched by his analyses and supportive arguments in this document and also ended up well informed by the time I completed reading it. I hope to highlight some of his impressive arguments and personal views about how to tackle this vicious cycle of poverty and bad governance in Africa. I will also include definitions of a few economic terminologies that may sound Latin for the average reader.

The thesis of his argument is that the neo-liberal paradigm of pervasiveness and efficient competitive markets to promote economic development in Africa is flawed and as a result has failed. It has made colonial Africa a weakened and predatory state (rulers extract tax for their own use) that is rife with rent-seeking (making money by manipulating the economic and/or legal environment) political economy tittering on the brink of collapse.

Neoliberalism was a right-wing libertarian political philosophy that gained ground a great deal after the stagnation crisis of the 1970s and the Developing World Debt Crisis of the 1980s. As articulated by John Williamson's Washington Consensus, it felt that government control over the economy was inefficient, corrupt or otherwise undesirable. As a result it proposed a means of transferring control of the economy from the public to the private sector. Specifically, Williamson's list included 10 points: 1) Fiscal policy discipline, 2) Reduction of public spending in education, health and infrastructure, 3) Tax reform, 4) Moderate interest rates, 5) Competitive exchange rates, 6) Trade liberalization, 7) Liberalization of inward FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), 8) Privatization of state enterprises, 9) Deregulation, and 10) Legal security for property rights. Thus the neo-liberal paradigm was put into action in many countries including South America. Its disastrous dead end in the African context has been chronicled by many respectable economists and Nobel laureates and PM Meles Zenawi proposes an alternative approach to get out of this dilemma.

He argues that the state should not be restricted to protecting individual and property rights in the form of services like the Police, Judiciary, Prison and Military (Night Watchman State), but must actively participate in the social and economic development of its citizens. Letting the market do its wonders has wondered off the target for too long. He proposes a paradigm shift (major change in certain thought patterns) to create a proper blend of norms, values and rules for a needed accelerated economic growth and social transformation. He refers to this as a Democratic Developmentalist Paradigm and backs it up with an impressive argument for the establishment of a dynamic agrarian democracy, much like the one advocated by Thomas Jefferson and help it evolve into a mature urban democracy.

He proposes to convince the developed countries to put their money where their mouth is. In this age of globalization where African countries are important as sources of transnational security threats, a breeding ground for drug trafficking and killer diseases as well as hundreds of thousands of refugees generated by failing states, it behooves the developed world to invest in his win-win proposal. He points out that pulling Africa out of its misery and into a successful democratic development will be in their basic economic interest.

PM Meles goes into specific steps to follow to accomplish this, like removing the vertical linkages of patronage in the rural areas, political reforms to remove the predatory state (rulers extract tax for their own use) and overcome rural marketing problems, promote civic engagement through horizontal networks and associations, promote civic virtues and democratic pluralism including religious and ethnic pluralism. Although the skeptics may question his methods, he strongly believes that is where the NGOs and donors (FDI) should direct their resources.

Not only does he believe that the doctrine of "There Is No Alternative (TINA)" be replaced by "There Are Thousands of Alternatives (TATA)" precept, but that his highly articulated vision is the best among such alternatives and with the right leadership that works toward a global and a solid domestic developmental coalition, the African state can be rebuilt and the pervasive rent-seeking phenomenon drastically reduced.

PM Meles expostulates convincingly that in an environment where most (3/4) of the agricultural production is non–tradable and leads to low income, production constraints and limited growth of rural farm and non-farm income is the rule. He proposes a mechanism for removing this demand constraint through increased productivity through technological change and decreasing transaction costs. This in turn will lead to greater sale outside the locality in greater volume and/or value which boosts farm income. The non-farm activities will get a shot in the arm and further increase demand for agricultural products completing this virtuous (not vicious) cycle. To break the dead end that has been made worse by the failed neo-liberal agenda, PM Meles proposes a massive investment in rural physical infrastructure, in market support institutions, in institutions for technological capability accumulation and government intervention to save agriculture for the credit crunch ( a state in which there is a short supply of cash to lend to businesses and consumers and interest rates are high) that it finds itself in.

He chronicles how financial institutions have failed to perform their task of mobilizing savings and directing them toward profitable investments. He goes on to detail the issue of high interest rates, high incidence of non-performing loans, excess liquidity and low savings to accounts that has made them risk averse because they are operating almost in the dark. The absence of tax returns, proper audit reports or the absence of proper information on businesses has made them skittish about loans to ordinary businesses or the average guy. The financial sector liberalization as advocated by the neo-liberal dogma did little to resolve the problem and Meles believes that it contributed even more to the above dilemma. The liquidity in some banks was so excessive that some banks have been known to turn away savers.

Beginning with his belief that agriculture is the engine of growth, PM Meles writes that rather than a mere liberalization of agricultural products markets, equitable distribution of assets in the rural areas plays a critical role in accelerating agricultural development and structural transformation. The role of equitable asset distribution in accelerating the growth of technology, building linkage with other disciplines and accumulation of social capital which in turn accelerates development is beautifully contrasted with the neo-liberal theory that asserts that pareto efficiency (given a set of alternative allocations of, say, goods or income for a set of individuals, a movement from one allocation to another that can make at least one individual better off without making any other individual worse off) is neutral vis-à-vis equity.

In the context of reforming the agricultural sector, Meles writes about very high transportation costs, fragmented and oligopolistic (monopoly, dominance) private sector marketing that causes high transaction costs and low productivity that must be combated to increase trade volumes rather than deregulation and liberalization of markets which has failed miserably.

Arguably, PM Meles believes that vicious circles and poverty traps that these states face can only be removed by state action, provided we believe that development is a political process first and economic and social process later. He believes in the creation of a political set-up that is conductive to accelerated development.

This is where his political talent shines through. Starting with a consensus on the rule of the game, he explains why it is important to involve people to actively participate in public affairs. This builds social capital, politics is not taken as a zero-sum game and flourishes democratically relatively free of rent-seeking and patronage. That is why he argues for the need for stability and continuity of policy if there is to be sustained and accelerated economic growth and that such stability can be achieved through long-term coalitions which stay in power for a long period but do so by democratic means.

For PM Meles, that coalition building starts with the rural agriculture-dependent population which will be responsible for much of the work of accelerated growth. Whether through his socialist leanings, his acute understanding of the economic miracle in South East Asia or his long leadership experience, Meles strongly believes in the peasant, which has historically been the victim, as the bedrock of a stable developmental and political coalition force. By building rural infrastructure, spreading primary education, introducing the peasant to new technologies and commercialized farming, and also sowing the seeds of participatory democracy, PM Meles believes that a stable democracy can emerge even in a poor country and can be governed democratically.

He does not rule out the urban middle class and labor from this endeavor. On the contrary, he believes that this group could also be members of this coalition. Although this group has been known to benefit form patronage and rent-seeking, he argues in their favor by noting that they are easy to organize, more democratic in their orientation and will benefit from job creation in the context of accelerated growth that is broadly equitable.

I see a close relationship with this philosophy and with what EPRDF is trying to do to change the social structure in the rural areas to establish a solid base for a stable and politically strong developmental coalition. The upcoming elections are a work in progress in that direction. It behooves Ethiopian political opposition groups to understand this man very clearly and articulate an alternative vision for the country if they disagree with him, or stop wringing their fingers and join his efforts in tandem. Their zero-sum politics, as he likes to call it, or run to third parties to wedge complaints and accusations (sic HR2003) is not going to get them any closer to the people or renew their badly bruised political clout.

When PM talks about the African Renaissance and the need for a Paradigm Shift, he does not implicate the neo-liberal agenda for causing the dysfunctional economy and abject poverty of Africa, but blames it for making it worse.

With a need for building rural infrastructure including roads, irrigation and water harvesting facilities and capacity building, he emphasizes the need for attracting productive FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) while demanding a long-term non-reciprocal access to developed country markets to overcome the pervasive market failures in Africa.

PM Meles bases his arguments on all the above observations and taps a lot from the experience of some East Asian countries. His own personal experience and dedication to see the establishment of a healthy democratic pluralism of a broadly based agrarian democracy that is capable of evolving into a mature urban-based democracy is to be applauded.

This may be just a draft for a PhD thesis in Economics, but he has already won me over with his clear understanding of the economic and political dilemma that African states face and makes me proud to know that he is at the helm of the Ethiopian state steering it in the right direction.

I tip my hat off for all his efforts and I am proud and glad he is one of our own.

Sheik Mohammed Al Amoudi, Ethiopia's Eternal Love

2008-03-09T16:30:00.000-07:00

An English Translation by Washera_2000

March 2008

We human beings are created in this world to live our assigned life both in happiness and sorrow. So what is the secret behind the differences in our nature and character? What is the measure of our success? Just like the differences in our creation, our interpretations of the world we live in are also different. This world has allowed us to see a lot and learn a lot. Most of all, we know that those who are blessed are the ones who are the first to come to the service of their country and their people. These are the people who leave their good deeds etched in gold to live from generation to generation. In our present world, there are very few people who can exhibit that degree of dedication. Among those few generous people, Ethiopia has produced one of its own such individual by the name of Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi. In this short video, we will take just a piece of his magnificent life and try to present it to you.

Born to this famine-stricken and destitute country, where misery and disease have ruled for centuries, Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi was able to rise out of this misery, to be among the few richest people on the face of this planet, and also bring respect and hope to Ethiopia.

Born in Dessie and raised in Woldia, Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi presently is the richest black man on earth. The 2007 Forbes magazine puts his total assets at eight billion dollars and ranks him at number 86, among the world's billionaires. Such is Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi's status that he brings pride to Ethiopia and allows our flag to fly wherever he is honored.

However, unlike many of these billionaires, worldly luxuries have not spoiled him and tempted him to stay away from the misery of his country of birth. He did not turn his back to the diseased and the poor of his Ethiopia. When the time came, he made his pilgrimage back to Ethiopia to fulfill his promise. He came back with the wealth that he had amassed over a period of many years through hard work. Most of all, he had packed abundant, limitless love for his motherland. This is all a new history for the new Ethiopia. This amazing journey starts right here in the old town of Woldia.

Woldia, the town that nurtured and blessed this national treasure of a man, is located in Northern Wollo zone, about 520km from Addis Ababa. Nowadays, the town is bustling with activity and growing left and right. So we asked this lively town several questions. How did you raise Sheik Mohammed Al Amoudi? Who did he rough it up with while growing up? Where did he go to school? And later on where, how, when did you send him away? Woldia opened up its arms wide and invited us to view its surroundings from the comfortable view of its famous land mark, Mt Kore and we saw it all.

One of his childhood friends Wale Mekonnen:

" That Mosque you see in the distance is the location of Mohammed's childhood home. That neighborhood is called Mugad and the area around Kore is called Islam Kebele. He lived there with his parents while going to school at Taitu Butul School. In those days, it was all forest, no homes, very quiet and we came here in groups of 3 or 4 to study. Now, this area has been urbanized and is called Addis Alem (New World), where government officials and other civil servants reside. That flat open area below us is called Mechare Meda. This is a famous landmark and MIDROC calls one of its business neighborhoods by this name. The other landmark you see way out there is Dashen Bank. The people that lived where the new bank was built, were moved to new homes built in what is called MIDROC Neighborhood. They are happy campers!"

We take you now to the childhood home of Sheik Mohammed. Most of the homes are still the same. Sheik Mohammed's parents were business people. They had two connected houses, one for living quarters and the other for their garment business. So, who were his parents? What was their life like?

Their old neighbor, now a town elder, Haji Siraj Adem says this:

"The father of Sheik Mohammed is Sheik Hussein Ali Al Amoudi. His mother is called Rukia Mohammed Yasin. Both were very generous people. The father helped poor people all the time. When a poor man comes to his shop he knows him from a distance and goes to a drawer where he keeps money and just takes out a handful without looking at the amount and hands it to the beggar, pretending like he was shaking his hand. In our religion, you left hand is not supposed to see what your right hand does and that is what we would see him do time and again, as we worked alongside him in the garment shop. So that was what the father was like, always helping the poor.

"His mother had her own special ways. She would ask us to buy sheep for her. She will have it killed and divide the meat in several portions. She will then hide some cash and salt blocks inside the meat and ask us to deliver it to the elderly men and women in the entire neighborhood. She did this regularly.

"Their children are, Sheik Mohammed, brothers Seid, Hassen, Abdella, and Salih and his sisters Tuiba, Nur and Fitum. As the saying goes, the good deeds of his parents have crossed over to the children. God has created them to be useful to humanity."

Very close to Sheik Mohammed's house is the one that belongs to his childhood friend, Mr. Melaku Beza. He tells us about his memories as follows:

" Our neighborhood is Mugar. Growing up with Mohammed meant we walked to school together every morning. We will have our school and our fun all day and walk back from school together. We continued to be together late into the evenings too. In fact, there were these two rocks across from their shop and most evenings we would sit on those rocks and chat and laugh about our day in school, in the moonlight or even in the dark, since there was no electricity. During the day, we played soccer with balls made of cloth or plastic. We had fields lined by eucalypts trees where we played soccer after school.

"Mohammed loved soccer. He was also very good in Math. I think his ability to memorize all these phone numbers throughout the world is because of his Math ability. Even then, he never used a paper and a pencil to do Math problems. He did them all in his head. We were classmates until the eighth grade. "

This is the Etege Taitu Elementary school that was established in 1948. Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi finished elementary school here. At that time, this school auditorium was a famous land mark in Wolida. On Saturdays and Sundays this auditorium fills up to standing room only with people who come to see shows and musical events. And young Mohammed was a famous drummer of the music band. To this day, if he sees a drum he does not pass it.

"This house was the residence of the school director, the Indian Mr. Vias. It has since become a reading room. The current Director, Mr. Mamo Alemayehu has this to say.

" At present, I serve as the school Director for Etege Taitu Bitul full cycle Elementary school. In this school, we have 60 teachers, 5 administrative stuff and 2333 full-time students in 33 classrooms. Since we cannot accommodate every one, we teach in shifts. This has been all possible because of the huge generosity of Sheik Mohammed Al Amoudi. The building was falling apart and the fields had become cattle fields. Now, you see the buildings renovated and a large concrete wall surrounds the school. In the name of the school and myself, I would like to send my sincere thanks to Sheik Mohammed."

We asked Etege Taitu Bitul School our last question. Do you have any concrete evidence of Mohammed Hussein's life with you? From a safe drawer came out this antique looking old ledger book. Written so very crisply, was the names of all the students treated between 1957 and 1962, by the school's medical officer, Aba Fenta Gebre. So, the Taitu Bitul of old still lives on with its memories. But that famous Woldia auditorium is no more. In its place stands the new Woldia Cultural Center, all paid for by Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi.

Down the street from Sheik Mohammed's childhood home is the home of his other friend Alem Chekole. He continues the story thus:

"Mohammed has been an activist for a long time. Many people follow him. He has many friends and some follow him to learn from him. Even in school, he had many friends that he helped and some even lived with him. His parents were well to do even then. They had a two-door house; one for living quarters the other for their garment business. Their garment shop also provided burning oil, eating oil, and building material for the entire area.

Any way, one thing I remember distinctly is his love for music. We had these University teachers who came on a national service program to teach us. Among them, I remember Gash Jami Mabi, Solomon Gebre Kristos, and Tsega Zeab Gebre Tatios. These people did not only teach us, but organized us into groups to play soccer and musical instruments. One of these teachers had a Clarinet and with the accompaniment of Jazz instruments and Masinko by a student called Mesfin Kassu, we made great music. Mohammed enjoyed playing in the band and loved that clarinet so much that he bought it for himself when the teachers left. "

Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi continues to help Selam School too. The Director of the school:

"This school was built by Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi. The school provides elementary school education from grade 1 to grade 8. We have 1,200 students at this school and we are preparing to open grades 9 and 10 next year. We also provide education at Fetah Elementary School for 300 students, for a total of 1,500 students. In addition, we have over 42 feeder schools around Woldia and in the countryside. These schools provide education for 6,000 students ".

Among the famous buildings built by Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi in our country, Nani Building is one of them. This beautifully exquisite building was designed by Architect Habte Gebriel Habte Selassie who is an old friend of Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi, and who has made a name for himself in the process.

"This is a big undertaking. When Sheik Mohammed gave me this opportunity, I accepted it with great excitement and anticipation. Located at the entrance of the Ghion hotel, it is a 21-story master piece that shows his knowledge and understanding of architecture. It has also given me fame and fortune. His important place has allowed us to be known and our profession to be respected. In building this tower, Mohammed has allowed me to reflect his respect for humanity and my own inner feelings about my work. I have done the same with the Volvo Exhibition tower and the Sara Electric Bulb Company".

After completing 8th grade, Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi headed to Weizero Sihin Secondary School in Dessie. After that, he travels to Saudi Arabia and we witness the beginnings of his amazing business success. After completing his education in Saudi Arabia, Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi went directly into the construction and real estate business where he first made a name for himself. He grew quickly and diversified into Oil, minerals, agriculture, hotel and tourism and engineering fields. He laid down an investment network in Great Britain, USA, and Scandinavian countries, Eastern Europe, Greece, Middle East, Asia and Africa.

The two major investment arms are the Coral Group and the MIDROC Group and between them employ over 40, 000 people. The MIDROC Group is divided into three parts as MIDROC Europe, MIDROC Middle East and MIDROC Ethiopia and is making significant contributions in the growth and development of these countries and in the improvement of the lives of their peoples. The Coral Group is making huge investments in Europe, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Africa, Angola, Morocco and Scandinavian countries including ownership of the Swedish Prem Petroleum Company. Prem Petroleum is the largest petroleum company in Sweden and provides ¾ of the refined oil needs of the country and ¼ of the needs of the other Nordic countries. Since 2005, Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi himself chairs the board of Prem Petroleum and closely guides its progress. This shows how much attention he gives to these investments and as a result, the sales of Prem Petroleum in 2006 were 67.4 billion Kroger.

Prem Petroleum is the owner of two huge oil refineries. These are Premraf Lyski and Premraf Guttenberg. These two refineries have no equal in the world in their cutting edge technology. Between them, they produce 15 million tones of refined oil every year. In addition, these companies lead the refinery work in Morocco and gas and oil explorations in West Africa and North Sea shores.

These major investments are led by Svenska Petroleum Exploration A.B., which is also involved in oil and gas production in Angola, Cote de Voir, Norway and Great Britain. Svenska Petroleum Exploration A.B. is 100% the property of the Swedish Petroleum Company, but all these world-wide investments belong to Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi. Because of these and other investments, Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi is the major foreign investor in Sweden. In return, King Karl Gustav of Sweden has bestowed on him, the great Royal Order of the Polar Star medal, twice.

MIDROC Europe continues its investment in property development, newer technology areas, in consulting and contracting areas in Scandinavian countries and especially in Germany, France, Poland and Great Britain. This has resulted in its turn over in the past several years to surpass 3.8 billion Kroger. It employs over 2,000 people and continues to expand.

The Middle East part of the MIDROC Global Group is showing tremendous activity in the area of engineering, communication, oil production and trade. As a result it employs over 24,000 people of different nationalities. Its annual turnover has also risen to over 9 billion Kroger.

It is not going to be possible to try to document the world-wide investments of Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi in a short video like this. He leads his business by traveling to Europe, America, Middle East and Africa, which adds up to bring him in equal standing to the worlds billionaires. Because his investments have included the development of countries and helping people, he has received many awards throughout the world.

Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi travels the world to fulfill his commitments. As a result, he has built many residences in several countries. Because he does most of his work in the air, he has seven different size jet airplanes. He criss crosses the vast oceans with modern luxury liners and speedy yachts. It is the wealth accumulated through such hard work that he decided to come home to Ethiopia with.

After his arrival in Ethiopia, Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi started laying down the foundation for developing Ethiopia in different areas. But, before anything else, however, to draw the world's attention to Ethiopia, he built a world famous hotel, the Sheraton Addis. Hence, Sheraton Addis became the symbol for a bright new future for Ethiopia.

Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi:

"We have a rich history, our climate is good and the scenery is beautiful. Even though it took us a long time to build this hotel in the capital of Africa, in Addis Ababa, you can see the result by yourselves. Even if I don't tell you how much it cost us, you will understand when you go around and see for yourselves. Up until now, the workers and myself have worked hard on this project. From today on, it belongs to all of you, to receive your guests and for your own entertainment and relaxation".

After that, Ethiopia truly captured the fascination and attention of the world. Before long, Addis Forum conferences were being held at the Sheraton that attracted famous world leaders and businessmen. The wishes of Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi were fulfilled. Our country became the central hub of Black Africans.

Why do we say that Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi is the exemplar son of Ethiopia, the redeemer, the benefactor? It is because he has built over 30 different companies worth billions of dollars to help in the basic infrastructure that has given a new possibility of growth and development for a new Ethiopia. The wealth he has poured on this country is not one he will benefit from in his life time. But in our countries history, he will be remembered as a martyr who paid the price for the success of our countries vision.

Dr. Arega Yirdaw, CEO of MIDROC Ethiopia tells it this way:

"The family of Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi has invested in over 30 companies in this country. I was given the opportunity to run 14 of these as a holding company, for the first time in the history of this country. This is not only very challenging in terms of running the companies, but also in teaching people the kind of management leadership required to accomplish such a task. Sheik Mohammed's investment in Ethiopia is not only a profit based investment, but also a human investment. It is an investment based on guaranteeing people a job that will bring food to their children and afford them an education. MIDROC has had a huge contribution in this area and the country has been greatly rewarded.

When we look at the overall investment of MIDROC, we have over 15,000 employees. If you multiply this with the family members that are supported by these employees, the numbers are over 60,000. I manage over 50% of the investment and I have over 6,000 employees under me. The investment areas are highly diversified to include mining, agro-industry, real estate, factories, security and protection companies. When we look at all the investments of Sheik Mohammed, it includes several sectors like hotel, health, education and agriculture.

"MIDROC Ethiopia is a Sheik Mohammed and family investment. It is a home boy investment. It is a slightly different investment. Our focus is primarily on the employee. Which means, we are focusing on ways our employees can benefit from their job through education, through making sure their children are fed and educated? Just like the Ethiopianization of the Ethiopian Airlines, we want to prepare our employees and their children to run these companies. It is an investment not based just on profit making, but on their health and their future. That is why we are moving ahead with a healthy, happy and proud work force as we expand the economic scope of our country. Sheik Mohammed would rather see a lazy employee moved to a less demanding job or retired with full pay to support his family rather than being fired. If Sheik Mohammed hears that an employee was dismissed without pay, I think he will be distressed a lot.

"This is the kind of investment I am talking about. In one sense, many don't understand it, in another sense it has resulted in attracting more investment in our country. Other investors can pack up and leave if their adventure is not profitable. Sheik Mohammed and family have no such inclination. Their investment comes from the heart and is here to stay for good. There is only one thing I want to say to Mohammed. Continue what you are doing without wavering in your path. Continue your love for your family, your friends, your country like always, without any regrets. There is a certain belief in our country that eulogizes some one after they have passed away instead of honoring them while they are still alive. We have changed that in our company. We identify hard working and successful individuals and compensate them and thank them on the spot. So, we pray to the Almighty God for Sheik Mohammed's long and healthy life, to continue to help his friends and his country and keep enjoying himself while doing it".

In addition to this, Sheik Mohammed Al Amoudi is the first one to respond when natural disasters hit, by being the right hand of development organizations in the different regions of the country. Beyond development, would it be too much to say that he has a pure and loving heart which worries for the well-being of all those he comes in contact with, paving the way for their contribution to our universal success?"

"My own personal story starts with a chance encounter that I had with him when he dropped by at my office to make a phone call. My boss, the General Manager of Sheraton Addis was out of the country and I proceeded to open his office for him. Sheik Mohammed refused that and said, "No, let me sit here with you and make my call". I gave him the phone. He proceeded to ask me about my health and my children. I told him I only have one child and all I do is to educate her and do everything for her. He looked at me and said, "From today on, don't worry about her. I will pay for her education". At that moment, I felt like God had just descended from heaven into my life because, I was so desperate at that time. Well, after that, I was able to take her to the United State all expenses paid and enrolled her at the George Mason University in Virginia. She graduated with honors in Biology and joined the Howard University Medical School, in Washington D.C. She will graduate in two years, God willing. In short, he educated one doctor for Ethiopia. I would like to thank Sheik Mohammed from the bottom of my heart for changing my life and my daughter's life. I wish him and his entire family a long life, health, love, peace and happiness."

Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi asks all those he sends abroad for education to promise to come back and serve their country. One such Ethiopian is Meron Mengistu. Meron will graduate next year with a doctorate degree in Molecular Biology. Sheik Mohammed believes that the future of Ethiopia is in the hands of its educated youth. To that end, his commitment and support to youth organizations and individuals is boundless. Here are the comments by some of these young entrepreneurs who benefited from his help.

Young women:

"Addis Coffee is a four year old organization. It was established with the help of Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi. We started with one and we now have five branches and the expansion will continue. With his help, I was able to start the business with 30 employees. I now have 275 employees. "Your dream is to help the young to succeed. Your dream is coming true. We are helping ourselves and helping others. We attribute our success to your generosity. I pray to God for your health and long life".

A young man:

"My line of work is in renting construction equipment. We have a lot of employees who drive heavy trucks and thanks to Sheik Mohammed, our business is growing rapidly. In the name of my employees, my family and myself, I wish him a long and healthy life".

Another young man:

"I have listened to many of his speeches on many occasions. His speeches focus on the youth of our country. He wants to see the youth changed so as to change our country. I wish every one had the opportunity that I had".

Another young man:

"What I believe to be the dream of Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi is to leave a successful youth for the next generation. That is what I heard from his speeches. He wishes he could help all. He is not one who lives at a distance or feared and avoided because of his beard or his wealth. He is a down to earth human being with good intentions for us all. Those of us who are lucky enough to get his help will continue to work hard and also help others in the process to make his dream come true."

To protect the honor and dignity of our country and not let her poverty interfere with her central place as Africa's capital, Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi has fulfilled his obligations and stands as a national treasure. This is what he had to say at the opening ceremony of Sheraton Addis:

"I would like to thank everybody who supported us with this place. This is a gift from my country to the whole of Africa. This is a gift to the whole continent of Africa. It will stay that way and we will keep it that way."

In the area of sports, Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi has not hesitated to pour his wealth to make Ethiopia the owner of a new history in the making. Beyond helping individual sports people and our national teams, Sheik Mohammed has sponsored the Middle and East African cup for three consecutive years. He has received recognition and multiple awards for his world-wide participation in humanitarian activities. Among these are the gold medal he received from Seth Platter of the Federation of International Football Association and the honorary doctorate degree bestowed on him by the Addis Ababa University.

"I focus more on satisfaction rather than profit making at the expense of my fellow citizens. This perhaps is the main reason why most of my advisors and business associates tell me that I do invest particularly in Ethiopia and in Africa with my heart. Let me tell you a small story. In 1985, my partners came to my office in Riyadh and they said to me "let us invest in Paris and other places." I said Paris is far away. I am telling you this is 20 years ago. I said I would like to start in Africa. They said, "why Africa? There is no stability, there is no peace." I said to them I want to be there first. When other investors come, they open the door and they see me there. Either they join me or they fight me."

We have tried to highlight only a few of the endless love and contributions that this great Ethiopians has made to his country. The number of young people abroad getting their education, the number he has helped with wedding expenses, the many he has pulled out of misery and destitution to success and self sufficiency is countless.

One of the civil servants of Sheik Mohammed's humanitarian concerns says;

"His humanitarian aid extends to the old, the weak and the sick. As a person involved in doing the paper work and arranging the transportation of the sick going for treatment to America, Bangkok or South Africa, I have witnessed the miraculous cure and turn around in the lives of many of these patients. I see Sheik Mohammed as a gift to his country sent to us by the Almighty God."

That is why we repeatedly applaud him and this truth and his story will be etched in the history of our land for ever. In the new Ethiopia, his noble deeds will be passed from generation to generation without losing its flavor. Beyond that, can we thank him enough or be satisfied with any kind of gift?

In our introduction, we had asked about what yardstick to use to measure his generosity. As we conclude our video, we wished that Ethiopia had the ability to voice its opinion. If you say why, it is because we are fragile beings who are bright one moment and gone the next. Instead, we wanted the eternal earth to be the witness. However, we still elected to hear from those who can articulate their story more succinctly.

Because we lack a Heart Center in our country, many young lives have been lost unnecessarily and many more are counting their days. Heart disease in children is especially mean. To combat this, one patriotic Ethiopian starts out with a dream to do something about it. His name is Dr. Belay Abegaz.

" When I first met Sheik Mohammed 18 years ago, he said, "Are you Dr. Belay? Is that you? I have heard a lot about you. I don't know when, but some day I will help you, I will help you well. Take care. Work hard." I said to him, I was doing a simple thing. Even my office is made of a container that I begged for. Since we don't have money, we can't afford to rent. I told him that I did not want to use the money I collected begging to go for rent. He said, " Listen, and let me tell you something. Starting from a house whose ceiling and wall were corrugated iron and the floor dirt, one can achieve greatness." He told me the name of such a person. I made a mental note of that. God willing, in the year 2007, we were able to open the first world class Heart Center here in Ethiopia, while still working from our container offices."

Twelve years ago Mr. Benyam Tilahun, let me mention his name, had gone and told Sheik Mohammed about my plan to take some Ethiopian singers to the US to raise money for my Heart Center. He let me to talk to him on the phone. I told him my plans. He said, "by the way, how much money do you need?". I told him two million dollars. He laughed at me. He said, "You can't build a hospital with two million dollars. I will give you two million dollars. When you need more I will give you more. But, let me tell you something. Go ahead and do your begging abroad. If you have to beg, beg for medical equipment, not money for building a hospital. We Ethiopians should be the ones to build the hospital."

I can in no way pay back for the support I received form the Ethiopian people. But, there are Ethiopians with at least one child. So I started a campaign to raise one dollar for one heart to raise at least 25 million dollars. Sheik Mohammed, in addition to the 8 million he had given me before, he gave me 25 million more just a few days ago. That is a total of 33 million. In addition, most of his organizations in the country gave me 3, 4, 5 million dollars. That makes the gross total to close to 40 million dollars. At a minimum, Sheik Mohammed has paid for 40 million families of my One Dollar for One Heart project. He has made me proud of my people and allowed me to see my dream come true before I die. It has been 28 years in the making and 25 years since my travails began and Sheik Mohammed has made it a reality. Mohammed has stood beside his Ethiopians. Any one who does such good deeds for children is one loved by the Lord. It is not money, it is not wealth. May God allow him to stand beside Him. May God pay him back in kind. I am not the one saying this. It is the children who have become beneficiaries of his generosity. Because of him, our country has become equal to the rest of the world. Let me just digress a little and mention that the only country with a population of 80 million that did not have a heart center was Ethiopia. I can only thank him in the name of these children or else I have no right to talk about this. May their God find him a place next to Himself. I have no other wish for him"

Professor Yonas Kinfe has been serving his country in his profession for over 40 years.

" I describe his help as a "soft" help. It is about preventing immigration out of the country and bringing home those who have immigrated and it is much bigger advantageous for the country than these edifices and construction investments. I would not have been able to expand into research and to travel the world and participate in international forums, if it were not for his tremendous encouragement and financing. This is an investment that is not conspicuous, but prevents brain drain. Sheik Mohammed has allowed me to proudly serve my country and help myself in this profession.

"The other chapter of my life is about my health. Last year, I lost my vision because of retinal detachment. At a time when retirement income is not even sufficient for day to day expenses, Sheik Mohammed came to my rescue and I was sent for an emergency surgery at a world renowned center and gained back my vision. What else can I say other than thank you? There is nothing you can give him in return. May God bless him with more. And that is why He will give him more."

Sheik Mohammed laid the foundation for the history of our musical king, Tilahun Gessese, which would have otherwise been lost and forgotten. Every time Tilahun fell ill, Sheik Mohammed was always there for him. And we continue to have our now fragile Tilahun Gessese.

"He allowed me to be with you now. He is my right hand, my mother and father, my brother and my friend. I have no words to say about him when you ask me. My life was going to be cut short. He came and saved me. I am able to sit, eat, talk and walk, all because of him. I wish him and his family plenty of healthy years."

Bethlehem Abebe is a 27 year old young woman. She was only six months shy of a Sociology degree from Addis Ababa University and her family was preparing for a grand graduation when she suddenly fell ill and started a long fight for her life.

" My problem was with my immune system. My immune system is very aggressive not only to diseases, but also towards my own organs. At one point, I was very sick and in a delirious state, they tell me that I referred to him as my uncle. I truly thank him."

Her Father: " For me, this was something completely unexpected. I had lost hope and had given up. I was waiting for the day when I would carry her to her grave. God had another miracle for me. May he not show me his illness. May I pass away before him. He does not know me, but this is what humanitarian help means. My wish is to meet him some day and thank him in the name of my family. May God bless all that He has given you."

There was no Ethiopian that was not shocked and angered by a horrifying incident that happened to a young girl. Her name is Kamilia Mehadi. She was sent to France by Sheik Mohammed to get a very specialized medical treatment. We were able to talk to her while she was on a brief visit to Ethiopia to see her parents.

"When the doctors saw my picture, they assured me that they will make me much better. What they have done now is just an emergency procedure. I am here to visit my parents. When I go back they will put me back to what I looked before this accident. Sheik Mohammed saved my life and the lives of my family. There is nothing I lack while I am getting treatment. I also get a chance to come and visit my family in between. I don't know how to express my happiness with all this generosity. May Allah reward him for this. My parents and I will always remember him in our daily prayers. May he live a long and healthy life."

And the father says:

"When all that poisonous acid was poured on her body and was burning her and tormenting her beyond belief, Sheik Mohammed came to her rescue. Alhamdulilah! I have no words to express his kindness. He has arrived for her like St. Gabriel to cure her. Alhamdulilah, may the Almighty prolong his life."

And her mother says:

" I told the doctors to take skin from my face and use it for her. They took a piece for testing and told me it does not match. I tried everything to help. Finally, I thought about taking my own life by drinking poison. They told me I was loosing my mind and I was in constant pain. I raised her and put her through school and then this happens. If it were not for Sheik Mohammed's help I would have lost her. He saved all of Ethiopia, not just us. My Allah give him health and long life."

Sofanit Debalke was an Ethiopian beauty working as a hostess with the Ethiopian Airlines. While on vacation to visit her family in America, she came face to face with an unexpected horror of her life, breast cancer! She lost hope. She said farewell to her parents and came back home to count her last days. Sheik Mohammed heard about the ordeals of this young lady and came to her aid.

" As we all know the name itself is very scary. After that fact, I never knew there was a chance for a life. I cried a lot. I had children and I was very sad to realize that I could not remain a mother to them. Sheik Mohammed, my gratitude is so great that I can't thank you enough. May you and your children live long and happy. May God bless you."

Hiwot Yeyesuswork is a mother, who suddenly found herself with breast cancer. All her dreams were coming to an end when Sheik Mohammed showed up in her life. When we met her, she was unable to express her feelings, her pleasures. Her eldest daughter, Belen Legesse, a second year Addis Ababa University student was beside her and came to her rescue.

" It was a Saturday morning when she called me and showed me this lump in her breast. I was panic-stricken, but I reassured her and told her she will be OK. She was tested the following Tuesday and she came home with the devastating news. I had heard about cervical cancer before. I never suspected such a day will come into my family. I had lost hope completely. I never thought I would see the day where she would be sitting next to me like this. It is because of him that this happened. If she were not here, I would not have continued my education. Being the eldest in the family, I would have taken up many household responsibilities. And my mother was not only a mother to me, she is my best friend too. I have hope now and I have her next to me, thanks to Sheik Mohammed. I thank him sincerely in the name of my father and all of my family. I have nothing else to say. He did the unexpected for me. He gave me back my mother. I don't know how else to thank him."

Sheik Mohammed, may Allah bless you.

The making of a house

2008-02-12T06:00:00.001-08:00

Labor by love with your own hands
Build me a house with strong pillars
Lay down the tiles of endless love
In a manner well built and tough
Mount the walls and ascend them high
Low and modest beneath the sky
Leave one room unmarked by paint
Color and class duly absent
Leave me a space for some patience
A room to use for the bad times
Build a vast one for some kindness
It will help me as an entrance
Create one window for each room
That will battle against the gloom
I will use it to compromise
If not to see the morning sunrise
Build me a boundary as a fortress
One that implies dignity and grace
Unmovable with hate and need
Unshakable by fruitless greed
Set a dwelling complete with life
Labor with love deep from the heart
Labor by love with your own hands

WHAT DOES MUSICIAN AND ACTIVIST BONO SAY?

2008-01-22T11:25:00.001-08:00

Written from his speech in 2005

Bono, the lead singer of U2, uses his celebrity to fight for social justice in Africa.

JOIN MY CALL TO ACTION TO AFRICA.

February 2005.

You must see this video after you finish reading this article.

TellMeWhy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzLZ32kZT5M

What really turns me on about technology is not just the ability to get more songs on MP-3 players; this revolution is much bigger than that. I hope, I believe. What turns me on about the digital age, what excites me personally is that you have closed the gap between dreaming and doing. See, it used to be that if you wanted to make a record of a song, you needed a studio and a producer. Now you need a laptop. If you wanted to make a film, you needed massive, massive equipment and a Holy Wood budget. Now, you need a camera that fits in your palm and a couple of bucks for a blank DVD.

Imagination has been de-coupled from the old constraints. That really, really excites me. I am excited when I glimpse that kind of thinking rip large. What I would like to see is idealism decoupled from old constraints, political, economic, psychological, whatever. The geopolitical world has a lot to learn from the digital world. From the ease with which you swept away obstacles that no one knew could even be budged.

First, I would like to explain why and how I got to this place. It is a journey that started 20 years ago. You may remember that song, "We are the world" or "Do they know it is Chrismas?", "Band-Aid", "Live aid". Another very tall, grizzled rock star, my friend Sir Bob Gedof, issued a challenge to feed the world. It was a great moment and it utterly changed my life.

That summer, my wife Ally and myself went to Ethiopia. We went on the quite to see for ourselves what was going on. We lived in Ethiopia for a month, working in an orphanage. The children had a name for me. They called me the "girl with a beard". Don't ask. Anyway, we found Africa to be a magical place. Big skies, big hearts, big shining continent, beautiful royal people. Anybody whoever gave anything to Africa, got a lot back. Ethiopia didn't just blow my mind, it opened my mind.

Anyway, on our last day at this orphanage, a man handed me his baby and said, "Would you take my son with you?" He knew in Ireland that his son would live and in Ethiopia his son would die. It was the middle of an awful famine. Well, I turned him down. It was a funny kind of sick feeling. But, I turned him down and it is a feeling I can never quite forget. And in that moment, I started this journey. In that moment, I became the worst thing of all. I became a "rock star with a cause", except this isn't a cause, is it?

6,500 Africans dying every single day from AIDS, a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can get in any pharmacy. That is not a "Cause", is it? That is and "Emergency". 11 million AID orphans in Africa, 20 million by the end of the decade. That is not a "Cause", that is an "Emergency". Today, everyday, 9,000 Africans will catch HIV because of stigmatization and lack of education. That is not a "Cause", that is an "Emergency".

So, what we are talking about here is Human Rights. The right to live like a human. The right to live, Period! What we are facing in Africa is an unprecedented threat to Human Dignity and Equality.

The next thing I would like to be clear about is what this problem is and what this problem isn't. Because, this is not all about charity. This is about justice. Really. This is not about charity. This is about justice. That is right. That is too bad, because we are very good about charity. Americans, like the Irish are good at it. Even the poorest neighborhoods give more than they could afford. We like to give and we give a lot. Look at the response to the Tsunami. It is inspiring.

But, justice is a tougher standard than charity. You see, Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice. It makes a farce of our idea of equality, it mocks our pieties, ducks our concern. It questions our commitments. Because, there is no way we can look at what is happening in Africa and, if we are honest, conclude that it will ever be allowed to happen anywhere else. Not here, not in America, not in Europe.

In fact, a head of state you are all familiar with, admitted this to me. It is really true. There is no chance that this kind of hemorrhaging of human life would be accepted anywhere else, other than Africa. Africa is a continent in flames. And deep down, if we accept it that Africans are equal to us, we would all do more to stump the fire out. We are standing around with watering hose. And what we really need is the fire brigade.

You see, it is not as dramatic as the Tsunami. It is crazy really, if you stop and think about it. It has to be like an action movie these days, to exist in front of our brain. The slow extinguishing of countless lives is not as dramatic enough, it would appear. Catastrophes that we can avert are not as interesting as ones we could avert. Funny that. Anyway, I believe that that kind of thinking offends the intellectual rigor in this room.

6,500 people dying every day may be Africa's crisis. But the fact is in the last 19 years, we in Europe and you in America are not treating it like an emergency. I want to argue with you tonight, that that is our crisis. I want to argue that, though Africa is not the front line in the war against terror, it could be soon. Every week, religious extremists take another African village, they are attempting to bring order to chaos. Well, why aren't we? Poverty breeds despair, we know this. Despair breeds violence, we know this. In turbulent times, isn't it cheaper and smarter to make friends out of potential enemies than to defend yourself against them later. The war against terror is bound up in the war against poverty. And I didn't say that, Colin Powell said that. Now, when the military are telling us that this is a war that cannot be won by military might alone, may be we should listen. There is an opportunity here and it is real. It is not a spin, it is not wishful thinking. The problem facing the developing world afford us in the developed world, a chance to re-describe ourselves to the world. We will not only transform other lives, but we will also transform the way those other lives see us. And that might be smart in these nervous dangerous times.

Don't you think, on a purely commercial level, that anti-retroviral drugs are advertisements for Western ingenuity? Doesn't compassion look well on us? Let us cut the crap for a second. In certain corners of the world, brand Europe, brand USA is not at its shiniest. The neon sign is fizzling and crackling. Some one has put a brick through the window. The regional branch managers are getting nervous. Never before have we in the West been so scrutinized. Our values, if we have any, our credibility, these things are under attack around the world. Brand USA could use some polishing. I say that as a fan, you know, as a person who buys the products. But, think about it. More anti-retroviral could make sense. That is just the easy part or ought to be.

Equality for Africa. That is a big, expensive idea. You see, the scale of the suffering mums us into a kind of indifference. What on earth can we all do about this? Well, much more than we think. We can't fix every problem. But, the ones we can, I want to argue, we must. And because we can, we must. This is the straight truth, the righteous truth. It is not a theory. The fact is, ours is the first generation that can look disease and extreme poverty in the eye, look across the ocean to Africa and say this and mean it. We do not have to stand for this. A whole continent written off, we do not have to stand for this.

So, let me say this without a trace of irony, before I back it up to a bunch of Ex-Hippies. Forget the 60s. We can change the world. I can't, you can't, as individuals. But, we can change the world. I really believe that the people in this room, look at the Gates Foundation, they have done incredible stuff, unbelievable stuff. But, working together, we can actually change the world. We can turn the inevitable outcomes and transform the quality of life for millions of lives, who look and fell rather like us when you look up close.

I am sorry to laugh here, but you do look so different than you did in Haight- Ashbury in the 60s. But, I want to argue that this is the moment that you were designed for. It is the flowering of the seeds you planted in earlier headier days. Ideas that you gestated in your youth. This is what excites me. This room was born for this moment, is really what I wanted to say to you tonight. Most of you started off to change the world didn't you? Most of you did, the digital world. Well now, actually because of you, it is possible to change the physical world. It is a fact. Economist confirm it. They know more than I do.

So, why then are we not pumping our fists in to the air? Probably because, when we admit we can do some thing about, we've got to do something about it.

This equality business, actually, is a pain in the ass. But for the first time in history, we have the technology, we have the know-how, we have the cash. We have the life saving drugs. Do we have the will?

I hope this is obvious. But, I am not a Hippie. I am not really one for the warm fuzzy feeling. I do not have flares in my hair. Actually, I come from punk rock and the clash of big army boots not sandals. But, I know toughness when I see it. All the talk of peace and love on the West Coast, there was muscle to the movement that started out here. You see, idealism detached from action is just a dream. But, idealism allied with pragmatism, with rolling of your sleeves and making the world bend a bit, is very exciting. It is very real, it is very strong and it is very present in a crowd like you.

Last year at Dayton, this organization I helped set up, we launched a campaign to summon this spirit in the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty, and we are calling it the "One Campaign". It is based on our belief that the action of one person can change a lot. But, the actions of many coming together as one, can change the world.

Well, we feel that now is the time to prove we are right. There are moments in history when civilization redefines itself. We believe this is one. We believe that this could be the time when the world finally decides that the wanton loss of life in Africa is just no longer acceptable. This could be the time that we finally get serious about changing the future for most people who live on planet earth.

Momentum has been building. Lurching a little. But, it is building. This year is a test for us all, especially the leaders of the G-8 nations, who really are on the line here, with all the world and history watching. I have been of late, disappointed with the Bush administration. They started out with such promise on Africa. They made some really great promises and actually have fulfilled a lot of them. But, some of them they haven't. They don't fit their foot on the ground when they push is the truth. But, my disappointment has much more perspective when I talk to American people and I hear their worries about the deficit and the fiscal well-being of their country. I understand that. But, there is much more push from the ground than you would think, if we got organized.

What I try to communicate, and you can help me if you agree, is that aid for Africa is just great value for money, at a time when America really needs it. Putting it in the crassest possible terms, the investment rips huge returns, not only in lives saved, but also in good will, stability and security that we will gain. So this is what I hope that you do, if I could be so bold and not have it deducted from my number of wishes.

What I hope is that, beyond individual merciful acts, you will tell the politicians to do right by Africa, by America and by the world. Give them permission, if you like, to spend their political capital and your financial capital, your national purse, on saving the lives of millions of people. That is really what I like you to do. Because, we also need your intellectual capital, your ideas, your skills, your ingenuity and you at this conference are in a unique position. Some of the technology we have been talking about, you invented them or at least revolutionized the way that they are used. Together you have changed the Zing guys from analog to digital and pushed the boundaries, and we like you to give us that energy, give us that kind of dreaming, that kind of doing. As I said, two things are on the line here. There is a continent, Africa. But, there is also a sense of ourselves.

People are starting to figure this out. Movements are spreading up. Politicians, pop starts, priests, CEOs, NGOs, models unions, student unions. A lot of people are working together under this umbrella I told you about, the "One Campaign". I think they just have one idea in their mind which is, where you live in the world should not determine whether you live in the world. History, like God, is watching what we do. When the history books get written, I think our age will be remembered for three things. The digital revolution, yes. The war against terror, yes. And what we did or did not do to put out the fires in Africa. Some say we can't afford to. I say we can't afford not to. Thank you.

OK, my three wishes:

You see, if this is true and I believe it is, that the digital world that you all created has uncoupled the creative imagination from the physical constraints of matter, this should be a piece of piss. I should add that this started as a much longer list of wishes. Most of them impossible, some of them impractical and one or two of them certainly immoral. This business can get to be addictive, you know, when some body else has to pick up the tab. Anyway, here is number one.

I wish for you to help build a social movement of more than one million American activists for Africa. I believe it is possible. From Holy Wood to the heart lands of America, we know there is more than enough energy to power this movement. We want all of you here, Church America, Corporate America, Microsoft America, Apple America, Coke America, Pepsi America, Nerd America, Noisy America. We can't afford to be cool and sit this one out. I do believe that if we build a movement that is one million Americans strong, we are not going to be denied. We will have the ear of congress. We will be the first page on Condi Rice's briefing book and right into the Oval Office. If there are one million Americans who are ready to make phone calls, ready to be on e-mail, I am absolutely sure that we can actually change the course of history literally, for the continent of Africa.

My second wish:

I would like one media hit for every person on the planet who is living on less than a dollar a day. That is one billion media hits! Could be on Google, could be on AOL, could be NBC, could be ABC. We need some air time for our ideas. We need to get the statistics out to the American people. I really believe that old Truman line, "if you give the American people the facts, they will do the right thing". This has to be described as an adventure not a burden. Please visit www.ONE.ORG and help us.

My third wish:

I wish for TED to truly show the power of information. It's power to rewrite rules and transform lives by connecting every hospital, health clinic and every school in one African country and I would like it to be in Ethiopia. I believe we can connect every school in Ethiopia, every health clinic, every hospital. We can connect to the internet. That is my wish. I think it is possible. I think we have the money and brains to do that. And that would be a mind blowing wish to come true. I have been to Ethiopia, as I said earlier. It is actually where it all started for me.

The idea that the internet which changed all our lives, can transform a country and a continent that has partly made it to analog let alone digital blows my mind.

But it didn't start out that way. The first long distance line from Boston to New York was used in 1885, on the phone. It was just nine years later that Addis Ababa was connected by phone to Harare, which is 500km away. Since then, not that much has changed. The average waiting time to get a land line in Ethiopia is actually, about seven or eight years. Wireless technology wasn't dreamt up then.

Anyways, you know I am Irish and I know how important talking is. Communication is very important for Ethiopia. We will transform the country. Nurses getting better training, pharmacist able to order supplies, doctors sharing their expertise in all aspects of medicine. It is a very, very good idea to get them wired. That is my third and final wish for you at the TED Conference.

Thank you very much.

To help with this wish please contact – tedprize@ted.com

Subject: Join me in fighting poverty!

Hi,

I've just signed the ONE Declaration committing myself to help fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty.

I'm asking you to make that commitment, too, by adding your voice.

I think your name belongs on that declaration, too. You can put it there by visiting:

http://www.one.org/declare/

ONE is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans - one by one. So far, over two million have signed the declaration in support of a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world.

Together as ONE we can make a difference!

Thanks!

TELL ME WHY:

TellMeWhy.wmv (video/x-ms-wmv)

IN MY DREAM, CHILLS OF SIN

A SONG OF LOVE FOR EVERY BOY AND GIRL

THE SKY IS BLUE, THE FIELDS ARE GREEN

AND LAUGHTER IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE WORLD

THEN I WAKE IN DAWN I SEE

IS A WORLD FULL OF PEOPLE IN NEED

TELL ME WHY?

DOES IT HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS

TELL ME WHY?

IS THERE SOMETHING I HAVE MISSED?

TELL ME WHY?

I DON'T UNDERSTAND

WHEN SO MANY NEED SOMEBODY

WE DON'T GIVE A HELPING HAND

TELL ME WHY?

EVERY DAY I ASK MYSELF

WHAT WILL I HAVE TO DO TO BE A MAN?

DO I HAVE TO STAND AND FIGHT

TO PROVE TO EVERY BODY WHO I AM?

IS IT WORTH MY LIFE TO FALL

TO WASTE IN A WORLD FULL OF WAR?

TELL ME WHY?

DOES IT HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS

TELL ME WHY?

IS THERE SOMETHING I HAVE MISSED?

TELL ME WHY?

I DON'T UNDERSTAND

WHEN SO MANY NEEDS SOMEBODY

WE DON'T GIVE A HELPING HAND

TELL ME WHY? X 3

JUST TELL ME WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?

WHY, WHY, WE DON'T CELEBRATE?

SOME ONE TELL US WHAT THE CHALLENGES WOULD BE

* Bono's wishes

Bono

WISH ONE: I wish for you to help build a social movement of more than 1 MILLION American activists for Africa.

Goal:

* Empower Americans to fight stupid, crushing poverty in Africa and AIDS by making a big noise.

Actions Taken:

* Rights to the URL www.ONE.org secured and delivered by the Jane Addams Hull House.
* Sun builds cool SMS technology that allows instant sign-ups at U2 concerts; a team from Sun travels with the U2 tour to run it.
* Multi-company team of Sun, Macromedia, Microsoft and Tribe, redesigns the www.ONE.org website.
* Anonymous TEDster commits $10M over five years to Bono's team.

Result:
1.4M signups ahead of G8 summit where major debt cancellation/AID package agreed. www.ONE.org signups subsequently exceed 2M.

WISH TWO: I wish to tell people ONE BILLION times about ONE, with as much of this as possible before the G8 Africa Summit in July 2005.

Goal:

* ONE billion media impressions for the mass-market campaign to tell everyone in the US about www.ONE.org and the global fight against poverty.

Actions Taken:

* John Kamen, of @radicalmedia, creates ONE film which plays all over TV networks and the Internet
* Google contribute adwords
* Jay Amato and Viewpoint negotiate 1.5 BILLION online ads with help from 24/7 Real Media, About.com, Accuweather, ad pepper, AOL, Boston.com, Burst Media, CBS, UPN and CBSNews, Ebay, Gamespot, iVillage, MaxOnline, Monster.com, MSN, MSNBC, NowPublic, Right Media, UGO, ValueClick, VIEWPOINT Search, Whitepages.com

Results:
Exceeded 1 BILLION impressions target before the G8 summit. Total impressions granted eventually exceeded 2 billion.

WISH THREE: I wish for you to show the power of information -- its power to rewrite the rules and to transform lives -- by connecting every hospital, health clinic, and school in one African country, Ethiopia, to the Internet.

Goal:

* Track and improve public health with information technology; expand the resources available to local schools

Actions Taken:

* Sun, AMD, HP, Cisco, and TEDsters Taylor Milsal and Joseph Mouzon meet with DATA for a half-day brainstorm.
* NYC meeting with Jeffrey Sachs' Earth Institute team from Columbia.
* TED delegation are hosted in Addis Ababa by Tom Darden's Cherokee House.
* TED delegation visits schools, clinics, and meets with government: Ministry of Health, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Building Capacity, The World Bank, State Department, Ethiopian Telecommunications, local NGOs.
* Big problems are encountered: Pushback from teachers and doctors, government telecoms monopoly and erupting political violence.

Results:
After in-depth research, TED reports back to Bono ... this is NOT the best way for TED to help in Africa. Instead, TED decides to connect the community to remarkable people, projects, businesses in Africa and announces TED Global in Tanzania, June 2007.

My Comments on the Confusing article by Kuchiye "Why it is strenuous to be an EPRDF fan." (http://www.abugidainfo.com)

2008-01-07T11:28:00.000-08:00

Washera_2000
January 7th, 2008 at 1:14 pm

Dear Kuchiye:

I have followed your writings from way back when you used to scribble in the comments section of the one blog we both loved, Weichegud. You have come a long way, baby! You are now writing articles. I encourage you to keep it up.

I commented extensively on your article on why you decided to become a Kinijit supporter. I don’t think you read it, or may be it does not make sense to you. I hate to burst your bubble, but there are some basic confusing remarks in your present treatise as well. Let me go on one by one.

1. I agree with you on the question of our access to the sea. In fact, I have been advocating that EPRDF needs to pay attention to the needs of the Afar people whose border extends all the way to Massawa. I believe in initiating negotiations with the Eritrean government even as we remain bogged dawn with the Badme issue.

2. I disagree with you about your “piece of land that is of little consequence” allegation. The Badme issue is by no means over yet.

3. It saddens me to see you talk about “divide-and-rule” and “mafia-type interest groups”, when you describe EPRDF’s ruling style.

4. You muddy the waters further by stating that “EPRDF dared to take a chance at democracy” only to spoil it by “killing of peaceful demonstrators, the mass arrests, the ban on independent media.” Did you expect a “mafia-style” government with “divide-and-rule” philosophy to “dare take a chance at democracy?” Or were you setting up the statements to help you with your atrocious conclusions? Did you forget the remarkable achievement made by the Shimagiles and the Ethiopian government to release the Kality prisoners, most of whom are freely going about establishing their parties in this Ethiopia, while others continue their tourism abroad? This in the same Ethiopia that you claim is ruled by those who have "...fear of creating political space to accommodate genuine opposition". Ask w/t Bertukan Mideksa if she shares your opinion.

5. You allege to know EPRDF’s political philosophy “that is founded on ethnicism, propaganda strategy that boarders fear mongering, economic policy that endows the ruling party and its clique but denies the citizen, fear of creating political space to accommodate genuine opposition, habit of holding others accountable for its own ills.”

6. You then borrow a line from (sic) Dr. Berhanu Nega, “For EPRDF, human and democratic rights are inconvenient truths that have to be recited on world political stages to satisfy the minimum requirement of donors.” to put your appalling finishing remark, "the absence of press freedom and the totally suffocating political climate Ethiopians are forced to live in.” Have you been to Ethiopia recently to witness the "suffocation" that you refer to both to the people and the press?

What is even more astounding is your unsubstantiated optimism expressed thus; “there is still time to right the wrong and to build a vitally necessary level of trust between all the parties who have vested interest in Ethiopia.”

You started off by telling us about attributes you consider important in any decent human being, “Keeping an open mind, avoiding being judgmental, believing in the power of discourse, self respect, respect for the values of others, sensitivity to real or imagined fears–” You don’t see how your statements in numbers 3 to 6 contradict the basic tenets of decency that you advocate in the second paragraph? Where is the respect and fair judgment you offer the EPRDF government? How can you expect any fragment of goodness on the part of EPRDF to listen to you when you label it as a “divide-and-rule” and “fear-mongering” regime that according to you is performing unconstitutional acts regularly and repeatedly? Where do you find the optimism to work with such a regime?

I may agree with you on re-visiting our land policy and even willing to look into the issue of ethnic federalism. I am an ardent supporter of free market economy and I am anti-secession. But your arguments fall short on many counts.

I respect and applaud you for your “self-assessment” exercise you have indulged into. I respectfully ask you to re-examine your flowed thought process.

Please do go back and re-examine your values with a clear-headed and sober mind and body. Give EPRDF due credit for the good it has done and figure out a way to work with it with respect and brotherhood. Then and only then, will your optimism take root and your contribution to a lasting democratic legacy to our Ethiopia be a realistic goal.

Thank you for your misguided, but thought provoking remarks.

WHY I DECIDED TO BE AN EPRDF SUPPORTER AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE ONE

2008-01-01T06:27:00.000-08:00

By Washera-2000, plagiarized from Kuchiye December 29, 2007 (http://www.abugidainfo.com/)

January 1, 2008

I was fascinated by an article written by Kuchiye in the above web site. My experiences with Kuchiye are identical in many areas. So I have taken the liberty to freely plagiarize from that wonderful treatise. Kuchiye, bear with me.

Like any other decent citizen I have always taken interest in the affairs and wellbeing of my country. I am from the same generation that Kuchiye is. Unlike Kuchiye, I did not have the maturity level and the political wherewithal in high school to understand politics, let alone write an article on human rights and democracy. We had school magazines back then including Times and Newsweek. I remember one of my best friends who is still alive and near by reading these magazines cover to cover, including the ads. I enjoyed academic competition, tennis and reading the likes of Charlotte Bronte, Conan Doyle and Jules Verne. Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare would come later.

My memory of the 1953 coup was the demonstration we had in the town of Gore in support of His Imperial Majesty. I was at the front of the line carrying the Green, Yellow and Red. I did not even know who Germame Neway was until I came to high school.

Decades have elapsed since the 1953 coup d'etat and though I maintained some degree of interest in politics, it was somewhat in disconnected fashion. Politics seemed unrelated to my way of life and political activity was the exclusive domain of aristocrats, scoundrels and cold-blooded murderers. My only aspirations were to be in the best profession in the country and marry the daughter or grand daughter of the Emperor so that I can get two gashas of land for my poor family back in my village of Gara Kufa in Harar province. I have seen a royal family member receive a mountain for a birthday! That ambition will lead me to complete the first part of my dream and come to the United States to continue further in that profession. Outside a brief brush with royalty, any possibility of my second dream was suddenly cut short by the arrival of Mengistu and his murder squad, just as I was coming into the party scene. In 1991, when those scoundrels were kicked out of my country, I joined the Washington political scene and briefly dabbled in organizing and chairing a political party. That activity and a couple of bad coincidences would lead me to a brief stay in "Kality prison", when I went back to visit my country after 17 years of absence. I had to sign a paper saying I would never get involved in any political activity, before I could get my freedom and return to the United States. So, it was back to political obscurity and raising family.

Then 2005 happened. The period leading to the 2005 election was laden with hope and excitement. It was unlike any other in our lifetime, for it sucked the most skeptics out of self imposed exile and the most indifferent out of centuries old slumber. Many Ethiopians opposing EPRDF started to believe that democracy was possible and that governments can change through the power of the ballot. On the national level the government has been transforming its governance principles along more and more democratic lines. The relative peace in the country and the continued growth in the economy have lead to its increased popularity. When 2005 rolled in, EPRDF has had over a decade and a half of governance, improved infrastructure, growing military power in the region and confidence in its political ideology. So, EPRDF was motivated to opening up of the political process and more freedom for political parties in the opposition camp. It mattered very little whether the motivation grew out of conviction or national or international pressure. A significant chunk of the credit also goes to those Ethiopians who came out in millions to participate in the democratic process. The 2005 elections sparked national debates and managed to glue an entire population to the TV set, the radio and newspapers.

That was when I also started to believe democracy was indeed possible and Ethiopians, who I believe are the most politicized humans in Africa, were behind this movement for real. In essence, I took the lead from the average Ethiopian. After 15 years of absence from the Ethiopian political scene, I believed the statute of limitation on my participation clause had expired or I was ready for the consequences if any. I lined up behind the “Yichalal” national wagon authored by no other than Haile Gebre Selasssie. Who could blame me for that? I can assure you my support for Kinijit did not spring out of a lottery draw or from previous association with its component parts which I had none. Due diligence was involved in my choice of Kinijit.

However, my support of Kinijit was on an ideological level and not on a practical level of joining any opposition party. I followed the election process in Ethiopia via all available modern news media, in particular, through the various pal talk rooms. The pal talk medium gave me an instant, live access to discussion forums where interviews, debates and group and individual discussions can be had with a flip of the finger. I followed the processes day in and day out, at home and at work. I argued with individuals and debated groups. I was bounced and banned time and again for my political opinion, which basically boiled down to advocating peace and a strong belief in working with EPRDF. From the beginning I believed the constitution was acceptable with a few controversial articles and I did not hesitate to articulate my disagreements.

While we were in the middle of this debate and excitedly waiting for the Kinijit leaders to join parliament, the unthinkable happened. Hundreds of lives were lost; thousands were put to prison, including many of the Kinijit leaders. That was a low point in my short political career. At one moment, I wanted to resign from my job and join a non-profit organization to serve my country. When that appeared unrealistic, I joined the campaign of peaceful struggle to get the Kality prisoners released. The pal talk medium, especially the Ethiopians Forum for Political Civility, provided me the podium to argue this belief to its ultimate outcome. This medium also provided me an opportunity to interact with the many Ethiopian officials who came for extensive interviews on the issue of the prisoners in particular and the state of affairs in Ethiopia in general. The two-and-a-half years I spent in pal talk gave me an incredible education and information about my country and the leaders involved in governing it. I met many more Ethiopians with incredible talent, dedication and love for their country. I supported individuals, groups, support organizations and political parties that I believed were working toward improving good governance and democracy in Ethiopia. Most of all, I expressed my disagreement with the imprisonment of the CUD leaders and took this argument to the highest Ethiopian officials I could access. I visited Ethiopia on more than one occasion and articulated my position in no uncertain terms.

When the CUD prisoners and many thousands more finally came out of prison, my confidence in the good that EPRDF is capable of doing was boosted dramatically. Suddenly, my hopes that were dodged when the CUD leaders entered Kality, was replaced with the optimistic attitudes I had for the 2005 elections. What was even better was that EPRDF appeared to have understood its errors and was taking extraordinary corrective steps.

Then another previously simmering episode exploded when the CUD leaders left Kality and started their tour in Europe and North America. The conflict between the Ato Hailu Shawel's wing and that of w/t Bertukan Mideksa reached its nadir with the firing of prominent CUD leaders and w/t Bertukan herself. This split within CUD did not stop here. Back home in Ethiopia, the division among the CUD members that had joined parliament continued with the split of Ato Ayele Chamiso and Ato Temesgen Zewde. The former will claim the official "Kinijit" name and the later will have w/t Bertukan and her group joining him. In the meantime, a certain Dr. Berhanu Nega continued his anti-EPRDF rhetoric from his fellowship office in Washington, DC. Ato Hailu Shawel remained in hiding in Minnesota, conspiring to fire more CUD members and hire more friends of Dr. Taye W. Semayat. This is the tragic state of affairs within Kinijit that, only a couple of years ago, appeared ready to re-write the history of modern Ethiopian politics. The history is written alright, but with a sad commentary included.

Ever since the release of the CUD prisoners and after my continued communication with some EPRDF officials, my political thinking was getting further clarity and it became unambiguously obvious to me that the path to follow was in support of EPRDF and work within it to continue the democratic change it was allowing to flourish. The last few years had given me an opportunity to meet with these EPRDF officials and develop affection and respect for the enormous responsibility they hold on their shoulders. I believe I have reached that point in my life and in my conviction to impact the political process in Ethiopia. Let me then innumerate why I support EPRDF and believe in working within the system to bring change.

1) I truly understand and appreciate the sacrifices that were paid by the people that fought to overthrow the Derg regime. We all need to pay tribute to their sacrifice that has made this democratic discourse possible. It is time for us to do our share.

2) The last 17 years of EPRDF rule has brought, peace, ethnic empowerment and some degree of economic growth. Basic infrastructure has continued to improve and that gives me confidence that this growth will continue. I feel it is time to look into our economic policy, educational system and border and sea port issues. This can all be done by participating in the political process within EPRDF.

3) EPRDF is a decidedly multi-nation and nationalities party. Take a look at the diversity of the leadership and the statistical result of the 2005 election which transcended ethnic and regional boundaries. No amount of negative propaganda aimed at portraying it as an ethnic party will change the fact. However, more needs to be done to bring the various nationalities even closer together through policy changes in the area of common national languages and building better communication infrastructure.

4) EPRDF believes in a peaceful political struggle as the only salvation for a war and strife weary Ethiopia. Among other things, the path chosen considered the level of political consciousness in Ethiopia, the fragile nature of relationships and international political experiences. The belief in growing our democracy includes continued vigilance to protect our constitutional rights. The door for negotiations with any friend or foe should always remain open. A lot needs to be done in the area of human rights and individual freedom. Article 10 of our constitution guarantees Human and Democratic Rights.

1. Human rights and freedoms as inherent rights of man are inalienable and inviolable.

2. The human and democratic rights of peoples and citizens shall be protected.

We protect these rights by active participation in the existing political system alongside our EPRDF brothers and sisters.

6) EPRDF strongly believes that Ethiopia’s democratic aspirations will forge ahead if and only if stake-holders breakout of their intransigent positions and discuss their visions and fears after getting elected and joining parliament. Accept the constitution, organize or join a legal party in the country, run and get elected, join parliament and engage actively in the political process to affect change. The political suicide committed by Kinijit after the 2005 elections should never be repeated. Kinijit has damaged its credibility and needs a long time to recuperate.

7) EPRDF is committed to stamp out hunger and poverty in our country. We should all join in this fight even as we continue to struggle for land reform policy and introduction of advanced agricultural productivity measures.
Some day, we will move to a market driven economy and recognize individual ownership of land and capital as the engines that drive a vibrant economy and a great nation.

8) EPRDF is aware of Ethiopia’s current and evolving international responsibilities in a region that continues to originate numerous global challenges. The strong relationship established with the United States in fighting terrorism has given it a status of a strong and powerful ally with a super power. Its own superpower status in the horn of Africa in particular and in the continent in general has been reaffirmed. The crisis in Somalia or the brewing situation with Eritrea will soon find a decisive culmination. The Ethiopian people will no doubt be behind EPRDF, especially when it comes to the intransigent situation with Eritrea.

9) The regional division along the lines of nations and nationalities may be misconstrued as going contrary to economic, social and international logic. It is further alleged to restrict the unleashing of the full potential of human and national resources. On the contrary, EPRDF believes in Article 39 that among other things, states that every nation, nationality or people in Ethiopia shall have the unrestricted right to self determination up to secession. It further believes that such rights guarantee the freedom to stay or to secede. There is no statement in the constitution that prevents future bylaws or amendments to this article. All the pros and cons about this article can be debated within EPRDF.

10) I believe EPRDF is committed to the exercise of internal democracy as it, along with other parties, strives to cultivate democratic culture in Ethiopia. If there are deficiencies in this regard, then let us join it and make a difference.

11) I believe EPRDF is a dynamic and vibrant organization, always cognizant of the ever changing nature of society, the changing priorities of our nation and of the world. It is adept and is determined not to fall prey to paradigm paralysis.

EPRDF proved to me its desire to resolve conflicts peacefully and legally. At the same time, the resolution of the Kinijit debacle with the help of the Ethiopian elders was another dimension of its flexibility and desire to end conflicts amicably. That goodwill gesture on the part of EPRDF to resolve our political crises would later be abused by the likes of Berhanu Nega. For me, that was a huge step forward in the road to democracy and I was fully convinced that EPRDF is willing to listen and change for the good of the people.

The resent town hall meetings by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to address the peoples' concerns over major economic policies or temporary market fluctuations is a clear indication of his desire to pay even closer attention to our nations needs. On the international forum, PM Meles continues to show his talent and ability to articulate third world concerns to world powers. His recent appearance with the likes of PM Tony Blair at the Clinton Global Convention on the environment was a show-stealing performance that won him a standing ovation, in the process winning back his place among world leaders and bringing respect to our country. Such dependable leadership gives me absolute confidence in our ability to win the argument on any issue that we can put our hearts and minds to.

This, in short, is the EPRDF I chose to support and the basis of unwritten contract signed between the two of us. As a side note; I am not overly concerned about any internal crisis within EPRDF, for no organization worth its salt grows to be wiser and stronger without enduring growing pain.

Thank you Kuchiye. May the strong argument win.

DR BERHANU NEGA COMES BACK WITH A VENGEANCE. SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

2007-12-26T14:51:00.001-08:00

Washera_2000

December 2007

"We face a government with absolute disregard for human life and human rights, emboldened to extremes with every passing day and posing a grave risk to our struggle. Let us put aside our childish squabbles within our party, align ourselves with all democratic forces and move forward to persuade our people with the superior power of our democratic principles." Dr. Berhanu Nega

Dr. Berhanu Nega's interview on Ethiopian Current Affairs Discussion Forum (Pal talk) on Dec 3, 2007.

When I have a few hours to spare, I like to listen to what prominent politicians of our country have to say. At the top of my list are PM Meles Zenawi, Dr. Berhanu Nega, W/t Bertukan Mideksa and Ato Hailu Shawel, not necessarily in that order. I believe that these individuals are among the few influential voices that have a large audience in the present day Ethiopian Diaspora politics. As a result, I feel very strongly that providing an English translation of some of their interviews or public addresses, will help to broaden the understanding of audiences and help in our animated discussions, as well as to providing a permanent hard copy to refer to.

I have had issues with Dr. Berhanu's statements, ever since his first speech in Washington, D.C. Despite his apparent dedication to democratic principles and individual liberty, I find many contradictions in his statements and utter lack of respect for the Ethiopian government. At a minimum, he will loose the good will of some of these government officials that he plans to work with. At worse, he may well be in violation of his terms of release from Kality prison. It does not take a rocket scientist to infer from his recent activities that EPRDF thinks of him as damaged goods. So why make it worse? As you read along, please make note of the highlighted comments and enjoy the humor at my expense lol

Q (Endellibu): Our guest today is Dr. Berhanu Nega, "Laelay Mikir Bet abal" and mayor-elect of Addis Ababa. Thank you for accepting our invitation to be with us today.

Dr. Berhanu: Thank you very much. I apologize for not making your past repeated invitations. At the outset, I would like to make it clear to you that my comments today are as Berhanu and not as a leader of any organization or member of Kinijit.

Q (Endellibu): Thank you very much. That is how we made the introduction too. What was the feeling of the struggle like in Ethiopia after you came out of prison? What about the movement abroad? What were your observations like during your tour abroad?

Dr. Berhanu: As you may know, after EPRDF reneged on the terms it agreed on with the Elders Commission about our release, after going about a propaganda campaign of malicious character assassination for over ten days, after performing acts akin to cheap shots of a hooligan and convinced that our political career was effectively terminated, the reception we received from the people both at home and abroad was a clear indication of their firm belief in the principles of democracy. Far from being discouraged and feeling defeated, we witnessed their resolve to uphold the Kinijit ideology and their desire to advance these principles unabated. We were also made to believe that we are well equipped to lead a steady, deliberate and legitimate movement of higher moral value. As is well known, although the new controversy inside Kinijt has thrown cold water on the people's desire for freedom and democracy, I am convinced that the Ethiopian people are going to continue the struggle until they see the fulfillment of their aspirations.

(Washera:I should mention that, even as we speak, Dr. Berhanu Nega, W/t Bertukan Mideksa, Dr. Hailu Araya, Ato Gizachew Shiferaw and Ato Biruk Debebe have been suspended by Chairman Hailu Shawel!)

Q(Endellibu): What is the present state of affairs inside Kinijit. This thing inside Kinijit is new. We used to think that all Kinijit leaders were democrats. But what we are witnessing these days is contrary to that belief. Is it a moral dilemma? Can you tell us the situation inside Kinijit now?

Dr. Berhanu: This issue is more than a moral dilemma to me. It is an indication of a moral decadence along the same lines of those who are bent on the desire to destroy the movement at any cost. This deep seated anti-democratic behavior is very embarrassing and humiliating to us all. It is also a shame and a dishonor to the struggle. I will not be surprised if the people are disturbed and puzzled by it and even questioned their decision to vote for Kinijit in the first place. I myself was disgusted by this act. I have no better words to describe such a political struggle based on a run of the mill lie and aspersions, other than to say it is very embarrassing indeed!. In the end, I hope that the people will transcend such sleazy gossip and have the strength and fortitude to forge ahead with the democratic movement.

There are many problems with our struggle. This should not come as a surprise us. There are those who would like to fan and spread lies about our movement. Many political groups benefit from this situation. But as you well know, the main beneficiary of this, and the practitioner of politics by malicious tactics is EPRDF itself. While we are embarrassing ourselves by throwing mud at each other, EPRDF is bombing our neighborhoods, it kills, it maims, and it rapes our people. Wrapped in this mess, we do not even have time to demonstrate against such atrocities of EPRDF. It is indeed a very very sad and shameful act.

Q (Taye – Machew-Calgary): The struggle for democracy and rule of law has turned into name calling and disrespect, all the way from the top leadership to the average member. Several issues have been raised about your remaining behind to do fellowship. Can you tell us more about it?

Dr. Berhanu: This is no secret. Following my speech at The New School in New York and my award for fellowship, I gave an interview to German Radio. I explained at the time that the fellowship that would last for a semester was for time to write, to think and to contemplate. I mentioned at the time that I will start my fellowship as soon as we finished the North American Tour of duty. I am very happy about this opportunity and feel it is ever more important to do it. As you know, Kinijit is in the middle of in-fighting and petty disputes. We have to figure a way out of this mess so as to move forward with our democratic struggle.

What should our strategic direction be? Does this direction need to be changed? We have never had a chance to sit down, think, contemplate and map out any strategy about all these issues. So, I believe that the opportunity to have time to figure out our future direction for our democratic struggle is ever more important. Some have asked me to go home instead and help solve the in-fighting inside Kinijit. Let alone me, I would strongly advise others to get the hell out of this mayhem and move on to the important task of our democratic struggle. Those who desire to squander their time in trashy tittle-tattle should be left alone to drawn in it. Those elements that stand for democracy should look away from this crap and focus on the principal enemy, EPRDF, to bring it to the negotiating table for a democratic resolution of the crisis we are in. If this does not happen, we have to think about our alternatives. Our task at hand should be to think about these options and to have the people and the organization in place to do the task. We should not waste our time and resources talking about daily aspersions from insolent people or cheap talk about what Abayneh said or what Kebede said. For me, this is not a worthwhile struggle and we should walk away from it and focus on our main objective.

Q (Endellibu): Shouldn't all this mess be handled by Kinijit? Doesn't Kinijit have the organizational structure to handle this problem? How else can we move forward?

Dr. Berhanu: I don't know how many of you are aware of this. But for this issue to be handled according to the party by-laws, you have to get a majority of the Kinijit leadership to meet and decide what to do. What we are hearing is that, one group has already formed its own body and is moving in a different direction. How can you assemble these groups together and resolve this controversy? Unless we find a quick way to sort out and wrap up this problem, we could sit here for weeks and months waiting for a Kinijit quorum to be reached. There are groups bent on preventing any kind of democratic decisions to be passed by Kinijit. We are witnessing the actions of a group willing and capable of causing significant damage to the movement. This is the time to ponder over what direction the democratic movement should take. We should not be tools for their antics and obstacles meant to impede our progress.

Q (Taye-Machew): As noted in your famous presentation in Washington, D.C., at the beginning of the tour, you strongly believe that we can overthrow EPRDF through peaceful struggle. Others disagree with you and call this idea of trying to bring EPRDF to the negotiating table as a weak and wimpy position. Can you elaborate on this?

Dr. Berhanu: Let me answer it in two ways. First, that is why we need time to think about it all. That is exactly what I want to do and that is what I am gonna do. Second, I don't know which part is called wimpy. If they are referring to peaceful struggle as a wimpy struggle not strong enough to affect governments, all you have to do is look at the astonishing accomplishments we had in 2005, much more than even armed struggle can do, and how it stunned EPRDF. Now, this does not mean that it is a religion, that we have made a vow to abide by just this one tactic. In fact, what I am suggesting is that we should re-think this whole modus operandi. We have to sit down and think about a new strategy. Will a government, that has stolen votes, and smashed the opposition by force, be willing to relinquish its sovereignty by the ballot box? What kind of pressure will force it to go for true negotiations? If it doesn't, do we have a means of compelling it to do so? These are issues we have to raise, debate and arrive at strategically more appropriate options after some serious thinking. We have to stop throwing mud at each other and instead, think like an organization or a coalition of similar minded movements who are deliberate in their actions. That is how we are preparing ourselves. So, I don't know what aspect of this strategy they considered wimpy.

Q (Taye-Machew): We have heard that you have been invited to address a meeting in Lisbon, Portugal on issues of Human Rights in developing countries. In what capacity are you going there? We have also heard that PM Meles Zenawi will be at the meeting too. What do you expect from this meeting?

Dr. Berhanu: There are two meetings in Lisbon. One called the EU-Africa Summit, is a meeting between African leaders and European leaders. Side by side with this, because of the presence of these leaders and better press coverage, Amnesty International holds a meeting on issues of Human rights, universal rights and good governance. This is a one day meeting and I was invited to address the situation in Ethiopia. I will be talking about the worsening Human right situation in Ethiopia, how shameful the violations are and how dangerous the entire region will be if the European nations and others turn a blind eye to Meles government. I will point out that such inaction in the face of flagrant human right violations could turn the region into a hot bed for war and permanent instability. I hope to impress on these leaders the gravity of the situation and call upon them to put more pressure on PM Meles and reconsider their policy toward the Ethiopian government. (Washera: is this the EU equivalent of HR2003?).

Q (Gureza): Considering the sad state of affairs inside Kinijit now, what would the situation be like if Woyane had not stolen the elections in 2005 and Kinijit was in power? Will the situation with Kinijit scare away other parties or organizations who would like to form coalitions to replace the Woyane regime with a democratic one? Will the Ethiopian people look at such coalitions and debates with suspicion?

Dr. Berhanu: The first question is like what foreigners call "trick question". What would you do if you were in power, is a difficult question to answer. If all these same shady characters were in power, would they do things differently, because of the position of power that they will be in? There are responsibilities and institutional obligations that come with power. How much these institutional obligations will deter the unethical conduct of these characters is difficult to say. I do understand your skepticism, though. Any one who is witnessing the present state of affairs will no doubt be apprehensive and fearful, and second guess the rationale for their previous decisions.

Mircha 97 (2005 elections) was not only about overthrowing Meles. It was a democratic question and focused mainly on building the institutions of democracy. These democratic principles include the belief that no one is above the law, that all are ruled by the law of the land and that all respect this law. These principles emanate from democratic institutions and from democratic individuals. I fail to understand how anyone who disavows these democratic principles will fight to bring about democratic institutions. Have you heard any substantive issues being discussed by these people? The only issue is, about respecting decisions made by democratic institutions. It is really, really, really difficult to believe that people who do not respect these democratic principles, will go out and build democratic institutions. Democracy is not about our individual beliefs. Democracy is about accommodating the various beliefs of individuals (Washera: Except the EPRDFites whose ideas cannot be respected) and creating a fair and just society. Under these democratic principles, any one should be allowed to bring their beliefs to the people, accept and be ruled by the one that the people choose. Those whose ideas were unsuccessful, should accept their defeat, prepare for the next election and in the mean time, be governed by the victorious idea. But, any one who does not abide by these principles cannot be expected to bring about democratic change, just because he wants to overthrow Meles or hates him or calls him Woyane. (Washera: That includes you, I presume?) I do not believe that there is any one in this day and age, who will fall for such foolish jokes. I do agree with you that this kind of behavior will make it very difficult to make coalitions among parties. By the same token, I think we have gained a great deal from this experience. We are better prepared to build democratic institutions. Democracy will not bring individual beliefs any closer. But it will allow Christians, Moslems, Animists all, the right to practice the religion of their choosing, while creating a system where all can agree to live together in one country. From here on, any organization that exists or is created has to have clear and transparent principles and agree and abide by these democratic principles. Those who agree to form coalitions just to overthrow EPRDF, will not have learned their lessons.

Q (Kinfu-on-line): There is a political stalemate inside Kinijit that has prevented it from doing its job. This gridlock inside Kinijit has incapacitated the ability of its leaders from focusing on their opposition. How is it possible to resolve this problem? You have used strong language today, but what is the solution? Does this problem predate your imprisonment or is it a new development? Do you regret the formation of Kinijit by the coalition of the four parties?

Dr. Berhanu: Let me start from the last question. I do not regret the formation of CUD. That decision, with all its weaknesses and problems, has moved the democratic struggle in Ethiopia several steps forward.

The mess inside Kinijit has consumed our day today conversations. Our daily talk has become who said what to whom. It has completely paralyzed our organization and our democratic struggle. That is why I believe we need to think of a radical solution for this problem. Which is, those with democratic principles should be left to move on with their struggle. If there is any resolution of their differences at all, they should be told to stop the insult, lies and name calling. This does no good to them or to the politics. They are mature and elderly people. Let each side map out and teach its plans to overthrow EPRDF and build their respective institutions. Those on this side of the aisle, who believe in and stand for democratic principles and rule of law, alongside with other forces with similar values, should move forward with the struggle. This really purely idiotic nonsense of name calling and verbal punches has to stop. Trying to bring these opposing forces together like the old CUD is a useless and unnecessary endeavor. I don't think it will move the democratic struggle one foot forward. Some time in the future, which I doubt, once every one has gone his way and things have simmered down, may be we can try to regroup and talk. But now, instead of going out and demonstrating about our opposition to the raping of our Ogaden people and their oppression by EPRDF, we have been completely shut out and excluded. This state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue. Those of us who stand for democratic principles have to start thinking further. We have to move forward and not be mired down by this worthless struggle. Enough already! We just cannot go on like this anymore.

Q (Kinfu): In your Chicago NPR radio interview, you alluded to how EPRDF has divided you into three groups and how he is playing one against the other. You seem to have placed all the blame on EPRDF. The question is where did the problem arise in the first place?

Dr. Berhanu: I want to say something. Mostly, the discussions, dialogues and debates that go on inside an organization are very captivating and pleasing. It is an ideological difference. Do you see these kinds of differences of opinion these days? Not one. For the last four months, we have been bickering over issues that have no substance. Why was I not received at the airport, is the main complaint. It is astonishing to hear this as an issue from a leader who belongs to an organization that wants to build democracy in Ethiopia. We consider it an honorable act to discuss our differences in the open and go our separate ways when we disagree. The truth will come out eventually. There is a communication gap now. I don't get it when they say we are divided. For me, Kinijit is one. What our people want and what we promised is to introduce a democratic system that bases its belief on individual right and respects group rights. There is no other way, but to advance these principles.

Q (Harari): What is Kinijit's stand on the issue of Ethnicity? The fear spread by EPRDF is that, if Kinijit takes power they will take away the ethnic-based rights of the nations and nationalities. What is your take on this?

Dr. Berhanu: This is definitely not a debatable issue in Ethiopian politics nowadays. Because, Kinijit believes that the way we build a democratic system is by basing it on the rights of the individual. These rights include freedom of expression, the right of assembly, and freedom of association to express one's opinion in an organized way, etc. Does Berhanu have these rights? It means Berhanu, as a male adult, as an economist and as a religious person, has the right to meet, organize and disseminate his beliefs to others. Others can propagate their ethnic-based politics any which way they want. I can say I disagree, but I cannot prevent them. To organize, you need people. You cannot tell them to organize with this ideology or with that something. So the rights of Nations and Nationalities or the question of ethnicity becomes irrelevant. People can organize in any form; disseminate their ideas to any one, and share resources and so on. You cannot stop that. They can organize under shared values, economic needs or professional relationships. One should choose based on what one thinks is right and better for him/her and not based on his/her ethnic origin. Eventually, I believe that, when these democratic principles get a foothold, ethnic-based politics and ethnic-based organizations will fade away. Therefore, under the present circumstances in Ethiopia, people are organized under ethnic-based beliefs. That is fine. We will come in with a better ideology-based organization and compete. Let us all agree to present each our view point and abide by whichever one the Ethiopian people choose. If I choose to go Oromia Kilil and compete, I should be able to do so without being asked to speak Afan Oromo. If you do that, you infringe on the freedom of the Oromo people too. Ethiopia is a nation of one ethnicity. For all of us to live together in harmony, we have to respect and defend each and every one of these rights. Any one who respects group rights, but not individual rights is a liar. The democratic ideals of Kinijit provide for the real answer to this dilemma. Nationalities rights are not respected because you cheat them, like EPRDF does, by saying to them self determination up to secession. What we have now learned is that, there is one tool that EPRDF wants to use to stay in power. That tool is to divide us and have us fight with each other. The challenge that faces all democratic forces is to be aware of this conspiracy and unite to figure a way for our democratic principles to triumph. I am done!

Q (Milach): The American State Department was one of the forces that provided direct help for EPRDF to ascend to power. At the time Mr. Cohen told Mr. Meles that they will give them a 'soft' landing. Ever since that time, we have at no time seen the State Department condemning or denouncing Mr. Meles' administration. During the killing of 193 people, the United States asked only for restraint on all sides. What is your comment on that? What kind of pressure do you think we should put on the State Department? How can we make the State Department turn away from Meles administration? Or is this some thing we should expect from the next Kinijit meeting?

Dr. Berhanu: The question about what to do change American foreign policy is important. I see two ways of doing that. The first thing to do is to organize ourselves and force this government and show to others that it cannot continue like this and that it will put the country into more instability and chaos if it continues like this. So primarily, it will be the result of our struggle that will influence the US government. The second point is to realize what the priorities for America are when it comes to poor countries in Africa. Primarily, it is not related to democracy or human rights. It is a power balance issue. Which power is it that we can work with to keep our interests? We have to show the US government that all these mess that it is drawn into in that part of the world can create a worse and unstable situation. They are looking for an alternative to the situation in the Horn. We believe stability can come to that region if all the different parties inside the country work in tandem and cooperation. We spend a lot of time fighting among each other rather than fighting with EPRDF. So, I don't think they yet believe that there is an alternative force to replace the present one. That is why we have to do our home work. First we have to unite and put pressure on this government. Second, by our unity and force we have to show the US government that we are a viable alternative. (Washera: Viable alternative, my foot! what are you smoking?) It is only when we do this that we can replace that force.

Q (Baliwe): Will your book have a sequel to include things that were left out? Things like party politics before kinijit. Some people show around a picture of you having a good laugh with Tamrat Layne and Meles Zenawi, to accuse you of complicity with Woyane and saying that you are not a genuine member of the Kinijit struggle. This can confuse some traditional individuals. What do you have to say about this?

Dr Berhanu: I love having pictures taken with any one, even you. These are recent charges. Do these people think they are talking politics? During my visit to Los Angeles, I was told about an elderly Ethiopian by the name of Moges, who was running around and posting these pictures all over the place. That is supposed to indicate that I am Woyane! I am sure it is as good as presenting any photograph, say that of Ato Hailu Shawel with Mengistu Hailemariam, and accusing him of being a Derg member. He has at least worked a little with Derg. (I only had champagne and a good laugh with them!) It is the same kind of political mudslinging that EPRDF does, rather than looking at Ato Hailu's present political arguments. This is really disgusting.

The picture was taken in 1991, when I went back to Ethiopia with my father and was invited as an observer at the conference of the Transitional government. In fact, I was refused admission and held at the airport for over two hours before they told me I had to observe this conference and took me there. (Washera: Those two hours felt like I was in Kality prison and I did not even have my I-pod at the time. I was forced to go to the conference rather than going to my family with my dad). We were sequestered and were not allowed to live except to go to the conference every day for six or seven days (Washera: Not enough time to write a mini-book). On the last day, there was a big party and I think the picture was taken by this guy called Mohammed who came from the US. At that time, they were inviting people to make short speeches and, I am not bragging about this, but I was asked by Ambassador Berhanu G. Krisotos to give the closing speech. (Washera: I think it is called bragging) I said to him "If you want me to make a short speech I will. But, let me tell you what I am going to say. I do not believe in the position you took on Eritrea. If this is a live broadcast, I will make it public and innumerate my reasons. In fact, I will make it my central argument and say you cannot say the Ethiopian people have no business with the cessation of Eritrea. I will argue that it concerns them and that we have to find ways of reuniting her with Ethiopia. If you let me express this opinion, I will make a speech." He said no way thanks you and moved on to talk to others. That is the context of the pictures.

But, move ahead and think of it this way. Let us say that I thought EPRDF was good at that time. By the way, I wrote two or three times, commenting on their political and economic policies. But, let us say I supported them and after a while, I changed my mind and said they were useless. Does this change of mind make me a Woyane?. What are we saying here? This shows disrespect for people. To show these pictures and say that Berhanu is absolutely stupid like them and think the people will believe it, is the highest form of disdain and snub to the people. So don't fall for this kind of cheap talk. They say the same kinds of things about Andargachew and Berhanu Mewa. You do not hear them tell their history. One should be measured by his present position or opinion. (Washera: Let me see if I get this. So, it does not matter what we did or say last year, last week or even yesterday? What matters is what we say today?)

On the question of writing about AEUP, EUDP-MEDHIN and other parties, what am I going to write about some thing that I don't know? Why don't they write about it? Why should I be blamed for their laziness? If I want to, I could spend a lot of time to do an extensive study and research, go to different libraries to get material, interview people and write it, like what any scholar would do. But that is not my interest. My interest is to write about the things that I have already started.

After finishing my book in prison, I started to write about "Law and Politics in Ethiopia" in collaboration with another individual. Actually, what we wanted to do was unique. There is no government like EPRDF that uses the law as an instrument of aggression and oppression rather than use it for people who seek justice. We wanted to explore this further and looked at five cases to demonstrate our contention. These cases were the Seye case, the Mechana Tulema case, OLF case and the case of Dr. Asrat. We took these cases and decide to apply our hypothesis that the new approach of these leaders is to use the law as a cover for their human right violations and killings so as to continue to get aid from the Western world, unlike the outright transgression of previous third world dictators. In the past, coup d'etats happened by military might. Nowadays, coup d'etats happen by the order of election commissions and election boards. This was created by the new world order. So, my interest is to explore this and write about in my second book. I am glad to have this limited free time to do this. We had written about 150 pages while we were in prison. But they took away that material when we came out. My main objective is to reconstruct that and no desire to write about AEUP. (Washera: No wonder Kality was a great research institution for you, rather than a prison to contemplate over your role in the 2005 debacle. You did not bother to mention even once, how you were released. You never said a word about why you apologized to the government before your release. I bet you have already broken half a dozen or so of the vows you entered into as a condition of your release. Never mind the erosion of your credibility ever since you came out of Kality. Some day, the Ethiopian people will know the truth and I hope you will openly apologize for the deaths that happened on your watch).

The problem started to manifest itself toward the end. As you know, when Ato Hailu, on his own personal decision established a new organization called KIC (Kinijit International Council), the people who joined him were the same people who disagreed strongly about it while we were in prison. Among the people condemning the Chairmanship of KIC were people like Abayneh. It is amazing to me that these people now turn around and talk about KICs existence and its progress. You know, at a certain level, the reason we dissolved KIC and KIL when we came out of prison was to save Ato Hailu some embarrassment. Since every one knew that it was a wrong decision made by Ato Hailu, we felt it would lead to even more unnecessary situations and decided to dissolve them and organize them in a new format. It is really very embarrassing to see those people now talk about KIC. I can't understand how people change their minds like this. (Washera: Good doctor, remember your prescription? "One should be measured by his present position or opinion". They are just like you!)

Regarding the reception when I go back home, the question is where and by whom. There will be those who will give me a good reception and there will be others who will not. So, that is life. (Washera: I pray to God not another time in Kality. I am sick and tired of the thought of another book by you)

Q (Baliwe): I think the danger Kinijit faces now is whether to put the Kinijit manifesto into practice or not. There are two groups who have taken sides on this issue. It is true that after Kinijit was established and until the leaders went to prison, there was a fast progress made in the struggle by both groups. After that, they were not seeing each other eye to eye. But then, you had twenty plus months in prison together. At that time, were you not able to identify those anti-democratic forces and at a minimum prepare yourselves to take action after you came out? Also, what kind of reception do you expect from the Ethiopian people on your return?

Dr. Berhanu: What kind of stand can you take in prison? You may not know that we were in different zones in prison. We have been having many dialogues in our respective zones and no such division was obvious at that time. In fact, we have had many discussions with some of these people and had agreed on many issues and taken similar positions. Once they came out, some of them started talking about organizational loyalty. What I am ashamed of and sad about is how things have changed toward loyalty to individuals.

Q (And Lenatu – Zegnet): I read in your book "Ye Netsanet Goh Siqed" I read how difficult it was to bring Kinijit toward unity. How do you see the present problem in relation to that? Will you go back home after four months to continue to fan the democratic fire that you have started with your friends or as the rumors say, stay here?

Dr. Berhanu: You mean beyond the four months? As far as I know, my plan is to use these four months to do some thinking about the direction of the struggle, arrive at some clear directions, discuss it with my friends and then continue the struggle. Don't doubt that one iota!. We have to fight the forces that are destroying our country and any other undemocratic forces. This is not a national question. It is more personal and one that each of us has an obligation to fight. As I have said before, I am doing this struggle for myself. I am not doing it for the freedom of the Ethiopian people. I want to be able to live freely. I will do anything I can for that freedom. I will not sit quietly when such a rotten and callous bully of a government does everything that it wants to do. I will do whatever it is that I can and I will continue to do that. So, don't even have a question about that. Also, I do not have to give my word to any one. This is something I promise myself to do.

We have had problems uniting Kinijt, no question about it. I have put it clearly in that book in the way I understood it. What is happening now could be a reflection of what was going on then. There are many similarities, no doubt about it. Both have as their basis, the interests of an organization rather than the values of democracy. Essentially, they were and are saying they are bigger and better. It is inherently and deeply undemocratic. That was and is what is going on.

Q (Gibregeb): The situation in Ethiopia does not allow for Kinijit to move around freely and preach its ideology and recruit embers. What kind of a transparent organization is in place to shape the opinion of the Diaspora using the Kinijit ideology and to recruit members?

Dr. Berhanu: As I have tried to respond earlier, these are some of the questions that have to be well thought about and clear directions devised. I hope to use this opportunity to give this question a final answer. I hope that my friends and those in Addis Ababa will use every loophole and every opportunity to continue the struggle. And I hope Kinijit will make all these things clearer with time.

Q (Mumca): The Kinijit name is popular and Woyane likes it. Many have emerged to cripple this name including EPRDF. There are rumors that the Kinijit name may be changed and some Kinijit leaders and you yourself have said some thing to that effect. Since there is power in this name, if anything were to happen and the name were to be changed, would it make a difference?

Dr. Berhanu: Like I said earlier and in many speeches in the past, to me the name Kinijit means nothing. For me, Kinijit is the belief. It is the ideology. It is the strength of its tenets. That is why the Ethiopian people followed it not for the name. It is not like there are no better prettier names out there. Me, my friends and the respected citizens of our community who believe in a strong democratic struggle, do not for a second believe that a name change will have any effect on the political movement beyond a temporary confusion. If we don't, we are giving EPRDF considerable power. Nowadays, it is EPRDF who decides what the name should be. It can give it to Ayele Chamisso or whoever else, whenever it wants. It is this kind of reckless government we have that has the audacity to do these things.

So, are we going to waste our time fighting to get the name back from Ayele Chamisso or are we going to stick with our faith, give that faith a name and move on with our struggle? We have to push that faith. Those of you in the Diaspora should understand this easily. If you remember, when the Israeli Likud party had a problem with the name, the Sharon group broke away and formed a new party called Kaduna. Some 45 of the leaders went out and told the people about their principles and their new name and asked for their vote. In a matter of two or three weeks they run their campaign and won. That is how we have to look at it. Otherwise, it will be giving too much credence to the deception and sabotage of MeEAd (AEUP). So, those of you who are aware of this should know better. Even if we don't get our Kinijit name back, our stand for democracy, and the path we follow together with other democratic forces will make us succeed in Ethiopia. What the Ethiopian people want is democracy not organizational performance. I believe that there is a trusted democratic force in place, which has proved its credibility and ready to lead the people.

Q (Korojo): I think we have a difficult task ahead of us to help this democratically shrouded dream of the people, this Kinijit movement to surge ahead. When I look at the situation after the visit of the Kinijit delegates to North America and Europe, I see a clear-cut position taken by the Diaspora in North America. The European side does not have a clear stance and will be inconsequential unless they reorganize and move foreword. So far, the Diaspora movement seems to be seen as a second tier force. But if the situation at home continues to deteriorate and detentions continue, I think the Diaspora force can play a decisive role if it is very well organized and prepared. What is your take on this?

Dr. Berhanu: I have no doubt that the Diaspora Ethiopians can make an enormous contribution to the movement at home. As you said, when things get worse in Ethiopia and detentions continue, the Diaspora force can play an even more significant role. No question about that. There is hope if our goal is the democratic principles we espouse. If the Diaspora is to be organized in the name of Kinijit, they should organize democratically from the ground up. Kinijit has passed some resolutions. From now on, any group that organizes in support of Kinijit has to do it democratically from bottom up. All officials should be elected and not appointed. That precept has been clearly communicated by the delegates to the supporters, both in North America and Europe. Those of you who are members of these support organizations should elect competent leaders who embody the spirit of Kinijit. But we will fight those who do things as they want.

At home or abroad we have a responsibility not to stand by when we see democratic principles trampled with.

Q: (Atse Tewodros): What is with Ato Hailu Shawel and Dr. Taye Wolde Semayat? How did they meet? We know Dr. Taye was not a Kinijit member. But now, they seem to be sharing the same blanket. Please tell us the truth that is giving us a heart ache.

Dr. Berhanu: You remind me of a saying. All the forest animals got together and asked a monkey why she was so ugly. Her reply was, I hate being beautiful. I wish I knew what got them together. I really don't know (laughs). Some say it is the fight between me and Ato Hailu that caused their union. If that is so, then it is probably Berhanu that did it. How do people make these kinds of political decisions? I don't know. It is bizarre. Let us just leave it at that.

Q: (Mingizem Kinijit): Some three or four people are fighting for ownership of Kinijit. It is common knowledge that Woyane is doing this. Isn't this issue of the name taking a long time to resolve? If there are plans for a name change, what is being done about it?

Dr. Berhanu: My own belief is that we should not spend too much time on the issue of the name. We need to assemble our support quickly and take an immediate action. We should not allow it to drag any longer. To spend months or years in the court of law fighting to get the "Kinijit" name is to hurt the movement. The situation in Ethiopia is very fluid. We need to give directives appropriate to the situation. To leave it in a limbo like this is not good.

Q: (Harari): Another issue that comes up when we talk about Nations and Nationalities is about using the local language as the working language for that region. There is a feeling that Kinijit is coming along to take away that right. If a serious constitutional change is contemplated in the future, how does Kinijit plan to go about it? Is it going to have a referendum or a way where people participate in the process?

Dr. Berhanu: If you look at the premise I mentioned earlier, we believe in individual rights. Both the culture and the language have to be respected even at the individual level, let alone at the group level. No constitution can prevent him from doing that. The individual has to decide what benefits him, what is in his best interest. He talks with his neighbors and to the community at large, to decide what language to use for the education of his children. So, Kinijit has no policy to affect change in a negative way when it comes to language. Outside this, there is a major policy difference with EPRDF that they don't want to talk about. In our new program we have decided to advocate for the use of Oromigna as a second national language. This is a direct result of the respect and honor that Kinijit has for the different ethnic languages of the country. In fact, we believe that our children will benefit from learning these two languages from childhood on. We believe this will cement our unity and make us one. We should not pay attention to the empty, vicious and destructive propaganda of EPRDF that accuses Kinijit of trashing ethnic languages. EPRDF wants this country to be partitioned, wants us to bite each other, want to scare people away from Kinijit telling them to defend themselves. The futile and embarrassing practices of EPRDF, especially since the 2005 elections and as we were going to prison, should be strongly opposed and condemned. Since Kinijit is not alone in its struggle for democracy, we should talk to our friends and family members of different ethnic groups and sensitize them about the need to struggle together.

Q: (Kinijit Zelalem): As an economist, how do you see the figures given by EPRDF about a 10% economic growth and other indicators of growth? Every time we call back home, the talk is about a serious financial crisis. How do you see this 10% economic growth in the face of such abject poverty?

Dr. Berhanu: To respond in short, it takes a lot of study and statistical analysis to get to the truth of the figures. These figures are not reliable. These figures are purposely manipulated and what is worse, the World Bank and IMF do not have their own statistics and use these figures with only minor adjustments. We have addressed this problem numerous times in the past. The truth is we have no alternative figures to go by. But if these figures are true and if the Ethiopian people are content and living comfortably, why is there double digit inflation for the first time in Ethiopian history, more than 23%? There is no question that the economic condition is under a serious strain. There is no doubt that this is extremely hurtful to the poor and the fixed income group. The question I pose to EPRDF is, if the economy is so robust and if the people are so content, they must be happy with it; why don't you come forth for elections with out fraud? Why do you cheat? Why do you resort to tricks of a charlatan?

About people who use slanderous or x-rated language in public: Don't worry about people like that. More than any one, they are disgracing themselves. It shows their stupidity and lack of etiquette. They are panic-stricken, they are lazy, they cannot think, they are rude. That is why it is easier for them to resort to name calling and use of foul language. We have to leave these behind us as we advance our ideals of democracy.

Q (Inkoppa): How does Kinijit plan to utilize the manpower from religious organizations whose philosophy to protect and fight for human rights is along the same lines as that of Kinijit?

Dr. Berhanu: Some times, there are a lot of lessons we can learn from our respective unique history. I truly believe that religious organizations have a strong moral obligation to oppose oppression of universal human rights. Religious organizations preach against killings and oppression of any kind. Religious organizations should be at the forefront of such a struggle. No question about it. They should do it. The situation in our country is very sad. They are supposed to take the moral high ground and teach their membership and congregation. I have said this two or three times in the past. A time in Ethiopian history that resulted in loss of respect for religious organizations was during the time of the Red Terror. Noe of these leaders came out in protest when all those killings of young men and women was happening and when all that shedding of blood of our people was taking place. I have pointed this out directly to these religious leaders, Catholics, Protestants and all, at a meeting in May 2005, barely two weeks before the killings began. I was with Ato Merera, when we asked them to extricate themselves out of the historical scar, further warning them of the impending danger of criminal acts and killings and imprisonments. I begged them to approach the government and to warn it to do no harm. We asked them to protect our society's moral fabric. It is time gain to plead with them to do the right thing. Not only religious leaders, we believe in working with all democratic forces that can join the struggle and move forward with us.

Q (And Lenatu): The principles of Kinijit which are transparency, accountability and democracy appear to now be embraced by such parties like EPRP, Gasha Le Ethiopia and Harinet Tigray, established by Ato Gebru Asrat. What is your opinion about this?

Q( Green-Yellow-Red): Although Kinijit is a coalition of four parties, it is not the parties per se that grabbed the attention of the Ethiopian people. It is the participation of educated Ethiopians like you. I just wanted to raise the need for an urgent action.

Dr. Berhanu: This is the last question I hope. I am glad we are getting to the end of this session. What a relief! It is just like what is going on in your pal talk rooms (laughs).

I can assure you that the present day struggle has to have democratic principles such as, equality under the law and political equality. All organization should have these basic principles. The other opinions should be articulated and brought to the people to choose. The only thing we have to agree on is that after we take our different opinions to the people, we all accept whoever the people choose. If we do this, we will be able to surpass the divisive trap of EPRDF and learn to work together. We will thus be able to rally around a huge popular democratic movement that will force EPRDF to surrender and come to the negotiating table. This is what we have to work on together. (Washera: I presume that does not include EPRDF and its millions and millions of members?)

From now on, together, we have to condemn human right violations anywhere. We have to go out on protests together. We have to show our concern for the Ogaden people, the Oromo people, the Tigrai people, and to all those oppressed people whose thirst for democracy has not been quenched. We have to do this not in words but in deeds. It is the sense of unity and solidarity that comes out of such collaborative efforts that will keep that country undivided. That is why we have to go back. That is why we have to struggle. There is no question about this.

Those who think this is just cheap talk or gossip; those who think politics is chicanery; those who have no ability to think about an idea that they can advance to convince people; those who come out in the open to talk to people, listen to other people's ideas and do not have the ability to process the merits of these ideas, but instead resort to name calling and insinuations should not surprise us. They don't know any better. My plea for those of you who say you stand for democracy, those of you who stand for the democratic movement, is to avoid such filth and extricate yourselves from that kind of company. Any one with ideas should be able to have a discourse of idea. Listen to him. If you have differences, debate him. If you have questions ask him. If you have disagreements, stick by your truth and don't give in. Beyond that, do not answer rude talk with rudeness; don't lower yourself to their level. Don't go there. Such people work better with EPRDF, because they are the same. They eliminate those that they don't like. They stamp out ideas they don't agree with. They disgrace, insult, lie and deceive. This is what EPRDF does. It kills, imprisons and tortures its opponents. So, please don't give answers to these people. Don't go there. Elevate yourselves. Argue ideas with ideas, but do not resort to immoral acts and behaviors.

(Washera: Amen! may the best man/woman with the best ideas win!)