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Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category
Hot issues including the Nile River saga
By Robele Ababya Tribute to the Blue Party The heroic decision by the Blue Party in planning, organizing and brilliantly implementing the demonstration of 25 May 2013 was a phenomenal act of courage to which all freedom loving Ethiopians should pay tribute regardless of their affiliation to entities in the opposition camps or civic organizations. [...]
Ethiopian Telecom Corruporation
In the Government’s view, the following are the major determinants of corruption: a poorly functioning legal and judicial system inconsistent with the 1994 Constitution; an overregulated bureaucracy, emphasising regulation rather than service delivery; a low-paid civil service; a new yet rudimentary government, based on a federal structure; and weak budgetary and financial control, with an outdated procurement structure, and poorly trained financial staff…
በኩራት ተሞልቼ ሁለንተናዬ ሰማያዊ
ፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ‹‹በየቀኑ በየቀኑ ሰማያዊዎች አሉኝ›› (ሰማያዊ ወይም “ብሉስ” አፍሮ አሜሪካውያን የሚታወቁበትና ይዘውት የተሰደዱት የንጉርጉሮ ባህላዊ ሙዚቃቸው ነው) አለ ዘማሪው ቢቢ ኪነግ በሚወዳት ክራር “ሉሲል” ላይ፡፡ እኔም በየቀኑ በየቀኑ ላለፉት ስምንት ዓመታት የ‹‹193/763 ሰማያዊዎች›› ነበረኝ:: “አስከ 25ኛው ሰአት ድረስ አላቋርጥም ምክኛቱም አሁን የምኖረው በሰማያዊ ተስፋ ላይ ነውና” አለ ዘማሪው ኤሪክ ክላፕተንም!፡፡እኔም [...]
Ethiopia: Rise of the Blue Cheetahs!
Al Mariam–Y’all remember me talking, writing and raving about Ethiopia’s Cheetahs, the young generation, for years now. (How hip is it for a venerable member of Ethiopia’s Hippo Generation to rave about the Cheetahs?) Well, I want to make it official. I done crossed the generation gap and gone over to the Cheetahs’ lair. Yep! I sold out. Double-crossed them Hippos. Hippos ain’t hip enough for me no more. I am now a “Chee-Hippo”
Troubled higher education in Ethiopia
BY: Zelalem Abate Academic activities such as studying, teaching, inventing, leading, administrating and other responsibilities in a university or college require at a minimum academic freedom. Unfortunately, however, academic freedom in higher education institutions of Ethiopia is drier than the Sahara desert. Ethiopians who have been part of these institutions as a student, teacher, or [...]
Voice from the grave
Yilma Bekele–Meles Zenawi is dead. Meles Zenawi is alive. I am afraid in our case both statements are true. We saw the tyrant being buried or placed six foot under and the extraordinary sendoff orchestrated by his politburo in living color. The whole country was on stand still for a week or so to bury the warlord who was in the freezer for a month or so. We witnessed the bullying power of the TPLF party that forced every department, every keble and every household to send a representative and show sorrow for a person hated and reviled by all living Ethiopians.
The Blue Party and the Diaspora
As a hyperactive child who had foolishly tried at one point to outrun his own shadow, I was taught a parable in an attempt to enlighten me about the facts of life, specifically about patience, fortitude, and perseverance. The story I was told was about a man who had lost his eyesight in both eyes when he was about seven years old due to smallpox, and had lived all of his life in total darkness.
The bankrupt propagandist
By Melkamu Tilahun A certain delusional man, who claims to be a spokesman not only for Weyane but also Tilahun Gesese, came out from nowhere and launched a vicious defamation campaign against Tamagn Beyene, one of Ethiopia’s most prominent activists and warrior of truth. The slanderous content, which has no substance and facts whatsoever, was [...]
Kerry-ing on with African Dictators
Alemayehu G Mariam Watching American Diplocrisy at the African Union I enjoy watching American diplomats chilling out and kicking it with African dictators. I like seeing them kumbaya-ing, back-patting and carrying on. Their body language, more than their forked diplomatic tongue, speaks more honestly and eloquently. I have learned to take their words with a grain [...]
Ethiopia Dam to Affect Egypt, Says Irrigation Minister
Cairo, Jun 5 (Prensa Latina) Irrigation Minister Mohamed Bahaa El-Din said that the Ethiopia Grand Renaissance Dam will have a negative impact on Egypt”s electricity-generating capacity, reported official sources today. At a meeting between electricity ministry officials and members of Egypt’s Shura Council (the upper house of parliament), Bahaa El-Din asserted that the Ethiopian dam, [...]
The need to move forward
By Shimelis Amare Recently, I spent about six weeks in Ethiopia and what I have seen and observed reinforce the opinion I have regarding the current government: on one hand they are successfully working to transform the nation and to eradicate poverty, and on the other hand, they are miserably failing to build strong and [...]
Is the anti-corruption crusade for real?
Is the anti-corruption crusade for real? By Hindessa Abdul Around 60 people have been arrested on suspicion of various charges that can be bundled as corruption. The detention of Melaku Fenta, the Director General of the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority (ERCA) with the rank of a minister; his powerful deputy, along with a coterie [...]
Free to protest
The Economist–A RARE flicker of political protest graced the streets of Ethiopia’s otherwise regimented capital, Addis Ababa, on June 2nd. Demonstrators marched peacefully through the city, many carrying pictures of imprisoned loved ones. Later they gathered on Churchill Avenue, the capital’s main thoroughfare, where they were told that a new struggle had begun. Yilekal Getachew, [...]
ኢትዮጵያ ተነስታለች !
ፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ እንደ ኢትዮጵያ አቆጣጠር ግንቦት 20 1983 መለስ ዜናዊና ሽምቅ ተዋጊዎቹ ከላሽኒኮቭ ደግነው የጅ ቦንቦች ታጥቀው አዲስ አበባን ወረው ገቡባት፡፡ ወደ ከተማው ሲገቡ ዴሞክራሲን እናመጣለን፤ ከግፈበኛው የወታደራዊ አገዛዝ እንላቅቃለን የሚል ቱልቱላ ነበር ቃል ኪዳናቸው፡፡ የከተማው ነዋሪም በመለስተኛ ጉጉት በተስፋ አስተናገዳቸው፤ ተቀበላቸው፡፡ ላለፉት 17 ዓመታትም በላያቸው ላይ ተጭኖ ከነበረው የጭቆና አገዛዝ [...]
Meles Zenawi and our money
By Yilma Bekele The last seven years or so I have been writing opinion pieces on the political situation in our homeland. Naturally Ihave discussed the late Prime Minter Meles Zenawi and his central role in charting the direction our country should follow on the road he envisioned to improve the life of our people. [...]
የኢትዮጵያ ትንሣኤ!
ፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ የአፍሪካ አንድነት ድርጅት (ኦ ኤ ዩ) የአፍሪካ ሕብረት (ኤ ዩ በየአፍሪካ አንድነትን የተካው) ባለፈው ሳምንት በአዲስ አበባ ከተማ የወርቅ ኢዩቤልዩውን በማክበር ላይ ነው፡፡ በሜይ 1963 አፍሪካ አንድነት ሲመሰረት፤የጋናው ፕሬዜዳንት ክዋሚ ንኩርማ የመዝጊያ ንግግሩን የደመደመበት በተለይ በእድገት ላይ ያለችውንና ተቀኚ የነበሩትን የአፍሪካ ሃገራት ወደ ነጻነት ለመራችው ኢትዮጵያ ለክብሯ በመረጠውና ባዘጋጀው ግጥሙ ነበር፡፡ ግርማዊ ቀዳማዊ [...]
Ethiopia Shall Rise!
Alemayehu G Mariam H.I.M. Haile Selassie and bronze statue of Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah Ethiopia Rising! The Organization of African Unity (OAU)/African Union (AU replaced OAU in 2002) began celebrating its Golden Jubilee in Addis Ababa this past week. In May 1963 when the OAU was founded, Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah accentuated his closing remarks [...]
Addressing the African rulers
By Belayneh Abate I don’t have to say dears because you are not our dears; neither do I need to say leaders precisely because you are not our leaders. If I must address you by a phrase, I would rather say the hated- monstrous rulers. Are you really here to celebrate the anniversary of African [...]
Abune Petros in our heart
By Yilma Bekele On July 29th. 1936 Abune Petros was executed by the Italian fascist that were trying to colonize our country for his refusal to submit. On May 2nd. 2013 the monument that was built to commemorate our Holy Father was removed by the order of the TPLF party that is currently ruling our [...]
Court ruling, another missed opportunity
CIVICUS Today, Freedom Now, Amnesty International, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, the Committee to Free Eskinder Nega, the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, English PEN, the International Press Institute, the International Women’s Media Foundation, Media Legal Defence Initiative, the National Press Club, PEN American Center, PEN [...]
Ethiopia: Terrorism Law Decimates Media
(Nairobi) – The Ethiopian government should mark World Press Freedom Day, on May 3, 2013, by immediately releasing all journalists jailed under the country’s deeply flawed anti-terrorism law. On May 2, 2013, the Supreme Court upheld an 18-year sentence under the anti-terrorism law for Eskinder Nega Fenta, a journalist and blogger who received the 2012 PEN Freedom to Write Award.
Mengistu and our moral compass
By Yilma Bekele. Today I felt like crawling under the blanket and just hide. I know that is what children do. They think hiding under the blanket makes them invisible. It give them a feeling of security and that what I was looking for. Some place to hide and feel secure from my clueless people. [...]
Open letter to African Media Initiative
Mr.Amadou Mahtar Ba Chief Executive Officer African Media Initiative (AMI) Dear Sir, Before I get to the crux of my letter, it’s in order to introduce myself and in what capacity I am writing this letter to you. I am an Ethiopian national exiled in Uganda. Because of my active contribution to the media in [...]
Siwan: Live to tell the tale
By Hindessa Abdul The term boat people came into the political lexicon in the 1970s with the Vietnamese escaping communism to settle in other countries. Then the term started to be used in other spots of the world, including the Caribbean in the1980s when Cubans and Haitians flocked to the United States fleeing political and economic [...]
I am an Amhara
By Yilma Bekele “Ich bin ein Berliner.” – “I am a Berliner” Those words were spoken by President John F. Kennedy on June 26, 1963 in West Berlin. He said that to show solidarity with the people of Berlin after the East Germans with the approval of the Soviet Union erected the Berlin Wall to [...]
Myopic TPLF warlords in airtight cage
By Robele Ababya, 19 April 2013 Self-defense is a natural right Self-defense at this critical time in the history of Ethiopia threatened by divisive ethnic policy being perpetrated by TPLF’s warlords is a natural right. The Amharas subjected to ethnic cleansing and indeed the living under tyranny in abject poverty seek practical solutions to their [...]
Hundreds of thousands face relocation in Ethiopia’s land grab
By GORDON BENNETT (African Review) Ethiopia may until recently have been a byword for famine, but in one part of the country at least there are people who have lived largely without outside help for hundreds of years. With the connivance of the British government, this is about to change forever. The tribes of the [...]
Behind the Ethnic Cleansing in Benishangul-Gumuz
By Fekade Shewakena–The despicable and barbaric action of targeting, evicting and deporting ethnic Amaharas from the Benishangul-Gumuz ethnic state in western Ethiopia is a horrific crime and a crime against humanity by any measure and the outrage of Ethiopians across the world is justified. The stories we hear from the victims themselves and the witnesses who saw it are heart wrenching.
Welcome to the whipped nation- FDRE
By Yilma Bekele Animal trainers use a whip with a stiff handle to show who the boss is. A whip is used to gain control and achieve compliance using pain. During slavery in the US whipping was a powerful weapon used by the white master. Whipping to humiliate was the hallmark of the Apartheid regime [...]
Court delays terror case appeals
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — An Ethiopian court on Monday delayed again the appeal of blogger Eskinder Nega and opposition leader Andualem Arage, who were jailed last year for terror-related offences. Eskinder and Andualem were among 24 people jailed in July 2012 on terror-related charges. “The judges have requested further time to assess all the evidence [...]
Ethiopia: Right in Prison, Wrong on the Throne
By Prof. Al Mariam, Last April, I wrote a “Special Tribute to My Personal Hero Eskinder Nega”. In that tribute, I groped for words as I tried to describe this common Ethiopian man of uncommon valor, an ordinary journalist of extraordinary integrity and audacity. Frankly, what could be said of a simple man of humility possessed of indomitable dignity?
The Scramble for Ethiopia
By Messay Kebede What else could better express the existence in today’s Ethiopia of more than eighty political parties, out of which ethnic parties represent the overwhelming majority, than the term “scramble?” That for now the TPLF holds together the disjoined parts of the country by force for its own sectarian interests only reconfirms the [...]
22 Years On: The Caravan Still Rolls On
By Destaw Andargie (Dr.)–It will soon be twenty-two years since TPLF seized power in Ethiopia. Over these long and torturous years, TPLF faced no serious external challenge whatsoever. It has been in absolute command. Its rule has never come under threat. Even during its worst internal crisis back in 2001, the issue was all about which faction would emerge the winner.
Land and Ethiopia’s Corruptocracy
The silence of Ethiopia’s “beautiful minds” Professor A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the renowned Indian scientist (“Missile Man of India”) and Eleventh President of India (2002-2007) said, “If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. [...]
Political prisoners in Ethiopia
By Birtukan Mideksa–Although Ethiopia has its first new prime minister in 17 years – so far, the government has failed to right a long history of wrongs. With prisoners of conscience still languishing in its prisons, Ethiopia must receive the clear message – especially from allies like the United States – that continued human rights violations will not be tolerated.
The general assembly of the EPRDF
By Jonas Tamiru The general assembly of EPRDF got underway on Saturday 23rd March 2013 at BAHIRDAR, where the four mainmember parties and other partner parties united to discuss the issues concerning the EPRDF. Foreign parties that were invited to the general assembly were also present at the venue and some even went further to [...]
EPRDF’s ethnic policy imperils the goal of AU
By Robele Ababya Unity of Ethiopia is paramount The EPRDF regime is killing, arbitrarily arresting and encouraging ethnic cleansing; therefore an all-inclusive struggle in self-defense is morally and legally justified. The Amharas and Oromos are the main victims of such heinous crimes and must rely on their combined overwhelming majority and join other progressive democratic [...]
Chinua Achebe is not Dead
By Belayneh Abate Many news outlets broadcasted the death of Chinua Achebe. His flesh that he shares with us and other animals might have changed its physical form. But how could a soul embellished with wits and wisdoms such as the following die? “They are very clever. They came quietly and peaceably with their religion. [...]
If Germans decide to erect a monument for Adolf Eichmann
By Kiflu Hussain Kenyans who were tortured during the Mau Mau uprising against British colonialism successfully filed a petition recently at a British court for compensation. The government of Kenya assisted these Kenyan veterans in their bid to seek redress from their former colonial master that had wronged them so much. By contrast and in [...]
The selling of Ethiopia
By Yilma Bekele Actually that statement might not be true. We do know our country is being sold but we have no idea if the bidding has been open or closed. We have sold almost all of Gambella, we have leased half of Afar and Oromia has been parceled out bit by bit. Our Beer [...]
Developmental state ideology
By Jonas Tamiru The concept of a developmental state by itself has no predefined rules and procedures that can guide leaders in making decisions about a country’s economic future. Even so the EPRDF by the blind arrogance of its leaders has decided that a developmental state is the best solution to transform Ethiopia to a [...]
The Green Green Gold of Ethiopia
By Graham Peebles Ancestral land that for generations has served as home and livelihood for hundreds of thousands of indigenous people in Ethiopia is being leased out, on 99-year renewable contracts at nominal sums to foreign corporations. The land giveaway or agrarian reforms as the government would prefer to present them began in 2008 when [...]
What’s in Saudi’s antagonism over Nile?
ADDIS ABABA (bikyanews) Experts here in Ethiopia are confused over the recent inflammatory statements concerning Ethiopia’s Renaissance Nile River dam project that has left many in the country enraged over the conservative Gulf country. “We don’t get it, it doesn’t make sense,” a top government official told Bikyanews.com on Sunday morning in Addis Ababa. “Saudi and [...]
Menelik the great of Adowa
By Msmaku Asrat March 1st 1896 is the 117th anniversary of the Battle of Adwa. The decisive victory at Adwa is a tale to be told everyyear on this day of its commemoration because it worms the heart and lifts the spirit of every black person in the world. Few places evoke stronger memories than [...]
Always the truth
By Henoke Seleshe Always the truth ( By Henoke Yeshetlla) If I know the truth and I speak out the truth; I know I am fulfilling my call. If I write the truth…I know that I am breathing out the real I; even if friends and families are unhappy, even if my compatriots become my foe, [...]
London Debretsion Church and the Ethiopians
By Yilma Bekele This is Debretsion Ethiopian Orthodox Church in London England. The picture seems to have been taken on a coldwinter day. It is such a beautiful church. Doesn’t it look so serene and peaceful? I am sure it is that most of the time. But according to this video it was nothing but [...]
የፍርሃትና ስም ማጥፋት ፖለቲካ በኢትዮጵያ
ፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ 2011፡ የሙስና አገዛዝ፤ ፍርሃትና ሰም ማጥፋት በዲሴምበር 2011 ‹‹ኢትዮጵያ የደም ሃገር ወይም የንቅዘት (ሙስና) ሃገር›› በሚል ርእስ የኢትዮጵያን ሁለት ገጽታ በማመዛዘን አንድ ጦማር አስነብቤ ነበር፡፡ በዚያን ወቅት ትራንስፓረንሲ ኢንተርናሽናል በተባለው ተቋም ተቀምጦ የነበረው ገጽታ ያሳየው ኢትዮጵያ ለም መሬቶች በተንኮል በተጠቀለለ ስውር ደባ እየተቸበቸቡ እንደነበር ነው፡፡በዘገባው ላይ ተቋሙ ለኢትዮጵያ ያሰፈረው [...]
The 117th Anniversary of the Battle of Adwa
By Robele Ababya The indelible legacy of Emperor Menilik II and EmpressTaitu There is no heritage more glorious, precious, and inspiring than freedom and independence won by the ill-equipped and poorly trained, if at all, Ethiopian militias over vastly superior Italian invaders at the famous Battle of Adwa in 1986 under the leadership of Emperor [...]
TPLF playing with fire
By Robele Ababya Weird Sunday mass at the Palace This article is prompted by The Horn Times News breaking news dated 03 Feb 2013 titled: “Ethiopia: ‘Judas of Wollayta’ shattered as pagan TPLF warlords cancelled his bizarre Sunday mass” written by Ethiopian heroic fighter for freedom – resident of South Africa. Article 27 of the [...]
ኢትዮጵያ፡ ከዚህ በኋላ ቀጣዩ ጉዟችን (ወይም መቆሚያችን) ወዴት ነው?
ፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ በዴሞክራሲ የአንድነት ጎዳና ላይ? በጁን 2012 ‹‹ኢትዮጵያ፡ በሕገ መንግስታዊ ዴሞክራሲ ጎዳና ላይ›› የሚል ጦማር አቅርቤ ነበር፡፡ ‹‹በርካታማ ሕበረሰቦች ከጭቆና ወደ ዴሞክራሲ ሽግግርን ሲያስቡና ሲንቀሳቀሱ፤ እንቅስቃሴያቸውን የሚገቱ በርካታ ፈተናዎች›› እንደገጠሟቸው በማስረጃ የተደገፉ ታሪካዊ እውነታዎችን ጠቅሼ ነበር:- ከአረብ ‹‹መነሳሳት››ከታየው ልምድ በመነሳት ሕገ መንግስታዊ ቅድመ ውይይት እንደሚያስፈልግ ጠቁሜ አንዳንድ ሃሳቦችም ሰንዝሬ ነበር፡፡ [...]
Teddy Afro to receive peace award
On February 15, 2013 the highly-acclaimed and legendary Ethiopian Musician, Teddy Afro will accept an Commendation Award from the City of San Jose on behalf of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Friendship forum EEFF. Theaward acknowledges EEFF’s dedication to peace and reconciliation. On this distinguished occasion, artist Teddy Afro will be honored for his role in [...]
Violence and the Ethiopians
By Yilma Bekele We always think of our people to be so loving that welcome a stranger into their homes and share what little they have. Our language is full of sayings about being a good host, a great neighbor and a kind human. Sharing what you have, helping those in need and putting others [...]
Is EU an ATM for dictatorial regimes?
By Kiflu Hussain As per the invitation I received from East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP) to attend the launching of the establishment of Pan African Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) Network in Kampala, I took part in a rather distinguished gathering of diplomats and renowned human rights activists on February 4,2013.A [...]
The hazards of restraining free will
The Hazards of Restraining Free Will Beyond Violation of Rights Belayneh Abate I suppose readers would not mind if I start my message with part of a conversation I had with one of my friends. Indeed I had a discourse with my longtime friend (also considered as a family member because he takes our families [...]
Open letter Chairperson of AU Commission
H.E. Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma Chairperson of African Union Commission African Union Headquarters P.O. Box 3243 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Your Excellency, Re: Endemic conflicts, corruption, youth unemployment and civil unrest in Africa I have the rare honor and privilege to congratulate You on Your election to the exalted post as Chairperson of the African Union Commission, [...]
የኢትዮጵያ አምባገነኖች ጉም ይጨብጣሉ አውሎ ነፋስን ይዎርሳሉ!
ፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ የአፍሪካ አምባገነኖች የዉሃ ላይ ቤተመንግስተና የዉሃ ገደብ: ለዘላለም ለስማቸው መጠሪያ ይሆናል ብለው ሲገነቡና ሲያስገነቡ ኖረዋል:: ትተው ያለፉት በሕያውነት ጀግነውና ሲወደሱ መኖርን ነበር፡፡ ውጤቱ ግን ጉምን መጨበጥ ነፋስን መውረስ ሆኗል፡፡ የጋናው ክዋሚ ንክሩማ በ1957 ዓም የመጀመሪያዋን የጥቁር አፍሪካ ሃገር ከቅኝ ገዢዎች በማላቀቅ፤ወደ ነጻነት መራት፡፡ በመንግስት በሚመራ ንኩርማኒዝም በተባለ ፀንሰ ሃሳብ [...]
The betrayed tasks of Ethiopian intelectuals
By Messay Kebede (PhD) This article is not a rejoinder to Prof. Alemayehu G Mariam’s recently posted article titled “Ethiopia: The Irresponsibility of the Privileged.” Alemayehu’s article is well-thought-out and accurate in its analysis of the shortcomings of Ethiopian intellectuals. The apparent indifference of many Ethiopian intellectuals to the plight of the Ethiopian people and [...]
የኢትዮጵያ አቦሸማኔዎችና አባ ዝምታዎች ትንሣኤ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ በአቦሸማኔዎች ምድር የጉማሬዎች (አባ ዝምታዎች) ዓለም በአዲስ ዓት መግቢያ ጦማሬ ላይ 2013ን ‹‹የኢትዮጵያ የአቦሸማኔ ዓመት››(የወጣቶቹ) ብዬው ነበር፡፡ በዚህ ዓመትም የኢትዮጵያን ወጣቶች ለማስተማር፤ባሉበት ለመድረስ፤ለማሳሰብም ቃል ገብቼ ነበር:: የኢትዮጵያም የምሁራን አምባ ይህንኑ ለማድረግ ጥረት እንዲያደርጉ ተማጽኜ ነበር (በተለይም በከፍተኛው ጣርያ ላይ ያለነውን ምሁራን)፡፡ በተመሳሳይ ወጣቱን እንዲደርሱት አሳስቤም ነበር፡፡ ከዚህ ባለፈም ተማጽኖዬ [...]
Open letter to Confederation of African Football (CAF)
By Kiflu Hussain I don’t know whether CAF has a regulation that prohibits making a political statement during African Cup of Nations (AFCON) football matches. I know it’s not allowed making a political statement in Olympics. A case in point; in 2012 a South Korean football player who made such a statement against Japan over [...]
Revolutionary Democracy: A totalitarian project
Muktar M. Omer The tyranny of Ideology IN an absorbing book, “The Devil in History”, Romanian-American political scientist Vladimir Ismaneau embarks on a comparative analysis of two seemingly contradictory ideologies of the 20th century – Communism (far left) and Fascism (far right) – and finds striking similarities between these systems of political totalitarianism. With polymathic [...]
ኢትዮጵያ፡- ሃለፊነታቸውን የዘነጉት ግድ የለሽ ምሁራን
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ በቅርቡ ናኦም ቺሞስኪ: የኤም አይ ቲ (M.I.T.) ዩኒቨርሲቲ የስነ ቋንቋ ፕሮፌሰርና የአሜሪካ ቀደምት ምሁር፤ ለአልጀዚራ ስለአሜሪካ የቀለም ሰዎችና ምሁራን በሰጡት ቃለ መጠይቅ ላይ ምሁሮቹ ሃላፊነት ጉድለትና ግድ የለሽነት አንደሚያሳዩ መግለጫ ሰጥተው ነበር፡፡ ላለፉት 4 አሰርት ዓመታት የ84 ዓመቱ ቺሞስኪ ተጋፍጠው ፤ ሃይላነ ጉልበተኞች ነን የሚሉትንም በሃቅ አለንጋ ሲሸነቁጣቸው ነበር፡፡ [...]
ኢትዮጵያ፤ የመዳኛ ወቅትና፤ የዕረቀሰላም ጊዜ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ የረፖርተር ድሕረ ገፅ ሲዘግብ: ‹‹በጎሳ ላይ የተመሰረተ ግጭት በአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎች መሃል በመጸዳጃ ቤቶች፤ በቤተመጻህፍትና በመኝታ ቤት ግድግዳ ላይ፤የተጻፉ አስፀያፊ ክብረነክ ጸሁፎች ከስድስት በላይ የሆኑ ተማሪዎችን ለከፍተኛ የመቁሰል አደጋ ተጠቂ ዳርጓቸዋል:: በርካታዎችንም ለእስር አብቅቷል፡፡ ለላለፉት አሰርት ዓመታት፤በዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎች መሃል ግጭቶችን ሲያስነሱ ከርመዋል፡፡ ይህም መሰረታዊ ችግሩና መንስኤው አስተዳደራዊ ድክመት [...]
Ethiopia: A Time to Heal, A Time to Reconcile
Alemayehu G. Mariam Last week, The Reporter reported: An ethnic-based conflict between Addis Ababa University (AAU) students following derogatory graffiti posted on toilet-walls and library walls has left half a dozen students with severe injuries while others had faced arrest. For decades, the clash between students at universities has witnessed many ethnic-based conflicts which many observers claim it [...]
2013 የኢትዮጵያ የአቦሸማኔ ትውልድ ዓመት ይሁን!
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ የአቦሸማኔዎች ዓመት 2013 የኢትዮጵያዊያን አቦሸማኔዎች (የወጣቱ ትውልድ) ዓመት መሆን አለበት፡፡ ‹‹የአቦሸማኔው ዘመን የሚያመላክተው የአፍሪካን ጉዳይና ችግር በአዲስ መንገድና አመለካከት ማየት የሚችለውን አዲሱንና ቁጡውን ወጣት፤ አዲስ ተመራቂዎችንና ብቁ ባለሙያዎችን የሚመለከት ነው፡፡ ምናልባትም ‹‹ቁንጥንጥ ትውልድ›› ተብለው ሊጠቀሱ ይችላል:: ያም ሆኖ ግን የአፍሪካ አዲሶቹ ተስፋ ወጣቶቹ ናቸው፡፡ ግልጽነትን፤ ተጠያቂነትን፤ሰብአዊ መብትን፤ መልካም አስተዳደርን የቀለጠፈና [...]
British aid ‘to fund Ethiopian paramilitaries’ accused of rape
Daily Mail • Department for International Development offers £15million in aid to train security forces • Human rights groups warn money could fall into the hands of special police known as Liyu By GERRI PEEV A document calls for tenders to train security forces as part of the five-year ‘peace building’ programme. The Ethiopian government [...]
TPLF and the culture of violence
By Yilma Bekele. According to ESAT the FBI has foiled an attempt by the Ethiopian government to assassinate Abebe Gelaw. Guesh Abera and his accomplices are under investigation. Please note here I said the Ethiopian government since there seems to be no thin line between the TPLF party and the government. Why am I not [...]
TPLF and the culture of violence
By Yilma Bekele. According to ESAT the FBI has foiled an attempt by the Ethiopian government to assassinate Abebe Gellaw. Guesh Abera and his accomplices are under investigation. Please note here I said the Ethiopian government since there seems to be no thin line between the TPLF party and the government. Why am I not [...]
Netsanet Meles’ new song for Ethiopia
Great song of praise for Ethiopia!
The role of higher education and Ethiopia
By Yilma Bekele My beautiful and brilliant niece graduated from college a few days ago. We are all proud and happy with her accomplishment. It gave the whole family an opportunity to get together. Believe me the festival was preserved on video and camera, posted on Facebook, published on Instagram and micro blogged on tumblr. [...]
The journalist who silenced the tyrant
By Hilina Taye There is no doubt that 2012 was one of the most memorable years in our history. We witnessed high dramas, an unforgettable protest, a tyrant’s global hide-and-seek game, the elite’s wailing and cries, a mass hysteria, a dictator’s funeral in par with North Korea, the coronation of a puppet…. All these happened [...]
Ethiopia 2013: Year of the Cheetah Generation
Alemayehu G Mariam Year of the Cheetahs 2013 shall be the Year of Ethiopia’s Cheetah Generation. “The Cheetah Generation refers to the new and angry generation of young African graduates and professionals, who look at African issues and problems from a totally different and unique perspective. They are dynamic, intellectually agile, and pragmatic. They may [...]
ሰብአዊ መብት ለሰብአዊያን
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ በዓለም ዙርያ ያሉትን አንባቢዎቼን 2013 የደስታና የብልጽጋና ዓመት ይሁንላችሁ በማለት መልካም ምኞቴን እገልጻለሁ፡፡ ላለፉት ያልተቋረጡ 300 ሳምንታት ያህል ጦማሮቼን ለተከታተሉ ሁሉ፤ከልብ የመነጨ አክብሮቴንና ምስጋናዬን እገልጻለሁ፡፡ ከኢትዮጵያና ከዲያስፖራ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ለተቸረኝ ማበረታታት ምስጋናዬ ይድረስልኝ፡፡ አንባቢዎቼን፤ በኢትዮጵያና በዓለም ላይ ሁሉ የተደፈሩ ሰብአዊ መብቶችን ለሁሉም ሰብአዊ ፍጡራን እንዲዳረሱና እንዲከበሩ የመጠራሪያና የማንቂያ ደወል በአፍሪካና [...]
Ring in Redress to All Humankind
Alemayehu G Mariam 2012 is gone. 2013 is on the way. Let us ring in redress to all humankind. I wish a happy and prosperous new year to all of my readers throughout the world. To those who have unwearyingly followed my columns for nearly three hundred uninterrupted weeks, I wish to express my deep [...]
ሰብአዊ መብትና: መንግሥታዊ ግፊት በኢትዮጵያ (2012)
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም [...]
Ethiopia 2012: Human Rights and Government Wrongs
In December 2008, I wrote a weekly commentary lamenting the fact that 2008 was “Groundhog Year” in Ethiopia:
It was a repetition of 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004… Everyday millions of Ethiopians woke up only to find themselves trapped in a time loop where their lives replayed like a broken record. Each “new” day is the same as the one before it: Repression, intimidation, corruption, incarceration, deception, brutalization and human rights violation…
Can you hear me now?
By Msmaku Asrat Can you hear me now? is a familiar question posed by a series of advertisements for Verizon wireless. I am using it here as a metaphor for a series of lofty pronouncements made by Sebhat Negga – the High Priest, the Gate keeper, the Philosophical Guru, the Intellectual Fountain Head of TPLF [...]
Leveling the playing field in Ethiopia
By Yilma Bekele The press release was short and to the point. It was only six paragraphs long and was written in a matter of fact way. There were no trumpets blaring, no press conference with TV lights and no lavish dinner to commemorate the event. The announcement reminded me of the proverb ‘best things [...]
Caught between the Gambella genocide and Newtown massacre.
By Getahun Bekele In a nation like Ethiopia, savagely devoured by a brutal clannish tyranny, there is very little difference between the living and the dead; with the living hunkering for the liberty of six feet under rather than living in penury. On 13 Dec 2012, Ethiopian ethnic Anuaks held a small but harrowing remembrance [...]
አሜሪካ ከጀግኖች አፍሪካውያን ጎን ትቆማለች ?
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ታሪክ ከጀግኖች አፍሪካውያን ጋር ከወገነ፤ አሜሪካስ ለምን አትወግንም ? ፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማ አክራ፤ ጋናን በ2009 ሲጎበኙ ሁለት አስቸኳይና አስፈላጊ መልዕክቶችን አስተላልፈው ነበር፡፡ ‹‹ታሪክ ከጀግኖች አፍሪካውያን ጋር ወግኗል›› ሲሉ: ለአፍሪካ መሪዎችና ገዢዎች ደግሞ ጠበቅ ያለ መልክት ኣስተላፈው ነበር፡፡ ………እንዳትሳሳቱ፡ ታሪክ ወገናዊነቱ ከጀግኖቹ አፍሪካውያን ጋር እንጂ በሥላጣን ላይ እራሳቸውን እንዳነገሱ ለማቆየት መፈንቅለ [...]
TPLF’s ploy to split Christians and Muslims
Robele Ababya Ethiopia is one of the first countries in the world to accept Christianity in 330 AD welcoming the advent of preaching the New Testament to enrich the Old Testament that was in place. She was also the first country in the world where a Christian Emperor gave refuge to Muslims in 615 AD [...]
The other kinds of children killers
By Belayneh Abate The elementary school children’s massacre in the United States of America on December 14, 2012 is one of the horrifying news I ever heard in my life. We adults kill each other because we are filled with evils of power and greed. But why God allows the murder of innocent children? Although, I [...]
Watching Susan Rice twist
. By Yilma Bekele Good news is always welcome. Then there is the extraordinarily good news that jars you from your slumber. And when the good news happens right around Christmas there is nothing one can do other than put more log in the fire place, take a generous helping of the twelve year old [...]
Will the U.S. Stand by the Side of Brave Africans?
If History is on the Side of Brave Africans, Shouldn’t the U.S. be Too? When President Obama visited Accra, Ghana in 2009, he delivered two distinct political messages within one overarching moral imperative: “History is on the side of brave Africans”. His message to African governments and leaders was emphatic: …Make no mistake: history is [...]
ሱዛን ራይስና የአፍሪካ ሰለስተ እርኩሳን
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ የሰለስተ እርኩሳን እመቤት ሱዛን ራይስ፤የወቅቱ በተባበሩት መንግስታት የዩ ኤስ አሜሪካ አምባሳደር ከአፍሪካ አታላይ፤ጮሌ፤ስግብግብ ራስ ወዳድ ዲክታተሮች ጋር ላለፉት አሰርት ዓመታት ስታሽቃብጥና አሸሸ ገዳሜ ስትል ነበር፡፡ ከዚህ ያለፈ ውግዘታዊ አስተያየት በተቺዎችች ተሰንዝሮባታል:: በአፍሪካ የራይስ አፍቃሪ መሪዎችም ‹‹ሰለስተ እርኩሳን › ናቸው: — የሩዋንዳው ፓውል ካጋሚ፤ የዩጋንዳው ዩዌሪ ሙሳቪኒ፤ እና በቅርቡ ወደማይቀረው [...]
Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Law Squelches Opposition, Activists Say
BY BLAIN BISET Addis Ababa — Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation is once again stirring debate in this Horn of Africa nation as lawyer Temam Ababulga challenges the 2009 law in the highly-publicised “Muslim terrorism” case. Ethiopia’s Federal High Court will deliver the judgment in the case, where 29 Muslims were arrested in July on charges of [...]
የሃይማኖት ነጻነት ጥብቅና በኢትዮጵያ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ለውድቀት የተዳረገው የሃይማኖት ነጻነት በኢትዮጵያ በዚህ ባለፈው ሰኔ ወር ላይ ‹‹ አንድነት ለሃይማኖት›› በሚል ጽሁፍ በኢትዮጵያ ስለሚካሄደው የሃይማኖት ነጻነት ገፈፋ ያለኝን ስጋት ገልጬ ነበር፡፡ በዚህም ሳቢያ ኢትዮጵያ ዉስጥ አዲሱ የሰብአዊ መብት መጣስ አካሄድ በሃይማኖት ነጻነት ላይ ማነጣጠሩን አሳስቤያለሁ፡፡ ስጋቴን ትንሽ ቀለል ያረገልኝ ስርአት የተላበሱት የክርስቲያኑና የሙስሊሙ የሃይሞነት መሪዎች በሃይማኖት [...]
አስታውሳለሁ! እንዴት እረሳለሁ!!
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ በ ሰኔ 6-8 እና በ ህዳር 1-4 2005 (እንዳሮፓ አቆጣጠር) በ በግንቦት 2005 የተካሄደውን ምርጫ ተከትሎ ኢህአዴግ ያወጣውን ሕገ መንግሥት በማመን ባዶ እጃቸውን ወደ አደባባይ የወጡ ንጹሃን ወንዶች፤ሴቶች፤ሕጻናት ኢትዮጵያዊያን በቅርቡ ሕይወታቸው ባለፈው በመለስ ዜናዊ ቀጥተኛ ትእዛዝና ቁጥጥር ሕይወታቸው በአሰቃቂ ሁኔታ በጥይት ተደብድበው ተገድለዋል። በአቶ መለስ ዜናዊና በፓርላማው ሕጋዊ ሆኖ [...]
Worst chauvinism is the real danger
By Dimetros Birku The late Meles Zenawi made, it seems, more appearance in international print and electronic media and became a preferred topic for think thanks and researchers alike after his demise than he did in his 21 years of rule. Substances in discussions range from retrospective analysis of his personality to his contribution, from [...]
ፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማ በሁለተኛው ዙር ምርጫ ምን ይጠበቅባቸዋል
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማ ሁለተኛውን ዙር የፕሬዜዳንትነት ምርጫ በማሸነፋቸው እንኳን ደስ ያለዎት ማለቱ አግባብ ነው፡፡ የአሜሪካንን መራጮች አብላጫ ድምጽ አግኝቶ ለማሸነፍ ብቃት ባለው አካሄድ ለድል በቅተዋል፡፡ ሚት ሮምኒም ለማይናቀው የምርጫ ግብግባቸው ሊመሰገኑ ተገቢ ነው፡፡ በማጠቃለያው የመለያያ ንግግራቸው ላይ ሚት ሩምኒ ግሩም የሆነ መልእክት አስተላልፈዋል፡፡ ‹‹በእንደዚህ አይነቱ ወቅት የደጋፊዎቻችንን ስሜታዊ ጫጫታ ማዳመጥ፤የፖለቲካ [...]
What Should Ethiopians Expect in a Second Obama Term?
Alemayehu G Mariam It is proper to congratulate President Obama on his re-election to a second term. He put up a masterful campaign to earn the votes of the majority of American voters. Mitt Romney also deserves commendation for a hard fought campaign. In his concession speech Romney was supremely gracious: “At a time like [...]
ትውልደ ኢትዮጵያዊያን አሜሪካውያን በ2012 ምርጫ መሳተፍ ይገባቸዋል
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ጉዳዩ የምርጫ ብቻ አይደለም እኮ ባለፈው ሴብቴምበር ስለ ፕሬዜዳንት ባራክ ኦባማ ድጋሚ መመረጥ ድጋፌን ገልጬ ነበር፡፡ ለታዳሚዎቼ እንዳስነበብኩት በ2008 ምርጫ ተወዳዳሪ ባራክ ኦባማን ደግፌ እንደነበርና ከምርጫው በኋላ ግን በታየው በተለይም ኢትዮጵያንና አፍሪካን በተመለከተ ስለተካሄደው አስተዳደራዊ ፖሊሲ ግን በጣሙን ቅሬታ አድሮብኛል፡፡ እንደትጠቀስኩት:- ፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማ በአፍሪካ ውስጥ ተግባራዊ አደርጋለሁ ያሉትን መልካም [...]
የኢትዮጵያዋ፡ ርእዮት ‹‹የጥንካሬዬ ዋጋ››
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ስለስልጣን ብልግና አለያም ስለ ስልጣንን በማንአለብኘነት አለ አግባብ ስለ ከመጠቀም ከመናገር ይበልጥ አስቸጋሪ የሆኑ bezu ነገሮች yelum፡፡ ለ31 ዓመቷ ወጣት ኢትዮጵያዊት አይበገሬ ርዕዮት ዓለሙ ግን፤ የመጻፍ ነጻነት፤ የመናገር ነጻነት፤ ሃሳብን በነጻ የማንሸራሸር ነጻነትን ድምጻቸው በመሳርያና በስለላ መዋቅር ለታፈነባቸው ድምጽ ከመሆን ምንም አይነት ጋሬጣ ቢደረደር ሊያደናቅፋት ጨርሶ አይችልም፡፡ አሁንም ቢሆን [...]
Ethio-Eritrea’s elusive peace cards
By Aaron Maasho (Reuters) Ethiopia and Eritrea are still at each others’ throats. The two neighbours fought hammer and tongs in sun-baked trenches during a two-year war over a decade ago, before a peace deal ended their World War I-style conflict in 2000. Furious veRed Sea, UNrbal battles, however, have continued to this day. Yet, [...]
ስለጡት ካንሰር ለኢትዮጵያኖች የጥሞና ማሳሰቢያና ማስገንዘቢያ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ወርሃ ኦክቶበር (ጥቅምት)በአለም የጡት ካንሰር ማሳሰቢያና ማስገንዘቢያ ወቅት ነው፡፡ ወሩን በሙሉ በዓለም ላይ ሕዝባዊና የግል ድርጅቶች የፕሮግራሞቻቸውና የእንቅስቃሴዎቻቸው ትኩረት ሁሉ በጡት ካንሰር መንስኤ ላይ በማትኮር፤ አደጋውን ለመቀነስ፤ ቅድመ ጥንቃቄ ስለማድረግ፤ ህክምናና ምርምር በማከናወን ላይ ይገኛሉ፡፡ በእርግጠኝነት በተረጋገጠው መሰረት በአብላጫ በዓለም ላይ ሴቶችን በማጥቃት ላይ ያለው የጡት ካንሰር ነው፡፡ በሚሊዮን [...]
Breast Cancer Awareness for Ethiopian Women and Men
October is international Breast Cancer Awareness month. Throughout the month, public and private organizations in many countries promote programs and activities aimed at breast cancer risk reduction, early detection, treatment and research. It is well-established that breast cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women throughout the world.
መሬት ዘረፋ ኢትዮጵያዊያኖችን በ‹‹ዓለም የረሃብ ቀን›› ወቅት ለችጋር እያጋለጠ ነው
(ሰርቫይቫለ ኢንተርናሽናል የሰጠዉን መግለጫ በግል የተተሮገመ) ልጁ በታችኛው ኦሞ ወንዝ ጠርዝ ላይ በኢትዮጵያ በታችኛው ኦሞ ሸለቆ በውጭ አገር ባለሃብቶች የሚካሄደው የመሬት ዘረፋና ሽሚያ ተወላጆቹን እያፈናቀለ እና መሬታቸውን እንዳያርሱ እንቅፋት እየሆነ በርካታዎችንም በችጋር እያመሰ ‹‹ሞታቸውን እንዲጠብቁ›› እያደረገ ነው፡፡ በኦክቶበር 16 የ “ዓለም የምግብ ቀን”ን በማክበርና ከድህነት በስተጀርባ ያለውን ችጋር በሕዝብ ሕሊና ውስጥ ለማስረጽ ደፋ ቀና በሚባልበት [...]
ኢትዮጵያ፡- ከረጂም ርቀት ሯጮቻችን የምንማረው
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ኢትዮጵያ በመልካም ስሟም፤በአስከፊ ገጽታዋም ትታወቃለች:: ኢትዮጵያ በመልካም እንግዳ ተቀባይነቷና አስተናጋጅነቷ፤በሕዝቦቿ መልካም ባሕሪ፤ በመልክአ ምድሯ ውበት፤እና በግሩሙ ቡናዋና በማይደፈሩት ጅጋኖች ረጂም ርቀት ሯጮቿ ትታወቃለች፡፡ ተወዳዳሪ በሌለው የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰት፤የፕሬስ ማፈኛ ተቋሟም፤በአፍሪካ ከፍተኛ ቁጥር ያላቸው የፖለቲካ እስረኞች የሚገኙባት ሃገርም ሆና ኢትዮጵያ ትታወቃለች፡፡ በሚያሳዝን ሁኔታ ችጋር (ኤክስፐርቶቹ እንደሚሉት፤ “ሥር የሰደደ የማይነቀል የምግብ [...]
The Ethiopians and moral conduct
By Yilma Bekele I dreamt about my uncle. He has been dead for over ten years so I was wondering what brought him to my conscious now. It was a vivid dream and I woke both sad and happy. So all day long I kept wondering what is it that made me dream about him. [...]
Medrek’s path to unity and Charisma
Messay Kebede Since the fall of the Derg and the capture of state power by the EPRDF, there has been a consensus on the need for a strong opposition party to counter the hegemony of the ruling party. The consensus includes the understanding that the basic condition for a strong rival party is unity over policy [...]
Zenawi died with his phantom ‘golden race’
By Robele Ababya Obnoxious legacy Change is perpetual in the entire universe and no one can prevent its happening; it is a constant occurrence in our lives whether we like it or not. The best human beings can do is to use their innate intelligence to adapt to the change. The best way for avoiding [...]
An Ethiopian and the Presidential debate
By Yilma Bekele President Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney had their first debate this evening. Watching this debate for the highest office in the land was a learning moment. This is not the first debate I have viewed or the first election I am experiencing. But no matter what, for an election starved Ethiopian [...]
የኢትዮጵያ ተቃዋሚ ፖለቲካ የደሞክራሲ ጮራ ሰትወጣ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ በድጋሚ እውነት፤ሃይልን ለተነፈጉ ላለፉት በርካታ ዓመታት ስለሥልጣን ተጠቃሚዎች ዕውነትን ስናገር ነበር፡፡ የጦማሬ ገጼ መግቢያ መስመሩ ‹‹ለሰብአዊ መብት ተሟገት፡፡ ስለሥልጣን ተጠቃሚዎች እውነትን መስክር›› ነው የሚለው፡፡ ይህ ደሞ ልዩ ትርጉም ያለው፤ ጠንካራ ሞራልና ስልጣናቸውን መከታ በማድረግ አላግባብ የሚጠቀሙበትን፤ ከመጠን በላይ ለሚተማመኑበት ኢሰብአዊ ድርጊት ማስገንዘቢያ የሆነ ስንኝ ነው፡፡ ለባለስልጣናት ነን ባዮች እውነትን [...]
Reading the lips of Hailemariam Desalegn
Hindessa Abdul Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s presence in New York for the United Nations General Assembly will rather be remembered for the 40 minutes odd interview with the Voice of America (VOA) than the significance of his speech at the podium. While there was nothing new in the interview that is groundbreaking or of [...]
Ethiopia’s opposition at the Dawn of democracy?
For several years now, I have been “speaking truth to power”. In fact, the tag line for my blog page is “Defend Human Rights. Speak Truth to Power.” It is a special phrase which asserts a defiant moral and ethical position against those who abuse, misuse and overuse their powers. By speaking truth to power, the speaker bears witness against those whose power lies in lies. But speaking truth to the powerless is sometimes also necessary.
How Hailemariam’s vow amended pathologists’ maxim
How Hailemariam Desalegn’s vow amended pathologists’ maxim By Kiflu Hussain When the late Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia disappeared from public life, particularly from international gathering which he never failed from basking in, the mainstream media began speculating on his “serious illness” unlike the “fringe” Medias that accurately concluded on his death long ago. Consequently, the [...]
Internal feud dismantling EPRDF
By Robele Ababya Lesson from the demise of the USSR Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was in charge of KGB before he became President of the defunct Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) on 12 November 1982 following the death [...]
Regarding our new Prime Minster
By Yilma Bekele There is no place on planet earth that begs for change like our country. There is no need to itemize all the areas where we stand at the tail end of human achievement. That is the bad news. The good news is we can’t get any lower than where we are at [...]
Meles Zenawi: A legacy of sheer force and terror
By Melakou Tekegn Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi died in August after ruling the country from 1995 to 2012. Contrary to regime claims of economic development, he will be remembered for crushing all dissent to his rule. Discussing Meles’ legacy is not discussing one person; Meles represented his party and government. The discussion on his [...]
ኢትዮጵያ፤ በአዲስ ዓመት አዲስ ጠ/ሚኒስቴር
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ኢትዮጵያዊያኖች አዲሱን ዓመታቸውን የዘመን መለወጫ በሴፕቴምበር 11 አክብረዋል፡፡ አሁን በኢትዮጵያ 2005 ዓም ነው፡፡ በሴፕተምበር 21 ደግሞ አዲስ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ተሰጥቷቸዋል፡፡ አዲስ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ከአዲስ ዓመት መግባት ጋር ተዳምሮ ሲቀርብ እንዴት ደስ ያሰኛል!! ከልብ የመነጨ የእንኳን ደስ ያላችሁ መልእክትና መልካም ምኞት ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች ተገቢ ነው፡፡ በልዩ ጥሪ በተሰበሰበው ፓርላማ መሃል [...]
Ethiopia: A New Prime Minister in a New Year
Alemayehu G Mariam Ethiopians had their new year on September 11. It is now 2005. On September 21, they also got a new prime minster. How delightfully felicitous to have a new prime minister in the new year! Heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to the people of Ethiopia are in order.Hailemariam Desalegn was sworn in [...]
Changing of the guard
Msmaku Asrat It has been announced that Haile Mariam Desalegn has been chosen to be the Chairman of the TPLF dominated EPRDF and Demeke Mekonnen as Deputy Chairman. According to Communications Minister Bereket Simon they have been effectively chosen to become Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. He said that the Old Guard of Freedom [...]
Hailemariam Desalegn: Ethiopia’s Anwar Sadat?
By Kiflu Hussein Twelve days later after the state funeral of one of Africa’s ruthless and cunning strongman, Meles Zenawi, the ruling party in Ethiopia dominated by the deceased’s minority ethnic liberation front grudgingly decided on the chairmanship of Hailemriam Desalegn.In so doing and to the satisfaction of “development partners,” notably United States, the ruling [...]
What Ethiopia is up against
By Messay Kebede (Phd) A friend recently sent me a video presenting Sebhat Nega’s defense of the TPLF constitution. My friend was rightly amazed at the dismissive and arrogant nature of the defense. My reaction wandered a bit in the direction of assessing the origin of the defense: I could not help but ask what [...]
ፕሬስደንት ኦባማን ለድጋሜ ምርጫ ለምን አንደምደግፋቸው
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ በ2008 ምርጫ ወቅት ዕጩውን ፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማን በደስታ ነበር የደገፍኳቸው? በእርግጠኝነት! ባለፉት አራት ዓመታት ጊዜ ያከናወኑት ሁሉም ተግባራቸውንስ የምስማማበት ነው? ፈጽሞ! በ2008 የገቡትን ቃላቸውንስ በሙሉ አክብረዋል? እንዲያዉም! በ2012 በፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማ ቅር ተሰኝቻለሁ? በሚገባ! ግን: እኮ አኔ ብቻ ሳይሆን በ2008 የደገፏቸው በሚሊዮን የሚቆጠሩ አሜሪካኖችም ቅሬታ አላቸው፡፡ በምርጫቸው ወቅት ታሪክ እንደተሰራ ያመኑና [...]
Country and home burgled
By Yilma Bekele Someone broke into our house. They forced the backdoor open and went through every square inch of the house. They turned our mattress over, pilfered through our drawers and left the closet in a mess. It was done in the middle of the day and it looks like they took their time. [...]
TPLF’s violation of its own constitution again
By Sinat Haile Let me start off with the disclaimer that I am not a constitutional lawyer. I do not want to pretend to be one either. The purpose of this short comment is to point out from the common sense stand point that TPLF’s flagrant disdain for its own constitution is once again in [...]
Why I am Supporting President Obama’s Re-election
Alemayehu G Mariam Disappointed but… Did I enthusiastically support presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008? Absolutely! Do I agree with everything he has done over the past four years as president? No! Has he carried out all of the promises he made in 2008? No! Am I disappointed in President Obama in 2012? Yes! But [...]
በኢትዮጵያ ወቅቱ ወደፊት መራመጃ ነው
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ በኢትዮጵያ ወቅቱ መጥረቢያውን ቀብሮ ወደፊት መራጃ ነው፡፡ ኔልሰን ማንዴላ እንዳስተማሩት ‹‹ከጠላትህ ጋር ሰላምን መመስረት ከፈለግህ፤ከጠላትህ ጋር አብረህ መስራት አለብህ በዚህን ጊዜ ጠላትህ አጋርህ ይሆናል፡፡›› እኔ ደግሞ ትንሽ ላክልበትና፤ጠላትህ ወዳጅህና ተባባሪህ ይሆናል፡፡ከታሪክ እንዳየነው፤ ብሔራዊ አሜሪካኖች (አሜሪካን ኢንዲያንስ) በመሃከላቸ ሰላምን ሲፈጥሩ፤መጥረቢያቸውን፤ መቁረጫቸውን በመሬት ውስጥ ይቀብሩታል:: ይህም በመሃላቸው ተነስቶ የነበረውን አለመግባባት መቋጨቱን [...]
Meles’s Death: Paradoxes and Opportunities
Messay Kebede (PhD) Beyond the pathetic and at times ridiculous theatrics of Ethiopians ordered not only to mourn but also to show visible signs of a boundless grief over the death of Meles Zenawi, henceforth advertised as a great and beloved Ethiopian leader, I hear a murmur that increasingly sounds like a condescending laughter. Who [...]
Putting human rights first in post Zenawi era
Robele Ababya “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the [...]
An Ethiopian with election envy
By Yilma Bekele The US is getting ready for presidential elections. 2012 will be the 57th time elections have taken place. The first election was held in 1788 and there were five contestants and it was won by George Washington. Barack Obama is the 44th President. The Republican Party held its convention a week ago [...]
Susan Rice loves dictators
By Ephrem Madebo Fifteen days ago when the death of PM Meles Zenawi became official, US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, twitted the following: “Prime Minister Meles leaves behind an indelible legacy of major contributions to Ethiopia, Africa, and the world”. When I read her tweets, for a brief moment I thought I and [...]
Bereket Simon’s naked lies and propaganda
Former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died on July 14, 2012 at St. Luke University Hospital, in Brussels, Belgium. This fact is no more news. But even after the death of the former dictator, Bereket Simon, the chief TPLF/EPRDF’s lie factory and propagandist, had insisted that the former tyrant was on holiday abroad and would be back before the Ethiopian New Year. But Behind closed doors, Bereket and the other politically orphaned cronies were at each other’s throats fighting in a vicious power struggle, which is still going on.
አቶ መለስ እልፈት ስንብት
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ከ275 ሳምንታት በላይ አንድም ሳምንት ሳላቋርጥ ረጃጂሞችና አስረጂዎች የሆኑ አስተያየቶች በመልካምና ጎጂ ጎኑም ጭምር በኢትዮጵያ ላይ ቁንጮ ባለስልጣን በነበረውና ሁለት 10ት ዓመታት ባሳለፈው ሰው ላይ ጽፌያለሁ፡፡መለስ ዜናዊ አልፏል፡፡ የሞቱ መንስኤ ግን በመንግሥት ጥብቅ ሚስጥርነቱ እንደተቆለፈ ነው ያለው፡፡ መለስ ስለፈጸመውና ስላመለጠው ጉዳይ በሕይወት ዘመኑ እያለ በብቃት ያነሳሁት ስለሆነ አሁን ከህልፈቱ [...]
Ethiopia: Time for Radical Improvements
Alemayehu G Mariam It is time to bury the hatchet and move forward in Ethiopia! Nelson Mandela taught that “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” I would add that your enemy also becomes your friend and your ally. Historically, when [...]
Ending tyranny in Ethiopia and beyond
By Robele Ababya The moment to end tyranny and terrorism The moment has come to end tyranny in Ethiopia and beyond with the inglorious departure of a tyrant Meles Zenawi that has been trading in the name of the valiant people of Tigray and hoodwinking western powers as a democrat sworn to bring stability to [...]
Death and drama in Ethiopia
By Yilma Bekele I am hoping this is the last discussion about our emotional response regarding the disappearance then death of Ato Meles Zenawi. As controversial and in your face individual he was alive his death has brought drama, division and ugliness to our life. The person is refusing to go away in silence and [...]
Ethiopian tyrant should not be lionized
By Thor Halvorssen and Alex Gladstein (Forbes) With the dust beginning to settle on yesterday’s death of Meles Zenawi—ruler of Ethiopia since 1991—Western leaders have been quick to lavish praise on his legacy. A darling of the national security and international development industries, Zenawi was applauded for cooperating with the U.S. government on counter-terrorism and [...]
The man who tried to make dictatorship acceptable
The Economist What will follow one of Africa’s most successful strongmen? THE death of Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s prime minister, on August 20th reveals much about the country he created. Details of his ill health remained a secret until the end. A short broadcast on state television, late by a day, informed Ethiopians that their “visionary [...]
Hailemariam Desalegn emerges as new “PM”
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Political preparations in Ethiopia for the handover of power to expected new leader Hailemariam Desalegn gathered pace Friday, following the death of the longtime ruler Meles Zenawi this week. US President Barack Obama telephoned Hailemariam late Thursday, urging him to “use his leadership to enhance the Ethiopian government’s support for development, [...]
Inducing TPLF to relinquish power
By Robele Ababya “Where Law ends, Tyranny begins” is a quotation attributed to one of the most influential English philosophers, John Locke (1632 -1704). The interesting corollary: “Where Tyranny ends, the Law takes effect” should scare tyrants and embolden fighters for dignity and decency, which can thrive only in a compassionate democratic society under the [...]
Meles’ death shows gaps in U.S. interests and ideals
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN (NY Times) LIBREVILLE, Gabon — There was probably no leader on the African continent who exemplified the conflict between the American government’s interests and its highest ideals better than Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia. Mr. Meles, who died on Monday after more than 20 years in power, played the American battle [...]
A chance to build a new Ethiopia
By Yilma Bekele The Ethiopian TPLF Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died three weeks ago. He died at St-Luke University Hospital in Brussels, Belgium. His Party kept him in the freezer while trying to determine what to do regarding the rules of succession, which the leader deliberately kept vague. For three weeks his Party made a [...]
Plane arrived with body of Meles Zenawi at Bole International Airport as officials and the former PM’s supporters gathered to receive his remains.
Lessons from the London Olympics
By Hirut Mesfin London showed what is like at its best! It is fascinating, it’s kind, its Positive and helpful but most of all, London gave the world a spectacular sporting events as well as other entertainments in these past two weeks. When the world descended on this usually crowded and cold city, beginning some [...]
Ethiopia: The quiet before the storm
By Yilma Bekele It has been forty-eight days since we saw or heard from Meles Zenawi. Some are convinced the tyrant is dead while the regime insists he is recovering, on vacation or just hanging out, depending on Ato Bereket’s mood of the day. Whatever the reason his absence has stirred different responses from his [...]
The ideal Ethiopian leader
Dr Teklu Abate What qualities should the ideal Ethiopian leader possess? Commonsense has it that leaders, be they presidents or prime ministers, must be patriotic, selfless, wise, popular, ambitious, social, orator, charismatic, intelligent, and unifying. These qualities seem to transcend socio-economic and cultural boundaries; these are the qualities sought from a potential leader regardless of [...]
The secret government of Ethiopia
By Amanuel Biedemariam On its 28th of July report Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) described the impact of the absence of Meles Zenawi and his leadership. Contrary to what Sebhat Nega and Bereket Simon portrayed, ESAT reported those middle management are in suspense all over. The poorly explained absence of Meles has created deep tension that [...]
Where in the world is Meles Zenawi?
By Mitmita Girls Like much of the world, including organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Mitmita Girls have been spending the past couple of weeks wondering where oh where is our esteemed Prime Minister? Could he be at a Belgian hospital? Is he at a resort somewhere in the islands? Is he [...]
Ode to timidity: The Ethiopian experience
By Yilma Bekele I knew something was missing. It kept nagging at me, the little voice in side kept saying ‘you know you have been here before.’ I was driving south on the 580 Freeway when it hit me. It was 2005 deja vu. How could I forget? I ask for forgiveness, I am an [...]
ህገ መንግስታዊ ቀዉስ በኢትዮጲያ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ለአሜሪካ ድምጽ በቅርቡ በስጠሁት ቃለ ምልልስ ላይ በኢትዮጵያ ሕገ መንግስት መሰረት ጠቅላይ ሚኒሰተሩ በህመም፤ በእክል በሞት በአካለ ጉዳት በተለያዩ ሰበቦቸ በሰራው ላይ መገኘት ባይችል የስልጣን ዝውውሩ አንደት ይሆናል የሚል ጥያቄ ቀርቦልኝ ነበር ነበር። መልስ የሰጠሁት ብዙዎችን አሰግረምዋል፤ አሰደነግጦአል። ባጭሩ በኢትዮጲያ ሕገ መንግስት ስለ ስልጣን ዘውውር በግልጥ ያስቀመጠው ድነጋጌ ምንም [...]
Where is Meles Zenawi?
By Tom Rhodes/CPJ East Africa Consultant If you search for the name of Ethiopia’s prime minister, Meles Zenawi, on Twitter these days, you’ll see a flurry of incongruent postings: Meles is hospitalized in critical condition; he’s fine and returning to work; he died two weeks ago; he’s on holiday. Journalists for international news outlets have tried [...]
የሠላም ራዕይ ለኢትዮጵያ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ፕሬዜዳንት ኔልሰን ማንዴላ ባለፈው ሳምንት 94 ዓመታቸውን አከበሩ፡፡እግዚአብሔር ረጂም ዕድሜንና ጤናን ይስጣቸው፡፡ ፕሬዜዳንት ማንዴላን የሚያከብሩና የሚያፈቅሩ ሰዎች ‹‹ማዲባ››ብለው ይጠሩዋቸዋል፡፡እሳቸውም የሰብአዊ ፍቅር ተስፋ፤ ትእግስት፤ራዕይ ናቸው፡፡ ደቡብ አፍሪካ በጭለማው ሰአት ማዲባ ከጭለማ እስር ሲወጡ ፈገግታ ለብሰው፤ በእጃቸው ሻማ ይዘው ሕዝባቸውን አፓርታይድ ከሚባል እስር ቤት ለማውጣት ተዘጋጅተው ነበር፡፡ደቡብ አፍሪካ ሕዝቦቿ ጦር አስልተው [...]
Operation save Ethiopia
By Robele Ababya, 23 July 2012 Tragedy of wrong premise The Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray (MLLT), in political jargon, died right from its formation on a wrong premise at the wrong time and wrong place in non-industrialized Tigray – the cradle of Ethiopian Civilization unbreakably linked to Zenawi’s hate-name, Ethiopia; at the wrong place for [...]
Can the Ethiopian change his skin or leopard its spots?
Ethiopia: Can the Ethiopian change his skin or leopard its spots? By Yilma Bekele Is Meles Zenawi dead or alive has become the burning question of the day. It is sad even in death or near death the tyrant does not get any respect. You would think after dominating the Ethiopian scene for over twenty [...]
Dreams of an Ethiopia in Peace
Alemayehu G Mariam President Nelson Mandela turned 94 onJuly 18, 2012. May he live long with gladness and good health! All who love and revere President Mandela call him Madiba. He is the ultimate symbol of human love, hope, courage, charity, endurance, patience and perseverance. He is the personification of good will, tolerance, generosity, forgiveness [...]
Ethiopia: The Walls of Jericho
By Ashenafi Molla There is a Biblical narrative that tells events around a City named Jericho, and impenetrable walls surrounded the City. God tells the Israelites through Joshua (the leader) to march around the City once a day for six days, and on the seventh day they were told to march seven times and priests [...]
Bracing for truth and reconciliation in Ethiopia
By Robele Ababya, 19 July 2012 Critical need to act fast in unison Fellow Ethiopians, time is running fast. Even foreign powers running our vital interests by proxy by abetting and supporting the puppet regime are nervous for fear of losing influence on the most strategic location in the Horn of Africa. These powers make [...]
Why Are All Ethiopian Eyes on Brussels?
by Ben Rawlence Published in: De Morgen The cancellation of a scheduled press conference this week, to discuss the health of the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi – currently in Belgium for treatment – started rumors flying. Belgians might be interested to know why Ethiopians are watching events in Brussels so keenly. Claiming to follow the Chinese [...]
Meles Zenawi and his death
By Yilma Bekele It has been two weeks now since our conversation has been revolving around the dictator. We know for sure he is not well but beyond that no one has come up with any credible explanation for his absence. Rumors, counter rumors, news updates, breaking news have become so ubiquitous Meles Ashebari Zenawi [...]
The future of democracy in Ethiopia
Yohannes Berhe Ottawa, Canada Recently, rumours have been swirling about the ill health of dictator Zenawi. There is, of course, a strong element of wishful thinking attached to the rumours – a reflection how reviled the regime is. Emotions aside, however, the situation calls for a sober assessment of our current situation and what is to [...]
Last hope for democracy in lawless Ethiopia
Robele Ababaya Symbiotic collaboration to revive gravely ill democracy Democracy in lawless Ethiopia has been seriously ill and bed-ridden for a long time; but now, there is a glimmer of hope to reverse course and revive it. However, the one and only one hope of resurrecting the dying democracy is by forging strong unity through [...]
እሪ! እንበል ለኢትዮጵያ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ለመናገር ነጻነት የቆየውን አበባል ለማስታወስ፤‹‹በማንኛውም ሕብረተ ሰብ ውስጥ እጅጉን አስፈላጊ የሆኑ ሁለት ጉዳዮች ይገኛሉ፡፡ የመጀመርያው በነጻነት መናገር ሲሆን ሌላውን ግን አላስታውሰውም›› ይባላል:: በነጻነት መናገር የሁሉም የሰብአዊ መብቶች መሰረት ነው፡፡ በኔ ግምት፤የህብረተሰቡ ሃሳብን የመናገርን ነጻነት የሚሰጠው ዋጋ፤ ያ ሕብረተሰብ ነጻ መሆን አለመሆኑን የሚያረጋግጥበት መንገድ ነው፡፡ ግለሰቦች ያሻቸውን ለመናገር ፍርሃት ካደረባቸው፤ [...]
Jailed for doing his job
The Economist ETHIOPIA’S prime minister, Meles Zenawi, likes to present himself to the world as a peacemaker and a paragon of development. At a recent summit of African leaders in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, which is also the headquarters of the African Union, he sought to mediate between the two Sudans. He also made much [...]
Ethiopia: Unfree to Speak or Write?
Alemayehu G Mariam Free to Speak To paraphrase an old expression, “There are two things that are quintessentially important in any society. The first is free speech and I can’t remember the second one.” Free speech is the bedrock of all human freedoms. In my view, the value a society gives to freedom of expression [...]
Meles Zenawi and his health
By Yilma Bekele Ato Meles Zenawi, Chairman of Tigrai People Liberation Front (TPLF) and Prime Minster of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is not in good health. I became aware of that fact after watching the video of a news clip made during his meeting with the President of China at the G8 meeting [...]
Exciting period without Zenawi
By Robele Ababya The TPLF captured power in 1991 with its hidden policy of exclusivity in the exercise of that power. The acronym EPRDF was and is now merely a sugar coat encapsulating the poison of everything evil detrimental to the existence of Ethiopia in a harmonious and tolerant social environment in unity in diversity. [...]
TPLF and poor Addis Abeba
By Yilma Bekele Dictator Meles Zenawi has not been seen for over three weeks or so. We know he is not in good health after we saw his picture with the Chinese Prime Minister in Mexico. Some are claiming we did Photoshop on his picture to make him look sicker than what he was. As [...]
Supporting stability, abetting repression
By TOBIAS HAGMANN (New York Times) BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA — Next time I travel to Ethiopia, I may be arrested as a terrorist. Why? Because I have published articles about Ethiopian politics. I wrote a policy report on Ethiopia’s difficulties with federalism. I gave a talk in which I questioned Ethiopia’s May 2010 elections, in which the [...]
ኢትዮጵያ የኛ፥ የምጽዋት ምርኮኛ?
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ የምጽዋት ምርኮኛ ‹‹ቦንዴጅ›› ከንግሊዚኛ ሲተረጎም በውጭ ሃይል በምርኮኝነት መታገት ወይም መያዝ ማለት ነው፡፡ ሕዝቦች ለእዳ ሲዳረጉ ያን ጊዜ የዕዳ ምርኮኛነት ይሆናሉ:: ተገደው አለፈቃድኘት ሲያገለገሉ በባርነት ገበሩ ማለት ነው:: በ1960ው አመታት በፊት አፍሪካ የቅኘ አገዛዝ ምርኮኛ ነበረች:: አፍሪካውያን በባርነት ቀንበር ውስጥ ነበሩ፡፡ አሁንስ ግን አፍሪካ የርዳታ ‹‹ቦንዴጅ›› ምርኮኝነት (ለምሳሌ በዓለምአቀፍ [...]
የነጻ ፕሬስና የዝንጀሮ ፍርድ ቤት በእትዮጵያ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ እውነት በሃሰት ዲል ሲመታ! ላለፉት ስድስት ዓመታት ኢትየጵያ ውስጥ ያለውን የፐሬስ ነጻነት ለማስከበር በሚደረገው ግብግብ ውስጥ የትግሉ ደጋፊ በመሆን በርካታ ጦማሮችን ጽፌያለሁ፡፡ በ2009 ባቀረብኩት ርእስ ስር የሰፈረው፤‹‹በኢትዮጵያ ነጻ ፐሬስ አኳያ ያለው የጦርነት ጥበብ›› የሚል ነበር፡፡ በነጻው ፕሬስ ላይ ይዥጎደጎድ የነበረውን የግፍ ጡጫ በተመለከተ ያደረብኝን መገረም ያመላከተም ነበር፡፡ “አንዲት ቢራቢሮን [...]
ኢትዮጵያ፡- ሰማይ ተደረመሰ!
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ሰማዩ ተደረመሰ! ብዙዎች አንባቢዎቼ ‹‹ተረት ተረት የመሰረት››ን የመኝታ ተረቶች ምን ያህል እንደምወዳቸው ያውቃሉ፡፡ በቅርቡ በጣም የምወደውን የመኝታ ሰአት ተረት “የፒኖኪዮን ታሪ በአፍሪካ” ጽፌ ነበር፡፡ ለመሆኑ ሰለ ሚጢጢዋ ጫጩት ክፉኛ ዽንጋጤ ሰምታችሁ ታውቃላችሁ? ይሄዉላችሁ አንድ ቀን ሚጢጢዋ ጫጩት ጓሮ መሬቱን በመጫር ላይ ሳለች፤አንዲት ነገር አናቷ ላይ ዱብ አለባት፡፡‹‹እረገኝ››፤ ‹‹ሰማዩ ተደረመሰ! [...]
Ethiopia: Phony issues on the net
Hindessa Abdul What do AlJazeera, BBC, Le Monde,The Atlantic, African Review, PC Mag,Tech Crunch have in common? Well, they were among the scores of media outlets that reported on the ban of internet telephony in Ethiopia. The Parliament passed the Telecom Infringements Law on May 24, 2012. The bill got scant coverage on the local [...]
ኢትዮጵያ፡ ሕብረት በዓምልኮት (ዓምልኮተ ሕብረት)
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ አንድ ህዝብ፤ አንድ ሃገር! ላለፉት ሁለት አሰርት ዓማታት ኢትዮጵያ የሰብአዊ መበት ጥሰት፤ የወንጀል እና ጸረ ተፈጥሮ፤ ድርጊት መታያ ሃገር ሆና ከርማለች፡፡ አሁን ግን የሃይማኖት አባቶች እስላም ክርሰቲያኑ በአንደነት በመቆም ዓምለኮታቸውን ለማስከበር ትግል ጀምረዋል፡፡ የሙስ ሊሙና የክርስትና ሃይማኖት መሪዎቻቸውና ተከታዮቻቸው፤ አንድነት በመሆንና ሕብረት በመፍጠር የሃይማኖት ነጻነታቸውን ለማስከበር እጆቻቸው ላለመላቀቅና ሕብር [...]
Ethiopia: Unity in Divinity!
Alemayehu G Mariam One People, One Country! For the past two decades, Ethiopia has been the scene of crimes against humanity and crimes against nature. Now Ethiopian religious leaders say Ethiopia is the scene of crimes against divinity. Christian and Muslim leaders and followers today are standing together and locking arms to defend religious freedom [...]
ኢትዮጵያ፡ ወደ ሕገ መንግስታዊ ዴሞክራሲ ጎዳና
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ላለፉት ጥቂት ወራት በኢትዮጵያ ከፈላጭ ቆራጭ መንግስት ወደ ዴሞክራሲ በሚል ርዕስ ስጽፍ ነበር፡፡ከነዚህ አስተያየቶች በመጨረሻው ጦማር ላይ ስጥፍ “በዴሞክራሲው መሸጋገርያ ድልድይ ላይ ስልጣንን በሚየነፈንፉ ግለሰቦችና ቡድኖች መሃል ግጭትና ግብግብ አይቀሬ ሲሆን፤ተራው የህብረተሰብ ክፍል ስልጣናቸውን በሚያኮላሹትና ለግል መጠቀሚያ በሚያደርጉት ላይና ሥልጣናቸውን የሙጢኝ ባሉት ፈላጭ ቆራጮች ተሰላችቷል መሮታልም፡፡ይህ ከፈላጭ ቆራጭ ስርአት ወደ [...]
Ethiopia: On the Road to Constitutional Democracy
Alemayehu G Mariam Over the past few months, I have been penning occasional commentaries in a series I called “Ethiopia’s transition from dictatorship and democracy”. In my last such commentary, I argued that “on the bridge to democracy, there is often a collision between individuals and groups doggedly pursuing power, the common people tired of those who [...]
ኢትዮጵያ፡- ምግብ ለችጋርና ለማሰብ!
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ በቅርቡ በዋሽንግቶን ዲሲ በጂ8 አባላት በተካሄደው፤የምግብ ዋስትና ስብሰባ ላይ በዋሽንግቶን ነዋሪ የሆነው ቆፍጣና ወጣት ኢትዮጵያዊ ጋዜጠኛ አበበ ገላው በአዳራሹ መሃል ለመሃል ቆሞ ለፈላጭ ቆራጩ ጨካኝ ገዢ መለስ ዜናዊ “ነጣነትለተነፈገው ምግብ ትርጉም አልባ ነው” በማለት ሕዝባዊ ጩኸት አሰምቶ ነበር። እና የአበበ አስተያየት ልክ ነው? ፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማ በዋሽብግቶን ዲሲ፤በሜይ 18 በተካሄደው [...]
Ethiopia: Food for Famine and Thought!
Alemayehu G Mariam The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition At the recent 2012 G8 Food Security Summit in Washington, D.C., Abebe Gellaw, a young Washington-based Ethiopian journalist, stood up in the gallery and thunderously proclaimed to dictator Meles Zenawi, “… Food is nothing without freedom…” Is he right? When President Obama invited the [...]
መለስ አለምላስ!
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ‹‹ነጻነትን›› ብሎ የጮህው ወገን በሜይ 18 2012 መለስ ዜናዊ በማይዋጥለትና ጨርሶ እስከመቃብሩ ድረስ ሊረሳው የማይችለውን ትምህርት ቀሰመ፡፡በነጻው ሃገር፤ ሃሳብን ያለምንም ገደም መግለጽ በሚቻልበት ነጻ ምድር፤መለስ አፉ ተለጎመ፡፡ ያ ያለገደብ ባሻው መልኩ ስድብና ነቀፌታ፤ ፌዝና ሽሙጥ፤ተራ ክብረ ነክ ቃላት ሲተፋ የነበረው አንደበቱ ታሰረ፡፡ በዋሺንግቶን ከተማ የሚኖረው ወጣት ኢትዮጵያዊ ጋዜጠኛ አበበ [...]
Ethiopia: Meles, Speechless!
Zenawi was shocked, bewildered, flabbergasted and completely disoriented. It was as though 90 million Ethiopians had lined up pointing an accusatory finger at him and shouting in unison, “Meles Zenawi! You are a dictator!…” In that moment Abebe gloriously realized the true meaning of the tagline of his website addisvoice.com – “A Voice of the Voiceless”.
የመለስ ዜናዊ ድንቀኛ ተረቶች
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ባለፈው ሳምንት በኢትዮጵያ በተካሄደው በ‹‹ ዓለም አቀፉ የኤኮኖሚ ስብሰባ ላይ›› የግፍ ገዢው የፈላጭ ቆራጩ መለስ ዜናዊ አርቲ ቡርቲ መነባንብ: …በኔ እምነት በታሪክም ሆነ በቲዎሪ የኤኮኖሚ እድገትና ዴሞክራሲ ቀጥተኛ ግንኙነትም ሆነ ተዛምዶ የላቸውም፡፡በኔ አመለካከት፤ በኤኮኖሚ እድገት ላይ የሚያስከትለውን ጫና ገሸሽ አድርገን ዴሞክራሲ በራሱ ጥሩ ነገር ነው፡፡በኔ አመለካከት አፍሪካውያን በጣም ስብጥሮች [...]
Send Meles to Guantanamo not to camp David
Press Release May 13, 2012 Condemn President Obama’s invite of Dictator Meles of Ethiopia. President Obama needs to stop supporting African dictators. Obama’s victory raised great excitement, hope and pride for the people of Africa. Unfortunately, his invitation of one of Africa’s worst dictator, Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia to Camp David on May 18, 2012 [...]
Homage to a great Ethiopian soul, Mulugeta Hailu
By Neamin Zeleke Mulugeta Hailu’s sudden death has been a source of much agony and shock to me as much as to countless others who knew and deeply appreciated and loved Mulugeta Hailu. Mule, as many call him affectionately, of course belongs to that generation, the gallant generation that rose up for social transformation of [...]
በካምፕ ዴቪድ የአፍሪካ የችጋር ትርኢት
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ባለፈው ሳምንት የሁዋይት ሀውስ ቤተ መንግስት ቃል አቀባይ ጄይ ካርኒ ፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማ የጋናን፤ የታንዛንያን፤የበኒን ፕሬዜዳንቶችንና መለስ ዜናዊን የስምንቱን የኤኮኖሚ ሃያላን ሃገሮች (G8) ስብሰባ ላይ በካምፕ ዴቪድ ሜሪላንድ በሜይ 19 ስለ ምግብ ዋስትና በሚካሄደው ውይይት ላይ እንዲገኙ መጋበዛቸውን ይፋ አድርገዋል፡፡ የአሜሪካን መንግሥት ለዘመናት ለአፍሪካ አህጉር የምግብ እርዳት ሲያደርግ መክረሙ ይታወቃል፡፡ [...]
A note to President Obama
By Yilma Bekele Dear President Obama, I am sure you do not have time to read my letter nonetheless it gives me a certain amount of release from the pain I am feeling and the little chance of this letter getting to you fills my soul with great amount of joy and hope. I am [...]
Massive protest to save Ethiopia
By Robele Ababya, 04 May 2012 World of corruption dominated by thugs It is abundantly clear that we live in a dangerous and rotten multi-polar power world without a distinct global leader. This much is recognized but none has a solution to the immorality pervading our planet and the fathomless depth of multiple socio-economic problems [...]
Afework Tekle as rembered by Richard and Rita Pankhurst
As remembered by Richard and Rita Pankhurst Afewerq Tekle was Ethiopia’s most celebrated artist. Born in the old Šawan capital, Ankobar, on 22 October 1932, he was the son of Ato Tekle Mammo, a minor court functionary, and Woizero Felekech Yematawork. As a small child, Afewerq was seriously wounded during the Italian invasion. After the [...]
ይድረስ ለተከበረው ኢትዮጵየዊ ጀግና እስክንድር ነጋ!
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም (ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ) አይበገሬው እስክንድር ነጋ! በሜይ 1 2012 ኢትዮጵያዊው ግንባር ቀደም ጋዜጠኛና የፖለቲካ እስረኛ፤ የመጻፍ ነጻነት ተሟጋች አርበኛ፤ እስክንድር ነጋ፤ ከ1922 ጀምሮ በእንቅስቃሴ ላይ የሚገኘውና ለነጻ ፕሬስጥብቅና በመቆምለ ዓለም የጽሁፍ ነጻነት ተነፋጊዎች በመሟገት ላይ ያለው ታዋቂው የአሜሪካ ፔን ፤ ድርጅት ጭቆናንና አፈናን አሻፈረን በማለት በግፈኛ ገዢዎች ወደ ወህኒ ለሚታፈኑ የሚሰጠው ታላቁ [...]
በሳን ሆዜ፣ ሳንፍራንሲስኮ አካባቢ ታላቅ ስብሰባ May 5 ስብሰባ ሊያደርጉ ነው።
San Jose Brochure
ፍጥረታዊ ፍትሕ ወይስ ዘረኛ ፍርደገምድልነት?
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም (ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ) ተበዳዩን እንደ ወንጀለኛ! ባለፈው ሳምንት በኢትዮጵያ የመርገጫ ማህተም የሆነውን ፓርላማ ግፈኛው ፈላጭ ቆራጭ መለስ ዜናዊ ተገደው ከደቡብ ኢትዮጵያ ‹‹የተፈናቀሉትን›› የአማራዎች (አንዳንዶች‹‹በተንኮል ዘዴ ዘር ማጥፋት›› ብለውታል) በተመለከተ፤ በጉዳዩ ላይ ተቃውሞ ያሰሙትንና ፤ ዜናውን እንዲሰራጭ ያደረጉትን፤ በደፈናው ሃላፊነት የሌላቸው በማለት በማዉገዝና እውነቱን ሸምጥጦ በመካድ ጨርሶ መፈናቀል እንዳልተካሄደ ለማሳመን ሲፈላሰፍ ታይቷል፡፡ መለስ [...]
The giant shows signs of life
By Yilma Bekele I feel energized. Our freedom tree is bearing fruits. It is the result of the tireless effort of thousands if not millions of us working together in harmony. Due to the miracle of the Internet such as our independent Web sites and Social Media such as Facebook and Twitter and our potent [...]
Sisay Agena’s book launch in DC
Journalist Sisay Agena has published a new book. The book entitled Yekalitiw Mengist , will be launched in Washington DC, the coming Sunday, April 22. There will be a book signing and discussion program. Colleagues and friends of Sisay will be give brief speeches about his contributions for the press press in Ethiopia and now [...]
UN must stop barbarism in the Middle East
By Aie Zi Guo The Middle East is the epicentre of the world’s great religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Great mathematicians, scientist and engineers originated from this part of the world. The pyramids of Egypt, the Walls of Babylon, the lamps of Aladdin, the great pharaohs etc are historical testaments of the ancient civilizations of [...]
Ridding Ethiopia TPLF injustice
One-people; one country! One man; one vote! Ethiopia was betrayed by the League of Nations (LoN) and the Fascist Italian Forces unleashed a naked aggression replete with grave violation of human rights, war crimes, crimes against humanity including genocide. Some Western powers in the LoN even encouraged the Fascist Mussolini to enter Addis Ababa and consummate [...]
Ethiopia: The Bridge on the Road(map) to Democracy
Alemayehu G Mariam–Last week I had an opportunity to address a town hall meeting in Seattle sponsored by the Ethiopian Public Forum in Seattle (EPFS), a civil society organization dedicated to promoting broad dialogue, debate and discussion on Ethiopia’s future. I was asked to articulate my views on Ethiopia’s transition from dictatorships to democracy in light of my recent emphatic commentaries on the subject.
ኢትዮጵያ፤ ወደ ዴሞክራሲ የመጓዣው ጎዳና ካርታ ላይ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ባለፈው ሳምንት በሲያትል ከተማ የኢትዮጵያን ራዕይ በተመለከተ ሰፊ ሕዝባዊ ውይይት፤ ክርክር፤ ለማካሄድ በተመሰረተ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝባዊ ፎረም ላይ (EPFS)ላይ ተጋብዤ ተገኝቼ ነበር:: በዚህምስብሰባ ላይ በቅርቡ ሳቀርባቸው በነበሩት የኢትዮጵያን ከፈላጭ ቆራጭ ግዛት ወደ ዴሞክራሲያዊ አስተዳደር ሽግግርን በተመለከተ ማብራሪያ እንድሰጥ ተጠይቄ ነበር፡፡ እኔ በኢትዮጵያ ከፈላጭ ቆራጭ አገዛዝ ወደ ዴሞክራሲያዊ አስተዳደር ሊካሄድ ስለሚገባው [...]
Southern Ethiopia-the playground of Meles Zenawi
By Yilma Bekele Most locations are just bland places. There is not much variation in the topography. Look at Google satellite map of Africa and you will see what I mean. Endless flat land, a stretch of desert, an occasional river or a few hills is the norm. Our Ethiopia is different. In the North [...]
“Get out, you don’t belong here”
By Ephrem Madebo When I recently heard the sickening news of mass deportation of ethnic Amharas form the southern regional state, my stomach flipped and somehow I was catapulted back to my boyhood when I was a student in Awassa Comboni Elementary School. The Comboni School of my time was home to Amharas, Ormos, Wolayitas, [...]
የኢትዮጵያ ሽግግር ወደ ዴሞክራሲና የማንነት ፖለቲካ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ በኢትዮጵያ ታሪክ ራሱን ይደጋግመዋል ባለፈው ሳምንት የአሜሪካን ድምጽ የአማርኛው ፕሮግራም ዘገባ ከሃገሪቱ ደቡባዊ ክፍል በግዳጅ ከቀዬአቸው የተፈናቀሉትን በርካታ ኢትዮጵያዊያንን የሚመለከት ነበር፡፡ በዘገባው መሰረት፤ ከዚሁ ከደቡባዊ ክልል በጉራ ፈርዳ በግብርና ይተዳደሩ የነበሩ በርካታ የአማራ ተወላጆች በአካባባዊ ባለስልጣናት ንብረታቸውን ይዘው በአስቸኳይ ከአካባቢው ለቀው ወደ ‹‹ሞት ወረዳ›› የቀድሞ ቀያቸው እንዲሄዱ ለዳግም ስደት [...]
Identity Politics and Ethiopia’s Transition to Democracy
By Prof. Al Mariam–Last week, the Voice of America Amharic radio program reported on the forced official removal (“displacement”) of a large number of people e from the southern part of Ethiopia. According to the report, numerous Amhara farming families from the town of Gura Ferda were ordered by local officials to pack up and go back to their “kilil” ethnic homeland.
Dire need for Amhara-Oromo, et al to unite
By Robele Ababya The dismal performance of the African Union, since its establishment officially in Durban on the 9th of July 2002, is a burning issue especially to genuine intellectuals who have the interests of Africa at heart and the young generation who see their future blighted due to rampant corruption, inept leadership, contagious dictatorial [...]
Can ignore TPLF’s undoing of Ethiopia?
Aklog Birara (PhD) Ethiopian ethnic-based political elites, most prominently, the champion of ethnic politics and business, TPLF Inc., were always bent on shredding to pieces our commonalities, shared history and common identity as Ethiopians of all shades, colors, languages and faiths, from their inception. They embraced the Apartheid like formula of separation and legalized ethnic-federalism. They were determined to de-institutionalize and de-capitalize Ethiopian society by dismantling social relations among the population. This is the thesis of this analytical piece. As a result of their secret and coded arrangements intended solely to serve them financially and economically, they sowed the seeds of revenge and fear among the population.
The last blow to Ethiopiawinet
By Dula Abdu The expulsion of the Amharic speaking people from the South is a final blow to Ethiopiawinet. The masterminds of Ethiopia’s demise have eventually succeeded in putting a death knell to what left of Ethiopia, complete segregation by tribe. By the way, according to the dictionary, a death knell is the ringing of [...]
Loving Ethiopia to death
By Yilma Bekele On November 11, 2011 Yenesew Gebre was driven to kill himself on behalf of all suffering Ethiopians. He killed himself out of love for his people and country. He made the ultimate sacrifice to wake us up so we can see what it means to be humiliated in your own home. Love [...]
Blogger fights terror charges as ruler praised
Last week in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, while Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was making a speech about Africa’s growth potential at an African Union forum, a journalist who his administration has locked away since September on bogus terrorism charges was presenting his defense before a judge. Eskinder Nega has been one of the most outspoken critics of Meles’ domestic leadership over the past two decades and has suffered imprisonment, intimidation, and censorship for it.
በዴሞክራሲያዊ ሽግገር ወቅት የሕግ የበላይነት በኢትዮጵያ
ፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም (ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ) የሕግ የበላይነት፤በሰው ሕግ ፤ በሕገቢስነት ባለፉት፡ዓመታት ሳነሳቸው የነበሩት ርእሶች ሁሉ በአንድ መሰረታዊ በሆነ እምነት ላይ የተመሰረቱ ነበሩ፤ ይሄውም፡የሕግ፡የበላይነት ነው::የሕግ የበላይነት ምንድን ነው? በኢትዮጵያስ ከፈላጭ ቆራጭ ስርአት ወደ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ስርአትሽግግር ወቅት እንዴት ሊገነባ ይችላል? ‹‹የሕግ የበላይነት›› የሚለው ቃል ወይም አባባል፤ በለዘበ አለያም በተደጋጋሚ፤በምሁራን፤በሕግ ባለሙያዎች በብዛት ለፖለቲካዊ ውይይት መጠቀሚያነት ውሏል፡፡ የፈላጭ [...]
The Rule of Law in Ethiopia’s Democratic Transition
By Alemayehu G. Mariam All of the weekly commentaries I have written over the years have been structured on a single fundamental principle: the rule of law. What is it? How does it configure in Ethiopia’s transition from dictatorship to democracy? The phrase “rule of law” is somewhat vague and much overused by scholars and advocates, and casually thrown around in general political conversation. The phrase is so popular that even dictators swear by it
The displaced Ethiopians
By Yilma Bekele I am sure we are all familiar with what is known as the ‘melting pot’ concept when it comes to describing how America functions. The term is a metaphor ‘for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements “melting together” into a harmonious whole with one common culture. The concept was [...]
ለኢትዮጵያዊያን፤ የጨለመው ስደት በኖርዌይ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም (ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ) በሃገራቸው ባለው ጨካኝና አረመኔያዊ አገዛዝ ሳቢያ፤ገዛዙ በፈጠረው የኑሮ ውድነት፤ የነጻነት እጦት፤በችጋሩ፤ በሙስና፤ አረመኔው መንግሥት ሆን ብሎ፤ አውቆ፤ ፍጥረቱ ለጥፋት ተልእኮው በኢትዮጵያዊያን ላይ ስደትናእንግልትን ማደርጀት ነው፤ በሚፈጽመው የዲያቢሎስ ተግባር ሃገራቸውን ጥለው የተሰደዱት ኢትዮጵያዊያን በሰሜን አፍሪካ፤በመካከለኛው ምስራቅ በሌሎችም የአፍሪካ ሃገራት ለባሰ መከራና ስቃይ እየተዳረጉ ነው፡፡ ኢትዮጵያውስጥ መኖር ሳይሆን ለመኖር ማሰብ እንኳ [...]
No way for Ethiopian refugees in Norway
Alemayehu G Mariam Ethiopians are having a very hard time. Inside their own country, they are victimized by dictatorship, famine and pestilence. Thousands of Ethiopians who have fled political persecution and economic privation caused by systemic and massive corruption and poor governance are facing unspeakable victimization in various parts of North Africa, the Middle East [...]
Interview with activist Meron Ahadu
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ESAT interview with Prof. Raymond Jonas on Adwa
Eritrea: An easy target to Ethiopia
By Simon Tisdall (Guardian) Ethiopia’s military incursion into neighbouring Eritrea, reinforced by weekend follow-up attacks, has received remarkably little international attention – and no outright condemnation, in the west at least. Britain said it was “deeply concerned” but declined to censure Addis Ababa. The US piously urged “restraint”. Eritrea’s demand that the UN security council [...]
እሪ ይበል ወንዙ፤ እሪ ይበል ሃይቁ!
ከዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም (ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ) ከሶስት ዓመታት ቀደም ብሎ ‹‹እሪ በልልኝ ሃይቁ፤ በተፈጥሮ ላይ የተፈጸመ ወንጀል››በሚል ርዕስ ሳምንታዊ መጣጥፍ አቅርቤ ነበር፡፡ የዚያን ጊዜው መጣጥፌ ያተኮረው በወቅቱ ከአዲስ አበባ በስተ ደቡብ ላይ በ50 ኪሎሜትር ርቀት የሚገኘውና በአንድ ወቅት በጠቃሚ ወንዝነቱ ይታወቅ የነበረውን አሁን ለብክለት የተዳረገውን የቆቃን ሃይቅ ውሃ በመጠጣት፤ለበሽታና ለሞት የተጋለጡትን በአሰርት ሺህ የሚቆጠሩ ኢትዮጵያውያንን ሕለፈት በተመለከተ [...]
Ethiopia and Winds of war
By Yilma Bekele War is upon us again. War defines the Ethiopian Government. Since it came to power it has been at war with its citizens. No region or ethnic group has been spared from this infection. The regime is always at war with opposition politicians, journalists, publishers, intellectuals, and business people to mention a [...]
Delivering on Donald Payne’s Human Rights Legacy
Alemayehu G Mariam Donald Payne Was a Drum Major for Democracy and Human Rights Grassroots Ethiopian human rights groups and activists have been stunned by the death last week of Donald Payne, our strongest ally and advocate in the U.S. Congress. His passing marks a major setback to the cause of freedom, democracy and human [...]
TPLF Inc. survives through repressions
By Aklog Birara, PhD “Where there is corruption, there is more poverty.” Robert Klitgaard, one of the world’s authorities on corruption Those of us who enjoy freedom from constant harassment, intimidation and fear need to remind ourselves each day that the Ethiopian people continue to suffer from poor, corruption-ridden and repressive governance-induced hyperinflation, hunger and [...]
Chatting with a comedian
By Sisay T. Out of the handful entertainers our country has, the one who comes to mind first is undoubtedly Artist Tamagn Beyene. A lot has been said about his talent as a comedian, a host and even as player of musical instruments. Every comedian we know has his own style of presentation, but what [...]
TPL Inc: The ‘aid’ hurdle
By Aklog Birara, PhD “Men’s hearts ought not to set against one another, but set with one another and all against evil today.” Thomas Carlyle Ethiopia is, potentially, one of the richest countries in the world. It is a country that should not be poor. Why? It has the requisite natural resources: ample arable farm [...]
Ethiopia and Syria revisited.
By Yilma Bekele The Syrian regime is killing its own people to save the country from terrorists (Ashebari). The world is watching and keeping score. Thanks to social media such as Twitter and Facebook we are all witnessing this display of total madness safely from our home. The Missile attack on neighborhoods is televised in [...]
The Ethio-Norway forced repatriation in prospect
By Samson Seifu In my previous article entitled ‘’The Ethio-Norway Forced Repatriation Agreement in Retrospect’’ published on 13 February 2012 on different websites, I presented the background and the events which led to the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). In this article the events after the announcement and the prospects afterwards with focus on the [...]
Ethiopia: TPLF Inc. as a “silent killer”
By Dr. Aklog Birara Have you ever wondered, as I have, why Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people are caught in a vicious cycle of disillusionment, dispossession and disempowerment? Have you pondered, as I have, the simple truth that the vast majority of the Ethiopian people have less say and thus less power over their political [...]
Top patriot Abichu and his wartime heroic compatriots
By Robele Ababya Safeguarding dignity, liberty and sovereignty The distinguished young patriot Abichu from Selalle in his twenties and compatriots in his peer group scored magnificent victories in battle fields in northern Ethiopia over Italian Fascist invaders in 1935. An indelible edict was written with their blood and sealed with their covenant vowing in the [...]
37 years of TPLF and the footprints of Meles Zenawi
By Tesfaye Astsebha and Kahsay Berhe On 19 February 2012, the official 37th birthday of the TPLF, many people in Tigray have to think of their loved ones as martyrs as every year; it is a day for remembering the loss of about 60 000 young women and men; as well as thousands of civilians [...]
Deutsche Welle (Ethiopia): A Disgrace to Press Freedom?
In a memorandum sent to Deutsche Welle’s (DW) [Germany's international broadcaster] “correspondents outside Ethiopia” in late 2010, Ludger Schadomsky, editor-in-chief of DW’s Amharic program, blasted “ethiomedia and similar sites by extension” as a “disgrace” to press freedom. “The amount of hatred splashed across [ethiomedia] is a disgrace to any politically sober mind,” declared Shadomsky self-righteously.
An African victory, a powerful woman and racial truth
Though it may not be noted in every history book, in 1896 the Battle of Adwa took place on the Horn of Africa. The battle pitted the armies of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia against invading Italian forces commanded by General Oreste Baraterie. The Ethiopian victory produced a resonance that vibrated the entire western world for a number of reasons. For the first time African forces had defeated a European power bent on forging an empire in Africa. And once again in the history of Ethiopia, the victory was influenced by a powerful Ethiopian woman, Empress Taitu. Also, the question of racial superiority was beginning to affect western societies, especially post-slavery America. Many were surprised that an African nation could defeat a white colonial power such as Italy.
Stop land grabbing and restore indigenous peoples’ lands
Cultural Survival Ethiopia receives more foreign aid than any other African nation—upwards of $3 billion a year. Western governments see Ethiopia as a strategic bulwark in the “global fight against terrorism” and point to its progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals, an international program to end poverty and hunger. But Ethiopia’s policies are deliberately [...]
Insight interview with Prof. Donald Levine (Part 1)
Join the protest against brutality in Saudi Arabia
TPLF and the institutionalization of ethnicity
By Aklog Birara (Ph.D.) The pursuit of justice and political pluralism in Ethiopia has been severely compromised deliberately and systematically by the architects of an ethnic polity that is doing irreparable damages to all Ethiopians. Some see merit in the current system and suggest that ‘oppressed nationalities’ are better off today than they were under [...]
The art of bullying Ethiopians
By Yilma Bekele ‘Prime Minster Meles Zenawi said on Wednesday Ethiopia could pardon politicians and journalists arrested under a 2009 anti-terrorism law.’ That news was reported widely including inside Ethiopia. Normally what we hear outside and what the people are told is two different things. This time the message was meant for the Ethiopian people. [...]
The dragon’s dance with hyenas
Alemayehu G. Mariam The Chinese Dragon is dancing the Watusi shuffle with African Hyenas. Things could not be better for the Dragon in Africa. In the middle of what once used to be the African Pride Land now stands a brand-spanking new hyenas’ den called the African Union Hall (AU). Every penny of the USD$200 [...]
Interview with Prof. Donald Levine in Amharic
Prof. Donald Levine gave an extensive interview to the Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) on wide ranging issues related to Ethiopia. ESAT will present the English version in a three-part series. Watch the Amharic interview below.
In support of Addis Dimts
Aklog Birara, PhD No society can advance democratization without access to credible and current information. It is for this reason that experts agree that a free press is the corner stone of democratic countries. The power of information via Twitter, YouTube, the Internet, radio and television undermined tyrannical regimes in North Africa and the Middle [...]
Open letter to Mr. Meles Zenawi
By Robele Ababya, 10 February, 2012 Mr. Zenawi, This letter is prompted by your short speech at the inauguration of the new African Union Headquarters built by the government of China at a cost of 200 million US$ as a ‘gift’ to Africa. In that speech you said “China, its amazing re-emergence and its commitment [...]
When we were the peacemakers
By Yilma Bekele There is a term some use to describe the US as being special. They call it ‘American exceptionalism.’ What the theory tries to define is the special and unique place the US holds due to the revolutionary nature of its founding and the emergence of an American Ideology that is based on [...]
Ethiopia’s conundrum: A statue for Nkrumah or Selassie?
By Janet Shoko / The Africa Report Kwame Nkrumah’s statue, which was recently unveiled at the African Union (AU) headquarters, has sparked anger amongst Ethiopian scholars, historians and politicians, who feel the country’s former leader Haile Selassie deserved the honour. Members of Parliament have also been drawn into the debate and on Wednesday raised the [...]
The Sino-African dictators corporation headquarters
The news about the new china’s building in Addis Ababa has inundated the African News Media. According to some news reports [1, 2], the current chairman of African tyrants expressed: “this building is the reflection of the new Africa, and the future we wa