Rise up People of Ethiopia

May 23, 2014

by GRAHAM PEEBLES

There are tentative signs that the people of Ethiopia are beginning to organise themselves and stand up against the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government, a brutal dictatorship, albeit one dressed in democratic western garb.

After 23 years of suppression at the hands of the EPRDF, simmering discontent and anger appears to finally be spilling over onto the streets. Robbed of hope, the people have had enough, enough of the wide-ranging human rights abuses. The denial of constitutional rights, the arbitrary imprisonments and torture, regime violence, the displacement of people from ancestral land, the partisan distribution of aid, and the rising cost of living.

The right to peaceful protest

Like many democratic principles, the right to protest is enshrined in Ethiopia’s constitution. Written in 1991 by the EPRDF, the legally binding document of liberal correctness is routinely ignored by the regime, whose response to public protests has been consistently violent.

Last year Addis Ababa witnessed the first mass demonstrations since 2005, when “security forces killed dozens of protesters [some estimate that up to 200 people were murdered by government forces] and arbitrarily detained thousands of people across the country.” [Human Rights Watch (HRW)] Unsurprisingly since then the streets have been quiet. Until 2013 that is, when in June thousands found the courage to march through the capital demanding the release of political prisoners, “respect for the constitution” and “Justice! Justice! Justice!” [Reuters] And again in November, when enraged demonstrators gathered outside the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Addis Ababa and cities across the world to protest the appalling abuse meted out to Ethiopian migrants in the Gulf State. Many hoped this united response was the beginning of a coordinated movement of collective action, a long overdue movement for change.

Ethiopia is young, 65% of the population are under 25, the median age is a mere 17, and like protest movements elsewhere — Egypt, Brazil, Turkey e.g., it is the young who are leading the way. They see clearly the injustices, the violations of fundamental freedoms and the duplicity of a government that presents a democratic face to its international allies and benefactors whilst brutalising its own people.

Since 25th April, students have demonstrated throughout the Oromia Regional State, protesting against the government’s sinister sounding ‘Integrated Development Master Plan’. The Oromo people constitute Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group — around 27 million people — almost a third of the population. They have been marginalised and discriminated against since the 19th century when Empress Taytu Betul (wife of Menelikk II) chose the site of Addis Ababa for the capital. As the city grew Oromos were evicted from their land and forced onto the margins — socially, economically and politically: “time and again, Oromo farmers were removed from their land under the guise of development without adequate compensation.”[Geeska Africa]. Like tyrants everywhere, the paranoid EPRDF is hostile to all forms of dissent no matter the source; however they react with greater levels of brutality to dissenting voices in Oromia than perhaps anywhere else in the country, and “scores of Oromos are regularly arrested based on their actual or suspected opposition to the government.” [Amnesty International (AI)]

The proposed ‘master plan’ would substantially expand the boundaries of Addis Ababa into areas of Oromia surrounding the capital. “Protestors claim they merely wanted to raise questions about the plan — but were answered with violence and intimidation.” [BBC] They rightly feel smallholder farmers and other groups living on government land (all land in Ethiopia is government owned) would once again be threatened, leading to large scale evictions to make way for land leasing or land sales, as has happened elsewhere in the country. In addition many Oromos see the proposed expansion as a broader threat to their regional and cultural identity and say the scheme is “in violation of the Constitutionally-guaranteed protection of the ‘special interests’ of the Oromia state.” [AI] Constitutional guarantees that mean nothing to the members of the ruling party, or a politically controlled judiciary.

Killing, beating, intimidating

University campuses have formed the beating heart of the protest movement that has now spread throughout the region. On Tuesday 29th April around 25,000 people, “including residents of Ambo town in central Oromia, participated in a city wide demonstration, in the largest show of opposition to the government’s plans to date.” [Revolution News] Somewhat predictably, security forces, consisting of the federal police and military Special Forces known as the ‘Agazi’, have “responded by shooting at and beating peaceful protesters in Ambo, Nekemte, Jimma, and other towns with unconfirmed reports from witnesses of dozens of casualties.” [Human Rights Watch (HRW)] A witness told Amnesty International that on the third day of protest in Guder town, near Ambo, the security forces were waiting for the protesters and opened fire when they arrived. “She said five people were killed in front of her. A source in Robe town, the location of Madawalabu University, reported that 11 bodies had been seen in a hospital in the town. Another witness said they had seen five bodies in Ambo [80 miles west of Addis Ababa] hospital.”

Whilst the government says that “at least nine students have died” during the protests, “a witness told the BBC that 47 were killed by the security forces” — a misleading term for government thugs, who are killing, beating and intimidating innocent civilians: Amnesty reports that children as young as 11 years of age were among the dead. In addition to killing peaceful protesters, large numbers have been beaten up during and after protests, resulting in scores of injuries, and hundreds or “several thousands”, according to the main Oromia opposition party, the Oromo Federalist Congress (AFC), have been arbitrarily arrested and are being detained incommunicado. Given the regime’s history those imprisoned face a very real risk of torture.

In many cases the arrests took place after the protesters had dispersed. “Security forces have conducted house to house searches in many locations in the region, [looking] for students and others who may have been involved. New arrests continue to be reported,” [AI] and squads of government thugs are reportedly beating local residents in a crude attempt at intimidation. Amnesty reports the case of a father whose son was shot dead during a protest, being ‘severely beaten’ by security forces, who told the bereaved parent “he should have taught his son some discipline.”

The Oromia community has often been the target of government aggression, and recent events are reminiscent of January 2004, when several Oromia students at Addis Ababa University were shot and killed when protesting for the right to stage an Oromo cultural event on campus. Many more were wounded and 494 [Oromo Support Group (OSG)] were arrested and detained without charge or trial. HRW reported how “police ordered both male and female students to run and crawl barefoot, bare-kneed, and bare-armed over sharp gravel for three-and-half hours; they were also forced to carry each other over the gravel.” The Police, HRW goes on to say, “have repeatedly employed similar methods of torture and yet are rarely held accountable for their excesses.”

The recent level of extreme violence displayed by the State is not unusual and takes place throughout Ethiopia; what is new is the response of the people. Anger at the security forces criminality has fuelled further demonstrations in Oromo as friends and family of those murdered have added their voices to the growing protest movement. This righteous stand against government brutality and injustice is heartening for the country and should be supported with condemnation and pressure from international donors and the UN more broadly. Those arrested during protests must be immediately released and investigations into killings by security personnel instigated as a matter of utmost urgency.

Tools of control

The government’s heavy-handed reaction to the Oromo protests is but the latest example of the regime’s ruthless response to criticism of its policies. Political opposition parties, when tolerated at all have been totally marginalised, dissenting independent voices are quickly silenced and a general atmosphere of fear is all pervading. Despite freedom of expression being a constitutional right virtually all media outlets are either government owned or controlled; “blogs and Internet pages critical of the Ethiopian government are regularly blocked and independent radio stations, particularly those broadcasting in Amharic and Afan Oromo, are routinely jammed.” [HRW] The EPRDF has created “one of the most repressive media environments in the world.” Reinforcing this condition, “the government on April 25th and 26th arbitrarily arrested nine bloggers and journalists in Addis Ababa. They remain in detention without charge.” [Ibid] International human rights groups (whose activities have been severely restricted by the stifling Charities and Societies Proclamation of 2009) as well as foreign journalists are not welcome, and reporters “who have attempted to reach the current demonstrations have been turned away or detained,” [Ibid] making it difficult to confirm exact numbers of those killed by government security personnel.

The UN Human Rights Council recently reviewed Ethiopia’s human rights record under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Since the first review in 2009 the human rights condition has greatly deteriorated. The EPRDF rules the country through fear and intimidation, they have introduced ambiguous, universally condemned legislation to control and intimidate: the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO law) and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation specifically. Laws of repression that together have made independent media and civil society completely ineffective. Freedom of assembly – another constitutional right – is not allowed, (or as can be seen with the Oromo protests) is dealt with in the harshest manner possible; the Internet and telecommunications are controlled and monitored by the government and phone records/recordings are easily obtained by security personnel. Arbitrary arrests and false Imprisonment of anyone criticizing the government is routine as is the use of torture on those incarcerated. In the Ogaden region the regime is committing gross human rights abuses constituting crimes against humanity and in Gambella and the Lower Omo Valley large numbers of indigenous people have been forcibly moved into government camps (Villagization Programme), as land is sold for pennies to international companies. In short, human rights are completely ignored by the Government in Ethiopia. As the people begin to come together and protest, international pressure should be applied on the regime to observe the rule of law and uphold the people’s fundamental human rights.

We are living in extraordinary times, times of opportunity and change, times of great hope. With elections due next year now is the time for the various ethnic groups and factions inside and outside Ethiopia to unite, and speaking with one voice demand their rights, to freedom and justice and to live with hope in their hearts.

Graham Peebles is director of the Create Trust. He can be reached at: graham@thecreatetrust.org

Source: Counter Punch

Ethiopia holds editor-in-chief without charge (CPJ)

May 28, 2014

New York, May 28, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of a journalist without charge since Monday and calls on Ethiopian authorities to release him immediately. An Ethiopian court on Tuesday extended by 14 days the pre-trial detention of Elias Gebru, according to news reports.

Elias Gebru is being held without charge. (Enku)

Ethiopia’s federal police in the capital, Addis Ababa, summoned Elias, editor-in-chief of the independent news magazine Enku, for questioning in connection with a column published in his paper, according to news reports. The Awramba Times reported that the column discussed a monument recently erected outside the capital in honor of ethnic Oromos massacred in the 19th century by Emperor Menelik’s forces. The monument has ignited divisions between some Oromos and supporters of the emperor’s legacy.

Local journalists said authorities were attempting to link the paper’s publication to the deadly clashes between Oromo student protesters and security forces last month. Ethiopian authorities claimed eight protesters were killed in the violence, while news outlets and human rights groups cited witnesses as saying that security forces killed more than a dozen protesters.

At least 17 other journalists are in jail in Ethiopia in connection with their journalistic work, according to CPJ research. Only Eritrea holds more journalists behind bars in Africa, CPJ research shows.

“The detention without charge of Elias Gebru is the latest move by the Ethiopian government to tighten the noose on the country’s independent press,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. “We call on authorities to release Elias immediately and to stop arresting journalists as a means to quell information and debate.”

Elias is being held at the Maekelawi detention center, according to local journalists.

In 2008, thousands of copies of Enku magazine were seized by Ethiopian authorities in connection with the paper’s independent coverage of the trial of a pop singer who had been critical of the government, according to news reports. The copies were later returned.

Ethiopia tightens its grip on media ahead of 2015 elections

May 28, 2014

“The current regime follows this pattern: immediately before elections, they start to muzzle every critical voice,” protests Endalk Chala, a co-founder and member of the Ethiopian blogging collective called “Zone 9” – a proverbial reference to Ethiopia’s situation beyond the eight zones that divide the notorious Kaliti prison, where many journalists and political prisoners are kept behind bars.

While pursuing his doctorate in the United States, Endalk recently saw six of his colleagues arrested along with three independent journalists on April 25 and 26. The detainees face charges related to accepting assistance from a foreign human rights group and “inciting violence” through social media, though no formal charges have been filed. The youngest of the collective, 25 year old Atnaf Berahane, was reportedly tortured during police investigations.

Launching their blogging collective in May 2012, the Zone 9 members had visited fellow journalists in jail and advocated for the respect of the constitution and against censorship through several online campaigns. “Our language was highly polished and polite. We did not want to provoke the government and invite them to arrest us, because we wanted to remain outside the prison and work a little bit so that we could start a discussion,” explains Endalk.

But pressures to silence the bloggers escalated; even after they decided to go offline in September 2013, they claim to have been followed. Their decision to re-engage with the online platform sparked an ultimate backlash: “In April we met and decided that even though we stopped, these people were still targeting us. So we decided to write again and wrote a comeback blog. We gave our reasons for our disappearance to the public. Then exactly three days later, all of them were detained.”

Only a month later on 26 May, Elias Gebru, the editor-in-chief of Ethiopia’s leading independent magazine Enqu, was arrested for publishing an opinion piece on the controversial Aanolee Martyrs memorial monument. Elias Gebru, who was a vocal advocate for the rights of jailed journalists, was denied the right to bail pending further investigation.

As the 2015 general elections approach, the recent arrests send a ruthless reminder to those critical of the regime led by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The country’s record for jailing journalists during such periods does not fare well. In the immediate aftermath of the 2005 elections, more than 20 newspapers were closed, and journalists arrested and convicted on charges such as treason and inciting violence.

The International Press Institute (IPI) notes in a 2008 Watch List Report that since the 2005 elections, “there has been a steadily deteriorating relationship between the private media and the government leading to a complete breakdown in relations.” During the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s rule, CPJ reported that more than 70 newspapers were forced to close because of government pressure.

Since Prime Minister Zenawi’s death in August 2012, the government’s stance has remained unchanged in its intransigence towards the media. However, there is an atmosphere of growing unrest under Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who assumed office until the end of Zenawi’s term in 2015. Endalk observes that “Since the death of the late Prime Minister Zenawi you can see that people have started to complain, and there is this public demonstration that was impossible before, because he was so controlling and established this system. But after his death, it is a blow to the system.”

Recent demonstrations have been met with brutal violence. Student protests in late April over the new master plan to expand the capital in the Oromia region claimed nine lives in clashes with government forces according to official figures, while other sources have reported up to 40 deaths in all regions. Given tight restrictions on independent media however, it has been difficult to monitor and report on these events. Human Rights Watchstated how “the recent crackdown in Oromia highlights the risks protesters face and the inability of the media and human rights groups to report on important events.”

“When you work as a journalist here you have to expose many things: there is the human rights issue, you can talk about those who are still in jail… And when you report on such critical issues it is obvious the authorities are not happy,” comments Dawit Kebede, editor of the online journal Awramba Times, which used to run as a newspaper from 2008 to 2011. In reporting the student protests in Oromia, Dawit deplored how hard it is to gain access to government officials and opposition groups to investigate issues on the ground and ask questions beyond official statements.

Dawit Kebede, a 2010 Committee to Protect Journalists International Press Freedom Awardee, was among those journalists detained in the aftermath of the contested 2005 elections. After spending nearly three years in prison each on charges of “inciting and conspiring to commit outrages to the constitutional order,” he was released in 2007 on a presidential pardon, amid strong international pressure from the United States and the United Kingdom.

The absence of a respectful discourse between the ruling party and opposition groups has created a heavily polarised media environment where private media struggles to report on its own terms. “Such polarisation has created a certain kind of media. You have to be either pro-government or you have to be against the government. Our political culture means that you have to be either 0 or 100, there’s no 50,” observes Dawit. “When you choose to exercise a profession with such political polarisation one way or another that could be a cause to be labelled as anti-government, to be labelled as a terrorist, and to be labelled as someone who commits high treason.”

On the other hand, Endalk comments how journalism is often perceived by those in power as government reporting, creating a “development ideology” effectively using their media: “when you are a journalist you have to build a very good image, build a country brand, not to tarnish the image of the country by talking about bad things, by talking about lack of good governance. This would tarnish the image of the country and the government. So when you are being told to do so you are forced to be an activist.”

Legislation has further institutionalised control of the media and has been used to override existing norms regulating the media in Ethiopia in the name of security and stability. The Mass Media and Freedom of Information law ratified in July 2008 legalised certain restrictive practices, allowing prosecutors to summarily stop any publication deemed a threat to public order or national security, and increasing the punishment for defamation (CPJ 2008). The number of journalists in jail or sentenced in absentia rose especially after the passing of the Anti-Terrorism Law in 2009, which warns that anyone who publishes information that could incite readers to commit acts of terrorism risks being jailed for between 10 to 20 years.

While the jailing of journalists and political opponents has drawn local and international outcry, overt political interference has also been accompanied by a series of measures to thwart independent media and alternative views. A recent CPJ blog notes for example how a draft distribution system could subtly but effectively silence any critical publication ahead of May 2015 elections, according to local journalists “they aim to ensure that private newspapers and magazines are distributed through one company with links to the ruling party.”

In a country where elections have come to be seen as instruments of political control rather than devices of liberalisation, the media strategy employed so far does not fare well for press freedom and the ability of local media to report on critical issues such as human rights violations. The regime has not only sought to contain potential destabilising effects of the media, but has also crafted a system highly in tune with the government’s developmental rhetoric. With China emerging as a new ally and a “model” for a particular kind of media strategy, the Ethiopian government might not be so inclined to adopt press freedoms espoused by its traditional Western donors.

But in using repressive tactics in a highly polarised environment, it has also forced many journalists to become more entrenched in their activism, as they continue to push for more open discussions on democratic values and media freedoms. As Endalk notes, “You have to be very patient with the process and even though there are no platforms visibly available for Ethiopians to express their views, we still need to fight.”

World News Publishing Focus

Ethiopia: Emeye Menelik Statue is a pride of Black People!

May 27, 2014

by Tedla Asfaw

I followed a video clip posted on pro government website of Aiga.

Tesfaye Newaye so called lawyer was ranting about Emperor Menelik Statue. Oromo extremists with the help of TPLF and Shabia covered the statue with dark Cloth 23 years ago when Tesfaye was in elementary or high school to destroy it.

The news of the statue being covered brought thousands from Addis and its surroundings. Many Oromos in horseback came to defend it. The people won and the Menelik Statue has remained stand tall for more than seven decades now after briefly was absent during Italian five year of occupation.

Tesfaye Newaye/Gebrab is telling us why the Menelik Statue is irrelevant for him and his likes whether it stands or not. If Tesfaye has a fascist blood it might cause him heart attack. Better stay away from the statue.

The other young fellow from Harar on the video clip even went far and compared Menelik with Graziani. He rants, we should not have Menelik Statue in Addis since we do not have Graziani statue in Addis Ababa. Both are criminals for this uninformed young man.

He kept on ranting that since we have Graziani’s victims memorial in Addis Ababa he suggested to have Menelik’s Oromo victims memorial. The young man need to be educated about Ethiopian history. There is no record of Emperor Menelik atrocities the young man alleged. How could “foreign” Historians failed to record it? It was not there to record it!

Menelik’s statue will stand in Addis Ababa forever and all attempts to remove it failed in the past and it will fail again. The MEDREK led protest last Saturday in Addis Ababa was a great success. It is a great victory for all Ethiopians over the divide and rule cadres of Tesfaye Newaye/Gebrab types who are more Oromos than Oromos.

Scratch deep Tesfaye Newaye hate Ethiopia and all who fought for her, a symbol of Black Pride all over the world. Menelik is the first Black Man who led a Black Army and defeat a White Army of Europe in Adwa, Ethiopia! Long Live the Spirit of Emeye Menelik!

ነዋሪዎች ግንቦት 20 ዳግም በኢትዮጵያ ሲከበር ማየት እንደማይሹ በምሬት ገለጹ

ግንቦት ፳(ሃያ)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-ኢሳት ያነጋገራቸው አንዳንድ ዜጎች ” የግንቦት20ን በአል ተገደው እንዲያከብሩ መደረጋቸውን ሲገልጹ” ፣ ሌሎች ደግሞ  በአሉ ከእንግዲህ በኢትዮጵያ ምድር ተከብሮ ማየት እንደማይፈልጉ ገልጸዋል።

ጠ/ሚ ሃይለማርያም ደሳለኝ የግንቦት 20 ድል የመግብ ዋስትናችንን እንድናረጋግጥ እረድቶናል ያሉ ሲሆን፣ አገሪቱ በ1983 ዓም ታመርት ከነበረው 50 ሚሊዮን ኩንታል የግብርና ምርት ወደ 250 ሚሊዮን ኩንታል መሸጋገሩዋን ገልጸዋል። አቶ ሃይለማርያም ይህን ይበሉ እንጅ የተባበሩት መንግስታት ድርጅት የምግብ ፕሮግራም በያዝነው አመት ከ6 ሚሊዮን በላይ ኢትዮጵያውያን አስቸኳይ የምግብ እርዳታ እንደሚፈልጉ ገልጸዋል።

በአሉ በሚከበርበት በአዲስ አበባ ስታዲየም የተገኙት አቶ ሃይለማርያም ፣ ከግንቦት20 በሁዋላ በመቶ ሺ የሚቆጠሩ ሚሊየነሮችና ቢሊየነሮች መፈጠራቸውንም ገልጸዋል።  እነዚህ ሚሊየነሮች የየትኛው ብሄር እና የየትኛው ስርዓት ደጋፊ መሆናቸውን አልተናገሩም።

የኢህአዴግ ባለስልጣናት በግንቦት20 በርካታ ድሎች የተመዘገቡበት እንደሆነ ቢገልጹም ዜጎችና የተቃዋሚ ፖለቲካ መሪዎች ግን የግንቦት 20ን ድል አጣጥለውታል።

አንዲት እናት ኢህአዴግ በመጪው ምርጫ ካሸነፈና በሚቀጥለው አመት ግንቦት20ን የሚያከብሩ  ከሆነ እራሴን አጠፋለሁ ሲሉ ለኢሳት ገልጸዋል። በሀረር ከተማ የሚኖር ሌላ ወጣት ደግሞ ህዝቡ ሳይፈልግ እየተገደደ ሰልፍ እንዲወጣ መደረጉን ተናግሯል።

መንግስት በአሉን ለማክበር ካለፉት ሳምንታት ጀምሮ በሚሊዮኖች የሚቆጠር ገንዘብ ማፍሰሱን መረጃዎች ያሳያሉ።

በአዲስ አበባ ብቻ በአንድ ቀበሌ ብቻ ለሻማ ፣ ጧፍ፣ ባንዲራ መስቀያ እንጨት፣ መፈክሮች፣ ለለስላሳ መጠጦችና እሽግ ውሃ ፣ ኩኪስና ቆሎ ፣ለትራንስፖርት እና ለመሳሰሉት ወጪዎች እስከ 5 ሺ ብር የሚደርስ ገንዘብ ሲወጣ፣ በክፈለ ከተማ ደረጃ ለሚደረጉ ስብሰባዎች ደግሞ ለአዳራሽ ኪራይ ከሚወጣው እስከ 15 ሺ ብር ከሚደርስ ገንዘብ ጀምሮ፣ ለኬክ፣ ለውሃ፣ ሻሂና ቡና አቅርቦቶች የሚወጡት ወጪዎች እጅግ ከፍተኛ መሆናቸውን መረጃዎች ያሳያሉ።

በአገር አቀፍ ደረጃ ለበአሉ ወጪ ከ500 ሚሊዮን ብር በላይ እንደሚወጣ ግምቶች የሰፈሩ ሲሆን፣ ገዢው ፓርቲ የብሄር ብሄረሰቦችን ቀን በጅጅጋ ለማክበር ካወጣው ወጪ ጋር ሲተያይ የዘንድሮው የግንቦት 20 በአል በብዙ እጥፍ ይበልጣል።

የተለያዩ የፖለቲካ ድርጅት መሪዎችና ታዋቂ ሰዎች የግንቦት 20ን በአልን በተመለከተ አስተያየቶችን ሰጡ

ግንቦት ፳(ሃያ)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-የኦሮሞ ነጻነት ግንባር የአንደኛው ክፍል ሊቀመንበር የሆኑት ጄል ከማል ገልቹ እንደተናገሩት የግንቦት20 በአል የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ከአንድ አስከፊና አንባገነን ስርአት ወደ አስከፊ፣ አንባገነንና ዘረኛ ስርአት የተሸጋገረበት ነው ብለዋል።

ግንቦት20 ከኢትዮጵያ ታሪክ፣ ልምድና ምኞት አብሮ የማይሄድ ዘረኛ መንግስት ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ የተፈጠረበት አሳዛኝ ቀን ነው ሲሉ አክለዋል

የቀድሞው የኢትዮጵያ ፕሬዚዳንትና የቀድሞው የአንድነት ፓርቲ ሊ/መንበር ዶ/ር ነጋሶ ጊዳዳ እንደተናገሩት ደግሞ ግንቦት 20 የደርግ አሰቃቂ ስርአት ወድቆ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ህዝባዊ መብት የተከበረባት፣ አንድነቷንና ሉአላዊነቱዋን የበለጸገች አገር እንዲመሰረት ሙከራውየተጀመረበት ቀን ነው ያሉት ዶ/ር ነጋሶ፣ ህገመንግስት የተረቀቀ ቢሆንም ፣በ23 አመት ውስጥ ብዙ ተጀምረው ወደ ሁዋላ የተመለሱና ያልተሰሩ ስራዎች መኖራቸውን ተናግረዋል።

ህገመንግስት መረቀቁንና ብሄሮች ራሳቸውን ማስተዳደር መጀመራቸው እንዲሁም የኢኮኖሚ እድገት እንደ ትልቅ ነገር የሚታይ ቢሆንም፣ አንዳንድ ጉዳዮች ላይ አሁንም ያልተሟሉ ነገሮች አሉ ብለዋል

ኢህአዴግ መራሹ ሃይል ደርግን በመደምሰስ የህግ የበላይነትና ዲሞክራሲን አሰፍናለሁ ብሎ ህገመንግስት ቢያረቅም፣ ኢህአዴግ በወረቀት የሰፈረውን ለመተርጎም ከደርግ የማይተነሳስ አፈናና ጭኮናና መፈጸሙን የገለጹት ደግሞ ታዋቂው ፖለቲከኛና የህወሃት ታጋይ የነበሩት አቶ አስገደ ገብረስላሴ ሲሆኑ፣ ከጥይት ጩኸት አለመላቀቃችንን፣ ሰብአዊ መብቶች አለመከበራቸውን ገልጸዋል።

ከፊውዳሊዝም አስተዳዳር በላይ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ በመሬት ጉዳይ ላይ ጭሰኛ መሆኑን የገለጹት አቶ አስገደ በአገሪቱ ውስጥ ያለውን አፈና ዘርዝረው አቅርበዋል

ከፖለቲካ ድርጅት መሪዎች ጋር የተደረገው ሙሉ ቃለምልልስ በሌላ ዝግጅት ላይ እንደሚቀርብ ለመግለጽ እንወዳለን።

በግንቦት7 ስም የተከሰሱ ጥፋተኞች ተባሉ

ግንቦት ፳(ሃያ)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-የግንቦት7  ህዝባዊ  ሃይል የአመራር አባልና የቀድሞው የአማራ ክልል ወጣቶች ሊቀመንበር ዘመነ ካሴን ጨምሮ 10 ወጣቶች በተከሰሱበት የሽብረተኝነት ወንጀል ጥፋተኞች ተብለዋል።

ሰንደቅ እንደዘገበው አቃቢ ህግ ተከሳሾች ከግንቦት ሰባት ድርጅት ጋር በህቡዕ ግንኙነት በመፍጠር፤ ኤርትራ ድረስ በመሄድ የጦር ስልጠና በመውሰድና ተልዕኮ ተቀብለው በመምጣት በጦር መሳሪያ የታገዘ የሽብር ወንጀል ሊፈፅሙ ነበር ብሎአል።

የፌዴራሉ  ከፍተኛ  ፍርድ  ቤት  4ኛ  ወንጀል ችሎት ግንቦት 19 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም ተከሳሾች እንዲከላከሉ ሲበይን፣ ዐቃቤ ሕግ ተከሳሾቹ ህገ-መንግስቱንና ህገ መንግስታዊ ስርዓቱን በሃይል ለመናድ በማሴር ከጎረቤት አገሮች ስልጠና በመውሰድ፤ የጦር መሳሪያ ግዢን በመፈፀምና የሽብር እቅድ በማውጣት በተለይም በአማራ ክልል በሚገኙ ባለስልጣናት ላይ ግድያ ለመፈፀም አሲረው መንቀሳቀሳቸውን ጋዜጣው ዘግቧል።አንደኛ ተከሳሽ ዘመነ ካሴ “በዐቃቤ ህግ ክስ ስር ከቀረቡበት ክሶች መካከል ኤርትራ ሄዶ የጦር ስልጠና ወስዶ መምጣቱን ፣ መንግስት አሸባሪ ብሎ ከሰየመው የግንቦት ሰባት ድርጅት አመራሮች በተለይም ከጄኔራል ተፈራ ማሞ እና ከአቶ አንዳርጋቸው ፅጌ ጋር በአካል ተገናኝቶ የሽብር ተልዕኮ መቀበሉን፣  በፌስ ቡክና በተለያዩ የኢንተርኔት ግንኙነቶች ከሌሎች አባላቱ ጋር በመገናኘትና መልዕክት በማስተላለፍ ተጠያቂ ” መሆኑን ገልጿል።

ከ1ኛ እስከ 5ኛ ተከሳሾች ማለትም  ዘመኑ ካሴ፣  አሸናፊ አካሉ፣  ደናሁን ቤዛ፣  ምንዳዬ ጥላሁን እና  አንሙት ይሄይስ በማህበራዊ ድረ-ገፆች ግንኙነትን በመፍጠር ተልዕኮና ትዕዛዝን በመቀበልና የሽብር ጥቃት ለመፈፀም የሚረዳቸውን የመሳሪያ ግዢ እንዲከናወን ማድረጋቸውን አቃቢ ህግ ገልጿል።

“በአንፃሩ ደግሞ ከ6ኛ እስከ 9ኛ ድረስ ያሉት ተከሳሾች ደሳለኝ አሰፋ፣  ምክትል ኢንስፔክተር ሙልዩ ማናዬ፣  ጠጋው ካሳና  ይህአለም አካሉ በሽብር እንቅስቃሴው ውስጥ አውቀውም ይሁን ሳያውቁ እርዳታ ሰጥተዋል” የሚለው አቃቢ ህግ፣ ከተከሳሾች መካከል  10ኛ ተከሳሽ ሆና ጉዳዩዋን ስትከታተል የቆየችው ሙሉ ሲሳይ በነፃ እንድትሰናበት ተደርጓል።

ተከሳሾች  ከመጪው ሰኔ 17 እስከ 20 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም በተከታታይ የመከላከያ ማስረጃዎቻቸውን በፌዴራሉ ከፍተኛ ፍርድ ቤት 4ኛ ወንጀል ችሎት እንዲያቀርቡም መታዘዛቸውን ጋዜጣው ዘገባውን አጠቃሏዋል። ዘመነ ካሴ የተከሰሰው በሌለበት ነው::

የግንቦት 20 በዓል 23ኛዓመትበአዲስአበባስታዲየም ሊያከብር ነው

ግንቦት ፲፱(አስራ ዘጠኝ)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-የደርመንግስየወደቀበት 23ኛ ዓመት የግንቦት 20 በዓልገዥው ፓርቲ ኢህአዴግ በአዲስ አበባ ስታዲየም ለማክበር መዘጋጀቱን አስታውቋል፡፡

ኢህአዴግ የዘንድሮውን የግንቦት20 በአልለየትየሚያደርገውሕዝቡበተፈጠረውልማትሙሉበሙሉተጠቃሚበመሆኑነውብሎአል፡፡

ኢህአዴግመራሹመንግስትህዝቡንበቀንሶስትጊዜእንደሚያበላውቃልየገባለትቢሆንም፣ የህዝቡ ኑሮእጅግአሽቆልቁሎእንደሚገኝ፣  በአንጻሩጥቂትየሥርዓቱሹማምንትበሙስናናብልሹ አሠራርከገቢያቸውበላይሐብትአፍርተውታግለንለታልየሚሉትንሕዝብመልሰውፍዳየሚያሳዩበትአፋኝሥርዓት እየተጠናከረመምጣቱን የተለያዩ የህብረተሰብ ክፍሎችን እንደሚናገሩ ዘጋቢያችን ገልጿል።

ስርአቱበተቆጣጠራቸውየሕዝብሚዲያዎችእናየመንግስትንብረቶችያለክልካይሲጠቀምበትየሚታይሲሆንበአንጻሩተቃዋሚዎችሰልፍለማካሄድእንኩዋንያልቻሉበት፣በሕዝብመገናኛብዙሃንከፍለው  ማስታወቂያማስነገርያልቻሉበትየፖለቲካስነምህዳርመፈጠሩአንዱየግንቦት 20 ፍሬመሆኑን  አስተያየትሰጪዎችአስረድተዋል፡፡

ኢህአዴግ ለበአሉ ድምቀት ሲል የአስተዳደሩወረዳዎችናየቀድሞ ቀበሌሠራተኞችናካድሬዎችቤትለቤትበመሄድሕዝቡበነቂስእንዲወጣጥብቅማሳሰቢያ መስጠታቸውን አዲስ አበባዋዘጋያቢችንያነጋገረቻቸውነዋሪዎችአረጋግጠውላታል።

ካድሬዎቹበየቤቱበመሄድበሰልፉላይቢያንስከአንድቤትአንድሰውመገኘትእንዳለበትማሳሰቢያከመስጠትጀምሮየሚገኘውንሰውስምእናስልክቁጥርስጡንእያሉሲመዘግቡታይተዋል፡፡

በተጨማሪምለሰልፉ 50 ብር አበልና ሰርቪስመኪናመዘጋጀቱንበመግለጽነዋሪውንለማግባባትምጥረትእያደረጉመሆናቸውንለማወቅተችሎአል፡፡

ትናንት የአዲስአበባመስተዳደርባስተላለፈውትእዛዝመሰረት ደግሞ   የከተማውሁሉምየመንግስትሰራተኞች  ከሰዓትጀምሮየመንግስትስራዘግተውወደኤግዚቢሽንማዕከልእንዲሄዱ ተደርጓል፡፡

ማንኛውምሰራተኛመስሪያቤትውስጥእንዳይቀርበየኃላፊዎችጥብቅመልእክትየተላለፈለት ሲሆን፣  ከሰዓትጀምሮሰራተኛውየመንግስትስራዘግቶበከተማመስተዳድሩበኩልለከተማአንበሳአውቶቡስበተላለፈውመልእክትመሰረትሰራተኛው ወደ ማእከሉ ተጉዞ  የግንቦትሃያየትግልታሪክፎቶዎችንናዶክመንተሪዎችንእንዲያይተደርጓል።

ከቦታውማንምሰውእንዳይቀርየስም ቁጥጥር ይደረጋል በመባሉ ሰራተኛው ስራ ዘግቶ ተገኝቷል። ኢህአዴግ በአዲስ አበባ እየገጠመው የመጣውን ተቃውሞና ተቃዋሚዎች በቅርቡ ያካሄዱት የተቃውሞ ሰልፍ አስደንግጦታል የምትለው ዘጋቢያችን፣ ምናልባትም ህዝቡን አስገድዶ በማስወጣት አሁንም ድጋፍ እንዳለው ለዲፕሎማቲክ ኮሚኒቲው ለማሳየትና ለመጪው ምርጫ ለመዘጋጀት መሆኑን ገልጻለች።

የግንቦት20 በአል ዛሬ በደብረብርሃን ህዝቡ በሰልፍ ወጥቶ እንዲያከብር የተደረገ ሲሆን፣ ምንም የፖለቲካ እውቀቱ የሌላቸው የአንደኛ ደረጃ ተማሪዎች ሳይቀር ተሰልፈው እንዲያከብሩ ተደርጓል። የኢህአዴግ ካድሬዎች ህዝቡን እያስገደዱ ሰልፍ እንዲወጣ ማድረጋቸውን የስፍራው ወኪላችን ገልጿል።

ነገ በአዳማ በሚካሄደው ሰልፍ ላይም ካድሬዎቹ ህዝቡ በስፋት እንዲወጣ እየቀሰቀሱ ነው።

በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ግንቦት20ን በተመለከተ የተለያዩ ሰዎች አስተያየቶችን በማህበራዊ የመገናኛ ዘዴዎች እያሰፈሩ ነው። ሃብታሙ ዘውዱ ” ግንቦት20 ግልጹ ደርግ በድብቁ ደርግ” የሚል አስተያየት ሲሰጥ፣ አቤ ቶክቾው በበኩሉ ” ኢህአዴግከዚህበፊትደርግበእርሷእናበሌሎችላይሲያደርግየነበረውንአንድበአንድ፤ ዛሬበተቃዋሚዎች፣በጋዜጠኞችእናበነጻሃሳቢዎችላይእየፈጸመችውነው።ልዩነቱደርግአታድርጉብሎቀድሞያስጠነቅቅነበር፤ኢህአዴግደግሞአድርጉብላታሳስትናሲያደርጉጉድታደርጋለች። ዛሬምበእስርቤቶቻችንእነቀሽገበሩአሉዛሬምበየእስርቤቱእነአሞራውታስረዋል።የግንቦትሃያ ”ሰማህታት” የተሰዉትደርግንደምስሶደርግንለመቅዳትከሆነየበሃይሌአባት፤ ”ምንትሸጣለህትንባሆትርፍህምንድነውኡሁኡሁ” ያሉትነገርነውየተከሰተብን!” ብሎአል።

አገኘሁ አሰግድ ደግሞ ” አሁንአሁንስ “እንደጀመርንእንጨርሰዋለን!” ሲሉሕዝቡንእየመሰለኝነው!›› ሲልአቤጉበኛንአስታወሰኝ፤አቤጉበኛብዙጊዜሲጽፍ ‹‹ሰፊውየኢትዮጵያህዝብ›› ማለትያበዛል፤እናምአንዴ ‹‹ሰፊውህዝብ›› ማለትምንማለትነውተብሎሲጠየቅአቤእንዲህብሎመለሰአሉ፤ ‹‹ሰፊውህዝብማለትማብትገድለውብትገድለውየማያልቅማለትነው፡፡›› ብሎአል።

ወይኔ ሃገሬ የተባለው አስተያየት ሰጪ ደግሞ ” ግንቦት20 ኢትዮጵያን ለመበታተን በወያኔ መራሹ መንግስት አማካይነት የመሰረት ድንጋይ የተጣለበት የተረገመ ቀን ነው” ሲል፣ ነጻነት ይበልጣል ደግሞ ” የአንድ ቀን ስልጣን ቢኖረኝ የግንቦት 20 እለት ባንዲራ ዝቅ ብሎ እንዲውለበለብ አድርግ ነበር” ብሎአል።

የገዢው ፓርቲ ደጋፊ የሆነው ሳባዊ ደሳለኝ ደግሞ ” ነገ የቅድስቷ አገሬ የኢትዮጵያ ልደት ቀኗ ነው”  በማለት እለቱን አሞካሽቷል።

ከዚሁ ዜና ሳንወጣ ጠ/ሚ ሃይለማርያም  ደሳለኝ ግንቦት20 የብሄር የመድብና የግለሰብ መብቶችን በማረጋገጥ በኩል አስተማማኝ መሰረት እንዲኖረው አድርጓል ብለዋል።

“የድሮውንቁስልእያነሱመነጠልንየሚቀሰቅሱናየድሮውአስተዳደርበድጋሚስልጣንላይእንዲወጣየሚሹአካላትቢኖሩምየብሄርብሄረሰቦችአንድነትናፍቅርግንአሁንምደምቋል” ማለታቸውን የገዢው ፓርቲ ልሳን ፋና ዘግቧል።

“በመድብለፓርቲስርዓቱየህግየበላይነትንየሚፈታተኑየፖለቲካፓርቲዎችንአካሄድማስተካከልያስፈልጋል” ሲሉ አቶ ሃይለማርያም አክለዋል። የፓርቲዎችን አካሄድ በምን መንገድ እንደሚያካሂዱት የገለጹት ነገር የለም።

በሃረር ታስረው ክሚገኙት ነጋዴዎች መካከል የተወሰኑት ዛሬ ፍርድ ቤት ቀረቡ

ግንቦት ፲፱(አስራ ዘጠኝ)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-በቅርቡ በሃረር የደረሰውን የእሳት ቃጠሎ ተከትሎ ንብረታቸው የወደመባቸው  ነጋዴዎች ዛሬ ፍርድ ቤት ቀርበው ክሳቸው ከሽብረተኝነት ወደ ባንዲራ ማቃጠል፣ ንብረት ማውደም እና አመጽ ማስነሳት መለወጡ ተነግሯቸዋል።

ከእሰረኞቹ መካከል 2ቱ በመታወቂያ ዋስ እንዲፈቱ ሲደረጉ፣ 20 ዎቹ እስረኞች ደግሞ ባንዲራ አውርዶ በማቃጠል፣ 500 ሰዎችን አስተባብረው አመጽ በማስነሳት፣ የመንግስትን ስራ በማስተጓጎልና የግለሰብና የመንግስት ንብረት በማውደም ክስ ቀርቦባቸዋል። የእያንዳንዱ ክስ የቅጣት ጣራ ከ15 አመታት በላይ የሚያሳስር በመሆኑ እስረኞቹ የዋስ መብት እንደሌላቸውና ጉዳያቸውን በእስር ቤት ሆነው እንዲከታተሉ ውስኗል።

በዛሬው ፍርድ ቢኒያም ጌታቸው፣ ለይላ አሊ አህመድና ዙቤር አህመድ የተባሉት የክስ ቻርጅ የደረሰቻው ሲሆን ሌሎች 17ቱ ግን የክሱ ዝርዝር አልደረሳቸውም። ለይላ አህመድ የተባለችው ነጋዴ በእስር ቤት ማህጸኗ ላይ ባደረሱባት ድብደባ በህመም እየተሰቃየች እንደምትገኝ መዘገባችን ይታወሳል።

ቢኒያም ጌታቸው የተባለው ወጣት ደግሞ የኮምፒዩተር ጥገና ባለሙያ ሲሆን፣ ከዚህ ቀደም የሃረር ፖሊስ ጽህፈት ቤትን ኮምፒይተሮች በመጠገን፣ ያልተከፈለው 12 ሺ ብር እንዳለና ምናልባትም የእስሩ ምክንያት ከዚሁ ጋር የተያያዘ ሳይሆን እንደማይቀር የውስጥ ምንጮች ገልጸዋል። ቢኒያምን በምንም አይነት ወንጀል መጠርጠር እንደማይችል የሚናገሩት ጉዳዩን የሚከታተሉ ምንጮች፣ ፖሊስ ኮሚሽን የራሱን ችግር ለመሸፋፈን ሲል እንዳሰረው አስተያየት ይሰጣሉ።

ድብደባ የተፈጸመባትና ዋስትና የተከለከለችው ለይላ ደግሞ  የመንግስትን ባለስልጣናት “እናንተ ናችሁ ቃጠሎውን ያስነሳችሁት ፣ ሌቦች” ብላ በመሳደቡዋ መታሰሩዋን ምንጮች ገልጸዋል።

በጉዳዩ ዙሪያ የክልሉን አቃቢ ህግ ለማነጋገር ያደረግነው ሙከራ አልተሳካም።

የ“ቀለም” አብዮት ናፍቆት! (ጋዝጠኛ ተመሰገን ደሳለኝ )

May 27, 2014

የቀዝቃዛው ጦርነት ማብቃትን ያበሰረው የጀርመን ግንብ ሊፈርስ ሶስት ዓመታት ብቻ በቀሩበት ከዕለታት በአንዱ ቀን፣ ቅጥ ካጣ አምባ-ገነንነቱ በተጨማሪ ሀገሪቷን የግል ርስቱ ያደረገው የፊሊፒንስ ፕሬዝዳንት ፈርዲናንድ ማርቆስ “ታሪካዊ” የሚባል ታላቅ ስህተትን ፈፀመ፤ ጠንካራ ተፎካካሪው ሊሆን እንደሚችል ቅድመ-ግምት ተሰጥቶት የነበረውን የተቃዋሚው ቡድን መሪ ካስገደለ ከጥቂት ጊዜያት በኋላ እንዲካሄድ የፈቀደውን ምርጫ በአሳፋሪ መንገድ አጭበረበረ፡፡ ይህን ጊዜ የሕዝቡን ትዕግስት አልባነት የተረዱና መነሻቸው ካቶሊክ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን የሆኑ ቁጡ ወጣቶች የማኒላ ጎዳናዎችን አጥለቀለቁ፡፡ ለሶስት ቀናት (ከየካቲት 22-25) በቆየው ሕዝባዊ ንቅናቄም ጡንቸኛውን ማርቆስ ከመንበሩ ፈነቀሉት፡፡

አመፀኞቹ ፊሊፒናውያን በሀገሬው ባህልና የቆየ እምነት መሰረት እንቅስቃሴው ሰላማዊ መሆኑን ለመግለፅ ሲሉ በማኒላ አውራ መንገዶች ታንክ ጠምደው ተቃውሞውን ለማክሸፍ ለተሰለፉት የሀገሪቱ ወታደሮች ቢጫ አበባ መስጠታቸውን ተከትሎ፣ አመፁ “ቢጫ አብዮት” የሚል ስያሜ ተሰጠው፡፡ ይህ ሁነትም ጥቂት ዓመታት ዘግይተው በምስራቅ አውሮፓ ለተቀጣጠሉ አብዮቶች በቀለም መሰየም መነሻ መሆን መቻሉን በጉዳዩ ዙሪያ የተዘጋጁ የታሪክ መዛግብት ያወሳሉ፡፡ በ1990ዎቹ አጋማሽ በዚህ ክፍለ-አህጉር የተደረጉት ህዝባዊ አመፆች፣ የተለያዩ ቀለማትን እንደየሀገራቱ ባሕልና ወግ በትእምርትነት መጠቀም መጀመራቸውም የሚያስረግጠው ይህንኑ እውነታ ነው፡፡

በአናቱም የኢራኑ የ2002ቱ “አረንጓዴ” አብዮት፣ የተቃውሞ መሪው ሆስኒ ሞሳቪ የምርጫ ቅስቀሳ ላይ የተጠቀመበት ቀለም በመሆኑ ሲመረጥ፤ የቅርቡ የግብፅ አብዮትም በጥንታዊቷ የፈርኦን ምድር ልማድ፡- ትንሳኤን፣ ህይወትንና ፀሐይን በተምሳሌትነት በያዘው “ሎተስ” በተባለ አበባ እንዲሰየም በአብዮተኞቹ ተመርጧል (የድህረ-ሙባረክ ግብፅን ወደጥንት ታላቅነቷ የመመለስ ግብን ይተረጎማል በሚል)፡፡ ቀድሞ በግራ-ዘመሞች (ኮሙኒዝምን ለመመስረት) ይመራ የነበረው ጠብ-መንጃ ቅልቅሉ አብዮት ምዕራፍ ከተዘጋ በኋላ፣ በእንዲህ ያለ ፍፁም ሰላማዊ መንገድ የሚካሄዱ ንቅናቄዎች “የቀለም አብዮት” በሚል ስያሜ መጠራት መጀመራቸው ይታወቃል፡፡

የቀለም አብዮቶቹ በረከቶች

በምስራቅ አውሮፓ በአድቃቂው የማሕበረ-ሱታፌ (ሶሻሊስት) ሥርዓት ማግስት ብቅ ያሉት መሪዎች ዴሞክራሲያዊ ተቋማትን በመገንባት ሽግግሩን መምራት ባለመቻላቸው እና ነፃ ማሕበረሰብ ለመፍጠር የተነቃቃውን ልሂቅ ህልሞች በኃይል በማጨንገፋቸው የቀለም አብዮቶቹ መቀስቀስ ብቸኛው የታሪክ ምርጫ ሆኗል፡፡ በመጨረሻዎቹ የኮሙኒዝም መንኮታኮት ዋዜማ እና በዚህ ክፍለ-ዘመን መባቻ ላይ ግዙፎቹን ሥርዓታት ያፈራረሱ ማሕበረሰባዊ መነቃቃቶች (ሰላማዊ አብዮቶች) ከኮሙኒዝም ወደ ዲሞክራሲዊ አስተዳደር መሸጋገርን ዋነኛ ዓላማ ከማድረጋቸው በተጨማሪ፣ ባተገባበር የጋራ መለዮ እንዳላቸው ይታወቃል፡፡ ለሳምንታት ወይ ለወራት ድንኳን ዘርግቶ በአደባባይ በመቀመጥ፤ አሊያም ለተከታታይ ቀናት ሰላማዊ ሰልፎችንና የሥራ ማቆም አድማዎችን በመምታት መንግስታዊ ተቋማትን ማሽመድመድ… ከሞላ ጎደል መገለጫዎቻቸው ተደርገው ይወሰዳሉ፤ የምርጫ መጭበርበርን ተከትለው የሚቀሰቀሱ መሆናቸውም ያመሳስላቸዋል፡፡ ለዚህም ከፊሊፒንሱ ‹‹ቢጫ›› እስከ ጆርጂያ ‹‹ፅጌረዳ››፤ ከካዛጊስታኑ ‹‹ሮዝ›› እስከ ዩክሬን ‹‹ብርቱካንማ›› አብዮቶች ድረስ የተመለከትናቸው የአደባባይ ተቃውሞዎች በድህረ-ምርጫ ወቅቶች መቀስቀሳቸው ማሳያ ይሆናል፡፡ በተጨማሪም ንቅናቄዎቹ በሙሉ የተመሩት በሲቪል ድርጅቶች አሊያም በወጣቶች ስብስብ መሆኑ ሌላው የሚያመሳስላቸው ባህሪይ ተደርጎ ሊጠቀስ ይችላል፡፡

ባለፉት አስር ዓመታት ውስጥ ያየናቸው የቀለም አብዮቶች በዋናነት በመንገዱ ነፍስ-አባት ጄን ሻርፕ ‹ቅዱስ መፃህፍት› የተቃኙ ሲሆኑ፤ በተለይም የአንሳንሱኪን ረዥም እስር ላመጣው ለ1985ቱ የበርማ እንቅስቃሴ የጻፈው ‹‹ከአምባገነንነት ወደ ዴሞክራሲ›› የተሰኘ ስራው ለታህሪር ወጣቶች ጭምር በመመሪያነት ማገልገሉ ይታወሳል፡፡ የዚህ የ86 ዓመት አዛውንት ጸሐፊ ዋነኛ ጭብጥ ‹‹ገዢዎች የሚሰነብቱት ህዝብ እስከፈቀደ ድረስ ብቻ ነው፡፡ ዜጎች የመገዛት ፈቃዳቸው ቀስ በቀስ እየቀነሰ ከሄደ አም-ባገነኖቹ መውደቃቸው አይቀርም፡፡ ይህንንም ለማድረግ እነርሱ የሚያሸንፉበትን የብረት ትግል ከመምረጥ ይልቅ፣ ሰላማዊ ሕዝባዊ እምቢተኝነት ብቸኛው መንገድ ነው›› የሚል መሆኑ ለተቀባይነቱ አስተዋፅኦ ያደረገለት ይመስለኛል፡፡

በሌላ በኩል የቺኮዝሎቫኪያው የ‹‹ቬልቬት›› (ጀንትል) እና የዩጎዝላቪያው ‹‹ቡልዶዘር›› አብዮቶች በስኬታማነት ለመጠቀስ የሚበቁ ናቸው፡፡ በህዳር ወር 1981 ዓ.ም የተከበረውን አለም አቀፍ የተማሪዎች ቀን አስመልክቶ ፕራግ ከተማ በተሰባሰቡት ተማሪዎች ላይ ፖሊስ የወሰደው የኃይል ጭፍለቃ ያስቆጣቸው ግማሽ ሚሊየን ዜጎች ወደ ከተማይቱ አደባባይ በመትመም ያካሄዱት ‹‹የፕራግ ፀደይ›› የተሰኘ ሕዝባዊ ዓመፅ፣ በቀናት ውስጥ ነበር ኮሙኒስት ስርዓቱን ያንኮታኮተው፡፡ በርግጥ ለዚህ ዓመፅ መነሳሳት፣ አብዮቱን እንዲመራ ከቤቱ የተጠራው ቫክላቭ ሆቬልና ጓዶች አቋቁመውት የነበረው ‹‹ቻርተር 77›› የተባለው የመብት ተሟጋች ሲቪክ ማሕበር የአንበሳውን ድርሻ ይወስዳል፡፡ ብዙዎቹ አባላቱም ሀገሪቱ ቼክና ስሎቫክ ተብላ ለሁለት ከተከፈለች በኋላም በፖለቲካ ውስጥ ወሳኝ ሚና እንደነበራቸው ይታወሳል፡፡ ሌላኛው ‹‹አትፓር›› በተሰኘ የወጣቶች ንቅናቄ ተመርቶ አምባ-ገነኑን ስሎዶቫን ሚሎሶቪችን መመንገል የቻለው የ‹‹ቡልዶዘር›› አብዮት ተብሎ የሚጠራው ሕዝባዊ አመፅም፣ በሰላማዊነቱና በመልካም ምሳሌነቱ ከቀለም አብዮቶቹ ጋር አብሮ ይዘከራል፡፡

የ‹‹ቀለም›› አብዮቶች እና እኛ

በምስራቅ አውሮፓ ሀገራት የቀለም አብዮቶች የተካሄዱበት አውድ፣ እንደኛይቷ ኢትዮጵያ የሽግግር ማሕበረሰቦች መሆናቸውን ጨምሮ በበርካታ ጉዳዮች ተመሳስሎ መኖሩን መካድ አይቻልም፡፡ በተለይም ከአረብ አገራት ይልቅ ከእነዚህኞቹ ጋር የሚያስተሳስረው ከአርባና ሃምሳ ዓመታት በፊት የዲሞክራሲ ጥያቄ በኢትዮጵያም ተነስቶ የነበረ መሆኑ (መቼም በአረቦች ምድር ከአምስትና አስር ዓመት ቀደም ብሎ እንዲህ አይነቱ ጥያቄ የሚታሰብ እንዳልነበረ ልብ ይሏል)፣ ሀገራችንም ሆነች ምስራቆቹ በሕብረ-ሱታፌ ሥርዓት ማለፋቸው፣ በፖለቲካ የነቃ ማሕበረሰብ መኖሩ (በቅርቡ በዩክሬን የተመለከትነው አብዮት ዋነኛ መነሾ መንግስት ከአውሮፓ ሕብረት ይልቅ ወደሩሲያ ማዘንበሉን በመቃወም እንደሆነ ይታወቃል)… የመሳሰሉት ተያያዥ ጭብጦች እነርሱ ያለፉበትን መንገድ መርምረን ከጥንካሬያቸውም ሆነ ከድክመታቸው መማር እንድንችል ዕድል ይፈጥራል ብሎ መደምደሙ ማጋነን አይሆንም፡፡

የሆነው ሆኖ ስለመጪው አብዮት እንዲህ አብዝተን እንድንጨነቅ የሚያስገድደን የተጠቀሱት ሀገራትን ሕዝብ፣ ለተቃውሞ አደባባይ ያወጧቸው ገፊ-ምክንያቶች እጅግ በከፋ መልኩ በዚህችም በእኛይቱ ሀገር ሞልተው የመትረፍረፋቸው እውነታ ነው፡፡ ከዚህ ቀደም የተካሄዱት ሁለቱ አብዮቶች (የየካቲቱ እና የ83ቱ) ያልመለሷቸው በርካታ መሠረታዊ ጥያቄዎች ከመኖራቸው በተጨማሪ፣ ኢህአዴግ ያነበረው ሥርዓት የዲሞክራሲ ጭፍለቃው ገደብ ማጣት እና የተሳሳተ ፖሊሲው ያስከተለው የኢኮኖሚ ድቀት ወደዚህ ጠርዝ የሚገፋ ተጨባጭ ሀቅ ነው፡፡

በርግጥ የየካቲት 66ቱም ሆነ የግንቦት ሃያው አብዮቶች ከአውዳሚ ውጤቶቻቸው ጋር የተመጣጠነ ባይሆንም፣ የራሳቸው የሆነ በጎ አበርክቶ እንዳላቸው አይካድም፡፡ ከእነዚህ ውስጥ በምሳሌነት የሚጠቀሰው፣ ቀዳሚው ከባሕላዊ እና ኋላቀር ንጉሳዊ አገዛዝ ወደ ወታደራዊ የተደረገ ለውጥ ቢሆንም፣ የዘመናዊውን ስነ-መንግስታዊ ኑባሬ የመፍጠር ሙከራው አዎንታዊ ተብሎ በታሪክ መመዝገቡ ሲሆን፤ ዳግማዊው አብዮት ደግሞ በተሻለ ሁኔታ የፓርቲ ፖለቲካን እና ሀሳብን የመግለፅ መሰል ጅማሮዎችን ቢያንስ በአዋጅ ደረጃ መደንገጉ ነው፡፡ ይህም ሆኖ ለዚህች አነስተኛ ውጤት አሰቃቂ የእርስ በእርስ ዕልቂትን የመሰለ ለትውልድ ክፍተት የዳረገ ውድ ዋጋ መከፈሉ መቼም ቢሆን የሚዘነጋ አይደለም፡፡ ዛሬ አብዝሃው ሕዝብም አብዮትን በራሱ መተላለቅን የሚያስከትል መዓት አድርጎ ለመውሰድ የተገደደው ከዚህ ካሳለፈው ጥቁር ታሪክ ጠበሳ ሳቢያ ነው፡፡ ግና፣ በእጅጉ ተናፋቂው ዘመነኛው የቀለም አብዮት ቀርቶ በእነ ማርክስ አስተምህሮ የሚበየነውም ቢሆን እንኳ፣ ከሥርዓታዊ ለውጥ አምጪነቱ ባሻገር ጭቆና ላደነዘዘው ማሕበረሰብ ንቃተ-ህሊና ወሳኝ መሆኑ እና በሀገር ጉዳይ ላይ ምን አገባኝ የሚል ሕዝብን ወደ ጠንካራ የፖለቲካ ተሳታፊነት ማድረሱን ፈፅሞ መካድ አይቻልም፡፡ የየካቲቱ አብዮት እንደ ፕሮፌሰር ባሕሩ ዘውዴ አገላለፅ በደስታና በተስፋ ተጀምሮ፤ በሰቆቃና በፀፀት ቢደመደምም ከ66-68 ዓ.ም መጨረሻ ድረስ ፈጥሮት የነበረው የአደባባይ ውይይትና የማሕበረሰቡ የነቃ ተሳትፎ ለዚህ ጭብጥ ሁነኛ ማሳያ መሆን ይችላል፡፡
በኢህአዴጓ ኢትዮጵያ የአብዮትን አስፈላጊነት ጠቅሶ አስተያየት መስጠቱ የሥርዓቱ አገልጋዮችን ብቻ ሳይሆን፣ ለውጥ ፈላጊውንም ሲያስበረግገው (አልፎ አልፎም እንደ ጥፋት መልእክተኛ ቆጥሮ እስከማውገዝ ሲያደርሰው) መስተዋሉ የተለመደ ሆኗል፡፡ ይህ ግን ትልቅ ስህተት ነው፡፡ በምስራቅ አውሮፓም ሆነ በሰሜን አፍሪካ አገራት የተከሰቱት የዘመኑ አብዮቶች መነሻቸው አማራጭ ማጣት እንጂ፤ እብሪት በገፋቸው አሊያም የሥልጣን ጥማት ባክለፈለፋቸው ቀስቃሾች የተካሄዱ አለመሆናቸውን ራሳቸው የንቅናቄው ሰለባዎችም የሚክዱት እንዳልሆነ በግላጭ ይታወቃል፡፡ የሩሲያ አብዮት መሪ ቪላድሚር ኤሊች ሌኒን የትኛውም አገዛዝ እንደቀድሞ በጭፍለቃ መቀጠል አለመቻሉ በአንድ በኩል፤ ተጨቋኞች ለተቃውሞ ማጉረምረማቸው በሌላ በኩል በተመሳሳይ ወቅት መከሰትን ‹‹አብዮታዊ ሁኔታ›› ሲል ይጠራዋል፡፡ በዚህ ንዑስ ርዕስም በኢትዮጵያ ‹‹አብዮታዊ ሁኔታ›› መኖሩን በማስረጃ አስደግፌ ለማተት እሞክራለሁ፡፡

‹‹አብዮታዊ ሁኔታ››

በኢትዮጵያ ምድር ሕዝባዊ አብዮት አይቀሬ እንዲሆን ያስገደደው ዋነኛ ምክንያት ሁሉም የለውጥ መንገዶች እንዳያፈናፍኑ ተደርገው በመዘጋታቸው እንጂ፤ ኢህአዴግ እንደሚወነጅለው ዘግናኙን የቀይ እና ነጭ ሽብር ታሪክ የመድገም ፍላጎት የተጠናወተው ፖለቲከኛ አሊያም ተሟጋች ባራገበው የኑፋቄ ቅስቀሳ አለመሆኑ ከማንም የተሰወረ አይመስለኝም፡፡ በርግጥ ይህ የአብዮታዊ ግንባሩ ክስ፣ በሌሎች መሰል ጉዳዮች በተከሰተባቸው ሀገራት እንደታየው የአመፅን ነባራዊ ማህበረ-ፖለቲካዊ መነሻ ከመቀበል ይልቅ፣ በውጭ ኃይሎች ላይ ማሳበብን መምረጥ የተለመደ ከመሆኑ ጋር የሚያያዝ ነው፡፡ ለአብነትም በቅርቡ ለእስር የተዳረጉትን ሶስት ጋዜጠኞች እና የዞን ዘጠኝ ጦማሪዎችን ክስ ማየቱ በቂ ነው፡፡ ከላይ የጠቀስኳቸው የምስራቅ-አውሮፓ ሀገራትም ላጋጠማቸው ሕዝባዊ አብዮት፣ በዋናነት አሜሪካንና የባለሀብቷን ጆርጅ ሶሮ ፋውንዴሽን የተባለ ተቋም በመወንጀል ይታወቃሉ፡፡ ይህንን መሰሉ አብዮት ያሰጋው ኢህአዴግም የእነርሱን እርምጃ (ተቋሙን እስከመዝጋት መሄዳቸውን) በመኮረጅ፣ ከጥቂት ዓመት በፊት ካወጣቸው አዋጆች አንዱ መያዶችን አዳክሞ (ከአስር በመቶ የበለጠ የውጭ እርዳታን እንዳይቀበሉ በመከልከል) በቁም የሚገድል እንደሆነ አይዘነጋም፡፡ በጊዜው ግንባሩ ካቀረባቸው መከራከሪያዎች ይልቅ፣ አቶ መለስ ለ‹‹Famine and foreigners in Ethiopia›› ፀሐፊ ፒተር ጊል፤ በምዕራባውያን ሀገራትና ተቋማት ድጋፍ በሰብዓዊ መብቶች ላይ የሚሰሩትን መያዶች ‹‹የኒዮ ሊበራሊዝም እግረኛ ወታደሮችና ተለዋጭ ተቃዋሚዎች›› ሲል መኮነኑ፣ የአዋጁን መግፍኤ አስረግጦ ይናገራል፡፡ ግና፣ ‹‹ሊበሏት ያሰቧትን አሞራ…›› እንዲሉ፤ ኢህአዴግ አለቅጥ አግንኖ ሀገር-ምድሩን በደም የሚያጨቀይ ‹‹ጭራቅ›› አስመስሎ ፍርሃት ለማንበር እየሞከረበት ያለው ‹‹የቀለም አብዮት›› (colour revolution) የራሱ ንድፈ-ሃሳብ የሌለው፣ ሠይፍ የማያማዝዝ፣ ፍፁም ሰላማዊ መሆኑ ከቶም ቢሆን ሊጠፋው አይችልም፡፡

የሆነው ሆኖ አገዛዙ ‹መሰል አብዮት በዚህች አገር እንዳይቀሰቀ›ስ በሚል ስጋት እንቅልፍ አጥቶ ሲባንን የሚያድረው እና የለውጥ መንገዶችን በጠቅላላ ለመዝጋት ሌት ተቀን የሚዳክረው፣ የአረቡ ‹‹ፀደይ›› አብዮት የጨቋኞቹን የሰሜን አፍሪካ መሪዎች መንበር በጥቂት ቀናት ውስጥ መገልበጡ የፈጠረበት ድንጋጤ ስለመሆኑ በርካታ ማሳያዎች አሉ፡፡ በወቅቱ ነፍሱን ይማረውና መለስ ዜናዊ በአደባባይ ‹‹ህዝቡ ያምፃል ብለን ሳንተኛ አናድርም›› ሲል ለማስተባበል ቢሞክርም፤ በጥቂት ወራት ውስጥ ብቻ በርካታ የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲ አባላትን፣ ጋዜጠኞችን፣ ተሟጋቾችን (አክቲቪስቶችን)… በዚሁ ጉዳይ ወንጅሎ እስር ቤት መክተቱ የንግግሩን አራምባ ቆቦነት ያስረገጠ እርምጃ ነበር፡፡ በተጨማሪም የፓርቲው የግል ፕሮፓጋንዳ ማሰራጫ ልሳን እንዲሆን በተገደደው የኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቪዥን ጣቢያ ባለፉት ሁለትና ሶስት ዓመታት ብቻ በተለያዩ ሀገራት የተካሄዱ አብዮቶች አሉታዊ ጎን ላይ ያተኮሩ ዘገባዊ (ዶክመንተሪ) ፊልሞች እና ‹‹የሕትመት ዳሰሳ›› በተሰኘ ፕሮግራሙ እየደጋገመ በማቅረብ አታክቶናል፤ ለወደፊቱም ይበልጥ እስኪያንገሸግሸን ድረስ ገና ያታክተናል፡፡ በእነዚህ ፊልሞች እና ዝግጅቶች የ‹‹አረቡ ፀደይ››ንም ሆነ ‹‹የቀለም አብዮትን›› ደም አፋሳሽነት እየተደነቃቀፉ ሊያስፈራሩን ከሞከሩ ዙምቢ ‹‹ተንታኞች›› አንስቶ፤ በስነ-ምግባር ጉድለት እስከተባረሩ ጋዜጠኞች ድረስ ተሳታፊ ቢሆኑም፣ ተጨባጩን የሀገራችንን እውነታ የሚያስረግጥ አንዳች ሊያሳምን የሚችል ፍሬ ያለው ነገር ሲናገሩ አልተደመጡም፤ በስማ በለው የሰሜን አፍሪካውያንን ለውጥ መሻት እና የዩክሬንን ሕዝብ ‹‹ፍሪደም ሃውስ››ን ከመሳሰሉ ዓለም አቀፍ ተቋማት ጋር ደርበው ከመርገም ያለፈ፡፡ በግልባጩ የአገዛዙን ‹‹ሚሊየነር ገበሬዎችን አፈራሁ››፣ ‹‹የምርጫ ሥርዓት ገነባሁ››፣ ‹‹በተከታታይ 11 በመቶ ዓመታዊ የኢኮኖሚ እድገት አስገኘሁ››፣ ‹‹የብሔር ብሔረሰቦችን መብት እስከ መገንጠል አስከበርኩ››፣ ‹‹ቀለበት መንገድ ሰራሁ››፣ ‹‹አባይን ልገድብ ነው››… ጂኒ ቁልቋል የሚለው ርካሽ ፕሮፓጋንዳ መልሰው መላልሰው በማስተጋባት የለውጥ መንፈሱን ለማጠልሸት የሄዱበት ርቀት መልሶ ራሳቸውን ለትዝብትና ሀፍረት የዳረገ ይመስለኛል፡፡

ያም ተባለ ይህ ሶስተኛው አብዮት አይቀሬ የሚሆንበት ምክንያት በሁለት ተከፍሎ የሚታይ ሲሆን፤ ይኸውም አማራጭ መንገዶች መዘጋት እና ሕዝባዊ ቁጣ ቀስቃሽ ኩነቶች በተመሳሳይ ወቅት መከሰት የሚል ነው፡፡ እነዚህን ሁለት አንጓ ጉዳዮችም በአዲስ መስመር ነጣጥለን፣ ተንትነን እንያቸው፡፡

የመጀመሪያው ‹‹መንገዶች መዘጋት›› ተብሎ የተገለፀው የዜጎችን በምርጫ ፖለቲካ እምነት ማጣት፣ የተቋማት ነፃነት መጨፍለቅ፣ የሕግ-የበላይነት መሻርን ጨምሮ በጥቅሉ በሕገ-መንግስቱ የተደነገገው የሥርዓት መቀየሪያ መንገድ መብት መገርሰስን ይወክላል፡፡ ይህ ኩነትም በዛሬዋ ኢትዮጵያ ለመከሰቱ አብይ ማስረጃ ሆኖ የሚጠቀሰው፣ በቀደሙት አራት ምርጫዎች ገዥው-ፓርቲ በማጭበርበር እና ኃይል በመጠቀም አሸናፊነቱን ማወጁ ነው፡፡

በሁለተኛነት ‹‹ቁጣ ቀስቀሽ ኩነቶች›› በሚል የጠቀስኩት ደግሞ ከሞላ ጎደል በሚከተሉት ችግሮች ይገለጣል፡- ስርዓቱ ከእነአስከፊው አምባ-ገነን ባህሪው ከሁለት አስርታት በላይ በስልጣን መቆየቱ የፈጠረው መሰላቸት፣ ስልታዊ የመብት ጭፍለቃ መረብ መዘርጋት፣ የመናገርና የመደራጀት ዲሞክራሲያዊ መብት በ‹‹ሕግ›› ስም ማፈን፣ የዋጋ ንረትና የስራ አጥ ቁጥር አለቅጥ ማሻቀብ (በተለይም ከትምህርት ተቋማት ተመርቀው የሚወጡት ወጣቶች ስራ-አጥ ለመሆናቸው ተጠያቂው ገዢው ፓርቲ መሆኑ)፣ ይሄ ሁሉ ተደማምሮ ደግሞ በአገሪቱ አስከፊ ድህነት ማስፈኑ፣ የፍትህ እጦት፣ የፕሬስ አፈናው እንደ ‹‹ፍትህ››፣ ‹‹ፍኖተ ነፃነት››፣ ‹‹ልዕልና››፣ ‹‹ሰለፊያ›› ጋዜጦች፤ እንዲሁም ‹‹አዲስ ታይምስ›› እና ‹‹የሙስሊሞች ጉዳይ›› ያሉ መጽሔቶችን በኃይል ወደመዝጋት ከመሻገር አልፎ ተርፎ ማህበራዊ ድረ-ገፆች፣ የአሜሪካ እና የጀርመን ድምፅ የሬዲዮ ስርጭት፣ አልጀዚራ እና ኢሳትን የመሳሰሉ ሚዲያዎችን ‹‹አመፅ ቀስቃሽ›› በሚል ውንጀላ ለማፈን በመቶ ሚሊዮን ዶላር የሚቆጠር የድሀ ሕዝብ ሃብት ማባከኑ፣ የደሞዝ ማሻሻያ አለመደረጉ፣ በተለያዩ ከተሞች የታየው የዜጎች ከርስት መፈናቀል፣ የመሬት ቅርምት፣ እያቆጠቆጠ የነበረው የብዙሃን ፓርቲ ስርዓት በ2002ቱ ምርጫ በአውራ ፓርቲ መተካቱ፣ የሲቪክና ሙያ ማህበራት ከተፅእኖ ነፃ መሆን አለመቻል፣ የሀገሪቱ ጭቁን ወታደር ኑሮ ከእጅ ወደአፍ መሆን፣ የአርሶ አደሩም ሆነ የከተሜው ሕይወት አለመለወጥ፣ የብሔር ጥያቄ ክሸፈት ከእርስ በእርስ ፍጥጫ ተሻግሮ በተለያዩ ክልሎች የዘውጉ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪ ያልሆኑ ዜጎች መፈናቀል ማስከተሉ፣ የኢኮኖሚ እድገት አለመታየቱ፣ በሰላማዊ መንገድ ፍትሃዊ ጥያቄዎቻቸውን ባቀረቡ የእስልምና እምነት ተከታዮች ላይ በአርሲ፣ በወሎ፣ በአዲስ አበባና በመሳሰሉት አካባቢዎች በፀጥታ ኃይሎች የተፈፀመው ሞት እና የጅምላ እስር፣ ማሕበረ ቅዱሳንን ለማፍረስ እየተሞከረ ያለው ሴራ፣ የፌዴራሊዝሙ አወቃቀር የፈጠረው ችግር፣ ከፖለቲካው መገልል እና መሰል የአገዛዙ ጭካኔ ባሕርያት ስርየታቸው በሕዝባዊ አብዮት ብቻ ይሆን ዘንድ ማስገደዱን ከቶስ ቢሆን ማን ይስተዋል?!

በአናቱም የሁሉም የሥልጣን እርከን ጠቅላይ የነበረው አቶ መለስ ማለፍን ተከትሎ የተፈጠረው የመዋቅር ክፍተት ሕዝባዊ አገልግሎት የሚሰጡ ተቋማትን ከዕዝ ውጪ ማድረጉ እና ቀድሞ በግንባሩ ውስጥ ተጨፍልቀው የነበሩ ጥያቄዎችም ሆኑ የተለያዩ ቅሬታዎች አቧራቸውን አራግፈው ጠረጴዛው ላይ መቀመጣቸው ገፊ-ምክንያት ተደርገው ይጠቀሳሉ፡፡

ከዚህ በተቃራኒ የግንባሩ መሪዎች በደፈናው አብዮትን ከሽብር ድርጊት ጋር ቀላቅለው ከማውገዛቸው በተጨማሪ፣ የየካቲቱ አብዮትን ጠልፎ ሥልጣን የተቆናጠጠውን የመንግስቱ ኃይለማርያምን ዘግናኝ ጭፍጨፋ ለዘመን ተጋሪዎቼ በዘጋቢ ፊልም ስም እያሳዩ አንድም ፍርሃት ለመፍጠር መሞከር፤ ሁለትም ‹‹እኛ ነን ከዚህ በላኤ-ሰብ ሥርዓት ነፃ ያወጣንህና ሃምሳ ዓመት ሰጥ-ለጥ ብለህ ተገዛ›፤ ሶስትም የቀለም አብዮትን ጭራና ቀንድ አብቅለውበት ሽብር በመንዛት ላይ ያነጣጠረ ጊዜ ያለፈበት የፖለቲካ ቁማር በመቆመር መጠመዳቸው ከአብዮት ያነሰ አማራጭ እንዳይኖር አድርጓል፡፡ በርግጥ የዴሞክራሲያዊ መብቶች እና የሕግ የበላይነት በተከበረባቸው ሀገራት የቱንም ያህል የጠነከሩ ኢኮኖሚያዊ ጥያቄዎች ቢነሱ፣ ብዙውን ጊዜ ከአብዮት ይልቅ በምርጫ ፖለቲካ ብይን ሲሰጥባቸው የመታየቱ አጋጣሚ መዘንጋት የለበትም፡፡

የሆነው ሆኖ የድህረ-መለሱ ኢህአዴግ የፖለቲካ ማሻሻያ ከማድረግ፤ በመከላከያ ሠራዊቱ፣ በፌደራል ፖሊስ እና በደህንነት ሰራተኞቹ ደፍጣጭነት መተማመንን መርጦ፣ ‹ነገም ዝምታው እንዳረበበ፣ አደባባዩም የፀጥታ ዳዋ እንደወረሰው፣ የእኛም መንበረ-ስልጣን እንደተረጋጋ መሽቶ ይነጋል› በሚል ተምኔታዊ ተስፋ በመወሰዱ፣ ታሪክ ራሷ በተቃራኒው ቆማ የሶስተኛው አብዮት ሰለባ እንዲሆን መበየኗን ለመስበክ ነብይ መሆንን አይጠይቅም (በነገራችን ላይ በሶስተኛው አብዮት ለበርካታ ሀገራዊ ጉዳዮች መወሳሰብና አለመግባባቶች መግፍኤ የሆኑት ‹‹አሻጥራዊ የፖለቲካ ባሕል፣ የብሔር፣ የመሬት ጥያቄ እና መሰል ጭብጦች የማያዳግም ምላሽ እንዲያገኙ ቅድመ-ዝግጅት ካልተደረገ ለአራተኛ አብዮትም መነሾ ሊሆኑ መቻላቸውን ማሳሰቡ ተገቢ ነው ብዬ አምናለሁ)

የህዳሴ አብዮት

ከላይ የሰፈረው ሀተታ ሁላችንንም የሚያስማማ ይሆናል በሚል መተማመን በቀጣዮቹ ጥቂት ወራት (ምናልባትም በቀጣዩ አዲስ ዓመት መጀመሪያ) ሀገሬን በተቀደሰ መንፈስ ለመዋጀት የግድ መቀስቀስ ያለበት ሕዝባዊ ንቅናቄ ‹‹የህዳሴው አብዮት›› የሚል ስያሜ ቢኖረው፣ በግሌ ለቅብሉነቱም ሆነ አንድምታውን በቀላሉ ለማብራራት የተሻለ ነው ብዬ አስባለሁ፡፡ …ያም ሆነ ይህ በሚቀጥለው ሳምንት ከህዳሴው አብዮት አፈፃፀም ጋር የተያያዙ ጉዳዮች ላይ የመነሻ ሃሳብ ለማቅረብ እሞክራለሁ፡፡

የመብት ረገጣውንና የከፋፋዮችን ሤራ በጋራ እናስወግድ! (ሸንጎ) | Zehabesha Amharic

የመብት ረገጣውንና የከፋፋዮችን ሤራ በጋራ እናስወግድ! (ሸንጎ) | Zehabesha Amharic

ግንቦት 20 የኢትዮጵያ ውርደት ጥቁር ቀን (ሮበሌ አባቢያ) | Zehabesha Amharic

ግንቦት 20 የኢትዮጵያ ውርደት ጥቁር ቀን (ሮበሌ አባቢያ) | Zehabesha Amharic

ሰበር ዜና:- ጋዜጠኛ ተሰማ ደሳለኝ ሀገር ጥሎ ተሰደደ መንግስት አሁንም ሌላ ጋዜጠኛ አስሯል

የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት በቅርቡ በጋዜጠኞች እና ብሎገሮች ላይ የፈፀመውን እስር ተከትሎ የኢቦኒ መፅሔት መስራች እና ማኔጂንግ ዳይሬክተር የነበረው ጋዜጠኛ ተሰማ ደሳለኝ ሀገር ጥሎ ተሰደደ፡፡ ጋዜጠኛው በሀገሪቱ ያለው የፕሬስ ነፃነት አፈና ተጠናክሮ በመቀጠሉ እና መንግስት ሊወስደው ያሰበውን እርምጃ በመሸሽ እንደተሰደደ ምንጮቻችን አረጋግጠዋል፡፡ በተለይ የኢትዮጵያ ሬዲዮና ቴሌቪዥን፣ አዲስ ዘመን ጋዜጣ፣ ዛሚ ኤፍ ኤም፣ እና በሌሎች የኢህአዴግ ደጋፊ ናቸው በሚባሉ እንደነ አይጋ ፎረም እና ሆርን አፌይርስ የመሳሰሉ ድህረ-ገሮች የተለያዩ ጋዜጠኞች እና የኢትዮጵያ ዞን 9 ብሎገሮች እንዲታሰሩ እና እንደሚታሰሩ ፍንጭ መስጠታቸው ለስደቱ ምክንያት መሆኑ ተጠቁሟል፡፡ከመጪው ምርጫ 2007 ዓ.ም. በፊት የመንግስትን ብልሹ አሰራር እና ኢሰብዓዊ ድርጊት በመኮነን ያጋልጣሉ የተባሉ የነፃው ፕሬስ ጋዜጠኞች እና ብሎገሮች እንደሚታሰሩ በተለያየ ጊዜ የተነገረ ቢሆንም፤ በቅርቡ 3 ጋዜጠኞች እና 6 ብሎገሮች መታሰራቸው ይታወቃል፡፡ በመንግስት የተወሰደው የጋዜጠኞች እና ብሎገሮች እስር ተከትሎ ሌሎችም ሊታሰሩ እንደሚችሉ በተዘዋዋሪ መንገድ መገለፁን ተከትሎ ከጋዜጠኛ ተሰማ ደሳለኝ በፊት ጋዜጠኛ በትረ ያዕቆብ እና ፍስሃ ያዜን ጨምሮ አራት ጋዜጠኞች መሰደዳቸው ታውቋል፡፡ ጋዜጠኞቹ ከሀገር ጥለው መሰደዳቸው በስተቀር እስካሁን ያሉበትን ሁኔታ ማረጋገጥ አልተቻለም፡፡

ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ የእንቁ መፅሔት ዋና አዘጋጅ ጋዜጠኛ ኤልያስ ገብሩ ከስራው ጋር በተያያዘ በእንቁ መፅሔት በተፃፈ ፅሑፍ ከማዕከላዊ ቃሉን እንዲሰጥ በስልክ በተደረገለት ጥሪ ትናንት ሰኞ ግንቦት 18 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም. ወደስፍራው ቢያቀናም ማረፊያው እዛው ማዕከላዊ እስር ቤት ሆኗል፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ ዛሬ በዋስ ይለቀቃል ተብሎ ቢጠበቅም እስር ቤቱ ፍርድ ቤት አቅርቦት የዋስ መብት ሳይከበርለት ለተጨማሪ 7 ቀናት እዛው ማዕከላዊ ታስሮ እንዲቆይ ተጠይቆበት በእስር ላይ ይገኛል፡፡

San Jose to Mark 31st Annual Ethiopian-American Cultural and Sports Festival with Ethiopian Heritage Flag Raising Ceremony

May 27, 2014

Ethiopian-American Council of North America (EAC)
For Immediate Release

San Jose, California, May 27 – For the tenth year in a row, the City of San Jose will once again hoist the Ethiopian Heritage Flag over New City Hall on Thursday July 3, , at 04:00pm. San Jose city officials will be in attendance. The Ethiopian-American Council (EAC) and the civic leaders of San Jose invite all citizens to share in this solemn and celebratory ceremony at New City Hall, located at 200 East Santa Clara Street in San Jose.

San Jose First to Salute Ethiopia’s Heritage

This special civic ceremony is a salute to the Ethiopian flag and a heartfelt remembrance of Ethiopian roots and heritage. Presently, San Jose is the only city in America to have established a week long tradition, annual acknowledgment of the heritage and history of Ethiopian-Americans. When the Ethiopian flag was first flown over New City Hall in 2005, it was a historical event in that no other foreign flag had been so honored in the history of the new city hall.

Welcoming the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA)

In the past, the flag-raising ceremony has been held to commemorate the advent of the Ethiopian New Year in September. However, the Ethiopian Sports Federation will be holding their 31st annual, week-long cultural and sports events in San Jose, and the Ethiopian-American Council (EAC) has asked San Jose city officers to move the flag-raising ceremony to mark the festival events. The Ethiopian Heritage Flag will fly over the San Jose New City Hall during the week-long activities, from July 3 to July 10.

EAC holds the Ethiopian Sports Federation in high esteem for their 31-year longevity, and for their good works in bringing Ethiopian-Americans together within a sporting venue, and promoting Ethiopian heritage and culture.

Flag-Raising Controversy

The last time the Ethiopian Heritage Flag was flown over New City Hall, it brought protests from the Ethiopian Legation in Los Angeles, California and a few Ethiopian citizens. The Heritage Flag does not use a device made up of a yellow star in a blue circle dropped into the middle of the tri-color flag. This type of flag is recognized by the TPLF/EPRDF political parties presently ruling in Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian-American Council does not believe the Ethiopian flag should change simply because a certain party holds sway in the country, just as the American flag does not change when a new government is elected and seated in Washington, D.C. The San Jose City Council recognizes the validity of this argument and has stood behind EAC in its use of the Heritage Flag, which does not have the star device. Once again the Ethiopian Heritage Flag will wave over New City Hall.

Importance of the Ethiopian Flag

The Ethiopian Heritage Flag is a three-color banner of green, yellow, and red. Red represents the blood of Ethiopian patriots; yellow, the peace and harmony between Ethiopia’s various ethnic and religious groups; and green symbolizes hope, or the land and its fertility. It does not signify any particular regime or political party. It is most revered by members of the Ethiopian diaspora, especially Ethiopian-Americans. Ethiopian-American institutions, the churches, and the community centers, especially here in San Jose, use the heritage flag.

Flags are supposed to be a source of unity and need not exalt any particular political purpose or program. The tri-color Ethiopian Heritage Flag is a source of identity to all Ethiopians regardless of their political fealty. The Ethiopian flag has never flown under the flag of a conquering colonial power, so it is a symbol of pride to Ethiopians and Ethiopian-Americans, and a symbol of hope for other African nations as they struggle for self-governance and liberty. Many African nations, and some in the Caribbean, have used the unconquered Ethiopian colors in their own flags.

Significance of the Star Device

The star device, used in the current Ethiopian flag by the ruling regime, is not a symbol of unity to many members of the Ethiopian diaspora; and again, that is especially true for many Ethiopian-Americans. Rather, it is seen as a symbol of an oppressive and rapacious ruling elite who have the citizens of Ethiopia in a choke-hold political culture that tramples on human rights and has obliterated freedom of the press, all while wringing the land of its wealth.

Solemn and Celebratory Event

Ethiopians and their friends and families who are coming to San Jose for the festival, Ethiopians who are in the Bay Area are urged to dress in green, yellow, and red and come celebrate with the Ethiopian-American societies and San Jose civic leaders at the flag-raising. Then join them in the festivities that will follow. Ethiopians, Ethiopian-Americans, and friends of Ethiopia will be stirred by this historic event that celebrates the flag, the nation, and the heritage of Ethiopia. Ethiopian-Americans cannot really say they have been to San Jose unless they have attended an Ethiopian Heritage Flag-raising ceremony.

The EAC and the civic leaders of San Jose are inviting all citizens to share in this solemn and celebratory ceremony at New City Hall, located at 200 East Santa Clara Street in San Jose on Thursday, July 3, at 4:00 p.m.

Ethiopia: Critical in-ward looking for Critical Moment

May 26, 2014

by T. Goshu

Although the dangerously crafted and enforced political agenda by “our “ruling elites has spoken much more evidently and powerfully than words of any political literature for the last quarter of a century, what we are witnessing in several higher education institutions in the Oromia region at this moment in time is extremely alarming. The tyrannical ruling circle has once again unleashed its killing machine in response to those young students who have tried to express their concerns about those innocent citizens who have been displaced and are being displaced from their villages and homes, and exposed to a very gravely deep hopelessness under the cover of urban development. Not only this, but the ruling party is also trying hard to make the ethno-centric political agenda (the main weapon for its political power perpetuation) more dangerously inflammable. Needless to say, if we as a people are not seriously alarmed by and worried about this not new but the highest manifestation of the deadly political agenda of the last two decades by the TPLF/EPRDF, and if we do not do something that should go beyond political rhetoric as usual, there is no any sound reason not to face the worst we fear in our political and social history.

I am well aware that many fellow Ethiopians may see this fear as something that comes from a “pessimistic state of mind.” I am also aware that so many fellow Ethiopians may take our historical and socio-cultural ties for guaranteed for not to fear the worst. And I wholly agree that it is a great thing to remain optimistic and hopeful. However, mere optimism or hope remains mere wishful thinking without a well-thought, well- defined, well-strategized, well-planned and well-coordinated way of doing politics. Simply put, the tendency of pessimism could be negated by a real sense of hopefulness whenever there is a fertile or favorable ground on which a meaningful optimism could germinate, grow and develop. This process in its turn will take us to the next logical and consequential argument which critically addresses the very question of making things happen in such a way that they should help getting our objectives ( to live in freedom and prosperity) achieved. That is why the question of doing smart politics becomes much more critical than ever. What I do mean by smart politics is doing politics in such a way that it brings the huge gap between our rhetoric and action; and between our everyday words of promise and keeping that promise with a real sense of self-commitment at least to an acceptable level narrowing. I have no any illusion that this is a task that can be done as simple as anything. I would strongly argue that it has to be underscored here that this kind of critically desirable political task can be achieved if and only if we walk and act together as responsible citizens, opposition political parties and movements, civic organizations and other interest groups. There is no any other plausible and sustainable choice at all.

I have to underscore here that it would be not only very unfair but also terribly irrational to undermine certain progresses being made by some political opposition parties and movements which are trying to operate under dangerously hostile political environment. For instance, it is so encouraging to see and hear expressions of genuine concerns such as statements, interviews, panel discussions, vigils and demonstrations both back home and in the diaspora about the ongoing politically motivated and cold-blooded actions in those higher education institutions in the Oromia region. I want here to highlight very encouraging recent trends of togetherness in marching for freedom (peaceful demonstrations) organized by various genuinely concerned opposition political forces. I have an impression that these desirable trends could spark a sense of hope in the process of determining our common destiny and fate. I watched the march for freedom organized by Medrek on May 24, 2014 in Addis Ababa. I was deeply emotional (with my tearful eyes) when I saw Engineer Yilkal Getnet, chairman of the Blue Party and his deputy, Ato Selesh Feyessa right in the very front of the demonstration chanting slogans for freedom and justice. I was deeply touched when I heard that Engineer Gizachew Sheferaw (the chairman of Andinet), and leaders of the “thirty-three” have joined the march for freedom. My sense of emotion was a very powerful reflection of a very desperate aspiration for seeing a real sense of engagement among opposition political groups and make a meaningful difference that could shorten the untold sufferings of the people. Will these very desirable and truly encouraging trends get stronger and marvelously be successful and sustainable? Why not? But it must be noted that this sense of optimism depends heavily not simply on complaining who did that or this harm to us; but most importantly on the question of whether we did our part effectively or not, and getting ourselves ready to do what we should do and move forward.

Bernard Lewis, the author of a book, What Went Wrong: The Clash between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East, 2002 describes and analyzes the very question of why and how the countries of the region which are “the major centers of civilization” suffer from internal, regional and other external damaging factors. I found the following argument of which he states in his conclusion part truly universal and deeply powerful, and so relevant to our own case. He argues, “The question ‘who did this to us?’ has led only to neurotic fantasies and conspiracy theories. The other question: – ‘what did we do wrong?’ – has led naturally to a second question: ‘how do we put it right?’ In that question, and in the various answers that are being found lie the best hopes for the future.”

When it comes to our case, with all the challenges we have faced and mistakes we have made throughout our political history, we (Ethiopians) are one of the centers of ancient civilization, and with a very shining history of not-surrendering to external invaders and colonial powers. Unfortunately enough, this great part of our history has remained severely incomplete when it comes to the realization of the very essence of internal sovereignty of the people who had paid ultimate sacrifices for protecting and preserving an independent country, Ethiopia. Lewis has the following argument which I believe has a very strong relevant to our own case gain. He states his view point about how an ill-guided politics causes grave damages as follows: “…. Worst of all is the political result: The long quest for freedom has left a sting of shabby tyrannies, ranging from traditional authorities to new- style dictatorships, modern only in their apparatus of repression and indoctrination.” Needless to say, we Ethiopians have been victims of nostalgia for absolute and despotic ruling elites or families as the result of the worst military junta of seventeen years; and the incumbent ethno-centric tyrannical regime of TPLF/EPRDF for the last two decades. The very evil-driven apparatus of “kill on command for the sake of saving the revolution” by the military junta was straight-forward and naked political practice. The deadly notorious political apparatus of TPLF/EPRDF is multi-faceted and wickedly hypocritical. It is characterized mainly by the method of cracking down and eliminating any political opposition not only with open and naked force, but also with a highly systematic and dramatized methods of promoting, provoking and orchestrating dangerous hatred and animosity among nationalities not only in order to keep them apart but also to make them kill each other. This is exactly what we are witnessing at this moment in time. The evil-driven agenda of the ruling circle does not limit itself to the world of politics. It (the ruling party) has put its deadly hands on religious institutions and has caused a very severe damage that would be extremely challenging to correct what went wrong and bring back what is right unless we as a people go beyond making “wonderful rhetoric” about the dangerous political situation which is of course self- evident.

Have we as individual citizens, opposition political parties/ movements, civic associations and human rights advocacy groups taken significantly meaningful steps as far as the question of counter-challenging the deadly political agenda of the ruling elites is concerned? Needless to say, the answer is much more negative than positive. How about our seriousness about the ongoing alarming situations? Well, it is fair to say, as I mentioned earlier that we are witnessing some encouraging moves. However, we have to admit that we are still captives of “enjoying” wonderfully expressed words of mouths (rhetoric) than fairly sound actions. It is not uncommon to hear from any politician and even from ordinary citizen talking about the necessity of coming together in order to end the deadly ethno-centric politics of TPLF/EPRDF. It is uncommon to hear very interesting arguments about establishing a democratic country in which all her citizens live with equal rights, and her various ethnic groups and nationalities with mutual respect and shared prosperity. The very challenging question we continue to face are: what is the practical way out? Who is or are responsible for figuring out the road map towards achieving the goal we set (genuine political freedom, rule of law and socio-economic justice)? Why we terribly have failed to show the people (in practical terms) how to deal with the horrible situation they are forced to live in, not simply keep telling the horrible things being done to them (the people) by a tyrannical ruling elites of TPLF/EPRDF?

I am not a political strategist of this or that political entity. Neither I am a person to advise or tell those political parties and other human rights advocacy groups to go this way or that way. I am just one of ordinary persons (citizens) who strongly believe in expressing their view points about what is to be done to end the general (political, socio-economic, moral or ethical and even religious ) crises going on in our country. It is from this perspective of mine that I want to jot down the following couple of points:

a) As Dr. Merera Gudina and other genuinely concerned scholars and politicians repeatedly argue, the political culture of using terrible mistakes in our past (history) as playing cards for the present (short term) political consumption will have an enormous damage not only to this generation but also the generations to come. It goes without saying that although the politics of ethnic identity seems more serious because of the very political agenda and practice by TPLF/EPRDF, the mentality of preserving “Ethiopiawinet” that has no any room or tolerance for accommodating those who have different views and concerns is one of the greatest enemies of a real sense of togetherness as well as establishing a democratic Ethiopia in which all her citizens live with mutual respect and shared prosperity. I hear some fellow Ethiopians from both extreme sides trying to exploit the situations that have happened in different places of the Oromia region for their own ugly political agendas. Needless to say, those elements of unhealthy political environment can make many innocent citizens victims of their unhealthy political state of mind and ambition. Now, the question is: should we add fuel to this very ugly political game by engaging them (extreme elements) unwisely, emotionally, irrationally and with fierce and blind avoidance or rejection? Or should we challenge them if possible to influence them positively, if not to isolate them from the general public? I strongly believe that the latter is the right and the best way to deal with the political madness we are facing. How? By not only telling but most importantly showing the people what is good for all us and how we make it happen. Simply put, as what is terribly missing in our political activities is the very essence of living and leading by example, there is a very pressing need to figure out what went wrong and how we make it right. And I have to say that the signs we are witnessing from genuinely concerned opposition forces to handle the dangerous political games mainly by the ruling party and the very ugly contribution from the two extreme sides is truly encouraging. But, it has to be underscored that this kinds of handling the challenges we face should go beyond the politics of firefighting. I want to remain reasonably optimistic.

b) I earlier expressed my reasonably emotional impression when I watched leaders and members of political parties joining their hands and marching for freedom during the May 24, 2014 demonstration organized by Medrek. Now, the question that has to be reiterated is: will this truly inspiring start or trend pay the way for a more aggressive and sustainable way of doing politics? I am not naïve or unrealistic enough to expect those opposition political parties to iron out their differences over night and make a totally unified political entity. Not at all! But, I strongly argue that there is no any convincing reason or justification or excuse not to put aside differences that could be settled and/or managed through time, and work on and stand together around those big and critical national issues and common interests. The Ethiopian people deserve to have a political leadership that can take their legitimate causes a step ahead. And I sincerely believe that the need to do the politics of common issues in a much more collaborated and coordinated manner is the least that opposition political forces should deliver. I think one of the most notorious setback for a real sense of working together is our culture of making our political arguments and disagreements both within and between/among political parties stupidly personal. Yes, as soon as we wrongly perceive a political argument and disagreement against our way of ideas as personal moves and attacks, we become terribly victims of irrationality and static state of mind which in turn leads to frustration and of course the development of destructive behavior. Needless to say that this very undesirable, if not seriously harmful mentality has to do a lot with abnormally voracious egocentrism. Andualem Arage is powerfully right when he states in his truly remarkable book, YALTEHEDEBET MENGED (in Amharic , page 169) 2013 from the notorious Kaliti prison, “For most of us, any another position other than being in charge of party leaders does not make any meaning.” And I think that has been one of the major causes for miserable failures of many coalitions, alternative democratic forces, union of democratic forces and the like. I hope Andinet, Medrek, Semayawai, All Ethiopian, the ‘Thirty-three’ and the like will strive hard not to repeat very stupid and regrettable mistakes we have come across for the last two decades.

c) Politics in the diaspora? Yes, it has to be recognized that Ethiopian citizens abroad and Ethiopians by birth deserve due appreciation for what they have done and continue to do so. On the other side of the story, I do not think it is unfair to say that our political role in this regard is more disappointing than encouraging. This is true when we especially take the political environment (freedom) we live in and a relatively considerable number of Ethiopians or Ethiopian by origin who have financial and professional capacities to support the struggle back home. Although I do not have reliable and detail information about who contributes what and how much, I do not think the progress in the political performance and its influence on the effectiveness of the struggle back home is beyond the reach of our day-to-day observations. The culture of forming task forces, alliances, coalitions or shengos, transitional councils, community blocks, civic and advocacy groups and the like is a good thing. The problem is when it comes to the question of moving beyond holding regular and especial meetings, conferences, town house events and engaging in redundant and highly jargonized political rhetoric that has been the tendency for the last quarter of a century. I want strongly to reiterate that it is absolutely the right thing to make statements for or against that or this political force and wrong political agenda and actions. And sponsoring some of the ongoing marches for freedom (peaceful demonstrations) back home is truly encouraging.

But, what the very concern of my comment is about making a real sense of political integrity that could take the powerfully legitimate causes of the Ethiopian people a step forward; not doing certain symbolic things which are highly characterized by events. I am well aware that there may be fellow Ethiopians who take the formation of coalitions or shengos or councils or any other forms of political blocks as serious success stories and may perceive my point of argument as negative and destructive attitude. Well, I equally believe that as we cannot be on the same page and have same reading and perception and understanding, engaging ourselves in serious conversations is quite expected and healthy. What becomes abnormal and ugly is when we try to turn our conversations or arguments or debates into weapons of hatred and sheer personal attack. It is with this understanding of mine that I want to stress once again that compared with the terribly alarming situations in our country, the politicians in the diaspora in particular and we Ethiopians in the diaspora in general are not responding as effective as we should. Our politicians in the diaspora are still doing similar things over and over again: making more rhetoric, conducting redundant and jargonized interviews and conversations, calling for conferences and other forms of forums and telling their audiences the same stories of challenges, conducting annual meetings and other forms of anniversaries and producing press releases and communiques and so on and so forth. It is very unfortunate not see or witness significantly new steps in the real sense of political integrity and action. Once again, Andualem Arage is quite right when he says in his book on page 194, “…. Although it is not as great as the parties in Ethiopia, the number of parties in the diaspora causes not only astonishment but it also reflects their inability to solve problems through dialogue.” It is a good thing for the politicians in the diaspora to try to justify that the 13+ prominent individuals, political groupings, civic groups and committees have come together and form Congress (Shengo) because they basically and strongly share the same principles and objectives. What is astonishing is that they could not convince us why they could not go beyond doing things as usual (stay with the politics of talk show) if they are really in a state of strong cohesion of principles and objectives.

Let me sum up my opinion by expressing my hope for seeing a significantly meaningful way of doing politics in order to avert the danger we face and bring about the democratic change we desperately aspire.