On July 29. 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 country. Our Holy Father died for the first time......full text
Meles Zenawi when he was alive and his apostles today (“Melesistas”) keep playing us in the Diaspora like a cheap fiddle. They make us screech, shriek, scream and shout by simply showing their mugs in our cities......full text
In responding to the savagery of the recent forcible removal of Amharas from their homes, farms and businesses in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopians at home and in the Diaspora reacted with deeply felt concern for the survival and wellbeing of the Amhara people in their own country. The response in the media and on the Internet was in the main emotionally focused upon the act of ethnic cleansing itself. Ethiopians, Amharas and non-Amharas alike, justifiably directed their abhorrence and outrage toward the brutality and criminality of the Woyane regime.......full text
No matter how tightly the truth is tied down, confined and suffocated, it slowly escapes. It seeps out through cracks and openings large and small, illuminating all and revealing the grime and shame that cowers in the shadows.......full text
Edmund Burke, the British statesman and philosopher, said “Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing.” We’ve heard many promises on human rights in Africa from President Obama and his Administration over the past four years.......full text
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”, said Edmund Burke. But what happens when evil triumphs over a good young woman journalist named Reeyot Alemu in Ethiopia? Do good men and women turn a blind eye, plug their ears, turn their backs and stand in silence with pursed lips?......full text
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 multiple miseries quickly before it is too late to avert civil disorder of far reaching consequences to Ethiopia and the region of the Horn of Africa......full text
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......full text
One may ask why rulers commit genocide, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing on the very people they rule. Although nothing would justify, heinous rulers always provide bizarre and incomprehensible justifications. The tyrants in Ethiopia, for example, say Amharas were evicted because they cut trees.......full text
Ethiopia today is a “prison of nations and nationalities with the Oromo being one of the prisoners”, proclaimed the recently issued Declaration of the Congress of the Oromo Democratic Front (ODF).......full text
A multi-billion dollar aid program administered by the World Bank is underwriting systematic human rights abuses in Ethiopia. Last September, Ethiopian victims submitted a complaint about the program to the World Bank Inspection Panel, which is tasked with investigating whether or not the Bank complies with its own policies to prevent social and environmental harm......full text
According to the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, there are 79 political parties registered under Proclamation No573/2008. Of these, only 29% have country-wide (national) identity whereas 71% are regional parties that are organized around ethnic lines......full text
Recently, the World Bank released its 448-page World Bank (WB) report, “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia” with evidence galore showing that Ethiopia under the absolute dictatorship of the Meles Zenawi regime has become a full-fledged corruptocracy (a regime controlled and operated by a small clique of corrupt-to-the-core vampiric kleptocrats who cling to power to enrich themselves at public expense).......full text
For those who had any lingering doubt about the death and burial of democracy in Ethiopia, a recent incident in Addis Ababa gave all the evidence they might have needed.......full text
In June 2011, during her visit to Zambia U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton pulled the alarm bell on a creeping “new colonialism” in Africa. While dismissing “China’s Model” of authoritarian state capitalism as a governance model for Africa, she took a swipe at China for its unprincipled opportunism in Africa.......full text
I am writing this as a proud Ethiopian because Graziani’s promise to the Fascist dictator was thwarted by my gallant ancestors. If it was not for the bravery and sacrifice of our grandparents, to day our country will be referred to as ex Italian Colony, we will be conversing in Italian, our national dish would be spaghetti and my name will probably be Mario. Please don’t knock it because my country being referred to as the only independent country in Africa, having my own national language, dining on Injera and answering to an original name is what defines me as unique member of the human race.......full text
During the last two decades, Tigray has occupied the minds of Ethiopians. That EPRDF’s (the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Party) creator, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), is native to Tigray explains all the discourses. Ordinary conversations, media reports, and developments on the ground all seem to testify that Tigray is being preferentially and positively treated in all fronts......full text
The great American poet Walt Whitman said, “Either define the moment or the moment will define you.” Will the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as president of Kenya define President Barack Obama in Africa or will President Barack Obama use the election of President Kenyatta to define his human rights policy in Africa?......full text
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 factories are under new owners, our gold mines belong to the fake Ethiopian sheik, Telephone is under the Chinese and our Airlines is looking for a suitor. Have we always looked for outsiders to own us? ......full text
By Raphael Satter , Associated Press / March 14, 2013
LONDON - The discovery of a group of servers linked to an elusive espionage campaign is providing new details about a high-tech piece of spy software that some fear may be targeting dissidents living under oppressive regimes......full text
Late last month, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid Bin Sultan fired a shot across the bow from the Arab Water Council in Cairo to let the regime in Ethiopia know that his country takes a dim view of the "Grand Renaissance Dam" under “construction” on the Blue Nile (Abbay) a few miles from Sudan’s eastern border. ......full text
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 the Ethiopian government, under the brutal suppressive Premiership of Meles Zenawi......full text
In her recent commentary in the New York Review of Books, “Obama: Failing the African Spring?”, Dr. Helen Epstein questioned the Obama Administration for turning a blind eye to human rights violations in Africa, and particularly the persecution of Muslims in Ethiopia. She argued that “After more than four years in office…......full text
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 Menilik II and His brilliant diplomat and strategist, Empress Taitu, who in Her own right commanded 16,000 valiant militia warriors......full text
Let there be no mistake. Zemedkun is not some isolated freakish rogue police chief in the Ethiopian police state. He is the gold standard for post-Meles governance. There are thousands of Zemedkuns that have infested the state apparatus and metastasized through the body politics of that country. For these Meles wannabes, constitutional accountability means personal impunity; illegal official activity means prosecutorial immunity; moral depravity means moral probity and crimes against humanity means legal impunity.
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"ln the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen"
Statement of Declaration from the Legal Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Exile on the Upholding of the Church's Cannon Law and the Return of His Holiness Patriarch Abune Merkorios to the Throne from which He was lllegallv Ousted......full text
The tireless Tamagn never says no when it comes to promoting the interests of Ethiopia and Ethiopians across the world. I had the privilege to travel to a few cities with Tamagn for ESAT’s fundraising events. His unmatchable love for his country, his passion for freedom, unwavering voice for the truth, humor and eloquence has won him genuine admiration and respect among his fellow Ethiopians......full text
The documentary “Jihadawi Harekat", sponsored by the state-owned television and security forces in Ethiopia that I watched on youtube a week ago is indicative of the terrible political situation in Ethiopia. Basically, the documentary aims to convince the viewer that the “terrorism” witnessed in Afghanistan, Mali and Nigeria is coming to our own backyard through the Muslim activists who are presently on trial.......full text
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.......full text
In December 2011, I wrote a commentary entitled, “Ethiopia: Land of Blood or Land of Corruption?” contrasting two portraits of Ethiopia. At the time, the portrait painted by Transparency International (TI) (Corruption Index) and Global Financial Integrity (GFI) showed Ethiopia as a land blighted by systemic corruption.......full text
We can now come back to the EPRDF's deceptive propaganda machine and insert it into general framework mentioned above. Faced with one of the most formidable---in terms of size, persistence, and public visibility---opposition to its policies, it has to engage itself in massive counter-propaganda........full text
In our country Ethiopia the Federal Government owns the country including resources, land and most of the vital economy. Communication tools such as television, radio, telephone and Internet are fully owned and operated by the Federal Government. The Ethiopian government is the number one employee in the country. Controlling all this assets give the Federal Government total power on every aspect of the people and country. For the Woyane regime Ethio Telecom is a weapon to amass large amount of money, spy, control, create anxiety and bully the citizen........full text
The reconciliation efforts underway between the EOTC home and exile synods seem to come to an abrupt halt. Technically speaking, it is the home synod who takes it to the limit. The ratification of a law that governs patriarch choice, the selection of patriarch nominating committee, the crystal clear decision not to allow Abune Merkorios to reassume his position,......full text
In my first weekly commentary of the new year, I "proclaimed" 2013 “Year of Ethiopia’s Cheetah Generation” (young people). I also promised to reach, teach and preach to Ethiopia’s youth this year and exhorted members of the Ethiopian intellectual class (particularly the privileged “professorati”) to do the same. I have also been pleading with (some say badgering) the wider Ethiopian Hippo Generation (the lost generation) to find itself, get in gear and help the youth......full text
This piece is prompted by the recent development of crisis in Pakistan where “Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of the country's prime minister on corruption charges, heightening the already extreme political uncertainty and fears the country's fragile democracy could be derailed.” ......full text
(ESAT News) -- Genocide Watch, the Global coalition to end genocide and mass atrocities, says that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is well aware of the fact that the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) is a terrorist organization that the United States should label as such.......full text
Recently, Naom Chmosky, MIT Professor of Linguistics and arguably America’s foremost public intellectual, gave an interview to Al Jazeera on the social (ir)responsibility of American academics and intellectuals. Chomsky, 84, has been raising hell for over four decades, getting into the faces of the powerful and mighty and whipping them with the truth......full text
The foiled plot to assassinate activist/journalist Abebe Gelaw is an issue all freedom-loving people abhor and condemn. The plot, foiled by FBI, was an act of terrorism designed to take place in the United States – in the land of the brave and free and bastion of democracy where the rule of law reigns supreme. There is no doubt that the TPLF thugs will pay for their lawlessness......full text
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......full text
This hideous foiled plot to conduct the savage act of assassination in the 21st century on the icon human rights activist and renowned journalist Abebe Gellaw, must be roundly condemned by all freedom loving humanity on our globe. The foiled plot is an act of terrorism designed to take place in the United States – in the land of the brave and free and bastion of democracy where the supremacy of law reigns supreme. There is no doubt that the TPLF thugs will pay for their lawlessness......full text
Addis Voice—The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has foiled a plot to shoot and kill Ethiopian journalist Abebe Gellaw in Boston, Massachusetts......full text
“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 be the ‘restless generation’ but they are Africa's new hope. They understand and stress transparency, accountability, human rights, and good governance......full text
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 gratitude and appreciation. I am thankful for all of the support and encouragement I have received from my readers in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Diaspora and others throughout the world......full text
Most of the world’s dictators share a common fear, and it’s not of the United States, NATO, the United Nations or any outside entity. No, the force that most threatens them is social media
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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:......full text
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 escaping persecution in Mecca. Harar has been the main center of Islamic culture, learning, and propagation......full text
Susan Rice, the current U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., has been waltzing (or should I say do-se-do-ing) with Africa’s slyest, slickest and meanest dictators for nearly two decades. More cynical commentators have said she has been in bed with them, as it were. No doubt, international politics does make for strange bedfellows......full text
While investment in agriculture is essential to help developing countries reduce hunger and poverty, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says these large-scale "land grabs" don't always help.The surging global demand for food, fodder and fuel crops is driving a land rush in parts of the developing world.......full text
By Haydar Yousif / ThinkAfricaPress / December 4,2012
While Egypt was undergoing dramatic political changes last year, Ethiopia was secretly moving to unveil "Project X" - a huge hydropower dam it intends to build on the Blue Nile, 40 km from the Sudanese border......full text
In a weekly column entitled “Unity in Divinity” this past June, I expressed grave concern over official encroachments on religious freedom in Ethiopia. I lamented the fact that religious freedom was becoming a new focal target of official human rights violations. But I was also encouraged by the steadfast resistance of some principled Christian and Muslim religious leaders to official interference in religious affairs......full text
Azeb Mesfin reportedly revealed the existence of a project document prepared by her late husband Zenawi to transform Tigray into an industrial center of the tribal-based Federation of Ethiopia. This rather surprising revelation and its timing has been a hot topic of debate with views converging on the question of what her husband’s vision was for the rest of the balkanized regions of Ethiopia......full text
The trade-off offered by authoritarianism to its client-constituents is security and high growth rates. After Meles challenges may force change, or build the case domestically for a new strong man......full text
On September 2, 2012, Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., delivered a nauseatingly sentimental oration at the funeral of Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi. She called Meles “selfless and tireless” and “totally dedicated to his work and family.”......full text
The Nile water is the sole lifeline for Egypt to which the Blue Nile River contributes 85%. The Blue Nile River is a vital indispensable resource of Ethiopia for irrigation farming in view of her increasing population, source of hydraulic power, and a deterrent weapon of last resort for self-defense......full text
On June 6-8 and November 1-4, 2005, following the Ethiopian parliamentary elections in May of that year, hundreds of citizens who protested the theft of that election were killed or seriously wounded by police and security personnel under the exclusive command and control of the late Meles Zenawi......full text
The 18th Congress of Communist Party of China (CPC) opened in Beijing with a keynote speech by its General Secretary (GS) Hu Jintao on 07 November 2012. The GS articulated the stunning achievement in economic growth in the last decade. He vowed continuation of the “construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics “, a phrase frequently used by Chinese officials and scholars.......full text
ADADDIS ABABA (IRIN) – Tensions have been simmering over several months between Muslims and the government, with thousands holding demonstrations in protest at the government’s alleged interference in religious affairs; the government has blamed the protests on a small group of extremists.......full text
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 this we can't risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people's work, and we citizens also have to rise to occasion......full text
U.S. panel on religious freedom / November 10, 2012
(Reuters) - A U.S. panel on religious freedom accused the Ethiopian government of trying to tighten control of its Muslim minority amid mass protests, saying it is risking greater destabilization of the Horn of Africa region......full text
I begin this piece with my sincere congratulations to President Obama on his clear victory over his rival Governor Mitt Romney. I do so despite my repeatedly expressed vehement objection to the inaction of his Administration to stop gruesome human rights violations in Ethiopia on the excuse of giving priority to the US security interest. ......full text
There are few things more difficult or dangerous than speaking truth to abusers of power. But for Reeyot Alemu, the 31 year-old young Ethiopian heroine of press freedom, no price is high enough to keep her from being “the voice of the voiceless”......full text
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 man-made catastrophic change is to actively engender and preserve a democratic environment......full text
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......full text
It takes two to tango. The government’s talk about democracy appears to deal more with the image of democracy than with the reality of democracy. The opposition’s talk about democracy seems to be targeted more at assuming power by whatever means than at providing an alternative unified option for the people to choose.......full text
Violent land grabs in Ethiopia’s Lower Omo Valley are displacing tribes and preventing them from cultivating their land, leaving thousands of people hungry and ‘waiting to die’.......full text
Ethiopia is known for the best and the worst. Ethiopia is known for the legendary hospitality and charm of its people, unrivalled beauty of its picturesque landscape, fabulous coffee and, of course, unbeatable distance runners. Ethiopia is also known as the epicenter of human rights abuses, citadel of press repression and home to the largest population of political prisoners in Africa......full text
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. I really think I was able to come up with a reasonable explanation why this memory was triggered in my brain. I believe it is due to what I have been reading lately that woke up this memory about service, integrity and today’s Ethiopia......full text
Jessica Evans , The Huffington Post
/ October 11, 2012
Abuses such as this in Ethiopia, including arbitrary arrests, beatings and killings, have been occurring not in an armed conflict or political uprising, but as part of a government program billed as improving life for indigenous people and other ethnic minorities in designated rural areas. Donor governments supporting World Bank programs in Ethiopia, including the United States, are indirectly funding these atrocities.
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For the past several months, there has been much display of public sorrow and grief in Ethiopia. But not for the millions of invisible Ethiopians who are suffering and dying from starvation, or what the “experts” euphemistically call “acute food insecurity”. These Ethiopians are spread across a large swath of the country (see map above, "Estimated food security conditions, 3rd quarter 2012 (July-September 2012, Famine Early Warning Systems Network FEWS NET)......full text
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 man-made catastrophic change is to actively engender and preserve a democratic environment......full text
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......full text
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 now thus the only way for us is up......full text
Hailemariam Desalegn’s recent interview with Peter Heinlein of VOA confirms that his rise to the helm of power can be largely attributed to his opportunistic imitation of how the late dictator talked and walked as well as his commitment to serving TPLF bigwigs that control him as their Trojan horse......full text
NEW YORK — Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has pledged to maintain the controversial policies of his predecessor, Meles Zenawi, who died last month. The Ethiopian leader outlined his views on foreign and domestic issues in an interview with VOA's Peter Heinlein in New York......full text
The powerhouse of EPRDF built according to Stalin’s design is replete with mistrust instilled in it by its architect the late pathological liar. Therefore it would be naïve to expect the new Prime Minister (PM) as an accomplice to the heinous crimes of his former boss to denounce in his acceptance speech the destructive policy of the EPRDF of which he was one of the architects. He didn’t even mention God in taking oath of office.
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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. .....full text
Seye’s short speech (http://www.awrambatimes.com/wp-content/uploads/SEEYE-SEATTLE-SPEECH.pdf) in Seattle was a little short on facts and completely void of vision and historical accuracy. It can also be said that Ato Seye has Chutzpah or Cojones or in simple English balls to show up among the Diaspora and read eulogy for the person that caused so much hurt and agony to our people......full text
The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited as saying: “The only thing that is constant is change.” This simple but profound statement is accepted as a universal truth. Those who have seriously grasped the meaning of life are always ready for change and challenge. While the majority of Ethiopians have been craving for drastic and radical changes to end their miseries under TPLF’s oppressive regime, the ruling elite appear to be resisting and frustrating change. ......full text
It seems Ethiopia finally has a new prime minister. Two days ago, the leaders of the ruling EPDRF party approved Hailemariam Desalegn, the current deputy prime minister [DPM], to replace the late Meles Zenawi as party chief and prime minister. But Hailemariam will not be sworn in until early October according to Bereket Simon. No explanation was given for the two-week delay. ......full text
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 so are millions of Americans who supported him in 2008. So are tens of millions of other people throughout the world who saw his election as history making and wished him well.......full text
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.......full text
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 warring nations of Native Americans made peace with each other, they would bury their axes (hatchets) into the ground as a symbolic expression of the end of hostilities.......full text
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 dignity. I am very much conflicted about his going away. First and foremost I want to make it clear that I am definitely not sad at all. It is not because I am inhuman or lack empathy. Far from that, I consider myself caring and always concerned about others.......full text
In the absence of a legitimate autopsy report, a death certificate or a credible official statement relating to the reason behind the hospitalization and eventual death of the former ruler of one of the most populous countries in Africa, there are compelling medical and circumstantial arguments to suggest that the episode of May 18, 2012, in which the valiant Abebe Gellaw confronted Zenawi, might have played a major role in accelerating the demise of the dictator.......full text
...But Meles' death points up the limitations of autocratic rule. Because he failed to establish the rule of law and set up strong democratic institutions, Ethiopia is likely to face a period of uncertainty, and possibly one of serious upheaval. The odds of finding another strongman of comparable skill are remote......full text
The stage-managed wailing in Addis Ababa 40 days after the death of Meles Zenawi is pretty much a copycat of the funeral services held for the Dear Leader Kim Ill Sung of North Korea......full text
For over two hundred seventy-five weeks, without missing a single week, I have written long expository commentaries on the deeds and misdeeds of the man who has been at the helm of power in Ethiopia for over two decades. Meles Zenawi has now passed on. The cause of his death remains a closely guarded state secret......full text
The tyrant finally died leaving us with the legacy of his heinous crimes including genocide, victims of torture, incarceration of peaceful protesters en masse; extra judiciary execution of peaceful protesters, the wailing of mothers, the agony of bereaved families, toiling peasants in serfdom, interethnic hatred, daylight robbery of votes, pervasive corrupt practices, demised free media, government monopoly of all pillars of democracy, blocked freedom of expression, poor educational standard, forbidden academic freedom in tertiary institutions, abject poverty, rampant unemployment embarrassing lies, rampant breach of the constitution, regional instability et al.
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By Thor Halvorssen and Alex Gladstein, Forbes Forbes / August 22, 2012
Zenawi built a totalitarian state, guided by Marxist-Leninism, complete with a cult of personality and zero tolerance for dissent. Like Saddam Hussein or Bashar al-Assad, he filled the country’s top political and economic positions with men from his own Tigaray ethnicity. When elections did occur, he won them with Saddam-like numbers, most recently, 99 percent of the vote. Civil society organizations were harassed into submission or banned. His government only allowed one television station, one radio station, one internet-service provider, one telecom, one national daily, and one English daily—all churning out government propaganda. Zenawi used this information hegemony to heavily censor news available to Ethiopians, taking special delight in preventing them from hearing news from exile groups outside the country......full text
Meles engineered one-party rule in effect for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and his Tigrayan inner circle, with the complicity of other ethnic elites that were co-opted into the ruling alliance, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The Front promised freedom, democracy and ethnic devolution but is highly centralised, tightly controls the economy and suppresses political, social, ethnic and religious liberties.In recent years, Meles had relied ever more on repression to quell growing dissent.......full text
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 be the ‘restless generation’ but they are Africa's new hope. They brook no nonsense about corruption, inefficiency, ineptitude, incompetence, or buffoonery. They understand and stress transparency, accountability, human rights, and good governance......full text
The TPLF regime is the kind that believes in a proactive stance in their approach to ward off unwanted happenings. They learned that during the war with the Derg. It is said that upon taking over a village their first act was to gather the village heads and kill those that don’t agree with them, humiliate a few to teach the rest a lesson and recruit the weak to use and abuse. That system sharpened and enhanced has served them to stay in power......full text
To many Ethiopians the sudden disappearance of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is a source of joy and excited expectation. For his die-hard supporters apprehension no doubt and concern for their leader. Is he dead? they ask, or perhaps critically ill, has he run away, finally overwhelmed by guilt and shame at the way he and his ministerial cronies have treated the people of Ethiopia, since they took power from the communist Derg twenty one years ago? Or is he recovering from illness peacefully on some isolated retreat?......full text
Last week, The Economist Magazine rhetorically inquired, “What if Mr. Meles goes for good?” Shouldn’t the question be, “Is it not good for Ethiopia if Mr. Meles goes for good?” ......full text
Joint Statement in English & Oromiffa / August 11, 2012
We, the undersigned believe that, the dictatorial single party rule of the minority ethnic-based Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) it dominates, faces the prospect of sustained popular resistance and inevitable demise that its oppressive predecessors also faced. ......full text
What happens when a “prime minister” goes AWOL? That is, absent without constitutional leave of absence. Dictator Meles Zenawi has disappeared from public view for several weeks now. He was last seen in public on June 19 at the G20 Summit in Mexico......full text
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 Ethiopian and memory is an option......full text
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 communism also because Tigray is a citadel of Orthodox Tewahido Christian faith......full text
In an interview I gave to the Voice of America Amharic program last week, I was asked to comment on the nature of constitutional succession in the event of death, disability, resignation, illness, incapacity or removal from power of the prime minster (PM) in Ethiopia. The answer I gave seems to have surprised, shocked, dismayed and appalled many......full text
Following the news of the past few years, you might get the impression that flamboyance and bellicosity are signature traits of any long-tenured dictator. But for every Muammar Qaddafi there’s a Meles Zenawi, the shrewd, technocratic Prime Minister of Ethiopia.......full text
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 and reconciliation......full text
Who is in power? --(By Ethiomedia)
Free speech is the bedrock of all human freedoms. In my view, the value a society gives to freedom of expression determines whether that society is free or unfree......full text
By Naomi Hunt, Press Freedom Adviser for Africa & the Middle East / July 12, 2012
VIENNA, July 13, 2012 – The International Press Institute (IPI) strongly denounced the long prison sentences handed down to journalist and writer Eskinder Nega in Ethiopia today, as well as the punishments given to five other journalists who were tried in absentia, all of whom were convicted of “terrorism” in late June 2012......full text
“Bondage” is the state of being bound by or subjected to some external power or control. When people are bound by debt, they are in “debt bondage”. When they are held in involuntary servitude, they are in “bondage slavery”. Before much of Africa became “independent” in the 1960s, Africans were held under the yoke of “colonial bondage”......full text
How did authoritarian identity politics come to dominate Ethiopian national affairs, rising to the level of official state ideology and practice under the Woyanes? What are the sources, forms, and contradictions of this domination, and how can the nation begin to get out from under it?
These are huge questions and require broader analysis than can be attempted here. What I offer are some thoughts and views for discussion and further analysis......full text
Over the past six years, I have written numerous columns defending press freedom in Ethiopia. In a 2009 commentary entitled, “The Art of War on Ethiopia’s Independent Press ”, I expressed astonishment over the heavy handed treatment of the free press: “Use a sledgehammer to smash a butterfly! That is the exquisite art of war unleashed on Ethiopia's independent press by the dictatorship of Meles Zenawi today.” ......full text
More Ethiopian government opponents have been convicted on trumped up terrorism and treason charges in what Amnesty International called "a dark day" for freedom of expression.
Iconic dissident journalist Eskinder Nega and leading members of the political opposition, Andualem Arage and Nathnael Mekonnen, along with five other men, were found guilty on charges of ‘Terrorist Acts,’ ‘Encouragement of Terrorism,’ and ‘High Treason’ and several other charges.
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(Nairobi, June 27, 2012) – The Ethiopian high court on June 27, 2012, convicted 24 journalists, political opposition leaders, and others under Ethiopia’s deeply flawed anti-terrorism law, Human Rights Watch said today. ......full text
Most of my readers know how much I enjoy “bedtime stories”. Recently, I wrote about my favortie bedtime story of Pinocchio in Africa. Ever heard of the story of Chicken Little? One day Chicken Little was scratching around the yard when something fell on her head. “Oh,” screeched Chicken Little, “The sky is falling. I must go tell the king.” ......full text
The origins of the Internet can be traced to ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) that was funded by the US Department of Defense (DARPA) for use by its research labs in the 1960’s. The Internet as we know moved from connecting research institutions and Universities into commercial use in the middle of the 1980’s......full text
In its latest assault on the human rights of the people, the governing Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) decreed certain activities on the internet to be illegal. Access to the internet inside Ethiopia is very poor......full text
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......full text
There are some people blessed with an unbreakable spirit. They can turn adversities into triumph and setbacks into progress. These kinds of people have a deeper understanding of life as a rollercoaster with ups and downs, turns and twists, gains and lose, defeats and victories…. They take times of sadness, grief, illnesses, falls, trials or tribulations with grace and resurrect themselves against all odds. After all, true heroes and heroines are not those that kill enemies with the arrows of vengeance and hatred, but those who defy the darkest hours of life and come out shining........full text
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 abuse and misuse power and the dictators who want to cling to power......full text
Meles Zenawi in 2010 said he has entered a contract with the Ethiopian people to rule the country for five more years. Reason? Because he said the Ethiopian people had voted for him 99.6%. This preposterous claim drew international outcry of rejection but the tyrant could care less;......full text
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?......full text
I am always harking back to the pleasant years of our past. Believe me it not being nostalgic rather it is the lack of good news that makes me reach deep to salvage a little bit of dignity how ever fleeting that might be. One can also make an argument for the fact that my generation has lost the battle to continue on the tradition of leaving intact what was passed on to us. Actually what was expected was a little bit of enhancement but we seem to have managed to degrade and discount. Let us not talk about that today. ......full text
On May 18, 2012, dictator Meles Zenawi learned a lesson he will not easily forget. In the land of free speech, he was rendered speechless......full text
This is subtle totalitarianism, dubbed ‘Authoritarian Developmentalism’ by some. If you do what the government says, you get assistance – land, water, services. If you don’t, you get nothing. The basic principles of political freedom enshrined in the constitution are frequently undermined by subtle edicts from government departments. Press freedom is clearly spelt out and recently a minor ruling stated that printers must take responsibility for everything they publish and can refuse to print anything the government might consider illegal. Hardly a devastating blow to press freedom you might think until you discover that the only presses in Ethiopia capable of printing newspapers are government-owned........full text
I doubt there is an Ethiopian in the Diaspora not familiar with what happened last Friday. As they say the video has gone viral. The act has brought deep satisfaction to the psych of the oppressed and left the evildoers in disarray. Abebe took less than one minute to do what has been tried for over twenty years.His heroic act will be remembered in the history books like that other important event in the annals of our
glorious past. ......full text
My view is that there is no direct relationship between economic growth and democracy historically or theoretically. But my view is that democracy is a good thing in and of itself irrespective of its impact on economic growth......full text
In my social life, political or any, I don’t remember to have seen any movement that captivated the imagination of the entire segments of a society like the 2008 Obama presidential campaign did......full text
