ሕዝባዊ ብሶት – የከተማ አብዮት? – ከተመስገን ደሳለኝ (ጋዜጠኛ)

January 7, 2014

ባለፈው ሳምንት ኢህአዴግ በከተሞች ላይ የቋጠረውን ስር የሰደደ ጥላቻ ከነመግፍኤው ጨርፈን ከተመለክተን በኋላ፤ ለዛሬ፣ ታላላቅ ግድፈቶቹ ሕዝባዊ ተቃውሞ ለመቀስቀስ ሊኖራቸው የሚችለውን አስተዋፅኦና በአደባባዩ የሚነሱትን ዋና ዋና ጥያቄዎች ለመዘርዘር፤ እንዲሁም ‹‹ማኦኢዝም›› የሚበይነውን ከገጠር የሚነሳ ብረታዊ ትግል፣ ከሰላማዊው የከተማ አብዮት አንፃር ለመፈተሽ ቀጠሮ መያዛችን ይታወሳል፡፡ እናም እንዲህ እንቀጥላለን…

 የኢህአዴግ ግድፈቶች

ፈረንጅኛው ‘Achilles Heels’ በሚል ስያሜ የሚገልፃቸው እና አማርኛው ደካማ ጎኖች ብሎ የሚሰይማቸው የስርዓቱ ታላላቅ ግድፈቶች ከዕለት ዕለት ራሳቸውን ማብዛታቸው ፍፃሜው የሚተነበይ አድርገውታል፤ ይኸውም ብሔር ተኮር ጥያቄዎች አለመመለሳቸው፣ ውጤት አልባው የገጠር ፖሊሲ፣ የድህረ-ደርግ የዴሞክራሲ ሽግግሩ መክሸፍ (ከፖለቲካ፣ ከሰብዓዊ እና ሀሳብን በነፃነት ከመግለፅ አንፃር)፣ የኢኮኖሚ እድገት አለመኖር፣ ድህነት ከቀድሞውም በበረታ መልኩ መስፋፋቱ፣ የትምህርት ፖሊሲው ክስረት፣ የስራ-አጥ ቁጥር አለቅጥ ማሻቀብ፣ የራስ አስተዳደር (Self-adminstration) ሙሉ ለሙሉ አለመተግበር (ከስልጤ እስከ ቁጫ ያሉ የማንነት ጥያቄዎች መቆሚያ ማጣታቸው)፣ የመሬት ፖሊሲው የአርሶ አደሩን የነፍስ ወከፍ የይዘት መጠን ከአንድ ሄክታር ማሳነሱ፣ የከተሞች ስራ-አጥነት በወጣት ከተሜ የተማሩ ልጆች ላይ መብዛቱ፣ በልማታዊ መንግስት ትግበራ እና በብሄር ፌደራሊዝም መሀከል የማይታረቁ ቅራኔዎች መኖራቸው፣ ከተሜነት እየተስፋፋ ሲመጣ በብሔር ፖለቲካ ሞት ላይ ግለሰባዊነት እንደሚነግስና ኢህአዴግም ይህንን ተቃርኖ ተከትሎ የርዕዮተ-ዓለም መሸጋሸግ ማድረግ የማይችል መሆኑ እና መሰል ተቋማዊ ክስረቶች በቀጣይ ሊያርማቸው የማይቻለው ታላላቅ ግድፈቶች በመሆናቸው እንደተለመደው ውጤቱ ቀድሞ የሚታወቀውን የይስሙላ ምርጫ ከመጠበቅ ይልቅ የአደባባይ ተቃውሞን ለማማተር ሥረ-ምክንያት ሊሆን መቻሉ አጠራጣሪ (አከራካሪ) አይደለም፡፡

ጉዳዩን በሚገባ ለማስረገጥ ከኢህአዴግ አጠቃላይ ህልውናዊ ባህሪ አኳያ ከላይ ከጠቀስኳቸው ነጥቦች ሊፈታቸው የማይቻላቸው ‹ብሎኖች› መሀከል ሶስቱን (ዋነኞቹ ናቸው ከሚል አረዳድ) በጨረፍታ በአዲስ መስመር እንያቸው፡፡

ያ ሁሉ ነጋሪት የተጎሰመለት የድህረ-ደርግ የዲሞክራሲ ሽግግር ‹ተስፋ› ሙሉ በሙሉ ሞት የታወጀበት አሁን በምንጠራው የ97ቱ ምርጫ ማግስት ነበር፡፡ ይህንንም ተከትሎ አቶ መለስ ‹ልማታዊ መንግስት› የሚል ሀልዮት ይዞ ብቅ ማለቱ ይታወሳል፤ በወቅቱ (1998 ዓ.ም ይመስለኛል) በማንችስተር ዩንቨርስቲ በመገኘት ቀጣዩ የስርዓቱ ማዋቀሪያ ምሶሶ አድርጎ ሃሳቡን ያብራራው የምርጫ ፖለቲካ፣ የሰብዓዊ መብቶችን እና መሰል ዲሞክራሲያዊ ዕሴቶችን ጨፍልቆ ‹በአብዮታዊ› መንገድ ልማት ማምጣትን ቀዳሚ ግቡ እንደሚያደርገው በመፎከር ጭምር ነበር፤ ይሁንና ፅንሰ-ሃሳቡን በቅርበት ስንመለከተው፣ በዛሬይቱ ኢትዮጵያ አውድ፤ በተለይም ስርዓቱ ካነበረው ቋንቋ ተኮር ፌደራሊዝም ጋር በማይታረቁ ቅራኔዎች መሞላቱን ለመረዳት አያዳግትም፡፡

ለዚህ ክርክር ማስረገጫ ይሆን ዘንድም ከተቃርኖዎቹ ውስጥ ሁለት ነጥቦችን ብቻ እናንሳ፤ የመጀመሪያው ልማታዊ መንግስት ‹የዜጎች የክሂል ልቀትን በመንተራስ ብቻ የተሳለጠ ቢሮክራሲን መገንባትና ተቋማዊነትን ማጎልበት ያስፈልጋል› ከሚለው መደምደሚያ አንፃር ነው፤ በርግጥ ይህ ሃሳብ ስኬታማነቱ የታየው በአንድ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪ ሀገራት ውስጥ ቢሆንም፣ በሙያ ብቻ ስርዓቱ ሲዋቀር ግን የተለየ የቡድን ጥቅሞችን ለማስፈፀም እንደማይመች ተግባራዊ ተሞክሮዎቹ ይናገራሉ፡፡ ከዚህ አኳያም የገዥው ፓርቲ የፌደራሊዝም ቅርፅ በግልባጩ የብሔር ማንነቶችን ተቀዳሚና ብቸኛ ተቋማዊነትን መገንቢያ አማራጭ ማድረጉ ከተጠቀሰው የልማታዊ መንግስት ጭብጥ ጋር በቀጥታ ያላትመዋል፡፡ እናም ከላይ እስከታች ያለው የስልጣን አወቃቀሩ የላቀ ክሂልን ረግጦ የብሔር ተዋፅኦን ለመጠበቅ በማለም ብቻ የተወሰነ ስርዓታዊ መልክ መያዙን ስንመለከት፣ ገዥዎቻችን ሀልዮቱን ለመተግበር ሲንቀሳቀሱ በሁለት ምርጫዎች ቅርቃር ውስጥ እንዲወድቁ መገደዳቸው የማይቀር ጉዳይ ሆኖ እናገኘዋለን፤ እነርሱም የፌደራሊዝሙን ቅርፅ ወደ መልከአ-ምድራዊ (Geographical) መቀየር፣ አሊያም ‹‹ልማታዊ መንግስት ነን›› የሚለውን አሰልቺ ፕሮፓጋንዳ አራግፎ መጣል የሚሉ ናቸው፡፡ ይህንን ደግሞ ኢህአዴግ
ከግትረኛነት ባህሪው አንፃር ይቀበለዋል ተብሎ አለመጠበቁ አንዱ ህልውናዊ ግድፈቱ ያደርገዋል፡፡

ሌላው ተጣራሽ ርዕሰ-ጉዳይ በስልጣን ኢ-ማዕከላዊነትና በማዕከላዊ መንግስት መጠናከር መካከል ያለው ነው፤ በሁለት አስርታቱ ስርዓታዊ ሙከራ፣ የበዛው ከወረቀት ላይ ባይዘልም፣ በጥቂቱም ቢሆን ኢ-ማዕከላዊ ለማድረግ ስለመጣሩ የምናውቀው እውነት ነው፡፡ ይሁንና የልማታዊ መንግስት ፅንሰ-ሀሳብ ማዕከላዊ አስተዳደሩ ሙሉ በሙሉ አጠቃላይ የስልጣን ገፆችን ጠቅልሎ እንዲይዝ ያስገድደዋል፡፡ ይህንንም ስልጣን በማከፋፈል ላይ የሚመሰረት ግጭት ህልውናዊ ድክመቱ አድርገን ልንወስደው እንችላለን፡፡

ሁለተኛው አስረጂ ጭብጥ የብሔር ማንነትን ዘላለማዊ የስርዓት መልክ ማድረጉ፣ ከከተሜነትና የከተሞች መስፋፋት ጋር አብሮ እየገነገነ ከሚመጣው ግለሰብኝነት (የግለሰብ መብትን ማስቀደም) ጋር ሊኖረው የሚችለው ግጭት ነው፡፡ በስነ-ማህበረሰብና ፖለቲካል ኢኮኖሚ አስተምህሮቶች መሰረት (በዋናነት በምዕራባዊ ሥልጣኔ)፣ የከተሜነት ዕድገት መገለጫ ኢህአዴግ ቀን-ከሌሊት እንደሚለፍፈው የፎቆች መደርደርና የመንገድ መስፋፋት ብቻ አይደለም፤ ይልቁንም ከተሜነት ማለት ከጋርዮሽ ማንነት እየተላቀቁ በመምጣት የግል የሆኑ አለማዊ ዕይታዎችን በማጎልበት፣ በመረጡት ማንነትን መተርጎሚያ ፈር ከሚተሳሰሩ ዜጎች ጋር ህብረት መፍጠር የሚለው አንድምታ ነው ብዬ አስባለሁ፡፡ ምክንያቱም በፆታ፣ በሙያ፣ በኃይማኖት አሊያም በተመረጠ ርዕዮተ-ዓለም ስር ምክንያተኝነትን ብቻ በመንተራስ ‹መደራጀት› የከተሜነት ቀዳሚ መለዮ ነውና፡፡ ይህንን ድምዳሜ በተለይም በአዲስ አበቤዎች ዘንድ እየመጣ ካለው የከተሜነት ባህሪ እና ከብሔር ፖለቲካው ጋር ስናስተያየው ‹‹የማይታረቀው ቅራኔ›› (በካርል ማርክስ አባባል) እነበረከት ስምዖን ፊት ይቆማል፡፡ ኢህአዴግ ይህ ተፈጥሮአዊ የማህበረሰብ ዕድገት እንኳ እንደሚገታው አለማሰቡ ከህልውናዊ ግድፈቶቹ አንዱ አድርገን ልንቆጥረው እንገደዳለን፡፡

ርዕሰ-ጉዳያችንን ለመጠቅለል የምጠቅሰው የመጨረሻው ማሳያ፣ ስርዓቱ የተነሳበትን የራስ ዕድል በራስ በመወሰን መብት ላይ ትገበራው የሚያሳየውን ሀሳዊነት ነው፤ ወታደራዊው ደርግ ይከተለው የነበረው ‹አሀዳዊ አስተዳደር›፣ ቋንቋን መሰረት ባደረገው ፌዴራሊዝም ከተተካ በኋላ ስለ ጉዳዩ ያጠኑ ምሁራኖች ‹‹የስልጤ ሞዴል›› እያሉ የሚጠሩትን ይህንን ጭብጥ፣ ግንባሩ እየመረጠ መስጠቱን የሚዘክሩ በዜጎች ደም የተፃፉ የዳጎሱ ታሪኮች ያረጋግጡልናል፡፡ እንደ ምሳሌም የሲዳማንና ሰሞኑን እየታዘብን ያለውን የቁጫን የማንነት ጥያቄዎች ብቻ መጥቀስ በቂ ይመስለኛል፤ ሲዳማ በሀገሪቱ ሕገ-መንግስት መሰረት ክልል ለመሆን የሚያስፈልጉትን መስፈርቶች ሁሉ ቢያሟላም የተሰጠው ምላሽ ለዓመታት ሞትና እስርን በጥያቄው አራማጆች ላይ እንደ ሐምሌ ዝናብ መዘርገፍ ሲሆን፣ ከሲዳማ ቁጥር በታች ያላቸው የማህበረሰብ ክፍሎች ደግሞ በክልል ደረጃ የመዋቀር መብታቸው ሲከበር ተመልክተናል፡፡ ይህንንም የተዛነፈ የመብት ትግበራን በመሰረታዊ የስርዓቱ ክሽፈትነት ልንቆጥረው እንደምንችል ይሰማኛል፡፡ የተቃውሞ መድረኩን ከውስጥም ከውጭም የሞሉት ኃይሎች ዋነኛ ጥያቄም፣ የብሔራችን መብት አልተከበረም የሚለው መሆኑ (በመጠኑ ላይ ባንስማማም፣ ቡድኖቹ ከየብሔራቸው ደጋፊ እንዳላቸው አይካድምና) ስርዓታዊ ሽንፈቱን ያበዛዋል፡፡ በአናቱም በስልጤው ሞዴል ግፊት ወደ አደባባይ የመጡት የወለኔና የቁጫ የማንነት ጥያቄዎች የሚጠቁሙት አንዳች ነገር ቢኖር፣ የስርዓቱ ቁንጮዎች የተጠቀሰውን ስታሊኒስታዊ የራስ ዕድል በራስ የመወሰን ጉዳይ በሕገ-መንግስታቸው ውስጥ ሲከቱት፣ ኢትዮጵያን በመሰለ ባለብዙ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪ ዜጎች ሀገር ጥያቄው ማቆሚያ እንደማይኖረው አለማሰባቸውን ነው፡፡

በእነዚህ የኢህአዴግ ታላለቅ ግድፈቶች ህላዊነት ከተስማማን የለውጥ መንገዱንም አንስቶ መነጋገሩ የግድ አስፈላጊ ነውና ወደዚያው እንለፍ፡፡

የከተማ አብዮት ሲባል…

በዚህ ተጠይቅ የምናየው አማራጭ የለውጥ መንገድ ያለንበት ሃያ አንደኛው ክፍለ ዘመን የሚበይነውን ሰላማዊ የከተማ አብዮት ብቻ ሳይሆን፣ ረዥም ዓመታትን ወደ ኋላ ተጉዘን በአማራጭነት ይተገበሩ የነበሩትንም ጭምር ነው፤ ምክንያቱም በኢትዮጵያችን ዛሬም ከተቃውሞ ስብስቡ መካከል ሁለቱንም ስልት የሚያቀነቅኑ የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶች መኖራቸው እውነት ነውና፡፡

ምንም እንኳ ጥያቄያቸው፣ አመሰራረታቸው እና የሚከተሉት ርዕዮተ-ዓለም ፍፁም የተለያየ ቢሆንም፣ ከኦነግ እስከ ኦብነግ፤ ከአርበኞች ግንባር እስከ ግንቦት ሰባት (ሁሉን አቀፍ የሚሉት ስልት እንደተጠበቀ ሆኖ) ድረስ የሚጠቀሱ ድርጅቶች ከከተማ አብዮት የ‹ማኦኢዝም›ን (ከገጠር ወደ ከተማ የሚደረግ ጦርነት ላይ የሚያተኩር) የትግል ስልት እንደ ብቸኛ አማራጭ መውሰዳቸው የታወቀ ነው፡፡ ለዚህ ሁሉ ተቃውሞ መነሾ የሆነው ራሱ ኢህአዴግም ወደ ስልጣን የመጣበት መንገድ ሳይቀነስ ሳይጨመር ይኸው እንደነበረም አይዘነጋም፡፡

በኢትዮጵያ የፓርቲ ፖለቲካ መቀንቀን ከተጀመረበት 1960ዎቹ አጋማሽ አንስቶ የተመሰረቱ ግራ ዘመም ድርጅቶች በሙሉ ‹‹መንፈሳዊ አባት›› አድርገው የሚወስዱት የማኦ ዚዱንግ (Mao Zedong) የቻይና ኮምኒስት ፓርቲ (CCP) ለጥቂት ዓመታትም ቢሆን አራምዶት የነበረው የትግል ስልት ከከተማ ወደ ገጠር የሚነሳ እንደነበረ ይታወሳል፤ ይሁንና ሲሲፒ እ.ኤ.አ. በ1927 ዓ.ም. የፀደይ ወራት በሻንጋይ ሼክ (Chiang Kai-shek) ከሚመራው ‹‹Kuomintang›› (KMT)፣ የደረሰበትን ከባድ ወታደራዊ ጡጫ መቋቋም ተስኖት ከጠንካራ መሰረቶቹ ሻንጋይ እና ክንቶን (ዛሬ ስሟ ‹ጉዋንዡ› /Guangzhou/ በሚል ተቀይሯል) ከተሞች ወደ ገጠር ማፈግፈጉን ድርሳናቱ ይናገራሉ፡፡ ከዚህ በኋላም የእነ ማኦ ድርጅት ‹የሠራተኛ መደብ› የሚል አጀንዳውን አርቆ ሰቅሎ፣ እንደ አዲስ በገበሬ ሰራዊት በመዋቀር የትጥቅ ትግልን ከገጠር የመጀመር ጠቀሜታ ሰባኪ ብሎም የገበሬ አምባገንነት አቀንቃኝ ሆኖ ብቅ ማለቱን ከታሪክ ንባብ መረዳት ይቻላል፡፡ በነገራችን ላይ ሲሲፒ የስልት ለውጥ ከማድረጉ በፊት ከ11 ሺ ኪሎ ሜትር በላይ ርቀት የሚሸፍነውን ‹‹ረጅሙ-ጉዞ››ን (Long march) በፅናት መጨረሱ የዓላማ ፅናቱን ያሳያል፡፡

እነ ማኦ ለመስማት ከሚዘገንነው መስዋዕትነት በኋላ ለሥልጣን የበቁት ድርጅታቸው በተመሰረተ በሃያ ስምንተኛ አመት (እ.ኤ.አ. በ1949 ዓ.ም) ነበር፡፡ ከዚህ በኋላም በተለያዩ የዓለማችን ሀገራት የሚኖሩ ሕዝቦች ‹ጭቆናን ለማስወገድ› በሚል ‹ግራ ዘመም› ድርጅት መስርተው በእምቢተኝነት ሲያምፁ፣ ማኦኢዝም የትግል ስልት የሚበይነውን በገበሬዎች በተደራጀ ሰራዊት ከገጠር ወደ ከተማ የሚደረግ ሽምቅ ውጊያን እንደሁነኛ አማራጭ መከተላቸውን ታሪክ ይነግረናል፡፡ በአናቱም የማኦ አስተምህሮ ‹በገበሬ አብዮት› የሚመሰረትን የ‹እርሻ መር ኢኮኖሚ ማህበረሰብ› (Agrarian society) መፍጠርን እና የከተሞችን ፖለቲካል ኢኮኖሚ በማፈራረስ የገበሬውን ሁለንተናዊ ከፍታ ማረጋገጥ ላይ ማተኮሩ በዚህ መንገድ ወደ ሥልጣን የወጡ ገዥዎቻችንን ባህሪ ለመዳኘት ይረዳናል፡፡

እነሆም በዚህ ትውልድ መቀመጫቸውን በሀገራችን የጠረፍ ከተሞች አሊያም በአውሮፓና አሜሪካ ያደረጉ ብረት ያነሱ ድርጅቶች ከላይ በተጠቀሰው የታሪክ ንባብ ከተመዘኑ፣ አንድም የመረጡት የትግል ስልት ዘመኑን የሚዋጅ ነው ብሎ ለመቀበል ያዳግታል፤ ሁለትም በለስ ቀንቷቸው ያሰቡት መሳካት ቢችል እንኳ፣ በእንዲህ አይነት መልኩ ባንክ ዘርፈው፣ መሰረተ ልማቶችን አውድመው፣ ንፁህን ዜጎችን ለህልፈት ዳርገው፣ የቅርብ ጓደኞቻቸውን ሰውተውና ጠብ-መንጃ ተሸክመው ወደ ቤተ-መንግስት የሚመጡበት መንገድ፣ ከዓመታት በፊት መለስና ጓዶቹ ‹ታግለናል፣ ሞተናል፣ ደምተናል… እናም ምርጥ ምርጡ ለእኛና ለቤተሰቦቻችን ብቻ› በሚል ድምዳሜ ካዘጋጁት ‹መፅሀፍ› አንድ ገፅ ገንጥለው ‹‹የሞትንም እኛ፤ ያለንም እኛ…›› ወደሚል የአምባገነኖች ጠርዝ መገፋታቸው አይቀሬ ይመስለኛል፡፡

በተጨማሪም ‹‹ጨቋኝ ጨቋኝን ሊተካው ይችላል›› እንዲል አርስቶትል ኢህአዴግ ለአስራ ሰባት ዓመታት በዱር-በገደል ወጥቶና ወርዶ፣ አስከፊ መስዋዕትነትን ከፍሎ፣ አራት ኪሎ ከደረሰ በኋላ፣ ያነበረው ስርዓት ካመፀበት የመንግስቱ ኃይለማርያም አስተዳደር ጋር ያለው ልዩነት የስም ብቻ መሆኑ መዘንጋት የለበትም፡፡ ይህ ሁኔታም ነው በብረት የታጠረ፣ ደም አፋሳሽና የተናጥል አሸናፊነትን በሚያውጅ ስብከት ላይ ብቻ የተገነባው የትግል ትርጓሜ ዛሬም እንደአዲስ የመከለሱ ዜና በስጋት ያነጠበን፡፡ በርግጥም የጭቆናን ሸክም ከትከሻ ለማውረድ ሲባል የተካሄዱ መራራ ትግሎች ውጤታቸው ጨቋኞችን መቀያየር መሆኑና የትንቅንቁ ወራቶች መርዘም ያስከተሉት ኪሳራዎች ከዘመኔ ቀድሞ የነበረውን የማኦን መንገድ የታሪክ መዛግብት ላይ ብቻ ተወስኖ እንዲቀር በመገደብ ለአማራጭነት እንኳ እንዳይበቃ አድርገውታል፡፡ የዚያን ዘመን የጨቋኞች አገዛዝ ውርስን ለመከተል ወቅቱ አመቺ አለመሆኑንና የሥልጣን ወንበርን ለጊዜውም ለማሰንበት ዘመን-ወለዱን አመቻማች አምባገነንትን መጠመቅ ማስፈለጉም የትግሉ ስያሜ በድጋሚ ለብይን እንዲቀርብ ተጨማሪ ኃይል ሆኗል፡፡ ርዕዮተ-ዓለማዊ ልዩነቶች እስኪዘነጉ ድረስ መጥበባቸው፣ ክስተቶች ከአንድ ሀገር ድንበር መዝለላቸው እንዲሁም ወቅታዊዎቹ የለውጥ ስኬቶች በጋራ የቀድሞውን የአብዮት መስመር በጥርጣሬ እንድንመለከተው ፈርደውበታል፡፡ ዛሬ ላይ አብዮት ቃሉ ብቻ እስኪቀር ድረስ ተነቅሎ ነባር የመዳረሻ መንገዶቹ ፈራርሰዋል፤ በፍርስራሹ ላይም አዲስ ትርጓሜ ተቸክችኮበታል፡፡

እነዚህና መሰል ሁነቶች የለውጡን መንገድ ለመቃረም ፊታችንን ወደ አውሮፓውያኖቹ የ‹ብርቱካናማ› እና የ‹ፅጌረዳ› አሊያም ወደ አረቡ የ‹ፀደይ› አብዮት እንመልስ ዘንድ ያስገድዱናል፡፡ ይህ ግን እነ ሌኒን ያራምዱትና ይመክሩት ከነበረው በከተሞች ውስጥ ከሚደረገው የትጥቅ ትግል ፍፁም የተለይ ይመስለኛል፡፡ በርግጥም እንዲህ አይነቱ አማራጭ በ1966ቱ አብዮት ማግስት በራሳችን ሰዎች ተሞክሮ ከመክሸፉም በላይ ሀገሪቱን ወደ ቀለም ሽብር ከቷት መቼም ሊተካ የማይችል ዋጋ ማስከፈሉ ሁሌም በቁጭት የምናስበው ታሪካችን ነው፡፡ እናም ለእኔ ትውልድ የለውጥ ጥያቄ ከሰላማዊው የከተማ አብዮት ውጪ ያሉ አማራጮች ከጠቀሜታቸው ይልቅ ጥፋታቸው አመዝኖ ነው የሚታየኝ፡፡ በተለይም ነባሩን የኢትዮጵያ የፖለቲካ ባህል (የ‹ጦር አርበኝነት›ን በ‹ሲቪል ጀግንነት›) ለመቀየርም ሆነ፣ ከእርስ በርስ እልቂት፣ ከደም መፋሰስ፣ ከደካማው ኢኮኖሚ መንኮታኮት፣ ካለመረጋጋት… ለመታደግ ብቸኛ መፍትሄ ይኸው ነው፡፡ በተጨማሪም ከከተማ መነሳቱ ለአገዛዙ ምሰሶ፤ ለሀገሪቱ ደግሞ ስጋት የሆኑትን የሃይማኖት እና ብሔር (ቋንቋ) ልዩነቶችን ተሻግሮ፣ በአንድ ሀገር በእኩል ማንነት ላይ የሚያሰባስብ ኃይል ይፈጥራል ብዬ አስባለሁ፡፡

በነገራችን ላይ ለእንዲህ አይነቱ አደገኛ ስጋት መቃረባችንን የሚያሳየው በይበልጥ ከቅርብ ጊዜ ወዲህ ከተቃውሞ ስብስቡ አካባቢ የሚሰማው ከሀገር ይልቅ የትውልድ መንደርን የማስቀደም ድምፅ ነው፡፡ ይሁንና ይህ መንገድ የትም ሊያደርስ ካለመቻሉም በላይ ላለፉት ሃያ ዓመታት የጭቆና ቀንበርን ትከሻችን ላይ እንዲከርር አስተዋፅኦ አድርጓል፡፡ እናም ወደ ተናፋቂው የነፃነት ምኩራብ ሊያደርሰን የሚችለው ድምዳሜ ስርዓቱ ትግራይን ከኦሮሚያ፣ ወይም ከአማራ… የበላይ አድርጎ ያስተዳድራል ለሚሉ ከፋፋይ አሉባልታዎች ጆሮ መንፈግ ብቻ ነው፤ የአንዳንድ ብሔር ተኮር ድርጅት አፈ-ቀላጤዎችም ንጉሳዊውን ዘመን የአማርኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪዎች ወኪል ለማስመሰል መሞከራቸውም ሆነ ህወሓት የተሰኘው የማፍያ ቡድን የሚፈፅመውን ግፋአዊ አገዛዝ በየትኛውም መስፈርት ከትግራይ ህዝብ ጋር ለማያያዝ የሚያደርጉትን ጥረት ማክሸፉ ከአብዮቱ ቅድመ ዝግጅቶች አንዱ ይመስለኛል፡፡

የሆነው ሆኖ ‹አብዮት የራት ግብዣ አይደለም› እንዲል ማኦ፣ አሁን እየተናገርንለት ያለው ሰላማዊው የከተማ ተቃውሞ የጠብ-መንጃውን ያህል ባይሆንም እንኳ ዋጋ ማስከፈሉ አይቀሬ መሆኑ መዘንጋት የለበትም፡፡ በየትኛውም ሀገር ያሉ አምባገነን ገዥዎች በሕዝባዊ እምቢተኝነት አደባባይ የወጡ ተቃዋሚዎቻቸውን ወደ ቤተ-መንግስታቸው እንዲገቡ ሲፈቅዱ ታይቶም ተሰምቶም አይታወቅም፡፡

እንዲያውም በግልባጩ በጦር ሠራዊትና በደህንነት ኃይል ለማስፈራራት ሲሞክሩ፣ ከተቃዋሚዎቻቸው የተወሰኑትን በመቀጣጫነት በጥይት ሲያስደበድቡ፣ አስተባባሪዎቹን ሲያስሩ፣ የአገዛዛቸውን የብረት መዳፍ ይበልጥ ሲያጠነክሩ… ይስተዋላሉ፡፡ ይሁንና ይህ አይነቱ የጭካኔ እርምጃ አምባገነኖችን ከአብዮቱ ወላፈን ሊታደጋቸው አለመቻሉን ማረጋገጥ ካስፈለገ ቱኒዝያ ጥሩ ማሳያ ትመስለኛለች፡፡ አደባባዩን ከማማተር አስቀድሞ ግን አብዮቱ መያዝ ስለሚገባው ባህርያት ጥቂት ነጥቦችን ማንሳት ሳያስፈልግ አይቀርም፡፡

የለውጡ መስመር አንዱ መለዮ መሆን የሚኖርበት የትኞቹንም ጨቋኝ ህጎችን በአደባባይ መጣስ ነው፤ እዚህ ቦታ ለመሰለፍ ጠይቀን ተከለከልን፤ ደጋፊዎቻችንን እንዳንሰበስብ አዳራሽ አጣን… እና መሰል ቀልዶችን በመተው አዋጆቹን (እንደ ፀረ-ሽብር እና የፕሬስ አዋጅ ውስጥ ያደፈጡ ቀፍዳጅ አንቀፆችን) በግላጭ በመጣስ በገፍ ወደዘብጥያ ለመውረድ መወሰን የአብዮቱ ዋና አካሄድ መሆን የሚኖርበት ይመስለኛል (በዚህ አውድ አንድ የቢሆን ምሳሌ እናንሳ፤ አሁን ካሉት ህጋዊ ፓርቲዎች መካከል አንዱ በአንድ ክፉ ቀን የፓርቲው የህጋዊነት ማረጋገጫ በሎሌው የምርጫ ቦርድ ጽ/ቤት ቢሰረዝና እኛም አማራጭ አካሄዶችን ስለማሰላሰላቸው ብንጠይቅ፣ ‹‹ጨዋታው ፈረሰ…›› ብለው ወደየቤታቸው ገብተው ይቀመጡ ይሆናል ከሚለው ውጪ የምናገኘው ምላሽ ምን ሊሆን ይችላል?)

ሌላኛው ነጥብ ቡድናዊ መሰባሰቢያ መስፈርቶችን ይመለከታል፤ በአረቡ ፀደይ እንዳስተዋልነው (ስለአረቡ ዓለም አብዮት ባህሪያት ከፍትህ ጋዜጣ እስከ ፋክት መፅሄት ድረስ በተደጋጋሚ ሊብራራ ተሞክሯልና እዚህ መድገም አያስፈልግም) የፆታን፣ የኃይማኖትን፣ የመደብን፣ የአንድ ርዕዮተ-ዓለምን አሊያም የብሄር ልዩነቶችን በመሻገር ሁለንተናዊ የዜግነት ነፃነቶችን መሻትን ብቻ ማዕከል ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል፡፡ ሁለንተናዊ የዜግነት ነፃነቶች ሲባል ደግሞ የኃይማኖት፣ የፖለቲካና የሲቪል መብቶች መከበር ማለት መሆኑ ግልፅ ነው፡፡ የትኞቹንም የቡድንም ሆነ ግለሰብ ተኮር ጥያቄዎች ይህንን ነፃነት በማስከበር ትግል ውስጥ ማስመለስ እንደሚቻል መታወቁ የአብዮቱን መሪ ቡድኖች መልከዓ-ባህሪ በዜግነት ላይ ብቻ እንዲቆም ያደርገዋል፤ ይህ ክንውንም፣ በአንድ በኩል የስርዓቱን የከፋፍለህ ግዛ ፖሊሲ ሲያከሽፍ፣ በሌላ በኩል የተሻለች ሀገር ለማቆም የማይነቃነቅ ጠንካራ መሰረት ይጥላል (በነገራችን ላይ ከዚህ ቀደም ፋክትን ጨምሮ በአራቱም የህትመት ውጤቶች ያነሳኋቸው የፈራ ይመለስ፣ ሞት የማይፈሩ ወጣቶች፣ ለምን ትፈራለህ? የታህሪር ናፍቆት፣ የዘገየው አብዮት፣ የግፉአን ዕድሜ ምን ያህል ይረዝማል? አደባባዩ ምን ያህል ይርቃል? የመሳሰሉት ቀዳሚ ድምፆች በዚህ አይነቱ ሰላማዊ የከተማ
አብዮት የሚበየኑ መሆኑን ማስታወስ ያስፈልጋል)

የአብዮቱ ግቦች…

በጥቅሉ እዚህ ድረስ ስንነጋገርበት የነበረው የከተማ አብዮት እንደ ሊቢያ ወይም ሶርያ ለእርስ በእርስ እልቂት የሚዳርግ ደም አፋሳሽ አለመሆኑ ግልፅ ይመስለኛል፡፡ በዚህ አውድ ትኩረት ሊሰጥበት የሚገባው አንኳር ጉዳይ የአረቡን መነቃቃት ተከትሎ በሞሮኮ፣ የመን እና ኳታር እንደታየው አይነት፣ ከስር ነቀል ለውጥ ይልቅ የፖለቲካ ማሻሻያዎች እንዲደረጉ የአምባገነኑን አገዛዝ እጅ መጠምዘዙ ላይ ነው፤ ይህ ይሆን ዘንድም የሚከተሉት ጥያቄዎች ወደ አደባባይ መሰባሰብ የሚያስችሉን የጋራ አጀንዳ (የአብዮቱ ግቦች) ቢሆኑ ለስርዓቱ ‹‹የወንድ በር››፤ ለምንወዳት ሀገራችን ደግሞ የተስፋውን መንገድ ጠራጊ የሚሆኑ ይመስለኛል፡፡

ከፊታችን ያለው የ2007ቱ አምስተኛ ዙር አገር አቀፍ ምርጫ ከመደረጉ በፊት፣ ያን ጊዜ የ97ቱ ቅንጅት ፓርላማ ለመግባት በቅድመ ሁኔታነት አንስቷቸው የነበሩትን ከፊል ጥያቄዎች ጨምሮ ሌሎችም በዚህ ፅሁፍ የተካተቱ ጥያቄዎች ምላሽ ይሰጣቸው ዘንድ ከሥራ ማቆማ አድም አንስቶ ከአገዛዙ ጋር አለመተባበርን የሚያካትትና ለውጡ እስኪመጣ በተከታታይ (በብሔር አግላይ ያልሆነ) መሬት አንቀጥቅጥ የተቃውሞ ሰልፍ መሰል እንቅስቃሴዎችን ለማድረግ ራስን ማዘጋጀት ይጠይቃል፤ ጥያቄዎቹም የሚከተሉት ናቸው፡-

1/ ሁሉንም የፖለቲካና የህሊና እስረኞች ያለምንም ቅድመ ሁኔታ ከእስር መፍታት፤
2/ እስከ ዛሬ ድረስ በሀገር ጥቅም ላይ ለተፈፀመው ጥፋትም ሆነ በሰላማዊ ዜጎች ላይ ለደረሰው ጅምላ ጭፍጨፋ፣ እስር፣ እንግልት፣ አካል መጉደል እና ስደት ኃላፊነት ወስዶ በአደባባይ ይቅርታ መጠየቅ (ካሳ የሚገባቸውን መካስ)፣ ለብሔራዊ ዕርቅ መደላድል መፍጠር፤
3/ አፋኝ የሆኑትን የፀረ-ሽብር፣ የፕሬስ፣ የመያዶች እና የፖለቲካ ማሻሻያ አዋጆችን መሻር፤
4/ ዜጎች በሚያምኑበት የፖለቲካ አስተሳሰብ የመደራጀት መብታቸውን ያለአንዳች ገደብ መልቀቅ፤
5/ ከሁሉም የፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች ጋር በእኩል ደረጃ መወያየትና መደራደር፤
6/ የኢትዮጵያ ምርጫ ቦርድን ነፃና ገለልተኛ መሆኑን በሚያረጋግጥ ሁኔታ እንደገና ማቋቋምና የአቅም ብቃቱን መገንባት፤
7/ ፍትሐዊ የመንግስት ሚዲያ አጠቃቀም እንዲኖርና የግል የኤሌክትሮኒክስም ሆነ የህትመት ሚዲያዎች ያለ ከልካይ እንዲኖሩ መፍቀድ፤
8/ የፍ/ቤትን እና የሌሎች የፍትህ አካላትን ነፃነት ማረጋገጥ፤
9/ የፖሊስ፣ የመከላከያና የደህንነት ተቋማት ከፖለቲካ ገለልተኛ እንዲሆኑ ማድረግ፤
10/ ከላይ የተጠቀሱትን ጉዳዮች ተፈፃሚ የሚያደርግ ለየትኛውም የፖለቲካ ድርጅት የማይወግን ነፃ የሆነ አካል ማቋቋም የሚሉት

ጥያቄዎች የመንደርደሪያ ነጥብ መሆን የሚችሉ ይመስለኛል፡፡

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ!

ታዋቂው ሙዚቀኛ አሊ ቢራ ከነጃዋር ጋር በኦሮሞ ፈረስት ካምፔን ውስጥ መሳተፍ አነጋጋሪ ሆንዋል

January6/2013

ኦሮሞ ፈርስት በሰሜን አሜሪካ ባሳተመው ፖስተር ላይ አሊ ቢራ አብሮ መውጣቱ ጉዳዩን አነጋጋሪ አድርጎታል:: አቶ ዶር አሊ ቢራ በብዙ ኢትዮጵያውያን ዘንድ ከፍተኛ ክብር ያለው ግለሰብ ሲሆን አሁን በዚህ እድሜው በለየለት የዘረኝነትና የሀይማኖትን  እልቂት ከሚሰብከው ጃዋር  ጋር መሳተፉ ጉዳዩን አሳዛኝ ያደርገዋል:: በርግጥ አቶ አሊ ቢራ ከጃዋር ጋር በሀይማኖትም በዘርም ሚዛመዱ በመሆናቸው የቅርብ ግንኙነት እንዳላቸው ሚታወቅ ነው:: ሆኖም ግለሰቡ ካለው የህዝብ ፍቅርና እድሜ  አንጻር እንዲህ አይነት በለየለት የዘር ና ሀይማኖትን በአደባባይ ከሚሰብክ ግለሰብ ጋር አብሮ በአደባባይ ይሰራል የሚል ግምት አልነበረም:: ኢትዮጵያውያን ይህንን በአመክሮ እንዲያዩት እንመክራለን

Part I: Rise of the Ethiopian Chee-Hippo Generation in 2014

January6/2013

January 6, 2014

by Alemayehu G. Mariam*

In my first weekly commentary of 2013, I declared that year to be the “Year of Ethiopia’s Cheetah (young) Generation”. It was a great year for Ethiopia’s Cheetahs.

I declare 2014 “Year of the Ethiopia’s Chee-Hippo Generation”. A Chee-Hippo is a Hippo (member of the older generation) who thinks, behaves and acts like a Cheetah.  A Chee-Hippo is also a Cheetah who understands the limitations of Hippos yet is willing to work with them in common cause for a common purpose. Ethiopian Chee-Hippos are a special breed. By nature, they are bridge builders and force multipliers. They build strong intergenerational bridges that connect the young with the old. They build bridges to link up the rich with the poor. They build transitional bridges to transport people from dictatorship to democracy. They build bridges across ethnic divides; they build connecting bridges for people stranded on desolate “kilil” islands (ethnic homelands or ‘bantustans’). They bridge the gulf of language, religion and region. They build bridges over gorges of distrust, ravines of doubt and canyons of suspicion. They build bridges of national unity to harmonize diversity. They build bridges to connect the youth at home with the youth in the Diaspora. Chee-Hippos build bridges over troubled waters.

Ethiopian “Chee-Hippos” are also force multipliers. They optimize the energy, passion and dedication of youth with the knowledge, skills and experiences of Hippos to bring about lasting structural change. They use their creativity to operate within the rigid parameters of a ruthless dictatorship to maximize the effectiveness and capabilities of youth change agents at decisive points.

I am a Chee-Hippo and damn proud of it!

Ethiopian Cheetahs at grave risk

In my view, the problem of 21st Century Ethiopia is quintessentially the problem of Ethiopian youth. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in less than 37 years, Ethiopia’s population will more than triple to 278 million, placing that country in the top 10 most populous countries in the world. Ethiopia’s population growth has been spiraling upwards for decades. In 1967, the population was 23.5 million. It increased to 51 million in 1990; and by 2003, it had reached 68 million. In 2008, that number increased to 80 million. In 2013, Ethiopia’s population was estimated to be over 94 million. Today, an estimated 70 percent of Ethiopia’s population is under 35 years old (66 million). Since 1995, the average annual rate of population growth has remained at over 3 percent.

Nelson Mandela observed, “Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. Those who abuse them tear at the fabric of our society and weaken our nation.” If Ethiopia’s youth are its greatest treasure, they are at extreme risk today; and so is the future of that country. Ethiopia’s greatest treasures are neglected, abused, squandered and wasted. “Ethiopia is one of the countries with the lowest primary school enrollment rates in the world… [L]ow quality of school and a high dropout rate, as well as gender and rural-urban disparities remain the major challenges of the country” according to a report of the African Population and Health Research Center. Those who manage to finish high school have vastly diminished opportunities for higher education or gainful employment.

According to a 2012 USAID study, “Ethiopia has one of the highest urban youth unemployment rates at 50 percent and there is a high rate of youth under­employment in rural areas, where nearly 85 percent of the population resides.”  Another 2012 study of youth unemployment by the International Growth Center reported that the “current 5 year [Ethiopian] development plan 2010/11-2014/5, the [ruling regime’s] Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), does not directly address the issue of youth unemployment…” That study found “in 2011, 38 percent of youth were employed in the informal sector” which “often provides low quality, low paying jobs.” There is a substantial segment of the youth population that is not only unemployed but also unemployable because they lack basic skills. Youth access to public sector jobs requiring training and skills depends not so much on merit or competition but political and social connections and party membership. Every young person in Ethiopia knows that a card verifying membership in the ruling party is more important than an honestly earned university diploma. Moreover, rural youth landlessness has contributed significantly to the chaotic and ever increasing pattern of youth urban migration, joblessness and hopelessness.

The risks faced by Ethiopia’s youth cover the gamut of social maladies. According to the humanitarian agency GOAL, there are 150,000 children living on the streets, some 60,000 of them in the capital. The average age at which children first find themselves homeless is between the age of 10 and 11 years. Health risks for youth from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are on the increase. Large numbers of young people who lack opportunities are involved in drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution and other criminal activities. Without job or educational opportunities in the urban areas, large numbers of youth are rendered jobless, homeless, helpless and hopeless.

A decade ago, the ruling regime in Ethiopia issued its “National Youth Policy” and asserted that “44% of the population is below the absolute poverty line. Under this situation of poverty, the youth is the hardest hit segment of society… The fact that the majority of the unemployed youth constitute females indicates the magnitude to which young women are the main victims of the problem.” Taken as a whole, the so-called National Youth Policy is nothing more than a blueprint for the recruitment of youth to become supporters of the regime and the ruling party. The policy directs that the “Government shall have the responsibility to direct, coordinate, integrate and build the capacity for the implementation of this policy.” Yet, as the International Growth Center study showed, the “current 5 year [Ethiopian] development plan 2010/11-2014/5, the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), does not directly address the issue of youth unemployment The “National Youth Policy” has been sitting on the shelf for a decade gathering dust, a manifest fact ascertainable from an international data base of national youth policies.

A tale of two generations: Need for dialogue between Ethiopian Cheetahs and Hippos

What time is it in Ethiopia? It is now Chee-Hippo Time. It’s now high time for Ethiopian Cheetahs and Hippos to talk, to dialogue and to reconcile. It is now time for Ethiopia’s restless Cheetahs and progressive, enlightened and forward-looking Hippos to come together, to think and act decisively together. Now is 2014!

By dialogue I mean formal and informal conversation between Cheetahs and Hippos across all forums–  from the dinner table to the halls of academia, from churches and mosques to civic associations. The topic of the dialogue is unlimited but the aims are specific. We need to have dialogues to question old ideas, keep the good ones and discard the rest. Dialogue is needed to change old, narrow-minded and counterproductive patterns of thinking. We need to dialogue to generate fresh new ideas about politics, government and society. We want to dialogue and brainstorm and generate innovative and creative solutions to persistent socio-political problems.  We need to dialogue so that we can agree to disagree in a civil and respectful manner. We need to dialogue to persuade each other on how best to right wrongs. We need a “new generation” to shoulder the task of coordinating the dialogue. Broadminded Cheetahs and Progressive Hippos can facilitate the dialogue.

What is NOT the purpose of the dialogue? The proposed dialogue is not to engage in recrimination, accusation and finger pointing. It is also not about bellyaching, heart aching or teeth gnashing about what happened or did not happen in the past. The Chee-Hippo sponsored dialogues have two purposes: 1) to begin intergenerational reconciliation, and 2) to develop consensus on the roles and division of labor between Cheetahs and Hippos.

Intergenerational dialogue cannot happen when there is a “language” barrier. I believe there is a failure to communicate between Ethiopian Hippos who often speak with silence and Ethiopian Cheetahs who are deafened by that silence. Let’s look at a few examples. When many of us Hippos talk about change we are concerned about removing the current regime and installing ourselves. The guys in power are bad, we are good. No, we are better; actually we are the best. The Hippos in power think that they are the sole agents of change. When we Hippos talk about leadership, we want the young people to follow our commands because we have power, experience, skills and/or knowledge. We want Ethiopia’s Cheetahs to become a flock of sheep and to follow us, their good and benevolent Hippo shepherds. We have great difficulty accepting the fact that we have dynamic youth leaders with extraordinary abilities who can think critically and act decisively; we do not want them to have a separate and independent existence from us.  We look down dismissively on the youth in general. We say the youth have little discernment or depth of understanding and should sheepishly follow what we tell them. “Children should be seen not heard.” We belittle them with outmoded sayings. “When children cook, they won’t cook enough to last for dinner” (lij yabokaw lerat aybekam). We do not respect youth ideas nor do we lavish them with praise and encouragement for doing things better or differently; but we are  quick to criticize and condemn them.   

When we Hippos talk about power, we mean power for ourselves without much accountability and transparency. The Hippos in power use power to divide and rule; they abuse power to cling to power; they misuse power because they can. Hippos out of power want power because they don’t have it; and if they have it, it is because power is an end in itself. Hippos do not use power to empower the disempowered or the powerless. The youth in Ethiopia are the most disempowered and powerless segment of society. That means 70 percent of the country’s population (66 million) is disempowered.

I believe Ethiopian Cheetahs have lost faith in Ethiopian Hippos. That faith can be restored only when there is mutual respect and understanding and honest and civil communication.  We must restore faith and reconcile with them by treating and relating to them as our equals. We must fully accept that their views, hopes and aspirations for Ethiopia are no less important or valid than our own. We must dialogue with them as equals and with respect.

Hippos teaching Cheetahs

The Cheetahs need to dialogue with us Hippos because we could be very helpful to them. We can teach them by example.  The first lesson Cheetahs must learn is that those who do not learn from the mistakes of their elders are doomed to repeat them. We have made many mistakes. The second lesson is that Cheetahs must overcome the deficits of Hippos and make a fresh start of their own.  I wish Hippos could teach Cheetah’s the virtues of courage, trust, sacrifice, honesty, integrity, endurance, tenacity and fortitude. We suffer from a “virtue deficit”, but we could discover and practice these virtues together. We could most certainly teach our Cheetahs to avoid many of our vices including arrogance, anger, suspicion, bigotry, corruption, intolerance, incivility, fearfulness, malice, vengefulness and narcissism. We can help them learn the art of clear communication and the virtues of accountability and transparency in public and private life.

Cheetahs teaching Hippos

Cheetahs can teach Hippos that social and political problems could be solved in a peaceful and nonviolent manner. Young people could be educated and trained not merely as war fighters but most importantly as peacemakers. They have the capacity to build healthy human relationships and rid a society of the plague of ethnic and religious hatred and strife. They could teach Hippos that it is necessary and possible to create communities that value cooperation, amity, consensus, peace, unity and hope. They could show us that they have the capacity to construct a “New Ethiopia” where we can all  live in peace, equality and justice. Cheetahs could teach Hippos that if they are invited and made genuine partners and allowed to participate in social and political organs of society, they could play transformative roles. If we listen to them in earnest, they could save us from ourselves. Imagine that! They could help us breakout of the walls of our ethnic prisons, unchain ourselves from imaginary fears and escape the bigotry and prejudice that has closed our eyes so that we are blinded from seeing the “New Ethiopia” on the horizon.

If Ethiopians have a chance of survival as a nation and as a people, that survival will depend on the creativity, stamina, determination, goodwill, commitment and sacrifices of its youth. That places an extreme burden on the youth. They must do the lion’s share of the heavy lifting, the hard work and the sacrifices. Similarly, if Ethiopians have a chance of survival as a nation and as a people, that survival will also depend on the active and sustained support of the older generation to the upcoming generation. We Hippos must do all we can to make sure our Cheetahs will not falter and fail. If they do, we must help them get up, dust off and do it again and again. We must stand by them all the way, no matter how long it takes. We must dialogue with them and tell them we will support them and love them; we will gladly serve as water carriers so long as they remain on the construction site of the “New Ethiopia”.

Ethiopia’s youth force is unstoppable. There is no force on earth, no dictatorship strong enough to defeat Ethiopia’s rising Cheetahs. We Hippos are well advised to follow the old saying, “if you can’t beat them, join them”. Let’s join the Cheetahs in dialogue! Let’s talk to them and ask them what they need. If they need and seek our counsel, let’s give it to them freely and generously. If they seek our technical support, let’s provide it to them. If they need moral support, let’s offer it to them. If they need material support, let’s raise funds for them. If they are going to do the heavy lifting, the bridge building, the road mending and mountain climbing, let us be their humble water carriers. Let’s be force amplifiers for our youth.

(Part II will follow.)

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.

The nocturnal riders ‘Quatiras’ & the diplomats of Addis Ababa

• January6/2014
• 
  Written by newbusinessethiopia

BY ABEBAYEHU GEBEYAW / agebeyaw@gmail.com
New year is coming soon with new spirit, new life.  And the summer is about to set out. But there is something this country has never gained as new year and always lacks though long awaited---prosperity.

It is everyone's wish, but how? Since poverty is deep-rooted. The latter has given the nation a hard time and Ethiopia has never been able to divorce from it. No matter how serious the hatred against poverty in amongst the people and even the soil, nothing has changed and remains intact.

With no doubt the summer (or winter in Ethiopia) is too severe, especially for some segments of the society. And it is hard to think of safety in the summer for those who always sing “Street is my home, the chill is my mom” as there are no option for them other than knitting plastics at the vicinity of boulevards, walkways and streets.

Pain

The situation they have been through and still go through portrays the magnitude of the daunting problem prevailing in the nation. They are living proof of the social crisis, developmental hurdles and bottlenecks of growth the country has been experiencing for years.

Feeling the pain, I once came out, not only to observe the day to day living situation of these street dwellers and the impact of poverty – the arch enemy of the nation – but also to understand and explore the way they live in the summer season wishing a poverty-free life.

This is what we are always looking forward to seeing. And we always wish to have a poverty-free nation – as the saying goes “Dream well and have good-will for further happiness.”

A study conducted in 2004 stated that there are over a hundred thousand street children solely in Addis Ababa. This number is on the rise following the ever increasing rural-urban migration.

The street life does not only embrace children and youth, but it also includes the elderly and both sexes. As is well known, they all live in plastic huts at the periphery of streets – particularly that of the highways and the ring road. They pass the day time under trees and the night under ring roads and bridges. They’re life is mysterious and begs curiosity.

It seems this harsh street life has now been well recognized. Though all citizens are multifarious in terms of age, social background, sex and the like – factors that pushed the majority of them to join the street life are alike.

Life

The major factors attributing to these people becoming victims to street life are, among others, family feuds and separation, poverty, rape (especially by close kinship) etc. People who leave home or depart from family members in such ways are too numerous to count..

To add new wounds to scars, some of these street dwellers unfortunately are people who have acquired education from prominent higher learning institutions. These have been highly exposed to a range of addictions.

It's quite unfortunate. Amazingly, I came across street dwellers that have lived in the streets for well over seventeen or so years, indulging themselves in that dire condition.

Needless to cite, a considerable number of street children are found in Addis Ababa. Providing them with food waste, alms and other things with sympathy, a handful of society and pass-buyers including students do not recognize them.

The majorities of people merely glance at street dwellers everyday and do not give them much attention or heed.

Everything they do – day and night – what they dream, hope and aspire for does not coincide with what the rest does. What a pity! What a shame! What regret! Are they living and enjoying life?

To be sure, it is a unique and amazing way of life. It is a life on another planet, another existence – totally disconnected from the understanding of many and distant from academic discussion and though. It is an extraordinary means of leading a life.

To the surprise of everyone, these so called street dwellers and parts of our society do have their own peculiar means and a communal life. They have enjoyed in their own unique and particular ways weddings; mourning for the deceased; and other related social observances.

They even have a parliament to discuss and debate on timely matters and critical issues. They even have embassies.

In a broader sense, it is a self-governing society parallel to the mainstream – as they have established a wider; and independent communal being, with a unique language and communication means.

I spent three days and nights observing the overall living situation of these street children and exploring other conditions found in various sub-cities of Addis Ababa and its environs. I also approached some members of this community for comments and talked to them about some points.

'Quatiras'.....Night Riders
The saying states: “Ken leserawit, lellit learawit,” Literary, 'Day for humans, night for wildlife,' This saying does not work for the street children of Addis Ababa. The night is just another day for street dwellers.

They technically call this state of spending the whole night wandering many places “Quatira”. Literary, the meaning is the ‘night to day’, which reflects their intention to dramatically convert the role of day into that of night.

This trend has two features: stable and mobile. And they assign people acting in tune with the two features.

Night riders, both the stable and mobile ones are expected to enjoy breakfast at 9 pm. Their major duty is spending the night wandering here and there around the city or outside.

“Long ago, I had never been tired of traveling here and there; but at present signposts with a view to depicting kilometers at every step have made me idle and exhausted easily,” says Tesfaye, a member of the mobile night riders. Street dwellers categorized under this section are duty-bound to work throughout whole night leaving and receiving messages till dawn. They take rest in at dawn when the night is completely over.

At 9 pm the work begins with a dose of Khat (a stimuli which is prevalent in the Horn of Africa) They begin undertaking various activities thereafter. Of the two categories of “Quatiras,” the day ones never are asleep at day time.

They have given names and assigned duties and responsibilities – as ‘drivers’ and or ‘poster admirers’. They also travel to Debre Zeit from Addis Ababa, on foot early in the morning.

Complimentary Video: Ethiopia's street children 

Lunch is served at Dukem and they keep on going to Debre Zeit. Right after spending the day there, it is customary to return to Addis Ababa employing the natural mode of transportation – do not forget the journey is accompanied by chewing Khat.

Coming back to Addis, this day Quatiras take lunch at a hotel in Dukem. They call the food secured from the hotel 'Fews' which literary means remedy. They beg for the 'fews' from the hotel. Of those street children, some are regarded as drivers as their starting and terminating point is not well defined.

They usually travel from Addis Ababa to Nazareth (Adama), Harar, Dire Dawa, Bahir Dar, Jimma, Wollega etc.…...

They also visit various places in the town they stay some time, searching for a better street life. The rationale behind to call some poster admirers is they most of the time travel admiring posters pasted on poles or streets with a view to promoting different organizations.

Assume we are now in Addis Ababa. Do you know that street children in Addis do not converge at certain streets or boulevards?  A newcomer who would like to join the street life should first get a ‘green card’ enabling him/her to live in the community. To do this, he/she is expected to go to the respective embassies.

Street embassies
Street dwellers in Addis do have various embassies in different places of the city.  These embassies are called Wollo Embassy, Bahir Dar, Harar, Dire Dawa, Wollega, Mekele, Jimma etc.. For example, a street child from Harar is expected to go to Harar embassy, ensure his/her acceptance and affirm his/her nationality to make sure he/she belongs to that group.

Simply, new comers have to go to embassies they belong to and get accepted. But the embassies in turn impose an important question on them.

They are requested to call street persons from where they come from by names. Fortunately, if they can call the name of a man or woman among the existing street dwellers, they will automatically get licensed and fully accepted.

And they will also be given a chance to settle around or nearby the embassy. Besides that, they are also invited to be members of parliament within the shortest time possible.

Street parliament
The street parliament does have its own speaker of the house. In the parliament it is compulsory to hold discussions, consultation and debates, which are in line with its system, rules and regulations.

The parliament in Addis Ababa is quartered in Megenagna ring road and bridge. The parliament carries out its day-to-day activities and discharges responsibilities between 1 and 7 am.

The stable night riders or 'Quatiras' always reach there on time. The street Parliament is not similar to that of a formal government. It knows no recession. It also relentlessly works everyday including weekends. When the parliament is in session, fire is set and at the center. In order to prevent the fire from blowing out, it is fed with thin plastic sheets and tires.

The senate employs Khat to foster activities and every member holds a bunch of it while discussing topics on agenda. Cigarettes are also consumed. The agenda presented to the parliament might be national or local. Issues revolving around the lives of the respective members could be top on agenda too.

Issues such as how can we notify others about our capacity and skill to come out of this harsh life? Where a new hotel has opened? How can we tie the owner with 23?  (Tie with 23 means, in their slang, in what way can we lobby the owner to receive the food waste - the ‘fews’; the 'remedy'. The Parliament also undertakes reconciliation.

It discusses deeds of bodies considered guilty. If one does not follow the ruling of the parliament, they will be fired----or banned from being a member. However, if they surrender and ask the parliament’s excuse pardon will be granted after analyzing the situation?

The other day, I attend a session of the parliament at 1 am. The agenda set for that specific session included:
►How can we present an art exhibition to showcase our untapped capacity and skill?
► how do we display street children’s creativity?
► who can sponsor and promote our works?
► Can we establish charity organization in favor of street children?

Meticulously discussing these and other related issues, the parliament passed a decision. After a while, labor divisions among the members of the parliament was handed out and parliamentarians took their assumed responsibilities.

I cited some points about the election held in 2005 in the country. Based on my talks, one of the youth told me what he had done in 2005. he was registered and held election campaigns to take part in the national elections representing street dwellers to be a member of parliament.

He said, “I was registered at national electoral board of Ethiopia representing street children. I had petitioned 3,000 children to elect me then. But after some time I got exhaustively tired as my electorates' were scattered and conditions became disordered.

“However, I had finalized preparations and worked hard for the 2010 national elections. Family supported my idea and helped me well.” ---- He refers to a cross section of street dwellers when he says family.

Dama and selamie (game and peace)
A number of factors have pushed children to lead a street life. Joining the street life has gradually been accompanied by activities that have a direct bearing to crime.

Simply, as some members of the youth have made abundantly clear “Life is haphazardly led in the streets. The way people treat us has pushed us all to commit crime”.

All nations and nationalities are well represented in the street life. In clear terms, one can find Ethiopia at in the streets. But on one does not have relatives at the time of crisis. “If we are sick for example, no one will treat us.

We have no family to share our problems and feel our pain,” some of them say.
Luckily, some of the youth I approached for comments about street life were very humorous, hilarious and sociable.

Paradoxically, I came across some street children who were desperate, fed up with conditions and tired of leading a street life.

For example, one of them said, “We are given a hard time to express our love for people; most of us have developed sense of hopelessness. It is due to these conditions that we have four males or so, making love with a single girl or woman.

Surprisingly, they say, almost everyone entertains 'dama'---action like a game. “And we are doing this driven by addiction and whenever we get drunk.”

Staying with 'Quatiras' for some time, it is customary for someone to hear them asking one another: Have you met 'selamie'?. Literary the meaning is my piece. This is to say heroin or other narcotics – not a girl or a woman whom they know the name of Selam.

Hidden talent
It is quite obvious and stated time and again that night riders 'Quatiras' are addicted to Khat and other some possibly to other things. They are also labeled as criminals. Surprisingly, however, of these street children are gifted as well.

For instance, among the street children we can find a poll of talent through artists, painters, dancers, poets, script writers etc. They sing “Street is my home, the chill is my mom,” and hide various talents. They are the street children of Addis Ababa with with a gifted mind.

I came across a night rider-who bore the talents of adancer. At night the street dance starts in front of Harar Bar located around a place commonly known as 'Chichinya'.

His day-to-day activity is dancing as he has developed the love for dance. Thus, he has spent countless nights performing local and foreign dance after 12 am – with the melody of the music from the bar. Chewing Khat and smoking cigarettes are part and parcel of his dancing expression.

He mimics rappers in both his movements and fashion. He attracts attention by coating one of his milky white teetch with glittering nail polish.

'Quatiras' have established their own communal living system. For example, in the way they seek medical treatment. Their medical doctor is found around Black Lion Hospital and he is a street dweller too. What a coincidence! “Birds of the same feather flock together,”.

Doctor Ja---provides them with medicine that heals them from disease. He has acquired certain skills to treat his compatriots. He treats his patience, who mainly arrive with symptoms of flew employing an interesting method..

At the vicinity of the area where he lives, there is a supermarket. Gathering the bones which are thrown away their Doctor Ja gets it cooked really well. He then prescribes a stew or soup to people who visit him seeking treatment. The treatment seems to work as the patients’ health improves.

Most of the street dwellers state, that the illness from which they suffer emanate from the chill and cold at night.

'Fews' 
Street children call the food they secure from various sources 'Fews.' It is of top on agenda in the parliament. The fews or the food waste from existing or new hotels and restaurants is well surveyed. And the time in which the ‘fews’ is available is recognized by the parliament.

“Dspite all this, we face an emerging challenge regarding 'fews'. Most hotels now have begun selling the food waste which they used to provide to us for free.  And there are 'fews' recipient organizations” they said.

This has disappointed many street children.. For example, the 'fews' from Sheraon Hotel is snatched away six times until reaches “Quoshe,” they said.  Quoashe' is the place around Reppi garbage...

They further stated that the first round of snatching is done from Sheraton to Mexico. Next from Mexico to Sar Bet. Then and finally, it is totally discarded at Quoshe.

Street children have given the 'fews', secured from various sources, different names. For example, they call what is gained from a wedding ceremony 'Sergo'. The name derives from the Amharic word for  wedding called ‘Serg’ ‘Fews’ from a mournful house is called 'eyeye'—which is a word showing sorrow and melancholy.

They call the food waste taken from a well known hotel or rich family 'Kiltitie' ---- fatty one.

In street life it is not customary or tradition to take food alone---a well integrated communal life is exercised. Plastic bags, cartons and newspapers are used as dishes to hold food in. Food is not the only thing that is share but money as well. One who has money usually shares it.

Whenever shortage of money or 'fews' occurs, one suffering from hunger is provided with a map-----showing where wedding festivities and or parties are being organized. The map also has guidelines showing what to do.

The guideline for instance gives these instructions: “If you come across a person like this as soon as you reach there, do not talk to him, but if you encounter such a person, greet him/her warmly as he will give you what you need.

Wedding and mourning
As stated earlier, street life is a mosaic of society and represents both sexes. But girls and women face peculiar challenges.

Rape is a primary problem. Getting married is a route used to escape from rape and imposition. There are street marriages though it is not accompanied by wedding festivity and legibility.

Females set criteria's for the ideal husband. Though having a Vila house and a car are not put as criteria's males who have plastic shelter and are capable of generating 'fews' are more preferable.

If a man fulfils these criteria, he is well fit for marriage.  A man can marry a girl with wedding festivity organized from 'fews' that comes out of hotels or restaurants. And the wedding is usually attended by 3 to 5 persons.

If the husband overlooks the issue of plastic hut and 'fews' the wife will leave him unprecedentedly. There is also a unique mourning culture among the street children.  The funeral is either carried out by two or three people or the municipality.

Those who want to make bereavement to the families of the deceased can go to the respective embassy. There is also a culture of baptizing new births.  Local beer or 'tella' is bought accordingly and people go to church. At this time, ‘fews’ taken from hotel is served.

House and plots of land
No street child possesses a home. However, in the streets houses are sold and rented. Plastic knitting we see nearby shops or around fences is huts to be sold and rented.

They can also be transferred to others in the form of heir. Plastic huts do not allow people to stand straight. So, street dwellers are forced to do things in the hut knelt down and creeping.

Cartons are used as a mattress. They also have pieces of cloths to put on at night.
If people want to return to their place of origin, they hand over the plastic hut to close friends in the form of heir or sell it for 50---60 birr. The majority of huts are owned by males.

Street children do not pay cash for rent but through remnants of chewed Khat followed by sugar and groundnuts. “No need of crossing Khat there. What is at hand could all be chewed,” street children say. But those who do not have plastic huts usually go to DC.

DC
DC is a name of a village around Merkato. In a very narrow house, three or four beds are stretched and piled up against the ceiling. The mattress is usually out of cotton or cartoon. Bed sheets are banners of hotels, banks and other organizations which were used advertisement.

“A person is charged seven birr per day for a bed. If they are two, the price rises up to 8 birr. But it used to cost 5 to 6 birr but has now increased due to the high cost of living.”

Street dwellers in the DC pass the night with a humor and kinship.  It is also customary to enjoy coffee – as is customary in Ethiopia.

Addis Ababa dwellers might know 'Minalesh Tera' in Merkato which literary means: “what do have, hill?” It is a market place which boasts all sorts of products people want and need. Street dwellers have a similar place known by this name. But the meaning is diametrically different from what we know and understand in mainstream Merkato.

'Minalesh Tera' in DC is a place where sex workers are found in abundance. Women and girls secure 30 to 40 birr per night. If they go to Merkato DC they can save seven or eight birr. These female street dwellers spend the day chewing Khat.

A young street dweller said, “If a person comes to 'Minalesh Tera' and makes love with girls forcefully or is not willing to pay, we are always by their side to support the women and girls.”

Incredibly, even foreigners go there to buy sex from the street girls. Street children call these foreigners 'citizens'.

Male night riders---'Quatiras' usually make money by selling a one birr condom for 20 or so birr. They also take care of cars when owners join bars or pubs.  Surprisingly sex workers have their own security.

The men who are chosen also live together with the ones whom they protect. And when commercial sex workers go out for business at night, the males accompany them.

በኢትዮጵያ የአደገኛ እጾች ተጠቃሚ ቁጥር በአስደንጋጭ ሁኔታ እየጨመረ ነው ተባለ

January6/2013

ታህሳስ ፳፰( ሃያ ስምንት )ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና :-ከቅርብ ጊዜ ወዲህ የአደገኛ እጾች ተጠቃሚ ቁጥር በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ መጨመሩን ተከትሎ በህጻናት እና በሴቶች ላይ የሚደረሰውም ጉዳት ጨምሯል።
የተወካዮች ምክር ቤት በቅርቡ የፌደራል ፖሊስ ኮሚሽን ኮሚሽነር ጄኔራል አሰፋ አብዩ ለተወካዮች ምክር ቤት ያቀረቡትን ሪፖርት ሰንደቅ ጋዜጣ በስፋት ዘግቦታል

በኢትዮጵያ በሶስት አመታት ውስጥ ብቻ 543 ሺ 439 ኪሎ ግራም ወይም 5 ሺ 434 ኩንታል  ካናቢስ ፣ 208 ሺ 172 ወይም 2 ሺ 8 መቶ ከንታል ኮኬይን፣ 409 ኪሎግራም ሄሮይን እና 6ሺ 300 ኪሎ ግራም አምፌታሚን የተባለ አደገኛ ዕጽ በቁጥጥር ስር መዋሉን ኮሚሽነሩ ተናግረዋል። በአጠቃላይ በአገሪቱ ውስጥ የሚዘዋወረው የካናቢስና የሌሎች እጾች መጠን በፖሊስ ቊጥጥር ስር ከዋለው በብዙ እጅ  እንደሚልቅ ባለሙያዎች ይናገራሉ።

ካናቢስ በማምረት አደገኛ ተብለው የተፈረጁት ቦታዎች ኦሮምያ፣ ደቡብ ፣ አማራ፣ አዲስ አበባ፣ ቤንሻንጉል ጉሙዝና ጋምቤላ ክልሎች ናቸው። በኦሮምያ በሻሸመኔ አካባቢ ከ2 ሺ 840 ካሬ ሜትር በላይ የካናቢስ ተክል ተገኝቷል።
በአደገኛ እጾች የተጠቁት ሴቶች፣ ህጻናትና ወጣቶች ሲሆኑ፣ ፖሊስ እንደሚለው ወጣቶቹ ወደዚህ ወንጀል የሚገቡት እጾቹ የሚያመጡትን ጉዳት ባለማወቅ፣ በጓደኞች ግፊት፣ እጾችንና መድሀኒቶችን በቀላሉ በማግኘት ነው። የስራ አጥ ወጣቶች ቁጥር መጨመር፣ ከስራ እና ከትምህርት ቤት ውጭ ወጣቶች የሚያሳልፉባቸው የመዝናኛ ቦታዎች በብዛት አለመኖር ወጣቶችን ለአደገኛ ሱሶች እንደሚዳርጋቸው ጥናቶች ያሳያሉ።

አንዳንድ የፖሊስ መረጃዎች እንደሚያሳዩት በአደገኛ እጾች ዝውውር ውስጥ ባለሀብቶች፣ ጸጥታ አስከባሪዎች እና የመንግስ ባለስልጣናት ይገኙበታል።

በሌላ ዜና ደግሞ በሴቶችና በወንድ ህጻናትና ወጣቶች ላይ የሚደርሰው ወሲባዊ ጥቃት ጨምሯል። ከሶስት አመት በፊት በ520 ተማሪዎች ላይ በተደረገ ጥናት 14 በመቶ የሚሆኑት በህይወት ዘመናቸው አስገድዶ መድፈር አጋጥሞአቸዋል። 26 በመቶው የመደፈር መኩራ፣ 25 በመቶው በአስገድዶ መድፈር ለአልተፈለገ እርግዝና ተዳርገዋል።

በሴቶች ላይ ብቻ ሳይሆን በወንድ ህጻናትና ወጣቶች ላይ እየተፈጸመ  ያለው የወሲብ ጥቃት እየጨመረ መምጣቱንም መረጃዎች ያሳያሉ። ኢትዮጵያን ጆርናል ኦፍ ሄልዝ ዴቨሎፕመንት የተባለው መጽሄት ባወጣው ሪፖርት ለወንድ ህጻናትና ወጣቶች መደፈር በምክንያትነት የቀረቡት ብስለት ማጣት፣ የወሲብ ፊልሞችን የማየት አጋጣሚ፣ የኢኮኖሚ ሁኔታ፣ የእጽ ተጠቃሚነት፣ የመጠላያ እጥረትና የጎዳና ላይ ህይወት መብዛት እንዲሁም ውስን የህግ ከለላ የሚሉት ይገኙበታል። ሀብታሞችና አዛውንቶች በጎዳና ተዳዳሪ ወንድ ህጻናት ላይ ጥቃት በማድረስ ግንባር ቀደም መሆናቸው በጥናቱ ተጠቅሷል።

በጥናቱ አስደንጋጭ ሆነ የቀረበው ፖሊሶችና ሌሎች ባለሙያዎች በጥቃቱ ተሳታፊ መሆናቸው እንዲሁም የምርመራው ሂደት ውጤታማ እንዳይሆን ከፍተኛ የመንግስት ባለስልጣናት ተጽእኖ ማድረጋቸው  የሚለው ከፍል ነው። አንድ የፖሊስ መኮንን  ” በጉዳዩ ጥቂት ደረጃ ላይ እንደደረስክ ርቀህ እንዳትሄድ በአንዳንድ ሃላፊዎች ትከለካላለህ። ከተወሰነ ደረጃ በሁዋላም ክትትል እንድታቆም ትታዘዛለህ ” ሲል ለአጥኚዎች ተናግሯል።

“አንድነት” የፀረ-ሽብር አዋጁን ለማሠረዝ የሚያስችል ድምፅ ማግኘቱን ገለፀ

Januarry 6/2014

የህዝብ ፊርማ ይዘን በፍ/ቤት ክስ እንመሰርታለን ብሏል
የፀረ-ሽብር አዋጁን በመቃወም “የሚሊዮኖች ድምፅ” በሚል መርሃግብር የህዝብ ፊርማ ሲያሠባስብ የቆየው አንድነት ለፍትህና ለዲሞክራሲ ፓርቲ፤ ህጉን ለማሠረዝ የሚያስችል በቂ ድምፅ ማግኘቱን አስታወቀ፡፡ ከ1ሚ. በላይ ፊርማ አሰባስቤአለሁ ያለው ፓርቲው፤ የህዝቡን ፊርማ በመያዝ ክስ እንደሚመሰርት ገልጿል፡፡ 

ፓርቲው ለ3 ወራት ባካሄደው ፊርማ የማሰባሰብ ዘመቻ የፀረ ሽብር አዋጁን ለማሰረዝ የሚያስችል ድምጽ ማግኘቱን የገለፁት የፓርቲው የህዝብ ግንኙነት ሃላፊ አቶ ዳንኤል ተፈራ፤ አሁንም ድረስ በውጭ የሚገኙ ኢትዮጵያውያን በኦንላይን እየፈረሙ በመሆኑ አጠቃላይ የፈራሚዎቹን ቁጥር መግለጽ ቢያዳግትም፣ እስካሁን ከ1 ሚሊዮን በላይ ፊርማ መሰባሰቡን አረጋግጠናል ብለዋል፡፡ የተሰባሰበው የፊርማ ብዛት ፓርቲው ከገመተው በላይ ስኬት መቀዳጀቱን ይጠቁማል ያሉት ሃላፊው፤ በአጠቃላይ የተሰበሰበውን የፊርማ ብዛት ፓርቲያቸው በቅርቡ ይፋ እንደሚያደርግ ገልፀዋል። 
“አንድነት” ፓርቲ በፀረ ሽብር ህጉ ላይ ያለው አቋም ሙሉ ለሙሉ ይሰረዝ የሚል እንደሆነ የጠቆሙት አቶ ዳንኤል፤ የተሰበሰበውን የህዝብ ፊርማ ለፍ/ቤት በማቅረብ፣ ህጉ ከህገመንግስቱ ጋር እንደሚጋጭና የዜጐችን መሠረታዊ መብት እንደሚጥስ በመጥቀስ ክስ እንመሠርታለን ብለዋል። ከፍ/ቤት ቀጥሎም ጉዳዩን ለፌደሬሽን ምክር ቤት እንደሚያቀርቡ የገለፁት ሃላፊው፤ ምንም እንኳ ከዚህ ቀደም በህዝብ ድምፅ ህግ የማሠረዝ እንቅስቃሴ ተሞክሮ ባያውቅም ፍ/ቤቶች እና  ምክር ቤቱ የፓርቲውንና የፈራሚውን ህዝብ ጥያቄ ተቀብለው ውሳኔ እንደሚሰጡ ተስፋ እናደርጋለን ብለዋል፡፡ በሚሊዮኖች የሚቆጠሩ ዜጐችን ድምፅ ዝም ብለን ሜዳ ላይ አንጥልም ያሉት አቶ ዳንኤል፤ የፍ/ቤቶች ገለልተኝነት አጠያያቂ ከመሆኑ አንፃር ጥያቄው ተቀባይነት ባያገኝ እንኳን ህዝቡ የተሣተፈበት የፓርቲው የትግል አካል ተደርጐ ለታሪክ ተመዝግቦ ይቀመጣል ብለዋል፡፡ 

ህጉ ይሠረዝ የሚል አቋማቸው በመንግስት በኩል “ለሽብርተኝነት ድጋፍ ከመስጠት አይለይም” የሚል ትችት ማስከተሉን ያነሳንባቸው አቶ ዳንኤል በሰጡት ምላሽ፤ “የወንጀለኛ ህጉ አልበቃ ብሎ የፀረ-ሽብር ህግ ራሱን ችሎ የሚያስፈልግ ከሆነም ከውጭ የተቀዳ ሣይሆን ከፍተኛ የህግ ባለሙያዎች የተሣተፉበት እንዲሁም ህብረተሠቡ በየደረጃው ውይይት ያደረገበትና የመላውን ህዝብ ይሁንታ ያገኘ ህግ ማውጣት ይቻላል” ሲሉ የፓርቲያቸውን አቋም አንፀባርቀዋል፡፡  ፓርቲያቸው በስራ ላይ ያለው የፀረ - ሽብር አዋጅ እንዲሠረዝ ጥብቅ አቋም የያዘበትን ምክንያት ሲያስረዱም፤ “ህጉ ከወጣ በኋላ በቀጥታ ፖለቲከኞችንና ጋዜጠኞችን ለማስፈራሪያና ለማጥቂያ በመዋሉ ነው” ብለዋል - ሃላፊው፡፡  

የፀረ - ሽብር ህጉን ለማሠረዝ የሚያስችል ድምጽ ማሠባሠብ መቻላችን አገሪቱ አቤቱታ ለማቅረብ ምቹ የዲሞክራሲ ቁመና ላይ መገኘቷን ፈፅሞ አያመለክትም ያሉት አቶ ዳንኤል፤ ፓርቲያቸው የፀረ-ሽብር አዋጁን በተመለከተ ህጋዊ መነሻ ይዞ ለመላ ኢትዮጵያውያን በይፋ የተቃውሞ ጥሪ ያቀረበ ቢሆንም ሠሞኑን በኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቪዥን እየተላለፈ በሚገኘው ዘጋቢ ፊልም ላይ “አንድነት ፀረ-ሠላም ለማድረግ መሞከሩ ተገቢ አይደለም” ሲሉ ቅሬታቸውን ገልፀዋል፡፡ በ97 ምርጫ ትልቁ የኢህአዴግ አጀንዳ “ኢንተርሃሞይ” እንደነበር ያስታወሱት ሃላፊው፤ በ2002 ምርጫ “ተቃዋሚዎች አጀንዳ የላቸውም” ወደሚል ቅስቀሣ መቀየሩን ጠቁመው፤ ለቀጣዩ ዓመት ምርጫ ደግሞ ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎችን “ፀረ-ሠላም ናቸው” የማለት እንቅስቃሴ  ከወዲሁ መጀመሩን ገልፀዋል፡፡ 

በሌላ በኩል ፓርቲው፤ ከዚህ ቀደም ሠላማዊ ሠልፍ እንዳላደርግ እንቅፋት ሆነውብኛል ባላቸው የአዲስ አበባ ከተማ አስተዳደርና ፖሊስ ላይ ክሡን ለመመስረት በዝግጅት ላይ እንደሆነ አቶ ዳንኤል ተናግረዋል፡፡ በዛሬው እለት አዲስ በተመረጡት የፓርቲው ሊቀመንበር በኢንጂነር ግዛቸው ሽፈራው ይፋ የሚደረገው የፓርቲው ካቢኔ የመጀመሪያ ስራ፣ የፀረ - ሽብር አዋጁን ማሠረዝ እና ክስ የሚቀርብባቸው አካላት ላይ ክስ መመስረት እንደሚሆን ሃላፊው አክለው ገልፀዋል፡፡

ኮካኮላ የቴዲ አፍሮ ውል እንዲሰርዝ ዘመቻ ተጀመረ (ከክንፉ አሰፋ) ጋዜጠኛ

January 6/2014

በ 2014 ብራዚል ለሚካሄደው የአለም ዋንጫ ላይ ቴዲ አፍሮ የክብር እንግዳ እንዳይሆን አዲስ ዘመቻ በእነ ጃዋር መሃመድ መጀመሩ ተሰማ።

 በዓለም ዙርያ ያሉ ኢትዮጵያውያን በሳውዲ ለተፈናቀሉ ወገኖች እየተረባረቡ ባሉበት በዚህ ፈታኝ ወቅት፤  ጃዋር እና ሜንጫዎቹ ጸረ-ኢትዮጵያዊነት ዘመቻቸውን በስፋት ተያይዘውታል።  በዛሬው እለት ከአዲስ አበባ በደረሰን ዜና መሰረት ኮካኮላ የቴዲ አፍሮን የአለም ስፖርት ፌዴሬሽን (ፊፋ) ስፖንሰርነት እንዲያነሳ ጠይቀዋል።  አዲስ አድማ ለመጀመርም ዝግጅታቸውን አጠናቀዋል። በ 2014 ብራዚል ለሚካሄደው የአለም እግር ኳስ ዋንጫ አፍሪካን ወክሎ እንዲገኝ ኮካኮላ ቴዲን የመረጠው መሆኑ ይታወሳል። የአለም ስፖርት ፌዴሬሽን (ፊፋ) ወጣቱ ቴዲ አፍሮ አፍሪካን እንዲወክል መምረጡ ዘረኞቹን አስቆጥቶ እንደነበር የሚታወስ ነው።

ቴዲ አፍሮ በአለም መድረክ ላይ የሚያቀርበው ኢትዮጵያዊ የሙዚቃ ቃና ሀገራችንን እና መላው አፍሪካን የሚያስጠራ ነው።   የሄነከኑ አድማ በኦህዴድ ብርቱ ጥረት የተሳካላቸው እነኚህ ባለ አድማዎች፣ ሰሞኑን የደስታ መግለጫቸውን በየድረ-ገጾቻቸው ላይ  እየተለዋወጡ እንደሆነ ተገልጿል። ሄኒከን ኮንሰርቱን የሰረዘው ከኦህዴድበተላለፈ ቀጭን ትእዛዝ ስለመሆኑ ማስረጃው አሉ።

እነ ጃዋር በዚህ አላበቁም። በዲሴምበር 8፤ 2013 በተላለፈ የአቶ ቡልቻ ደመቅሳ እና ሌሎች ምሁራን ቃለ-ምልልስ ምክንያት የጀርመኑ (ዶቸ ቨለ) የአማርኛ ድምጽ ሬዲዮ ጋዜጠኛ ከስራ እንዲነሳም ከአቤቱታ ጋር ቀጭን ትእዛዝ ለቦርዱ አስተላልፎ ነበር።  የዶቸ ቨለ ቦርድ ላይ ኦህዴድ ተጽእኖ ስለሌለው ይህ ዘማቻ ሊሳካ አልቻለም።

የኮካኮላው ዘመቻ የተነጣጠረው በቴዲ አፍሮ ላይ ሳይሆን በአኢትዮጵያዊነት ላይ ስለሆነ በአለም ዙርያ ያሉ ኢትዮጵያውያን ዝምታውን በመስበር በነዚህ ሰዎች ላይ የሶሻል ሚድያ ዘመቻ መክፈት ይገባቸዋል።

 ዘ-ሐበሻ

የህወሓት ስራ እስፈጻሚ ኣካል ዉስጣዊ ኣጀንዳቸው በተመለከተ በመቀሌ ከተማ ያደረጉት ስብሰባ ካለ መግባባት ተበተነ፣

January 6/2014

ህ.ወ.ሓ.ት ክፍተኛ የስራ ኣስፈጻሚ ኣካላት ሁነው በተለያየ የሃላፍነት ቦታ የሚገኙ የስርኣቱ ባለስልጣናት፤ በ ታህሳስ 8 2006 ዓ/ም በትግራይ ክልል መቀሌ ከተማ ባካሄዱት ምስጣራዊ ስብሰባና በተነሳው ኣጀንዳ መስማማት ላይ ሳይደርሱ፤ ተበታትነው እንደወጡ ከዉስጥ ኣዋቂዎች የደረሰን መረጃ ኣመለከተ።

መረጃው ኣክሎ በስብሰባው የህ.ወ.ሓ.ት ኣስፈጻሚ ኣካል ሁነው በሚንስተር መኣርግ ደረጃ ያሉና የክልሉ ኣስተዳዳሪዎች የተገኙ ሲሆኑ፤ በዉስጣቸው የሚፈጸም የህዝብ እና የኣገር ሃብት ብክነት በነማን እየተፈፀመ እንዳለ በግልጽ መታወቅ ኣለበት የሚል ኣጀንዳ በመነሳቱ ምክንያት ያልተዋጠላቸው እንዳንድ የስራኣቱ ኣመራሮች የተነሳው ኣጀንዳ እንዳልተቀበሉት ለማወቅ ተችለዋል::

ከነዚህ የህዝብ ገንዘብ በመዝመት ሃብት ያካበቱ ተብለው የተገለጹ ኣባይ ወልዱ፤ በየነ ምክሩ፤ ኪሮስ ቢተው፤ ኣለቃ ጸጋይና የሱ ሚስት የሆነችው ቅዱሳን ነጋ ሲሆኑ በስብሰባው ወቅት በመጀመርያ ሙሱና የመፈጸም ተግባር በዉስጣችን መጽዳት ኣለበት የሚል ጥያቄ መነሳቱ ደስታ ስላልፈጠረላቸው ያላቸው ሃላፍነት ተጠቅመው ስብሰባው ያለ ምንም ፍሬ እንዲበተን የሚቻላቸውን እንዳደረጉ የደረሰን መረጃ ኣክሎ ኣስረድተዋል::

source ዴ.ም.ህ.ት

ሃራባና ቆቦ ሆኖ የትግል ጥሪ ማቅረብ ህዝብን መሃል ሰፋሪ አድርጎ ለወያኔ ሴራ መንገድ ይከፍታል::

Janaury6/2014

 

ወይ ተባበሩ አሊያም ተሰባበሩ ======= አንድ እንጨት ብቻውን አይነድም!!!

ምንልክ  ሳልሳዊ :- ይህ አባባል ከቀድሞው ጊዜ ጀምሮ ተቃዋሚ ናቸው ለሚባሉ ዚግዛግ ድርጅቶች እና ግለሰቦች አየር በአየር በጥቅም ላይ የዋለች ጥቅስ አይሏት ምክር; አረፍተ ነገር አይሏት የፖለቲካ ምቀኝነት እኔም ዛሬ አነሳኋት:: እንዲህ አይሏት እንዲህ ..ያልኩት ይህን ስትነግራቸው ተቃዋሚ ነን ባዮች ጆሮዋቸው ለመስማት ያዳግተዋል:: ወይ ተባበሩ ወይ ተሰባበሩ እያልናቸው እስካሁን ባረጀ ፖለቲካ ሊታገሉ እና ሊያታግሉ የሚዳዳቸውን እነ በየነ ጴጥሮስን አይመለከትም :: ለምን ያመጡት ወይንም የፈየዱት ነገር የለምና ተሰባብረው ቁጭ ብለዋል::ስለዚ መልካሙን እየተመኙ ሳይጃጁ የፖለቲካ ፈውስ እንዲያገኙ እንጸልይላቸዋለን ወደ ሌኒን ::

አዎ ይህች እስከዛሬ ምንነቷ ያለየላት ቃላት ለመጠቀም የፈለኩት እየተዋወቁ ወደ ወያኔ ያሾሉትን ጥርሳቸውን እርስ በእርስ እንዳይነካከሱበት ለፈራሁላቸው ለአንድነት እና ለሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ነው:: ትንሽ አንድነት ፓርቲ አዛውንቶቹ ፖለቲካውን እያወላገዱት ቢሆንም ወጣቶቹ መልካም ጅማሮ አላቸው ድጋፋችንን እየሰጠን ሲሆን ሰማያዊ ፓርቲም ገና በፖለቲካ ምድጃ ላይ ከመጣዱ ጉዞውን በመልካም እየሄደ ያለ ነበልባል ሰራዊታችን በመሆኑ ሁለቱንም እናከብራለን:: 

አንድነት እና ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ወቅታዊውን ሁኔታ አገናዝበው በጋራ የሚሰሩበት ጊዜ መሆኑን ለመናገር እወዳለሁ:: እንደእኔ ተዋሃዱ ወይንም ተመሳሳይ የሆነ ጥያቄ ሳይሆን ለመናገር የወደድኩት በአሁን ሰኣት በሁለቱም ፓርቲዎች የተጀመረው የነጻነት እንቅስቃሴ በአንድ ወጥ በሆነ መልኩ በጋራ መካሄድ አለበት የሚል ምክራዊ አቋም አለኝ:: በዚህን ወቅት የጋራ የሆነ አገራዊ የነጻነት አጀንዳ ተይዞ ትግሉ መለኮስ አለበት:: ገና ሊለኮስ ክብሪቱ እና ማንደጃው ከነማገዶው የተዘጋጀውን የሃገር ቤት ትግል በጋራ ሆኖ ለኳኩሶ ማንደድ ግዴታ አለባችሁ:: ይህ ህዝብም አንድ አድርጎ የሚያቀናጀው መሪ ድርጅት ነው እንጂ ያጣው ሌላ ወኔ አላጣም:: መድረክ እያለ ራሱን የካበው ያረጁ የፈጁ ፖለቲከኞችን በጉያው የሚያባብለው ፓርቲ በመንገድ ግንባታ ሰበብ ወያኔ ከጨዋታው ውጪ አድርጎታል::

ውዶቼ ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ እና አንድነት ይህንን ለየብቻ ጎራ እየተለየ የሚሰራው የፖለቲካ ግራ መጋባት በህዝቡ ላይ እንዳይፈጥር በጋራ ሆናቹ ተነጋግራችሁ በጋራ ህዝብን ምሩት ካልሆነ የናንተ ሃራባና ቆቦ ሆኖ የትግል ጥሪ ማቅረብ ተባባሪውን ህዝብ መሃል ሰፋሪ አድርጎ ለወያኔ ሴራ መንገድ ይከፍታል:: ለየብቻ የምታደርጉት ጥረት መንገድ ቢይዝም አይሳካም አንድነት ሃይል ስለሆነ በጀመራችሁት ትግል ላይ አንድ ሁኑ::ራሳችንን ነጻ የምናወጣው እና የሃገራችንን እጣ ፋንታ የምንወስነው እናንተ ስትስማሙ የህዝብ ድምጽ የሚስተጋባው እናንተ በጋራ ስትሰሩ ሲሆን አንድ እንጨት ብቻውን ስለማይነድ እባካችሁ በነጻነት ጥያቄው ላይ ተባበሩ ,መርሃ ግብራችሁን ሳይሆን ህዝቡን አንድ አድርጉት:: ካልሆነ የፖለቲካ መደናበር ስለሚፈጠር ትሰባበራላችሁ::

እስር ላይ የሚገኘው አንዷለም አራጌ አዲሱን የአንድነት አመራር “ሕዝቡን ለመብቱ እንዲታገል አንቁት” አላቸው

January6/2014

(ዘ-ሐበሻ) በዘ-ሐበሻ አንባቢዎች ዘንድ የ2005 ዓ.ም የዓመቱ ምርጥ ሰው ሽልማትን ያገኘውና በ እድሜ ልክ እስራት በገዢው መንግስት ተበይኖበት ቃሊቲ የሚገኘው አንዷለም አራጌ ዛሬ ጠዋት ሊጠይቁት የሄዱትን አዳዲሶቹን የአንድነት ፓርቲ አመራሮች “ሕዝቡን ለመብቱ እንዲታገል አንቁት፤ ሕዝቡ መብቱን አውቆ ለመብቱ እንዲነሳ በማንቃት ለውጥ ለማምጣት ጠንክራችሁ ሥሩ፤ እንደምታደርጉትም ተስፋ አለኝ” ማለቱን ከአዲስ አበባ የዘ-ሐበሻ ዘጋቢዎች ገልጸዋል።

ባሳለፍነው ሳምንት የፕሬዚዳንት ነጋሶ ጊዳዳን እና ካቢኔያቸውን በምርጫ አሰናብቶ በአዲስ የሾመው አንድነት ፓርቲ፤ አዳዲሶቹ ተሿሚዎች ስልጣናቸውን ከተቀበሉ በኋላ የመጀመሪያ ሥራቸውን ያደረጉት በ እስር ቤት የሚገኙትን የፓርቲዎቻቸውን አባላት መጠየቅ ነበር። በዚህም መሠረት አዳዲሱ አመራር እስር ቤት ከሚገኙት የድርጅቱ አመራሮችና አባላት የሚያበረታቱ ምክሮችን መቀበሉን ከዘ-ሐበሻ ዘጋቢዎች ዘገባ ለመረዳት ተችሏል።

አንዷለም አራጌ በአዲሱና በወጣት በተገነባው የአንድነት ፓርቲ አመራር ደስተኛ መሆኑን ገልጾ “ሕዝቡን ለመብቱ እንዲታገል አንቁት፤ ሕዝቡ መብቱን አውቆ ለመብቱ እንዲነሳ በማንቃት ለውጥ ለማምጣት ጠንክራችሁ ሥሩ፤ እንደምታደርጉትም ተስፋ አለኝ” ብሏቸዋል። ይኸው የአንድነት ፓርቲ አመራር እዛው ቃሊቲ የሚገኙትን እነ ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋን ጨምሮ ሌሎች የሕሊና እስረኞችን ለመጠየቅ ጠይቆ መከልከሉ የታወቀ ሲሆን ወደ ዘዋይ ያመራው የአንድነት ፓርቲ ቡድን እዛው እስር ቤት የሚገኙትን ን የአንድነት የብሄራዊ ምክር ቤት አባል አቶ ናትናኤል መኮንንና በዚያ የሚገኙ ሌሎች እስረኞችን መጎብኘታቸውም ጨምሮ የደረሰን መረጃ ያመለክታል።

በሕወሓት/ ኢሕአዴግ አስተዳደር“በሽብርተኝነት ወንጀል” ተከሷል፤ በሌሎች ኢትዮጵያውያን ዘንድ ደግሞ የሕሊና እስረኛ ነው የሚባለው አንዷለም አራጌ ከዚህ ቀደም ከ እስር ቤት ተቃዋሚዎች የእኔን እስር ቤት መማቀቅ ልትጠቀሙበት አልቻላችሁም፤ ሕዝቡን ለማታገል ልትጠቀሙበት ትችሉ ነበር ሲሉ የነበረውን ድክመት መግለጹን ዘ-ሐበሻ መዘገቧ አይዘነጋም።

 

Are Ethiopian Opposition Groups Getting the Right Message Across?

January 5, 2014

by Adal Beyene

Recently, Jimmy Kimmel (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/jimmy-kimmel-on-obamacare-vs-the-affordable-care-act/) has asked some ordinary Americans on a street a simple question: Which do you think is better – Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act? Almost all those who were interviewed responded in favor of the Affordable Care Act but strongly opposed the ObamaCare. But, in reality the Affordable Care Act and ObamaCare are one and the same thing. So, how did the people got it wrong? The reason is that the Republican Party, which opposes the Affordable Care Act (ACA), does not want to call ACA by its correct name fearing that most people may start liking it. What members of the Republican Party did instead is to give ACT a catchy name—Obamacare, misleading a sizable portion of the American population.

Ethiopian opposition groups could get a valuable lesson from the above in terms of packaging a message to ordinary Ethiopians. For example, if one asks randomly selected famers, merchants, civil servants or students from either countryside or cities in Ethiopia: what is “Woyane” ? What would be their answers? Guess. Would an answer be “Tigrai people” or Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)? It definitely begs a study, informally or formally.

But, I think “Woyane” is a very confusing name. It does not represent TPLF in any form or shape. TPLF has been lucky in this regard. Look at other sister political groups in Ethiopia which have similar ideology as that of TPLF. These are Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) among others. The latter fronts are always called by their respective names, directly translated to local languages such as “Oneg” and “Obneg”, respectively. Most people in Ethiopia are familiar to the missions of OLF and ONLF but definitely confused about TPLF. The surprising thing is that one cannot find an equivalent local name for TPLF. What about “Thneg” ? This is much better than ‘Woyane” in communicating the true nature and mission of TPLF to an ordinary person. At least it is moral and ethical to call TPLF the same way as OLF and ONLF are treated in local languages. After all, all are our brothers and sisters.

Please stop using “Woyane”! If not, please clarify for what it stands for to an ordinary person. Does “Woyane” refer to the whole Tigray people or exclusively to members of TPLF (Thneg) ? Clarity of a message hits the target. For example, when TPLF was in the jungle it equated “Derg” (another confusing word for a farmer) to “Amara”, and as the result, was able to get unconditional support from many people in the north–Tigray.

For the last 22 years, the ruler of Ethiopia has been TPLF (Thneg), on the backs of the other 3 (OPDO, ANDM, SEPDF) “Saudi Arabia type housemaids”. I think it is time to call TPLF by its own name “Thneg” rather than “Wonaye”. Please STOP using “Woyane”. Here are the potential advantages (politically) of calling TPLF by its own name:

1. It puts TPLF in par with other libration fronts (e.g. OLF, ONLF). As the result, an ordinary Ethiopian can easily understand what TPLF stands for.

2. TPLF as a ruler of Ethiopia has not been standing for Ethiopian interest because of boxing itself in its main mission: secession of Tigray. There are numerous examples to cite for illustration. Just to mention one case, recall the war waged between Ethiopia and Eritrea over Badme, a small village in Tigray. TPLF (Thneg) took it as a high priority and was determined to get it back from Eritrean occupation at an outrageous cost of more than 70,000 precious lives. Even though at the end, it was given back to Eritrean. In contrast, it has been known recently that TPLF has signed an agreement with Sudan to give away 1600 km length by 60 km width of Ethiopian land from Gondar region. This area is several times larger than Badme. How on earth TPLF does this? The simple reason is that Gonder is not Tigray, and therefore it is not a concern for Thneg.

There are so many other examples one can look at how Thneg does business hiding behind EPRDF, such as EFFORT, military and security structures, and so on.

3. Even recently, Professor Dale Whittington, an expert on the Nile’s hydropower potential and who appeared on ESAT Focus program (http://ethsat.com/video/esat-focus-on-ethiopia-with-professor-dale-whittington/ ) , has disclosed that the Renaissance Dam on Abay River , which Thneg (TPLF) is trying to construct , is not designed for a general use by Ethiopians. As far as Thneg is concerned, the Dam is being built for the purpose of selling electricity to Sudan. According to the plan, the revenue that would be generated upon the completion of the Dam goes to Thneg coffer, as what Thneg has been doing sofar is to be a predictor.