The State, National Identity And The Role Of Ethnic-Federalism In Ethiopia

February 11,2016

by Mike A.

For the international community, Ethiopia is a country known for perpetual famine, poverty, and war. For Africa, Ethiopia is a vanguard for pan-Africanism, symbolizing strength and hope for many in Africa who sought independence from colonial powers. Ethiopia took on this position by virtually redefining chauvinist European perceptions towards Africa, and blacks in general. With the defeat of Italy in 1896, Ethiopia established herself as the only African country to successfully resist European colonization. 1896 did not mark the end of external aggression in Ethiopia. Fascist Italy, under the leadership of Benito Mussolini came to overturn his country’s humiliation in 1935; however now, with modern weaponry Ethiopians were unable to match.

Patriotic Ethiopians of all ethnic groups picked up their swords and outdated rifles with sheer determination and spirit that they will triumph over fascist Italy. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Fascist Italy used mustard gas indiscriminately and nearly annihilated the Ethiopian population at the time. Ethiopia’s modern national identity thus can be argued to have planted its seeds in these two historical experiences. In 1896, the Ethiopian patriots were led to the battlefield directly by the emperor at the time, Menelik II (Amhara). Others, notably Ras Gobena (Oromo), Ras Mengesha Yohannes (Tigray) amongst others were united, despite ethnic differences to defeat the Italian aggressors. The defeat of Italy in 1896 became known as the Battle of Adwa. Today, that history serves as the basis of Ethiopian national identity and history. Therefore, Jeffrey Herbst’s conclusion that “external threats have such a powerful effect on nationalism” is valid in the case of Ethiopia. (122, 1990)

Today, Ethiopia is home to over 94 million people who have a shared history that dates back to over 2000 years. Since 1935, Ethiopia has seen three political systems, all of which contributing to this perpetual cycle of famine, violence, and dictatorships. Emperor Haile Selassie I led a feudal system until a military Junta, the Derg led by Col. Mengistu Hailemariam, overthrew him in 1974. The Derg, a nationalist/Marxist-Leninist party ruled Ethiopia with an iron fist and brute dictatorship for 17 years. In 1991, a separatist group turned “nationalist” and overthrew the Derg. Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has since been ruling Ethiopia under minority ethnic based dictatorship. Today, 25 years into its divide and rule method of staying onto power, TPLF is facing the height of Ethiopian resistance, both civil and armed struggles.

Because of their tendency to suppress dissent, dictatorships by their very nature cannot allow the free flow of information, especially that brought by this new digital era. The reason is, as scholars like Francis Fukuyama argue, changes in political systems emanate from social transformation; hence, dictators need to contain and hinder social evolution if they are to stay in power for long. Fukuyama writes, referring to the third wave of democratization of the late 1990’s, that “the shift to democracy is a result of millions of formerly passive individuals around the world organizing themselves and participating in the political life of their societies.” He adds, “social mobilization is driven by … education, that made people more aware of the political world around them; information technology, that facilitated the rapid spread of ideas and knowledge..” and other factors.(17, 2011) Krasner further advances this argument as he concludes “technological changes has made it difficult, or perhaps impossible, for states to control movements across their borders.” (22, 2011) The minority government in Ethiopia, therefore- spends millions of dollars to jam diaspora based media outlets such ESAT and VOA precisely to contain the rapid spread of information from reaching those within Ethiopia to prevent social mobilization against its authority.

TPLF controls the monopoly of force in Ethiopia. Through the confidence of such monopoly, it rules with its own discretion without any regard to the rule of law. Its mere legitimacy to rule is based upon its control of the security and intelligence apparatus. Any dissent is crushed and journalists are imprisoned. A renowned scholar and one often regarded as the forefathers of modern Social Science Max Weber, proclaims that there are three forms of “legitimations” one needs to cease power of the state. “They are, traditional, charismatic, and legal.”(Weber, 73, 1958) In a modern and democratic society, legal legitimation is one that is appropriate. In Ethiopia, like many countries of the global south, this is not the case. Although the Ethiopian government puts on a show as an electoral-based democracy by holding restricted elections every five years, it is but far from that. Fukuyama states “authoritarians pay a compliment to democracy by pretending to be democrats.”(14, 2011) In the recent 2015 elections, the ruling party, “Ethiopian peoples Revolutionary democratic Front” (“EPRDF”) claimed to have won 100% of the 547 parliamentary seats that were up for grabs.

Weber writes, “the modern state is a compulsory association which organizes domination.” (82, 1958) The nature of such domination in the present Ethiopia is what I will examine. TPLF, the core party of the “EPRDF” coalition that rules Ethiopia today has organized the domination of key institutions not by meritocracy or competency but solely on ethnicity and loyalty to the few ruling elite. Foreign diplomacy, military leadership, intelligence, economy, amongst many other key apparatus of the state are controlled by ethnic Tigrayan who make up roughly 6% of the overall Ethiopian population. Gudina writes, “the major institutions, which are supposed to act impartially and promote democratic governance such as the election board, the parliament, the judiciary, the police, the army, and the civil administration as a whole are not fulfilling and not able to fulfill their duties impartially as per the country’s constitution.” (183, 2011)

Many scholars would argue that such unjust minority ethnic based administration would incur visceral reactions from the disenfranchised majority. Ethiopia’s polity could certainly be characterized as patrimonial, especially before the death of Meles Zenawi in 2012. Rotberg argues, “Patrimonial rule depends on a patronage-based system of extraction from ordinary citizens.” (87, 2002) He adds, “The typical weak-state plunges toward failure when this kind of ruler-led oppression provokes a countervailing reaction on the parts of resentful groups or newly emerged rebels.”(Rotberg, 87, 2002) This “countervailing reaction” has been unraveling in Ethiopia for the past two months from the Oromo people, the largest ethnic group who make up about 33% of the Ethiopian population.

In Ethiopia, ethnic-federalism has served the purpose of keeping ethnic groups exclusively to themselves. This architecture of governance was methodically engineered to prevent any unification of the ethnic groups against the minority ethnic-based leaders and elites. State outlined ethnic boundaries coupled with weak institutions will soon test the fabric of Ethiopian unity. Herbst underscores, “federalism often is inappropriate in countries where national institutions are not strong.”(127, 1990) He argues that in federalism, “incentives for leaders to attempt to gain total control are much greater than the barriers posed by recently adopted institutional arrangements.”(Herbst, 127, 1990) I would then argue that if there are no competent parties to balance the effects of such ethnic politics, then Ethiopia’s future is a storm being weathered.

The Oromo protests that have been the foci of anyone following Ethiopian current events would have noticed that political capital between the Oromo people and the government is virtually non-existent. The Oromo protests that started off as an opposition to the “master plan” or a policy intended to expand the capital city; Addis Ababa into the Oromia region was met with popular discontent and visceral reactions from Oromo students and farmers alike. This plan, many argue will displace millions of Oromo farmers to the economic benefit of the ruling TPLF elite. Despite the government’s willingness to abandon the policy after the deaths of approximately 150 innocent protesters, the protests continue on until today. The Oromo have chosen to no longer accept maladministration, and along with other ethnic groups in Ethiopia, marginalization from genuine political representation.

Today’s Ethiopian political dynamic does not secure its future stability. Rotberg, as he defines state failure concludes “weak states have the potential for definitive failure if ethnic disparities and ambitions provoke civil strife.” (89, 2002), This is all too familiar in Ethiopian politics mainly due in part by ethnic based federalism itself. It seems that Ethiopia is already set-up for further ethnic civil strife. The question here now is, will Ethiopia’s unity outweigh the consequences of unjust ethnic federalism? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, Ethiopia continues to experience a tense and fragile social capital. The scholars I’ve mentioned above such as Fukuyama, Rotberg, Herbst and Krasner all believe that institutions are key elements of a state and hence, without strong institutions, there exists no strong central government. The notion that Ethiopia is stable because there is yet no tangible conflict, the state has monopoly of force, or it’s infrastructure is not failing, in my perception is not necessarily indicative of the population’s discontent towards the regime. The need to stay in power by force implies that the Ethiopian government suffers from a political decay- a government that cannot accommodate its society according to the progressiveness of the people. The contributions of these scholars in the realm of understanding national identity, state failure, globalization/technological advancement, and democracy in relation to the state all have helped to broaden our knowledge about Ethiopia and the world in general.

Citation

Fukuyama Francis, The Origins Of Political Order (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011), pp. 3-25
Gudina Merera, Ethiopia: From Autocracy To Revolutionary Democracy, 1960s-2011 (Addis Ababa: Chamber Printing House, 2011), pp. 183
Herbst Jeffrey, War And The State In Africa, International Security 14, no.4 (Spring 1990), pp.117-39
Krasner Stephan, Sovereignty, Foreign Policy, (January/February 2011), pp. 20-29
Rotberg Robert, The New Nature Of Nation State Failure, The Washington Quarterly 25, no.3 (Summer 2002), pp. 85-96
Weber Max, Essays In Sociology (New York: Galaxy, 1958), pp. 77-87

Ethiopia Under the Boots of the T-TPLF Beast With Feet of Clay

February 8,2016

Author’s Note: This is the fourth commentary in a series dealing with land, land use, misuse, overlordship and ownership in Ethiopia. In myfirstcommentary, I examined the decline and fall of “Karuturistan”, the hundreds of thousands of hectares of land “owned” by Karuturi Global, in Western Ethiopia.  In the second commentary, I questioned if there is any country left for Ethiopians to live in after the T-TPLF sells off or gives away millions of hectares to neighboring countries or land-grabbing international scammers. In the thirdcommentary, I called attention to the fact that the so-called Addis Ababa Master Plan is actually a clever T-TPLF masters’ plan of urban removal into the surrounding areas so that T-TPLF crime families and their cronies could expropriate prime urban and semi-rural land.

The outrage never stops!

Last week it was reported that the

Ezdan Holding Group, chaired by Qatari royal Dr. Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani, wants to capitalise on Ethiopia’s strong economic prospects by building a resort in Addis Ababa covering 150 sq km, which is more than a quarter of the city’s current area…Prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn expressed ‘strong support’ for the plan in face-to-face meetings in Ethiopia, Ezdan said on 31 January, and promised to ‘resolve any obstacles or challenges that may be faced’ by the scheme.

Let’s face the brutal facts: Are they “building a resort” to make Addis Ababa the “sex tourism capital” of the Middle East? Or is it Africa?

Is “sex tourism” going to be the new foreign currency generator for the T-TPLF? It is not enough to sell the land, now they want to sell Ethiopian women’s bodies!

What the hell does it mean to say, “Hailemariam Desalegn expressed ‘strong support’ and promised to ‘resolve any obstacles or challenges that may be faced’ by the scheme.” Is it a “scheme” or a scam? Pimping a scam?

I can smell a rat from 9 thousand miles away. Let me tell you, I smell a humongous rat in the Qatari resort deal.

For crying out loud, when will the rape of Ethiopia stop?!!!

Doggone it! They make me sick to the stomach!

Uprising from under the boots of a Beast with feet of clay

In this commentary, I aim to draw the major lessons from the ignominious “defeat” of the “Addis Ababa Master Plan”, or more accurately, the T-TPLF Master’s Land Grab Plan (Thugtatorship of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front).

For the record, the “Addis Ababa Master Plan” is not dead. Anyone who believes the T-TPLF propaganda that the Plan has been dropped and abandoned, and its planning offices closed and that the whole thing was only a conceptual design is doggone damned fool. No apologies!

But what are the important lessons to be learned from the popular protests and acts of civil disobedience to T-TPLF’s predatory land-grabbing in the outskirts of Addis Ababa?

What are the implications of the successful popular resistance against T-TPLF land-grabbing in the struggle against T-TPLF oppression and most importantly for a post-T-TPLF Ethiopia?

Did the “defeat” of the T-TPLF Master’s Land Grab Plan prove that massive and coordinated  national acts of civil disobedience can transform the political landscape in Ethiopia?

In March 2007, I wrote an allegorical commentary  entitled “The Hummingbird and the Forest Fire”. In the manner of that proverbial humming bird, for the past ten years in my weekly Monday commentaries, I have tried to put out the “forest fire” of ethnic hatred and division and  sectarian conflict stoked by the T-TPLF and prevent political implosion. I have been as successful as the proverbial humming bird that tried to douse out the forest fire with droplets of water carried in its tiny beak.

But I have always believed the job of firefighting was best left to Ethiopia’s young people. That was what I prescribed in 2007:

Let us never doubt that our young firefighters, though they may inherit a society devastated by decades of political repression and human rights abuse, will one day be able to build a City Upon a Hill — a just, humane and pious society — where no man or woman will fear his or her government, where government will dutifully respect the rights and liberties of its citizens, where every person can stand tall and freely speak his or her mind, and where no man, woman or child will ever lose life, liberty of property without due process of just laws.”

The “forest fire” that I spoke about in 2007 is today a five fire-alarm fire fast consuming the “Ethiopia House.”  If good and patriotic Ethiopian men and women do not come together in aid of their country, there will only be ashes left. That would be a dream come true for the T-TPLF, but it will be an epic tragedy for everyone else.

Ethiopia’s young firefighters today are jailed wholesale. If they speak up or write, they are persecuted and prosecuted. If they protest, they are shot in the streets like wild animals. If they proclaim political neutrality or independence, they are denied job and educational opportunities. If they want start a business, they are scalped and forced to pay bribes and sell their souls to the T-TPLF. If they stand up for their rights, they are forced to kneel before the T-TPLF overlords. Ethiopia’s young people are leaving the country into exile by the tens of thousands every year.  They are harassed, intimidated and persecuted if they fail to slavishly serve the T-TPLF masters.

Who can save the burning “House of Ethiopia”?

Who can cut the fuse on the Ethiopia powder keg?

Dreams of an Ethiopia at peace with itself   

I am inspired by dreams.

I am inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream of an America at peace with itself and the world. I believe in his dream of “hew[ing] out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope” and “transform[ing] the jangling discords of [a] nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.  With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.” I believe this to be true, every word of it!

Nelson Mandela said, “I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.” He said, “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” I believe this to be true, every word of it!

When Dr. King talked about his dream, he was speaking in the African American prophetic tradition. It is a tradition that simply says in the face of the catastrophe of white supremacy, slavery, segregation and discrimination “we’ve got to analytically understand it, we’ve got to prophetically bear witness, and we’ve got to generate forms of fightback that organize and mobilize” against oppression through united action across the color, ethnic and racial lines with integrity, honesty and decency.

I am also inspired by prophetic dreams in Scripture.  Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon dreamt of a gigantic statue made of gold, silver, bronze and clay. Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream a stone “not cut by human hands” destroying the statue and becoming a mountain filling the whole world. I believe Dr. King was referring to the same mountain when he dreamt of “hew[ing] out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope”. Daniel explained to Nebuchadnezzar that the statue represented four successive kingdoms beginning with Babylon, while the stone and mountain signified a kingdom established by God which would never be destroyed nor given to another people.

The T-TPLF has been a nightmare in Ethiopia for the past quarter of a century. The T-TPLF has visited the nightmare of ethnic division, sectarian conflict, human rights violations, corruption, stolen elections and wholesale persecutions.

My dream is to see the T-TPLF swept into the dustbin of history and the rise of a truly democratic society in Ethiopia that is at peace with itself. In July 2012, I wrote about mydreams of an Ethiopia in Peace. I also made a prediction:

There is volcanic pressure building up slowly but surely in Ethiopia. We see small precursor eruptions here and there.  Public dissatisfaction with the status quo has turned to utter public desperation. People cannot afford the basic necessities of life as inflation and cost of living soar to new heights. Corruption, abuse of power, massive repression and poor governance are about to blast the dome on the grumbling volcano. The situation is deteriorating by the day. One has to assume that against the backdrop of the “Arab Spring”, Ethiopia’s iron-fisted rulers must be a little worried about the winter of discontent of the Ethiopian people being made glorious by a democratic Summer.

Is the T-TPLF nightmare coming to an end?

What are the lessons to be learned from the “defeat” of the “Addis Ababa Master Plan”?

Lesson No. 1: The T-TPLF has feet of clay.

I believe the T-TPLF to be that evil Beast with feet of clay. When gazed upon, the T-TPLF appears awesome, formidable and infinitely powerful. It has guns, tanks, rockets, planes and bombs. Though the T-TPLF has legs of iron, its feet are made of clay.

The massive popular resistance to the “Addis Ababa Master Plan” proved the T-TPLF has feet of clay. The T-TPLF also got a glimpse of the one thing it fears and dreads the most, the one thing that keeps the thugs awake and sleepless all night, every night: Massive popular resistance!

The T-TPLF tried to ram down the throats of struggling farmers living on the outskirts of Addis Ababa its “master plan”. It was a plan devised by minds most evil, an insidious plan calculated to rip-off land from hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions, of poor subsistence farmers.

But the T-TPLF Beast was powerless against people power. The T-TPLF went out and shot hundreds of unarmed protesters and jailed hundreds more. But they kept on coming here, there and everywhere. The T-TPLF finally faced the fear that resides in its bone marrow: The people united can never be defeated. When the going got tough for the people of Oromia, the tough people of Oromia got going. The people of Oromia showed they were infinitely tougher than the T-TPLF Beast with feet of clay.

The Beast sent out its flunkeys servants to make a public confession: “There was not a plan that had taken shape following discussions with the people. There was not a [plan] that was designed in a professional way or scientifically prepared for a final political decision.” Like hell there wasn’t…

Practical lesson No. 1: When the Beast is confronted by people power, the Beast backs down, stands down and in the end is run down.

Lesson No. 2: Mass civil disobedience and peaceful resistance can defeat the Beast.

It is a lesson Winston Churchill knew all too well:

You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police … yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home — all the more powerful because forbidden — terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.

The mighty T-TPLF has all the bayonets, tanks, guns and planes. But when groups of young people confronted bayonets, tanks, guns and planes (helicopters), the T-TPLF was thrown into complete panic. If the T-TPLF is so terrified of words and thoughts that it is willing to imprison journalists, is it that difficult to imagine the terror and panic it felt when young people fed up with land rip-offs showed up defiantly in the streets to fight for their  land?

When the T-TPLF faced young people power, it made a killing field everywhere massacring hundreds of them without batting an eye. When the T-TPLF got the clear and simple message, “You will steal our land over our dead bodies.”, it backed down. The T-TPLF Beast left with its tail between its legs, temporarily.

The T-TPLF knows it is doomed because it does NOT have the hearts and minds of the people. No oppressor, no tyrant can continue to rule only  through brute force. The T-TPLF is not concerned about the people who aim to resist it by force of arms. The bloodthirsty T-TPLF has infinitely more arms than its adversaries. But the T-TPLF stays sleepless trying to figure out what lurks in the hearts and minds of the tens of millions under its suffocating boots. The T-TPLF knows a powder keg with a short fuse is buried in the hearts and minds of its adversaries.

Practical Lesson 2: When faced with the young people’s wrath and steely determination, the T-TPLF Beast showed it had cold feet of clay.

Lesson 3: The T-TPLF Beast is the most cunning, conniving, wily, scheming, evil, crooked, vicious, diabolical, wicked, shadowy and Machiavellian political organization to be found anywhere on the planet.

Those who may delude themselves into believing that the T-TPLF will simply walk away from its land-grab fest are sorely mistaken. There are two compelling reasons why the T-TPLF will continue its land-grab in the jurisdictions surrounding the capital by any means necessary.

First, the T-TPLF believes its long term survival depends upon completely neutralizing and dispersing all opposition to its rule in the capital. Following the 2005 election, opposition parties won all 23 seats in the capital. The T-TPLF realized that the only way it can survive and consolidate its power in the capital was by completely destroying historical settlements, community networks and neighborhood patterns. Using the pretext of urban planning and metropolitan development with funding from the World Bank, the T-TPLF began a massive urban removal program in Addis Ababa uprooting populations and displacing and scattering them in semi-rural areas surrounding the capital. A scattered population is incapable of exerting pressure or acting collectively to assert its rights.

The first prong of the T-TPLF’s strategy could be viewed as a sophisticated gentrification program in which the kleptocratic T-TPLF overlords and their cronies and parasitical elites would gobble up poor neighborhoods in the capital displacing low income families.

The second reason is that the T-TPLF must have its crime families own as much of the physical space of the capital as possible. Because Addis Ababa is the soci0-economic and political crucible of the country and diplomatic center for the continent, the T-TPLF wants to maintain a complete monopoly on all economic activity. The more physical space the T-TPLF controls in the capital, the more construction it can undertake and the more money it can make hand over fist.

For the T-TPLF to have any chance of long-term political survival, it must completely destroy Addis Ababa’s  social fabric, community network and life style and reinvent the capital in its own image.  The T-TPLF will do whatever it takes to grab that land in the areas surrounding Addis Ababa. After all, if their plan works the T-TPLF will eat up some 36 cities and towns surrounding Addis Ababa. That’s a lot of moolah (cash) for the T-TPLF overlords!

The ONLY way the T-TPLF can accomplish its political and economic objectives is by removing people from the capital into the surrounding areas which in turn has the cascading effect of more displacement in the surrounding areas creating in-migration into the city from surrounding areas.

The T-TPLF Land Grab Plan B has infinite parts and it will be implemented quietly,  unofficially, invisibly, unstoppably and without fanfare. Here are some of the elements of Plan B:

1) lull everyone into thinking there is no master plan and bide their time until the people in the affected areas let their guards down;

2) reinvent the master plan by some other sweet-sounding name such as “Oromia Urban Development Project”;

3) pretend to “work” with the people of Oromia to get another community project (not plan) implemented;

4) masquerade as private developers partnering with locals to do different “projects”;

5)  use local frontmen and bagmen to secretly buy land for later transfer.

6) land-grab piece by piece in a random pattern so the people in the affected area won’t even blink;

7) create make-believe cover projects to acquire land; and

8)  systematically and methodically neutralize those who oppose their land-grab by a) buying them off, b) scaring them off, c) threatening and intimidating d) jail and torture them and e) killing (massacring) them. In other words, use standard T-TPLF operating procedure.

Practical Lesson No. 3: The T-TPLF will be back with a vengeance to implement its Master Plan B to grab and consolidate the same areas designated in the “Addis Ababa Master Plan.” The T-TPL has no choice but to continue the land-grab in areas surrounding the capital because it cannot survive politically or economically without it.

Lesson No. 4: Massive nonviolent resistance can defeat the mightiest and most brutal oppressor.  The T-TPLF knows its day of reckoning has arrived.

Everyone now knows that the massive acts of civil disobedience against the T-TPLF’s Masters’ Plan have produced stunning results. What if such acts of civil disobedience and non-cooperation were replicated in every hamlet, town, city and region in Ethiopia?

Dr. King taught that there comes a point in every society  when people are no longer able to tolerate injustice. The oppressor will not set his victims free willingly or give up his privileges voluntarily. Freedom is never freely given by the oppressor. The oppressed must demand their freedom.  That point in time has arrived in Ethiopia!

I know that there are many in the Ethiopian community at large who say even a massive non-violent movement will not dislodge the T-TPLF from power. They appear to believe that one must fight fire with fire and exact an eye for an eye. Gandhi said, “I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence… I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should, in a cowardly manner, become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonor.”

It is obvious to me that violence only begets violence in an unending cycle stoked by hate, revenge and retribution. But to those who believe the cause at hand is about defending the honor of Ethiopia and the only choice is between cowardice and violence, I say, “Have it your way.”

I should like to think that an exception to the rule does not make the rule. That force may be necessary in an extraordinary circumstance does not mean it is necessary in ordinary circumstances. The inverse appears to be true at least logically.

My view is that those who make peaceful change impossible make violent revolution inevitable. So ultimately, I believe the choice of whether change will be peaceful or violent is exclusively in the hands of the oppressor, not the oppressed. By refusing to allow peaceful change and serve the hopes and aspirations of the people, the oppressor forces the oppressed to force violent change upon it.

The purpose of civil disobedience is to bring about change in unjust laws and build a just and fair society. It is a political act performed in the cause of justice and to justify what is good for the whole, not a group or an individual.   An act of civil disobedience is necessary to overcome a long train of abuses and deprivation of the rights of political citizenship.

Dr. King taught there are four basic steps in a nonviolent (civil disobedience) campaign: “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action”

What is the purpose of direct action? Dr. King said the purpose of “direct action” is “to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue… the purpose of direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.”

Civil disobedience is one mode of direct action. The essence of civil disobedience is that there is no moral obligation to obey “an unjust law” which is “no law at all.” It is a pretend law; it is the law the oppressor uses to oppress and inflict injustice on his victims. Any law that denies a person basic human rights is an unjust law and worthy of no obedience. In fact, disobedience against an unjust law is the moral right and an imperative of the oppressed.

For Dr. King, all segregation laws were unjust because those laws were in disharmony with the natural law or God’s law. Segregation laws had the singular aim of dehumanizing their victims and empowering the perpetrators. That is why Dr. King urged protesters and all forms of civil disobedience against segregation laws.

The oppressor will always try to crush any acts of civil disobedience by overwhelming force. The oppressor will unleash extreme violence. The oppressor will try to paint peaceful protesters as thugs, gangsters, hoodlums and criminals when they protest. The more the oppressor uses force, the more the oppressed will use counter-force of resistance, non-cooperation and civil disobedience against the oppressor.

Practical Lesson No. 4: Civil disobedience by definition must be civil because civilized civilians in disobedience of the laws of the bush are motivated by the concerns of civilized citizens against brutes and savages.

Those who change peaceful change impossible will make violent revolution impossible

The T-TPLF is fast approaching its day of reckoning. What happens to the T-TPLF is in T-TPLF’s hands. It can choose the path of peaceful change or it can invite violent revolution.

Regardless, the T-TPLF Beast will soon be carried away and “become like chaff from the summer threshing floors.” It will be “carried in the wind so that no trace of them is found” and those who have troubled the Ethiopia House “shall inherit the wind.” It is so written!

TO BE CONTINUED….

የአውሮጳ ፓርላማ ኢህአዴግን “ልክ ሊያስገባ”?!

January 24,2016

ውሳኔው “ውስጡ በብረት የተወጠረ የቦክስ ጓንቲ ነው”

* ውሳኔው “ማዕቀብና የዕርዳታ ቅነሳ አያስከትልም” አና ጎሜዝ

* የቴድሮስ አድሃኖም “ዲፕሎማሲያዊ ልመና” አልሰራም

የአውሮጳ ፓርላማ ሐሙስ ዕለት ባለ 19 ነጥብ ውሳኔ ህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ በሚገዛት ኢትዮጵያ ላይ አስተላልፏል፡፡ ጉዳዩ ኢህአዴግ “ልክ ሊገባ ይሆን” የሚል አመለካከት ጭሯል፡፡ ረቂቁ ለውይይት እንዳይቀርብ የቻሉትን ያህል የጣሩት ቴድሮስ አድሃኖም “ዲፕሎማሲያቸው” አልሠራም፡፡ ውሳኔው “ማዕቀብና የዕርዳታ ቅነሳ አያስከትልም” በማለት አና ጎሜዝ ተናገሩ፡፡ ጉዳዩን በቅርበት የሚከታተሉ ውሳኔው “ውስጡ በብረት የተወጠረ የቦክስ ጓንቲ ነው” ብለውታል፡፡

የአውሮጳ ፓርላማ ሐሙስ ዕለት የኢትዮጵያን ጉዳይ በተመለከተ የቀረበለትን ረቂቅ ውይይትና ክርክር ካካሄደ በኋላ በከፍተኛ አብላጫ ድምጽ ያለ አንዳች ማሻሻያና ለውጥ እንዳለ አጽድቆታል፡፡ ጉዳዩን ከሥሩ ሲከታተሉና ለኅብረቱ መረጃ ሲያቀብሉ የነበሩ ወሳኔው ከፍተኛ ድል እንደሆነ ይናገራሉ፡፡ ለበርካታ ዓመታት ህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ ሲያደርስ የነበረውን የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ረገጣ፣ ግፍ፣ ግድያ፣ … በመረጃነት እንዲቀመጥ ሲለፉ ከነበሩ የሰብዓዊ መብት ተሟጋቾች እንደሚነገረው ፓርላማው በዚህ መልኩ በይፋ ውሳኔ ማስተላለፉ ወደፊት በህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ ሹሞች ላይ ክስ ለመመሥረት እንደ ወሳኝ መረጃ የሚጠቀስ ሰነድ መሆን እንደሚችል ያስረዳሉ፡፡ ጊዜውን እየጠበቀ ኢህአዴግ “ልክ የሚገባበት” ወቅት ሩቅ አይሆንም ሲሉ አስተያየታቸውን ሰጥተዋል፡፡

ከህዳር ወር ጀምሮ በተለያዩ የኦሮሞ ከተሞች በተነሳው ሕዝባዊ ዓመጽ እስከ ሁለት መቶ የሚደርሱ ንጹሃን መሞታቸው እየተሰማ ባለበት ወቅት አሜሪካ “ጉዳዩ አሳስቦኛል” ከማለት ያላለፈ መግለጫ ስትሰጥ ብትቆይም ለበርካታ ዓመታት የኢህአዴግ ሸሪክ ሆኖ የቆየው የአውሮጳ ፓርላማ እጅግ ሰፋ ያለና በርካታ ጉዳዮችን የዳሰሰ ውሳኔ ማስተላለፉ አሜሪካም በኢህአዴግ ላይ ያላትን አቋም እንድትመረምር የሚያደርጋት እንደሚሆን እና ይህም በስፋት እንደሚሰራበት ጉዳዩን የሚከታተሉ ወገኖች እምነት ነው፡፡

የፓርላማው አባልና በረቂቁም ሆነ በውሳኔው አሰጣጥ ላይ ከፍተኛ ተጽዕኖ ያደረጉት አና ጎሜዝ የአሜሪካ ድምጽ ሬዲዮ ላቀረበላቸው ጥያቄ ሲመልሱ ውሳኔው “ማዕቀብና የዕርዳታ ቅነሳ አያስከትልም” በማለት ገልጸዋል፡፡ ሆኖም የሰብዓዊ መብቶች መከበር፣ የሚዲያ ነጻነት፣ የእስረኞች መፈታት፣ የፖለቲካ ምህዳሩ መስፋት፣ እና ሌሎችም በውሳኔው ላይ የተካተቱትን ነጥቦች ኢህአዴግ ያከብራቸዋል ብለው እንደሚያስቡ ተናግረዋል፡፡ ይህ “በፖለቲካዊ ትህትና” የተገለጸው የአና ጎሜዝ አነጋገር “ውስጡ በብረት የተወጠረ የቦክስ ጓንቲ ነው” በማለት ጉዳዩን የሚከታተሉ ለጎልጉል አስተያየታቸውን ሰጥተዋል፡፡

የጀርመን ድምጽ ሬዲዮ በበኩሉ ለአና ጎሜዝ ላቀረበላቸው ጥያቄ የመለሱት የውሳኔውን ኃይልና ግዝፈት የሚጠቁም ነበር፡፡ ውሳኔው በሙሉ ድምጽ በሚባል መልኩ የብዙዎቹን ፓርቲዎች ድጋፍ በማግኘት መተላለፉ ከኢህአዴግ ጋር ሲሞዳሞዱ የነበሩ የአውሮጳ አገራት ወደፊት በተናጠል ስለሚኖራቸው ግንኙነት በጥሞና እንዲያስቡ የሚያደርግ ነው ብለዋል፡፡ ኅብረቱ ከእንግዲህ ወዲህ የሚያደርገው ዕርዳታ ከሰብዓዊ መብት ጥሰት ጋር የተቆራኘ መሆኑን እንዲመረምር የሚያደርግ እንደሆነም ገልጸዋል፡፡ ሲቀጥሉም “ፓርላማው መልዕክት ማስተላለፍ የፈለገው (ለህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ) ብቻ ሳይሆን በኢትዮጵያ የሚደረገውን የመብት ጥሰት አይተው እንዳላዩ ዓይናቸውን ጨፍነው ለሚያልፉ የአውሮጳ ኅብረት አባል አገሮችና ለአፍሪካ ኅብረትም ጭምር ነው” ብለዋል፡፡ “የአውሮጳ ኅብረት (እንደ ህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ) ዜጎቹን ለሚጨቁን አገዛዝ ዕርዳታ እያደረገ ሊዘልቅ አይችልም” በማለት ኢህአዴግ “ልክ ይገባል” የሚል እንድምታ ያለው አስተያየት ሰጥተዋል፡፡

ረቂቁ ወደ ፓርላማው ከመቅረቡ በፊት የተቻላቸውን ተጽዕኖ ለማድረግ ሙከራ ያደረጉት ቴድሮስ አድሃኖም በፌስቡክ የታገዘውና “ዘመናዊ” ተብሎ የሚነገርላቸው “ዲፕሎማሲ” የአውሮጳን ፖለቲከኞች ሳያሳምን ቀርቷል፡፡ ብራስልስ ከአውሮጳ ፓርላማ ከፍተኛ ኃላፊዎች ጋር ያደረጉትን “ውይይት” “Very productive meeting with …” በማለት ፌስቡክ ገጻቸው ላይ ከፈገግታ ጋር በታጀበ ፎቶ ሲያስተዋወቁ የነበሩት ቴድሮስ፤ ከህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ ዓላማና ፍላጎት በተጻረረ መልኩ ፓርላማው ውሳኔ ማስተላለፉ በዲፕሎማሲ ብቃት ማነስ በኢህአዴግ በኩል ሊያስገመግማቸው እንደሚችል ይገመታል፡፡ ለዚህም ይመስላል “የዲፕሎማሲ ሥራቸው” በፍጥነት ከብራልስ ወደ ባይደዋ ሱማሊያ “የወረደው”፡፡ ይህ ዜና እስከተጠናቀረበት ጊዜ የአውሮጳ ፓርላማ ስላቀረበው ረቂቅም ሆነ ስለ ውሳኔው በፌስቡክ ገጻቸው አንዳችም አለማለታቸው በአንድ በኩል የውሳኔውን ፖለቲካዊ ክብደት በሌላ ደግሞ የራሳቸውን እንዲሁም እርሳቸው የሚታመኑለት ህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ የደረሰበትን ከፍተኛ ጉዳት በማሳየት ጉልህ ማስረጃ ሰጥቷል፡፡

በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ የሚደረገውን አፈና፣ ግድያ፣ እስር፣ የመብት ረገጣ፣ … በዝርዝር ከማስረዳቱ በፊት ከቴድሮስ አድሃኖም “የቀረበውን ልመና” እንደተመለከተ የሚዘረዝረው የፓርላማው ውሳኔ “አሸባሪ” እየተባሉ ከታሰሩት ውብሸት ታዬ፣ የሱፍ ጌታቸው፣ ተስፋልደት ኪዳኔ፣ ሳሌህ ኢድሪስ፣ እስክንድር ነጋ፣ ተመስገን ደሳለኝ፣ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ ጀምሮ በቅርቡ እስከታፈኑት በቀለ ገርባ፣ የነገረ ኢትዮጵያው ጌታቸው ሽፈራው፣ ዮናታን ተሬሣ፣ ፍቃዱ ምርቃና፣ … በስም በመጥቀስ የህወሃት/ኢህዴግን ፖለቲካ አጥብቆ ኮንኗል፤ አውግዟል፡፡ ኢህአዴግ መቶ በመቶ ምርጫ አሸነፍኩ ማለትን፤ በተለያዩ የኦሮሞ ከተሞች የሚካሄደውን የመብት ገፈፋና ግድያ፤ ኢኮኖሚው በድርብ አኃዝ አድጓል ቢባልም አሁንም ኢትዮጵያውያን ለተሻለ ኑሮ እየተሰደዱ መሆናቸውን፤ ኢትዮጵያ ከ187 አገራት 173ኛዋ ድሃ አገር መሆኗን፤ አፋኝ የሆነውን የመያዶችን ሕግ እንዲሁም ለበርካታዎች መታሰሪያ ምክንያት የሆነውን የጸረ ሽብር ሕግ፤ ዜጎች ከቦታቸው እየተፈናቀሉ ለመከራና ችግር መጋለጣቸውን፤ ችጋር በአገሪቷ ላይ በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ እየተስፋፋ መሄዱን፤ ወዘተ በርካታ ጉዳዮችን በመዘርዘር በ19 ነጥቦች ድርጊቶቹን ሁሉ ኮንኗል፤ አውግዟል፤ ኢህአዴግ ማድረግ ያለበትን ነገሮች በዝርዝር አስቀምጧል፡፡ የውሳኔው ሙሉ ቃል ከዚህ በታች ይገኛል፡-

European Parliament resolution of 21 January 2016 on the situation in Ethiopia (2016/2520(RSP))

The European Parliament,–  having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Ethiopia and to the most recent plenary debate on the matter, of 20 May 2015,–  having regard to the statement of 23 December 2015 by the European External Action Service (EEAS) spokesperson on recent clashes in Ethiopia,–  having regard to the joint statement of 20 October 2015 by Federica Mogherini, Vice‑President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), and Tedros Adhanom, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, –  having regard to the press release on the meeting of 13 January 2016 between the VP/HR, Federica Mogherini, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Tedros Adhanom, –  having regard to the statement of 27 May 2015 by the EEAS spokesperson on the elections in Ethiopia, –  having regard to the declaration of 10 July 2015 by the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, on the release of Ethiopian journalists, –  having regard to the latest Universal Periodic Review on Ethiopia before the UN Human Rights Council, –  having regard to the Cotonou Agreement, –  having regard to the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia adopted on 8 December 1994, and in particular the provisions of Chapter III on fundamental rights and freedoms, human rights and democratic rights, –  having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, –  having regard to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, ratified by Ethiopia in 1994, –  having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, –  having regard to the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, –  having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure, A.  whereas the most recent general elections were held on 24 May 2015, in which the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) remained the ruling party and won all the seats in the national parliament, owing in part to the lack of space for critical or dissenting voices in the election process; whereas May’s federal elections took place in a general atmosphere of intimidation and concerns over the lack of independence of the National Electoral Board; whereas the EPRDF has been in power for 24 years, since the overthrow of the military government in 1991; B.  whereas over the past two months Ethiopia’s largest region, Oromia, home of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, has been hit by a wave of mass protests over the expansion of the municipal boundary of the capital, Addis Ababa, which has put farmers at risk of being evicted from their land; C.  whereas, according to international human rights organisations, security forces have responded to the generally peaceful protests by killing at least 140 protesters and injuring many more, in what may be the biggest crisis to hit Ethiopia since the 2005 election violence; whereas, on the contrary, the government has only admitted the deaths of dozens of people as well as 12 members of the security forces; D.  whereas on 14 January 2016 the government decided to cancel the disputed large-scale urban development plan; whereas, if implemented, the plan would expand the city’s boundary 20-fold; whereas the enlargement of Addis Ababa has already displaced millions of Oromo farmers and trapped them in poverty; E.  whereas Ethiopia is a highly diverse country in terms of religious beliefs and cultures; whereas some of the largest ethnic communities, particularly the Oromo and the Somali (Ogaden), have been marginalised in favour of the Amhara and the Tigray, with little participation in political representation; F.  whereas the Ethiopian authorities arbitrarily arrested a number of peaceful protesters, journalists and opposition party leaders in a brutal crackdown on protests in the Oromia Region; whereas those arrested are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment; G.  whereas the government has labelled largely peaceful protesters as ‘terrorists’, applying the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (Law No 652/2009) and deploying military forces against them; H.  whereas on 23 December 2015 the authorities arrested Bekele Gerba, Deputy Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), Oromia’s largest legally registered political party; whereas Mr Gerba was taken to prison and reportedly hospitalised shortly afterwards; whereas his whereabouts are now unknown; I.  whereas other senior OFC leaders have been arbitrarily arrested in recent weeks or are said to be under virtual house arrest; J.  whereas this is not the first time that Ethiopian security forces have been implicated in serious human rights violations in response to peaceful protests, and whereas it is known that the Ethiopian Government is systematically repressing freedom of expression and association and banning individuals from expressing dissent or opposition to government policies, thereby limiting the civil and political space, including by carrying out politically motivated prosecutions under the draconian anti-terrorism law, decimating independent media, dismantling substantial civil society activism and cracking down on opposition political parties; K.  whereas in December 2015 leading activists such as Getachew Shiferaw (Editor-in-Chief of Negere Ethiopia ), Yonathan Teressa (an online activist) and Fikadu Mirkana (Oromia Radio and TV) were arbitrarily arrested, although they have yet to be charged by the Ethiopian authorities; L.  whereas the Ethiopian Government imposes pervasive restrictions on independent civil society and media; whereas, according to the 2014 prison census conducted by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Ethiopia was the fourth-worst jailer of journalists in the world, with at least 17 journalists behind bars, 57 media professionals having fled Ethiopia in the previous five years and a number of independent publications having shut down as a result of official pressure; whereas Ethiopia also ranked fourth on the CPJ’s 2015 list of the 10 most-censored countries; M.  whereas numerous prisoners of conscience imprisoned in previous years solely on the basis of the legitimate exercise of their freedom of expression and opinion, including journalists and opposition political party members, remain in detention; whereas some of them have been convicted in unfair trials, some face ongoing trials and some continue to be detained without charge, including Eskinder Nega, Temesghen Desalegn, Solomon Kebede, Yesuf Getachew, Woubshet Taye, Saleh Edris and Tesfalidet Kidane; N.  whereas Andargachew Tsege, a British-Ethiopian citizen and leader of an opposition party living in exile, was arrested in June 2014; whereas Mr Tsege had been condemned to death several years earlier in his absence, and has been on death row practically incommunicado since his arrest; O.  whereas Ethiopia’s Charities and Societies Proclamation law requires organisations engaged in advocacy to generate 90 % of the funding for their activities from local sources, which has led to a decrease in action by civil society organisation (CSOs) and to the disappearance of many CSOs; whereas Ethiopia rejected recommendations to amend the Charities and Societies Proclamation and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, made by several countries during the examination of its rights record under the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of May 2014; P.  whereas the Ethiopian Government has de facto imposed a widespread blockade of the Ogaden region in Ethiopia, which is rich in oil and gas reserves; whereas attempts to work and report from the region by international media and humanitarian groups are seen as criminal acts punishable under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation; whereas there are reports of war crimes and severe human rights violations perpetrated by the army and government paramilitary forces against the Ogaden population; Q.  whereas Ethiopia, the second-most-populated country in Africa, is reportedly one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, with an average growth rate of 10 % in the past decade; whereas it nevertheless remains one of the poorest, with a per capita GNI of USD 632; whereas it ranked 173rd out of 187 countries in the Human Development Index for 2014; R.  whereas Ethiopia plays a key role in the region and enjoys political support from Western donors and most of its regional neighbours, mostly owing to its role as host of the African Union (AU) and its contribution to UN peacekeeping, security and aid partnerships with Western countries; S.  whereas, as economic growth continues apace (along with significant foreign investments, including in the agriculture, construction and manufacturing sectors, large-scale development projects, such as hydroelectric dam building and plantations, and widespread land-leasing, often to foreign companies), many people, including farmers as well as pastoralists, have been driven from their homes; T.  whereas Article 40(5) of Ethiopia’s constitution guarantees Ethiopian pastoralists the right to free land for grazing and cultivation and the right not to be displaced from their own lands; U.  whereas Ethiopia is a signatory to the Cotonou Agreement, Article 96 of which stipulates that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is an essential element of ACP‑EU cooperation; V.  whereas Ethiopia is experiencing its worst drought in decades, leading to increasing food insecurity, severe emaciation and unusual livestock deaths; whereas nearly 560 000 people are internally displaced owing to floods, violent clashes over scarce resources and drought; whereas the Ethiopian Government estimates that 10,1 million people, half of them children, are in need of emergency food aid owing to the drought; W.  whereas Ethiopia is faced with permanent influxes of migrants and is a host country for approximately 700 000 refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia; whereas on 11 November 2015 a Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility (CAMM) was signed by the EU and Ethiopia to reinforce cooperation and dialogue between the two parties in the area of migration; 1.  Strongly condemns the recent use of excessive force by the security forces in Oromia and in all Ethiopian regions, and the increased number of cases of human rights violations; expresses its condolences to the families of the victims and urges the immediate release of all those jailed for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression; 2.  Reminds the Ethiopian Government of its obligations to guarantee fundamental rights, including access to justice and the right to a fair trial, as provided for in the African Charter and other international and regional human rights instruments, including the Cotonou Agreement and specifically Articles 8 and 96 thereof; 3.  Calls for a credible, transparent and independent investigation into the killings of protesters and into other alleged human rights violations in connection with the protest movement, and calls on the government to fairly prosecute those responsible before the competent jurisdictions; 4.  Calls on the Government of Ethiopia to respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter, including the right to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and association; urges the government to immediately invite the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and other UN human rights experts to visit Ethiopia to report on the situation; 5.  Welcomes the government’s decision to completely halt the special zone master plan for Addis Ababa and Oromia; calls for an immediate, inclusive and transparent political dialogue which includes the government, opposition parties, civil society representatives and the local population, to prevent any further violence or radicalisation of the population; 6.  Stresses that free and independent media are essential in order to guarantee an informed, active and engaged population, and calls on the Ethiopian authorities to stop suppressing the free flow of information, including by jamming media broadcasts and harassing media, to guarantee the rights of local civil society and media and to facilitate access throughout Ethiopia for independent journalists and human rights monitors; acknowledges the recent release of ‘Zone 9’ bloggers and of six journalists; 7.  Requests that the Ethiopian authorities stop using anti-terrorism legislation (Anti‑Terrorism Proclamation No 652/2009) to repress political opponents, dissidents, human rights defenders, other civil society actors and independent journalists; calls also on the Ethiopian Government to review its anti-terrorism law in order to bring it into line with international human rights law and principles; 8.  Condemns the excessive restrictions placed on human rights work by the Charities and Societies Proclamation, which denies human rights organisations access to essential funding, endows the Charities and Societies Agency with excessive powers of interference in human rights organisations and further endangers victims of human rights violations by contravening principles of confidentiality; 9.  Calls on the Ethiopian authorities to prevent any ethnic or religious discrimination and to encourage and take action in favour of a peaceful and constructive dialogue between all communities; 10.  Welcomes Ethiopia’s 2013 human rights action plan and calls for its swift and complete implementation; 11.  Urges the authorities to implement, in particular, the recommendation of the Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and to release British national and political activist Andargachew Tsege immediately; 12.  States that respect for human rights and the rule of law are crucial to the EU’s policies to promote development in Ethiopia and throughout the Horn of Africa; calls the AU’s attention to the political, economic and social situation of its host country, Ethiopia; 13.  Calls for the EU, as the single largest donor, to monitor programmes and policies effectively to ensure that EU development assistance is not contributing to human rights violations in Ethiopia, particularly through programmes linked to the displacement of farmers and pastoralists, and to develop strategies to minimise any negative impact of displacement within EU-funded development projects; stresses that the EU should measure its financial support according to the country’s human rights record and the degree to which the Ethiopian Government promotes reforms towards democratisation; 14.  Calls on the government to include local communities in a dialogue on the implementation of any large-scale development projects; expresses its concerns about the government’s forced resettlement programme; 15.  Expresses deep concern about the current devastating climatic conditions in Ethiopia, which have worsened the humanitarian situation in the country; calls for the EU, together with its international partners, to scale up its support to the Ethiopian Government and people; welcomes the contribution recently announced by the EU and calls on the Commission to ensure that this additional funding is provided as a matter of urgency; 16.  Recalls that Ethiopia is an important country of destination, transit and origin for migrants and asylum seekers, and that it hosts the largest refugee population in Africa; takes note, therefore, of the adoption of a Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility between the EU and Ethiopia which addresses the issues of refugees, border control and the fight against human trafficking; calls also on the Commission to monitor closely all projects recently initiated within the framework of the EU Trust Fund for Africa; 17.  Is extremely concerned about the economic and social situation of the country’s population – in particular women and minorities, and refugees and displaced persons, whose numbers continue to increase – in view of the crisis and the instability of the region; reiterates its support for all humanitarian organisations operating on the ground and in neighbouring host countries; supports calls by the international community and humanitarian organisations to step up assistance to refugees and displaced persons; 18.  Stresses that major public investment plans are required, particularly in the education and health fields, if the Sustainable Development Goals are to be attained; invites the Ethiopian authorities to make an effective commitment to attaining these goals; 19.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Government and Parliament of Ethiopia, the Commission, the Council, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, the institutions of the African Union, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the Pan-African Parliament.

የሰላምን በር ጠርቅሞ የዘጋው ወያኔ ነው

January 23, 2016

የወያኔ አረመኔያዊ ያገዛዝ ስርዓት በህዝባችን ላይ የሚፈጽመው አፈና ግድያና ዝርፊያ በመጠኑም በዘግናኝነቱም ይበልጥ እያገጠጠ ስለመጣ ለወትሮው እንዳላዩ አይተው የሚያልፉትን ምዕራባውያን ለጋሾቹንና ወዳጆቹን ሳይቀር በእጅጉ ማሳስብ ጀምረዋል። ወያኔ ለምዕራባውያን ደህና ሎሌ በመሆን ወንጀሌን እንዳላዩ እንዲያዩልኝ ማድረግ እችላለሁ የሚለው አካሔዱ በውንብድና ተግባሩ ለከት የለሽነትና ዘግናኝነት ምክንያት ሙሉ ለሙሉ እየተሸረሸረበት ነው። ብዙዎቹ ምዕራባውያን ላለፉት ሁለት ወራት በተለይ በኦሮሚያ ውስጥ የሚካሄደውን ጭፍጨፋና አፈና ለማውገዝ የተገደዱበት ሁኔታ ተፈጥሯል።

አሜሪካንን ጨምሮ የወያኔ ለጋሽ ሀገራት የሆኑት ምዕራባውያን ሰሞኑን በኦሮሞ ወገኖቻችን ላይ ወያኔ የከፈተውን የዕብሪት ጭፍጨፋ፣ እስራትና አፈና አስመልክቶ ችግሩን በውይይትና በስልጡን መንገድ ይፈታ ዘንድ የሚያሳስቡ ግልጽና ባንጻራዊ ደረጃ ሲታዩ ጠንከር ያሉ መግለጫዎችን አውጥተዋል። የደረሰውም ጥፋት ተመርምሮ ጥፋተኛ ወገን እንዲጠየቅ የሚጠይቁና ችግሩም በሰላምና በውይይት እንዲፈታ እየጎተጎቱ ይገኛሉ። ባለፉት በርካታ ዐመታት ምዕብራባውያኑ የወያኔ ጉጅሌ ይህንን አቅጣጫ እንዲከተል ተጽዕኖ የመፍጠር አቅማቸውን ተጠቅመው ያደረጉት በቂ ግፊት እንደሌለ ይታወቃል። የአሜሪካ መንግስትና የአውሮፓ ሕብረት አባል ሀገሮች ዘግይተውም ቢሆን ሀገራችን ውስጥ የተካሄደውንና እየተካሔደ ያለውን ጭፍጨፋ ማውገዛቸውና ወደፊትም በዝርዝር ተመርምሮ ተጠያቂው እንዲታወቅ ያቀረቡትን ሀሳብ እንደ በጎ ጅምር እንመለከተዋለን።

ለሀገራችንና ለህዝባችን እጣ ፋንታ የምንጨነቅና የህዝቡ ጥቃት ያንገፈገፈን የሀገሪቱ ልጆች የችግሩ የመፍትሔ መጀመሪያ ይህ በጉልበቱ ህዝባችን ላይ የተጫነ መንግስት ነኝ ባይ የግፈኞች ጥርቅም በሃይል በሚደረግ ትግል ጭምር መወገድ አለበት ወደሚለው ውሳኔ የደረስነው የሰላም በርና ጭላንጭል ሁሉ በመዘጋቱ እንደሆነ ስንገልጽ ቆይተናል ። ላለፉት ሁለት ወራት በኦሮሞ ወገኖቻችን ላይ የተፈጸመውና ከመቶ ሀምሳ በላይ ወገኖቻችን ያለቁበት ጭፍጨፋ እንዲሁም በተለያዩ የአገራችን ክፍሎች በሚኖሩ ዜጎቻችን ላይ እየተፈጸመ ያለው ተመሳሳይ ግድያ፣ እስራትና የተቀናቃኝን አድራሻ ደብዛ ማጥፋት እርምጃ የሚያሳየው ይህ ስርዓት የበለጠ ጥፋት ከማድረሱ በፊት በፍጥነት መወገድ ያለበት መሆኑ ላይ ያለን አቋም ለሁሉም ይበልጥ ግልጽ እየሆነ መምጣቱን ነው። እንደ ወያኔ ያለ ከህዝብ የተጣላ የፖለቲካ ሀይል የፖለቲካ ጥቅምን የሚያየው ከራሱ ህልውናና ደህንነት አንጻር እንጂ ከህዝቡ ሰላም ብልጽግናና ነጻነት ወይም ከሀገሪቱ የረጅም ጊዜ እጣ ፋንታ አንጻር አይደለም። የወያኔን ገዥዎች የሚያስጨንቃቸው የህዝቡ ኑሮ ሳይሆን የራሳቸው የዝርፊያ ስርዓት ባግባቡ መጠበቅ አለመጠበቁ ነው። ለዚህ ነው ስርዓታቸውን ለመጠበቅ የነጻነት ጥያቄ ኮሽታ በሰሙ ቁጥር የሚባንኑት። ለዚህ ነው በሰላም መብቱን የጠየቃቸውን ሁሉ መደዳውንና በጭካኔ በጥይት የሚረፈርፉትና የተረፋቸውን እንደ እንስሳ ወህኒ በረት ውስጥ የሚያጉሩት።

አርበኞች ግንቦት 7 የወያኔ ጸረ ህዛብና ጸረ አገር እርምጃ ሊቆም የሚችለው ላለፉት 25 አመታት ወያኔ በመካከላችን የገነባው የመከፋፈልና የልዩነት ግድግዳ ለመናድ ሁላችንም እጅ ለእጅ ተያይዘን በአንዳችን ላይ የሚፈጸመው ጥቃት በሁላችንም ላይ እንደ ተፈጸመ ቆጥረን በጋራ ስንንቀሳቀስ ብቻ ነው ብሎ ያምናል:: ዛሬ በኦሮሚያ ወገኖቻ ላይ እየተፈጸመ ያለው ሰቆቃና ግዲያ ትናንት በጋምቤላ ፤ በኦጋዴን ፤ በአፋር፤ በቤኔሻንጉል ፤ በደቡብና በአማራ ወገኖቻችን ላይ በፈረቃ ሲፈጸም የቆየና እየተፈጸመ ያለ መከራ መሆኑን የማይገነዘብ የለም:: በፈረቃ መገደል፤ በፈረቃ ወህኒ መወርወር ፤ በፈረቃ መፈናቀል፤ በፈረቃ ለስደት መዳረግ የሁላችንም ዕድል ፈንታ ሆኖአል:: ይህንን ስቃይና መከራ ማስቆም ለፍትህና ለነጻነት የቆመ ዜጋ ሁሉ ግዴታ ነው::

ወያኔ የሰላም በሮችን በሙሉ ጠርቅሞ ሲዘጋ ለአገራቸው ጥቅም ሲሉ ዝምታን የመረጡ ምዕራባዊያን የህዝብ ብሶት ገንፍሎ አደባባይ ከወጣና ብዙዎች በአጋዚ ጦር ጨካኝ ግዲያ ህይወታቸውን ከገበሩ ቦኋላ ዘግይተውም ቢሆን መናገር መጀመራቸው መልካም ጅምር ነው:: ነገር ግን በእብሪት የተወጠሩ የወያኔ መሪዎች በባዕዳን አለቆቻቸው ቁጣ ከአቋማቸው ፍንክች ይላሉ ብሎ መጠበቅ መዘናጋት እንዳያስከትል መጠንቀቅ ተገቢ ነው::  ችግሮችን ተነጋግሮ መፍታት ትልቅ አቅምና ችሎታን የሚጠይቅ የዘመናችን ሥልጣኔ ውጤት ነው:: በጠመንጃ ተጸንሶ በጠመንጃ የተወለደው ወያኔ ለእንዲህ አይነት ዕድገትና ሥልጣኔ አልታደለም::

አርበኞች ግንቦት 7 የወያኔ ስርዓት ሊወገድ እንጂ ሊጠገን የማይችል የተበላሸ ስርዐት መሆኑን ይገነዘባል:: በመሆኑም በህዝባችንና በአገራችን ላይ የሚፈጸመውን ወንጀል ለማስቆም የጀመረውን ሁለገብ ትግል የወያኔ አገዛዝ እስኪወገድና ሠላምና ዲሞክራሲ በአገራችን እስኪሰፍን ድረስ አጠናክሮ እንደሚቀጥልበት ለወዳጅም ለጠላትም ያረጋግጣል ::

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ

ኢህአዴግ/ህወሓት ለኢትዮጵያ ድንበር በሞቱት አባቶቻችን ደም ውስጥ እጁን ነከረ!

January 19,2016

በገንዘብ፣በጎጥ እና በደም ጥማት የሚንቀለቀል ልቦና የተሸከሙት የአራት ኪሎ ባለስልጣናት አፄ ቴዎድሮስ ከነገሱበት እስከ አፄ ዮሐንስ የተሰዉበትን መሬት ለሱዳን ለመሸጥ ተስማምተዋል።የሱዳን ትሪቡን ጋዜጣ ትርጉም ይዘናል።

ኢህአዴግ/ህወሓት ለኢትዮጵያ ድንበር በሞቱት አባቶቻችን ደም ውስጥ እጁን ነከረ! አፄ ቴዎድሮስ ከነገሱበት እስከ አፄ ዮሐንስ የተሰዉበትን መሬት ለሱዳን ለመሸጥ ተስማምቷል። ኢትዮጵያ የተዳከመች ሲመስላቸው ጠላቶቿ ስነሱባት መስማት አዲስ ነገር አይደለም። አዲስ ነገር የሚሆነው በቤተ መንግስቷ በኢትዮጵያ ስም መንግስት ነኝ የሚሉ ስብስቦች የኢትዮጵያን ጥቅም ከባዕዳን ጋር ሲዶልቱ፣ሲሸጡ እና ሲያስማሙ መመልከት ነው።በገንዘብ፣በጎጥ እና በደም ጥማት የሚንቀለቀል ልቦና የተሸከሙት የአራት ኪሎ ባለስልጣናት አፄ ቴዎድሮስ ከነገሱበት እስከ አፄ ዮሐንስ የተሰዉበትን መሬት ለሱዳን ለመሸጥ ተስማምተዋል።ይህ ሕሊናን የሚያደማ ብቻ ሳይሆን የመኖር እና ያለመኖር ህልውና ጉዳይ ነው።''ዳሩ ሲነካ መሃሉ ዳር ይሆናል'' የሚለው አባባል እዚህ ላይ ማሰቡ ተገቢ ነው።ይህ ሥራ በመንግሥትነት እራሳቸውን የሾሙ ስብስቦች ኢትዮጵያን የማፈራረስ ልክ የት ድረስ እንደሚሄድ ብቻ ሳይሆን የከሃዲነት ደረጃቸው እና ህዝብን የመናቃቸው መጠን ምን ያክል እንደሆነ ማሳያ ነው።

አቶ ኃይለማርያም በድንበሩ አካባቢ የሚያርሱ ገበሬ ኢትዮጵያውያንን የህዝብ ተወካይ ነኝ ባሉ ምክር ቤት ስም ''ሽፍቶች'' እያሉ የተሳደቡትን ስድብ የሱዳኑ ውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር እብራሂም ጋንዱር ለአልጀዝራ በሰጡት መግለጫ ላይም ደግመውታል።ኢትዮጵያውያንን እርሳቸው ብቻ ሳይሆኑ በስልጣን ላይ የተቀመጠው የኢትዮጵያ መንግስትም እንደሚገልላቸው ሲገልጡ ''ኢትዮጵያ እና ሱዳን በሱዳን ግዛት ላይ የሰፈሩትን ሽፍቶች  (gangs) በመግታት የድንበር ማካለሉን ሥራ በአንድነት እየሰሩ ነው'' ነበር ያሉት።አሁን የንግግር እና የወሬ ጊዜ አይደለም።ማንኛውም ኢትዮጵያዊ ነኝ የሚል በሙሉ መለየት አለበት።ኢትዮጵያን ከሸጡ ጋር ነህ ወይንስ አይደለህም? ጥያቄው ይህ ነው።ኢትዮጵያን የከዳ በሙሉ ተገቢውን ቅጣት ማግኘት አለበት።

ኢህአዴግ/ህወሓት ለኢትዮጵያ ድንበር በሞቱት አባቶቻችን ደም ውስጥ እጁን ነክሯል።የኢትዮጵያ የቀደሙት መሪዎች ማናቸውም የኢትዮጵያን ድንበር ጉዳይ ላይ ሲደራደሩ አልታዩም።አፄ ዮሐንስ ከደርቡሽ ጋር ተዋግተው መተማ ላይ አንገታቸው የተቀላው ለአገራቸው ክብር ነው።አፄ ቴዎድሮስ መቅደላ ላይ እራሳቸውን የገደሉት ለኢትዮጵያ ክብር ነው።ዛሬ ሚልዮኖች ያፈሰሱትን ደም እረግጦ የኢትዮጵያን መሬት ለባዕዳን አሳልፎ ለመስጠት የተነሳው የህወሓት ቡድን የሕዝብ ፍርድ ያስፈልገዋል።

ወቅቱ እያንዳንዱ ሰው ለድንበሩ ዘብ የሚቆምበት ጊዜ ነው።ባዕዳን ዳር ድንበሩን ሲፈልጉ ከመሃል በጎሳ እንድንቧደን እና እንድንጋጭ በማድረግ ጭምር ነው።ለእዚህም የሚረዳቸው የአራት ኪሎ መንግስት አለ።ሱዳን የኢትዮጵያን መሬት ስትወስድ ብቻዋን አትሆንም ኢትዮጵያን ለዘመናት ለማዳከም የሚማስኑ የአረብ ሊግ አባላት እና የሩቅ መሰሪዎችንም ይዘው ነው።ጉዳዩ የተቀናበረ ነው።ለኢትዮጵያውያን ቀዳሚውን ሥራ ለመግለፅ የሚያጠቃልለው ሁነኛ አባባል ''ጠላትማ ምን ጊዜም ጠላት ነው።አስቀድሞ መምታት አሾክሿኪውን ነው'' የሚለው ነው።ቀዳሚው ጠላት እኛነታችንን የሸጠን ለ24 ዓመታት በኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ጫንቃ ላይ የተንሰራፋው ስርዓት ነው።ቅድምያ ስልጣኑን መልቀቅ ያለበት ህወሓት ነው።የሱዳኑ ጉዳይ 'እዳው ገብስ ነው'።

ከእዚህ በታች የሱዳን ትሪቡን ጋዜጣ እኤአ ጥር 17/2016 ዓም ድንበሩ በእዚህ ዓመት እንደሚሰጥ የገለጠበትን ዘገባ ትርጉም ያንብቡ።(ትርጉም ጉዳያችን)

ሱዳን እና ኢትዮጵያ የድንበር ማካለል ስራቸውን በእዚህ ዓመት ያጠናቅቃሉ

ጥር 17/2016 (ካርቱም)
በኢትዮጵያ እና ሱዳን መካከል የድንበር ማካለሉን ሥራ ኃላፊነት የወሰደው የቴክኒክ ኮሚቴ በመሬት ላይ ድንበሩን የማካለሉን ሥራ በእዚህ ዓመት እንደሚያጠናቅቅ ገልጧል።ከአቶ መለስ ዜናዊ ሞት በኃላ ቆሞ የነበረው የድንበር ማካለሉ ሥራ የኢትዮጵያው ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር አቶ ሃይለማርያም እና የሱዳኑ ፕሬዝዳንት  አልበሽር ለውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትሮቻቸው በሰጡት መመርያ መሰረት ስራውን በህዳር ወር 2014 ዓም ቀጥሏል።የቴክኒክ ኮሚቴው ሰብሳቢ አብደላ አል-ሳዲግ ለሱዳን ሚድያ ሴንተር (SMC) እንደገለጡት ኮሚቴው እዚህ ግባ የሚባል ምንም ችግር በስራው አልገጠመውም ነበር።
አብደላ አል-ሳዲግ አክለው እንደገለጡት በኢትዮጵያ እና ሱዳን መካከል ያለው  የሚካለለው የድንበር ርዝመት 725ኪሜ በሁለቱ አገሮች መካከል ያሉ ገበሬዎች በባለቤትነት ግጭት የተፈጠረበት አል-ፋሻጋ አካባቢ እና ደቡብ ምስራቅ ግዛት ገዳረፍን ያጠቃልላል።

አል-ፋሻጋ 250 ስኩኤር ኪሎ ሜትር እና 600 ሺህ ጋሻ ለም መሬት ይዟል።ከእዚህ በተጨማሪ ቦታው በወንዝ የበለፀገ ሲሆን አትባራ፣ሰቲት እና ባስላም የተባሉ ወንዞች ይገኙበታል።ባሳለፍነው ቅዳሜ እና ዕሁድ የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር ኢብራህም ጋንዱር መቀመጫውን ኩአታር ላደረገው አልጀዚራ ቴሌቭዥን እንደገለፁት ''ኢትዮጵያ እና ሱዳን በሱዳን ግዛት ላይ የሰፈሩትን ሽፍቶች  (gangs) በመግታት የድንበር ማካለሉን ሥራ በአንድነት እየሰሩ ነው'' ከማለታቸውም በላይ ውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትሩ በመቀጠል አፅንኦት ሰጥተው እንደተናገሩት ''አል-ፋሻጋ የሱዳን ግዛት ነው።የሱዳን መንግስት የኢትዮጵያ ገበሬዎች እንዲያርሱት ፈቃድ የሰጠውም በሁለቱ አገራት መካከል ባለው ትብብር ሳብያ ነው።ኢትዮጵያም አልፋሻጋ የሱዳን ግዛት መሆኑን አምናለች'' ብለዋል።

ውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር ጋንዱር በሁለቱ አገራት መካከል በፕሬዝዳንት ደረጃ በድንበሩ ጉዳይ ውይይት መደረጉን ጠቁመው ውይይቱ በሱዳን ጋዳርፍ እና ብሉ ናይል ግዛት እና በኢትዮጵያ በአማራ ክልል ደረጃም መደረጉን ገልጠዋል።በኢትዮጵያ እና ሱዳን መካከል የተሰመረው በእንግሊዝ እና ጣልያን ቅኝ ግዛት ወቅት በ1908 ዓም ነው።ሁለቱ መንግሥታት ድንበሩን እንደገና በማካለል የአካባቢው ሕዝብ መጥቀሙ ላይ ተስማምተዋል።ሆኖም ግን የኢትዮጵያ ተቃዋሚዎች ገዢውን ፓርቲ የኢትዮጵያን መሬት ለሱዳን አሳልፎ በመስጠቱ ይከሱታል።

 ====የሱዳን ትሪቡን ጋዜጣ ትርጉም መጨረሻ===

Sudan, Ethiopia to complete border demarcation this year
January 17, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The technical committee tasked with redrawing the border between Sudan and Ethiopia said it would complete its work on the ground during this year.
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A road leading to Ethiopia-Sudan border (Photo Jamminglobal.com)
In November 2014, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Sudan’s President Omer al-Bashir instructed their foreign ministers to set up a date for resuming borders demarcation after it had stopped following the death of Ethiopia’s former Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi.
The head of the technical committee Abdalla al-Sadig told the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) that the border demarcation between Sudan and Ethiopia doesn’t face any problems.
He pointed out that the length of the border with Ethiopia is about 725 km, saying the process of demarcation is proceeding properly.
Farmers from two sides of the border between Sudan and Ethiopia used to dispute the ownership of land in the Al-Fashaga area located in the south-eastern part of Sudan’s eastern state of Gedaref.
Al-Fashaga covers an area of about 250 square kilometers and it has about 600.000 acres of fertile lands. Also there are river systems flowing across the area including Atbara, Setait and Baslam rivers.
On Saturday, Sudan’s foreign minister Ibrahim Ghandour told the Qatar-based Aljazeera TV that Sudan and Ethiopia are working together to curb the activities of Ethiopian gangs inside Sudanese territory.
He stressed that Al-Fashaga is a Sudanese territory, saying the government allowed Ethiopia farmers to cultivate its land as part of the cooperation between the two countries.
“However, Ethiopia is committed and acknowledges that [Al-Fashaga] is a Sudanese territory,” he said.
Ghandour pointed to joint meetings between the two countries at the level of the presidency to discuss borders issues.
Sudan’s Gadarif and Blue Nile states border Ethiopia’s Amhara region. The borders between Sudan and Ethiopia were drawn by the British and Italian colonisers in 1908.
The two governments have agreed in the past to redraw the borders, and to promote joint projects between people from both sides for the benefit of local population.
However, the Ethiopian opposition accuses the ruling party of abandoning Ethiopian territory to Sudan.

ጉዳያችን GUDAYACHN
www.gudayachn.com
ጥር 10/2008 ዓም (ጃኗሪ 19/2016)