By Yilma Bekele (17 Feb. 2009) The economic downturn is taking a toll. There is a scarcity of capital. Both demand and supply are out of whack. Thus, factories are operating at reduced capacity. States and cites have their workers on forced furlough to save money. Here in California, the biggest and wealthiest State, the Governor had ‘ordered more than 200,000 state workers to take off the first and third Friday of each month without pay to help deal with the state’s cash shortage’ according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The recession is causing hardship across the world. The New York Times reports that the US “industrial operating rate was just 78.9 percent of capacity in April, the poorest showing in more than three years.” What does it all mean? Simply put folks are hurting. If the factories are closing there will be no jobs. If there are no jobs there will be no consumer spending. If consumers are not purchasing goods and services factories will stay closed. It is what is called a vicious circle. The solution that President Obama and responsible leaders are searching for is a formula to increase both demand and supply. They want the factories to operate at full capacity and the consumer to earn income so he can spend. That is all the ‘stimulus’ is all about.
What is clear is that ‘operating at half capacity’ does no body any good. It has to be avoided. We are faced with the same problem in Ethiopia. Our immediate headache is the lack of Democracy and a representative government in our country. Our main goal is to correct this imbalance in the body politic of our motherland. We have a sick country with a malignant tumor called the ‘TPLF’ infecting our body politic. If we consider our country as a human body, for such malignant tumor as the TPLF the possible treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of these procedures.
When it comes to a nation and its social problems the possible treatments to get rid of this parasite must include unity of purpose and a clearly stated goal. There is no question that in the battle to get rid of the evildoer Unity is one of the pre requisite for success.
What is also true is that to achieve a quick and decisive victory in a short amount of time it is vital that one operates at full capacity. Why we in Ethiopia are operating at a quarter capacity to get rid of the apartheid regime is a good question to ask with the goal of finding ways to rectify the problem.
What is missing is the full participation of the Diaspora woman and the Diaspora church in this epic battle to regain our independence. I am not including the Diaspora mosque because I do not have first hand information regarding that body. What is very perplexing is that both groups, that is women and the church have always been in the forefront of the war against foreign invaders and local tyrants. What went wrong this time?
Starting with the legendary Queen Saba to the many queens through out the century to the beloved Taytu Betul women have played a leading role in our history. Empress Taytu was an advisor to Menelek and played an important role in formulating the treaty of Wuchale. When the Italians invaded our country, Taytu marched north with the imperial army. Empress Taytu took up position close to Amba Abba Gerima ‘commanding a force of cannoneers at the historic Battle of Adwa which resulted in a humiliating defeat for Italy in March of 1894’
Ethiopian woman have participated in the fight for democracy along side their male counterparts. Women were present in the student movement of the 60’s and led the call ‘Land to the Tiller!’ In the struggle against the Derge women were involved as leaders, fighters, mothers, nurturers in all the Liberation Fronts and Parties.
In today’s Ethiopia our women carry the burden of chauvinism both by the State and society. AID’S is rampant, due to the culture of prostitution around every corner and it is decimating the young population. Women are the primary victims. Even in the rural areas, Orphans are part of the landscape. There are not that many options for a young girl. Our sisters and children are flocking to the Middle East to work as maids. There is no shame in that. It is honest work. The problem lies in the fact that once they leave Ethiopia they have no protection to shield them from harm. So many have been abused and traumatized to the point of jumping from high-rise buildings. They preferred death to imprisonment and abuse. So many children without mothers are a sad testimonial to the incompetence of the current regime. Excuse is not a valid reason for failure.
In the political field women have managed to lead by example. Judge Bertukan is on such person whose integrity and solid character have won her the admiration of her fellow Ethiopians and freedom fighters everywhere. Like her sister Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, Judge Birtukan is setting the standard for Human Rights fighters everywhere. Publishers, editors and reporters like Serkalem Fasil who was imprisoned with no just cause and was forced to delivered her son while at the infamous Kaliti prison are examples for all our daughters and sons. Self less fight is in short supply in Ethiopia and then we have people like these heroines to make us realize that a few brave women are paying the price for all of to be free.
What is missing here is the voice and leadership of the Diaspora women. It is true that there have been a few that have been actively participating and leading the movement for democracy. Beautiful strong sisters like Ayalnesh, Meron, Lulit to mention a few are playing a positive role in the struggle against injustice. But when you consider that women make over half of the population their number in the struggle for Human Right leaves a lot to be desired. Most meetings and conferences are still a majority men affair. The absence of any large group from the decision making process is not healthy. A strong and vibrant women’s organization is a vital component of the struggle. Decision makers are always impressed by the diversity of the group advocating a change. Diaspora Ethiopian women’s participation will surely enrich the organization. It is not a lot to ask our successful and thriving Ethiopian women to please get involved and share the burden with their fathers, husbands and children. It is also important that men encourage and push their wife, sister or daughter to get involved in building the future.
The Diaspora Ethiopian church is another weak link that needs to wake up and assert its rightful place to save the motherland. It is true that there should be a wall between church and state. No one should insist that the church be involved in partisan politics. It is not correct for the church to support one party over the other. But the church should always be concerned about the value of human life. Like the Catholic ‘liberation theologians’ of Latin America the Ethiopian Church should defend the flag while advocating justice to all her children.
The Ethiopian Church has played such a role in our history. Arada Giorgis marched north to Adwa with the Emperor and the troops. That fateful day before the battle at Adwa ‘Archbishop Abune Mattiwos of St. Michael’s church stepped out of the Holy of Holies in the middle of the mass and announced that the time had come to lay down lives for God, Emperor and Country. The Imperial flag was dipped before the altar as the Archbishop held up his cross and blessed the people, and granted them absolution for their sins.’ Abune Petros was murdered by the fascists for refusing to bless their conquest. Our nation is indebted to the Orthodox Church for safeguarding our cultural heritage and independence.
It was with deep regret that we witnessed the despicable act by some church board members in Los Angles during the Temket festival that called the police against fellow Ethiopians for holding a candle light vigil on behalf of the many political prisoners. The same people who were dressed in colorful national costume, and holding our flag high were willing to turn a blind eye towards the abuse of fellow citizens in the hands of the petty tyrant. They wanted to criminalize the cry of their fellow Ethiopians for justice to all regardless of party affiliation or tribal allegiance. It is important to note that the Diaspora church is an orphan without a strong and vibrant Ethiopian nation. We humbly ask Ethiopian church board members not to lose sight of the bigger picture and let their members exercise their god given right to stand by their country and flag in this time of uncertainty.
The full participation by both groups will ensure the fight for Democracy and Human Right will be based on solid ground. The presence of women will bring commonsense and clarity of goal to the organizations. The involvement of the church will give moral strength and sense of hope for the future. There is no question that it will make the struggle short and decisive. One cannot enter a car race with only half the pistons firing, nor go to battle with half strength. We cannot enter a struggle against an evil force like the TPLF with a quarter of our capacity.
This is one battle where invitation is not necessary. Whether we like it or not we are all in the same boat. We survive as a vibrant country or sink as a bankrupt clueless Woyane nation and fail our mother during our watch. It is up to each one of us to be a positive force and get involved or sit on the side and lament the luck of a strong organization, trustworthy leader and such other nonsense. Never doubt that your presence will make all of us look good.
Please note that Judge Bertukan has been in Woyane prison for forty-nine days. She is in solitary confinement, with no sun light, cold concrete floor and unruly peasant cadres watching her every move and reporting to the Prime Minister’s office who seems to have deep seated need to reassure his grandiosity by inflicting pain and suffering on his perceived enemies. By our silence and indifference we sacrificed Professor Asrat. Are you going to let it happen again?
February 17th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
The whole cyber world is buzzing with the video release of the Eritrean women fighters, who were in the forefront in the capture of the town of Assosa, Wollega deep inside the Ethiopian territory. These same fighters, were recalled back, and were the first to cross the single bridge leading to the city center, in the fight to liberate the Port City of Massawa.
Their history of heroism, gallanty, sacrfice and martrydom is unmatched in the annals of world history. We can learn a thing or two from our Eritrean sisters. The unity of purpose, dedicattion and love of country shown by these heroines is a pride and joy for all women around the world.
CHECK Eastafro.com, you wont be disappointed
February 17th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
ወንድሜ ይልማ - ጥሩ ታዝበሃል::
እኔ ሴቶችና የሃይማኖት መርዎች ብቻ ሳይሆኑ ሌሎችም ከትግሉ ተገልለዋል ባይ ነኝ:: የሰራተኛ - የመምህራን - የገበሬ - የጠበቆች - ወዘተ. ማህበር መርዎች የታሉ? ትግሉን መምራት ያለብቸው እንርሱ ነበሩ:: መሁራኑ እየጠለፉ እየጣሉዋቸው የተቸገሩ መሰለኝ:: የቻንግርይ (ዝምባብዌ) ዎሌሳ (ፓላንድ) እና ሞራሌስ (ቦሊቭያ) አይነት መሪዎች ካላገኘን ትግሉ ይትም አይደርስም:: በዙህ ጉዳይ ወደፊት እመለስበታለሁ:: ለአሁኑ ይቅርታ ቢደረግልኝ ሃይማኖትን ብቻ እመለከታለሁ::
እኔ ለኦርቶዶክስ ክርስትናም ሆነ ለእስልምና የይማኖት መርዎች ያለኝን ክብር አንስቻለሁ::
ልጅ ሆኜ የደርግ መንግስት ህዝቡን በነቂስ ስብሰባ ጠርቶ ቀኑን ሙሉ አደባባይ ገትሮ ሲያውለው ጳጳሱና ሼኩ ከመንግስቱ አጠገብ ተቀምጠው አይኖቻቸው እንባ እያቀረሩ ሱያንዛጉ አንዳንዴም ሱያንቀላፉ በቴሌቭዥን አይ ነበር:: ነፍሱን ይማረውና አባቴ በዚህ ሁኔታ ብዙ ሲገረም አስታውሳለሁ:: ጳጳሱና ሼኩ ለምን ያለቅሳሉ ስለው ፈጠን ብሎ እየሰለቻቸው ነው ይለኛል:: ከዚያም በምድር ቅጣታቸውን እያገኙ ሳይሆን አይቀርም ይልና ከእናቴ ጋር ሳቃቸውን ይለቁታል:: አሁን ሳስበው የጳጳሱና የሼኩ ሁኔታ በመንግስቱ ንግግርና ስራ ያዘኑ አይስመሰላቸውም ነበር::
የወያኔ መሪ እንደመንግስቱ አይነት ሰብሰባ አይጠራም:: አንድ ሁለቴ ሹማምንቶቹን ልኮ ምን እንደደረሰባቸው ሰለሚያውቅ በአዳራሽ ውስጥ ተሰብሰቦ የሚጠበቀውን ስው ለማናገር ካልሆነ በስተቀር በሌላ ስብሰባ ድርሽ አይልም:: ይህም ቢሆን የጳጳሱንና የሼኩን ድጋፍ አላገኘም ማለት አይደለም:: ወሳኝ በነበረው የ97 ምርጫን ተከትሎ በተከሰተው የህዝብ መነሳሳት ወቅት የጳጳሱና የሼኩ ወያኔን መወገን በአደባባይ ወጥቷል:: በማያውቁት ጉዳይ የተቃዋሚውን ጎራ አወገዙ:: በኋላም የመነሳሳቱን ሁኔታ ለማጣራት በተቋቋመው ኮሚቴ ውስጥ ተቀምጠው ወያኔን አበጀህ አሉት:: ከዚያም በኋላ የሃይማኖት መሪዎች ሳይሆኑ የለየላቸው የወያኔ ደጋፊዎች ሆነው ቀጥለዋል:: ለዚህ ነው ለእነዚህ ሰዎች ያልኝን ክብር አንስቻለሁ ያልኩት::
ይሄው የሃይማኖት መሪዎች የመንግስት አቋም አራማጅነት በትሮቴስታንቶችም አካባቢ እየታየ ነው:: የዚህ ሃይማኖት ፍልስፍና - ዶክትሪን - ካነን - ስን ምግባር (ኤቲክ) ከኦርቶዶክሱም ከእስልምናውም በተሻለ ሁኔታ በአውሮፓና በሰሜን አሜርካ ካፒታሊዝምን ለመገንባት ዲሞክራሲን ለማስፋፋትና ሰብአዊ መብትን ለማስከበር ረድቷል:: በሃገራችንም የሃይማኖቱ በፍጥነት እያደገ መሄድ ተመሳሳይ ውጤት ያስከትላል የሚል ተስፋ በአንዳንዶቻችን ዘንድ ነበረ:: አሁን ግን በሚያሳዝን ሁኔታ የሌሎቹን ሃይማኖቶች ፈር እየተከተለ የመንግስት ጭቆና መሳሪያ ለመሆን ምንም አልቀረውም:: ደግነቱ ግን ከሰህተቱ ተምሮ ለመመለስ እየሞከረ ነው:: እንደሚሳካለት ተስፍ እናደርጋለን:: እንጸልያለንም::
የዚህ አስተያየት አላማ ከሃይማኖቶቹ መካከል መርጦ ይሄ ከዚያኛው ይሻላል ማለት አይደለም:: ዋናው ነገር ሀይማኖቶች ከፖላቲካ ነጻ አለመሆናቸውን መገንዘብና ሀይማኖቶቹ ያላቸውን በሚሊዪን የሚቆጠር ተከታይ እምነቱን ጠብቆ መብቱን በሰላማዊ መንገድ የሚያስከብርበትን መንገድ ማፈላለግ ነው:: ይህን ማድረግ በ እግዚአብሄርም በሰውም ቤት የተደገፈ ነው:: በሃገራችን የሃይማኖት መሪዎች ዘንድ መብት የማስከበር ፍላጎት አይታይም:: ለምን የሚለው ጥያቄ አጭር መልስ የለውም:: የሃይማኖቶቹን የዘመናት ታሪክ - የመሪዎችን ሰነ ልቦና - የህዝቡን ባህል ፍላጎትና የንቃት ደረጃ - የሃይማኖቶቹንና የተከታዩችን መስተጋብር - የሃገሪቱን የእድገት ደረጃ - የሃይማኖት ነጻነትን - የገዢውን ፓርቲ ባህሪ - ምናልባትም የሃገሪቱን ሁለመና መፈተሽ ይጠይቃል:: ለጊዜው ይሄን ለማድረግ አንችልም::
በብዙ ሃገሮች እንደታየው የሃይማኖት መሪዎች ከፈጣሪ ቃል ውጪ እንዲሁም ከተከታዪቻቸው ፍላጎትና ዘላቂ ጥቅም በተቃራኒ ሲቆሙ ቀውስ ይፈጠራል:: ሁኔታው ስልጣን ላይ ባለ መንግስት ሊፈጠር - ሊበረታታና ሊጠናከር ይችላል:: እንደዚህ አይነት ደካማ የሃይማኖት መሪዎች ባንሰራፉበት ሃገር የተከታዩች መንፈሳዊና ሌሎች ፍላጎቶች ሊሟሉ ስለማይችሉ ሌሎች የሃይማኖት መሪዎች ከተከታዩች መሃል ብቅ ብቅ ይላሉ:: እነዚህ መሪዎች ግን ባልጠበቁት ሁኔታ መንታ በትር ይወርድባቸዋል:: በመጀመሪያ ከሃይማኖት መሪዎች ተብዩዎቹ ቀጥሎም የጥቅም አስከባሪያቸው ከሆነው መንግስት:: በሃገራችን አሁን የሚታየው ሁኔታ ይሄንን የሚያንጸባርቅ ነው::
እስኪ በአንድ ወቅት ከቀረበ ዜና የተወስደን ጽሁፍ እንይ::
” (የኦርቶዶክስ) ቤተክርስቲያኗ ከትናንት በስቲያ ባወጣችው መግለጫ የህገ ወጦች እንቅስቃሴ ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ እየሰፋና እየከፋ መጥቶ የባሰ አደጋ ከማስከተሉ በፊት አስቸኳይ የመፍትሄ እርምጃ ይወሰድ ብላለች፡፡ በማያያዝም ከህገመንግስታዊ ድንጋጌና ከኃይማኖታዊ ስነምግባር ውጪ በመንቀሳቀስ አንዳንድ ጸረ ቤተክርስቲያን አክራሪዎች እየፈጸሙት ያለው ተንኮልና ደባ እንዲሁም በሀይማኖት ሽፋን እየተደረገ ያለው ህገወጥ እንቅስቃሴ እያደገ ሲሄድ ቤተክርስቲያኗን ብቻ ሳይሆን የአገሪቱንም ህልውና እስከመፈታተን ደረጃ ሊደርስ የሚችል ስጋት እንደተደቀነ የቤተክርስቲያኗ ሲኖዶስ ስጋቱን ገልጻል፡፡”
ይሄ መቼም ድፍን ያለ ነገር ነው:: እዚህ አዲስ አበባና በአንዳንድ ከተሞች ከሆነው እንደምናየውና እንደምንሰማው በየሃይማኖቶቹ ውስጥ የሚነሱ አዳዲስ የእምነት መስመሮች - የሚቀርቡ ነጻና ለየት ያሉ አስተሳሰቦች - ከሃይማኖት ድርጅቶች ጋር የሚፎካከሩ የእድገትና የልማት ስራዎች - ፖለቲካ ቀመስ የመብትና ግዴታ ጥያቄዎች - ወዘተ - በጥርጣሬ የሚታዩ ተግባራት ናቸው:: እነዚህንና ሌሎች መሰል ተግባራትን የሚሞክሩ በሃይማኖት መሪዎች በደፈናው ” ህገ ወጥ” - “ተንኮል” - “ደባ” በመባል ይወገዛሉ:: የሚወጡት መግለጫዎች ከወያኔ መግለጫዎች እምብዛም አይለዩም:: እንቅስቃሴዎቹም ብዙ ሳይሄዱ ይኮላሻሉ::
የሃገራችን ፖለቲከኞች በአብዛኝው ግራ ቀመስ ስለሆኑ ባደባባይ ባይናገሩትም አሁንም ሃይማኖትን እንደ የህዝብ ትግል ማደንዘዣ ኦፒየም አድርገው ነው የሚያዩት:: ሃይማኖት ዙሪያ የሚፈጸሙ መጥፎ ተግባራትን ያወግዛሉ:: ነገር ግን የሃይማኖት ተቋሞችን ከግምት ውስጥ ያስገባ የትግል እቅድና ስልት የላቸውም:: በቀኝ የሚመደቡት ፖለቲከኞች ደግሞ እንደ ደርግ ጊዜ የሃይማኖት መሪዎች በወያኔ - ኢህአዴግ ሰብሰባዎች እየተገኙ “ይሁን - ይሁን” እንዲሉ ይፈልጋሉ:: እንግዲህ የሚቀርው ገና በለጋነት ላይ ያለው የመሃሉ ፖለቲከኛ ነው:: ይሄ ክፍል የጨቅላነት በሽታ ከተጠናወተው ከግራ ቀመሱ ጋር በትግል አላማና ግብ ጥያቄ ተፋጥጦ ይገኛል:: መሪነቱን ከግራው እስኪረከብ ወይም ለዘለቄታው እስኪለቅለት ድረስ ትኩረቱ እዚያ ላይ ነው:: ስለዚህ የሃትማኖቶችን ድርሻ በቅርቡ ይመረምራል የሚል ግምት የለም:: በዚህ ሁኔታ ከሞላ ጎደል የሃይማኖቶች ተጠቃሚ ወያኔ ብቻ ሆኖ ይቆያል::
ወያኔን የሚቃወሙ ድርጅቶች በሙሉ በሃይማኖቶችና ተከታዩቻቸው ላይ ያላቸውን አቋም በጽኑ መመርመር ያልባቸው ዛሬ ነው:: ግራው መቼም ስልጣን በሃይል መቀማት እፈልጋለሁ ስለሚል የሃይማኖቶች ቦታ አይታየውም:: ሌሎቹ ግን በተለይ የሰላማዊው ትግል አራማጆች እንደኛ ባለ አገር ያለሃይማኖቶችና ያለተከዪቻቸው ድጋፍና ተሳትፎ የትም እንደማይደርሱ ማውቅ ይገባቸዋል:: ኸወያኔ ጋር የሚደረገውም ትግል አንዱ ትልቅ ግንባር ይሄው ነው::
የለፉትን የተሳኩ ሰላማዊ ለውጦችና ሽግግሮች የመሩትና አሁንም የሚመሩት የሃይማኖት ሰዎች ናቸው:: ለዚህ ያለፈውን ክፍለ ዘመን ታላላቅ መሪዎች በተለይም ማሃትማ ጋንዲን - ማርቲን ሉተርን - ዴዝሞንድ ቱቱን - ዳይላ ላማን መጥቀስ ይበቃል::
እግዚአብሄር እላችንንም ይባርክ::
February 18th, 2009 at 4:31 am
የሃዪማኖት ችግር በጣም አለ:: ዎያኔም ለዚያ ነው የዎያኔ ጳጳስ ከኦርቶዶክስ ቁንጮ ላይ ያስቀመጠው:: ግን ችግሩ ያለው ከህዝቡ (ከተከታዩ) አይመስለኝም:: ዎያኔ ከፍተኛ ጫና በዎያኔ ሰርጎ ገቦች አማካኝነት ስለሚያደርግ ነው::
ዉጭ ያለዉን ኢትዮጵያዊ በተመለከተ ግን: የመሪ መጥፋት እንጅ ሃገሩን የሚጠላ ብዙ ሆኖ አይደለም:: ለዚያም ነው ዎያኔ የተቃዋሚ መሪዎች እንዲከፋፈሉ ሁልጊዜ ዘዴ የሚፈጥረው:: በዚህም ምክንያት ነው ዉጪ ያለው ህዝብ ማንን እንደሚሰማ ግራ የገባው:: ትርፉ ደግሞ የትግሉ መዳከም ነው::
ዎያኔን ለመጣል ከተፈለገ: በሁሉም መስክ ከፍተኛ ርብርብ ያስፈልጋል:: ወደፊት ምን እንደሚሆን ባይታዎቅም: የብርሃኑ አይነት ትግል የሚያስፈልግ ይመስለኛል:: ዎያኔ አደጋ የሚሆንበትን ያዉቃል: ለዚህ ነው ብርሃኑን የሚፈራው:: ግማሶቹ የትቃዋሚ መሪዎች ደግሞ ማሳፈሪያ ሆነው ተገኙ::
February 18th, 2009 at 4:51 am
The unique role of the Ethiopian Orthodox church lies in its involvement in safeguarding the independence and sovereignty of the country. The TPLF have taken control of the hurch and are using it as their tool of oppression and rerpression. The churches in the Diaspora can not play any positive role so long as they are not cleansed of the agents and supporters of the TPLF. These TPLF controlled churches are working for the TPLF and are keeping away our sisters from taking part in the affairs of the country. They use various TPLF designed tactics such as preaching the importance of staying out of politics and ascribing all the menace in the country to the divine force or God. The aim of the TPLF is to have all the members of the Diaspora churches on its side or neutralizing them. The TPLF offers benefits to leaders of the churches who are selling their souls to serve it. The majority of Ethiopians should identify the persons of the TPLF and purge them out of their churches or establish their own TPLF free churches. Ethiopians living in the democratic and free world should not be controlled and prevented from
Exercising their democratic rights by participating in the affairs of their country.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:32 am
You can run, but you can not hide.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
The Prime Minister ordered government dignitaries to hand some of their assets back to the State in order to fight against accusations that they are enriching themselves.
The President of the Oromia Regional State, Abadula Gemeda(real name: Menase Wolde Giorgis), has accepted to hand a villa back to the State in response to an appeal by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The former minister Junedin Sado yielded a plot of land he owned but did not use. Other officials in the EPRDF (governing coalition) and the TPLF (the regime’s hard core), however, have declined to follow the example, stating that they had paid with blood for all they own today. Executives in the ANDM such as Addisu Legese (the owner of the Papyrus Hotel in Bahar Dar), Bereket Simon (road haulage) and Tefera Walwa (refuse collection) preferred to remain silent on the matter. Meanwhile, Abadula Gemeda has attributed land to President Girma Woldegiorgis at Alem Gena, near Addis Ababa, where the expropriated peasants are complaining that they have not been paid any compensation.
Source: The indian Ocean Newsletter
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The book and the corruption
January 29th, 2009
Right after a book, just published by insider, exposes corruption scandals, Aba Dula Gemeda (real name: Menase Wolde Giorgis), president of the Oromia regional state has donated his villa to the Oromo People’s Democratic Organizaton (OPDO). OPDO is one of TPLF affiliates created by Meles Zenawi mainly from the captives or POWs of the derg army during the war aiming at controlling and subjugate the Oromo’s.
According to a new book by an insider journalist and a writer close to the ruling party, Tesfaye Gebreab, Aba Dula Gemeda was unable to disclose his income source, to OPDO executives, of building a villa that worth 700,000 ET. Birr. “The issue was brought to Meles Zenawi” The book reads, “We can’t touch Aba Dula as we don’t have any loyal person [from OPDO] to replace him. ” Zenawi responded.
The puppet president of the Oromia Region, Aba Dula Gemeda, who faced another challenge, had donated his villa to OPDO last week, according to the weekly reporter, Amharic news paper. The news paper also commented on Mr. Junedin Saddo, a senior OPDO member and minister of science and technology who donated his embezzled plot of land in Adama to his party. “Junedin didn’t say anything about his 3 million Birr worth villa at Letafo.”
The paper said.OPDO is accumulating wealth embezzled from the poor by its leaders.
Several sources are unfolding that the looting and suffering of citizens has continues in the last two decades of Meles Zenawi rule.
Government’s anti-corruption efforts are meant=2 0to destroy political foes than the loyal corrupts like Aba dula Gemeda. To that end an anti-corruption commission has been formed in Ethiopia since 2001. The former prime minister, Tamerat Layne and defense minister, Seye Abraha were victim of dubious corruption charges who served 12 and 6 years respectively in prison.
According to Transparency International, Ethiopia is stil classified as one of the most corrupt states in the world, as close circle of people in power are looting the nation.
The anti-corruption commission itself has proved to be the most corrupt organ of Meles Zenawi’s regime. It is very difficult to abandon corruption so long as Meles Zenawi himself is benefiting from it. A recent report indicates that Meles Zenawi’s wife, Azeb Mesfin has rented her modern building to state owned telecommunication for 60 million birr.
News obtained from Indian Ocean Newsletter exposes Meles Zenawi’s top men are accumulating wealth at the expense of the majority poor. According to the ION, few people, including Azeb Mesfin, are owning and running dozens of multi-billion campanies.
The recent phenomena signify embezzlements has become beyond Zenawi’s control. In his discussion with coffee exporters earlier this month, Meles Zenawi said “10,0 00 tons of coffee bound for export has disappeared recently”. This bound of coffee worth about 20 to 23 million dollars.
Professor Seid Hassan’s analysis gainsays Zenawi’s anti-corruption effort. Professor Seid Hassan links the systemic and structural nature of corruption with ethno-centric minority rule. One can not reasonably expect to root out corruption by a one-party, one-man dictatorship setting up a fake anti-corruption commission. It is simply meant to paying lip-service to the cause of good governance to decieve donor countries.
To end up corruptions and sufferings of our nation, people must join hand and fight the root cause of these miseries which is the Meles Zenawi regime. Two decades in power, Meles is the same. We repeat ethiomedia’s motto: “TPLF cannot be reformed; like apartheid, it should be abolished.”
February 21st, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Eritrea rejects mediation on Ethiopia border row
The political and diplomatic campaigns undertaken by (Ethiopia) … are but wicked ploys designed to appease the Eritrean people and international community
http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE51K09E20090221
weyane tigraian want peace with eritrea. eritrea don’t want you. we, ethiopian don’t want you.
weyane tigrain government put gadaffi to power OAU so they can desparitley want peace with eritrea and eritrean people. Eritrean people are not intrested peace with weyane tigrain govenment. hahhahahhahahha
the tigraian minority leader are faberating to be ethopian
that they are not ethiopian. the tigrain are killing ethiopian.
we all ethiopian must stand together.
tigraian are not ethiopian.
they are tigrain meles & his tigrain fans are not ethiopian. they are ruling ethiopian people by gun. ሎኦቲንግ እትሂኦፒአ ቶ ትሀ ቦነ
eritrea is gone with assab. Internationally we ethiopian have no right to claim asab.Is is wayne propaganda to stay in power, it use asab ploy so weyane minority government can stay in power. the weyane minority leader are faberating to be ethopian
that they are not ethiopian. the weyane agazzzi babay killer are ethiopian.
we all ethiopian must stand together.
aganist agazzzi babay killer
tigraian are not ethiopian.
they are tigrain meles & his tigrain fans are not ethiopian. they are ruling ethiopian people by gun. ሎኦቲንግ እትሂኦፒአ ቶ ትሀ ቦነ