Power Africa? Empower Africans!

July 28, 2013

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Power, power, power…

When President Obama recently visited Africa, he announced a “Power Africa” initiative.  In his Cape Town University speech, he proclaimed,  “I am proud to announce a new initiative. We’ve been dealing with agriculture.  We’ve been dealing with health. Now we’re going to talk about power: Power Africa, a new initiative that will double access to power in sub-Saharan Africa. Double it.  We’re going to start by investing $7 billion in U.S. government resources. We’re going to partner with the private sector, who themselves have committed more than $9 billion in investment.”

In the speech, President Obama used the word “power” 21 times in a variety of contexts. He philosophized about “power that comes from acting on our ideals” and the  “power of human beings to affect change”. He urged Africans to act “through the power of your example”. He encouraged support for programs “that empower women”. He mildly chided “those in power who make arguments to distract people from their own abuses.”

He puzzled over “what it will take to empower individual Africans” and enable Africans to have the “power to feed themselves.” He pleaded for “unleashing the power of entrepreneurship and market” and the creation of “partnership that empowers Africans.” He spoke about “the power to prevent illness and care for the sick” and “the power to connect their people to the promise of the 21st century.”

He lamented “Africa’s lack of access to power” and the need “to have power.”  He “talked about power — Power Africa” and “doubling access to power in sub-Saharan Africa.” He pitied those Africans who “live currently off the power grid.”

He wistfully spoke about Nelson Mandela “leaving power” which “was as profound as his ability to claim power”. He spoke of Mugabe’s “corruption of power” and Zimbabwe’s economic collapse.

To power Africa or to empower Africans, that is the question

Africa has a power problem. There is no question about that. Africa needs protection from thugs-cum-leaders who abuse power, misuse power, confuse power and excuse and justify their abuse and misuse of power. President Obama is already powering Africa. Every year, he hands out billions of dollars to Africa’s worst dictators (excuse me, he calls them “partners”) who abuse power in countries like Ethiopia.  Africa needs people power not thugs in power.

On second thought, Africa does not have a power problem.  Africa has a problem of powerlessness. The people are powerless against thugtators who use power to abuse their human rights. Africans are powerless against the powerful forces of corruption – officials and their cronies who “illicitly transfer” (steal and stash) tens of billions of dollars in foreign banks. For instance, “Ethiopia lost $11.7 billion to outflows of ill-gotten gains between 2000 and 2009” and  “in 2009, illicit money leaving the country totaled $3.26 billion.” Africans are powerless and disempowered against powerful election thieves who claim electoral victory by 99.6 percent. Africans are powerless against powerful warlords who seek to divide them along ethnic, religious, linguistic and regional lines. Yes, Africa’s powerless have a big problem with Africa’s powerful thugtators.

President Obama does not seem to get it. The question is not whether to power Africa but how to protect powerless Africans from those dictators America has powered and empowered by doling out billions of dollars in aid, loans and technical assistance every year. If he wants to power Africa, he should begin by empowering ordinary Africans against those who abuse and misuse their power. He should power up the youth grid that remains unused, abused and disused by those who manage the political power grid. He should use the billions of dollars of annual aid to disempower the few powerful African thugtators and empower the hundreds of millions of African youth.

Last week, in his New York Times opinion piece, Eskinder Nega, the symbol of press freedom in Ethiopia and Africa, made a simple but effective recommendation to President Obama: “I propose that the United States impose economic sanctions on Ethiopia (while continuing to extend humanitarian aid without precondition) and impose travel bans on Ethiopian officials implicated in human rights violations.” This proposal is in line with established U.S. policy. Beginning in 2001, the U.S. has imposed “targeted sanctions on the Government of Zimbabwe, including restrictions on U.S. support for multilateral financing, financial sanctions against selected individuals and entities, travel sanctions against selected individuals, a ban on transfers of defense items and services, and a suspension of non-humanitarian government-to-government assistance.” The official reason for these sanctions is the “Zimbawean Government’s increasing assault on human rights and the rule of law.” The human rights record of the regime in Ethiopia is far worse than the regime in Zimbabwe. That is a fact that can be demonstrated. President Obama should understand that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

If Obama wants to power Africa, let him empower African youth

President Obama has been talking about empowering African youth for years. In August 2010, he talked about launching “the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) as a signature initiative that supports young African leaders as they work to spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across the continent.” In June 2012, some “60 young African leaders” participated in “the Innovation Summit and Mentoring Partnership with Young African Leaders” for a “three-week professional development program”.

 To support the “empowerment of young African leaders” and provide them “significant and ongoing professional training, access to mentorship, and networking opportunities in Africa”, USAID “awarded two grants totaling $1.3 million to support the core principles of Young African Leaders Initiative.” In his Cape Town speech, President Obama told Africa’s young people: “You get to decide where the future lies.  Think about it — over 60 percent of Africans are under 35 years old.  So demographics means young people are going to be determining the fate of this continent and this country.  You’ve got time and numbers on your side, and you’ll be making decisions long after politicians like me have left the scene.” But Africa’s young people do not have the numbers on their side. They got $1.3 million from America while  Africa’s dictators get billions every year

In June 2013, President Obama talked about “launching a new program” called the “Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders” which is “going to give thousands of promising young Africans the opportunity to come to the United States and develop skills at some of our best colleges and universities.” A lot of nice talk and promises for African young people; but promises and talk are more convincing when one puts money where one’s mouth is. Since YALI, there has been more talk than action.

But there is another side to the African youth story. President Obama in Cape Town said, “And I’ve traveled to Africa on this trip because my bet is on the young people who are the heartbeat of Africa’s story.  I’m betting on all of you.” Which segment of the African youth is he betting on? The Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders promises to “give thousands of promising young Africans” the “opportunity to come to the United States and develop their skills.”

What about the millions of not-so-promising African youths who waste away in the urban areas without educational and employment opportunities? What about those African youths mired in rural poverty unable to get even the most basic educational services? Those young Africans who have acquired college education but are unable to find employment because they are not connected to the ruling parties in Africa? Those young Africans who are leaving the continent for menial employment in the Middle East and elsewhere and are subjected to the most inhumane conditions and treatment. Recently, BBC reported the discovery of a grave in the desert of Yemen containing some 400 bodies of young Ethiopian immigrants escaping the oppressive conditions in Ethiopia. Do the not-so-promising youth matter to President Obama?

Along the same lines, what does President Obama offer Africa’s young freedom fighters? In 2009, in Accra, Ghana, he warned, “Now, make no mistake: History is on the side of these brave Africans, not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.”

Does President Obama know of brave young Africans in prison named Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu, Woubshet Taye, Andualem Aragie, Olbana Lelisa, Bekele Gerba, Abubekar Ahmed, Ahmedin Jebel  and so many thousands of Ethiopian political prisoners? President Obama needs to live up to the standards he set for Africans and answer one question: Is he, like history, on the side of brave Africans or is he on the side of Africa’s strongmen. President Obama must choose between making brave young Africans strong or African strongmen stronger.

Would $7 billion make a difference?

Lighting the dark continent is a daunting task. Enlightening the benighted “leaders” of the dark continent is an even more daunting fact. Over 130 years after the invention of the light bulb, the vast majority of Africans remain in total darkness. It is a historical enigma that as technology enlightens the world, Africa is enveloped in darkness. For instance, Ethiopia got a functioning telephone system in 1894 and over the past decade “invested some USD$14 billion in infrastructure development” including communications. Yet today Ethiopia has the worst telecommunications system in Africa and quite possibly the world.

Power outages and blackouts are common in every part of Africa. In June 2012, as U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton began her speech at the African Union, she experienced firsthand what Africans face every day. She had to stop her speech because of power outage.

Africa’s electrical power problem is not merely low access and insufficient capacity; it also involves poor reliability and extremely high costs. The regime in Ethiopia windbags day and night about a pie-in-the-sky dam on the Nile. They say it will be the largest dam in Africa and cost USD$6-7 billion. This fantasy dam is supposed to resolve the power supply problems of not only Ethiopia but also the region and beyond. The fact of the matter is that the regime aims to export much of the power produced from the dam and not use it for domestic power self-sufficiency. It is also ironic that the regime seeks to convince the population and the world that it can run the “largest dam” in Africa when it cannot even manage efficiently the few dams that are currently in existence.  Yet the regime in Ethiopia keeps on windbagging the Nile dam canard to create the grand illusion of development, hoodwink the population and panhandle China and the international banks for more and more handouts.

The World Bank says Africa needs USD$43 billion annually to improve its power infrastructure. Would dropping USD$7 billion in American tax dollars plus $9 billion from the private sector over five years to “double” the power capacity make a  difference in lighting Africa or enlightening Africans? Throwing USD$3 billion a year to help “Power Africa” for 5 years sounds like chicken feed. According to IMANI, the Ghanaian Center for Policy and Education, “If all the electricity generated in Africa was shared equally, each household would have enough to power a normal light-bulb for about 3.5 hours a day per person. With President Obama’s new initiative, this can increase by roughly 18 more minutes if implementation was perfect.”

President Obama cannot power Africa by empowering Africa’s strongmen.  To power Africa, he must first help empower Africa’s youth. He cannot empower Africa’s youth with promises and silky words. He cannot power Africa by empowering a few of Africa’s “best and brightest” by  providing them leadership training or skills. It is said that more than 600 million of Africa’s one billion population is below the age of 25. The vast majority of these youth are poor, undereducated and with little prospect for lifetime economic viability. Vast numbers of these youths are forced to work in whatever capacity to help their families survive while losing educational opportunities that could free them from poverty. He must come up with a different plan for Africa’s not-so-promising youth. They are the majority of Africa!

The real answer to Africa’s problems lies in creating a power grid among its youth. Any program that is narrowly targeted to Africa’s talented youth will merely perpetuate existing inequalities and keep the sons and daughters of the rich and privileged at the top. The masses of youths at the bottom will not accept this condition. Sooner or later, they will rise, power up and disempower the strongmen who abuse their power.  That’s how Africa will be powered and empowered, President Obama!

‹የቢሮ ፖለቲካ ስለበቃን ወደ ሕዝቡ ሄደን ማስተማርና መቀስቀስ አለብን›› አቶ አስራት ጣሴ፣ የአንድነት ፓርቲ ዋና ጸሐፊ

28 July 2013 

ሰሞኑን በኢትዮጵያ ተቃውሞ ፖለቲካ ጎራ ብዙም ባልተለመደ ሁኔታ የምርጫ ወቅት ከመድረሱ ‹‹እጅግ›› ቀደም ብሎ ሕዝባዊ ስብሰባና ሠልፍ እዚህም እዚያም እየተካሄደ ይገኛል፡፡ በቀጣይነትም በተለያዩ ፖለቲካዊ አጀንዳዎች ጥላ ሥር በርካታ ሠልፎችንና ሕዝባዊ ስብሰባዎችን ለመጥራት ዝግጅት እየተደረገ መሆኑ ታውቋል፡፡

ባለፉት ሳምንታት ሕዝባዊ ሠልፎችንና ስብሰባዎችን ካካሄዱ ተቃዋሚ ድርጅቶች መካከል በቅርቡ የተመሠረተው ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ፣ በተቃውሞ ፖለቲካ ውስጥ የጎላ ተሳትፎ ያለው አንድነት ለዲሞክራሲና ለፍትሕ (አንድነት) ፓርቲና የስድስት ፓርቲዎች ግንባር የሆነው የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ አንድነት መድረክ (መድረክ) ናቸው፡፡ እነዚህ የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶች በአዲስ አበባ፣ በመቀሌ፣ በጎንደርና በደሴ ከተሞች ሕዝባዊ ሠልፎችንና የተቃውሞ ስብሰባዎች አካሂደዋል፡፡ እነዚህ ድርጅቶች በቀጣይነትም በተለያዩ ቦታዎች የተቃውሞ አንቅስቃሴዎችን ለማካሄድ እየተዘጋጁ መሆኑ ታውቋል፡፡ ይህንን ወቅታዊ ጉዳይ በተመለከተ የመድረክ ሥራ አስፈጻሚ አባልና የአንድነት ፓርቲ ዋና ጸሐፊ አቶ አስራት ጣሴን ውድነህ ዘነበ አነጋግሯቸዋል፡፡ አቶ አስራት በኢትዮጵያ የተቃውሞ ፖለቲካ ዙርያ የነቃ ተሳትፎ ከሚያደርጉ ግለሰቦች መካከል ተጠቃሽ ናቸው፡፡

ሪፖርተር፡- ሰሞኑን የእርስዎ ፓርቲ በጎንደርና በደሴ የተቃውሞ ትዕይንተ ሕዝብ አካሂዷል፡፡ ፓርቲው ለሕዝቡ ምን ማሳየትና ምን ማድረግ ፈልጐ ነው ትዕይንቱን ያካሄደው?

አቶ አስራት፡- ለዚህ ጥያቄ መልስ ለመስጠት ትንሽ ወደኋላ መለስ ማለት ያስፈልጋል፡፡ ከ2002 ምርጫ በኋላ አንድነትም እንደ አንድነት፣ ሌሎቹም ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎችም ቢሆኑ ሕዝብ ውስጥ ገብተው የማንቃት ሥራና ሕዝባዊ እንቅስቃሴ የመፍጠር ሥራ በተገቢው አልሠሩም፡፡ በጭራሽ በተገቢው መንገድ አልተሠራም፡፡ እርግጥ ሁልጊዜ ማማኸኛ አለን፡፡ ጥርጥር የለውም አዳራሽ ማግኘት አይቻልም፡፡ ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ መውጣትም አይቻልም፡፡ ብዙ ጊዜ አዳራሽ እየተከራየን ገንዘባችሁን መልሳችሁ ውሰዱ እየተባልን ተቸግረን ነበር፡፡ በሌላ በኩልም ስናየው ፍኖተ ነፃነት ጋዜጣ ለአንድነት ፓርቲ ትልቁ መሣርያ ነበር፡፡ ሕዝብን ለማደራጀትና ለማንቃት፤ እንደገና ከሕዝቡም የሚመጡ ሐሳቦችን የምናገኝበት ነበር፡፡ በተለያዩ ስልቶች ጋዜጣው ከሕትመት እንዲወጣ ተደረገ፡፡ መጀመርያ ብርሃንና ሰላም ማተሚያ ቤት እንዳያትም ተደረገ፡፡ ጋዜጣው እንዳይታተም ለተደረገበት የሚሰጡ ምክንያቶች ሁሉ በቀልድና ሹፈት ደረጃ የሚታዩ ናቸው፡፡  

በግል ማተሚያ ቤቶችም አንድ ጊዜ ያትሙልንና በድጋሚ ልናሳትም ስንሄድ ‹‹እባካችሁ ልጆቻችንን እናሳድግ›› ይሉናል፡፡ ቀብድ ወስደውም የማያትሙና ገንዘቡን አሻፈረኝ ብለው የሚመልሱ አሉ፡፡

ይህንን ያነሳሁት ሕዝብን ለማንቀሳቀስ ዕድሎቹ በጣም ጠበቡ ለማለት ነው፡፡ ይህ ውጫዊ ችግራችን ነው፡፡ ነገር ግን ወደዚህ እንቅስቃሴ ከመግባታችን በፊት አንዳንዶቻችን ራሳችን ማፈር ጀምረን ነበር፡፡ እኔ በግሌ ማፈር ከጀመርኩ ቆይቻለሁ፡፡ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ሆኖ የፖለቲካ ሥራ መሥራት ወይም መምራት ካልተቻለ አስቸጋሪ ነው፡፡ አንዳንዶቻችን ኢንተርቪው ሰጪዎች ብቻ ሆንን፡፡ ኢንተርቪው ሰጪ የቢሮ ፖለቲከኞች ከሆንን ይህ አካሄድ የፖለቲካ ሥራን አይመጥንም፡፡ ፖለቲካን በቢሮ ውስጥ ሆኖ መሥራት አመራሮቻችንን አይመጥንም፡፡ አጥራችንን ሰብረን መውጣት አለብን፡፡ ሕዝቡ መሀል ገብተን ሕዝባዊ እንቅስቃሴ መፍጠር አለብን፡፡ ያለበለዚያ በአንዳንዶቻችን እምነት በእውነት አስፈላጊዎች አይደለንም፡፡ ምናልባት ረዥም ጊዜ ፖለቲካው ቦታ ላይ ኃላፊነት ይዘን በመቆየታችን፣ በወጣቶች ሊሠራ የሚችለውን ሥራ የዘነጋን ይመስለናል፡፡ ራሳችንን መታዘብ ደረጃ ላይ በመድረሳችን የሆነ ነገር መደረግ አለበት አልን፡፡ አጥራችን መሰበር አለበት፡፡ ሕገ መንግሥታዊ መብታችንን ማስከበር አለብን፡፡ ይህንን መሠረት አድርገን ወደ ሕዝብ እንሂድ ብለን ነው የተነሳነው፡፡

ሪፖርተር፡- ሰላማዊ ሠልፎችን ከዚህ ቀደም ማካሄድ የተዘጋ ነው ብለውኛል፡፡ በአሁኑ ወቅት በጎንደርና በደሴ ማካሄድ ችላችኋል፡፡ አሁን መንግሥት ተለሳልሶ ምቹ ሁኔታ ፈጥሯል ማለት ይቻላል?

አቶ አስራት፡- እኔ ከኢሕአዴግ በኩል ምንም የመለሳለስ ሁኔታ አላየሁም፡፡ የመለሳለስ ሁኔታ አላየሁም ስል በሁለቱም ቦታዎች ያካሄድናቸውንና በአዲስ አበባ ለማካሄድ ያሰብነውን መሠረት በማድረግ ነው፡፡ ደሴ ላይ በጭራሽ ልናደርግ እንዳንችል ተገቢ ባልሆነ መንገድ እንቅፋት ሲፈጥሩ ነበር፡፡ በተለይ በጎንደር እኔ በነበርኩበት ቦታ እገታ ጭምር ነበር፡፡ የእኛ የሥራ አስፈጻሚ አባላት፣ የብሔራዊ ምክር ቤት ሰብሳቢው፣ የብሔራዊ ምክር ቤት አባሎቻችንና መኪኖቻቸው ሳይቀሩ እንዳይንቀሳቀሱ ተደርገው ነበር፡፡ የከተማው ከንቲባና የዞኑ መስተዳድር አናነጋግራችሁም፣ እንዲያውም አልፎ ተርፎ በዚህ ከተማ ምንም ዓይነት ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ አይሞከርም ብለው ነበር፡፡

ምክንያታቸውም አካባቢው የፀጥታ ችግር ያለበት ስለሆነ እዚህ የመጣችሁት ግርግር ለመፍጠር ነው የሚል ነው፡፡ በአደባባይ ሰው በሚሰማበት ቦታ ላይ ‹‹እደፋሃለሁ፣ እንደፋችኋለን፤›› እየተባልን ነበር፡፡ እስከ መጨረሻው ድረስ ያነጋገረን ኃይል አልነበረም፡፡ የትኛውም መስዋዕትነት ይከፈል፣ የሚያስከፍለውን ያህል ዋጋ ያስከፍል እንጂ ሰላማዊ ሠልፉን እንወጣለን አልን፡፡ በሕጉ መሠረት መከልከል አይችሉም፡፡ የሚፈለገው ማሳወቅ ነው፡፡ ሠልፍ እንደምናካሂድ አሳውቀናል፡፡ በዚህ መሠረት ተዘጋጅተን ስንጠብቅ ከፖሊስ ውይይት እናድርግ የሚል ጥሪ ቀረበልን፡፡ ከተወያየን በኋላም ብዙ ተፅዕኖ ተደርጎብንም ቢሆን ሠልፉን አድርገናል፡፡      
  
ሪፖርተር፡- ሠልፎቹን ከማካሄዳችሁ በፊት ግምት ይኖራችኋል ብዬ አስባለሁ፡፡ እናንተ ያሰባችሁትን ያህል ሠልፈኛ መጥቶላችኋል? ይህንን የምጠይቅዎ በተፅዕኖም ሆነ በሌላ ምክንያት የወጣው ሕዝብ ቁጥር አነስተኛ ነው የሚሉ ስላሉ ነው፡፡

አቶ አስራት፡- እኛ ቁጥርን በሁለተኛ ደረጃ ነው የምናየው፡፡ አንደኛው መርህ ነው፡፡ የቢሮ ፖለቲካ በቃ፡፡ የቢሮ ፖለቲካ ስለበቃን ወደ ሕዝብ ሄደን ማስተማርና መቀስቀስ አለብን፡፡ ሕዝቡ ለሕገ መንግሥታዊ መብቱ እንዲቆም መቀስቀስ አለብን፡፡ ከገባበት የፍርኃት ቆፈን እንዲወጣ ወደ ሕዝቡ ሄደን ሊከፈል የሚገባውን መስዋዕትነት ከፍለን መሥራት አለብን የሚለው አንዱ ትልቁ ስኬት ወይም ግኝት ነው፡፡ ከስምንት ዓመት በኋላ ነው በጎንደር ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ የተካሄደው፡፡ በሁለተኛ ደረጃ እንዳልከው ብዙ ሕዝብ መጠበቅ አንድ ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ የሚጠራ ክፍል ተግባር ነው፡፡ ብዙ ሕዝብ ባገኘ ቁጥር የፖለቲካ ትርጉሙ ትልቅ ይሆናል፡፡ ነገር ግን በኢትዮጵያ ተጨባጭ ሁኔታ በአሁኑ ጊዜ ለመጀመርያ ጊዜ በሚካሄዱ ሰላማዊ ሠልፎች በእውነት የናረ ቁጥር አዕምሮአችን ውስጥ የለም፡፡ መቼስ የወጣውን ሰው አትቆጥርም፡፡

መንግሥትም ታች አውርዶ ይገምታል፡፡ እኛም ትንሽ ከፍ እናደርግ ይሁን አናውቅም በጎንደር ከ20 እስከ 25 ሺሕ ሰው ወጥቷል፡፡ በደሴ ደግሞ እስከ 50 ሺሕ ሰው ወጥቷል፡፡ በአሁኑ ጊዜ ለእኔ ቁጥር ሁለተኛ ደረጃ ነው፤ ወደፊት ግን ቁጥርም አስፈላጊ ነው፡፡ ሕዝቡ በገፍ ወጥቶ ያለውን ችግር በመግለጽ ያለውንም ድጋፍ ለተቃዋሚዎች ካላሳየ አስቸጋሪ ነው፡፡ ችግር አለ ማለት ነው፡፡ እኛ ውጤታማ ነበርን ነው የምንለው፡፡
  
ሪፖርተር፡- በሕጉ መሠረት ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ ለማካሄድ ማሳወቅ እንጂ ማስፈቀድ አይጠበቅም፡፡ ቀደም ሲል ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ ለማካሄድ ተከለከልን ትሉ ነበር፡፡ በአሁኑ ወቅት ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ እያካሄዳችሁ ነው፡፡ ምን የተለየ አሠራር መጣ?

አቶ አስራት፡- ጥያቄው ትንሽ ከበድ ይላል፡፡ ከበድ ይላል የምልበት ከምን አንፃር ነው? ቅድም ካነሳሁት አንፃር በእውነት ቀደም ሲልም አሳውቀን መውጣት ነበረብን፡፡ እኛ ዝም ብለን ይህ ነው በማንለው ምክንያት [አልወጣንም]፡፡ አንዱ ፍርኃት መሆን አለበት፡፡ መቼም በ1997 ዓ.ም. የደረሰውን የሕዝብ እልቂት አይተናል፡፡ የሥርዓቱን የመጨረሻ የአምባገነንነት ደረጃም ተመልክተነዋል፡፡ ለሃያ ሁለት ወራት እስር ቤት በነበርንበት ጊዜ ያለምንም ምክንያትና ማስረጃ በዘር ማጥፋት መክሰስ የሚችል ሥርዓት መሆኑን ተረድተናል፡፡ እንደምታውቀው ከጥቅምት 1998 ዓ.ም. ጀምሮ 100 ሺዎች ለእስር ተዳርገው ነበር፡፡ በክፉ ቦታዎች ነበር እስሩ፡፡ በሰውነታቸው ላይ የደረሰ ጉዳት ነበር፡፡

ቅንጅትን ደግፎ የተነሳው ክፍልም ተመቷል፡፡ እኛም በእነዚህ ምክንያቶች ረጋ ብለን እንድናስብ ሆነናል፡፡ ያ ጊዜ ተመልሶ ይመጣል የሚል ሥጋት በመኖሩ ረዘም ላለ ጊዜ ማለትም ለአራት ዓመት የአየሩንና የሕዝቡን ሁኔታ ስንለካ ነበር፡፡ አንድ ወቅት ግን መቆም አለበት፡፡ ወይ ፖለቲካውን ፖለቲካ አድርገን እንሥራው ወይ እንተወው፡፡ ካልሠራነው ለሚሠሩ ሰዎች እንተው በሚለው ጉዳይ ደጋግመን ተነጋገርንበት፡፡ ከዚያም ሕገ መንግሥቱንና መብታችንን እናስከብራለን፡፡ መብታችንን ለማስከበር በምናደርገው እንቅስቃሴ የሚደርስብንን ሁሉ እንቀበላለን በሚል ነው ይህ እንቅስቃሴ የተጀመረው፡፡
   
ሪፖርተር፡- ብዙ ጊዜ ተቃዋሚዎች ሰላማዊ ሠልፍና ቅስቀሳዎችን የምታካሂዱት ምርጫ በሚደርስበት ወቅት ነው፡፡ በአሁኑ ጊዜ ደግሞ አንድነትና ሌሎች የፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች ምርጫ ከመድረሱ በጣም ቀደም ብላችሁ ፖለቲካዊ እንቅስቃሴ በማድረግ ላይ ናችሁ፡፡ ይህንን ልታደርጉ የቻላችሁበት የፖለቲካ ትንታኔ ምንድነው? በፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች አካባቢ የአካሄድ ለውጥ ሊታይ የቻለበት ምክንያትስ ምንድነው?

አቶ አስራት፡- ያለንበት ሁኔታ ነው፡፡ አገራችን አደገኛ ወቅት ላይ ነው ያለችው፡፡ ጥናቶችን ልጥቀስ፡፡ ‹‹ዘ ኢኮኖሚስት ኢንተለጀንት ዩኒት›› የዲሞክራሲ ደረጃን ለመለየት 60 መመዘኛዎችን ተጠቅሞ አገሮችን በአራት ከፍሏል፡፡ በዚህ መሠረት ሙሉ ዲሞክራሲ፣ እንከን ያለበት ዲሞክራሲ፣ ድቅል አገዛዝ (አንዳንዴ ዲሞክራሲ አንዳንዴ አምባገነን) እና የመጨረሻው የለየላቸው አምባገነን በሚሉ ክፍሎች ከፍሏል፡፡ በዚህ መመዘኛ ኢትዮጵያ የተመደበችው ፍፁም አምባገነኖች ከሚባሉት ውስጥ ነው፡፡

ሌላ ጥናት አለ፡፡ ‹‹ፍሪደም ሐውስ›› የሚባል ተቋም የነፃነት ደረጃን በሚመለከት አጥንቷል፡፡ ይህ ጥናት አገሮችን በሦስት ከፍሏል፡፡ ነፃ፣ ከፊል ነፃ፣ ነፃ ያልሆኑ በሚል ከፍሏል፡፡ አሁንም ኢትዮጵያ ነፃ ያልሆኑ በሚሉት ጎራ ውስጥ ነው የተመደበችው፡፡ መመዘኛዎቹ ግልጽ፣ ተዓማኒና ነፃ ምርጫ መካሄዱ፣ ውድድር ያለበት የመድበለ ፓርቲ ሥርዓት መኖሩ፣ ፖለቲካዊ ፉክክር ያለበት ምርጫ መካሄዱ፣ የምርጫ ሚስጥራዊነት የተጠበቀ መሆኑና የነቃ የሕዝብ ተሳትፎ ያለበት መሆኑ እንደ መስፈርት ተቀምጧል ይላል፡፡ በዚህም ብትመለከት ኢትዮጵያ የተመደበችው ፍፁም ነፃ ያልሆኑ አገሮች ምድብ ውስጥ ነው፡፡

ከዚህ ሁሉ የሚያሰጋው ‹‹ፎሬን ፖሊሲ ሜጋዚንና ፈንድ ፎር ፒስ›› የሚባል ድርጅት ባደረገው ጥናት የዓለም አገሮች የሚገኙበትን የመረጋጋት ሁኔታ በተወሰኑ መስፈርቶች አወዳድሮ፣ ኢትዮጵያ ዝቅተኛ ነጥብ በማግኘት የመከነ አገር (ፌልድ ስቴት) ለመሆን ከተቃረቡትና አሳሳቢ ከተባሉት አገሮች ቀጥላ አደጋ ዞን ውስጥ ተመድባለች፡፡

እነዚህን ነጥቦች ያነሳሁት ጉዳዩ የሥልጣን ጉዳይ ስለሆነ ብቻ አይደለም፡፡ ጉዳዩ የአገር ህልውናም ጭምር ነው፡፡ ባለንበት ሁኔታ የሙስናውን ሁኔታ ታዩታላችሁ፡፡ እ.ኤ.አ. ከ2000 እስከ 2013 ድረስ 16.5 ቢሊዮን ዶላር ከኢትዮጵያ ወጥቷል፡፡ ገንዘቡ የወጣው በሙስናና በሕገወጥ የገንዘብ ዝውውር አማካይነት ነው፡፡ በህዳሴ ግድብ ዋጋ ተመን ብንመለከተው ሦስት የህዳሴ ግድቦችን ይገነባል፡፡ ሕዝቡ በገፍ ይሰደዳል የኑሮ ውድነቱ ከፍቷል፡፡ ይኼ ጉዳይ አቅጣጫውን ስቶ ከመሄዱ በፊት የምንችለውን ያህል አገር የማዳን ሥራ መሠራት አለበት በማለት ነው የተነሳነው፡፡ እንደ አገርና እንደ ሕዝብ ለመቀጠል ጥያቄ ውስጥ ነው ያለነው፡፡   

ሪፖርተር፡-  የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶች ሁሉ እንቅስቃሴ የጀመራችሁት ይህንን አስባችሁ ነው? ከምርጫ በፊት እንቅስቃሴ ውስጥ የገባችሁት በዚህ መነሻነት ነው ማለት ይቻላል?

አቶ አስራት፡- የአንድነትን በድፍረት መናገር እችላለሁ፡፡ ሌሎችም ቢሆኑ ከዚህ የተለየ ሊሆኑ አይችሉም፡፡ የአገሪቷን ተጨባጭ ሁኔታ፣ የሰፈነውን አምባገነናዊነት፣ የሰፈነውን የሰብዓዊ መብት ረገጣ፣ የፍርድ ቤቶችን ነፃ ያለመሆንና የሕግ የበላይነት የመሳሰሉት ችግሮች መከበር አለባቸው በሚል ነው፡፡ የፀረ ሽብርተኝነት አዋጁ ሕገ መንግሥቱን ስድስትና ሰባት ቦታ ይጥሳል፡፡ በዚህ ምክንያት ነው የተነሳነው፡፡   

ሪፖርተር፡- ሕዝቡ እነዚህን ጉዳዮች እንዲረዳላችሁ ፈለጋችሁ እንበል፡፡ ከዚያ የሚቀጥለው መንግሥት እነዚህን ነጥቦች እንዲያስተካክል ነው? ወይስ በሥልጣን ጥያቄ ትገፋላችሁ?

አቶ አስራት፡- ግልጽ ነው፡፡ አንደኛ የፀረ ሽብር አዋጅ እንዲሰረዝ ነው የምንጠይቀው፡፡ ሁለተኛ የሕዝቡ ሰብዓዊና ዲሞክራሲያዊ መብቶች ይከበሩ፡፡ መብትህን አስከብር ነው የምንለው፡፡ ሕዝቡ ነፃ ዳኝነት ያግኝ የሕግ የበላይነት ይከበር፡፡ መልካም አስተዳደር ከነጭራሹ የለም፡፡ መልካም አስተዳዳር መስፈን አለበት፡፡ ሙስና የሥርዓቱ መገለጫ ሆኗል፤ መቆም አለበት፡፡ ጥፋተኞች መቀጣት አለባቸው፡፡ መንግሥት በሕዝቡ ውስጥ ተገቢውን መረጋጋትና መግባባት ለመፍጠር አልቻለም፡፡ መንግሥት የሕዝብ አመኔታ ሊያገኝ አልቻለም፡፡ ይህ ሊሆን ይችል ዘንድ ከጉዳዩ ባለቤት፣ ይመለከተናል ከሚሉ ባለድርሻዎች፣ ከፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች፣ ከሲቪክ ማኅበራት፣ ከአገር ሽማግሌዎችና ከምሁራን ጋር ቁጭ ብሎ ብሔራዊ መግባቢያና ብሔራዊ የውይይት መድረክ መክፈት አለበት፡፡ ምክንያቱም አሁን ባለው ሁኔታ መንግሥት ሕዝቡንና አገሪቱን እያስተዳደረ አይደለም፡፡ መነጋገርና መወያየት አለበት፡፡

በምንም መንገድ ግን ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲ አንድነትም ሆነ እኔ በቅርብ የማውቀው መድረክም ከመንግሥት በአቋራጭ የሚጠይቁት የሥልጣን ጉዳይ የለም፡፡ ሥልጣን የሚመነጨው ከምርጫ ሳጥን ነው ብለን ነው የምናምነው፡፡ በዚህ ሕዝባዊ እንቅስቃሴ አንዱ ሕዝብ ለመብቱ እንዲቆምና በ2007 ምርጫ ተገቢ ነው ብሎ የሚያስበውን ፓርቲ መርጦ ወደ ሥልጣን እንዲያመጣ፣ ኢትዮጵያ እንደ አገር አቅጣጫዋን እንድትይዝ ነው፡፡    

ሪፖርተር፡- የእርስዎ ፓርቲም ሆነ የታቀፈበት መድረክ በተካሄዱ ምርጫዎች ብዙም ተሳታፊ አይደሉም፡፡ በ2007 ዓ.ም. በሚካሄደው ምርጫ አቋማችሁን አሁን ላይ መናገር ከባድ ሊሆን ይችላል፡፡ ነገር ግን በምርጫ ንቁ ተሳታፊ ሳትሆኑ እነዚህ ቅስቀሳዎችን እንዴት ልትጠቀሙባቸው አስባችኋል? ከዚህ ጋር ደግሞ ሁለት ጊዜ ያልተወዳደረ ፓርቲ ከጨዋታ ውጭ ይሆናል የሚል የምርጫ ቦርድ ሕግ አለ፡፡

አቶ አስራት፡- ከምርጫ መሰረዝ ከሚለው ልነሳ፡፡ ይኼ የራሴ የግል እምነቴ ነው፡፡ አንድ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ነፃ፣ ፍትሐዊና ሚስጥራዊነቱ ባልተጠበቀ ምርጫ ከመሳተፍ ሁለት ጊዜ ሳይወዳደር ቢቀር የተሻለ ነው፡፡ ምክንያቱም ምርጫ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሥርዓትን ያሰፍናል፣ የሕግ የበላይነትን ያመጣል፡፡ የምንለው ትልቁ መሣሪያ ካልተስተካከለና ፍትሐዊና ግልጽ ካልሆነ በስተቀር በአገራችን እየተዳደርን ያለነው በ2002 ዓ.ም. በተካሄደው የውሸት ምርጫ ነው፡፡ በውሸት ምርጫ መሳተፍ የሕዝብን ብሶትና መከራ ለማራዘም መተባበር ነው፡፡ ስለዚህ ያ ሊያሳስበን አይገባም፡፡

በአዲስ አበባ የአካባቢ ምርጫ ያልተሳተፍንባቸው ምክንያቶች ግልጽ ናቸው፡፡ 18 ጥያቄዎችን ለምርጫ ቦርድና ለጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ አቅርበናል፡፡ ሊያወያዩንና ሊያነጋግሩን አልፈለጉም፡፡ 99.6 በመቶ [አሸንፈናል] ያሉትን ልንደግመው አንፈልግም፡፡   

ሪፖርተር፡- በርካታ አገሮች የፀረ ሽብር ሕጎች አሏቸው፡፡ የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥትም እንደሌሎች አገሮች የፀረ ሽብር ሕግ አውጥቷል፡፡ አንድነት የፀረ ሽብር ሕጉ ይሰረዝ ሲል አማራጭ አቅርቦ ነው? ሌላ ዓይነት አማራጭ ይጠቀማል? ወይስ ከነጭራሹ አያስፈልግም ነው የሚለው?

አቶ አስራት፡- በመሠረቱ በምናውቀው የኢትዮጵያ ታሪክና ባለው ተጨባጭ ሁኔታ ኢትዮጵያ ለሽብር ተጋላጭ አይደለችም፡፡ በአገራችን ሽብር የሚፈጥሩ አሉ ብለን አናምንም፡፡ ሽብር ቀልድ አይደለም፡፡ ሽብርን የምናውቀው በአፍጋኒስታን ታሊባን የሚያካሂደውን ሽብር ነው፡፡ የነአልቃይዳ ትልቅ ሽብር ነው፡፡ የሶማሊያ አልሸባብ ትልቅ ሽብር ነው፡፡ የናይጀሪያው ቦኮሐራም ትልቅ ሽብር ነው፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ ለእንደዚህ ዓይነት ሽብር የተጋለጠች አገር አይደለችም፡፡ መልክዓ ምድራዊ አቀማመጧ አሳሳቢ ቢሆንም፣ በተጨባጭ ግን ይህ የሽብር አዋጅ በወጣበት ጊዜ ኢትዮጵያ እንደዚህ ዓይነት የሽብር ሥጋት አልነበረባትም፡፡

ይህ የፀረ ሽብር አዋጅ የወጣው ኢትዮጵያ ለሽብር ተጋልጣ ሳይሆን ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎችን፣ በነፃ ፕሬስ ላይ የተሰማሩትንና በሲቪክ ማኅበራት የተሰማሩትን ለማፈን ነው፡፡ በእኛ በኩል ኢትዮጵያን ለሽብር የሚያጋልጡ ሁኔታዎች ሲፈጠሩ ተመጣጣኝ የሆነ ሕግ፣ ተመጣጣኝ የሆነ አዋጅ እንዲኖር እናደርጋለን፡፡ ነገር ግን መኪና በሌለበት አገር የትራፊክ ሕግ ለማውጣት የመሞከር ዓይነት ነው መንግሥት እያደረገ ያለው፡፡ በዚህ ፀረ ሽብር ሕግ ሌላው መታየት ያለበት ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ለጥፋት ወይም ለወንጀል የሚሰማሩ ካሉ የኢትዮጵያ ሕግ ይዳኛቸዋል፡፡ ይህ እኮ በቀጥታ መብትን መንፈግ ነው፡፡ ያለፍርድ ቤት ትዕዛዝ እኮ ነው ሕጉ ሊያስር፣ ቤት ሊበረብርና ደም መውሰድ የሚችለው፡፡  

ሪፖርተር፡- ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ በተለያዩ አካባቢዎችና ጊዜያት የቦምብ ፍንዳታዎች ተከስተው የሰው ሕይወት እንደጠፋ ይታወቃል፡፡ አደጋ ከመድረሱ በፊትም ከነጦር መሣርያዎቻቸው የተያዙ አሉ፡፡ የፀረ ሽብር ሕጉ እንዲወጣ ካደረጉት ምክንያቶች መካከል እነዚህ ተጠቃሽ መሆናቸውን መንግሥት ገልጿል፡፡ እነዚህን በተመለከተ የእናንተ ሐሳብ ምንድነው?

አቶ አስራት፡- እንደ ግለሰብ በእነዚህ ክስተቶች የአሸባሪነት ባህሪ እየመጣ ነው የሚል ሥጋት ለመፍጠር ተፈልጎ እንጂ፣ ለአንዱም ጉዳይ በትክክል የምናገኘው መረጃ የለም፡፡ እስከ መጨረሻ ወጥቶ ለምሳሌ ለፕሬስ በትክክል እነዚህ ሰዎች ማናቸው? ምን አደረጉ? የሚባለው ነገር ተመርምሮ አልቀረበም፡፡ ሕዝብ እኮ መረጃው ቀርቦለት እውነትም አላለም፡፡ እንዲሁ ትንሽ ችግር በመፍጠር ወቅቱን እየተከተሉ ተቃዋሚዎችን ወይም ሊያጠቁ የሚፈልጉትን ክፍል ለማጥቂያ የሚደረግ አካሄድ ነው ብዬ ነው የማየው፡፡ በአገርና በሕዝብ ላይ ትልቅ ሥጋት መጥቶ ነበር የሚል እምነት የለኝም፡፡ 
 
ሪፖርተር፡- አንድነትና ዓረና የመድረክ አባል ድርጅቶች እንደሆኑ ይታወቃል፡፡ አንድነትና ዓረና ከመድረክ ውጭ ራሳቸውን ችለው ቅስቀሳ ማካሄዳቸው ታይቷል፡፡ በተለይ አንድነት ከመድረክ ጋር በቅርቡ በጀመረው እሰጥ እገባ ይሆን ለብቻው ቅስቀሳውን ያካሄደው?

አቶ አስራት፡- አንድ መረጃ ላስተካክልልህ፡፡ መቀሌ የተካሄደው ሕዝባዊ ስብሰባ በመድረክ አማካይነት ነው፡፡ እኛም [አንድነት] ትግራይ ቤዝ አለን፡፡ ዓረናም ትግራይ ቤዝ አለው፡፡ በአብዛኛው በዚያ አካባቢ ንቁ ተሳትፎ የሚያደርገው ዓረና በመሆኑ የዓረና መስሎ ነው እንጂ ስብሰባው በመድረክ ስም የተካሄደ ነው፡፡

ሌላው እውነት ነው በመድረክና በአንድነት መካከል የተወሰኑ አለመግባባቶች ተፈጥረዋል፡፡ ለእነዚያ አለመግባባቶች መንስዔ የነበረው አንድነት ስትራቴጂካዊ ፕላኑ በሚመራው አቅጣጫ መሠረት ከመድረክ ጋር ያለውን ግንኙነት እንዲገመገም ግምገማው ተካሄደ፡፡ የግምገማውን ውጤት ለመድረክ ሰጠን፡፡ በወቅቱ ቴክኒካዊ የሆነ አንድ ችግር ተፈጠረ፡፡ በወቅቱ የግምገማው ውጤት መድረክ ዘንድ ሳይደርስ ሾልኮ ጋዜጣ ላይ ወጣ፡፡ ቅሬታው የተፈጠረው እዚያ ላይ ነው፡፡ የሚያጣላን የጥናቱ ፍሬ ነገር አይደለም፡፡ የግምገማው ዓላማ መድረክ ካለበት የቆመ የፖለቲካ ሁኔታ ተነስቶ መንቀሳቀስ ካለበት ምን እናድርግ የሚለውን ለማመላከት ነው፡፡

መድረክ ሲባል አንድነትንም ይጨምራል፡፡ የፖለቲካ ሥራ መሥራት ባለመቻላችን ሕዝቡን ልናንቀሳቅስ አልቻልንም እንፈትሸው ተባለ፡፡ መድረክ ካለበት እንዲያኮበኩብ ለማድረግ ነው፡፡ እኔም የአጥኝው ቡድን አባል ስለነበርኩ አውቀዋለሁ፡፡ ግን መጀመሪያ በጋዜጣ ከመውጣቱ በፊት ለመድረክ መድረስ ነበረበት፤ ቀጥሎም መምከር ነበረብን በሚል ነው፡፡

ይኼ ማለት ግን አካሄዱ ችግር ነበረበት ማለት እንጂ የግምገማው ፍሬ ነገር ልክ አይደለም ማለት አይደለም፡፡ በዚህ ነው እንግዲህ መሻከር የመጣው፡፡ በአሁኑ ወቅት ግን እያረገብነው ነው፡፡ ነገር ግን በተወሰኑ ሰዎች ብቻ ችግሮች አይረግቡም፡፡ ያልሆነ ሚና ወስደው የሚጫወቱም አሉ፡፡ ያ አንዳንዴ ችግሩን ያሰፋዋል፡፡ በዚህ በኩልም ጋዜጦችም ጉዳዩ እንዳይበርድ ትፈልጋላችሁ፡፡ ኢሕአዴግም ይፈልጋል፡፡   
  
ሪፖርተር፡- ስለዚህ ችግራችሁን ስላልፈታችሁ ነው እናንተ ከመድረክ ተለይታችሁ የፖለቲካ ቅስቀሳ የጀመራችሁት?

አቶ አስራት፡- ፕሮግራምና ደንብ አለን፡፡ በደንባችን መሠረት የፓርቲው ነፃነት አለ፡፡ ውህደት አልፈጸምንም፡፡ መድረክ ግንባር ነው፡፡ እንደ ግንባርነቱም መድረክ በጋራ ካቀደው ሰላማዊ ሠልፍም ሆነ ስብሰባ ውጭ ፓርቲዎች ሊያካሂዱ ይችላሉ፡፡ በጋራ ያቀድናቸውን በጋራ እናካሂዳለን፡፡ መድረክ አቅሙ ውስን ነው፡፡ አንድነት ደግሞ በራሱ የተሻለ የፋይናንስ አቅም አለው፡፡ ከአባላት መዋጮና ከውጭም ድጋፍ አለው፡፡ [መድረክ] በዚያው ፍጥነት መሄድ አልቻለም፤ አልፈለገምም፡፡  
 
ሪፖርተር፡- የፖለቲካ ቅስቀሳችሁን የጀመራችሁት በክልል ከተሞች ነው፡፡ ብዙ ጊዜ አዲስ አበባ ላይ ነበር የዚህ ዓይነቱን ሥራ ስትሠሩ የምትስተዋሉት፡፡ የስትራቴጂ ለውጥ አለ? ማግኘት የፈለጋችሁት ውጤትስ ምንድነው?

አቶ አስራት፡- ግብረ ኃይሉ የተሻለ ይመልሰው ነበር፡፡ ግብረ ኃይሉ ይህን ሲያቅድ ፈትሾ ገምግሞ ነው ብዬ ነው የማስበው፡፡ ነገር ግን ጎንደርና ደሴ በተደጋጋሚ ጥያቄ በማቅረባቸው ነው፡፡ ከተሞቹ በተደጋጋሚ ጠይቀዋል፡፡ በዚህ ምክንያት ነው ብዬ አስባለሁ፡፡

አዲስ አበባ ላይ ለማካሄድ እየሞከርን ነው፡፡ ካነሳህልኝ ያለንበትን ችግር ልግለጽልህ፡፡ ባለፈው በራሪ ወረቀቶችንና ማስታወቂያዎችን ለማሠራጨት ከፍተኛ እንቅስቃሴ አድርገናል፡፡ እንቅስቃሴ ውስጥ ስንገባ ቀጥታ ወደ ሰላማዊ ሠልፉ ለመግባት ነበር፡፡ ነገር ግን በጭራሽ ሊያላውሱን አልቻሉም፡፡ በሁለት ቀናት ውስጥ 42 አባሎቻችን ተያዙብን፡፡ ሲያዙ በራሪ ወረቀት በተናችሁ ነው የተባሉት፡፡ በራሪ ወረቀቱ ለሚቀጥለው ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ ሕዝባዊ ስብሰባ ለመጥራት መንደርደሪያ መንገዳችን ነው፡፡

 ፈርሜ የላኩትን አዳራሽ ለማግኘት የሚጠይቁ ደብዳቤዎችን ብዛት ብታይ ታዝናለህ፡፡ ከ30 በላይ ናቸው፡፡ የተሻሻለው የፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች ምዝገባ አዋጅ ቁጥር 573/2000 አንቀጽ 46 ለፓርቲዎች የዕለት ተዕለት ተግባር ማከናወኛ የሚሰጥ ድጋፍ ስለሚመራበት አሠራር ይደነግጋል፡፡ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ የሚሰጠውን ድጋፍ ለተመደበለት ተግባር ብቻ ማዋል አለበት ይላል፡፡ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ የዕለት ተዕለት ተግባር የሚከተሉትን ያካትታል፡፡ አንዱ የሕዝቡን የፖለቲካ ግንዛቤ ማዳበር፤ የፓርቲውን ዓላማ ለሕዝብ ማስረፅ፡፡ ዜጎች በአገሪቱ ፖለቲካ ውስጥ ንቁ ተሳትፎ እንዲኖራቸው መቀስቀስን ያካትታል፡፡

ይህ በራሪ ወረቀት የሚሠራው ይኼንን ነው፡፡ 42 አባላቶቻችን የተያዙት ፈቃድ የላችሁም ተብሎ ነው፡፡ ስለዚህ የፖለቲካ ሥራ ማከናወን እንዳንችል የሚያደርገን አየር እየፈጠሩ ነው፡፡ ከሚመለከተው የመንግሥት አካል ጋር በጉዳዩ ላይ ለመነጋገር ጥያቄ አቅርበን በተደጋጋሚ በራቸውን አንኳኳን እስካሁን ምላሽ የለም፡፡
     
ሪፖርተር

Massive crackdown underway in Ethiopia

July 28, 2013

The Horn Times Newsletter July 28, 2013
by Getahune Bekele, South Africa

Massive crackdown underway on opposition stronghold of South Wollo, Ethiopia

It was a pre-dawn assault by hundreds of heavily armed federal police members backed by pro-TPLF local militia on the opposition UDJP strong hold of South Wollo province.

According to Finotenetsanet newspaper reporters, yesterday’s dawn- to- dusk raid targeted the twin towns of Haiq and Worebabu; and more heavy handed attacks are set to continue in other nearby towns and villages of the historic province.

Worebabu area UDJP leader Ato Edris Saed told Finotenetsanet that the police tried to disguise their act by telling people that they are looking for weapons.

Arage Hussein, UDJP’s financial officer in the town of Haiq said the police and the feared local militia searched the homes of all 16 members of UDJP leadership, each search lasting for up to two hours and more.

“I pleaded with the five police men and the militias who came to my home at dawn that I am a man of peace and never owned a firearm but they proceeded with the search and left empty-handed.” Ato Arage Added.

Moreover, according to South Wollo zone UDJP chairman Ato Bisrat Abi, the ruling party is on a campaign trail in the area, on a burgeoning run to discredit the UDJP leadership and its members. TPLF cadres have already organized anti UDJP meetings and demonstrations as part of the well planned crack down on dissenting voices in the region.

“Since the recent mass anti TPLF rallies organized in Dessie and Gonder cities, UDJP has been on the rise. The ruling junta’s cadres now have an implacable enemy right under their noses with the potential of bringing down the conjugal dictatorship. Therefore, I see it as normal for the authoritarian and corruption-ridden regime to wage an all-out war on the UDJP.” A respected political analyst who requested anonymity told the Horn Times from Addis Ababa.

Asked if UDJP has any chance of surviving the onslaught with no international support, with western powers still generously endowing the ruling minority junta; turning a blind eye on its undemocratic practices, the elderly analyst said it is up to the people of Ethiopia to rally around the party and its young and energetic leadership.

“Look, we all thought UDJP was hanging on life support system after the loss of its patriotic leaders in Andualem Arage and Natinael Mekonnen. Am astonished by how the current young leaders filled the leadership vacuum and make the party grow from strength to strength. I hope they will keep the momentum, keep the pressure on the junta and get serious violations and abuses such as this one in south Wollo quickly to the media. We are in better times today than yesterday.”

Tracing Woyane’s Anti-Ethiopianism to the Italo-Ethiopian War

July 28, 2013

by Selam Beyene, PhD

Ethiopian infantrymen during battle. Oct 1935. PHOTO AP

The history of Ethiopia is replete with contradictions and paradoxes. There are accounts galore of heroism and meekness, patriotism and treachery, devotion and apathy, and, above all, fear of God and acts of brutality in that ancient country. These chronicles may help provide clues about the root causes of the Woyane anti-Ethiopia schema and the appropriate plan of action needed to deracinate them.

By anti-Ethiopianism we purport the systematic and government-sanctioned weakening of the national fabric by pitting one ethnic group against another, as was witnessed recently in such areas as Benishangul-Gumuz and Gura Ferda zones. Anti-Ethiopianism is the appalling government policy of dislocating natives from their ancestral lands and transferring national wealth to foreigners at dirt cheap prices. It is anti-Ethiopianism to frame a constitution whose central object is to promote the disintegration and land-lockedness of the country.  Most importantly, anti-Ethiopianism implies the deviant system of government under which all major economic, political and military institutions are controlled by the minority Woyane group, and through which fundamental human rights are suppressed and the people are denied their basic rights to participate in free and fair elections.

Confucius sagaciously advised: “Study the past if you would define the future.” Accordingly, when we consider the current predicaments of the country, which are characterized by ethnocentrism, totalitarianism, corruption, nepotism and absence of a feeling of Ethiopian patriotism amongst the rulers; and, most importantly, when we search for a viable solution to them, we should go no further for clues and explanations than the recent past events, beginning with the invasion of Italy in 1935-1940.

Much has been documented about the infamous Fascist aggression by notable Ethiopian and Western historians, journalists and novelists, as well as other writers who had taken active parts in the actual war. While well-researched history books and journal articles may serve as the ultimate sources for academic exercise, there is considerable information that may be gleaned from anecdotal accounts narrated by individuals based on their personal experiences. In this regard, we are fortunate to have at our disposal now the writings of three foreigners who had the opportunity to witness firsthand the savagery of the Fascist aggression, the heroism of the Ethiopian fighters, and the betrayal by local collaborators.

Photos of Basha Asress Tessema (Meles Zenawi’s grandfather) flanked by a soldier of Mussolini

The three foreigners, whose paths had crossed several times in the battles of Tembien, Maichew and other fronts, had fought on the side of Ethiopia under the leaderships of such eminent Ethiopians as Ras Kassa Hailu Darge, Ras Seyoum Mengesha and Ras Mulugeta Yiggezu, the War Minister.

 In so doing, they were able to record considerable historical data and to leave behind intriguing accounts of bravery and treachery that could inform present and future researchers seeking answers to some of the most complex questions about present-day Ethiopia. Most importantly, they provide critical insights into the underlying reasons for the anti-Ethiopian agenda Zenawi and his Woyane entourage successfully exploited to catapult themselves to power; the continued damage to the long-term viability of the country that is caused by the misguided fiscal, economic, educational and military policies implemented by the TPLF-led regime; and the institutionalization of ethnic-based governance that is portentously promoted to nurture inter-ethnic animosity among brothers and sisters who have lived in relative harmony for many centuries.

Recently, the works of two of the foreigners were made accessible to Amharic readers. The first, ቀይ አንበሳ (Alpha, 2003) was translated by Tesfaye M. Bayileyegn from the original narration of Colonel Alejandro del Valle1. The second book, የሃበሻ ጀብዱ (AAU Press, 2010), is a translation by Techane J. Mekonnen based on Adolf Parlesack’s memoir in Czech entitled Habesska Odyssea (Praha : Panorama, 1989). The third, and most controversial, memoir was written by Colonel Feodor Konovalov, a Russian military adviser to Ras Seyoum Mengesha and other leaders. While there is no accessible Amharic translation of Konovalov’s writings, relevant excerpts are available in various sources (see, e.g., Clarke III, 2008 2).

Excepting a few and infrequent inconsistencies among the renditions of the three foreigners about shared events that they had jointly witnessed, there is a remarkable degree of consistency in their accounts of the breathtaking gallantry of Ethiopian fighters, as well as the distressingly heartrending treachery of domestic collaborators, especially from Tigray, Rayya, and Azebo regions, in the early days of the war.

Although Konovalov was generally silent on the contribution of the traitors to the defeat of Ethiopia, he was in remarkable concord with the other two in expressing awe and admiration at the inimitable valor and fearlessness of the Ethiopian army in the face of an infinitely better armed enemy. Quoting a Western diplomat, Konovalov was unhesitant to affirm: “… the Ethiopian soldier, well-taught and well-led, had no equal anywhere in the world.” The memoirs of all three abound with their eyewitness accounts of how, defying all odds against them, waves of primitively armed Ethiopian fighters, composed of men and women from every ethnic group, religious persuasion and social ladder, stormed, time and again, well fortified Italian positions, sending terror and confusion among the enemy. As one reads about the surreal exploits of those brave fighters, the knowledge of belonging to a people of such valiance and heroism fills one’s heart with a sense of immense pride. 

In one instance, for example, del Valle tells of a story in which the Ethiopians ferociously and unstoppably climbed up a hill to engage the enemy that was assailing them from above with automatic weapons and mustard gas. In summarizing his amazement at the extraordinary scene he was witnessing, he wrote: “The efforts of the invaders to try to stop those brave Ethiopians, who were charging uphill over the bodies of their fallen compatriots, was like firing bullets from machine guns to futilely slow down the gushing of water downhill.”

The foreigners also documented heroic accomplishments of ordinary citizens, whose names never made it to the history books, but who had demonstrated unimaginable bravery on the battlefields. Among such stories eloquently told by Parlesack, none is probably as fascinating as that of a young Oromo boy from the Sellale region by the name of Abichou. Parlesack describes with a Homeric touch the valiance of the boy as he terrorized the Fascist aggressors, chased to their deaths many of the traitors, coordinated a multi-ethnic army from Hamassen, Tigray, Gojjam and Sellale, and scored countless victories against the invading army.

Parlesack and del Valle were also unreserved in their expression of disgust at the degree of betrayal and treachery perpetrated by some members of the Tigray, Rayya and Azebo regions that made the campaigns of the great armies of Ras Seyoum, Ras Kassa and Ras Mulugetta immeasurably arduous. Parlesack even hinted that the balance of power at the battle of Maichew was tipped in favor of the invaders, thanks in great part to the sabotage of the traitors from Rayya and Azebo, who inflicted considerable damage on the advancing Ethiopian army coming from behind at critical moments.

Among the most notorious traitors of the era was Dejazmach Haile Sellasie Gugsa, a great grandson of Emperor Yohannis IV, who gave his allegiance to Benito Mussolini in the early days of the war. This traitor facilitated the invasion of Mekelle in November of 1935, and later joined the invading army that marched on Addis Ababa in April of 1936.


Among the most notorious traitors of the era was Dejazmach Haile Sellasie Gugsa, a great grandson of Emperor Yohannis IV

Throughout the occupation, he provided invaluable service as a trusted adviser to both Rodolfo Graziani and the Duke of Aosta. Remarkably, his first demonstration of treachery was to raise the Italian flag in Mekelle, desecrating the Ethiopian tri-colors. Over six decades later, another traitor, the late Meles Zenawi, would defile that same flag.

Indeed, in the face of the well-known anti-Ethiopian sentiment unabashedly exhibited by Zenawi, and now aggressively implemented by his successors, it is not beyond the realm of rational proclivity to wonder whether the turncoats of the Italo-Ethiopian war did not influence the imprudent minds of the current traitors.

Much has been disclosed about the dubious family tree of the late dictator and the backgrounds of some of those in the Woyane leadership. Regarding the notorious heritage of Zenawi, Gebremedhin Araya, a one-time TPLF fighter and an accomplished authority on the late dictator’s family history, has given gripping testimonials, in a series of ESAT interviews, how the dictator’s mind might have been poisoned while growing up in a family that had always betrayed the land they lived in. There are also troubling accounts of the backgrounds of most of the Woyane leaders, including the notorious Bereket Simon, Sibhat Negga and several others.

At a time when there is a lot of confusion among some sectors of the Ethiopian community about the true nature of the Woyane regime and its hidden agenda, it is absolutely critical to see the treachery of the rulers through the prism of their treasonous forefathers. This is especially indispensable in any effort to raise the awareness of the people of Tigray in whose name these traitors are causing immeasurable damage. Although there were several traitors who, like Haile Sellasie Gugsa, sided with the enemy and fought against the Ethiopian army, there were also exemplary patriots from the same region who valiantly fought and died in defense of their motherland against Fascist invasion. Similarly, despite the common perception that many Tigreans today are backers of the evil dictatorship, it should be incontrovertibly affirmed that there is a large proportion of Tigreans who abhor the destructive and anti-Ethiopian path followed by the Woyane regime.

The late dictator and his party have always projected themselves as saviors of the people from the tyrannical rule of the Derg. Unfortunately, many genuine Ethiopians have overlooked the fact that the Woyane regime is not only a most vicious authoritarian system, as the Derg was, but also an atrocious organization whose ultimate objective is the destruction of Ethiopia as a nation. In actual fact, no rational government in history has unilaterally advocated the dismemberment of the country it rules, made attempts to justify its isolation through land-lockedness, parceled out precious lands to foreigners at dirt cheap prices, or systematically used ethnicity, famine, illiteracy and disease as instruments to enslave the people it governs, to the extent the Woyane rulers have done so. It is therefore vitally important to effectively establish the anti-Ethiopian identity of the regime, and to reignite the patriotism of those members of the society who have been hoodwinked by the pervasive propaganda campaign that the regime has successfully, but spitefully, launched to portray itself as a better alternative to the brutal Derg dictatorship.

A major weakness of the pro-democracy movement thus far has been its hopeless ineptitude to articulate precisely why the Woyane philosophy is anti-Ethiopian, and how dangerous that philosophy is to the long-term viability of the country. The suppression of basic human rights, the codification of ethnocentrism in the constitution, the irresponsible policy of land grabs, the pitting of one ethnic group against another, and the unfettered corruption among the leaders of the regime have not been effectively communicated to the people as manifestations of this general scheme of anti-Ethiopianism that the Woyane leadership has perfected over the past several decades.

Indubitably, the only realistic strategy that would guarantee the certain destruction of the Woyane regime is one that successfully establishes and communicates to the people of Ethiopia this abhorrent nature of the regime. Without a thorough understanding of the TPLF as a perfidious organization by the people of Ethiopia in general, and those of Tigray in particular, there cannot be a unified front that is a prerequisite for a successful outcome of the struggle to save the country, liberate the oppressed, and establish a democratic system where individual freedoms would flourish and the long-term survival of Ethiopia would be guaranteed. As they have heroically demonstrated to the world before, during and after the Italo-Ethiopian war, there is nothing that unifies and arouses the fighting spirit of the people of Ethiopia more than a sense of direct threat to their heritage and independence either by foreign aggressors or domestic connivers. Pro-democracy forces, Websites, and other groups and individuals, therefore, have the moral imperative to reignite the ardor of the people to defend their country by raising their awareness as to the true nature of the treasonous organization that is Woyane.

The Gravest Fears that Ethiopians Must Defeat Once and For All

July 28, 2013

by T.Goshu

“Fear can break the ice jam and open us up to feel such emotions as hope, relief, and gratitude.”
Harold Kushner, Conquering Fear, 2009

That is exactly what we are currently witnessing in our country after eight- years of fear and silence. Yes, the fear and silence imposed by the late mastermind of the ruling party, Ato Meles Zenawi was challenged by Semayawi Party on June 2nd, 2013. And the very peaceful and legitimate demonstrations in Gonder and Dessie organized by Andint (UDJ) on July 7th, 2013 are very clear evidences of how our real and legitimate fear is paving the way for “hope, relief and gratitude.” Yes, it is beyond any doubt that the ongoing preparations by various opposition political forces such as UDJ,Meles Zenawi was challenged by Semayawi Party on June 2nd, 2013 Semayawi, Medrek and all other genuinely concerned groups is to use the fear we fear as a great opportunity to prevent the gravely dangerous fear, the fear of getting the country’s survival at risk, and the fear of not continuing as a people who have lived together for thousands of years.


Yes, we presently are witnessing the very encouraging movement of reawakening; the movement that is determined to deal with the fear we fear in an appropriate manner, not running away from the fear we fear. Are we late compared to the huge and serious problem that hit us hard for the last two decades? Yes, we have to admit that we are late. Was and is our pace of moving forward unacceptably slow? Absolutely yes! Now, the question is:  Have we learnt a great deal of lesson and decisively ready to move forward and make a difference, or  step back and continue suffering from the fear/terror imposed by the ruling circle? I hope the reawakening we are witnessing will move forward irreversibly until the political system we genuinely aspire is met!!

My intention is not either to talk about the fear that is part and parcel of our nature, or the fear we normally have to deal with any given situation we live in. The very purpose of this piece of writing of mine is to reflect the view that the fear we fear as part of our nature or otherwise should serve our legitimate cause; to fight the fear that is caused by a bunch of ruling elites who use fear as their political weapon.   It is this kind of fear that should be fought and defeated before it totally and dangerously enslaves us. There is no doubt that one of the most notorious means used by all dictatorial regimes is nothing, but reign of fear and terror.


That is exactly what the ruling circle of TPLF/EPRDF draws its notorious fear/terror card whenever it faces the challenge from the people who have come across the devastating experience for the last two decades. It goes without saying that the tyrannical ruling elites have told and keep telling the people that they (mindless ruling elites) have a well-crafted political agenda as well as plan to perpetuate their power by making the state machine much more brutal and deadly. That should be the gravest fear we really have to deal with.


Yes, there is no doubt that we as human beings are fearful of being intimidated, harassed, arrested/detained, tortured, convicted of  being anti-constitution and being punished based on fake and dramatized witnesses, sentenced to life-time/prolonged imprisonment, and being killed/executed because of our demand for political freedom, rule of law, human dignity and socio-economic justice. Yes, we as human beings are fearful of being starved, getting ill and no help, facing man-made or natural disaster, being victims of ignorance. What we have to fear most is not of symptoms; but the root cause of all the untold sufferings we are experiencing, the dirty and deadly political game.

Yes, the people of Ethiopia are fearful of that a bunch of politicians who want to stay in power and satisfy their wildly voracious self-interests at the very expense of their (people’s) lives. The seriousness of the fear and damage the ruling party (TPLF/EPRDF) did to Ethiopia as a country and her people for the last two decades is beyond the magnitude of acceptability.

Let us reiterate some of the gravest fears we have gone through and we continue going through:

The territorial integrity of the country has been and is being severely compromised. Think about what happened to her (Ethiopian) sea outlet, Asab. Adding salt to the severe injury , the Ethiopian people were both deceived and forced to pay a huge sacrifice (material, finance and lives) for the war that ended up with not only nothing but giving away part of their  territory (Badme and other large tract of lands ) . What was more disturbing was when the Ethiopian people were badly fooled, and told to get to the streets of Addis and dance with those ruling elites who had and still have no any sense of honesty.


I am sure all concerned Ethiopians remember what the late Ato Melses Zenawi responded to the question of the territorial integrity of our country bordering the Sudan. It was extremely outrageous to see and hear the late ato Meles Zenawi presenting himself as a negotiator of the Sudanese government to the extent of saying   that the Ethiopian people cannot claim the wide and long tract of land that belonged to the Sudanese. He defended the Sudanese government by referring the arbitrary boarder line proposed by a military officer (general) of the colonial power, the Great Britain.


We had to be extremely fearful when the late Ato Meles Zenawi responded to the question posed by the then MP of the opposition party about the number of Ethiopian daughters and sons (soldiers) killed in Somalia in the 2006 incursion. He unleashed his arrogance and contempt to the parliament by saying that he did not believe that he is obliged to be answerable to these kinds of questions from any MP. I do not think it would be a mere judgment to say that what Ato Meles wanted to tell us was that soldiers perished in Somalia belonged to his party , not to the people of Ethiopia. Was that not extremely scary and shocking, not simply fearful?


What happened to the Agnuwak ethnic group in the Gambella region with the full knowledge and order of the ruling party (led by Ato Meles) was a horrible politically motivated genocide. What was and is extremely disturbing to witness the ruling party’s effort to justify the genocide it committed. It is this and many other similar devastating political games we have to fear and decisively fight against.


How many innocent Oromos have become victims of a deadly political agenda and practice under the pretext of supporting the OLF? How many innocent Ethiopian Somalis have suffered and continue suffering under the pretext of supporting ONLF? How many innocent Ethiopians from various ethnic groups have gone through and continue going through an incredible level of misery for the simple reason they have tried to exercise their basic political freedom and human dignity? It is all these and so many other extremely fearful situations we need to deal with seriously.


How many innocent citizens who tried to express their concerns about getting their votes stolen by the ruling party in the 2005 election had been intimidated, harassed, and beaten up/tortured, jailed and killed? The people have been forced to live under a state-terror that was declared by the late Ato Meles Zenawi on the same day of the election. It is this kind of political madness that made the people to live under horrible fear for the last eight years. And that is why the current reawakening movements by genuinely concerned opposition political parties and human rights groups are signs of “hope, relief and gratitude” that emanated from a reasonable fear.


Think about the untold sufferings of thousands of innocent Ethiopians including journalists, opposition political party members and supporters, people who represent the people who cried out for religious freedom (particularly Muslim Ethiopians) in the hands of the suppressing machines of the ruling party. I do not know what else we have to fear if all these and other evil-driven political dramas do not make us worried and fearful.


Imagine how the inner ruling elites of TPLF/EPRDF who declare day and night that they are determined to continue the legacy of their late “great leader”,Ato Meles Zenawi do keep making a very dangerous political  madness. They wrote and made a very stupid film/drama of “Jihadi Harakat” on those members of the committee whose cases have been said to be court cases. Now, they are working hard to come up with another senseless and idiotic drama on the peaceful demand for religious freedom by Ethiopian Muslims that has already entered its second year. Is this not a very dangerous fear that has to be defeated with a well-coordinated and determined struggle? I strongly believe it has to be defeated!


Those brain- children of the late Ato Meles Zenawi have shown their determination of carrying on his legacy by forcing (horrible deportation) thousands of innocent Ethiopians from regions they lived for so many years as responsible citizens. What is deeply troubling about this very ugly and criminal step is evicting Ethiopians from their own country based on the language either they speak or they used to speak. Is this not a tragedy to the people who are truly pride of their country? Is this not a very dreadful fear that has to be dealt with a very powerful popular protest and civil disobediences? Absolutely it has to be tackled and defeated before it goes out of control!


The “great legacy” of the dirty political drama has now opened a new campaign against the very encouraging movement of reawakening since June 2nd 2013. Of course, the methods being applied in this nasty campaign are neither surprising nor unusual. The only thing that sounds different is the absence of the most notorious mastermind of those ugly games, and consequently the serious state of desperation of the ruling circle. It must be underlined that this state of madness of the ruling party is the most dangerous fear that we need to encounter and defeate it before it is too late.


The tyrannical ruling circle tries hard to fool the people with their cheap propaganda of “developmental state/government” as if their self- enrichment through their corrupt political game is good for the people whose life styles are becoming unbearably miserable day-out and day-in. Carne Ross ( The Leaderless Revolution –How Ordinary People Will Take Power and Change Politics in the 21st century,2011)  is absolutely right when he argues, “The issue of political rights segues into whether economic rights have any vitality in Africa South of the Sahara. The fundamental question raised, however, is whether the question of human rights is even a consideration in Africa. The answer is exceedingly disturbing.”


Let me sum up my point of view by saying that unless we move forward with a  well- thought, well- planned, well-coordinated,  and firm political action ; there is no doubt that we will be defeated by the fear we fear and there is a danger to be enslaved by the evil- driven political agenda of the ruling party. I am reasonably optimistic that we will fight and defeat the gravest fear before it is too late!

ETHIOPIA: LEGALLY CORRUPT

July 24, 2013

by Wondimu Mekonnen

Introduction

The simplest definition of state corruption is the self-enrichment of government officials through the use of the power bestowed on them and state mechanism. In Ethiopia, the TPLF is a mafia type gang that is running its own Mafiosi economic empire, not the country as a legitimate caring government.

The country itself is up for sale, as long as there are buyers out there. That is why people in Gambella were to evicted and their land sold to Indian and Arab, Turkish, Pakistani Billionaires. Recently, the Ethiopian Government refused to cooperate with the World Bank when it was asked to investigate whether the World Bank violated its own policies by funding, in which thousands of people were allegedly relocated to make way for agricultural investors. The British Government actually


knowingly or unknowingly funded a programme that evicted the tribes of the Lower Omo Valley in south west Ethiopia – chief among them the Mursi, the Nyangatom, the Bodi and the Daasanach, who depend on a combination of flood retreat cultivation on the banks of the Omo River, rain fed cultivation further back from the river, and cattle on the grass plains, again to make way for foreign agricultural investors. The land of the Amaras, Afars, Oromos and all over the country is up for a grab. Even Egypt secured herself 20, 000 acres of farmland. To imagine this, one acre is about 1 football stadium field. The money from the sale of land, in hard currency goes straight either to the pockets of individuals of those in powers or to the coffers of regime’s private money making institutions, such as the “The Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray”, EFFORT.

Ethiopia is full of ironies. Before the Tigray Liberation Front (TPLF) became the “Government”, it was separatist rebel force, just like that of Eritrean Liberation Front with the aim of building the Future Republic of Tigray (dream map shown below).  After successfully overthrowing the military regime of Lt Col. Mengistu Hailemariam, guerrilla leaders of TPLF helped Eritrea gain its independence but delayed their own, to finish some unfinished task of dismantling Ethiopia. Then they saw, the opportunity to amass any wealth from the South and move up to the North, to prosper their future Republic of Tigray, their ultimate goal.


They never felt belongingness to Ethiopia. The mother of all ironies is that they are ruling the country and the people they hated so much at gun point. Therefore, expecting respect for human right from such a bunch of separatists is like expecting dove from a serpent’s egg. What would the British feels, if IRA end up being in charge of the Westminster to decide on the future of The United Kingdom? I leave that to your imagination.

Then another irony follows. Throughout the history of mankind, governments fought with neighbouring countries to expand their territories, but the government of Ethiopia fights with its own people to give land away to anybody outsider as long as the other party pays. The boarder land with the Sudan, including the birth Place of Emperor Theodros, whose son Prince Alemayehu Theodros’s body is lying right here in Britain at Windsor Castle has been given to the Sudanese after forcefully evicting the inhabitants, under gunpoint. That was in return of the Sudanese assistance while they were fighting the previous regime. A fertile farmland had to be taken away from Ethiopian farmers and given to a neighbouring country. When the Sudanese military came to take over the land, the farmers stood up to protect their property, fighting back bravely. However, their own government attacked them from behind in defence of the alien Sudanese military.

More than half of Ethiopia’s economy belongs to EFFORT, the Private property of Tigrian People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). From the remaining 50%, about 25% belongs to the Sheik Al Amoudi, an Ethiopian born Saudi Billionaire, who does business with them, probably stashing millions of dollars away for them in foreign banks. Then about 12.5% belongs to its satellite parties, while only 12:5% belongs to rest of 90 million people. When the regime declares the fast growing economy of the country, one should understand that actually it is meant the fast bulging pocket of the ruling officials, and not the people at all. Our people are poorer than ever. The number of starving has quadrupled. Millions live on the street. The regime itself estimates that “150,000 children live on the streets in Ethiopia, around. 60,000 in Addis Ababa, many arriving from rural areas looking for work”.

Why are we so poor?

Looking at United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Index, we find Ethiopia at 174 out 187, just ahead of 13 countries from the bottom of the table. Examining World Economic Forum’s Global competitive report, we find Ethiopia at 118 out of 133. Transparency International gives 33 points at Corruption Perception Index. The highest is awarded to New Zealand, Finland and Denmark, which is at 90. United Kingdom scores 74, along with Japan, ahead of United States. The lowest score 8, awarded to Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan. Awarding Ethiopia 33 points out of 90 is totally wrong. I would have put the figure at 2, and that is I if I am too generous in marking.


“The country has also lost close to 12 billion dollars since 2000 to illicit financial outflows, according to Global Financial Integrity (GFI), whose statistics are based on official data provided by the Ethiopian government, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)”. The State Corruption index of Ethiopia could have been lower than that of the level of Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan, but the corruption is concealed, because one would never know where the “government” official activities ends and their business activities start. EFFORT is a business as well as the “Government”.

When it comes to Natural resources, Ethiopia is not poor at all. We have ample water resources, for example. 8/7^th of the Water that passes through the Nile Delta of Egypt comes from Ethiopian Highlands. We have mighty rivers everywhere. Baro, Tekeze, Wabi Shebele, Gibe, Awash, … you name it, are some, not to mention lakes everywhere. Truly speaking, Ethiopia is the water bed of Africa. But we suffer from draught and lack of clean drinking waters.

We have Gold, Precious stones but they all belong either to EFFORT or Al Amoudi. We have unexploited oil reserves, that could turn Ethiopia into the economic power of Sub-Saharan Africa, but we don’t have a responsible government that cares for the people. We have so many fertile lands which would have been able not just feed Ethiopia, but the entire Africa. Given her potential agricultural resources, Ethiopia could easily become the bread-basket of the continent of Africa. If you had followed a BBC Television Programme “From Pole To Pole” by Michael Palin, you would truly find why he called Ethiopia the Garden of Eden. From Egypt to the Sudan, it is all desert land. He found life in Ethiopia.

Then what went wrong? To begin with, we have had wars and battles throughout our history. Most of our productive times have been wasted fighting to ward off invaders. Our history tells us that we fought for more than 100 years against the invading Turks, not to mention Italians and other colonialists from Europe. When we are not fighting the invaders then we find ourselves fighting each other as if war was a kind of our national sport. That is all to control power, unlike the incumbent ones, to break up the country. This one is the worst government Ethiopia had ever had. They stand to serve the interest of other countries, rather than their own. One way or another, wars do cost too much and I am not the one to tell you how much it does. You know it firsthand. War on terrorism is mother of all ironies of Ethiopia. The TPLF itself is a terrorist organisation. It is currently bent on terrorising its own people.

To add insult on injury, then there is this occasional draught that used to come every 10 years. We heavily depend on rain water, rather than using the irrigation technology. Have we had peace in the country, even without touching the River Nile, we could have taken out as much water as we wanted for agriculture from the rest of the rivers for irrigation purpose, without igniting the fury of the powerful neighbours and use it to cultivate more than enough crops. The Nile is a controversial river. Whether we like it or not, it may ignite war anytime between Ethiopia and Egypt, if not The Sudan. All the Egyptian Military Might exists, not for anything else, but only one purpose. That is the safeguarding of the free flow of The Nile River. We know that. They know we know that too. That is why Egypt works day and night so that there would be no peace time in Ethiopia.

Then, there is this third element. Everyone that may aspire to come to power is not always just for the sake of seizing power but for the sake of enriching oneself. Yes, we had all corrupt regimes in the past history, but none of them come anywhere near the incumbent regime. Here we are not talking about individual official corruptions, but institutional corruptions, with the mighty force of the government power behind it. Corruptions seems to be legal, it is rather uncorrupted people that are branded as criminals. Ethiopia is full of paradox. Read more…

How a satellite called Syncom changed the world

Thomas Hudspeth, left, Harold Rosen and Don Williams (not pictured) designed the electronics, propulsion and power system for a communications satellite. (Boeing)

Hughes engineer Harold Rosen's team overcame technical and political hurdles to send the Syncom communications satellite into orbit 50 years ago.

BY RALPH VARTABEDIAN

July 26, 2013

In the fall of 1957, the Soviet Union's newly launched Sputnik satellite would regularly streak across the Los Angeles sky, a bright dot in the black night.

back to Earth, but the technical achievement by the communists had stunned America. Perhaps nobody was more taken aback than a group of engineers and scientists at the defense electronics laboratories of Hughes Aircraft in Culver City.

They would trudge up a fire escape to the roof and watch the satellite with a mix of astonishment, excitement, envy and fear. Among them was Harold Rosen, a young doctorate engineer from Caltech, who while he watched Sputnik was hatching an audacious plan to eclipse the Russians.

What he imagined by 1959 was a revolution in communications: an extremely lightweight, solar-powered telephone switching station in orbit 22,000 miles above Earth. In those days, an international telephone connection required making a reservation because the existing system — copper cables and radio signals — carried few calls. Many countries could not be called at all. A satellite could change all of that.

I considered it me against the world."

— Harold Rosen.

Rosen recruited two other engineers, Thomas Hudspeth and Don Williams, and began designing the electronics and the propulsion and power system needed for a communications satellite. Not only was the task technically tough, but they also were fighting many of the nation's top experts who did not believe their idea would work. Even their bosses — at a company founded by the eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes — were not sure their project was worth a modest investment.

"I considered it me against the world," Rosen said about the initial lack of government and industry support.

Inside their labs on Centinela Avenue, the men pushed the technology ahead at blinding speed and found key allies in government who were willing to bet on a trio of unknown engineers.

On July 26, 1963 — exactly 50 years ago — they launched a 78-pound satellite called Syncom that could receive signals from Earth and then transmit them back across the globe.

Of all the technological breakthroughs made in Los Angeles during the Cold War — the laser, the first supersonic jet fighter, the Apollo moon ship, stealth aircraft, the space shuttle, the intercontinental ballistic missile system and much else — the creation of a communications satellite has had the largest and most enduring cultural, social and economic impact.

The little Syncom has morphed into communications satellites the size of school buses, weighing more than 13,000 pounds, operating with solar wings the length of a basketball court and running electronics with more power than a typical house wired to the electrical grid.

Electronic credit card authorizations, international television signals, email and social media — all the things that define our modern connected culture — were not even imagined by the public in the 1950s and would not exist today in many areas of the world without communications satellites.

About 500 such satellites are orbiting Earth, allowing cruise ships to communicate with ports, music to be beamed down to radios and television shows to arrive in living rooms, all because of a technology nearly as unknown by the public as Rosen himself.

Continue reading »

Geosynchronous satellites in orbit

Since the Syncom satellite launch in 1963, hundreds of communications satellites are now in the skies above Earth in geosynchronous orbit. The locations of many modern-day commercial satellites are below.

In some instances, satellites are co-located at the same latitude. To accommodate this, co-located satellites have been moved further out in the graphic, so they do not appear overlapped.

Source: Boeing, National Space Science Data Center

Armand Emamdjomeh, Los Angeles Times

Rosen is an athletic 87-year-old with a full head of sandy-colored hair. He's lived in the same Pacific Palisades home — with ceiling-to-floor windows that overlook a lush garden — for 60 years.

His parents emigrated from Montreal to New Orleans, where he was born. After studying engineering at Tulane University, he dithered over whether to continue his education at Harvard or Caltech. The decision was made when he saw a Life magazine story about beach parties in Southern California. He bought a train ticket.

"I came out on the Sunset Limited and never looked back," Rosen recalled. "I still love the beach."

Harold Rosen with models of his satellites at his home in Pacific Palisades. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

By the time Rosen arrived at Hughes in 1956, the company was gaining prominence in the scientific world. He began designing airborne radar that could spot Russian bombers, but the Air Force canceled the program and his bosses challenged him to find something new.

When Rosen's team proposed Syncom, many of the nation's top experts, notably at Bell Labs, thought they were on the wrong track. Instead, Bell Labs and others were working on a large network of satellites in low Earth orbit that would require a complex system of ground tracking stations.

Rosen was confident that he could build a satellite to operate at 22,000 miles directly above the equator, which would allow it to remain stationary and provide continuous coverage over a third of the world. The problem was that American rockets of the 1960s lacked the power to launch heavy payloads to high orbits. Rosen would have to keep Syncom as light as possible, which became the key to its success.

Top Hughes executives were reluctant to invest in a prototype, even after Rosen, Williams and Hudspeth each offered to invest $10,000. Rosen went to government offices, universities and competing electronics companies to find encouragement and a financial partner.

After Raytheon Corp. offered Rosen and his team jobs and the chance to develop Syncom there, Hughes executives changed their minds and committed to a $2-million investment.

"It was a vindication for everything we had gone through," Rosen said.

Rosen pioneered the overall concept and design: The satellite would remain stable by spinning like a gyroscope, and a propulsion system would maintain its orbital position. The barrel-shaped spacecraft was covered by solar cells that supplied electrical power.

Hudspeth designed an extremely lightweight antenna and the satellite's electronics.

Williams came up with a key innovation: using a single lightweight rocket engine to control the spinning satellite's position with short bursts of thrust. The resulting Williams patent, by itself, yielded Hughes millions in royalties.

By 1961, they had built a working 55-pound prototype, which they took to the Paris Air Show and used to transmit photos across the room.

Don Williams, left, Thomas Hudspeth, center, and Harold Rosen designed the electronics, propulsion and power system for the Syncom communications satellite. This photo shows Syncom Three, which launched in 1964. (Boeing)

The trio still needed federal government support to build and launch an operational version, though. Help came from a former Hughes executive, John Rubel, who was deputy research director at the Defense Department.

Rubel was overseeing a troubled attempt by the Pentagon to build its own communications satellite. Virtually no hardware had been created and the projected weight was in the thousands of pounds, recalled Rubel, now 93.

A friend told him about Rosen. Rubel remembered, "He had this thing that weighed 55 pounds and it was immediately obvious to me that this was it, the solution to all of our problems."

He arranged a deal to allow NASA to fund the launch. The first attempt in early 1963 failed because of a rocket malfunction. But the second launch was successful.

Test signals to a Navy ship docked in Lagos, Nigeria, confirmed the satellite was working. In a later check of the system, Rosen handed the telephone to his wife, Rosetta, and a sergeant on the other end said hello. She dropped the phone and said, "My God, Harold, it works."

Rosen said he never doubted it would work. "We had overcome all these hurdles — all these political hurdles more than technical hurdles — and the way was clear," he said.

With Syncom, Hughes not only had beaten out every other corporation in a landmark achievement, but it also had started a technological revolution.

"We very quickly could feel that we had the world by the tail," said Robert Roney, 90, the Hughes research director who had hired Rosen. "We were way ahead of the curve. All of us felt like we were the luckiest people alive."

Albert Wheelon, who would later become chief of the Hughes satellite business, was at the time deputy director of the CIA. He remembered reading about the Syncom launch in a newspaper.

"I said this is really important for what we are doing at the agency," he said. "Instead of putting these listening posts around the Soviet Union, we could put one of these things up in the sky and listen to everything."

Secret work for intelligence agencies later became a big part of Hughes business.

One day a few years after the Syncom success, Williams visited Rosen with something on his mind. He apologized for not including Rosen's name on the patent for the rocket control system. Rosen insisted no apology was necessary. (Rosen would eventually have his name on more than 50 patents, including the basic patent for Syncom.)

Later that day, Williams went home and killed himself. He was 34.

The third engineer on the team, Hudspeth, died in 2008 at the age of 89.

Rosen still works a couple of days a week on satellite systems at a Boeing office in El Segundo and sometimes gives lectures to young engineers at Caltech. On occasion, he exercises on Santa Monica beach with his wife, Deborah Castleman, a former satellite engineer and deputy assistant secretary of Defense during the Clinton administration. Rosen's first wife, Rosetta, died in 1969.

What we are doing today shows what can be done through the peaceful use of space."

— President John F. Kennedy's telephone conversation with Prime Minister of Nigeria, inaugurating the Syncom 2 satellite on August 23, 1963.

Audio: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library

Rosen has a shelf full of medals, including the Charles Stark Draper Prize, considered the Nobel Prize of engineering, which he shared with his rival John Pierce, a Bell Labs expert who in the 1950s had advocated low-Earth-orbit satellites.

The satellite technology that Rosen, Williams and Hudspeth created is now a $190-billion-a-year industry. Boeing acquired Hughes' satellite business 13 years ago and still operates a sprawling manufacturing plant with 5,200 employees in El Segundo. It has an order backlog of 32 satellites, 17 of them commercial and the balance for defense, intelligence or space agencies.

Over the years, seven Hughes employees who worked on satellites or data transmission were admitted into the National Academy of Engineering. They included Rosen, Wheelon, Roney and Eddy Hartenstein, now publisher of the Los Angeles Times, who pioneered the technology for delivering satellite television directly into homes and then created DirecTV.

Several weeks after the Syncom launch, President Kennedy inaugurated international satellite telephone service to Nigeria, where the Navy had stationed its receivers. The symbolic phone call to Nigerian Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa lasted two minutes.

Kennedy and Balewa traded pleasantries, briefly mentioned the nuclear weapons test ban treaty signed that year, and talked about a boxing match in which Nigerian middleweight boxer Dick Tiger had retained his title against an American.

The next year, 1964, the third Syncom satellite transmitted live coverage of the Summer Olympics from Japan, and Hughes Aircraft was on the way to dominating the commercial satellite industry.