Behind the Ethnic Cleansing in Benishangul-Gumuz

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 by Fekade Shewakena

Posted by ethioviews

The despicable and barbaric action of targeting, evicting and deporting ethnic Amaharas from the Benishangul-GumuzThe despicable and barbaric action of targeting, evicting and deporting ethnic Amaharas. ethnic state in western Ethiopia is a horrific crime and a crime against humanity by any measure and the outrage of Ethiopians across the world is justified.  The stories we hear from the victims themselves and the witnesses who saw it are heart wrenching.  Thanks to social media and communication technology, we are hearing from the victims themselves and seeing some of their tragic pictures in real time irrespective of where we live.  Thanks to the folks at ESAT TV and Radio for the relentless coverage.  I have even heard many supporters of the Ethiopian regime, at least those who live outside of Ethiopia, condemn this barbarism.  They should be applauded for that.

What kind of sane person cannot be outraged when watching this replay of a Nazi pogrom that targets an ethnic group who were literally frog-marched and, in the words of the victims themselves, told to go to “their country” and “wherever their ancestors were born”?  What do you feel when you are told this nonsense in your own country, the country your fathers and forefathers defended and died for?  The victimized ethnic Amharas were beaten, violently dragged off their homes and forced to pay for the trucks that packed them inhumanely, transported them out of the Benishangul Gumuz state, and dump them at the edge of another ethnic homeland without anything to help them stay even for a day.   The government has not even denied or confirmed reports that one truck loaded with more than sixty people had overturned at night and fifty nine deportees were killed.  We heard that women were giving birth in the wilderness and children died of suffocation.   What kind of decent human being would watch this unconscionable action of a government do this to its own people, particularly to the most vulnerable and not get outraged?

While we are at it, it is good to know that this is a part of Ethiopia where even Sudanese nationals related to tribes inside Ethiopia freely move in and out as they wish and depending on the season of their comfort.  Note also that the Amharas are not a minority in this ethnic region.  Based on the 2007 census, Amharas with 21.8% are the second largest ethnic group among six other ethnic groups inhabiting the area. The largest ethnic group, the Berta, is only slightly larger than the Amhara at 25.4%.  Important to note is also that the Amhara are allowed only to elect officials to all levels of government but cannot be elected themselves – democracy Ethiopian style. And lo and behold, this is the area where we are building the huge Nile Dam that we are being asked to contribute money for and that Sudan and Egypt hate like the plague.

Only the Ethiopian government media thinks it is hiding this horrific story.    Embassies of Ethiopia’s donor countries in Addis Ababa, who tirelessly tell us how they care for civilization and human rights, have also chosen to look the other way.  This barbarism is theirs too as they are underwriting it in so many ways. That may partly explain their silence.  The only silver lining I found in this whole sad story is that the local, indigenous tribes and ethnic groups have not joined the officials in this crime.  Many, we even heard, were sympathetic to the victims. We all need to be proud of them.  They have not lost their senses even as their chiefs lost theirs.

But here is the major point.  Many Ethiopians seem to miss the root cause of this crime and get outraged at the chaffs.   The root cause of this ethnic cleansing and the factor that created it is embedded in the vision set out for Ethiopia by its rulers, the TPLF/EPRDF, as soon as they took power.   The officials of the Benishangul-Gumuz state and those in Guraferda, Bench Maji Zone, in the Southern Ethiopia Regional State, were executing a Grand Vision imbedded in the creation of the ethnic homeland – the Killil.    That is why some officials seem to be surprised by our surprise and were giving incoherent responses to some media interviews.  In a way, you can argue that the local officials who are doing this crime are also victims of the Grand Vision which they were told was a good official policy.

The Benishangul officials somehow failed to learn from their comrades in the Southern Regional State in Guraferda Bench Maji who as we speak are doing the same thing.   Had they done it a few victims at a time, the outcry would have been easily muted.   In the Guraferda case, they seem to get smarter after doing a massive eviction when they started out last year.    Now they are doing it on “a smaller group of victims at a time” basis.  They seem to have learnt that the larger their victims the louder the visibility and outrage.   Other than that, the local officials are doing their job prescribed in the Grand Vision.

When Meles Zenawi said, “what is Axum to the Wolayita and the Castles of Gondar to the Oromo”, he may have spilled the beans quite early in his tenure, but he was not saying it out of ignorance or saying anything outside of what he believed.   The suggestion was to create a psychology among people that anybody born outside of your ethnic homeland does not belong with you – that Ethiopia’s numerous ethnic groups are mechanically joined units that share very little among one another.   The Grand Vision stipulates that the best way to divide and rule Ethiopia, and fight age-old and powerful Ethiopian nationalism that stood on their way, was to reduce it to divided units and inward-looking ethnic nationalism.  Of course, this was not an innovation by Meles or TPLF.    It was first invented by the Italians who twice invaded Ethiopia and, to their unforgettable surprise, found out that Ethiopian nationalism is more powerful to tear down, and that it is hard to divide Ethiopians along their ethnicity and conquer their country.   A version of the current ethnic map is first made by Italian strategists and visionaries, if you can call them that.

Please don’t get me wrong.  I am all for the rights of ethnic groups to promote their cultures, languages, etc., and believe that any attempt at democratizing Ethiopia should do its best to do away with ethnic inequality in the country.  I also know it is a challenge for any government trying to address it.  I have monkeyed with Marxism- Leninism when I was a collage kid.  When I began to see and understanding my country fully, I found out that any solution for Ethiopia’s ills can only be based by studying and understanding Ethiopia and its complexities and devising indigenous solutions and not by importing European ideas.  I believe we can find our own solutions.

Anybody who thinks that the motive behind the manufacturing of the “killil state” by the TPLF/EPRDF was to empower ethnic groups and help them promote their language, culture etc, and do away with ethnic inequality, was apparently taken for a ride or has not paid attention to the philosophy embedded in the formation of ethnic homelands – the killil.  The fact is you don’t necessarily need the ethnic killil to make ethnic groups or so called “nations” and “nationalities” and “peoples” equal.

In fact, for ethnic groups to be equal citizens in the country, you don’t necessarily have put them inside a geographic enclave.  I am a student of geography.    I can make you digital maps of ideal federal states that can be optimally used to help avoid inequality between ethnic groups, fight poverty, and strengthen the Ethiopian union, all at the same time, by crunching hundreds of variables on a computer.  It is even possible to avoid the current ridiculous hierarchical classification of ethnic groups into “nations”, “nationalities” and “peoples” which inherently perpetuates inequality.

The current practice only exposes the regime that it does not have even a slight commitment to the rights of ethnic groups.  I know many have come to this conclusion by looking at what the regime is doing to the Agnuak in Gambella.   According to current practice in Ethiopia, you will lose your citizenship rights, if you are a citizen at all, as soon as you move from your designated ethnic homeland and move to another.   Think about it.  In the country where I currently live, the son of a Kenyan immigrant is the President of the country.  When I think of it, it painfully reminds me of how far in the past my beautiful Ethiopia still lives in.

My children and grand children can become presidents or senators in the country that gave me refuge.   My relatives who live outside of their ethnic homeland in their own country are not allowed to run and hold even a “kebele” office.   It is simply unconscionable that this is happening in the twenty first century.   Has anybody wondered why individuals of mixed ethnicity, which probably number more than thirty million, are forced to choose between their father’s and mother’s ethnicity when they are issued ID cards? Isn’t this a crime against an entire people?

So please don’t tell me that the ethnic homeland states of Ethiopia are set up with the good intention of helping ethnic groups achieve equality.   Ato Meles Zenawi and those who shared his Marxist- Leninist views very well know that there cannot be a sustainable oppression of one group of people by another without an economic basis.  The only economic basis with which the ruling classes in Ethiopia in the past, be it Amahara or a multiethnic class, was able to oppress another group for a long period of time was because of unequal land ownership.   But the dergue, Mengistu Hailemariam’s government, has done away with that seventeen years before the TPLF took over.

The dergue also targeted Amharas and killed many.   In the absence of an economic basis to point to as the basis of oppression, TPLF leaders have to manufacture some tool.   The only tool they found in their tool box was linguistic differences and the hatred of the “other”.    People were encouraged to hate one another and feel their differences with others more than what they share in common.   That was why they dismissed Ethiopia’s long recorded history, the very thing that joins us in pride as Ethiopians as “Teret” (folk tale).   I see many countries use even mythologies to help them promote their union. In Ethiopia we are asked to despise even the facts on our record.

It appears that this hate is bearing bigger fruits with time and that is exactly what we are seeing in Benishangul Gumuz and Guraferda now.  What we are reaping is what has been sawn, and I am afraid this is not going to be the end of it and may not stop at the Amhara.   We are hearing that some of the Benishangul deportees are now allowed to return. Most probably this is due to the need to mute the worldwide outcry and appease some donors but not out of the realization of the wrong they did.  The damage is already done. I have no idea how this traumatized people would live a normal and secure life even if they are returned.   Some who are very traumatized are even saying they will better die on a street anywhere than return back.

If Ato Meles Zenawi was alive today, I am sure he would pull all his word-craft to justify the crime in Benishangul-Gumuz.   He already did justify the deportation from Guraferda in front of the “parliament” last year by saying that the Amhara “settlers” were destroying forests and doing unplanned use of land.   He didn’t even care his justification run in violation of the constitution.  You see, in civilized communities across the world, the constitution is meant to protect the people from government excesses and the power government holds over people.  In Ethiopia it is only quoted when there is a need to protect the government from the people and often to intimidate and throw critics and opponents into the kaliti dungeon.

The whole idea and talk about oppression of nations and nationalities, as they call them, was propagated only to patronize the ethnic elites and facilitate their cooperation in the Bantustanization of Ethiopia and reduce the country to units manageable to rule. That was how you could manufacture surrogate ethnic parties.  This was the reason the multiethnic Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (EPDM) was forced to become an ethnic Amhara party overnight, though it is obvious that none of it looks like a party created to help Amharas.

Folks, whether you like it or not, this is the vision that will definitely challenge Ethiopia’s survival as a nation in the future.  And this is the vision that all of Ethiopia’s officialdom and party cadres are swearing to preserve.  Be afraid not only for the Amhara, this poison embedded in the philosophy of our government’s ethnic policy can destroy Ethiopia if left unreformed.   This fire will catch more forests.  You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, as my American friends would say.

Yes, we are witnessing a painful tragedy in progress and I understand why many of you are crying.  I myself did shade some tears when listening to the voices of the unfortunate.   But don’t let your tears cloud you from seeing the real reason. There is a need for a huge change in

We call on us in our struggle for justice, unity, peace, freedom,!!

Sorce : By. Abi A

A new Ethiopia is needed! We call on us in our struggle for justice, unity, peace, freedom, equality and morality in Ethiopia! We have come a long ways towards achieving our goals in Ethiopia, but the last part of that struggle may be the hardest and things may get worse before they get better! We need your ideas, influence, expertise, compassion, strength, faith, wisdom and prayers to give birth to a new society of Ethiopia that values each human being as being precious

Due to a whole set of socio-economic and political complications at home, Ethiopians are leaving their country in droves and for slavery. Thousands cross the Red Sea and the Sahara illegally and under life-threatening conditions. Several failed to make it to their destinies- they perished along the way. Several are stolen of their internal organs; several are raped, tortured, and indefinitely detained. Those who luckily reached their destinations are equally vulnerable to mistreatments of all sorts. They are forced to work under inhuman and hard-to-believe conditions. In a way, one could argue that Ethiopia is a witness to the revival of medieval period slave trade.

አንድነት በመንግስት ዛቻ አንደናገጥም አለ

Oktober 2 / 2013

 አንድነት  ለዲሞክራሲና ለፍትህ ፓርቲ (አንድነት) ከ33ቱ ፓርቲዎች ጋር በመሆን መስከረም 19 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም በቀበና አካባቢ በተወሰነው ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ላይ በሽብርተኝነት ጥፋተኛ ተብለው የታሰሩ ሰዎችን ይፈቱ ማለቱ፣ እንዲሁም ጉዳያቸው በፍርድ ቤት እየታየ ያለን የሙስሊም ኮሚቴ አባላት እንዲፈቱ መጠየቁና ባልተፈቀደ ቦታ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ አድርጓል በሚለውን የመንግስት ምላሽ ማዘኑንና በመንግስት ኮሙኒኬሽን ጉዳዮች ሚኒስቴር ዲኤታ አቶ ሽመልስ ከማል ዛቻ እንደማይደናገጥም አስታወቀ።

የፓርቲው ምክትል ህዝብ ግንኙነት ኃላፊ አቶ ሀብታሙ አያሌው ጉዳዩን በማስመልከት በተለይ ለሰንደቅ ጋዜጣ እንደገለፁት በመንግስት በኩል ሰላማዊ ሰልፉን ተከትሎ ፈጣን ምላሽ በአቶ ሽመልስ ከማል በኩል መገለፁን ፓርቲው መገንዘቡን ከገለፁ በኋላ በሚኒስትር ዲኤታው በኩል የተገለፀው ነገር የመንግስት አቋም ስለመሆኑ ቢያጠራጥርም ምላሹ ግን የህግ ትርጓሜን በማዛባት የቀረበ ነው ብለዋል።

“አቶ ሽመልስ ከመዛት ግላዊ ባህሪያቸው ተነስተው “ሕግ የሚያመጣውን መዘዝ ለመቀበል ይዘጋጁ” ማለታቸው ሁላችንንም ያሳዘነ አገላለፅ ነው። እኛ ሕግ አስተማሪና ቀጪ መሆኑን እንጂ መዘዝ መሆኑን አናውቅም። ካጠፋን ልንማር እንችላለን መንግስትም ካጠፋ ከስህተቱ ሊማር ይገባል ብለን እናምናለን። ስለዚህ የህግ መዘዝ አለው ማለት ለእኛ ከዛቻ የተሻለ ትርጉም የለውም” ብለዋል። አቶ ሀብታሙ ጨምረው እንደገለፁት የሚኒስትር ዲኤታው ንግግር በፖለቲካ ይዘትም ሆነ ከህግ አንፃር መሰረት የሌለው ነገር ከመሆን በዘለለ ይሄንን ሀገር በተሻለ ብቃት የመምራት አቅም ማጣታቸውን ማሳያ ነው ብለዋል።

አቶ ሽመልስ ከማል ካነሱዋቸው ነጥቦች መካከል “ሰልፉ ባልተፈቀደ ቦታ ተካሂዷል” የሚለው ወቀሳ ነው ያሉት አቶ ሀብታሙ “በእርግጠኝነት የአዲስ አበባ አስተዳደር ለአንድነት ፓርቲ በፃፈው ደብዳቤ የሰላማዊ ሰልፉ መነሻ ከፓርቲው ጽ/ቤት ተነስቶ በቀበና አደባባይ አድርጎ፣ ወደ ጃንሜዳ አምርቶ፣ ሰልፉ እዛው ጃንሜዳ እንዲጠናቀቅ የሚል ነው። ይህ ውሳኔ የደረሰንም የእኛን ሰልፍ ለማደናቀፍ፣ ያቀረብናቸውን ዘጠኝ አማራጮችንም በመቀልበስ፣ ባልፈለግነውና ባልመረጥነው ቦታ እንዲፈፀም ነው የተደረገው። ይህ ነገር ከሞራልም ከህግም አንፃር ተቀባይነት ባይኖረውም ለህግ ተገዢ በመሆን ወደ መስቀል አደባባይ የምናደርገውን ጉዞ በፖሊስ በከፍተኛ ኃይል መጥቶ መንገድ በመዘጋቱ፤ ከፖሊስ ጋር ግብግብ መፍጠሩን በመተው ወደቀበና አደባባይ በመዞር ቀበና አደባባይ ላይ ሰልፉን ለማጠናቀቅ ተገደናል። ወደጃንሜዳ ያልሄድንበት ምክንያት ኢህአዴግ ህግ እንድንጥስ በር ሲከፍትልን ህግ ላለመጣስ ብለን ወደጃንሜዳ አልሄደንም። ጃንሜዳ ያልሄድነው ቦታው ከጦር ካምፕ በ20 ሜትር ርቀት ላይ የሚገኝ በመሆኑ የሀገሪቷ ህግ ደግሞ ማናቸውም ሰላማዊ ሰልፍም ሆነ የፖለቲካ እንቅስቃሴ ከጦር ካምፕ ካለበት ቢያንስ 500 ሜትር ርቆ መካሄድ አለበት ስለሚል ነው” ብለዋል። ይህም ባልተፈቀደ ቦታ ሰልፍ ማካሄድ ሳይሆን ለሀገሪቱ ህግ ያለንን ተገዢነት ያሳየንበት ስለሆነ ሁኔታው የእኛን ሕጋዊነት ያሳየ ሲሆን በአንፃሩ እነ አቶ ሽመልስ የሚመሩት መንግስት ሕገ-ወጥነት ማረጋገጫ እንደሆነ ጠቅሰዋል። በሕግ አግባብ ሲታይ ሃያ ሜትር የጦር ካምፕ ስር ሄዶ መሰለፍ ነው ወይስ እንዲሰለፉ ፈቃድ የሰጠው አካል  የሚጠየቀው? ሲሉ ጥያቄውን በጥያቄ መልሰዋል።

“ሌላው በነፃ ፍርድ ቤት አሸባሪ የተባሉትን ሰዎች እንደ ሰማዕት አስመስለው “መልዕክቶቻቸውን አንብበዋል” የሚለው የአቶ ሽመልስ ማስፈራሪያ ከሀገሪቱ ሕገ-መንግስት ጋር ይጋጫል የሚሉት አቶ ሀብታሙ የሀገሪቱ ሕገ-መንግስት በግልፅ እንዳስቀመጠው ማንኛውም የፍርድ ቤት ውሳኔ ከፍርድ ውሳኔ በኋላ የፍርድ ቤቱን ውሳኔ መቃወም ወንጀል ሳይሆን መብት ነው ብለዋል። እንኳንስ አንድ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ቀርቶ አንድ ግለሰብ ከፍርድ ውሳኔ በኋላ ውሳኔውን መቃወም መብት ሆኖ ሳለ አቶ ሽመልስ ግን ነፃ በሚሉት ፍርድ ቤት የተወሰነውን ውሳኔ ጥሳችኋል ማለታቸው ተገቢም ተቀባይነትም የለውም ብለዋል።

“አቶ ሽመልስ የሚመሩት ድርጅት በኢትዮጵያ ፍርድ ቤቶች ነፃ ናቸው ብሎ ያምናል። በአንፃሩ የእኛ ፓርቲ ደግሞ ነፃ ፍርድ ቤት የለም ብሎ ያምናል። በዚህ ረገድ የአቋም ልዩነት አለን። ነፃ ፍርድ ቤት የለም ብለን አቋም መያዝ የፖለቲካ መብታችን ነው። አቶ ሽመልስ ይሄ የፖለቲካ መብት መሆኑ ካልገባቸው በቀር ነፃ ፍርድ ቤት የለም ብለን ስናበቃ፤ ነፃ ያልሆነ ፍርድ ቤት የወሰነውን ውሳኔ አንቀበልም ማለት በእኛ እምንት ተገቢ ነው። ህግ መጣስ የሚመጣው ያ ነፃ አይደለም ያልነው ፍርድ ቤት የወሰነውን ውሳኔ በኃይል ለመቀበልስ ከሄድን ብቻ ነው። እኛ ግን ዲሞክራሲያዊ በሆነ መንገድ በሰላማዊ መንገድ ነው የተቃወምነው። ይሄ ደግሞ መብት ነው እንጂ ወንጀል አይደለም” ሲሉ አቶ ሀብታሙ መልሰዋል።

በተጨማሪ አቶ ሽመልስ “በሰላማዊ ሰልፉ ላይ ሽብርተኝነት አበረታተዋል” ሲሉ ከሰውናል ያሉት አቶ ሀብታሙ በመጀመሪያ ደረጃ እኛ የታሰሩት ሰዎች ሽብርተኛ ናቸው ብለን አናምንም። አለማመን ደግሞ መብት ነው። ፍርድ ቤቱ የሰጠውንም ውሳኔ ተገቢ ነው ብለን አናምንም። እንደ ፓርቲም መቃወማችንን እንቀጥላለን። እነሱ ሽብርተኛ ያሉዋቸው ሰዎች ቀደም ሲል እስር ቤት ሆነው ኀሳባቸውን በተለያዩ ጋዜጦችና መፅሔቶች ሲገልፁ ቆይተዋል። ነገር ግን ለኢህአዴግ ህመም የፈጠረበት በሰላማዊ ሰልፉ ላይ ሲገለፅ ነው። ይሄ ደግሞ የሰልፉ ውጤት ኢህአዴግን ስላስከፋው እንጂ ህግ መጣስ አይደለም። በተጨማሪም አንድ ሰው በቁጥጥር ስር ከዋለ በኋላ ኃይሉ ዜሮ በሆነበት ሁኔታ “አበረታታችኋል” ማለቱ ትርጉም የለውም። ስለዚህ ሽብርተኝነትን የምናበረታታበት ምንም ዕድል የለም ብለዋል።

የሙስሊም መፍትሄ አፈላላጊ ኮሚቴዎችን በተመለከተም በትክክልም በፍርድ ሂደት ላይ ያለ ጉዳይ መሆኑን የጠቀሱት አቶ ሀብታሙ በፍርድ ሂደት ላይ ያለን ነገር መቃወም ተገቢ አይደለም ብለዋል።

“ነገርግን አቶ ሽመልስ የተረዱን አይመስለኝም” ያሉት አቶ ሀብታሙ እኛ እየተቃወምን ያልነው ፍ/ቤቱን ሳይሆን ፍርድ ቤቱ ውሳኔ ከመስጠቱ በፊት የኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቭዥን “ጀሀዳዊ ሀረካት” የሚል ዘጋቢ ፊልም ሰርቶ ተጠርጣሪዎቹን “አሸባሪ” ብሎ ከፍርድ ቤቱ በፊት መወሰኑን ነው። ይሄንን ደግሞ በአደባባይ መቃወም አሸባሪን መደገፍ አይደለም። ፍርድ ቤቱ የሚወስነውን ከወሰነ በኋላ ደግሞ የምንይዘውን አቋም እንይዛለን። ነገር ግን አሁን ፍርድ ቤቱ “ተጠርጣሪ” እያላቸው ኢቲቪ ግን “አሸባሪ” ብሏቸዋል። እኛ ደግሞ “የለም እነዚህ ሰዎች ተጠርጣሪ እንጂ አሸባሪ አይደሉም” ብለን ተሟግተናል። የምንቃወም ይሄንኑ ነው በማለት አስረድተዋል።

“ሌላው በሽብርተኝነት የታሰሩ ይፈቱ ብላችኋል” የሚለው የአቶ ሽመልስ ከማል ክስ በተመለከተም ፍ/ቤት በነፃነት የመወሰን መብቱ ኢቲቪ ባስተላለፈው ፊልም ነፃነቱን በመጋፋቱ በተያዙት ሰዎች ላይ ነፃ ፍርድ ይሰጣል ብለን አናምንም። ስለዚህም ሰዎች በነፃ ይለቀቁ ብለን መጠየቃችንን የሕግ መዘዝ ያመጣል ማለት የመንግስት ስልጣናቸውን ከመመካት የሚመነጭ እንጂ የሕግ መሰረት የለውም ብለዋል። በአጠቃላይ የአቶ ሽመልስ ምላሽ በግብታዊነት ፓርቲው ላይ እርምጃ ለመውሰድና ሰላማዊ ትግሉን ለማዳፈን በመሆኑ መዘዙ የከፋ ነው ሲሉ በበኩላቸው መልሰዋል።

የመንግስት ኮሙኒኬሽን ጉዳዮች ጽ/ቤት ሚኒስትር ዲኤታ አቶ ሽመልስ ከማል እሁድ ዕለት ማምሻውን ለኢትዮጵያ ሬዲዮና ቴሌቭዥን ድርጅት በሰጡት ማብራሪ አንድነት ፓርቲ ባልተፈቀደለት ቦታ ሰልፍ ማካሄዱን እንዲሁም በሰልፉ ላይ በሽብርተኝነት ጥፋተኛ ተብለው የታሰሩ ሰዎችን በማወደስና እንዲፈቱ በመጠየቅ ሽብርተኝነት ማበረታታቱን በመግለፅ ህገ ወጥ ተግባር መፈፀማቸውንና ፓርቲውም ከዚህ ድርጊቱ እንዲቆጠብ መጠየቃቸው አይዘነጋም።

People left for abuse, a regime bankrolled to abuse

For Immediate Release

On Saturday August 31, 2013, the Ethiopian capital once again turned into a hell where heavily armed TPLF commando forces besieged the Blue Party headquarters, looted the entire office material, and assaulted young men and women who at the time were on their last minute preparation for a peaceful demonstration planned for the following day. According to eye witnesses, leaders, members and supporters of Blue party were handcuffed; frog marched and badly beaten by heavily armed Special Forces. The assault and humiliation on young female members of the party was even worse and strange to the Ethiopian culture that treats all women as mothers. Many female members of the party were taken to police stations and army barracks, ordered to take out their clothes, and forced to roll in stinking sewage sludge.

Just like the absolute majority of the over 90 million Ethiopians, the dream of young men and women of Blue party is to see the important values of justice, liberty, and democracy prevail in their country. The only weapons they carry are pen and paper, their sole goal is peace and prosperity, and their slogan is “Let our voices be heard”. However, last Saturday; the response from an excessively brutal regime that knows only violence was to use an overwhelming force to silence the voices of freedom. This past Saturday, as it usually does; the TPLF regime took the constitutional right of the people and by doing so; the brutal regime has once again demonstrated its utter intolerance to multi-party politics and any kind dissent in Ethiopia.

Ginbot 7 Movement for Justice, Freedom and Democracy denounces the savage and heartless acts of the TPLF regime in its strongest sense and holds the regime accountable for all of its actions. Ginbot 7 understands that no words can comfort those who endured last Saturday’s horrendous assault and humiliation at the Blue party headquarters. However, we at Ginbot 7 want the courageous Blue Party leaders and members to know that we are thinking of you and sharing your pain at this difficult time. Most importantly, we want to reassure you that regardless of what the brutal regime does, no one can close the opened gates of liberty, and we shall overcome.

After 22 years of brutal killing, complete neglect for human right, utter intolerance for dissent, ever shrinking democratic space and unprecedented corruption; Ethiopia is left completely shattered and is now a failed State. At this historic juncture, Ginbot 7 wants to ask donor nations and other enablers of Ethiopia’s brutal dictators a very important question: Are you for the Ethiopian people or against the Ethiopian people? Are you financing dictatorship or development?

At the meantime, Ginbot 7 makes a call for all democratic forces of Ethiopia inside and outside the country to set aside their minor differences and stand firm for a nation that has been bleeding for so long. The question of how to fight the TPLF regime has already been answered by the continued and unabated brutal actions of the regime. We as a nation have been pushed to the limit and there is no more space to be pushed. We either fight collectively and declare our freedom or perish collectively. The nation has called us, let us answer the call.

We shall overcome!

ግንቦት7 በመከላከያ ሰራዊት ውስጥ መስመሩን እየዘረጋ መሆኑን አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ ተናገሩ

መስከረም ፳(ሃያ)ቀን ፳፻፮ ዓ/ም ኢሳት ዜና 

 አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ይህንን የተናገሩት በኖርዌይ ከተካሄደው ደማቅ የገቢ ማሰባሰቢያ ዝግጅት በሁዋላ ነው።

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የግንቦት7 ዋና ጸሀፊ የሆኑት አቶ አንዳርጋቸው የገቢ ማሰባሰቢያ ዝግጅቱ በአንድ በኩል በግንቦት7 ህዝባዊ ሀይል አባላት ላይ ከፍተኛ መነቃቃት የሚፈጥር በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ የተጣለብን ህዝባዊ አደራ ከፍተኛ መሆኑን የሚያስታውሰን ነው ብለዋል።

በቅርቡ ከኢትዮጵያ አየር ሀይል ከድተው የሄዱት ሰዎች በጥሩ ሁኔታ እንደሚገኙ የገለጹት አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ፣ በመከላከያ ሰራዊት በእግረና፣ በአየር ሃይልና በደህንነት መስሪያ ቤት ውስጥ የመንግስት የጸጥታ ሀይሎች ሊደርሱበት በማይችሉበት መንገድ መስመር እየዘረጉ መሆኑን ገልጸዋል።

በውጭ አገራት ተመሳሳይ የገቢ ማሰባሰቢያ ዝግጅት ለማድረግ እቅድ አላችሁ ወይ ተብለው የተጠየቁት አቶ አንዳርጋቸው፣ ህዝባዊ ሀይሉ ከተግባር ጋር በተዛመደ መልኩ የገቢ መሰባሰብ ዝግጅት መርሀ ግብሩን ይፋ እስከሚያደርግ ድረስ በህዝባዊ ሀይሉ ወይም በግለሰቦች ስም ምንም አይነት የገቢ መሰባሰቢያ ዝግጅት መደረግ እንደሌለበት ገልጸዋል

በሌላ ዜና ደግሞ በርካታ ቁጥር ያላቸው በስቶክሆልም እና አካባቢዋ የሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን ከ አቶ አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌ ጋር ውይይት አድርገዋል። አቶ አንዳርጋቸው የግንቦት ሰባት ህዝባዊ ሃይልን ዓላማዎች፡ተልዕኮዎች እና ራዕይ በማስተዋወቅ ህዝባዊ ሃይሉ ከምስረታ ጀምሮ አሁን ያለበትን ደረጃ በምስልና በጽሁፍ የተደገፈ ገለጻ ለተሰብሳቢው አቅርበዋል።

እሳቸው እና ሌሎች የአመራር አካላት እንዲሁም አባላት የተገኙበት የውትድርና ስልጠና አንዱ የበታች አንዱ የበላይ እንዳልሆነ በማስገንዘብ ይህ ህዝባዊ ሃይል ቤተሰባቸውን፡ስራቸውን፡ ገንዘባቸውን፡ እና የተደላደለ ኑሯቸውን በመተው ከኢትዮጵያ እና ከመላው ዓለም የተውጣጡ ኢትዮጵያውያን የተዋቀረ እንደሆነ ገልጸዋል።

የግንቦት ሰባት ዓላማ በኢትዮጵያ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ስርዓትን ማስፈን ብቻ ሳይሆን ባለፉት 22 ዓመታት ኢትዮጵያውያን የተገፈፉትን ክብራቸውን ማስመለስ ጭምር መሆኑን አቶ አንዳርጋቸው አስምረውበታል ሲል ቴዎድሮስ አረጋ ከስዊድን ዘግቧል።

የተቃውሞ ፓርቲዎች ሠላማዊ ሰልፍ በአዲስ አበባ

September 29, 2013 10:02 

አንድነት ለዲሞክራሲና ለፍትኅ ፓርቲ ከ 33ቱ ፓርቲዎች ጋራ በመሆን ለዛሬ በመስቀል አደባባይ የጠራው ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ በፖሊስ ክልከላ የአንድነት ጽ/ቤት በሚገኝበት ቀበና መካሄዱ ተገለፀ።

የአዲስ አበባው ዘጋቢያችን ዮሐንስ ገ/እግዚአብሔር ሰልፉን ተከታትሎ ባደረሰን መረጃ መሰረት እጅግ በርካታ ሠላማዊ ሰልፈኞች ሠልፉን ለማከናወን ወዳቀዱበት መስቀል አደባባይ እንዳይሄዱ ፖሊስ መንገዱን በመዝጋት ተከላክሎዋል። ከ ዘጋቢያችን ዮሐንስ ገ/እግዚአብሔር ጋ ያደረግነውን ቃለ መጠይቅ ከድምፅ ዘገባው ያገኙታል።

አንድነት ለዲሞክራሲና ለፍትኅ ፓርቲ ከ 33ቱ ፓርቲዎች ጋራ በመሆን ለዛሬ በመስቀል አደባባይ የጠራው ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ በፖሊስ ክልከላ የአንድነት ጽ/ቤት በሚገኝበት ቀበና መካሄዱ ተገለፀ። የአዲስ አበባው ዘጋቢያችን ዮሐንስ ገ/እግዚአብሔር ሰልፉን ተከታትሎ ባደረሰን መረጃ መሰረት እጅግ በርካታ ሠላማዊ ሰልፈኞች ሠልፉን ለማከናወን ወዳቀዱበት መስቀል አደባባይ እንዳይሄዱ ፖሊስ መንገዱን በመዝጋት ተከላክሎዋል። አዣንስ ፍራንስ ፕሬስ በሰልፉ ወደ 80,000 የሚጠጉ ሰዎች መሳተፋቸውን የአንድነት ፓርቲ ሊቀመንበር ዶ/ር ነጋሶ ጊዳዳ እንደሚገምቱ ጠቅሷል። የዜና አውታሩ አያይዞም የመንግሥት ቃል አቀባይ ሬድዋን ሁሴን በሰልፉ የተገኙት በጥቂት መቶ የሚቆጠሩ እንደሆኑ መግለፃቸውንም ገልጿል።

ሰልፈኞቹ የጸረ-ሽብር ሕጉ ይሰረዝ፣ የታሰሩ የኅሊና እስረኞች ይፈቱ፣ የኢሕአዴግ መገለጫው ሙስና ነው፣ የሕዝቡ የመሬት ባለቤትነት ይረጋገጥ፣ መብትን መጠየቅ አሸባሪነት አይደለም፣ ፍትኅ እንፈልጋለን፣ ዲሞክራሲ እንሻለን የሚሉና ሌሎች በርካታ መፈክሮችንም በከፍተኛ ድምፅ ማሰማታቸው ታውቋል።

በሰልፉ ላይ ከቃሊቲ እስር ቤት የተላከው የአንዱዓለም አራጌን ጨምሮ ዝዋይ ከሚገኙ እስረኞች የተላከ መዕልክት በንባብ ቀርቧል። ሠልፉ በአንድነት ፓርቲ ሊቀመንበር በዶ/ር ነጋሶ ጊዳዳ ንግግር በፓርቲው ጽ/ቤት መጠናቀቁ ታውቋል። (ፎቶና ዜና: DW)

A must-watch ESAT Special on Ginbot 7 Meeting in Washington DC (Part 1)

    September 26, 2013           

Editor’s Note: On Sunday September 22, 2013, the Ginbot 7 leadership had a very revealing and open discussion in Washington DC meeting like it has never had before . As you know, the issue of working with Eritrea has been a bone in the throat for G7 as well as for its supporters around dience and the Diaspora watching on ESAT.

the world. Many have argued against using Eritrea as a spring board to wage an armed struggle against TPLF.

Opponents claim that Eritrea can not be trusted based on their experience with Isayas Afeworki so far and his public rhetoric as it relates to Ethiopia. They may have a point. But the problem is that they don’t practice the position they defend or argue for. They don’t provide an alternative and actually implement that alternative. For example, they don’t answer to the question of where to wage an armed struggle and show us the way by an example.  They don’t. For instance, what don’t they find a place within Ethiopia and wage an armed struggle? What do they go and practice what they preach instead of simply analyzing and arguing from the comfort of their homes in the West. What they do is simply disagree and sometimes with bitterness and even animosity against G7 position towards Eritrea.

Instead of making an honest and logical attempt to convince and win our support, those who oppose G7′s position in Eritrea use intimidation, name callings, insults, put downs and inuendos to impose their opinion on G7 and its supporters. But the irony is that these forces claim to believe and fight for democracy in Ethiopia and yet they impose their position on others. G7 has repeatedly expressed the right of any political entity to follow a path it believes in without imposing its policy or belief on any one else except asking their support.

G7 has often made clear that it does not oppose other political parties who pursue a political path different than its own. It is interesting whether we know how to win support with a clean logical argument backed by results in the ground instead of an endless ineundos and name callings. 

Those who opposes G7 are not all  in the same wave length. Pro-TPLF mercenaries like Awramba Times editor are going against G7 to accomplish their paid assignments. There is no surprise about them. They are part of the package. There is also a second group that questions and suspects a multi-national political force like G7 for fear of revenge by TPLF victims in the form of genocide or a lesser nationwide violence against the Tigrian population.

 These group has a legitmate fear. But opposing such a political force as G7 is not a solution to their fear. In fact, a force such as G7, if strengthened, may help stabilize the country by preventing a possible chaos and ethnic violence in Ethiopia when TPLF collapses.

And there is a third group. These are political organizations who are competing for power in Ethiopia after TPLF. They believe if they don’t cook the dish, it does not taste good. They want power at any cost and by any means necessary. They are ego-driven and uncompromising. Nothing satisfies them until they are in power to implement their belief. They oppose everything any opponent does. They deliberately or honestly believe that truth is on their side. Doing so is wounding their ego and it is relinquishing the possibility of power in Ethiopia.

There is one final group which I consider innocent but suspicious. Our story with Eritrea is full of suspicions and actual heart-breaking experience due to the war waged between Ethiopia and Eritrea for over 40 years now. They don’t trust anything related to Eritrea no matter who said what including God. These group has a legitmate concern but suspicion should not tie our hands and prevent us from doing what needs to be done. Our situation today is desperate. TPLF has done and still doing all it can to destroy our people and country. These suspicioius group should know that there are times in life when you have to do what you got to do to get out of a rock and hard place by swallowing our pride and controlling our suspicion.There is a saying in our country,” ቀን እስኪአልፍልህ የአባትህ ባርያ ይግዛህ” that we should follow. These group has no alternative except to give it a try while holding its suspicions. At this point, all of us have one universal enemy. And we have to focus on it. And that is TPLF. And it is wise to talk about our differences after we free Ethiopia from TPLF by any means necessary.

The G7 leadership has directly presented the question in a ‘take it or leave’ it manner to the au


 the image above to watch the G7 meeting in DC on September 22, 2013

Ato Andargachew Tsige, secretary of G7, has explained in detail about the Eritrean question during the meeting. It may be hard to tell if every body is convinced. With all their suspicions remaining, there is no doubt many may be considering to give G7′s policy on Eritrea a chance, if it has any possibility of working, given the dire and critical circumstances Ethiopia has found itself at this time. 

There is no sure thing in life as well as in struggle. You take chances and you take risks. Not a blind risk but a pragmatic one based on the circumstances you found yourself boxed in. Not taking that risk, no matter how difficult, is committing a self-inflicted suicide. You put all your options on the table. And you pick the one with the least risk. And then you move on.

 And if not, the choice is to get stuck in some meaningless and fruitless activity and continue to waste time, money and even lives for nothing and finally give up and be forgotten. G7 seems to have made a decision to take the least risky option, according to Ato Andargachew Tsige, and is pursuing it with resolve. 

And for those of us with an apposing view, let us do what we believe in without imposing our position on G7 and its policy towards Eritrea. According to Ato Andargachew Tsige, G7 is not imposing its position on any person or political entity. He said they don’t oppose the positions other political organizations are taking when it comes to Eritrea or any other political position.

The take home message is that, we in the opposition camp, should all follow our individual political choices in our quest to remove TPLF from power without attacking each other. We all don’t have to come to the same conclusion. Let us just disagree without being disagreeable. There is no need to vehemently be involved in slash and burn campaign against a position we don’t agree on. First, it is not democratic. Second, it is nasty. We will sound like the dictators we claim to hate like Mensgistu and Meles. No one party or person has the monopoly on the truth of what works best to bring TPLF down. The only way to establish that truth is based on the results of a given policy on the ground. And let us all give a chance, with patience, to see what works with our suspicions still intact