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Dr. Dagnachew Assefa speaks out in defense of peaceful struggle (Video)

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Dr.Dagnachew web

Dr. Dagnachew Assefa, Professor of Philosophy at Addis Ababa University (Photo Awramba Times)

Awramba Times (Addis Ababa) – Dr. Dagnachew Assefa, Professor of Philosophy at the Addis Ababa University speaks out in defense of peaceful struggle in Ethiopia.

In a panel discussion organized by the opposition, Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), on Sunday, June 29, 2014, Dagnachew calls upon the Ethiopian youth to take lead in a Struggle for freedom and democracy in Ethiopia.

Please watch the video below


Dagim Dirba’s Pariah State of Ethiopia (Ersasu Mere)

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W020100202329696443469Skimming through your writings, your efforts to curve out the insults can not go unnoticed. It is good to know that , at least , you can learn. In case you read my comment on your first riposte, I said this: “በተረፈ ስለ NGO እመለስበታለሁ ብለኋል:: እንደ እኔ ከሆነ የሚሉትን ሁሉ ቀድመን ስለምናውቅ አይድከሙ ነው የምለው:: በጥቅሉ የሚሉት እነዚህ በእርዳታና በሰብዓዊ መብት ይክበር ሰበብ የ”Neo Liberal” አጀንዳዋቻቸውን በእኛ ላይ በመጫን የቀለምና የምናመን አብዮት አምጥተው እንደ ግብጽ ዩክሪን እና ሶርያ ሊያበጣብጡን ነው:: ያን አርገው አገራችንን በቁጥጥር አውለው ሀብታችንን ዘርፈው ሲያበቁ ቁጭ ብለው ሊስቁብን ነው:: እነዚያ ሴጣኖች:: Of course , as usual you will use all the documentation written about the subject in some sort of intellictual manner. “

Boy did I read your play book or what? But after diving into your article, whether I should be vindicated of accusing of you and your boss for utter incompetence should be left to reader’s judgement. I must admit, though, you clearly made your point in style. No one will doubt your writing and your boss’s oratorical skills.

In substance, however, both of you write and say empty bravado and age old rhetoric. If I have to sum up your core message, all of these institutions and donor countries with liberal agenda do not want to see Ethiopia to be self sufficient. They do not want to acknowledge the leap frogging Ethiopian economy and they deny the remarkable peace and stability the country is enjoying. You are saying that not only they hate what Ethiopians are achieving they also open many fronts to stop it . Hence, in your and Ato Redwan’s mind Ethiopia is treated as a pariah state by the developed nations.

If we Ethiopians are not alarmed by such reckless and delusional statement that will definitely come with a whole array of consequences , who will? To show how I found you to be delusional and shameful, I will quote just a statement from your writings. You can be trained to write good and to talk better than others, however, it is up to you to use your God given human conscious to make a judgement that can be acceptable by some, never by all. You said this:

“For starters, these NGOs are by no means are keen or eager to see a self-sufficient Ethiopia free from reliance on Western handout. For otherwise the aid industry will cease to be a lucrative enterprise if aid- recipient countries were to achieve self-sufficiency as Ethiopia is striving to do so on all levels.”

If I were a distant observer of the economic and political life Ethiopia, I would have mockingly laughed at this statement. However, I am an Ethiopian by blood and spirit and when an official or EPRDF elite thinker, as you claimed to be, spewed such statement I am disheartened knowing that the fate of this great nation is in your the hands. Can you tell the Ethiopian mass who benefited a whole lot from the relief food aid that saved their life, the health and education benefit they get from the NGOs, that these evil donors are coming to Ethiopia to do business. Quote me a single case , in the last 40 years what Western donors and NGOs get from Ethiopia? The last I heard , it was the socialist Russia that was exploiting the minerals of the country in exchange for arms we used to kill each other.

The last I heard in your party’s reign, is when convicted Chinese criminals coming to work in Ethiopia as a deal for the Chinese government financing the construction of roads. The last I heard foreigners benefit from Ethiopian is when ordinary Indians farmers come to work on their almost freely gifted arable land.

On the contrary, the few Westerns that come to Ethiopian in the name of Aid were well accomplished professionals most of them on voluntary basis. If they have to be paid , they were paid by their own government. The lucrative enterprise, if they ever exist, are directly or indirectly financed mainly by individual donations or tax payers money. Every penny of it accounted.

You people like Dagim see things from their perspective. They don’t even know how their conglomerate , EFFORT- a non profit organization, is financed, where the profit goes and who will be auditing them. Except few individuals they do not have a clue what their government is doing when it comes to money matters. So pal, if Ethiopia is self sufficient there are close to hundred countries who would happily take what was going to that country. If you close their operation in Ethiopia, the first one who benefit is the donor agents and the people and government of those institutions.

If you are worried about the people, who work in those institutions, I would say don’t .These employees who usually get paid under their market value , will find , if they are not retired already or have enough money to live by, another job in a heart beat. If you allow me to digress, what would Mr. Redwan do if he leaves office. Probably become a biology teacher. How about Speaker Aba Dula, etc. They can not earn enough by their own labor and skills. That explains why they hang to power no matter what it takes. That is also the reason why they do not want to hear any talk of change.

Let us talk a little bit about Ethiopian haters and show where you broke the boundaries of reason and common sense. You stated international Rivers Network is waging war against the Great Renaissance Dam and other water projects on the grounds of environmental concerns. This network, which is known to be founded by scientist and social activities, journalist and volunteers , has been functioning for about 30 years. They are fundamentally against big dams .

They argued that although big dams contribute a great deal for human development their research on over 50 countries showed them that the overall cost paid to secure the benefits of these dams was too much to bear. The network was not created yesteryear to be a bad messenger from our arch enemy Egypt as Ethiopian government has tried to portray it. For your information, the network, which has many experts on many issues related to dams ,was behind the formation of the World Commission on Dams which was initiated by the World Bank and the World Conservation Union.

So, the question I would ask is that why their opposition to Great Renaissance Dam can be any different from their opposition to many dams in many countries of the world. In fact, their opposition does not emanate from an evil scheme and hate. They have given an alternative plan of actions that will benefit the majority of Ethiopian farmers and pastoralists. Who would listen? It is the birth child of a visionary leader and party, the dam construction will be completed and any modification or revision is counted as going against the legacy of that visionary leader. Even with this assumption, there should be a space to confer and consult instead of characterize them as enemies of Ethiopia.

Another institution Dagim Dirba accused it of allegedly wishing an unrealized doomsday for the motherland is the International Crisis Group(ICG). This group is also filled with prominent individuals with back ground in government works. ICG is mainly research based group that give advice to many NATO countries and UN on potential conflicts and humanitarian crisis. They also work on conflict resolution.

I would not have enough space here to tell you how many lives they saved and the potential deadly conflicts they were able to avoid. Their failure to go wrong on their prediction on the Ethiopian Case may be true. I would pray they always remain wrong. But what you and your government did not want admit was the existence of the symptoms for crisis this well informed group has found out.

Speaking of Human Right Watch, everybody knows why Ethiopian government would love to hate them. I would not get into the hodgepodge of what they want the Ethiopian government should and should not do. Nor would I indulge in the needless argument of the neo liberal ideology they want to impose on our country and why the government of Ethiopian should or should not accept that ideology.

I still do not understand why there is even a discussion about neo liberal ideology. Aren’t we tired of such conversation about socialist, Marxist, capitalist , bla bla ideologies which only few hundred Ethiopians may understand them. In the same way , it is a waste of time to respond to the allegation that the Watch is lobbying the US government to hurt Ethiopia. In case I ask Dagim Dirba, why would they do that? , I am not ready to entertain his moronic response for it would surely be the non existent corporate interest.

Ethiopia sought after for corporate interest and deemed to be hurt if not complying with the seekers demand. What a joke! Inspite of this, there is a chance for EPRDF and the government to do the right thing by respecting the basic and fundamental human rights, render equality and justice to all. That will save them the time and the energy used to antagonize their critics. You will always lose the battle of ideas if your aim is to hide your ill doings and shortcomings. It may earn you praise and appreciation, even though I doubt they may not be genuine, from your circles and entourage. I am sure you can not convince a single soul on this argument of defending the indefensible.

Peace to Ethiopia and Ethiopians

Ersasumere@gmail.com

Ethiopian Official: Yemen to Issue Extradition Warrant for Andargachew Tsige

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Awramba Times (Addis Ababa) – Andargachew Tsige, secretary general of Ginbot 7, a US and Europe based political organization designated by the Ethiopian government as terrorist, will face extradition, a senior Ethiopian official who asked for anonymity told Awramba Times.

Andargachew-Tsege

Andargachew Tsige

Andargachew, an Ethiopian-born British national, was arrested on June 23, 2014, at Sanaa’s El Rahaba International Airport, by Yemeni intelligence officers, while en route to undisclosed destination.
Andargachew, second-in-command of Ginbot 7, is widely considered to be the architect of the organization’s “all inclusive strategy” which was primarily designed to unseat the government in Addis ababa by all posible means. He was given a death sentence in absentia, along with the organization chairman Berhanu Nega (PhD) for his alleged role in the 2009 subtle attempt to overthrow the Ethiopian Government.

The senior Ethiopian official whom Awramba Times spoke to, said “Yemeni authorities will definitely issue an extradition warrant and he will face justice based on the Ethio-Yemeni Security Pact (EYSP), which was signed in 1999 between the late Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi and Yemeni’s former president Ali Abdela Salah”

According to (EYSP), the two states are determined to, inter alia, “jointly engage any third party that attempts to destabilize the long-standing brotherly and historic ties between the two countries, and not to harbor elements seeking to destabilize the other’s peace and stability.”

On its official statement, issued June 30, 2014, Ginbot 7 condemned the arrest of its leader and harshly warned both Ethiopia and Yemen to retaliate by all means at its disposal.

“We will retaliate in any way and at any place for any harm on the body, sprit and life of Andargachew Tsigie” the statement added.

Yemeni Ambassador to Ethiopia, Dirhim Abdo Noaman was not immediately available for comment.

Eritrea president targeted by new Swedish law

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Swedish law firm reports Isaias Afewerki and several ministers to the police for crimes against humanity.

Several top Eritrean leaders have been reported to the police for crimes against humanity by a Swedish law firm, as a new law took effect enabling such crimes committed anywhere else in the world to be prosecuted in Sweden.

saias-Afewerki

Isaias Afewerki

The report lists a series of alleged crimes including torture and kidnapping, and targets Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki and several of his ministers by name.

“This is not only symbolic. We believe there are legal grounds to prosecute the people we have named,” human rights lawyer Percy Bratt told the AFP news agency on Tuesday.

The legal move, the first of its kind in Sweden, was filed the same day that crimes against humanity were introduced into the Swedish penal code.

The code enables judges to prosecute crimes regardless of where they have been committed or by whom.

“There is a lot of evidence from human rights groups, particularly about indefinite imprisonment without trial (in Eritrea),” Bratt said.

“There are also many Eritreans in Sweden who could give information about the conditions in the country in general.”

According to the latest figures, 12,800 Eritreans live in Sweden, and the number of asylum seekers from the country keeps growing.

Swedish-Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak has been imprisoned in Eritrea since 2001, and 13 years on little is known of his fate.

Bratt said that even if the case was taken on by the prosecutors, it could take years before criminal charges were laid, given the complexity of the allegations.

Eritrea, with a population of five million and a size about the same as Britain, is one of the most isolated and secretive countries in the world.

According to the United Nations, 4,000 Eritreans flee the country every month to escape ruthless repression, including unlimited forced labour for the government.

Source: aljazeera

Andargachew was in our blacklist; said Yemen’s National Security

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Ethiopia said on Thursday it wanted to extradite the leader of an outlawed opposition group arrested in Yemen to face terrorism charges. “He is a criminal, and he definitely will have his day in court,” government spokesperson Getachew Reda told AFP.

AndargachewAndargachew Tsige, secretary general of Ginbot 7 – labelled a terrorist organisation under Ethiopian law – was arrested while transiting through the airport of Yemen’s capital Sanaa last week, according to a statement from the group. Yemen’s National Security said he was held because his name was “on a list”, but giving no further details.

Getachew said it would be “the right thing” if Yemen extradited Andargachew, accusing him of plotting terror attacks in Ethiopia. “He’s the head of a terrorist organisation who has been flaunting his leadership for terror operations inside Ethiopia,” he said. But Ginbot 7 said Andargachew was detained illegally and called for his release.

Freedom fighter

“The Yemeni government doesn’t have any right to detain Andargachew, even for an hour,” it said in a statement. The US-based Ginbot 7 says it is fighting for democracy and freedom in Ethiopia, and has called for the overthrow of the ruling party. The group vowed to seek retribution if Andargachew, who they called a “freedom fighter”, is extradited to Ethiopia. “If Andargachew is transferred into the custody of the Ethiopian government, if his life and physical wellbeing is threatened, we will avenge,” it warned, without giving further details.

In 2012 several people were convicted for having links to Ginbot 7, including journalist Eskinder Nega and opposition leader Andualem Arage, who were handed heavy sentences. The group’s leader, former Addis Ababa mayor Berhanu Nega, lives in exile in the US. Rights groups have accused Ethiopia of using the anti-terrorism legislation to silence dissent and jail critics, calling the legislation vague and over-reaching

Source: AFP

UK Foreign Office: Andargachew could face death penalty in Ethiopia

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Andargachew Tsige, a British national, may face death penalty after extradition from Yemen

By Martin Plaut

The Foreign Office has been accused of failing to act to prevent the extradition to Ethiopia of an opposition leader facing the death penalty.

Andargachew Tsige, a British national, is secretary general of an exiled Ethiopian opposition movement, Ginbot 7. He was arrested at Sana’a airport on 23 June by the Yemeni security services while in transit between the United Arab Emirates and Eritrea.

“The British knew he was being held in Yemen for almost a week but they did nothing,” said Ephrem Madebo, a spokesman for Ginbot 7. “We are extremely worried about Mr Andargachew, because the Ethiopians kill at will.”

William HagueThe Foreign Office, which called in the Yemeni ambassador earlier this week, said it was urgently seeking confirmation that Andargachew was in Ethiopia.

“If confirmed this would be deeply concerning given our consistent requests for information from the Yemeni authorities, the lack of any notification of his detention in contravention of the Vienna convention and our concerns about the death penalty that Mr Tsige could face in Ethiopia,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

It added: “The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle … We continue to call on all countries around the world that retain the death penalty to cease its use.”

Ginbot 7 is among the largest of Ethiopia’s exiled opposition movements. The party was founded by Berhanu Nega, who was elected mayor of Addis Ababa in 2005. Refusing to accept the result, the prime minister, Meles Zenawi, declared a state of emergency, which was followed by days of protest and clashes on the streets of the capital. Read More

EthiopiaFirst interviews PM Hailemariam Desalegn (Video)

Breaking News: Andargachew Tsige speaks out on ETV after extradition (Video)

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Andargachew-and-isaias-300x164Awramba Times (Addis Ababa) – Andargachew Tsige, secretary general of Ginbot 7, an organization designated by the Ethiopian government as terrorist, speaks out on ETV. Please watch


Third Instilment on Ersasu and Foreign NGOs (Dagim Dirba)

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It is beginning to be rather tedious to exchange views with Ersasu Mere if one can call it that. Worse still, if the online back-and-forth continues the way it has, it could easily turn into an even more tiresome and unrewarding one-way distance-lecture without even the moral satisfaction of broadening an inch Ersasu’s narrow, nay, crammed mental horizon.

The sad part is Ersasu seems to be equipped, as it were, with only low-grade pencil, when the fray he entered calls for more in terms mental preparation. At the very least, it should not have been lost on Ersasu, that such a knowledge-based exercise requires a degree of ability to take a good intellectual stock of the arguments of his protagonist, or debater, I should say, and, at least a minimum capacity to launch an articulate and reasoned rebuttal.

As it happens, Ersasu’s poor showing on both counts is equally apparent in his earlier Amharic rejoinder to Redwan’s exposition of government policy and his recent English sequel to which I shall, for one last time, respond. And respond, if I can say so myself, not in kind but in the form of an advanced lecture on the subject Ersasu raised by way of salvaging the unsalvageable fallacy of his initial argument and fulmination against the said minster.

Don’t get me wrong, what I intend to take to task in this brief riposte is not Ersasu’s language proficiency or his discourteous manner of addressing a senior government official. I need not t go that way, since, barring the kind of company he probably keeps, his effrontery may already have raised a few eyebrows among polite circles where it is possible to engage in a heated political exchange without name calling. At any rate, Ersasu’s cantankerous tone and dereliction to mince words, if you ask me, betrays unfamiliarity with Ethiopian mores of discretion of language even when giving voices to distress, which otherwise he claims to personify without any discernment of the trappings from the substance. That is why his behavior, at least in this instance, has a lot to be desired, though it is not my place to remind Ersasu that a modicum of curtsy may have at least lent an iota of credence to his otherwise strident expression of the same old discontent with an elected government that, whether he likes it or not, is responsible for 80 million people. Again I need not remind him of the importance of earnest moderation, particularly knowing, as I do, that the usual circle of EPRDF bashers often conflate rudeness with militancy and resort to foul language whenever their wishful prediction of EPRDF’s imminent fall fells flat on its face.
Be that as it may, my interest here is not the coarse political rhetoric of the lunatic fringe, which incidentally reminds me of Mengistu Hailemariam’s flare for crude monologue, though he at least could be pardoned for no civility of language is needed if all what one does is order mass murder form a seemingly unreachable safe distance. My interest rather lies in giving fleche to the issues that divide the Ethiopian government and foreign NGO as well as relief agencies of which there is no shortage in this country And, along the way, though at the risk of being reproached for killing a fly with a sledgehammer, expose the woeful inadequacy of Ersasu’s cognitive capacity to grasp the nuances of these issues and the implications at stake for both sides. I do so not because the government’s principled stance towards these entities needs any apology, not at least to weightless critics of Ersasu’s ilk of dilatants who dabble in subjects which their shallow mental faculty cannot warrant. Ersasu, for one, to me lacks what it takes to deeply understated let alone to repudiate the policy environment governing charity societies and foreign- NGOs in Ethiopia. Yet I take Ersasu’s follow-up English-language article as a spring board, if you will, to reframe the underlying ideo-political divide that separate the Ethiopian government and bleeding- heart humanitarians and relief agencies alike.

I confess, I find Ersasu fascinating if only in one weird sense. Notably, in the sense that of all those who harbor visceral hatred for the Ethiopian government and admiration for its enemies, he alone sticks his neck out for the lords of poverty. This is not my coining, mind you, but Graham Hancock’s, that fittingly bear the title of his 1989 book, which exposed the less than lofty side of the business of relief organizations, using Ethiopia as a case study. I am sure Ersasu would have spared himself a huge embracement had he taken the trouble to read Hancock before vouching for those who unintentionally or otherwise perpetuating poverty. Consider Ersasu’s latest sentimentalist criticism of my contention that the relief industry has built-in interest in sustaining relief as it saves lives. As we shall see shortly, unable as he is to grasp the ironic logic in this argument, he rushes to dismiss it as ‘moronic’. If proof need be, read the following verbatim quote from his article. Ersasu writes.
Can you tell the Ethiopian mass who benefited a whole lot from the relief food aid that saved their life ….,

Now, this goes to show the validity of my quip on his puny ability to understand any counterargument against his unexamined opinion. For neither I nor any one for that matter ever questioned this self-evident truth that relief agencies save the famished from dying of hunger. My contention, however, which escapes Ersasu, is that that all these agencies do and expects to do indefinitely so long as it is possible to stall the country’s effort to feed itself. In other words, the terms of reference within which relief agencies function is by design limited to feeding the hungry and by no means includes eradication of the root cause of hunger. Though no doubt admirable as a humane gesture, the moral impulse for extending a helping hand to those pushed to the verge of death by famine is not exactly free from mundane calculation, as relief practitioners would have us believe. This may come as a surprise to Ersasu, but it is a fact that, in monetary terms at least, for every dollar pumped into relief provision, 70-80 percent of it goes to cover administrative costs. For only high-paid foreign experts are trusted with impartial delivery of relief to those in need. This, of course, means fat salaries to executive country-directors of relief programs and additional hefty perks to mid-level operators whose work environment is described as risky and fraught with danger. Now, I will leave it to Ersasu to draw his own conclusion whether or not there is ground to suspect that there could be vested interest in the good-smarten enterprise of disaster relief. But, Ersasu’s cluelessness in this area notwithstanding, there is more than meets the eye as there are multiple players in the food-supply chain of the relief industry that stand to gain from humanitarian disaster-management in severely underdeveloped countries. The first in the chain of beneficiaries is the agricultural lobby that harried by price slump finds outlet in huge government procurement of surplus grain earmarked to starving nations in Africa. Tough a burden on the state treasury, local grain purchase for consignment abroad is as much a relief to proprietors of giant modern farms as it is, albeit secondarily, an anti-inflationary scheme against glut-induced food market fluctuation. This is not to mention that inaction in the face of cataclysmic humanitarian crises invites moral outrage of the taxpayer-public, whereas vice-versa helping the needy of this world can be used as a soft leverage on food-aid recipient countries. Second in the line of beneficiaries of the food-aid program are trackers and maritime conglomerates that, less altruistic as they are, plan and expect to make no small profit from shipping tones of food to the shores of food -poor nations. Last in the chain, but perhaps with the highest stakes, are relief-agencies on the ground, on whose shoulder rests the daunting task of disbursement of charity. Obliviously they too anticipate commensurate monetary reward for their troubles, since altruism alone is not sufficient enough a motive to feed those who can’t feed themselves.
Hence ,if you put two and two together it is not news flash, though it is contrary to the fact on the ground, that according to relief agents ‘ current- year need- assessment figure, 12 million people in Ethiopia might need immediate assistance. Given the actual figure, I am not convinced whether or not this frightening prediction is not a self-fulfilling prophecy. But, as could have been expected, Al Mariam, the professor of doom and gloom, was the first echo this astronomical figure as nothing gives him more pleasure than news of mass starvation in Ethiopia. In fact, clever by hindsight as ever, this world-class charlatan has the temerity to write in a recent article,
I claim no special knowledge or expertise in the economics of famine. However, by carefully piecing data, analyses and findings from various sources……it became clear to me that 2013 was likely to be the threshold year for the onset of famine or “catastrophic food crises”, as they euphemistically call it, in Ethiopia.
I don’t’ know what ‘’pieces of data’’ he put together, but knowing his unremarkable intellectual faculty for grand synthesis, it can’t be more than a few incongruent trifles here and there which he often awkwardly combines to arrive at a pre-conceived conclusion. Much to AL Mariam’s chagrin , however, the actual figure of people in need of immediate assistance is 2.4 million and not the 12 million plus that he would have liked it to be if only to score a point without any thought of the moral implications of willful replication of fictitious famine-figures to a political end. If truth told, not even during the 2012 drought, the worst to hit the Horn of Africa in 60 years, has the figure of the vulnerable reached anywhere near the level the AL Mariams circulate with relish. Otherwise this indefatigable modern-day Donquixote of a lost cause would have had an occasion, though in vane, to resuscitate his stillborn campaign for termination of US aid to Ethiopia.

lifestyle-graffiti-cropIn this regard, since his politics is apparently not beyond the pale as Al Mariam’s is, Ersasu I hope will eventually come around to realize at least one thing. Chiefly that it is not by accident that Ethiopia withstood the 2012 drought which could have easily turned into mass famine of biblical proportion. Triggering an even bigger onrush of an international army of relief agencies and media networks, eager to capture an unfolding humanitarian crisis under what they would have no qualms to dismiss as an incompetent government. For all of us sake, nothing of the sort came to pass. Nor would such a scenario will ever come to pass in the future as Ethiopia has now passed the threshold of food-security at the national level, thanks to its agriculture-led development strategy that culminated in successive annual double-digit pro-poor growth. This I believe speaks to the determination of the Ethiopian leadership to never be caught unprepared again by at least rain failure.
Here it bears to recall that the first measure which presaged Ethiopia’s present level of self-sufficiency had to do with the successful renegotiation of the terms of the aid provision regime and institutional set up preferred by the donor community. The logic behind this effort was to shift the focus away from relief-centered activity to preparedness against drought. No symbolic act captures this drastic shift than the restructuration of the old Relief and Rehabilitation Commission into the present Disaster prevention and Preparedness Commission. It needs no reminder that the former stood as a living proof of the institutionalization of dependency on charity, and accession to be treated as a failed state. Conversely, the latter stands as a veritable institutional expression of commitment to end reliance on food aid, where the state can no longer be sidelined by international do-gooders, who reckon that mere distribution of aid gives them the right to call the shots in this country. No wonder, then, that as it refuses to play second fiddle to NGOs, the government of Ethiopia takes a great deal of flack from both state and non-state actors bound as they are by a shared world-outlook. Embedded in this outlook, is, among other things, commonality of view that food aid-recipient countries must either surrender or mortgage their sovereignty to donor states as collateral against misuse of charity. As can be expected, Ethiopia was among the first countries to face this dilemmatic trade-off between forfeiting partial sovereignty and receiving food-subsidy. That is why the government had to carefully navigate around this either/or terms of engagement with its opulent counterparts, before steering the country away from dependency towards self-sufficiency as it did through an ideological medium of its own choosing.
Apparently there appears to be a division of labor in the unpublicized obstacles thrown at every step of Ethiopia’s forward path to either slowdown or stall the momentum. As idicated above, relief agencies, for instance, self-servingly exaggerate the country’s annual grain deficit and thereby inhibit direct foreign investment which, hands down, goes a long way in denting the condition that perpetuate dearth than any amount of foreign aid. Whereas, human rights advocates, narrow as their interpretation of universal values is, has no room to accommodate the organizing principle by which the Ethiopian government approaches the same issue. They in fact portray the country as a living hell where violation of human rights is a daily routine. It matters little that ever since the early 1990s, Ethiopia has for the first time in its history embraced democracy under a constitution that not only provides for basic rights, but also enshrines in toto the 1948 UN Human Rights Declarations. Ethiopia is also signatory to almost all international right-promoting protocols and instrumentalities, which the terms obligate the government to submit an annual report on its compliance to international regulatory bodies. Nor are international human rights advocates inclined to credit Ethiopia for drafting and ratifying the 2013 Human Rights Action Plan that instantly met the approval of the United Nations.
Granted legislating enabling democratic laws — does not mean instant and full compliance with every single right-protecting provision at every level of the decision-making institutions, regulatory, or law enforcement agencies. In fact, the Ethiopian government is the first to admit that, given its social, political, cultural and economic background, Ethiopia has a long way to go before it can lay claim to be a robust democracy. Yet, regardless of level of compliance, no one can dispute that it is on a legal foundation that democratic societies are founded and only flourish by enabling laws. Indeed the first criterion that qualifies a country to the title of an emerging democracy is the nature of the laws it is governed by. The second is the effort it exerts to abide by these laws despite the challenges of its historical variables. On both counts, therefore, Ethiopia merits the global recognition accorded to it as an emerging democracy of rule of law where the first and second generation of universal rights are equally observed. Hence, irrespective of the gap between commitment and delivery, in and of itself, the mere fact that an enabling legislation is in place avails citizens a legal platform to stand up for their rights. And space to hold government accountable to its own laws lest otherwise the state forfeits its claim to legitimacy and lose face in the eyes of the international community. This, needless to say, is all too plane to anyone familiar with the tenor of politics in the emerging world of the 21st century. Yet, sad as it is, the cynical naysayers in Ethiopia are wont to dismiss out-of-hand the laws of the democratic federal government as nothing but sham, designed to mask the reality of tyranny.
Though no less cynical, the importance of legislation, however, is not lost on international human rights advocacy circles. That is why, for instance, long before it took effect, these organizations begun circulating disparaging reports, particularly against Ethiopia’s anti-terrorist law, as if it constitutes an irrefutable proof of the government’s hostility to human rights. Obviously, though unprofessional by any standards, the likes of Human Rights Watch (HRW) never mention the glaring fact that enacting laws against terror is not an Ethiopian invention. But, HRW notwithstanding, the initiative originated from no less an august international body than the United Nations. In truth, it is in line with UN Security Council recommendation, calling on all member states to protect their citizens against rising global terror that Ethiopia drew its own anti- terrorist law based on its specific circumstances. Besides, what other country calls for more legal safeguards against terror than Ethiopia which, long before 9/11, suffered repeated terrorist attacks with no backing from any of the countries that are only now feeling the heat. Yet, for the directing managers of HRW and their Ethiopian recruits who feed them with self-depreciating disinformation , the clear- and- present danger that Ethiopia continually face from Al-Qaida, AL Shabab, and a host of other low-profile terrorist outfits in Eritrea’s pay carries no weight. To the contrary, every time Ethiopia nibs in the bud any terrorist plot involving religious extremists, HRW is the first to denounce the government’s public-safety measure as a violation of the human rights of the Ethiopian Muslim population. Had such an allegation not been grave, it would have been met with laughter in any informed circles. For at no time in Ethiopian history have the rights of the formerly disfranchised Muslim community been fully observed to an even higher degree to boot, than in any of the first democracies. Where, nowadays as in medieval times, Islam is seen as a scourge of Western civilization in certain influential academic institutions and corporate media moguls. In marked contrast, thanks in part to the legacy of grassroots interfaith solidarity, Muslims play prominent economic, social and political role, encouraged and fortified as they are by the Ethiopian federal constitution which upholds and protects religious equality.
But the irony is, self-appointed international human-rights czars are not content with waging a vicious campaign against Ethiopia on the religious front alone. No, they are equally vehement in their broadside against every single of Ethiopia’s development endeavors, with utter disregard to the time-tested truth that there is no other alternative to sweeping comprehensive change if the people of Ethiopia are, for the first time in history, to live a dignified life, unshackled from constant deprivation of the bare minimum of livelihood. In the absence of which, no matter the intensity of mainstream media and academic discourse to the contrary, full implementation of the first generation of political and human rights is next to impossible.
In my last posting I have briefly touched upon the unfriendly campaign against Ethiopia’s war on poverty, the single most irksome factor of its vulnerability to large and small abuse and cause of its plea for charity. There is, therefore, no need to repeat it here, since I have also cited Ethiopia’s mega development projects, targeted for a coordinated sabotage by negative publicity. Among the major actors implicated in manufacturing harmful imagery no doubt include those who call themselves friends of this river, friends of that lake, friends of this forest, friends of that wildlife park and what have you. But the most damaging campaign aimed at halting Ethiopia’s effort to bury the legacy of dependency on foreign handout is spearheaded by a coalition of NGOs who fancy themselves as human rights watchers, environment protectors as well as defenders of endangered indigenous people in Ethiopia. The last one kills me because I don’t know any people at risk in this country, nor am I aware of any nationality whose identity marker is not indigenous to Ethiopia.
On a serious note, however, it is time to windup this response by a succinct summary of the underlying principles that divide the Ethiopian government and international NGOs where human rights is concerned. Put simply, for the Ethiopian government, the absence of protection against organized violation of the rights of human beings alone does not constitute best human rights practice. No doubt the government is duty bound to ensure that, irrespective of origin, status, gender, faith, or political persuasion, everyone in Ethiopia has legally recourse against any form of unlawful bodily or psychological harm. The government also bears responsibility to hold accountable any person, organization, or state authority implicated in violation of human rights. In this connection, what foreign NGOs are unwilling to concede is that Ethiopia has come a long way from its own recent past where the notion of human rights was an alien concept among its successive ruling elites. Against this background in particular, it is only faire to say that the Ethiopia has made remarkable progress in terms of fostering an environment where human rights holds pride of place in the country’s political and legal landscape. This of course is a function of promulgating human rights-protection legal codes and mechanisms of enforcement of the provisions of the laws. Granted, there is no ham in pointing out that there is room for improvement as it is healthy to criticize the inadequacy of the effort to close the gap between human rights laws and human rights practices. Whereas wholesale repudiation of the human rights landscape in Ethiopia leads one to wonder whether ulterior motive might not be at play behind such blanket judgment, which I submit is not a farfetched speculation given the machinations of the NGOs under discussion.
But the crucial factor behind these NGOs unremitting hostility towards Ethiopia in part stems from their own narrow conception of human rights whose limitation I have tried to indicate above. Whereas for the Ethiopian government, human rights extends to ensuring food security, and basic life-sustaining provisions, including access to potable water, healthcare, education etc. Alas, no high-minded rhetoric, exalting the virtues of human rights is to make the intended level of the impression in an environment where the population is burdened by worries of daily survival. That is why the Ethiopian government boldly chose not to sequence the rights of the people to be free from abject misery and their entitlement to protection against violation of their legal human rights. But, given the country’s frightening all-round underdevelopment there is no alternative to ensuring decent livelihood except through a rapid economic growth, that involves vast expansion of infrastructure, including highways, railway lines, telecom networks, farm-input manufacturing plants, mega power generating projects etc. Obviously in certain development project sites residents of the area have to be resettled to adjacent locations with even better public provisions of basic resources. Similarly, in regions with spars settlement pattern, public commitment to delivery of access to basic social and hard infrastructure can only be realized through policy instrument of clusterization of isolated enclaves of domiciles of barely a household or two. This is what rapid development means, which naturally comes with pangs not to mention sacrifice that the present generation has to bear if the next is to be spared the drudgery and humiliation of underdevelopment. Yet, the louder is the cry of human rights abuse whenever the country makes progress on this front, thanks to the likes of HRW. For all its truth claims where humanity is concerned, HRW seems to take pleasure in leveling untruthful allegations against independent-minded government which its funding-sources find ontologically unacceptable.
Apropos, there is one thing that HRW and their apologists don’t seem to understand. This is, whilst the Ethiopian government is open to constructive criticism of its handling of human rights issues , it is by no means ready to forgo its development agenda. Not at least on pains of punishment ostensibly on punishable charges of harming the environment, the ecology, even the lives of indigenous people. As it happens, only Ersasu Mere denies that Human Rights and the coalition it leads are bent on punishing Ethiopia, though they themselves openly brag about it. In fact, Ersasu reckons it is ‘moronic’ to think, as I do, that HRW intends to have Ethiopia penalized simply because it peruses its own agenda and refuse to do the biddings of the powerful who are bent on recasting the world according to their own prescription. Thus, Ersasu writs with a smug certitude common among deeply half educated clerks
… it is a waste of time to respond to the allegation that the Watch is lobbying the US government to hurt Ethiopia. In case I ask Dagim Dirba, why would they do that? , I am not ready to entertain his moronic response for it would surely be the nonexistent corporate interest. Ethiopia sought after for corporate interest and deemed to be hurt if not complying with the seekers demand.
To translate, Ersasu is saying that I have nothing to back my assertion about HRW’s zeal to see Ethiopia censured by the powers except Ideology. Well, it suffices to glance at the letters below to find out which one of us stands on purely ideological ground in the Marxist sense of false consciousness. For instance, read if you may HRW’s December 17, 2010 letter to Development Assistance Group calling on donors to conduct investigation before providing aid to Ethiopia.(http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/12/09/ethiopia-evelopment-assistance-group-needs-address-and-human-rights-ethiopia) This is echoed in International Rivers May 22,2012 letter to the World Bank.(http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/ngo-letter-to-the-world-bank-regarding-the-ethiopia-kenya-transmission-line-7476.)
The saving grace is that none of it has succeeded. To the contrary, according to a recent article posted on Aiga Forum website ‘’the Washington-based World Bank Group this fiscal year has approved and disbursed a historic record high funding to Ethiopia’’.
With this I rest my case.

Britain Pledges £300 million to Ethiopia amid Controversy over arrest of its citizen

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lynne-featherstone

Lynne Featherstone, UK’s International Development Cooperation Minister

Awrambatimes (Addis Ababa) – Lynne Featherstone, UK’s International Development Cooperation Minister, has said the UK will continue extending the 300- million Pound Sterling assistance it provides annually to Ethiopia; amid controversies over arrest of Andargachew Tsige, a British citizen who recently extradited to Ethiopia.

While holding talks with Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn, in Addis Ababa on 07 July 2014, UK International Development Cooperation Minister, Lynne Featherstone said her country has been undertaking various development activities to support Ethiopia’s efforts towards lifting citizens from poverty.

Prime minister Hailemariam on his part said Britain should strengthen the financial support to help Ethiopia realize its poverty reduction program.

“Ethiopia has been utilizing the financial assistance obtained from Britain for the intended purpose” said Hailemariam Desalegn on the ocassion. “ the contribution of UK in the structural change Ethiopia is making from agriculture to industry-led economy is huge” he added

Ethiopia is the biggest recipient of UK’s development aid in the World

Prof. Mesfin Woldemariam’s comment on Abraha Desta (Video)

Andargachew Tsge’s Rendition 6 Hypothesis (Prof. Musse Tegegn)

Ethiopian Court Charges Bloggers, Journalists With Terrorism

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By William Davison

(Bloomberg) - Six Ethiopian bloggers and three journalists were charged with planning attacks in the East African country in partnership with a banned U.S.-based opposition group, a judge said.

The members of the Zone 9 blogging group and reporters are accused underEthiopia’s anti-terrorism law of working with Ginbot 7, which is classified as a terrorist group by the government, Judge Tarekegn Amare told the Federal High Court today in the capital, Addis Ababa. The defendants, who were arrested in April, received funding and training in explosives from abroad, he said.

“The prosecutors didn’t actually mention any specific act which it claimed that they planned to do,” defense lawyer Ameha Mekonnen told reporters after the hearing. “They simply said that they planned, organized themselves and conspired, things like that.”

Donors such as the U.S. and the United Nations have said that Ethiopia’s 2009 anti-terrorism law is used to criminalize legitimate dissent from journalists and opposition politicians.

Tesfalem WoldeyesAward-winning writer Eskinder Nega was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2012, while two Swedish journalists who traveled with with a rebel group were accused of supporting the insurgents and convicted under the law in 2011.

Anyone prosecuted under the anti-terrorism law is part of a network that begins in Eritrea, Ethiopia’s regional enemy, and reaches Somalia, Kenya and South Sudan, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn told reporters today.

Banned Organization

“When you put yourself into this network and you try to be a blogger, don’t think you are going to escape from the Ethiopian government,” he said in the capital. “I don’t think becoming a blogger makes anyone immune if somebody involves into this terrorist network that destabilizes my country.”

The Oromo Liberation Front, a banned organization fighting for more autonomy for Ethiopia’s Oromo people, was mentioned in the charges once, Ameha said.

The charges didn’t appear “professionally done” and the defendants, who are all in their 20s and 30s, accused the authorities of forcing them to sign confessions in previous hearings, he said. “They were forced to sign statements that they did not write,” Ameha said.

Similar allegations have been made in previous terrorism cases and are false, State Minister of Communications Shimeles Kemal said by phone from Addis Ababa. “There is nothing whatsoever to substantiate these allegations,” he said.  Read more

መርሃ ቤቴ እና ሰሞንኛው የፅንፈኛ ተቃዋሚዎች ቤንዚን

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በሰሜን ሸዋ ዞን በመርሃ ቤቴ ወረዳ አለምከተማ ሰሞኑን በፅንፈኛ ተቃዋሚው አፍ ውስጥ ገብታለች፡፡ አንዱ የፅንፈኛ ዲያስፖራ ተቃዋሚ ድረ ገፅ “ቁስለኞች ሆስፒታሉን አጣብውታል። ቁስለኞቹ የሚታከሙት በፖሊስ ታጅበው ሲሆን ህክምናውን እንደጨረሱ ወደ እስር ቤት ይወሰዳሉ።” ሲለን ሌላው ሀገር ውስጥ ያለ ደጋፊው ይነሳና ደግሞ “የሰሜን ሸዋዋን የመራቤቴን የእምቢተኝነት መንፈስ መላው የአማራ ህዝብ ሊላበሰው ይገባል።” ይለናል፡፡ ሌላው ደግሞ “ከወያኔ የፀጥታ ሃይሎች ጋር ኣሁን ድረስ ውጊያ እየተደረገ ሲሆን እስካሁን 7 የወያኔ ወታደሮች የሞቱ ሲሆን ከህዝብ ታጣቂ በኩል 1 ሞቷል። ባሁኑ ሰዓት ወረዳውን ሙሉ በሙሉ የህዝቡ ታጣቂ ተቆጣጥሮት ይገኛል።” ይልና “እባካችሁ እዛ ያላችሁ ታጋዮች መረጃ አድርሱን” ይላል፡፡ ያለመረጃ እየፃፈ መሆኑን እያሳበቀ መሆኑን ግን አያውቀውም፡፡
እኔ ግን መረጃውን ከገለልተኛና ከሚመለከታቸው የመንግስት አካላት ጭምር አጣርቷል፡፡ የማይመለከታቸውን ተስፈኛ ተቃዋሚዎችን ለማነጋገር ያደረገው ጥረት ግን የለም፡፡

ነገሩ እንዲህ ነው፡፡

በደቡብ ወሎ ዞን የሚገኙ 12 አካባቢዎች መብራት ከሰኔ 29 ቀን ጀምሮ ተቋርጦባቸው ነበር፡፡ ምክንያቱ ደግሞ በአካባቢው የነበረ ትራንስፎርመር መቃጠሉ ነው፡፡ መብራት ሀይል በእንዲህ አይነት ወቅት የሚወስደው እርምጃ ሁለት ነው፡፡ አንድም ቶሎ አዲስ ገዝቶ ማቅረብና ችግሩን በዘላቂነት መፍታት፤ አለዚያም በአቅራቢያ በትርፍነት ካለበት ቦታ በማዘዋወር መፍትሄ ማበጀት፡፡ በርግጥ ሰምቶ እንዳልሰማ መሆንም ሶስተኛ አማራጭ መሆኑን እሱ ባያምንም እኛ ደርሰንበታል፡፡
Semen Showaለዚህኛው ችግር ተቋሙ የመረጠው መፍትሄ ከሌላ አቅራቢያ ቦታ ከተቀመጠ ትራንስፎርመር አምጥቶ ችግሩን መፍታት ነው፡፡ ለዚህም በቅርብ ከሚገኘው መርሃቤቴ ወረዳ አለምከተማ ውስጥ አገልግሎት እየሰጠ ያልሆነ ትራንስፎርመር ተመራጭ ሆነ፡፡
በዚሁ መሰረት የመብራት ሃይል ቴክኒሻኖች ወደከተማዋ በመሄድ በከተማዋ ዳር ከሚገኘው ማሰራጫ ጣቢያቸው ግቢ የሚገኘውን ትራንስፎርመር ለጭነት በሚመች መልኩ መፍታት ጀመሩ፡፡ ይሄኔ አንዱ የዛ መስሪያ ቤት ባልደረባ በብርሃን ፍጥነት ወደ ከተማ በመግባት ለነዋሪዎቹ ተዘረፋችሁ ይላል፡፡
ይህችን እሳት ያገኙ የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲ አባሎች ደግሞ ምን አይነት ቤንዚን መርጨት
እንዳለባቸው አላጡትም፡፡ <<ትራንስፎርመርህ ተነቅሎ ወደትግራይ ሊጋዝ ነው>> ሲሉ
የቤት ለቤት ቅስቀሳቸውን አጧጧፉት፡፡ የመንጌን ንግግር በመዋስ <<ተንቀናል፤
ተዋርደናል፤ በቁማችን ገድለውናል>> እያሉም ከተማዋን በአንድ እግሯ አቆሟት፡፡
መብራቱ ሊዳፈንበት የመሰለው የከተማ ነዋሪም በተሰጠው የሀሰት መረጃ ተወናብዶ መቆጣት ጀመረ፡፡ <<ለምን ተብሎ?>> ሲልም ጥያቄውን አነሳ፡፡ <<አይ፤ የእኛ መብራት አይቋረጥም>> ያሉትንም ሊሰማቸው አልፈቀደም፡፡ የቀድሞ የኢፌዴሪ ጠ/ሚ/ር መለስ ዜናዊ ለሁለት ጊዜያት አካባቢውን ጎብኝተው ነበር፡፡ ያኔ ነዋሪውን ሲያነጋግሩ ከቀረቡላቸው አቤቱታዎች ውስጥ አንዱ የመብራት አቅርቦት ችግር ነበር፡፡ አሁን በከተማዋ ያለው ሰብሰቴሽን ከሳቸው የቀጥታ አመራር ጋር የተያያዘ ታሪክ ያው ነው፡፡ <<ታዲያ ከተማችን እያደገች፤ አገልግሎት ሰጭ ተቋማት እየተበራከቱ፤ የሃይል ፍላጎታችንም አይጨመረ ባለበት፤ ሁሉም የገጠር ቀበሌዎቻችን የመብራት ተደራሽ ባልሆኑበት ሁኔታ ለምን ትራንስፎርመሩ ይወሰዳል?>> ሲል ቁጣውን አከረረ፡፡ ተቆጥቶም ዝም አላለ፤ ተሰባስቦ ከተማዋ ዳር ወዳለው ማሰራጫ ጣቢያ ሄደ፡፡
በወቅቱ አገር ሰላም ብለው ስራቸውን ያከናውኑ የነበሩ ባለሙያዎች ድንገት የወረራቸውን የመሬ ሰዎች ሲያዩ ሳይደነግጡ አልቀሩም፡፡ ያው መሬ፤ መንዜ የሚባሉ አካባቢዎች ያላቸውን ዝና የምታውቁት ነው፡፡ ካላወቃችሁ መንዜውን ከበደ ካሳን ጠይቁት፡፡ ባለሙያዎቹ የህዝቡን ጥያቄ ተቀብለው ስራቸውን አቆሙ፤ ለህዝቡም ይህ አይነት ያለመግባባት ባለበት ሁኔታ ትራንስፎርመሩን እንደማይወስዱት ነግረው ህዝቡን ወደቤቱ መለሱት፡፡
ይሄ ግን ለተቃዋሚዎች የረባ ትርፍ የሚያስገኝላቸው አልነበረም፡፡ ምክንያቱም በሰከነ አዕምሮ ውይይት እንደሚካሄድበትና ያኔ የሃሰት ካባቸውን ተገፈው ራቁታቸውን እንደሚቀሩ ያውቁታልና፡፡ ስለሆነም ዘዴ ፈለጉ፡፡ በዚህ ነገር የሰው ደም መፍሰስ አለበት የሚል፡፡ ለዚህ ደግሞ ህዝቡ አርፎ ቤቱ እንዳይቀመጥ ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል፡፡ እናም ህዝቡን ለሊት ሳይቀር ቤቱ እየሄዱ አንተ ስትመለስ ሊጭኑት ተስማምተዋል ይሉት ጀመር፡፡ ጎን ለጎንም ባደራጇቸው ህገወጦች አማካኝነት በለሊት እንደ መብራት ሃይል፤ ኢትዮ ቴሌኮም፤ አበቁተ እና መሰል ተቋሞችን በድንጋይ በማስደብደብ የዘረፋ ሙከራ አደረጉ፡፡ የተቋሞቹ ተቀጣሪ ጥበቃዎች ግን ወደ ሰማይ ጥይት በመተኮስ ሌሎችም እንዲደርሱላቸው በማድረግ የዘራፊዎቹን ሴራ በትዕግስትና በብልሃት አመከኑ፡፡
በከተማዋ ያለው ሁኔታ ከሰላማው ጥያቄ ጀርባ ባሉ ፀረ ሰላም ሀይሎች አማካኝነት ወደ ስርዓት አልበኝነትና የገንዘብ ተቋማት ዘረፋ እየተሸጋገረ መሆኑን የተረዳው የክልሉ ልዩ ሃይል በተሰጠው ትዕዛዝ መሰረት ወደ ከተማዋ ህግ ለማስከበር ገባ፡፡ እሱም ቢሆን ታዲያ ከሃሰት ፕሮፓጋንዳ ሰለባነት አልዳነም፡፡ <<ትራንስፎርመሩ በልዩ ሃይል ታጅቦ ሊሄድ ነው>> የሚል አሉባልታ በከተማዋ ተናፈሰ፡፡
የችግሩን መባባስ የተረዱ የዞኑ አመራሮች ከከተማዋ ህዝብ ጋር በትናንትናው እለት መክረዋል፡፡ በዚህ መድረክ የህዝቡ ጥያቄ በዋናነት ከመልማት ፍላጎት ጋር የተያያዘ ጥያቄ መሆኑ መግባባት ላይ ተደርሶበታል፡፡ የአካባቢው ነዋሪዎች ትራንስፎርመሩን ሳያውቁና ሳይመክሩበት ለመውሰድ መሞከሩ እንዳስቆጣቸው ገልፀው ጥያቄያቸው ሌሎች ፀረ ህዝብ ሃይሎች እንዳራገቡት ከልማት ውጭ አጀንዳ የሌለው መሆኑን፤ የልማት ፍላጎታቸው የሚሟላው ከመንግስት ጎን በመሆን በሚያደርጉት ርብርብ መሆኑን አረጋግጠዋል፡፡ በዚህም የህዝቡን ጥያቄ ለራሳቸው ድብቅ አላማ ማስፈፀሚያ ሊያደርጉ የነበሩ ሃይሎች ተጋልጠዋል፡፡
እንግዲህ እውነታው ይሄው ነው፡፡ መርሃቤቱ ከተማ ውስጥ ካሉ አጋሮቻቸው ጋር ተቀናጅተው የሚሰሩ ፅንፈኛ ዲያስፓራ ተቃዋሚዎች ደግሞ ይህን በብዙ እጥፍ አባዝተው እየነገሩን ነው፡፡ በሀገር መበጣበጥ የሚደሰቱት እነ አቤ ቶክቻው ደግሞ <<መሬ ተነስቷል፤ ሌላው ይቀጥላል>> በሚል የፋሲል ደመወዝን “አለ ገና” ዘፈን ጋበዙን፡፡
እንዳማራችሁ ይቀራል፤ አሁን የአለምከተማ ህዝብ እንደተለመደው በፀረ ድህነት ትግሉ ላይ ተሰማርቷል፡፡ እናንተም ከሳምንት በላይ የሚቆይ አጀንዳ አላገኛችሁም፡፡ ግብዣችሁም ተቀባይ አላገኘም፡፡ በህዝቦች መካከል የጥላቻ መርዝ ለመርጨት የምታደርጉት ሙከራ ለዛሬ አልተሳካላችሁም፤ መቼም አይሳካላችሁም፡፡
እናንተ በፌስቡክ፤ በብሎግና በአፈቀላጤችሁ ኢሳት አማካኝነት የሌለ ጦርነት ከፍታችሁ በተኩስ ልውውጥ 11 ሰው እንደሞተና ሆስፒታሉ በቁስለኛ የወያኔ ወታደሮች መጨናነቁን ነገራችሁን፡፡ እውነታው ግን የተኩስ ልውውጥ የሚባል በቦታው አለመኖሩ ነው፡፡ በርግጥ
የጥበቃ ሃይሎች ድረሱልን በሚል ወደ ሰማይ ተኩሰዋል፡፡ ነገር ግን ከነሱ ጋር ተኩስ የገጠማቸው የለም፡፡ በጥቅሉ መሬ እናንተ እንደተመኛችሁት ጦሩን አልሰበቀም፡፡
ኢሳት በዘገባው አንድ የከተማዋ ነዋሪ ቆስሏል ብቻ ነው ያለው፡፡ አንድ ነዋሪ በማንና እንዴት እንደቆሰለ ባላረጋግጥም በለሊቱ ረብሻ ወቅት እንደቆሰለ እኔም ሰምቻለሁ፡፡ እንግዲህ ኢሳት እሱን ለማጣፈጫ ያክል ሊጠቀምበት ፈልጎ ይሆናል፡፡ ለማንኛውም ይሄ ነገር <<ለካ ኢሳትን ያለቅጥ ሲያስዋሸው የነበረው አንዳርጋቸው ፅጌ ነበር እንዴ?>> የሚል ጥያቄ ሽው እንዲልብኝ አድርጎኛል፡፡ደግነቱ እዚህ አዲስ አበባ ያሉ ተቃዋሚዎች ይህን ዘገባ አልሰሙትም፤ ወይም ይችም ጭንቅላት የምትጠይቅ ሃሳብ ስለሆነች ወደ አዕምሮዓቸው አልመጣችላቸውም እንጂ <<እንጦጦ ማርያምን ልንሳለም ወጥተን ሳለ ድብልቅልቅ ያለ የተኩስ ድምፅ ከወደ መራቤቴ በኩል ሰምተናል>> ብለው ያደምቁት ነበር፡፡
ሰማያዊዎች፤ አታፍሩም እኮ እናንተ ደግሞ “ፍሪ ትራንስፎርመርና ወይንሸት ሞላ” ብላችሁ ቀውጡት አሉ፡፡ ዲያስፖራዎች ደግሞ በጀርመኗ በርሊን ከተማ “ትራንስፎርመር የማስለቀቅ ታላቅ ዘመቻ፤ በበርሊን” ብላችሁ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ጥሩ አሉ፡፡ አለም ከተማ በቅርቡ ሂወታቸውን ባጡት ካርል ሄንዝ የተነሳ ከጀርመኖች ጋር ትስስር ስላላት ብዬ ነው የሰልፍ ቦታ የመረጥኩላችሁ፡፡
መረጃ የሰጣችሁኝን አመሰግናለሁ፡፡

Tigray Festival 2014: Committee Organizers Hold a Press Conference (Video)

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TG festivalCommittee organizers of Tigray Festival 2014 hold a press conference in Addis Ababa. Please watch a video highlights below


Interesting Play on the Historic Treaty of Wuchale (Video)

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Wolela AssefaEditor’s Note

Interesting play on the 125th anniversary of the controversial Treaty of Wuchale which was signed in 1889.

The treaty of Wuchale was a treaty signed by King Menelik II of Shewa with Count Pietro Antonelli of Italy in the town of Wuchale, Ethiopia, on May 2, 1889.

Disputes over Article 17 regarding the conduct of foreign affairs led to the battle of Adwa. The Italian version stated that Ethiopia was obliged to conduct all foreign affairs through Italian authorities, in effect making Ethiopia an Italian protectorate, while the Amharic version gave Ethiopia considerable autonomy, with the option of communicating with third powers through the Italians.

The misunderstanding was due to the mistranslation of a verb, which formed a permissive clause in Amharic and a mandatory one in Italian.

Enjoy the video below

 

ZTE under fire for failing to pay over $1billion income taxes

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Ethiopian Revenue and Custom Authority (ERCA), Large Tax payers Branch ordered Ethio-telecom to suspend any payment to ZTE. The order came through a letter written by the Large Tax Payer’s branch of ERCA to Ethio-telecom finance department. The letter stated that ZTE failed to pay tax of over One Billion Birr. After numerous attempts by the tax authority to collect the tax from ZTE, the tax authority finally decided to stop any payment to ZTE by its major customer, Ethio Telecom until the tax overdue by the company is fully paid.

ZTEZTE is one of the two Chinese companies who signed the 1.6 billion dollar Ethio Telecom second expansion project signed last year. ZTE entered the telecom market of Ethiopia in 1996 and officially set up its Ethiopian Office in 2000. The company involved in some small projects between 2003 and 2005 but a substantial deal had not been made until 2006. In 2006 the company entered into a three-year sole supplier framework agreement with Ethio Telecom(the world’s only project in which a national telecom network is built by a sole equipment supplier) financed on seller credit. Unlike the current expansion project which has a greater scope and estimated to cost 1.6 billion dollar, the first expansion project involved 1.9 billion USD of investment by Ethio Telecom—1.5 billion USD for equipment and 0.4 billion USD for engineering construction. The implementation started in 2007 and was marred with many problems and had not received acceptance by Ethio telecom until recently. On the second phase of the expansion project Ethio telecom went for a multi-vendor strategy and selected Huawei in addition to ZTE giving each 50% of the project.

Over the last few years ZTE’s financial performance declined and the company declared a loss in 2012. Since then ZTE didn’t change its declining trend in the stock market. However it is a crucial time that ZTE is expected to put its resource in Ethiopia for the second expansion. However, instead of responding actively to this need, ZTE hasn’t yet had any contribution in the current expansion project delivery. The company delayed the signing of the contract and now postponing the delivery. It even reduced the staff number in Ethiopia.

Sources close to the case said that it’s a shame ZTE after being paid billions of dollars from Ethio telecom’s huge investment and other government ICT infrastructure failed to pay the tax. the amount of unpaid tax by ZTE is a significant percentage of the country’s annual budget and is more than the total amount allocated annually to building roads, hospitals, and schools in some of regional states.

It is not clear how the company was allowed to participate in projects in Ethiopia without obtaining a tax clearance from ERCA which is major precondition to participate in any government project. How ZTE signed these projects without a tax clearance from ERCA and eluded its customers especially Ethio Telecomremains a mystery.

An official from ERCA who wants to remain anonymous said this year is the last year of the GTP. To realize the GTP the revenue from tax plays a decisive role. ZTE’s tax debacle is not just starving the country of much needed finance but a stark contrast to the Ethio China good relationship. China is supporting Ethiopia financing the country’s major infrastructural projects and the behavior of ZTE is unbecoming to a company with a significant shared held by the Chinese government. ZTE should stop thinking it can do whatever it wants because of its relationship with the Chinese government, and concentrate in its delivery and compliance to the law in Ethiopia including paying its due share of tax and stop to be an embarrassment to the good relationship of the two countries.

Officials of ZTE in Ethiopia were not imediately available to coment on the matter.

Gazprombank’s GPB Global Signs Oil-Exploration Deal in Ethiopia

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By William Davison

(Bloomberg) – GPB Global Resources, a unit of Russia’s state-owned Gazprombank Group, may invest about $60 million searching for petroleum in northeastern Ethiopia, Executive Director for Corporate Communications Sergey Tagashov said.

GPBThe company last week announced it won approval from the government for a production-sharing agreement that covers seven years for exploration and 25 years for production. Investment for exploration will focus on conducting surveys and drilling test wells in a 42,000 square kilometer (16,200 square mile) area in the Afar region that forms part of East Africa’s Rift Valley, Tagashov said in a phone interview from Pula, Croatia.

“This is pure common-sense commercial logic,” he said. “There are numerous discoveries along the East African Rift in other nations and also it ends basically in Yemen, which is a known oil-bearing territory.”

Ethiopia’s government is seeking new sources of revenue to help it offset a trade deficit that the International Monetary Fund expects to climb to $8.9 billion in July from $8.5 billion the year before. While Ethiopia has proven natural gas reserves of 4 trillion cubic feet in the east, no oil or gas has yet been produced in the country. The first oil discoveries in Kenya and Uganda being developed for commercial production fall within the Rift Valley system.

London-based Tullow Oil (TLW) said last week its fourth test well in southern Ethiopia had failed to strike oil. “We’re still going forward with our exploration campaign,” company spokesman George Cazenove said today by phone from London.

Hong Kong-registered SouthWest Energy and GCL-Poly Energy Holdings (3800) of China are also prospecting. Ethiopia’s political stability, growing economy and ranking as Africa’s second most-populous country of about 90 million people are incentives for investment, Tagashov said.  Read more

 

[New Video] Andargachew Tsege Exposing His Ginbot 7 Comrades

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Andargachew Tsige in EthiopiaAwramba Times (Addis Ababa) -Ginbot 7 former secretary general, Andargachew Tsige exposed his organization’s tacit strategy, underground members and affiliates.

He also said ” the burden of Ginbot 7 struggle was on my shoulders” Please watch.

The Andargachew Saga: From Sanaa’s El Rahaba Airport to Eritrea’s Harena “Desert”

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