[Paper Submitted for the Emergency Meeting, Afrikan Unity of Harlem, Inc, 19 January 2008]

By Tecola W. Hagos-I see in Seye a river, a courageous individual willing to serve his people and his country. Seye made it absolutely clear that his role is that of a bridge builder between warring political groups, between antagonistic political leaders, aggrieved people against traditional Ethiopia et cetera. And I believe in his sincerity, and I think that he is the right person who will be able to bring about unity, reconciliation, and understanding to all of us his people by helping build a bridge, but also by becoming a bridge himself for us, his people to walk all over him to safety......

Seeye Abraha, Ethiopia’s National Treasure, speaks Truth to Power: An outline of Seeye’s New Thinking.

By Tedros Kiros, PhD January 7, 2007-

Ladies and gentlemen, he said,

“ I developed my country’s leading party, the EPRDF, the very party that I founded has now criminalized me. I was imprisoned, but thanks to my loving people, who protested and wrote on my behalf, I am now free. I will not rest, however, until all those political prisoners who are languishing in prison are released, as there are hundreds of them. The regime falsely calls them hoodlums and criminals. I call them political prisoners, indeed, they are prisoners of conscience”.

Beyond The Fence--Double Agony January 06, 2008

Oppose Ould-Abdallah’s Proposal to Deploy Saudi and Pakistani Troops . By Tecola W. Hagos   December 26, 2007  

One important national concern that is above everything else is that our people are being divided by party affiliation, ethnic groups, religious sects et cetera. When we are divided we lose our patriotic zeal. As individuals, we can be broken easily one by one, but united we can withstand any assault on us by Jihadist and fanatics or neo-colonialists. My appeal is to all leaders, both political and religious, to set aside differences and focus on our immediate security needs.........

Editor’s Note:  The letter addressed by Almaz Mequanent to Aseged Tefera (whose “article” appeared in The Reporter of December 19, 2007) is meant to correct several grossly misleading statements in that article and to inform the reader the true donor of the 500 wheelchairs and the organizer of the whole process. The “article” by Aseged Tefera is a good example of ‘yellow journalism’ at its worst, enduring characteristics of most Ethiopian newspapers, online journals, blogs et cetera including The Reporter. The article by Aseged Tefera of December 20, 2007 in The Reporter shamefully did not even mention this great lady or the donor The Free Wheelchair Mission in that misleading article. TH

By Tecola W. Hagos- December 16, 2007- Almaz Mequanent is like the Biblical pearl of great worth that we Ethiopians should hold dear close to our hearts. Almaz waged a lonely, but a most honorable fight for the rights of much trodden and overlooked Ethiopian victims of HVA agro-industrial greed in Awash Wonji and Metehara Sugar plantations and processing industry. The mission that Almaz undertook is pure and unadulterated personification of civil responsibility and love of fellow human beings (not just Ethiopians). What Almaz did was an act of great selfless love that only a “mother” is capable of giving.

The Poors of Ethiopia: who will feed the poor of the poorest in Contemporary Ethiopia? By Teodros Kiros (Ph.D).          December 4, 2007

The poors of Ethiopia feel like plucking out their envious eyes and remove their ears. They condemn themselves for being born and promise not to be born. They say in their hearts with Gubena- Aleweledem. The regime does not know what to do with the poors; it throws them away in tin houses. Even those tin houses are not available anymore. Diaspora Ethiopians have enough in their hands. They cannot stretch their hands any further.. ....

                                  By Tecola W. Hagos

There is nothing Meles Zenawi would lose that he had not lost already by being a “good boy” to the United States and letting the Boundary Commission enter its final demarcation on a map the Commission had threatened to do by the end of November 2007, an illegal procedure in itself because the Commission has no authority to create such new procedure. Proactively rejecting and invalidating the Algiers Agreement and voiding the Boundary Commission and its decisions, Meles would have created a unique situation that would only benefit Ethiopia. If Meles for once become an Ethiopian patriot and take formal steps thus invalidating, nullifying, and voiding the Algiers Agreement and the Boundary Commission and its corrupt decision, by such simple act of real politick and legitimate legal maneuvering, he would have taken Ethiopia to its original position before the signing of the Algiers Agreement. There is no need to be encumbered with one more illegal procedure of markings on maps. Act now!

EDITORIAL: HOW TRUE STATESMEN PERCEIVE ETHIOPIA

By Tecola W. Hagos- November 11, 2007

The United States Congress should have brought up such consideration for discussion in the House to build monuments for friends of the United States; instead, what we received is the insulting and scurrilous Bill H.R. 2003. It is my remembrance of such glorious history of friendship and loyalty of Ethiopians to the American People that infuriated me, especially when I see some ersatz Congressman, a Johnny-come-lately, campaigning against such great friendly nation as Ethiopia. The greatness of America cannot be determined or measured by such individuals, who come into office at some point in the American government, especially by individuals who take advantage of particular circumstances to subvert the truth and the great legacy and current struggle of Ethiopians of the past and those of the present.

Development and the control of Political space that is miserably failing in Contemporary Ethiopia
By Tedros Kiros, PhD
November 4, 2007

EDITORIAL: NO WAR AGAINST “ERITREA” October 28, 2007

By Tecola W. Hagos-

After all, it is a fact that the United States is behind the land locking of Ethiopia, the alienation of its territory in the guise of creating an “Eritrea” out of Ethiopian historic territory, and it is also currently harboring ONLF leaders and supporters here in the United States or is blind to the terrorist attack of the ONLF on Ethiopia’s military forces and citizens living in the Ogadeen area. The history of the relationship between the United States and Ethiopia of the last one hundred years shows clearly the fact that the United States Government, at all crucial moments in the life of Ethiopia except in the case of the 1977-78 invasion of Somalia, has worked without fail against the interest of Ethiopia. Simply put, the United States Government is not the friend Ethiopians think it is, but rather has been acting as if it is the number one enemy of Ethiopia.,.....

By Dr. Fekadu Bekele

Introduction to Eros and Revolution. 

By Teodros Kiros (Ph.D)-Eros and Revolution is bound to be the manifesto of all those voices of freedom who are fighting for a new world as the old world is slowly dying, and the new world is struggling to emerge......

Text of President Robert Mugabe's speech at 62nd

Session of UN General Assembly  

Your Excellency, President of the 62ndSession of the

United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Srgjan Kerim,  

Africa has not called for a Nuremberg trial against the white world which committed heinous crimes against its own humanity. It has not hunted perpetrators of this genocide, many of whom live to this day, nor has it got reparations from those who offended against it. Instead it is Africa which is in the dock, facing trial from the same world that persecuted it for centuries. In conclusion, let me stress once more that the strength of the United Nations lies in its universality and impartiality as it implements its mandate to promote peace and security, economic and social development, human rights and international law as outlined in the Charter. 

Congratulations Vice President Al Gore!
We believe in your great work. We are greatly indebted to you for courageously reminding us that we are at risk of losing our extremely fragile world—a world the great artist and poet Gebre Kristos Desta of Ethiopia described in one of his poems as ‘dew suspended in space’—that we share. You fought for all humankind, for our habitat, for life itself. Your foresight and courage is exemplary. You taught us by your words and actions to be a citizen of the world, for we all are in it. You pleaded with us to stop polluting and defiling our only home risking extinction, which advice often fell on deaf ears specially those of the greedy industrialists and financiers whose only interest is to make money at all cost. In this award, we commend the Nobel Committee for bestowing the Nobel for Peace Award on you who truly deserved the recognition and applause. Thank you, AL Gore, for all your work and congratulations. 
Tecola W. Hagos , Editor

ISAIAS AFERWERKI - FROM STATESMAN TO DESPOT AND WRECKER Recollections - A Historical Puzzle

Paul B. Henze- Reading my record of this meeting more than 14 years later. I find it hard to understand why this man proceeded to fan tensions with Sudan, Yemen and Djibouti during the years 1994-1197 and then finally to invade Ethiopia in 1998.  Since Ethiopia defeated his armies in 2000 he has pursued a program of implacable hostility.  Instead of welcoming aid for developing Eritrea, he has harassed and finally forbidden most international agencies and private organizations from operating in Eritrea.,.....

Reorienting a fellow Ethiopian: A reply to “The Irrelevance of the Millennium”  October 10, 2008
By Dan Bahta-f you look back at our history, it is all about dignity we never demeaned ourselves. Neither do we recognize anything as better than us. We celebrate what is uniquely ours. And we celebrate passionately, not superficially. We are reasonable; we celebrate because we have defended as well as preserved our honor, integrity; our cultures and social values, for thousands of years. Why couldn’t you see that Ethiopia is a land of struggle and survival as well as pride? Not enough for a cause to celebrate? 

Statement on the passage of “H.R.2003” by the Institute on Religion and Public Policy.  October 7, 2008
President Joseph K. Grieboski of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy (Washington, D.C.) released the following statement on the passage of “H.R.2003, Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007” by the House of Representatives: The House of Representatives does nothing to advance human rights and democracy by imposing H.R. 2003's restrictions on aid to Ethiopia. Such limits serve to hinder Ethiopia's ongoing battle with religious extremism in the Horn of Africa and to deter Ethiopia's capacity to continue the ongoing assistance and support it has provided both directly and indirectly in the global fight against terrorism.,.....

QOSHITE: ETHIOPIA’S POLITICAL PUZZLE

By Tecola W. Hagos   PART ONE-  October 5, 2008 

Both written presentations of October 2, 2007 by Judge Bertukan Mideksa and Dr. Berhanu Nega, at the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health hearing chaired by Congressman Donald Payne, were carefully crafted documents avoiding any support of H.R. 2003 by name or by inference. What they both did was recount the fact-based numerous violations of human rights and democratic rights of Ethiopians by the Government of Meles Zenawi. I do not find any reason to hold them criminally accountable for their statements as a violation of any Ethiopian criminal law. I may consider their appearance at that hearing, however, a lapse of politically sound judgment, which fact may disqualify them in the eyes of many Ethiopians at home from being leaders for they have breached the single most sacred duty of all Ethiopians—to keep Ethiopia in freedom and independence. It is very troubling to me to watch or hear any political leader compromising the honor and sovereignty of Ethiopia either directly by his or her actions or by his or her association,.....

Editorial: Opposing H. R. 2003 [1] October 1, 2008

By Tecola W. Hagos-Just because one nation is poor or lean or starving and the other rich and bloated or overstuffed, does not mean one has to suffer through some disrespectful relationship. It is simply unacceptable. After all it is the people of Ethiopia who are suffering, thus how is it legal or moral for the Congress of the United States to behave as if Ethiopia is some Ghetto within United States that they end up drafting such insulting resolution and legislation. Wealth neither undermines nor exaggerates the humanity of an individual anywhere. Just because your belly is full, it does not mean that you can go around pushing and insulting poor people in Ethiopia or elsewhere in the World. I challenge the Congress of the United States to withdraw this insulting draft bill, HR 2003, from its list and apologize to the people of Ethiopia.....

Of" The Opposition Pentecostals" & Road Ahead

By Mitiku Adisu-

How dare [DEKI ALULA] THE IRRELEVANCE OF THE MILLENNIUM - by Teodros Kiros (Ph.D) desecrates my heritage?  Dr Belai Habte-Jesus, MD, MPH  September 20, 2007  

Why should Ethiopia carry the placenta of such geniuses who do not produce any vision nor any strategy to share their creativity except curse every one.

The Irrelevance of the Millennium   September 17, 2007

by Teodros Kiros (Ph.D)

What is it that Ethiopia just celebrated? Celebration must have a cause. What is our cause?  Reasonable people celebrate because they have achieved a dream, realized a goal, and exacted a plan.  Ethiopia has not achieved any of these, since the days of Axum and Lalibela, pillars of classical Ethiopian history.....

Constitutional and Human Rights Violation in Tigray - TPLF dissident supporters face assassination attempts and arrests
Dekialula.com Editorial  September 14, 2007
The Government of Meles Zenawi is trying to intimidate all would-be members, the leaders, and those active supporters of the new party of the former TPLF officials and their supporters. For example, last month an assassination attempt had been perpetrated on Gebre Medhin Gebre Yohannes, one of Gebru Asrat’s previous bodyguards, who was actively engaged in collecting signatures for the formation the new party. It was at 11:00am in the morning that the assassination was attempted. The unidentified individuals who fired at Gebre Medhin while he was entering his home, which is located in the center of Maichew town, may be a separate group of death squad than the Police. It was miraculous that he was not murdered, for the roof of his home was badly damaged by several astray bullets targeting him.

EDITORIAL: I would rather celebrate “Ethiopia” by Myself
By Tecola W. Hagos- The whole program is manipulated and distorted by the same obnoxious group of people and their gullible followers, who have for decades usurped our Ethiopian legacy and drove our country into the hands of brutal leaders such as Mengistu and Meles. Starting from the very top of the program, where they have deliberately tried to promote the interest of a particular ethnic group, what I see in the Celebration program are Mahel Sefaris and their spawns, with distorted and corrosive revisionist “history” of Ethiopia, promoting the limited particular ethnic interest or cultural connection......

The Love of Ethiopia Heals Us All   August 11, 2007

By Tecola W. Hagos- People of my generation, let alone those of the generation of my seniors, ought to shelf any political ambition we might have. And we ought to look at our current political and economic situation with clear eyes. We need new blood infusion of new leaders. Is there some magic formula that we can use to alleviate the suffering of our people? There is no single ideology that will solve all of our problems, but there is starting foundational bedrock that we can all stand on to start the reconstruction of our country. There is no need to cast the difference in approach to solve such political problem as some kind of a feud, and even more so as a conflict between the young and the old. The Aristotelian “laws of contradictions” will not work either in our circumstances. We have to deal with so many twists and turns that we hardly could see any clear picture of our political situation. It is very difficult under such current Ethiopian political processes to deal with categorical syllogisms........

Justice
Teodros Kiros (PhD)-Change under the tutelage of a just leader, or better still organized by a social movement, must be tenacious, resolute and populated by numbers. Consider the following example. In the Ethiopian condition, millions of people live in tin houses, millions go without food and clothing, and yet 1% of the population dances away and eats away at fancy hotels. By the standards of MATT’s comportment, this pre-political condition is so unacceptable that it must be protested against by the people in revolt...........

A Brief Response: "Anatomy is Destiny"  August 3, 2007

Tecola W. Hagos-There is this one pathological disease that defenders of Meles suffer from, which I have identified as “ye qomatta bet birqe ttat syndrom,” which syndrome is a real block against any enlightened discourse. From morning to sunset, what I see and hear Meles Zenawi doing is being involved in twisted conspiratorial activities either to marginalize his equals in his party leadership, or undermining the interest of Ethiopia and selling off our legacy to Sudan and other hostile nations around the area. There is nothing mysterious or profound about the fact that Meles Zenawi survived by out foxing so many courageous individuals, most of whom a better of him ten fold, to get where he is now. The people who helped him to this level and stage of prominence are all cut from the same type of cloth whose characteristic is marked with deceit, deceptiveness, conspiracy, treason, egotism, and short stature,.........

August 3, 2007

An interview in Amharic conducted by Dr. Fekadu Bekele with Woizero Zenebech, an Ethiopian lady who spent a couple of months visiting Ethiopia. Woizero Zenebech has made some penetrating observations of the political and economic situation in our beloved country. Dr. Fekadu's questions and comments are to the point, informative, and educational. 

The march of Genuine Democracy. July 25, 2007

Teodros Kiros, PhD- We must stop producing self-perpetuating rulers with morally disorganized selves. All our leaders now are morally dysfunctional and must be fully medicated by MAAT. Where they pretend to be moral educators they merely throw at us meaningless slogans about democracy, Neither the regime in power, nor CUD, not even the emerging new parties has linked the struggle for genuine democracy with the foundational cement of organizing principles.  Hastily erected five year plans, ten year plans, or badly written empty manifestos organized by the principles of ethnic dirt and hate are no substitutes for carefully thought out, plainly written principles, which can be digested by a literate citizenry and serve as the public reason of the citizens. The latter require the use of moral intelligence, the language of the human heart, as the seat of thinking..........

Which way Ethiopia?    July 24, 2007

Teodros Kiros (PhD)-I suggest once again that all those who are flooding the airwaves take the notion of MATT seriously, translate the concept in to our native languages and let the people choose their future leaders not by their ethnic garbs but by the depth of their thoughts and their infusion of MAAT in their character and soul structure. I challenge all those who are writing in the air waves to respond to the calls of MAAT, Africa’s ancient language of moral intelligence.........

EDITORIAL:

Mane Amno Yewotal Ye Sembelett Mama… The CUD/Kinijit Opposition Leaders: Life Sentence/Pardon

July 23, 2007  Tecola W. Hagos- I am glad the political prisoners are free. However, let us not forget the fact that the process of having an extra legal procedure is never a democratic process. The wanton disregard of law and order, the blatant abuse of power, the violation of fundament human rights, murder and mayhem et cetera is still the hallmark of Meles Zenawi and his system of government. Tens of thousands of Ethiopians are in detention, and some of them imprisoned for over a decade. Centuries of brutal elimination of the best and the courageous has resulted in a community that could be characterized as a community of opportunists, subservient, and cowardly individuals creating thereby a society lacking those qualities that makes up a great community............

WELCOME SEYE ABRAHA: JUSTICE LONG OVERDUE

July 14, 2007-By Tecola W. Hagos-There is no question that Seye Abraha was a victim of Meles Zenawi and the Mahel Sefaris. The Mahel Sefaris who are now Meles Zenawi's "elfign askelkies," effectively demonized Seye Abraha and other truly national heroes starting in 1991 in collaboration with a small band of double agents by labeling such heroes as narrow ethnicists accusing them of working for the supremacy of a narrowly defined Tygrei nation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Seye fought for Ethiopia at great sacrifice to his family (father executed by Mengistu's thugs, brothers dying fighting for freedom). It is not without reason that Berhanu Nega, the leader of the Opposition held him with such high regard.....

Illegitimate advocates and illegitimate regimes
(In response to Dr. Solomon Terfa’s “solution” of handing over Badme to Eritrea) July 4, 2007
By Laeke Gebresadik- Ethnic extremists think all Ethiopian institutions benefit the Weyane and do everything to deny it the benefits. They make these institutions their main targets, including social and economic infrastructures to further their ethnic political agendas. They affix the term “Weyane” to the name of any of these institutions. They call the Ethiopian army the “Weyane army”, giving the wrong impression that it is composed of mainly Tigreans. There are some tenets held by the ethnic extremists as the foundation for their hate politics against the Tigray ethnic group. These tenets largely explain the profanity of their ethnic politics. They portray the TPLF and the people of Tigray as one and the same for political expediency, hence an ethnic minority group ruling over the rest of Ethiopia.....

REVISITING THE POLITICAL OPPOSITION: On the Conviction of CUD Leaders  June 25, 2007

Tecola W. Hagos-When an individual becomes a public figure, the personal life is held at bay. One must think of one’s actions in terms of the impact it may have on the public, and because of that, one may have to sacrifice the private life and all self-interests. It is easy to prescribe different course of actions than the one taken by an individual who is immersed, body and soul, in a struggle, for someone from the comfort of one’s own home. As the saying goes, “Letekematch semai qrbu.”....

EDITORIAL: Part Two: On the Interview of Sebhat Nega  

Dumping the Decision of the Boundary Arbitration Commission June 10, 2007

By Tecola W. Hagos-I have not even began to discuss the disastrous regional turmoil that would affect the United States Government’s presence and influence in the Middle East during this period of upsurge of Arab nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism. Ethiopia is the only reliable ally of the United States in the region. Eritrea will be swallowed up by the creeping presence of Islamic fundamentalists within and on its borders. It is highly irresponsible and juvenile for anybody to advocate the imposition on Ethiopia an illegal and fraudulent decision and thereby weaken, even destroy, Ethiopia in this time of conflict and tremendous resentment for the United States in that part of the World. The argument and attention of statesmen should focus on empowering and stabilizing Ethiopia. Such wise statesman-like approach must include throwing the decision of the Commission of 2002 and the Algiers Agreement of 2000 into the “dust bin of history.” ..

EDITORIAL: Part One: On the Interview Given by Sebhat Nega
By Tecola W. Hagos-The responses of Sebhat Nega of May 28, 2007 to questions asked by a friendly interviewer are against the territorial integrity of Ethiopia in the extreme, which would send any patriotic red-blooded Ethiopian into uncontrollable rage. When Sebhat was asked how far the TPLF was involved in promoting the independence movements of Eritrea, he answered with arrogance that the TPLF even more than any Eritrean political organization had put tremendous effort and resources within Ethiopia and outside of Ethiopia in order to effect the breakup and independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia, even going against the desire of the EPLF to reach a negotiated settlement with Mengistu and his government...

Who Speaks for Ethiopia and Why?  May 30, 2007

By Mitiku Adisu-Let me first make a few observations. I do not think anyone disagrees that diversity of thought is a necessary right; in fact, any restrictions on thought are bound to under-nourish public conversation. None of us has the final word on procedures or how they turn out; time has a way of shedding light on matters that conspire to leave us in the dark. Finally, it must be stated that people generally understand what works for them if and when the terms are clearly presented........

THE ETHICS AND POLITICS OF FORGIVENESS: A CHALLENGE TO A JUST SOCIETY.

By Tecola W. Hagos-In a political rear-view mirror, things that appear to be near, profound, and honorable may be in reality remote, ordinary, and even corrupt. When speaking or writing about social justice or injustice and the development of civil society, one must restrain oneself from going blindly overboard, in praising or condemning any one individual or any one particular event, especially when one is being carried on the crest of populist political wave. This is easier said than done, for I too in the past have written essays overlooking some of the virtues of Ethiopian leaders I severely criticized. Ours is a period of great disappointment and as a result a time of self-examination and of genuine reevaluation of all events that we have held sacrosanct for some time now. The quotation above seems to indicate that Immanuel Kant the greatest philosopher of moral certitude is having second thought about our human moral condition. Thus, it is only commonsensical for me to revisit one of our current controversies—the concept of forgiveness. .......

Dr. Fekadu Bekele

From Structural Adjustment to WTO membership! Squaring poverty!! 

Dr. Fekadu Bekele-The introduction of the free market policy and especially the program of the structural adjustment in Ethiopia in 1993 is a historical turning point in the socio-economic conditions of our country. With the introduction of the SAP, it was from the outset clear that such kind of a wide range policy will create new social conditions and social relationships that our country has never experienced before. By creating new conditions, and formulating new laws, and practicing new policy that are totally different from the policy of the previous government, the policy makers were convinced that Ethiopia and its people will march on the road of market economy that brings prosperity and eradicate poverty once-for-all.........

The Curse of Factional/Fractional Politics in Ethiopia and the Imperative for Consensus and Convergence

Assafa Endeshaw, London, England- February 24, 2007-

The serious question that needs to be tackled today consequently is whether there are any political forces with a sufficient depth of grasp of, and firm commitment to, democratic values that can single-handedly or in cooperation take hold of the state and transform it into a democracy? It may come as no surprise to the reader that we do not find even a single force that qualifies currently for such a historical task....

PART TWO:

The Role of Religion in the Political Life of Ethiopia:

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church “Synod in Exile”

February 18, 2007-Tecola W. Hagos-In Ethiopian politics of struggle for power, there are not just two or three sides to a story, but several layered more bizarre dimensions than can be imagined. The tragedy is that this breakup of the Church was not necessary. And the victims in all these recrimination and fracture are the faithful people of Ethiopia who have no voice in the matter. At any rate, I would not have been that much concerned if the breakup was due to ideology or on points of reformation. The Ethiopian Church is in need of serious reformation starting with the election of Patriarchs and the investiture of Abunas (Bishops)...

ETHIOPIA ’S VITAL INTEREST: NATIONAL SECURITY VS. POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY .

February 12, 2007-Tecola W. Hagos-I challenge anyone to show me how diversified the current Diaspora Opposition leadership is. What I am observing is the aggregation of “birds of the same feather” closely bunched and allowing no space to the larger community of Ethiopians from outside of Addis Ababa and vicinity, and not reflective of the diversity of religion and ethnic background of Ethiopians. This is a very serious setback that must be reversed if one wants to avoid horrendous bloodshed in the future...