Delphi
Academy of Santa Clara Notes:- Delphi Teacher Honored by San Jose Mayor
& City Council Members
 On
September 8, 2009, Ms. Sewasew Meaza was recognized for her outstanding
individual contribution to the Ethiopian community in a ceremony held at
San Jose City Hall. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed presented her with a special
plaque to honor her hard work and personal efforts to offer cultural
support to the 25,000 Ethiopian immigrant families in the Bay Area. Ms.
Meaza and her colleague Ms. Semunesh Arega founded the Ethiopian Cultural
Institute seven years ago where they teach Amharic - the original
Ethiopian language - and keep Ethiopian culture and traditions alive.
A
Reply to Jawar’s Reply
Messay
Kebede
Neither
Jawar nor the leaders of the OLF are willing to drop the ideology. Why?
Because it would allow extremist groups to rise and marginalize the
present leadership. This is the inevitable price for cultivating and
spreading for such a long time a divisive ideology. At one point a
situation is created where it becomes impossible to reverse course. All
the more reason for allying now with Ethiopia’s moderate and progressive
forces, for only the engagement of the country in the path of resolute
democratization can block the rise of extremist groups.
Looking Ahead
Donald Levine
University of Chicago September 21, 2009
It is time for EVERYONE to stop nursing grievances and
extending blames, and to begin open, honest, searching discussions of issues which ought to concern Ethiopians of diverse backgrounds and viewpoints: poverty, food insecurity, energy, environment, women's rights, health, and quality of education.
The major responsibility for seeing to it that 2010 becomes a resounding success rests with the EPRDF regime and the Parliament. The current regime can claim enormous achievements in the areas of infrastructure development, expansion of schools and medical services, and openness to Green Technology–the energy hope of the
future.
Ideology
or organizational inefficiency?
-
A response to Professor Messay Kebede
By
Jawar Siraj Mohammed | September 21, 2009
It
is no secret that over the last decade the OLF leadership has been dancing
around dropping the goal of establishing an independent state but have
been unable to do so. The leadership does not have the political capital
to reshape the belief that the “original” goal has more support and
hence they fear that an opposing faction might purge the reformers by
accusing them of revisionism. In contrast, a successful leadership would
have more moral capital to silence opponents of reform. TPLF's military
success gave it enough room to reform its agenda of liberating Tigray and
go for the bigger prize of dominating the larger Ethiopia.
 President
Obama Nominated Daniel W. Yohannes, Originally from Ethiopia, as CEO
of the Millennium Challenge Corporation
The
Obama Administration could not have picked a better suited
person to lead this highly appreciated project not only by the people
of the Unted States but also by the whole world.
Daniel W. Yohannes is President and CEO of M&R Investments, LLC, a privately-held investment firm specializing in real estate, financial institutions and the green energy sector. Previously, he served as Vice Chairman of U.S. Bank for the Commercial Banking Group, Consumer Banking Group and as Head of Integration for Community and Public Affairs. In this role, his responsibilities included leading the integration of U.S. Bank and Firstar, which resulted in the 6th largest bank in the country. From 1992 to 1999, Yohannes was President and CEO of U.S. Bank (formerly Colorado National Bank), where he grew the Colorado franchise from $2 billion to $9 billion in assets. From 1977 to 1992, he worked at Security Pacific Bank (now Bank of America), where he held a number of leadership roles.
Building Democratic Ethiopia
‘Nation of Individuality’ Models Proposed
By Zewge Fanta
 It is important to know that Ethiopians will enter unwittingly the Second phase of thiscontinued destruction when the May 2010 election is about to take place. The plan is to leave Ethiopians without any hope of change and with no chance of a way out from the devilish poverty and brutal
oppression.Ethiopia is questioning the passion of this generation in ways that it never did of any of its children
through the ages. Ethiopia is demanding those whom she fed/raised to pay her back so that she can reach the next generation. The leaves, roots and rocks of Ethiopia must yield the medicine that will eradicate the carrier of Kilil virus.
Ethiopian
Languishing in Jail for distributing Bibles in Jijiga - CDN
Christian
sources in Ethiopia said that, contrary to Ethiopian law, 39-year-old
Bashir Musa Ahmed has not been formally charged since his arrest on May 23
in Jijiga, capital of Somali Region Zone Five, a predominantly Muslim area
in eastern Ethiopia. Zonal police arrested him after he was accused of
providing Muslims with Somali-language Bibles bearing covers that resemble
the Quran, the sources said.
On
Living Democracy
By
Teodros Kiros (Ph.D)
The
features of democracy are freedom, dissent, tolerance, justice and
fairness. These features are both moral and political. As moral terms they
function as lodestars of action. They provide us with value frames and
standards of appropriate conduct when we share space with other
persons.
Ethiopia: The Unhealthy Nation
By Lemlem Tsegaw
Last but not least players are the international community which includes; Human right watch, Amnesty international, supporters…etc., need to focus on facts and make those who fund and enable the regime to be accountable. It will be relevant to go after the government human right commission and its managers instead of complaining for the PM and to demand fund recipients accountability by articulating their expectation of transparency on expenditures. When all is said and done, for Ethiopia to be healthy there ought to be a paradigm shift and reframing of the federal government structures, “... He who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality.” - Anwar Sadat
The
OLF: Ideological or Leadership Bankruptcy?
Messay
Kebede
Oromo
leaders claim to uplift the Oromo people by defending secession. They are
actually doing the opposite, given that the Oromo could become the force
that democratizes and consolidates Ethiopia instead of dismembering it.
The distorting impact of the secessionist ideology is such that Oromo
elites do not even recognize greatness. Take the case of Ras Gobena:
though in alliance with Menelik he created a formidable empire that even
colonial powers feared, he is seen as a sellout and secessionists as
authentic Oromo.
DEFIES
ALL COMMON SENSE, REASON & STATUS
By
Genet Mersha, September 5, 2009
The
purpose of this article is not to look back into history, but to assess
critically the present. The pursuit by the Ethiopian government of its
advantages with utmost expediency and at the expense of public interests
has become reminiscent of the situation President Harrison had faced over
a hundred years ago. Worried by internal political struggles that seemed
to override the nation’s good, the president
sought to stop it by devoting his Inaugural Address to awaken public
awareness.
Lock, Stock and barrel
A scenario of Zero sum game?
BY:BERHANE EYASU
Likewise, the writer’s fear and a morsel concern is that the political moves and its maundering whereby the government is talking something in a vague, rambling, or incoherent ways has been a pattern to glossing over the real policy issue by blaming and counter blaming which always paves the way for a cloistered excuse to leave the main plot under the carpe:. The issue of Massawa and Asab!
 ..
Reporter
TAND
Is an alliance between forces of unconditional unity and forces of self-determination possible?
By Fayyis Oromia
If rightly exercised, the genuine ethnic federalism based on free will is the good common ground for both the forces of unconditional unity and the forces of self-determination. Therefore if the camp of unconditional unity gives up its stand of having Ethiopian unity as a precondition for the possible alliance, the move of the two camps to struggle together for freedom and democracy in Ethiopia is very smart and timely.
We
celebrate the great life of Senator Edward M. Kennedy (1932-2009)
 Senator
Edward Moore Kennedy was a great Senator for America, but a Giant
Statesman around the World to all who love their freedom and dignity.
Senator Kennedy was born 22
February 1932
and died on 25
August 2009
at the age of 77 survived by his wife Victoria Reggie Kennedy and his
three children from a former marriage (Kara, Edward Jr. and Patrick) and
two step children (Curran and Caroline), and a huge extended family of
nieces and nephews, and cousins et cetera.. He was the senior Democratic U.S.
Senator from Massachusetts. He was in office from November 1962 to
August 2009. He matured and metamorphosis into the “Great Senator” he
finally become. He was the greatest champion for causes that were
controversial but humane, at times unpopular and more often going against
the grain—championing the causes that were easily overlooked or avoided
by most. He devoted his life to serving his fellow man, a universal
concern to all of God’s children. We celebrate Ted Kennedy’s great
life. Requiem Eternum. TH
Urgent
Notice Regarding Scam Using My Email Address:
PLEASE
DO NOT FALL FOR THIS IMMORAL AND ILLEGAL SCAM.
My e-mail and password have been stolen, and messages are being been sent
out in my name claiming I am in trouble in Nigeria and stranded.
The messages are asking for both small and large amounts of money
to be sent to some address in Nigeria or elsewhere.
Please
note that I am NOT stranded in Nigeria and continue to reside at my
residence in the U.S.A.
It is important that you do not fall for this immoral and criminal
scam.
The stolen e-mail address is tecola_w_hagos@hotmail.com.
Please be advised that the proper legal authorities have
been notified of this scam.
Thank
you, My Good Friends and Relations.
Tecola
W. Hagos
August
23, 2009
How to make Amhara elites accept and respect "ethnic" fedralism!
Opinion
Critiquing
the Decision and Award of the Eritrea-Ethiopia
Claims Commission
By
Tecola W. Hagos
 I
emphasize the fact that it must be understood that the Claims Commission
was constituted pursuant to Article 5 of the Algiers Agreement of 12
December 2000, an Agreement that many Ethiopians consider to be illegal. A
number of Ethiopian scholars consider the Algiers Agreement as a kind of
fig leaf to cover a fundamental anti-Ethiopia movement bent on fracturing
Ethiopia into several mini-states. It was signed by representatives of two
individuals fully involved in that goal since 1976 in liberation movements
that succeeded to overrun the Military dictatorship of Mengistu
Hailemariam. The Algiers Agreement was signed by Meles Zenawi and Isayas
Afeworki in Algiers, two dictators who do not represent the people of
Ethiopia or for that matter the people of Eritrea either respectively.
“Baby Face Destroyer”
[Homage to the World’s Greatest Running Champion, Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia]
And God said, “Let us make us a wonder,”
And gathered the winds of Segele Meda, into a lump of clay,
Lo and Behold “Let there be Tiruye!”
Wondrous work of the Lord.
Fast and enduring, lightening rods for legs,
Grace and rhythm of life ever touch the ground.
No wonder they called out for you in awe and affection,
“Go for it, Tiruye!” millions shout from the stands—
“Baby face Destroyer,” with diamond earrings.
Your sculpted legs, with tendons of steel,
Your youthful gait and your valiant heart,
And courage to match, with wings of eagle.
The one and ever the one, Tirunesh Dibaba!
Tecola W. Hagos
copyright © Phineaus St. Claire, 2009
OPEN LETTER TO THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE AFRICAN UNION,
H.E. PRESIDENT MUAMMAR GADDAFI
A
Vatican priest blessing the Fascist Italian army on its way to commit the
crime of genocide in Ethiopia.
The Debate Over The Need For Or Inadvisability Of Cooperating With Isaias Afewerki And His Regime:
Cooperation With Isaias Afewerki: A Pragmatic Necessity For Ethiopian Opposition Groups Or the Height of Folly?
By: Ayal-Sew Dessye
The Ethiopian people through connivance and the use of nefarious means and divisive tactics. Ethnic based ideas and politics are by definition too narrowly drawn to be compatible with country wide politics. Nor can such a movement ever hope to win the trust of other ethnic groups simply because it has already defined itself as being as separate and distinct from the rest of the country's population. Once a group goes down1this road, it is only a short step before it views
o ther groups through the prism of "we" and "they", and a further short step before the "other" is seen as the "enemy." And if such a group ever gets the chance to seize power at the national level, it is foolhardy to expect anything different from what we have seen in the last 18 years under the TPLF.
ETHIOPIA: The Liberators Going North or
Coming South
By Zewge FantaSeattle,
July 24, 2009
Meles is preparing to step down. It will be a blunder to change the expected huge event. He will anger not only the Ethiopians, more so the entire World. Meles has given all the reasons for his departure, and he cannot afford to fool the World that is waiting to shower him with accolade for his good example for leaving peacefully. An award of some sort if not Nobel Prize must be on its way and if so, it shall be delivered to him on the same day he gives his sad farewell speech. That act may impress every Ethiopian both admirers and foes alike. This author may not weep and cry like a few others will, but he shall salute the tough leader seeing him step down and leave with dignity and honor.
LET THE PRIME MINISTER STEPS DAWN ON GOOD PHASE!
BY: BERHANE EYASU
Failing
by self aggrandizement, and deliberate glossing over policy of EPRDF of
denying of owning a country’s
ports designed by the prime minister, we have seen enough for the last
eighteen solid years that Ports are not a mere export import presumptuous
places per se as he has out rightly claimed to be rather it has unbearable
cost which ransacked the country billions of dollars which could have been
channeled towards other development efforts. Not enough of that it has
brought inestimable instability to the country to say the least.
The
Reporter: ተቃዋሚ
ፓርቲዎች፡-በራሳቸው
ድክመት
ላይም
ተቃውሞ
ሊያሳዩ
ይገባቸዋል
Reporter:
በውጭ
ጉዳይ
ሚኒስቴር
አሳሳቢነት
ጥሩነሽ
ዲባባ
እና
ጌጤ
ዋሚ
መሬት
እንዲመልሱ
ታዘዙ
The Power of Our Culture
By Haile Desta
Ethiopia in history is noted in terms of keeping its traditional values
and paying huge sacrifice to preserve its precious traditional heritages
and secure its existence as a sovereign nation. Call it far-fetched, or
impractical, our culture plays an important role in the spin of Ethiopian
history. It serves as a force of our survival and inspiration and will
continue to give much more in the future if we keep it safely and adhere
it strictly.
Free Birtukan
Mideksa
by Abebe Gellaw
Ethiopian
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been brutally efficient in eliminating his
political rivals by killing, jailing or forcing them into exile. But
because Ethiopia is seen as a “strategic ally” by the U.S., Mr. Obama
failed to publicly speak out against human-rights violation by the Zenawi
regime on his recent trip to Africa or even mention Ms. Mideksa’s name.
Obama’s
Vision for Africa is Short of Substantive Vision
IDEA
Editorial
July
13, 2009
Some
of the most important points Obama raised in his speech are, “no nation
will create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy”; “Africa does
not need strong men but strong institutions”; “development depends on
good governance” etc. We agree with Obama that good governance or a
committed and visionary leadership will ultimately play a crucial role in
the transformation of the Continent. Sometime in the early 1980s, the
famous Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe said, “the Nigerian problem is
the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the
responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the
hallmarks of true leadership.”
EFFORT and The TPLF Business Empire
Report of Ginbot 7
July 13, 2009
Editor’s Note: We are posting this Report of Ginbot 7 on TPLF control of the Ethiopian Economy for the list of the companies controlled by Meles Zenawi and his gang of supporters who are acting as a Mafia organization holding an entire country hostage and looting its wealth in the name of an ethnic enclave. However, it must be clearly understood that the people of Tigray have nothing to do with the creation or the management of the corporations under the control of Meles Zenawi and his Mafia group. The people of Tigray have not benefited from the wealth that is being looted from Ethiopia and deposited in the names of individuals who are Meles Zenawi and his band of criminals.
The Report of Ginbot 7 has a tone of ethnic bashing that we do not endorse. Ginbot 7’s rhetoric in the report is juvenile and unnecessary. For example, statements like this one should not be included in any serious report. “[I]t is a moral imperative for the Ethiopian people to continue the struggle against the total economic and political domination of the Tigrai ethnic minority regime, that hails from one of the poorest regions of Ethiopia and produces no exportable commodity, yet, parasitically exploits the natural resources of the country for its sole benefit.” [emphasis mine] TH
CORRUPTION COLUMN:
Eye on the Prize
TPLF Plc. – Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely . By Azmera Tesfaye
The critical action that shades light on how, at the immoral cost of the Ethiopian people, Meles and the TPLF Plc milk aid money for the narrow interests of the Dejena/EFFORT conglomerate is the manner of how the regime uses its absolute power to corrupt public funds absolutely. After the usual drama of aid being given and ferenjis shacking hands with high officials who cutting ribbons, the real job would be schemed in the offices of the TPLF Plc. For instance, in 2006, after the CDC gave health,
pharmaceutical, laboratory and medical and technology equipment in aid, the PLCU Plc. run amok to swindle these materials. This was what happened. On this occasion it is the officials named above who give the PLCU the green light to control and/or sell those aid materials. Hence, PLCU Plc, of course was awarded the contract to handle the materials.
An Open letter to President Barack Obama by Teodros Kdiros PH.D)
Dear President Barack Obama;
I
am confident that your informed mind is also aware that the current Ethiopian Prime Minister, who also fooled the Ethiopian people with the promise of change eighteen years ago, has now given his back on the emancipatory theme of change and is busily imprisoning the icons of change and the architects of a future Ethiopia guided by the organizing principle of Classical Ethiopianity, ready and willing to overthrow Fascistic
Ethnocentricity
STOP
RIDICULING OUR VETERANS!
BY
BERHANE EYASU*
To
me, TPLF divided or not, of those you term quitters, if they come up with
first hindsight, retrospection and viable observation which is a true
account of their observation as well as a true reflection of history of
their part and above all a biting information where by people will learn
the highly secretive nature of the organization for decades, I recon the
sky would be the limit for them and it would be under the domain of a
public interest to pursue these historical facts and harness them the
benefits of the society.
From The Times July 11, 2009
Seven Somalis beheaded by extremists for 'spying for
government'Tristan McConnell in Nairobi
Seven people accused of renouncing Islam and spying for the Government were beheaded in Somalia yesterday in a move that underlined the growing authority of the country’s Islamist insurgents.
The extremist al-Shabaab group is battling the interim Government in Mogadishu and has implemented a strict interpretation of Sharia in the parts of the country that it controls.
ጸልዩ
በእንተ
ሰላመ
ቤተ
ክርስቲያን
- ስለ
ቤተ
ክርስቲያን
ሰላም
ጸልዩ
Thursday, July 9, 2009
COLLABORATION WITH ERITREA
IS BETRAYAL OF THE ETHIOPIAN NATION (PART I)
(A reply to the self-defeatist camp of Neamin Zeleqe)
By Tsegaye Kassa
Self-defeatist
groups are mushrooming in the movement for democracy and liberation of
Ethiopia, a country which has been under the throes of an ethno-fascist
junta for the last 18 years. There are many Neamin Zeleqes in our ranks be
it by design or by persuasion as the result of the frustrating political
situation in Ethiopia. Whoever Neamin Zeleke is and whatever motivation he
has, we should judge him only by what he objectively is trying to add to
Ethiopia’s problems or possibly contribute to the liberation of Ethiopia
from the dictatorship of TPLF-EPRDF.
FROM
THE CRYPT: WEEKLY COLUMN
Ethiopian
Think-Tank Pioneering Conference
By
Tecola W. Hagos
Here
I am including my unsolicited words of caution addressed
 to the
Organizers: stay the course and do not change these excellent start-up
presentations by distinguished scholars and others into some third rate
political advocacy appendage to some political party. I urge the members
of the group to stay above the fry and deal with issues concerning
Ethiopia
in a universal sense.
Michael
Jackson and the unrealized visit to Ethiopia
By
Teodros Kiros ( Ph.D)
 We
are the world, you said; the Ethiopian world is ours you added. You sung
to comfort the patients of famine, the language of Ethiopian poverty. You
motivated your fellow singers to sing for the Ethiopian world, and
Ethiopians will continue to herald your name, and sing for you in their
hearts.
Obama appoints Mehret Mandefro as a White House Fellow
WASHINGTON,
DC – The White House
announced today the appointment of 15 outstanding men and women to serve as White House Fellows. The 2009-2010 class of White House Fellows represents a diverse cross-section of professions including medicine, business, media, education, non-profit and state government, as well as two branches of the U.S. military. The 2009-2010 class of Fellows and their biographies are included below.
THE
NEED FOR PARADIGM CHANGE - III
By
G. E. Gorfu
Another
hot topic of the day is the recent interview of PM Meles Zenawi and his
wish to step down. This is not the first time the PM expressed this wish,
and it is a great decision. It will usher in a new era in Ethiopian
politics.
Ethiopia
and Zenawi’s gangster capitalism
By Abebe Gellaw
 Despite
the fact that Sebhat was in command of the fraudulent enterprise until he
was recently replaced by the dictator’s wife, Queen of Mega Azeb Mesfin,
he could not recollect the amount of wealth EFFORT has been accumulating
since it started monopolizing the Ethiopian economy in 1995. But it is
easy to guess when an illegal entity operates under legal cover without
paying income taxes or serving bank loans.
 We
support the courageous men and women of
Iran
fighting for their human rights and human dignity and justice, and rule of
law. We honor those who lost their lives in such a great cause and
struggle.
We believe the election result announcing Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad
as
President-elect
by
the Government and endorsed by the “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei
to
be bogus and unacceptable. There
should be a new election with international observers.
EDITORIAL:
Shame on You Sebhat Nega!
By
Tecola Hagos
 For
the last eighteen years, Ethiopia’s wealth had been looted, illegally
transferred to private ownership of sham corporate structures and fully
controlled by TPLF leaders such as Sebhat Nega and Meles Zenawi. The
shortage of foreign exchange, the price hiking, the disappearance of gold
bars from the national reserve worth hundreds of millions of dollars et
cetera are all tied to the monumental corruption created by the economic
monopoly and lack of accountability, and corruption of the leadership of
TPLF of which party Sebhate Nega was for years the leading representative
and executive of EFFORT that controlled mega millions in such investments.
In
Defense of Classical Ethiopianity and against Ethnocentricity
By
Teodros Kiros (PhD)
Let
us use these resources and fight for a new
Ethiopia
. What will save us now is
our humanity, our Ethiopianity, and the deep bonds of our sameness, and
not the divisive ethnicities that the regime in power has boxed us in. We
must jump out of these ethnic boxes towards the sunlight of classical
Ethiopianity.
32
alleged coup plotters charged in Ethiopia
afrol
News, 9 June - Ethiopian authorities have
charged 32 alleged coup plotters for allegedly planning to assassinate
government officials and to disrupt public utilities in the capital Addis
Ababa. Local reports have said a group of men
who were arrested in April for planning to overthrow the Ethiopian regime
and were ordered to stay behind bars in May while prosecution was
preparing to lay the charges. Reports further said some of the officers
have been brutally tortured by the secret police, while their lawyers are
also not allowed to consult their clients including being shut out of
court hearing.
Defenders of TPLF: The Mighty Opportunists
Zewge Fanta Seattle, 2009
Ethiopia
cannot be compared to the
United States of America
in any form or shape. The fact that the regime enacted a law similar to
the Patriotic Act of the
United States
does not mean that the dictators in
Ethiopia
cannot use it to oppress the people and the Opposition Political Parties.
Gizaw has effectively explained the concerns of the Opposition who are the
targets of Meles. In
America
, no person even the President can get away misusing a bill or breaking
the law. In
America
, three independent branches of government maintain the ‘Check and
Balance’ of power. In case Mekonnen is not aware of the reality in
Ethiopia
, the three Independent Government Branches in
Ethiopia
are Meles, Azeb and Bereket.
In
Search of Peace: Ethiopia’s Ethnic Conflicts and Resolution (For
discussion purpose only)
By
Messay Kebede
The present policy of the TPLF
prevents the emergence of national ambitions and intra-ethnic group
competitions by the method of democratic centralism, which protects client
parties from competition. Moreover, the principle of balanced power does
not command the establishment of federal units. In particular, the two big
regions of Amhara and Oromia create a serious imbalance endangering
national unity. Wisdom advises the fracturing of these two regions into
smaller units as a necessary condition of promoting ethnic cooperation.
Dead Aid: Why Aid did not help Africa! A Better way without Aid!
Fekadu Bekele
Moyo sees African governments as passive agents, which accept the advices of the donor community without examining whether the policies work or not. That means African governments are either unwilling or capable to produce their own ideas and implement them. On the other hand why the African elite handle the issues like this is not thematically analysed. As long as we do not know the root causes of such irrational handlings which ruin the continent, it is very difficult to work out a viable development program.
THE LIBERATION OF ETHIOPIA IS AT HAND
By Tecola W. Hagos
What
I find laughable in the answers given by Issayas Afeworki at that
interview is the fact that he still thinks he can warm his way back to
Ethiopia
’s grace by professing his silly concern about the development of
Ethiopia
. In the first place, he does not seem to acknowledge the fact that he
personally is the cause of the current hateful animosity that started out
as a family feud between the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea, he who
created a fantasy in order to dismantle a family to satisfy his ego built
around the illusional identification with colonial masters—the Italians.
We discern similar psychological dwarfism in members of the elite class of
most former colonies of European powers all over the World; for example,
in some sever cases of self hate and loss of identity, we find ex-colonial
subjects claiming that they are “British” or “French” et cetera.
Similar trend is developing also in
South Africa
where you find illiterate poor South Africans identifying with their
Apartheid former overlords and insulting even violently attacking Black
Africans from other parts of
Africa
.
The
Need for Paradigm Change - I
By
G. E. Gorfu
One serious issue is making sure Ethiopia
is free from hunger and poverty. In spite of the many years the government
worked hard to eliminate poverty, Ethiopia still seems to be a long way
from self sufficiency in food production and is dependent on food aid from
abroad. Many farmers have become dependent on imported fertilizers which
may be subsidized, but do not seem to solve the problem of low food
production. There are those who are advocating the return to traditional
farming techniques and crop rotation rather than the dependence on
fertilizers. They may have a point, and it may be wise to look at that
option seriously. Not everything we copy from the west is good, or to our
advantage.
Ethiopia's
new climate of fear
Despite
the generosity of donor nations, Ethiopia is ruled by an authoritarian
government with virtual impunit guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday 19 May 2009
By
David Dadge ,
The
European Union, United States and other major donors will pump about
$2.5bn (£1.6bn) into Ethiopia this year, a sum that does not even begin
to include the cost of medicines, famine relief and countless other
services provided by non-profit groups in one of the world's most
impoverished countries.
CURRENT
EFFORTS AT CHANGING EPRDF ’S
IMAGE----THE
CART IS FOUND BEFORE THE HORS
By
Genet Mersha, April 29, 2009
This
brings me back to the subject of the new information management and
dissemination technique, about which the government has been consulting
media specialists in London. Theoretically, it is aimed at focusing
government efforts at improving the regime’s
acceptability both at home and abroad. In reality, however, it represents
a change of format, but not of content. The regime is under bizarre
illusion that its rejection especially by urban dwellers and the educated
citizenry mostly is the outcome of its failure to communicate effectively
and appropriately its vision and its achievements. It appears that they
have not realized the fact there is a difference between propaganda and
information.
Part
II: Mental Problem- from the Ethiopian Context
By
Fekadu Bekele, Ph.D
April
29, 2009
Some
suggest that we Ethiopians do not need such kinds of “rubbish things”
like philosophy, because what
Ethiopia
needs is only a political struggle, and to get rid of the Woyane regime.
Such kind of a cry was also common during the late student movement in the
70s, because what was needed that time was to topple down the regime of
Emperor Haile Selassie and Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam. We know the
consequences of such kind of a political struggle which ended in total
anarchy, and bloodshed. The fact that few “heroes” shamelessly focused
only on the political power, and forgot the necessity of raising the
political and social consciousness of the masses, had produced unnecessary
contradictions that culminated in unnecessary war and bloodshed. Those who
were eager to seize political power remained at the end in vain. Goethe
and Schiller, after they had studied the consequences of the French
Revolution distanced from such kinds of adventures and murderous struggle
which did not bring anything. According to their views, only when the
human mind is changed through proper education one can bring real human
civilization. As Schiller and Schopenhauer affirm, nature does not know
how to jump. Likewise, societies could not be easily transformed from one
stage to the other by revolutionary means or through bloodshed, but only
through evolutionary processes.
Remembering
ARTIST/Dr. Telahun Gessese: The Thunderous voice of the King of
Ethiopian Music
By
Dr. Teodros Kiros
Joy.
Laughter. Dance and more dance. Pride and tradition, modernity and
Classicism. These are the languages of the Ethiopian youth and some of
their
parents on this cold winter night as they jubilantly flood the dance
floor.
Society
- East Africa - Ethiopia - Sudan - Diplomacy - Justice
 Ethiopia
and Omar al-Bashir, henceforth, inseparable Sudanese President
expresses appreciation for US President International
war crimes suspect and Sudanese President, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, has
showed his most determined contempt against the International Criminal
Court’s (ICC) warrant for his arrest as he seeks to reinforce his
country’s relations on his recent visit to Ethiopia, the first
majority Christian country to welcome him since he became an
internationally acclaimed wanted man.
Ethiopian
emperor's singer dies
The
popular Ethiopian singer, Tilahun Gessesse, has died at the age of 68.
He
had been the most dominant figure in Ethiopian music for more than
half a century and will receive a state funeral later this week. The
country's radio and TV stations broke into their programmes to
broadcast tributes. He started singing in the days of the Emperor
Haile Selassie, and was for a time the lead singer in his imperial
bodyguard band.
April 17, 2009
Statement
from Arena Tigray for Democracy and Sovereignty
Stop Harassments and Intimidations!
The worst features of the ruling party are
being revealed after the formation and opening of the offices of Arena in
these vicinities. In a very short moment harassments and intimidations
have become rampant. These cases have been strongly evident in particular
in our office in Shire. The following are the harassments and
intimidations perpetrated on our party in Shire.
Mental
Problem- a phrase to be clarified!
Fekadu
Bekele-
we
Ethiopian intellectuals must think about the method of struggle we are
using, and our approaches towards foreign forces. Unless we are not ready
to change our way of thinking, and the method we are using to liberate
Ethiopia
, our country will remain poor for a long time; and at the end she will be
disintegrated by forces which are working day and night.
Book
Review
A
Review of Tesfatsion Medhanie’s Towards Confederation in the Horn
of Africa: Focus on Ethiopia and Eritrea.
(Cuvillier Verlag
Gottingen
, 2009) By Teodros Kiros, PhD
Medhanie
argues that confederation is simply speaking a political good that
Ethiopia
and
Eritrea
, as members of the Horn ought to embrace.
Desperate times call for desperate measures even though it has
shortcomings, it is helpful to bring suffering people some workable
relief leading to more intimate relationships. No doubt, to some
Ethiopians and Eritreans, confederation is a desperate measure
provoked by a desperate political condition. To others confederation
is a vision, a possibility of a political form which could ground an
economic partnership among the nations of the horn.
The
G-20 summit- Promises that cannot be translated easily!
April
6, 2009
By
Fekadu Bekele (PhD)
The
two leaders who represent two strong EU Member countries, feel this
time that they have full confidence that history is no more on the
side of the Anglo-Americans, and especially the new American
administration that is lead by President Barack Obama, will not
frustrate the European vision of bringing a workable solution to cope
with the present financial and economic crisis. It is no secret that
President Barack Obama is attracted by the welfare state model of the
European type which is until now proved to be a workable model which
could keep social harmony within the western capitalist model. It is
believed that the laissez fair model of the Anglo-American type, which
is especially accentuated in the 1980s, and propagated world wide as
the only viable solution which could bring economic growth to all
countries which apply it, become disastrous. The Popes of the
free-market ideology are now on the defensive; and they are crying
that the state must intervene to curve the economic down turn before
it resulted into major depression.
LET
THERE BE LIGHT!
THE
GILGEL GIBE SAGA, The BOND & DILEMMA OF
ETHIOPIAN
DIASPORA
By Genet
Mersha
In
the light of this, if a diaspora investor’s motive were to respond
to an initiative that
would transform
Ethiopia
’s future, surely there would be no better
opportunity
than this, despite citizens’ detestation of the authoritarianism of
their government.
As an Ethiopian, I strongly believe that GGHEP-III is a vital
undertaking
for
Ethiopia
’s economic future and its social development.
In
Defense of the Ethiopian Coffee Exporters
Seid Hassan, Murray State University
April 4th, 2009
The problem is that Ato Meles
Zenawi does not believe in the market system, despite his many
attempts in faking it. Lest people would think that I am making this
up, I ask them to look into what he wrote in his so-called upcoming
book titled: “African Development: Dead Ends and
New Beginnings.” In fact, I vividly remember well Mr. Zenawi’s
interview with the BBC, describing himself as a proponent of the
discredited Albanian communism and an extoller of the then Albanian
strongman,
Dr. Getachew
Metaferia
New Book: Ethiopia
and The United States - History, Diplomacy and Analysis - By Getachew
Metaferia (Ph.D.)
Revisiting
Ethio-Eritrean issues
March
28, 2009
In brief,
his presentation focused on confederation as the framework for the
closest relations possible between the two countries. He dwelt at
length on the difference between confederation and federation. But
even for this confederal union to be realized, there are some
prerequisites. They include political changes in both Eritrea and
Ethiopia; this means, among other things, that there have to be
governments of national unity in both countries. Besides, there are
also psychological barriers on the part of Eritreans as well as
Ethiopians that have to be addressed. The elites of both countries
have a big role to play in this regard. Professor Tesfatsion
emphasized that if the peoples of both countries are satisfied with
the process of the confederation, they can in the future voluntarily
decide in favor of a closer relationship including federation.
There
is only one Democracy
By
Alula Kurabachew March
28, 2009
True
Democracy is founded on the principle of equal opportunity.
Equal opportunity means merit based access to the political,
economic, educational and other aspects of life of all citizens,
irrespective of political affiliations.
Government officials may assume offices either through election
contests or other standards, but, after ascending to the public
office, they must be devoid of partisanship outlooks towards citizens.
If they do so, they just represent only a certain group
interests, not the interests of the whole society. Such governments
lack the capacity and legitimacy to use the standard, the rule of law
Ethnicity
and the Tilting Balance of Ethiopian Politics
By
Messay Kebede, March 27, 2009
The
crucial issue that remains, however, is the huge task of democratizing
the ethnic state, as shown by the dictatorial outcome of the Eritrean
secession and the hegemonic practice of the TPLF. To move toward
democratization means to raise issues of individual freedom and
liberty, of economic development and its equitable distribution; it
also means the promotion of national sovereignty and unity on which
depend the prosperity and safety of all ethnic groups. All these
themes are associated with individual freedom, and so are essentially
cross-ethnic. For instance, the right of individuals to elect
representatives of their choice is not concerned with the fact of
being Amhara, Tigrean, Oromo, Gurage, Christian or Muslim: any
multiparty competition within the ethnic regions requires the
liberation of freedom as an individual characteristic.
An
abomination called the Government of Saudi Arabia .
In
our World, where rational thinking, wisdom, and compassion is supposed
to play a role in the decisions governments make that affects the
lives of individuals, we have in the Saudi Government, which is run
by degenerates who call themselves Kings and Princes, the most
primitive and immoral group of men. I have hereunder reposted
three articles dealing with real life cases of human suffering
representative of the thousands of cases that reflect the brutality of
Saudi official policy, which is truly revolting to any decent human
being. I do not see any rational in attacking Saddam in Iraq or the
Taliban in Afghanistan when the worst gangs of degenerate, depraved,
and violent men, who keep committing the worst crimes mankind had ever
confronted in its thousands of years of civilization, are to be found
in Saudi Arabia, still fully engaged in their blood curdling crimes
against women, immigrant workers, and the conscience of the World in
general. I urge the West and all decent Governments to dissolve this
abomination and wipe it out from the face of the Earth.
TH.
Attention: To All Ethiopians!
Richard Cummings is an author, playwright, theorist and critic. He is the author of the comedy Soccer Moms From Hell and the biography of Allard
Lowernsein, The Pied Piper - Allard Lowenstein and the Liberal Dream, which discloses Lowenstein's work for the CIA. His one act play Play On Words or the War Will Be Over Soon was selected by Edward Albee's Playwrights Unit to be performed under the direction of John Lithgow and he is an alumnus of The Lark. He is a contributing editor of The American Conservative and a columnist for
Lewrockwell.com.[1] He produced and moderated his public service radio program, "Free Speech," and also produced and directed a film on the life and work of the Spanish artist, Esteban Vicente.
OBAMA
AND ETHIOPIA, TIME FOR FRESH THOUGHT, NEW DEPARTURES?
Donald
N. Levine Professor Emeritus
(www.eineps.org/forum)
on links between Ethiopia’s needs and the promises of an Obama
presidency. Now that President  Obama
is in office, what might we project? What, that is, might it mean to
reconsider U.S. relations with Ethiopia in ways that align them with
the orientations of an Obama presidency? Eyeing policies the Obama
administration has already implemented and earlier statements suggests
at least half a dozen aims: 1) employ state-of-the art technologies to
advance human welfare; 2) develop energy sources to replace fossil
fuels, and in other ways conserve natural environments; 3) link
upgraded education and health services with a strengthened economy; 4)
avoid sharp polarities of pronouncement and of conduct; 5) curtail
terrorist tactics, but in smart ways; and 6) restore moral direction
for a market economy and public service from the citizenry. In what
follows I explore implications of those principles and priorities for
U.S. relations with Ethiopia.
Press
Release #2:
[Ethiopian
Unity Diaspora Forum, INC]
Release
Judge Birtukan Mideksa without any Preconditions
The
Founding Members of Ethiopian Unity Diaspora Forum (EUDF) demand the
immediate and unconditional release of Judge Birtukan Mideksa who was
imprisoned as of 29 December 2008 by the Government of Prime Minister
Meles Zenawi.
What
Senators Didn’t Hear About Somali-American Jihadists
By
Patrick Poole 03/28/2010
Events
in Somalia are not so distant. Since this past summer, as many as 40
Somali-American men have left the U.S. to join
up with al-Shabaab and train in their
terrorist camps in Somalia. And one of those men, Shirwa
Ahmed, a graduate of the University
of Minnesota, launched
a suicide attack in northern Somalia
on October 28 that killed at least 30 civilians — the first recorded
case of an American suicide bomber. And
earlier this week it was reported that a federal
grand jury has been impaneled to
investigate the escalating issue of Somali-American jihadists and
Somali terrorist groups operating in the Minneapolis area, which adds
to the list of ongoing
investigations in Columbus, OH;
Washington, DC; San Diego, CA; Boston, MA; Atlanta, GA; Seattle, WA;
and Portland, ME. The problem has concerned investigators to the point
that high schools in some of these areas have been briefed by law
enforcement to watch out for signs of radicalization among their
Somali male students.
Ethiopian
Unity Diaspora Forum Conference
February 28, 2009, Columbus, Ohio
Unity, Hope and Vision: Ethiopia Yesterday
and Today and Tomorrow
The
Ethiopian Unity Diaspora Forum held its first organizational
Conference in Columbus, Ohio on February 28, 2009. Despite their
diverse backgrounds, the Participants displayed one common passion—the
shared love of the Motherland. The preservation and maintenance of the
Sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia was without question
the unifying factor that beckoned the Participants to meet at the
first organizational conference of the EUDF. Some of the participants
drove hundreds of miles, and all Participants financed their own
travel and lodging to
participate in this historic Conference.
PRESS
RELEASE:
Ethiopian Unity
Diaspora
Forum Conference
February 28, 2009
Columbus
,
Ohio
During
our recent national history, we have been subjected to social and
political tsunami that has
eroded our national pride, and left us with deep wounds of conflicts and
divisions. It was also emphasized at the Conference that the Ethiopian
people are currently suffering from lack of democracy, rule of law,
respect for human rights, and freedom of expression. In this regard, the
Participants stressed the necessity of being
inclusive as much as possible so that a growing number of
Ethiopians of the Diaspora community contribute to the struggle for
democracy and individual rights in
Ethiopia
Prof. Bahru Zewde
Society, state and history Addis Ababa University Press
Review by BT Costantinos, PhD
Bahru as a public intellectual:
Prof Bahru’s recently published “collected essays” -- Society,
State and History, segmented into historiography, ethno-history and
language, economic history and political economy, intellectual and
social history, political and military history, political violence and
environmental and urban history, reminds us of the prevailing
intellectual movement of the Renaissance - humanism, a philosophical
underpinning that humans are rational beings and emphasizing the
dignity and worth of the
individual, an emphasis that was central to Renaissance developments
in many areas.
Al-Bashir indicted by the International Criminal Court
March 4, 2009
 Sooner
or later, the criminal activities of dictatorial leaders usually catch
up with them. Finally, the butcher of Darfur, President Omar
al-Bashir, is indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It
would have been within the Genocide Treaty to indict him for “genocide.”
The brutality and inhumanity of the Janjaweed and the Sudanese
security and military, who were instruments of al-Bashir as the
President and Commander of the Sudanese Military Forces, is no
different than the brutality and atrocities of Hitler’s SS.
Al-Bashir and his brutal Government have betrayed the Sudanese people.
First and foremost they are answerable to the Citizens of Sudan. TH
By
Laeke Gebresadik
Testimonial:
Richard and Rita Pankhurst
By
Tecola W. Hagos February 25, 2009
 I
think such openness and vulnerability is the physical manifestation of
the very humane qualities of the entire Pankhurst family including
their parents. It will be very shallow for me even to attempt to
list the great contribution of this family of Pankhursts to
Ethiopia
and Ethiopians. As a scholar, Professor Pankhurst is at the pinnacle
of great scholars of Ethiopian history and culture. As a fellow
Ethiopian, I simply cannot think of this family otherwise, he has
endured much and has done to help his beloved
Ethiopia
more than anyone I can think of. And the generosity and dedication of
the Pankhursts to
Ethiopia
and to the well being of Ethiopians has no equal.
What You should
Know!
By
Fekadu Bekele
As
a development economist you must have some philosophical background.
Philosophy is the key to knowledge The more you understand philosophy
the more you know yourself If you have a philosophical background your
feelings, thinking and actions will have purposes. As a development
economist you have to question the purpose of life in this world, and
the essence of belonging to a given society. As an educated person you
have to understand that you are responsible for your society. What you
are doing, especially in the field of economic planning touches every
part of the society. In this case your way of thinking and handling
must not damage the social fabric of your society.
EU
should not tolerate Ethiopia’s repression
By Lotte Leicht
18.02.2009 / 12:46 CET
The
EU should have condemned one of world’s worst laws on NGOs. Instead,
it gave Ethiopia €250 million. On
30 January, European Union policymakers sent a clear signal to
Ethiopia: no matter how repressive the government becomes, vast sums
of aid will continue to flow. This is emerging as a case study in bad
donor policy.
Editor's
Note:
Lotte Leicht
article speaks on very many levels to all kinds of people--political
leaders, civic leaders, merchants of poverty, saboteurs, et cetera and
such people may have attached different significance to the article.
To me I have one single concern: showing compassion to fellow
human beings. I ask you all what would you do if you come across
a man or a woman or a child on the street dying of hunger. Would
you be interested first to know before you give assistance to such a
person who caused such condition of deprivation? It is
Exactly what the EU is doing, showing compassion to the helpless
who will starve and die otherwise without assistance. That is what must not
be overlooked. This reminds me of a Biblical Story of a mother whose
child was wrongly claimed by another woman, pleading to a judge
(Solomon) who threatened to split the child into two. The false
mother agreed to the scheme, but not the real mother who pleaded with
the judge to give the child to the other woman, for as a mother
she could not bear to see her child or any child split into two. As
far as the real mother is concerned, it was far better the child grows
in another household than be divided and die as a result of being
divided into two. I ask you all, are you the fake mother who
insist to have the child divided? Tecola
Hagos
Beware
of Most Racist Russian Jews in
Israel
!
'Ethiopian
tenants? Out of the question'
Ugly
racism in Ashkelon: R., a real estate agent from Ashkelon, arrived at a building in
one of the southern city's neighborhoods recently with a couple of new
immigrants, and was shocked to discover that the place has a policy of
not selling apartments to Ethiopians.
A thorough investigation revealed that this
policy is shared by all of the building's tenants, and perhaps the
residents of additional buildings in the area as well – most of them
of Russian descent.
P
R E S S R E L
E A S E February
16, 2008
WHICH
WAY
SOMALIA
: CONTINUED ANARCHY OR PEACE?
The
withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from
Somalia
as well as the election of another transitional federal government
headed by Sharif sheikh Ahmed should facilitate a unique opportunity
for
Southern Somalia
to embark on a fresh path of peace, stability, democracy and
development. However, such a positive development could occur only
with a collaborative action by Somali leaders who ought to be more
dedicated to the interests of the Somali people than their own narrow
objectives of gaining political power at any cost.
Observation
on Ethiopian Political Insanity!
By
Haile Desta February 11, 2008
The
lack of compatibility between what we like ideally and what we can
really accomplish based on the skill and knowledge we possess to make
happened the desired result. In other words, we fail to figure out how
to move from the old system to a new one while keeping the unity of
the country intact. In our past journey, our educated people failed us
to come with a bold and visionary response and slacken to look deeply
for the secret what makes Ethiopia and what holds Ethiopians together
as people for centuries.
This way Ethiopia: Constitutional Monarchy or Liberal Democracy?
By Tecola W. Hagos
February
9, 2008
Almost all of the
literature generated by the students’ movement against the
Government of Emperor Haile Selassie did not seem to include scholarly
critical discussions of that regime, but was mainly rhetorical and
one-sided diatribe against Emperor Haile Selassie and his aristocratic
government. The best of such writings may not be more than polemical.
Even the gifted economist Eshetu Chole’s writing was polemical. The
favorite subjects often discussed in student publications, other than
the subject of the corruption of Haile Selassie and the aristocracy,
were the huge number of farmers of Ethiopia. The description of the
miserable life condition of the Ethiopian peasantry as presented in
articles written by student writers was not a social or economic study
meant to illuminate the sources of poverty, deprivation, ignorance,
lack of hygiene, et cetera of the Ethiopian peasants.
A Case of Misdirected Zeal
Mitiku Adisu February
6, 2009
It is in this vein that I would like to engage the current religious situation in Ethiopia.
Despite the fact that the Constitution is clear on the separation of Church and State, it has
been the case that the State would not leave the Church alone. Even worse, Church and
State have continued to thrive, at times, on an unholy and symbiotic relationship. The
current government and its predecessor both overreached in appointing the head of
th Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Conversely, the Church was not organized or reformed
enough [for lack of a fearless and graceful leader] to defend her autonomy, to dispense a
bridge-building role or to provide moral guidance to a confused and scattered flock.
Which
way
Ethiopia
?
By
Messay Kebede February 6, 2009
To sum up, the debate over
the use of violent or nonviolent means becomes serious only if
opposition forces are ready to fully implement the resources of each
strategy. No doubt, it is easy to argue against armed struggle, but the
real issue is to come up with a real alternative, that is, an
alternative other than participation in elections, which are not
winnable under present conditions. Only when peaceful struggle includes
disobedience, so I argue, does it surge as a real alternative to armed
struggle. This article is not meant to take a side by supporting or
condemning any one strategy. Nor is it intended to tell those who are
bravely doing politics under dire conditions or militarily fighting
against the regime what they should do. Rather, it is to contribute to
the ongoing debate in such a way that Ethiopians have a clear vision of
what the alternatives are. Clarity is necessary to decide which
alternative can bring change faster and with the least suffering and
destruction.
Letter From Donald N. Levine
(dlok@uchicago.edu) Awassa
center blazes new way to help youth
Keburan'nna keburannent wedajotche hoy!!
The
past two years have seen the Youth Campus grow a lot--and now the time has
come to expand its impact and provide it a new level of support. The AYC
vision is to adapt this exemplary model for enhancing the moral growth and
life skills of young people to other venues in Ethiopia–initially Harar,
where officials have expressed enthusiasm for creating such a resource as
an alternative to the growing khat culture–and also to become proactive
in the community to temper gang violence.
Zimbabwe's MDC plan to extradite Mengistu Haile Mariam to Ethiopia
 Martin
Fletcher in Harare The Times February 5, 2009
For
17 years Mengistu Haile Mariam, the former Ethiopian dictator who
slaughtered opponents on an industrial scale in the “Red Terror”,
has lived in Zimbabwe as the honoured guest of Robert Mugabe, dividing
his time between a heavily guarded villa in Harare, a farm near the
capital and a retreat on glorious Lake Kariba.
Last year an Ethiopian court sentenced the “Butcher of Addis” to
death after convicting him of genocide in absentia but Mr Mugabe
flatly refused to extradite the man who helped to arm Zanu (PF)’s
guerrillas during Zimbabwe’s 1970s liberation war,
Which way
Ethiopia
: Constitutional Monarchy or Participatory Democracy?
An
Outline.
By
Teodros Kiros January 29, 2009
Ethiopian history is essentially a history
of petty Kingdoms and reigning monarchs, and each monarch in his own
way sought to unite the petty kingdoms under a single rule. Emperor
Tewodros and Emperor Yohannes were both motivated by the vision of a
united
Ethiopia
under a single monarch. These emperors were at once, Executives,
Legislators and Judges. They combined all three functions into one. In
addition, they assumed an active leadership of the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church.
Prof.
Tecola Hagos's comments on Messay Kebede's latest Book
By Wondwossen Hailu January 29, 2009
The generation we are talking about rejected every thing Ethiopian, at least in thought, and tried to immerse itself in foreign culture, which it did not and could not understand. In this vacuum and emptiness, a very simplistic and seemingly logical ideology swept through the student body. It was also attractive because it proclaimed class warfare, satisfying the Oedipus complex urge on one hand, and harking back to the warrior tradition of Ethiopian history on the other. It is fascinating to watch a student wager because he has read or recited a poem, acted a famous leader in Ethiopian history. I am told that Walellign became what he turned out to be after playing the role Tewodros in Dessie theatre when he was a student there.
A
review of Messay Kebede’s Radicalism
and Cultural Dislocation in
Ethiopia
, 1960-1974. (
University
of
Rochester
Press, 2008)
By
Teodros Kiros- January 22, 2009
Messay
Kebede successfully presents the Ethiopian student movements, whose
leaders either have passed away, or are part of the current Ethiopian
regime, as a paradigmatic example of a failed student revolution.
His mission is to explain the
notion of cultural dislocation and how that notion applies to the
Ethiopian student movement.
Somali executed for 'apostasy'
An Islamist militia has executed a Somali politician who they accused of betraying his religion by working with non-Muslim Ethiopian forces. An Islamist spokesman in the port of Kismayo told the BBC that Abdirahman Ahmed was shot dead on Thursday.
Mr Ahmed was also accused of spying for Ethiopian forces, said to be backing the forces of warlord Barre Hiraale in trying to recapture Kismayo.
Text
of President Barack Obama's inaugural address on Tuesday, as prepared
for delivery and released by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
President Obama
This
is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and
children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across
this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty
years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now
stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
EDITORIAL: Congratulations, President Barak Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America
January 19, 2009
By Tecola W. Hagos
 I
detected the tell-tell signs of these profound changes in Americans
some years back in my students, who were mostly suburbanites from
different ethnic background and social standing, that the issue of
race discrimination in class discussions was becoming exceedingly
hollow and to a degree superficial. And I, prematurely, criticized my
students for espousing some form of post-modern philosophical
tendencies—of narcissistic self-love. What I failed to recognize was
that the young generations of Americans were far ahead of me, very
much well adjusted and becoming comfortable in sharing what America
offered without any claim of privileged entitlement due to ethnic or
race identity.
Open
Protest Letter to the Parliament of European Union:
Land
Locking of
Ethiopia
and interfering in the Internal Affairs of
Ethiopia
is unacceptable!
By
Tecola W. Hagos January 18, 2009
The literature is full of instances where parties to a dispute do not agree and the decision of the arbitration commission or tribunal cannot be entered, the right approach had been to fold and declare the process ended without legal effect. All the Commissioners could claim is the payment of their fees. The Commissioners have failed to understand the distinction between an arbitration commission (tribunal) and a court. An arbitration tribunal or Commission is hired by the parties to do certain services, and if the parties failed to comply with instruction of the commission or the tribunal, the process of arbitration comes to an end and the commission cannot proceed as if it is a court setting new terms of arbitration, and new procedures. There is no provision in the arbitration agreement that allows virtual demarcation..
On
14th January 2008, Ethiopians in the diaspora held a worldwide protest
in various cities to request for Freedom and Justice for
Ethiopians inside Ethiopia ....................
Pictorial
Reportage... Updated
16th Jan
 Standoff Between Toga and Zenawi
During two successive afternoons, on Dec. 5 and 6, prime minister Meles Zenawi convened 45 ministers and senior civil servants to outline the results of his government at length.
During the Dec. 5 session he specifically pointed the
finger at Teshome Toga, speaker Ethiopia's
parliament, and accused him of spending the government's money on trips and entertainment
instead of fulfilling his functions. The Indian Ocean Newsletter http://ogaden.com/ethnws081009.htm
To
Messay Kebede: the Center is One Step Closer
By
Tecola W. Hagos January 13, 2009
I
do hope this brief critique will generate further discussion on
several important issues discussed by Seeye Abraha and also the
critical appraisal of that by Messay Kebede. By no means, it should be
considered as definitive, but as a starting point.
Ethiopia
is moving into unfamiliar territories. I greatly admire Messay Kebede—his
ideas are always thoughtful and impregnated with possibilities. Seeye
Abraha is expanding his horizon on several fronts be it in history,
political science, sociology, et cetera. Here is why every Ethiopian
should look after every other Ethiopian. The
continued use of the term “Woyane” to identify the Government of
Meles Zenawi will simply polarize the issues up for discussions. It
marks a whole class of people with negative identity. It creates
unnecessary resentment and animosity between people further alienating
groups from participating in the political life of
Ethiopia
.
To Seye Abraha: the
Center Is One Step Further
By
Messay Kebede- January 10, 2009
Seye’s
article originates from the clear perception of the impending danger
and suggests ideas as to the best way to avert the danger and map out
a better future. The danger of national disintegration with its
inevitable ethnic clashes clearly shows that national survival is the
common good, which survival should, therefore, become the overriding
concern of opposition parties. And the only way to ward off the threat
is to unite to defeat those who put the country in danger by their
stubbornness to remain the sole ruling body.
THE
MORAL AND LEGAL DIMENSIONS OF PRESIDENT BIRTUKAN MIDEKSA’S
IMPRISONMENT
By
Teodros Kiros ( PH.D)-
January 7, 2009
For
Professor Messay Kebede, what is at issue is the moral status of the
very idea of asking for pardon, when one is not convinced that one has
committed any wrong, in light of the indisputable legal facts that
Professors Almayehu G. Mariam and Tecola W. Hagos compellingly
presented, with both concluding that President Birtukan did not commit
a crime. According to Professor Messay Kebede, the intention then was
not that President Birtukan committed a crime and that she must be
punished by the rule of law, but that the Dictatorship wanted to
humiliate her publicly.
Open
Letter to the Brave Warriors of Ethiopia Returning Home From Somalia
By
Tecola W. Hagos
January 5, 2009
Given
a chance for me to be anywhere in the world, I would have chosen to be
with you in Somalia sharing in the hardship and risk that you endured
for the two years period you were deployed in Somalia. There is no
greater showing of love of country than fighting and risking ones life
in the best interest of ones country and people. You have done that
every single day in your mission in Somalia. You brought a degree of
stability and stopped a brutal Jihadist insurgency from further
damaging and brutalizing the Somali people. You were invited to help
by the Somali Government, and as a good neighbor you responded to that
appeal for help, for it also served and preserved the integrity and
security of Ethiopia.
 
Seeye
Abraha
Birtukan
or the Appeal of the Heroine
By
Messay Kebede-January 4, 2009
My
view is that a retraction would have been harmful, not because the
Ethiopian opinion would have failed to understand its merits, but
because the EPRDF would have accomplished the three mentioned
objectives with flying colors. When the now defunct Kinijit leaders
were released from prison following the so-called presidential pardon,
I wrote that the purpose of the whole drama of pardoning them after
the court’s guilty verdict was to humiliate them. The intent to
humiliate is not only a personal vendetta; it has a clear political
goal as well. It creates a pernicious fissure between the people and
its would-be leaders on the ground that leaders, who are not ready to
sacrifice their comfort and even their life, if necessary, do not
deserve to be leaders. The purpose of humiliation is to demean
would-be leaders in front of the people they claim to defend
Freedom
for Judge Bertukan Mideksa:
Ethiopia
’s Hypatia*
By
Tecola W. Hagos- My understanding of Bertukan’s statement is
that  she
was making a legal distinction between constitutionally supported
processes using established statutory procedures vs. ad hoc improvised
process that does not confirm to the procedure that was in use at the
time. It so happened as jurist of considerable expertise Bertukan was
correct in her legal analysis of the hierarchies of laws and
regulations and practices when she commented on the pardon procedure
leading up to the release of the leadership of Kinijit and herself.
Related
press coverage from Reporter
WE
MUST RESIST THE IMPRISONMENT OF OUR LEADERS BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY
By
Teodros Kiros (PhD) Dec 29,
2008
My
concern goes deeper, to the marrow of the bones. If our leaders, who
are peacefully organizing the people to demand change cannot exercise
that right, what rights are then allowed them by the constitution?
Should not the rights of the people who are coming in record numbers
to listen to their leaders, count for something, or is the democracy
that the regime never fails to mention, a democracy that listen only
to those who sing its praises?
PRESS RELEASE
ANDINET NORTH AMERICA ASSOCIATION OF SUPPORT
ORGANIZATIONS
Call for Immediate and Unconditional
Release of Judge Birtukan Mediksa: Chairwoman of the main opposition party
(UDJP) in Ethiopia
Press Release
December 29, 2008
We just learned that Mrs. Bitrukan Medekasa has been arrested and taken to
prison by Ethiopian security forces from her party’s headquarter. Her
colleague, Professor Mesfin Woldemariam and her driver who were with her
at the time were physically assaulted by the security officers. It is
reported that the elder Professor Mesfin is taken to the hospital.
 
 File
image of Samuel Huntington
Sat
Dec 27, 3:58 PM EST
Political
scientist Samuel Huntington, whose controversial book "The Clash
of Civilizations" predicted conflict between the West and the
Islamic world, has died at age 81, Harvard University said on
Saturday.
Huntington,
who taught for 58 years at Harvard before retiring in 2007, died
Wednesday at a nursing facility in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts,
the university said on its website. In his 1996
"The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World
Order," which expanded on his 1993 article in Foreign Affairs
magazine, Huntington divided the world into rival civilizations based
mainly on religious traditions such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism
and Confucianism and said competition and conflict among them was
inevitable.
Black
Utopias: A Re-evaluation
By
Teodros Kiros December
23, 2008
Change
begins with the self, and then it is shared with other selves. The
African-American middle class needs to penetrate this history and heal
itself. A people must know its history. That is what Du Bois advocated
in his time, and it is what we need now. With Africa as background and
foreground, Du Bois created an original historical and existential
philosophy of race
This
link may serve as a conclusion on the case of Midroc
vs. the Reporter, which you had posted on your site a few weeks
back. I admire the journalistic courage of the good citizens at
Reporter who have began to bring the dark side of this Tycoon to
light.
Tafere
http://www.ethiopianreporter.com/content/view/3694/54/
 Sad
news, the death of Dejazmatch Zewde Gebreslassie.
Source: Reporter
PART
ONE AND PART
TWO
BOOK REVIEW
AND COMMENTARY
Messay
Kebede,* RADICALISM AND CULTURAL DISLOCATION IN
ETHIOPIA
, 1960 – 1974,
Rochester
,
NY
:
Rochester
University
Press, 2008. [PP 235] [US $75]
By
Tecola W. Hagos [December 13, 2008]
 As
I stated above, Messay seems to have changed his mind in the sense of
crystallizing his thoughts on ethnicism. And I take his latest
statement in his book to be his conclusion and final stand on issues
dealing with individual rights versus ethnicity. In his recent book,
Messay stated in one of his most eloquent statements that ethnicity
maybe considered as a passing phenomenon that wrecked havoc in the
struggle for self-realization and individual freedoms by “educated
elite” Ethiopians, and the future of Ethiopia is dependent on
internalization of “universal” principles and not mincing in a
highly relativistic and parochial manner, in the name of ethnicity,
what should be a commonly (universally) shared freedoms and rights.
Better still, let us read him in his own monumental words. More
importantly, Messay’s treatment of the subject of “ethnicism” or
“ethnicity” in his book was scholarly and objective and not
parochial. To begin with, as a good scholar he took himself out of the
equation completely i.e., he neither promoted nor defended his own
ethnic origin. When I mentioned to a friend that I was buying Messay’s
book, my friend told me that Messay is rumored to “hate” Tigrians
and that he was an Oromo narrow ethnicist. I challenged my friend on
those allegations, for I had read most of Messay’s writings and did
not see anything overtly or secretly hateful or narrow reflection of
ethnicism. Having read this book, I can say without any hesitation
that neither allegation is true.
BOOK
REVIEW AND COMMENTARY
Messay
Kebede,* RADICALISM AND CULTURAL DISLOCATION IN
ETHIOPIA
, 1960 – 1974,
Rochester
,
NY
:
Rochester
University
Press, 2008. [PP 235] [US $75]
By
Tecola W. Hagos
Let
us consider Messay’s most poignant and probably his most
controversial categorical assertion that the Ethiopian student
movement was not a result of economic deprivation and social class
antagonism extant in
Ethiopia
, but a consequence of the alienation of Ethiopian students from their
own culture, tradition, and religion. He asserted in several of the
Chapters of his book that Ethiopian students were isolated in a bubble
of their schools, and were uprooted and alienated from society. In
other words, Messay seems to believe that Ethiopian schools (from
grade school to university colleges) functioned as insulations against
the very society students were supposed to learn from progressively
both technical and social skills that would have helped their
integration and absorption as useful members of the community.
Notes
On The Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia
Teodros
Kiros (PhD)
DEC 6, 2008
I
have decided to wrap myself with this reflective statement and declare
that I am proud to be part of The Solidarity movement for a New
Ethiopia (SMNE), a grassroots movement that elevates humanity above
ethnicity, love about hate, compassion above greed, and commitment
above indifference.
Alamudi
not paying 20 million Bir for land rent
Reporter
In
celebration of Ethiopian Youth: Work in Progress
By
Teodros Kiros (PhD) November 24, 2008
It
is the fearless youth who environed the musical genius to Teddy Afro,
at the infamous Ethiopian millennium. Blessed by the billions of stars
that graced the night at the people’s stadium, where Teddy refused
to take orders from the rich and powerful who wanted to sing for them
at the Sheraton, and chose the stadium instead, Ethiopian youth risked
their lives and came to listen to the justly famous, song, “Altseralegnem”,
in which the prevailing regime was indicted and found guilty for not
delivering, for not changing, for not saying, “We can”.
POLITICS-ETHIOPIA:
Disappointed But Not Defeated
Michael Chebsi
ADDIS
ABABA, Nov 20 (IPS) - She fought alongside men in the Ethiopian
liberation struggle. She fought for a free and fair society. But
today, Yewubmar Asfaw feels that Ethiopia's revolution has failed to
deliver a fair share of political power to women.
In her book, published this year in Amharic, Asfaw, 52, describes how
the liberation groups marginalised women fighters during the struggle
and after the fall of the military regime in 1991.
What Barack Obama means to African politics
By Teodros Kiros (Ph.D)
November 19, 2008
My vision of what Obama would say is based on my hope of what he might say, and what his administration might want to adopt as a genuine Africa centered foreign policy, based on a dispassionate analyses of the failed Bush policy. In the absence of a comprehensive Africa centered foreign policy, I can only present what Obama could say by consulting African experts who understand the needs of the continent. My own take focuses on the needs the Ethiopia, which I know the most.
Eritrean rebels claim killing 285 government troops
Monday 17 November 2008.Source Sudan
Tribune
By Tesfa-alem Tekle
November 16, 2008 (MEKELLE) – An Eritrean rebel group, The Red Sea
Afar Democratic Organization (RSADO) claimed killing over two hundred
government troops during an attack carried last week against a
military training center inside the country. The Red Sea Afar
Democratic Organization (RSADO) on Sunday said that its fighters have
killed at least 285 Eritrean military officers including top military
leaders in what it called was the most devastating assault taken
earlier this week at a military training base in the remote central
Denkelliya region of Afambo local area.
The Abominable Saudi Government's Brutal "Justice" Against A Doctor
Egyptians decry doctor's sentence of 1,500 lashes Egyptians decry doctor's sentence of 1,500 lashes in Saudi Arabia
SALAH NASRAWI Associated Press Writer
AP Nov. 12, 2008
Raouf Amin el-Arabi, a doctor who has been serving the Saudi royal family for about 20 years, was convicted last year of giving a patient the wrong medication. Egyptian newspapers reported that he was accused of driving a Saudi princess "to addiction."
Arms race, uneasy peace in Sudan
By Heba Aly | Correspondent of The Christian
Science Monitor from the November 12,
2008 edition
In the south, the parliament voted to double its budget to cover military spending, and the north spent 20 percent of its budget on the military."Even
if Khartoum has no interest or intention of going to war, it has
every incentive to maintain a credible threat of war to ensure that
Juba will choose unity in the referendum. Likewise, even if Juba has
nothing to gain from conflict, it must make conflict as costly as
possible for Khartoum to prefer peace over war if peaceful partition
is to be a real strategic option for Juba."
The President and the Strategic manager of Andinet in London
Posted 12th November 2008
The
conditions are still live and breathing to date. If the regime and
Electoral Commission meet those demands, Andinet would take part in
the election. Otherwise, they would be their escort. They would fight
for justice. This point had been the position of the two delegate
members, W/t Birtukan and Ato Akilu.
Listen
to the audio of the UDJ meeting in London 9/11/2008
 Part.1
Part.2
Two Machiavellis
By Teodros Kiros (PH.D) November
11, 2008
Politics, argued Machiavelli, cannot be anchored on moral goodness-that is too utopian, but rather on virtu (flexible disposition) and Fortuna (luck). Both concepts are crucial for the understanding of the distinctly political. Virtu produces appropriate political action swiftly, intelligently and courageously; Fortuna projects ample opportunities that favor the moves of Virtu. Both Virtu and Fortuna work in concert to move the people from passivity towards social movements that aim at changing their lives and increase their freedoms by creating power and counter the tyrannies of an oppressive regime.
Lij Michael Imru
(1929-2008)
Addis Journal-
News of his death has come on
Monday [27 October 2008). Lij Michael Imru, who died at the age of 79, had been in and out of
intensive care for several months here in Ethiopia, Thailand and the USA. The former prime minister
might have been absent from the public and the media for some
time. But his long career had been anything but obscure. Born into prominent parents, Imru moved to
Jerusalem during the Italian occupation.
Response to MFA post in Aiga Forum, November 1, 2008:
"The US Presidential election and anti-Ethiopian lobbying"
Donald N. Levine University of Chicago
As everyone who followed president-elect Obama's discourse realizes, what he stands for is precisely open dialogue, not combativeness. The latter was the approach of retiring president Bush who declared in January 2000, well before he won the Republican nomination: "When I was coming up, it was a dangerous world. . . It was us vs. them, and it was clear who them was. Today, we are not so sure who the they are, but we know they're there."
The
People’s Machiavelli.
By
Teodros Kiros (PhD) November 9, 2008
On
the latent reading, it the people who matter; it is the people who
make laws, although, given their sheer number, they cannot execute the
laws that they could legislate, by choosing organic leaders who
represent their interests. Moreover, since stability was so important
to Machiavelli, he could not imaging a stable republic that is not
loved by the people, and in order to love the order, the people must
create it, the people must participate in the creation of power in
concert with the right sovereign, who governs democratically and not
tyrannically, since tyranny is the way of beasts and democracy is the
way of the enlightened, the way of moral leaders.
 Announcing
A New Book
Messay
Kebede, Radicalism and Cultural Dislocation in Ethiopia, 1960-1974.
Published by the University of Rochester Press, 2008.
The book focuses on the prime agent
of the revolutionary upheaval that derailed the course of Ethiopia’s
modernization, namely, the Ethiopian student movement. Most remarkable
about the movement was that a great number of Ethiopian students and
intellectuals had espoused the most dogmatic version of
Marxism-Leninist ideology, with the consequence that they had become a
highly polarizing force. And as John Henrik Clarke puts it, “When a
people are not too sure about who they are loyal to and what
their commitments are, they represent a danger within the cultural
mainstream of their society.”
THE
RECENT TPLF FUNDRAISING AND THE DIASPORA’S FOUL PLAY OCTOBER
31, 2008
Professor
Seid Hassan- Murray State University
Due
to the vicious nature of this show, many of the Ethiopian Diaspora
community have come to think that
such a discourse is inherent in those who come from the same region,
Tigrai. Such utterances of
unflattering words against our Tigrain compatriots indicate that some
of the
members
of the Diaspora community have indeed succumbed to the ploy that the
TPLF planted for them. One cannot
even escape the thought that a minority group could have seized this
opportunity to advance their own
parochial interests. Some of these folks could be those who want to
continuelecturing us that the struggle is between Tigrians and the
non-Tigrians.
THE
WORLD REACTS TO OBAMA'S VICTORY
Many
in the world were frustrated by America's go-it-alone tendencies under
President George W. Bush. Congratulatory messages have poured in for
his successor Barack Obama -- and many leaders have cited a wish to
work more closely together with the US. It didn't take long for the
congratulatory telegrams and telephone calls to begin pouring in.
Almost immediately after the polls closed on the West coast, world
leaders began contacting US President-elect Barack Obama to offer
their support and backing as he approaches a daunting list of hotspots
and problems that urgently need attention. Mostly, though, the world
simply wanted to congratulate America's new leader.
The Barbarism of Somali Jihadist "Liberators"
Militants stone to death Somali rape victim, 13
Amnesty: Stadium packed with 1,000 spectators watched horrific slaying
Initial local media reports said Duhulow was 23, but her father told Amnesty International she was 13. Some of the Somali journalists who first reported the killing later told Amnesty International that they had reported she was 23 based upon her physical appearance.
No
Hiding
Place in the USA for Murderers and Torturers in Foreign Countries
November 1,
2008
Ex-Liberian is convicted of torturing-
 A federal jury in Miami convicted the son of onetime Liberian leader Charles Taylor yesterday in the first test of an American law that gives prosecutors the power to bring charges for acts of torture committed in foreign
lands.
A
woman accused of adultery has been stoned to death by Islamists in
Somalia. Source
: SKY News, UK / October 28,
2008
Representative Donald Payne, the unofficial agent of the Eritrean Government, is still writing garbage [See his Press Release of 23 October 2008] about human rights abuses in Ethiopia, while the real issue of human rights abuse is in Somalia perpetrated by the Jihadist terrorists who are now in control of Kismayu. See the article below. TH
The
Crisis of a Democratic Civic Culture as an Impediment to Democratic
Development in Ethiopia: A Point of View
By
Tesfaye Habisso -October
28, 2008
Finally,
the struggle for democracy, human rights and the rule of law and
market economy is bound to take a long time before it takes root and
bear fruits, as these ‘values’ are still the hardest thing to
import and to modify. We can learn new techniques or acquire new
knowledge, but it is notoriously difficult to adopt a behavior that is
based on values that are foreign to one’s society. Societies’
fundamental values evolve gradually, and the introduction of new
values is always faced by traditional reflexive reactions.
Furthermore, this struggle should not be conceived only in terms of a
struggle over the distribution of wealth, power and private
accumulation but also the creation of commonwealth by mobilizing all
sections of the population beyond ethnic, religious, political, etc.
divides in order to improve the living standards of the majority of
the population, to enlarge the ‘national pie’ that we all must
share equitably, so speak.
The
free radical
By
Tafere Hailemariam-
October 26, 2008
Due
to the nature of our diverse ethnic upbringing and ideological
background, which is full of mistrust, there are hidden motives as
there are genuine intentions in the way we express our opinion in the
context of Ethiopian politics. For this reason, we all tend to
entertain divergent views simply because of the way we think
differently from each other - which is logical. If all people could
think in an identical fashion, wouldn’t life be boring?
Nevertheless, as for my case, a sincere intention stemming from the
love of my country is the sole driving force behind my urge to express
my humble opinion as a show of solidarity and I don’t write for fame
nor is hate in my vocabulary.
Obama
Will Be One of The Greatest (and Most Loved) American Presidents
Obama
is one of the most intelligent presidential aspirants to ever step
forward in American history. The likes of his intellectual
capabilities have not been surpassed in public life since the Founding
Fathers put pen to paper. His personal character is also solid gold.
Take heart, America: we have the leader for our times. I say this as a
white, former life-long Republican. I say this as the proud father of
a Marine. I say this as just another American watching his pension
evaporate along with the stock market! I speak as someone who knows
it's time to forget party loyalty, ideology and pride and put the
country first. I say this as someone happy to be called a fool for
going out on a limb and declaring that, 1) Obama will win, and 2) he
is going to be amongst the greatest of American presidents.
A
Note to Ethiopian Writers October 16, 2008
By
Teodros Kiros (Ph.D)-Readers
deserve to read articles that educate the public on matters of life
and death of the average Ethiopian. Editors of websites should not
specialize in singling out very able writers, who insist on attacking
the regime every singly week, when the precious time of the reader
should be spent more on writing short, sharp and readable articles on
the Ethiopian crisis that goes beyond the politics of the current
leadership, and focus on famine, poverty, freedom, social movements
and much more, reflecting the depth of the Ethiopian crisis and the
hidden pains of the alienated Ethiopian public.
Rights
group condemns Saudi beheadings
Saudi Arabia beheaded two
men Tuesday, the latest state-sanctioned killings in a country where
use of the death penalty has risen sharply in recent years and a
disproportionate number of those executed are foreigners, a rights
group said. The executions were announced by the Saudi Interior
Ministry. They bring the total number of people beheaded in the
kingdom this year to 72, according to an Associated Press count.
PRESS RELEASE
Ethiopianamerican
October 11, 2008
THE QUESTION OF ASSAB AND THE ALGIERS AGREEMENT AND THE ISSUE OF TERRORISM IN THE HORN OF AFRICA.
There is no basis for someone to claim that the Eritrean case is a
colonial question since Ethiopia cannot colonize part of its own territory i.e. Eritrea.
Besides, there are historical and economic factors among other things, that characterizes
colonialism as in the case of European colonizers and their former colonies. For instance,
Europeans were by far more advanced in economic development relatively compared to
their former colonies. In that regard, Eritrea was actually more developed, especially in
the industrial sector than the rest of Ethiopia. We could have discussed other factors to
show that the Eritrean case is truly a national question instead of a colonial question.
ADDIS
ABABA, Ethiopia (CNN) -- At age
19, Yohannes Gebregeorgis  borrowed a soft-cover romance novel entitled
"Love Kitten" that changed his life forever. Born
in rural Ethiopia to an illiterate cattle merchant who insisted upon
his son's education, Gebregeorgis had seen a few books in school. But
it was the experience of having a book of his own that sparked a
lifelong commitment. Today, at 56,
Gebregeorgis is establishing libraries and literacy programs to
connect Ethiopian children with books. Vote
for Yohannes, one of the Top 10 CNN Heroes for 2008  
VIDEO
 
Editor’s
Note:
Thank
you Senator Brownback for your statesmanlike stand in recognition of
the difficulty facing the people of Ethiopia in a highly volatile
region while carrying out their international responsibilities. Thank
you for not being a fair-weather-friend and for upholding the
principles of mutual respect, comity, and friendly relations among
states. Thank you for respecting the Sovereign dignity and worth of
the truly ancient people of Ethiopia. God Bless Ethiopia and all her
Friends; God Bless the People of the United States. TH
CONGRESSIONAL
RECORD: SENATE, PAGE S10466, Oct. 2, 2008
Senator Brownback made a powerful statement in the Senate
supporting Ethiopia.
A
Follow up on My Open Letter to Senator Feingold et al
By
Tecola W. Hagos-I want it to be clearly understood that I was not selecting facts to fit my argument and the conclusion thereof. I did not undermine the suffering of Ethiopians in the hands of a brutal and vicious government and leader. However, I would like to underscore the fact that the suffering of Ethiopians did not start yesterday, and it is not only due to bad governance, but is also due to a stagnant and exhausted ancient culture, some centuries old social norms that inhibited creativity, ignorance, and isolated life et cetera. It seems nature and history has conspired also against our development. It is not any lack of effort on our part either, and I know of no people on Earth who work any harder than Ethiopians. Even when it comes to our own Diaspora politics, what I read from the vociferous and often sever statements of my critics is their uncalled for ethnic slurs and trash language. The problem of underdevelopment, poverty, or social ills cannot be so easily explained even by serious scholars of poverty, such as
Amartya
Sen, a Nobel Prize Laureate, let alone by amateurs.---
Rested
Gebrselassie Tops His World Record
Haile
Gebrselassie of Ethiopia again
showed why many consider him the greatest distance runner ever, breaking
his own world record in the marathon in Berlin on Sunday and becoming
the first person to run the 26.2-mile race under 2 hours 4 minutes.
Clean Water Means Life Itself In Ethiopia
SUSAN STEVENOT SULLIVAN, Special To The Bulletin Published: September 25, 2008
The morning light, and days of travel within Ethiopia, further illuminate the rich diversity and stark contrasts of this historic African country, where skinny sheep and goats crop bits of grass along the streets of the capital while, nearby, machine-gun carrying federal police stand guard on the verdantly overgrown perimeter of the presidential palace.
EPLF:
THE MOTHER OF ALL CIA POLITICAL SURROGATES IN ETHIOPIA - HOW RICHARD
COPELAND (MILES COPELAND )OF THE CIA RECRUITED ISSAYAS AFEWORK :1969
as
told by Tesfa Mikael Giorgio
(Senai
magazine, Addis Ababa, February 1985 Eth.cal (1993) translated by us
from the
Amharic,
and annotated)
Open
Letter to Senator Russ Feingold, Representative Donald Payne, and to all
Members of the Congress of the United States September
12, 2008
By
Tecola W. Hagos
Mentioning
Ethiopia alone in the Feingold Bill and in HR 2003 of a year ago, in a
region where there are nations with worse records  of
violations of human rights, is a pointed insult to our Ethiopian
national pride and a serious erosion of our Ethiopian Sovereignty. What
is tragic is the fact that the people behind all this anti Ethiopia
movement are agents of our historic enemies such as Egypt, Sudan, Saudi
Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Pakistan, and now Eritrea. It is clearly
established due to his activities that
Representative Donald Payne is no different than an official agent of
the Eritrean Government. What Al Mariam and supporters are doing is that
in trying to hurt Meles Zenawi, they are hurting Ethiopia and Ethiopians
that will last a long time. Government leaders come and go, what endures
is Ethiopia. Thus one must be very careful in fighting to oust Meles
Zenawi so that one does not throw the baby with the used bath water.
Editorial:
I
Object to the Public Display of Children for Political End
By
Tecola W. Hagos- September 6, 2008
It
is precisely the incongruity of the act of public display with the
emotion of being a loving parent that triggered my reaction and resulted
in this short Editorial. A loving parent will be sensitive to the
emotional scar that may be left behind after such identification of a
child as being different, even worse having one’s private moments at
the beginning of one’s life being part of the public domain. The fact
of adoption must not be overlooked because of my legitimate doubt that
adoptive parents would display their natural born children with some
anatomical defects, as “freaks” for the world to see.
Who
is Benefiting from the Flood of Construction Projects in Ethiopia?
By:
Seid Hassan, Ph. D. - Murray State University
September
6, 2008.
Lately,
the EPDRF has been showcasing infrastructure building, particularly the
road and real
estate-based
construction that has been taking place in Ethiopia. In one of my
previous write-ups, I dismissed the propaganda spread by the EPDRF
showing that not only there is no economic
development in Ethiopia, but what we observe is misery and squalor. In
response to my write-ups, the agents of the government have been busy
spreading their lies on many Diaspora paltalk shows about the growth in
the economy- a few of them telling us that the economy of Ethiopia was
growing at 11.5% in 2008. A majority of them- possibly the ones paid by
the EPDRF who do its dirty work- have been seen jumping around on many
paltalk shows, showcasing the ongoing road and real estate construction
projects.
Reporter
Editorial
September 3, 2008
Dear
Editor:
Please, accept my heart felt appreciation of your great effort to expose the
scandalous illegal detention and kidnapping in broad daylight of
Amare Aregawi, the venerable Editor of The Reporter. I hope you
realize that when some of us were crying "wolf" it is/was not
just the figment of our imagination. Now you realize how many innocent
Ethiopians must have been in detention through such illegal
governmental or official actions. Imagine a situation where Amare
Aregawi was not a famous Editor (and supporter of Meles often), what
would have been his fate. He probably would still be in detention
or murdered. Our tragedy, I mean Ethiopians in general, is that when we
allow little men assume the role of leadership we end up with thugs
and violent criminals. I hope this is a great lesson to all of us
including to Amare Aregawi too. Power, must be counter checked. In the
alternative, what we have is a mafia type structure pretending to be a
government!
Yours Sincerely
Tecola W. Hagos
“SPEAKING TRUTH
TO POWER,”*
LIVING IN A DANGEROUS WORLD
August 28, 2008
By
Tecola W. Hagos-It
is in the best interest of the United States and Russia to be on
friendly terms. It is utterly silly for the United States and its allies
to try to befriend small and insignificant break away countries while
shunning the one country that truly matters. It is incomprehensible to
me why would any one avoid sitting at the table with the master of the
house and opt to eat frefari
with the appendages of the master? Russia has the richest mineral
deposits in the world. It has well educated population willing to
embrace “capitalism.” All of these factors in connection with Russia
indicate great potential for cooperation and close economic ties with
the West. It should have been the General Motors, the GEs, the Exxons of
the World that should have been at the forefront racing to form
equitable partnership to invest in Russia rather than local con-artists,
smugglers, money launderers with no past record of legitimate investment
management experience taking over the economy of a huge county like
Russia.
PART ONE
Sustaining Growth:
Ethiopessimism?m
by Ken Ohashi
World Bank’s Country Director for Ethiopia and Sudan
The international community in Addis seems to have suddenly turned
pessimistic about the prospects for Ethiopian economy. Inflation, which
was troublingly high at 19% in January, has by June jumped to 55%
(measured as the 12-month increase in the overall Consumer Price Index).
Ethiopia's foreign exchange reserves are running low, making it more
difficult for domestic investors to secure foreign currencies needed to
import key materials and equipment. Though much better now, load
shedding had affected daily life in many areas last several months.
Above all, however, the food crisis and images of children in acute
malnutrition are enough to make anyone not just saddened but gloomy
about the future. Was the five years of rapid economic growth all so
fragile? Was it only a result of good weather and a ‘rebound’ from
the 2002/03 drought?
Note
from the Editor
Mitiku's Article here posted represent the
best in writing with insight and universal appeal. I recommend that
readers, especially Ethiopian readers, take time to ponder what
Mitiku is telling us in his beautifully written article. I am not
exaggerating at all when I write that Mitiku's article is philosophical
mega statement about the fragility of the human condition but also its
triumph. TH
To
Win Gold And Not Lose Silver Sat,
23 Aug 2008
By
Mitiku Adisu
Here
are Tirunesh and Elvan (a.k.a. Abeylegesse). Truneshand Elvan are not
chasing each other. They are chasing a dream. Tirunesh is trailing. What
goes through their minds at this point in the race is not difficult to
guess. Both know one of them will shortly
be
declared the winner. Both are determined to beat the other to the finish
line. (No one competes for the fun of losing.) Both run fully aware of
their humanity, national origin, youth and what is at stake. Both
gracefully bear the pounding. Both realize the hurdles involved to make
it this far; that it takes leaving behind fellow athletes vying for the
same prize.
Are
Democracy and the Rule of Law Necessary for Ethiopia?
By:
Dr. Seid Hassan, Murray State University
August
15, 2008
The
purpose of this short article is to show that there are indeed quite a
few economic policy lessons to be learned from the experiences of
Southeast Asian countries. Second, if the last 18 years that Ethiopia
has been under the EPDRF are any witness, this country is neither in a
position to mimic these countries and bring about measurable economic
change, nor is the political and economic phenomena of Ethiopia
comparable to those countries. In the process, I refute the argument
that is being presented by the EPDRF representatives on both factual and
empirical basis. I do so by briefly presenting the economic, social, and
political experiences of the Southeast Asian countries and by comparing
and contrasting them with that of the Ethiopian economic situation and
political realities. I then present a series of conjunctures on why the
regime wants us to believe that democracy is unnecessary for Ethiopia.
Kenenisa
Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia:
The
Greatest Athletes in the World
Congratulations,
Kenenisa and Tirunesh!
You are the greatest distant  runners the World had ever seen.
Once again you set new Olympic World records in both men and
women ten thousand meters. Kenenisa successfully defended his Olympic
10,000m title winning the Gold, with his countryman Sileshi Sihine
winning the Silver. The other great Haile Gebre Selassie was fifth,
despite his advanced age, the asthma, and the Beijing stifling humidity
and smog. The previous day Tirunesh Dibaba, the Golden Girl, won the
Gold setting a new Olympic record, followed by her countrywoman, Elvan
Abeylegesse running for Turkey. These men and women are real
“Champions” in a real sport that requires great endurance, courage,
and strength. The ten-thousand-meter-run competition is neither a
child’s play nor it is splashing around in bath tub as some countries
make such a big deal of. Kenenisa Bekele’s new World Record is 27
minutes, 1.17 seconds, breaking his own World record he set four years
ago. Tirunesh Dibaba, still a young woman of 22, set a new Olympic
Record. Editor
EDITORIAL:
August 10, 2008
Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin: The Great Nationalist
By
Tecola W. Hagos
Go for it, Putin. You are doing the right
thing in protecting the vital interest of the People of Russia. You have
done the right thing by standing up for  the
economic interest of the People of Russia. You have done the right thing
by blocking the carpetbaggers from looting the wealth of the People of
Russia. Now, move in and take back all the old territories of the Soviet
Union, now states, ceded by traitors. That scheme of ceding territories
and creating puppet states did not help alleviate any of the political
or the economic problems facing the ordinary citizens of such regions
Putin defends Russia's Ossetia incursion, slams Georgia over 'genocide'
By News Agencies
2008 Olympic Games Preview
 10,000 METERS
Two world record holders seek to lift Ethiopia's hopes on and off the track. Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele have courage, endurance, and blazing kicks. What else do you need?
By Adam Buckley Cohen
How to describe Ethiopia? A country roughly twice the size of Texas with three times as many people. A complex blend of massive highlands and dissected plateaus divided by the Great Rift Valley. One of the oldest inhabited areas in the world, perhaps the seat of all human migration. Or, if you're a track fan, the alpha and omega of distance running. At the Athens Olympics, in the 5000 and 10,000 meters, Ethiopian men and women took home seven of 12 medals, improving on the six golds they won four years earlier in Sydney. So how does a country that constantly battles droughts and famines of biblical proportions beat out the combined total of every other country in the world?
Dr.
Fekadu Bekele August 7, 2008
Dr.
Fekadu Bekele August 4, 2008
Sudan
sentences 22 more 'Darfur rebels' to death
by Abdelmoniem Abu Edries Ali
Thu Jul 31, 10:26 AM ET
KHARTOUM
(AFP) - Sudanese courts on Thursday sentenced another 22 alleged Darfur
rebels to death over an unprecedented attack on the capital last May in
which more than 222 people were killed.The sentences from two special
courts, set up to try those arrested in a crackdown following the May 10
assault, bring to 30 the number of alleged members of the Justice
and Equality Movement (JEM) condemned to death
House
apologizes for slavery and Jim Crow
The House on Tuesday issued an unprecedented apology to black Americans
for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered
under slavery and Jim Crow segregation laws.It says that Africans forced
into slavery "were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized and
subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and
heritage" and that black Americans today continue to suffer from
the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow laws that fostered
discrimination and segregation.
A Few Reasons Why some of the Ethiopian Diaspora Community Members are
not Interested and/or against “Investing” in Ethiopia: A Summary of selected
conversations over coffee and by telephone.
By Dr. Seid Hassan Murray State University-
July 28, 2008
Despite the importance of Diaspora FDI, however, remittances are much larger (for example,
remittances from Africans working abroad between 2000 and 2003 averaged roughly 17 billion
dollars per annum, according to a 2005 report by the United Nations Office of the Special
Adviser on Africa. Ethiopian Diaspora remittances exceed $1.1 billion per annum in the last few
years.
[The
article/interview on the voidability of the Algiers Agreement of 2000 and
the future of Assab that was posted in The Reporter was brought to our
attention by Paulos Fasil of Canada. Tecolahagos/Ethiopia Website
greatly appreciate Paulos Fasil and all concerned Ethiopians who
forward articles/essays/interviews to our Website www.tecolahagos.com
that concern Ethiopia's territorial integrity and Sovereignty. Editor]
FROM THE DESK OF DR. FIKRE TOLOSSA
Dr.Fikre Tolossa's feature film, "Multicolored Flowers", a coming of age drama with comical and satirical overtones and undertones, will be featured in Los Angeles, California on Sunday July 27, starting 3:00 PM at the Jewish Community Center. If blacks "acted white" in the past to fit in, now whites "act black" to fit in, in this movie, which witnesses that times are changing.
In the spirit of artistic cooperation, in addition to Dr. Fikre Tolossa, the young film-maker Mekdelawit
Tadesse, will present a one hour documentary on the lives of a few movers and shakers Ethiopians residing in the United States, entitled, "Immigrants". Moreover, a budding poet, Asfawossen
Alemseged, will premier his latest book entitled, "Tsehay
Tiwotalech" , reciting a few verses out of it. Ethiopians living in Los Angeles and its surroundings are welcome to feast on this unusual combination of artistic extravaganza.
Some
Doubts on the Veracity of the Torah or the Old Testament Stories
July. 12, 2008
The idea of Moses receiving the commandments from God on a
mountain was taken from the Persian legend related to Zoroaster - One
day, as he prayed on a high mountain, in the midst of thunders and
lightning’s (“fire from heaven”), the Lord himself appeared before
him, and delivered unto him the 'Book of Law'. While the King of Persia
and the people were assembled together, Zoroaster came down from the
mountain unharmed, bringing with him the 'Book of the Law', which had
been revealed to him by Ormuzd. They call this book the Zend-Avesta,
which signified the Living Word.
Sudan’s president to be charged with genocide
First attempt by international tribunal against sitting head of state
By
Colum Lynch and Nora Boustany
updated
9:32 p.m. PT, Thurs.,
July. 10, 2008
UNITED
NATIONS - The chief prosecutor of the Internationals Criminal Court will
seek an arrest warrant Monday for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir,
charging him with genocide and crimes against humanity in the
orchestration of a campaign of violence that led to the deaths of hundreds
of thousands of civilians in the nation's Darfur region during the past
five years, according to U.N. officials and diplomats.
A BRIEF NOTE ON THE ORIGIN OF THE AMARA AND
OROMO
By Fikre Tolossa
Pertaining
to the Amara language, it had already begun to evolve as far back as
3000 years ago.In fact, it had existed long before Geez. Menelik the
I declared Geez as the official language of Ethiopia about 2950 years
ago to honor and empower the Agazi, a tribe he brought from Gaaza
which fought for him when Ethiopian tribes warred against him treating
him as a Jewish "keles" who had ambition over the
Ethiopian throne. Indeed, it had developed and evolved more than
3000 years; i.e, a while before Geez was decreed by Menelik I as
the official language of Ethiopia by imposition
Ethiopia: Government Prepares Assault on Civil Society
Repressive New Legislation Should Be Amended or Scrapped.
Ethiopia’s government has already made meaningful public engagement in governance impossible in many areas by persecuting its critics and cracking down on freedom of expression and assembly. The clear intention of this legislation is to consolidate that trend by taking the ‘non’ out of ‘nongovernmental’ and putting civil society under government control.
Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch
Ethio-Sudan
Border Affairs Committee (Press Release)
Source: Abbay
Media
Remembering
Asnakech Mekonnen (1961-2008): The voice of resistance
By
Teodros Kiros ( Ph.D)
Her life begun when she chose at a very young age to be a liberation fighter, when she left her beloved home to fight the Ethiopian Derg’s oppression by joining the Ethiopian liberation force, and moved to Sudan. Her handsome brother, Yohannes Mekonnen of Cambridge city, who himself was a liberation fighter, remembers saying farwell to his sister, when he himself was fourteen years old. Yohannes, her heart broken brother remembers her as gallant, kind, and unafraid to speak truth to power.
Shame
on you Meles Zenawi! June 25, 2008
 By
Tecola W. Hagos-What is alarming is
the fact that this traitor is running around dismantling our
Ethiopia that was built over the Centuries with great courage and
sacrifices of our parents and forefathers. He is arrogantly
throwing his half-cooked juvenile ideas in our faces, and we are
doing nothing about it. The recent secret agreement he made with
the Sudanese Government ceding Ethiopian territories, which was
settled and effectively controlled by Ethiopians and previous
Ethiopian governments for over hundreds of years, has angered
Ethiopians from all walks of life. We need to do more than just
register anger and protest against Meles Zenawi and his
Government. We must excise this cancerous growth and threat to our
very existence as a people and a nation, by all means at our
disposal. This is one of the reasons that I support the call made
to all of us by patriotic Ethiopians, Ethio-Sudan Border Affairs
Committee, to a Conference and a Demonstration on July 2 and 3
against Meles Zenawi and his secret agreement ceding Ethiopian
Territory to the Sudan.
Failed leadership, not a failed state
By Raffique Shah June 01, 2008
These
shortcomings and many more are justification for many to refer to the
country as a “failed state”. But again, I register my dissent with
this view. When New York and many other cities in the US were riddled with
crime, was America declared a “failed state”? That country’s health
system is in crisis. Millions cannot access free medical attention, have
no access to health care the way we do. And in spite of the crime levels,
thousands flock restaurants, bars and clubs nightly. Night concerts are
sold out: witness the recent Plymouth Jazz Festival.
By
Obang Metho-The failures of the Meles regime are rapidly accumulating and not only Ethiopians know about it now. The news and incriminating evidence is reaching out into the international community and it will soon become increasingly difficult to suppress and excuse the behavior of this oppressive dictatorship.
Human rights violations incorporated in this 30th Regular Report are based on complaints received from victims, evidence gathered through onsite investigations and testimonies of witnesses. As could be gathered from the report, there still remains much to be done to improve the human rights situation in the country. The fact that many of the violations are being perpetrated by government security forces and other agents of the state with impunity makes the situation even more worrying. Thus, EHRCO urges the government to respect and protect the fundamental human rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the country.
Genocide in Sudan
U.S., activists decry genocide in Sudan
AP Associated Press, Tues., June. 17, 2008
The United Nations so far has been unable to bring peace to Sudan or to prosecute its alleged war criminals. Williamson pointed to 2 million people dead and more than 6 million displaced in Sudan's north-south civil war.
Is Ethiopia Really Enjoying Economic Development?
By Dr. Seid Hassan June 16, 2008
On the other hand, Ethiopians, including those of the members of the Diaspora
experience increased squalor, disease, unemployment (known to be way over 50% in urban
areas), hopelessness, unnecessary deaths, chronic poverty, these same filth and misery and
chronic poverty increasing over time. Every time the members of the Diaspora visit their country
of origin, they observe that the people they used to know and their own families are growing into
abject poverty. Most importantly, they read Ethiopia being listed at the bottom of the world
country rankings.
Dr.
Fekadu Bekele
Zenawi
lied and it is Darfur Style Scorched-Earth Land Grab
By
Desta Woldemariam
The
relationship between the dynamics within states in the Horn of
Africa (Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Somalia) and the
distribution of power among them is constantly changing. The
Global, Regional and Sub-Regional situations and dynamics
temporarily strengthen one or two states in the Horn, while it
exposes and exacerbates their failing on many occasions. The
states in the Horn are getting too weak and poorly governed to
address challenges within their borders and cannot prevent then
from spilling out and destabilizing all surrounding states
Abugida
invites you to check out a poem dedicated to the victims of 2005 massacre
by the blood thirsty zenawi's regime at http://www.abugidainfo.com/video/index.php/documentary/
international.html
A
film depicting memorable political events in Ethiopia in the month
of "GINBOT",it can be seen here http://abugidainfo.com/video/index.php/documentary/
documentaryeth.html
Border Demarcation with Sudan Causes Anger in Ethiopia
By Alisha Ryu Nairobi 05 June 2008
Residents and community leaders in western Ethiopia say thousands of people in several border regions have been displaced by Sudanese troops in recent weeks, following what they describe as a secret, illegal deal between the governments in Addis Ababa and Khartoum. Critics say the secret deal to demarcate the border gives Sudan the right to occupy areas Ethiopians historically consider sacrosanct. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has details from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.
Ethiopia
and
Sudan
Border Issue Committee
June 2, 2008
We,
the representatives of Ethiopian political, professional, civic,
social and cultural organizations, would like to bring to Your
Excellency’s attention worrisome developments concerning the
demarcation of the common boundary between
Ethiopia
and the
Sudan
. We are gravely concerned that this important subject which
affects the lives and welfare of millions of Ethiopians has been
approached, at least on the part of the purported representatives
of
Ethiopia
, in total secrecy and in complete disregard of relevant treaties
and the historical rights of
Ethiopia
.
Does land
swap bring peace, or does peace bring land?
Source Reporter
Famine,
Hunger, and Public Action: Consolidated View*
May 30, 2008
Teodros
Kiros (Ph.D)-These subtle
words apply to the recurrence of  famine and perpetual hunger in
Somalia now and soon in Ethiopia with unprecedented urgency. If
you asked any Ethiopian legislator why famines occur with such
consistency, he might look at you in surprise, and reply that it
is a natural mishap manifest in crop failure, and the sluggishness
and cursed existence of the victims. Of course, some of our ardent
critical revolutionaries seek to advance what they call structural
explanations. The latter explanation is the correct one.
PART
TWO
Sudan
Annexing Ethiopian Territory:
The Moral Imperative and Principles and Norms of
International Law
May
22, 2008
By
Tecola W. Hagos-This effort of Meles Zenawi to justify his treasonous  ceding of Ethiopian territory by redefining and limiting what constituted
Ethiopian territory is the same type of treasonous
“judiciousness” he used often defending the interest of
Eritrea against that of Ethiopia in endless speeches, interviews,
and formal papers to such ridicules extent even the
Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Arbitration Commission found it necessary
to point out the fact that Meles’s submission has declared a
particular Ethiopian territory in dispute to be part of Eritrea
and that the Commission had no other choice but “to
adjust the Treaty line so as to ensure that it is placed in
Eritrean territory.”
----
Famine,
Hunger and Public Action: Modest
Policy Proposals for East Africa
May
17, 2008
Teodros
Kiros (Ph.D)- Most importantly,
legislators must be advised to avoid costly wars that plunder
value creating economies. Peace and prosperity for all must be the
goal of the hopeful
Ethiopia
. Famines and hunger can be eliminated by the actions of a morally
sensitive market and systematic public action. Diversification and
peace must be the engines of change in a new
Ethiopia
.----
Editorial:
Response
to the Press Release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
On
the Annexation of Ethiopian Territory by Sudan
May 15, 2008
By
Tecola W. Hagos- Press Release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has alleged that the
Government of Meles Zenawi is simply concluding what was laid out
by previous Ethiopian leaders as part of a lengthy negotiation
with the Government of the Sudan, especially pointing out the
treaty of 1972 entered during the Government of Emperor Haile
Selassie. This is an absolute lie, for Emperor Haile Selassie did
not enter any such dishonorable and treasonous treaty to cede over
ten thousand square kilometers of fertile and productive Ethiopian
territory to the Sudan.
Ethiopian
Territorial Integrity and Ethiopiawinet:
Sudan
annexing Ethiopian Territory.
By
Tecola W. Hagos-It
is extremely difficult for me even to imagine  ceding
an inch of Ethiopian territory let alone such huge tract of land.
The insidious activity of Meles Zenawi is not limited to such
treasonous crimes against the territorial integrity of Ethiopia,
but was extended to the violations of fundamental rights against
the People of Ethiopia who have lived in those areas for
generations. They were forced to defend their homes while
Meles’s security force members were standing by watching
Ethiopian citizens being driven off their homes and land. Shame on
you! Shame!.-----
Einstein letter calls Bible ‘pretty childish’
Famous scientist also dismisses belief in God as product of human weakness
Editorial:
May 12, 2008
On
Posting the “Official” Statement of the Government of Meles Zenawi
By Tecola Hagos-The
fact that there was negotiation and dispute or challenge by Sudan in the
past does not completely negate the principle of territorial acquisition
as laid out above, which entitles Ethiopia with the rights and privileges
of a Sovereign to all the territory that is illegally being annexed by
Sudan now. Meles’s Government has repeatedly shown its skewed ideas of
what is meant by negotiation in international conflicts in the Sudan as
well as the Eritrea border disputes. There is no “absolute” in
international claims of limited starting point, except what one claims to
be the case. Thus, the Ethiopian government must claim as extensively as
it is possible even to the extent of all land all the way to ancient Meroe,
rather than assume these stupid pretensions of judiciousness at the
expense of our interest. I
shall elaborate all the issues raised in this Editorial and elsewhere in
other essays I have written dealing with the issue of Ethiopian territory
and Sovereignty, in my upcoming article “Ethiopian Territorial Integrity
and Ethiopiawinet: Sudan
annexing Ethiopian Territory:
Ministry refutes hearsay ''Ethiopian territory given to Sudan''
Addis Ababa, May 11, 2008 (Addis Ababa) - The ministry of foreign affairs said some mass media and irresponsible bodies have been disseminating groundless information by saying that the government has given a part of Ethiopia’s territory to Sudan.
In a statement it sent to ENA on Sunday the ministry said that it refrained to respond to the hearsay as border issues need to be dealt with great care and as it believed that it is unnecessary to respond to such groundless rumor.
The
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Foreign Affairs and National
Security Policy and Strategy
Ethiopia
's policy towards Somalia May
12, 2008
Our
fundamental policy remains to persistently work towards the birth of a
peaceful and democratic
Somalia
. But in light of the continuing instability, the policy we pursue should
essentially be a damage-limitation policy to ensure that the instability
does not further harm our country, the region and the people of
Somalia
. If the instability is not stopped, the only option left is to limit the
damage that may be caused. There are three main options to limit the
damage.
The Causes of the Current Ethiopian Soaring Inflation Rate: A Non-Technical Analysis.
May
11, 2008
By Dr.Seid Hassan
The most significant and daunting problem facing Ethiopia today is the rampant
inflation rate. As reported by bloomberg.com, the Ethiopian Statistical Agency has reported that inflation
for March 2008 has risen to 29.6%, food price inflation being even higher (39.4%). Some reports
indicate the inflation rate in January 2008 to be in the range of 36%. According to Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi, the causes of this rampant inflation rate are a growing economy, greedy
merchants, and/or farmers who happen to demand higher prices for their products or an increase
in demand.-----
Larger map
ETHIOPIA'S
DIRE TUNE: THE NEW BOSTON MARATHON 2008  CHAMPION
CONGRATULATIONS, DIRE TUNE FOR WINNING THE BOSTON MARATHON 2008.
YOUR COURAGE, STAMINA, AND FAITH RENEWED US ALL IN OUR
ETHIOPIAWINET. YOU MAKE US ALL FEEL GREAT, WE ARE ETERNALLY
GRATEFUL TO YOU AND ALL THE ETHIOPIAN LEGENDARY GREAT DISTANT
RUNNERS AND MARATHON RUNNERS, AND WORLD AND OLYMPIC
CHAMPIONS. THANK YOU AND THANK YOU SOME MORE, ALL OF YOU OUR
GREAT HEROES AND CHAMPIONS.
SYSTEMIC
AND SYSTEMATIC CORRUPTION IN
ETHIOPIA
UNDER MELES ZENAWI: A VIEW FROM THE SILENT DIASPORA. April
22, 2008
By
Wardoffa Banti
It
is also necessary to continue equipping the political, social, and
pressure groups that have a stake in our country to hold rational and
reasoned policy and political positions that would challenge the political
leaders into realizing the ideals of fairness, justice and equality that
would lay the foundations for a sustainable nation. It would be a matter
of time before the (outwardly strong but decaying) TPLF to acknowledge
that there is more to equitable and democratic governance than political
expediency of consolidating political tyranny insulated from the
interests, will and participation of its subjects. The growing
brainstorming and crystallization of the foundations and mechanisms of the
TPLF's driving rolled TPLF to crack because of internal rust, its
paralysis to change and absence of rational and reasoned agenda and
backing.
Reading William Easterly’s The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good (2006)
April 21, 2008
By Getachew Mequanent-
To conclude, Easterly isn’t really talking about the “ills” of aid, as the title of his book suggests. He is talking about the problems of aid management. As I read the book, I kept remembering a man who was the president of the Canadian International Development Agency in the 1970s, speaking at a conference, angrily asking, “why did we fail the world’s poor children?” Having spent sixteen years at the World Bank, Easterly’s writing style combines both passion and experiences of frustration, as you can see from this quotation (p. 368) telling donors what to do:
Discard your patronizing confidence that you know how to solve other people’s problems better than they do. Don’t try to fix governments or societies. Don’t invade other countries or send armies to one of the brutal armies in a civil war. End conditionality. Stop wasting our time with summits and frameworks. Give up on sweeping and naïve institutional reform schemes.
NES
COMMENTARY No.17
Network
of Ethiopian Scholars (NES) (April
17, 2008)
From
the Edge to Over the Edge: The root cause of the food crises is the
endemic governance crises in
Ethiopia
!
Very often and invariably, this is what the regime does to the people when it plays the so- called democracy game: the regime invites the people for an election charade only to disabuse them when they vote for the candidates or parties of their choice by harassing those not toeing the official line backed by the military and police might at its disposal. Why the regime prefers to go through the motion of an election, when it has literally zero interest or commitment to honour the choices and voices of the people particularly when they vote for opposition party candidates, strikes any impartial observer as nothing else but activities that are supremely diversionary, opportunistic, cynical and immoral.
Some thoughts on Understanding What Lies Ahead for Ethiopia
By Wardoffa Benti (from Germany)-
April 16, 2008
The title chosen
for this short abstract of a bigger idea is daunting and beyond the reach
of the intelligence and capacity of this author. The idea is to tip a
discussion on the manner of political discourse in the political community
for scrutinizing the real issues on political transformation of
stakeholders. When people come into some kind of union (unitary, federal,
confederate or other forms of governmental structure), the basic notion is
that these peoples have agreed to forge a formula where they would strike
concessions and compromises that would be fair and workable for the groups
and classes of people to be bound by that structure. Thus a Constitution
of a country, which in essence means a tool where the various
constituencies of people who are living in a relatively coherent and
adjacent geographical entity, agree to come under some form of union after
by a majority (super-majority) of their people or their elected
representatives.
-----
COMMENTARY
Paradigm of poverty and humanism: Undoing Ethiopia's
modernity
By Prof. Tecola W. Hagos -
 [Because the crucial issues discussed some five years ago in an article titled “PARADIGM OF POVERTY AND HUMANISM: UNDOING ETHIOPIA’S MODERNITY” (July 25, 2003) posted in this Website are still the most acute issues concerning Ethiopia, we have decided to repost or up-link that article in our archive one more time. Readers are invited to take a fresh look at the article with the current political and economic reality in Ethiopia in mind.]
Instead of revisiting the same old political and economic programs that have been the main stay of every political group and aspiring political leader since the 1960s, I suggest that we start with new approach within a rubric of a Humanistic-Poverty Paradigm. A paradigm is not in itself a political ideology, but a way of looking at distilled consistent and compatible ideas. It has the advantage of satisfying all ideas of truth. This in itself is remarkable. It should not come as a surprise to us, for the humanistic paradigm, after all, reflects the ethos or the zeit-geist of a people (period). Another additional factor to consider is the fact that the Paradigm is not a liberation movement, but rather a creative process; unlike other liberation movements the struggle is not against the State of Ethiopia but against poverty, ignorance, pestilence, greed, exploitation, dehumanization, oppression et cetera.
What the election of Barack Obama would mean to African politics
April 7, 2008
By Teodros Kiros (Ph.D)-As an African-American of a Kenyan ancestry, I am reminded of my father’s dream, the dream of putting Kenya on the world map, as a player in world politics. I wish every African nation to abide by International law, and treat its citizens with dignity, with inviolable human rights, and call upon Ethiopia’s Meles Zenawi to treat Ethiopians with fairness, respect and dignity. I demand that African leaders either be transparent or move out of the way. No African nation should get our aid if it intimidates, tortures and imprisons its citizens.
-----
March,
30 2008
The
Beautiful People: Champions of Edinburgh 2008
Tiruniash
Dibaba -
Gold Medal;
Kenenisa
Bekele - Gold
Medal
Genzebe
Dibaba - Gold Medal
(Women Junior)
Ibrahim
Jeilan -
Gold Medal (Men Junior)
Congratulations!
You all are the pride of Ethiopia. You brought glory and respect
to all of us. This
is the quintessential fabulous Ethiopian team winning first place
in all divisions. One thing for sure, the Edinburgh highland
weather, with its rain and mud, should not have been more
welcoming to the Ethiopian team. The Ethiopian cross-country
runners were defeated by the stifling tropical weather of Mombassa
of last year’s contest. This is a comeback performance.....
PART THREE: March,
29 2008
THE UGLY AMERICAN:
HOPE AND REDEMPTION FOR ALL
By Tecola W. Hagos-It seems we are hearing the voice of reason and witnessing in the person of Obama the emergence of new generations of Americans—coming-of-age, of exquisitely beautiful new generations of Americans who seem to go beyond such contentious racist narrow view of the American identity, who seem to take “the color of water,” if I may borrow an apt phrase from a book title. [James McBride, The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, Riverhead Books (1996).] In that book McBride’s White Mother uttered the phrase “the color of water” in reference to God as being not black or white but all, as the color of water that picks up the hue of its container. This philosophy is radically different than the militancy of the civil rights movement; it is not accusatory and vengeful, but refined understanding of the human condition, thus is a precursor of Obama’s generation of African American individuals who see beyond the injustice of white America but the hope of a just and harmonious society due to the healing power of understanding and direct
actions.....
Saudis
Gone Mad: Violations of Human Rights
March,
30 2008
A
woman was beaten up and shot dead by her father for talking online
with a man she met on the website Face book.
The
case was reported on a Saudi Arabian news site as an example of
the "strife" the social networking site is causing in
the Islamic nation. It said the man shot his daughter after
discovering she had been chatting online to a young man she had
met on Face book.
PART
TWO: The Ugly American
THE
HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE:
MELES ZENAWI
AND MOHAMMAD AL-AMOUDI
March,
23 2008
By
Tecola W. Hagos-The
secret for our future political success is to be found in our
capacity to create bridges of relationships connecting the newly
formulated political organizations with all other opposition
groups, such as those of Kinijit, Beyene Petros, Merara Gudina,
Lidetu Ayalew et cetera. One must find important common interest
such as questions of civil rights, territorial integrity and
sovereignty, law and order et cetera to champion. Most
importantly, the opposition group must identify and focus on one
or two personalities in the present Ethiopian government and from
those that are collaborators rather than direct its opposition in
a generalized form to the entire group. One must be able to create
division and dissension within the Government of Meles Zenawi.
Meles Zenawi and Mohammad Al-Amoudi must be identified as the two
most dangerous individuals who are threats to the very existence
of Ethiopia and as enemies of the people of Ethiopia.....
..
Prince Rasselas, Fact of
Fiction?
A Glimpse at our History
By
G. E. Gorfu-March,
22 2008
 That
then is why traditional kings and queens of
Ethiopia
were highly educated people. Atse Libne Dingel had assumed the
throne as a young boy with his mother, Queen Eleni, as Reagent and
Caretaker of government. His army, we are told, used to spear
Mount
Bokan
near Dukem, begging and praying for war. He never saw Wohni Amba,
and had a poor grasp of his own history or tradition. This, some
historians say, was the main reason why he lost his throne to
Ahmed Gragn, who defeated him, chased him, and besieged him for
several years on Mount Debre Damo, in Tigray, until his death by
thirst and hunger.......
The
Tigre Question March,
20 2008
By
Teodros Kiros (Ph.D)-There is a
serious problem of stereotyping with grave consequences, which we
Ethiopians must correct, if we wish the motherland well. That not
all Tigreans are beneficiaries of the wealth, the power and the
connections that the regime in power has amassed for the members
of its inner circle, some of whom happen to be Tigrean-Ethiopians.
That is the first fundamental truth that we must own, that we must
keep mind, when we meet Tigreans. That some of these Tigreans are
dirty poor; others have comfortable incomes, and very few are
conspicuously wealthy. Our scholars need to have the hard facts
and disseminate them among us, so that we can think intelligently,
factually, and truthfully. That is the fundamental feature of a
genuine Ethiopian. We need not open our mouth, until we have the
facts on our finger tips.....
Return to the
Source: Aleqa Asres Yenesew and the West. March,
15 2008- Messay
Kebede-For Asres, Westernized Ethiopians may know many  things
about the West, but they are pretty ignorant when it comes to
Ethiopia. In rejecting Ge’ez, they make themselves unable to
understand Ethiopia and to use the treasure of accumulated
knowledge to further its interests. All they can do is read
Ethiopia through the lens of alien and borrowed concepts with the
consequence that they come up with distorted notions. Far from
being the scouts of the society, renegade intellectuals carry the
viewpoint of the colonizer, and so replace real knowledge with
critical declarations. Grandfather,
1974
Collection of Ethiopian National Museum 32 x 30 cm oil on board.) Their so-called knowledge
does not emanate from their society’s history and defining
features; it is made of normative pronouncements deploring the
extent to which their society failed to develop the features of
the model society, i.e., the Western society........
ANDENET
is sparking interest among Ethiopian Readers
March,
14 2008-By
Teodros Kiros (Ph.D)-However,
given the complexities of the problem i.e. the intransigence of
the government, the ossified experiences and centrifugal
tendencies of some significant opposition groups, the not so
conducive international (security more than democracy) and
regional (surrounded by authoritarian regimes save Kenya) context,
the politics of ANDENET won’t be an easy one.
EDITORIAL: March,
13 2008-
Mourning
Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho
 We
share in the sorrow and anguish of all Iraqi Christians who are at
this moment under tremendous persecution by local fanatical Sunni
Moslem thugs and the Shiite led Government of Iraqi. We deplore,
condemn, and totally reject any form of discrimination and
persecution based on religious differences. The persecution of
Christians and other religious groups throughout the Arab World,
especially in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, and also in Iran
is the gravest under-reported violation of fundamental human
rights and of social injustice in the World for the last thirty
years.
Paulos
Faraj Rahho of Mosul. Our condolences also to the
families of Faris Gorgis Khoder, and Ramy and Samir, three of his
assistants (driver, bodyguards) who were martyred in the process
of the kidnapping of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho. Requim Eternum.
VATICAN
CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Thursday condemned the death of
the kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop in Iraq as "an act
of inhuman violence that offends the dignity of the human
being".
BARACK
OBAMA AND YE-TEBARAKETCH ETYOPIYA
March,
10 2008- Donald
Levine-'Such
concerns were central to the recent mission of General Siye Abraha
to Ethiopian communities in the United States. The message of
candidate Obama is in this vein: do not fear to talk to one
another, and see what can be done if you work together. As he
expressed the point in a talk given at Martin Luther King's old
church in Atlanta, 'We can no longer afford to build ourselves up
by tearing each other down.' If the US presidential campaign can
produce an inspiring figure like Barack Obama, who projects that
transformative vision for Ethiopians, I cannot imagine anything
more salubrious.'.......
Reconciliation
and Change are the languages of ANDENET
March,
9 2008 By
Teodros Kiros (Ph.D)-My
dear Ethiopians: there is a misconception of power within our
society. The current regime has successfully tied power or
leadership of the country with a privilege that comes with one’s
ethnicity. For a long time, Amharic and Tigrigna speaking people
of Ethiopia have been portrayed as elites who govern the country.
In fact the current regime has successfully blamed the oppression
and atrocities of the past regimes on Amharic speaking people in
general. This illusion has brainwashed some Tigreans, who have
been led to believe that Amharas are indeed the privileged enemies
of all other Ethiopians.
THE
UGLY AMERICAN
AND HIS JEWEL BOX March, 3 2008
By
Tecola W. Hagos- Tocqueville wrote, with
keen insight, about the national characteristics of Americans,
which characteristics are a far cry from that assumed by Americans
themselves. He wrote:
Americans,
in their relations with foreigners, appear impatient at the least
censure and insatiable for praise. The slimmest eulogy is
agreeable to them and the greatest is rarely enough to satisfy
them; they pester you at every moment to get you to praise them;
and if you resist their entreaties, they praise themselves. One
would say that, doubting their own merit, they want to have a
picture of it before their eyes at each instant. Their vanity is
not only greedy, it is restive and envious. It grants nothing
while demanding constantly. It is entreating and quarrelsome at
the same time.” [3]
Andenet
(Unity) and the Political Imaginary of Adwa
 by
Teodros Kiros (Ph.D)-Menelik
was a shrewd sovereign, who intuitively what he had to in order to
save
Ethiopia
from foreign aggression. In
the language of MAAT, the African female principle of governance
through political goodness informed by compassion and uprightness,
the Emperor managed to control his ego and engage his former
rivals and enemies and invited them to join him to overcome a
deadly enemy. He appealed to the people for help, for
understanding, and the people joined him to do the work.
The Emperor himself internalized reconciliatory comportment
and put himself in the mood of work guided by
Ethiopia
’s common good. It is precisely this kind of shrewdness that the
prevailing Sovereign in
Ethiopia
is desperately lacking. The prevailing is intent on rejecting
reconciliation and intent on doing everything by Orwellian
political cruelty and a short-lived arrogance that would one come
to haunt it.
 ANDENET
(UNITY)
by
Teodros Kiros (PhD)-The
hurt and the divisions are so deep that only time can heal us all,
so that we can all willingly live as a united people of a historic
nation- drinking from the fountains of Ethiopiawinet mediated by
ANDENET. So understood ANDENET for now is only an ideal, but once
the wounds of NE are healed, ANDENET can be a realizable idea.
Ethiopiawinet, as I understand it, would have to be grounded on
Andenet, for the idea to function as a vital force that can unite
the Ethiopian people, who remain profoundly divided by negative
ethnicity.......
Editorial:
February 16, 2008
Continuation of Diplomatic and Economic Disaster in Ethiopia
By Tecola W. Hagos- If the Eritrean Government moves into the area
 that the Commission had identified on paper and later has asserted that it constituted as the “virtual demarcation” of the boundary, Meles will only protest to the United Nations Security Council, and the Eritrean Government will counter by claiming that it violated no Ethiopian boundary but only is occupying what the Commission has
Larger
Map
designated as Eritrean territory. The Security Council will be hard pressed in accepting that claim by the Eritrean Government since to do otherwise will be contradicting itself. The maximum reaction by the Security Council might be a very mild censor of the Eritrean Government on protocol (procedure) that it should have waited for a formal diplomatic note rather than marching on its own. Thus, Meles would have once more completed his diabolical mission against Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people. This is very serious challenge to the Sovereignty and territorial integrity of
Ethiopia.......
For
those who do not approve the arrival of Siye Abraha:
Thinking
the Unthinkable
February
15, 2008
B y
Sabataa Dubbii-Are
you ready to think unthinkable? What if the current army as a
whole may be supporting what had been argued by Siye group prior
to 1998 war between Ethiopia and Eriteria? I believe the situation
in all its forms and continents in Eritrea could have angered the
armed forces for the last decades; what is your reason that Siye
could not play a central role in bringing in such a boiling energy
into action if he becomes a formidable force against Meles Zenawi?
Meles Zenawi and his government does not wish any confrontations
with Eritrea as it has been demonstrated in Tunis at a round
table. Meles might have been negotiating with Eritrea to remain in
power by burying the central issues of democracy with war cries
from Jubilee Palace.....
Why
I write? February
15, 2008
By
Teodros Kiros (Ph.D)-I
enjoy writing from the margins, where there is so much pain, so
much abuse, and yet, as long as my words flow from the depth of my
heart, and are monitored by the Transcendent, and the writing is
right and beautiful, I will have obtained a sense of fulfillment
which money cannot buy. My recent writings on Seeye are motivated
by a single idea, and that is, at this particular moment in time,
Seeye, the reconciler, the insider, who has decided to tell it all
by risking his life, and correct the mistakes that the party that
he and the other members of Woyane made, will save Ethiopia from
the path of destruction. Seeye is a symbol of change, of a new
beginning, of a new rendezvous with Ethiopian history.
Saudis
to execute woman for 'witchcraft 'Human rights group appeals to
Saudi king to stop execution
The
Associated Press-Human Rights
Watch's statement came a day after Yakin Erturk, the U.N. special
investigator for violence against women, wrapped up a 10-day visit
to Saudi Arabia during which she highlighted another controversial
case that has attracted international criticism.....
Mr.
Seeye Abraha deserves a better treatment other than Surveillance.
By Teodros Kiros (PhD) February
12, 2008
The
Ethiopian regime in power continues to persuade the western world
that it is a democratic government, which is honoring human
rights, thereby protesting against the passing of HR 2003, the
sharp edged blade, which is aiming at shaming the regime and
exposing its undemocratic ways...
Seeye
Abraha in Virtual House Arrest
February 12, 2008
Chairman of the Human
Rights advocate of the horn of Africa
By Desta Hagos-We have received evidence that Ato Seeye
Abraha, a 
bridge to democracy in Ethiopia, appears to be under house
arrest. We have come to this conclusion because government personnel have
taken it upon themselves to screen individuals who come to visit him. Upon
his return from a successful visit to America, where he met with Senators,
Congressmen and other citizens, to tell them about human rights abuse in
Ethiopia, from his own personal experience, visitors to his home have been
intimidated at his front gate...
NES
COMMENTARY. No.15
Mammo
Muchie-
 There
is a pervasive and corrosive phenomenon characterized by the
gratuitous trading of insults that we believe has been
disorientating the Ethiopian opposition lately. Though the
opposition is passing through a difficult phase at the moment and
life has not been certainly easy, it is clear that it remains
(whether it acts fragmented or in a composite fashion!) still
strong having entered a state of reflection to find insights with
new and invigorated foresight to make realignments that can work
better than the alliances that seem to have unraveled with so much
public and open hostilities.
Security
Council extends UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
Un
News Center 01/30/2008
In
a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council called on the two
sides to “show maximum restraint and refrain from any threat or
use of force against each other, avoid provocative military
activities and put an end to the exchange of hostile
statements.”
The 15-member body also emphasized that
“Eritrea and Ethiopia bear the primary responsibility for
achieving a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the border
dispute and normalizing their relations.”
New
revelations about Eiraeiro [Eritrea] prison camp - “The
journalist Seyoum Tsehaye is in cell No. 10 of block A01”
"Independent
journalist Seyoum Tsehaye, the most recent winner of the Reporters
Without Borders - Fondation de France press freedom prize, is
still alive and is being held in a secret prison camp called 'Eiraeiro,'
located near the village of Gahtelay in a mountainous desert
region north of the Asmara-Massawa road. Seyoum is in cell No. 10
of block A01, which is reserved for the most sensitive political
prisoners. Reporters Without Borders learned this and other
details this month from an Eritrean who has had access to the
prison, where many political leaders are held. The source must
remain anonymous for his protection."
Meseret
Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba:
ETHIOPIA'S
GREAT DAUGHTERS: CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!
Meseret
Defar, Ethiopia's great and World champion won the women's
two-mile run of the Boston Indoors on Saturday, January 26, 2008,
in Boston breaking her own record. Tirunesh Dibaba, another
Ethiopia's great and World champion, won the women's 3,000 during
the Boston Indoors, Saturday, January 26, 2008, in Boston.
The
Beauty of Faith : The Most Beautiful Cross in the World - The Lalibela Ethiopian Cross
By
Tecola W. Hagos-One may
generalize that the genius of the Ethiopian
artists who created the Lalibela Cross is not limited to their 
great structural abstraction, but also extends to their absolute
control of the religious symbolism integrated in the cross from
overwhelming the over all design. There is absolute balance
between each part of the Lalibela Cross. In fact, the Cross seems
to be contained by far more profound and subtle narrative just
touching the subconscious represented in the general matrix of the
artifact. However, one should not forget the fact that the
Lalibela Cross is an item of devotion, thus essentially
utilitarian. Is that not what religion is supposed to be?
...
Siye
Abraha's
Groundbreaking Tour of the United States
Laeke
Gebresadik
January 26, 2008
Demolishing ethnic barriers-, Siye
spoke eloquently, nothing like a slick politician trying to
dissipate the lingering question on his role as a former official
of the EPRDF. I found it quite a treat to listen to a very sincere
man who put such a difficult and complex mission before any
political agenda. He was able to engage his audience with his most
important mission of demolishing the ethnic walls that, no doubt,
Ethiopians themselves helped the EPRDF build around them. After
all, Siye did not go to the EPRDF and plead to do away with its
divisive ethnic policies. Instead, he came to ordinary Ethiopians
and challenged them to do it themselves as the first step for
dialogue and nation building.
...
Ethiopianity
January
26, 2008
Teodros Kiros (Ph.D)-The modern Ethiopian state is composed of this classical idea, Ethiopianity. Ethnic rivalries are increasingly denuding us of our rich history. Our Ethiopianity is too splendid to be watered down by a one hundred years history of self-determination, a tool of dividing the nation into ever hostile language and ethnic groups.
Ethiopianity is to clean our hearts and unapologetically express our differences and similarities as Ethiopians born to different practices born out of culture blended with customs. The new topic of Ethiopianity must pay close attention to the reconciliation and change that Mr. Seeye Abraha is calling from the depth of his heart, without
motives......
Unveiling
the Anatomy of Desperation January
26, 2008
Teodros
Kiros (PhD)
-By
using reason in concert with will and conscience Ethiopians
recently filled the corridors of gatherings in Boston, DC, Denver
and Seattle, and they responded to Seeye’s message with a
resounding yes, and proceeded to begin organizing civic
associations and salons of discussion wherever and whenever they
can. These actions
have frightened the regime, and it is sending its handlers to
attack writers with the cheapest means at its fingertips. Needless
to say the abuse have not stopped the abused writers from the use
of the of the silent power of the pen, thanks to the mighty
Lord.
...
Haile Gebrselassie ran the marathon in two hours four minutes and 53 seconds.
Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie has won the Dubai Marathon and the winner's purse of one million dollars, although he failed to beat the world record time he set in Berlin.
1. Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) 2:04:53
2. Isaac Macharia (KEN) 2:07:16
3. Sammi Korir (KEN) 2:08:01
Women:
1. Birhane Adere (ETH) 2:22:42
2. BMC Ezun Unefh (ETH) 2:23:09
3. Tafa Askale (ETH) 2:23:23
ILLUSIVE
PEACE IN EAST AFRICA: MUHAMMAD MEGALOMMATIS
ADVOCATES GENOCIDE AGAINST
ETHIOPIANS!
[ Paper
Submitted for the Emergency Meeting, Afrikan Unity of Harlem, Inc,
19
January 2008]
By
Tecola W. Hagos- The type of
attack that Megalommatis
is waging against Ethiopia can be identified as a variation of the
old form of “divide and rule” tactics used by both earlier
colonizers and the present day neocolonialists. The effort of
Megalommatis against “Amharas and Tigrays”
who make up the majority of the diverse
people of Ethiopia is far worse than anything seen on the African
Continent, except the Rwandan and Darfur Genocide. Megalommatis
is not even an Egyptian, but a mercenary of Greek nationality (by
his own admission) and yet he is advocating of the elimination of
close to forty million Ethiopians. One thing is obvious that such
individuals if left unchallenged would sow the seed of strife
among the many people of Africa. ...
SEYE ABRAHA: MYTH AND
REALITY
 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
Almaz
Mequanint-We
need to fight and address to the Ethiopian Environmental
protection authorities for the adoption and implementation of
appropriate, ecologically sound, and socially equitable policies
to satisfy our needs for such necessities as water, health, food,
education and information to our society. Let’s make a
difference which will transform the lives of so many victims in
Wonji, Wonji/Shoa & Metehara.
Editor’s
Note: This is a belated posting on the subject of the
Ethiopian Millennium Celebration. The reason for posting it is to
bring to our readers and visitors a different and interesting
perspective, not so much on the celebration but on the evaluation
offered by Paul Henze (an expert on Ethiopia and a long time
friend of Ethiopians) on both questions of economic and political
development underway in Ethiopia since 1991.Having said all that,
I believe that on one important fact Henze should be highly
commended for his reservation on the 2000 Algiers Agreement, which
makes him a “brother” to me and all fair minded Ethiopians. At
any rate, this is a piece worth reading. Tecola
W. Hagos.
ETHIOPIAN
MILLENNIUM:
Trip
Report
By
Paul Henze-The
excitement of Millennium celebrations did not obscure the serious
problems Ethiopia faces in Somalia and with Eritrea.
The two have actually become linked, for Isaias Afewerki
has been trying to combine Somali Islamists with anti-EPRDF
groups, such as the Oromo Liberation Front, to build an
anti-Ethiopian alliance under his control.
ETHIOPIA
IS BEING CIRCLED BY ITS ENEMIES:
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.........
SETTING
THE RECORD RIGHT: December
26, 2007
ALMAZ
MEQUANENT AND FLUORIDE POISONING
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
Editorial:
Honoring Almaz Mequanent, a Great Ethiopian Lady
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.
Ethiopian
groups in Israel to rally against 'apartheid'
Dec
11, 2007
Ruth
Eglash, THE
JERUSALEM POST
 A
wide cross-section of Ethiopian groups is planning to protest
Wednesday in Petah Tikva against what is sees as a policy of apartheid
adopted by the education system specifically and Israeli society
in general. The demonstration, which is set to kick off at 10 a.m.
opposite the town’s municipal building, is to express the
community’s anger over the revelation last week that a Petah
Tikva school had been keeping four Ethiopian second-grade pupils
separate from the rest of the student body. “This phenomenon of
apartheid by the education system should be a cause of concern to
all the Israeli public and not just the Ethiopian community,”
commented Avraham Neguise, head of a coalition of Ethiopian groups
in Israel.
“As Jews, we moved here to be part of Israeli society and not to
be kept separate. ”Among those expected to participate in the
rally are Ethiopian community spiritual leaders, heads of
community welfare organizations, students, Knesset Members and any
one who believes in justice, wrote Neguise in a statement. Ethiopian
children hold sign reading: "There is no hope for Ethiopians
in Petah Tikva." Photo: Benny Voodo
THE CONCEPT OF FORGIVENESS: A CHALLENGE TO A JUST SOCIETY
By Tecola W. Hagos- December 4, 2007
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 waves.
This is easier said than done, for I too in the past have written
essays overlooking some of the virtues of some leaders.........
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..
....
Wherein
the law is enforced by the art of brinkmanship, injustice reins
free
Tafere
Hailemariam,
When faced with
challenging issues, they dread it and their resentment kicks in to
high gear resorting to threats and bassets not realizing the fact
that cyber hectoring does not bear practical jurisdiction outside
Ethiopia. Constructive criticism and talking about the need for
reform is not of a good test to our statesmen; which is a clear
signal that the regime is steadily drifting into a Sultanate style
absolute monarchy, that of Brunei where opposing voices are
considered taboo.
.
Full
Text
EDITORIAL:
Meles Zenawi, Dump the 2000 Algiers Agreement, and Void the
Boundary Commission and Its Decision...
SUMMARY
- EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL:
Meles Zenawi, Dump the 2000 Algiers Agreement, and Void the
Boundary Commission and Its Decision...
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 |
is
giving us alternative views and approaches: a challenge to
opposition parties and the EPRDF on how to achieve a democratic
Ethiopia through peaceful political processes. He introduced a set
of analytical tools and frameworks that show how to navigate on
the unchartered and risky political sea of our Ethiopia. He laid
the basis of a modern political process through reconciliation and
understanding of our political and cultural diversity.
The Horn of Africa is not just a locus of modern-day piracy. It is the keystone in a geostrategic arch where the interests of Ethiopia and her neighbors, including Somalia and Sudan, and all the major world powers, come together. This informative and authoritative study, the first of its kind by an Ethiopian scholar, presents the history of diplomatic relations and shifting alliances between the United States and Ethiopia in the context of Cold War politics, the role of the Ethiopian Jews (Bete Israel), and the role of Ethiopian diaspora in the West.