Sunday, September 30, 2012

Hailemariam Desalegn parroting dead tyrant By Abebe Gellaw


Hailemariam Desalegn’s recent interview with Peter Heinlein of VOA confirms that his rise to the helm of power can be largely attributed to his opportunistic imitation of how the late dictator talked and walked as well as his commitment to serving TPLF bigwigs that control him as their Trojan horse.
Hailemariam called political prisoners such as famed journalist Enskinder Nega and Andualem Aragie “terrorists” that wear two hats operating legally and illegally as operatives of terrorist organizations. He claimed that protecting the country from these kinds of people is a national priority.
He defended the anti-terrorism law and the unjust incarceration of journalists and dissidents. According to Hailemariam, the regime is punishing only those who wear two hats and operate legally as journalists and dissidents and illegally as operatives of terrorist and violent organizations.
His convoluted, repetitive and at times unintelligent answer to a simple question why the government resorts to repression and blocking the free flow of information, Hailemariam did his best to use his dead boss’s [that he calls the “Great Leader”] words and catch phrases such as “crossing the red line and wearing two hats”.
In response to how he views the dominance of the TPLF that ruled the country in exclusion of the others, he made his best to please his TPLF bosses by denying the obvious and saying that EPRDF is composed of four “parties” that have equal share of power. According to Hailemariam, his election as Prime Minister is a “living witness” of the “internal democracy and equity” within the EPRDF.
“For those who say that EPRDF is biased to certain ethnic groups, is a false and unwarranted speculation… Internal party democracy is the basis of our strength,” he claimed in an interview punctuated with numerous factual [and grammatical] errors.
Asked why websites and other media outlets are being blocked, Hailemariam said that even in the United States Osama Bin Laden’s blo is not allowed. “You cannot open a blog of Osama Bin Laden in the United States. So it is the same,” he said.
—-
Following are excerpts from the VOA interview where Hailemariam tried to answer a couple of fundamental questions confronting him:
Peter Heinlein: One of the first things that Ethiopians notice about the change from Prime Minister Meles to you is that you are not part of a minority group and the armed struggle perceived as having ruled the country to the exclusion of the other larger ethnic groups. Can you say that the Tigrayan influence on Ethiopian politics is in decline? How do you answer to skeptics who say that the TPLF is still in control behind the scene?
HMD: Well, first of all, if you want to understand the whole situation you have to understand our party. Our party is a coalition of four major parties in the country… These are the four coalitions [sic] of the EPRDF.
EPRDF was initially been [sic] established by the two parties which has been [sic] in armed struggle in the Northern part of Ethiopia. TPLF was the pioneer of this struggle and so later on joined by the Amhara National Democratic Movement [sic] and then against by the OPDO and finally after the overthrow of Derg the Southern Ethiopian Peoples Democratic Movement has joined EPRDF….
After the renewal process, since the last ten years [sic] the renewal process has brought up a new, I mean, refined strategy and policy in line of the party. So in this regard, all the parties has [sic] gone into a new movement and has [sic] become parties which has [sic] embraced the same line, the same experience, I mean, the same way of working within the internal party system and almost equitable way of engagement. Even if there are natural differences with experience everywhere…
So I think all the four parties has [sic] equal settings in all the EPRDF mechanisms like the council, the party congress, assignments. The witness is I am the product of this process. So it is a living witness. For those who speculate that EPRDF is biased towards certain groups or ethnic groups, it is based on the powerful influence of this or the other group is a false and unwarranted speculation. So we see internally, in our party system the first and foremost thing is a democratic discourse. You know, internal party democracy is the basis of our strength. So those who are thinking from outside, they think without knowing the inside of the party. We have to explain this properly to those who are confused because they don’t understand the party mechanism and how the party operates.
This party is internally a democratic party. All its decisions and engagements are made in a democratic fashion. Therefore, you cannot say that this or the other party is influencing or overriding the other parties because all the all parties are equal number of constituents, I mean, individuals, that constitute the EPRDF and they have all the influence necessary if they want in a democratic process…
Peter Heinlein: Ethiopia has been criticized in some quarters for its tight control over the flow of information. Critical newspapers have been forced to close, journalists have been accused of violating anti-terrorism laws, and websites have been blocked, even VOA has been jammed, foreign broadcasts have been jammed. What would your government do particularly in this high profile cases such as that of the newspaper Fiteh that has been closed and the jailing of very critical blogger-journalist Eskinder Nega?
HMD: I know that these are your friends and you are so much sympathetic about them. The only thing is, Peter, you have to understand that anybody who has two hats should stop to wear two hats and should wear only one hat in a possible way. These two hats are one hat in a legal system, legal operating on the other hand having the other hat, which is illegal and violent working with a violent organization.
People who are arrested in Ethiopia are not arrested or convicted because they are working in a legal manner. Those who are arrested are has a connection with violent organizations. They are not convicted because of their journalistic business. It is allowed, you know have been there, you have been operating there but you couldn’t cross the red line ahhh to have a connection supporting a violent organization, terrorist organization. That is a case and I think it is a national security matter. It is a different thing. It is not journalism; it is not opposition.
Opposition doesn’t operate in illegal and violent manner connecting itself with ahhh, by the way, with terrorist groups. These are individuals not parties. We have never convicted any party because we know that those legally registered can operate legally in the country. But individuals who are registered with these parties but having two registration, one registration legal parties the other registration with illegal and violent terrorist parties.
They will be convicted for not legally hat but for the other hat which is illegal, violent and connection with terrorist organizations. So we have to differentiate between the two. If they stop clearly, unequivocally without any hesitation to work on the legal spectrum it is always the room is there [sic], the place is there.
If they mix the two, then we delineate between the legal one and the illegal, violent, terrorist one and for the action which is the second hat the violent and terrorist connection and support. Then that will be convicted according to the law of the land and will be punishable. I think these differences should be understood for you. In the United States it is not a problem because journalists do not go illegal way.
They go for legal and they have only got one hat. They do not have a mixed hat. So that is the difference between here and in Ethiopia. Unusually the Western countries do not understand the mix because they do not have this problem. They just see that all journalists work in legal manner. They don’t have this problem of illegal and the other hat. So that difference is sometimes confused. As far as we are concerned we focus for [sic] our national security interest.
Our national security interest cannot be compromised somebody having a two hat. We want to tell them properly that they have to have only and only one hat, which is legal and the legal way of doing things between journalism and opposition discourse. But if they opt to have two mixed functions then we are very clear to differentiate the two. People should be questioned for illegal and violent terrorist connection.
Peter Heinlein: What would be your government’s position on may be possibly opening up a little bit on the issue of press freedom. Right now websites are blocked, foreign broadcasts jammed and newspapers are being closed.
HMD: This I think should be very clear that my government has no policy of blocking these issues. It is depending on the websites or whatever that comes in. If there is any connection with these kind of organisations it is obvious that is done in every country. You cannot open a blog of Osama Bin Laden in the United States. So it is the same.

ESAT TPLF Suporter with ESAT & Public reaction September 2012 Ethiopia


Friday, September 28, 2012

Ethiopia: Galvanization


by Antehunegn Yihenew
26 September, 2012
Whether we like it or not, one thing is clear in Ethiopia now; the most tyrant ruler, Meles Zenawi, is gone for good andA wailing Ethiopian Mother during 2005 election Hailemariam Desalegn from south Ethiopia is assigned new Prime Minster of Ethiopia. The process is accepted half heartedly by Tigrian people’s liberation front (TPLF) and its supporters. Because, even though they knew that the change doesn’t create any problem on their day to day life, they believed that, this position was blessed only for them. Whatever, there are rumors of disagreement on the subject matter among them, for the time being, the game seems be over.
Hailemariam Desalrgn himself and the swearing process get a very warm approval from West governments including America. And they are saying that the transition is good indication of grown Democracy in the country, Ethiopia is going in the right track, and the new generation takes over the leadership position…and so on.
The transition by itself may be good, but the paradox begins when we saw and heard what is going on in Ethiopia now. The nonstop interviews and their trash messages of TPLF prominent leader Sebihat Nega, “The king maker”, and Tigray region president in the last few weeks thought us that, they are still controlling the whole thing. And the new PM magnified to keep and continue the late tyrant Meles Zenawi’s legacy without any change on his speech when he was sworn in reveals also, TPLFs are not changed and they are still in different from what the West are saying and were thinking about TPLF. If we see the consequence of the change even deeper on the eye of Ethiopians, it is obvious that it will become more complicated than ever. We Ethiopians need to have real democracy, freedom and rule of law. The West prefers to secure their interest in Ethiopia and around East Africa than democracy and rule of law. And Woyane’s were playing and want just to oscillate in between.
For instance, Ethiopians require multidirectional talk among different political parties including Woyane and reach agreement before we go on. But Woyane’s top priority is securing their power and West’s interest than talking with its own people and instead, showing galvanized democracy for the West. And they are confirming this using their media and through their well-known leader’s interview in the previous weeks. In relation to The West, if and only if their interest is protected, they will continue accepting the new as they were accepting the old. Because, Ethiopians were not, are not and can’t be their priority. Who cared for innocent Ethiopians then?
We Ethiopians have to care for Ethiopians. We are voices for the voiceless, so we have to disclose Woyane’s tricks. Along with this, we have to struggle to shift West’s main concern to the interest of the people of Ethiopia (which are creating real justice, freedom and democracy in Ethiopia) by using any possible ways and we have to expose the main message of this and similar changes in the future as much as possible.
What was the message of swearing Mr. Hailemariam as PM of Ethiopia? Woyane’s were trying to dispatch that they are in the process of transferring power. This was the main point of this change. And this was the message that makes the West happy, because Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn and Vice Prime Minster Demeke Mekonnen are both from the new generation. And also, the former is from the small ethnic group Wolayita and Protestant and the latter is Muslim.
But do they have the real authority and can they exercise it with free mind without direct or indirect influences from TPLF? I can really say that, they can’t have and can’t exercise their authority. They are like lions without teeth. Because our life experience in the last twenty one year’s thought us that TPLF leads others follow. In any area of the country, in any position and in any situation, what was approved by TPLF was performed, not by the interest of respective region governments or Ethiopians. And this will continue till TPLF taken out from the game.
Therefore, we didn’t see real changes. It is like as before, all the economic sectors, defense, national security and federal police are still tightly controlled by TPLF. Even civil service offices are totally controlled by TPLF. They are not ready to share real power. This is proved when they upgrade Brigadier Generals and Major Generals weeks ago to further tighten suppression. Most of these Generals were from the same village and from TPLF. Members of Hailemariam’s new cabinet also will not be free from such influences. We will see it in the coming weeks.
What the West called Change, basically it is not, is therefore, can’t be taken as one of democratization process in Ethiopia rather it is galvanization. What we are seeing in Ethiopia now is galvanized democracy. It is not transferring power rather filling their gaps in their own way. Their way is simply presenting the old thought with a new face. Thank you

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Ethiopia: Internal feud dismantling EPRDF


by Robele Ababya, 26 Sep 2012
Lesson from the demise of the USSR
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was in charge of KGB before he became President of the defunct Union of the SovietThe powerhouse of EPRDF built according to Stalin’s design Socialist Republics (USSR) and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) on 12 November 1982 following the death of Leonid Brezhnev whose era (1964 – 1982) of economic growth nearly came to a standstill due to lack of reforms. His successor Andropov was reported as saying that comrades candidly backbite the shortcomings of CPSU without fear as long as their number is not more than two but otherwise compete in glorifying the Party unanimously in official meetings comprising more than two participants. Is it not true?!
Andropov died on 09 February 1984 after only 15 months in office and the moment of truth came up when internal feud crushed and dismantled the monolithic Central Communist Party and mammoth clumsy government state machinery under the omnipresent tight control of the Party. This is in sharp contrast to cases in a democratic society where individuals are free to voice their free opinion without fear and changes of regimes take place in orderly manner through the verdict of the people casting their votes at the polls.
As a copycat of the Brezhnev era and Stalin-style grip on power, ultimate demise of the exclusive misrule Zenawi’s was never in doubt just like that of his predecessor Mengistu Hailemariam who was advised by Brezhnev himself to follow a policy of mixed economy to be implemented by an inclusive government with broad base.
The powerhouse of EPRDF built according to Stalin’s design is replete with mistrust instilled in it by its architect the late pathological liar. Therefore it would be naïve to expect the new Prime Minister (PM) as an accomplice to the heinous crimes of his former boss to denounce in his acceptance speech the destructive policy of the EPRDF of which he was one of the architects. He didn’t even mention God in taking oath of office.
Champions of liberty freedom and human dignity
The following fall in the category of outstanding individuals,  with vision and exceptional acumen of great leaders rallying others with similar vision for the purpose of ending tyranny:-
1.            Abraham Lincoln: One of the greatest statesmen in the world known for gallantly leading his divided nation locked in a bloody civil war that culminated in the abolition of slavery in the United States of America. From his famous Gettysburg Address commemorating fallen heroes we often quote:  “… that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. He underscored the bedrock principle according to which the USA was founded, thus: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Note: Quotes are from the famous President’s Address made on 19 November 1863 (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania).
2.            Emperor Menilik II: The victor of the famous Battle of Adwa that beacon of hope of the black people in the Diaspora; a truly beloved Great Leader of His people that dubbed Him Immye Menilik (Mother Menilik). Adwa is our hallowed ground where Ethiopians from all corners converged to defend their liberty by paying incalculable sacrifice in human life, spilt blood, and material resources. The Emperor was a magnanimous great leader who had elevated His captives in the battle fields to enviable top positions in His cabinet.
3.            Mahatma Gandhi: Mahatma means “Great Soul”- an accolade given by the people to the Founder of the Indian Nation, the largest democracy in the world. Gandhi developed a method of direct social action based upon the principles courage, nonviolence and truth called Satyagraha. He believed that the way people behave is more important than what they achieve. Satyagraha promoted nonviolence and civil disobedience as the most appropriate methods for obtaining political and social goals. Among the tributes to Gandhi upon his death were these words by the great physicist, Albert Einstein: “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood”. For the purpose of my writing this piece, I would like to add this quote by Gandhi: “Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men. “
4.             .Martin Luther King: Supreme champion of human rights who gave his life in the struggle for those rights. Here is one of his scores of quotes I chose for my purpose: “Now, I say to you today my friends, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: – ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’.”
Nelson Mandela: The only celebrated Statesman of our time who had sacrificed his life for 27 years in prison during the Apartheid era to which he put an end and set up Truth, Peace and Reconciliation Commission to bury the past and lay the foundation for building the Rainbow democratic nation of South Africa.
I should be quick to add that the distinguished exceptional leadership of President Lincoln and Martin Luther King laid the foundation for the minority black people of the USA to hold positions of political power progressively culminating in Mr. Barrack Hussein Obama as the first black African-American. This is a highly commendable act of elevating merit above the ethnic origin, color or creed in electing individuals to high office.
Lincoln, Menilik II, Gandhi, and King dedicated themselves to the noble cause of either fighting aggressors or violators of fundamental human rights so that our common humanity shall be the centerpiece of a democratic and caring society without discrimination based on ethnic origin, creed, gender or political belief. Individual merit should be the sole criterion in public service as was vividly expressed in the Tenesa Teramed (Stand up and stride) rallying song that became popular in the aftermath of the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution. So it matters not to me where the new PM originated from.
Those among the above who held the reigns of political power at the helm did nothing to enrich individuals of their ethnic background because merit was their only yardstick in appointing individuals to higher positions. None are tainted with corruption or abuse of power. All of them fit the template of “Great Leaders” or “Great Statesmen”! Such accolades are validated after a long time and emerge from the masses expressed in various ways such as in poems, music, paintings, folk songs et al – as well as from the chronicles of historians and writings of scholars.
But Zenawi was a cruel despot who tried hard to “make dictatorship work; he is the antithesis of the above supremely stalwart leaders. It is almost certain that Bereket Simon and the EPRDF Party Secretary prepared the acceptance speech in which the accolade of ‘Great Leader’ was inscribed five times and asked the poor new PM to read it. The speech went as far as exalting the tyrant as a leader who cared about the poor of the world. That is how the Stalinist system works!
Giving time to the new PM?
The new PM vowed to retain the legacy of his former boss intact undiminished. One wonders whether it was really out of his own free volition or under duress that he made his acceptance speech given the repugnant legacy left behind by Zenawi, to wit: sellout of Ethiopia’s vital national interests such as active support for the separation of Eritrea; grisly heinous crimes including genocide, victims of torture, incarceration of peaceful protesters en masse; extra judiciary execution of peaceful protesters, the wailing of mothers, the agony of bereaved families, filthy jails in which hundreds of political prisoners are cruelly kept, toiling peasants in serfdom, interethnic hatred, dangerous interference with Orthodox Christian and Muslim religious affairs in violation of the constitution; daylight robbery of votes, pervasive corrupt practices, culture of pathological lies, demised free media, government monopoly of all pillars of democracy, blocked freedom of expression, poor educational standard, forbidden academic freedom in tertiary institutions, a land-locked country, fertile farmland ceded to the Sudan; leasing large chunks of fertile farmlands to unscrupulous foreign investors at tiny price; massive unemployment largely affecting the youth; demoralized youth addicted to psycho-thermal drugs; abject poverty; rampant unemployment; environmental disaster; rampant breach of the constitution; regional instability et al.
Given that the new PM did not make any concession for relaxing the Stalinist policy of the late dictator Zenawi, I oppose the costly traditional “wait and see attitude” and subscribe to the old adage of beating the iron while it is hot. In support of my contention, I provide this quotation by Martin Luther King, which directly applies to the current messy Ethiopian political environment: “This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood”.
Conclusion
The cancerous legacy inherited from tyrant Zenawi that, among other of its atrocious components, relegates Ethiopians to live in divisive ethnic cocoons, and which his successor has vowed to implement, must be categorically rejected. The Amara and Oromo ethnic groups, previously earmarked by Fascist Italy and subsequently by TPLF regime for political extinction, should join forces in self-defense.
This is not the time to relax the struggle against the repressive EPRDF regime particularly when it is engaged in internal feud of the type that dismantled the former USSR and its monolithic CPSU; it is not the time to give it respite at this time when Andualem Aragie, Eskinder Nega, Reyot Alemu, et al are in prison in the face of the vow of the new PM to carry forward the policy of his former boss undiminished.
Four decades of creeping change to democracy has already resulted in incalculable cost in terms of human lives, human sufferings, and wastage of natural resources. The time is now for the Ethiopian people, all opposition forces and civic organizations to deal a heavy blow to the EPRDF while it is in disarray – at this time of internal feud and mistrust is dismantling it. Give no respite to a repressive regime while political prisoners languish in filthy jails and Ethiopia is on the verge of falling apart!
The Almighty God has done His part; he is not going to interfere in the remaining works that we can do in unison as Ethiopians for our own freedom, liberty, dignity, democracy and prosperity.
The legitimate Muslim-Christian joint demand for religious freedom should translate into nationwide peaceful civil disobedience for the sake of securing all liberties enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
President Obama should, in the best longtime interest of his country, reject the EPRDF policy in favor of change to democratic dispensation in Ethiopia that would be a reliable ally in terms of her strategic location particularly at this time of souring relations with Egypt and the Arab world and the rising global political ambition of China. Christianity, Judaism and Islam have lived in relative harmony for centuries in Ethiopia.
LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA!!!

ESAT DC Daily News 27 August 2012 Ethiopia


Monday, September 24, 2012

Dr. Berhanu Nega: What is the “ecstatic hope” behind Hailemariam’s new leadership? (Video)



Dr.Berhanu Nega, leader of Ginbot 7 (Photo-Awramba Times)
Awramba Times (Washington DC) – Ethiopia swears in new prime minister after 21 years. Is the newly elected Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn a messenger of ecstatic hope? Dr. Berhanu Nega, Chairman of Ginbot 7 Movement responds. Click here to watch

Sunday, September 23, 2012

“መለስ የቆፈሩት ጉድጓድ…”



ጎልጉል ፦ የጠ/ሚኒስትር መለስ መታመም ድንገተኛ ነው የሚሉ አሉ፤ አሟሟታቸውም ድንገት ነው የሚሉ አሉ፤ በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ አጋጣሚው መልካም እንደሆነ የሚጠቁሙ አሉ አንተ ከየትኛው ወገን ነህ?
መልስ፦ ቅድሚያ አቶ መለስ ድንገት አልታመሙም። በሽታቸው የቆየ እንደሆነ ይታወቃል። ምስጢርም አይደለም። ለዚሁ እኮ ነው ቤተ መንግስት ውስጥ በአዋጅ የተፈቀደላቸውን ቤት አሰርተው በቅርብ ርቀት እየተቆጣጠሩ ለመኖር ቅድመ ዝግጅት ሲያደርጉ የነበረው። በዚህ ቢስተካከል ለማለት ነው። መለስ ለኢህአዴግ አጋር ድርጅቶች ሁሉ የጋራ ነጠብ ናቸው። በድልድይም ይመሰላሉ። በኢህአዴግ አባል ድርጅቶች፣ በተለይም ዋናዎቹ አራት ፓርቲዎች በውስጣቸው የያዙት 21 ዓመትና ከዚያም በላይ የታመቀ ቁርሾ አለ። የመለስ ማለፍ በየድርጅቱ ታፍኖ የኖረውን ቁርሾ ማፈንዳቱ አይቀርም። ከዚህ አንጻር ሳየው የመለስ ሞት አጋጣሚው መልካም የሚሆንበት አግባብ ከምን እንደሆነ ልረዳው አልችልም።
ጎልጉል አዲስ ስርዓት ለመገንባት የሚያስችል አጋጣሚ ይሆናል ነው የሚሉት፤
መልስ፦ ምን አይነት አዲስ ስርዓት? አሁን እኮ ሁሉም ነገር “ባለበት፣ በነበረበት፣ በቀድሞው መልክ ይቀጥላል” እየተባለ ነው። እነሱም ባይናገሩ ህወሃት ወደ እርቅና ድርድር የመመለስ ፍላጎት ይኖረዋል ብዬ ለሰኮንድ አላስብም። ህወሃቶች አንገት ለአንገት ተናንቀው ትግል የሚያደርጉት ተቃዋሚ ከሌለ ብቻ ነው። ለህወሃት መኖር ፈተና የሚሆን ተቃዋሚ ካለ ህወሃቶችም ሆኑ በትግራይ ውስጥ መሰረት ያላቸው ተቃዋሚዎች ልዩነት አያሳዩም። ይህ ሳይታበል የተፈታ እውነት ነው። በ1997 ምርጫ ወቅት የታሰሩት የቅንጅት አመራሮች ሲፈቱ ደስተኛ አልነበሩም። እንዴት እንደተፈቱና ሂደቱ በህወሃት ውስጥ የፈጠረው ውዝግብ የሚረሳ አይመስለኝም። ሌላው ቀርቶ በወቅቱ የምርጫውን ውጤት ቅንጅት ማሸነፉ ሲታወቅ ህወሃት ያገለላቸው እንኳን ሳይቀሩ አንድ ላይ በመሆን አስፈላጊውን ሁሉ ለማድረግ ተማምለው ነበር። ታጥቀውም ነበር። ከዚህም በላይ…
ጎልጉልግምት አይመስልም? ምን ማስረጃ አለ? ኢትዮጵያዊ የሆኑና ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎችን ተቀላቅለው የሚሰሩ ….
መልስ፦ ላቋርጥህ፤ ኢትዮጵያዊ ቀለም የተቀቡ የህወሃት የቀድሞ ባለስልጣኖች በህወሃት ህልውና ላይ የሚፈረድበት የመጨረሻ ቀን ቢመጣ የመጀመሪያዎቹ ተቃዋሚዎች እነሱ እንደሚሆኑ እምነቴ ነው። መቃወም ብቻ አይደለም ህወሃትን ወዲያው ተቀላቅለው የህወሃትን ባንዲራ እንደሚለብሱ አልጠራጠርም። እነዚህ ሰዎች የወደፊቱ አደጋ የታያቸው ናቸው። ህወሃት ሳይቀበር፣ ኃይሉም ሳይመናመን እርቅ እንዲወርድ ግን ይፈልጋሉ። ልክ እንደ አቶ መለስ እነሱም ለክፉ ቀን ድልድይ ለመሆን ራሳቸውን ያዘጋጁ ናቸው፤
ጎልጉልአይታመኑም እያልክ ነው?
መልስ፦ ከህወሃት ባህሪ አንጻር ሁሉንም ነገር በጥንቃቄ ማየት አይከፋም። የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች የጓዳቸውን ቁልፍ እያባዙ ማንንም ሳይመርጡ ይሰጣሉ። ለማን ሰጥተው ለማን እንደሚከለክሉ አልተረዱም። ህወሃት ውስጥ ሆነው ሙሉ መረጃ የማያገኙ አጫፋሪዎች አሉ። እዚህ ደግሞ ተቃራኒ ነው። ህወሃት ለወለዳቸው አገልጋዮቹ መረጃ ይደብቃል። ተቃዋሚዎች ግን ምስጢር መደበቁ ቀርቶ በራቸውን እንኳ ገርበብ አያደርጉም።
ጎልጉልበመጠራጠር ብቻ ማግለል ትግሉን ሲጎዳ የኖረ አብይ የትግል ስህተት እንደሆነ የሚናገሩ አሉ፤
መልስ፦ እንግዲህ ይህ የኔ አስተያየት ነው። ይህንን አስተያየት ስሰጥ ተቃውሞ ሊነሳ እንደሚችል አውቃለሁ። ቅር የሚሰኙ ክፍሎችም ይኖራሉ። የ97 ምርጫ ብዙ ትምህርት የሰጠን ይመስለኛል። በፖለቲካ ቁርጠኝነት ማነስና አርቆ ማሰብ ባለመቻሉ አጋጣሚው፣ ያ አሳዛኝ የህዝብ ተነሳሽነት፣ አገሪቱን ሙሉ ያነቃነቀው የለውጥ ማዕበል መጨረሻው አንገት የሚያስደፋ ሆኗል። ከዛ ግን አሁን ድረስ መማር አልቻሉም። በወቅቱ ፍርሀት ነግሶባቸው የነበሩት ክፍሎች ያለ ልዩነት ተደራጅተው መመሪያ ይጠብቁ ነበር። ሌላው ወገን ደግሞ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ለመጥራትና ያዘዘው ሰላማዊ ተቃውሞ እንዳይደረግ እየፈራ አቋም ይቀይር ነበር። ፖለቲካኛ መሆንና አገር ወዳድ መሆን አንዳንዴ ይለያያሉ። አንድ ግምገማ ላይ እነዚህኑ ሰዎች ጥሩ አባቶች እንጂ ፖለቲከኞች አይደሉም ብለው ተርተውባቸዋል። እውነት ነው። መንግስት የሚፈራው ልደቱን ነበር። ልደቱ የገባው ፖለቲከኛ ነው። የዛሬን አያድርገው ማለቴ ነው።
ጎልጉልምን ለማድረግ ነበር የተደራጁት?
መልስ፦ ሌላ ጥያቄ የለህም?

ጎልጉልወደ ድልድዩ ምሳሌ እንመለስ፤
መልስ፦ አቶ መለስ ብቃት አላቸው በሚል በሁሉም የኢህአዴግ ፓርቲዎች ይታመናል። ስለዚህ ለሁሉም ፓርቲዎች እሳቸው የጋራ ነጥብ ናቸው። ድልድይ ናቸው። እሳቸው አመራር ላይ ከሌሉ ይህ ድልድይ ተሰበረ ማለት ነው። ድልድዩ ከተሰበረ ግንኙነት የለም ማለት ነው፡፡ኢህአዴግ የጋራ ነጠብ ከሌለው ምን ሊሆን እንደሚችል ለማወቅ ብዙ ምርምር አያስፈልግም።
ጎልጉልእስከዛሬ እኮ አብረው እየሰሩ ነው፤ ድርጅት አለ፤ መዋቅር አለ፤ ችግር የለም እያሉ ነው፤
መልስ፦ ህወሃት ከኦህዴድ ወይም ከብአዴን ወይም ከደህዴን ጋር ፊት ለፊት ተወያይቶ ወይም ባንድ ጉዳይ ላይ በጋራ ተሟግቶ አያውቅም። መለስ ናቸው መሃል ላይ ሆነው የሚያገናኙዋቸው። ግንኙነቱም የተገነባው ለመለስ ስብዕና አምኖ በመገዛትና ትዕዛዝ በመቀበል እንጂ በሌላ መልኩ አይደለም። ይህ መለስ ላይ የተቸከለ ግንኙነት በእኩል ተሰሚነትና ፖለቲካዊ ሚና ላይ ያተኮረ ስላልነበር ጤነኛ አይደለም። በዚህ መነሻ አባል ድርጅቶቹ የሎሌነት ተግባር ሲያከናውኑ ኖረዋል። ይህንን እውነት ሁሉም ወገኖች ያውቁታል። አቶ መለስም በደንብ ጠንቅቀው ያውቁታል። የድራማው ተዋናይ እሳቸው ስለሆኑ በልዩነት ውስጥ የጋራ ነጥብ ሆነው ሁሉም “መለስ ከሌለ ህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ ባዶ ነው” እያሉ 21 ዓመታት ዘልቀዋል። ህወሃቶች በአጋር ፓርቲዎች እንደማይወደዱ ስለሚያውቁ ሁሌም ዝግጁ ናቸው። ሌላው ትልቁ ነጥብ ደግሞ በእነዚህ ድርጅቶች ውስጥ ያሉት ሎሌዎች ሰው መሆናቸውና ትልቁ ፍርድ ቤት የሚባለው ህሊናቸው ላለፉት ሃያ አንድ ዓመታት በግል “ተታለሃል፣ እስከመቼ መጫወቻ ትሆናለህ” እያለ ሲሞግታቸው ነው የኖረው። ለዚህ ነው የመለስ ከስልጣን መለየት የሚያመጣው ጣጣ ቀላል የማይሆነው። አማራው ላይ የተፈጸመው፣ ኦሮሞዎች ላይ የተካሄደውና የህወሃት ሰዎች “ለመግዛት የተፈጠርን ነን” በሚል የሚያሳዩዋቸው ንቀት ቀን የሚጠብቅ ነው። በዚህ ላይ ደግሞ …
ጎልጉልበአሁኑ ሰዓት እኮ “ሰው ቢሄድ ስርአትና ተቋም ባለበት ይቀጥላል” የሚል አቋም እየተንጸባረቀ ነው ያለው፤
መልስ፦ አቶ ስብሃት (the kingmaker) ለአሜሪካ ሬዲዮ ይህንን ሲናገሩ ሰምቻለሁ። ጥያቄው ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ተቋም አለ ወይ የሚለው ነው። ተቋም የለም። ሁሉም ነገር አቶ መለስን ማዕከል ያደረገ ነው። መለስ መሞታቸው ይፋ ከሆነበት ቀን ጀምሮ የምንሰማው ምስክርነት ስለ መለስ ብቻ ነው። ባለስልጣኖችና አንጋፋ የፖለቲካው ፊታውራሪዎች ፋይዳ እንዳልነበራቸው ባደባባይ በተደጋጋሚ ባንደበታቸው እየተናገሩ ነው። ወደፊትም ይናገራሉ። አያያዛቸው የሚያቆም አይመስልም። ስለዚህ የኔ አስተያየት አያስፈልግም። የኢህአዴግ የፕሮፖጋንዳ ሰለባ የሆነው ህዝብና የበታች ካድሬ ለቅሶ ደራሽና ደረት ደቂ የሆኑት ወደው ሳይሆን በመለስ ስብእና ላይ የተመሰረተው ቅስቀሳና ትምህርት ሰለባ መሆናቸውን የሚያሳይ ነው። ለኔ ይህ ትልቅ አደጋ ነው። በብዙ መልኩ አደጋ አለ የሚባለውም ለዚህ ነው። ተቋም ቢኖር ኖሮ ምንም ስጋት የለም። ሁሉም ነገር ስርዓቱን ጠብቆ ይሄዳል። የአቶ መለስ መሞትም ስጋት ባልሆነም ነበር። ሌላው ትልቁ ስጋት አገሪቱ ውስጥ የተቋቋሙ፣ ህዝብ ላይ ንግድ ቤት የከፈቱ የስርዓቱ ውጤቶች ናቸው።…
ጎልጉልእንዴት?
መልስ፦ ባለኝ መረጃ መሰረት የኔ ስጋት እነዚህ ያለቀረጥ የሚነግዱ፣ ገንዘብ የሚያቀባብሉ፣ የገንዘብ ዝውውር ላይ የተሰማሩ፣ ድርጅት ያላቸው፣ በቅጽበት ተመንጥቀው ባለሚሊዮኖች የሆኑ፣ የባንክ ብቸኛ ተጠቃሚዎች፣ ሸቃጮችና አወራራጆች ከትንሽ እስከትልቅ ስራውን የሚሰሩት ከባለስልጣናት ጋር ነው። ከመከላከያ አመራሮች ጋር ነው። ከደህንነትና ከዋናው የስልጣን እርከን ጋር በመመሳጠር ነው። እነዚህ ሁሉ የራሳቸው ትናንሽና ተንቀሳቃሽ መንግስታት አላቸው። አቶ መለስ በህይወት እያሉ ይህንን ጠንቅቀው ያውቁታል። ግን ልንካው ቢሉ ህይወታቸው አደጋ ውስጥ ይወድቃል። “ገምተናል” ሲሉ አስቀድመው የተናገሩት ይህንኑ ነው። እና ተቋም የለም። አቶ ስብሃትና አብረዋቸው ያሉ በትምክህት የሚያስቡት ከአሁን በኋላ ያለችውን ኢትዮጵያን ለመግዛት የተፈጠሩ፤ አቅሙና ችሎታው ያላቸው እነሱ ብቻ እንደሆኑ ነው። ግን አውነታው እነሱም ድርጅታቸውም ፍልስፍናቸውም መበስበሱ ነው። የመበስበሳቸው ምልክቶች ሞልተው ፈሰዋል። ሁሉም በዝርፊያ ባህር ውስጥ እየዋኙ ነው። የሚገርመው እንደዚህ በስብሰው አገርና ህዝብ ለመምራት በየቀኑ መገዘታቸው ነው፤
ጎልጉልባለሃብቶች የወደፊቷ ኢትዮጵያ እድል ፈንታ ላይ አሉታዊ ሚና አላቸው እያልክ ነው?
መልስ፦ ምን ጥርጥር አለው። ስርዓት ሲበሰብስ ልዩ ምልክቱ ትናንሽ መንግስታት ማቆጥቆጣቸው ነው። በኢህአዴግ መበስበስ አቶ መለስን ጨምሮ በርካቶች ይስማማሉ። ኢህአዴግ መዓዛውን አልቀየረም የሚሉት በአገሪቱ ድፍን ቆዳ ላይ የራሳቸውን መንግስት የተከሉ ተጠቃሚዎች ብቻ ናቸው። እነሱ ክሬሙን እየላሱ ስለሆነ የመበስበስ አደጋ አይታያቸውም። ስለመበስበስ ለማሰብም ጊዜ የላቸውም። የበሰበሰው ነገር ሲናድ የሚበላው ግን አስቀድሞ እነሱን ነው። ምክንያቱም አቶ መለስ የቆፈሩት ጉድጓድ በጣም ትልቅ ነው። እስካሁን የገባበት የለም። አፉን ከፍቶ የሚጠብቀው። ጉድጓዱ የሚውጠውን አሰፍስፎ እየጠበቀ ነው። በስብሶ ማበስበስ የመለስ ፍልስፍና ውጤቱ አፉን የከፈተውን ትልቅ ጉድጓድ መሙላት ነው። በነገራችን ላይ እነዚህ ሃብታሞች ናቸው ስርዓቱን በስለላና የተቃዋሚ ወዳጆችን በማባበል መረጃ በማሰባሰብ የሚያገለግሉት። የኪነት ሰዎችን በኮንሰርትና በበዓላት እያሳበቡ ኢህአዴግ ጉያ ውስጥ በመክተት ህዝብ የሚወዳቸውን ሰዎችና ባለሙያዎች የሚያዋርዱት። ታዋቂ ሰዎችና የሚወደዱ ባለሙያዎች የበሰበሰውን ሰፈር ሲቀላቀሉ ህዝብ ተስፋ ይቆርጣል። ሌላም ብዙ ስራ አላቸው።
ጎልጉልስለዚህ የተለየ ምንም አጋጣሚ የለም እያልክ ነው?
መልስ፦ እውነቱን መነጋገር የሚበጅ ይመስለኛል። በመጀመሪያ ደረጃ ህወሃት አናሳ ቁጥር ያላቸውን ይዞ፣ ከዚያም ወርዶ በጎጥና በቀበሌ ደረጃ የሚርመጠመጥ ድርጅት ነው። ሰፊ ቁጥር ያላቸውን ሁሉ በሃይል እየገዛ ያለው በነጻ አውጪ ስም ተሰይሞ መሆኑ ደግሞ ይገርማል። መንግስትም ሆኖ ነጻ አውጪ ነው። ነጻ አውጪ የት አገር ነው መንግስት የሚሆነው። ራሱ መንግስት ከሆነ ከማን ነው ነጻ የሚወጣው? የሚጨቆኑና ነጻ የሚሆኑ ዜጎች እንዳሉ በማስመሰል ህገመንግስታዊ ዋስትና ይዞ የሚጠባበቀው ለምንድነው? ከአንቀጽ 39 ጋር ቅበሩኝ የሚለው ለምንድነው? የፖለቲካው መክረርና የፖለቲካው ጨዋታ ዞሮ ዞሮ እዚህ ነጥብ ላይ ነው። በፍርሃትና በዚህ መልኩ መቀጠል ስለማይቻል “እነሱ ከሌሉ አገር ይፈርሳል” እያልን እንድንገዛ የተቀመጠልን ቀልድ ነው። ከትግራይ በላይ በርካታ አማራጭ ያላት ኤርትራ እንኳ የገባችበትን ጣጣ እያዩ … ለሁሉም መድሃኒቱ የተለየና ለአገራችንና ለሁሉም ወገኖች የሚበጅ የሰላምና የጨዋ ፖለቲከኞች ስምምነት ወሳኝ ነው። እንደ አማራጭ የሚቀርበው ታላቅ ጉዳይም እርቅና እርቅ ነው። ግን ህወሃት እርቅ ይቀበላል? አይመስለኝም። ከድርድር በኋላ ምን እንደሚከተል እኮ ያውቃሉ። እርቅ ሲፈጠር ተቋማት ይፈርሱና እንደገና ይዋቀራሉ። የግል ፋይል ይበረበራል። ነጻ ፍርድ ቤቶች ይቋቋማሉ። ጳጳሱ፣ ካድሬው፣ የፖለቲካው አስፈጻሚዎች፣ ኢህአዴግ ያፈራቸው ባለሃብቶች፣ ተጠቃሚዎች… አድርጉ የተባልነውን ስናደርግ ኖረን እንዴት እርቅ ትላላችሁ በሚል ተቃውሞ ያሰማሉ። አቶ መለስ እንዳሉትና እኔም እንደማምንበት ድርጅቱ ስለበሰበሰ የበሰበሰ ሞት አይፈራም አይነት አማራጭ የሚመርጡ ይመስለኛል። በሁሉም አቅጣጫ በወንጀልና ከሰው ህይወት ጋር በተያያዘ ያልተነካካ የለም። እንደዚህ ገምተው እንዴት እርቅ ይቀበላሉ? እስከሚችሉት ይሄዳሉ፤ ሆኖም ግን ዴዝሞንድ ቱቱ “ያለይቅርታ የወደፊት የሚባል ነገር የለም” እንዳሉት እኔም ምንም እንኳን ሁኔታው ከባድ ቢመስልም ለአዲሲቷ ኢትዮጵያ ምስረታ ዕርቅ መሞከር ያለበት አማራጭ ነው ብዬ ለማመን እፈልጋሁ፡፡
ጎልጉልቅድም “ጉድጓዱ የራቀ ነው” ስትል አቶ መለስን እያደነቅህ ነው? አይተኩም እያልክ ነው? ወይስ…
መልስ፦ በመጀመሪያ አቶ መለስን አድንቄ አላውቅም። በብዙ ጉዳዮች የምቃወማቸውና እንደ መሪ የማልቀበላቸው ሰው ናቸው። ተዘርዝሮ የማያልቅ ታሪካዊና ሰብአዊ በደል በሚመሩት ህዝብ ላይ የፈጸሙ ሰው ናቸው። ኢትዮጵያን አሳንሰው ወደብ አልባ በማድረግ ታሪካዊ ንብረቷን በግፍ አስነጥቀዋል። ከዚህ አንጻር በህይወት ቆይተው በህግ ቢዳኙና ፍርድ ቢሰጣቸው እያልኩ የምመኝ ሰው ነኝ። ስለእርሳቸው ሳስብ ውስጤ ይቆጣል። ግን የኢህአዴግንና የአመራሮቹን ሙሉ እውቅናና “ይችላል” የሚል ማዕረግ እንዳላቸው መዘንጋት አይቻልም። ለመልካም ቢጠቀሙበት የምመኘው እውቀት እንዳላቸውም እቀበላለሁ። ግን መሪ ለመሆን የማያበቃቸው በርካታ ምክንያቶች አሉ። ርዕሱ ሰፊ ነው። ዋናው ጉዳይ ያለው ይህ የአቶ መለስ እውቅና ከየት መጣ? የሚለው ነው?
ጎልጉልአላደንቃቸውም ግን አይተኩም እያልክ ነው?
መልስ፦ አይደለም። አቶ መለስ ኢህአዴግ ውስጥ ሙሉ ተቀባይነት አላቸው። ይህን ተቀባይነት የፈጠሩት ራዕይ ያላቸውና አገር ወዳድ መሪ ሆነው አይደለም። ገድሎ በማዳን ነው። ገሎ በማዳን ፍልስፍናና ስልት ተክነዋል…
ጎልጉልገሎ ማዳን ምንድነው ?
መልስ፦ መለስ ስልታቸው ከገደሉ በኋላ “ላድንህ” በማለት የሚጫወቱት ጨዋታ ነው። ታምራት ላይኔ በወንጀልና በሙስና የታጠበ ሰው ነበር። ይህ ሲሆን አስቀድመው ማስቆም እየቻሉ ዝም ያሉት አውቀው ነው። መጨረሻ ላይ ግን ፓርላማ ፊት ደጋፊዎቹንና ወዳጆቹን እስኪያሳፍር ድረስ ራሱን አዋርዶ ወደቀ። ላድንህ የሚለው የመለስ ስልት ቅድመ ሁኔታው “ራስህን አዋርድና አድንሃለው” የሚል ነው ፤ አቶ ታምራት በስኳር አስመስሎ ራሱን አዋረደ። ራሱን ባደባባይ ገደለ። ከዛ ተወረወረ። የበደለውን ህዝብ ይቅርታ እንዲል ሲጠየቅ እንኳ አልቀበልም የሚለው ላድንህ ሲባል በገባው ቃል መሰረት ነው። ይህ ያለፈ ታሪክ ነው። ግን ነጻ ሆኖ እንኳ መናገር እንዳይችል የሚጫወትበትን ድንበር ሳይቀር አበጅተውለታል። ጭንቅላቱን ቦርቡረውታል። ልክ እንደ ታምራት ሁሉ በ“ላድንህ” ጨዋታ ሁሉም ባለስልጣን በበሰበሰው ስርዓት ውስጥ አብረው እንዲጨማለቁ ተደርገዋል። በነገራችን ላይ ኢህአዴግ በሰበሰ ስንል ሰዎቹን እንጂ ሌላ ግዑዝ ነገር ባለመሆኑ በመበስበስ ባህር ውስጥ እየዋኙ አሉ። ከዚህ ባህር መውጣት አይችሉም። ልክ እንደ እውነተኛው አሳ እነዚህ ሰዎች ከበሰበሱበት ባህር ውስጥ ከወጡ ስለሚሞቱ ባህሩን ከማስፋት ውጪ ሌላ አማራጭ የላቸውም። የበስብሶ ማበስበሱ ዋና አላማ በበሰበሱበት መጠን አሽከር በመሆን የታዘዙትን ሁሉ ያለማቅማማት እንዲያከናውኑ ማድረግ ነው። ግደሉ ሲባሉ ይገላሉ። ቤተሰብህን አሳልፈህ ስጥ ሲባሉ ይስማማሉ። ከሰውነት ባህሪያቸው አርቀዋቸው እቃ አድርገዋቸዋል። ትንሽ ካፈነገጡና ሰላምታቸውን እንኳ ከቀየሩ ፋይላቸው ይከፈትና ራሳቸውን አዋርደው ይጣላሉ ወይም ይሰወራሉ። ራሳቸውን በድርጅት ግምገማ አባላትና ከፍተኛ አመራሮች ፊት “እኔ ጸረ ህዝብ ነኝ” ብለው ይረግማሉ። የሚገርመው…
ጎልጉልመለስ ራሳቸው የዘረጉት ስልት ተጎጂ ያደርጋቸዋል የሚሉ ወገኖችም አሉ፤
መልስ፦ መለስ ከትግራይም ወርደው አድዋ፣ ከአድዋም ወርደው በሰፈርና በስጋ ዝምድና ወደማመን ደረጃ ላይ ደርሰዋል። በሙስና እያበሰበሱ ለመምታት የዘረጉት መዋቅር የእያንዳንዱን ባለስልጣን መረጃ ያቀብላቸዋል። ግን ርምጃ አይወስዱም። እንዲያውም አስፈጻሚዎች ርምጃ ለመውስድ ሲዘጋጁ “እረፉ” የሚል መልስ ነው የሚሰጡት። እንግዲህ በሙስና መረብ ውስጥ የተሳሰሩ ቀላል የማይባል ሃብት እንዲሰበስቡ ተመቻችቷል። በቅጽበት ከባዶ ተነስተው ባለ ሚሊዮኖች የሆኑት የገነቡት ቡድንና የፈጠሩት መረብ እንዲሁ በቀላሉ መለስ ሊጫወቱበት የሚችሉት ሃይል አልሆነም። ደግሞም…
ጎልጉል ላቋርጥህና በግልጽ መለስ ችግር ውስጥ ነበሩ?
መልስ፦ ራሱን ባመመው ቁጥር ፓናዶል መዋጥ የለመደ ሰው ያለ ፓናዶል ጤና አይሰማውም። ፓናዶል ከሌለ ራሱን ያመዋል። ፓናዶል በአገሪቱ ከጠፋ ችግሩ ይባባሳል። አቶ መለስ ለህዝብ ሳይሆን እሳቸው በፈጠሩት የበሰበሰ ባህር ውስጥ ላሉት ሁሉ እንደ ፓናዶል ይመሰላሉ። መለስ አንድ ነገር ከሆኑ ወይም መለስ አናት ላይ በቀድሞው ሃይላቸው መቀመጥ ካልቻሉ የሚታመሙ ብዙ ናቸው። ይህ አደጋ መተራመስ ይፈጥራል። እርስ በርስ እንተዋወቃለን። አሁን እንግዲህ ሁሉም ነገር አብቅቷል። መለስ አልፈዋል። ተቀብረዋል። አሁን የምናወራው ስለቀጣዩ ነው። መለስ አደጋ ውስጥ የመቆየታቸው ጉዳይ አብቅቶለታል።
ጎልጉልስለዚህ?
መልስ፦ ግልጽ እኮ ነው። መለስ ሁለት ወይም ከዚያ በላይ መልክ ያላቸውን ሰዎች በልዩነት ውስጥ ይዘው ኖረዋል። ተጠቃሚ የሆኑት ክፍሎች ሃብታቸው እየገፋቸው ሳያስቡት የራሳቸውን መንግስትና አቅም ገንብተዋል። ህግና ደንብ አይመለከተንም የሚሉ ሆነዋል። ሚኒስትርና ከፍተኛ የደህንነት ሰዎችንና የጸጥታ አመራሮችን ሳይቀር እንዳሻቸው የማዘዝና የማሰማራት ደረጃ ደርሰዋል። እነዚህን ክፍሎች አክብሮና እየተንከባከቡ ከመኖር ውጪ አማራጭ የለም። መለስ ሲመሩት የነበረው ኢህአዴግ አባላቱ ሁሉ የሚያወሩት ይህንኑ ነው። ደቡብ ችግር አለ። ሙስና አለ። ፕሬዚዳንቱና ሌሎች ባለስልጣናት እስከ ቀበሌ በወረደ መዋቅር ንግድ ውስጥ ገብተዋል። ይህ ያደባባይ ሚስጥር ነው። የደቡብን ፕሬዚዳንት ለመንካት ሲታሰብ “ሲዳማ ያምጻል” ይባልና ይሸፋፈናል። ህዝብ የሚዘርፈውን መሪ አይወድም። ዝርፊያው በሰንሰለት ስለሆነ … አንዱ ጋር ከተነካ ተጓቶ፣ ተተልትሎ፣ ተስፋፍቶ መለስ ጉያ ውስጥ ይገባል። ስለዚህ ማን ማንን ይነካል። የበታች ካድሬው ይህን ያውቃል። በየግምገማው ያነሳ ነበር። ሰፊ ጉዳይ ቢሆንም መለስ ሁሌም በጉድጓዱ ጠርዝ ላይ ናቸው። ጋምቤላ፣ አማራ፣ ኦሮምያ፣ ቤኒሻንጉል… ሌብነት አለ። ትግራይ ሙስና ሰፈር አለ። ሀረሪ የውሃ ቱቦ ዘርግተናል ብለው ቦይ አስቆፍረው ቧንቧ ሳይቀብሩ አፈር መልሰው ፓርላማ “ህዝቡን ንጹህ ውሃ ልናጠጣ ነው” እያሉ ሪፖርት ያቀርቡ ነበር። ከዚህ በላይ መበስበስ ምን አለ? ስርዓቱ ስለበሰበሰ እድሜውም የመሻገቱን ያህል ነው። ሙስናውና ንግዱ አንድ ላይ ተሳስመው መጓዛቸው የስርዓቱን ፖለቲካዊ ጉልበት አሽመድምዶታል። ይህ ሁሉ መለስ ያውቁታል። በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ መለስ የገፏቸው ዋና የህወሃት ሰዎች በተለያየ ደረጃ ደጋፊዎቻቸው አሉ። የከፋውና የመረረው ህዝብም አለ…
ጎልጉልህወሃቶች ችግር ካለ አይጣሉም ብለኸኝ ነበር፤
መልስ፦ አዎ! ዝርዝር ማቅረብ አያስፈልግም። በሌላ በኩል ግን መለስ አመራሩ ላይ ስለሌሉ ያ የጋራ ነጥብ የሚባለው ነገር አይኖርም። የጋራ ነጥብ ሊሆን የሚችል የሚታመንበት ሰውም አልተዘጋጀም። ትርምሱ የሚነሳው እዚህ ላይ ነው። ፖለቲካ የሚዛን ጨዋታ ነው። አቶ ስዬ ያላቸው ተሰሚነት ቀላል አይደለም። ሌሎች በውስጥም ሆነ በውጭ ያሉ ንቅናቄውን አጡዘው ለውጥ እንዲመጣ ማድረግ የሚችሉ አሉ። አርከበ ህወሃት ሊቀመንበር እንዲሆኑ የመረጣቸው ሰው ናቸው። እሳቸው ቢያፈነግጥ ሊንዱት ይችላል። አርከበ አዲስ አበባ “ለምን ፎቶህን ሰቀልክ” ተብለው ከህዝብ እንዲደበቁና የገነቡት ስም ሙሉ በሙሉ እንዲቆሽሽ ዘመቻ የተፈጸመባቸው ሰው ናቸው። ውጪ ያሉት የውህዳኖቹ ጥላ አለ። ይህ መላምት ከመሰለ ባጭሩ የምናገረው መለስ ሃላፊነቱን ስፍራ ላይ ስለሌሉ ስለሚሆነው ነው። ምንም ሆነ ምን ውስጥ ያሉትም ሆነ ውጭ ያሉት ህወሃቶች በመለስ መወገድ እንጂ በህወሃት መቀበር የተለያየ አቋም አላቸው ብሎ ማሰብ የዋህነት ይመስለኛል። ከህወሃት ጋር ጸብ የላቸውም። ጸባቸው የህወሃትን መነሻ አሰናክለው የትግራይ ህዝብ በሌሎች ዘንድ እንደ ጠላት እንዲታይ አድርገዋል ከተባሉት አቶ መለስ ጋር ነው። በየትኛውም መስፈርት ለውጥ የሚካሄድ ከሆነ በትግራይ ሰዎች ፈቃድና የበላይነት እንዲሆን የሚፈለግና እየተሰራበት ያለ ይመስለኛል። አሁንም መላምት ካልተባለ ማብራሪያ ማቅረብ ይቻላል።
ጎልጉልመለስ ከሌሉ አቻ ፓርቲዎች የመሪነት ወንበር የመያዝ የቆየ ቂማቸውን ይፋ በማውጣት ይጠይቃሉ ብለኸኝ ነበር፤
መልስ፦ አዎ። ጥያቄው መነሳቱ አይቀርም። ካድሬውና የበታች አመራሩ ድሮም ጀምሮ ሃሳቡ አለው። ግምገማ እየተባለ በሰርጎ ገቦች እየተሰለሉ እየተወገዱ እንጂ እስከዛሬም አይቆይም ነበር። ያም ሆነ ይህ መለስ ስለሌሉ የወንበር ቡቅሻው የማይቀር ነው። በየድርጅቱ አመራሮች ዘንድ የሌባና ፖሊስ፣ የሃይል ሚዛንና ቅኝት፣ አሰላለፍን የማሳመር ሰልፍ እየታየ ነው። አሁን በዝርዝር የማልናገረው አንዳንድ የመናድ ምልክቶችም አሉ። ይህ ሁሉ እንዳለ ሆኖ ግን ህወሃቶች የሃይል ሚዛናቸው ባለበት እንዲቀጥል የሚቻላቸውን እያደረጉ ነው። የመከላከያና የደህንነት አቅማቸውም ይህንኑ ለማድረግ ስለሚያግዛቸው የወንበር ጥያቄው እንዲሁ በዋዛ የሚከናወን አይሆንም።
ጎልጉልአቶ መለስ ልማታዊ ስለሚሏቸው ባለሃብቶች አንስተን ብንጨርስ?
መልስ፦ መጀመሪያ ስለ ባለስልጣኖች ላክል። አቶ ታምራት ለምን የሚያውቀውን ምስጢር አይናገርም? አቶ ስዬ ይምልለት ስለነበረው ስርዓትና ሲመራው ስለነበረው ኤፈርት ለምን አይተነፍስም? አቶ ገብሩ አስራት የህወሃትን ጸረ ህዝብነት ለምን ይፋ አያደርግም? በረሃ እያሉ በየዋህነት ከድርጅቱ የወጡ ወይም እነሱ እንደሚሉት “መለስን በመናቅ” ከተሸወዱት በስተቀር ስለ መለስ የሚናገሩ የሉም። ቢናገሩም ሁሉም የሚያውቀውን ተራና ጥልቅ ያልሆነ ነገር ነው። ባለስልጣናት ጥይት የማይበሳው መስኮት ያለው ቤት አስገንብተው በዶላር እያከራዩ ገንዘብ ሲሰበስቡ … ስለ ባለሃብቶች ጫናና አደገኛነት በግልጽ የሚታይ ስለሆነ በዝርዝር መናገሩ አይጠቅምም። አንድ ጄኔራል ባደባባይ ነጋዴ ሆኖ፣ ኢንቬስተር ሆኖ፣ … ሩቅ ሳንሄድ ደንበል ህንጻ የተገነባው ያለ አንዳች ማስያዣ ወይም ዋስትና በወቅቱ የልማት ባንክ ቦርድ ሰብሳቢ በነበሩት አቶ ግርማ ብሩ ትዕዛዝ በተወሰደ ከ300 ሚሊዮን ብር በላይ ብድር ነው። ጉዳዩ በጥቆማ የኢኮኖሚ ደህንነቶች ጋር ደረሰና በቁጥጥር ስር እንዲውሉ ተወሰነ። ፖሊሶች በቁጥጥር ስር ሊያደርጓቸው ሲመጡ አሁን የማልገልጸው ቦታ ሰውየው ተደበቀው ራሳቸውን ቀይረው በፖሊሶች ፊት አመለጡና ያጋጠማቸውን ለወዳጃቸው አስታወቁ። በማግስቱ ህንጻቸውን ቆመው ማስገንባት ቀጠሉ። ቆይተው ብድራቸውን መክፈል አልቻሉም ተብሎ ህንጻው በጨረታ ሊሸጥ ቀናቶች ሲቀሩ የኢትዮጵያ መንገዶች ባለስልጣን በአንድ ቀን ውስጥ የ900 ሚሊዮንና የ600 ሚሊዮን የመንገድ ስራ ውል አጸደቀላቸው። በጋዜጦች ላይ ደንበል በጨረታ ሊሸጥ ነው እየተባለ፤ በጎን ጨረታ አሸነፉ ይባላል። ሌላው ከፍተኛ የግብር እዳ ያለባቸው አውራ ባለሃብት የግብር እዳቸውን የሚገልጽ ሰነድ እያሰረቁ፣ የሚጠሉትን ባለስልጣን እያስነሱ፣ የሚፈልጉትን እያሾሙ፣ የፈለጉትን እያሳሰሩ፣ ጥቅም ያለበትን የህዝብ ሃብትና ድርጅት ወደ ግላቸው እንዲዞር እያስደረጉ፣ የውጭ ባለሃብት ፊትለፊት እያቆሙ ያገራቸውን ባንክ የሚያዘርፉ፣ … ብዙ ማለት ይቻላል። ዞሮ ዞሮ ሁሉም ባለሃብቶች ማለት ይቻላል መለስ እንደሚሉት ሳይሆን በብስባሽ ላይ እንደሚበቅል ተክል ናቸው። ለራሳቸው እንጂ ለአገር የሚጠቅሙ አይደሉም። ያላቸው አማራጭ በመለስ ስም እየማሉ አስመስሎ የመንፈስና የይታይ ይታይ ግብር እያስገቡ ከመኖር የዘለለ አማራጭ የላቸውም። ችግር ከመጣ ያ አፉን የከፈተው ጉድጓድ እነሱን አይጠየፍም።
ጎልጉልህዝብ ለመለስ አክብሮቱን በለቅሶና በተሰበረ ሃዘን ሲገልጽ ሰንብቷል። ባለሃብቶች፣ የኪነት ባለሙያዎችና የኪነት ሰዎች… ሃዘናቸውን ገልጸዋል። የአፍሪካ መሪዎች፣ አሜሪካና የአውሮፓ ህብረት መለስን አወድሰዋል። ምን አስተያየት አለህ?
መልስ፦ መለስ በርካታ ስራዎች ሰርተዋል። ኢትዮጵያን የግለሰቦች መብት ሳይሸራረፍ የተከበረባት ዲሞክራሲያዊና የሰብአዊ መብት የማይጣስባት አገር አድርገው ሊመሩዋት ይችሉ ነበር። ነጻ ፕሬስ የሌለበት፣ መሰብሰብና መሰለፍ የማይቻልበት፣ የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች በነጻነት የማይንቀሳቀሱበት፣ ጋዜጠኞችና የፖለቲካ መሪዎችና ደጋፊዎች የሚታሰሩበት፣ አማራጭ የሚባል ነገር የከለከሉ ሰው ነበሩ። አትሰብሰብ፣ አትናገር፣ አትቃወም፣ በዘር ካልሆነ አትደራጅ፣ የተባለና የታፈነ ህዝብ እንዴት ሃዘን ይቀመጣል? ታሪካዊና የአፋር ክልል አካል የሆነው ወደቡ የተነጠቀበት ህዝብ እንዴት እምባው ይፈሳል? በአንድ ብሄር አባላት የስለላና የወታደራዊ አፈና መዋቅር እየተረገጠ ያለ ህዝብ፣ ማዳበሪያና የርሃብ ማስታገሻ ስንዴ ለፖለቲካ መጠቀሚያ ተደርጎ በጠኔ ለሚሞቱና አንዱ መለስን ደግፎ ጠግቦ ሲያድር፣ እሳቸውን የማይደግፍ በረሃብ እየሞተ እንዴት ያለ ሃዘን ነው? የአንድ ብሄር የበላይነት ነግሶ ዜጎች በተወለዱበት ቀዬያቸው ተሸማቀው የሚኖሩት በማን መሪነትና ማን በነደፈው የአፈና መዋቅር ነው? የአሜሪካና የአውሮፓን መንግስታት በታማኝነት ማገልገል ቀዳሚ መርሃቸውና ከሽፍትነት ወደ ቤተመንግስት የተዛወሩበት ስልትም በመሆኑ ቢያወድሷቸው አይገርምም። አንድ ጥያቄ ላንሳና ልጨርስ ነፈጠኛ፣ ጨቋኝ፣ አድሃሪ፣ አስነዋሪ ተግባር የፈጸመ እየተባለ ላለፉት 21 ዓመታት የተሰደበው የአማራ ህዝብ፣ ለም መሬቱን ተነጠቆ ከትውልዱ የተፈናቀለ ህዝብ፣ ከየክልሉ ነፍጥ አንግቶ ለማስገበር የመጣ ወራሪ እየተባለ የሚፈናቀለው የአማራ ህዝብ አቶ መለስ ምኑ ስለሆኑ ደረት ይመታል? ስለምን ለመለስ ያለቅሳል? “አማራው ይደራጅ” በሚል ትግል ውስጥ ገብተው ህይወታቸው ያለፈው ፕሮፌሰር አስራት እንዲታሰሩ ለፈረደ መሪ የመንዝ ህዝብ አንድ ዘለላ እንባ እንዴት ይወጣዋል? ወልቃይትንና መተማን (ሁመራን) የተዘረፈው የአማራ ሕዝብ ሙሾ የሚያወርደው ለማን ነው? መሬት ኦነግ እየተባለ የተጨፈጨፈና አሁን ድረስ አስር ላይ የሚገኙ ዜጎች እንዴት ለአቶ መለስ ደረታቸውን ይመታሉ? ወደቡን በግፍ ሲወሰድበት ድምጹን እንኳን እንዳያሰማ የታፈነ ሕዝብ እንዴት እምባ ይወጣዋል? በጋምቤላ በአቶ መለስ ቀጥተኛ ትዕዛዝ የተገደሉትና መሬታቸው የተነጠቀው አኙዋኮች እስካሁን ድረስም ልጆቻቸው እየተገደሉባቸው ያሉ እናቶች እንዴት ነው የሚያለቅሱት? ከተለያዩ ዩኒቨርሲቲዎችና ኮሌጆች የታሰሩ፣ የተገረፉ፣ የተገደሉ… በአገራቸው ጉዳይ “አያገባችሁም” ተብለው የተባረሩ ምሁራኖች ምን ተፈጠረ ብለው ነው ለቅሶ የሚቀመጡት? ስለተባረሩ ነው? “ከእናንተ የእኛ ካድሬዎች ይሻላሉ” ተብለው ስለተሰደቡና ስለተንቋሸሹ ነው የሚያለቅሱት? በ1997 ምርጫ ወቅት አልሞ ተኳሾች አሁንም ከአቶ መለስ በተሰጠ ቀጥተኛ ትዕዛዝ ግንባርና ደረት እየመረጡ ልጆቻቸውንና ቤተሰቦቻቸውን የደፉባቸው ሰዎች እንዴት ለቅሶ ይቀመጣሉ? አቶ መለስ የጦር ኃይሎች ጠቅላይ አዛዥ እንደመሆናቸው በእርሳቸው ትዕዛዝ የተላከው ጦር ሠራዊት በኦጋዴን ከጨፈጨፉት ወገኖቻችን በተጨማሪ አዛውንት እናቶችንና እርጉዝ ሴቶችን እንዲሁም ጨቅላ ወንዶችንም ሳይቀር አስገድደው በመድፈር አሰቃቂ ወንጀል የተፈጸመበት ህዝብ እንዴት ነው ለአቶ መለስ “ዋይ” ብሎ የሚያለቅሰው? ይህንን ጥያቄ መመለስ አግባብ ነው። ሃዘኑ በድርጅታዊ ስራ፣ ደስታው በድርጅታዊ ስራ፣ ስልጣኑ በሞኖፖል፣ የሚነግደው በውሱንና ምርጥ ዘር፣ የሚበደረው ለራሳቸው ሰው፣ የሚገነቡና የሚዝናኑ እነሱ… ሃዘኑ ግን የሁላችን!!


Saturday, September 22, 2012

Hailemariam Desalegn: Backer of dominant party rule By Peter Heinlein, VOA | September 22, 2012

Hailemariam Desalegn is Ethiopia's second leader since the EPRDF came to power in 1991.  At 47, he is considered part of a new breed not associated with the guerrilla war that ousted the pro-Soviet military dictatorship led by Mengistu Hailemariam.

In early 2010, there was no hint that he might soon be named foreign minister and deputy prime minister, nor that the untimely death of longtime prime minister Meles Zenawi would thrust him to the pinnacle of power.
Sitting in his spacious office at EPRDF headquarters next door to parliament,  Hailemariam expressed annoyance at western portrayals of Ethiopia as a one-party state.  He noted that in a diverse nation made up of many ethnic and language groups, even the ruling front is made up of several parties.

"Our system is a multi-party system," he said.  "Clearly a multi-party system, because we believe Ethiopia is multinational, multi-ethnic, multilingual and multi-religious, so one party cannot represent all these differences.  So multi-party system is mandatory in Ethiopia, and it's clear one party cannot represent all these issues," Hailemariam said.

He rejected opposition complaints about being shut out of the political process and defended the EPRDF's long tenure, calling it the will of the Ethiopian people.

"I think we shouldn't say it's not a multi-party system, it's a multi-party but of course it's a dominant party system, because the people have chosen the ruling party as its ruler, or leader," Hailemariam said.

Since the interview, the EPRDF has won nearly complete control of parliament, taking all but one seat in the 2010 election.

European observers determined that election did not meet international standards, and groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have sharply criticized the country's human rights record.

Hailemariam said those criticisms often come because the EPRDF has chosen to follow a different path than that of Western democracies.

"This is all because we don't follow the liberal democratic principles which the Western countries are pushing (us) to follow.  That's why everyone is fighting us, and try to somehow criticize and devalue whatever Ethiopia is doing," Hailemariam said.

He says the often-criticized policies of economic planning and party dominance are needed to energize a country that has suffered generations of misrule.

"Our strategy is totally different from the western way of approach, because we have to get out of this rampant poverty as soon as possible, so if that is the case, gradual movement doesn't work, so we have to revolutionize," Hailemariam said.

The remarks, recorded in interviews two-and-a-half to three years ago, give insight into how Mr. Hailemariam is likely to approach Ethiopia's challenges.  He suggested that his government would follow the Meles Zenawi approach of using the country's five-and-a-half million party members as what he called a "vanguard" to drive social mobilization.

"We know the country is moving in the right direction.  And development is occurring in huge amounts, so we 'll continue doing this.  Most important is we are doing this in a mass movement process, because we see the mass is important in democratization and development works, and we are doing it in movement fashion," Hailemariam said.

Hailemariam is expected to remain in office at least until 2015, when Ethiopia's next national election is scheduled.  He will make his first trip as prime minister next week to New York to address the annual United Nations General Assembly debate.
 




Friday, September 21, 2012

Obang speaks about the Land, Water and Resource-Grabbing



Obang speaks about the Land, Water and Resource-Grabbing

Obang speaks about the Land, Water and Resource-Grabbing and Its Impact on Food Security in Africa At the 1st Africa Congress on Effective Cooperation for a Green Africa in Bremerhaven, Germany

Thank you for inviting me to address the 1st Africa Congress on Effective Cooperation for a Green Africa (ECOGA).  It is a great honor for me to be here with you and I am humbled to be one of the keynote speakers on a topic of such great importance to Africa and the world beyond. Before I start, I would like to thank Mr. Arne Dunker, the Executive Director of Klimahaus, (Climate House), a brilliant way of letting others experience the different climates of the world within one building without going anywhere. It is a unique way to educate the people about preserving our environment. Even the rooms used at this conference are named as significant symbols of concerns regarding global warming raised at the Kyoto Accord and Montreal Accord. I would also like to thanks the Society for Threatened Peoples, Jens Tanneberg, Dr. Eva Quante‐Brandt, Dr. Auma Obama, Ken Nyauncho Osinde, Dr. Nkechi Madubuko and other dignitaries here.
As I speak about the relationship between land, water and resource use related to food insecurity; particularly related toObang Metho speaks about the Land, Water and Resource-Grabbing what I have called the Second Scramble for African Land, Water and Resources,” I will not only be speaking of Africa as a whole, butI will be speaking as an insider—as someone who comes from this land and soil called Africa; in particular, from the Gambella region of Ethiopia in East Africa, which enables me to use my own experience as a microcosm of what is most at risk on the continent. Yet, the issues of Africa are also global issues that will positively or negatively impact our global society.  As global citizens, we will best flourish when we respect the rights of others for “no one will be free until all are free.”  This is a fundamental principle of theSolidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE), the social justice movement of which I am the executive director.
We are all connected together not only by living our lives together on this planet, but by the God-given humanity within each of us, which should be a bridge to valuing “others” – including those unlike us—putting “humanity before ethnicity” or any other differences. This is another fundamental principle of the SMNE for our humanity has no ethnic, religious, political or national boundaries while the dehumanization of “others” has repeatedly led to genocide, injustice, exploitation, corruption, poverty  and deadly violence. When I speak, I am talking not only about my life and the future of my children and grandchildren but also of yours. It is that same inter-connectedness that brought me here today to address this audience made up of some of the top thinkers and decision-makers related to a “Green Africa,” even though I grew up in one of the most remote and marginalized regions of Ethiopia, on the border of South Sudan.
I come from a tiny, previously unknown, and now what some consider to be an endangered people group called Anuak, which means, “people who eat together, who laugh together and who share.” Anuak indigenous land stretches between eastern South Sudan and western Ethiopia, dividing the Anuak between two separate countries. When the civil war was going on in Southern Sudan, tens of thousands of refugees from every ethnicity, passed through our land, seeking refuge and peace. The Anuak of Gambella, Ethiopia would often supplies food and water to the weary refugees as they fled war-torn Sudan.
Sadly, right now, the Anuak, nearly all small subsistence farmers, are becoming refugees in their own land as they are internally displaced from indigenous land their ancestors have possessed for centuries. They have become “discardable” people by a regime that wants their land, but not them, in order to lease it to foreigners and regime-cronies for commercial farms. They are not alone; millions of other Ethiopians and Africans from countries all over the continent are facing the same plight.
One of the greatest threats Africa has ever faced is the impact from this new phenomenon of land-grabbing. In many places, these land grabs are going on without any input from stakeholders and without any compensation for lost lands, homes, crops and livelihoods. Small farmers are ill-prepared for the sudden dispossession of their land and with it, the means to their livelihood. Lacking education or training for other jobs, some have become a source of cheap labor as they are left without alternative means for survival. These foreign investors, countries and regime cronies are often making secretive leasing agreements with authoritarian regimes that give them millions of hectares of land for next to nothing for periods of time as long as 99 years in some cases.
With the current concerns for food security, especially in a changing climate where our soaring world population is expected to reach nine billion inhabitants by 2050—only 38 years from now, unused and underutilized land, with access to water for irrigation, has become the new “precious commodity” sometimes called “green gold.” Add to that the ever-increasing global need for resources like minerals, oil, natural gas and commodities in general and where do eyes turn but towards Africa, a continent with great reserves of rich, untapped resources. This is what is driving the second scramble for Africa.
During the first scramble for Africa, foreign slave-traders trafficked African human beings with assistance from partners on the inside, Africans themselves, who were wanting to profit from the betrayal of their fellow African brothers and sisters, especially those from competing tribes. Divide and conquer policies made it easier for outsiders to align with some African opportunists, the powerful among them, who then became complicit with these outsiders in the exploitation of other Africans. Colonialism, while making some genuine contributions to Africa, is still broadly considered one of the darkest of times in the history of humanity, marked by the ruthless, exploitive and dehumanizing pursuit of slave labor, economic profit and power from Africans and Africa.
This pursuit of Africa’s people as marketable commodities and of Africa’s many resources led to foreign-led minority rule, which was maintained through divide and conquer strategies, later adopted by African strongmen. The continent has not recovered. These African strongmen, with their “tribal-based groups” continue today. Even in Ethiopia, where colonial efforts failed, feudalism succeeded—with similar results. Whether colonialism or feudalism, both systems fed off of the manipulation of tribalism or its weaknesses. Now, “one-tribe-take-all” politics, with its “colonial” or “feudal” strongmen, has infected much of Africa and can be seen in the ethnic-based, one-party regimes typical of most dictatorships on the continent. Conflict never resolves as one group thrives—usually a minority of the population—while everyone else strugglesIf another group comes into power; the pattern is oftentimes repeated. Strong institutions for checks and balances do not exist or when they do, they are pseudo-institutions, controlled by those in power. These non-representative governments continue to epitomize what happened at the Berlin conference of 1885, held only a short distance from where we are today, when Europeans met to divvy up the continent of Africa based on their self-interests. No Africans were present.  Now, modern-day African dictators are doing the same.
Thirsty for power, material wealth and privilege, and empowered by foreign and crony partners and heavy-handed militaries, they are divvying up the indigenous land and resources of the African people, without consulting the people or providing compensation for losses, as required under international law and many national constitutions. The people are disempowered, intimidated or “bought off.” The environment has never been at greater risk as short-term interests and quick gain trumps the political will to give oversight to ecological concerns surrounding development projects.
From 2008 until now, some 204 million acres of land (approximately 80 million hectares) have been leased worldwide. The majority of it is in Africa. Within the African continent, Ethiopia is at the forefront of these land-grab deals. Within Ethiopia, no place has been more affected than my own home region of Gambella, which has now become the epicenter of land-grabs in the world. Let me share with you how it happened and how these land-grabs are contributing to food insecurity in a place where people have not had to rely on outsiders to feed them until now.
In 2008, the authoritarian regime, led by the recently deceased Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, made a secretive deal with Karuturi Global LTD, an Indian-run commercial agricultural operation. In that deal, they leased 100,000 hectares for fifty years, with the promise of 200,000 more hectares when they developed the first section; making it the largest commercial farm in the world.
Most of the produce is destined for export to India or other commodity markets. Some of the local Anuak have been employed by Karuturi, but wages are mostly below the World Bank’s established poverty level. In one year, from 2009 to 2010, the number of private investors in the Gambella region—mostly companies from India, Saudi Arabia, China and regime cronies— mushroomed from close to zero to nearly 900. They include Saudi Star, owned by Sheik Mohammed al Amoudi, a half Ethiopian-half Saudi billionaire, who allegedly will be exporting the food to Saudi Arabia. This past year, armed insurgents, opposed to the land grabs, broke into their headquarters and killed a number of Saudi Star employees, an indication of potential for violence in some of these communities opposed to the expropriation of land from the local people.
A land study completed for the Ethiopian government in 1995 highlighted the value of the Gambella region as being a potential breadbasket of Ethiopia because of its fertile land and plentiful water in the lowlands of the Upper Nile headwaters. It was an undeveloped region of great bio-diversity, abundant wildlife and virgin forests. Around the same time, oil was found. Finding resources on your land is like finding cancer in your body—it threatens your life and future—especially in a country where the people are seen as impediments rather than valued; even more so if these people demand their rights under their own constitution and international law.
In 2003, the regime went after the oil. The first step was to silence those Anuak leaders who were most outspoken regarding having a say—a right within the Ethiopian Constitution—in the development of the oil reserves on Anuak indigenous land. Starting on December 13, 2003, armed Ethiopian Defense Forces, accompanied by civilian militias equipped by the regime with machetes, attacked and brutally murdered 424 Anuak leaders within a span of three days. The bodies were buried in mass graves. Women were raped and homes, clinics and schools destroyed; followed by over two more years of widespread perpetration of human rights crimes and destruction. I personally knew over 300 of those killed during this 3-day massacre; among them were relatives, classmates and colleagues in the development work I was doing in the area. The regime covered it all up and attributed it to ethnic conflict between the Anuak and another indigenous ethnic group. A Chinese company, under the auspices of Petronas of Malaysia, began drilling for oil at the very same time. As long as they were there, the human rights crimes continued.
Genocide Watch completed two reports, classifying it as genocide targeting a specific people group, the Anuak, and determining that those in the highest offices of the country were involved in its planning and execution. Human Rights Watch did two reports and found widespread crimes against humanity related to the oil drilling.
In 2007, when the drilling only produced dry wells, the troops were moved to southeastern Ethiopia and Somalia where many similar crimes were committed against civilians of the Ogaden region.[i] Now, the Ethiopian government has announced that they will be partnering in the extraction of oil from the Ogaden region.
If you fast-forward to the present time in Gambella, it is now the grabbing of land, the forced eviction of the local people and the renewed human rights crimes perpetrated by the military against any resistance to the above that threatens the Anuak and other indigenous people.   In 2011, we in the SMNE partnered with the Oakland Institute (OI)[ii] to complete a comprehensive study on the nature of these land grabs, “Understanding Land Investment Deals in Ethiopia.” It was part of a larger study done by OI and other partners of a number of other African countries.
Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch completed an investigation of the impact of these land grabs on the local people. They reported on the forced eviction of 70,000 indigenous people from their homes and farms in Gambella, with plans to eventually move a total of 245,000 people—three-quarters of the total population in the region. (See Human Rights Watch Report)[iii] The regime has alleged that the resettlement moves were voluntary and motivated by the regime’s intention to better provide services such as clean water, medical care and schools; but in actuality, the people were forced to move to “villagization centers” where many people ended up living under trees and to areas where services, fertile land and access to water were far inferior, less accessible or non-existent.
Some of those who have been displaced are people I personally know, so when I am talking about the impact, I know many of their stories.  I know that those forced off their land are now struggling to eat.  I know about the huge areas of virgin forests that have been cut down to clear vast fields for planting. I know how vulnerable the rivers are to pollution from chemicals and fertilizers. These are rivers from which I used to drink or fish. I know how the wildlife will be jeopardized. I know how those who resist are beaten, killed, disappeared or arrested. This is not only happening in Gambella and in Ethiopia but wherever people have no rights and where others covet their resources or land. This is confirmed by the PBS documentary entitled: The latest battleground in the global race to secure prized farmland and water and another video done by the Guardian
Land-grabs Undermine Food Security in Places Previously Independent of Food Aid
When we talk about food shortages in 2008 and food insecurity in general, we are not talking about the people in the rural areas of Africa where these land grabs are going on because these people, under normal conditions, have nearly always been able to feed themselves. These people will now be the ones to go hungry because their land is being used to feed the world, but not themselves.
Here are some facts on food security in Africa:
According to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO):
  •  One out of three persons in Sub-Saharan Africa is undernourished.
According to the African Human Development Report of 2012[iv] that focuses on improving food security:
  • Over 41% of children, under the age of five in Sub-Saharan Africa, had stunted growth. Their projection for 2020 only went down by 1%.
  • Hunger in Africa is the highest in the world.
In the June, 2011 quarterly issue of the African Food Security Brief[v], they report:
  • Sub-Saharan African countries reported an increase in cereal production in 2010 from 2009, but it failed to result in increased food security in many of the countries studied.
Modern-day dictatorships set the foundation for the second scramble for African resources.
Where there is no freedom, no voice or no justice, the rights and interests of the people are ignored, forgotten or abused.Let’s look at some recent statistics that link poor African governance and the lack of freedom to food insecurity and the threat of land and resource grabbing.
  • Africans are among the least free people on earth.[vi]
  • According to a 2012 report from Freedom House,[vii] five of the ten countries in the world suffering the greatest aggregate declines in freedom from 2007 to 2011, were in Africa.
  • Topping the list of those countries experiencing the greatest declines in freedom over the past two years were: The Gambia, Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda and Djibouti.
  • In Sub-Saharan Africa, 82% of the countries studied were only partly free or not free; contrasted with Europe, where 96% of the countries are free, with only 4% being partly free and none being not free.
  • In terms of the population, 88% of Sub-Saharan Africans are only partly free or not free whereas 13% of Europeans are partly free and no country within Europe is considered “not free.”
  • Interestingly, two African countries made the list of countries that have seen the greatest net gains in freedom. They are Tunisia and Egypt, both of whom overthrew their authoritarian leaders in the Arab Spring, following decades of repressive rule; hopefully, they will continue in this direction.
Freedom House saw the greatest declines in freedom in these countries in respect to the rule of law and freedom of association with other noted declines related to flawed elections, suppression of the political opposition, the media, journalists and civil society; and in my own country, Ethiopia, the use of anti-terrorism laws to target political opponents and journalists. 
I was recently charged by the current government of Ethiopia, and convicted in absentia, of terrorism, without ever receiving a single document regarding it. I received hundreds of calls and emails of congratulations from Ethiopians complimenting me for making the list as it meant the government saw our work as a threat to their authoritarian rule. Sadly, some of Ethiopia’s most democratic and valiant voices for freedom have been locked up and tortured within Ethiopia.[viii]
Dictatorships, crony-capitalism and corruption will block food security despite efforts.
Meles Zenawi, the architect of the Ethiopian system of increasing authoritarianism, has died. Under his leadership, Ethiopia had plans to lease 4 million hectares of land to foreign and crony investor. Accompanying these secretive land deals are record amounts of illicit capital leakage from the country. Preceding the release of a more comprehensive study by Global Financial Integrity on Illicit Financial Outflows from Developing Countries Over the Decade Ending in 2009,[ix] they chose to highlight Ethiopia.
They reported $11.7 billion (USD) leaving the country in the period of 2000- 2009 and a shocking $3.26 billion USD in 2009 alone—the first year of record land acquisitions. They stated: “The people of Ethiopia are being bled dry. No matter how hard they try to fight their way out of absolute destitution and poverty, they will be swimming upstream against the current of illicit capital leakage.”
Not only is money from investment, foreign aid and funds for development blocked from reaching the people, but an atmosphere of corruption prevents better models of investment from materializing. Corruption deters ethical investors from doing business in Africa—decreasing good economic opportunities for Africans and instead increasing their food insecurity. In the second scramble for Africa, it is no longer the people who are sought after, but instead it is their land, water and resources. In Ethiopia, anyone who stands against these land-grabs is called “anti-development,” “anti-investment” or “anti-economic growth” and becomes a target of the regime while investors and companies willing to give bribes and kickbacks, while ignoring the violation of rights on the ground, are becoming complicit with Africa’s corrupt governments in its abuse of the people.
No one will argue with the fact that Africa desperately needs development, investment and economic growth, but what is needed is the right kind of investor and development. In western countries, laws protect the people, but in most of Africa, those laws are absent or not enforced. The people of Africa seek investors who will partner with the people in mutually beneficial and sustainable economic opportunities; however, most of these kinds of investors, developers and partners shy away from much of Africa because of the very real risks of doing business there. 
Those ethical foreign and local investors and developers, who do take the risk, usually do so with caution and on a limited basis; however,many simply refuse to even attempt to do business in Africa—or within most countries of Africa—because of its corruption, its lack of infrastructure, its insecurity and the unreliability of the forever changing whims and politics of its authoritarian political leaders.
A representative from a major agricultural company shared recently that they were only willing to do business in five African countries at this time because of the expectation of bribes by public officials and because their company had strict policies against bribery.
This decision is confirmed in a soon-to-be-released survey of eight East African countries by Transparency International and its East African Chapters. In their preview of it, they report that “more than half of all those who deal with public service providers are forced to pay bribes.”[x] Despite the 37 signatories to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),[xi] against bribery and corruption and its mission to improve the economic and social well being of the people of the world, bribery is still rampant, with many countries still not signatories or where signatories, many still have shown a lack of political will to enforce compliance. Germany is the second greatest enforcer of this act, only exceeded by the United States, with a higher population. 
Unfortunately, where impunity exists, corrupt practices give unfair advantage to corrupt partners and undermine opportunity for principled economic partners who comply voluntarily or because of anti-bribery laws in their own countries. Such ethical partners should be rewarded once these countries are freed from the hands of their strongmen, but until then, Africans depend on these foreign partners to uphold honest and fair business practice. If Africa is not going to fall victim to the next scramble, it cannot be done alone without such international cooperation. Additionally, the people of Africa must press their countries for needed reforms, transparency, accountability, and improved regional and continental cooperation. Africa has 54 countries and 1.2 billion people who must take charge of their future.
As long as Africans are denied land tenure; food insecurity will continue.
Mohammed Ibrahim, Africa’s billionaire who is offering rich payoff’s to African leaders who do not take kickbacks says there is no justification for Africa being poor due to its immense wealth. He blames Africans for the way they govern themselves. He believes if African leaders were not so corrupt, that many more investors would be interested in investing. Every year he publishes a report, the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, looking at 86 indicators in Africa’s 54 states; ranking them accordingly. Accountability is one factor he believes is missing from most. In 2011 he gives Sierra Leone and Liberia some of the best marks for improvement even though they are not at the top. In regards to Sudan and South Sudan, he states in a recent interview by the Wall Street Journal,[xii] “In the absence of security, who can talk about development?”  Sudan is his homeland.
However, he voices concern for most of Africa regarding a total disregard for property rights.  He says, “The glaring issue here is the land title. Almost without exception, states hold title to everything… this means the 70% of Africans who farm for a living can’t monetize their profits, they have no collateral—if you don’t have title, how can you raise money, how can you borrow money? It’s a major issue in agricultural development, and it needs to be faced head-on.”
Like he says, land tenure is a major problem in ensuring food security and gives the legal justification for land-grabs. These unfair laws should be challenged and changed. Until Africans can own land, these problems will continue. Africans must demand the right to own land.
The SMNE will be publishing a study on the relationship of food insecurity to the lack of land tenure in Ethiopia. It was done in partnership with the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota. It affirms all that Mr. Ibriham has said. This one factor, land tenure, would help the small farmers to multiply their productivity; yet, it goes back to the overwhelming need on the continent for freedom.
The rule of law is a weapon against hunger; where it exists, the people are more food secure.
No foreign country would ever come to Germany and kick the people out from their homes and landObang speaks about the Land, Water and Resource-Grabbing with no benefit to the people. No outside country could go to Canada to exploit the forests for its lumber; chopping down the trees and not caring about the effect on the ecology and the people; it would never be accepted.  It is like someone going to Saudi Arabia and taking all the oil and not caring that the Saudi people did not have any oil to heat their homes or to run their cars. It is like depleting the fish on the coast off of Japan, and leaving none for the locals.  Every well-functioning country has laws to protect the rights of the local people. This kind of exploitation only happens in those places where there are no strong regulatory mechanisms or where there is a government who does not care about the people. Unless there are ethics or laws, the privileged and the powerful will take all the advantages; leaving the most vulnerable out.
We live in a world where the balance between the advantaged and disadvantaged is large; like in the case of the exploitation of minerals in the Congo. If those minerals were found in West London or in New York State, the people of that place would benefit, but in the Congo, it is the African strongmen and their partners in many forms—other strongmen, opportunistic nations, corporations or even donor nations. If you are not strong, you are on your own. In some cases, those who are benefiting do not want the people empowered or awakened because if the people knew their rights; the daylight robbery of the people would stop and fairer competition and the rule of law would inhibit exploitation.
In Africa, the people often do not know their rights because they are intentionally denied knowledge and information. Ethiopia is the fourth least prepared country in the world for technological expansion.[xiii] The reason is because the dictatorial government has been so effective in using imported technology from China to limit the free-flow of information to their own people. Ethiopia should be embarrassed to have one of the lowest percentages of people with cell phones, Internet service or telephone landlines on the entire African continent.[xiv] All of these blocks to information hold the people back and keep the country hostage to poverty, hunger and starvation.
For many Africans, their land is the only thing they have. They are uneducated and ill-prepared for jobs beyond farming if suddenly forced from making their livelihoods in this way. For example, in the Omo Valley of Ethiopia live some of the most isolated and neglected of people on earth. Left alone, they have survived because of their land and water. Now, the Ethiopian government plans on taking their land and water away from them without giving them any benefits in order to make way for government-controlled sugar plantations. Who will speak for the people of the Omo Valley?  Their government, who should be setting the regulations to protect them, is instead complicit. As a result, they become the victims. They will struggle and some, if not many, will die of hunger or related health issues. Who will benefit? Regime cronies will if the status quo continues under the newly appointed prime minister and his government.
God has given us a beautiful earth with abundant resources and we have toiled to feed ourselves. Whether we are human beings or another living creature, we share the land and the water. We still have enough land to share, but in this global society, that sharing requires that we think not only about ourselves and our groups, but also about others who may be weaker and more vulnerable. We must also consider preserving the conditions for life for other living creatures; creating a balance within our ecosystem to sustain ourselves and our resources.  It cannot be done by rhetoric from the powerful, which only serves to cover up the exploitation of those on the ground for there are those who know the law and how to use laws to their own advantage. They pass laws to criminalize dissent and to guarantee their own access to the land of others. They use their power to justify what is wrong, rather than to act fairly. They use their power to exclude. It is immoral and unconscionable. It should not be accepted. 
If we are genuinely honest, we know that this land was given to us by God; in no place is that more affirmed than in Africa by the African people. We should not settle for anything less than what is right and it should apply to everyone. Knowing what is right is part of what makes us human. Whether educated or not, what is right is embedded in all of us. Everyone knows it—whether rich or poor, educated or illiterate, powerful or weak. For example, everyone knows that it is wrong to kill another person. The same applies to recognizing the need of other human beings for shelter, food, family and the necessities to sustain life and that what belongs to them should not be robbed from another person because they are weaker.
As global resources are becoming increasingly precious, we must follow righteousness in these decisions. If we do not, we will lose our humanity, our soul, our peace and our security. We will shirk our responsibility to care and protect others as we would want done to us. 
This land-grabbing is life-grabbing. It should not be allowed and should not be accepted by decent human beings. We live on this globe called earth. It may look huge to us here, but from space, it is like a tiny ball that can fit into a hand. We are all in this together and we have to maintain it. We have a stake in it. When dealing with a human life, we should value it, putting“humanity before ethnicity” or any other distinctions that divide us from each other.
For a better world, it requires all of us to remember that “none of us will be free until our brother and sister—our fellow human beings in this world—are free.” Our humanity does not have boundaries.  We have to preserve it, protect it and be part of it.  Do not be bystanders. We have to reach out, take action, love our global neighbors and be the ones to do your share from wherever you are.
Thank you!
Please do not hesitate to e-mail your comments to Mr. Obang Metho, Executive Director of the SMNE, at:Obang@solidaritymovement.org. You can find more about us through our website at: www.solidaritymovement.org