Friday, December 14, 2012

Tigray conference "We fought Amhara"




The man is saying there is a problem withing TPLF. He states they fought and toppled Amhara and the Amhara regime, but now power has been transferred from Amhara to Adwa.





Open letter to Ambassador Susan Rice by Abebe Gellaw


Dear Ambassador Rice, I have great admiration and respect for you. I believe that you have made the right decision not to bid for the position of U.S. Secretary of State. Although your commitment to serving your country with utmost integrity and passion is very commendable, some of your backstory is truly disturbing, especially your position of steadfast inaction during the height of the Rwandan genocide. 

Last September, you traveled to Ethiopia to attend the funeral of Ethiopia’s 21-year long dictator Meles Zenawi. Your eulogy has troubled and upset so many ordinary Ethiopians. You referred to Zenawi as a trustworthy friend to the U.S and you personally. That is fine! But according to you, “Meles was disarmingly regular, unpretentious, and direct. He was selfless, tireless and totally dedicated to his work and family.” You also claimed: “Among Prime Minister Meles’ many admirable qualities, above all was his world-class mind. A life-long student, he taught himself and many others so much. But he wasn’t just brilliant. He wasn’t just a relentless negotiator and a formidable debater.”
Yes, as a master of deception, he might have appeared selfless in front of global VIPs like yourself. Far from it, Meles Zenawi was an obstinate dictator who did not understand the language of diplomacy, negotiation and compromise. He killed, tortured and maimed countless Ethiopians. He divided the country along ethnic lines just to enforce his divide-and-rule policies. 
Your “brilliant” friend did not have a world-class mind, as you claimed. He was narrow-minded who could not see the world beyond his nose and power, no matter how eloquently he could speak. Your friend was not selfless, but a narcissist who did everything in his power to destroy critics and dissidents. 
It was even hurtful when you insensitively said: “He was tough, unsentimental and sometimes unyielding. And, of course, he had little patience for fools, or “idiots,” as he liked to call them…Meles was consistently reasoned in his judgments and thoughtful in his decisions; and, he was driven not by ideology but by his vision of a better future for this land he loved….” 
As a critic, I was among those whom he labeled as terrorists, idiots and fools. For Meles, any critic is a threat including the minors killed savagely in broad daylight for protesting his tyranny and brutality. Tens of thousands of others are languishing in jails even after his death. Those were the “idiots and fools” he seemed to have referred to insensitively and you echoed approvingly. 
Your eulogy for Zenawi was not only insensitive but also quite revealing as to your lack of commitment to the freedom of others that dictators like Zenawi robbed and destroyed. I am one of those countless Ethiopians abused, tortured and exiled by your “brilliant” friend. 
I honestly feel that the world is lighter and safer without the likes of Meles, Gaddafi or Mubarak. Your brilliant friend was in fact an idiotic despot who did not know how to treat his fellow countrymen fairly, respectfully and kindly.
I do believe that your eulogy for dictators will be more measured and reasoned in the future. I hope this would be a teachable moment for you to move forward. 
I wish you all the best. 
Best regards
Abebe Gellaw
Exiled Ethiopian journalist