EFFORT and The TPLF Business Empire

Ginbot 7 Report

Originally Posted July 13, 2009

The Ethiopian economy is controlled by two large interlocking conglomerates: The Endowment Fund For The Rehabilitation of Tigrai (EFFORT) and Mohamed International Development Research Organization Companies (MIDROC), the Saudi billionaire, Sheikh Mohamed Al-Amoudi’s vast business enterprise.

However, the focus of this report is on EFFORT, the Tigrai People’s Liberation Front’s (TPLF) economic empire, that has monopolized the private sector of the Ethiopian economy to the extent never seen anywhere in the African continent.

The seeds for the thriving TPLF business empire were planted back in 1978 when the Relief Society of Tigrai (REST), the financial umbrella of the rebel movement in Northern Ethiopia was created as an NGO. Though REST was a relief organization, a TPLF Central Committee member headed it; and it collected donations from the international community and channeled it to the TPLF, playing a key role in the survival and ultimate victory of the TPLF over the Marxist military Derg.

After the TPLF came to power in 1991, REST was formally registered with the Ethiopian government’s Relief & Rehabilitation Commission as an “NGO”. As the financial backbone of the TPLF, REST continued enjoying state protection; and the restructured REST emerged as the richest “NGO” in the African continent. In the summer of 1995, about four years after the rebel group took control of power in Ethiopia, the TPLF established a stronger peer for REST – the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigrai (EFFORT). Business documents suggest that EFFORT started its business venture with a lofty investment volume of about 2.7 billion birr — then just under U.S. $1 billion.

The predominance of party-owned companies, referred to as parastatals, that control the strategic income generating sectors such as agriculture, industry, banking, mining, import-export, transport, construction, insurance, and communications is bitterly resented by private entrepreneurs as well as the general population which views it as a deliberate ethnic based and systemic economic exploitation. Since 1995, the TPLF has been using the parastatals under EFFORT as a “cash cow” to accumulate immense amounts of wealth to pursue its ethnically motivated political and economic domination of Ethiopia.

Although privatization was initiated early on and a competitive policy and trade practice commissions were developed, they did not have a significant impact, since the process was discriminatory and highly politicized — plagued with nepotism, insider information, and other political considerations. In its most egregious form, for example, the entire process of modernizing and increasing the role of the private sector is delayed to this day until the weak parastatals are able to compete and become major players especially in the lucrative IT and Telecommunications sector.

The World Bank, many internal and external observers, as well as, business people have noted that party-owned enterprises enjoy preferential access to contracts, capital, physical infrastructure and administrative services, tax breaks and other politically motivated and privileged supports.

The business community complains that the system of taxation is aggressive and targets those who do not have political connection, or those who are not linked to party parastatals. Some business people have complained that heavy taxes have been used as a tactic of pressurizing and settling scores on those suspected of supporting the opposition.

For example, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) the dominant market player, faced financial meltdown a few years ago as its level of non-performing loans (NPLs) passed the 50% mark, due to unregulated lending to state-owned companies, parastatals, and to private individuals with political or personal connections with bank officials.

The parastatals also have an adverse impact on the investment climate and the economic well being of a large segment of the society. First of all, they deliberately give privileged and monopolistic economic power to a minority segment of the society to control huge amounts of assets by TPLF- the ruling party. Secondly, they create barriers to new market entrants, especially for those who refuse to enter into some kind of joint venture or cooperative activity with the parastatals. Thirdly, they create an endemic culture of obscene corruption by leveraging state resources and unfair trade practices through granting privileged access to land and information regarding procurement. Moreover, since these parastatals operate across various sectors, some have real strategic influence on other sectors [transport sector] and high demand commodities [fertilizer].

The TPLF has clearly been engaged in massive corruption and unethical business practices by national or international business rules and practices since its rise to power in Ethiopia. As a ruling party, it not only owns strategic sectors of the economy and engages in commercial and trading activities, it also puts competing private sectors in a hopeless no-win situation. This preponderant economic dominance is also used as a political weapon to harass, incarcerate, dominate, weaken and control opposition forces in order to stay in power indefinitely.

Under these untenable circumstances, it 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.

The economic hegemony of the TPLF coupled with its gross mismanagement of the nation’s resources and the massive systemic corruption that has infected the body politic of the nation is the ticking time bomb that may very well destroy the fabric of the Ethiopian society.

Full List of TPLF Companies Under EFFORT

Companies with investment capital of < 20,000,000 Million Ethiopian Birr

Company Name	Year Est.(EC)	Capital	HQ	Board Chairman
Selam Transport	1995	10,000000 Birr	Mekele	Arkebe Ekubay
Segel Construction	1995	10,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Araya Zerihun
Mega Net Corp	1995	10,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Alemseged Gebreamlak
Hitech Park Axion Association	1995	10,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Shimelis Kinde
Fana Democracy plc	1995	6,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Negash Sahle
Express Transit	1995	10,000,000 Birr	Mekele	G/selassie Gidey
Ethio Rental Axion Association	1995	10,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Atkilit Kiros
Dilate Brewery	1995	15,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Kahsay TewoldeTedla
Dessalegn Caterinary	1995	15,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Dr, Maru Erdaw
Addis Consultancy House	1995	10,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Sibhat Nega
Birhane Building Construction	1995	10,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Bereket Mazengiya
Total Capital		116, 000,000 birr

Companies with investment capital between 20-49 Million Ethiopian Birr

Company Name	Year Est (EC)	Capital	HQ	Board Chairman
Sheba Tannery Factory Axion Assoc.	1995	40,000,000 Birr	Wukro	Abadi Zemu
Meskerem Investment	1995	40,000,000 Birr	Axum	Tewodros Ayes Tesfaye
Africa Insurance Axion Association	1995	30,000,000 Birr	A.Ababa	Yohannes Ekubay
Global Auto Sparepart	1995	26,000,000 Birr	A.Ababa	Teklebirhan Habtu
Experience Ethiopia Travel	1995	26,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Tony Hiki
Addis Engineering Consultancy	1995	25,000,000 Birr	A.Ababa	Arkebe Ekubay
Hiwot Agriculture Mechanization	1995	25,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Yohannes Kidane
Berhe Chemical Axion	1995	25,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Abadi Zemu
Rahwa Yebegina Fiyel Export	1995	25,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Yassin Abdurahman
Star Pharmaceuticals	1995	25,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Arkebe Ekubay
Tesfa Livestock	1995	20,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Yohannes Kidane
Total Capital		307,000,000 Birr

Companies with a paid-up capital of >50.000.000  Million Ethiopian Birr

Company Name	Year Est.(EC)	Capital	HQ	Board Chairman
Almedan Garment Factory	1995	660,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Abadi Zemu
Mesfin Industrial Company	1995	500,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Arkebe Ekubay
Mesob Cement Factory	1995	240,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Abadi Zemu
Almeda Textile Factory	1995	180,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Abadi Zemu
Sur Construction	1995	150,000,000 Birr	A.Ababa	Arkebe Ekubay
Trans Ethiopia	1995	100,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Shimelis Kinde
Dedebit Saving & Loan	1995	60,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Atkilit Kiros
Ezana Mining Development	1995	55,000,000 Birr	A.Ababa	Tewodros H. Berhe
Addis Pharmaceuticals Production	1995	53,000,000 Birr	A.Ababa	Abadi Zemu
Tana Trading House Axion Association	1995	50,000,000 Birr	A.Ababa	Sibhat Nega
Total Capital		1,868,000,000 Birr

Companies that did not make their paid-up capital public

Ambassel Commerce	Dinsho Share Company	Tigrai Tagai Association	Brook Chemical Share Company
Dashen Beer Factory	Express Ethio Travel Service	Tigrai Development PLC	Computer Networking Technology
Amhara Meleso MaquaQuam	Berhan Building Construction	Star Pharmaceutical Importers	National Electromechanical
Saba Emnebered	Guna Trade Services	Biftu Dinsho	Oromia Credit Bank
Adwa Flour Factory	Wendo Trading	Shala Advertisement	National Geo-Textile
Trans Ethiopia	Tikal Agri Tigrai	Wegagen Bank	Alage Forest Products
Sebhat Nega PLC	Addis Transport	Walta Industry	Martha poultry
Dima Honey Processinf plant	Zeleke Agricultural Mechanization PLC	Tikur Abbay Transport	Beruk Tesfa Plastic Factory
Aberdele Animal Export Company	Maichew Particle Board

These 66 companies are owned and managed by ethnic Tigreans
*Some Board Chairmen might have moved within the parastatals
*The amount shown on the tables above are initial start up capitals. The total networth of the parastatals has quadrupled.

ESAT-HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATION FOR THE LAST 21 YEARS ETHIOPIA

የ21ኛው ክፍለዘመን ይሁዲ

ከማተቤ መለሰ ተሰማ

በ20ኛው ክፍለ ዘመን የአርያንን ዘር በዓለም ላይ ማንገስን ሰነቆ የተነሳው የጀርመኑ ናዚ፡ በይሁዲያዊያን ላይ የፈጸመው የዘር
ማጥፋት ሰቆቃ ዛሪ ድረስ የዓለምን ህዝብ ሲያሳዝን ይገኛል። አሁን በ21ኛው ክፍለዘመን ደግሞ ወያኔ የአማረኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪና
የኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ሃይማኖት ተከታይ የሆነውን ኢትዮጵያውያን ከምድረገጽ ለማስወገድ እንደ ያኔው ናዚ ዘግናኝ ድርጊት በመፈጸም
ላይ ነው።
ይህ የጥፋት ዘመቻ በአጋጣሚ የተከሰተ ሳይሆን በእቅድ ተነድፎ እየተከናወነ ያለ መሆኑን የህዋሀቱ አንጋፋ ታጋይ አቶ ስብሃት ነጋ
የአቶ ሐይለማርያም ደሳለኝን የኢስሙላ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስተርነት ሹመት አስመልክቶ ገዛ ተጋሩ ከተባለ ፓለቶክ ጋር ባደረጉት
ቃለምልልስ፡ ስልጣንን ከኦርቶዶክስ እምነት ተከታይና ከአማራ ነጥቀነዋል አላማችንም የኸው ነበር ሲሉ ሰነምግባር ባልገራው
አንደበታቸው በድፍረት መናገራቸው የወያኔ ጉዞ ከየት ወዴትነት ማሳየት ከሚችሉ ኩነቶች እንደ አንዱ ሊወሰድ የሚገባው ነው።
ሟቹ ጠቅላይ አጥፊያችን አቶ መለስ ዜናዊም፡ በአንድ ወቅት ይህነን የበሰበሰ ሐይማኖት ኦርቶዶክስንና አማራን ካላጠፋን መሪት
ትክበዳቸውና መቸም ስሟን መጥራት ያስጠላቸው ነበር፡ ሀአገሪቷን በምንፈልገው መንገድ መምራት አንችልም። ያሉ ሲሆን የህንኑ
ቃል ሳይቀነስ እንዳለ ፡ አማራው የራሱ የሆኑ ልጆች አጥቶ በረከት ሰሞንን ከኤርትራ እንደተበደረ ሁሉ፡ ከደቡብ ኢተዮጵያ
የተዋሳቸው አቶ ተፈራ ዋልዋ የአዲስ አበባ ከተማ ከንቲቫ በነበሩበት ወቅት ደግመውታል።
ለነገሩማ ህዋሃት በኢትዮጵያ አቆጣጥር 1968 ዓ.ም ደደቢት ውስጥ እያለ በነደፈው የትግል ማንፊስቶው ላይ፡ ከአላማው
የመጀመሪያው አድርጎ ያሰፈረው አማራን ማጥፋት የሚል ነው። በዚህ መርሃ ግብሩ መሰረት ለ17 አመት ባካሄደው ጦርነት ሁሉ
የሚማርካቸውን ወታደሮች ዘራቸውን በመጠየቅ አማራነኝ ያለውን ብቻ መርጦ እየገደለ ሌላውን ማለትም እንደ አባዱላ ገመዳና ኩማ
ደመቅሳ አይነት ፈቃደኛ ምርኮኞችን ወደእራሱ ሰራዊት እንዲቀላቀሉ ሲያደረግ አልፈልግም ያለውንና አማራ አለመሆኑ
የተረጋገጠለትን ወደዬ ትውልድ መንደሩ ይመልስ ነበር።
ወያኔ በምዕራባውያን ሃአገሮች ሙሉድጋፍ የኢትዮጵያን መንግስትነት በትረ ስልጣን ከጨበጠ በሗላም የመጀመሪያ ስራው ያደረገው
ሌላው ኢትዮጵያውያን በአማረኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪው ሕዝብ ላይ እንዲነሳ መቀስቀስ ነበርና፡ አቶ ታምራት ላይኔ በሃረርጌ፣ በባሌ፣
በአርሴ፣ በቦረና። አቶ ዳዊይት ዮሀንስ ደግሞ በጀማ፣ በወለጋ በኢሉባቦር ወ.ዘ.ተ.ኦሮሞኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪው ማህበረሰብ ባለበት ሁሉ
እየተዘዋወሩ ይህ አማራ የተባለ ነፍጠኛ ለመቶ አመታት ሲዘርፍህ፣ ሲገፍህ ሲያሰቃይህ ኖሯል። አሁን ሜዳውም ፈረሱም እነሆ፡
ልትበቀለው ትችላለህ በማለት ቀስቀስው እንደተመለሱ በአርባጉጉ፡ በበደኖ፣ በባሌ፣ አርሴ፣ በቦረና፣ በጅማ፣ በኢሉባቦር፡ አማረኛ
ቋንቋ ተናጋሪው እየተመረጠ፡ አነገቱ በሰይፍ እየተቆረጠ፣ እራሱ በፋስ እየተፈለጠ፣ ሆዱ በሳንጃ እየተዘነጠለ፣ ከእነ ህይወቱ በገደል
እየጣለ በሸዎች የሚቆጠር ህዝብ ያለቀ ሲሆን፡ ወለጋ አሶሳ ውስጥ ደግሞ ከያለበት ተሰብስቦ በሳርቤት ውስጥ እንዲገባ ተደርጎ በእሳት
ተቃጥሏል። ይህ የዘር ማጥፋት ዘመቻ አሁንም ተጠናክሮ ለመቀጠሉ፡ በቅርብ ከደቡብ ኢተዮጵያ ተመርጦ ንብረቱ እየተዘረፈ
የተባረረው 75000 አማረኛ ተናጋሪ ምስክር ነው። ወያኔ እንዳቀነቀነውና ሌሎችም ተቀብለው እንዳስተጋቡለት፡ ነፍጠኝነት
የብሔረስብ ወይንም የዘርና የሃይማኖት መገለጫ አለዚያም የመደብ ባህሪ መከሰቻ አይደለም፡ ታሪክን አጣምሞ በመተርጎም እርካሽ
የፖለቲካ ትርፍ ለማግኘት በማለም እንጅ። ነፍጠኛ የሚለው ስም በአንድ ወቅት በሔረሰብ ሳይመርጡ ጎሳ ሳይለዩ ኢትዮጵያውያን፡
ለሃገር አንድነትና ነጻነት ተዋግተው እንዲሞቱ፡ ግዳጅ ሲሰጣቸው የተዋጊነት መለያ የተሰየመላቸው ስም ነበር እንደዛሪው ወታደር።
በዚህ ግዳጅ ደግሞ የተሳተፈው አማራው ብቻም አልነበረም ሁሉም ኢትዮጵያዊ እንጅ፡ ዛሪ በምን መለኪያ ተመዝኖ ለአማራው
እንደተሰጠና እንዴትም ስድብ እንደሆነ አይገባኝም።
የአማረኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪው ኢትዮጵያዊ የተገፋው በሌላው ቋንቋ ተናጋሪ ኢትዮጵያዊና አካባቢ በቻ አይደለም፡ ክልልህ ነው
በተባለውም በከፋ ሁኔታ የቀጠለ ነው እንጅ። አማራው የሚያስተዳድረው የሚመራው ከራሱ አብራክ ያወጣው በሙያው የተካነ ልጅ
እንደሌለው ተቆጥሮ የአማራ ክልል መሪ ሆነው ለረጅም አመት የተቀመጡት ከትግራይ ክልል ሄደው ምዕራብ ሃረርጌ፡ ሀብሮ አውራጃ
ሂረና ወረዳ ከሰፈሩት ከቄስ ለገሰ የተወለዱትና የ1ኛ ደረጃ ት/ ቤት የእስፖርት አስተማሪ የነበሩት አቶ አዲሱ ለገሰ ሲሆኑ እኝህ
ባለስልጣን የስራ መጀመሬያቸው ያደረጉት ህዝቡ እንዲሸማቀቅ፣ በማንነቱ እንዲያፍርና አንገቱን እንዲደፋ ሞራሉ፣ ምግባራዊ
ድፍረቱና ሰባዊመብቱ ከውስጡ እንደጭስ እየተነነ እንዲጠፋ ለማድረግ፡ በአንድ ወይንም በሌላ መንገድ ከማህበረሰቡ የተገለሉ፣
ታሪካቸውን ለጥቅማቸው፣ ሰብናቸውን ለሆዳችው አሳልፈው የሸጡ ደካሞችን በመመልመል በዘለፋና በስድብ አሰልጥነው
በማሰማራት በጀምላ ነፍጠኛ፣ ትምክተኛ፣ ጥገኛ፣ ቢሮክራት ወ.ዘ.ተ. የሚሉ ውርጀብኞችን በስፋት ማሰራጨትን ነበር።
ከዚያ በመቀጠል በመጀመሪያ ከሌሎች ክልሎች በተለየ በአማራ ክልል ከረጅም አመታት ጀምሮ የነበረውን የወባ መቆጣጠሪያ ጣቢያ
በጠቅላላ በመዝጋት ከ1984 እስከ 1987 ድረስ የወባ ወረርሸኝ ገብቶ ከአንድ ቀበሌ በቀን ከ10 እስከ 15 የሚደርስ ሰው እየሞተ
ቀባሪ እንኳን ያጣበት ሁኔታ ሲከሰት እንደ መንግስት አንድም የመከላከል ሙከራ ካለመደረጉም በላይ፡ በጤና ተዋልዶ ፕሮግራም
ሰበብ አሁንም በየትኛውም አካባቢ ያልተሞከረውን፡ አርሶ አደሩን በገንዘብ በማባበል፣ እንቢሲል በማስፈራራትና በማስገደድ ወደፊት
ዘር እንዳይተካ የዘር ብልቱን በሀኪሞች እንዲነኮላሽ በማድረግ የዘር ማጥፋት ዘመቻውን በከፍተኛ ደረጃ አካሂደውበታል፡ ዛሪም ይህ
እኩይ ድርጊት ተጠናክሮ ቀጥሏል።
በሌላ በኩል ነግዶ አደሩን በዝባዥ፣ ጥገኛ ባለሀብት በማለት። እንደ ዶሮ ከጉልበቱ በላይ ለብሶ ያለመጫሚያ የሚኳትነውን አርሶአደር
ደግሞ ቢሮክራት፣ ንክኪ በማለት፡ ንብረትና መሪቱን በመንጠቅ፡ ቅዬውን እየለቀቀ እንዲሰደድ፡ በማድረጋቸው 1993 ዓ.ም ህግናመንግስት ያለ መስሎት፡ አዲስ አበባ ድረስ ተጉዞ ፒያሳ ከሚገኜው ጊወርጊስ ቤተክርስቲያን አካባቢ በመስፈር፡ የቀን ሀሩር የሌሊት ቁር
እየተፈራረቀበት እራብና ጥም እያሰቃየው ፍትህ ቢለምንና ቢማጸን ከወያኔ መንግስት ያገኘው መልስ ድብደባ እስራትና ግድያ ነበር፡
በዚህ ወቅት ከ80 የማያንሱ ሰዎች ለአቤቱታ እንደወጡ በወያኔ ደህንነቶች ታፈነው የት እንደደረሱ እስካሁን አይታወቅም። የተረፈው
ሕይወቱን ለማሰንበት ሲል ወደወለጋ በመሄድ ጦማደር መሪት መርጦ ስፍሮ መኖር ሲጀምር፡ ደገሞ የወያኔ ካድሪዎች ወራሪ ጠላት
የመጣበት በማስመሰል የአካባቢ ኗሪ የኦሮሞኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪ የሆነውን ማህበረሰብ ቀስቅሰው በማስነሳት ከአማራ ክልል ሄዶ በሰፈረው
ህዝብ ላይ ጦርነት አስከፍተው፡ ሴትና ሕጻናትን እንኳን ሳይተው በጅምላ  በመጨፍጨፍ ከ6000 ያላነሰ   አማረኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪ
ህዝብ እንዲያልቅ አድርገዎል።
ከዚህ ተርፎ ምንም ንብረት ሳያንጠለጥል፡ ሚስት የባሏን ባል የሚስቱን ወላጅ የልጁን ልጅ የወላጁን እሪሳ እየተራመደ አባይን ተሻግሮ
ጎጃም ቡሪ ከተማ ሲሰፍር የማስተናገድ ሃላፊነት የነበረባቸው የአማራ ክልል ባለስልጣናት፡ ዞር ብለው አለማያት ብቻ ሳይሆን
ግብርሰናይ ድርጅቶች የሚሰጡት እርዳታ ፈጥኖ እንዳይደርስ ቢሮክራሴያዌ መሰናክል በመፍጠር በርካታ መዳን የሚችሉ ቁስለኞች
እንዲሞቱ አድርገዋል። በእነዚህና የመሳሰሉ የረቀቁ የዘር ማጥፋት ዘዴዎች ያለቀውን አማረኛ ተናጋሪ በተመለከተ ከሁለት አመት
ገደማ በፊት በተደረገው የህዝብና ቤት ቆጠራ ውጤት ሪፖርት 2.4 ሚሊዮን የአማራ ህዝብ እንደተወገደ ለፓርላማው በኩራት
ተገልጿል። በተዘዋዋሪ የአማራን ዘር የማጥፋት ዘመቻችን በእቅዱ መሰረት ግቡን እየመታ ነው የሚል ሪፖርት እንደሆነ ነው ለእኔ
የሚሰማኝ።
እንዲህ ገፋገፋ እስከዳር ነው እንጅ፡
መሀል መሃል ስንል አስወጡን ከደጅ።
እንዳሉት አቶ ዳዊት ወ/ጊዮርጊስ አማረኛ ተናጋሪው ህዝብ፡ በወያኔም ሆነ በሌላ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪ ወገኑ እንዲህ እስከመጨረሻው ዳር
ድረስ ሊገፋ የቻለበት ምክናያት ምንድን ነው? እንደዚህ በእየቦታው የሚሳደደው፣ የሚገደለው፣ የሚዘረፈው፣ የሚገፈፈው፣
የሚዋረደው ለምንድን ነው? ምን ስለአጠፋ ነው? አስቀድሞ የተሰራ በደል ካለስ? ያሁኑ ትውልድ የቅድመ አያቱን እዳ መክፈል
አለበት ወይ? ደግሞስ የትኛው መሪ ነበር አማራና ዛሪ አማራ እንደተጠያቂ የሚታይው? ምኒልክ እናታቸው ኦሮሞ ነበሩ፣ ሀይለ ስላሴ
እናታቸው ጉራጌ ሲሆኑ አባታቸው የኦሮሞው ተወላጅ መኮንን ጉዴሳ ናቸው ፣ መንግስቱ አባታቸው ኦሮሞ ናቸው። ምን ስለሆነ ነው
ተጠያቂ የሚሆነው? አማረኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪው ማህበረሰብስ፡ ከየአቅጣጫው ይህ ሁሉ ማት ሲወርድበት፡ ለምንድን ነው ዝም ብሎ
የተቀመጠው? በእውነት ወያኔ እንደሚለው ፈሪና ሽንታም ስለሆነ ነው? በእውነት አማራ እራሱን መከላከልና ቃታመሳብ የማይቸል
ደካማ ፍጡር ነው? ወ.ዘ.ተ.የሚሉ ጥያቄዎች ዘወትር እንደ ስራት አልባ የጉንዳን ሰራዊት በአእምሮዬ እንደተተራመሱ መልስ ሳያገኙ፡
ቀንን ቀን እየተካው የማያቋርጠው የወራት ጎርፍ እያጋፈለ አልፎ ጊዜ በነበር ጢሻውስጥ በመስረግ ላይ ነው ያለው።
አሁንም ከአቶ ዳዊት ወ/ጊዮርጊስ ግጥም አንድ ስንኝ ልዋስ
አትንኩኝ ባይ ነበር እስከ ትናንትና
እረ እግዚወ በሉ ወዴት ሄደ ጀግና
እንዳሉት እኔን እንደሚገባኝና በታሪክ እንደማውቀውም አማረኛ ተናጋሪው፡ ኢትዮጵያዊ ትናንት ከእራሱ አልፎ ሀገር ሲወረር ድንበር
ሲደፈር፡ ቀድሞ ደርሶ ከአእምሮ፣ ከጉልበት፣ ከጊዜና ከገንዘብ ባሻገር የአካልና የህይወት መሷእትነት ሲከፍል የኖረ ነበር፡ ዛሪ ግን
ቀኝህን ሲመታህ ግራህን አቅርብለት እንደሚለው ስብከተ ሃይማኖት አይነት አቋም በማራመዱ ተፈርቶ ሳይሆን ተንቆ ከመጠላትና
እራሱን መከላከል ከማይችልበት ደረጃ ላይ ደረሷል። ለምን? ይህነን ጥያቄ ያገባኛል የሚል ሁሉ ሊመልሰው የሚገባ ነው ብዬ
አስባለሁ፡
ጥንት አባቶቻችን አነበሶች ነበሩ
እኛስ ድመት ሆነ ምንድን ነው ነገሩ
እንደተባለው ከእያቅጣጫው እንደዚህ ሲገፋና ይህ ሁሉ የግፍ አዝመራ ሲወቃበት ዝም ብሎ እንዲቀበል ያደረገውን ነገር አንጥሮ
በማወቅ ሌላው ቢቀር ዘርን ከመጥፋት ለመከላከል እንኳን ለምን ማለትን መጀመር የአማረኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪው ኢትዮጵያዊ ሁሉ ተገዶ
የሚገባበት ሃቅ ይመስለኛል።
የከፋው ሲያለቅስ ደስ ያለው ሲዘፍን
ያለው ሞልቶት ሲያፈስ የሌለው ሲለምን
እንዳሉት አዲስ ዓለማየሁ ወያኔዎች ሲዘፍኑ ሞለቷቸው የውጭ ሃገር ባንክን በገንዘብ ሲያጨናንቁ የአማረኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪው
ማህበረሰብ ግን ለ21 አመት በርሀብ፣ በእርዛት፣ በሰው ሰራሽ በሽታ፣ በዱላ፣ በጎራዴ፣ በሳንጃ፣ በጥይት በገደል፣ በእሳት ወ.ዘ.ተ
እንደቅጠል እረግፏል፡ የተረፈውና ነገ ምን ይደርስብኝ ይሆን በማለት ስጋው በስጋት አልቆ ያለምንም በህይወት የመቆየት ዋስትና ፡
ቀጣይ መጻቱን በመጠባበቅ ላይ ያለውም ቢሆን ዛሪ ዘርቶ መቃሚያ፣ ወልዶ መሳሚያ፣ ፈትም መኖሪያ በሗላም መቀበሪያ ሃገር
ተነፍጎና እስከመጨረሻው ተገፍቶ በገዛ ሀገሩ ላይ ስደተኛ ሆኖ ነው ያለው። እንግዴህ ከዚህ የከፋ ምን እስኪመጣ ይሆን
የሚጠበቀው???? ይሁዲዎች ልክ እንደ አሁኑ አማረኛ ቋንቋ ተናጋሪው ህዝብ በሁሉም ሲገፉ፡ እራሽያና ኢትዮጵያ ከለላ ሰጥተዋቸው
ነበር። አማራውን ግን በወደቀ እንጨት ምሳር ይበዛበታል እንዲሉ፡ ቤተክርስቲያን ወይንም መስጅድ እንደገባች ውሻ የሁሉም ክንድመሞከሪያና አፍ መፍቻ ነው የሆነው፡፡ ይሁዲዎች ዘራቸው ሳይጠፋ ለዛሪው ደረጃ የደረሱት በዝምታ ሳይሆን እራሳቸውን
በመከላከላቸው ነው። አማራውስ?????
ሃገሩን አልከዳ ወገን አልበደለ፡
ምነ እንዲህ ተገፋ ኢትዮጵያን ባለ፡
እንዲህ ተነገረ በድፍረት ተወራ፡
ሽንታም ነህ ተባለ ዝም ሲል አማራ፡
አዎ! ሽንታም ነበር እጅግ ዘረ ብዙ፡
ድንበር አስከባሪ በደሙ በወዙ፡
እርግጥ አማረኛ ተናጋሪው ማህበረሰብ፡ ማንነቱ ኢትዮጵያዊነቱ ነው። የዘር፣ የሃይማኖት የቋንቋ ልዩነትንም አያውቅም። አማረኛ
ተናጋሪውና የኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ሃይማኖት ለኢትዮጵያና ኢትዮጵያዊነት ደምና ስጋ ናቸው። አንዱ ካለ አንዱ የማይኖሩ። ወያኔ
በድርጊት ፕሮግራም ነድፎ ለ21 አመት የሰራበትም፡ ኢትዮጵያን ለማጥፋት በመጅመሪያ አማረኛ ተናጋሪውነና የኦርቶዶክስ እምነትን
ማጥፋትን ነው።
እነመለስ፣ ሰብሀትና ተፈራም ሲነግሩን የኖሩትና እየነገሩን ያሉት ይኸንኑ ሃቅ ነው። አሁን ያለው አማራጭ ሁለት ነው እሱም ወያኔ
እቅዱን ይፈጽም ዘንድ እጅን አጣጥፎ በመቀመጥ ዘርም ሃይማኖትም፣ ሃገርም ሲጠፉ ማያት፡ ወይንም እንቢ ብሎ ሁሉንም ከጥፋት
ማዳን ነው። እራስን፣ ሃይማኖትንና ሃገርን ከጥፋት ለመከላከል ደግሞ የግድ በቋንቋና በሃይማኖት መደራጀትን የሚጠይቅ አይደለም።
በእያለበት ድርጅትም ሆነ የስራ መስክ እራሱን ለማስከበር ቆራጥ እርምጃ መውሰድና ለሚሰነዘርበት ተንኮሳ ሁሉ ነገሮችን ሳይንቅ
ፈርጣማ አጻፋውን ከምርና በቁጭት መመለስ ከቻለ በቂ ነው።
እስካሁን አርቆ በማሰቡ፣ በመታገሱ፣ በመለሳለሱ በሁሉም ወገኑ በሁሉም አቅጣጫ እስከመጨረሻው ጠርዝ ድረስ ተገፋ፡ ስደት፣
ውርደት፣ ሞት ተፈረደበት፡ ሽንታም ነህም ተባለ፡ አጥንት የሚሰብር ውርደት ደረሰበት፡ በሀገሩላይ ስደተኛ ሆነ፡ በየሄደበት ተናቀ
ተደቀደቀም፡ አይበቃም ወይ፡???? 
ኢሜል -- matebemelese@yahoo.com

Indian professor condemns land grab

Ethiopia harasses Voice of America and its sources

Nairobi, October 5, 2012--Ethiopian authorities should halt their harassment of journalists covering the country's Muslim community and their intimidation of citizens who have tried to speak to reporters about sensitive religious, ethnic, and political issues, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Police in the capital, Addis Ababa, briefly detained Marthe Van Der Wolf, a reporter with the U.S. government-funded broadcaster Voice of Americaas she was covering a protest by members of Ethiopia's Muslim community at the Anwar Mosque, local journalists said. The protesters were demonstrating against alleged government interference in Islamic Council elections scheduled for Sunday, according to VOA and local journalists.

Wolf was taken to a police station and told to erase her recorded interviews, and then released without charge, local journalists said.

This week, security officers have also harassed Ethiopian citizens who were interviewed by VOA's Amharic-language service, according to the station. Police arrested two individuals who spoke to VOA on Thursday about a land dispute outside the capital, VOA reported. On Monday, police harassed individuals who spoke to the station about a dispute over resources between ethnic communities, the outlet said.

"We urge the government's leadership to set a new tone of tolerance and halt the bullying tactics of the past," said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. "Citizens should be allowed to voice their opinions to journalists without fearing arrest or intimidation, and reporters should be allowed to cover even those events the government dislikes."

For much of the year, Ethiopian authorities have cracked down on journalists and news outlets reporting on the unprecedented protests by members of the Muslim community, according to CPJ research. In May, police detained former VOA correspondent Peter Heinlein overnight on accusations of "illegal reporting" for covering a similar protest, VOAreported.

VOA released a statement today that condemned the harassment and obstruction and said the incident was "designed to prevent journalists from doing their job."

Three Muslim-oriented papers have not been published in the country since July after police raided the outlets and searched the homes of their editors. Yusuf Getachew, editor of Ye Muslimoch Guday, has been imprisoned on charges of treason and incitement to violence for reporting on the grievances of the Muslim community, and at least two journalists, Senior Editor Akemel Negash and copy editor Isaac Eshetu, have fled into hiding, according to CPJ research.

With six journalists in jail, Ethiopia is the second leading jailer of journalists in Africa, second only to its neighbor, Eritrea, according to CPJ research.

Talk to Jazeera - Meles Zenawi

COURAGE IN JOURNALISM

Reeyot Alemu, Ethiopia
2012 Courage in Journalism Award

A CRITICAL VOICE LOST TO ETHIOPIA’S WAR ON INFORMATION

Reeyot Alemu has been imprisoned in Ethiopia for more than a year, branded as a terrorist. She is one of many journalists who have been arrested, interrogated and threatened in her country. What makes Alemu exceptional are her commitment to work for independent media when the prospect of doing so became increasingly dangerous, her refusal to self-censor in a place where that practice is standard, and her unwillingness to apologize for truth-telling, even though contrition could win her freedom. In jail, Alemu was offered clemency if she agreed to testify against journalist colleagues. She refused and was sent to solitary confinement for 13 days as punishment for her failure to cooperate. She is currently being kept at Kality prison, which is known for its filthy conditions. Recently, she has fallen ill; in April of this year she underwent surgery at nearby hospital to remove a tumor from her breast, after which she was returned to jail with no recovery time.

“I believe that I must contribute something to bring a better future,” Alemu said in an earlier interview with the IWMF. “Since there are a lot of injustices and oppressions in Ethiopia, I must reveal and oppose them in my articles.” Alemu said one of her “principles” is “to stand for the truth, whether it is risky or not.”

To work for free media in Ethiopia is indeed a risk. The country has the second-highest number of imprisoned journalists in Africa, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, after notoriously oppressive Eritrea. Late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi publicly attacked non-state members of the press, calling them “messengers” of terrorist groups. Increasingly, “terrorist” is a label attached to any entity with an opinion on politics, social issues or human rights that does conform to government rhetoric. In the capital city of Addis Ababa, Alemu worked for numerous, often short-lived independent publications. At least four news outlets to which she contributed were forced out of business by the Ethiopian government. Her reporting explored the root causes of poverty, lack of balance in national politics and gender equality. In 2010, she founded her own publishing house and a monthly magazine called Change, both of which were shuttered.

In the months prior to her arrest, Alemu was slandered in government-run media for her reporting, a common tactic to intimidate journalists. According to a colleague, Alemu also received threatening phone calls. “Reeyot was able to speak about issues even the most mature and outspoken political opposition leaders were unable to voice,” said a friend of Alemu’s who works at an Addis University. “Until this day, she has…faced up to the challenges that many have bowed down to.”

Alemu taught English classes at an Addis high school. She gave part of her salary to her students from poor families. It was at the school that she was arrested in June 2011. Her home was raided by police and a number of her personal documents were seized. At the time, she was working as a columnist for independent daily newspaper Féteh.

For more than a week, Alemu was held with no indication as to why she was detained. Then, a government spokesman announced at a press conference that Alemu was one of nine people suspected of organizing terrorism. The terrorist group they were accused of abetting was unnamed and specific crimes were not cited. It was two months before Alemu and another journalist in the group of nine were formally charged.

Alemu is one in a number of journalists who have been prosecuted under the vaguely worded and broad-reaching anti-terrorism laws passed by the Ethiopian legislature in 2009. The laws allow for the arrest of anyone thought to “encourage” parties labeled as terrorists.

Under this law, Alemu was sentenced to 14 years in prison and fined 33,000 birrs (about $1,850). Prior to her arrest, she made less than $100 per month at her teaching job and little more as a reporter. During her trial, government prosecutors presented articles Alemu had written criticizing the prime minister, as well as telephone conversations she had regarding peaceful protests, as evidence against her. In August 2012, an appeals court subsequently reduced the 14-year prison sentence to 5 years and dropped most of the terrorism charges against her.

The Ethiopian government has effectively limited media coverage to topics friendly to the ruling EPRDF (Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front), which holds more than 99% of seats in parliament. It has done this through charges of treason and terrorism levied against reporters and free media, public criticism of journalists and passage of laws that punish sources of information about opposition political parties and questions of human rights.

Alemu was willing to risk her freedom to challenge the standard explanations, or failure to explain, the systemic decay in her country. According to her friends and colleagues, she thought she could make a difference in the trajectory of her people; she thought her work might make things better. And now she has been silenced, like so many others.

“She is a person who has a bright vision for her country,” said a friend and former colleague based in Addis. “But, she is in prison.”

Ethiopia: Business As Usual

Aid and Assistance, East Africa, Ethiopia, Governance, Human Rights

BY BEN RAWLENCE, 

Despite Meles' passing, Ethiopia is continuing to conduct repressive policies, and international donors are continuing to ignore them.

Amid the tributes to Ethiopia's recently departed prime minister was much twittering (and tweeting) about 'stability' and the 'transition', especially from Ethiopia's foreign donors. There is considerable concern that without Meles Zenawi, the charismatic former rebel leader who ruled Ethiopia for 21 years until his death, the country may implode, infighting might engulf the ruling party or Ethiopia's fragile economic growth might reverse. While these fears about the country's stability are warranted, there has been little recognition of the role that human rights play in underpinning stability. Sadly that is nothing new.

On September 21, Meles' former deputy and foreign minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, was sworn in as his successor as both prime minister and ruling party chief. In his inauguration speech, Hailemariam pledged to continue Meles' policies. These, it should be remembered, included not only far-reaching plans for economic development, but crushing political opposition, the evisceration of independent media and civil society, and the use of arbitrary detention, torture, and other repressive measures to suppress dissent.

Three days later, the World Bank approved its biggest grant to Ethiopia, $600 million, for the third phase of its flagship Protection of Basic Services (PBS) programme, along with a new Country Partnership Strategy for Ethiopia, largely drafted before Meles died, that will underpin $1.15 billion in new loans. The new Country Partnership Strategy makes no reference to the deteriorating human rights situation over the past seven years or the complex political landscape that Ethiopia now faces with Meles' death. The only glancing reference to the profound political and human rights problems in Ethiopia comes in the last line of the document, which reads, "In the longer term there is also a risk associated with the next elections, scheduled for 2015". Indeed there is a risk to the country's stability created by long-suppressed basic freedoms of speech, association, assembly and democratic choice. But it is not a risk that the World Bank and other donors have done anything to mitigate.

Ethiopia's transition is an important opportunity for Ethiopia's friends and foreign partners to pause and encourage the ruling Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front to return to a democratic path, respect the constitution by lifting restrictions on civil society and the press, and release political prisoners - all steps that would go a significant way to releasing the building pressure from years of repression.

So far, the party has released two Swedish journalists jailed last year for trying to report on rights abuses in Ethiopia's Somali Region, a positive step but one that was in the works long before Meles' death. Meanwhile, donors have said nothing about the nine local journalists who remain jailed on trumped-up charges of terrorism, or the hundreds of other political prisoners. Business as usual with Ethiopia apparently requires donors like the US, EU and UK with human rights policies and commitments to develop a blind spot to legitimate concerns that in other countries they routinely denounce.

A forgotten concern?

In 2005, after 200 people protesting the elections were killed and at least 30,000 opposition supporters, journalists, civil society leaders (including the staff of Action Aid and other charities) were detained, donors were forced to act, suspending direct budget support to Ethiopia. Less than a year later, aid resumed, albeit through different channels, although a 2006 interim Country Strategy noted concerns over the overlap between the state and the ruling party and risks that aid funds could be "captured" and used to bolster the regime.

Two years later, the 2008 strategy document minimised those earlier concerns, paving the way for a massive increase in aid to Ethiopia. It turned Ethiopia's democratic deficit into a technical issue, a problem that could be addressed by building the capacity of parliament and other key institutions: in other words, not an issue of political will, but a problem that could be solved with money.

Five years on, the new country strategy published on September 25 ignores the thorny questions of human rights, democracy and good governance completely, aside from a focus on fiscal accountability. Early on the text declares that, "Good governance and state building form the foundation of the Country Partnership Strategy" - but that's it. The rest of the document is a thorough-going plan for increasing the capacity of a one-party state in precisely the way that the 2006 strategy feared.

At least it has the advantage of clarity: it doesn't attempt to square uncomfortable realities like how the World Bank's social accountability component - designed to increase civic participation and programme accountability through monitoring by NGOs - is compatible with Ethiopia's NGO law that has closed or shackled nearly all independent organisations working on good governance, human rights, advocacy and other sensitive issues. Nor does it answer the question of how a programme founded on good governance deals with a government that won over 99% of the vote in local and general elections.

The Meles conundrum

Working on Ethiopia over the last four years I have become familiar with the confused reactions of diplomats and aid officials as they struggle to reconcile the official narrative about Ethiopia with their experience on the ground. As Human Rights Watch has presented report after report of compelling evidence of human rights abuses, some of them connected to foreign aid programs, donors have agreed with us in private, promised to investigate, publicly dismissed our findings, reneged on their promise to investigate, and then denied the problem exists. They cannot seem to decide whether Ethiopia is a development miracle or a brutal dictatorship. As one shrewd junior official put it to me, "Meles Zenawi messes with your head".

Ethiopia's vision that it will join the ranks of middle income countries by 2020 is repeated throughout the World Bank's new country strategy but there is little mention of the methods with which this growth is being achieved. I never doubted Meles's intentions or his zeal. But the gap between his vision and the reality was startling, and brutal. He pursued an approach to development that would not fly in most of the countries that gave him money. Indeed, the development economists from Western aid agencies I spoke to were a little envious of his power to commission dams and lease thousands of hectares of indigenous land without a nod to anyone. But the approach is founded on the ruling party wielding complete and unchallenged power with no room for any dissenting voices, and it relies on fear.

Meles made this approach more palatable through a combination of shrewd arguments and by limiting the contradictory reports from the ground. From 2005 onward, the ability of foreigners to access sensitive information in Ethiopia, and the ability of Ethiopians to access independent information in their own country, has steadily shrunk. As bad news bubbled up from below, more journalists fled the country after being threatened, more independent papers closed, and an alarming number of journalists ended up in jail on vague charges.

The experience of the 2010 elections was instructive. Human Rights Watch spent over six months in the countryside documenting a subtle but systematic crackdown on opposition offices, rallies, and membership through the ruling party's pervasive state apparatus, including withholding food aid, seeds, fertilisers and jobs. Meanwhile, in Addis Ababa, Meles invited the leadership of opposition parties to conferences and, when they pulled out complaining of the noose tightening around the neck of their membership, the government painted them as spoilers. The ruling party won 99.6% of the vote, and all but two of the 547 seats in parliament.

When Human Rights Watch presented its findings of the widespread manipulation of development aid, donors claimed they had no evidence to support our allegations, even though they hadn't really investigated. And had they tried, officially, they would have been escorted by Ethiopian government officials who would have tracked down their sources, forcing them to recant or threatening their families.

Paid for by donors

In the five lowland regions of Gambella, Benishangul-Gumuz, Afar, Somali and the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), large scale "villagisation" programmes are resettling 1.5 million people, purportedly so that the government can better reach them with schools, hospitals and water pumps; services paid for by the PBS programme mentioned above, recently renewed.

Villagisation is not a new concept in Ethiopia; successive governments have tried to move rural communities for ideological and practical agricultural reasons. Under Mengistu Haile Mariam, it was known as collectivisation and it contributed to appalling abuses, including the terrible famine of the 1980s. A major difference in the contemporary version is that foreign donors are effectively paying for it. As Human Rights Watch showed in a January 2012 report, many people in the Gambella region are being forcibly displaced - away from existing services to unfertile areas without amenities, and people have suffered food shortages as a result.

Prior to the Bank's decision to approve PBS III, Human Rights Watch called on the World Bank to delay the decision on the $600 million, to trigger the Bank's safeguards on forced displacement and indigenous peoples, and assess the very real risks that Bank money might be contributing to rights violations. They didn't.

Meanwhile, in South Omo, Africa's tallest dam is being constructed in the absence of proper environmental and social impact assessments. A power line to carry electricity to Kenya is also being funded by the World Bank, although not the controversial dam itself. Downstream, hundreds of thousands of pastoralists are in the process of being 'villagised', their riverside gardens flooded and grazing areas turned into enormous sugar plantations upon which they are expected to work. The effect on Kenya's Lake Turkana - which is fed by the Omo River - is uncertain and a further 300,000 people in Kenya risk impoverishment too. The Ethiopian government, keen to show off its infrastructure, takes journalists on guided tours of the dam but forbids the indigenous people of South Omo from talking to the media - threatening those who do. The absence of a free media to test and examine official claims allows donors the chance to choose whom to believe.

Business as usual

But stability and prosperity cannot be founded on repression, forced displacement, interference in the courts and closing down the opposition, media and civil society. Donors forget that, at least according to their own policies and commitments, economic development and human rights go hand in hand.

They are about to be reminded. A case in the UK is being brought by Leigh Day and Co. on behalf of a man from Gambella. Mr O alleges that the UK Department for International Development contributed to Ethiopia's villagisation programme (via PBS) that displaced him and destroyed his livelihood. The case aims at a judicial review of the department's human rights policy on Ethiopia. In Washington, the day before the World Bank approved all that new money, another group of residents from Gambella filed a complaint with the World Bank's own accountability mechanism, contending that the Bank had ignored its own policies on forced displacement and indigenous peoples in Ethiopia.

In the risks to Ethiopia's expected economic growth that are enumerated in the Bank's new country strategy, opposition from the people who are supposed to be beneficiaries is not mentioned at all. That may be business as usual in Ethiopia, where voicing your real opinion typically lands you in jail, but it shouldn't be business as usual at the Bank.

Ben Rawlence is senior researcher on Africa at Human Rights Watch. Follow him on Twitter @BenRawlence.