Bereket Simon’s naked lies and propaganda

By Abebe Gellaw –

Former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died on July 14, 2012 at St. Luke University Hospital, in Brussels, Belgium. This fact is no more news. But even after the death of the former dictator, Bereket Simon, the chief TPLF/EPRDF’s lie factory and propagandist, had insisted that the former tyrant was on holiday abroad and would be back before the Ethiopian New Year. But Behind closed doors, Bereket and the other politically orphaned cronies were at each other’s throats fighting in a vicious power struggle, which is still going on.

During the five-week long preparations to announce the death of Meles Zenawi, Bereket Simon and his closest associates must have studied TV footages of North Korea’s globally ridiculed mass hysteria following the death of Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il. The replication of this mass hysteria, wailing, crying and at times fainting in front of cameras has only proven to be live coverage of the maximum crisis that the infighting TPLF-led junta is facing. When they continuously praise the former tyrant as an irreplaceable demigod, they are, in a way, saying that none of them are competent and worthy enough to fill his shoes.

After the preparations were completed, Bereket appeared from nowhere and told the nation that the great leader’s holiday was over. He died on August 20 from an “infection” at an undisclosed location, he informed the nation. But EU officials and foreign media outlets only confirmed that Zenawi died at St. Luke University Hospital, in Brussels, Belgium, which was accurately reported by ESAT on 30^th July.

Berket had also told us that EPRDF appointed Hailemariam Desalegn as acting prime minister. Within 24 hours, this also turned out to be a lie confirming once more that Bereket, who is now gravely depressed, is a master of miscommunication. There are still unfinished palace conspiracies and intrigues to be the next Meles or to control the group that will be in charge of the fate of the nation. TPLF bigwigs believe that it is their birthright to dominate the nation. That is quite obviously one of the reasons why the decapitated regime declared such an unprecedented and extended period of “national mourning” in order to buy more time to solve the complex political calculus that only Meles could solve.

There was a five-week long preparation for the mass hysteria. Psychologists that have studied mass hysteria usually describe it as an epidemic psychogenic behavior where people collectively act irrationally. In North Korea, propaganda plays a key role in generating mass hysteria.

When Kim Jong Il died last year, the state media and the communist party were fully utilized to mobilize people across the country to publicly weep and wail, and most importantly praise the Great Leader effusively. The mass hysteria was broadcast repeatedly with propaganda extolling the “Great Leader” generating an out-of-control show of grief. Sung-Yoon Lee, a research fellow at the National Asia Research Program told CNN that state control and coercion played a key factor in creating the hysteria. “There are always people watching you. If you are not devastated by the news, you may get in trouble,” he said.

Ethiopia’s 21-year long dictator has been described as the “Great Leader”, angel of love, father of Ethiopia, the light of Africa, pioneer of democracy and freedom…, just to mention a few among the long list of flourishing lies. The cadres worked round the clock to tell everyone that they should come out and grieve the death of “Comrade” Meles Zenawi. The lies and half-truths on state media are still countless and his image has been excessively distorted in order to create a new personality for the ruthless tyrant. But it all turned out to be the futility and vanity of tyranny.

Bereket’s strategy has been simple. He followed the rules of Hitler’s propaganda chief Joseph Gobbles, who once said: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” In a country like Ethiopia where the literacy rate still stands at 30%, according to UNICEF, the intense propaganda campaign has certainly confused some people and created an illusory atmosphere of national mourning.

People who have been caught listening to music or smiling during those times of collective sadness, have been physically attacked. It is a bad beginning for a post-Meles Ethiopia that craves for change. Some people were even punished for not grieving. Journalist Reeyot Alemu serving jail terms for committing acts of “terrorism” has reportedly been threatened and her wellbeing was compromised for not showing grief and shedding tears for the man who tortured and locked her up for doing her job. Another political prisoner Zerihun Gebre-Egziabher, chairman of Ethiopian National Democratic Party (ENDP) and who was also jailed for “terrorism”, was physically attacked for smiling.

The eulogy for Zenawi by local and foreign agents was largely fabricated. The worst tribute to Meles Zenawi was written by none other than the disgraced plagiarizer Tesfaye Habisso, former Ethiopian ambassador to South Africa. On Tigraionline, he wrote: “Meles Zenawi was undoubtedly like the Sun among the numberless equally big/large and shining stars in the galaxy. He was so bright and so shining compared to the timid other stars sparsely spread far and wide across the fathomless sky. The Sun Meles has set now, it’s all darkness; for the whole country, for the people, for the ruling party and government. It will surely take some time before daylight overcomes again.” His unabashed statement, is quite telling why Tesfaye remains to be a classless sycophant.

Another crazed scribbler of tyranny, a certain Adal Isaw, declared that he started a religion called Meles Zenawi, which may be a deserving tribute to a dictator who was surrounded himself with opportunists and worshipers. “After many years of abandoning my religious belief,” he declared on tyranny’s mouthpiece Aiaforum, “I am a born-again believer and my religion is Meles Zenawi. I believe in Meles Zenawi and he is my religion from now on till the end of my time. This I believe is not the result of stretching my emotion.” In fact, it is nothing but idiocy at its best.

In a shamefully orchestrated campaign of lies, deception and opportunism, artistes, athletes, celebrities and gospel singers were also recruited to extol the former dictator. In the process, many have already lost their own self-respect and dignity. Neway Debebe, Fikre-Addis Nekatibeb, Madingo Afework, Mezmur Yohannes and the lyricist Yilma Gebreab collaborated to produce a song full of lies. The “song” shamelessly refers to the dictator as the eternal Moses of Ethiopia, unifier and “elect of God”. The famous athletes Haile Gebreselassie, Derartu Tulu and Meseret Defar also joined the public tear shedding drama and the comedy of extolling the man that brutally and relentlessly abused Ethiopians for the last 21 years.

The worst gospel song ever heard in Ethiopia is probably the recently released single by a certain Habtamu Shibiru. According to this “man of God”, darkness fell over Ethiopia just because Meles and his hand-picked patriarch died. Though songs of praise are supposed to be reserved for Almighty God, Shiberu feels the terror of losing the former tyrant and his patriarch. While many see dawn of a new era, Shiberu tearfully tells us doom and gloom. What is certain is that those who overacted in Bereke’s Simon drama and spin will only regret it when reality hits back and the hangover is completely over.

Berket is currently one of the most dangerous loose cannons that need to be handled with utmost care. He is behaving like his former boss and wants to impose himself as a kingmaker. According to reliable sources, TPLF bigwigs are bitterly against his manipulation and misuse of the media that he controls to create an imaginary power for himself.

Now that the tents are dismantled, the ruling elite will face more maddening crises that will continue to unravel the dictatorial regime. The only way to move forward is to realistically address the grave ethnic, political, economic, security and religious challenges that have fragmented and divided our country. The hardliners like Bereket, who is reportedly plotting political assassinations at home and abroad, need to give way to reformists who are more capable and bold enough to address the grave problems facing Ethiopia. Bereket’s empty propaganda and naked lies have already backfired.

As a postscript, I may need to add the following. After my vocal protest against Zenawi and call for freedom on May 18^th, 2012 here in Washington DC, I have been receiving vicious death threats. Some fanatic supporters of TPLF’s dictatorship have also been spreading all sorts of venomous innuendos and threats, which are being dealt with by the FBI. It should be known that I am fully protected by the Constitution and Government of the United States. The effort of some people to import tyranny to this land of freedom is futile and does not scare anyone. I cannot afford to be silenced…

Ethiopia is at the threshold of dramatic, drastic and radical changes. We need to be prepared for change and seize on the opportunities as well as challenges fearlessly. Resistance to change must be resisted and defeated.

Ethiopian Government Fake Evidence against Swedish Journalists (video)

Swedish TV1 – Evidence against Schibbye and Persson was staged

Ogaden News Agency Editors Note: We’re pleased to share with our readers a translation of recent Swedish TV exposé of staged video showing what really happened when the two Swedish journalists, Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye, were caught by the Ethiopian army on their way to Ogaden in July 2011. This original 3 minute video shows how the staged video was made and later used as evidence to convict the Swedish journalists. The video was smuggled out of Ethiopia by Abdullahi Hussien, the man who put it together. Abdullahi fled Ethiopia and is now hiding in foreign country facing threats to his life. He promises to reveal more damning evidence against the corrupt and immoral leadership of the Somali Regional administration led by Abdi Mohamud Omar (Abdi Iley) and his Ethiopian army backers. Stay tuned.

Evidence against Schibbye and Persson was staged

Proof of Hoax in Ethiopia: SVT [Swedish TV] can now reveal that the video the Ethiopian government used as evidence of the arrest of the Swedish journalists was staged. Our sources even claim that the video was shot two days after Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye were arrested.

During the trial of Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye in the autumn of 2011 prosecutors showed a video proving clearly that the Swedes meant to commit crimes. Already then the video sequence was questioned and the prosecutor was forced to admit that the sound of gunfire was applied to the video later on. But the prosecutor still insisted that the films showed the arrest was done authentically.

Well-directed acting

SVT [Swedish TV] is now in possession of some of the unedited raw material. The prosecutor’s film gives the impression that there is heavy fighting when two rebels from the ONLF guerrillas were arrested. But in the original material it can be clearly seen that the “rebels” are acting as if they were extras in a movie and laughing between the scenes. When SVT [Swedish TV] examines more sequences, it becomes even clearer that it is a well-directed acting scene.
“They were just actors and had never even met Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson,” said Abdulahi Hussein, who provided the material to SVT [Swedish TV] and now living under death threats. Despite this, he chooses to come forward with his name.

False evidence

At the trial, two soldiers from the special border police force testified that a large number of ONLF rebels were killed when the Swedish journalists were arrested. To prove this, there is a dead rebel in the prosecutor’s film. The man is alleged to have been killed a few minutes earlier, and the sequence is taken from a distance. The original material shows a recent corpse, but SVT’s sources say that it is an old corpse. The bullet holes are dry and part of the face is bluish.

“The military kept Johan and Martin in the jungle for several days. The reason for it was to find time to record the movie. When the film was finished, they were taken to the capital Addis Ababa so that the embassy could meet them,” said Abdulahi Hussein.

Smuggled out

The film material was smuggled out in stages from Ethiopia by sources who are now living under death threat. Abdulahi Hussein previously worked within the Ethiopian administration in the Ogaden but has now fled the country. He was responsible for the collection of the filmed material used in the Ethiopian video, and it was he who approved the result.
“The purpose of the video was to prosecute them and get them sentenced to a long prison term”.

Source: Swedish TV1
Notice: Swedish TV2 will air on Thursday, 8.00 o’clock an hour long special investigative program (Uppdrag Granskning-special) about this revelation.

የግንቦት 7: የፍትህ፣ የነፃነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ የአዲስ ዓመት የመልካም ምኞት መግለጫ ንግግር September 11, 2012

የተከበራችሁ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ወገኖቼ እንኳን ከ2004 ዓ.ም. ወደ 2005 ዓ.ም. በሰላም አሸጋገረን። አዲሱ ዓመት በዘረኝነትና በአምባገነንነት ላይ ድል የምንቀዳጅበት ዓመት እንዲሆንልን በግንቦት 7: የፍትህ፣ የነፃነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄና በራሴ ስም ከልብ እመኛለሁ።
ይህን የአዲስ ዓመት የመልካም ምኞት ምክንያት በማድረግ በሶስት ጉዳዮች ላይ የድርጅቴንና የራሴን ምልከታዎች በአጭሩ እንዳቀርብ ይፈቀደልኝ።
አንደኛ: ያለፈው ዓመት ከኢትዮጵያ ፓለቲካ አንፃር ምን ዓይነት እንደነበር በማስታወስ በተለይም ለወደፊቱ ትግላችን አስተዋጽዖ ያላቸው አንኳር ጉዳዮችን አነሳለሁ
ሁለተኛ ባለፈው ዓመት ድርጅታችን ካከናወናቸው ተግባራት ውስጥ በሕዝብ ቢታወቁ ከጉዳታቸው ጥቅማቸው ያመዝናል የምላቸውን አነሳለሁ
ሶስተኛ በአዲሱ ዓመት፣ በ2005 ምን መሥራት ይጠበቅብናል በሚለው ርዕስ ንግሬን እቋጫለሁ።

ክፍል አንድ: 2004 ዓ.ም. በኢትዮጵያ ፓለቲካ

ያሳለፍነው 2004 ዓ.ም. ለኢትዮጵያ ፓለቲካ ከፍተኛ እንደምታ ባላቸው ድርጊቶች የተሞላ ዓመት ነበር። በዓመቱ መጨረሻ ላይ የመጣው የመለስ ዜናዊ ሞት ሌሎቹን ታላላቅ ኩነቶችን እንዳይሸፈን አንዳንዶቹን እንዳስታውሳቸው ፍቀዱልኝ።
1. በፀረ ሽብርተኝነት ህግ ሽፋን የተደረገው አፈና
የመለስ አገዛዝ ዓመቱ የጀመረው ወያኔ ህጋዊ ብሎ በሚጠራው ማዕቀፍ ውስጥ የሚታገሉትን ዜጎች ከዚያ ማዕቀፍ ውጭ ከሚታገሉት ጋር በጭፍን አዳብሎ በሽብርተኝነት በመክሰስ ነው። በዚህም ምክንያት በርካታ ዜጎች ፈጽሞ ተገናኝተዋቸው ከማያውቋቸው ዜጎች ጋር በማበር ትሠራላችሁ ተብለው ተከሰዋል። በ2004 ዓ.ም. ሰላማዊ ብቻ ሳይሆን ፍጹም ሃይማኖታዊ ሰዎች እንኳን ሳይቀሩ በሽብርተኛነት እየተከሰሱ ወህኒ ወርደዋል።
በ2004 ዓ.ም. አቶ ውብሸት ታዬ፣ ወ/ት ርዕዮት ዓለሙ፤ አቶ በቀለ ድሪባ፣ አቶ ኦልባና ሌሊሳ፣ አቶ አንዱዓለም አራጌ፣ አቶ እስክንድር ነጋ እና በርካታ ሌሎች ኢትዮጵያዊያን የዚህ አፋኝ ህግ ሰለባዎች ሆነዋል። በአቶ አንዱዓለም አራጌ መዝገብ ብቻ ሃያ አራት ለፍትህ፣ ለእኩልነት፣ ለነፃነትና ለዲሞክራሲ የቆሙ የፓለቲካ ፓርቲዎች መሪዎችና አባላት፣ የሰብዓዊ መብት ተሟጋቾች፣ እውነትን ለመዘገብ የደፈሩ ጋዜጠኞች፣ እና የማይታወቁ ሰዎች በበርካታ የፈጠራ የሽብር ወንጀሎች ተከሰው ሁሉም ጥፋተኞች ተብለው ከፊሎቹ በወያኔ እስር ቤቶች እየተሰቃዩ ነው። ከቅርብ ጊዜ ወዲህ ደግሞ ሙስሊም ወንድሞቻችንና እህቶቻችን ሙስሊም በመሆናቸው ብቻ በሽብርተኝነት እየተከሰሱ በመታሰር ላይ ናቸው። በእስር ቤቶች የሚደረገው ሰቆቃ (ቶርቸር) በ2004 ዓ.ም. እጅግ ከፍቷል። የመለስ ዜናዊ የፀረ ሽብር ህግ ከኢትዮጵያዊያን አልፎ ለውጭ አገር ዜጎችም ተርፏል። የይስሙላ ችሎት በስዊድናዊያን ጋዜጠኞች ማርቲን ሽብየ እና ጆአን ፐርሰን ላይ የአስራ አንድ ዓመታት ጽኑ እስራት ቀጥቶ ዛሬ በእስር ቤት ውስጥ ይገኛሉ።
በዚሁ በሽብርተኝነት ክስ መዘዝ ጭል ጭል የነበረው ደካማው ነፃ ፕሬስ ጭራሹን ተዳፍኗል። የመጨረሻዎቹ የነፃው ፕሬስ ውጤቶች “አውራ አምባ ታምስ”፣ በቅርቡ ደግሞ “ፍትህ” እና “ፍኖተ ነፃነት” ታግደዋል። ከዚህ በተያያዘም ታዋቂ ጋዜጠኞችና አምደኞች ለስደት ተዳርገዋል።
በአጭሩ 2004 ዓም የሰብዓዊ ጥሰቶች ከፍተኛ ደረጃ ላይ የደረሱት ዓመት ነበር። እነዚህ እና ሌሎች በሺህዎች የሚቆጠሩ የዲሞክራሲ ታጋዮች የጣሉብን ኃላፊነት እጅግ ከፍተኛ ነው።
2. መምህር የኔሰው ገብሬ
በ2004 ዓም ትልቅ የታሪክ አሻራ አሳርፎ ያለፈ የዲሞክራሲ ሰማዕት መምህር የኔሰው ገብሬ ነው። ይህ የዳውሮው ወጣት መምህር፣ ኅዳር 1 ቀን 2004 ዓ.ም. በዋካ የአስተዳደር ቢሮ በረንዳ ላይ
“በደል በዛ!!! ፍትህ በሌለበት አገር መኖር አልችም!!! በዚህ ሁኔታ መኖር ኑሮ አይባልም!!! ግፍና መከራ እያየሁ መኖር አልችልም!!!”
እያለ ቤንዚን በራሱ ላይ አርከፍክፎ እሳት ለኮሰ። በቂ የህክምና እርዳታ ቀርቶ ጠያቂ እንኳን በወጉ አጠገቡ እንዳይደርስ በፓሊስ እንደተከለከለ በአራተኛ ቀኑ ሕይወቱ አለፈች።
ኅዳር 4 ቀን 2004 ዓ.ም. ኢትዮጵያም አንድ በፍትህ እጦት የተከፋና የተቆጣ ልጇን አጣች። ከመምህር የኔሰው ገብሬ በኋላም ቢያንስ ሌሎች ሁለት ኢትዮጵያዊያን ራሳቸው በእሳት አቃጥለው መሞታቸው ቢዘገብም ዜናቸው በስፋት እንዳይሰራጭ የአገዛዙ አፈና እንቅፋት ሆኗል።
የመምህር የኔሰው ገብሬን አደራ እዳር ማድረስ ለ2005 የተላለፈ ሥራ ነው።
3. ዝርፊያ
2004 ወያኔ የሚያደርገው ዝርፊያ በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ የተጋለጠበት ዓመት ነው። የዓለም የፋይናንስ ኢቴግሪቲ (Global Financial Integrity) ባደረገው ጥናት መሠረት እንደ አውሮፓውያን አቆጣጠር ከ2000 እስከ 2009 ባሉት 9 ዓመታት ውስጥ 11.7 ቢሊዮን የአሜሪካ ዶላር ከኢትዮጵያ በህገወጥ መንገድ ወጥቶ መቅረቱ አረጋግጧል። 11.7 ቢሊዮን የአሜሪካ ዶላር ማለት በአሁኑ ምንዛሬ 210 ቢሊዮን የኢትዮጵያ ብር በላይ ነው። በዚሁ ሪፓርት መሠረት እ.አ.አ. በ2009 – በአንድ ዓመት ውስጥ ብቻ – የተዘረፈው መጠን 3.26 ቢሊዮን የአሜሪካ ዶላር ማለትም 57 ቢሊዮን የኢትዮጵያ ብር ነው።
ከዚህም በላይ ከፍተኛ መጠን ያለው የወርቅ ማዕድን እና በጣም ሰፋፊ የሆኑ ለም መሬቶች የወያኔ አጫፋሪ ለሆኑ ግለሰቦች የተሰጡበት ዓመት ነው። በ2004 ወያኔ ኢትዮጵያን ዘርፎ፤ አዘርፏታል።
4. መፈናቀሎችና እሮሮዎች
ጉራ ፈርዳ፣ ሲዳማ፣ ጋምቤላ፣ አፋር፣ ኦጋዴን፣ ወልቃይት 2004ን በዋይታና በእሮሮ ነው ያሳለፉት። በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ከአማራ ክልል የመጡ አርሶ አደሮች ከአስር ዓመታት በላይ ከሰፈሩበት መሬት ተነቅለው “ወደ አገራችሁ ሂዱ” ተብለው ለጎዳና ተዳዳሪነት ተጋርጠዋል። በተመሳሳይ ሁኔታ ከሩቅ አገራት ለመጡ ሃብታም ኢንቨስተሮች መሬት ለመሸጥ በጋምቤላና በአፋር ድሆች ኢትዮጵያዊያን ከይዞታቸው ተፈናቅለዋል። ባለፉት ዓመታት እንደነበረው ሁሉ የመለስ አገዛዝ በኦጋዴን ላይ የሚያደርገው የጅምላ ጭፍጨፋ ቀጥሏል። የሲዳማ ተወላጆችም አካባቢያቸውን የማስተዳደር መብት በመጠየቃቸው ተዘምቶባቸው ተገድለዋል፣ ታስረዋል፣ ተደብድበዋል።
እነዚህ ሁሉ ወረራዎች ኢትዮጵያዊያን በከፍተኛ ቁጥር እንዲሰደዱ አድርጓቸዋል። በአሁኑ ሰዓት ኢትዮጵያዊያን በአገር ውስጥም ስደት ውስጥ ናቸው፤ ከአገር ውጭም በከፍተኛ መጠን እየተሰደዱ ነው። 2004 የገጠር አርሶ አደሮች ወደ ደቡብ አፍሪቃ ሲሰደዱ የመያዛቸው፤ ባህር ውስጥ የመስጠማቸው፤ በኮንቴይነሮች ተከተው በመኪና ተጭነው ሲጓዙ ታፍነው የመሞታቸው መራር ዜናዎችን በብዛት የሰማንበት ዓመት ነው። 2004፣ ወደ አረብ አገራት የሚሰደዱ እህቶቻችን የሚደርስባቸው ዘግናኝ መከራዎችም በብዛት የተሰሙበት ዓመት ነው። ያም ሆኖ ግን የተሰዳጁ ቁጥር ከእለት እለት እየጨመረ ነው።
5. ሕዝባዊ ተቃውሞዎች
በ2004 የተደራጁና በተወሰኑ ክልሎች ያልተገደቡ ሕዝባዊ ተቃውሞዎች የታዩበት ዓመት ነው። በዚህ አንፃር በ1997 ወዲህ 2004 ኢትዮጵያዊያን አብረው በጋራ የቆሙበት፤ ክልል ሳይገድባቸው ድምፃቸውን በጋራ ያሰሙበት ዓመት ነበር ማለት ይቻላል። በተለይም የሚከተሉት ሶስቱ ትኩረት የሚጠይቁ ናቸው።
5.1. የመምህራን ተቃውሞ፤
በ2004 ከታዩ የተደራጁ ተቃዉሞዎች አንዱ የመምህራን ተቃውሞ ነው። የአገዛዙ የውሸት ፋብሪካ በረከት ስምኦን “የኢትዮጵያ ገበሬ ከቢራ አልፎ ጉደር መጠጣት ጀምሮአል፣ መጠቅ ሲልም በአምባሳደር ሙሉ ልብሶች እንደ አደይ አበባ መፍካት ጀምሮአል” ቢልም የሕዝቡ ኑሮ ምን ያህል እየከበደ እንደመጣ ገላጭ ከሆኑት የሥራ መስኮች አንዱ መምህርነት ሆኗል። የኢትዮጵያ መምህራን የሚከፈላቸው ደመወዝ ለሳምንት እንኳን የማያደርሳቸው ቢሆንም እንኳን በረሃብ ምክንያት እያዞራቸው የሚወድቁ ሕፃናትን የመንከባከብ ኃላፊነትም ወድቆባቸዋል። የመምህራን የእለት ተእለት ኑሮ እያሽቆለቆለ ባለበት ሁኔታ እና ዓመታዊ የዋጋ ንረት ከ30 በመቶ በላይ በሆነበት አገር 7 በመቶ የማይሞላ ጭማሪ አድርጎ የፕሮፖጋንዳ መሣሪያ በመሆናቸው የአዲስ አበባና የሌሎች ከተሞች ት/ቤቶች መምህራን የሥራ ማቆም አድማ መቱ። ይህ የሥራ ማቆም በአፈናና ድርጅት እጦት ምክንያት ብዙ ባይቆይም መልካም ትምህርቶችን ሰጥቷል። በተለይም የሙያ ማኅበራት በወያኔ መጠለፍ የሚያመጣውን ጉዳት በተጨባጭ ያሳየ ክስተት ነበር። በኢትዮጵያ ፓለቲካ ውስጥ ገናና ሚና የነበረውን የመምህራን ማኅበር፣ በወያኔ ተንኮል በመዳከሙ መምህራን በችግር ጊዜ የሚደርስላቸ ጠንካራ ማኅበር አላገኙም። ይባስ ብሎ ደግሞ ወያኔ ሰራሹ ተለጣፊ ማኅበር መምህራኑን ማሳጣቱ በግልጽ የታየበት አጋጣሚ ነው። ለጊዜውም ቢሆን የመምህራን እንቅስቃሴ ታፈነ። ይሁን እንጂ በዚህ የሥራ ማቋም አድማ መምህራን ለመብት የመታገልን አስፈላጊነት ለመላው የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አስተማሩ። የኢትዮጵያ መምህራን እያስተማሩ ያሉት በክፍል ውስጥ በሚሰጡ የቀለም ዘርፎች ብቻ ሳይሆን በተግባራዊ ህይወት ጭምርም መሆኑ በእጅጉ የሚያስመሰግናቸው ተግባር ነው።
5.2. የሙስሊም ኢትዮጵያዊያን ተቃውሞ
አሁን ዓመቱን ሊያከብር የተቃረበው የሙስሊም ኢትዮጵያዊያን የመብት ትግል የ2004 ዓ.ም. የፓለቲካ ድባብ የቀየረ ሲሆን የ2005 ንም የኢትዮጵያ ፓለቲካ በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ ይወስናል ተብሎ ይጠበቃል። ኢትዮጵያዊያን ሙስሊሞች ያነሷቸው ጥያቄዎች የመብት ጥያቄዎች ናቸው። “በሃይማኖታችን አትግቡብን ማለት” መብት ነው። “የማንፈልጋቸው የማኅበራችንን መሪዎች ሽረን የምንፈልጋቸውን እንምረጥ” ማለት መብት ነው። “በትምህርት ጉዳይ ጣልቃ አትግቡ” ማለት መብት ነው።
ግንቦት 7 የኢትዮጵያ ሙስሊሞችን የመብት ጥያቄዎች መደገፍ ብቻ ሳይሆን የሁላችንም ጥያቄዎች መሆናቸው ሲገልጽ ቆይቷል። የእምነት መብቶች የሰብዓዊ መብቶች አካል በመሆናቸው እና ሰብዓዊ መብቶች ደግሞ ሳይሸራረፉ መከበር እንዳለባቸው በጽኑ እናምናለን። ስለሆነም ሃይማኖት ሳንለይ አብረን ልንቆም ይገባል። ይህንን አቋማችንን በግልጽ ገልፀናል።
በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ወያኔ እስካለ ድረስ የእምነትም ሆነ ሌሎች ሰብዓዊ መብቶች ይከበራሉ ብለን ስለማናምን ትግሉ ወያኔን ወደማስወገድ እንዲያድግ ፍላጎታችን መሆኑም መግለጽ እንፈልጋለን።
እስካሁን በታየው ብቻ እንኳን የሙስሊሞች ንቅናቄ በርካታ ጠቃሚ ልምዶችን ሰጥቶናል። ለምሳሌ፣ የድርጅትና የርዕዮተ ዓለም አስፈላጊነት በጉልህ አሳይቶናል።
ክርስቲያን እና ሙስሊም ኢትዮጵያዊያን ለማከፋፈል በወያኔ ከፍተኛ ዘመቻ እየተደረገ ቢሆንም በተቃራኒው የሁለቱ ትላልቅ እምነቶች ተከታዮች የተቀራረቡበት ሁኔታ መፈጠሩ ተስፋ ሰጪ ነው።
5.3. የክርስቲያኖች ተቃውሞ በዋልድባ
የመለስ አገዛዝ ሥልጣን ከያዘበት ጊዜ ጀምሮ የኦርቶዶክስ ቤተክርስቲያንን ቀኖና እንዲጣስና፤ ቤተክርስቲያኗ እንድትከፋፈል አድርጓል። በ2004 ዓ.ም. ደግሞ የእስካሁኑ አልበቃ ብሎት የዋልድባ ገዳም እና የቅዱሳን መካነ መቃብርን ደፍሯል።
ዋልድባን ለመታደግ በአገር ውስጥም ከአገር ውጭም ብዙ ትግል ተደርጓል። በዚህ ትግ ውስጥ ሙስሊሞች በክርስቲያኖች ጎን መቆማቸው ትልቅ ተስፋ ሰጪ ነገር ነው።
አሁን ደግሞ የፓትሪያኩ ሞት ተከትሎ በዋልድባ ላይ ተጨማሪ ጉዳይ መጥቷል። የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተክርስቲያን ፓትሪያርክ ጉዳይም ውሳኔ የሚሻ አቢይ ጉዳይ ነው። የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተክርስቲያን ጉዳይ የኢትዮጵያን ፓለቲካ በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ የሚቀይር ይሆናል ተብሎ ይገመታል።
በበኩላችን ወያኔ እስካለ ድረስ የቤተክህነት ደንቦች ይከበራሉ ብለን ስለማናምን ትግሉ ወያኔን ወደማስወገድ እንዲያድግ ፍላጎታችን መሆኑም ለክርስቲያን ወገኖቻችንም መግለጽ እንፈልጋለን።
ከእነዚህ ሌላ ጎልተው ባይወጡም ሌሎች እንቅስቃሴዎች ነበሩ። በአረብ አገራት የሚገኙ ዜጎቻችን በተለይም እህቶቻችን ምሬቶቻቸውን በገሃድ መግለጽ ጀምረዋል። በድርጅት ከታገዙ በ2005 ዓ.ም. መካከለኛው ምሥራቅ የዲሞክራሲያዊ ንቅናቄ አካል ማድረግ ይቻላል።
6. የመለስ ዜናዊ ሞት
በዓመቱ መጨረሻ ላይ የደረሰው የመለስ ዜናዊ ሞት በኢትዮጵያ ፓለቲካ ላይ ለውጥ የሚያመጣ አቢይ ክስተት ነው። የመለስ ዜናዊ አገዛዝ ሁለት ክፉ ባህሪያትን አደባልቆ የያዘ ነበር። አንደኛው ፍጹም የሆነ የአንድ ሰው ፈላጭ ቆራጭ አገዛዝ መሆኑ ሲሆን ሁለተኛው ደግሞ ዘረኛነቱ ነበር።
ፈላጭ ቆራጭአገዛዞች በጊዜ ተተኪ ካላዘጋጁ በስተቀር ከገዢው ሞት በኋላ ትርምስ ውስጥ ይገባሉ። እኛ ባለን መረጃ መሠረት መለስ ዜናዊ እንደሚሞት አስቀድሞ ያውቅ ነበር። ሆኖም ለሥልጣን ባለው ስግብግነቱ ሳቢያ እንደሚሞት እያወቀ ተተኪ አላዘጋጀም።
እኛ “መለስ ለወያኔ ሁሉም ነገሩ ነው” ስንል ቆይተናል። እንዲያውም “ወያኔ” በማለት ፋንታ “የመለስ ዜናዊ አገዛዝ” እያልን ነበር አገዛዙን የምንገልፀው። አሁን ግን እኛ ካልነው እጅግ በላይ ራሳቸው በቴሌቪዥን እያሉት ነው። እራሳቸው እንደሚነግሩን ያለሱ የሚያስብ አንድም ጭንቅላት ወያኔ ውስጥ የለም። አንዱ ነባር ወያኔ “መለስ ህወሓትን ገድሎ ነው የሞተው” ብሏል የሚባለው እውነትነት አለው። ሃዘናቸው የበረታበትም አንዱ ምክንያትም ይህ ነው። ለመለስ ተተኪ ማግኘት ለወያኔ ከባድ ራስ ምታት ነው።
ለመለስ ዜናዊ ተተኪ ከህወሓት ውጭ ለመፈለግ የወያኔ የአገዛዙ ሁለተኛ ባህርይ ማለቱም ዘረኝነቱ አይፈቅድለትም። የመለስ ዜናዊን ዘረኛና አምባገነን ሥርዓት ለማስቀጠል ሁለቱም ባህሪያት እንቅፋት ሆነዋል። በወያኔ ሹሞች ዓይን የኢህአዴግ አባላት የሚሏቸው ድርጅቶች ሹማምንት ባይሆን ለመነዳት እንጂ ለመምራት አይበቁም። ከፊት ሌላ ሰው ለማስቀደም ቢስማሙ እንኳን “ከኋላ ማን ሆኖ ይነዳል?” የሚለው ቀላል ምላሽ ያለው አይደለም።
የሚገርመው የኦርቶዶክስ ቤተክነትም ውስጥ ተመሳሳይ ችግር መኖሩ ነው። እዚያም ዘረኝነትና አምባገነንነት ቤተክርስቲያኒቷ ሕጋዊ መሪ እንዳይኖራት እንቅፋት ሆነዋል።
እነዚህ ሁኔታዎች የሚቀጥለውን ዓመት የኢትዮጵያ ፓለቲካ በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ ይወስናሉ ብለን እናምናለን። ከበረታን ለሁለቱም ችግሮች ዘላቂ መፍትሄ በ2005 ማግኘት እንችላለን።

ክፍል ሁለት፤ ግንቦት 7: በ2004 ዓ.ም.

ለሚጠብቀን ትግል በቂ ነው ብለን ባናምንም በአለፈው 2004 ዓም፣ ግንቦት 7 በርካታ ሥራዎችን የሠራበት ዓመት ነው። ንቅናቄዎችን በአለፈው ዓመት ካደረጋቸው ተግባሮች ከፊሎቹን ከዚህ በታች ልዘርዝር
1. ድርጅታዊ አቅም ግንባታ
በአለፈው ዓመት ንቅናቄዓችን ያደረገው ትልቁ ነገር ድርጅታዊ አቅምን ማጎልበት ነበር። ይህ ውስጣዊ የመዋቅር ለውጥ ከማድረግ ጀምሮ የድርጅቱ አካላት በሙሉ በአንድ ዋነኛ ሥራ ላይ እንዲያተኩሩ የተደረገበትን ዓመት ነው። አሁን ድርጅታችን ወያኔን በማስገደድ ወይም በማስወገድ ሥራ ላይ እንዲያተኩር ተደርጓል። በዚህም መሠረት ወያኔን ለማስገደድ ወይም ለማስወገድ የሚረዱ ወሳኝ ሥራዎችን እየሠራን ነው።
2. አገራዊ ኅብረት መፍጠር
በግንቦት 7 እምነት በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ የሚመጣው ለውጥ ሰላምን፣ እኩልነትን፣ መቻቻልን እና ፍትሃዊ ክፍፍል ያለበት ልማትን ማምጣት መቻል አለበት። በዚህም ምክንያት ከተለያዩ የፓለቲካ ድርጅቶችና ስብስቦች ጋር እርቅ መፍጠርና መደራጀት የሚገባን ከአሁኑ ጀምሮ መሆን ይኖርበታል ብሎ ያምናል። በ2004 ዓም በዚህ ረገድ ጥሩ ውጤቶች ተገኝተዋል
2.1. ንቅንናቄዓችን ከኢትዮጵያ አንድነትና ፍትህ ንቅናቄ ጋር ውህደት ፈጥሯል። ሁለቱም ንቅናቄዎች ወደ ውህደት ከማምራታቸው በፊት የጥምረት ለነፃነት፣ ለእኩልነትና ለፍትህ በኢትዮጵያ (ጥምረት) አባል በመሆን ዓላማዎቻቸውን ብቻ ሳይሆን ድርጅታዊ ባህሎቻቸውም እንዲቀራረቡ አድርገዋል።
2.2. በጄኔራል ከማል ገልቹ ከሚመራው የኦሮሞ ነፃነት ግንባር (ኦነግ) ጋር በጣም ጥሩ የሆነ የሥራ ግኑኝነት ተፈጥሯል። እንደሚታወቀው በጄኔራል ከማል ገልቹ የሚመራው ኦነግ በኢትዮጵያ ሉዓላዊነት ጥላ ሥር ከሌሎች የኢትዮጵያ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ኃይሎች ጋር ተባብሮ ለመታገል መወሰኑን ገሃድ አድርጓል። በዚህ ውሳኔ ሳቢያም በኢትዮጵያ የሰፈነውን ዘረኛ አምባገነን ሥርዓት አስወግደን በምትኩ የግልና የወል መብቶች የተከበሩባት፤ ፍትህና እኩልነት የሰፈኑባት ዲሞክራሲያዊት ኢትዮጵያን እውን ለማድረግ በምናደርገው ትግል ውስጥ ኦነግ አዎንታዊ የሆነ ወሳኝ ሚና እንዲኖረው የሚያደርግ አዲስ ሁኔታ ተፈጥሯል።
በ2004 ዓም ጥምረትና ኦነግ በአምስት አገሮች ውስጥ በሚገኙ 11 ከተሞች ሕዝባዊ ስብሰባዎችን አካሂደው መደጋገፍ መጀመራቸውን በይፋ አሳይተዋል።
2.3. ግንቦት 7 ከተለያዩ የፓለቲካና የሲቪል ማኅበራት ጋር ተቀራርቦ እየሠራ ነው።
2.4. ከሌሎች ድርጅቶች ጋር ለመተባበር የሚደረገው ጥረትም በቅርቡ ፍሬ ያፈራል ተብሎ ይጠበቃል።
3. የሚዲያ አፈናን ለመቋቋም የተደረገ ጥረት
ወያኔ ኢትዮጵያ ፈጽሞ የተዘጋች አገር ለማድረግ እየሠራ ነው። የኢንተርኔት ቁጥጥሩ ከፍተኛ ደረጃ ላይ ደርሶ በስካይፕ ማውራት 15 ዓመት የሚያስቀጣባት አገር ሆናለች። የኢትዮጵያ ቴሌኮሚኒኬሽን የመገናኛ ተቋም ከማለት የስለላ ተቋም ማለት ይሻላል። ራሳቸው በራሳቸው ሳንሱር እያደረጉ ተሸማቀው ይሠሩ የነበሩ፤ ተጠንቅቀውም ቢሆን እውነት ይናገሩ የነበሩ “ፍትህ” እና “ፍኖተ ነፃነት” ጋዜጦች ተዘግተዋል።
ግንቦት 7 ለኢትዮጵያዊያን ነፃ መረጃ ማድረስ ግዴታችን ነው ብሎ በማመን ባደረጋቸው ጥረቶች ውጤቶችን ያስመዘገበ ድርጅት ነው። ወያኔ የኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቪዥንን፣ በርካታ ራድዮኖችና ጋዜጦችን ይዞ ይፈራል። ለምሳሌ በሳምንት ለአንድ ሰዓት በኤርትራ ቴሌቪዥን የሚቀርበውን ቴሌቪዥንን ለማፈን ያደረገው የውንብድና ሥራ ከአረብ ሳት እንዲወርድ አድርጎታል። ንቅናቄዓችን የወያኔን የሚዲያ አፈና ለመሰባበር በሚደረገው ጥረት የበኩሉን ጥረት ማድረጉን ይቀጥልበታል። ይህ ሥራ ግን የኢትዮጵያዊያን ሁሉ የጋራ ኃላፊነት መሆኑ ግንዛቤ አግንቷል ብለን ተስፋ እናደርጋለን። በሁላችንም የጋራ ጥረት አፈናውን እንሰብራለን።

ክፍል ሶስት: በ2005 ምን መሥራት ይጠበቅብናል?

አዲሱ 2005 ዓ.ም. በዘረኝነትና በአምባገነንነት ላይ ድል የምንቀዳጅበት ዓመት እንዲሆንልን ማድረግ የሚገባንን ነገር በአንድ ሃረግ ማስቀመጥ ይቻላል። ይህች ሃረግ – ወያኔን ማስገደድ ወይም ማስወገድ _ የምትል ናት።
በ2005 ዓ.ም. የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ሙሉ ትኩረቱን ማድረግ ያለበት ወያኔን በማስገደድ ወይም ማስወገድ ላይ መሆን ይኖርበታል። ኢትዮጵያዊያን ጊዜዓቸውን፣ እውቀታቸውን፣ ሃብታቸውን ወያኔን ለማስገደድ ወይም ለማስወገድ በሚጠቅሙ ሥራዎች ላይ ብቻ እንዲያውሉ እንጠይቃለን።
“ወያኔን ማስገደድ ወይም ማስወገድ” የምትለዋን ሃረግ በተለያዩ አቅጣጫዎች መተንተን ዓላማችንን ብቻ ሳይሆን ስትራቴጂያችንና ስልቶቻችንን ለማብራራት ይጠቅማል።
1. ወያኔን ማስገደድ ለምን?
ከአሁን በኋላ በአገራችን የመንግሥት ሥልጣን ምንጭ ሰላማዊ፣ ህጋዊና ዲሞክራሲያዊ የሆነ የሕዝብ ምርጫ ብቻ መሆን ይገባዋል። ወያኔን የመጨረሻው አምባገነን ማድረግ ይገባናል። አሁን ከምንገኝበት ዘረኛና አምባገነናዊ ሥርዓት ወደ ምንመኘው የሕዝብ አስተዳደር በሰላማዊ መንገድ መሸጋገር የመጀመሪያ ምርጫችን ነው። ሆኖም ግን ከልምድ እንዳየው ወያኔ ለዚህ ዝግጁ አይደለም። ስለሆነም ወደዚህ ምርጫ እንዲመጣ ማስገደድ ይኖርብናል።
2. እንዴት ይገደድ ?
ወያኔን ለማስገደድ “እንቢ፤ አልገዛም” ማለት ይገባል።
“እኔ ምን አቅም አለኝ” የሚለውን ቅስም ሰባሪ ሃሳብ ከአዕምሮዓችን ማውጣት አለበን። በአለፈው ዓመት ጋዜጠኛ አቶ አበበ ገላው አንድ ሰው ድምጹን ተጠቅሞ ምን ማድረግ እንደሚችል በተግባር አሳይቶናል። ግንቦት 10፣ 2004 ዓ.ም. አቶ አበበ
መለስ ዜናዊ አምባነን ነው!!! ነፃነት እንሻለን!!! ነፃነት እንፈልጋለን!!! መለስ አምባገነን ነው!!! ነፃነት እንፈልጋለን!!! ነፃነት!!! ነፃነት!!! ነፃነት!!! ነፃነት!!!
ብሎ መጮሁ በመለስና በወያኔ ወገን እስካሁን ያልሻረ ድንጋጤ፤ በኢትዮጵያዊያን ዘንድ ደግሞ ከፍተኛ መነቃቃትን መፍጠሩ የምናውቀው ነው።
ከተደራጀን ደግሞ ከዚህ እጅግ በላይ የሆኑ ነገሮችን እንሠራለን።
• ሙስሊም ወገኖቻች በሃይማኖት ነፃነት ጉዳይ እያደረጉት ያለው ትግል በዚያች አገር ውስጥ ወያኔ በራሱ ህገመንግሥት እውቅና የሰጣቸው የግለሰብና የቡድን መብቶች ያለምንም መሸራረፍ እስካልተከበረ ድረስ ምላሽ ያገኛሉ ብለን አናምንም። ስለዚህም መላው ኢትዮጵያዊ ጥያቄዎቹን ደግፎ በመነሳት ሙስሊምም ወገኖቻችን ያነሷቸው ጥያቄዎች ፍትሃዊ ምላሽ እንዲያገኙ አገዛዙን ማስገደድ እንዲችል ጥሪ እናደርጋለን።
• ክርስቲያን ወገኖቻችን በፓትሪያርክ ምርጫ እና በዋልድባ ጉዳይ እያደረጉት ያለው ትግልም ከላይ ከገለጽኩት ተለይቶ የሚታይ አይደለም። በወያኔ የተሾሙትና በቤተ ክህነት ውስጥ የአገዛዙን መዋቅር በመዘርጋት ሕዝበ ክርስቲያኑን ሲከፋፍሉ የቆዩት ፓትርያርክ ህልፈት የፈጠረው አጋጣሚ በመጠቀም የቤተክርስቲያንቷ አንድነትና የምዕመናኑን ጥቅም የሚከበርበት አዲስ ምዕራፍ እንዲከፈት ሁሉም ኢትዮጵያዊ በጋራ መታገል ይኖርበታል።
• ከኦጋዴን፣ ከጋምቤላ፣ ከሲዳማ፣ ከወልቃይት፣ ከአፋር …ወዘተ ወገኖቻችን ጎን ቆመን ፍትሃዊ ጥያቄዎቻቸውን መደገፍ ይገባናል።
• ከመለስ ጋር አብሮ መቀበር የሚገባው የወያኔ ዘረኛና ግፈኛ ሥርዓት ሌሎች መለሶችን እየፈለፈለ የመከራ እድሜያችን እንዳያራዝመው የተቻለንን ሁሉ ማድረግ ይኖርብናል። የመለስ ዜናዊ ሞት የዘረኞችና የአምባገነኖች መንደርን የቀትር ጨለማ አልብሶታል። የሕዝብ ወገኖች ይህን አጋጣሚ በሚገባ ከተጠቀምንበት ዘረኞቹ ካሰፈኑብን የባርነት ጨለማ ወደ ነጻነት ብርሃን መቀየር እንችላለን።
እድሎ ች ሲፈጠሩ መጠቀም ብቻ ሳይሆን እድሎቹንም መፍጠር ይኖርብናል። ወያኔ መግዛት የማይችልበት ሁኔታ ላይ ሲደርስ ለመደረደር ይገደዳል።
3. ማስወገድ ለምን?
አብዛኛውን ጊዜ አምባገነኖች ለሕዝብ ፍላጎቶች ተገዢ አይሆኑም። ለዚህም ነው በቅርቡ እንኳን የቱኒዚያ ቤን ዓሊ፣ የግብጹ ሙባረክ፣ የሊቢያው ጋዳፊ የተወገዱት። ሶሪያም ያለው ሁኔታ እያየነው ነው። ወያኔ ለሕዝባዊ ማስገደድ ደንታ ባይሰጥ ምላሻችን ማስወገድ መሆን ይኖርበታል። ለዚህ ደግሞ ዝግጅት ማድረግ ይኖርብናል። ግንቦት 7 ይህንን ተግባር መሸሽ አንችልም ብሎ ያምናል።
4. ማን ነው የማስገደዱን ወይም የማስወገዱን ሥራ የሚሠራው?
ይህንን ሥራ የሚሠራው የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ነው። ሕዝብ ነው የትግሉም የድሉም ሙሉ ባለቤት።
ወያኔን የማስገደድ ወይም የማስወገድ ሥራ ለጥቂት “ጀግኞች” የሚተው ሥራ አይደለም። ይህ ሥራ ለአርሶ አደሩ፣ ለላብአደሩ፣ ለመምህሩ፣ የዕለት ተዕለት የኑሮ መከራና የወያኔ የግፍ ቀንበር ጀርባውን ላጎበጠው የኅብረተሰብ ክፍል ብቻ የሚተው አይደለም። በዚህ ወሳኝ ተግባር ላይ የሃገሪቱ ምሁራን ተሳትፎ አጽንዖት ሊሰጠው ይገባል። የገዛ ራሱ ክብር የሚሰጥ፤ የወገኑና የሃገሩ ውርደት የሚያንገበግበው የሃገሪቱ ምሁር ሁሉ በዚህ ትግል ውስጥ ተጨባጭ አስተዎጽኦ ማድረግ ይኖርበታል። የኢትዮጵያ ምሁራን፣ የዘመናት መከራ ለአንዴና ለመጨረሻ ጊዜ ለመቅበር ይህንን ትግል በሁሉም መስኩ ዘመናዊ በሆነ መንገድ የማደራጀት እና በእውቀትና በብቃት የመምራት ኃላፊነት አለባቸው።
የገባንበት ትግል ከባድ፣ ውስብስብና መስዋዕትነትንም የሚጠይቅ ነው። ግንቦት 7 ከሌሎች ድርጅቶች ጋር ይህንን ትግል ለመምራትና ግንባር ቀደም መስዋዕትነት ለመክፈል ዝግጁ መሆኑን አረጋግጥላችኋለሁ።
ውድ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ሆይ ወያኔን የማስገደድና የማስወገድ ሥራዎች ተደጋጋፊዎች ብቻ ሳይሆን አሁን ባለንበት ሁኔታ አንዱ ያለሌላው ዋጋ የለውም። “ነፃነትን እሻለሁ፤ በባርነት አልገዛም” የሚል ሕዝብ ከሌለ ነፃ የሚያወጣ ሠራዊት ቢኖርም አይጠቅምም። ወያኔ የሚፈራው ነገር ከሌለ ደግሞ “እንቢ ብሎ የተነሳን ሕዝብ” ከመፍጀት የማይመለስ እኩይ እንደሆነ እናውቃለን። ስለሆነም ሁለቱ መደጋገፍ ይኖርባቸዋል። ለዚህም ነው የትግል ስልታችንን “ሁለገብ” ያልነው።
ሁለገብ የትግል ስልታችን እያንዳንዱ በሚስማማውና በሚያምንበት የትግል ስልት ላይ ተሳትፎ እንዲያደርግ እድል ይከፍትለታል። ሁለገብ ትግል በፍጥነትና በአነስተኛ መስዋዕትነት ወደምንፈልገው ግብ ያደርሰናል ብለን እናምናለን።
ከእንግዲህ በአገራችን የመንግሥት ሥልጣን ሰላማዊ፣ ህጋዊና ዲሞክራሲያዊ ከሆነ የሕዝብ ምርጫ ብቻ መፍለቅ ይኖርበታል እንላለን። ይህ እንዲሳካ ደግሞ በቅድሚያ ወያኔን ማስገደድ ወይም ማስወገድ ግዴታችን ነው።
ግንቦት 7 የሚጓዝበትን መንገድ በጥቃቄ የተለመ፤ ወያኔን ለማስገደድ ወይም ለማስወገድ ምን መደረግ እንዳለበት፤ ቀጥሎ የሚመጣው የሽግግር መንግሥት ምን ቅርጽና ይዘት ሊኖረው እንደሚገባ፤ ሰላማዊ፣ ህጋዊና ዲሞክራሲያዊ ከሆነ የሕዝብ ምርጫ ለማካሄድ ምን ዓይነት ተቋማት ሊገነቡ እንደሚገባ ዝርዝር ስትራቴጂያዊ እቅድ አውጥቶ የሚንቀሳቀስ ድርጅት ነው።
አስቀድሜ እንዳልኩት ግንቦት 7 ግንባር ቀደም መስዋዕትነት ለመክፈል እና ከሌሎች ድርጅቶች ጋር በመተባበር ትግሉን ለመምራትና ዝግጁ ነው። ተከተሉን፣ ደግፉን።
2005 ዓ. ም. ከወያኔ ዘረኝና አምባገነናዊ አገዛዝ የምንገላገልበት የድል ዓመት ያድርግን።
መልካም አዲስ ዓመት

Ethiopian Revolution Anthem

New year’s message to Ethiopians throughout the World: Obang Metho Negash | September 10th, 2012

Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE)

Safeguarding the Vision to Our Future

Our Hope for Ethiopia in the New Year Should Be No Less than a Fully Transformed Society

September 11, 2012

Dear fellow Ethiopians,

We, the leaders, members and friends of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE), want to wish all of our beloved Ethiopian people throughout the world, a wonderful and blessed Ethiopian New Year. This year we have much to think about as we enter a post-Meles era. A year ago, who would have thought such a change would be upon us.We now have a multitude of choices before us. How will each of us choose between them? Some will have better outcomes than the others. Are there any criteria we should be considering? Will we be satisfied with quick solutions? Are we willing to settle for a transition to a new prime minister or new party leading our government or will we demand nothing short of building a new society where healing, reconciliation, restored justice and renewed life is seen throughout the villages of Ethiopia?

In 1991, the people of Ethiopia yearned for freedom and democracy, but the movement was hijacked by Meles and the TPLF. The rhetoric was lofty and filled with talk about freedom, justice, equality and working together to liberate a nation from dictatorship. There were good, genuine and hardworking people involved. What happened? In this New Year, how can we distinguish between the “voices”, the suggested “means to our end” and the goals we must achieve? What amount of progress are we willing to settle for? How will we know when we have sold ourselves—or others—short? There will be opportunities to “strike up deals” but are they road blocks to sustainable solutions? We have much to think about!

Our society is gravely ill and we have many who are wounded. How will we get our sick and wounded to a place where they can be healed? For example, in the remote villages of Gambella, when someone is sick or wounded, there is often no modern transportation to carry the person to a clinic or hospital; instead, the person’s family must find a means to carry the sick person to a place where they can access medical care. In these cases, a sheet enfolding the person would be tied to either end of a pole which would hang from the pole as the person was transported by two or more strong men to a clinic, hospital or modern transportation which could be used to transport the person even further away for medical treatment. In the highlands part of Ethiopia, it is often similarly done, but with two poles and four men, resting the ends of the poles on their shoulders as the patient lay on the hanging sheet in between. Those carrying the patient must be committed, in good shape and able to have the strength and perseverance to travel the distance or all the effort would be in vain.

In the larger villages or more urban settings, family members find a vehicle of transport—a car or a bus—and a reliable driver to get them to their destination. The person must not only be dependable but should also know how to drive or the patient may end up in a ditch. The vehicle itself should be working well or no matter how good the driver is, if the bus or car breaks down, it will have to be fixed before starting up again. If you have a good driver and a reliable, well-functioning vehicle, but the roads are full of potholes or are washed out or if your driver does not know the direction or how to read a map you may end up in a dead end with nowhere to go but to back where you came from. 

You should know where you want to go, how much it costs and what kind of medical care you need so you do not end up with a foot doctor when you need heart surgery or short of money or find out they do not take patients from your village. Our loved one will never get the healing needed to recover and in some cases, may die. If we want healing for the wounded in our villages, towns, cities and nation, who should be the driver, what vehicle should we use and what roads should we take to get us to our destination?

In Ethiopia, we have had a bad driver, Meles, who drove our country to his own destination for the last twenty years, only pretending to care about the 80 million Ethiopian passengers in the back seat. The vehicle he used was the broken-down, non-inclusive model of ethnic-federalism—an ethnic apartheid system which was defective from the start—which has now broken down and needs major repairs: ethnic division, land grabbing, crony capitalism, intellectual tyranny, religious interference and the imprisonment and exile of any promising drivers. The direction he drove us took us on bad roads, which led us to a dead end. We are now stuck without a driver, with a malfunctioning vehicle in a place we never wanted to go in the first place. Most all of us are angry passengers.

Why did we ride behind a reckless driver? Now with his death, those within the system are trying to find a new driver, salvage the vehicle, restart the engine and resume its travel on the same bad roads to destruction. They are trying to make the driver, who lost countless passengers along the way, a hero, but we have options.

We do not have to simply wait for a new driver to jump in; it is time to get out of the vehicle! We are the paying passengers and we have a say, the entire “system” is broken and cannot be fixed; it must be reformed, refueled and redirected. Will we accept anything less for our future?

No one is excluded from our present-day crisis—opposition groups, the people and the TPLF/EPRDF. Everyone is now asking, “What now?” “How can we find the way?” The passive passengers in the back seat must come forward to take control of their destiny. In Ethiopian history, this is not the first opportunity, but the fourth or fifth. When the monarchy of Haile Selassie fell, the passengers did not take a lead and the dictatorship of Mengistu jumped into the driver’s seat. When Mengistu was overthrown, the revolutionary movement of the people was hijacked and Meles jumped into the seat.

In 2005, the people tried to change the driver and the vehicle by nearly two million showing up in Addis to demand change. Over 36 million Ethiopians chose to vote for change of driver, vehicle and direction. What happened? Nearly two hundred people were murdered, 40,000 or more were arrested, opposition leaders, activists and journalists were imprisoned and the regime hijacked the hopes of the people. Now, we suddenly have a God-given opportunity for significant change. If we are not vigilant, our hopes for a free and democratic Ethiopia will again be hijacked by the regime or someone else who wants power and an opportunity to exploit the people.

Right now, there are political vultures waiting to prey on this new opportunity or trying to cling to the old, failing system. This is why it is important to create “a vehicle” to empower the people to take charge. We have failed in the past because the people failed to own and control the process; never dismantling the system of dictatorship, thus paving the way for a new Meles. It is possible to adopt a different way like was done successfully in other African countries like Ghana, Benin, Zambia and South Africa. In these places, the people took hold of the process until they achieved their objectives. They used an African solution to an African problem.

It is time for the people’s process, starting with finding trusted people, without political baggage, who will operate independently of a political group, to form a “command center” or council made up of people who are credible and who believe in the objectives. It is not unlike the village elder system, common all over Africa where the village chief and elders are held accountable by the people. In these afore-mentioned countries, the council chose the route of aSovereign National Conference, a mechanism to drive the process that included intellectual reforms, political reforms, constitutional reforms, institutional reforms and economic reforms. Mandates and timelines were part of the outcome. This is what our very good and close friend and SMNE advisor, Professor George Ayittey, has been telling us and others is the way to go—within the context of Ethiopia.

I am hopeful that the people, including our political and civic leaders, will take the lead and not allow opportunists to deceive them, to lie to them, to manipulate them or to drive all of us off the road. In the past, Meles so effectively used division to advance his own objectives that we stopped seeing each other as Ethiopians.When I was in Minnesota, last week I met with a number of leaders from the Oromo community. I could see a marked difference between 2007, when I first spoke at an Oromo meeting in the Twin Cities and now. In 2007, a good number of my Oromo brothers and sisters were in strong disagreement with me. They told me they were not in the same struggle as I was because they were fighting for separation, not for unity. Some did not consider themselves as Ethiopians and distanced themselves from everything Ethiopian, including the national language, the flag and others outside their own ethnicity. Now, the climate has changed and many expressed their openness to being part of the shared struggle for freedom and democracy in Ethiopia.

After these few days of meetings with them as well as with members of the Ogadeni and Gambella communities in the Twin Cities who used to think this way, I now see great hope of sharing in the reformation of our country of birth. The change is overwhelming. I was repeatedly told that what they want is an Ethiopia, not for only one tribe, but one where all people are valued, where “humanity comes before ethnicity” and where we care about others because “no one is free until all are free.” I was also told by some that they no longer see their only alternative to be “giving up on their country”; but instead, they refuse to be manipulated or deceived any longer that separation is the only way for Oromos to achieve regional self-determination. 

Some Oromo, as well as some from other diverse groups, are still not convinced; believing that separation remains the best option to ensure their well being. Now it is time to empower these people to take ownership of the country of their birth. What was wrong was not the land, the name “Ethiopia” or the “Ethiopian flag” or the Ethiopian national language of Amharic, but instead, what was wrong was the system. If we the people are in control of the process, we must dismantle the system if we are to build a better Ethiopia for all; not a beggar Ethiopia for a few.

Meles has been buried in the same soil from which he came. We all will go the same way—from dust to dust. This man must now face justice before God. Even though this man has done terrible things—taking so many lives, dividing the people and favoring his own group over everyone else—we should not take revenge.

This is a time to reconcile. Instead of being a time to destroy, it is a time to rebuild. Instead of being a time for hostility and revenge, it is a time to reach out to others. Instead of being a time of isolation, it is a time to start talking with each other. Instead of being a time for vigilante justice or a perversion of justice, it is a time to restore justice to our courts. We are faced with an Ethiopian crisis and it requires us Ethiopians to fix it; others can join us but we must set the direction and not be satisfied with getting only part of the way to our destination.

Here are a few guidelines for safeguarding the movement from dictatorship to a free and democratic Ethiopia:

1. The people of Ethiopia must own, manage and control the journey.
2. Dismantling only part of the system of dictatorship will jeopardize the future of freedom and democracy. It must be complete.
3. Reconciliation and the restoration of justice go hand in hand and should be integrated into all aspects of the transition to a free and democratic Ethiopia.
4. No more ethno-centrists, where one-party or one tribe controls everything. Will we learn this time that we must discard the “ethnic-model” of politics? The TPLF spoke the language of shared grievances, but once in power, as an ethnic-based power structure, they repeated the cycle.
5. Many will be vying for power; both within the TPLF, the EPRDF and among opposition groups. How should Ethiopians judge between them and on what basis can they unite? Here are some questions to consider:
   1. How effective has been their work?
   2. What concrete things have they accomplished?
   3. Do you trust them?
   4. Have they been consistent?
   5. Have they changed with the political winds?
   6. Who has benefitted from their accomplishments?
   7. What are their core principles?
   8. Do they follow them?
   9. Do they care about the people?
   10. Do they speak for your concerns?
   11. Are they reconcilers?
   12. Do they have a vision for the future?
   13. Do they have political baggage? If so, have they resolved it satisfactorily?
   14. If they are to work together, do they share common values, principles, goals and vision?
   15. Do you want a peaceful solution, which includes those in the armed movements, which would perseveringly be followed in order to avert violence if possible?
   16. Are you willing to become involved?

It is not time to recycle a failing system—we need not only a new driver, but a new vehicle, a new direction and paying passengers who will invest in bringing needed reforms without stopping so short that our movement is hijacked. We should reconsider the traditional African models of “accountable governance.” All villages, communities, regions and nations require accountability—to protect ourselves and others from ourselves and others! There are countless examples in Africa. For example, in the Anuak villages of my youth, there were checks and balances of power.

There were the wise in the village, who were recognized as such, and became the chosen elders of the people. We can start doing the same on the local level even now. Look for leaders among your villages, communities and regions. There will be some who speak the truth, who can be trusted, who are wise, who have the best interests of the village at heart, who can be depended upon to help when there is a need, who are respected, who stand up for the weak, who are reconcilers, and who do what is right rather than what will please people or put unearned money in their pockets. 

These people must be empowered at the local levels to start organizing for good. We have such people around us. Let us identify them and utilize their skills and gifts. Support what is morally true, right and good and those who practice these virtues. At the village level, begin to reach out to others, whether pro-regime or anti-regime. We the people of Ethiopia must begin the process of change, transformation and reconciliation at the village level. People of faith can help by word and deed. Start pressuring at the local level for reforms that will not only be rhetoric or confined to a few places and a few privileged people. Healing, through reconciliation and reforms, will not be felt as a nation until they reach the villages. Be the one who starts it.

Who will carry the wounded and sick Ethiopian child of the future to a New Ethiopia? Will you do your share? We are talking today about the future of your own children and grandchildren. No one would ever want anything bad to happen to one’s own offspring, but instead would want to leave a better place to them.

Do not pass on the curse. Pass on the blessing and that blessing starts with reconciling with our Creator and with other people as we take part in building a healthy, free and democratic Ethiopia. 

Send this message to ten people inside Ethiopia—even use the slow mail if necessary. Help organize and empower the people in the valleys, by the rivers, on the mountains, in the forests, in the desert, in the bush, in the city, in the villages, on the streets, on the paths, in their high-rises, in their huts—wherever Ethiopians are, pass on the message until it reaches to all the beautiful people of Ethiopia! 

Today, I received a phone call from the sister of a great Ethiopian woman I had met in 2006; later exchanging some emails with her. It was sad news. She had died of breast cancer in Ethiopia. Her family had paid considerable money for medical care in the country, but that care was poor. Yes, she had made it to the hospital, but the hospital lacking; in a western country, her life would have likely been saved or significantly prolonged, but this was Ethiopia. Before she died, she asked her sister to give me a message from her.

Her message was to please continue the struggle because the entire system—including the medical care—was rotting. She said, “Please continue the struggle and do whatever you can to make sure this system—including the medical system—does not continue like this. I am losing my life because of it and it doesn’t have to be this way. Even the prime minister had to leave the country for his medical care. Do whatever you can to make sure this does not happen to others.” This amazing woman was part of the struggle for change and was, even as she was dying, passing on the message to others. Will you do the same?

May God have mercy on our wounded society; healing, caring and protecting us as we choose our paths in this New Year so they do not lead us to a divided, wounded and bitter society. May it be a year of deep repentance, forgiveness, reparations, corrections and revitalization! As Ethiopians humble themselves to reach out to God for help, may He lift them up to stand strong and live in harmony as one people!

Ethiopia faces dangers and opportunites By William Lloyd-George (Time) | September 10, 2012

Nibret Gelese spent years saving up to move from his home town Mekele, in the north of Ethiopia, and make a newlife in Addis Ababa.

“Everyone said it was the place to be, the place to get rich,” he tells TIME shutting the rusty door to his small phone shop. “Now I’m not sure what to expect, everyone is pretty scared about what might happen without Meles.”

Nibret’s anxiety over life without Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who died August 20 from an undisclosed illness after ruling Ethiopia for 21 years, is echoed across the sprawling capital. “Meles was our hero, he kept the bad people in government under control, and developed our county enormously,” says a taxi driver.

Meles had dropped out of medical school to fight in the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), part of the alliance that in 1991 overthrew the communist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam. Since then, Meles has been praised for his vision of an ‘Ethiopian Renaissance’ and for policies that helped alleviate a great deal of Ethiopia’s poverty. Many fear that progress and stability won’t be sustained without his leadership.

On Thursday the EPRDF dismissedfears of a power vacuum, and claimed to simply be following the party’s rules for choosing a new leader. “There is no power struggle, there is no power vacuum, it is not true,” government spokesman Dina Mufti told TIME. “Hailemariam Desalegn is now acting minister, so there is no need to rush the procedure and we will wait for a collective democratic decision from the leadership”. A decision had been expected earlier this week, but has now been delayed until after Ethiopia’s New Year next Tuesday, to allow for wider participation in the party’s congress.

Hailemariam Desalegn, originally an civil engineer, had been a trusted aide to Meles, who it was widely believed was grooming Hailemariam to succeed him. The move would have marked a breakwith tradition, since the country’s political elite under Meles has been dominated by ethnic Tigrayans whereas Hailemariam is Woylata and was not part of the TPLF. Also, Hailemariam is a Protestant rather than an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian like Meles and most of the party elite. While ethnic leaders representing most ethnic groups have been brought into the EPRDF, analysts say there is a potential for social tension if the party remains dominated by Tigrayans, who comprise 6.1% of the total population. Some believe Meles chose Hailemariam to avoid the risk of reproducing Tigrayan domination, and also in response to pressure from international donors to diversify the leadership of the EPRDF. With Meles gone, however, local commentators speculate that a Tigrayan elite within the ruling party may seek to maintain their dominance by blocking Hailemariam from taking over.

Other observers dismiss fears of a power struggle. “This is completely overlooking the strength of the EPRDF institutions, which are stronger than most are willing to admit,” explains Dr. Solomon Dersso from the Institute for Security Studies in Addis Ababa. “While there could be divisions and tensions, normal in such an organization, I think the point has been exaggerated a great deal. From talking with close observers in the party paradigm, it doesn’t seem like there is any contestation of who will be the leader.”

Dersso notes the fact that Hailemariam has held such authoritative positions as deputy prime minister and foreign minister. “He is able to control these important institutions and easily continue on the work of Meles. As a result the security forces are also likely to carry on as they were”.

But for opposition parties, human rights groups and democracy activists, continuity of the status quo will be a disappointment. “It is a difficult time for the EPRDF but it is sure that Hailemariam will be elected as the prime minister,” says Dr Negaso Gidada Solon, leader of opposition party the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party(UJD) adding that he believes deputy foreign minister and former TPLD fighter Berhane Gebre-Christos will assert a great deal of power behind the scenes.”They have been swearing to continue to the policies of Meles, as a result economic, social and political problems will get worse unless EPRDF comes to its senses and creates a democratic political opening.”

While Meles was praised for implementing a public sector-driven development model, human rights groups have complained of increasingly repressive rule. While elections have been held every five years, with the next planned for 2015, Dr Gidada claims there is is no space for political opposition to compete and says his party is constantly harassed and restricted from their political activities.

According to Ethiopian expert Kjetil Tronvoll based in Norway, Meles had managed to persuade donors that his authoritarian rule was necessary for stability and development. “One implication of Meles death is that Ethiopia will no longer be a one man rule, but will become more pluralistic,” Trovoll told TIME. “If, as a result of this pluralism development begins to take longer to implement then internationaldonors might assert more pressure on the EPRDF.”

Dersso sees signs of the rulingparty changing its approach after Meles. “If Desalegn’s first speech is anything to go by, he talked about opposition politicians, like Meles neverdid, it seems he is taking a reconciliatory approach”.

Despite the fear on the streets of what the future holds after the passing of the only leader many Ethiopians have known, Meles’ death could bring into being a more pluralistic EPRDF, requiring the next leader to work harder to appease the nation than Meles ever needed to. Says Tronvoll: “Meles’ shoes are just too big to fill.”

ETHIOPIAN NEW YEAR