EU Parliament Condemn Ethiopia over Oromia Protest: Press Release

Parliament strongly condemns the recent use of violence by the security forces and the increased number of cases of human rights violations in Ethiopia. It cEU Parliament Condemn Ethiopia over Oromia Protest: Press Releasealls for a credible, transparent and independent investigation into the killings of at least 140 protesters and into other alleged human rights violations in connection with the protest movement after the May 2015 federal elections in the country.It also calls on the Ethiopian authorities to stop suppressing the free flow of information, to guarantee the rights of local civil society and media and to facilitate access throughout Ethiopia for independent journalists and human rights monitors. The EU, as the single largest donor, should ensure that EU development assistance is not contributing to human rights violations in Ethiopia.

የህዳሴው ገደል እምን ላይ ደረሰ? (በውቀቱ ስዩም)

በውቀቱ ስዩም

አውሮፕላን መጣ እየገሰገሰ
በዘፈን አንደኛ ሙሉቀን መለሰ
(እስከመቸ ድረስ ጥላሁን ገሰሰ)
የህዳሴው ገደል እምን ላይ ደረሰ? Lol

የህዳሴውን ግድብ ወደ “ህዳሴው ገደል” ያሸጋገረውን ስምምነት የፈረመው ሰውየ “እጁን ለቁርጥማት፤ ደረቱን ለውጋት” እንዲዳርገው በመመረቅ ወደ ሰላምታየ እገባለሁ፡፡ እንዴት ናችሁ፤ ያልታደላችሁ？ እኔ በህይወቴ በተለያየ ጊዜ ተስፋ ቆርጫለሁ፡፡ እንደ ዘንድሮ ተስፋን፤ ከሻኛውና ከፍሪምባው አፈራርቄ የቆረጥሁበት ጊዜ አልገጠመኝም፡፡

መንግሥትም ሃያ አመት ሙሉ አጥሮ፤ ሃያ ዓመት ሙሉ ቆፍሮ የተሳካለት ኣይመስልም ፡፡ “በየቦታው እንምሳለን፡፡ ለመጭው ትውልድ ነዳጅ ሳይሆን ጉዱጓድ እናወርሳለን” የሚል ነው የሚመስለው፡፡ የዛሬ አስራ አምስት አመት ገደማ ውሃ ማቆር የተባለ ፕሮጀክት ነድፎ ነበር፡፡ እናም ኅብረተሰቡ በየጓሮው ሮቶ ሮቶ የሚያክል ጉድጓድ እየቆፈረ የዝናብ ውሃ እንዲያቁር ትዛዝ ተላልፎለት ነበር፡፡ ከዚያ በኋላ ውጤቱ ምንድን ነበር？ የየሰፈሩ ሰካራም በየጉድጓዱ እየገባ አለቀ ፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ መንግሥት፤ ስንት ሰካራም አጥንቱን የከሰከሰበትን ፤ ደሙን ያፈሰሰበትን ፕሮጄክት ድንገት ሰረዘ፡፡ በጊዜው የተወሰኑ ሰዎች ለዶማና ላካፋ መግዣ በሚል ወፍራም በጀት አስለቅቀው ከድህነት ተላቀቁ ፡፡ አገሪቱ ግን የግዜር ገበጣ መጫወቻ መስላ ቀጠለች፡፡ የውሃ ማቆር ፕሮጀክሩ ቢቀጥል ኖሮ ዛሬ የህዳሴውን ገደል ለመሙላት ግብጽን አንለማመጥም ነበር፡፡

መንግስት ደከመኝ ሰለቸኝ ሳይል የማይፈጽመውን እያቀደ፤ አዲስአበቤም ደከመኝ ሰለቸኝ ሳይል በችግሩ እየቀለደ፤ ሃያ አምስት አመት ተገባደደ፡ ፡በውቄም ስኮላርሺፕ በሚል ሰበብ፤ ማንነታቸው ያልታወቀ ፌዴራል ፖሊሶች የሚወረውሩት ቦምብ ወደማይደርስበት ቦታ ተሰደደ፡፡ በግንቦት ወር ወደ አገሩ ሲመለስ ችግር ይገጠመው ይሆን？ወይስ በእጃችን እንይጠፋብን ብለው ይተውት ይሆን? ቀጣዩን ክፍል በመጭው ግንቦት ይጠብቁ፡፡ግን መንግስትን መተቸት ህገመንግሥታዊ መብቴ መሆኑ ይሰመርበት ፡፡ በርግጥ ህገመንግስቱ እንደ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ምግብ ቤቶች Menu ነው፡፡ የተጻፈውን በተግባር ስትፈልገው አታገኘውም፡፡

በነገራችን ላይ ጠቅላይ ምኒስትር ኃይለማርያም ደሳለኝ የሆነ መጽሄት ላይ “ያመቱ ሰው” ተብለው መሸለማቸውን ሰምቼ ተደስቻለሁ፤ ሲያንሳቸው ነው፡፡ ይሄን ያክል እየተተረበ፤ ይሄን ያክል እየተሰደበ፤ ይሄን ያክል ከታችም ከላይም ንቀት እየተከናነበ ቆሞ መሄድ የቻለ ሰው፤ ሽልማት አነሰው？

እኔም እንሆ፤ ሰሜን አሜሪካ ጫፍ አርፌ
በጀርባየ የካናዳን የጉም ግድግዳ ተደግፌ
ከጢሜ ላይ የኮካኮላ ጤዛ ፤ከኪቦርዴ ላይ በረዶየን አራግፌ

“የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ሆይ ተባብረህ ተነስተህ ላንዴና ለመጨረሻ ግዜ አምባገነኑን ሥርአት ገርስስ” እያልሁ ነጋሪት ስደልቅ ፤አዲስ አበቤም “ወይ ኦን ላይን ያለ ሰው！” እያለ በኔ ላይ ሲስቅ፤ ጀምበር ”ሎግ አውት” አድርጋ ጥልቅ፡፡

ባለፈው 53 የፖለቲካና የሃይማኖት ድርጅቶች መግለጫ አውጡ ሲባል ስቄ ልሞት፡፡ ያሁላ ፓርቲ ቢሮ አለው？ ወይስ ህልሙን ባሮጌ ሳምሶናዊት ሸክፎ የሚዞረው ሁሉ ተቆጥሮ ነው？ግሩም ነው መቸም፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ በቀንድ ከብት አንደኛ ሆና ወተት ይርባታል ፤ አምሳ ሦስት የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ኖሯት ፖለቲካው ቸግራታል፤ እንዲያው ምን ይሻላታል？

ድሮ የኔ ቢጤ ባይተዋር ሰው ሲጨንቀው ሰላም ፍለጋ ወደ ቸርች ነበር የሚሄደው፡፡ አሁን በየቤተክስያኑ ድብድብ ነው፡፡ እዚያ ዲሲ ቤተክስያን ልትስሚ ከሄድሽ በነጠላሽ ላይ የጥይት መከላከያ መደረብ አለብሽ ፡፡ እነ አባባ ቆባቸው በሮ እስኪሄድ ሲከታከቱ ታዝበሽ፤ ከተወረወረ መቋሚያ በመትረፍሽ ኣንድየን አመስግነሽ፤ ወደ ቤትሽ ትመለሻለሽ፡፡ ባገር ቤት፤ ቤተክርስትያን ውስጥ አንድ ቄስ በዲያቆናት ሲታጀብ፤ የዲሲ አበሻ ቄሶች ግን በፖሊስ ታጅበው ነው የሚቀድሱ፡፡ እንዲያውም የፈረንጅ ፖሊሶች ለግልግል እየተጠሩ ቤተክስያኑን ከማዘውተራቸው የተነሣ ቅዳሴውን ለምደው ተሰጥኦ ሁሉ መቀበል ጀምረዋል፡፡

በነገራችን ላይ ላገራችን የገጠር ቄስ ክብር አለኝ፡፡ “ዳዋ ጥሶ፤ ጤዛ ልሶ፤ ድንጋይ ተንተርሶ፤ ግርማ ሌሊትን፤ ጸብአ አጋንንትን ታግሶ ፤የሚኖር ነው፡፡ የዲሲ ቄስ በበኩሉ ሙዳየ ምጽዋት አፍሶ፤ አይስክሬሙን ልሶ ፤የንስሃ ልጁን ጡት ተንተርሶ ፤ በቴስታ ተከሳክሶ ይኖራል የሚል ሀሜት አለ፡፡

የዛሬውን የህትመት ዳሰሳየን የምቋጨው በመሬት “ ትንታኔ“ ነው፡፡ ያዲስ አበባ የመሬት ችግር የመነጨው ከዘጠና ሰባት በኋላ ይመስለኛል፡፡ ጌቶች በነዋሪው ተስፋ ስለቆረጡ፤ በስልጣናቸውም ዋስትና ስላጡ፤ “ኪስህ ነው የቅርብ ወዳጅህ” የሚለውን ዘፈን ማንጎራጎር መረጡ፡፡ ይህንን ዝንባሌ እኔና ቢጤዎቼ የቀኝ አዝማች ሰውነቴ “ ሲንድረም ”ብለን እንጠራዋለን፡፡

ቀኛማች ሰውነቴ ከደብረማርቆስ ባላባቶች አንዱ ነበሩ፡፡ እና በስድሳ ስድስቱ አብዮት ዋዜማ የጭሰኞቻቸውን መሬት ጆሮ ጆሮውን ብለው ካቲካላ ጠጡበት ፡፡ባላባት ጓደኞቻቸው ለምን እንዲያ እንደሚያረጉ ሲጠይቋቸው“ መሬት ሳትበላኝ ልብላት ብየ ነው” አሉ ይባላል፡፡

ትንታኔውም ይቀጥላል፡፡

why are students in ethiopia protesting against a capital city expansion plan

Over the past two weeks, students in Ethiopia’s largest regional state, Oromia, have been protesting against a government plan to expand the area of the capital, Addis Ababa, into Oromia. Report suggest security forces used violence including live ammunition to disperse crowds of peaceful demonstrators in the compounds of universities in Oromia.

According to Human Rights , at least seven students were killed and hundreds were injured across the region as security forces used excessive force to disperse student protesters. Other reports put the number of students killed up to ten. Although protesters are primarily university students, in some instances, high school and primary school children were also reportedly involved in intense confrontations with government forces.

At least nine students were killed  by government forces in May 2014 while protesting over the same issue.

The persecution of Oromo people expelled

The students argue that the controversial plan, known as “the Master Plan”, to expand Addis Ababa into Oromia state would result in mass eviction of farmers mostly belonging to the Oromo ethnic group.

It wouldn't be the first time the government has uprooted members of an ethnic group. Thousands of ethnic Amharas in western Ethiopia were expelled from the country's Benishangul Gumuz region in 2013 in what critics called “ethnic cleansing”.

The students have other demands such as making Oromo a federal language. Oromo, the language of the Oromo people, is the most widely spoken language in Ethiopia and the fourth largest African language. However, it is not the working language of the federal government.

According to Ethiopian Constitution, Oromia is one of the nine ethnically based and politically autonomous regional states in Ethiopia. Oromo people  make up the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. However, the group has been systematically marginalize and perecuted for the last 24 years. By some estimates, there were as many as 20,000 Oromo political prisoners in Ethiopia as of March 2014.

A 2014 Amnesty International report on repression in the Oromia region noted:

Between 2011 and 2014, at least 5000 Oromos have been arrested based on their actual or suspected peaceful opposition to the government. These include thousands of peaceful protestors and hundreds of opposition political party members. The government anticipates a high level of opposition in Oromia, and signs of dissent are sought out and regularly, sometimes pre-emptively, suppressed. In numerous cases, actual or suspected dissenters have been detained without charge or trial, killed by security services during protests, arrests and in detention.

The ruling elite of Ethiopia are mostly from the Tigray region, which is located in the northern part of the country.

Social media fills in the gaps

Even as the Ethiopian drought and impending food crisis makes a rare appearance in local—and some international—headlines, little attention is being paid to the student protests in Ethiopian media. But despite Ethiopia’s highly controlled online environment and the government’s firm grip on communications infrastructure, social media users are reporting on the issue, particularly on facebook, with additional coverage coming from diaspora-based media.

Photo widely circulated on social media, taken from the Facebook page of Jawar Mohammed.

One Facebook user, for example, hoped for the world to hear stories of the student protesters’ inspiring actions:

The silence has truly been deafening. We need to see and hear the inspiring actions undertaken by huge numbers of ‪#‎Oromo‬ in ‪#‎Ethiopia‬. Tell their story, enable the world to be swept up in their story.Considering the complete absence of freedom to criticize the government or report opposition stories from within the country, people around the world reading about it can help greatly by doing everything possible to amplify this story.

Another Facebook user, Aga Teshome,toke note of  the political power of Oromo youth:

…‪#‎OromoProtests‬ a call for all oppressed people in ‪#‎Ethiopia‬ to support the ongoing protest against ‪#‎landgrabing‬

….the Oromo youth are a powerful political entity capable of shaking mountains. This powerful political entity is hell bent on exposing the [ruling party] EPRDF government’s atrocious human rights record and all round discriminatory practices.

While Desu Tefera said:

We call upon the media to investigate the conditions that these students died trying to expose and resist, to draw attention to these concerns. Oromia needs a new kind of reporting by the international media, which gives voice to the voiceless Oromo people, who for a very long time have been killed, mistreated, abused, neglected and repressed in Ethiopia. Going forward with the current plan, which ends up displacing tens of thousands of poor farmers, destroying their livelihood and depriving their identity, is a tragedy. It deserves attention. These students put their lives on the line to draw attention to the farmers’ plight.‪#‎OromoProtests‬

Although social media reports are pivotal in letting the world know about the protests, they miss a huge chunk of nuance that would help observers understand how this dispute is unfolding. Notably, the fact that the student protests combine delicate ethnic politics, urban land grabbing and Ethiopia’s diaspora community’s involvement in home country politics.

Given Ethiopia’s highly controlIed environment, one might wonder how the students managed to get organized to express their grievance in the mid of highly controlled environment. Despite the firm grip on communication infrastructure there are constant update on Facebook and Twitter about the protest.

Dubious development practices

The story is unpleasantly familiar, as students are protesting for the second time in less than two years.

In April and May 2014, the protests began in response to the government’s plan to implement the “Integrated Master plan  for Addis Abeba”. As Addis Abeba, the capital of Ethiopia, is an enclave within Oromia regional state, students primarily from Oromia state accused the Ethiopian government of attempting to take over land owned by local farmers in the name of integrating adjacent Oromia towns into the sprawling city of Addis. The students further alleged that if implemented, the Masterplan would result in Addis Abeba further encroaching into the territory of Oromia

The government rejected the accusation, claiming that the Master plan was intended only to facilitate the development of infrastructure such as transportation, utilities, and recreation centers.

When the protests began the students’ main demand was the complete halting of the Master plan. In May 2014, the government did momentarily halt the plan in order to abate the protests after at least nine were killed and hundreds of ethnic Oromo students were imprisoned. But when the government decided to resume plans to implement the Master plan in November this year  resentment boiled over again, resulting in the currently two-week-old student protest leaving at least ten people dead and many injured.

Since the highly contested 2005 national election, forceful evictions and urban land grabbing have become frequent in Addis Abeba. The capital city’s rapid growth has resulted in increasing pressure to convert rural land for industrial, housing, infrastructure, or other urban use.

Diaspora-based advocates say the unrest in Oromia is just a part of the general unhappiness that prevails in the country. They accuse the government of working for the benefit of a few people at the expense of others. They even suggest that the Ethiopian government covertly encouraged informal settlement on the outskirts of Addis Abeba so that they could later find a way to intervene under the guise of rebuilding the slums and lease the land to real estate developers.

Ermias Legesse, a high profile government defector, traces the cause of the Oromo student protest to events that took place 15 years ago. In his book, "Addis Abeba : The Abandoned city", Ermias notes that since 2000 the Addis Abeba city municipality, with the support of the federal government, enacted five different pieces of legislation to “legalize” the informal settlements, and then sold the “legalized” lands to private property developers.

Most informal settlers on the outskirts of Addis Abeba manage to establish themselves for a period of time until they are displaced by government. “Sometimes the informal settlers are given only a few days’ notices before bulldozers arrive on the scene to tear down their shabby houses and lay foundations for new investors,” Ermias said in an interview with a diaspora-based television channel.

በረሀብ ለተጠቁ ወገኖቻችን እንድረስላቸው !

በወቅታዊ ሁኔታ ላይ የአርበኞች ግንቦት 7 የአቋም መግለጫ

የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ዳግም ለአስከፊ ረሀብና ችጋር ተጋልጧል፤ ስፋት ጥልቀቱ በ70ዎቹና 80ዎቹ ከነበሩት ጋር ይስተካከላል ተብሎ ተፈርቷል። ከአሁኑ ሰው በረሀብ መሞት መጀመሩ ከአራትና አምስት ወራት በኋላ የሚመጣውን አደጋ ከባድነት መገመት ያስችላል።

ለአስር ተከታታይ ዓመታት ከአስር በመቶ በላይ ዓመታዊ የኢኮኖሚ እድገት በማምጣት ዓለምን እየመራን ነው የሚለው ዓይን ያወጣ ውሸት፤ “ድህነትን ተረት እናደርጋለን” የሚለው ጉረኛ መፈክር፤ የኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቪዥንና ራድዮ “የህዳሴ ብስራቶች”፣ የአባይ ግድብና የከተማ ባቡር ግንባታ ዜናዎች ለኢትዮጵያዊው አርሶ አደር ቁርስ፣ ምሳና እራት አልሆኑም።

“አድገናል”፣ “ተመንድገናል”፣ “በምግብ ራሳችንን ችለናል” ሲል የከረመው የህወሓት አገዛዝ የረሀቡ ዜና አፈትልኮ ሲወጣ እና የዓለም መገናኛ ብዙሀን መነጋገሪያ ሲሆን የተራበውን ወገናችንን ለማብላት ከመሯሯጥ ይልቅ ተፈጥሮ ላይ ማላከኩን ተያይዞታል። ከዚህ አልፎ ዓመታዊ ድግሶቹ እና ለባለሥልጣናቱ የሚሰጡ ጥቅማጥቅሞች ጉዳይ ከረሀብ በላይ አሳሳቢ በመሆኑ 15 ሚሊዮን የሚገመት ሕዝብ በሞት አፋፍ ላይ እያለ የአገሪቱ ሀብት ለድግስና ፈንጠዚያ እንዲሁም ለእያንዳንዱ ባለሥልጣን ቤተመንግሥት አከል መኖሪያ ቤት ማሠሪያ እየዋለ ነው። መቀሌ ላይ ህወሃት 40ኛ ልደቱን ለማክበር ወደ ግማሽ ቢልዮን ብር ባወጣ ማግስት በአማራ ስም ለወያኔ ባርነት የገባው ብአዴን 300 ሚሊዮን ወጪ በማድረግ በረሃብተኛው ሕዝብ አናት ላይ እየጨፈረ ነው:: ይህ የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ መናቅ ብቻ ሳይሆን ደግሞ ደጋግሞ ከመግደል የሚቆጠር ወንጀል ነው።

ለመሆኑ የአየር ንብረት መዛባት እየተደጋገመ ለሚመጣ ችጋርና ቸነፈር በቂ ምክንያት ሆኖ ያውቃልን? ለምንድነው ፍትህና ነፃነት በሰፈነባቸው አገሮች ውስጥ ዝናብ ጠፍቶ የእርሻ ምርት ቢቀንስ እንኳን ሰው በረሀብ የማይሞተው? አስከፊ የረሀብ ዜናዎች የሚሰማባቸው አገሮች በሙሉ ነፃነት የታፈነባቸው አገሮች መሆናቸውስ የአጋጣሚ ጉዳይ ነው? ለምንድነው ተደጋግሞ ከሚመጣ የረሀብ አዙሪት መውጣት ያቃተን?

የእነዚህ ሁሉ ጥያቄዎች መልስ አጭርና ቀጥተኛ ነው። ለችግሮች መፍትሄ መሻት የሚቻለው በነፃነት ማሰብ የሚችል ጭንቅላት ሲኖር ነው። በባርነት ጨለማ ውስጥ ያለ ጭንቅላት ለችግሮች መፍትሄ የማፍለቅ አቅም የለውም። እንዲያውም እንዲህ ዓይነቱ ድኩም ጭንቅላት ችግሮችን ማሸነፍ ሳይሆን ተሸናፊነትን ተቀብሎ ከችግሮች ጋር ተስማምቶና ተወዳጅቶ መኖርን ይመርጣል። ለዚህም ነው የአስተዳደር በደልና ረሀብ ምክንያትና ውጤት ብቻ ሳይሆን እጅና ጓንትም ጭምር የሆኑት።

ነፃነት ያለው ሕዝብ ረሀብን እንደሚያሸነፍ ተደጋግሞ የታየ ጉዳይ ነው። ለዚህም ነው ረሀብን የተፈጥሮ ሚዛን መዛባት ውጤት ብቻ አድርጎ ማቅረብ እውነትን መሸፈጥ የሚሆነው። ረሀብ የብልሹ አስተዳደር ውጤት መሆኑ ያፈጠጠ፣ ያገጠጠ ሀቅ ነው። ከረሀብ መገላገያ መንገድም የተበላሸ አስተዳደር ተወግዶ ኃላፊነት የሚሰማው፣ የዜጎች የማሰብ ነፃነት የሚያረጋግጥ ሕዝባዊ አስተዳደር ሲኖር ነው።

አገራችን ኢትዮጵያን የረሀብ ቀጠና ካደረጉ የ24 ዓመታት የወያኔ “የዘርፈህ ብላ” የኢኮኖሚ ፓሊሲ ውጤቶች መካከል አንዳንዱን ለአብነት ያህል መዘርዘር ይቻላል።

1.ገበሬና መሬት ተለያይተዋል። ኢትዮጵያዊያን አርሶ አደሮች መሬት አልባ ሆነዋል። ለም መሬቶች በኢንቨስትመንት ስም ለህወሓት ጉልተኞችና ምስለኔዎቻቸው ታድሏል፤ እነሱ ደግሞ በተራቸው ለባዕዳን ሽጠውታል። ኢትዮጵያዊው አርሶ አደር በሀገሩ ጭሰኝነት እንኳን አጥቶ ለቀን ሠራተኝነትና ልመና ተዳርጓል። በዚህም ምክንያት ገበሬው እንኳንስ ትልቁን የአየር መዛባት ትንሿንም የዋጋ ንረት መቋቋም እስከማይችልበት ደረጃ ተዳክሟል።

2.ዘርን መሠረተ ባደረገ ክልላዊ ድንበር ሳቢያ ኢትዮጵያዊው ጎበዝ አርሶ አደር አንዱ ቦታ ቢከፋ ወደ ተሻለ ቦታ ተዛውሮ ማረስ አልቻለም። ከሰሜን ወደ ደቡብ ከሄደ የአገራችን አርሶ አደር ይልቅ ባህር ተሻግሮ የመጣ ኤንቨርስተር ነኝ ባይ መሬት ማግኘት ይቀለዋል። እንዲያውም ኢትዮጵያዊው ገበሬ በዱላና በጥይት ሲባረር፤ ከባዕድ አገር የመጣው ብድርና ማበረታቻዎች ይሰጠዋል።

3.የህወሓት ባላሥልጣኖችና በየቦታው ያስቀመጧቸው ምስለኔዎቻቸው ራሳቸውን ባለሚሊዮኖች፣ ከፍ ሲልም ባለ ቢሊዮኖች አድርገዋል። እነዚህ በአንድ ጀምበር ከትቢያ የተነሱ ቱጃሮች ከገንዘብ በተጨማሪም የጄኔራልነት፣ የሚኒስቴርነት፣ የክልል ገዢነት፣ እጅግ ቢያንስ የቢሮ ኃላፊነት ሥልጣንን ኪሳቸው ውሰጥ ከተዋል። የመንግሥት ሥልጣንና ሃብት ይኸን ያህል የተቆራኙበት ሥርዓት በኢትዮጵያ ኖሮ አያውቅም። የጥቂቶች ያለአገባብና ያለቅጥ መክበር በአንፃሩ ደግሞ የብሃኑን ሕዝብ መደህየት ረሀብ እጣ ፈንታችን እንዲሆን አድርጓል።

4.በአቋራጭና በፍጥነት ለመክበር አስተማማኙ መንገድ የገዛ ራስ ጥረትና ታታሪነት ሳይሆን ቅጥፈት፣ አጭበርባሪነትና ሎሌነት ማደር መሆኑን የህወሓት አበጋዞች በተግባር እያሳዩ ሠርቶ፣ ለፍቶ ማደግ ሞኝነት እንዲሆን አድርገውታል። በዚህም ምክንያት በባህላችን ውስጥ ኮትኩተው ያሳደጓቸው አድርባይነት፣ ስንፍናና እና ልመና ችግርን የመጋፈጥ አቅማችንን ሰልበውታል።

5.ደኖቻችን ተጨፍጭፈው፣ ለም መሬታችን ተሸርሽሮ በማለቁ የግብርናችን ምርታማነት በእጅጉ ቀንሷል። በህወሓት የአገዛዝ ዘመን የደን ጭፍጨፋና የመሬት መሸርሸር በአስደንጋጭ ሁኔታ ጨምሯል። አገሪቷ በፍጥነት ወደ ምድረበዳነት እየተቀየረች ነው።

6.ኢትዮጵያዊያን ገበሬዎች ድርቅን መቋቋም ስለሚችሉ ሰብሎች ወይም የአስተራረስ ዘዴዎች ማሰብ፣ መመራመርና መፈተሽ አይችሉም። አዲስ ነገር መሞከር “የኢህአዴግ የግብርና ፓሊሲን“ በመቃወም ወንጀል የሚያስቀጣ ተግባር ሆኗል። በዚህም ምክንያት ገበሬው ድርቅን መቋቋሚያ አዳዲስ ዘዴዎች መፈለግ ቀርቶ በተለምዶ የሚያውቃቸውንም መጠቀም አልቻለም።

7.የህወሓት አገዛዝ፣ እንደ ኢኮኖሚው ሁሉ የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ ብዛት ሊቆጣጠር የሚሞክረው ቢሮ ውስጥ ቁጭ ተብሎ በሚደረግ የቁጥር ጨዋታ ነው። አገዛዙ ውጤታማ የስነ ሕዝብ ፓሊሲ የለውም፤ እንኳንስ የቀጣይ ዓመታት የሕዝብ እድገት ምጣኔን ሊቆጣጠር አሁን ያለነው ቁጥራችን ስንት እንደሆነ እንኳን በትክክል ሊነግረን አልቻለም፤ ረሀብ ነው መብዛታችንን እየነገረን ያለው።

አርበኞች ግንቦት 7፡ የአንድነትና የዲሞክራሲ ንቅናቄ እነዚህና የመሳሰሉት ጭብጦችን በማንሳት የረሀቡ መሠረታዊ ምክንያት የህወሓት አገዛዝ ያሰፈነው ብልሹ አስተዳደር መሆኑን በአንጽዖት ይናገራል። ሕዝባችን በነፃነት ማሰብ፣ መመራመር፣ መፈተሽ ቢችል ኖሮ ረሀብን መከላከያ ብልሃት ማግኘት ባላቃተውም ነበር ብሎ አርበኞች ግንቦት 7 ያምናል። ረሀብን ለማጥፋት ህወሓትን ከሥልጣን ማስወገድ ከምንጊዜውም በላይ ወሳኝ የሆነ ጊዜ ላይ ተደርሶአል ብሎ አርበኖች ግንቦት 7 ያምናል።

ነገር ግን ረሀብ ጊዜ አይሰጥም። የፓለቲካ ሥርዓት ለውጥ በሞት አፋፍ ላይ ላለ ወገናችን መፍትሄ አይሆንም። ስለሆነም ለረሀቡ መሠረታዊ መፍትሄ የሆነውን ትግላችንን ሳንዘነጋ የወገኖቻችንን ሕይወት ለመታገድ የምንችለውን ሁሉ እንድናደርግ አርበኞች ግንቦት 7 ጥሪ ያደርጋል። ሲቪክ ማኅበራት የተራበው ወገናችን የወያኔ መጠቀሚያ ሳይሆን የአስቸኳይ ጊዜ እርዳታ የሚያገኝበት መንገድ እንዲያፈላልጉ እና ወገን ለወገን የሚቆምበትን ዘመቻ እንዲያስተባብሩ ጥሪ ያደርጋል። ለወገኖቻችን የሚላከው እርዳታ ከዚህ በፊት እንደነበረው ሁሉ ወደአገዛዙ ባለሥልጣኖች የግል ኪስ እንዳይፈስ ጥንቃቄ እንዲደረግ ያሳስባል። ለወገኖቻችን ለመድረስ እያንዳንዳችን በግል፤ እንዲሁም በቡድን የተቻለንን ሁሉ እናድርግ።

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ!!!
ኅዳር 3 ቀን 2008 ዓ.ም.

Ending Ethiopia's food aid dependency

Ethiopia has been hailed by the international organizations as the fastest growing economy. The Western media is now telling the world that Ethiopia needs food aid because of a widespread drought. 

Economic growth is a change in total output between two consecutive years expressed as a percentage. Economic growth, however, does not tell us the components of growth. In the last ten years, Ethiopia’s growth has been in housing and infrastructure; not in food.
Thus, the government in Ethiopia has recently appealed to its international partners for food aid to feed 8.2 million people.  According to U. N. reports, the number of people needing help may reach 15 million by 2016.
The regime in Ethiopia always appeals for food aid whenever the country is affected by a drought. Then its international aid partners will deliver the food. This has become routine.
Since the early 1970s, Ethiopia has been affected by a drought frequently. As a result, the country has become dependent on food aid despite its rich potential.
The regime’s food aid partners are Western governments, international organizations, including the United Nations and its specialized agencies, as well as NGOs. Presently, they are all working hard to avert another famine in Ethiopia.
A number of initiatives have been announced in the past by the United States and its Western allies in response to a global food problem. For instance, in 2009, at the G8 Meeting in L’Aquila, Italy, more than $22 billion was pledged for a global food security campaign.
In 2012, a symposium on global agriculture and food security was held in Washington, D.C. At that symposium, the President of the United States launched his New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.
The President stated in his remarks that the new initiative would be a better alternative than simply handing out food. Thus, according to the President’s New Alliance, G8 nations will honor the commitment, they made in L’Aquila. Second, African governments, “committed to agricultural development will build on their own plans making tough reforms and attracting investment.”
Third, donor countries will “closely align their assistance with these country-plans.” Fourth, the private sector, that is, the World Bank, international development agencies, multinational corporations, NGOs and civil societies will coordinate their involvements with the other partners.
The President in his remarks rightly said, “The whole purpose of development is to create the conditions where assistance is no longer needed, where people have the dignity and the pride of being self-sufficient.” The President’s New Alliance, however, leaves a lot to be desired.
First, it is not based on the successful experience of America’s agricultural development. America has a lot to offer to help Africa modernize its agriculture.  The United States of America is a world leader in agricultural productivity thanks to the Homestead Act of 1862.
The Homestead Act created numerous privately owned family farms. The government made credit sources available to make the purchase of land and farm machinery by the people feasible. The Homestead Act was a strong democratizing measure because it gave Americans private property, which is the foundation for individual rights.
Second, The New Alliance does not incentivize African countries so that they should modernize their agriculture. On the other hand, the U. S. applied incentives to influence Southeast Asian countries to develop their agriculture.
For instance, Japan would not have abolished landlordism and established owner farmers without American involvement. The American Occupation in 1946 used its power to enforce a land reform law, which was against the interest of wealthy and powerful landlords.
The United States pushed for similar land reform laws in South Korea and Taiwan. Thanks to American involvement, South Korea and Taiwan today are among the prosperous nations in the world (see Table below).

For example, in 1961, Ethiopia, South Korea and Taiwan all had per capita incomes less than $120. By 2014, South Korea’s per capita income was 60 times larger than Ethiopia’s and Taiwan’s per capita income was almost 100 times bigger.
 During 1961-2014, Ethiopia got poorer while South Korea and Taiwan got richer. Furthermore, the income gap between South Korea and the United States decreased by almost 50%. And the income gap between Taiwan and the United States shrank by 80%. On the other hand, Ethiopia’s per capita income as a percentage of America’s per capita income declined from 2.3% to 0.8%.
From 1951 through September 30, 2013, the United States provided loans, grants/food aid to Ethiopia amounting to $11.7 billion in constant dollar. Ethiopia received most of the aid between 1991 and 2013 under the present government (see USAID chart below). However, the current regime is not committed to agricultural development.

 If America really wants to help Ethiopia modernize its agriculture, giving food aid is not the answer. In the first place, food aid is not sustainable in the long-run because it has budgetary consequences for America.
Secondly, food aid encourages the government in Ethiopia to postpone land reform,  which is essential for agricultural transformation. For instance, the current regime has vowed that land privatization will happen over its dead body. This does not sound like a government committed to agricultural development.
In Ethiopia, government landlordism is the major impediment to agricultural development. Thus, America should leverage food aid to reform the government’s land monopoly and help Ethiopia modernize its agriculture.
The government in Ethiopia has to agree to privatize land and capitalize the rural sector in return for receiving food aid. Only then can Ethiopia be able to develop its rich agricultural potential and end its dependency on food aid. Only then can the people of Ethiopia “have the dignity and the pride of being self-sufficient.”
 By Daniel Teferra(PhD)*  November 4, 2015

US and European officials urge Ethiopian to release Andargachew “Andy”

Politicians from the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union have sent a letter to Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn urging the release of British citizen Andargachew “Andy” Tsege, a political activist who has been held incommunicado for more than a year and has been sentenced to death.
The father of three was on his way to Eritrea to attend an opposition conference on June 23, 2014 when he was detained in Sana'a, Yemen, during a layover, at the behest of the Ethiopian government.
Tsege, 60, a former secretary-general of a banned opposition party, had already been sentenced to death in absentia by an Ethiopian court in 2009.
The letter, obtained only by Al Jazeera, criticizes the Ethiopian authorities for conducting a “deeply flawed” trial and demands the release of Tsege, who is kept in solitary confinement and subjected to artificial light 24 hours a day.
“You have emphasized in the past Ethiopia’s commitment to human rights, but it is unconscionable and illegal for your government to have targeted Mr. Tsege in this way. Your government’s treatment of him is a stain on its reputation, and threatens to isolate Ethiopia internationally," said the letter, co-authored in June by California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Other politicians who signed off on the letter include British parliament members Jeremy Corbyn, Baron Dholakia, and Emily Thornberry along with European Parliament officials Ana Gomes and Richard Howitt.
British officials have only been permitted to see Tsege three times since his arrest in monitored visits that take place away from his jail cell, circumstances that lawyers say prevent him from speaking openly about his mistreatment.
The Independent reported  that during one of those visits, in April, Tsege told Greg Dorey, the British ambassador to Ethiopia that he would prefer being executed to remaining in detention.
“Seriously, I am happy to go — it would be preferable and more humane,” Tsege reportedly said.
Yemi Hailemariam, Tsege's partner and mother of his children, said the ordeal has left the family devasted.
“It's dreadful, what has happened. The way he was taken, it's really terrifying. I was hoping things would evolve quickly and he would be released, but it feels like it's only getting worse and worse,” she told Al Jazeera America in an exclusive interview.
Concerns that he is being mistreated by Ethiopian authorities, who routinely subject political detainees to torture, grew after the Ethiopian government released videos of a gaunt and disoriented Tsege apparently confessing to a number of offenses.
UK-based legal charity Reprieve submitted the videos to an expert for analysis who concluded that Tsege exhibited signs of torture.
“The expert found that there are signs of significant deterioration in his mental condition, an indicia of PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] that could be the result of torture. And we already know that torture is pretty endemic at Ethiopian detention sites,” said Maya Foa, director of Reprieve's death penalty team.
She described Tsege's arrest in Yemen and rendition to Ethiopia as a “politically motivated abduction.”
Ethiopia's embassy in Washington and its mission in New York did not respond to Al Jazeera's calls and e-mails for comment.

Dedicated reformer

Tsege was tried in absentia in 2009 along with a group of opposition members and journalists under Ethiopia's controversial anti-terrorism laws, which human rights experts say are used to repress peaceful political dissent.
The charges leveled against Tsege include high treason, espionage and involvement with a terrorist organization.
He was an active member of Ginbot 7, a political party founded in the U.S. – home to the largest Ethiopian population outside of Africa – that advocates for democratic reforms.
Ethiopia designated Ginbot 7 a terrorist group in 2011, a move that human rights experts say was meant to quash opposition.
"They are not considered a terrorist group by any government apart from the Ethiopian [government]," Foa told Al Jazeera.
She added Tsege's arrest was part of a larger crackdown on dissent by the country’s authorities in the run-up to the May 2015 elections, in which the ruling party won by an overwhelming majority.
Human rights experts have denounced the elections as an exercise in "political theater."
“A decade-long campaign by Ethiopia’s government to silence dissent forcibly has left the country without a viable political opposition, without independent media, and without public challenges to the ruling party’s ideology,” wrote Daniel Calingaert in The Guardian.
Calingaert is the executive vice-president of Freedom House, an International human rights organization. “For most Ethiopians, these elections are a non-event,” he added.
The ruling party - Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPDRF) - has been in power for the last 25 years, following the 1991 ouster of the country's military junta, the Derg.
When the EPDRF ascended to power, Tsege – who sought asylum in the UK in 1979 – traveled back to Ethiopia for the first time in 20 years to help his homeland rebuild and to serve as the secretary of the Addis Ababa City Council.
He resigned from that post 18 months later, having grown disillusioned with the new government, which showed no signs of implementing genuine democratic reform, according to his partner Hailemariam.
Tsege returned to the UK, where he had become a full citizen in 2006, and although he lost his Ethiopian citizenship (dual citizenships are prohibited under Ethiopian law) he continued to advocate for change in Ethiopia from the UK.
"He never stopped believing change would come to Ethiopia. In the UK, he saw the difference between those who live in a free society and people who live in authoritarian regimes like Ethiopia. He really couldn’t let it go. Anytime he saw an opportunity to get involved, he was always involved," said his partner, Hailemariam.
In 2005, Tsege published a book entitled Freedom Fighters Who Don’t Know What Freedom Is – a scathing indictment of the EPDRF leadership.
The following year, he traveled to Washington D.C. to speak on Ethiopia's human rights record before a Congressional committee, telling them that “the scale of repression has exceeded Ethiopia's darkest hours during the military dictatorship.”
ethiomedia

President Obama to Africa:Nobody shoud be president for life.

Barak Obama -- addressing the African Union (AU) today: “If a leader says he is the only one who can hold the country together, then that leader has failed to build their nation…Nobody should be president for life. A country is better off with new blood and new ideas.”
“I don't understand why people want to stay in power for so long especially when they have a lot of money...”
"When a leader tries to change the rules in the middle of the game just to stay in office it risks instability and strife. As we've seen in Burundi...”
"I'm still a pretty young man, but I know that somebody with new energy and new insights will be good for my country. It would be good for yours too in some cases."
“I have to be honest with you—I just don’t understand this. I am in my second term. Under our constitution, I cannot run again. There’s still so much I want to get done to keep America moving forward. But the law is the law and no one is above it, not even presidents.”
“…frankly, I’m looking forward to life after being President. It will mean more time with my family, new ways to serve, and more visits to Africa.” 
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/barack-obama-africa-trip-democracy-ethiopia-120711.html?cmpid=sf