Saturday, November 14, 2015

በረሀብ ለተጠቁ ወገኖቻችን እንድረስላቸው !

በወቅታዊ ሁኔታ ላይ የአርበኞች ግንቦት 7 የአቋም መግለጫ
def-thumbየኢትዮጵያ 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.

Friday, November 6, 2015

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

Monday, August 10, 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

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

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

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

ፕ/ት ኦባማ «ኤርትራ ያለ ተቃዋሚ ድርጅትን በአሸባሪነት ለመፈረጅ» የሚያስችል በቂ መረጃ የለንም አሉ፤

July 27,2015
ኢሳት ዜና ፦ የአሜሪካው ፕ/ት ባራክ ኦባማ ይህን የተናገሩት ” በአሜሪካና በኤርትራ የሚገኙ የተቃዋሚ ድርጅቶች ኢትዮጵያ ሽብርተኝነትን ለመወጋት የምታደርገውን ጥረት እያደናቀፉ በመሆኑ የእርስዎ መንግስት የኢትዮጵያን መንግስት ለመርዳት ምን ያክል ዝግጁ ነው ተብሎ ከኢቢሲ ጋዜጠኛ ጥያቄ መቅረቡን ተከትሎ ነው። ጋዜጠኛው የድርጅቱን ስም በግልጽ ከመግለጽ ቢቆጠብም፣ ፕ/ት ኦባማ የሰጡት መልስ ፣ የኢህአዴግ ባለስልጣናት ከዚህ ቀደም ለአሜሪካ ስቴት ዲፓርትመንት ምክትል ሃላፊ ዌዲ ሸርማን አርበኞች ግንቦት7ትን በአሸባሪነት እንዲፈረጅ ያቀረቡትን ጥያቄ፣ ለፕ/ት ኦባማም ማቅረባቸውን የሚያመለክት ነው። ፕ/ት ኦባማ በመልሳቸው «ፖሊሲያችን መንግስትን በሃይል ከስልጣን ማውረድን አይደግፍም፣ ይህ ፖሊሲያችን በዲሞክራሲያዊ ሁኔታ የተመረጠውን የኢትዮጵያን መንግስትንም ያካትታል» ካሉ በኋላ፣ «በኢትዮጵያ መንግስት በኩል ከፍተኛ ችግር እየፈጠሩብኝ ነው በማለት የሚፈርጃቸው ድርጅቶች እንዳሉ እናውቃለን፣ ይሁን እንጅ በመንግስት ላይ ተቃውሞ ቢያሰሙም የሽብር ዝንባሌ እንደሌላቸው የእኛ የመረጃና የደህንነት መረጃዎች ያሳዩናአል» በማለት በኢህአዴግ መንግስት በኩል የቀረበውን ጥያቄ ሳይቀበሉት መቅረታቸውን ተናግረዋል። «ይህንን በመገምገም በኩል ግልጽ የሆነ መስፈርት አለን ያሉት ኦባማ፣ ለወደፊቱ እነዚህ ድርጅቶች የሽብር ጥቃት ይፈጽማሉ አይፈጽሙም የሚለውን ለወደፊቱ የምናየው ይሆናል ብለዋል።
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«አንድ ድርጅት የፖለቲካ ተቃውሞውን ቢገልጽ ፣ ከአስተሳሰቡ ጋር ባንስማማም እንኳ ከለላ እንሰጠዋለን፣ ይሄ በአሜሪካ በሌላም ቦታ የሚሰራበት እውነታ ነው፤ ይህን ማድረግ ለዲሞክራሲ እድገት አስፈላጊ ነገር ነው» ያሉት ኦባማ ፣ ድርጅቶቹ ወደ ሃይል ሲያዘነብሉና በህገመንግስት የተቋቋመን መንግስት ለመገልበጥ ሲሞክሩ፣ ድርጊቱ ያሳስበናል።» በማለት መልሰዋል። የውጭ አገር ጋዜጠኞች ፣ በእስር ላይ ስለሚገኙ የነጻው ፕሬስ ጋዜጠኞች እንዲሁም ስለኢትዮጵያ የሰብአዊ መብት አያያዝ ጉዳይ ለፕ/ት ኦባማና ለአቶ ሃይለማርያም ደሳለኝ ጥያቄዎችን አቅርበዋል። ፕ/ት ኦባማ በኢትዮጵያ የሰብአዊ መብት ጥበቃ እና በዲሞክራሲ ዙሪያ ከአቶ ሃይለማርያም ጋር ሰፊ ውይይት ማድረጋቸውን፣ አሜሪካ በቅርብ ሁና እገዛ ለመስጠት መዘጋጀቷን ገልጸዋል። የኢህአዴግ መንግስት ከፕ/ቱ ጉብኝት በዋናነት የሚጠብቀው ለስልጣኑ ስጋት የሚፈጥሩ ድርጅቶች በሽብረተኝነት እንዲፈረጁለት ቢሆንም፣ ይህንን ሳያገኝ ቀርቷል። ይሁን እንጅ ባራክ ኦባማ የኢህአዴግን መንግስት በዲሞክራሲያዊ ምርጫ የተመረጠ ነው ማለታቸው በርካታ የሰብአዊ መብት ተሟጋች ድርጅቶችን ሳያስቆጣ አይቀርም። ኦባማ በአንድ በኩል በኢትዮጵያ እየጠበበ ስለመጣው የፖለቲካ ምህዳር ሲናገሩ፣ በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ምርጫውን ዲሞክራሲያዊ የሚል ካባ ማልበሳቸው፣ የአሜሪካ የውጭ ፖሊሲን ተቃርኖ የሚያሳይ ነው።
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በሌላ በኩል ኢ/ር ይልቃል ለፕሬዝደንት ኦባማ በተዘጋጀው የእራት ግብዣ ላይ እንደማይገኙ አስታውቀዋል። የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ሊቀመንበር ኢ/ር ይልቃል ጌትነት መንግስት ሀምሌ 20/2007 ዓ.ም ምሽት 1፡00 ሰዓት ላይ ቤተ መንግስት ውስጥ ለአሜሪካው ፕሬዝደንት ባራክ ኦባማ የሚያደረገውን የእራት ግብዣ ያልተቀበሉት፣ «አሸባሪ አድርጎ የሚቆጥረን ኢህአዴግ፣ ፕሬዝደንት ባራክ ኦባማ ሲመጡ በዴሞክራሲያዊ መንገድ የተመረጠ ለማስመሰልና ዕውቅና ለማግኘት ያደረገው በመሆኑ አልገኝም» ብለዋል፡፡ ኢ/ር ይልቃል አክለውም «የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ጭቆና እና ስቃይ ውስጥ ባለበት በአሁኑ ወቅት ኢህአዴግ የጠራው የቅንጦት ግብዣ ላይ መገኘት የህዝቡን ሰቆቃ እንደመርሳት እቆጥረዋለሁ» ብለዋል፡፡ በሌላ በኩል የአሜሪካው ፕሬዝደንት ባራክ ኦባማ መግለጫ በሚሰጡበት ወቅት ኢህአዴግ በዴሞክራሲያዊ መንገድ የተመረጠ ነው ማለታቸው ቅር እንዳሰኛቸውም ሊቀመንበሩ ለነገረ ኢትዮጵያ ገልጸዋል፡፡ «ኢህአዴግን በዴሞክራሲያዊ መንገድ የተመረጠ ነው ማለት የሰላማዊ ታጋዮችን ስቃይ የሚክድና ለአምባገነኖች ይሁንታ የሚሰጥ ነው» ሲሉ የፕሬዝደንት ኦባማን ንግግር ነቅፈውታል፡፡ ፕሬዝደንት ኦባማ የጠበንጃ ትግልን አለመደገፍን ለመግለፅ የአሜሪካ ስቴት ዲፓርትመንትን ጨምሮ ሌሎች የአሜሪካ ተቋማት ኢ-ዴሞክራሲያዊ መሆኑን አረጋግጠውት፣ መቶ ፐርሰንት ምርጫ አሸንፌያለሁ የሚልን ፓርቲ በዴሞክራሲያዊ ምርጫ እንደተመረጠ መግለፃቸው እንዳሳዘናቸው ኢ/ር ይልቃል ገልጸዋል፡፡

Monday, July 27, 2015

Obama begins Ethiopia, African Union visit

Addis Ababa (AFP) - US President Barack Obama landed in Ethiopia on Sunday, beginning a two-day stay and becoming the first American leader to visit Africa's second most populous nation.
Air Force One touched down at Addis Ababa's international airport after a short flight north from the Kenyan capital Nairobi, and the president was greeted on the tarmac by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
The visit will include talks with the Ethiopian government, a key strategic ally but criticised for its record on democracy and human rights. Obama will also become the first US president to address the African Union, the 54-member continental bloc, at its gleaming, Chinese-built headquarters.
He will also hold talks with regional leaders on the civil war in South Sudan.
AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma hailed what she said will be an "historic visit" and a "concrete step to broaden and deepen the relationship between the AU and the US."
While Kenya launched one of the biggest security operations ever seen in the capital Nairobi to host Obama from Friday evening to Sunday, the habitual reach of Ethiopia's powerful security forces meant there was little obvious extra fanfare ahead of his arrival.
Ethiopia, like Kenya, has been on the frontline of the fight against the Somali-led, Al-Qaeda affiliated Shebab. Both nations have troops in Somalia as part of an AU and US-backed force, and are key security partners to Washington.
But the visit also comes two months after elections that saw the prime minister's ruling coalition take every one of the 546 seats in parliament.
The opposition, which lost its only seat, alleged the government had used authoritarian tactics to guarantee victory.
The US State Department notes Ethiopia's "restrictions on freedom of expression," as well as "politically motivated trials" and the "harassment and intimidation of opposition members and journalists."
Ahead of the visit, the White House stressed it frequently addresses issues of democracy and political rights with countries in the region. Having spoken frankly in Kenya on human rights and corruption, Obama can also be expected to address Ethiopia's -- and Africa's -- democracy deficit.

- South Sudan peace push -

Through the tinted windows of his bomb-proof presidential limousine, nicknamed "The Beast," Obama will see Addis Ababa's construction boom of tower blocks, as well as sub-Saharan Africa's first modern tramway.
Ethiopia has come far from the global headlines generated by the 1984 famine, experiencing near-double-digit economic growth and huge infrastructure investment -- making the country one of Africa's top-performing economies and a magnet for foreign investment.
The Horn of Africa nation also remains a favourite of international donors -- despite concerns over human rights -- as a bastion of stability in an otherwise troubled region.
On Monday Obama will try to build African support for tough action against South Sudan's warring leaders if they reject an August peace ultimatum.
Obama will meet with leaders from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda as well as Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour in Addis Ababa to try and build a collective front to end the 19-month-old civil war in the world's youngest nation.
Signalling a deeper commitment to ending violence that has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than two million from their homes, Obama is expected to make the case for tougher sanctions and a possible arms embargo.
South Sudan's rivals -- President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, who will not be at the meeting -- effectively face an ultimatum, a "final best offer," according to one senior administration official.
"The parties have shown themselves to be utterly indifferent to their country and their people, and that is a hard thing to rectify," the official said.
Rights groups, however, are not happy about Obama visiting Ethiopia, saying the trip could lend credibility to a government they accuse of suppressing democratic rights. They say that includes the jailing of journalists and critics, often using anti-terrorism legislation said to stifle peaceful dissent.

"We don't want this visit to be used to sanitise an administration who has been known to violate human rights," said Amnesty International's Abdullahi Halakhe, adding he feared Ethiopia would "spin" the visit to its benefit.

U.S. President B. OBAMA arrived in Addis Ababa Bole International Air Port