US professor among 5 sentenced to die in Ethiopia

By Samson Haileyesus (AP) and Aaron Maasho (AFP) December 22, 2009

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – An Ethiopian court sentenced five people to death — including an Ethiopian professor teaching at a U.S. university — and 33 to life in prison Tuesday for being members of a terror group and conspiring to assassinate government officials.
Those convicted have been accused of being members of the Ginbot 7 — May 15 in the Ethiopian calendar — which refers to Ethiopia's election day in 2005 when postelection violence killed close to 200 people.
Among those sentenced to death was Berhanu Nega, an exiled opposition leader who was elected mayor of Addis Ababa in 2005. Nega is currently an associate professor of economics at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania.
Three of the other five sentenced to death are also living in exile outside Ethiopia; one is in custody.
The prosecution asked the court to impose severe penalties because many of the accused were members of the army. Many of those convicted were expected to appeal.
All but two of the defendants in Ethiopian custody have proclaimed their innocence. Two defendants cooperated with the prosecution and were sentenced to 10 years.
Nega and more than 100 other opposition politicians were arrested after the 2005 election and put on trial for treason. Nega and others were pardoned and freed after 20 months, but the government last week revoked Nega's pardon.
[Andargachew Tsige, one of the leaders of Ginbot 7, speaks briefly to the BBC on why it is invalid to appeal the death sentences in a country where there is no rule of law.]
According to a Bucknell University article on Nega, the economics professor was a leader in the democratic opposition in Ethiopia after returning there in the mid-1990s. In 2005, he become the first elected mayor in Ethiopia's history with 75 percent of the vote, but the ruling party declared victory in races throughout the country.
"Thus ended the Ethiopian democratic experiment that had started with such high hopes, leaving the country in the darkness of totalitarian rule," Nega said during a talk on campus last year.
Nega was jailed after the election and released after 20 months in July 2007. Since his release, he has urged the U.S. and other Western countries to back democratic movements in Ethiopia and withdraw support for dictatorships.
Opposition politicians have for months been pointing to signs of increased oppression in Ethiopia, notably the harassment and arrest of thousands of their candidates in 2008's local elections that they believe allowed the ruling party to sweep the elections.
Aaron Maasho, AFP correspondent in Addis, said the defendants' relatives and lawyers said they would appeal the sentences.
"I will appeal, I'm not satisfied with the decision. It's harsh, I hope it will be reversed after we appeal it," said Tidenekyalesh Tesfa, whose client Getu Worku was sentenced to life and had his property confiscated.
The relative of another army officer who was sentenced to life in jail struggled to hold back her tears after the sentences were pronounced.
"It's a pity. There is no justice in Ethiopia... the evidence was incomplete," she told AFP on condition of anonymity. "He served his country, he sacrificed his whole life for the military... but for what?"
The trial, one of the most high-profile in the country's recent history, comes against a tense political backdrop, ahead of general elections scheduled for May next year.
Rights groups have accused Meles' regime of instilling a climate of fear ahead of the polls.
"The spectre of the 2005 crackdown on the opposition and on the independent press is resurfacing in the run-up to the May 2010 general elections," the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said in a recent statement.
A senior US official also voiced concern last month at what he described as a "reduction in political space and the ability of opposition parties to operate."
Some 200 people died in violence that erupted following the disputed results of the 2005 elections.
Berhanu Nega's now-defunct opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy had won an unprecedented number of seats.

አኬልዳማ

በአገሬ ሕዝብ ላይ- ሰቆቃ
ምነው አልቆም አለ-አላበቃ
ርህራሄ ተነፍጎት-
እየኖረ በዋይታ
ስው ባምሳያው- ሰብዓዊነት
አልሰማው ብሎ-ኃላፊነት
ሰብዓዊ መብቱ- ተረግጦ
ወገን በወገን ላይ-ዶልቶ
ወገን ሞቶ-ወገን ገድሎ
በፉከራ
ፈጣሪም ሳይፈራ
ዘራፍ ብለን ራሳችን- በራሳችን
እኛው በእኛ ላይ- አምፀን
ጳጳስ ገድለን- ጳጳስ ሾመን
አሃዱ ብለን በስልሳ ራስ- አንገት ቀልተን
የኛን ራስ- እኛው ጠልተን
የአስራ ሁለት ዓመት ልጅ -ገና ጨቅላ
የአስር ዓመት ልጃገረድ- እምቦቅላ
ሽኘን በሞት- በሽለላ
ገዳይ ብለን በፉከራ።

ድንበር ሰርተን- ሸሁን ገፍተን- ካህን ጠልተን
በማናውቀው ርዕዮተዓለም- ተጠምቀን
ሽብር ሆኖ ቀይና ነጭ-ወገን ከፍሎ
አንዱ ሌላውን-ሊያጠፋ ተገዝቶ ምሎ
ልንጠፋፋ-ተገዳድረን
በጥፋት ካህን ፊት-ምለን ተገዝተን
ላንተኛ- በሃሳብ የተለየን ወንድማችን
አፈር ሳይሆን

እናት አሳዝነን- ለአባት ማቅ አልብሰን
እርር አርገን
ልጆች ከጉያ- ተነጥቀው
ለመቃብር -ተዳርገው
ዋይታ በዝቶ- ለቅሶ ቢሆን
ዘፈን ጠፍቶ -ሳቃችን ሆኖ ሃዘን
ሺህዎች -እንደቅጠል ቢረግፉ
ቢበዛብን -የእኛው በእኛ- ፍጡር ግፉ
አኬልዳማ ሆነ ቃሉ- አኬልዳማ
የሞት ጥላ አጥልቶብን-የእልቂታችን ካራማ።

እኛው በእኛ ላይ- ከፍተን
እንደ ወንድማማች- በሰላም አብረን
መኖር ተሳነንና-ቀጠለ ጥፋታችን።
ዛሬም እንደትናንቱ- በሃሳብ ለተለየን
ይሙት በቃ- ብለን በየን
እንደ ፋንታ በላይ- ሁሉ
ይሙት አልን ሙሉነህ- ይሙት አልን ብርሃኑ
እንደ መርዕድ እና አመሃ- ደምሴና ቁምላቸው
ፈረድን-
ይሙት በቃ በመስፍን
በመላኩና በአንዳርጋቸው።

መደብን ከመደብ- ጎሣን ከጎሣ ሆነ ብለን
ኃይማኖትን ከኃይማኖት- በማጋጨት ተክነን
ከጎሰኝነት ከሃይማኖት ከመደብ ወገንተኝት
መጽዳት አቅቶን
በኢትዮጵያዊነት ጥላ ስር -ማረፍ ወንጀል ሆኖ
ደም ይፈሳል ጅረት ሆኖ- ቱግ ብሎ
የጥቂቶች ፍልጎት- በአብዛኞቻችን ጀርባ ተጭኖ
አሜን ብለን እንድንኖር- ህግ ህኖ
መልካም ስራ ተንቆ
ወንጀል በተገላቢጦሽ
መልካም ተብሎ
የምንኖርባት ምድር- ሆናለች አኬልዳማ
የሞት ጥላ ያጠለባት- የጥላቻ ካራማ

ልዩነታችን የሚፈታው- ሆነና በጠመንጃ
ገዥ ሆኖ አፈሙዝ- ግኡዝ ፍጡሩ ሳንጃ
የትኛው ጅኒ- አጋንንት ቢያርፍብን ነው
ምድራችን ለዓመታት- አኬልዳማ የሆነው?
መቸ ይሆን የሚቆመው
እኛው በእኛ ላይ የፈጠርነው
መከራው?

ዳግማዊ ዳዊት
ታህሳስ 2002 ዓ.ም.
Ethio_dagmawi@yahoo.com

Ethiopian activists protest in Copenhagen

Ethiomedia December 21, 2009

COPENHAGEN - Braving frigid weather unseen for over eight years, patriotic Ethiopians drove for several hours from all over Europe and descended on Copenhagen where they denounced genocide perpetrator Meles Zenawi, a pro-democracy website reported on Sunday.
The report on AbbayMedia said temperatures had dropped to minus 12°C when the Ethiopian activists withstood the harsh weather for several hours, appealing to Western leaders, particularly US President Barack Obama, to probe appalling human rights conditions in Ethiopia, and take appropriate measures.
Waving their native country's tricolor, and holding high an oversize photo banner of Birtukan Mideksa, the activists chanted for hours for the release of the prominent opposition leader, and thousands of other political prisoners that Meles has locked up in his dungeons.
Zenawi, who has been in power since 1991, has committed numerous crimes - ranging from turning Ethiopia into a landlocked nation to committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. He has evaded Western government attention by fueling conflicts in the Horn of Africa, for which he appears as a Western ally in the name of a 'partner in the war on terror.'
The tyrant was attending the Climate Talks as chief negotiator of African countries but ended up shaming developing countries by crowning himself the unofficial chief negotiatior for the rich West.
"On the ninth day of the Copenhagen climate summit, Africa was sacrificed," award-winning journalist and activist Naomi Klein wrote. "It is hard to believe it was this man who three months ago threatened to walk out of the Climate Talks if African demands were not met."
The betrayal of Meles Zenawi that made headline news for the rest of the world was nothing new for Ethiopians who have for nearly 20 years appealed to the international community to help them ostracize the man they believe is their country's worst enemy.
AbbayMedia said the protest rally was organized by the Committee of the International Network against Repression and Injustice in Ethiopia. Most of the activists were drawn from host country Denmark, UK, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Netherlands, France and Italy.

Lacrimosa for Ethiopia [Dr. Hagos: Hailu was begging Meles for Appointment]

I recall Engineer Hailu Shawel coming to see me in 1992 at the new office complex built during the time of Mengistu’s administration at the Menilik’s Palace grounds. What he wanted was to inform me his desire to cooperate with EPRDF, and he gave me the impression that he was seeking some appointment. [In those days, I was perceived to be some kind of king-maker.]… By Tecola W. Hagos
“It is true you cannot eat freedom and you cannot power machinery with democracy. But then neither can political prisoners turn on the light in the cells of a dictatorship.” Corazon Aquino
“I would rather be an opportunist and float than go to the bottom with my principles around my neck” Stanley Baldwin

PART ONE
I. Introduction
The events of the last two week in Ethiopia has been painful, but a great example of political betrayal and opportunism of the worst kind. I watched on video the depiction of an open platform of November 1, 2009 attended by Ministers, Dignitaries, Ambassadors from all over the World, and the throng of journalists, at a signing ceremony presided by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the public humiliation and the betrayal of the people of Ethiopia in the person of Hailu Shawel, Lidetu Ayalew, and Ayalew Chamiso, who claim to represent the opposition interest of the Ethiopian people. I ask myself what happened to common decency, sense of self-worth, and communal responsibility for those individuals in attendance of the staging of the signing of the Code of Conduct to stoop so low as complete pawns in the hands of a power-crazed puppet-master.
I cannot afford to lose all faith in my fellow Ethiopians, thus I conjectured the possibility of blackmail by the Government of Meles Zenawi of Hailu Shawel, and to a lesser extent Lidetu Ayalew and Ayalew Chamiso, with some hitherto unknown horrible corruption charges or some sordid video record in order to force them play their dubious role becoming gatekeepers to ward off other opposition parties and groups, such as the Medrek group. I tried also some other explanation to justify such action by the three gentlemen, namely the question of the national interest. But when I examined closely each of the above excuses I was willing to entertain on their behalf to avoid unfounded allegations, I realized that the record of those individuals, in the past several years, indicate deliberate opportunistic and predatory activities. The signing of the Code of Conduct is simply the fulfillment of long drawn processes of marriage with the EPRDF.
I recall Engineer Hailu Shawel coming to see me in 1992 at the new office complex built during the time of Mengistu’s administration at the Menilik’s Palace grounds. What he wanted was to inform me his desire to cooperate with EPRDF, and he gave me the impression that he was seeking some appointment. [In those days, I was perceived to be some kind of king-maker.] I tried to inform him that the time was not conducive for me to talk about such personal issues and I pointed to him the fact that I was moving to a new office. I talked with him in a temporary little office that I simply used for the moment in order to accommodate his insistence to see me. Trying to cooperate with ones government is not per se evil; however, it is the motive that indicates the character flaw or strength of an individual. My assessment of Hailu Shawel in that brief moment of encounter was that of a person of opportunistic character—I am vindicated and proven right several times over in the course of the last fifteen years.
During the same period in the 1990s, I watched the birth of the AAPO led by the highly principled Professor Asrat; I witnessed the establishment of the Human Rights Commission, and the infighting of the OLF for political parity with the EPRDF. I am contrasting those developments to point out the fact that Hailu Shawel’s interest right from the start was a highly personal one compared to the activities of the leaders of such different political and civic groups I had a chance to know about due to my proximity to the center of power and due to personal acquaintances with many of the players in those organizations. Hailu Shawel played a highly personal political game. He is the quintessential Mahel Sefari. He used the frustration and hatred a number of Addis Ababean feel for EPRDF to his personal advantage by projecting himself as a man-ofthe- people to the leadership of EPRDF, and not to be trifled with. When he started his All Ethiopians Unity Party, Hailu Shawel was doing that with an approval wink from EPRDF leaders because Professor Asrat’s All Amhara organization was gaining tremendous support and was becoming a real threat to the very survival of EPRDF even when the Professor Asrat was in detention. The leaders of the EPRDF needed an organization that will divide and dilute such concentrated challenge to their power.
No matter how hard one may try to change an old donkey into a stallion, it is an impossible task to achieve such fete. Just like nature, society cannot be that easily fooled. Such silly effort to fool society was amply demonstrated to the entire world to see by the event of November 1, 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel. Almost six months ago, on June 4, 2009, I wrote predicting such situation.
As he has done countless times in the past, Meles Zenawi will try all kinds of trickery dividing the opposition and driving wedges in between opposition leaders. It is no secret that Meles and his group have effectively divided and weakened the opposition in the past; for example, AAPO, OLF, CUD et cetera were all victims of the divisive schemes of launching leaders against each other. Thus, it will not surprise me if Meles Zenawi would offer Hailu Shawel the Presidency of Ethiopia in exchange for Hailu’s docility and political betrayal of the opposition. http://www.tecolahagos.com/liberation_ethiopia.htm
What is well camouflaged and effectively hidden from everyone else’s scrutiny is the ambition of Hailu Shawel to be Meles Zenawi’s Ye Elfign Askelkai—a power broker position that is most favored and desired by Mahel Sefaris. The political evolution of Kinijit and Hailu Shawel’s role in the final political skirmish after the aborted election of 2005 leading to the arrest and conviction of Kinijit leaders was a situation where activities went out of control and dragged many of the leaders including Hailu Shawel into such a situation. However, the moment the Leaders of Kinjit were released from prison the split started with Hailu Shawel disassociating himself and separating his own group from the rest of Kinjit Members.
In 1991 to 1993 when I was advising the Transitional Government of Ethiopia, Ledetu Ayalew was too junior a person for me to know at all, so was Ayalew Chamiso. In fact, I never met those two gentlemen, I only know of them from reports, newspaper articles, videos, and pictures since my second exile (after 1993 to date) in the United States.
Based on such reports and documentation, I wrote in a couple of articles expressing my admiration for Lidetu Ayalew as an individual who came to prominence through his own native wits and smarts without the help of any ethnic based hegemonic structure or help from academia or anybody else for that matter. It is no little achievement in a society that is densely stratified in tight hierarchical structure based on ethnic exclusivity, family prominence, and wealth, for a simple born peasant man from Lasta to make such inroad into the power structure of Ethiopia, especially an Ethiopia being ruled by the most rigid and closed Government in the history of this ancient land.
I have pointed out above the diverse personalities and interests of the three leaders who signed the Code of Conduct. Often people have pointed out to me and others that one should not focus on individual personalities when dealing with the political life of a nation. I respectfully differ from such high standard, for Ethiopian politics is driven completely by focusing on the personality of the leaders of Ethiopian political parties. It would be unrealistic for anyone to try to do politics in Ethiopia without first focusing on Ethiopian political personalities.
II. The Game Plan
It is imperative to understand the mind of Meles Zenawi and his close associates in order to understand why the group decided to form close alliance with Hailu Shawel. It is no surprise to me that such scheme would come about at this point. Over ten years ago, in my book Demystifying Political Thought, Power, and Economic Development (1999), I predicted the breakup of AAPO, and that fractured group in time would join forces with the faction of the TPLF corrupt leadership and would continue the repressive Government of the EPRDF under the leadership of Meles Zenawi.
The Amharas will continue in their present status, disorganized and ineffective, incapable to counter or regain the political clout they presumably had lost if the present fracturing continuous… moreover recent development indicate that AAPO officials in Addis Ababa are working together with the EPRDF undermining the very Amhara movement they were elected to lead and promote.
[Referring to Qegnazmatch Nekatibeb leading AAPO and the continued detention of Professor Asrat] It is only a matter of time before the national office of AAPO in Ethiopia fractures and joins the EPRDF corrupt structure. In keeping with such trend, a faction from the TPLF with a section from AAPO, and exofficials of Mengistu’s government and the camp started by One Ethiopia will metamorphosis into a support group for Meles. (84-5) Tecola W. Hagos, Demystifying Political Thought, Power, and Economic Development (1999), pages 84-5. (Emphasis added)
Meles Zenawi has perfected the art of “divide and rule” and raised it to new heights. Recent books, articles, and book reviews by former members of the TPLF have given us a glimpse of the sordid and corrupt inner workings of the TPLF. We have now a clear picture of the organizations administration and finance, more importantly the names and roles played by the core leaders responsible for the day to day functioning of the TPLF.
Meles Zenawi, Sebhat Nega, Seyoum Mesfine, Abay Tsehai, Abadi Zemu, Brehane Gebrekristos, Tewodros Hagos et cetera played major roles in all the corrupt schemes hoodwinking major international humanitarian organizations and their star fund raisers whereby millions of dollars was deposited in accounts established by such individuals allegedly for the starving people of Tigray and vicinity. There was neither public auditing nor proper accounting ever to this day of all the hundreds of millions of dollars donated and received through charitable fund raising from the West and others. The individuals who had intimate knowledge of the finance and administrative process at the time, such as Gebremedhin Araya, Aregawi Berhe et cetera, have exposed the diabolical secret of the TPLF leaders diversion of donated funds into private accounts that was never audited by the organization.
Those TPLF leaders distributed a minuscule amount to the starving Tigrayan refugees in the Sudan, and kept the rest for their own use in accounts controlled by them. Because of such meager assistance most Tigrayan refugees in the Sudan tried to return to their home base even though it was under the administration of the Military Regime. The attraction was that Regime was providing sustenance far in excess of what was provided by TPLF Leaders even though the donated fund the TPLF Leaders were in charge of was far in excess of the donations that the Ethiopian Government had acquired from international donors. Furthermore, Meles Zenawi as the leader of that pack outmaneuvered Western governmental security and spying agencies by portraying himself and his close supporters as democratic and honorable leaders. The fact is that by the time the EPRDF reached Addis Ababa overrunning the Military Regime, the leaders of the TPLF were already Millioners. They all have tasted the forbidden golden apple from the tree of wealth. By then they were infested like Gollum with obsessive and insatiable appetite for wealth.
The only agenda they had was how best they could use their guerrilla forces to establish and run a puppet government in order to control the resources of a defeated country, and how best to loot it blind. We all have been wrong to a great extent in believing that they were interested in the fracturing of Ethiopia because of their hatred of the very idea of an Ethiopia and the fact that they were against the military dictatorship then in power. Some of us also wrongly believed that they were partial in their love and commitment to see an independent Eritrea. They would not have cared an iota for Eritrea if it were not in their best interest to do so in order to exploit and loot Ethiopia by themselves. For sure, Isayas Afeworki would have objected to such theft and looting of a nation if he had stayed as part of Ethiopia, for he would have wanted to do the same. In that shameful criminal activity of looting and robbery, they found Alamoude, an individual who taught them a thing or too how to move huge amount of money around the world. He also might have personally facilitated the international web of investment and banking of the hundreds of millions of dollars and other hard currency thus stolen effectively hiding such fabulous looted wealth from Ethiopia including gold mined in mines allegedly owned by Alamoudi. In short, we are dealing here with a different breed of men unseen in the history of Ethiopia or the World before who held a nation hostage for one purpose only— to loot its wealth.
The true nature of the activities of the Leaders of the TPLF has become far more clearer now than a decade ago, since former TPLF leaders such as Gebremedhin Araya (responsible for the finance of TPLF), Aregawi Berhe (former Leader and Commander of the TPLF guerilla forces) and others have finally started writing and publishing their memoire. It is absolutely clear from such accounts that the main goal of the TPLF Leadership had shifted since 1984 from fighting for the liberation of the people of Tigray/Ethiopia to the acquisition of wealth by using the guerrilla structure that was in place to control the state structure. Meles Zenawi and his select tiny support group having tested of the forbidden golden apple born out of the famine of 1984 and after were simply dedicated to make as much money as possible looting and confiscating the wealth of a nation. They were in fact a group of mercenaries similar in their operation like the Mafia.
They used as their foot soldiers naïve peasant boys and girls from Tigray and a few from adjoining Provinces, young men and women who believed in a nationalist cause, to fight the deadliest war against a brutal military regime for seventeen years. Setting aside those patriotic naïve fighters, the leaders of the TPLF were just common criminals then as they are now.
The bond that held tight Meles Zenawi and his group is not patriotism; it is not concern for the people of Tigray; it is not the desire to help Eritreans. The bond is made of gold chain called “Money.” The interest born of money and wealth creates the most enduring and highly exclusive bonding. That is literally what we see in the current leaders of the TPLF. Opposition supporters writing endlessly ascribing the current disastrous Ethiopian government administration to narrow ethnic interest are totally wrong. Any mention of “Woyane” as the target of dissent and derision is like barking up the wrong tree. The people of Tigray are primary victims of the TPLF even worse than the rest of Ethiopia. The affinity between Meles Zenawi and the Mahel Sefaris is obvious.
The losers in the current game of the signing of the Code of Conduct and realignment of the EPRDF with its newest Member Hailu Shawel (AEUP) are the people of Ethiopia, not Hailu Shawel and his Party, not Medrek or anybody else. Meles Zenawi has gained another day to prepare for far longer and devastating fight against all those who are concerned about the vital interest of Ethiopia, the Opposition et cetera. He has extended his life to do more damage to the state of Ethiopia entrenching his divisive Killel system, alienating Ethiopian territory, selling/leasing huge chunk of Ethiopian land to foreign investors and states while millions of Ethiopians starve to death. He will keep looting Ethiopia’s gold in collaboration with Alamoudi.
The incorporation of new Satellite organizations, such as AEUP replacing the old ones, such as ANDM, OPDO et cetera that have atrophied over the last ten years, due to serious marginalization of the leaders of such organizations by Meles Zenawi. Starting from the arrest and imprisonment of Tamrat Lyne, all Satellite organizations of the EPRDF lost their political luster. In the guise of the signing of a Code of Conduct, which is a meaningless document in itself, Meles Zenawi is putting in place a blue print for his future. There is some other subterranean purpose in the game that was fully displayed for the World to see on November 1, 2009. The bottom-line is that Meles Zenawi is replacing his old cronies wholesale with the quintessential Mahel Sefaris, who had worked diligently as shadow advisors and yes men of incredibly loyalty to Meles Zenawi in the last eighteen years. The current political development of Meles Zenawi’s budding friendship with Hailu Shawel spells doom for the old comrades of Meles Zenawi, such as Adissu Legesse, Teferra Walwa, Kassu Illala et cetera who will soon be retired and replaced by the technocrats that Hailu Shawel would organize after the election of 2010, such technocrats are salivating right now to join the new administration with “Emperor” Meles Zenawi on the Throne for the next twenty years. This is the likely and disgusting outcome of the game plan that could only be conjured up by a sick mind.

To be continued

PART TWO
III. The Mahel Sefaris Back in Power
IV. The Oromo of Ethiopia

PART THREE
V. Medrek and the “Code of Conduct”
VI. What is to be done?
Conclusion

ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT MAKES PLEAS FOR EMERGENCY FOOD AID

Excerpts from : Civil Military Fusion Senter Report

NORTH EAST AFRICA REVIEW
ISSUE 17, 08 OCTOBER—22 OCTOBER, 2009

Overview
North East Africa Knowledge Manager, Stuart Kefford, stuart.kefford@cimicweb.org
The US administration clarified its approach to Sudan when it finalized its review of its policy towards the country. The administration’s position on Sudan allows all parties to understand what is required, and provides the confidence that the goalposts will not be changed, which can help the implementation of the peace agreements and progress of peace talks in the country.
Somalia continues in a state of flux with factions turning on each other, and defections of key individuals changing the political dynamics of the country (southern Somalia).
Ethiopia has requested international assistance to help provide food aid for up to 13 million people that are in need.
ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT MAKES PLEAS FOR EMERGENCY FOOD AID
Ethiopia Knowledge Manager, Matthew Hall, matthew.hall@cimicweb.org

“There is a real danger of a humanitarian disaster in the coming months if the international community stands by and does nothing.” Douglas Alexander, International Development Secretary, UK Government
On 22 October at a meeting with inter-national donors, the Ethiopian government made a plea for emergency food aid from the international community.
This represents a change from Ethiopia’s previous stance that the government had the situation under control and the international community was exaggerating the extent of the food crisis. The figure used by the international community included critical and non-critical beneficiaries of food aid, which the government felt was misleading due to coverage received by the latter group under the government’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP). This appeal by the Ethiopian government is consistent with recent requests by numerous aid agencies for assistance to overcome a growing food crisis in Ethiopia and East Africa as a whole.
According to Oxfam, “more than 23 million people......are being pushed towards severe hunger and destitution across East Africa. In Ethiopia 13.7 million people are at risk of severe hunger and need assistance.” This figure combines both those targeted by emergency food assistance (roughly 6.2 million) and those covered by the PSNP.
The international community has already begun to respond to these warnings. Oxfam had made an emergency appeal for GBP 9.5 million (about USD 15 million) from the UK public to provide food aid to drought-stricken East Africa, particularly Ethiopia. The UK Department for International Development (DFID) announced on 06 October that an emergency donation of GBP 30 million will be used to address the Ethiopian food crisis. Another GBP 9 million will be donated to Kenya and Somalia, which face a varying degree of food shortages.
In positive health-related news, cases of Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) continue to decline throughout the country. Just one month ago AWD and cholera were rapidly spreading and many feared a national crisis; while the danger is not yet over, a concerted effort by the Ethiopian government and humanitarian agencies has significantly improved the situation.

POTENTIAL POLITICAL PROGRESS IN ETHIOPIA
The Ethiopian government requires all parties to agree to the election Code of Conduct, drafted by the National Electoral Board (NEB), as a precursor to any negotiations on the electoral process. Opponents see this as locking themselves into a rigged system that is controlled by the EPRDF.
On 12 October, the Forum for Democratic Dialogue (FDD) announced that it would likely not boycott the June 2010 election. The FDD (Medrek in Amharic), a coalition of opposition parties and notable former politicians, is considered by some political commentators as the group with the best chance to rival Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and his ruling party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Front (EPRDF).
The FDD has previously refused to take part in the government's Code of Conduct talks; however after meetings with British and American diplomats there are signs that talks between the two groups may soon be underway. These mediation efforts and the FDD’s announcement offer an opportunity to overcome the impasse between the EPRDF and its opposition parties, born out of mistrust between the two groups.
The government needs opposition parties to participate in the election to legitimize the process, and the election provides the only possibility for opposition parties to provide a challenge to the ruling party. However, suspicion among the parties still runs high and engagement by the international community must continue.
It should be cautioned that while op-position participation in the election is encouraging for promoting democratic practice in Ethiopia, it does not necessarily address another serious concern: the potential for violence leading up to and during the election period. To read the entire report, please click here

Teddy Afro: The invincible messenger

By Abebe Gellaw ǀ October 14, 2009
There are some people blessed with an unbreakable spirit. They can turn adversities into triumph and setbacks into progress. These kinds of people have a deeper understanding of life as a rollercoaster with ups and downs, turns and twists, gains and lose, defeats and victories…. They take times of sadness, grief, illnesses, falls, trials or tribulations with grace and resurrect themselves against all odds. After all, true heroes and heroines are not those that kill enemies with the arrows of vengeance and hatred, but those who defy the darkest hours of life and come out shining.
Tewodros Kassahun, widely known with his stage name Teddy Afro, was supposed to come out of jail a broken man, dejected and depressed cursing his fate and Almighty God. During his trials and tribulations in those filthy dark jails infested with scary rats and bugs, he was supposed to forget his songs, rhythms, lyrics and his messages of love, unity and change. He was supposed to turn into a zombie unable to do anything worthy of recognition. Indeed, he was supposed to take the back seat of history and disappear into oblivion.
But true starts never die. From the farthest and darkest corners of the universe, they continue to shine defying the dominions of darkness. Teddy Afro has just proven this fact just a few days after he came out of those cruel jails that have broken the spirits and faith of so many courageous men and women.
“Heroes take a journey,” says the poet and writer Carol Lynn Pearson, “confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves.” Teddy also confronted the unjust dragons of Kangaroo courts that turned what should have been an ordinary trial into a widely ridiculed farcical circus passing harsh verdict and punishment even before the evidence was gathered and the charges were filed. And yet, not only did he come out unscathed and unbroken, but also found more of the treasure of his true self that has remained to be the foundation of his success as an artiste that pumps powerful messages into our inner souls of conscience.
Teddy’s latest single, which was released just a few weeks after he walked out of jail, is another testimony to the fact that he is an artiste with a cause to resonate the heart beats and pulses of millions of voiceless Ethiopians. The charity single, Sew, touches a raw nerve in our psyche and disturbs our emotion as he smoothly sings about the plight of the majority of Ethiopians who are suffering from abject poverty. He brings closer to our hearts a hard to ignore message about the forgotten millions who have no shelters, food, and clothes to cover their naked indignity.
In the 21st century where much of the world has been making great strides, divided and fractured Ethiopia is still a country caught in an endless cycle of unimaginable agony as year after year it stretches its hand to beg food and alms from afar. Beggary and famine have become trademarks to a once proud nation dubbed the “bread basket” and “water tower” of Africa. TPLF’s so-called double digit economic growth has even failed to translate into food for the hungry, but it is visibly fattening the new ethnocentric elite. Even in Tigray, where the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray [EFFORT] brags about accumulating wealth beyond our imagination in the name of the people, millions are on food safety net walking on a tightrope that stretches between survival and death.
Mortality is an early calling for the majority Ethiopians whose life expectancy is below 40 years. Maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world. Children born in Ethiopia have a greater chance of dying before the age of five as a result of malnutrition, hunger and diseases than anywhere in the world. Despite the fact that the TPLF has been claiming to be too busy fighting poverty, famine and pestilence, it has invested nothing in democracy, equality, justice and real growth and change, the people’s clarion call that Teddy beautifully echoes putting himself in harms way and in a collision course with a vengeful elite out to punish and silence every little critic.
TPLF has done too little to extricate the nation from rain-fed agriculture. It is rather selling up virgin and irrigable lands to rich oil barons, including Saudi investors led by Sheik Mohammed Al Amoudi, who has been engaged of late in gigantic mechanized farming to produce food for the Middle Eastern rich in a country eternally facing the fangs of hunger year after year. When Ethiopia will soon turn into the bread basket of Arabs exporting Ethiopia-grown food to feed Saudi and Gulf States, it will continue to beg food as millions have no prospect of escaping from the cycle of hunger. That will definitely be another perplexing paradox!
In the nation of endless paradox, Teddy’s latest song reminds us of the suffering of tens of millions of fellow Ethiopians who are dispossessed, hungry and diseased. Unfortunately, there is no clear strategy to end the burden of being Ethiopians for these unfortunate people in a land of plenty whose eternally flowing rivers have been feeding neighbouring countries.
A few weeks before Teddy was released, NPR journalist Gwen Thompkins filed a story from Addis Ababa, a city gripped with fear and suspicion because of the level of repressions of a paranoid regime. “Whether Afro can or will continue his career in Ethiopia remains a question. Recent laws in the country have further restricted free speech. And human rights groups contend that the government could easily use the nation’s new anti-terrorism law to move against its critics. A top government leader has strongly denied that claim. But nearly everyone here is uneasy about Teddy, about the future, about the price of saying too much,” she reported.
Teddy Afro should continue to echo the heartbeats of his people. If I have a wish list of new songs for Teddy, on top of the list will be a melodic tribute to prisoners of conscience like Birtukan Mideksa whose only crime is wishing freedom and the best for their people suffering under a tyrannical regime. Those who are on the wrong side of history never stop worrying as they know full well that tyranny has never been a permanent fixture in history.
In Movement of Jah’s people, an article the Economist published right after Teddy’s release from his 16-month long incarceration, it noted: “The worry for the government is that the release of Mr Afro will now throw the spotlight back on its jailing of Birtukan Mideksa, a charismatic young opposition leader, judge and single mother. Ms Mideksa had already spent 18 months behind bars before she was jailed again earlier this year for denying that she had asked for a pardon. Her supporters say she has had to spend much of the year in solitary confinement.” In fact, it is incumbent upon us to sing and pray about those who have lost their freedom for the sake of their people.
Under the brutal dictatorship of Meles Zenawi, there is indeed a huge price to pay for telling the truth. And yet, trying to kill the messenger makes the message more popular. The reason why Teddy’s trial and tribulation created so much uproar and outrage was not because he was tried in a law of court, it was rather due to the fact that there was and still is an obvious intent to break the spirit of inspirational Ethiopians like Teddy. Fortunately, Teddy has emerged a much more powerful voice who will take his transformative and inspirational messages far and wide… There is no message as subversive as the truth and there is no messenger as credible as a true believer with a passion for freedom. Teddy Afro is undoubtedly a powerful voice that has proven to be irrepressible and invincible.
In the end, there will inevitably come a day where everyone will fearlessly sing… “Free at last, free at last…Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.” Those songs of slaves will eventually be sung in Ethiopia, a country that has been proud not to have been colonized and occupied by external powers and yet has never enjoyed the true meaning of independence and liberty.
Teddy’s new song,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqLw9xVi2xE

የአውራዎች አንድነት

ጃርት የሚባል አውሬ-ግፍ ቢያበዛበቸው
ንቦቹ ወጡና- ከየመኖሪያቸው
ጥያቄ አቀረቡ- ለየአውራዎቻቸው።
ስብሰባ- ቁጭ አሉ፣
በስፋት-መከሩ።

አውራዎቻቸውን- ፊት ለፊት ቁጭ አርገው
እንዲህ ነገሩዋቸው
እንዲተባበሩ
መሪወቹ ሁሉ
አውራወች በሙሉ- በአንድነት ከሰሩ
ክፉ ጃርት አይመጣም- በዚህ በሰፈሩ።

ቃልም ተገባቡ-ከዚህ ቃል ላይወጡ፣
ለአናቢው ገበሬ-ትዕዛዝንም ሰጡ
አንተ ንብ አናቢ-ከዛሬ ጀምረህ
አሳየን ብለናል- በአንድ ቀፎ አድርገህ።

አናቢው ገበሬ- ልቡ እያመነታ
ትናንት በሚያውቀው- በለመደው ፋንታ
አንድ ቀፎ መርጦ- በጭስ አጠነና
ንቦችን በመሉ- ከአውራወቹ ጋራ
በአንድ አስቀመጣቸው
እንደጥያቄያቸው።
…
ያለ አፈጣጠሩ
ሆኖ ትብብሩ
እያንዳንዱ መሪ-ሰራዊቱን ይዞ
ቀፎው ባዶ ቀረ- ንብ ሁሉ ተጉዞ።

ድሮም ሆኖ አያውቅም፣
ትናንት ሆነ ዛሬም
አንድ የንብ አውራ ነው- ከሺህ ሰራዊት ጋር
ውጤትን የሚያሳይ- የሚጋግረው ማር፡፡

ዳግማዊ ዳዊት
ጥቅምት 2002
Ethio_dagmawi@yahoo.com

Ethiopia earns $540.5 mln from gold in last decade

Posted on Ethiomedia
Reuters
October 12, 2009
________________________________________
Editor's note - The following report was made possible thanks to the Reporter newspaper that has been asking - despite harassment and threats from hirelings - fair questions like: "Where is the country's gold?"
________________________________________
The Truth
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) -- Ethiopia earned $540.5 million from nearly 48 tonnes of gold exports in the last 10 years, the National Bank of Ethiopia said on Monday. Some 47.9 tonnes, worth $520.5 million, was produced by the Lege Dembi mine, run by the private Midroc Gold Mine, the bank said. Lege Dembi is in the Adola gold belt 300 km southeast of the capital.
The balance of 693.3 kg worth $20 million was produced by artisanal miners, the bank said.
Midroc Gold Mine, which is owned by Saudi Arabian financier Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi, paid $175 million in 1998 to win an international bid to run the mine for 20 years.
Midroc holds rights to produce gold in an area of 85 square km as part of a plan to boost Ethiopia's gold output.
Officials say Ethiopia loses up to 1,000 kg of gold worth $10 million every year in contraband trade between artisanal miners in the south of the country and smugglers from neighbouring countries.
Ethiopia has identified "possible and probable" untapped gold reserve of up to 500 tonnes in different parts of the country, the ministry of mines said.
It issued a mining proclamation and regulations that gave foreign investors incentives such as duty free imports of equipment and repatriation of profits in 1993.
Since then 12 foreign companies have signed agreements to explore for gold, base metals, gemstones and petroleum across the country, the ministry said.


THE LIE by Ethiopia First
Making Sheik Mohamed Al Moudi the central plank of an
election campaign must be unmitigated gobbledygook.
By: Dilwenberu Nega
27th September 2009
Let me from the very outset unequivocally state that it is not my
intention to take sides in the ongoing war of attrition between The
Reporter and Sheik Mohamed Al Moudi on an issue which given the
chance would go down in The Guinness Book of World Records as
“The longest running lead story on a newspaper.” But the fact that
The Reporter now seems to have succeeded in getting leading
members of Ethiopia’s opposition parties on its anti‐Al Moudi
bandwagon, has now turned ‘the issue’ to deteriorate from toxic to
radioactive.
In democratic elections, the role of contending parties is to offer the
electorate viable choices on frontline issues. Similarly, in today’s
Ethiopia frontline issues are health, education, unemployment, cost
of living and the defence of the nation. The electorate expect – and
rightly so – opposition parties to articulate their alternative policies
on these bread‐and‐butter‐issues, so that they are able to make
informed choices. What the electorate has been getting from the
opposition parties, instead, has been a catalogue of disappointments
ranging from in‐fighting to an open declaration of intent of sweeping
away ethnic federalism to pettifogging Al Moudi. All these may
make sensational headlines, but by Jove, they certainly are not vote
winners simply because they don’t strike at the heart of the concerns
of the man in the street in Ethiopia.
Sheik Al Moudi’s multi billion investment in Ethiopia is there for
everyone to see. He has provided job opportunities to thousands of
unemployed. He has done more than his fair share in giving a facelift
to Ethiopia’s national image. In short, he has proven his love of
Ethiopia in a manner and style that no investor has so far portrayed.
Then, why all this animosity against him from some ‘influential’
individuals and politicians, is something that demands a clear‐cut
answer. The answer lies in the personal and the political.
Personally, Sheik Mohamoud Al Moudi is known – in addition to
being a man with the Midas touch – for his largesse and anybody
who had been denied of what has become known as “the nourishing
hand of Gashay Al Moudi” instinctively turns ballistic and engages in
a merciless character assassination campaign against Al Moudi. The
series of unsubstantiated, yet sensational stories, of tax evasion by Al
Moudi which had wall‐papered The Reporter week in and week out
for more than a year portray an unsavoury over‐reaction of an Editor
who might have fallen out with the Sheik.
Politically, however, it is a different kettle of fish. Sheik Mohamed Al
Moudi in his renowned razzmatazz manner had openly declared his
unwavering support to the ruling EPDRF. And this has sent shock
and awe to all political parties who had been salivating for Al Moudi’s
backing. By the way, it is interesting to note here that though the
Sheik had declared his support to EPDRF, MIDROC Ethiopia is
redolent of former Derg officials recruited at the behest of the Sheik
– proof of the Sheik’s inclusive nature. The opposition parties,
however, believe its pay‐back time and are seen rushing in to rally
behind The Reporter. Those Ethiopian opposition parties who had
so far declared their intention to make the role of Al Moudi the
central plank of their election campaign are the very ones who are
seen limping in the political arena as their attempt to forge a
coalition to run against EPDRF keeps being confronted by merciless
in‐fighting and by a dearth of wherewithal to oil the election
campaign machinery.
Bashing Al Moudi is one thing, but making Al Moudi the central plank
of an election campaign must surely be a sign of political bank.

ትዝብት

አረንጓዴ ሰው

“ሕዝባችን ተስብሰብ-ለሰበሩ ዜና
ባለጸጋው ጻድቅ- መሆኑ ይሰማ
ይኸ ባለጸጋ- ይኸ ያገሬ ሰው
ይኸ ባለሆቴል- ይኸ ወርቅ አንጣሪው
የሥራ ዕድል ፈጥሮ- ልቤን አስደሰተው”

ብሎ ጋዜጠኛው -ፅፎ አነበብኩና
ስለዚህ ባለሃብት- ሃሴት አረግሁና
እኔም የበኩሌን-ለገስኩት ምስጋና
“አንደበት ይከፈት-ጆሮወች ያዳምጡ
ለዚህ ባላፀጋ- ሽልማቶች ይምጡ
በል እግዜሩም ስማ- ፅድቅ ተለውጧል
ከዛሬ መነኩሴ- ባላፀጋ በልጧል
“ፀሃይ ትቁምለት- ትዘግይ ጨረቃ
ይኸ ባለፀጋ- እስኪል ድረስ በቃ
እስከሚበዛለት -ሃብቱ እስከሚስፋፋ
ሌሊቱም ቀን ይሁን -ብርሃን አይጥፋ።”

ብዬ ምስጋናየን- ሳዥጎደጉደው
ይኸ የአጎቴ ልጅ-የተበሳጨው
ከእኔ የተለየ-ሚስጥር ያውቅ ኖሮ
እንዲህ ሲል ነገረኝ-ሃሳቡን ቀምሮ።

“ለተራበ ማብላት-ለታረዘ ማልበስ
ታማሚ ማጽናናት-ለችግርም መድረስ
መጾም መፀለዩ-ቅንነት ማሰቡ
መች ሆኖ ተገኘ- የዛሬ ሰው ግቡ!

“ከደሃ ቀምቶ- ከደካማ ዘርፎ
ቢኖርም ቢሞላም- ተርፎ ተትረፍርፎ
ወርቅና አልማዝ ይዞ- ነዳጅ አስቆፍሮ
ሆኖ መገኘት ነው-ካለመጠን ከብሮ
ሰውን ሰው ያሰኘው- የለየው ዘንድሮ።

“የስው ልጅ ሲፈጠር- በጌታዬ አምሳያ
ነበረ ለታላቅ- ለክብር ማሳያ
ዛሬ የስው ልጆች- ወረቀትን ፈጥረው
ቁጥር ጽፈውበት- አንድ ሁለት ብለው
አረንጓዴ ቀለም- ቅርጻ ቅርጹን ስለው
ከራሳቸው በላይ- ለብር ክብር ሰጥተው
መኖር ጀምረዋል-ከሱ በታች ሆነው።
…
“መልኩን ሳፈላልግ- ጠይም ወይም ቀዩን
ቀረና የእርሱነት- መምሰል አምሳያውን
ንዋየ ፀሎቱ- ገንዘብ ሆኖ አምላኩ
አረንጓዴ ሆኗል- ባለጸጋው መልኩ።
…
“አንተን መሳይ ሰወች- እናንት ኋላ ቀሮች
ጠይምና ጥቁር-ቀይ አመላካቾች
ልታውቁ ይገባል- የዛሬን እውነታ
በጠይም በጥቁር- በቀይ ሰው ፋንታ
የሰው ልጅ ውበቱ- የሚያምር ቁመናው
አረንጓዴ ሆኗል- የእርሱ ሁለመናው።

“ገንዘቡ ዳኛ ነው- ፖሊስም ጠበቃ
ሃይሉ ልክ የሌለው- ተቆጥሮ አያበቃ
ፍትህና ክብር -ገዥ በገንዘቡ
ይኸ ባለጸጋ- ባለ ወርቅ ቅቡ
ሕጻን ሴት ያገባው- ሕፃን እቁባቱ
የስው ሚስት የቀማው- አድርጎት መብቱ
ሁሉ ሰው ጌታዬ- ብሎ የሚጠራው
እርሱን ነው የሚያደንቅ- ጋሸ ጋዜጠኛው።

ብሎ ተናገረ- ይኸ የአጎቴ ልጅ
ስለ አረንጓዴው ሰው- ለሁሉ እንደማይበጅ።

ትናንት ህጻን ሆኘ-ሳድግ በሰፈሬ
የሰው ልጅ መጠሪያው- ልዩ ነው ከዛሬ
አይደለ በልብሱ- በፀጋ በሃብቱ
አይደል በቁመናው- ተክለ-ሰውነቱ
አይደል በትምህርቱ- በዕውቀት ሊቅነቱ
ሰው በሰውነቱ- ሲለካ የማውቀው
ፍጹም ልዩ ነበር- ዛሬ ከምናየው።

አንገቱን ለፍትህ- አንደበቱ ለእውነት
ውሸትን የጠላ- ግፍን የሚጋፈጥ
ከክፎወች ሸንጎ- ፈጽሞ የራቀ
አንቱ የተባለ-በአገር የታወቀ
ነበር የሰው መልኩ-ለእውነት መቆሙ
ትናንት የምናውቀው- የሰው ልጅ መልካሙ
ዛሬ ተለየና -ውበት ተቀይሮ
ዓይናችን የሚያየው- ብር ሆነ ዘንድሮ።

እስኪመለስ ድረስ -አይንም ወደ ድሮው
ስንናፍቅ ከዋልን- ገንዘብን እንደሰው
እውነትም ይዛባል-ፍትህ ይሰወራል
ገንዘብ የአገር ዳኛ- ጠበቃ ይሆናል
…

አንተ ጋዜጠኛ- አንተ ወሬ አቀባይ
እስኪ እንደ አጎቴ ልጅ-አንተም እውነቱን እይ
ያ ባለጸጋ ሰው- በዓለም የከበረ
እውነቱን አሰማን- ማን እንደነበረ?

ዳግማዊ ዳዊት
ጥቅምት 2002
Ethio_dagmawi@yahoo.com

Ethiopia's Meles accuses donors of exaggerating food crisis

By Peter Heinlein [VOA], 11 October 2009

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi walks at the AU Summit on the outskirts of Arusha, Tanzania, Thursday, May 22, 2008 has lashed out at humanitarian aid donors, accusing them of exaggerating the magnitude of his country's malnutrition crisis and failing to deliver on pledges of assistance. In a question and answer session broadcast live Saturday on state-run radio and television, the Ethiopian leader had harsh words for what he called the 'food aid industry'. Mr. Meles accused 'industry actors' of deliberately inflating the number of Ethiopians in need of aid, and suggested their motive is more about profit than about saving lives."It is a huge industry, and this industry are actors who have their own views on this condition. They sell food aid because they can sell it above the market price. They get some rent for it," he said. "It is to their benefit and their advantage. They are selling their food where food is scarce. The same with those who are transporting food in their ships. And those truckers who get it from the ports to the consumer areas. People take quite a chunk of the benefits from this."A third year of poor rains has played havoc with Ethiopia's ability to feed itself. The government estimates 6.2-million people will need emergency food aid within the next few months. Another 7.5-million chronically food-insecure Ethiopians receive assistance through a largely U.S.-funded program known as the Productive Safety Net.Some observers have lumped the figures together to say 13.7-million people, or nearly one in six Ethiopians is in need of food aid. But Ethiopia has objected, saying safety net beneficiaries are not emergency cases.Prime Minister Meles Zenawi says aid agencies and donor governments often exaggerate the scope of the shortages for their own purposes, while consistently delivering less than they promise.Again, his remarks were translated from Amharic."Those people have their own ideology, their own goals, their own agenda," said Mr. Zenawi. "Therefore, with the famine and drought conditions there are actors who mushroom within this condition and we should see how they work. The number of beneficiaries at the ground level are evaluated according to the needs of these actors of the food aid industry."The prime minister said during his 18 years in office, the aid community had provided less than two-thirds of what was necessary to meet Ethiopia's nutritional needs. But he pledged that despite the sustained droughts that have become more common in recent years, there would never again be a famine like the one in the mid 1980s, when an estimated one-million people died of starvation. Representatives of aid agencies had no immediate comment on the Ethiopian leader's remarks. Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation, remains one of the poorest countries in the world. One in four Ethiopians lives on less than one dollar a day. The United States, by far the largest single donor, gave Ethiopia aid valued at more than one-billion dollars last year, more than half of it food assistance. But critics say much of the price tag on American food aid is eaten up by transportation and other administrative costs.

አረንጓዴ ሰው

በዳግማዊ ዳዊት
ጥቅምት 2002
Ethio_dagmawi@yahoo.com


“ሕዝባችን ተስብሰብ-ለሰበሩ ዜና
ባለጸጋው ጻድቅ- መሆኑ ይሰማ
ይኸ ባለጸጋ- ይኸ ያገሬ ሰው
ይኸ ባለሆቴል- ይኸ ወርቅ አንጣሪው
የሥራ ዕድል ፈጥሮ- ልቤን አስደሰተው”

ብሎ ጋዜጠኛው -ፅፎ አነበብኩና
ስለዚህ ባለሃብት- ሃሴት አረግሁና
እኔም የበኩሌን-ለገስኩት ምስጋና
“አንደበት ይከፈት-ጆሮወች ያዳምጡ
ለዚህ ባላፀጋ- ሽልማቶች ይምጡ
በል እግዜሩም ስማ- ፅድቅ ተለውጧል
ከዛሬ መነኩሴ- ባላፀጋ በልጧል
“ፀሃይ ትቁምለት- ትዘግይ ጨረቃ
ይኸ ባለፀጋ- እስኪል ድረስ በቃ
እስከሚበዛለት -ሃብቱ እስከሚስፋፋ
ሌሊቱም ቀን ይሁን -ብርሃን አይጥፋ።”

ብዬ ምስጋናየን- ሳዥጎደጉደው
ይኸ የአጎቴ ልጅ-የተበሳጨው
ከእኔ የተለየ-ሚስጥር ያውቅ ኖሮ
እንዲህ ሲል ነገረኝ-ሃሳቡን ቀምሮ።

“ለተራበ ማብላት-ለታረዘ ማልበስ
ታማሚ ማጽናናት-ለችግርም መድረስ
መጾም መፀለዩ-ቅንነት ማሰቡ
መች ሆኖ ተገኘ- የዛሬ ሰው ግቡ!

“ከደሃ ቀምቶ- ከደካማ ዘርፎ
ቢኖርም ቢሞላም- ተርፎ ተትረፍርፎ
ወርቅና አልማዝ ይዞ- ነዳጅ አስቆፍሮ
ሆኖ መገኘት ነው-ካለመጠን ከብሮ
ሰውን ሰው ያሰኘው- የለየው ዘንድሮ።

“የስው ልጅ ሲፈጠር- በጌታዬ አምሳያ
ነበረ ለታላቅ- ለክብር ማሳያ
ዛሬ የስው ልጆች- ወረቀትን ፈጥረው
ቁጥር ጽፈውበት- አንድ ሁለት ብለው
አረንጓዴ ቀለም- ቅርጻ ቅርጹን ስለው
ከራሳቸው በላይ- ለብር ክብር ሰጥተው
መኖር ጀምረዋል-ከሱ በታች ሆነው።
…
“መልኩን ሳፈላልግ- ጠይም ወይም ቀዩን
ቀረና የእርሱነት- መምሰል አምሳያውን
ንዋየ ፀሎቱ- ገንዘብ ሆኖ አምላኩ
አረንጓዴ ሆኗል- ባለጸጋው መልኩ።
…
“አንተን መሳይ ሰወች- እናንት ኋላ ቀሮች
ጠይምና ጥቁር-ቀይ አመላካቾች
ልታውቁ ይገባል- የዛሬን እውነታ
በጠይም በጥቁር- በቀይ ሰው ፋንታ
የሰው ልጅ ውበቱ- የሚያምር ቁመናው
አረንጓዴ ሆኗል- የእርሱ ሁለመናው።

“ገንዘቡ ዳኛ ነው- ፖሊስም ጠበቃ
ሃይሉ ልክ የሌለው- ተቆጥሮ አያበቃ
ፍትህና ክብር -ገዥ በገንዘቡ
ይኸ ባለጸጋ- ባለ ወርቅ ቅቡ
ሕጻን ሴት ያገባው- ሕፃን እቁባቱ
የስው ሚስት የቀማው- አድርጎት መብቱ
ሁሉ ሰው ጌታዬ- ብሎ የሚጠራው
እርሱን ነው የሚያደንቅ- ጋሸ ጋዜጠኛው።

ብሎ ተናገረ- ይኸ የአጎቴ ልጅ
ስለ አረንጓዴው ሰው- ለሁሉ እንደማይበጅ።

ትናንት ህጻን ሆኘ-ሳድግ በሰፈሬ
የሰው ልጅ መጠሪያው- ልዩ ነው ከዛሬ
አይደለ በልብሱ- በፀጋ በሃብቱ
አይደል በቁመናው- ተክለ-ሰውነቱ
አይደል በትምህርቱ- በዕውቀት ሊቅነቱ
ሰው በሰውነቱ- ሲለካ የማውቀው
ፍጹም ልዩ ነበር- ዛሬ ከምናየው።

አንገቱን ለፍትህ- አንደበቱ ለእውነት
ውሸትን የጠላ- ግፍን የሚጋፈጥ
ከክፎወች ሸንጎ- ፈጽሞ የራቀ
አንቱ የተባለ-በአገር የታወቀ
ነበር የሰው መልኩ-ለእውነት መቆሙ
ትናንት የምናውቀው- የሰው ልጅ መልካሙ
ዛሬ ተለየና -ውበት ተቀይሮ
ዓይናችን የሚያየው- ብር ሆነ ዘንድሮ።

እስኪመለስ ድረስ -አይንም ወደ ድሮው
ስንናፍቅ ከዋልን- ገንዘብን እንደሰው
እውነትም ይዛባል-ፍትህ ይሰወራል
ገንዘብ የአገር ዳኛ- ጠበቃ ይሆናል
…

አንተ ጋዜጠኛ- አንተ ወሬ አቀባይ
እስኪ እንደ አጎቴ ልጅ-አንተም እውነቱን እይ
ያ ባለጸጋ ሰው- በዓለም የከበረ
እውነቱን አሰማን- ማን እንደነበረ?

In contempt of… the Truth!

Alemayehu G. Mariam ǀ September 28, 2009

Commenting recently on an International Crisis Group (ICG) study dealing with rising ethnic tensions and dissent in advance of the “May 2010” elections, Ethiopia’s arch dictator wisecracked, “This happens as some people have too many billions of dollars to spend and they feel that dictating how, particularly, the developing countries manage their affairs is their God given right and to use their God given money to that purpose. They are entitled to their opinion as we are entitled to ours.” The dictator’s opinion of the ICG and its findings was predictably boorish: “The analysis (ICG report) is not worth the price of or the cost of writing it up,” he harangued. “We have only contempt for the ICG. You do not respond to something you only have contempt for.” The dictator boasted that his “ethnic federalism” policy had saved the “country [which] was on the brink of total disintegration.” He marshaled anonymous authorities to support his fabricated claim that he is the redeemer of the nation: “Every analyst worth his salt was suggesting that Ethiopia will go the way of Yugoslavia or the Soviet Union. What we have now is a going-concern." Daniela Kroslak, ICG’s Deputy Director of the Africa Program, denied the dictator’s wild and bizarre denunciations. At any rate, the dictator’s criticism was a “tale full of sound and fury signifying nothing,” as Shakespeare might have said. He had not read the report! Why? Because it “was not worthy of [his] time.” The dictator unabashedly criticizes a report he had not even read-- a textbook case of argumentum ad ignorantiam (argument to ignorance). In other words, because the report is “not worth the cost of the paper it is written on”, it is not “worthy” of being read; therefore, it is false and contemptible.) Trashing a report completed by a respected international think-tank (ICG provides regular advice to governments, and intergovernmental bodies like the United Nations, the European Union and the World Bank) and heaping contempt on its authors is a poor substitute for a rigorous, reasoned and factually-supported refutation of the report’s findings, analysis and arguments.Truth be told, contempt is the emotional currency of the dictator. ICG just happens to be the latest object of the dictator’s wrathful contempt. The dictator’s record over the past two decades shows that he has total contempt for truth, the Ethiopian people, the rule of law, human rights, the free press, an independent judiciary, dissenters, opposition leaders and parties, popular sovereignty, the ballot box, clean elections, international human rights organizations, international law, international public opinion, Western donors who demand accountability, and even his own supporters who disagree with him and his flunkeys…The Evidence: Does the ICG and Its Report Deserve Contempt or Credit?The ICG report is balanced, judicious, honest and meticulously documented. Entitled, “Ethiopia: Ethnic Federalism and Its Discontents” (29 pages without appendix, and an astonishing 315 scholarly and other original source references for such a short report), the report “applauds” the dictator’s constitution for its “commitment to liberal democracy and respect for political freedoms and human rights.” It credits the dictatorship for “stimulating economic growth and expanding public services”. The study even approvingly notes the “proliferation of political parties” under the dictatorship’s watch.The report is not a whitewash. It also points out failures. The most glaring failure is the radical political “restructuring” engendered by “ethnic federalism” to “redefine citizenship, politics and identity on ethnic grounds.” The study suggests that the “intent [of “ethnic federalism”] was to create a more prosperous, just and representative state for all its people.” However, the result has been the development of “an asymmetrical federation that combines populous regional states like Oromiya and Amhara in the central highlands with sparsely populated and underdeveloped ones like Gambella and Somali.” Moreover, “ethnic federalism” has created “weak regional states”, “empowered some groups” and failed to resolve the “national question”. Aggravating the underlying situation has been the dictatorship’s failure to promote “dialogue and reconciliation” among groups in Ethiopian society, further fueling “growing discontent with the EPRDF’s ethnically defined state and rigid grip on power and fears of continued inter-ethnic conflict.”The ICG report implicitly criticizes the opposition as well. It notes that they are “divided and disorganized” and unable to publicly show that they could overcome “EPDRF’s” claim that they are not “qualified to take power via the ballot box.” As a result, the 2010 elections “most probably will be much more contentious, as numerous opposition parties are preparing to challenge the EPRDF, which is likely to continue to use its political machine to retain its position.” The study also addresses the role of the international community, which it claims “has ignored or downplayed all these problems.” The donor community is specifically criticized for lacking objective and balanced perspective as they “appear to consider food security more important than democracy in Ethiopia, but they neglect the increased ethnic awareness and tensions created by the regionalisation policy and their potentially explosive consequences.” The report does not even spare the defunct Derg regime, which historically was responsible for “repression, failed economic policy and forced resettlement and ‘villagisation’.”Of course, none of the foregoing is known to those who are willfully ignorant of the report, but have chosen to preoccupy their minds with hubris, hypocrisy, arrogance and contempt for the truth. Opinion versus FactsThe dictator said, “They (ICG) are entitled to their opinion as we are entitled to ours.” That is true. But as the common saying goes, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts.” The facts on the dictatorship and “ethnic federalism” are infamous and incontrovertible. It is not a matter of opinion, but hard fact, that after the 2005 elections the dictator unleashed security forces under his personal control to undertake a massive “crackdown on the opposition [that] demonstrated the extent to which the regime is willing to ignore popular protest and foreign criticism to hold on to power.” It is a proven fact by the dictator’s own Inquiry Commission, not opinion, that his “security forces killed almost 200 civilians (the real number is many times that) and arrested an estimated 30,000 opposition supporters”. It is a plain fact that “there is growing discontent with the EPRDF’s ethnically defined state and rigid grip on power and fears of continued inter-ethnic conflict.” It is an undeniable fact that the dictatorship has caused “continuous polarisation of national politics that has sharpened tensions between and within parties and ethnic groups since the mid-1990s. The EPRDF’s ethnic federalism has not dampened conflict, but rather increased competition among groups that vie over land and natural resources, as well as administrative boundaries and government budgets.” It is a fact just as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow that “Without genuine multi-party democracy, the tensions and pressures in Ethiopia’s polities will only grow, greatly increasing the possibility of a violent eruption that would destabilise the country and region.” It is true the dictator is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts!The Art of DistractionWhat could possibly be “contemptible” about the ICG report? The obvious way to counter a report by a respected international think-tank is by presenting countervailing evidence that undermines confidence in the report’s findings and conclusions. But the dictator opts for something proverbially attributed to the legal profession: “When the law is against you, argue the facts. When the facts are against you, argue the law. When both are against you, pound the table and attack and abuse the plaintiff.” In this case, when you can’t handle the facts and the truth, throw a fit, make a scene, vilify the ICG, demonize the individual authors, demean the report with cheap shots and declare moral victory with irrational outbursts. But why throw a temper tantrum? The fact of the matter is that “ethnic federalism” is indefensible in theory or practice. The ICG report hit a raw nerve by exposing the fundamental flaws in the dictatorship’s phony “ethnic federalism” ideology. The report makes it crystal clear that the scheme of “ethnic federalism” is unlikely to keep the nine ethnic-based states in orbit around the dictatorship much longer. The ICG’s reasonable fear is that over time irrepressible centripetal political contradictions deep within Ethiopian society could potentially trigger an implosion of the Ethiopian nation. This argument is logical, factually-supported and convincing. As we have previously suggested, “ethnic federalism” is a glorified nomenclature for apartheid-style Bantustans . By unloading verbal abuse and sarcasm on the ICG, the dictator is trying to divert attention from the central finding of the report: Ethnic federalism is highly likely to lead to the disintegration of the Ethiopian nation. That is what the dictator’s sound and fury is all about! What Makes for a Strong Federalism?We believe the ICG report does not go far enough in explicitly suggesting a way out of the “ethnic federalism” morass. It seems implicit in the report that if “ethnic federalism” is dissolved as a result of forceful action by the “states”, the country’s national disintegration could be accelerated. If the dictatorship fails to reform or modify it significantly, ethnic tensions will continue to escalate resulting in an inevitable upheaval. If the dictatorship escalates its use of force to keep itself in power, it could pave the way for the ultimate and inevitable collapse of the country into civil strife. All of these scenarios place the Ethiopian people on the horns of a dilemma.We believe there are important elements from the Ghanaian Constitution that could be incorporated to produce a strong and functioning federal system in Ethiopia. As we have argued before , Ghana’s 1992 Constitution provides a powerful antidote to the poison of ethnic and tribal politics: “Every political party shall have a national character, and membership shall not be based on ethnic, religious, regional or other sectional divisions.” Membership in a political party is open to “every citizen of Ghana of voting age” and every citizen has the right to “disseminate information on political ideas, social and economic programmes of a national character.” Ghanaian citizens’ political and civic life is protected by the rule of law and an independent judiciary. Citizens freely express their opinions without fear of government retaliation; and the media vociferously criticizes government policies and officials without censorship. Ghana has a strong judiciary with extraordinary constitutional powers to the point of making the failure to obey or carry out the terms of a Supreme Court order a “high crime”. Ghana’s independent electoral commission is responsible for voter registration, demarcation of electoral boundaries, conduct and oversight of all public elections and referenda and electoral education. The Commission’s decisions are respected by all political parties. These are the essential elements missing from the bogus theory of “ethnic federalism” foisted upon the people of Ethiopia. Ob la di, Ob la da…It is truly pathetic that after nearly twenty years in power the best the dictators can offer the suffering Ethiopian people is an empty plate and a bellyful of contempt, acrimony and anger. Well, ob la di, ob la da, life goes on forever! So will the Ethiopian Nation, united and strong under the rule of law and the Grace of the Almighty. If South Africa can be delivered from the plague of the Bantustans, have no doubts whatsoever that Ethiopia will also be delivered from the plague of the Kililistans!

የኢትዮጵያን ሰፊ መሬት ለሱዳን ለማስረከብ ለመስከረም 29 ቀን 2002 ዓም ተቀጠረ

Clieck here to read


Ethiopian Border Afffairs Committee
P. O. Box 9536
Colombus, OH 43209
USA
e-mail: ethiopianborders@gmail.com

ዘፍናችሁ ቅበሩኝ

ሰውን ሰው አሳዶ-ቢያሳጣው መድረሻ
ጭንቅ ብርክ አስይዞ- ፍፁም መተንፈሻ
ሚሊዮኖች ቢያልቁ- በርሃብ በበሽታ
ጦርነት ቢመረጥ- በሰላሙ ፋንታ
….
መስማማት ተጠልቶ- መናቆር ቢሞገስ
ቅዱሱ ቢረክስ- ርኩሱም ቢቀደስ
ህግ የጉልበት ሆኖ-ፍትህም ተጠልፎ
አስታራቂ ጠፍቶ- ዳኝነት ተገፍፎ
መስገብገብ ህግ ሆኖ-ሙስና ተለምዶ
ቅጥፈት ተሞካሽቶ-እውነትም ተዋርዶ
ቀማኛን ሆነና - የሚሰማ ጆሮ
ቁብ የሚለው ጠፋ- የደሃን እሮሮ
እጥፍ ድርብ ሆነ- ስቆቃው ጨመረ
አይኔን እንባ ሞላው-ልቤ ተሰበረ።
አንገቴን ደፍቸ- መሬትን እየጫርኩ
መሞት እንደምሻ- ለአምላኬ እየነገርኩ
ጸሎቴ ተሰምቶ-አርጎ ሰማይ
ሞቴ ደረስልኝ- ይህን እንዳላይ።

ዛሬ መሄጃዬ- ተራዬ ነውና
ከየመንደራችሁ-በጠዋት ውጡና
ሸኙኝ ጨፍራችሁ- በዘፈን በዜማ
ሞትን መርጫለሁ ይህን ከምሰማ።

እናቴ አታልቅሽ- አይመታ ደረት
አባቴም አትተክዝ- እኔስ ልሂድበት
ትቸው የምሄደው- የምተወው ዓለም
ከሞት የባሰ እንጅ- የተሻለ አይደለም።

ፅድቅና ኩነኔ- ቢኖርም ባይኖርም
ለእኔ እዚህ መኖሬ- ከሞት አይሻልም
እኔስ በፈጠረኝ- እመካለሁና
ህይወት ይኖረኛል- ገነት እንደገና ።

አልያም…
ሚካኤል ከበሩ- ባይቀበለኝም
አቡዬን ተክልዬን- ላያቸው ባልችልም
ገነት መግባት ቀርቶ- ገሃነም ብወርድም
ቁርጥ ያጠግባልና- አማረ አላማረም
ከመሞት መኖርን- በፍፁም አልመርጥም

የዚህ ዓለም ኑሮ- የአምሳያዬ ግፉ
ሞትን አስመረጠኝ- ተሽሎኝ ማረፉ።

እናም አታልቅሱ- አልሥማ ዋይ ዋይታ
በምትኩ አሳዩኝ- ዘፈንና እስክስታ
ክራር ጽናጽሉ-ከበሮው ይመታ
በገና ይደርደር-አስራ ሁለት ተርታ
ይነፋ ዋሽንቱ- ሳክስፎን እምቢልታ
ወንዶቹ በሆታ- ሴቶቹ በእልልታ
የዛሬን--የዛሬን- እኔን ደስ እንዲለኝ
ማልቀሱን ተውና -ዘፍናችሁ ቅበሩኝ።

ዳግማዊ ዳዊት
መስከረም 2002 ዓ.ም.
ethio_dagmawi@yahoo.com

The prisoner worthy of a liberty award

By Abebe Gellaw I September 28, 2009

The Cato Institute, a respected libertarian public policy foundation in the United States, has been searching for the fifth recipient of its liberty award. Named after the late Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman [1912-2006], the award is “presented every other year to an individual who has made a significant contribution to advance human freedom.” The Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty is a coveted award that recognizes significant efforts and sacrifices made by any individual to promote freedom in any part of the world. If any Ethiopian deserves nominations for such a prestigious award, there seems to be little doubt that Birtukan Mideksa, the former judge-turned-prisoner-of-conscience outshines so many. Freedom loving Ethiopians across the world need to show their solidarity with the heroine freedom fighter that has followed the footsteps of Ghandi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela in stead of kneeling down for the rule of the unjust.
Ethiopians in the Diaspora, especially those who have escaped from barbed-wired Ethiopia to live in the free world, where evil dictators and their agents cannot threaten, shoot, jail or torture anyone, make free choices based on free will. But for people like Birtukan Mideksa and the tens of thousands of Ethiopians who have been locked up behind bars in inhuman and appalling conditions because of their passion for freedom, there is nothing called free will. They cannot choose what to do, what to eat, what to read, where and how to live. They are victims of brutal tyranny, prisoners in their own country confined in the dark corners of filthy, overcrowded and suffocating cells as a result of their unyielding passion for liberty.
In the aftermath of the historic 2005 national elections, Birtukan chose to courageously step forward to lead the popular march for freedom. Her leadership qualities and unswerving commitment to her lofty cause significantly contributed to her election as Vice President of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy. After the violent crackdowns that followed protests against wide spread election fraud, she was one of the hundreds of opposition leaders, journalists, civic activists and ordinary citizens who were detained and faced trumped-up charges of high treason, genocide and outrage against the “constitution” in November 2005. Even during that period of trials and tribulations that lasted nearly 20 months, the fearless lawyer openly challenged the Kangaroo court to prove its worth and relevance.
In her letters, articles and speeches, Birtukan has declared her readiness to offer herself as a sacrificial lamb for the freedom of the Ethiopian people suffering under the yolks of Meles Zenawi’s ethnocentric tyranny. True to her word, Birtukan Mideksa has proved her unfaltering stand as a leader of Ethiopia’s quest for freedom, justice, equal rights and democracy. The popular leader of freedom, who has been recognised by Amnesty International as prisoner of conscience, has become Ethiopia’s icon of liberty and a symbol of defiance against tyranny. Undoubtedly, there is clearly something distinct and unique about this woman of substance. In her Letter from Kaliti Jail, she wrote:
“Indeed, living behind bars is painful. I have felt pained, when hearing about the struggle of my fellow country men; for being forced to experience it all vicariously, for being near but far away from the terrain of the fight. Yet the pain ends right there. Our incarceration hasn't liquidated the spirit of freedom. Instead, it degrades those who are fighting against it into something hateful and undignified. Toughened by the crackdown on dissent and other forms of oppression, other democrats, genuinely committed to the cause of liberty, and equality are emerging.”
A single mum of five-year old Hale, Birtukan never committed a crime. Her passionate and truthful words that always insist on the end of a corrupt dictatorship messing up Ethiopia were enough to have her condemned to life imprisonment without due process. During her visit in Sweden in November 2008, she spoke the truth about the fact that she and the other high profile prisoners of conscience were released as a result of a political deal struck by the Elders Council, international and local pressures. That was true and accurate. Her assertion was even confirmed by the U.S. Department of State.
In its 2008 Country Report on Human Rights in Ethiopia, it stated: “On December 29, Unity for Democracy and Justice Party president Birtukan Mideksa was rearrested for accurately telling European media organizations that she had not requested from the government a pardon leading to her release from jail in July 2007.”
The reason why the report used the adverbial assertion “accurately” was because U.S. diplomats were part of the diplomatic process conducted through the “Elders Council” that negotiated a deal to have the high profile prisoners including Britukan released.
Where there is tyranny, whose foundation is nothing but brutality, corruption, crimes, falsehood and deceit, the truth has always been subversive. Birtukan has always been a true believer in the unyielding spirit of freedom. Shortly after her release in October 2007, she appeared before the U.S. Congress, Subcommittee on Global Health and Africa to give her testimony in which she expressed her hope that the time is ripe for change. “It will not be easy for all of us to confront the past. We must try to embrace the rule of law and respect for human rights and democracy. The time is ripe for democratization in Ethiopia.” When she uttered those words, Birtukan knew the sacrifices awaiting her in the struggle to replace inhuman despotism with democracy. It is for this very fact that Birtukan has willingly and courageously faced hardship and suffering in stead of the tyrant’s call for surrender.
Should Birtukan be chosen as a recipient of the 2010 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty, she will receive $500,000. More importantly, the award will raise wider awareness on Ethiopia’s agony under dictatorship. It will also boost the effort to secure Birtukan’s release. Not only that, her immeasurable sacrifice and that of her elderly mum and four year old daughter will gain global recognition and attention. The prize awarding ceremony will be held in May 2010 in Washington DC, coinciding with the 5th anniversary of the historic May 2005 elections that irreparably cracked the foundations of tyranny in Ethiopia.
I call upon all freedom loving Ethiopians, in and outside of the country, to let the awarding committee know that the courageous Birtukan Mideksa deserves the 2010 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty as a towering symbol of Ethiopia’s resistance and defiance against tyranny in the unfinished march toward freedom.
Every little voice, if unified, can become a powerful clarion call hard to ignore. To nominate Birtukan Mediksa online, please click here
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Related links
The unknown Aung San Suu Kyi, By Abebe Gellaw
Letter from Kaliti jail, By Birtuakn Mideksa
In defence of Birtukan Mideksa, By Alemayehu G. Mariam
My word, By Birtukan Mideksa
Ethiopia: 2008 Human Rights Report, U.S Department of State
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The writer is a fellow at the Hoover Institution and visiting scholar at the Center on Democracy, Development and Rule of Law [CDDRL], Stanford University. He also advises the Free Birtukan and All Political Prisoners Task Force. He can be reached at abebe@stanford.edu.

Author defends ICG report from Meles Zenawi's attacks

(Posted by Ethiomedia)By Tizita Belachew, Voice of America (VOA) September 18, 2009
WASHINGTON - Daniela Kroslak replied to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's recent dismissal of the International Conflict Group's "Ethiopia: Ethnic Federalism and Its Discontents," by pointing out that he thought it was important enough to read it.
In a press conference last week, the prime minister cited an Ethiopian proverb that suggested the report was not worthy of his time. In the press conference for Ethiopia's Amharic media, Meles questioned the motives of the funders of ICG and said the report, which was written by ICG's Nairobi office staff, was biased because it was written by an Eritrean.
Kroslak told VOA's Tizita Belachew for the Amharic service's Democracy feature that the Eritrean left the staff a year ago and was not an author of the report. She denied the Eritrean had any involvement in the report and said the organizations who fund ICG's work are listed on the ICG web site.
ICG's funders include the foreign ministries or foreign aid agencies of Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Holland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States; and 10 major private foundations including the Open Society, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
The report analyzes the transformation of Ethiopia's political system, which is dominated by the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front and led by Meles, the party's chairman and the nation's president or prime minister for the past 18 years. ICG says the government tried to create a more prosperous, just and representative state for all its people by doing away with a centralized state of the 1980s and redefining citizenship, politics and identity on ethnic grounds.
Driven by fear of continued ethnic conflict, however, the government has fostered domestic political discontent, the report says. The authors conclude that without "a genuine multi-party democracy, the tensions will only grow, greatly increasing the possibility of a violent eruption that would destabilize the country and region."
Meles says ethnic violence claim is contemptible
By Barry Malone
ADDIS ABABA, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Ethiopia's prime minister has denounced a think-tank report that warned his country could descend into ethnic violence ahead of its first national election since a 2005 poll triggered deadly street clashes.
In a study last week, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said there was a risk of conflict ahead of the ballot scheduled for May 2010 because of rising ethnic tensions and dissent.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi rejected that.
"Some people have too many billions of dollars to spend and they feel that dictating how developing countries manage their affairs is their God-given right," he said late on Wednesday.
"We have only contempt for the ICG."
The Horn of Africa nation's last elections four years ago were touted as its first truly democratic polls. But they ended in protests and bloodshed after the government declared victory and the opposition accused it of rigging the result.
Police and soldiers killed about 200 people who had taken to the streets to demonstrate. At the time, Meles accused the protesters of trying to topple his government.
CRITICISES OPPOSITION
Rights groups regularly accuse Ethiopia's government of cracking down on political opponents. One party leader has been jailed and several former and serving military officers have been charged in recent months with plotting a coup.
In a news conference on Wednesday, Meles defended the country's system of "ethnic federalism", under which major ethnic groups control the regions where they are the majority. He said it had saved the giant nation from splitting apart.
"The country was on the brink of total disintegration," the prime minister said. "Every analyst worth his salt was suggesting that Ethiopia will go the way of Yugoslavia or the Soviet Union. What we have now is a going-concern."
Meles has started talks with the opposition about a code of conduct for the next poll. But the main coalition of opposition parties said last week it had walked out of the discussions and that its potential candidates were being jailed and harassed.
"Those parties that apparently are concerned about harassment are not concerned enough to participate in the devising of a code of conduct that is designed to put an end to it, if it exists, or to prevent it if it doesn't," Meles said.
"The intent of these individuals is to discredit the election process from day one, not to participate in it." (Editing by Daniel Wallis)

የሶፋው ጄነራል

ከሰዓት በኋላ- አንድ እሁድ በበቴ
ቡና እየተፈላ- መጥተው ጎረበቴ
ወሬው ደርቶ ሳለ- ቡናው እየፈላ
ሃሳብ ስንጋራ- በተራ በተራ
የአገር ነገር መጣ- ወሬው ተጀመረ
እንደ አዲስ ጀመርነው- ልክ እንዳልነበረ።

“ይህ አገር አስገንጣይ- ይኸ ዘረ-ባንዳ
የአገር ጥቅምን ጎድቶ-ያደረ ለባዳ
በጎሳ ከፋፍሎ- ህዝብን ያናከሰ
አሁንስ መውደቂያው- መሄጃው ደረስ
ሸክ ሁሴን እንዳሉት- እንደተነበዩት
ብን ብሎ ይጠፋል- መቸም አይሰነብት።”

ብዬ ሳስተጋባ- እንድተለመደው
የወያኔን መንግስት ልንጠው- ልንደው
እኝህ ጎረቤቴ- እኝህ አባ ጎንጥ
በትዝብት አይተውኝ- ዘወር አርገው የጎሪጥ

“ኤድያ ..
ይህን ስትናገር- እኔም ሳዳምጥህ
ሴት ልጅህ ተወልዳ- ኮሌጅ ገባችልህ
ህፃን ልጇን ወልዳ- አያት አረገችህ
አንድም አትዋጋ- ወይ አርፈህ አትተኛ
ወይ ጸሎት አታደርግ- ለላይኛው ዳኛ
የያዘህ ይመስል- አስለፍልፍ መጋኛ
ሃያ ዓመት አለፈህ- ይህን ስታወራ
ሃገር ነፃ አትሆን- በባዶ ፉከራ።”

ብለው ሲጨርሱ- ዶ/ር ቀጠል አርገው
መናገር ጀመሩ- ጉሮሮን ጠራርገው
“እንደዚህ ዓይነቱ- የሁከት ዘመቻ
አርገው አይቁጠሩት- ችግር ለኛ ብቻ
የዓለሙ ኃያላን- የዚህ ምድር ጌታ
በታሪክ አልፈዋል- ልክ በኛ ቦታ
ዋናው ቁም ነገሩ- ማስተዋል ያለብን
ቁብ የሌለው መሪ- በህዝብ የሚጨክን
ትቶ እንዳያልፍ ነው- የታሪክ ጠባሳ
ለሚመጣው ትውልድ -የሚተርፍ አበሳ
አባቶች ነገስታት- የምንወዳቸው
አገር ወዳዶቹ- ታሪክ ዘካሪያቸው
እነደመልካም ሁሉ- መጥፎ ተግባራቸው
እሳቱ ተረፈን- ይኸው ልጆቻቸው
ትናንት ጎበናን -ምንልይክን ሲሉ
እግዚኦ ሲባልበት-ቦሩ ሜዳ ሁሉ
ራስ ሚካኤል ላይ-ሲፈስ ፀበሉ
ነገሥ “መለስ” ሲባል- ልጆች ምን ይላሉ?
ስለዚህ እንበርታ- የእኛን እንወጣ
እኛው በእኛ እንፍታው-ያለብንን ጣጣ
ችግሩን አያውቀው- ባዕድ ብናመጣ።”

ከመቀመጫየ- ተቁነጠነጥኩና
እናገር ጀመረ- ይኸው እንደገና።
“ይልቅስ ህዝባችን- ምንድን ነው የነካው
እስከዛሬ ድረስ- ዝም ብሎ የሚያየው?
አሁን ቃል እንግባ- ዛሬስ እንማማል
ባባቶች በእናቶች- ባባ ጎንጥ መሃል
ይህን አረመኔ- ይኸ ዲያቢሎስ
ዝም እንዴት ተባለ- እስካሁን ድረስ?
አዛውንት የገፋ- ህፃን የገደለ
አገር የበተነ- ደሃ የበደለ
ያከትማል ዘንድሮ- “ይለያል ዘንድሮ”
ያገር ገንጣዩ ልክ- “የወያኔው ኑሮ”
ተነሱ እንነሳ- እንዝመት ሁላችን
ከመለስ አገዛዝ -ትፅዳ ሀገራችን።”

ዘራፍ አልኩኝ እኔ- እንደተለመደው
የወያኔን መንግስት- ልንጠው ልንደው።

ያጤኑት ሳይመስለኝ-ይህን ፉክራዬን
ትናንትና ዛሬ- ያነበነብኩትን
ከሶፋየ ሳልርቅ- የማስተጋባውን
እማሆይ እናቴ- ሰልችቷቸው ኖሮ
ያሰሙ ቀጠሉ- ወቀሳና ሮሮ።
“አንተ ስትወለድ- ጾታ ሲጠይቁኝ
“ሴት” አለማለቴ- አሁን ነው የቆጨኝ
እንደ ቁጡ ሴቶች- ወገብክን ባትይዝም
መለፍለፍ ስትጀምር- ጭራሹን አታንስም
ሁሌ እዚህ ሶፋ ላይ- እግርህ ተዘርግቶ
ሰው ወሬ ሲጀምር- ከዚህ ሳሎን ገብቶ
የምትለፈልፈው- የምትፎክረውን
በነጋ በመሸ- ያነበነብከውን
ተንትኘ እናዳልነግርህ- አንድ በአንድ ሁሉንም
ዛሬ ይቅርና -ነገ አልጨርሰውም
እንዲያው ባይነገር- ወሬው ባይቦካ
የኔ ልጅ ጦረኛው- ሸፍቶ አማሪካ
ገዳይ ጦብያ ምድር- መሃል መንዝ ጫካ።”

ከት ብሎ ሳቀና- የሃያ ዓመት ጓዴ
ያምሰው ጀመረ- ያለውን በሆዴ
“እማማን ይስማልን- እግዜር ይባርክልን
ለዚህ ለወንድሜ- ልኩን ነገሩልን
እኮ ዘራፍ ማለት- ሽህ ማይል ርቆ
ጠላት እስኪሳለቅ- የራቀ ልብ አውቆ
አፍህ አላረፈ -ወይ ውጊያን አልጀመርክ
አለህ ከዚህ ሶፋ- “ዘራፍ ዘራፍ” እንዳልክ
የሶፋው ጄነራል- የስታርባክሱ ማርሻል
ከአንተ ዘራፍ ማለት- ዝም ያለ ሰው ይሻል
ወይ ደፍረህ ግባበት- ከመንዝ ተራራ
ገስግስ ወደ ሶማ- ዝመት ወደ አስመራ
በድል እንድትፎከር- እኛም እንድንኮራ።”

ይኸ ጓደኛዬ- የልብ አዋቂው
እውነትነት አለው -የተናገረው
ሶፋ ላይ ስፎከር- ሃያ አመት ሆነው
ፉከራ ብቻ ነው- እርሱም የሰማው
“የሶፋ ጄነራል”- እርሱም ሲያንሰኝ ነው
መቸ ይሆን ቃሌን ተግብሬ እማየው?


ዳግማዊ ዳዊት
መስከረም 2002 ዓ.ም.
Ethio_dagmawi@yahoo.com

Ethiopian War Heroes honored in Washington DC

(Posted on Ethiomedia) Special Report by the North America Organizing Committee to Honor Ethiopian Heroes September 15, 2009

Committee announces plan to erect a monument in memory of the tens of thousands of the former armed forces who gave the ultimate in defense of Ethiopia’s unity

WASHINGTON - Several hundred Ethiopians over packed the hall of Trinity Church located at 6000 Georgia Ave, NW, Washington, DC. They were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the 2009 honorees of the event, Brig General Tesfaye Habte Mariam and Brig General Kassaye Chemeda.

Inside the hall, a huge banner over the podium reads: Ye Jegnotch Mishit (Evening of Ethiopian Heroes). Large poster-size, colorful photos of the heroic Generals, Tesfaye Habte Mariam on the left side and that of Gen Kassaye Chemeda on the right hand side, in full military uniform, are embossed on the banner. At the entrance, two large posters are placed on the wall. The writings are in gold on a black background. They are tribute to and representative list of Ethiopian Heroes who gave the ablest leadership to the former armed forces, those who died while heroically fighting in the eastern and northern fronts in defense of Ethiopian unity and territorial integrity. Among those listed, there are names of those members of the armed forces who are still alive. These are representative names from the Army, Airforce, Navy, and the Police commando forces of the former Ethiopian armed forces.

In the entrance area too, members of the former armed forces and members of the organizing committee dressed in jet black suits, white shirts and red tie were greeting and sitting Ethiopians coming to attend the event. Other members of the committee were displaying on a table of items prepared for the occasion, including books written by both generals, Ye Tor Meda Wullo (Reminiscences of the Battlefield) among others.

At 9:00 P.M, as General Tesfaye Habte Mariam and General Kassaye Chemda arrived and entered the hall; they were given salute by three members of the former Army, Navy, and Air force, dressed in their respective uniforms with a military marsh in the background. General Tesfaye and General Kassaye walked through the hallway while members of the former Ethiopian military were standing at both the right and left side, forming in straight line. The hundreds of Ethiopians present expressed their warm welcome with standing ovation until the guests of honor reached the reserved table where they were sited along with disinguised guests of the event Brig. Gen Wubetu Tsegaye, for the former Army, Brig. General Tsegaye Habtiyimer of the former Air force, and other members of the former armed forces.

Artist Tamagne Beyene, the master of ceremony for the occasion, formally announced the arrival of the two heroes amidst rounds and rounds of applause of Ethiopians who came for the occasion. Dinner was followed by a speech by Ato Brehanu Wolde Selassie, the chairman of the Association of the former Ethiopian Air force (AMFEA) and the chairman of the North America organizing committee to honor Ethiopian Heroes. He welcomed General Tesfaye Habte Mariam, and General Kassaye Chemeda, the honorees of 2009. He then explained about the aim and purpose of the non-profit and non-political committee composed of the Association Former members of the Ethiopian Air force (AMFEA), Ethiopian Veterans Association (EVA), and prominent artists and Ethiopians. He stated the importance and the need for nurturing and further developing the culture of recognizing and honoring Ethiopians who give much for their county and people while still alive, especially all those who put their life in line of great danger to defend the unity and territorial integrity of Ethiopia. He recalled the successful event organized by the committee in 2008 to honor Brig. General Legesse Tefera, the air force pilot who fought heroically during the Ethio-Somali war of the 70s, earning him the highest medal for his heroism.

Ato Brehanu continued that the committee’ selection of the three honorees for this year, which includes Militia Ali Berke along with Gen Tesfaye and Gen Kassaye, was due to their superior contributions in line of duty and in defense of Ethiopia’s unity and territorial integrity in both northern ad eastern fronts during the 70s and 80s . That they were selected for this years’ event among thousands of others with equally superior heroic deeds in line of duty. He mentioned the fact that the two generals have made significant contributions to tell the Ethiopian people about the stories of heroic sacrifices made by the former armed forces in order to defend Ethiopia from both external and eternal challenges posed to the country’s unity and territorial integrity.

The chairman of the committee also mentioned the unsuccessful but much effort exerted by the committee to locate the whereabouts of the third honoree, Militia Ali Berke and facilitate his travel to the USA for the occasion. Ato Berhanu said that the committee would work hard to encourage historians and others to write about the exemplary gallantry of the former armed forces so that they are recorded in the annals of history and passed on to generations of Ethiopians yet to come. He concluded by announcing the committee’s grand and long term plan, at an appropriate time, to erect a monument in Ethiopia in memory of the tens of thousands of Ethiopians who laid their precious life while heroically fighting in defense of Ethiopian unity and territorial integrity from challenges posed by external and internal forces.

Following a moving poem read by Maj. Kifle Abocher, among the ablest artists who served in the former armed forces, Ato Ayalkibet Teshome, a member of the organizing committee read the biographies and contributions of General Tesfaye Habte Mariam, Gen Kassaye Chemeda, and Millitia Ali Berke. Artist Tamagne read a brief biography and introduced Brig. General Wubetu Tsegaye to present the special award to both General Tesfaye and General Kassaye, both of whom served under his command. Brig General Wubetu Tsegaye is a decorated war hero and one of the ablest leaders of the former armed forces and an officer who rose from Battalion commander as a Major to a Brig General and the commander of what was then known as the second revolutionary army (SRA) in the northern front during the 80s for close to fifteen years. While members of organizing committee lined up in straight lines at both the left and right sides of General Wubetu, General Kassaye and then General Tesfaye came forward, gave military salute and received their awards from Brig Gen Wubetu Tsegaye. The awards presented to both are embossed with the letters “Le Mayiresa Wulleta, “For a great deed that shall never be forgotten”.

That rare and emotionally touching moment brought tears to many who were present. It continued when Gen Kassaye Chemeda took the stage. Gen Kassaye stated that he willingly joined the then Ethiopian army during the time of the Emperor to serve and for love of the symbol of our nation, pointing towards the standing Ethiopian flag next to him. He told the audience that he never expected that he and the rest of the former Ethiopian armed forces, who served the country through thick and thin as professional soldiers and officers, would get the chance to be remembered and given such recognition and honor during his life time. He related the suffering he had to endure since his two years of imprisonment after the aborted attempt to oust Col Mengistu in 1989. Gen Kassaye was also a victim of the current regime which put him in prison for another eight months after the fall of the Derg regime.
Gen Kassaye concluded his brief speech by telling the crowd that all the demoralizing stigma and labels he carried along with the rest of the former Ethiopian armed forces for the past so many years has been completely washed in that historic day organized to honor and cerebrate Ethiopian heroes. Thus, expressing his deeply felt gratitude for the committee and the hundreds of Ethiopians present at the occasion. Then Brig General Tesfaye took the stage. He too spoke briefly emphasizing that he is a soldier through and through and whenever he was called upon, he has served the Ethiopian people as a professional soldier. He then recounted three stories, among many other stories yet to be told, as illustrations of the former Ethiopian army’s heroism which defied the known and practiced military science all around the world. After expressing his enormous joy for being able to be present in an occasion of such honor , General Tesfaye recalled that it was exactly on Sept 12, thirty years ago that he was awarded the highest medal for heroism, Ye Hibretsebawit Ethiopia Woder Ye Lelew Jegna Medaliya. He stressed that he considers the current award given to him one that is beyond any expression, calling it Ye Woder Woder Yelesh moment for him.

Dressed in uniform and the Red Hat of the Airborne, Artist Tamagne Beyene took the stage again, announcing to an applauding and amused audience the next program of showing two special documentaries he produced for the occasion. The two films showed among the most dramatic moments in the lives of the two generals, including the tragic story of a successful but enormously costly breakthrough led by General Tesfaye at Nakfa, in one of the most difficult rugged terrain and stronghold of the then Eritrean rebels. Against all odds, General Tesfaye, then a Captain and his airborne battalion, undertook one of the rarest heroic missions by volunteering to be sent in response to the 15th battalion's telegram of appeal for support and dropping from an airplane at more than 2000 meter height. A heroic feat that defied the normal practice and unheard of in modern history of Airborne missions anywhere around the world. That mission was undertaken in order to support and save the encircled and embattled 15th battalion at Nakfa led by Maj. Mamo Temtime. The film also depicted the tremendous heroism and determination of post humus Lt. Colonel Mamo Temtime, the commander of the heroic 15th battalion, who led his men to withstand and put up the toughest resistance in the face of the bloodiest encirclement and onslaught by a much superior enemy force at Nakfa for several months, until he was wounded and while fighting to the last bullet. The short documentary prepared to honor General Kassaye showed his enormous contributions starting with his heroic role as a commander of a Tank Battalion that made significant contribution of crushing and ousting the Somali invading forces out of Ethiopia’s territory.
Upon the conclusion of this part of the evening program, an applause and hurray filled the hall, an expression of approval for work well done as tribute to the heroes by Artist Tamagne. Artists Desalgen and Aregahen Worash continued entertaining the huge number of Ethiopians in the hall with patriotic songs until about 2:00 AM in the morning.

Saturday night event got coverage by the Voice of America. Many members of the media in the Washington DC area were also present. Also present were members of various civic groups such as Gasha for Ethiopia and many others. Ethiopians from all walks of life, young and old, woman and men, were present. Many young Ethiopians as far away as Minnesota, Cincinnati, Ohio, New York and other states came to be part of this great event as well.

(Photos: Courtesy of Photographer Tewodros Mekbib)

The following list of names is prepared to serve as a symbol of hundreds of thousands unnamed others, who died in line of duty and as well as alive. These are outstanding leaders and heroes, both alive and dead, from the former Army, Navy, Air force, and the police forces. This is just representative list of heroes from Generals to line officers, from NCOs to privates of the former Ethiopian armed forces

Maj. General Fanta Belay
Maj. General Merid Negussie
Maj. General Demisse Bultto
Maj. General Amha Desta
Maj. General Abera Abebe
Maj. General Mesfin Gebre Kal
Maj. General Syoum Mekonnen
Maj. General Kinfe Michael Dinku
Maj. General Kumlachew Dejene
Maj. General Hailu Gebre Mickael
Maj. General Regassa Jimma
Brig. General Teshome Tessema
Brig. General Legesse Abeje
Brig. General Yilma Gizaw
Brig. General Woubetu Tsegaye
Brig. General Temesgen Gemechu
Brig General Tesfaye Habte Mariam
Brig. General Kassaye Chemeda
Brig General Behailu Kinde
Commodor Belege Belete
Commodor Getachew Siyoum
Brig. General Merdera Lelisa
Brig. General Berta Gomoraw
Brig. General Araya Zerai
Brig. General Gennanaw Mengistu
Brig. General Desalegn Abebe
Brig. General Taye Balaker
Brig. General Lemesa Bedase
Brig. General Solomon Begashsaw
Brig. General Ashenafi Gebre Tsadiq
Brig. General Afework Wolde Michael
Brig. General Negussie Zergaw
Brig. General Kebede Mehari
Brig. Geneal Hailu Kebede
Brig. General Addis Aglachew
Brig. General Negash Woldeyes
Brig. General Hailu Beraworq
Brig. General Legese Haile
Brig. General Mesfin Haile
Brig. General Erkyihun Bayyisa
Brig. General Kebede Wolde Tsadiq
Brig. General Yemata Miskir
Brig. General Engda Wolde Amlak
Brig. General Techane Mesfin
Brig. General Tadesse Tesema
Brig. General Samson Haile
Brig General Berhanu Demissie
Brig General Tesfaye Terefe
Brig. General Tariku Aiyne
Brig General Tsegaye Habityimer
Col. Kassa Gebere Mariam
Col. Belay Ashenaki
Col. Girum Abebe
Col. Shibabaw Zeleke
Col. Aytenw Belay
Col. Mersha Admassu
Col. Kifetew Merine
Col. Beshu Gebre Tekle
Col. Sereke Brehan
Col Tadesse Gebre
Col Kassaye Tadesse
Col . Dr. Gaga Oljo
Col. Girma Teferi
Col. Tilhaun Bogale
Col. Gethanun Wolde Girogis
Col. Sifu Wolde
Col. Estifanos Gebre Meskel
Col. Luel Seged
Col. Gizaw Tefera
Col. Bezabeh Petros
Col. Reta Menkir
Col. Shimelis
Col. Worku Tefera
Col. Tilahun Nebro
Col. Berhnu Wubneh
Col. Getahun Demissie
Col. Dr. Tadesse Melka
Col. Fekade Engeda
Col Admassu Mekonnen
Col Negussie Adugna
Col Gezagen Tarekegen
Col Girma Tadesse
Col. Solomon Kassa
Col. Alemayhu Admau
Col. Ayele Gebeyhu
Col. Mekonnen Bekele
Col Desalagen Meberate
Col Dr. Desta Moges
Captain Mersha Girma
Commander Fiseha Tilahun
Commander Hailu Lemma
Commander Ashalew Jemaneh
Commander Matthew Mekonnen
Lt. Colonel Mamo Temtime
Lt. Col. Alemayehu Haile
Lt. Col. Shewataye Alemu Habte
Lt Col Genanaw Ejigou
Lt Col. Tilahun Mamo
Lt Commander Fantu Abraham
Major Mamo Lemma
Major Getachew Mihirete
Major Tadesse Mengesha
Major Getahun Demissie
Major Getachew Tessema
Major Mersa Redda
Major Ethan Mekonnen
Major Asfaw Tewolde
Maj Tafesse Kebede
Maj Kebede Yimer
Maj Wegaheyu Degentu
Capt. Solomon Mekebib
Capt. Hailu Kebede
Capt. Abraham Sinke
Capt. Afewerk Tariku
Capt. Wondimu Beyene
Cap. Gedele Giorigs Abat
Cap. Shewatatek Alemu
Cap Rorisa Dadi
Cap. Asmare Gebre Selassie
Lt. Merid Dachew
Lt. Afework Mengesha
Lt. Tilahun Hailu Gebre
Lt. Yekono Tadesse
Lt. Girma Aynalem
Lt. Girma Kebede
Lt. Shibeshi Haile
Lt Mekuria Dedema
Jr. Lt. Shewalem Negash
Sub Lt. Dagne
Lt Nura Yasin
Lt Aytenfisu Damtew
Lt. Darsiso Tessema
Sub Lt. Ledatu Nure
Sub. Lt. Beze Workneh
Sub.Lt. Tesfaye Workenh
Seniour Technician Ewunetu Genta
Chief Gezagehn Gezmu
Warrant Officer Kassa Merine
PO Fresenay Kebede
Sgt. Woldu Baikedagne
Srg. Abebaw Asfaw
Srg. Wolde Gabriel Hagos
Corporal Abdissa
Corporal Andarge Belay
Corporal Adinew Reta
Corporal Tigneh Belew
Private Kebede Koricho
Priavate Zelelew Dibaba
Priavate Simeret Ayele
Private Milita Ali Berke
Private Kebede Belda.
Private Iyayu Shegaw
Private Worku Abay
Private Shimelis
Private Tigabu
Private Alemitu Chaqile