Daniel and Netsanet Sentenced for 2 and Half Years

The two human rights activists,Daniel and Netsanet,who got jailed by the Meles government in connection with the 2005 election has been sentenced for 2 and half years on Wednesday December 2007. These human rights activists will walk out of prison within days as they have already been in prison for the sentence period. Its reported that the "judges" read a statement about the two activists before they convicted them that sounded like they were nominating them for Nobel prize.Its so laughably sad and depressing to see how utterly incompetent and inconsistent the EPRDF judges are.Good Lord!
Read the news here

Daniel and Netsanet Faces Jail Time After Found Guilty by The EPRDF Court

Activities Found Guilty
Alemayehu Zemedkun on Daniel and Netsanet
Professor Almariam On the Daniel and Netsanet court Drama

A Reply to A Reader's Comment

Tesfaye said... December 21, 2007 7:08 AM
Dear Ethiobloger, you seemed to be loyal to the people and smear other websites believing that you are neutral and favored to the people. But what you did is the same as the others did. The only difference is that you stayed on the side of Birhanu and the others are on the side of Haliu.
So,please try to clean up your mind before you charge others dear blogger.
Try to be media for the truth not for your cliques like the other sites you mentioned are doing.

Thanks a lot for your understanding.
Abe Ze-Ethiopia

Comment:
We never claimed to be neutral in any of our posts and we never criticized any website for siding with the Engineer. What we instead criticized was the way they are expressing their disagreement. Instead of focusing on the principles and argue why they think they believe their opponents are wrong, they almost always focus on attacking individuals by talking trash about them. That is what we are against. We are against personal attacks regardless of which side one is on. If you have read the article you commented on we even criticized an article written attacking Engineer Hailu personally. We have to step up and make our discussions on issues rather than individuals. Dear Reader, go to the web pages we criticized and read their posts. We can guarantee you that a good percentage will be on attacking individuals than discussing ideas.
Thanks for reading our blog.
ethiopianbloggers staff.

Happy Eid

We would like to wish happy Eid-Al-Adha to our Ethiopian muslim brothers and sisters. Blessed Eid!!

Recent developments around kinijit

The leadership crises in kinijit reached its climax this week when engineer hailu suspended 5 top CUD leaders who toured North America recently. In this 7 pages long letter the chairman mentions countless unfounded allegations and hearsays as the basis for his decision. He, however, mentions nowhere in the letter what section in the bylaw gives him the power to single handedly decide on such major issues (he in fact couldn’t answer this very question in his interview with journalist addisu abebe of the VOA amharic. click voa for part 1 and amharic for part 2) Most of the allegations in the suspension letter actually fit ato hailu's actions better than anyone else. What he just did is the replica of what shaleqa yosef did earlier when he suspended KIL and Andargachew and berhane. The action of ato hailu and his groups is a clear evidence that shows these people are foreign to their bylaws in particular and democratic principles in general. What they know well instead is smear campaign and spreading unfounded allegations on individuals.
The other group on the other hand released a mildly worded press release in response to the engineer’s decision. They also came on ECADF and briefed thousands of listeners regarding the situation. In this paltalk interview Dr hailu and sileshi proved once again their leadership caliber. Despite some emotionally driven suggestions from some frustrated audiences to quick fix the problem, they insisted on following what the bylaw says and responding to ato hailu’s action in kind would be hypocritical. As much as we wanted to see a quick solution to this debacle, we liked the way they are handling the situation. Instead of emotionally responding and trying to fix engineer hailu’s mistake by another mistake, they chose to put personal grudges aside and stick to following the party’s procedures. We all need to applause them for that.
On this same ECADF briefing we were baffled to hear elias kifle of Ethiopian review suggesting protest rally against the engineer and his group. We wonder why elias thinks we need to protest against them. Is it because they are not with us any more? They have every right to break away and go their own way. And we don’t think we need to have protests of any kind against these people. We have to show them that we are different breed of politicians who respect differing opinions. If we have to protest it would make sense to protest against EPRDF’s brutality in ogaden, oromia, gambella other regions of the country. Elias, please heed our advice and drop that absurd idea of organizing protests. It doesn’t help the struggle for democracy in any shape or form besides making us the laughing stack of EPRDF. If you have the time and the energy, there are millions of things you can do to help the struggle.
**********
On another note, its beyond our understanding to see the merits of posting this kind of articles. It is just lowering ourselves to the level of Ethiolion/EPRP and KIC owned kinijit/org. They are good at doing smear campaigns and personal attacks on any one who dares to stand against them. Let us not distract ourselves from the main agenda. Let us leave them behind and keep the fight for democracy going.

Remembering November 2005

This was how the mass protest in Addis and the massacre was reported on Ethiopian Reporter.

HR 2003 Advocacy Package

The Coalition for HR2003 has compiled a very interesting document for all of us who wants to get involved. Please do your part. Unless we do it, who will? We should expect a thougher fight in the House of Representatives as EPRDF lobbyists and supporters are working day and night to kill this bill (check aigaforum and hagerfikir).We all need to take part for a final push!!!
here is the document

We have posted some of the commentaries on professor Mesfin's recent controversial radio interview on the top right corner of this blog.
listen, read, and decide for yourself.

kinijit and its current leadership crises

Kinijit is a struggling party that is trying to build itself up from a scratch. It is expected to increase its supporter base and raise funds for the various endeavors it is about to indulge into. In light of the multifold challenges the party is faced with, one would expect the leaders to take on this task of reviving the spirit of democracy in harmony. We hoped they understand that their release from prison wasn’t the end of the struggle but the beginning of the even harder struggle to free the entire nation from the grip of dictatorship.
What we are witnessing now, unfortunately, is a more divided leadership that is arguing on very minor things instead of focusing on the issues they are in the struggle to begin with-that is to help dictatorship end and democracy prevail in Ethiopia.
The main blame here lays on the chairman, engineer Hailu Shawl. We have to call a spade a spade. The other leadership might have their own share of blame but the way they are handling the problem is much way classier that the chairman does. We have to give credit where credit is due. Since the start of this crises ato Hailu has been in a very destructive campaign against his colleagues and the party by extension. Instead of trying to solve the issues internally he chose to go on various radio stations and paltalk rooms with repetitive, incoherent, and some times contradicting arguments. He also chose to surround himself with apologists and people who are known for their anti-unity behavior. Instead of focusing on the facts he preferred to trust his personal relationships with certain individuals. Its not personal business he is trying to undertake here, it is a business of a party that is much greater and bigger than personal relationships.
It wouldn’t be a problem if he just went on every media outlets that asked for his interview. But the problem is he was more than available to some and totally unavailable for others. That isn’t the leadership we want to bring to power. Isn’t that what we hate about EPRDF? Either be available to all or available to none. Favoring medias that support him and avoiding others that he thinks might be against his stand is very undemocratic. That is really dictatorship in another form.
On another note, we listened to the October 14 meeting in D.C. It was the most disappointing meeting we ever had to witness. First of, we couldn’t quite figure out why ato Bedru and Wzo Nigist had to fly all the way from Addis, unless it is to surround ato Hailu with even more apologists. These two people were on many medias including newspapers back home and paltalk and websites here in the U.S. We haven’t heard them saying anything different in this particular meeting than what they already said before. Spending the money collected from supporters in this kind of unnecessary ways is so irresponsible.
The meeting in D.C and the speakers on that meeting, including the chairman, shattered our hope to see reconciliation among the leadership. We hope Ato hailu reevaluate his actions and come back to his senses.
Supporters of kinijit expect a much wiser leadership who is not blinded by personal ego- leaders that are willing to sacrifice their own personal interest to the well being of the party and the country as a whole. And we believe the supporters deserve that.

we will be posting our commentary on the current kinijit leadership crises very soon.
please stay tuned.

Eid Mubarek

We would like to wish our ethiopian brothers and sisters a happy and blessed eid. Eid Mubarek to all!!!!!

The mission is not over yet. Next in line is senate and all of us should start contacting our senators to help HR2003 pass.
In the mean time, we have added some must read articles on this bill at the top right corner of this blog.
enjoy and get enlightned

Congrats!!!!

The U.S house of Representatives unanimously voted in favor of HR 2003 this morning. All of you who called, emailed, or faxed your representatives and Nancy Pelosi's office deserve congrats for your contribution. Now you in turn need to take a couple of minutes to thank those who heard your voice and voted yes. Pick up the phone, call your representatives, Congressmen Donald Payne, Chris Smith, Tom Lantos and Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer for their hard work and support to get this bill passed.

HR 2003 again

Thanks to the relentless effort by the Coalition for HR 2003, thanks to your emails and phone calls, and thanks to many courageous congress men and women, HR 2003 is passed unanimously by the house foreign affairs committee on Sept. 26, 2007. And now it is scheduled for October 2,2007 for final action by the U.S. house of representatives. The EPRDF camp is shaking and trying everything at their disposal to make sure this bill won't be signed into law. It is even reported that the head master from Addis is coming to DC to speak with the U.S State Department officials about the bill.
We urge everyone to buckle up and email, fax, or call house speaker Nancy Pelosi before the scheduled date. Take 5 minutes of your time and do it for the sake of your country, your people, and yourself.
What is the bill all about? you ask. here is everything you want to know about HR 2003.

Appeal to CUP leadership

*The problem among CUD top leadership is becoming apparent day by day. Even though both groups are trying to cover it up, almost everyone who follows Ethiopian politics understands that the party is heading to a very dangerous split. We believe that many factors contributed to the current stalemate. Instead of taking measures to correct problems at early stage according to the internal rules and procedures of the party, it seems that it is being left for the problem to go away by itself. That is a grave mistake. Problems may arise in any party’s day-to-day activity and the party should have rules and procedure on how to go about solving them. Anyone who is unwilling to obey the rules will also need to be dealt with accordingly.
*kinijit, we believe, has its own internal procedures. And whenever something as major as this happens, it has to be dealt with it according to the internal workings or the party. What seems happening now is that one group is avoiding the other and yet pretending that the problem either doesn’t exist or minor.
*We need you, CUD leaders, to lead us by example. You told us time and again how compromise is important and how you are willing to work even with EPRDF. But what we see now is that you are not even doing anything promising to come closer with each other and hammer out differences. We have high regard for all of you and we hope you will not let us down by acting childish.
*Giving interviews to radio stations that are known for fomenting division , hatred, and hearsay (sept.19)is not expected from leaders of your caliber. Just follow who is fueling the confusion by posting those interviews and inflammatory articles. One can’t help it but to wonder why EPRP mouth pieces Ethiolion,debteraw, Asimba, Ethiopiawinet are so much devoted in siding with one group and alienating the other. Also notice how EPRDF affiliates Aiga forum, and hagerfikir radio are so much involved in mud slinging at some CUD leaders. Lib yalew lib yibel!!!!!!
*We have reached to the point that we can no longer hide what is going on inside the party. Stop the lip service and start to deal with it. Either solve it now or the strong and united CUD we are hoping to see would be in grave danger. Some concerned Ethiopians are offering their willingness to get involved. We suggest both groups consider that very seriously.
**We know that you CUD leaders, are honest to your words. That’s what you showed us by staying in that horrible kality prison. And we hope that you will take measures to solve the ongoing problem sooner than later.

happy millennium

We would like to wish everyone a happy new year... a millennium filled with prosperity,reconciliation,compromise, and love.
Melkam ametbeal to all!!!!

We Are Back

So much has happened in Ethiopian politics during the last month. We, however, were unable to post our comments as we were out of the country due to an emergency.We will resume our regular blogging very soon. Please stay tuned.

MELES' DRAMA

As expected, Meles and Co. sentenced the jailed leaders life in prison. The whole drama of “lets wait to the courts decision” was to make sure these leaders can’t step out of prison with their rights of participating in the country’s politics. In january this year, it was reported that the meles government was trying to get them sign a petition saying that they won’t go back to politics after their release. This ridicules offer was automatically denied by those elected officials in kality. Then meles played his last card, his kangaroo court. A couple of weeks ago, the woyanne ministry of "justice" went on the record saying that Ethiopia doesn’t have a law regarding amnesty. A week or so after he said that, we have Ato Assefa Kesito leading the board of amnesty, what ever that may be.
What we found most laughable was Bereket’s claim on his VOA interview. He said that EPRDF doesn’t fear it’s opposition and the proof for that is the would be release of prisoners. We are just wondering; if the meles government isn’t scared to death of these elected leaders in jail, why bother to strip them off their political rights. Let them free with their full rights, stop intimidating them, and then we believe you are really not afraid of opposition. Ato Bereket is actually known for his illogical answers.The bottom line is: Every one knows the drama that is authored by meles and being played by some poor souls in the government. All citizens inside and out side the country knows it. All westerners know it. They are not fooling anyone. Let us not make the meles drama so colorful by paying undue attention. Let them play their script there. Let us intensify our diplomatic effort here. Every one’s voice counts. Let us raise our voice and say enough is enough.

Commentary on Siye's Release

Siye Abraha, who had been in prison for the last six years due to political reasons, has walked out of prison a few days ago. We all remember that Meles and his rubber stamp parliament came up with a legislation over night just to keep him in prison despite a judge’s order to let him out on bail. We also remember how many times he had to go back and forth between prison and courts for “Yedagnoch alememualat" reasons.
And, finally, the judges “decided” to free him as his sentence is less than the prison time he already served. Are we sympathizing with him? Yes and no. Yes because he was in prison for political reasons and we don’t want to see a soul to go to jail for just holding a different political opinion than the government. Also yes because he was a victim of the bogus judicial system that made a mockery out of him.
But is Siye the only one in Ethiopia who suffered in prison because of his political belief? Absolutely not. As we speak, thousands of Ethiopians are languishing in secret/known prisons with out even having their day in court. There are people from every corner of the country who are in prison for just being suspected of supporting the opposition, be it kinijit or OLF or EPPF or ONLF etc. We don’t hear about them much because they are not famous like Siye and others. We don’t hear about them because they don’t have supporters in or out of the country except their family and friends, who are powerless themselves.
Siye is a victim of the political system that he himself helped to seize power. We hope he had enough time to understand how rotten the country’s political system has become. His recent interview to VOA tigrigna is an indication to that.

We have a message to Siye Supporters:
Because he is out of prison now doesn’t mean justice has prevailed in the country. You have to work hard to make sure no one ever goes to prison for political reasons. You have to work hard to make sure the voices of the voiceless be heard. It is not time to hang the “mission accomplished” sign and go home. The real fight of ensuring a real democracy is ahead of you. Your loyalty should be for the prevalence of democracy in your country not just for a single individual. We hope you understand that and join the rest of us in the struggle for a democratic Ethiopia for all.

What have You done lately?

HR 2003 is re-scheduled for mark-up for July 18th. Have you called, emailed, or faxed your representative yet? If not, what are you waiting for? Pick up your phone and do it right now. This is the least you can do to help the end of dictatorship and the beginning of democracy in your country. You have made a call already? That is good. But how about your family, roommates, classmates, next door neighbors, colleagues at work, people at your mosque or church? Make sure to spread the word and get as many people as possible to contact their representative. Don’t under estimate your contribution. You can really make a difference.Let us join hands and do this right now.

HR 2003

In a country where millions struggle to eat once a day, in a country where millions are dying of minor and serious diseases each day, in a country where cost of living is sky rocketing and citizens’ income is stuck, one would expect the government to do its best to relieve the ever worsening situation. EPRDF, however, continued to ignore the people’s outcry for help. And, rather, has chosen to spend millions of dollars on millennium fiesta, Somalia invasion, military buildup, spying on citizens, and that sort of stuff.

Most of all, EPRDF has chosen to spend thousands of dollars a month for lobbyists. Most of us remember the fate of HR 5680 last season. And now EPRDF and it’s lobbyists in Washington are working day and night to delay HR 2003’s mark up. The thinking here seems that if they can delay it long enough, the congress will be in recess for summer and by the time they come back in the fall, the millennium and all that would be over. What will Meles and Co. get from this? Well, a lot of PR is being done to promote the millennium to divert attentions and to make everyone believe that everything is under control.
We got to wake up and we have to wake up and do some thing now. It only takes a couple of minutes of our time. Email, fax, and/or call your representatives. Do it right now. Do it for the sake of your people suffering from the worst form of dictatorship. Let’s make sure our voices be heard. Let the fight begin!

KIL and KIC ( a personal commentary)

We had intense and lengthy discussions with my fellow contributors of this blog before I finally get a green light to write on this topic. They were concerned not to add a fuel on this already burning issue. I insisted that we aren’t one of those big blogs so we aren’t going to sway anyone to any side. Plus, I argued that what good is our blogging if we can’t use it to vent whatever is inside our chest? Back to my topic.
I believe that at the core of this entire Kinijit International Council (KIC) and Kinijit International Leadership (KIL) saga is the two mediators (Dr. Bezabeh and Shaleqa admassu). When they sign up to take on this responsibility, they should have known that it isn’t gonna be like other mediations they might have ever involved in. This is different because the problem is a combination of personal ego, generation gap and the political thinking difference it entails, the political culture in the diaspora, and all other stuff intertwined. To get through this requires a deep commitment and a dignified personality, which seems lacking here. As mediators, they should have been extra cautious not to be suspected of leaning to any one group. Apparently, they didn’t seem to do that and resulted in making some group to not trust their neutrality. It is true that they aren’t the first shimagles to be blamed for not being impartial. They, however, could have proved their good faith through their work. I instead believe that what they rather did shows they weren’t in for this grand mission in good faith or they weren’t able to contain themselves and got dragged into the argument. Do you think I am being harsh on them? No. It only seemed harsh because I had high expectations for both of them and they failed many others and me miserably. Listen to this interview and tell me if they acted as a respectable shimagle.
Was it really necessary to go on a radio station and say all that stuff about the very people they are trying to mediate? One might think that they are just trying to save their image. But it would have been a lot better if they took their mission their number one priority and ignored whatever had been said on the medias. By responding to accusations, in an inflammatory way, they only complicated the already complicated situation. Plus, Dr. Bezabeh says the 11 people were recommended by kality while it later on was revealed that it was them who sent the list and sought approval. He, Dr Bezabeh, also says in that same interview that Ato kifle is willing to join KIL, which turned out to be untrue.
All in all, regardless of what they have done for the last six some odd months, I think that what they finally ended up doing is a big blow to the unity we all hoped for.
…………….
I had a whole lot to say on Ato Yared’s nuzaze zeyared. But I will just say a couple of things for now and I might return to it some other time, if I need to.
I got to admit that nuzaze zeyared is a wonderfully written piece. I wish I had nothing to disagree with Ato Yared but, unfortunately, I have a lot. Here are just some of them:
-He says that he decided to get involved because he is a good friend of Ato Andargachew and if he is able to convince Andargachew, others will follow.
*What does this say about your opinion of others in KIL? Do you believe they are just blind followers of Andargachew? I believe that was a flawed assumption to begin with.
-He also says that Andargachew (and his group?) believed the leaders release but the other group (including Ato Yared) didn’t.
*How about going the extra mile and hold off the meeting for another week just to prove them wrong. What was special about that week? Andargachew was saying let us wait one more week for their release and most of them back here were saying let the meeting be postponed until the delegates in tour in Australia come back. But it was decided that it should happen that week anyway. What was the rush? It would have been a lot wiser if the meeting was postponed for another week to see the fate of prisoners and also for the delegates in Australia to come back.
-He says that he planned to attend the meeting as an observer but all that reversed in a matter of a day and he ended up attending the meeting as a participant.
*Don’t you think all that happened too quickly? Why was that the shimagles were so determined to form KIC before Ato Hailu goes back to kality (engineer Hailu was in hospital at the time)?
-He criticizes Ato birhane’s “mentoltol” to DC medias. Rather he suggests that Ato birhane and his group should obey the chairman’s decision and continue or leave.
*First, I don’t think using the word “mentoltol” was necessary. Second, they have every right to object a decision that they believed has a tremendous impact on their party being decided in a rush and with out proper discussion among leaders. I don’t know the basis of Ato Hailu’s decision, but trying to make his decision a word from the bible or Quraan on Ato Yared’s part doesn’t seem healthy.
* I feel sorry to say this but Ato Yared seems to have problems with specially Ato birhane. Ato Yared, you might not like what Ato Birhane is doing. But please take your personal differences out of this struggling party. Don’t let your (both groups) personal ego deter you from looking at the bigger picture of saving Ethiopia and its people from the mess we are in.
………
May God save Ethiopia!

Prison letters continued

While we are on the topic of inspiring letters from prison, we thought our story wouldn't be complete without posting the letters from our Birmingham-kality- by our Martin Luthers (kinjit leaders).
enjoy and get inspired.
Mesfin woldemariam
mesfin amharic english
mesfin
yacob
prisoners message
gizachew
birtukan amharic english

LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL

Martin Luther King Junior was one of the world's prominent peaceful civil disobedience leaders. We don't dare to introduce this well known civil society leader to our readers. We rather wanted to share with you his letter from Birmingham Jail, which transcends the barrier of time and still keeps inspiring those of us who are suffering from various forms of injustices.Even though the letter was originally written in response to a criticism from eight white clergymen of his time, most of the issues he raise in the letter ironically coincide with the current situation in our country. Read the full letter read the short summary

Note: As per a suggestion from a personal freind, we have posted a short review of MLK's letter. Now you have the option to read either the original long letter or the summarized one.

thanks

View Point on Current Issues

The type of mentality EPRDF and its supporters have is so frightening. Unless one thinks the way they want him or her to think, its got to be silenced. Debating or matured dialogue doesn’t seem to belong in their dictionary. Instead of arguing why a certain idea is wrong or right, what they like and know to do is attack the person who came up with it. A couple of weeks ago, Teddy afro gave an interview to addis admass news paper. Apparently, some "organization" that calles itself "Tigrean Youth Association, Addis Ababa Branch" was ticked off with the issues teddy raised in the course of the interview. And what this so called "association" chose to do wasn’t to point out the problems in teddy's argument. Rather, complain why the newspaper dare to publish it. No matter how many times one reads their poorly written letter to addis admas, its impossible to find any mildly convincing reason why they disagree with Teddy. They are an embarrassment to themselves and the youth they claim to represent
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Various news medias have reported that the Meles government and its supporters are spending way too much money to the millennium celebration. Its an opportunity for them to show the world that Ethiopia is a stabilized nation and everything is under control. And its an opportunity for us, the opposition camp, to show the world that the country is far from stabilized and there is deep rooted and repressed resentment toward EPRDF. It is absolutely necessary that we do our homework right in asserting our claim. The millennium is a big opportunity we can't afford to miss.
.............
Now the Ethiopian North America soccer tournament is underway, we believe that political organizations are using the opportunity to reach many people. We got to be careful here. The diaspora have heard enough empty rhetoric and read countless press releases already. Unless that trend changes and we get back to action, its going to disappoint a whole lot of supporters than we can even imagine.So what we need from our diaspora opposition leaders is: less talk and more tangible action.

Are we Pranked, Again?

All eyes have been on kality for the last couple of weeks. Hopes were high that the jailed leaders will be set free as reliable news sources reported that agreements had been signed. Most of us waited anxiously to hear the news of their walk out of prison. What we heard instead was the usual rhetoric from meles: “EPRDF doesn’t interfere with the judicial system.”
Looking back, before the breaking of this news, all we talked about was how we can stage a coordinated mass civil disobedience in every corner of the country. Every one was talking about working together. Press statements were being released and everyone seemed on fire especially by the outrageous conviction of political prisoners.
Then what happened? A couple of EPRDF sympathizer websites posted articles saying that mediation between EPRDF and opposition leaders in kality is underway. They also added that the mediation seems promising this time around. That’s when the momentum started to cool down and all attentions start to divert to kality. Since then, we haven’t heard much on the planned civil disobedience.
EPRDF mouthpieces in the diaspora have been unusually reporting on this mediation a lot. Was it a planed action to divert our attention? One can only guess. Regardless of their intention, its true that we have been taken aback from a heated discussion of how to organize our struggle to talking about kality. We don’t understand why we keep playing their games. Every time EPRDF does something to distract us, we play along with them. That’s really sad.
Its still not too late to learn from our mistakes and get back to work. Let what ever is happening in kality take its course. Our struggle is beyond the release of these prisoners of conscience. Its grander than that. We are fighting dictatorship that kept the whole country hostage. To help our fellow citizens be free, we need to work on plans that can dramatically shift the balance of power.
Let us say enough to being fooled by meles’ government. Let us say enough to diversions and distractions. Let us have plans and work to materialize those plans. Each and every one of us can make a difference. Let us intensify the diplomatic struggle in the diaspora by letter writings, demonstrations, and hope opposition leaders coordinate the struggle inside the country.
EPRDF wont leave any rock unturned to make the millennium a success. And it is for sure that they will try any thing at their capacity to divert and cool down our struggle. Let us not be fooled no more. Let us not help them trick us this time. This millennium, as it is a highly publicized event, is our huge opportunity and let us try to make the best out of it.
……….
The talk about war with Eritrea is another distraction technique by Meles and Co. This rhetoric has been going on since The Hague court decision. But nothing ever happened. Let us beware of their tricks and focus on our own plans.

Aluta Continua!!!

One of the most trusted bloggers, ethiozagol, has reported that an agreement has been signed between the meles government and kinjit leaders.

Hats off to the unjustly incarcerated leaders in kality!!! We can’t be thankful enough for the sacrifices they paid to lay down the principles of democracy and free society in our beloved country. They kept their promises and integrity regardless of countless intimidations and harassments in the last couple of years. These leaders showed us what it means to stand for principles.

The news of their release is definitely most welcomed. What ever is behind their release, no one can deny its positive effect in reviving the opposition movement-especially inside the country. We also have to understand that in a mediation process their has to be something for both negotiating parties. Most of the time the one with the power dictates the agreement. But due to the leaders unwavering stance, the agreement signed at last seems to be reasonable to both parties. We got to understand that we can’t have everything our ways. There has got to be give and take. And that is what we believe happened now.
………
EPRDF is known for buying time whenever it comes under scrutiny. We hope that this agreement isn’t one of that old tricky game. No matter what, we in the diaspora should continue our fight in the deplomatic front against these dictators untill freedom and democracy prevail in the country. Their release is the beginning of the end, not the ultimate goal by itself. While enjoying the news of their release, lets continue the things we are doing to make the days of dictatorship shorter.
The struggle continues!!!!

light at the end of the tunnel

Since we started this blog a week or so ago, we have been trying to underscore the importance of standing in unity for the common cause. No matter how hard we tried, differences will continue to exist. We have to learn how to work together on the things we agree on instead of fighting over every minor difference we have.

Mr. Obang Mathew has been preaching unity and reconciliation since we have come to know him a little over a year ago. He has been doing that persistently while so many of us were busy throwing muds at each other. His recent article is a continuation of his consistent call for unity.

His call seems to be getting attention this time around. KIL’s recent call for mass civil disobedience is a case in point. In its press release, KIL states that it will work with other interested parties in planning and executing the planned action. That is the way to go KIL! Unless we stand together and act at the same time, EPRDF is not going to have a problem to come after each and every one of us. We would like to reiterate what we have said in our previous post: The more united we become, the stronger we will be. And that is what will win EPRDF.
Finally, we would like to leave you with the following quote from a Lutheran church pastor during the Nazi period:
“They came for the Jews but I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t a Jew. They came for the Gypsies but I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t a Gypsy.They came for the mentally retarded but I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t mentally retarded. Finally they came for me and no one said anything because no one was left to speak."
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On a side note, its funny to see how hard the EPRDF mouth pieces in the diaspora- Hager Fikir and Aiga Forum-are trying to make us believe that there is a big conspiracy in KIL. We know your tricks Aiga and Hager fikir. Your boss in Addis is a master in planting spies inside oppositions and we understand that you are trying to continue that trend. Poor fellas!!

ethiopian current affairs-view point

I am a big believer in “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Seeing it from that perspective, I understand why some opposition groups work with the government of Eritrea. Considering the nature of politics in general and the character of shabia in particular, I believe we need to be extra cautious not to be heavily dependent on them. Let us use Eritrea as a temporary base and establish our strong existence inside our own country. Otherwise, there is no guarantee our friendship with shabia will last forever. What happened between TPLF and shabia should be a lesson for all of us.
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I have been and still am optimistic about the creation of AFD. Even though it has been passive since its inception, it is still not too late for action. Some people don’t like AFD because there are some members in it with secession as their main agenda. I think alienating any group, no matter how much we disagree with them, is not the way to deal in politics in this day and age. Dialogue around the table is the best solution to work out differences. What I would like to see AFD do is include other members who are still out for minor differences. The more united we become, the more strong we will be. And that is what will win EPRDF. On that note, I would like to applaud AFD for the press release it released a couple of days ago.
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When I first heard the news about the handing over of Badme to Eritrea, I couldn’t believe it. Because, in my opinion, both governments wouldn’t want the border dispute to be resolved. As we all know, the border problem is the card both of them play whenever some external pressure started to mount on them regarding internal human rights issues. In case you have noticed, every time some kind of internal instability happens inside the country, they start some thing on the border to divert the attention of the international community. So who would be willing to give up that wild card? Neither of them would, trust me.
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Last but not least, it has been reported that a minibus full of children lost their lives to an accident occurred between debrezeit and dukem . also check this . What a sad story. Ethiopianbloggers would like to extend its condolences to family and friends who lost their beloved ones due to this tragic accident .

Miscellaneous stuff

This particular article doesn’t necessarily reflect ethiopianbloogers team viewpoint. It iss solely my personal point of view and I am responsible for it.
1...This Andrew Heavens fella doesn’t stop to amaze me. The topics he raises in his blog are mostly silly. He tries too hard to give the government of Meles the image of a good and stabilized government while he knows full well that the reality is otherwise. A couple of days ago he told us that his vendors are having hard time selling the magazine 'abiy guday'-the big issue. How on earth would Mr. Heavens think anyone would be excited by EPRDF's millennium propaganda? Any layman can see how hard the government is trying to use the millennium to repair its tarnished image. And Andrew and friends effort to help eprdf in its endeavor is just absurd. Just because they are living comfortably doesn’t mean that Ethiopians who are struggling so hard to make ends meet are also looking forward to the big fest. I got news for you, Mr. Heavens, don’t be surprised because people are not buying your magazine. you are in a country where citizens have to try so hard to put food on the table. If you really want to help the homeless, there are so many other ways..
....It doesn’t stop there. He seems too disappointed because a certain meeting wasn’t held in Addis because of a bomb blast that happened in Addis some time ago. It is not the people who lost their lives that sadenned mr heavens. No. Its the fact that we missed the opportunity to host some fancy meeting. Oh brother!
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2.what I heard on paltalk was shocking to me,to say the least. I thought EPPF had leaders better than those in paltalk. If they are the ones taking control of the EPPF, it is really depressing. I hope and pray that they are just supporters and EPPF have high caliber leaders who know their priority and their fight. Oh God, save us!.....
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3. Of all the press releases I read after the guilty verdict, I felt a little uneasy on the EOTC Holy
Synod’s. The release sounded more like a political party's press release than a religious one. I believe it could have been better if it focused on calling for peace and compromise. I am not saying condemning a wrongdoing is a bad idea. I am just saying it could have been done in a more reconciliatory tone. Plus I don't feel it is healthy to have a certain religious group getting too close to a government or a political party for that matter. The church-government relation ship during the feudal regime wasn’t a pleasant experience for other faith followers.
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4. If we can go beyond rhetoric, UEDF's press release is a good one. Everyone should mean what they say. Tegbar league's release focused more on warning foreign nationalities. I believe tegbar league would work with others before undertaking its plan. Because the problem we have in Ethiopia isn't easy for tegbar to single handedly change it. Lets work together..dir biyaber anbessa yasser.......

5.We also read this week that the number of KIL members is proposed to increase to 23. I have no problem with that. I even think the proposed organizational structure is excellent. What I take issue on is the inclusion of civil society leaders to the group. I don't think we all need to be a certain political party member to work together. Some of the proposed civil society leaders can work closely with KIL in the struggle with out them being part of it. Going through the list, I can’t help it but to notice that it doesn’t seem to include a Muslim Ethiopian. It is puzzling to me why we can't have a couple of Muslim brothers and sisters in KIL in a country where a good proportion of its population is Muslim. Just curious.
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getting back to action

When ever the EPRDF government does something outrageous like the guilty verdict on opposition leaders, civil rights activists, and journalists, they have two main assumption they base their actions on:
1.EPRDF knows that the opposition in the diaspora voices their opposition by candle light vigil, demonstrations, writing letters, and things of that sort. And these things go on for no more than a couple of weeks or months to the most. After that, it will cool down.
2.EPRDF also knows that the western governments always back who ever seems strong and in power, now matter how brutal it is.

The above assumptions seemed to work real well until now. But we got to be ahead of the game now. We need to stop playing their game. Our leaders in the diaspora, not only kinjit international but also other party and civil society leaders, should come together and come up with a well thought out plan that put EPRDF’s calculations null and void. The struggle plan should consider the political environment inside the country. It is important to campaign wherever we are, but it is not enough. The real struggle is inside the country. So we got to direct our focus on that. If the westerners don’t seem to support us now, don’t worry. As we start to show results and the power balance start to shift, they will come along.

The most important thing is to come up with a well thought out plan that could last a while and result something significant. We also should be realistic about the reality inside the country. A lot of things have changed since the election and it wont be easy to get people on board unless we convince them our plan is a plan that brings change.

Let us all work on that. Let us put emotions aside and get to work together.

standing together

Despite speculations that the EPRDF government would come to its senses and free opposition leaders, EPRDF once again proved to us that we should not expect any sense of sanity from this group of criminals.
No matter how hard to swallow, the ball is in our hands now. Whether we like it or not, we need to stand together now more than ever. Let us put our personal differences aside and commit ourselves to the fight against these dictators. We have already spent enough time arguing each other. We have spent enough time releasing press statements. We have spent enough time accusing each other.
Enough to all that now. Let us close that chapter of our struggle history and open a new one. A new one of compromise and unity. A new one that we not only release press statements but also show something tangible. Let us make sure that we leave our differences behind and move on.
The agreement signed by KIL members couldn’t have come at any better time. We all need to stand behind them. We have to refrain from anything that would impact this unity negatively. It doesn’t mean we can't criticize them but we need to make sure our comments are constructive.

PR went wrong-the case of Solomon tekalegn

I know, most of us have heard more than enough about Solomon tekalegn from EPRDF controlled medias and its subsidiaries. It is not my intention to bore you anymore. It is just I wanted to get a kick out of it. It is some times good to sit back and laugh when some one makes fool of himself. People have been changing their political views since time immemorial. Solomon’s is no exception. I don’t know why EPRDF tried to make it look like some kind of political victory. It is just embarrassing.
Since I had nothing to do in the past few weeks, I listened all the interviews he gave both here and back home. It is unbelievable how any one lowers him self to that level for just some financial benefits .its one thing to change political stands, but it is another thing to act more EPRDF than EPRDF itself. One thing that he made sure in all of his interviews was to emphasize his self-importance. I really thanked God I am not related to this guy in any shape or form. That’s how much I was embarrassed for him. It surprises me how any one can be so full of it. My God!
In one of his many interviews, he says 99% of Ethiopians in the Diaspora supported his return home. Really? I wonder which polling agency polled Diaspora Ethiopians on this “big issue.” Thank God they did anyway. If you live out of your country and didn’t hear about this poll, you must be one of those 1% vocal Diaspora.
On how busy people are in Addis, he said that he wasn’t able to meet his friends because every one is busy doing business. A friend of mine jokingly said, “what if they are trying to ignore him?” For those of us who haven’t had problems meeting friends during our visits back home, the question my friend asked sounds interesting.
On universities and colleges he said there was only one university in the country during the Derg. Some body help me here. I am no expert on the Derg era, but I think I have heard there was more than one.
On mobile phones he mentions that every one in Addis has cell phones now but no one had them when he left the country 11 years ago. Hello, how many people had cell phones 11 years ago even in America? Let alone one of the poorest nations in Africa. I got news for you, even now mobile phone usage in Ethiopia is one of the lowest as compared to most African countries. How about that?
On the report of him being beaten up in Addis, he told the interviewer that his face with a photo shopped body of some beaten up person is all over the internet. I think of my self as a frequent visitor of Ethiopian web sites and I saw the report about the incident. But I saw no picture of a beaten up him. As one radio personality put it, this guy is in real mental crises. I would take him to tebl or amanuel if I were one of his friends or family.
The most laughable of all was the one he told about what happened at Olympia. While he was stopped at a traffic light, people lined up to say hi to him to the extent that it seemed there was some kind of demonstration. Thank God! Those poor fans didn’t get shot by federals. The whole drama was just funny, if it wasn’t serious. We will see what will happen after the millennium is over.

Why EPRDF should go?

As an independent and interested observer of Ethiopian politics, I have come to conclude that we should get rid of the current government in order for us to start the democratization process in our country. I ruled out the option of working with them already. Lets be pragmatic. We know how EPRDF responds every time invitations extended to work together by opposition groups. EPRDF’s policy is all or none. While agreeing with the idea of leaving the door open to any steak holders including EPRDF), let me try to explain why I argue the current government should step down before anything else.
Many EPRDF appeasers and other well-intentioned citizens would like to have you believe that change isn’t radical but a process and therefore we should give the government time to build up on the democratization process. It’s a well-proven historical fact that democracy doesn’t happen over night. I have no problems with that. My problem with the above argument comes when anyone bases his or her argument on this historical fact and assumes what EPRDF needs is time. I beg to differ here. Why?
-You give a government or anyone for that matter a chance/time if one sees evidences of improvement overtime. But that isn’t what is happening under EPRDF Ethiopia. We don’t need to look any further than the policy changes that happened after the may 2005 election. Before the election and for a little while after that we have at least a free press no matter how hostile the working environment was. Where are the free presses and their publishers now? Either in jail with trumped up charges or in exile. What is the message one gets from this? Do any sane person still believe the government is improving its policies so we should give the time after seeing what happened to the free press?
-What happened to the parliamentary law was also a case in point to show the EPRDF government is going from better to worse. Changing the parliamentary laws over night so that the coming opposition couldn’t do practically anything other than making the government look good wouldn’t pass the litmus test of any improving government. What good is it to give time for a government like this?
-The government’s stand on the so-called electoral board isn’t promising either. Despite the many attempts by opposition parties to make it independent, the government remained adamant in keeping it as is. To make matters even worse, the electoral board is given unappealable authority to decide who can observe elections and who can’t. What it means is that if the board decides a certain organization cant observe an election, that decision is final. In the 2005 election at least one had an option of appealing to the bogus court if one feels the decision wasn’t fair. But that is a lost cause from now on. What is that we see here to make us believe that what the government needs is time.
-How about the broad casting law? The draft law wasn’t bad enough, we read on ethiopianreporter.com that a “new and revised law” is endorsed by the parliament. According to the reporter, the new so-called “revised law” is so much worth than the previous one. How is that for an improvement?
- It has also been reported that journalists that can report on elections are only those journalists who are invited by the government. It’s not enough to be a “licensed” journalist to report on elections. NO. NO. Not in EPRDF Ethiopia. To have that “privilege,” one has to be specifically invited by the government. Even that invitation doesn’t guarantee freedom of reporting. It comes with restrictions as not predicting election results or things like that. With time, EPRDF goes from requiring journalists to be registered and have licenses issued to them to hand picking the journalists that can report on elections and limiting the things they can report on. Who would call that an improvement?

And so on and so forth. Those mentioned above are just the tip of the iceberg. There are lots and lots of reasons to believe giving time to EPRDF does nothing but making things worse than ever, if it gets any worse.