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.