Addis Voice Blog

Hailemariam ambushed by protesters in New York

2011-09-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

Hailemariam Desalegn less than 40 minutes speech at UN yesterday was neutralized by 180 minutes rally opposite to the building he stood to lie. More than 500 different types of press releases that exposed the TPLF/EPRDF crime were distributed to the public. Arab medias who happen to be there to cover the Syrian protesters denouncing Bashar covered our protest too. Many Eritreans who were calling for Isaias to go were shamefully defending Meles Zenawi as a man who gave "democracy" to Ethiopians. We educated these misinformed friends beside educating our Syrian compatriots who have no clue on what is going on in Ethiopia.

The "Trophy" on our mission was the incident that brought our Megaphone to blare on 1st Avenue and 47St across Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. It was 5:15pm, Tekeda Alemu came in direct contact with us with less than 20 meters separating us. The shout, "Tekeda Alemu Yewoyane Ashkir" demolished him and those surrounding him about ten TPLF cadres, Hailemariam Desalegen was not with them.

We were interviewed for about twenty minutes by freelance journalist who came from UN. We also sent our voice via ECADF Paltalk Room. Indeed we were the Voice of the Jailed, Abused and Terrorized People of Ethiopia. Hailemariam Desalegn and the regime he represented was exposed for the public and this should be registered as Ethiopian victory even if the crowd was not as big as the State Department rally on the same day in D.C. The Ethiopian huge flag and the well placed placards that exposed Meles Zenawi Terrorizing the people of Ethiopia attracted many people and gave us high visibility.

One of them says, Terrorist Friends, Zenawi of Ethiopia = Bashar of Syria = Saleh of Yemen

Well done New York !!!!

New York Ethiopian Activists

Why Eritrea is not begging for food?

2011-08-19T05:24:00.000-07:00

By Tedla Asfaw

I hold Meles Zenawi’s regime accountable for the famine in Ethiopia. I argued on medias why our starved people are not covered on local as well as International medias like the coverage given to Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya and Mogadishu, Somalia. Meles Zenawi is trying to blame this famine on Al Shabab and Isaias, seems he succeeded in that. The starvation victims are mostly Somali and Ethiopians, many children. From watching foreign medias,however, this is the starvation of Somalia not Ethiopia.

Al Shabab controlled areas starved people are flocking to Mogadishu for aid and Shabab is forced/retreat from Mogadishu and the starving people under its control are fleeing to save their children. Eritrea which is mentioned among the countries which need aid by USAID and aid agencies is put in the same category as Al Shabab. How absurd ?

Isaias is accused by food aid agencies and by State Department for blocking aid to his country. We have not seen starving Eritreans crossing to neighboring countries for food like many in Ethiopia did and went to Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. Ambassador Johnnie Carson should substantiate his accusation of Isaias denying food aid to his people. Mr. Carson at least should travel to neighboring countries bordering Eritrea and find out the starving Eritreans fleeing and Isaias security blocking them. Otherwise it is just joining the club of Meles Zenawi to condemn a regime who is not friendly to the West.There are many unfriendly nations which are feeding their people and why Eritrea is different unless there is another motive behind this, maybe orchestrating a regime change in Asmara ?

Isaias government self reliance if it is successful should be a lesson for Ethiopia that has been on food aid for almost two decades. It seems to me that the West are now accusing Eritrea for anything wrong in the Horn. Isaias can be accused like others in the Horn for being undemocratic but we never heard the West accusing Meles Zenawi for being undemocratic too. If you do not beg for food aid you should be commended not vilified.

If you take U2 singer Bono’s recent word from his appearance on CNN there is no starvation in Tigray, Ethiopia because of work done after the catastrophic draught of 1984-85, he wanted to emulate Meles Zenawi’s regime and do the same in Somalia. What Bono forget is Ethiopia is not only Tigray, we have more than five million people who need emergency food and he better asks Meles Zenawi why he failed to feed all Ethiopians after millions in food aid and money for the last two decades.

The truth of the matter why Tigray is not starved is because there is Safety Net, plenty of food donated by foreign agencies, under the control of government cadres.People in Tigray have to work in forestry and water conservation to get their food ration and small amount of money.If Isaias put such program without any outside help that is commendable and should all learn from Eritrea’s experience.

I can assure you that you can really find out which country is in business of begging among the countries led by “African breed “. Check out how much the ruler personal fortune is. The higher the wealth of the tyrant the worst the dictator and most likely the people, his subjects are looking for food aid. Eritrea and Isaias Afeworki might be on the bottom of this list.

Open Letter to Professor Jendayi Frazer !!!!!

2011-06-20T09:07:00.001-07:00

Professor Jendayi Frazer

Department of Social and Decision Sciences
Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

USA

Dear Professor/Ambassador Frazer,

I attached my piece on the "Land Grab" in Ethiopia I posted on Ethiopian websites which is the number one issue as that of human right in Ethiopia with this letter. The last time I talked to you on the phone was in 2005 when you were a guest on Straight Talk Africa program as U.S. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs under the Bush Administration.

You agreed with me then about the human right violation following the stolen election of 2005 by the Ethiopian regime. I can assure you that after five years that "election" is totally robbed by Meles Zenawi dictatorial regime by 99.6 percent "victory". Public rallies and the "Civil Societies" you alluded on your recent RT appearance is non existent and illegal in Ethiopia.

On Cross Talk, "Africa Grab" on RT on the weekend you endorsed most of the African tyrants except Zimbabwe. Did you hear Secretary Clinton speech on "neocolonialism" and African tyrants to listen to their people on her visit to Africa this month ? Who is right, you or Secretary Clinton. ? What Secretary Clinton got on her visit to Ethiopia is blackout and volcanic ash. Had Meles Zenawi was a democrat, Clinton could have stayed few days more to visit Ethiopian "Civil Societies". It was just a good excuse to run away from unpleasant dictator who got his legitimacy by taking photos with G8/G20 leaders.

Millions of Ethiopians are going to bed empty thanks to the "last decade development" under Meles Zenawi which you also endorsed on the RT program. I wonder if you had known going to bed empty. Families are feeding children in shift. This is what West financed and China/Eastern investment partner is doing to millions of Ethiopians. Beside Meles Zenawi and his close allies have billions of dollar in West/Asian banks. The 8.4 billion US dollar is just part of the story that was discovered under UNDP study. Ethiopia is robbed on day light by unaccountable regime. No Civil Society to cry for that !!!!

I did appreciate your stand in keeping African farmers on their land. Diaspora is mobilizing to denounce India and Saudi Arabia the major land grabbers in Ethiopia. For the so called "Civil Society" you alluded in Africa I can tell you honestly what we have in Ethiopia is "Terrorized society".

It is up to Ethiopians to rise up and overthrow the Meles' tyranny, I hope then we will talk about the role of Civil Society.

Yours,

Tedla Asfaw

New York City

Axis of Evils, Land Sellers and Buyers in Ethiopia !!!!

2011-06-15T10:17:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

Ethiopia is an ancient country that was never colonized by foreign powers. Ethiopian kings and queens were so jealous of their country soil and water that they even ordered foreigners to wash their feet when they went back home after their stay as guests. This ancient country has been under "occupation" for two decades by unelected tyrants who are going from one corner of the world to the other asking foreigners to come and buy Ethiopian land for cheap dollar.

Arabnews has reported this week that the Foreign Minster/Land Minster of TPLF/EPRDF, Hailemariam Desalegne, has been busy in Saudi Arabia to bring in more Saudi cash. Saudi Star/Snake is the major land owner in Gambella. TPLF/EPRDF set 6 million hectares aside for foreigners and Hailemariam the land seller is proud of his new job title "Land Seller", full of smile. His boss Meles Zenawi said in public that we should "smile", not cry for land we lease to India what we should cry is for what we do not lease to India. Their slogan is bring the dollar you will have all the land and water you dreamed of and our foreign account will grow exponentially.

Moreover, the homegrown sellers has got a friend by the name Susan Payne, Emergent Asset Management. Susan Payne, the Chief Executive Officer of this company, this week on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio /CBC tried to repair the damage done by the Oakland Institute research which has got wide coverage in major news outlets. The report which is based on field survey can hardly be rebutted by Susan Payne.

Susan Payne try to tell us that foreign mechanized farm and sustainable agriculture goes hand in hand. If you ask Meles Zenawi and Hailemariam Desalegne there is no sustainable agriculture what they promised to do for our people is to turn them into daily laborers for foreign land owners. The agriculture minster Abera Deressa was quoted saying that we do not need to produce food since we will become Middle Income country in the next decade, and just buy food from world market.

For them they do not even know what the food price will be in the coming years. As is reported on CBC Radio price will increase by 180 percent in the coming decades and the Ethiopian farmers who are turned slave laborers for foreign land lords will never be able to buy food in foreign market because they do not earn enough money to do so.

As Susan Payne clearly said it is a good investment earning more than twenty percent in a year for those who are buying land with the help of companies like her. As food price increases so does the rate of return for those who sale and buy behind the back of poor farmers.

It is time for the people of Ethiopia to rise up and defeat all land buyers and sellers like the people of Madagascar in 2008. The proud people of Madagascar overthrow the regime who was posed to sale million hectare of their land for South Korea. In this land issue there are only two sides not the win win as advocated by Susan Payne. The Karuturi owner on record saying that he came to Gambella, Ethiopia to make money has nothing to do with the local community. In fact he boasted to ship his produce using our rivers directly to market. The locals are spectators on this robbery and the win win Susan Payne is just fairytale.

Foreign land grabbers and the TPLF/EPRDF regime has to be defeated in all fronts. The media war has already started and it seems that they are on defensive. The next war is like that of Madagascar and that will be bloody. I urge people like Susan Payne not to be part of this war because they will never win it.

Ethiopian Festival in Washington DC, July 1st - 3rd

2011-06-13T10:46:00.001-07:00

The first annual Ethiopian Heritage Festival will be held in Washington D.C. from July 1, to July 3, 2011. The Festival will be held at the majestic Georgetown University's multi-sport facility at 3700 O St. in Georgetown with free parking... [read more]

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Brook Travel has special air fares for the Summer. Check fares or make reservations here.

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Open letter to Prime Minster of India.

2011-05-31T11:57:00.001-07:00

Dear Manmohan Singh, Prime Minster of India,

A friend forwarded to me a video clip of your address to the so called Ethiopian Parliament last week. The fake parliament you made a speech is 99.6 percent filled by corrupt authoritarian regime supporters. The 2010 election was a stolen election and it is sad a leader of the largest democracy in the world went out of his way to endorse such a regime.

Your mission Prime Minster is to help your business community to make money. Indian companies are leasing more than 300,000 hectare of land for a price of one Dollar per hectare. UNDP on this month study put Ethiopia as one of the corrupt countries in the world. More than 8.4 billion dollar is moving out of Ethiopia stolen to be stashed in foreign banks. If you think Ethiopia is the most "stable country in Africa" it is for competing with China for our resources. As you well know foreign countries were investing heavily in Libya after 2006 too and we all know where Libya is now.

The dictators always have friends when they have good time like Meles Zenawi and his friends at present. I hope you will be around when our people take back their country and establish open and transparent relationship with all foreign nations including India. India relationship with the current regime of Ethiopia is benefiting only Indian business people and the corrupt elites in Ethiopia.

I have respect for Indian democracy but I totally reject your endorsement of Meles Zenawi's corrupt mafia regime.

Thanks,

Tedla Asfaw

New York City

We Can Not Feed Ourselves !!!!!

2011-05-25T10:13:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

I watched Meles Zenawi's one hour video of economics of importing, oil, sugar and wheat in Ethiopia. Wait a minute, Ethiopia can not produce sugar, oil and wheat ?. I am not talking about petroleum here I mean oil for food. As far as I am concerned even during Derg time, oil and sugar were produced in Ethiopia. In fact Ethiopians who studied in the then Soviet Union told me that they saw packets of "Wonji Sugar" with elephant mark produced in Wonji, Ethiopia in Russian markets. However, when they told their classmates about being the product of Ethiopia no one believed them. Then high tech product maybe ?

When it comes to oil, I still remember going to nearby distributors that were selling sesame oil produced in Ethiopia. What happen now in Meles Zenawi led Ethiopia ? Those who went for a short visit to Ethiopia informed us that they found stores filled with foreign oil and sugar among many imported food products. I wonder who buys them ? We know a litre of edible oil here in USA at present is on average less than three dollar, one kg of sugar is less than two dollar, a kg of whole wheat more than two dollar.

Poor Ethiopia is now wasting its foreign currencies on buying sugar, oil and wheat on world market as we all know all these items were produced in our country before TPLF took over twenty yeas ago. On this week as TPLF celebrates its 20 years of rule Ethiopians are still talking about how and where to get basic food items. Lines for basic food items is now a national pastime for Ethiopians. I did not forget chewing "Chat".I suggest "Chat" to be considered in Ethiopia's Commodity Exchange to bring much needed revenue for the government. If it is exported like lentils we will have foreign currency flight then.

Mind you this discussion for the majority of our people is meaningless. Because practically they can not afford to buy imported sugar, oil and wheat . Meles Zenawi on his one hour lecture for business community told merchants to distribute these products with "reasonable price". The importer is the "government" most likely the EFFORT babies.

Ethiopia's economy is now in total disaster. The proof for that is, it can not even feed its own people. Talk about manufacturing based on homegrown capital which is currently diverted to service sector for which the business community is accused for tax evasion and other crimes is absurd. The manufacturing sector is under the control of TPLF owned EFFORT and Sheik Al Amoudi of Saudi Arabia.The blame for capital not flowing to manufacturing sector is these two dinosaurs beside lack of transparency and rule of law.

The small business community in service sector is taking the example of TPLF's business empire, EFFORT. EFFORT totally control most of the manufacturing and service center of Ethiopia's economy. The book of EFFORT is closed for public and even to the people of Tigray in whose name it operates. Where does the the profit from EFFORT goes ?

According to UNDP study 8.4 billion dollar went out of Ethiopia illegally in the last two decades. If you subtract the 2 billion dollar Meles alleged went out of real state developers he should at least admit the "6.4 billion" unaccounted belongs to EFFORT. In a country where there is no free press and independent judiciary no investigation can be carried out to find the truth. It seems to me that the 2 billion dollar "income" from real state business is a well designed hypothesis forwarded by Meles Zenawi to suggest that "we" are all here together on the business of "fraud".

The bottom line is this, Ethiopian economy is driven not by visionaries to build the country and to alleviate from deep poverty our country has been known for many generations. We all know China brought more than 200 million people out of poverty since it has become the manufacturing capital of the world in the last two decades alone. What did TPLF did in the last two decades ?

TPLF failed in the last twenty years managing our economy. The so called "Yelemate Mengiste" a Developmental State is now officially named "Asmechi Mengste", meaning Importing State. We might add to that Selling State which is in business of leasing up to 6 million hectares for foreign land grabbers on a dollar per hectare. Where is the book for all to see ?

Ethiopia's economy is so stupid that it is only a matter of time before it follows the Ziad Bares fate Meles quoted many times on his lecture. Yes many of Somali merchants who benefited from Ziad ruled Somalia are now in Dubai. I am sure many of TPLF connected business people have home there too.

Meles Zenawi has confessed that his regime failed to bring bread and butter to our people. The high rises many of TPLF supporters see, we all see and touch have not changed the lives of millions even in Addis Ababa who go to bed every night hungry. The good advice I will give to Meles Zenawi is to step down this week after he makes a speech for his supporters on their 20 year of unfulfilled promises. Let him be the first ruler in Ethiopia to give power peacefully, why not ?

Shame on World Economic Forum on Africa 2011 !!!!

2011-05-20T12:31:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

I was dismayed to hear that the next WEF on Africa will be held in Addis Ababa on May 2012. Surprisingly I got this news after I read UNDP study this week on how African despots are stealing foreign aid and sending it "express" out of their countries. Ethiopia in the last two decades according to the study 8.4 Billion Dollar is moved out of the country and stashed in foreign banks.

WEF on Africa is partnering with Meles Zenawi to show case his "economic development" for next May in Addis Ababa. Millions of Addis residents are living a miserable life behind high rises built by so called "investors". These same people have also huge wealth out of Ethiopia which is now documented by UNDP study. Ethiopians in the diaspora staged huge rallies against the criminal regime of Ethiopia last month in North America and Europe and will mobilize the diaspora to denounce this shameful act by WEF.

Ethiopians at present suffering due 30 percent inflation, farmers are removed by foreign land grabbers who will acquire up to 6 million hectares of land sold by the regime for 1 dollar per hectare officially but at higher rate under the table.

Public rally in Ethiopia is illegal, the last one Ethiopians had six years ago more than two hundreds innocent people were killed in broad day light, no one was held accountable. Ethiopians are living in fear and without any freedom. In short Ethiopia is Saudi Arabia without oil, huge land and water potential to be sold for the benefit of the ruling mafia.

The uprising we witnessed in North Africa and Middle East surely is on its way to Addis Ababa. This week strike by taxi drivers is the beginning of the Addis Tsunami which is dubbed as "Beka" meaning " Enough ".Those who promote tyranny in any form by organizing a conference the one planned by WEF in Addis Ababa next year will be judged by our people.

Where is our EFFORT ?

2011-05-11T05:42:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

I read a piece by Dr. Ghelawdeos Araia, "Ethiopia's challenge is our challenge" forwarded by a friend. As we all know Ethiopia is an agricultural country, more than 80 percent of our people are farmers. If you hear our/TPLF experts which Ghelawdeos would like to call EPRDF are telling us that they would like to "industrialize Ethiopia" by selling large tracts of farm land to foreign investors, they claim in few years time " we will be an industrialized nation". They even boast of buying imported foods with plenty of cash in our peoples pockets.
.
They claim that by selling huge tracts of land they will bring capital, knowledge and "convert" our people to "middle class". Foreign land grabbers as recently seen on www.farmlandgrab.org documentary both in English and French version one hour and one and half hour respectively are proudly showing their land they acquired. The land is not a barren land as they claimed but it is a known sanctuary for wild life. The farmers that are kicked out of their land are nuisance for buyers and sellers. War on our farmers, on our natural forests and wild life has been declared by the current regime of Ethiopia. We have no choice but to fight as one farmer said on the documentary.

TPLF/EPRDF and foreign partners aim is to produce and make money by selling their products on world market. I wonder why Ghelawdeos avoid discussing this issue and divert the discussion by bringing the new emerging economies in China, India, Brazil etc and try to compare it with TPLF/EPRDF's GTP.

Ethiopia is now led by thieves/Leboche whose aim is to change everything to dollar and run away when their time is up. Sell it cheap for cash that is what they have been doing for the last five years after they were defeated on May 2005 election. The idea of every other ethnic group benefits from TPLF/EPRDF patronage system is partly true.

But the Somalis, Oromos, Amharas, etc who organized themselves under their ethnic umbrellas do not amass wealth like EFFORT whose name Ghelawdeos even failed to mention. EFFORT is the mafia who is behind the Grand Transaction Plan/GTP to extort the diaspora. Did Ghelawedeos forget Sibhat Nega interview on VOA Amharic, "EFFORT is the largest conglomerate in Ethiopia" proudly declared by him. How can we discuss "investment" by ignoring this truth ?

Ghelawdeos is telling us to seat down and challenge TPLF/EPRDF. What challenge ? he better tells the mafia club that stealing as he calls it corruption even if is common in the world you/ TPLF took it to the highest level. TPLF is even blackmailing the Ethiopian workers to give their monthly salary to build millennium dam. No other country does like that, this is beyond robbery. It is similar to "Mengistu's Enate Ager Tire" of workers giving their monthly salary. Inflation running high as much as 30 percent combined with giving away monthly salary, is that not a fertile ground for mass upheaval ?

Ethiopia's challenge is indeed ours but the solution is to remove Meles Zenawi's led TPLF like the Egyptians, Tunisians did. Ghelawedeos is calling indirectly to support King Abdella "Freedom Initiative", that set aside 37 million dollar to shut opposition mouth in Saudi Arabia. In case of Ethiopia his recommendation is to join the GTP and pray for many years for Meles led TPLF to stay on power. If they started the dam they have to finish the job, is that the rallying cry for the 2015 Western sponsored election theater ?

The good thing in 2011 change is coming by popular uprising. Ethiopians will rise up to remove Meles' led TPLF and the other organized ethnic servants/Ashkers will not fight to defend TPLF. I invite you to go to www.tadias.com and hear what one pro TPLF Professor from New York says about his experience on GTP conference in Harlem, under the title, "Diaspora divided at GTP". It is a four minute video clip would not take your time. Were Ghelawedeos was on that conference to challenge just for curiosity ? His challenge, however, could not be as low as the professor on the video clip. How did he get the job ?

Bitweded Sultan Ali Mirah, the Voice of Ethiopian Unity !!!!

2011-04-27T06:12:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

I would like to extend my condolence to the Afar community in the diaspora and to the people of Afar from Red Sea port of Asab to the highland of Desse and to the plains of Awash valley for the passing away of Bitweded Sultan Ali Mirah, the beloved leader of the Afar people and the Unity Voice of Ethiopia. I happen to learn about this wise and generous leader during the Imperial regime of Haile Selassie when Sultan Ali Mirah comes to his guest house in Addis Ababa where I grew up.

Our local community/Eder sent its elderly representatives to talk to Sultan about his community where he has a guest house. Their journey saved our "Eder" thanks to the generous gift of Sultan. He donated them 10,000 Bir at that time the equivalent of $5,000 dollar. In a current rate more than 200,000 Bir, a lot of money.

Why I brought this story of kindness more than two decades ago is because I still remember it as if it is today. This generous man came into my heart when I was a high school boy where One Bir was precious, can buy you a lot of things. For our "Eder" it is like winning a Lotto. I have admired this man since then and I was sad to hear Derg try to kill him. Sultan was exiled by Derg for almost two decades. I was one of the luckiest to live and work in Dubti, Lower Awash Valley of Ethiopia, in 1980s where I learned a lot and know about the proud people of Afar.

Unless you live with the Afar people it is not possible to know them. Afars are proud and gentle people. No wonder such people produced a giant like Bitweded Sultan Ali Mirah. I heard about him in Logia, Dubti, Serdo, Banda, Assaita, Afambo Bati, Desse and Asab that he was a kind man who lived his people life and worked his best to bring health and education to them.

Most of all he and the late professor Asrat Woldeyse commitment to United Ethiopia is unparalleled. They warned Ethiopians early on during TPLF/Shabia rule of Ethiopia, Ethiopia should remain united. TPLF and Shabia waged war on the Afar people before Eritrean Referendum in 1990s to make sure that the people of Afar will not stand on their way. Many Afars were killed but the struggle of the people of Afar for united Ethiopia by Afars continued. The sold out like Mohamada Gas who was exiled in London and many others from America are now profiting from the blood of the Afar people by joining the Divide and Loot wing of TPLF in the name of the Afar people.

TPLF propagandists without any shame are sending their condolence on the passing away of Sultan Ali Mirah. We know that the vision of TPLF and Sultan Ali Mirah remains incompatible. Sultan was for Unity with Dignity, for tolerance, did not target any ethnic group for revenge. Two decades of Ethiopia under TPLF did a lot of damage on the people of Afar and the struggle to remain Ethiopian is a gift Bitweded Sultan Ali Mirah passed to the young generation of the proud people of Afar. Ethiopian Flag will always fly high on the Afar Desert.

A man I learned about his kindness as a teenager passed away but my admiration for him still intact. Whenever I see the Ethiopian flag waves high, Bitweded Sulatn Ali Mirah and the people of Afar comes to my mind. Let him rest in peace.

Open Letter to Howard University Administration !!!!

2011-04-13T09:27:00.001-07:00

Dear The Howard University Administration,

I was saddened to hear the mistreatment of peaceful Ethiopian protesters by your security officers on April 9 afternoon meeting on your campus. University Securities illegally removed Ethiopians who were asking questions in the hall. The officers do not understand the language of the meeting and surprised by their active role to identify who is who if that was indeed their role and take action on those peacefully standing to ask questions.

Is the role of the University Security to side with one group in the meeting hall ? This is totally against freedom of speech and assembly. The security was following orders from the Ethiopian regime propagandists to take the illegal action. By allowing the meeting to continue while the fire alarm was blaring proves that the security is buying to the propagandists claim that this was not "fire" rather oppositions attempt to disrupt the meeting and on the way broke also the fire code of Washington D.C. That needs further investigation.

The Howard Security serving the interests of few while criminalizing the majority both inside and outside peaceful protest has tarnished the image of the university. The late action to disperse the meeting by the University though commendable I say is too little too late. The Ethiopian Diaspora surrounding D.C. needs explanation for the bias role the Howard Security Officers played on the handling of the crisis they faced on April 9.

Thanks,

Tedla Asfaw

New York City

U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia

2011-04-12T08:18:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

I read a comment on USA Ambassador to Ethiopia, Donald E. Booth, interview by Ethiopian Journalist, Eskinder Nega, in Amharic, posted on websites. Ambassador Booth said that the 2010 so called election is accepted by the people of Ethiopia, the 99.6 percent win maybe the highest recorded in Africa. Can we call it "Election Development", "Ye Limate Mircha " ? Is the Ambassador suggesting that " popular " endorsement of the election by the rally Meles Zenawi organized in Addis Ababa following the fake election to condemn Human Right Watch report ? I hope not.

USA policy makers followed similar election endorsement after Mubarak's 80 percent win of the recent fake election. I do not want to waste the Ambassador's time on what happened in 2011 in Egypt. If he is trying to be a spokesman for Meles Zenawi he will be proven wrong soon. Ethiopians rejected Meles' regime in 2005 and no miracle is performed in the last five years for Meles and his mafia party to win the hearts and minds of Ethiopians by 99.6 percent like the Ambassador alleged on his interview.

USA Ambassadors in Ethiopia, some of them, are known for telling the truth when they retire from that position. I questioned former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, Donald Yamamoto on Straight Talk Africa during the Tunisian uprising and told him how he sabotaged the Ethiopian popular uprising in 2005 following the stolen election. He told us that he was working very hard for opposition leaders to be released behind the scene. USA Ambassadors in Ethiopia are representing their country interest not the interest of Ethiopians. Their interest is to keep their puppets as long as it takes.

Ambassador Booth can only stay in Addis Ababa if he is acting like TPLF spokesman in public and behind the scene begging Meles Zenawi to take it easy not to embarrass USA. Obama is indeed not different from Bush when it comes to Ethiopia and so did their Ambassadors. For USA, Mubarak was an ally so did Saleh of Yemen and Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia.

Meles Zenawi and Saleh of Yemen are treated as poor allies while Saudi is American rich ally that can pay the masses to shut their mouth. America is not demanding freedom in Saudi for not upsetting the Wahhabi rulers who are exporting many of their people to fight around the Muslim world " American injustice" and their corrupt rule. Saleh of Yemen is killing American enemies so why should America care if he gunned down Yemenis demanding freedom like Tunisians and Egyptians..

Mr. Ambassador, Meles Zenawi two decades rule has never been by popular mandate but by brute force until we Ethiopians rise up and overthrow him like Egyptians and Tunisians did, he will remain in power. I hope you witnessed the glimpse of what to come in Ethiopia on weekend. Thousands of Ethiopians this past weekend in D.C. and major cities in USA and Canada started popular Tsunami. The Tsunami that started in North America will vibrate across Atlantic and energize Ethiopians to start their overdue Revolution to sweep Meles and his mafia gangs from power.

Mr. Ambassador, by the way Do you know that VOA is jammed in Ethiopia ? Why is tax payers money is wasted on the program that is jammed at this time of budget austerity in USA ? Please do not waste tax payer money.If you have courage follow the German government example and demand answer publicly.

As I told Ambassador Yamamoto, Ethiopians will not be part of any fake elections sponsored by America no more. Freedom in Ethiopia comes only by popular uprising. Are you going to be with the people or Meles' security ? Please do not arm and finance our killers.

Boycotting the " Art Show" in Harlem, New York City !!!!

2011-04-04T08:16:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

The Ethiopian Rally on Saturday April 9 in front of the Adam Clayton Plaza in Harlem is mainly to educate New Yorkers on what is going on the second floor, "Art Show".The letter we received from Ethiopian Mission in New York is not about "Art", it is a political gathering by the dictatorial regime of Ethiopia. Many things have been said about this regime by human right organizations and I am not going to waste time here. This is a continuation of the Art of Cheating, "election", "Growth" and " Investment" in Ethiopia for the last two decades, now on its high gear after TPLF was defeated by popular vote in 2005.

Ethiopia under the current regime for the last two decades is a country that drove many educated people to exile because if you are not joining their "Art Show " you have no Right to Live in your own country. These same people are following the Ethiopian Diaspora they chase to "invest" his or her money to keep the ruling tribal elite for "infinity". On a recent interview TPLF/EPRDF Ambassador to United Nations,Tekeda Alemu, clearly told us politics is now a domain of the few elites and the masses have just to harvest the fruit of Meles Zenawi "Growth and Transformation".

Therefore booking the meeting as "Art Show" is not by accident it is how the regime operates, cheating all the way, call it Tomahawk cheating across Atlantic. The "Growth" and Transformation" in the next five years "contract" under TPLF/EPRDF is not new. There has been growth and transformation for the very few and millions of Ethiopian lives,however, is getting worst day to day. Egyptians and Tunisians revolted not for piece of bread but for liberty. But, Ethiopian revolution first and foremost is going to be for the right to feed oneself by putting all resources to our people. You can not build any democracy with empty belly or by food aid from West. Thirty years of subsidy by the West did not stop the Egypt revolution and it will not stop the coming Ethiopian revolution.

This "Growth and Transformation" has been going on for the very few and why it has now become a Diaspora Project is clear for all Ethiopians. Our people back home are living in empty belly and fear. Ethiopians are forbidden to come out on street to show their grievances, a right to feed themselves and their children, live without fear.The West so called Aid to Ethiopia is to feed our people so that they will not revolt. Make no mistake Ethiopians have no less aspiration to that of Egyptians, Tunisians, Yemenis, Libyans and Bahrain for freedom. Poverty does not mean we have no aspiration for liberty. We showed to the whole world more than five years ago that our poverty is mainly a result of unaccountable rulers and real Growth and Transformation can only be achieved by empowering the Ethiopian people.

The supporters of this regime are now on mission to "empower" the Diaspora. Living in a democracy we know what freedom is, without political freedom there is no economic freedom. First and foremost the right to freely express yourself, the right of free assembly and the right to vote for your representatives on all stages of government.

Ethiopia is now Saudi Arabia without oil. The rulers are for life unchallenged and even cross borders to squash any protest that will undermine their hold on power, Saudi did it this month by going to Bahrain destroying the popular uprising. The Ethiopian regime crossed to Somalia on Christmas 2006 and kill a lot of Somalis on its two year occupation. The drum war against Eritrea at present is a continuation of that, destroy anything which threaten their hold to power. "Destroying" Diaspora, the voice of the voiceless Ethiopians, is the main agenda of the "Art Show".

Both these regimes are supported by USA previous and current administration. The West claims "national interest" in Persian Gulf and in Ethiopia they have a regime that contracted itself to the USA war to fight "Islamic Extremism" in Somalia . Eighty millions of Ethiopians do not deserve the freedom the Tunisians and Egyptians got by their popular uprising. The reason is Meles Zenawi is good for America even if it is bad for 80 million Ethiopians.

Like the Yemen people who are now more than a month on revolt they have to be slaughtered to keep the West backed Saleh on power as is called by Secretary of Defense, Bob Gates, in many occasions. West has national interest in Yemen and if that interest collides with the freedom of millions let it be. The value of freedom we dearly hold here in America is traded for tyranny, fighting few fringe "fanatics' who are flourishing under tyranny itself.

Make no mistake it is Saudi Arabia and Libya who exported fighters to fight USA in Iraq than any other country.Tyranny is not helping fighting any extremism, it is a breeding ground for many fanatics. September 11 is a good example for that, Saudi extremists attacked the wrong target. We have been saying that the West siding with the totalitarian regime of Ethiopia for two decades is a bad investment like it was exposed in Egypt.

Ethiopians are demanding freedom like Egyptians, Tunisians, Yemenis, Bahrain and Libyans. We have been calling on many times through writings and rallies. Our recent rally in New York last September at Columbia University denouncing the presence of Meles Zenawi was a success and we reached to the Colombian Community that giving platform for human right abusers in this age is shameful and should be condemned by all.

The April 9 rally in Harlem will educate the the Harlem community why we should not give platform to human right abusers. Had our people had such liberty no need for such rally.However, those who shut our people mouth in Ethiopia can not shut our mouth here because we are not afraid or intimidate by them.

The thousands who will come out this coming Saturday in Harlem and throughout America cities including Canada each of us is carrying the voice of hundred thousand of our people.We are proud of doing it. We will expose the "Growth and Transformation" fiasco in its true nature, "Greed and Transaction", selling the land of our country and Ethiopians, cheap "Transaction" driven by total Greed by very few tribal elites. We will not be part of such "Art Show" !!!!!!

Humanitarian Bombing Mission Accomplished ?

2011-03-28T06:21:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

President Obama has accomplished the "humanitarian bombing" that started a week ago on Libya against "Gaddafi forces". Gaddafi is still in power and the pickup warriors are moving unchallenged the Libyan desert from Benghazi to West and are knocking on Gaddafi's birthplace, Surt. It will be bombed to rubles for giving birth to Gaddafi the devil.

The famous George Bush speech from aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln under the banner of "Mission Accomplished" in May 2003 was made after George Bush toppled Saddam Hussein in six weeks spectacular air war followed by ground invasion and we know now that toppling Saddam was the easy part of the mission.

What is then is going to be Obama's tonight speech for Americans about "Mission Accomplished" ? If you heard his secretary of defense, Bob Gate, yes the mission to protect the people of Benghazi is now accomplished and no bird let alone Gaddafi's plane can fly now. The West air power had done its job and now time for the rebels to march to Tripoli.

Why not Obama wait until Gaddafi is toppled, captured or killed like George Bush did in Iraq ?. If you hear Bob Gates the answer is USA has no geopolitical interest in Libya, its interest is in Gulf area to protect the toppling of the Saudi Monarchy. In that sense the western mission is accomplished by diverting the attention from the Saudi occupation of Bahrain and the ongoing on crisis in Yemen where Bob Gates said USA has security interest.

Libya is the national interest of Europe and that is why Sarkozy was the main actor of this "humanitarian bombing" and the only leader who recognizes the Benghazi Transitional Council as a legitimate representative of the Libyan people. Wait a minute Obama has told Gaddafi to go too and how can he said mission accomplished ?

Here is Obama's credibility and some call it "USA prestige". If USA and the West stop this bombing short of toppling Gaddafi USA's prestige will be questioned and Americans will punish Obama for that if indeed Gaddafi survives until the 2012 election. We should not worry about that NATO will do the job and as Bob Gates said USA will help NATO by giving its "unique capability". Do not rule out especial commando right on Gadafi's bed room if he has any permanent bed room.

What Obama will not do as he said earlier is he will not send USA soldiers on a ground battle like George Bush did in Iraq. The commander in chief is now to declare "Mission Accomplished" tonight not from aircraft carrier from Libya Coast but from his White House.

Obama is fighting a war for European interest and bombing civilians from air without discrimination is a crime by any measurement. Libyans are dying, children, women. Tripoli is now under siege where is the humanitarian corridor for food and medicine ? Death by Gaddafi or Death from NATO in the days ahead do not make any difference at all. The irony is that the death we see daily in Yemen perpetuated by Western supported killer, Saleh and the aborting of popular uprising in Bahrain by the Saudi soldiers is now ignored by the world media. Do not count Ivory Coast, that is not even a national interest of France that exploited it since the colonial times. The Value of Ivorian lives is much lesser than the Libyan lives according to Sarkozy value of life index. Can we nominate Sarkozy for Nobel Peace/life Prize for his finding and accomplishment ?

Indeed the Mission of derailing the popular revolt in North Africa and Middle East might be accomplished for now make no mistake the "humanitarian bombing" was never a mission of USA. Obama was a supporting actor and he will now drop that role not to jeopardize his reelection campaign in 2012. Another Noble Prize, maybe ?

Main Actor Sarkozy, Supporting Actor Obama !!!!

2011-03-20T10:31:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

The weekend air attack led by French fighters followed by USA Tomahawk missile and the continuing bombardment of Libya's Gaddafi is not a humanitarian intervention on the behalf of Libyans as was billed by United Nations resolution led by President Sarkozy of France. France is the only country who recognized the Benghazi disorganized fighters as a legitimate Libyan government, this speaks volume for what this mission is all about.

This is a war for a regime change led by Sarkozy and Obama is a supporting fellow and promised not to send USA soldiers on the ground fight. But USA will do all the logistical work without which the French soldiers will not dare to touch Tripoli. Benghazi is now under the French control.

Obama knows that Americans have no appetite for another costly war therefore he is downplaying the USA role on this war, very short and limited. The poll by the FOX news this morning is a good reminder for Obama. More than sixty percent of Americans do not support this weekend war in Libya. This poll is a good indication that USA from its costly war in Afghanistan to topple Taliban who gave sanctuary for Osama Bin Laden and the Iraq war eight years ago to topple Saddam Hussein had cost America many lives and close to trillion dollar.

Americans do not support French led war. The French who took firm stand against the war to topple Saddam Hussein eight years ago are now leading a war to topple Gaddafi their Southern neighbor thinking that this will be a short war, a weekend war maybe. That might be one of the reasons this war started on this weekend before Obama travelled to South America,hoping that Gaddafi will leave before Obama returns.

The French knows that securing Benghazi is not their final objective. They are on a mission to topple Gaddafi within few weeks or month therefore they have to put their soldiers in thousands to do that job. After the bombardment of the air defense and the tanks and other heavy machines they will try to launch an amphibious assault on Tripoli possibly in a dark.

This Libyan military adventure is a gift from Sarkozy to boost the moral of the French people to be seriously considered as a power in the world. French audience is expected to see their young soldiers in Tripoli finishing Gaddafi off. The victory will be displayed on TV for French and non French speaking Africans that France is indeed not a small guy in the town but a force to be reckoned with. The French inferiority complex to Americans after USA toppled Saddam Hussein by spectacular air power is still fresh in many Europeans and indeed French mind. The French and Europeans who hated George Bush led war of the coalition of the willing that ended after eight years of bloody conflict have someone like Obama as a follower on their mission to fight their war in Libya.

This time the stage is reversed and we have a new actor Sarkozy of France and Obama president of USA as a supporting actor to topple Gaddafi in short order. The coalition call themselves coalition for " humanitarian mission " to save the people of Benghazi from Gaddafi forces who were close to take over the city.

The weekend war however was conducted on the coasts of Libya did not include Benghazi, the French controlled city, this is not by accident. The mission is not humanitarian at all it is a regime change and will keep on bombarding Tripoli and its surroundings for eventual ground assault. The French led forces would like to keep their causalities low for the eventual assault therefore they need USA to do the heavy job from air.

The battle for Tripoli will be bloody as indicated from Gaddafi. Arming the rebels and recruiting fighters in 24/7 in Benghazi is underway. Arm is getting to Benghazi through Egypt while no arm is allowed to reach Gaddafi. Gaddafi and his supporters have already opened up the arms depot to citizens to join the war against "crusaders" .

If the French ground forces are trapped in Tripoli it is the role of the supporting actor, Obama to conduct air attack if the conflict drags on as expected. There is a possibility of Somali type Apache down which will enrage the American public. Sarkozy's miscalculation will be known in a week or two.

For Obama putting USA in supporting role is an opportunity his opponents will exploit in the year 2012 election. A man who took power on a platform of change is now a " Weak Bush", not as a leader but a follower that is unacceptable for his supporters too. Americans do not like a weak president. Bush was a man who can walk the talk what we have now is a man who is not sure of himself. I am afraid his supporting actor role to topple Gaddafi is the worst move he made on his foreign policy so far. Who knows if things getting worst and lives of American soldiers are lost no one will forgive him. Bye Bye Obama !!!!

Pearl Square will survive Saudi's occupation !!!

2011-03-16T07:02:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

The Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC, which came into existence in 1981 during the Iraq and Iran bloody war is a collection of eight small countries who are seating down on half of the world oil reserve. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1991 claiming it as one of its provinces the GCC financed the liberation of Kuwait. That can be considered as one of its achievements in its 30 years beside financing the ten year war between Iraq and Iran, 1981-1991.

This time however the GCC threatened by popular uprising in the Middle East and North Africa is lashing out and invaded one of its members, Bahrain, last Monday. Saudi sent more than one thousand of its "liberators" to Bahrain. The popular uprising in Bahrain that call for freedom and accountability threatened all the GCC nations who are ruled by corrupt monarchs.

The Bahrain youth who camped at Pearl Square was under fire by Saudi soldiers last night. Bahrain is now under Saudi occupation like Kuwait in 1991 by Saddam Hussein, there is no difference at all. Saudi's are using helicopters, tanks to chase the protesters from Pearl Square and many were killed.

While the world is struggling to establish a No-Fly Zone over Libya's air space it seems the western powers have declared "No Protest Zone " in the GCC to safe guard the flow of oil. The Saudi invasion followed the recent Bob Gates Secretary of Defense of USA visit to Bahrain. Has USA given the green light for Saudi invasion ?, Sure !!!

The legitimate struggle of the people of Bahrain is now taken hostage to sectarian battle between Sunnis and Shias of the wider Muslim world. Iran which is ruling its Shias by force is accused of supporting the Bahrain uprising by the majority Shias calling for freedom and end of the Sunni monarchy. Iran rulers have nothing in common with popular uprising in Bahrain, the struggle for freedom and accountability. Iranian rulers are killing and jailing protesters like the Sunni monarchs in Bahrain too.

In fact the Sunni Monarchs of the GCC and Iran Shia dictatorship have one thing in common. Both are unelected corrupt dictatorship who wanted to stay in power by using Shias VS Sunnis card beyond their border. The west who is calling for "freedom" in Iran is saying no to the people of Bahrain in fact supporting the brutal crack down by their golden silence. No condemnation for the loss of lives in Bahrain.

The battle for Bahrain is now the last battle of the Gulf monarchs before they are thrown out like Ben Ali of Tunisia and Mubarak of Egypt. Saudi Arabia should have been condemned like Gaddafi if there was justice in our world. Gaddafi is killing its own people to stay in power what Saudi is doing is killing other people to stay in power. When we condone invasion for our own interest like it shows that our world is not only suffering from natural catastrophes we are witnessing in Japan but also from man made moral catastrophe.

The GCC should be called in its true name from its 30 years of survival. It is the" Gulf Corruption Council" that will do everything to keep the wealth of oil under the control of very few while the majority of the people do not deserve any dignity. The Saudi down payment of 37 billion to buy their people shows that these clubs of tyrants will do all, pay and kill to stay in power. They are the worst form of Gaddafi.

The people of Bahrain are paying a heavy price for standing for their rights while USA and Europeans as always looking for secure and cheap oil. The nuclear crisis in Japan will make oil the only best option for the near future. World is now scared of nuclear energy and those who control half of oil reserve the GCC nations have to be declared No Protest Zone.

Welcome to the GCC a club of few who are accountable to the rich nations of the world. The people of GCC will be paid or killed if they challenge the monarchs of the GCC. Three months of emergency is declared in Bahrain by Saudi occupation forces. All protests are forbidden and those who did not comply to the GCC tyrants will be dealt like they were dealt in Pearl Square last night from air and ground.

Pearl Square in Bahrain might be cleared from protesters using brute force but GCC led by Saudi Monarchy is now the number one enemy of the people of the Gulf nations and the struggle for freedom will continue. The talk of freedom by the west is truly exposed for what it is. It is about cheap oil controlled by tyrants who are killing people to keep their wealth and power.

Gaddafi must Leave who should stay ?

2011-03-11T06:51:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

It has been one month since Mubarak of Egypt forced to Leave following the Tahrir Popular Tsunami. Similar popular uprising has been going on in Yemen to remove the USA supported, self proclaimed, Al Qaeda fighter Saleh who has been in power for more than three decades. Yemenis like Egyptians are pressing their demand for Saleh to go while Saleh is calling for more talks with the protesters. Similar call by Mubarak was ignored by Egyptians until he finally was kicked out one month ago.

United States Ambassador in Yemen is supporting Saleh's call for "dialogue". Street protests which was lately supported by American administration in Egypt is not good in Yemen. The reason is not only for Yemen but it also destabilizes the Saudi monarchy who is trying to buy the shias which consist of ten percent of the population with its surplus cash thanks to high oil price.

USA will not allow the Saudi monarch to be toppled by popular uprising for that it has to fight the uprising out of Saudi's soil. Bahrain and Yemen both who have oppressed shias are danger for the Saudis. North of Yemen has been on armed revolt by shias who demand freedom and Saudi is siding with the Yemen tyrant to quash this rebellion out of fear of their own shias in the east of Saudi Arabia taking up arms.

The Saudi shias are calling today for the day of rage after the Friday prayer and if USA followed its wisdom in Yemen that is not good for the shias in Saudi Arabia, USA prefers "dialogue". Street protesters in Bahrain, Yemen and Saudi Arabia will topple the USA popped tyrants. It is better to buy time by unending dialogue sweetened by dollar like Saudi tried by down payment of 37 billion dollar. Can we call it, " No Protest Zone" like similar calls made to topple Gaddafi, "No Fly Zone".

While the media is concentrating on the "pickup revolution" of Libya the tyrants in Yemen, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are portrayed as "good tyrants" who are not killing from air like Gaddafi but can do the job from the ground. What is the difference of gunning down protesters from air or land ?

Gaddafi was told by Obama to Leave but is not going any where in fact digging for eventual showdown with the West. If Saleh is encouraged to stay why not Gaddafi ? Obama puts itself in a very awkward position. It seems to me only Sarkozy of France who recognized the Benghazi interim administration is doing something a little bit for now. Is there a relationship between Obama's call for Gaddafi to Leave and Sarkozy's recognition of anti Gaddafi administration. Sure one is talking the other is acting. MacDonald and French fries Sarkozy's style.

The pickup revolution of Libya is a disorganized military assault which is neither dialogue which USA supports in case of Yemen nor upheaval like Egypt and Tunisia which the West was forced to accept because defending the dying regime was impossible. Large desert of Libya will not be a picnic for France if it chooses to arm the anti Gaddafi opposition. All Libyans pro and anti Gaddafi say no to foreign forces and France can only go as "liberator" by transforming the pickup revolution into a well organized desert war supported by air.

Europe has big interest in Libya because of its proximity and its oil resource. Oil under the control of the armed opposition will be protected from air and land to reach its European customer in short time. However, divided Libya will be another Somalia and it is possible especially Egypt will be sucked into this conflict on the way short circuiting the Tahrir uprising.

The Arabs have been cheated by their corrupt rulers to focus on issues outside their borders, Middle East and Afghanistan for years. Egyptians have to empower themselves before empowering their neighbors. Egypt army as it promised has to finish the transition period and go to its barrack. It is only democratically elected government that can decide on policies related to its neighbor.

Libya's pickup revolution has already failed and it will not have any life without outside military involvement. The Arab tyrants wants this crisis to divert attention from their own and discourage their people from not going to streets. Had the Libyans not resorted to warfare on pickup truck and blame black Africans for their problem they would have got many support like the Egyptians and Tunisians. Blame themselves for their military assault on vast desert with no logistical preparation. This is also a result of 42 years of ethnic division perpetuated by Gaddafi and lack of a well disciplined army like that of Egypt and to some extent in Tunisia.

Nonviolent struggle !!

2011-02-28T07:11:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

Yesterday I was on pro TPLF Paltalk room, Civility Room, in the morning where I heard views of the people who wanted to keep TPLF/EPRDF, the majority, and those of us who wanted change, close to two hundred people attended. A woman, Ogadeni/Ethiopian, with fluent Amharic, described her feeling like some of us why Meles has to go. She described the barbaric atrocity of Ogadenis suffer under Meles security forces. I challenged Meles Zenawi and his Western supporters to recognize before it is too late the right of Ethiopians to assemble freely and what we heard from Meles supporters is not at all encouraging. I also called for the army not to shoot protesters. Will President Obama be with the side of the Ethiopian people ? Time will tell that.

Any kind of gathering is illegal for Meles supporters because rallies in a "Developmental State" like Ethiopia will distract people from developmental path. Jawar Mohamed's piece today on non violent struggle articulated in detail how the non violent struggle should be coordinated and sustained to topple dictators. Meles Zenawi's regime surely is ready to lock up young non Tigreans in mass to preempt this non violent struggle and also to divide people, Tigrans VS others. I wish Jawar commented what we should do in such scenario. His analysis of non violent struggle and what we heard from Eyasu Alemayehu, EPRP leadership, in ECADF Room more than one thousand attendants, yesterday afternoon, is almost identical. Most of us who need change, the young and old, are now speaking in one voice that itself is a victory for our struggle.

The likes of Seye, Lidetu, both Hailus, Merara are hurdles for such struggle in fact will be used by Meles Zenawi. I totally agree with Eyasu Alemayehu the irrelevance of these people and their organizations for non violent struggle, Enough is Enough/Beka. AEUP, UDJP and MEDREK's past record on peaceful struggle to challenge the regime is None and has become even a joke in Western circles, to expect different now is not at all helpful. We have not heard different either rather than preparing for the coming fake election in 2015. I will appreciate in the future Jawar's view on the so called "Election Advocates " who are supported by the West to take the pressure from their ally Meles Zenawi. What Eyasu called them, Fire Brigades of TPLF, "Esate Adega".

My disagreement with Jawar on his recent DW short interview has now rested for good. It was not a personal attack rather questioning his tactic and strategy for a regime change based on a short interview he gave. I and many of us now clearly see the difference between Jawar and Lidetu Ayalew. Jawar is indeed for regime change while the so called legal oppositions in Ethiopia are for Election Business without any regime change. Meles will allow these "oppositions/leaders" to get few seats to bring back the parliament of 2005-2010. However, Ethiopia's problem will not be tackled from ten minutes speech in the name of our people by the very few. Those speeches fell on deaf ear and TPLF/EPRDF ruled as if they were not there. The current "opposition" leaders have also lost any legitimacy in the eye of our people. Leaders who are scared of bringing their supporters out for any cause are not to be called leaders at all. No one is waiting for 2015 fake election, we have to mobilize our people for Right to Assemble and Speak Now !!!!!

Re: Open letter to Russian TV in USA

2011-02-26T20:10:00.001-08:00

Dear RT USA producers,

I was watching RT USA news at 11am EST this morning. The RT journalist had discussion with a Libyan expatriate. The journalist was asking his guest about "black" mercenaries who are gunning down Libyans. His guest explained to him this is not black VS white but criminals who are supporting Gadaffi.

RT journalist is repeating what we heard from Al Jazeera English accusing "black mercenaries from Africa " killing for Gadaffi. Blacks from Sub Sahara Africa are paraded on live TV accused of being mercenaries. Such labelling of Blacks have now put all Black Africans in great danger in fact many are killed.

I heard family members who went out to buy food beaten up and dragged to be killed by Libyan mobs in Benghazi and Tripoli. To be black in Libya is a death sentence that is unacceptable. Responsible journalist should refrain from labelling "black" as mercenaries. Today on BBC Worldhaveyoursay program the Ghanaian foreign minster was asked by Ghanaians whose lives are endangered never come out to buy food for their families fearing beating and killing in Tripoli.

I am asking RT like I asked Al Jazeera not to inflame the situation by accusing the black race as mercenaries. I challenge you to accuse the mercenaries from East Europe, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt to label as "Whites". The fact of the matter is South Libya is inhabited by black people who are Libyans. Are you taking away their citizenship ? Are they considered as Libyans or only refereed as blacks ? This is indeed double tragedy for all black daily laborers from sub Sahara Africa who are treated as less than human. What a shame if this uprising ended by dividing Libyans by ethnicity and color that Gadaffi used effectively to rule for 42 years.

I wrote two days ago to human right organizations pleading on behalf of fellow black Africans who are left on their own while the rest of the world is picking up their own people. African countries except Ghana are doing nothing. Shame on them too.

Thanks,

Tedla Asfaw

New York City

Ugly racism in the Libya uprising live on TV !!!

2011-02-24T10:52:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

The ugly face of racism once again show its face on world stage in the week long uprising to topple Muammar Gadaffi. Reports are coming suggesting foreign "mercenaries" fighting for Muammar Gadaffi, most of them black Africans. We watched on Al Jazeera a black man beaten up and dragged to his death. On this confusion many countries, Europeans, Americans and Asians are taking their own citizens out of Libya by air, sea and land. Where is the African Union ?

Most workers are seen crossing Libya to Egypt or Tunisia but we never saw anyone going to South, Niger, Chad or Sudan for that matter to Algeria. Most of the media coverage is on what is going on in the East which is now free from Gadaffi's control. Why not we see black Africans running for their safety ? As we heard it from DW Amharic today most of them are hiding in their houses because it is dangerous for blacks to come out because they are considered by most Libyans as mercenaries.

This indeed is very tragic. Most of Ethiopians are refugees in Libya.Ethiopian women working as maids currently are under the care of the households they live seems they are safe for now. That as well is not guaranteed.Due to public pressure they might be pushed to face street justice including rape..

The passport displayed on Al Jazeera includes many passports carried by Ethiopians. From DW interview we heard most of them were dragged from their apartments beaten up and showed to the world as mercenaries. We also heard many Ethiopians killed by angry mob in Benghazi.

Muammar Gadafi haters are taking revenge on black Africans for money Gadafi threw for many African dictators. The mob attacked and killed many Africans including Ethiopians for being only black. This is not acceptable and we have to alert Human Right, and Amnesty International to investigate all who are paraded as "mercenaries" on Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera should also tone down unconfirmed report and endanger black Africans at this dangerous moment. Ethiopians have no representative government who cares for our refugees. If in fact Ethiopia sends mercenaries Meles Zenawi will never admit it because it will accelerate his own downfall.

However, Ethiopians in Diaspora have responsibility to represent fellow Ethiopians at this deadly moment and rally behind them, they are crying for help. We know no one is in charge of Libya right now.It is street rule until all settled down I am afraid this uprising will take the lives of many black Africans including many Ethiopians. If there are "mercenaries" it seems to me now they are only black Africans, that is absurd. Gadaffi's money can buy a lot of mercenaries, black,white, brown and yellow. Who is now flying Gadaffis plane and helicopters, are they also black Africans ?

Muammar Gadaffi is ready to take Libya down with him, unfortunately, many black Africans who are caught in this mess will go down with him. Their death is only because for being black in a wrong country. The tragedy is most of them left their country for safety and faced detention and racism in Libya.Most who were in detention their situation might even be worst. We have obligation to speak on their behalf by sharing any information we got about them.

The lynching and killing that is going on against black Africans in Libya will sure further divide the Arabs from the rest of Africa. The Arab League should speak against racist killing and accusations.They should sanction and condemn not only Gadaffi but also all who are killing black Africans. President Obama who urged African Union to play its role to stop the killing in Libya should be informed also that black Africans are a target of racist killing in Libya by Libyans mob.

Jawar Mohammed as a defender of Meles Zenawi ?

2011-02-20T18:01:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

I heard Jawar Mohammed with Lidetu Ayalew and Dr. Hailu Araya discussing on DW, Feb 20, the role of opposition parties in TPLF ruled Ethiopia.I totally disagree with Jawar accusing the oppositions for not using the "narrow opening" given by TPLF. Where is the right of our people for free assembly, speech ? Is Jawar blaming Ethiopians for shutting their mouth too ? It is really sad defending TPLF at this moment of popular uprising in North Africa, East Africa and Middle East, when the masses rise up breaking decades of fear to topple tyrants and be in charge of their own destiny.

It is too little too late to beg Meles Zenawi as Jawar did. The mass uprising is the only option. We are not waiting for the next fake election in 2015 as suggested by Jawar. He is trying to defend the dying regime of Meles Zenawi that will soon be dumped to the dustbin of history like Ben Ali, Mubarak soon Muammar Gadaffi the butcher of Benghazi who is now on the genocide mission to take down Libya with him. Only few cry for the demise of Meles Zenawi. Jawar is on this camp unfortunately. Muammar Gadaffi will have also some who cry for him,however, the Libyans liberation is not far and Ethiopians are not far too. We can and we will !!!!

Tahrir Square spirit turns to Bahrain's Death Square !!!!

2011-02-17T07:32:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

The Bahrain Sunni minority tribal regime sent its tribal killers last night to shoot and kill protesters at Pearl Square which is in fact nothing like its name but a Death Square. The youth of Bahrain who are calling for freedom and end of discrimination for a majority of Shias by a minority Sunni Monarchy were motivated by the Tahrir Square uprising. They peacefully gathered,children, women, young and old for another peaceful night.

Bahrain sent its security forces which are recruited from foreign nationals to keep the two hundred years Monarchy alive into deadly rampage similar to the Tiananmen Square killing in China in the 1980s. These were not peoples army like Egypt or Tunisia who hold on their guns and never fired to the people. Bahrain security forces are hired killers loyal to the King and the king who is billed as a reformer by the West is now naked for all to see that he is just another oil crazed tyrant who care less for human life.

Bahrain is the home of US navy that controls the flow of oil in that region. The wider Arab public once again learnt that USA cares less for freedom than cheap oil and base to secure its own national interest. The American Journalist from ABC who was beaten up last night at the Pearl Square described the brutality of the security forces and we will soon be hearing from USA the usual call for peaceful rally,protecting journalists but not a call for accountability. We would like to hear from now on for Obama condemning the Bahrain security forces and call not to shoot again like he demanded from Egyptian army.

The doctor from the hospital was describing the ammunition that were used to kill four of the people and injured hundreds of them on BBC. The bullets once entered body will be broken into tiny pieces to cause maximum damages. We would like to know who gave the order to use such ammunition on peaceful innocents ?

The barbaric nature of the minority tribal regime use of force in Pearl/Death Square in Bahrain is similar to the minority regime of Meles Zenawi atrocity in 2005 after it lost election in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The ammunition then was given by USA and more than 200 of our people lost their lives by close range shooting. We saw the pictures of those killed and the pictures are still fresh in our mind.

The Bahrain Monarchy has lost whatever legitimacy it claims from now on. The popular revolt by the masses will continue until the people get freedom. The Popular Tsunami that started in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, Libya crossing Bahrain and will go to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Monarchy across the border might be behind the brutal tactic used by Bahrain because of fear of similar uprising by the Shias in its own country.

The freedom train will not stop until it reaches its goal. Arabs deserve to live in dignity. Clinging to power claiming divinity, fake election will be the thing of the past. Freedom is not an American or European value it is human value. We all would like to choose our own leaders and decide to choose our own friends.

Ethiopia's Ethnic Prison will be destroyed by popular multi ethnic uprising !!!!

2011-02-16T07:40:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

I read an article on Daily Nation, Wednesday Feb.16, 2011 titled "Ethiopia's bold ethnic-based policies ended decades of bitter conflicts". For those who closely follow Ethiopia, ethnic conflicts in Eastern and Southern Ethiopia of Ogaden and Oromia region in fact have increased since TPLF/EPRDF consolidated its power in mid 1990s.

In the honeymoon years of early 1990s OLF the Oromo Liberation Front and ONLF the Ogaden National Liberation Front were part of the transition process in writing the constitution without popular participation that legalized ethnic federalism including cessation the first of its kind in Africa. The ruling TPLF which claims to represent the Tigray region knows very well that power only comes by controlling the rich natural resources of South Ethiopia. It has exclusively exploited these resources by organizing the TPLF ethnic wings like OPDO, ANDM, etc. These clients of TPLF have no popular support as it was proven on the stolen election of 2005 and 2010.

When OLF and ONLF challenged the TPLF regime in mid 1990s what they got was not ethnic empowerment the piece on this article claimed but ethnic total war on them and the people they claim represent. The Oromos and Somalis who do not subscribe to the TPLF ethnic domination were killed and imprisoned. The testimony for this ethnic barbarism can be found by visiting the largest Oromo and Somali's refugees all over the world.

TPLF/EPRDF ethnic based federalism is a way of ruling diverse countries like Ethiopia by building suspicion walls among people while the new rulers who are above any region/Kilil can exploit the rich natural resources of our country to enrich themselves. Fascist Italy tried it on its five year occupation of Ethiopia in the 1930s.Moreover, the two decades of such ethnic federalism brought us the few connected TPLFites who claim to represent the people of Tigray from Zero to tons of Wealth.

Foreign aid which is pumped to Ethiopia around two billion a year did not make any miracle for our people. More than ten million people are still on food aid. Hunger is the only thing which has no ethnic component in present day Ethiopia. It is an equalizer in all ethnic regions. The multi ethnic capital of Ethiopia Addis Ababa's population is now tripling because of hunger,rural poverty and displacement of farmers whose land is sold to foreign landlords as a source of fast cash for TPLF, The Lord of Ethnic Federalism. Addis which is a show case for our rich and famous ethnic rulers and those who come for false hope are living side by side. The homeless and beggars who are in hundreds of thousands hardly to miss for any visitor including the writer. They are multi ethnic casualties of ethnic federalism partly.

Make no mistake on the early years of ethnic federalism many poor Amharas were killed by TPLF ethnic wings and forced to leave the land their ancestors lived for centuries. TPLF/EPRDF had ignited its Hutu VS Tutsis war way before the Rwanda genocide. However, the Ethiopian people were not part of this war and ethnic cleansing on the level of Yugoslavia had failed to materialize.

This article rosy picture of ethnic federalism under TPLF/EPRDF has wisely avoided who the real power holder on the present day so called Federal Ethiopia. Power is on the hands of few people, TPLF who claim to represent the people of Tigray. The rest is pure ethnic cosmetics. The May 2005 election had given its verdict on this failed policy of ethnic federalism because it is neither ethnic nor federalism. It is power and resources for the very few and the people they claim representing are not even a beneficiary of this accumulation of power and wealth.

Ethiopia is a home of nations and nationalities and their aspiration to empower themselves in united Ethiopia has been hijacked since 1991. The million people march in May 2005 in Addis Ababa had made it clear for all that fifteen years of ethnic federalism experiment was rejected. Since then however Ethiopia is a prison for all those who want to rule themselves and empower their people in a free and transparent election. It is only in a country where people are free to assemble, speak and write can empower themselves by voting for accountable regime. Ethnic based federalism will be put for referendum in a democracy and what we have to do first,however, is remove the ethnic warlords from Ethiopia by multi ethnic mass uprising. Yes we can and we will !!!!

Egypt uprising is our model to bring down Ethiopia's Mubarak !!!!

2011-02-11T10:34:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

This is another number 11 for most of the world but it is Feb. 11, 2011 that brought the Western financed 30 year dictatorship of Hoseni Mubarak to its knee. At this moment I am joining Egyptians in celebration and I tell them that I am proud of them. The mass uprising that started eighteen days ago and the determination of the youth of Egypt spending day and night at Tahrir Square not giving its number one demand the resignation of Hoseni Mubarak is realized today after it was dashed last night by Hoseni Mubarak empty pride that drove many Egyptians angry to come back for another day of protest and defiance.

However, the 20 second statement more than one hour ago by the Vice President about the resignation of Hoseni Mubarak and hand over power to the army sent millions throughout Egypt in huge celebration. Not only Egyptians many Africans and Middle Eastern countries which are now suffering under Western financed tyranny celebrate with them. They are learning from Egypt youth experience and will bring popular revolt to their own countries.

My country Ethiopia is a good candidate for that. We have twenty years of Western financed tyranny run by Meles Zenawi and Ethiopians who match in number with Egyptians but far behind in their developmental stage by any measurement can topple Ethiopia's Mubarak, Meles Zenawi in short order. The time we spent lobbying on Western streets and embassies have brought us only contempt.

Egyptians did it by breaking their fear and fortunately they have an army that did not stand on their way. Ethiopians have no national army comparable to Egypt. The top army officers are standing for their tribal loyalty and they are not going to help us topple Meles Zenawi brutal regime the worst form of Mubarak.

My hope is we can get huge faction of the army which are more than ninety percent of the army to stand with millions of our people when the uprising started any day and time. The poor soldiers have no interest defending this regime and we should work with them at all levels. These are poor young people who took the job for a living.

The armed nationalist groups like OLF and ONLF have responsibility not to exploit such uprising for their own narrow goals. The good thing is we are hearing from OLF high officials that what they want is to be part of a transition to prepare our people for free and fair election. Free United Ethiopia will not be anti nations and nationalities like TPLF is preaching.

As I write this piece Egyptians are celebrating for the first time without any fear and they know that there is a long way to go until they establish a government which is accountable to them not to foreign interests. One thing is true they will never be silenced again by brute force like they were for the last 30 years.

The next battle is the battle of ideas and I am sure that Egypt with seven thousand years civilization can overcome their recent fifty years or more dictatorship which retarded their growth and shine like their ancestors. Ethiopia which has more than three thousand years of civilization which failed to join the modern age under tyrannical regimes will learn from Egypt and get their freedom in the year of freedom, 2011. Ethiopia's Mubarak has to go by mass uprising !!!!

Ethiopian Asylum Seekers in Oslo, Norway !!!

2011-02-09T09:09:00.001-08:00

Prime Minster of Norway,

Dear Prime Minster,

I grew up in Addis Ababa and had contact with the Norwegian missionary in my neighborhood. I still remember the service the Norwegian missionaries gave to our neighborhood in the 1970s before the 1974 Ethiopian revolution.However, I had not a chance to visit Norway when I was a student in Belgium, 1985-1987 to see how Norwegians live and what made them kind to fellow human beings.

I have been granted political asylum in United States since 1989 but never went back to Ethiopia after the fall of the military dictatorship of Mengistu Hailemariam. Ethiopia under Meles Zenawi in fact break a record for sending the young educated people out of Ethiopia for the lack of basic freedom, right to assemble, write and speak. We can say without any exaggeration that Ethiopia is a country not to return to but to run away from for most of the young educated people.

The news of Ethiopian asylum seekers who fled the Meles Zenawi regime threatened by your government to be sent back to Ethiopia is incomprehensible to most of us who are following it closely. Ethiopians have staged a hunger strike on harsh weather condition in Oslo and I am afraid lives might be lost unless you intervene kindly. Norway is an old friend of Ethiopia and I want you to give the asylum seekers legal protection.

I want to assure you that the estimated one million refugees in the diaspora will go back to Ethiopia when our people get back their dignity after they remove Meles Zenawi 's led ethnofascist dictatorial regime that has been financed by the West including Norway for the last two decades.

Regimes come and go what will remain is the historical relationship between the good people of Norway and the Ethiopian people. Ethiopians love their country and have never stopped worrying about their people and try to help our people struggle by informing the people of the Western countries. The last week Munich Ethiopians protest estimated to be more than one thousand is one of the recent effort by the Ethiopian diaspora

The sad reality is the Western leaders took our shyness as a sign of endorsement of their failed policy towards our country. If it takes our personal sacrifice to get your policy review we will be doing it and Ethiopians in Oslo are doing it right now, lives will be lost on the process. Liberty and freedom demand that unfortunately.

Sincerely,

Tedla Asfaw

USA

Is Tahrir Square closer to Munich for German Amharic ?

2011-02-06T12:38:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

I followed today's German and VOA Amharic both did not mention about the huge rally organized in Munich by Ethiopians more than one thousand of them to denounce Meles Zenawi. Was it not news worthy for the DW people ? Or is it censored by the German government.

Both German and VOA covered widely the huge rally in Cairo as it should be but ignored the rally especially DW in its own backyard. VOA Amharic correspondent in Germany also failed to ignore one of the biggest demo in Europe on Saturday Feb. 5. Is it for lack of information about the rally ?

Can VOA do the same for the coming rally in D.C. this coming Monday and just ignore it due to pressure from the State Department ?

German government if it is indeed in business of controlling the news it did not like then we should organize a rally to denounce its undemocratic behavior with the tax payers money.

I hope VOA will cover the coming rally and give some explanation why it ignored the Munich huge rally. The good news is this news is covered by ESAT and now has become a motivation force for our young to repeat the Tahrir Square in Addis Ababa.

I congratulate all who came out as one waving different flags but united to remove Meles Zenawi to take back Ethiopia our common motherland. This rally has much in a common with a rally in New York City in September 2010. Joint rally by all is a way forward. The issue is one and the same get our country back to debate our future freely without anyone acting like a police. The days of Meles Zenawi is numbered we have to remain united in action.

Mubarak unleash his thugs and supporters to take over Tahrir Square !!!!

2011-02-02T06:39:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

As I am writing this piece I am Watching Al Jazerra English on line and what I am witnessing right now is sadly will be remembered as a time and day Egyptians popular revolt was sabotaged by Mubarak's thugs and supporters. The huge million people rally we witnessed yesterday that was peaceful Tsunami of People who said no to Mubarak's three decades of tyranny was not at all satisfied by his last night speech, not going for another election , set up in motion for "orderly transfer" and "free and fair " election in next fall in September.

Mubarak's "patriotic" words, "I am a soldier and I fought for this country and I will only die in Egypt "seems a line that mobilized his supporters. Some even say they are only just patriotic not even Mubarak supporters. I am not sure about that. The peaceful mass uprising participants were attacked by Mubarak's supporters, stone were flying even we saw people with camels charging and knocking down people children, women and the elderly.

Is this stability the West was calling for ? It is indeed a sad morning for all of us who were following the week long uprising throughout Egypt and especially the huge crowd of at Tahrir Square day and night, women, children, young and old. There was no single incident and those who happened to be out today to say that they are not at all going until Mubarak step down were attacked.

As of now we have not heard from President Obama. One retired Egyptian General was begging Al Jazzera English to contact the Obama office and to let the president condemn this escalation and possible bloodbath. The army up to now is trying to separate the pro Mubarak from anti-Mubarak. It failed to defend the defenseless people like it did defend the Mubarak palace from angry crowd who were to march to his palace yesterday.

The Pro Mubarak groups are knocking everyone on the way to take over the Tahrir Square. Rocks are flying and I wonder how many people are going to be injured and even killed. The peaceful uprising is now turned into bloodshed by Mubarak thugs. If the West has any credibility left it is this time to call for Mubarak to step down because he has divided Egypt and responsible for the coming Instability in Egypt. Egypt is now under military rule who swear not to fire to people but witnessing innocent people knocked down close to their tanks by thugs.

The fact of the matter is among the pro Mubarak supporters there were polices joining the rally to punish the anti-Mubarak supporters. The battle to takeover the Tahrir Square is still underway as of this moment. One thing which will remain for all pro democracy supporters of the Egyptian uprising all over the world is Mubarak has survived this uprising because of the West standing with him.

America will go to war to topple a dictator like Saddam Hussein but it also stands with their man like Mubarak who worked for their interest at the expense of their people. it is sad but a reality. I wonder how many people in Egypt for that matter in the Arab world turns into anti-America by President Obama inaction. His flowery words about freedom and democracy will be known for what it is but the spirit of Tahrir Square will energize all of us who are struggling to topple western supported tyranny in our own country.

Save Ethiopian Refugees in Cairo !!!!

2011-01-31T09:30:00.001-08:00

Ambassador Shoukry,

Washington, D.C.

Dear Ambassador,

The first time I saw you was yesterday on ABC program. I know you will be very busy this time because of the ongoing crisis in Egypt and my email might not be too important to reach to your attention. But I do believe that as your neighbor and an Ethiopian residing in New York I was convinced to write this note.

Few minutes ago I heard the sad situation of fellow Ethiopian refugees residing in Cairo. Women and children are huddling together and with the help of Egyptian neighbors are surviving gangs and rapists at present. We are hearing also women are raped and some are kidnapped. Their call to UN was not helpful at all because no one was in office.

Who is going to help our people when even in peaceful time their own so called "Embassy of Ethiopia" never take care of Ethiopians. It is only you who can make a difference for the poor Ethiopians who are crying and begging for help. You know the neighborhood of Cairo where poor refugees mostly reside.

I have confidence you will do the right thing and give protection for the abandoned Ethiopians in Cairo at this dangerous time.

Sincerely,

Tedla Asfaw

Walking, protesting like Egyptians in 2008!!

2011-01-30T09:52:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

I watched a brave woman(Aljazerra April 6) on the street of Cairo saying no to Mubarak's tyranny supporting the stay home strike called by Egyptian workers who are now living on a USA $2 per day and can not afford to buy bread for their families due to high inflation.

The stay home strike that was called by workers and later on communicated to students and the masses on Internet by bloggers was a success.The streets of Cairo were quiet except few protesters that were matched in number with armed security personnel who were seen beating women, children and old people.

The government of Egypt claimed the "illegal" strike was a failure and most people went to their normal business,however, we saw empty streets in Cairo and we know the strike was a success and did send a message and shock wave to Mubarak that his days are numbered.

The people who were on the streets were angered by the regime for not allowing them to protest and vent their frustration peacefully. We all know that country like Egypt and Ethiopia who are the staunch supporters of the "war on terrorr" are good in terrorizing their citizens and locking opponents first fabricate charges later and convict them for long term prison.

Moreover, this protest is coming before the Municipal election in Egypt this week and the regime has already locked up opposition supporters like the Muslim Brotherhood who have wide support in the poor neighborhoods that won substantial seat before.

The Muslim Brotherhood has boycotted this coming election because the regime has already learned from its previous mistakes and fielded many of its candidates to take the municipal seat and it seems to me that Mubarak and Melese Zenawi are following the same script in conducting "fair and free election".

Both regimes deny the right to protest and accuse the protesters as outlaws who wanted to destabilize their countries. Both wanted to rule forever. Mubarak wanted to transfer power to his son and Melese is not sure when to transfer power and the closest one maybe his wife, Emebete Azeb. The possible alternative is to initiate a debate within TPLF not "to waste the brain power of our beloved leader, Melese Zenawi" is to make him a president of Ethiopia by amending the TPLF's Constitution in his own parliament.

The economic hardship of about 40% of Egyptians who live below poverty line is a good testament for the failed Mubarak tyranny and this can be said the same if not more for Ethiopia where food price is sky rocketing and Melese Zenawi who blame the economic growth of China and India together with home merchants for inflating prices.

The west including Saudi can help subsidize food in Egypt and avoid the mass uprising which is surely to come. Ethiopia is already benefiting from the USA subsidized wheat and the question is for how long? As we see the war in Iraq and the recession in USA is not encouraging to put hope on the handout from USA.

The seventy million Egyptians and seventy million Ethiopians have been ruled for their long history by autocrats supported by west and the recent talk of "democracy and freedom" by Bush and Condi remains empty rhetoric and the people of Egypt has taken a lead by going out on the streets and demand their democracy and freedom this past week,.

Ethiopians should do no less. We have to follow the Egyptian example and call a stay home strike and boycott the government organized make-believe election for this month. We know their is sacrifice to be paid and we also know millions of our people have no dignified life to live for.

Blue Print for Our Struggle !!

2011-01-28T05:53:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

I have been reading Ato Abebe Gelaw's writings for sometimes but I can say "Bread to the hungry, land to the tiller" posted on many sites including www.addisvoice.com was timely. Someone should translate it into Amharic, Oromiffa, Tigrina, Somali etc to share it with the masses. I suggest for those of us who are in the diaspora and deeply care about our people to endorse it and make it our blue print for our struggle.

Once we endorsed this blue print we will challenge all to make it a reality. We will work to realize this clear goal. The cry for bread and land to the people as it was in 1974 is a cause that our abused people back home could come out in millions like they did on Miazia 30 more than five years ago. They cry Enough is Enough !!!! and the popular uprising was sabotaged by USA, Europeans and the coward opposition leaders.

The regime in power can be defeated by popular uprising. We did it in 1974 and we can do it again in a short order. I commend the writer for diagnosing the two decade sickness and leadership failure to unseat the ethnofascist regime of TPLF and for prescribing the correct medicine. We have now a Blue Print to take us to victory. Victory is not far !!!!

Obama on Africa !!!

2011-01-26T09:36:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

Obama mentioned Sudan's referendum on one line and Tunisia uprising just few words that is what he said about Africa on his State of The Union Address yesterday. In fact he wisely avoided Egypt even if he is aware of the anti-Mubarek demo yesterday. Congress did not show any interest either as wee saw from the reaction.

The Tunisian uprising has not achieved its goal of removing the tyranny. Kicking Ben Ali and arresting some of his allies while keeping the system all together is not change at all. The proposed election six months after unless it is free and fair will bring back the former regime with name change only.

The West is worried about such upheaval coming to Saudi tyranny too. Yesterday's very limited support for freedom in Africa in USA State of The Union Address by Obama is not encouraging. Africa is now left for Africans and we have to go to street for change. Fake elections in Africa is over. Obama is just another American leader that cares for USA interest.This time it is told by someone who looks like us.

Ethiopians Protest Rally in D.C.!!!

2011-01-23T10:27:00.001-08:00

The Willard Washington, D.C.
USA.

Public Relation

Dear Barbara,

Ethiopian community is outraged when we hear the unelected regime members of the Ethiopian Embassy planned to organize a party at your location on Jan. 25. It makes it even worst because it is in the month when we celebrate Martin Luther King struggle for freedom and equality.

In Ethiopia freedom and equality are used only for propaganda purpose to divide our people while the very few which are connected to the unelected regime live a life of the rich and the famous similar to America. Millions of Ethiopians,however, are living on food aid from USA.

According to the recent poll organized by foreign group, close to 50 percent of the educated young would like to leave the country for lack of freedom. Ethiopia is much worst than Tunisia. Ben Ali the tyrant who is hiding in Saudi Arabia is not as worst as Meles Zenawi.

Ethiopians back home are not even allowed radio programs originated from D.C, VOA. How could we allow members of the Ethiopian regime to party in D.C. ? How could you give your space to these kind of people, Seyum Mesfin and Girma Biru ?

I am asking you to cancel the reservation or be prepared for a boycott of your hotel by Ethiopians in the future. Our protest in front of your premise will expose not only members of the criminal regime but also those who are doing business with them.

Sincerely,

Tedla Asfaw

Ethiopia's Western Boundary ??

2011-01-12T08:10:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

I still remember Gaston a South Sudanese who went with me in 1970s, a high school in Addis, Asfaw Wossen. He spoke better English than me. We used to go to piaza where he introduced me to his favorite meal, "Lazagna". He was well dressed and smart guy. However, I did not talk to him about his birth place or how he came to Addis for schooling. We just were happen to go to same class and we got along very well.

More than three decades later I do not know where Gaston is, if he is still alive. But his people are now voting to become the youngest nation in Africa and I wish them all the best. Both North and South Sudan have long border with Ethiopia and the border delineation like old African colonial borders brought unnecessary conflicts and tensions. Both Haile Selassie and Mengistu worked closely with Khartoum regimes with no result.

Beshir, Meles Zenawi's ally reached a secret deal few years ago, and was awarded huge land from North Metema to Gambella, 1200 km long x 50 km, parts of that deal covered South Sudan. This secret deal is not only illegal but also criminal. Any deal which is not transparent and that does not include the local people is not accepted by the Ethiopian people.

When the secret deal was uncovered, Ethiopians in the Diaspora organized and set up a Border Committee to expose all the activities carried out behind the peoples back. This committee prepared petition to be signed and sent to international organizations. Meles Zenawi finally admitted in his rubber stamp parliament that there was a deal and no land was given to Sudan.

In fact he said that he gave what was Sudan to Sudan. There were Ethiopians who were displaced and kidnapped by Khartoum militias. Some were interviewed in VOA from their prison in Khartoum. Since then the tension has been high in border areas in the North West and the coming of independent South Sudan I am afraid will encourage North Sudan to take fertile land of Western Ethiopia to compensate the land it lost in South.

South Sudan has to be careful not to be trapped by TPLF dominated regime of Ethiopia and start animosity to the people who are living in border area. In Ethiopia there is no accountability and transparency. Huge land in Gambella and BninShanguel is now transferred under long lease to foreign land owners.

The people of Gambella and Benishanguel are protesting and conflict is certain which will affect directly South Sudan. South Sudan should not side with the Ethiopian regime who is terrorizing its people to submit to foreign landlords and be enslaved on their soil. Reports are coming that many are killed in Gambella and those who exposed the regime on media like BBC and VOA are running for their lives.

The friendship of Ethiopians in individual as well as neighborly basis is beyond regimes. Regimes can come and go but our people have to overcome conflicts that are designed to divide us while our masters are profiting from the natural resources of our land. I would like South Sudan to be prosperous,democratic and transparent nation which will be an example for its neighbors that are currently run by warlord mafia types. The young nation should not be part of any war with the Ethiopian people.

TPLF and Shabia are Strategic Allies !!!!

2011-01-06T07:57:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

Shabia and TPLF strategic goal of destroying Ethiopia remains unchanged. After the end of the Badme war except tactical difference between Isaias and Meles nothing has changed. Both are working to dismember Ethiopia by creating war condition in Western and Eastern part of Ethiopia. Both TPLF and Shabia promised not to repeat the Badme type of war which brings war close to them.

The TPLF and Shabia close ally Sudan will be divided in to North and South Sudan. This is a sad day for Meles and Isaias beside Egypt and of course Sudan. The Western part of huge land of Ethiopia which was awarded to Sudan, North as well as South by Melese with isaias blessing will start two wars one with North Sudan and with the newly independent South Sudan.

War in Eastern Ethiopia which is raging will continue in vicious way if the Arabs succeeded in forming one nationalistic government of Somalia. Mind you Somaliland which has all the historical support as former British colony to declare independence never recognized by Isaias and Meles. In fact Isaias tried many times to sabotage Somaliland independence without success.

For Isaias Ethiopian dismemberment can only succeed using united Somalia. That is also the policy of Egypt. Article 39 the "nuclear threat" of TPLF and Isaias ambition to be the master of Somalia and controlling the ethnic movements in Asmara are the strategic goal of dismembering Ethiopia.

Ethiopian oppositions own two decades experience is enough to come with a new vision to free our country from Asmara and Addis Ababa warlords. We do not need Asmara if we want united Ethiopia. Neither fascists in Addis who are applying Mussolini's blue print of dividing Ethiopians by Ethnic Kilil. Shabia and TPLF are anti-Ethiopia and Ethiopians.

Yes it is indeed Land Grab and illegal too !!!!

2010-12-24T13:04:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

The TPLF/EPRDF Foreign Minster Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn on Indian TV, ITMN, with Vickram Bahi was asked serious question. What is the guarantee for foreign investors on long term land lease in years to come ? Mr. Bahi pressed the question when Mr. Hailemariam tried to evade it. As correctly put by the host, the Domestic Concern of giving land to foreigners will put investors in awkward positron who would like to make money on long term. Who will guarantee their hold on the land ?

Mr. Hailemariam promised the rule of law and the democratic system to take care of this concern. However he rejected the domestic concern because according to him land is not a domestic issue in Ethiopia. He goes on to say that this is the issue of the Diaspora and foreign NGOs. Foreigners/Diasporas accusing the land lease as land grab is totally wrong because he said TPLF is giving uncultivated land, that means no land is taken away from farmers to be given to foreigners and calling it land grab is inaccurate.

If you go to foreign country and take land whether it is unoccupied or under farm and make it yours for long term lease up to ninety years what do you call it ? It is indeed land grab because foreigners totally control it as theirs and those who leased it might not be there tomorrow but according to Mr. Hailemariam foreigners hold will be defended by the rule of law specifically he said by the court.

That is totally absurd. In a transparent system first of all this long term land lease would never have materialized. This transaction of land is carried out by a regime that is in power by force and where are no independent institutions the courts and free media are nonexistent. As far as Ethiopians are concerned whatever deal foreign land grabbers made with TPLF/EPRDF is null and void.

Though the concern of Mr. Bahi is valid he did not get satisfying answer from his guest. In fact if the host had good information he could have put the question of why farmers are now pushed from their holdings in Gambella, Beni Shanguel as was reported in VOA Amharic and BBC to clear the land for foreigners. What will Mr. Hailemariam answer for the people who were interviewed on BBC and VOA who were told to clear the land for those who leased/bought it. It is mine You have to Go !!!!

The truth is the regime in power is making fast cash for cheap land transaction. Foreigners are gambling on the cheap offer and take a risk like any investment.Here is where the sellers and buyers come together. But there is a huge discontent in Western part of Ethiopia currently silenced by army and militia. The Diaspora is just airing the voice of the voiceless Ethiopians for those who are on land bonanza to stop hurting our people. There is a great danger coming, when ? no one knows but is coming.

The regime who sold land cheaply will for the time being can give protection for these foreign landlords but what happened in Madagascar few years ago is surely can happen in Ethiopia. The Madagascar people rose up on those who sold their land to Koreans and if Mr. Hailemariam thinks this will never happen he will be surprised like he was surprised by the fast Indian development.

Shabia and TPLF Western Sponsored New Alliance !!!!!

2010-12-18T11:51:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

Who is giving order for the Eritrean Colonel Fitsum to hand over EPPF without any fight to TPLF ? The only opposition groups I know who rejected taking orders from Asmara are the Somali opposition leaders of Somalia who fled to Asmara after the invasion of their country by USA contracted TPLF in Christmas 2005/6.

Asmara's ambition of creating another TPLF/EPRDF had been creating havoc in all opposition movements who got "shelter" in Asmara for some time. The likes of General Kemal Gelchu who defected after the killing of Ethiopians for rejecting TPLF in the 2005 stolen election and now Colonel Tadesse of EPPF are few among many victims.

I strongly believe and which is now also confirmed by WikiLeak a plot to overthrow Isaias and put pro TPLF regime in Asmara is underway. Only a new alliance of Meles led TPLF and a regime replacing Asmara by another warlord will start the failed policy of looting Ethiopia under the domination of Tigrayans in both side of the Mereb River.

Eritreans has already moving in large numbers to Ethiopia as refugees and are allowed to take the benefit of all that is in short supply for Ethiopians, food, work,education and shelter.

Is this not the beginning of the new alliance designed by West to marginalize the Ethiopian masses by bringing the tyrants of Asmara and Ethiopia together for long hold on power to "stabilize"the Horn of Africa for Westerns interest and foreign exploitation of their natural resources.

It still is not too late to understand the coming danger and for Ethiopian oppositions in Asmara do something before their movement is handed over to TPLF without any fight. Elias Kifle editor of the Ethiopian Review diagonalized the problem accurately on his latest piece Dec. !7. But his prescription will not save the patient/oppositions only gives them few months or year to survive.

It is time to attack the problem before it spreads beyond the Mereb River. It is only a united struggle free from Shabia and TPLF control that will give us our liberty. The new Western made bridge between TPLF and Shabia is not a freedom bridge it is a bridge to slave the proud people of Ethiopia for years to come.













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The Emperor Retired and the Prince is in Charge !!!!

2010-11-08T06:02:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

The Forty First New York City Marathon on a chilly Sunday yesterday brought us warmness. The men's marathon was packed with top athletes including Haile Gebreselassie running for the first time and a rookie Ethiopian 26 year old Gebre Gebremariam who won many long distance running this year and who came to test the field of marathon for the first time, get experience and no one including himself expects win yesterday.

The elite runners packed together among them Haile Gebreselassie and the defending champion Meb kilfegzie until Queens Borough Bridge the 16 mile mark. Haile was forced to back down because of a knee injury we all were informed at the beginning of the race. Haile told New Yorkers on starting lineup that he had "minor" inflammation on his knee and promised to do his best. It was at Queens Borough Bridge Haile Gebreselassie and Gebre Gebremariam met, Haile said, "Go Gebre you can not stay far behind" and I am done, the call that motivated Gebre like the call of Abebe Bikila in the 1960s Mexico Olympic to keep Marathon for the third time in the Ethiopian hands. The late Mamo Wolde won and that victory is commemorated by the famous song "Maraton Leeltewha" "Marathon the Queen".

Gebre Gebremariam's idol Halie Gebreselassie retired yesterday from his colorful career not matched by anyone so far. Haile Gebreselassie is indeed the greatest athlete of the world have ever known, ended his career on the bridge looking Manhattan from distance. The tall buildings of Manhattan once tall are now eclipsed by other tall buildings built in Asia nothing to stay the "best" forever. Aging is a natural process and we accepted Haile's retirement with grace and big smile, Haile's Smile.

Gebre Gebremariam shadowed by two Kenyans battle in the pavement of Manhattan for the next ten miles. The elite pack melted away and for the first time we saw an elegant young Ethiopian with hat and glove jogging in Manhattan. The Kenyans seem confused, there was no Haile the shortest we have a taller guy never saw him before. Is he serious ? The third Kenyan seem to fall behind and the battle for the gold was between Gebre Gebremariam and the other Kenyan.

Gebre throw his glove followed by his hat and he meant business today. The Ethiopian flags were everywhere and the cheers were deafening "Berta" Go !! Go !!. Gebre kept on hammering the hills of the park and the Kenyan was left behind and it is now Gebre with the clock. The handsome elegant young rookie stormed and won the Forty First NYC Marathon in 2:08:14 with Haile Gebreselassie's smile and Abebe Bikila like style of running.

This is the beginning of Gebre Gebremariam Marathon career and there are many marathons to come. Surely he promised to come and defend his title next year. That time he will not be a rookie but a defender. The Emperor had retired here in New York City but he the baton was passed to the young Gebre Gebremariam and many other young Ethiopians.

Derartu Tulu my favorite athlete I call the "Haile of our women" failed to defend her title but no one could take anything from her glorious career. She is a decorated Olympic Gold medalist and the London Marathon winner and age is catching up with her too like Haile. However, we are seeing young Ethiopian women following on her footsteps.

The story of Haile Gebrselassie not running on difficult marathons as was alleged by NY Times corroborated by our Kenyan rivals rest here in New York. Haile tried to win it in one knee yesterday but that was not meant to be. I say to our beloved Haile Gebreselassie and Derartu Tulu thank you for inspiring our young people and wish you the best.

Ethiopian Movement VS Amhara National

2010-11-04T08:03:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

I followed two interviews by the members of Ethiopian People Democratic Movement(EPDM) later on changed to Amhara National Democratic Movement(ANDM) on two pro TPLF stations, Hagefiker and Selam Radios both from Washington D.C. area. The interview was billed as the 30th anniversary of ANDM and the guest on the Hagerfker Radio was a Major General Alemu Ayele working in New York for the regime and Weizero Genet Tadesse who has been a member of TPLF parliament for the last two decades.

Both interviews spent most of their time on their armed struggle against Derg that started 30 years ago which ended in "victory" in Ginbot 20 by establishing a TPLF led government which both guests described the happiest moment of their lives. One thing which was wisely avoided was the name change from "Ethiopian People" to Amhara National". Is the name Ethiopia left exclusively for TPLF controlled EPRDF ?

The name change which was ordered by TPLF is not by accident. The Ethiopian People Revolutionary Party (EPRP) which both guests mentioned several times on the interview was the movement that led the struggle of removing Derg more than 30 years ago and paid huge price for being "Ethiopian Popular movement". It was attacked by TPLF on one side and Derg on the other side. These brave EPRP fighters were accused by TPLF as "Abbay Ethiopia/Greater Ethiopia " and were forced to evacuate their base in Tigray/Asimba and retreat to south.

No surprise then the anti Ethiopia TPLF will not allow the name "Ethiopian Movement" to be carried even on the movement it controls. Simon Bereket and Addisu Legesse, EPDM leaders, took order from TPLF to change the name to Amhara National Movement. Those who conducted these interviews dodged this question because they know that the so called EPDM turned to ANDM was no longer an independent movement borne out of former EPRP fighters.

Major General Alemu claim that his movement formed alliance independently with anyone including TPLF. That is a big lie. ANDM is made in TPLF and has no life without it. He and Weizero Genet failed even to mention the top leaders of the movement working on behalf of TPLF. You can not talk about TPLF without mentioning Meles and his inner circles and where are the names of ANDM leaders ? The face of ANDM is Bereket Simon/Adissu Legesse while the real boss of this movement is TPLF. ANDM is the Amharic wing of TPLF like OPDO is the Oromo wing of TPLF.

The 30th anniversary of ANDM is anniversary of serving TPLF loyally. However the Ethiopian people on May 2005 defeated TPLF including all its wings, ANDM, OPDO etc soundly by popular vote. The struggle which started 30 years ago finally culminated on May 15, 2005 without firing a single shots still unable to defeat tyranny.

Our people since then are ruled by brute force similar to Derg which both ANDM members claim replacing on Ginbot 20 two decade ago. Names here have changed indeed from Derg to TPLF but no freedom to our people. Our struggle to free our people will continue until we all live in a free and democratic Ethiopia.

Foreign aid sustaning tyranny in Ethiopia

2010-10-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

Human Rights Watch (HRW) sixth month field survey result in Ethiopia which came out on Oct. 19 was attacked by the TPLF Embassy in DC on Oct. 20. This damaging report which got wide coverage on major news outlet like BBC, VOA and others might be new for foreigners, however, Ethiopians in the diaspora have been demanding transparency of foreign Aid given to Meles Zenawi's regime and accusing the West of subsidizing tyranny. Who will forget the Blair invitation of Meles after he gunned down hundreds of people after he lost election in 2005. The West in fact rewarded him by giving him more aid and keep on doing that.

In a country where there is no free media, the works of the Human Right Watch and similar investigations by foreigners are the only means to expose Wasted Aid for tyranny which only profits the regime and its supporters. Such aid had made the regime and those who are working closely rich as a show case of their high rises in Addis Ababa witnessed by all foreign visitors, Addis has indeed grown exponentially and is a home of many millionaires.
As it is clearly reported on the Human Rights Watch Report Ethiopians are now ruled at a local level by government cadres who make a life and death decision. If you are not a government supporter they will make sure that you go to bed empty belly. Your children will not be schooled. You will not have life without TPLF/EPRDF period.

The result of such control was seen recently on the so called election 2010. Five people are recruited at local level and each of them will recruit another five and it goes on like that. They call it "Ternafi Asternafi" which gave birth to the 99.6 percent baby/win for the regime.
The Oct. 20 letter from the regime's office in DC was careful not to insult HRW and bring the Western countries to its defense for endorsing the development plan in Ethiopia which they work as a partner. The fact is that the West knows very well that they have no control of the Aid money. It is like the 99.6 election win, all is cooked to make sure that the people are happy with the result including those they gave the aid.
It is hard to imagine that such regime will allow local independent media and investigation any time soon because this is about money not politics. As long as aid money flows to the country the recent one 3 billion, the regime controlling of the people is getting stronger and stronger. It will be also hard even for foreign organizations like HRW to follow up on their study. If this is the model the west have for Ethiopia they are indeed succeeding doing that.
The hope is that reports like HRW will alert the people in a democracy that their tax money is wasted in the name of Aid to foreign countries like Ethiopia and will force their government to bring transparency to the whole process. Let the Aid Money goes directly to the projects to benefit the people not to fatten the pocket of unelected rulers and subsidize the control mechanism on our people.

Lesson for Columbia University Community

2010-09-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

The Sept.22 rally in New York by Ethiopians remind me the rally in in the South Lawn of the White House during the first term of the Clinton Administration in 1990s. Back then Ethiopians in thousands denounced one of the "new breed "of African leaders, Meles Zenawi based on his anti-Ethiopia stand of the party he led, TPLF. Now after two decades of Meles Zenawi's led TPLF Ethiopians denounce him based on his record. Like then there were his supporters carrying his photos wishing their leader the best and calling many more years for him to stay on power. The difference this time however they carried the modified version of the Ethiopian flag and their number is far less about fifty of them.

For more than five hundred Ethiopians who hold on the Ethiopian flag the unadvertised pro Meles rally was a nuisance at the beginning. Starting 2PM the few pro Meles Orchestra members led by the conductor Solomon Tekalegne was having good time in ambushing the anti Meles rally. Things completely changed after the huge crowd of DC and Boston joined the rally around 3pm. The opposition voice completely obliterated Solomon Tekalegne led Orchestra and spectators rightly identified the two warring camps.

Question is coming from mostly young spectators most of them students of Columbia who were enjoying the festive atmosphere supported by warm weather.Serious question were asked by students and others. Who is this man ? Who is that woman ? The man is Meles Zenawi, the invited guest of Lee Bollinger, President of Columbia University , who is the keynote speaker on World Leaders Forum at Columbia who jailed many opposition leaders and the woman you see is the recent victim, Birtukan Mediksa a leader of UDJP party who has been in prison for almost two years for saying no to injustice like Rosa Park.

The placards that were carried demanded for Birtukan Mediksa and all jailed but not forgotten leaders like Debteraw, Aberashe and many Oromo and Somalis who are held in prison throughout Ethiopia for decades. There were young Somalis carrying the Ogaden flag and demanded the human right abuse and the killing to stop in Ogaden. These young women who wear their Burka are hardly to miss though few in numbers.

I had conversation with them, I informed them that I will stand with them until the killing stop in Ogaden. I also told them Ogaden is a land Italian fascist declared war on Ethiopia at Wolwel more than seven decade ago. Many patriots died fighting, Ogadenis and other Ethiopians. Ogaden Somalis should not fear of living in a Democratic Ethiopia. Mini Ogaden, Oromia etc which is encouraged by the article 39 constitution of TPLF had not produced any tangible benefit for the people it claimed freed.

It was amazing to see the brotherhood and sisterhood in this big crowd. Tolerance was not only preached but practiced. Many Ethiopians were interviewed by Journalism students of Columbia including myself. The pro Meles rally finally lost patience and started lobbying insult and accused us "Shabias". I do understand their frustration of being drowned in this battle. It was "Fall" for them and Fall has indeed come to New York, however, it was still Summer in our camp. The hope of freedom is still shining and I was confident that a United Diaspora action will be a force to be reckon with and will not be matched by the recent trend of pro Meles rally organized by those who benefited from the system and care less for millions of our people who survived by piece of bread daily while the ruling elite is now comparing itself with the rich and famous of the West.

The feedback we received from those who were in the conference hall was also encouraging. The No Show of Columbia President, Lee Bollinger who was represented by professor Joseph Stiglitz that Meles called Joe tells it all. Those who invited Meles Zenawi did not expect the one week sustained campaign by Ethiopians sending email and calling directly challenging them to judge Meles Zenawi on his two decade record. Sadly they failed to do so.

The no show by Columbia President is not due to any virus, it was because of public embarrassment, the least. Those who were there asked fifteen questions similar to Meles Zenawi 101 paper distributed to the public who showed up at our protest. The answer from Meles Zenawi was not followed by any question an embarrassment for Columbia community. The Chinese Communist Party did it the same way on recent Obama's appearance on one of Chinese universities. We hope that the video and audio of the the Sept. 22 Wold Leaders Forum organized by Columbia will be out for public shortly unlike the Chinese who kept it out of reach of anyone.

The four hour rally came to frantic moment when those who were part of the one hour conference came out. Shame on You, Shame on You. The noise was deafening and the huge crowd left peacefully at 6pm by the remark from Tamegne who urge everyone to remain united and be the voice for voiceless Ethiopians.

Re-writing TPLF’s history

2010-09-10T00:56:00.000-07:00

By Eskinder Nega from Addis Ababa

The much anticipated biography about Meles Zenawi, ‘Meles Zenawi and the Voyage of the TPLF’ (Meles Zenawi ena YeHewat Yetegel Guzo), hit the main thoroughfares of Addis early Monday morning, with vendors confidently displaying dozens of copies for passersby to pickup. (Up to 5% of EPRDF’s 5.6 million “members” are Addis Ababans.) It was officially launched on Saturday, at a gala event in one of the upscale hotels in Addis, presided over by no less a figure than the nation’s almost centenarian President, Lt. Girma Welde-Giorgis. An assortment of Cabinet Ministers with sober expressions, and a who’s who list of Meles’ wide-eyed “admirers” sat throughout the ceremony mesmerized by the expectation of tales that will establish their Prime Minister’s god-like status. They left disappointed, though. Most were jaded rather than inspired. The culprit: unimaginative organizers, many said.

But this is not to say excitement was totally absent. In a deed worthy of the Guinness world book of records, for example, one of Meles’ “admirers” bought 40,000 thousand copies, according to media reports. At 60 birr apiece, that comes out to a cool 240,000 birr; a fortune, needless to say, not only to most of the nation’s citizens, but also to many Westerners teetering on the verge of a double-dip recession.

And thus the question: Is Meles really worth it?

Eyasu Mengesha, the author, an ex-colonel turned businessman, who tells us in the opening pages of the book, “(the TPLF) is everything I am,” indubitably thinks so: “Meles is a great and respected leader of our country,” he informs us with evident conviction. But he is mute as to exactly how great he is in relation to the more than 300 leaders of Ethiopia’s past; perhaps, saving it for one of his two upcoming books under the same title. (He has written more than a thousand pages, but will wisely release it in three parts. This is the first book.)

For now, he tells us what has for long troubled him. “I am alarmed by the belief of some of the youth which diminishes (the historical significance of) Meles to “a post-victory pseudo-hero,” confides Eyasu. Thus the need to redeem a misjudged leader; a crusade really, to absolve a messiah in his own time.

Meles’ story lies within the history of the TPLF, begins Eyasu reasonably. So be prepared for an elaborate account of TPLF’s history. But his undeclared intention, part of a complex scheme to create Meles’ personality cult, is also clear from the first pages: a classic revisionist re-interpretation of history.

This venture to re-write TPLF’s history, while droll for its cerebral and literary pretensions (but respectable for an Ethiopian Colonel), is a serious reminder of EPRDF’s slide towards the politics of personality cult; which had its initiation in the post 2005 election repressions, and is now gaining momentum in the aftermath of the 2010 elections.

And somehow, for reasons that are utterly incomprehensible, the re-invention of Meles starts with his ethnicity. The story starts in Adwa, northern Ethiopia, 20 kilometers from Ethiopia’s spiritual epicenter, Axum, where Meles was born, “some say in 1954, others in 1955, but according to the authoritative account of his father, 1953,’ writes Eyasu. And then he goes on to tell us of his grandfather, Mr Asres Tesema, a feudal lord, Dejazmatch, and a loyal functionary in Haile-Selassie’s government; and of his father, Mr Zenawi, “a noted progressive both in attire and outlook (in a small town.)” So far so good. His mother, Mrs Alemash Gebre-Leul, appears next. But not a word of her personal particulars, which is a page long for her husband. Nothing about where she was born, of her parents, her upbringing, her education, all things we learn about her husband in the preceding two pages. Her Eritrean ethnicity and origin is obviously taboo in the mythologized version of Meles. A “pure” Meles has apparently been reckoned necessary. Why not then create a new him by the power of collective amnesia? Eyasu, for one, has already dutifully expunged all thoughts about her ethnicity. Others need only follow his example.

Then follows the fairy-tale of Meles’ early years; the superb marriage of his dotting parents, and Meles as the ideal child growing up: incapable of doing wrong; lovable; innocently playful; intelligent, and (get ready for this) religiously devout. But no mention of the irrepressible rages his mother publicly spoke about. In short, as Eyasu describes him, Meles was the faultless child that every parent dreams about. Not even North Korea’s “Dear Leader” Kim Jond-il , a certified child prodigy in his early years, according to the nation’s Communist party, had a more perfect childhood and adolescence. But deprived of the eccentricities and shortcomings that are essential human attributes, the portrait of Meles that emerges is jarringly mechanical and unhuman. It is impossible to emotionally connect to this romanticized Meles. He has been stripped of his humanity.

TPLF’s genesis lies in the Tigrayan National Organiztion (Mahbere Gesgesti Behere Tigray, Magbet), established by Addis Ababa University students in 1974. Eyasu grudgingly acknowledges that Meles was not one of the broadly admired founders. Nor was he one of the renowned eleven, almost all of them members of the Tigrayan National Organiztion, who formally launched the TPLF and its armed struggle on 18 February 1975 (Yekatit 11, 1967 by the Ethiopian calendar) in Dedebit, 900 kilometers north of Addis, the seat of government. Accorded official recognition as the birth-date of the organization, Yekatit 11 (February 18) has been colorfully celebrated every year since 1976; and since 1991, for the past twenty years, is a regional holiday in Tigray.

“A SERIOUS MISTAKE!” shrieks Eyasu. This is no cry of an irrational man. He has a perfectly plausible reason. The idealized Meles must somehow be brought to center stage in the saga of TPLF’s genesis. His legacy — his myt — could not be complete otherwise. History must be re-written.

Eyasu concedes that the armed struggle had indeed begun on Yekatit 11 (February 18), “but the mere launching of an armed struggle does not make an organization,” he argues. TPLF was really established four months later, he contends, when Meles and Abay finally make it to Dedebit, and are entrusted with the task of formulating a program and rules and regulations, which were subsequently all adopted by the organization. “An organization without a program is an absurdity,” he insists. TPLF came into being the day it espoused a clearly defined program. History needs be revisited and revised, he advises thoughtfully. Not only was Meles a founding member, but, unbeknownst to the public, he was the one who had charted the original course. Of course, Meles and a select few others know how the true course of events had actually transpired, Eyasu implies, but are too modest to go against the convention. Someone needs to tell the truth! (“Students (in school) must read this book,” earnest commentators had said at the launching ceremony.)

How then do members reward the genius of Meles when the organization’s first leaders were elected? Inexplicably (for Eyasu), they ignore him and opt for the leadership of Gesese Ayele, who was one of the eleven; Seyoum Mesfin, who was also one of the eleven; and Mehari Tekle, who was not one of the eleven but had just left the EPLF (in Eritrea) to be one of the founders of the TPLF (He assumed the Chairmanship.) A year later, when the founding congress of the party elected the first batch of CC members, Meles was still absent. And Aregawi Berhe, Giday ZeraTsion, Seyoum Mesfin, Sebhat Nega and Abay Teshaye become his superiors.

Evidently, even thirty-five years ago people had problem recognizing the genius that is so palpable for Eyasu.

(To be continued next week.) THE END.

Brief news from Addis Ababa:
Printing press turns back popular magazine

Berana printing press, a holding of the Ministry of Defense, this week turned back a popular monthly magazine, Enku, for the “irredeemable crime” of carrying the New Year messages of two opposition politicians, Negaso Gidada and Seye Abraha. Both spoke of the imprisoned leader of UDJ, Birtukan Mideksa. Ironically, Ethiopia was hosting an international freedom of press conference as this was happening.

The EPRDF-led government still refuses to grant press licenses to independent journalists, despite the absence of a vibrant political press after the closure of the nation’s major newspapers after the 2005 elections.

TPLF rejects food insecurity report

2010-08-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

William Davison

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — The Ethiopian government rejected a report that the country is at “extreme risk” of food shortages this year.

The Horn of Africa nation is sixth in a ranking of countries facing food shortages, according to report published yesterday on the website of Bath, U.K.-based risk consultant Maplecroft.

Ethiopian Communications Minister Bereket Simon said in a telephone interview from Addis Ababa today that Maplecroft’s Food Security Risk Index 2010 was “devoid of any understanding of the Ethiopian reality” and there “was no reason why we should worry.”

Ethiopia, Africa’s largest coffee producer, has suffered food shortages in the past and about a sixth of its population required food aid last year. The United Nations World Food Program in Ethiopia said today the outlook for the rest of the year was “rather good compared to the last two years.”

Bereket said rains this year have been good and Ethiopia is expecting a “bumper harvest” and will be seeking to export a surplus of cereals.

“We have not come out of the woods with regards to food insecurity, but it’s improving by the day,” the minister said, describing Maplecroft’s analysis as “hypothetical and wrong-footed.”

Bereket said he expects the number of Ethiopians needing food aid this year to go down from last year’s figure of 13.7 million given by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

‘Strong Indicators’

“Because of the good harvest here, we have to import less,” Judith Schuler, the WFP’s public information officer in Ethiopia, said in a phone interview from Addis Ababa. That meant there were “strong indicators” the number of people depending on food assistance would go down “a lot,” she said.

Maplecroft analyst Fiona Place said in a telephone interview today that Ethiopia faced a high chance of rising prices due to production shortages in heat-affected major cereal producers like Russia and Ukraine.

Transport infrastructure was still insufficient, though improving, she said, while “recurrent drought and inadequate environmental management” had led to a “continual cycle of degradation of natural resources.”

Autocracy: China’s unsolicited export

2010-08-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

Ephrem Madebo

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, signaled the reunification of Germany, brought the demise of the Soviet Union, initiated the birth of a single super power, and created a wave of new democracies in Eastern Europe ending the Cold War superpower conflict that had governed international relations and world politics for the good part of the second half of the 20th century. The end of the Cold War was a momentous event that changed world politics and minimized the fear of nuclear conformation. Today, most people in the world agree that the United States is the sole super power, but in the last two decades, economic and political power have clearly consolidated around China, making autocratic China the most favored super power candidate of the 21st century. I have no problem with China becoming the next super power. My worst nightmare is that China is helping the tyrant regime (ethnic dictatorship) in my country to consolidate power and build Chinese type oppressive power structure. Today, China is exporting its methods abuse and autocracy to Ethiopia at a much faster rate than the US and EU are promoting democracy.

For the last two decades, China has been demanding the West the respect that matches its economic strength and military might. On the other hand, the West, specially the United States has been pressing China to democratize and improve its domestic human rights conditions. But, the moral authority of the US to promote democracy in China is diluted by Washington’s huge appetite for Chinese lending and export while China’s business and political influence in Africa has been growing steadily. Therefore, it seems that the United States is either implicitly responding to the Chinese demand of respect, or it’s explicitly allowing China to build Chinese type autocratic regimes in Africa.

Today, most Ethiopians are at odds with the Chinese regime because China is wrecking the efforts of building democracy in Ethiopia by bankrolling the corrupt and repressive regime in Addis Ababa. More than anything that China does in my country, my concern is that – the economic success of China without electoral democracy and free press has offered an irresistible model of development for the ethnic dictators in Ethiopia. As the result, the ethno-centered regime in Addis Ababa is forcing itself into power every five year on the pretext of “economic development”.

The government of China blocks Web sites and jams radio and television broadcasts such as the BBC, Radio Free Asia, and the Voice of America. By doing so, it denies the Chinese people the freedoms of speech guaranteed to them in the Chinese Constitution. At the mean time, the West is pressing China to democratize and have respect for the human rights of its citizens. But China has not only neglected the West’s call for freedom and democracy, it is also building oppressive state machinery in countries like Ethiopia, Sudan and Zimbabwe. China has been providing small arms for Zimbabwe in exchange for ivory and is supplying President Robert Mugabe’s regime with internet surveillance technology and radio-jamming devices used to block opposition broadcasts.

In Ethiopia, thanks for the Chinese government, opposition blogs and websites are blocked, and any radio broadcast that disagrees with the Ethiopian regime is jammed. Recently, even the VOA was jammed until superior American technology made jamming very expensive for poor Ethiopia. With a total population of over eighty million people, arguably, Ethiopia is the only country in Africa that has no independent radio and TV stations. Hence, recently, as recently as this past May; benevolent Ethiopians pooled their resources and launched the first independent satellite television to Ethiopia (ESAT). The domestic response for ESAT was immeasurable. Within a week of the announcement of ESAT’s launching, the price of satellite signal receiver dishes quadrupled and by the time ESAT’s programming started; literally there was no dish in the market. However, a week after ESAT started broadcasting to Ethiopia, the Ethiopian regime that boasts to have been elected by unprecedented high percentage popular support, turned off the light of ESAT on the very people that it thanked a month earlier for “voting” it to power. Evidently, the Ethiopian regime does not have the resources or the knowhow to interfere high power satellite signals. The equipment and the technical assistance is coming from one of the most oppressive and brutal regimes on earth- China; while the financial resources come from everywhere including the gullible West. All in all, the combination of financial reward from the West and technical assistance from China has helped Addis Ababa’s brutal regime to block the flow of information and prohibitively limit freedom of speech in Ethiopia.

Obviously, China and the West pursue their own political and economic interest in Ethiopia; they have deep ideological differences and devise and implement different strategies. Sadly, as far as my native country Ethiopia is concerned, both China and the West are doing the same thing in Ethiopia- they help a genocidal minority regime in Ethiopia to trash the freedom of people. For the Chinese, this is business as usual, however, for the West; it is defeating the purpose. Many civic organizations, political activists and human rights groups promote democracy and the rule of law in Ethiopia using websites, blogs, and citizen journalism. These endeavors have offered the “enclaved” people of Ethiopia the opportunity to exercise and advocate their human rights under Zenawi’s adverse circumstances. But, this humble effort is crushed by the reactionary moves of the Chinese leaders who export the know-how for web censorship to the like-minded leader in Ethiopia.

Unlike China, I don’t think it is in the West’s interest to dine & dance with a coalition of tyrants and genocidaires such as Meles Zenawi. The West must undertake a sharp reassessment of its political interests and reconcile it economic and political interest with its fundamental values of freedom, justice and democracy. Otherwise, the West may not have the moral background to promote democracy in China and elsewhere while passively watching China mixing tyranny with its material export to developing countries.

In its confrontation with human rights organizations and the West, China has defended its right to censor the internet, TV, and radio broadcasts; saying the country has the right to govern the internet according to its own rules inside its borders. Yes, the Chinese government has the right to govern everything according to its own rules inside its borders. But this right does not include oppressing people and denying them access to information. No government has the right to take the right of people. Well, I do understand this may be quite strange to the Chinese leaders who have no accountability and electoral responsibility. The question is that – do the Chinese leaders know where the Chinese border starts and ends? Though I understand that I must stand to the right of the Chinese people as much as I stand to the right of fellow Ethiopians, this paper is not about what the Chinese are doing inside their boarders, its about what they are doing 8322 kilometers away in Ethiopia.

The Chinese leaders are reaching far outside their border and are helping the Ethiopian dictator block websites and monitor the Internet access of individuals. According to Amnesty International, China has the largest recorded number of imprisoned journalists and cyber-dissidents in the world, a bad lesson that the street ‘smart’ Ethiopian dictator learned in no time. The Chinese leaders must understand that, by offering technical assistance and financing the ethnic dictator in Ethiopia to censor the Internet, they have denied the Ethiopian people access to crystallized of human wisdom- the Internet. I hope the Chinese leaders understand that vibrant economy is accompanied by vibrant democracy; hence, they just can’t build economic infrastructure and oppressive machinery in Ethiopia at the same time. They should either build infrastructure, or get the hell out of Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian people understand that the push of China into Ethiopia is driven by China’s desperate need for raw materials and future market opportunities. On the other hand, the affinity of Zenawi’s regime to China is very apparent because unlike Western nations, China makes no value demands with its aid and investments. Besides, the Chinese are happy to quickly lend the regime in Addis Ababa dirty tricks and weapons to oppress people.

We love your export of technology, investment, and pharmaceuticals, but please keep your unsolicited export of autocracy within China. The Ethiopian people do welcome mutually beneficial Chinese investment in Ethiopia, and the Chinese are encouraged to build dams in Ethiopia, but they should better build dams that contain water, not the flow of information.

Tell nothing but the whole truth

2010-08-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

By Daniel Tesfaye

First of all, I would like to thank Addis Voice for posting Samuel Gebru’s piece, Media Jamming and the Constitution. While Samuel started by raising an important issue, i.e. the violation of the constitution in relation to freedom of expression, the writer fell off track in the last laps of his essay.

According to him, certain elements in the Diaspora including the VOA of America are guilty of instigating hatred toward ethnic Tigrians. I believe that this is outrageously distorted as the perception of being hated may only come from guilt trip on the part of those who are colluding with the tyrannical regime.

It is an open secret that the Meles regime has thrived by fanning ethnic animosity and division among the people of Ethiopia. As a consequence of its misguided policy, TPLF and its supporters have been exposed down to their bone marrow and the hatred they desire to spread have backfired on them. Being stung with their own poison, TPLF and its sympathisers may cry foul due to their self-inflicted injuries but that will never change the reality on the ground.

In today Ethiopia, there is a minority government that aspires to make every Ethiopian its servant and slave with no dignity and freedom. As a young man, Samuel Gebrue, who aspires to be Prime Minister of Ethiopia, should learn how to accept the reality no matter how unpalatable it could be. The Voice of America, at a time when all forms of media have been under attack and muffled, has been trying its level best to give a true voice that reflects the reality in Ethiopia. Some people may feel that the bitter truth is tantamount to genocide. That is their perception and problem, not that of VOA or ESAT.

Samuel must learn to stand for the truth without changing a horse in the middle of a river. Unfortunately, his piece, though appreciable for raising critical issues, lost its true message at the end. Alas! The conclusion of an essay is more important than the beginning. For that reason, Samuel failed a critical test by not telling the truth, the whole truth. Half the truth isn’t good enough.

The efforts of the Meles regime to jam radio broadcasts and more recently the Ethiopian Satellite Television are not only dictatorial but also illegal. Since Meles came to power, there is only one man who has guaranteed himself unfettered vulgarity even in his own rubber-stamping parliament. Because of his excessive paranoia, Meles wants to be the only person who controls what we read, write, speak and listen to. That "lucky man" who has full guaratee of freedom of vulgar speech is no one but himself and his life is a testimony to this fact

Fortunately, so many dictators have tried but most of them have fallen down one by one. It is quite inevitable that the regime of Meles Zenawi is only waiting for its turn. Sooner or later, he will fall down too. But whatever will happen history will never forget all the atrocities of an unbridled tyranny. In any case, let there come the end of tyranny that badly misrepresents humanity throughout the world.

Why can't we be Ethiopian first?

2010-07-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

Samuel Gebru
For the past months I have mentioned on my blog and other venues that the Ethiopian community in the diaspora is seemingly more divided than it is united. I also mentioned how our divisions are over superficial things that have over-occupied the lives of our self-appointed theorists and human rights activists, who, by the way, tend to do more damage than repair.

Lately, I have been following up on various Ethiopian organizations established in the diaspora that are led the youth and adults. What I have noticed is quite interesting—although not surprising. Ethiopian organizations in the diaspora that are led by youth are usually much freer from the disgusting and harmful divisions that apparently divide our diaspora community. The adult-led organizations tend to focus heavily on ethno-regional matters and refuse to look at the bigger picture.

To our diaspora youth community, being Ethiopian is something to be really proud of. Its no secret that a lot of us when asked to fill out our race check the “Other” box and write “Ethiopian” instead of check the “Black/African American” box. When asked in school if we are black, most of us respond: “I’m Ethiopian.” Regardless of whether I think this is a good thing or not, I don’t notice this attitude from adults and the adult-run Ethiopian organizations.

A lot of Ethiopian adults in our diaspora community associate more of a bond with their ethnicity than being Ethiopian. It is very good—and important—to know and celebrate one’s ethnic heritage. As a Tigrayan myself I have always encouraged other Tigrayan youth to learn about the open-air museum we come from. However, what I have not and will not encourage is the separation of a particular history or culture from the multicultural mosaic we call Ethiopia. The way most adults in our community have been using ethnicity is to enclose ourselves into small cabinets without realizing we live in a kitchen.

Ethnic community organizations and community centers have sprouted all over the United States, Canada and Europe doing more harm than good. Many youth wonder why we don’t see each other on regular occasions and why it is that Ethiopians only get together when someone dies or is married. For instance, recently I went to a wonderful wedding that saw a cross-section of Ethiopians—politically, religiously and ethnically. It was an amazing occasion, far better than any exclusive ethnic event.

Surely there is no straightforward answer to solving this problem of building ethnic enclaves in the diaspora. Nonetheless, just like a government has different departments and agencies all working in coordination with a same statement of being (i.e. Constitution), Ethiopians in the diaspora should work to simply create ethnically, politically and religiously inclusive Ethiopian Community Associations that service the direct needs of people. As for charitable activities in the homeland, these Ethiopian Community Associations could be able to create concurrent projects in different regions of Ethiopia based off the demographics and interests of their members.

Ethiopian youth in the diaspora have bypassed waiting for the adults to act. Organizations and student campus groups are popping up regularly all over the world with Ethiopian students eagerly ready to help any region. You even have Ethiopian students fundraising in collaboration with Eritrean students for each other’s homeland—ironic? There’s a joke that Ethiopian and Eritrean youth create “Habesha” student clubs in their schools so their parents wouldn’t object working with “the enemy.”

ESAT: What is in Name ?

2010-07-24T06:05:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

I read a piece by Wondem Hindessa Abdu, "ESAT: What is in Name ? , July 24 " posted on Ethiopian websites about the "Baby" called ESAT that was struggling to be born in last May and after few days of its "birth" it ended in "hospital". Early June when I heard its serious "illness" I wrote a piece and posted on many websites, "Meles Zenawis' Information Terror". On that piece I coined "fire", "esat" for ESAT. I am not surprised according to your finding that back home Ethiopians called it "esat", fire too.

Our people are forward looking people and they want to get their information other than TPLF 24/7 propaganda. The challenge for ESAT is huge as you said. I wish you provided us with the cost of running such program. I wonder why Eri-TV Amharic and Oromoffia were allowed to run smoothly for almost ix years while the baby ESAT was attacked at its young age ? If ESAT is Esaias Afeworki Television according to TPLF wise men what do they call Eri-TV ?

Is Esaias a boggy man TPLF would like to have to keep its Tribal supporters on line ? Long Live Eri-TV and Death for ESAT, it seems. We know what is good for us !!!

Blessing or curse?

2010-07-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Tewdros Andhanom, Minister of Health, told Awramba Times that it is a blessing to work with Meles. Of course it is! If you are one of his hand-picked lieutenants expected to heap accolade on one of Africa's most reviled tyrants, no doubt it is a blessing. Ask the ordinary people in Ethiopia. They can tell you the curse that has befallen on the poor nation since the tyrant came to power. They know the curse as they live it everyday.

Tewdros also says that he has neither the qualities nor the talent to replace his boss. In fact, that is the very reason he was selected to be a minister. Tyrants always employ negative selection to make sure that they are surrounded by incompetent and talentless people who will say yes to anything to please their boss.

That is a blessing...being a butler to a ruthless tyrant. After all, Tewdros can't have his own opinion as long as he lives in the pocket of a dictator.

Dictators favour those who come out and say they are nowhere near the talents of the boss. In other words, serving the boss is the very pupose of their existence How pathetic is the life of talentless people like the servants of the despot!

Failure is not an option

2010-07-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

The Ethiopian Satellite Service is back again with its rallying call: Failure is not option. That is exactly what the heroine leader Birtukan Mideksa had said.

Despite the fact that transmissions to Ethiopia have been off air for nearly a month due to unidentified electronic interference beamed on the frequencies of ESAT, the management and the international advisory board have been looking into ways of bypassing the jamming. Now the effort has been successful.

It may be an understatement to claim that we are living in an information age. One of the measures of development has now been access to information. Unfortunately, in countries like Ethiopia where tyrants make every effort to block the free flow of information, and thereby muffle some inconvenient truth, is making progress more difficult.

No matter how hard tyrants try to stop Ethiopians from accessing, sharing and communicating information, there are innovative solutions for almost every kind of man-made problems. Unlike the dark ages, one of the manifestations of the information age is enlightenment. Ethiopians will have to catch up with the rest of the world.

As any efforts to hinder our unfettered access to information is illegal, evil, backward and antithesis to human progress, the Meles regime has to desist from jamming radio broadcasts, blocking websites, closing newspapers and jailing the journalists. All of these crimes are being well registered with local and international human rights groups that will continue to expose the stupidity, criminality and backwardness of the tyrannical regime, which doesn’t still accept the rights of citizens to live in freedom without any fear of being the victims of all sorts of bandits and tyrants in power.

Those of us who have been making efforts to facilitate and promote the free flow of information should take our motto more seriously. Addis Voice also believes that FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION…

Meles Zenawi's Information Terror !!!

2010-06-01T07:15:00.000-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

At this age of communication, information is powerful if we want to empower our people. That is why I backed the Ethiopian Satellite, Esat which is known also by its Ethiopian "equivalent" "Fire" meaning "Esat" which launched its program on May 23 this year financed by Ethiopians in the diaspora. However, Esat has been knocked off air since last week as I have been hearing calls from viewers in the region by their disappointment of the only alternative TV to be knocked off air.

By now Arabsat knows the technical problem that crippled Esat and should inform the public on its findings. I am pretty sure that this is a rare situation and Arabsat must have a solution for such technical "glitch". However, if this is an information terror by the Ethiopian regime using the service of China to knock the TV off air they have to come out and tell us their findings without any delay. This should not be a BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico which has to continue for months for lacking of an engineering solution.

This is a war on information by Meles Zenawi's brutal regime which is busy sending its propaganda to Ethiopian diaspora in Washington D.C. at the expense of poor Ethiopians. The Obama Administration knows very well that VOA Amharic service has been jammed for sometimes and are using Arabsat to inform Ethiopians. It is appropriate for Obama to speak out against information terror and take a stand. A regime that is subsidized annually by more than 2 billion foreign aid should not allow to use this same money to deny Ethiopians free flow of information.

Meles Zenawi is now declaring war on information with the help of its foreign master possibly China. The similarity between the two regimes is now clear after the rigged election of May 23 which ashamed the Western backers of the regime that Ethiopia is indeed the China of Horn of Africa and to forget about pluralism . If we find that China is behind this jamming we will take it as declaring war on our people and we will respond in kind. We also ask Obama to come out and condemn the Meles regime who has been escorted as an ally on war on terror since 9/11 to stop jamming of airwaves or face the consequence.

EPRP press release of Ginbot 18

2010-05-28T08:16:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

I just read EPRP press release of Ginbot 18 on the rigged election of May 23. EPRP is claiming that the Ethiopian people boycotted the election and thanked the Ethiopian people for "boycotting" the election.

Where is the proof for the boycotting ? What in fact we all saw on May 23 is a large turnout of Ethiopians lined up peacefully to vote. Their faces however clearly show that they were not in a festive mode to give their vote to TPLF, "vote is secret" , "Mircha Belebenew".

It seems that voting is mandatory for anyone to survive another day in TPLF controlled Ethiopia. The EPRP claim of boycott is absurd and only legitimatize ones previous call for boycotting the election, I told you so !!

Boycotting was not what we saw in May 23, it was a large turnout estimated 30 million of our people who voted in the 43,000 polling stations which was observed by TPLF security, controlled by ground and air cover that ended as one of the biggest victory recorded in our election history if not in the world, 99.9 percent taking full control of the TPLF parliament with one Medrek candidate from Addis Ababa as "observer".

It is appropriate to thank the Ethiopian people like EPRP did in its press release but not for their boycotting the election rather go out and vote for the oppositions, AEUP, Medrek overwhelmingly on a difficult circumstance.

I take my hat off for the Ethiopian people and the oppositions that exposed the regime for the western financiers of TPLF. Yes I agreed with EPRP there is no time to waste by going to TPLF court for recount. What I support is the rerun of this election which I called on my piece on May 24, "Ethiopians vote Meles Counts ".

AEUP and Medrek are calling for rerun of this election under the presence of large numbers of international observes and opposition party observers. Let us give credit where it is due, the work of the oppositions as well the Ethiopian people should be congratulated. May 23 will be recorded as watershed in our people struggle like May 15 five years ago.

Ethiopians vote Meles Zenawi Counts !!!!

2010-05-24T07:54:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

By now you all must have heard that the so called Election in Ethiopia this past Sunday was peaceful. What you have not heard is why this one is in fact is breaking the record not only on voters turnout but also in rigging election. We heard about ethnic cleansing in the 1990s in former Yugoslavia, the Meles led party pioneered Cleansing Election Observers before voting starts. This is carried out in the cover of darkness throughout Ethiopia.

VOA and German Amharic reported from all over Ethiopia that people went out in large number to vote. Their vote however is left for government cadres and security forces in most of the areas cleansed from assigned election observes by the opposition. Breaking the agreement the names of the observers were handed to government officials who went in dark from door to door buying and intimidating election observers.

The VOA report from Mekele University polling stations is a good example which is true for other areas. There was no single election observer from the opposition side in the college campus according to the young woman. Who is going to believe the allegations that this is the failure of the opposition party ? I heard also in west Ethiopia, Welega opposition observers from Medrek who escaped the cleansing that had not reported back. Who knows where they are ?

After cleansing the voting booths from opposition observes the rest was a home run for ruling regime. The people vote hoping their votes to be counted but the result has already been tabulated way before the polls close. This is a disgrace by all measurement, we can call it clearly an ELECTION RAPE !!!!

The Ethiopiafirst Editor from Addis Ababa yesterday was denouncing the presence of hundred observers from Europe as an insult to our pride. He said this should have been an Ethiopian affair. This was an Ethiopian affair in 43,000 election booths Ben. Election Observing is the God given right to Meles Zenawi Leku Sewe/wise man and his company. The presence of one hundred or so foreigners is not insulting our pride at all. The TPLF/EPRDF bees have stung opposition observers and the game was over before it starts. Winning marathon by turning off the clock.

What Ben the Editor hide is the fact that the names of opposition observers was handed to TPLF on the night before election to harass, buy and intimidate them. That is the reason why this election should be registered as an election our people vote peacefully without their vote being counted. A big insult to all who lined up to vote hoping their vote will count.

AEUP and Medrek leaders will stand with the information they got from the field and call this election a fraud and most of all by its true name, an Election Rape !!! The TPLF/EPRDF has declared official war on peaceful struggle on May 23 and gave legitimacy for armed movements like OLF and ONLF. New one are going to follow soon with huge support from the public.

The division that started in the diaspora following the signing of the Code of Conduct is now history. As of yesterday we are all AEUP and Medrek. We should stand with them and call for rerun of this election or leave the political field to those who will challenge the regime in a language it knows. A sad day for peaceful struggle !!!

No Partying with Meles Zenawi and Isaias Afeworki !!!!

2010-05-13T10:58:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

I heard an invitation by Meles Zenawi on his recent interview on Ethiopian TV for a "Democratic Fiesta" after the culmination of the coming May 23 election / coronation. I wanted to be there on this democratic fiesta like thousands of Ethiopian exiles for celebration with our people. The problem of joining such festival are many,here are the major ones.First, the festival does not include the opposition leader Birtukan Mediksa who has been incarcerated by Meles Zenawi for more than one and half year for leading her people by example to bring a real "Democratic Fiesta". Second, the pending charges on other oppositions leaders for participating in this "election" and calling the regime change by popular vote does not encourage buying two way tickets for the coming festival.

Meles Zenawi on this interview reminded us also that South Africans took them a century to get a right to vote. How about our own Ethiopian experience five years ago ? Who will forget the spirit of our people, the million people march of Miazia 30 before the Ginbot 7/May 15 election millions that voted for change and its aftermath ? The respect our people show to each other without single life lost and the hundreds who lost their lives for voting for change is our recent memory that should be celebrated every five year when election comes. Such Democratic Fiesta however has to wait, unfortunately !!

Meles Zenawi quoted the late Bealu Girma the author of "Oromai" and Zewde Reta the author of "Ye Eritrea Gudai" to "educate" the public on our recent history. For the first time I heard Meles Zenawi mentioning the thousand years of Ethiopian history, of "Egenan Miselu" literally translated "One Country One People" the rallying cry of Ethiopian kings and the military junta, Derg which led to the eventual independent Eritrea almost two decades ago.

After the fall of Derg however Free Eritrea and TPLF/EPRDF ruled Ethiopia went again to costly war that took more than one hundred thousand lives in the 1998-2000 Badme war on both sides. Such number of lives were not even lost in the war of liberation of Eritrea Meles is proud and supported. Meles did not entertain on his history 101 the idea of Eritrea joining "Federal" Ethiopia which seems the best option for Eritreans and Ethiopians.

Ethiopians and Eritreans know from their two decades of experience nether of them are free and prosperous. After the fall of Mengistu Hailemariam led Derg both are living under dictatorship, one which is organizing a calculated election and call for a democratic fiesta Meles Zenawi, and the other one which is not organizing any kind of election and put its leader Isaias as a leader for life.

These two tyrants built an imaginary wall between the two people and both TPLF and Shabia are using this wall to keep their hold on power for a long time. The economy of our people is destroyed by this human made wall. Farmers and traders are told not to cross this wall and function normally. Why should a trader from Zela Ambesa, Tigai is not free to sale his or her product in Asmara and why is Ethiopia's eighty million of people denied the use of the Aseb port and paying millions in foreign currency for port fees that profited TPLF and foreign countries ?

The two decades of experiment by Meles and Isaias has failed. Meles' call for "Democratic Fiesta" and Isaias call to remove TPLF/EPRDF and establish "one" Ethiopia side by side with Eritrea should be rejected. Both are our problems. The people of Ethiopia and Eritrea, the victims of this experiment need visionary leaders, the young generation of Ethiopia and Eritrea. They have a big role to play in bringing down the imaginary wall between Ethiopia and Eritrea and start a new experiment.

President Obama, Say Something When You See Something !!!

2010-05-06T09:01:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

New York City was saved last Saturday because of ordinary citizens response to the slogan of the city after 9/11, "Say Something When You See Something". These individuals saved the lives of many tourists and New Yorkers who happened to be in Times Square that day and that moment.

I am one of the persons who subscribe to "say something when you see something" long before it became a slogan of New York City. I made it part of my life. I speak for my family, neighbor, city and my home country in my blog, local radios, national and international medias. But I am not brave enough to take it to a higher level like the film producer Chris Flaherty who has been on hunger strike since May 3 in Washington D.C across the White House. Chris is Staging a hunger strike in front of White House to get the attention of President Obama on behalf of the famous opposition leader of Ethiopia, Birtukan Mediksa who has been jailed for more than one and half year by Meles Zenawi.

Today Chris is on his third day of a hunger strike . Chris will stay on hunger strike until President Obama publicly recognizes Ms. Birtukan Mediksa as a prisoner of conscience and put pressure for her immediate release. Obama is "seeing" something across his residence and he should "say something". Otherwise the life of Birtukan and even Chris is in danger. Their suffering is for standing for freedom and justice.

I talked to Chris yesterday and today, his spirit is good and I cheered him by saying President Obama will "say something" this coming"Friday" because he can not say that he is not aware of what is going on across the street for the last three days. The rest is pure politics, how to say it, ignore it is not an option. The earlier is the better and "Friday" is my deadline Mr. President.

President Obama promised on his speech in the Ghanaian Parliament that empowering Africans is his goal. When it comes to Ethiopia nothing has changed so far, it is the well known policy of American "national" interest in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopians are forced to go to an "election" the result of which is well known and Obama has not said "something" on the pre election intimidation by the Ethiopian regime and has not called for the release of Birtukan Mediksa and all political prisoners before any election.

Chris Flaherty is on hunger strike and Obama knows that. We challenge President Obama to "Say something When He sees Something" and save millions of Ethiopians who are under a brutal regime that has been on power for almost two decades using guns, intimidation and fake elections. If the hunger strike continues for days and the life of Chris Flaherty who is championing the cause of millions of Ethiopians is in danger we hold Mr. President accountable. Say Something Mr. President !!!!

Solidarity with Chris Flaherty !!!!

2010-04-30T07:53:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

Chris Flaherty, the producer of Migration of Beauty is challenging the Ethiopian diaspora to join him on his hunger strike to start on Monday May 3 in front of the White House to urge President Obama, recognize Birtukan Mediksa as a prisoner of conscience and call for her immediate release. The nine minutes video of Chris Flaherty is posted on oppositions websites and worth listening it.

The timing of his hunger strike unfortunately with the oil leak disaster in USA Gulf Coast might not get enough media attention but we can counter that if the thousands of Ethiopians who are residing in DC area join Chris 24/7 on his hunger strike. Let the young Ethiopians discuss this hunger strike on the weekend and present effective way of participating in it.

The strategy here is to get enough media coverage and for that to happen we need many people to participate. The most important thing is to join Chris twenty four hours. As days go by Chris' energy will dwindle and make sure to be with him for any emergency situation. Ethiopians in the taxi businesses have great role to play by spreading the news to all including many tourists of this brave man on their normal routine.

We can also mobilize our business communities especially Ethiopian Restaurants for the first day of the hunger strike. Let all Ethiopian Restaurants show their solidarity by closing their doors for the first day of the hunger strike that is May 3. Yes they will lose business and that is a simple sacrifice to pay as an Ethiopian compared to putting yourself in great danger of hunger strike for honorable cause.

Ethiopian religious establishments, Christians of a all denominations and Ethiopian Muslims to pray for Almighty to give strength for Chris Flaherty's honorable cause each day in front of the White House. All these actions will draw media attentions no doubt. I sincerely hope brave Ethiopians will join Chris Flaherty by directly participating on the hunger strike.

President Obama though distracted by emergency situation of the oil leak disaster can not ignore this hunger strike because it is in front of his residence. Michelle Obama will also be educated that another mother in a distant place is suffering for standing for freedom isolated from her five year old daughter for more than one and half year in jail in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

We admire and love Chris Flaherty for standing with Birtukan Mediksa while the USA policy makers are only giving lip service for freedom in our country. We are calling the Ethiopian regime critics in the Congress to come out and show their solidarity with the hunger strike. Birtukan Mediksa has to be freed without any precondition to be with her daughter and mother. Above all with millions of Ethiopians for whom she is their symbol of resistance, Ethiopian Mandela.

Election Rape !!!

2010-04-28T05:39:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

Last Saturday in Los Angeles gathering to welcome Ato Seye a leader of Medrek an interesting mathematical theory was developed which disprove that 4 million times 5 is not 20 million. The four million members of TPLF/EPRDF have been on mission to recruit five more people in their areas throughout Ethiopia to give a landslide victory for the Meles regime to continue on five more years so called "development' and economic"growth" to feed our people three times a day. So far the three time eaters most probably are the 4 million members of TPLF/EPRDF and another five millions to be recruited to fill their bellies three times a day, twenty million of them, farmers,students, teachers, government employees, merchants etc.

Ato Seye Abraha believes that let alone the new to be recruited five million the four million so called TPLF/EPRDF members most of them will not vote for TPLF/EPRDF. He also said that more than one hundred thousands administrators of the election have also been selected by Meles to administer the election. Thousands of so called independent observes are also nominated by TPLF.

If we believe the diehard 4 million supporters and their five million recruits most of them will note vote for their bread maker, TPLF/EPRDF, the so called election administrators and observers who are to lose big time if TPLF/EPRDF is beaten on the voting booth can cheat in the vote counting. However, Ato Seye Abraha brought the experience of Addis Ababeans who stood and defended their vote in May 2005 election, acting as voters, administrators and observers to beat TPLF/EPRDF in a knock out blow.

Are the political opponents of TPLF/EPRDF ready to defend their votes as Seye believes ? If yes, how ? TPLF/EPRDF has already prepared its security forces in all voting areas to intimidate voters. These security forces will clear the voting stations from all opponents and are we ready to confront the Agazi forces once again ?

The troubling thing for me is the major opponents of TPLF/EPRDF AEUP and Medrek are not even allowed to have their election rallies until now. We will not forget the one million march of Miazia 30 five years ago which shows the unpopularity of Western pampered regime of Meles Zenawi. The regime does not want to expose itself by allowing such big rallies by opposition forces this time.

We have less than a month to call our supporters to go and vote against TPLF/EPRDF. If we can not call our supporters to rally and give its support publicly why we should call them to vote for our parties in one hundred percent administered and observed election ? Let us show the strength of the opposition for friends and foes alike before any election.

TPLF/EPRDF may call its twenty million "supporters" for rallies and many of these will vote or not vote for TPLF, most likely they will be influenced if the opposition staged huge rallies. Rallies by oppositions will encourage the TPLF/EPRDF so called supporters to join the masses for real change like they did five years ago..

The subdued atmosphere where we find our people now is only helping the regime to steal/rape the election. Going election without energizing supporters and have a plan to defend their votes is as good as participating in an election rape.

Save Araya Tesfamariam !!!!

2010-04-23T06:08:00.001-07:00

Dear UNHCR representative in New Delhi,

I was shocked to hear the sad news of Journalist Araya Tesfamariam on an update piece (April 22) by Solidarity Committee For Ethiopian Political Refuges (SOCEPR) who is now on the bed side of his sick daughter in New Delhi hospital where his fourteen year old is going treatment for life saving situation. The worst thing for a father is to be attacked severely at this moment by the Ethiopian government send thugs and left to die. This is beyond cruelty, killing father and daughter !!!!

The Ethiopian regime thugs are now following Araya Tesfamariam even in New Delhi hospital basement to harass and threaten him to be deported to finish him off. Where is UNHCR which is established to save political refugees like Araya Tesfamariam who is now the number one enemy of the Ethiopian regime marked for death for using his paper to educate the Ethiopian public before he went to exile ?

I myself a parent of three young children can not keep quiet when another Ethiopian parent is suffering in New Delhi. This is an extraordinary parent who stood for justice beyond his immediate concern of his family like most of us. He could have served the regime and lead a comfortable life like many others.

Such brave Ethiopian journalists are many in exile and they deserve protection. I ask your office to save Journalist Araya Tesfamariam from being deported to Ethiopia with the help of the new Delhi Administration where he will surely face torture and death.

                                                              Sincerely,

                                                             Tedla Asfaw

TPLF, from Open House to Open Scandal !!!!

2010-04-11T15:10:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw
I read " The Author Memoir" by Tesfaye Gebrab, 422 pages book, I pre ordered . First I read it at fast speed one time and reread it again on this weekend. This is a book about our rulers life from their Open House fake degrees, open looting, open insult to their "Secret" night life which is no longer a secret thanks to Tesfaye. Once the TPLF/EPRDF leaders reached Addis Ababa almost two decades ago their main focus was enjoying life they missed in their seventeen years in a forest. Drinking and sleeping with young women was their priority after they put down the student revolt in Addis. I wonder how many of them were infected by HIV virus but no doubt many of them are now on drug even though Tesfaye did not give any detail.

Our rulers threw their old ladies and refresh themselves with young. Sibhat Nega the "old" brain of TPLF regenerated himself with eighteen year old girl. Foreign Minster of TPLF/EPRDF changed his old wife with Eritrean Madonna to dump her after the Ethio-Eritrean war in 1999-2000 to marry another business/thief woman from Tigray. Tefera Walwa and Abate Kisho jailed their old wives for new young wives. Samora Yunus, Kuma Demeksia, Bacha Debelle divorced and married multiple times.

Recently I read that TPLF/EPRDF has many women candidates running for the coming fake election. If there was a free media in our country such degrading character of our rulers towards our women would have put the majority of the ruling clique out of office keeping their other crimes aside. The new so called opponents of TPLF/EPRDF leaders character would have also been scrutinized.

Gebru Asrat a leader of ARENA who locked his paralyzed wife for new lady would have faced a serious question from our women and all people who read this book of Tesfaye. How could such man be trusted to stand for freedom and equality which himself fail to practice in his own home.

Seye Abraha and Bereket Simon who were mentioned as family men on Tesfaye's book have other issues which the public want to know. Berekit Simon the forged Amhara is responsible for giving away all the fertile land of Gonder by imprisoning and killing all the Amharas in the Amhara movement he chaired by force to Tigray Kilil.

Seye Abraha's problem is only Meles Zenawi and their power struggle has victimized many people. Seye and Meles have a same strategic goal, power has to remain under Tigrayan control for years to come. Their difference is at tactical level. Meles is using the fake federalism as a divide and rule to exploit regions in Open Robbery while Seye knows that this tactic is not working after the May 2005 election.

Whatever difference Meles and Seye had during the 1999-2000 Ethio-Eritrea war that divided TPLF in to two camps and the reason for Seye to go to six years in jail is no more on issue for both Meles and Seye. The issue now is how to keep power under TPLF in organizing and participating in fake elections for years to come, 2010, 2015 etc.

Thanks to Sibhat Nega a year ago Ethiopians were told in VOA Amharic that TPLF owned EFFORT is the richest company controlling more than ninety percent of the wealth of Ethiopia. The environmental damage TPLF brought to our country is monumental. The Jimma, Awasa and other forests have been cut and sold for fast money by TPLF.

Sadly the tyrant Meles Zenawi who supervised such environmental crime is seating as spokesperson for environmental affair on international stage, what a shame ? The anger of Abebe Geresu, a high military officer, who is now in exile is understandable. "Why do they do to us ? "Is Jimma an enemy land ?". The five hundred years forests are now cut and he will not be surprised if Jimma turns in to another desert.

Abebe Geresu also telling us in Tesfaye's book that our looters what they do not know is destroying the forestry of Jimma and Hawasa has direct impact on the rain in other parts of Ethiopia. The funny thing is by only putting forest in your Kilil you will not change the hydrology of the vast region. Only if you think in country level you will make difference. Does Meles Zenawi know that inaugurating dams after dams is not a solution to our water and energy problem. If there is no water what is dam for ? The last eighteen years under TPLF is destruction of our forests, building many dams is a mockery or a show case.

Ethiopia is not only under racist cliques but also under enemy who is planning for our long destruction after they left the scene in peoples uprising one day. The division and hate he witnessed even on those who are now leaving selling their bodies out of country in Dubai is sad and worrisome. A young Tigray woman is seen as enemy by others while she like themselves are the victims of TPLF that forced them to lead such shameful life in far place..

The love and respect our people showed to each other back home should be an example for those who are far from home.. Ethiopians are now under small group of people who are swearing in the mane of Tigray not to repeat "King Yohanese mistake" ,they never respected him in first place, not to give power for Amharas in the name of any election.

The story of Anebele Amare who was one of the Agazi leaders that killed more than two hundred people in Addis following the May 2005 election and the Oromo officers humiliation by TPLF cadres have shown us things have changed for the worst. What remained the same is TPLF did not face serious challenges from oppositions.

Our leaders are now millionaires who will spill whatever blood it takes to keep their wealth. Election or not TPLF/EPRDF will not give power to non-Tigreans. Here is the similarity of Meles and Seye who are now seem on opposite sides but working to the same goal, "keep power for those who lost thousands of lives fighting Derg, under Tigrayan control".

When it comes to more than eighty thousand lives lost in Badme under Meles and Seye leadership in Badme war they do not deserve any power to share. Their death is more valued than ours to keep them in power for long time. This reminded me of Rwanda's Paul Kigame and his party who are now on mission to rule forever Rwanda for the crime the Hutus committed against Tutsis. What is the crime the majority of Ethiopians committed to be ruled by few Tigrayans who are swearing in the name of the dead Tigrayans fighting Derg ?

Tesfaye who "failed" on his elementary and high school days did not get his diploma from Open House, the fake diploma of masters like our TPLF rulers. He got Ethiopian Diploma by reading, writing', mentored by respected authors like the late Hadis Alemayehu, Birhanu Zeihune, Tsegaye Gebremedhin and many others. More than that his childhood time full of love, with his mom , sisters, his friends likeNebiu Abebe and his family and all whom he met at a young age has made him who he is now.

The days he spent as TPLF cadre though regrettable made him know well who our rulers are. Without his close personal observation we would have missed the next Michael Jackson, Bacha Debelle, Go Bacha Go !!!!

Father of Ethiopia, Ababa Janhoye !!!

2010-04-06T13:49:00.001-07:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tedla Asfaw <tedla.asfaw@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 4:46 PM
Subject: Father of Ethiopia, Ababa Janhoye !!!
To: tedla.asfaw@gmail.com

Tedla Asfaw

I read Dr. Abebe Ambatchew one hundred thirty pages book titled, " A Glimpse of Greatness, Emperor Haile Selassie First:The Person " on this Easter weekend. From the start I was in hurry attracted by a title "The Person" " Ababa Janhoye " from a people who know him, working closely.

Ababa Janhoye, the closest I came to him was as a teenager in my elementary school days when his entourage passes through Aware in Addis Ababa. We run to greet him and get a reward, brand new one Ethiopian Birr handed to us by him through his car window. The lucky one got directly money from him and those who were not strong watched from distance. We all enjoyed his affectionate smile from distance.

His picture hanging giving a diploma for our fist family member in our home was a pride for all of us. During Derg early time when the campaign to discredit him was in full swing we brought it down from our wall. However, the terror under Derg did not save many I know and many young lives of loved ones were damped on our door steps.

The Derg campaign accusing Emperor Haile Selassie as a "thief" for owning St George Beer Factory, "Ye Negus Tela Metmekia " propaganda brought many young people to shout at him "thief", "Leba" when he was driven from his palace and seen for the last time in an old Volks Wagen. This factory,however, was a legal property of Janhoye bought from foreign owners on Dr. Abebe Ambatchew book.

The personal story I read on this book is also going very well with similar stories I heard from my late father. My father accompanied "Janhoye" to potash mine in the Dahilak desert. Many dignitaries accompany the king and the Afar Balabits brought large number of local Afars to greet the king.

Temperature on that part of Ethiopia is unbearable for all of the highlanders. As soon as they camp in the site all were fighting for drink, the mineral water called "Ambo Wha". In the middle of the fight for the bottle "Janhoye's" glass of water was untouched. My father told me he believed many including himself drunk more than one bottle of water without break.

The sweat which was pouring on many faces and the calm comfortable Janhoye in his seat was the story my father shared with all he knows. Dignified man under extreme temperature handed clothes for the Afar locals one by one. The story on Abebe's book a visit to Tibila farm in the upper Awash did not surprise me because temperature wise Tibila is much comfortable and there is an average a temperature difference of twenty degrees or more.

When it comes to being the "Emperor of Education" that is not only true but was also the basis for Janhoye development policy, on how to exploit the natural resources of our country by our own. "Let our children learn "science" , will look for our natural resources themselves". That was why Janhoye gathered bright kids from all over Ethiopia, educate, feed and cloth them to learn and develop their country.

Dr. Abebe Ambatchew figures on the education status of our country after the five years occupation of Ethiopia by fascist Italy with the resources available to him was extraordinary. The current TPLF regime supporters count of the number of schools and colleges and comparing it with Janhoye's time is non sense.

Compare the time of Janhoye with other countries of his time. Compare our students of his time with other countries and you will reach to conclusion that Ethiopia was progressing in education and development. The most important thing is that many who completed their education in foreign countries were quick to come home which is not true now. A country which is losing its human capital like our country will not develop only by foreign experts and foreign loan.

Ethiopia under Derg was run by Russians, Cubans and North Koreans and TPLF Ethiopia is proud to open Ethiopia for all who have money. The major player in our country is now Chinese professionals and daily laborers in thousands. Ethiopia is not a country Janhoye has envisioned to be developed by its children rather foreigners are now on driver seat exploiting our resources.

Ethiopians are now spectators or working mainly on menial job for foreigners. Those who accused and murdered Janhoye are now locked up in jail while their jailers are millionaires who owned the majority of business in Ethiopia. Tell me who is the thief or "Leba" There is no one,however, who is accountable more than Mengistu Hailemariam and Derg for the situation our country is now.

The killing that started on the government high officials, sixty of them, most of them well educated Ethiopians from poor back ground was the beginning of the end of Ethiopia Janhoye built from scratch. The master of this crime, Mengistu Hailemariam, is now living in comfort.

The elderly Janhoye trusted his people more than his close associates. He was begged to go to exile, begged to give a go ahead for his loyal forces to use force to keep his throne. His last word before he went to prison indeed should be how Janhoye seen in history, " if my deposition is for the unity and integrity of Ethiopia I will go, but keep Ethiopia united".

Ethiopia after seventeen years under Derg and eighteen years under TPLF is still in war. Neither Mengistu Hailemariam nor Meles Zenawi have conviction for our people and country. Mengistu run to save himself while leaving his associates to death and jail. Meles Zenawi is working hard to be respected internationally using his fluent English while hiding from his people back home. He will in the end will follow Mengistu running for his life. However, Ethiopians one day will give a proper place he deserves for their beloved father, Janhoye, and will held accountable rulers who run away from justice.

Who is afraid of the D.C. conference and Why ?

2010-04-05T14:23:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

I followed this past Saturday, Andnet Radio hosted by Ato Yoseph. This was by accident but worth listening it. The debate between two Ethiopians about the coming three day conference in D.C., April 9-11. Dr. Kasa one of the organizers and Dr. Kefyalew /washera a regular writer on TPLF Aiga website who characterized the conference as "Awde Tifat" ,"conference of evil".

Last week Aiga Editor, Zeru Hagos,wrote a piece, "conference of Hodgepodges", why the Horn of Africa Conference should be rejected. It went further and accused the co-sponsors of the conference, Trans Africa Forum and Africa Action. I read also a piece posted on ethiolion from anti-TPLF quarter calling for boycott this conference. The main reason is the use of "Horn of Africa" than the name Ethiopia to appease the OLF and ONLF secessionist movements.

The debate between the two Doctors, however,was evolving around the substance of the conference. Is it "Awde Tinat"/Educational or "Awde Tifat" /evil . Dr. Kasa argued that in Ethiopia under TPLF where democratic rights are non existent, organizing such conference one time in two decades is not we should be proud of in fact such conferences should have been frequent to charter the future of our country by analyzing all the developments in the Horn of Africa that is evolving as we speak.

Dr. Kefyalew however accused the organizers as fringes whose goal is to destroy the "legal" government in Ethiopia. He argued, it is only conference that is organized on what has been achieved under TPLF/EPRDF is a conference he will support and participate.

The host Ato Yoseph tried to moderate the debate which sometimes looked like a high school debate. Name calling and insulting remind us our revolutionary days back home. Both knowledgeable people hammered their position and no one gave ground on his position.

I did not read Dr. Kefyalew/Washera piece posted on his objection of the conference. His whole argument, however, here is that the only way to be heard or influence Ethiopian politics is by working like the opposition parities who are now running for May 23 "election". He challenged Dr. Kasa how could they organize anti-TPLF conference and at the same time support some group in Ethiopia for the coming election ? This however was not answered.

This conference is not about the coming election, it is about Ethiopia under TPLF in particular and the messy region which is known as Horn of Africa in general. As I learned on other programs from organizers, speakers were invited to present their paper on this conference and Dr. Kefyalew was invited on the spot to participate on the conference by paying $15 which is an entrance fee for three days conference. Dr. Kefylewa was surprised to learn that and declined the invitation.

This is the first conference organized in a long time that included many Ethiopians from North America, Europe, Africa including some from Ethiopia, foreign experts and NGOs. Dr. Kefyalew reminded us also there is one person from Eritrea.

I am the believer in debate. I do not support those who are calling to boycott this conference like Dr. Kefyalew for not including TPLF officials and their supporters and others who denounce the conference by its title.Yes it is the Horn of Africa, home of Ethiopians, Eritreans, Sudanese, Kenyans and Ugandans. True, most if not all of the debate is about Ethiopia. Until and otherwise there is stable Ethiopia which is run by the will of the people there will not be peace in the Horn of Africa.

Ethiopians confront Gordon Brown !!!

2010-03-31T06:33:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

Hundreds of Ethiopians are protesting against the presence of Meles Zenawi to co-chair the environmental finance conference with Gordon Brown in London right now. Meles Zenawi has come to London after it launched its pre election terror and sadly the European Union promised to send observers to give legitimacy for this crime. EU is sending its delegates to participate on the coronation of Meles Zenawi for five more years. Opposition leaders and candidates are jailed and killed and it is shame Gordon Brown is seating with a known human right abuser.

Will Gordon Brown seat with Osama Bin Laden to find a solution for terrorism ? That is what he did by seating with the known human right abuser, unelected leader to find a solution for global environmental problem. If the eighty million Ethiopians are from other planet then Gordon Brown is right to worry for the coming death and destruction from the global warming. Ethiopians are currently dying from terror organized by Meles Zenawi while Gordon Brown is worried for future loss of lives due to global warming.

Our people struggle will go on with or without freedom loving people support and no force and terror will stop Ethiopians march towards freedom. Meles Zenawi might be a darling of Gordon Brown but he is not an elected leader of Ethiopia. The least we ask Gordon Brown and other western leaders is not to give money in the name of poverty alleviation that is used to terrorize our people.

Voice of America as a voice for voiceless Ethiopians !!

2010-03-19T08:45:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

This month has been the best for listeners back home and the rest of us in the diaspora thanks to VOA Amharic programs that covered issues that is critical to the future of Ethiopia and the well being of Ethiopians. The issue of the land grab by foreigners was the best of VOA Amharic by Tizita Belachew. This land grab documentary by VOA exposed the Ethiopian regime for leasing Ethiopian land for up to ninety nine years that attracted almost five thousands foreign landlords due to its cheap land deal promised by round o clock security protection by by the ruling regime. This is the program that certainly angered Meles Zenaw to start new business called Jamming Radio Enterprise.

This new company has the start up capital from EFFORT, a company that was born twenty five years ago from food aid that was again confirmed by Ato Seye Abraha this month. The jamming industry did start business five years ago around the 2005 election and draw its first "profit" the same year. It went out of business the same year.

Before it went out of business,however,VOA Amharic journalists were accused of genocide and due to pressure from USA the charge was dropped and this same charge has now come to the VOA Amharic. Meles Zenawi accused of VOA Amharic as hate messengers like that of Radio Mille Collines of Rwanda that organized and led the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.

Meles Zenawi is telling VOA English that his Jamming Enterprise after it went out of business for the last five years is now back to business and is going to sale its stocks for public soon. Providing the pubic with Chinese made radios that are allergic to short waves will be the strategic goal but in the short term the Jamming Enterprise might be forced to shut off power until it perfects its new technology of jamming for emergency when VOA Amharic is on air around 9PM. Battery business will be booming like the generator. We know who makes the money.

"I declare for the coming two months until my coronation, to finish the job I started two decades ago, VOA Amharic the number one enemy of my administration". VOA Afan Oromo and Tigrena according to Meles Zenawi are not as bad as the Amharic.

This is identical to Hutus VS Tutsis scare he declared on last election in 2005 after our people voted for Kinijit on landslide. Divide Ethiopians wherever they are as Amharas/Amharic VS all others shamefully. How comes VOA Amharic is bad to be compared to Radio Mille Collines that gave the address of Tutsis to be killed live on radio.

What VOA Amharic did is read on air the names of poor farmers whose land was given to new foreign landlords. This is journalism at its best telling the truth. I wonder where those poor farmers by now are. Not only lost their land they now will be charged for telling their stories that angered Meles Zenawi, his March madness.

Yes we are mad too. Our anger is not as one ethnic group VS others as Meles quotes whenever he is threatened, Hutus VS Tutsis every five years, but to his regime and all foreign landlords who are taking poor farmers land. This is not only anger I can assure you, no foreign landlords will harvest sack of crop without any challenge. Give order to your Interahamwee/Agazi and let the fight begins.

Meles Zenawi's Interahamwee has already started its job. Aregawi Gebremedhin the father of six children a candidate for Mederk was killed in Tigray and this is not a one man job will not be over by locking one man for fifteen years. Killing in Eastern part of Ethiopia is going on. Warning to students from elementary to universities is given by Meles Zenawi. The next two months plan to jam VOA Amharic is not surprising.

It is the fear that victims and their families will come on air and expose these crimes in a language which is widely spoken, Amharic, made VOA Amharic a target. We expose TPLF's crimes for foreigners in their language but TPLF did not jam BBC for that matter for exposing food aid for gun this month.

VOA Amharic did a good service by inviting former and current TPLF bosses like Aregawi Berhe, Gebremedhin Araya and in fact the famous interview of Aboy Sibhat Nega, my favorite a year ago. "We did not know each other before the TPLF infrastructure development, people start coming together". "EFFORT is the richest company and it is only Tigrean". These were the words of Aboy Sibaht Nega and no one cry Hutus VS Tutssi as Meles Zenawi wished then. In fact Seye Abraha told us this week that EFFORT is now a few selected TPLF family members property.

On recent program on the food aid loot and the massacre in Hawzen more than two decades ago we heard Aregawi Berhe and Gebremedhin Araya though they have the same stand when it comes to food aid for gun by TPLF they differ on what happened in Hawezene. VOA Amharic put the opinion of Aregawi who accused Derg for the crime and Gebremedhin Araya accuseing TPLF for orchestrating the crime to get the support of Tigrayans. That is journalism as we know it in a civilized society.

Today we will have Aregash Adane an opposition candidate to challenge Meles in Adwa and Aregawi Berhe are debating the issue of food aid for gun and many including Meles Zenawi are listening. VOA Amharic is giving an alternative for our people. Let TPLF talk about its development proudly and if this development changed peoples lives why to worry about the Hutus VS Tutsis. As Aboy Sibhat Nega said thanks to TPLF Ethiopians have come closer.

Congratulatory letter to Seye Abraha

2010-03-16T16:14:00.001-07:00

Dear Seye Abraha,

I just finished reading nine pages speech by you on Medrek gathering, estimated to be six thousands, at Mekelle Municipality last Sunday. The speech was one of the best I heard from former TPLF leaders. I wish you made such speech when you joined the UDJP few months ago. On that speech I congratulate Dr. Negasso Gidada while demanding more from you on my piece, "Well come Dr. Negasso Gidada and we are waiting for the arrival of Seye Abraha". I am happy your plane touched at the Mekelle Municipality safely last Sunday. Well come home Ato Seye Abraha.

I have respect for you and I saluted you when you came out of jail after separated from your family for more than six years. I wish you success on whatever political platform you wish to serve your country. I wish Medrek and AEUP work in collaboration than adversarial because the only one will benefit from such division is none other than the TPLF gangs.

                                                                                          Yours,

                                                                         Tedla Asfaw

Bob Geldoff defending the looters of food aid ?

2010-03-04T08:02:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

I met Bob Geldoff in Belgium, Ghent, in 1986-87 by accident in conference as a young student and was excited to see him after the live aid he organized saved the lives of the famine of 1984-85 victims in northern Ethiopia of Tigray.This young man was my hero and many Ethiopians do believe like that. However, Ethiopia after twenty five years of the great famine is still on food aid, wide famine has been averted only because of food aid by USA and the west for TPLF since it has been in power in 1991. The hundred millions of dollars food aid "fruit" is also visible buying wealth for TPLF millionaires.

The current rulers of Ethiopia, TPLF, which Bob Geldoff know them personally are millionaires using looted money from food aid. BBC documentary by Martin Plaut, March 3. 2010, exposed, though late, how aid money was used to buy weapons which many Ethiopians have been aware thanks to one of the person in the documentary, Gebre Medhin Araya, TPLF fighter then. The scheme of deception and looting has been the trade mark of TPLF since that deadly famine. An experience that is only getting sophisticated year to year after TPLF has controlled power for almost two decades.

What Matin Plaut did is telling the world community what he found in his one year investigation, no wonder, the thieves and those who were cheated, the aid agencies, are crying foul. I wish Bob Geldoff has not declined the invitation for the documentary. However, Bob Geldoff defending the looters and accusing BBC for the story and accusing the former TPLF fighters who are our heroes as disgruntled people is to be fooled once more and we totally reject it.

Let me tell you one thing Mr. Geldoff. The aid money that went through, Relief Society of Tigray( REST) is now under Endowment Fund For Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT) that controls ninety percent of wealth in Ethiopia. This is a fact and the source of the wealth is foreign food aid which you yourself and other aid agencies handed to REST/TPLF in Khartoum for which Gebre Medhin Araya was a witness, TPLF treasurer.

Mr. Geldoff, whatever is exposed now can not be washed away as a case of few disgruntled individuals including Aregawi Berhe former TPLF commander, trying to score points. The fruit of the loot is open for all to see. As I said last year on the twenty fifth anniversary of the famine on my piece, "Millionaires were born out of Ethiopia's famine" Oct. 25, 2009. Now as BBC reported it was also used to buy weapons. Stop the cover up Mr. Geldoff, and I urge you to distance yourself from Meles Zenawi and other looters who are busy now selling Ethiopian land for fast cash in open market.

The diaspora community will rally against Meles Zenawi and call for him to step down representing Africa in global environmental conference. A man who supervised the sale of "Sand for Money" is responsible for the loss of thousand of lives and can not be a spokesperson for planet earth. My hero, Bob Geldoff defending such a man is an insult to all Ethiopians, the victims of that famine and those of us who are still alive !!!!

Pre Election Terror should be condemned by all !!!!

2010-03-03T05:47:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

The killing in Tigray of a Medrek candidate last this past Monday is an Election Terror ninety days before a planned election. Meles Zenawi who declared five years ago Interhawe for his supporters to start a war Tigrayans VS others after he lost election and failed miserably and is now calling Tigrayans to kill each other for him to stay on power. His cadres answered and spilled blood when we are celebrating the Adwa victory in Adwa.

He started an election terror early this time and the killing of Aregawi Gebre Medhin and injuring other candidate gravely is the beginning of an election terror.

AEUP president Eng. Hailu Shawel previously informed us one killing in Gonder a member and now the Medrek candidate killing should not be seen in isolation. It is our death by all definition. The death of Medrek candidate and AEUP member are both to chase away opponents way before election starts.

Both are the attempt to kill us separately because TPLF thinks Medrek and AEUP will not stand together. Big miscalculation !!!!It is time for AEUP and Medrek to denounce these killings in unison. Gebru, Seye, Beyene, Merara, Gizachew and Hailu have to stand together to fight the killers by mobilizing the masses.

Indifference to loss of life is unacceptable. Those who died were killed for organizing their supporters and if the leaders of Medrek and AEUP are not standing together they will be losers.

I urge the diaspora supporters of these parties not to look for an scapegoat, Hailu Shawel, for TPLF killing. This is not Medrek VS AEUP it is the killers VS those who are organizing their constituencies peacefully.

AEUP made it clear way before this killing that it will only be part of a transparent election. If not it will not participate to give legitimacy to the killers.

I am encouraged that Medrek's leadership is now turning three hundred sixty degree that boycotting of this election is a possibility. Organized boycotting by AEUP and Medrek has to be explored immediately.

Unite and defend our people !!!

Who said we need election ?

2010-03-01T07:55:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

I am not a fan of a strong man of Eritrea, Isaias Afeworki, and I did not show up on the Feb.24 demonstration in Washington D.C. to denounce the USA sponsored sanction against Eritrea. One thing I agree with Isaias Afeworki is his stand on election. He never believes in election like his neighbor TPLF led Ethiopia. On many interviews he told us that such election is a waste of resources and lives as we saw five year ago in May 2005 in Ethiopia.

Since 1991 Isaias has not conducted any election while his counterpart in Addis have conducted many including the election billed to the world as "Enkene Yeleshe Mircha"/ flawless election. We all know what happened and Ethiopians are still not recovering from the trauma of May 7, 2005 election and its aftermath.

A TPLF led regime is known on exaggeration of its strength except being surprised on Badme war more than a decade ago and our people election verdict five years ago. It lost both, the Badme war and the election of May 2005. It was only after using Ethiopian nationalism and the call of defending the mother land it beat back Shabia and recovered Badme. However, recovering from its electoral defeat of May 2005 is impossible in any transparent election.

Moreover, since May 2005 election we heard Meles Zenawi and his top cadres telling us that they learned form their loss of May 2005 and will do all to win in the May 23, 2010 election. For the majority of Ethiopians nothing has changed in their lives to change their vote of May 2005. In a fair and free election the ruling regime in Ethiopia is gone for good and the truth is it will stay on power for years to come to catch up with the Asian Tigers and its model is not the West but China. Development for the masses and politics for ideological or tribal elites

The cry of development, the infrastructure, schools,clinics double digit economic growth is not benefiting the people whose living standard is going down daily. I have not seen also development attracting Ethiopian Diasporas going back to Ethiopia in masses to help themselves and their country.

The only one who are benefiting from infrastructure development are foreign investors/landlords that are coming to buy cheap land that will primarily benefit them, the regime at the expense of poor rural farmers and will have great consequence, destroying Ethiopian agriculture. The infrastructure development is helping these foreigners to ship their harvest out from the land locked Ethiopia that will live on donated food for years to come.

The regime is boasting number of clinics and number of schools built in many parts of Ethiopia. It claims itself as a development state like Peoples Republic of China. What we all know is that China reached its current high development without any election. Eritrea media is also full of development news without any election. So why do we spend resources for such election ?

Neither Eritrea nor China will waste their resources in election fiasco. The truth is that the Ethiopian regime is surviving on foreign loans, budget subsidy and its defense budget paid fully by the west primarily USA.. To get all these aids the West demands election fair or not, for poor Ethiopia. No one asks China to make election because the big corporation of the West are making big investment in China and in fact less in an elected government of India.

Moreover, the Ethiopian regime is accountable to its subsidizers, the West. Their interest is to fight their war on terror in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. The West argue that Ethiopia is a strategic country and Meles Zenawi is a respectable leader who Liston to them not Isaias who put his finger on their eyes, deserves sanction or possible regime change.

The May 23 election is only less than ninety days and the game remains still the same. Election to satisfy the demand of the West not to empower our people in a fair, free and transparent election. I hope the West will not hold back its aid if our people boycott this coming election.

Urgent Global Fund Raising to Bring Change in Ethiopia !!!

2010-02-15T11:30:00.001-08:00

Dear Toronto AEUP Supporters,

I would like to salute you for bringing Sun Shine in this gloomy winter in North America. Ethiopians in New York and its surrounding regions have been hibernating for many winters, and some in fact are "whispering" that there are more "Woyanes" in our Metropolitan region, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut than other similar regions where Ethiopians reside..

It has been awhile we come together to stand with our people. The last time I remember we come together is less than fifty people to receive Eng. Hailu in secretly called meeting two years ago which I was invited by a friend. I also remember the energy, when we came to support AAPO in thousands and raise huge money. Some of the people who organized those fund raising since then have gone to Ethiopia for their better "life" and comfortable retirement.

Many who happen to stay here and struggle have personal animosity towards each other which has nothing to do with the struggle home. No wonder, it is very hard to disprove, that most Ethiopians in our region are "Woyane supporters", "Hode Aderes". Most Ethiopians, however, are distancing themselves from the struggle after the Kinijit spirit was sucked from their lungs thanks to the division of Kinijit and the animosity that has followed.

This Kinijit breakdown created also good opportunity for some "Hode Aderese" to go back home and build their home for future retirement. Such selfish Ethiopians sadly are represented in high percentage in our region. This is very embarrassing for few of us who are trying our best to be the voice of the voiceless in all avenues, rally, radio, TV, paltalk and Internet.

However, your fund raising this month and the Global Fund Raising Fund you suggested on your Paltalk yesterday is very crucial for many Ethiopians who believe in AEUP led struggle of organized people, free debate and free rally to repeat May 2005 on which AEUP played the leading role. This is only possible if we stand with AEUP and walk the talk. Such fund raising will make those of us here and many others to give money which is a burning issue for AEUP right now. I suggest if such fund raising to be conducted electronically and sent to AEUP immediately.

I hope you will organize effective and easy way of sending money that will involve a large population of our community. I and many of my friends are ready to use our credit cards when you are ready. The Toronto exemplary action indeed has brought sunshine in a gloomy North America where large Ethiopians reside.

I commend all of you for your leadership. I would like to tell you that I am very proud of you for standing with Ethiopian people by supporting AEUP. I can assure you that for the remaining one hundred days before the election, we can raise one million dollar from ten thousand Ethiopians, it is only one dollar a day, Yes we Can !!!

Sincerely,

Tedla Asfaw

Land sold to Sudan, Number One Issue on the coming Election !!!!

2010-02-09T08:11:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

We are now hearing from Khartoum that the ruling regime will accept the referendum in January 2011 to be held at South Sudan. Many are predicting that Sudan will split in to North Arabs and South non Arabs. The Libyan dictator Mohamed Qaddafi on last week statement in Addis was also suggesting that independent South Sudan will be like Somalia. However, he did not prescribe such outcome for his North Arab friends.

Qaddafi's prediction of another Somalia in South Sudan is a possibility as long as the Beshir regime is still on power following the national election this spring. Oil reach North Sudan can arm factions in the South to make sure that South Sudan will indeed be another Somalia.

There is another destabilizing factor also for united or divided Sudan, the TPLF regime factor, giving away huge land which is about 1000km with an average width of 30km land on Ethiopia's western front to the newly two Sudan. TPLF might finalize this deal after it extends its rule over Ethiopia on the coming May election so far which looks like a coronation than election.

If we have a free media the issue of land given to Sudan would have been a number one election issue to rally Ethiopians against giving our land to Sudan. We have only less than four months, there is no debate in any platform on any issue let alone a huge issue of land for which Ethiopians will give much priority than any other issue.

Both North and South Sudan are a beneficiary of such undemocratic atmosphere in Ethiopia. For them the issue of land awarded should proceed quietly without involving the public and both of them wanted the Meles regime to stay on power to implement the deal they have made behind our back.

Moreover, the division in the diaspora oppositions following the decision of AEUP to sign the Code of Conduct and the joining of Seye Abraha, the UDJP party at a leadership position, have put the major national issue of land on back burner and valuable time is wasted.

This is a good time for both North and South Sudan to consolidate a big land/bonus given away to them for newly to be formed independent North and South Sudan, make a new map at Ethiopia's expense. However, this is not going to stand because Ethiopians both in North/Gonder and South/Gambella will fight for their land against the newly formed Sudan no matter what.

Sudan, both and North, surely will be another Eritrea that opened war against Yemen, Ethiopia and recently Djibouti to get its "lost territory". The two newly formed Sudan's war however is different in a sense the ruling regime in Ethiopia is part of the problem when it comes to Ethiopia's national interest. It stands with Sudan by giving away of our land using the defunct colonial map.

The TPLF regime which awarded Badme by bringing such defunct colonial treaties after the conclusion of the Badme war more than decade ago however failed to give Badme to Asmara after the international arbitrators gave Badme to Eritrea. The so called "Five Principles" by TPLF to normalize relation with Eritrea before it handed Badme was rejected by Asmara and we are now in a situation when any day and time another devastating war will break out in north.

When it comes to our western boundary there was no condition but total sell out of our land to Sudan. Ethiopians protested in the diaspora when the secret of the deal came out open few years ago and the regime covered up this by bringing the all known development agreement with both North and South Sudan. The people in Gonder and Gambella are revolting against the deal made behind their back and currently our people are facing both Sudan and TPLF militias.

When i write this piece I heard Lidetu Ayalew, a leader of EDP, on VOA Amharic that preparation is now final to start debates live and taped on major issues. Let me make it clear for real opponents of of TPLF, if they are not debating the illegal action of TPLF to hand over our land to Sudan as a number one national issue and call their supporters to condemn such illegal action they will be held accountable.

The signers of the Code of Conduct should not be silenced to raise this land issue. If indeed they do not debate such issue and is untouchable then this will be the Code of Surrender. TPLF will claim that there is no such land given to Sudan but Meles Zenawi himself did not deny his regime intention to reward the "generous" people of Sudan.

Those who did not sign to the Code of Conduct but are participating in the coming election can not avoid such issue either because some of them as members of TPLF parliament failed to denounce TPLF for its illegal action by avoiding the parliament to give away Ethiopian land to Sudan.

Let the debate start and bring the number one issue of our land given to Sudan for public.We know that all land that was handed to Sudan will be part of the newly formed North and South Sudan, and the beginning of new war with Ethiopian armed oppositions. South Sudanese should not start a war with their brothers and sisters as a result of the illegal land transfer made by TPLF. Such war which might be delayed because of TPLF is going to be ignited if Ethiopia has a democratic government.

North Sudan will continue to displace Ethiopians with the help of TPLF and the armed oppositions will act to defeat this illegal action. We should help all the patriots who are battling in defense of our western territory. This is our holy war to keep our holy land Ethiopian. If opponents failed to debate this issue and rally their supporters not to vote for TPLF that is selling our land to Sudan then they will lose any credibility in the eyes of Ethiopians.

Meles Zenawi in the eyes of African leaders ?

2010-02-03T06:32:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

I saw sixteen minutes of praise of Meles Zenawi by some African leaders on pro TPLF web site Aiga this morning, I was not surprised. You invite someone in your home and ask him or her how am I doing, no one says negative things about you. The real stuff is said during lunch or coffee break while no one is around.

Moreover, this praise of our leaders is not new. I still remember "Janhoye Ye Africa Abate, Talaku Mere " on his 80th birthday celebration. What did Africa do to him when he was murdered ? I can assure you that Meles Zenawi never condemned the murder of King Haile Selassie, many African leaders had good time with the killer Mengistu Halilemariam back then too.

Let me tell you my experience with other African students. Most of them were Mengistu's admirers and accuse Ethiopians for rebelling against him because he was "too dark for you". Praise and hate by outsiders is not a new phenomenon and what matters is a leader to be loved by his people.

I can assure you that if you made a survey in Ethiopia you will find that Meles Zenawi is the most unpopular person. The African leaders praising the development of Addis on Ethiopian TV are whispering about beggars and street children off the camera. What matters for our people, hidden or ignored by our African guests, is the lives of many Addis Ababeans without food, water, sanitation and power suffering in their shacks.

Ethiopians are waiting for a leader, elected, accountable and loved. I hope they will vote for such leader as they did in May 2005 and were denied in four month time if there is is a free and a fair election, the peoples right to assemble in public places and media are open right now without any delay.

Dedebit Credit and Savings Institute (DECSI) in Ethiopia

2010-02-02T11:24:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

:

I read on the MicroCaptal.org (Feb. 2) an article wrote by Hio Kyeng Lee, "Who is Who in Microfinance : Dedebit Credit and Savings Institute ( DECSI ) in Ethiopia ". However, the source of the initial capital for this scheme was not documented accurately. The Relief Society of Tigray (REST), the development arm of Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) and its economic empire, Endowment Fund For Relief and Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT) are inseparable. These establishments were built during the Ethiopian famine twenty five years ago in 1985 using food aid, money and other goods sent to Ethiopia according to insiders eyewitness account.

Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) after it overthrow the communist regime of Mengsitu Haile Mariam in 1991 confiscated also many government owned properties, houses, factories and put it under Endowment Fund For Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT) and the sole capital of DECSI private funds is none other than the ruling TPLF led by Meles Zenawi. Individual participation is very limited to members of TPLF and discriminatory to many Ethiopians.

The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and other donors are also giving aid to DECSI according to Mr. Lee report. What bothers me is these foreign countries wanted to look the other way and accepted the looting empire of TPLF as a legitimate financial establishment. I can assure you that similar looting financial establishment can also be born in the middle of devastation in Haiti right now if the west wanted to look the other way like they have done in Ethiopia for the last two decades. This is not hard work it is pure robbery.

Singing for our land and water ?

2010-01-27T19:41:00.001-08:00

To: ethiopia@ethiopianembassy.org, ben@ethiopiafirst.com

Ato Wondimu Assemnew, Ethiopian Embassy Representative in Washington D.C.,

I heard your interview with Hagerfiker Radio on the question of giving Ethiopian land for long lease to foreigners this morning posted on www.ethiopiafirst.com. You claim that these lands are barren lands which are too difficult to develop by our own. What I know is that most of these lands in fact are sources of food for nomads and many animals also live in these so called "barren lands" which are infact virgin lands sold at cheap price be it in long lease term.

Our new foreign landlords can do to our land whatever they want, pollute, degrade the environment and export their produce for their people. We saw the recent harvest ceremony in Saudi Arabia and more yet to come. Explain to me how this is going to help the poor people in foreign controlled Ethiopian lands. Getting the job as laborers to keep them alive as slave is what you call development ? Development that do not change the life of people in capital as well as human capacity is not a new thing as you suggested. Colonialists did it in many African countries and now proud Ethiopians are doing it in the twenty first century.

The record of TPLF/EPRDF "development" at any expense for fast cash by ignoring regions/kilil and taking away their land is even illegal under its own constitution. While you are insulting us for singing for our land and water for centuries without any development, it is funny then to leave our regions/kilil sing for their article 39 without empowering them to use their resources for their own.

                                                                                Ke Akberot Gara,

                                                                               Tedla Asfaw

Addis Ababa and major cities are in danger !!!!

2010-01-23T12:40:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

I reread the tenth anniversary magazine of the Ethiopian Association of Civil Engineers (EACE) special issue (August 2008 ) after a piece by Samuel Kinde, "Earth quake risks in Ethiopia" posted on Ethiopian websites this week to have a background on our country infrastructure development and what we can learn from the January 2010 devastating earth quake in Haiti which took the lives of more than two hundred thousands of Haitians and more than half million people homeless.

Samuel Kinde informed us most of our structures are not designed taking into account the earthquake factor and on the EACE tenth anniversary report I was surprised that there was no mention of earthquake. Ato Samuel Kinde reported that in 1995 their was adoption of the building code of standards for earthquake and still in most cases buildings are mushrooming without strict adoption of this code.

I wonder why EACE has ignored the 1995 building code as one of a great achievements and call for its enforcement on its ten year anniversary celebration. While we celebrate the great achievements of our civil engineering in both human and physical capacity we can not forget or downplay the earthquake factor.

Ato Samuel Kinde piece is timely for all of us, engineers, ordinary citizens and politicians that in the age of mushrooming and unsafe construction we are multiplying the danger of lives and properties to be lost as we "celebrate development" in major cities. In the last five decades as reported on Ato Samuel Kindie's piece we had eight earthquakes, the recent one in 1999 two hundred fifty miles far from Addis Ababa, measuring more than 6 in Richter scale that affected populated areas with no huge loss of lives. But such pure luck will not be the case in the future when Haiti's capital Port Au prince was devastated which never faced such disaster in more than two centuries.

The last two decades of high rise buildings and major roads development without strict building code for earthquake prone Addis Ababa and other major cities will take the lives and huge displacement of people, the monetary damage for poor Ethiopia will be tremendous.

The danger of flooding from the collapse of dams and the release of poison from the failure of pipes on the industrial section of Addis Ababa were also pointed on Ato Samuel Kinde timely piece, retrofitting has to be done in the hospitals, schools and major public buildings and strict building code has to be enforced on the new to be built structures as he suggested as solution.

Foreign built roads like the one built by Chinese in Addis Ababa and dams newly completed and soon to be finished if not designed according for earthquake should be corrected before it collapses. However, most of the retrofitting as Ato Samuel Kinde argues needs huge financial resources and it can not be done by private or government alone.

International financial assistance is the way to go and that can be achieved if the government authorities present a proposal according to Ato Samuel. A country like Ethiopia which has many problems, politics and corruption seems not ready like we saw in Haiti to tackle these problems honestly currently.

The current regime which call itself a "Development State" without any transparency and legitimacy will aggravate our situation by its trademark of arrogance. However, professionals back home and here in diaspora keep on pressing both the regime and the international community to implement the recommendation of the Addis Ababa RADIUS Project Report of Sept. 1999.

A vote for one Strong Ethiopia !!!

2010-01-11T06:44:00.001-08:00

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Tedla Asfaw
The Code of Conduct which was signed by the opposition parties and the regime after became the source of contention for the last months now is set aside and even those who rejected it are now quietly "Competing'" , Code of Competition.

The AEUP which is led by Eng. Hailu has been travelling to Bahir Dar, Mekele and this week UDJ has also made a rally in Bahir Dar which shows that UDJ is now in business of competition and they should be applauded for that. On big cites like Addis Ababa UDJ has already put its candidates on the 23 regions of Addis Ababa.

Dr. Negasso Gidada, Dr. Hailu Araya and Seye Abraha are some of its top candidates and Ato Gebru Asrat promised to win Tigray for Medrek. AEUP is a formidable party in Tigray because the people in Tigray like any other place in Ethiopia are going to vote for change. Nineteen years with TPLF/EPRDF has not improved their life and the talk of development is only the development which enriches government connected people pockets and the majority of Tigray people did not get anything while Gebru Asrat was a governor of Tigray now turned opponent of Meles Zenawi.

The promise of Merara and Bulcha collision winning the Oromo region is also nonsense. These two individuals since they formed their own parties have been known for talking in the parliament not delivering anything. The perception that UDJ led by Eng. Gizachew can not win in Oromo region and has to leave it for their Oromo parties show that Merara and Bulcha are suffering from the Amhara Syndrome for more than two decades officially.

We have four months to go before the general election and we can say many things from our recent experience.. The Miazia 30 million people rally in Addis five years ago is still fresh in our peoples mind. Not only people like Merara, Bulacha and Seye even OLF from distance was shocked by Ethiopian desire for change which was a referendum on failed TPLF/EPRDF Kilil/ethnic federalism policy for fifteen years.

Merara and Bulcha still believe the May 15, 2005 victory was Kinijit's, the Amahra party, victory which in no way they will endorse. For them Oromo is for the Oromos, Amhara for Amharas , Tigray for Tigrayans and the Ethiopian nationalism they witnessed five years ago is very dangerous for their ethnic enterprise. The rejection of All Ethiopian Union Party/ AEUP for being a a torch bearer of kinijit of 2005 is not a surprise.

Gebru Asrat has the same fear like his Medrek friends too. Gebru promised to bring Tigray for Medrek in election to correct the mistake made by TPLF. One of the members of the Lidetu Ayalew led Ethiopian Democratic Party/EDP from Mekele, Tigray recently joined Arena, Tigray party to win Tigray for Medrek. For Gebru non Tigrayans has no business in Tigray and believe Arena is the representative of the Tigray region.

There is no Ethiopian party for them. The future Ethiopia they will form if they are lucky is only going to be by correcting the mistakes of TPLF/EPRDF. TPLF has to be replaced by Arena and the EPRDF which is front of many nations and nationalities have to be replaced by Medrek.

The Merara, Bulcha, Petros and Seye's are not learning from the May 2005 Kinijit victory in 2005. That election was a referendum on TPLF/EPRDF ethnic policy and the idea of bringing it back under new rulers is against millions of peoples vote. The wish of our people like then now is also to live equally in one strong Ethiopia, note on ethnic based weak Kilils/regions which are antagonizing each other controlled by ethnic lords

Ethiopians in millions said it loud and clear. We are Ethiopians first an then we can become Oromos, Amhras, Tigrayans, Somalis etc. Parities like AEUP are rallying behind this slogan, let us build our home together. At present the rallies in different regions of Ethiopia show the positive reaction of our people to this Ethiopian identity after two decades of attack by the regime and some similar organizations who wanted the job started by TPLF/EPRDF to be finished by dismantling Ethiopia and Ethiopian nationalism.

The strongest Ethiopian nationalist party now is AEUP. The struggle in Ethiopia is between the current regime which rules based on ethnic federalism and the other alternative which respects nations and nationalities rights but not make the basis to govern the country.

The Medrek supporters, UDJ and the rest of nations and nationalist parties big enemy is AEUP. AEUP will make these collections out of business and they know that they will rather prefer TPLF/EPRDF to stay in power than AEUP come to power. For them AEUP has to be stopped in their Kilil/regions by false propaganda as party of Amharas who wanted to bring the Amhara domination.

AEUP will go to all regions as they promised except Gambella and Somalia and we are going to test the claim of the Merara, Bulcha and the Seye's soon that AEUP is an Amhara party. Those who spent months in denouncing AEUP for signing the Code of Conduct/Courage are now busy competing against AEUP . One thing is for sure, Ethiopians are going to vote like they did five years ago for one Strong Ethiopia.

Ethiopia, unity with diversity.

2009-12-22T11:07:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

The celebration of nations and nationalities day under TPLF/EPRDF for the fourth time went as usual back home and here in government organized celebration. "Nations and nationalities are using their constitutional right, developing their kilil/region as it fits their need. Colleges, universities, schools, clinics etc. are mushrooming everywhere thanks to the right of nations and nationalities for self determination including secession enshrined on the article 39 of the Constitution".

At the same time there are nationalistic movements like OLF and ONLF who are battling the regime in Ethiopia who they accused for renegading article 39 and involving on their affairs and regions not benefiting their people but TPLF and its affiliated nationalities.

What I am commenting following here is about the scenario when the above all pro nations and nationalities forces were united and the only people left alone according to Andargatchew Tsige's book "Ye Amaraw Tigel Keyete Wedete"," The Amharas people struggle from where to where" that was written in Amharic seventeen years ago when TPLF and its collaborating nationalist forces, including OLF and ONLF, were enjoying the fruit of their struggle after toppling Derg in 1991.

Ato Andargachew was crying for fellow Amharas who were left on cold, no one to take care of them. He went back on time to Emperor Tewodros who had a good chance to "unite Amharas" and build a foundation for Amhara Nationalism but failed because of Tewodros adventure to extend his power to other nations and nationalities in Ethiopia. Ato Andargatcehew ignored the patriotic death of Tewodros as immaterial. What he forgot was Tewodros died fighting the British Empire and his death robbed the British any dream they had to subjugate our people. Such disregard from the person who cried for united Amhara organization like that of Andargatchew Tsige and accused Emperor Tewodros for missing the opportunity, using the British industrial revolution to develop Amhara region and bring a strong Amhara Nationalism is indeed suspicious to the very least.

King Menelik who followed Tewodros also failed to bring the Amhara Nationalism. In fact according to Andargatchew, Menelik succeeded in his campaign to expand his control deep in to south by war and conquer. Menelik brought with him other nations and nationalities to join and brought Ethiopian Nationalism in the process destroying the Amhara Nationalism according to Andargatchew, Amharic name meaning Unite Them.

Ato Andargatchew is not denying the Ethiopia people shining history of dying for Ethiopia in the Adwa battle nor on the five year armed struggle to eject the fascist forces from Ethiopia. Members of all nationalities died on all the battle fronts to defend Ethiopia and that is what I call Ethiopian Nationalism we all share.

The argument that there is no Ethiopian Nationalism because we do not share common language or culture is absurd. Ethiopian Nationalism is deep in Ethiopia which has thousands of years of history and that is the reason why our country remain the only few countries in the world never colonized by foreigners.

We should not feel sad like the writer for people identifying with Ethiopian Nationalism and consider them out of touch of the reality in Ethiopia according to Ato Andargatchew piece. As he mentioned on his writings there were Ethiopian People Democratic Movement (EPDM) and All Amhara People Organization (AAPO) led by late professor Asrat Wodleyeses who accepted the reality of nations and nationalities in Ethiopia and started forming an Amhara movement.

Professor Asrat led AAPO was formed not answering Andargatchw's cry for Amhara Nationalism rather to save lives. There is no line written on Andagrgatchew piece on the numbers of Amharas who were murdered viciously in many parts of Ethiopia by the armed nationalities for being on the wrong place and primarily for being Amharas. How could a man who claim deeply caring for Amharas forgetting such barbarism carried out by armed nationalities to start ethnic war while Andargatchew was going back in time to tell us the wrongs of our Emperors and kings who robbed us Amhara Nationalism ?

Leaders who care for Amharas formed AAPO and saved lives while many elites accused them for submitting to the doctrine of nations and nationalities by forgetting the cause of Ethiopia. For the late Asrat Woldeyese saving lives was his priority and indeed succeeded by establishing AAPO.

The armed nations and nationalities leaders knew very well that some one is watching their ethnic cleansing and many of us rally behind AAPO to save lives while Andargatchew is looking the other way having good time with the new nations and nationalities dictate on poor Amharas, deliberately avoided on his writing. His call for all Amharas to reject Ethiopian Nationalism, come and develop Amhara kilil created by TPLF/EPRDF by taking away former Gonder and Wello regions into larger Tigrai Kilil.

Ato Andargatchew accused the Derg dictatorship for keeping the Haile Selasaes' time provincial regions, fourteen of them. The Gonder, Gojam, Wello and Shoa division he said has hurt the cause of united Amhara. From this statement it seems that Andrgatchew accepts the former provinces should come as an Amhara Kilil to develop strong Amhara Nationalism why then kept quiet when these provinces were redrawn ? The philosophy of Derg was based on class, it does not differentiate between nations and nationalities, unrealistic to establish an Amhara nation as a foundation of Amhara nationalism. To its credit however Derg formed the Institutes of Nations and Nationalities chaired by Yugoslavia educated Ashargere Yegletu to establish autonomous regions for the people to develop their languages and cultures and there was not a single line commenting on this project for what it was.

The Badme war ten years ago have shuttered the propaganda of there is no Ethiopian Nationalism by TPLF/EPRDF. Our people rose under one flag speaking their own languages to defend their common home, Ethiopia from Shabia's aggression. The multi ethnic Addis Ababeans rejected TPLF/EPRDF five years ago on national election rallying under Kinijit.

Andargatchew a man who cried for Amhara Nationalism seventeen years ago have written another book "Nestaneten Yemayeawek Nesta Aweche", "Liberator who does not know freedom" in Amharic which I did not read. I am sure on this writing he might have accepted that Ethiopian Nationalism is superior to all types of nationalism in Ethiopia.

As one of the founders of Ginbot7, Andargatchew Tsaige, it is natural for us to read what he wrote in the past that concern us. I read the "Amharaw Tigel Keyete Wedete" after seventeen years it was written to know if the current thinking of Ginbot7 towards armed liberation movements like OLF and ONLF is different from what one of its founders wrote seventeen years ago.

The ONLF and OLF supporters in the diaspora who are calling for "colonial" Ethiopia to go to hell are still taking some line from Andargtatcew Tsige , there is no Ethiopian Nationalism. There has not any organization fighting to bring Amhara Nationalism, however, Ethiopian Nationalism is still here with no common language but one mission to keep Ethiopia as one country empowering her nations and nationalities, seventy of them.

Eighty Seven Minutes with AEUP leader

2009-12-10T10:20:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

Eng. Hailu Shawel on Civility Room, eighty seven minutes interview on Dec. 5 , came to my attention this week and I had a chance to follow it thanks to the link forwarded to us here on EEDN.

Last weekend moreover I heard on a pal-talk room that Eng. Hailu accepted Article 39 of the TPLF Constitution but no one wrote any piece about it and I understand now that the source of the "acceptance" of Article 39 was the interview I heard on the Civility Room.

A Somali friend asked what Eng. Hailu and his party's stand regarding Article 39 on the last minutes and there was a brief and pointed answer given by Eng. Hailu. He said, he views Article 39 as a combination of two parts and his answer is based on that distinction.

The part of the Article 39 which empowers nations and nationalities in all rights political,economical and cultural is the right he and his party fully support. However, the right for nations and nationalities to go and declare their own independence whenever they choose is not acceptable to his party.

He also said such right has negative repercussion for present nationalities relationship in building trust taken into account our diversified people. He also brought the cost of forming new boundaries by instigating unending conflicts and such right will bring only disaster for the whole people.

For those who accuse AEUP as force to bring the Mengistu days of Unity by all means or the recent Article 39 accusation all are wrong and I commend the Somali friend for bringing this question which is now trying to resolve itself on battle field and for which lot of blood is spilled as we speak by ONLF and TPLF in all out war to control Ogaden.

I am not surprised why this interview was not an issue here in the diaspora like the recent hand shake of Hailu with Meles on many of opposition websites because they could not find tabloid type news to slander Eng. Hailu. One plain truth I heard from Eng. Hailu is that there are many doubters in Addis Ababa for his position similar to the Diaspora opposition against him. He believes as things settle down and the hand shake circus ends people will see all for what it is. Here in diaspora too we are now calm and seeing all our alternatives beyond insulting each other.

However, the rural masses except Somalia and Gambella region are being mobilized by initiative from people and the march to repeat the May 2005 Kinijit victory is on way according to him.

The next months are not smooth and may be deadly too but there is no alternative to it. Let us organize our people and lead them by courage. As Derege Demissie told us on his recent book about his late hero dad, "Ye Meri Feri Enji Ye Hizeb Feri Yeleweme", Leaders can be coward but not the followers. We witnessed that five years ago in our own eye. We can repeat that if brave leaders come to the plate.

Opinion that is formed by misinformation !!

2009-12-08T09:43:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

I read an Amharic piece based on the written survey done to find out what Ethiopians think of the current political situation in their country. There were questions about the ruling regime TPLF/EPRDF, its leader Meles Zenawi and selected opposition groups, OLF Medrek, EPPF, Ginbot7 and surprisingly the biggest tested opposition party, AEUP is absent from the list of opposition parties on this survey.

The query should have to put the AEUP as one of the opposition groups and however it did not and this shows the bias nature of those who claim to be an independent survey. However, putting it might not make a difference as we see what the 281 people who gave their opinion on Eng. Hailu Shawel, the AEUP leader.

Two hundred twenty four consider him as a traitor while eight support him for his bold move to sign a Code of Conduct with the ruling regime while forty nine have no opinion. On the paper it was suggested that out of these, forty nine people, many are against him too. We might reach to same conclusion if we follow the opinion of many Ethiopians from Ethiopian opposition websites and paltalk rooms, the majority of whom are denouncing AEUP leader as a sale out.

On recent article in Amharic on www.ethiolion.com, Aemero Dagnechaew wrote something new without many not giving much attention to his piece. He claims that Eng. Hailu agreed with TPLF/EPRDF on list of campaign/election issues not to be raised during the election campaign or debates. The land deal Meles signed with Sudan, the investment deal Meles signed with foreigners to give our land on long lease and the government monopoly of all businesses under EFFORT are the untouchable issues for the coming election. This is the mother of all liesto isolate the biggest opposition party, AEUP, here in the diaspora. I want to tell the writer that not only the above issues are central rallying cry for our people, without them there is no AEUP different from TPLF/EPRDF.

AEUP leader Eng. Hailu's interview wth Andenet Raido host Yoseph last Sunday however could have changed the opinion of most of those who have negative opinion about him. I encourage those who made the survey to make a follow up interview if hey can. Opinion can be formed with misinformation and the Seattle might be such a case.

We have seen here in America on the health debate how twisted information can anger many people. The government is going to pick your doctor, there is a socialist system of health care, quality of health care is the things of past were some among many that confused the real issue behind the health crisis in America. After all this false propaganda,however, the real debate has now begun.

AEUP is peoples party and I can agree with Eng. Hailu Shawel that this is the biggest opposition party in Ethiopia which has wide popular support. Its supporters are reorganizing themselves using the window of opportunity opened with the signing of the Code of Conduct and the negotiation is still going on until all the hurdles are removed in the coming months to make our people voice once again heard like that of May 2005.

Eng. Hailu also said that participating on the coming election is conditional. AEUP's priority now is to open its zone offices and give support for locals who are taking the initiative using their scare resources to organize and recruit their representatives. AEUP has long experience of working with the people and those of us in diaspora who have close family members at least should ask our family members on what is going on in their communities.

Empowering our people in the coming months and put them in a strong position to be heard once again is another test AEUP willing to take. Yes, the outcome might be another killing and imprisonment, let it be as long as you believe in peaceful struggle that is a price they have to pay.

Here in diaspora many of us who are wishing good things for our people and country should stand with our people at their difficult time. We do not ask Ethiopians back home like Meles Zenawi said recently on his interview of "Keenkelfu Yeneka Hizeb" people who wake up from long hibernation, to do things from distance which we will not do if we were there, rather do their best to live in freedom and in a free country,to be able to choose their leaders and make them accountable. Above all there is no one above law and no one either will go to jail for expressing his or her views in any form.

Those in Seattle who gave their opinion are not our enemies even if some of us do not agree with them. We all will work together to make sure that we will have a strong and democratic Ethiopia to be developed using our huge natural and human resources rather than auction our country for foreign profiteers and foreign expertise under the cover of tyranny.

Welcome home Dr. Negasso Gidada and we are still waiting for Seye Abraha's arrival !!!

2009-11-28T13:52:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

Ato Shiferaw Jarso, the Minster of Water Resources in Ethiopia, on the Ethiopian Civility Paltlak Room interview today, was answering unrelated question to the day's topic to satisfy his listeners. He said Seye Abraha and his friends struggle fruit, Article 39 of the TPLF/EPRDF Constitution is here to stay no matter "Seye" and his friend Dr. Negasso denounced it last Thursday and join the UDJP party led by charismatic leader, Birtukan Medeksa, who has been jailed for almost a year now.

Ato Shifereaw focus on Seye was interesting. Maybe Ato Shiferaw believes that the Hidar 1987 EC imposed constitution is Seye's TPLFmade and other players like his OLF was not relevant. It was Dr. Negasso Gidado/OLF who apologized for his role and ask forgiveness from the Ethiopian people and Ato Shiferaw focus should remain so.

Dr. Negasso change of heart is from his own experience and what I hear from Ato Shiferew Jarso is just pure propaganda. He said that the people thanks to the sacrifice of Seye and his friends/TPLF, Ethiopian people are enjoying the fruit of article 39. The lives of Ethiopian people have changed beyond anyone imagination and those old and and new who would like to take this "peoples victory" are day dreamers.

Seye and Negasso he said, have democratic rights to join any party of their choice but their influence is limited and TPLF/EPRDF learning form past mistakes and the defeat of 2005 he will be peoples choice by wide margin and Seye and Negsso joining a unitary party, UDJP is irrelevant to the Ethiopian people.

This is the first time I heard from TPLF/EPRDF commenting on this recent development and the Diaspora as always is divided on the Negasso and Seye's new role as UDJP for the struggle. It is hard to see the impact of such move in a country where there is no free press and media. My position on this issue does not confirm to many here even if I see some expressing their views close to mine.

When the news broke out the same day I send my position to EEDN. I commend Dr. Negsso Gidada for his sincere apology and if I am not wrong he is the first one from the Victors of Menelik Palace in 1991 to make such very honest apology. He denounced the heart of the TPLF/EPRDF policy of building Kilil and the reason for it is the last fifteen years of impact in our country.

Unlike Shifereaw Jarrso's claim today that article 39 promotes development, Dr. Negasso as a president had a chance to talk to the people directly that this policy of building wall has been negative to ethnic group relationship, unnecessary contest for resources and in some areas innocent blood spilled which Ato Shifferaw never mentions when he glorify article 39 and warn all of us that the people will "rise up if you take article 39 ".

However, Ethiopians gave referendum on TPLF/EPRDF on May 2005 and the main victim of that day was of course Article 39. Similar to todays warning by Ato Shiferaw Jarso, TPLF boss Meles Zenawi called for ethnic solidarity after his defeat in 2005 and he got none. Dr. Negasso Gidada has now joined Ethiopian people five years late and he is welcome, his contribution to the struggle will be valuable on national and international level.

The TPLF Oromo Cadres like Shifferaw Jarso are still living in past and try to scare our people that "they are coming to take your right to live in your kilil". Dr Negasso Gidada who has large followers in Dombi Dollo, Wolllega and millions of his country men who heard his apology are behind him one hundred percent.

However, Seye Abraha who was mentioned by Ato Shiferaw Jarso did not apologize for his role on imposing the TPLF/his Constitution and it is up to the public to put pressure on him to speak up or stay , "Yetaweke Sewe" prominent person and write a book as he promised.

No one asking Seye Abraha to "Hisab Mawerarede" /accountability for crimes he or others participated and that is only possible where we have a government elected by people. The demand now is very limited in scope. The TPLF Constitution that is imposed on our people was the biggest mistake of his life and accordingly he should apologize for our people before he joins UDJP.

Some who challenged this notion that this is the business of UDJP, I say the apology is for the Ethiopian people not for a single party. A party who is struggling for Unity, Democracy, Justice (UDJ) should bring anyone to its fold but can not be above country and should demand official apology from Ato Seye for his anti-unity role fifteen years ago that is enshrined on article 39 of the TPLF Constitution.

Voiceless planet Earth VS voiceless Ethiopians !!!

2009-11-20T06:37:00.001-08:00

Good Morning friend,

Nice to meet you yesterday at the reception in Manhattan. Your expertise in environment is overlapping to my interest as well. I am actively involved in the Diaspora Ethiopian community which is growing in U.S.A and in areas like Washington D.C. is estimated to be more than half million and here in NY Metropolitan area we do not have accurate figure but it might be close to twenty thousands. As you know politics and environment are inseparable. The voice of our people back home can only be heard by those who are free to express it and unfortunately our people are voiceless like the planet Earth.

My back ground is Ag. Engineering, working in soil and water management for five years in the world driest and difficult terrain in Awash Valley of Ethiopia. This is the the home of Lucy/Denkinish and the area of great interest for paleontologists and geologists alike. An active volcano is an attraction also for tourists and recent studies show that there is a new ocean born in that part of Ethiopia.

Knowing this part of Ethiopia what I care most is for the Afar people who have lead a nomadic life for thousands of years. Their livelihood is now threatened by the current government and foreign landlords who are planting sugarcane for bio fuel. Upstream where the Awash River forms a lake, Koka , it has turned green because of chemicals dumped to the rivers and streams, mostly from government owned leather factories and cash cropping flower farms grown using fertilizers.

After I saw a documentary from Al Jazerra English, I wrote a piece "Koka Turns Green" which is posted on many Ethiopian websites. You can go to www.addisvoice.com and check my AV blog on the left side. I wrote few pieces related with environment and current political situation in Ethiopia.

Recently on the World Talk Radio program I challenged an American professor from NJ who acted as sales man for Ethiopia," a land of investment" disregarding the big issue of land in Ethiopia which is controlled by the government. Land is now sold/leased to Saudi Arabia, India, China and many poor farmers are displaced to hand over land on a long lease agreement up to ninety years for foreigners with cash, stimulating tyranny on the way.

The rural agriculture which supports more than eighty percent of our people is threatened by conglomerates in collusion with unelected, tyrannical government of Ethiopia which has USA's full support as an ally on "terror" and China which is looking for land and resources to satisfy its appetite wherever it gets.

It is sad the West is supporting a regime that ruled people by force,currently up to 14 millions of them on food aid, out of which six millions would die if donations is not coming on time. Paradoxically, the previous communist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam was accused for the famine of 1984 while the current rulers are rewarded for just doing the same.

The voice of our people, Ethiopian diaspora, are organizing a demo at Copenhagen, Denmark next month on the climate conference to denounce the presence of Meles Zenawi representing Africa where his record should have put him out of business in a democratic country.

We call all who care for mother Earth to show sympathy and care for fellow human being too. Westerners have ignored our call for transparency and accountability highlighting the human right and environmental record to no avail, but we will keep just doing that. Ethiopians from all over Europe will demand once again to recognize Ethiopia as a failed country in human and environmental measurement, and the person who is responsible for that Meles Zenawi should not be allowed to get a platform as a responsible person on world stage.

Ethiopia has been a disaster under Meles Zenawi for the last nineteen years and it is time to stand with our people as we are trying to stand with mother Earth. After all Earth without people is not Earth to care for.

Thanks,

Tedla Asfaw

Five Days, Five Months and Five Years (555) !!!!

2009-11-18T05:38:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

The number 555 is a number which has to be seen closely after Eng. Hailu Shawel's now famous handshake with the tyrant of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi about which many things have been said including the angle of bow. However, President Obama might have beaten Eng. Hailu on that battle on his famous handshake with the Japanese Royal by few degrees angle of bow.

When it comes to the substance of the handshake that cemented the " Code of Conduct" for the coming "election"let me say that only the gesture by Meles Zenawi for his hated adversary has changed our politics for good or bad back home and here in the diaspora.

Moreover, the battle in the diaspora that was sparked by this famous handshake is now raging on Internet and pal talk rooms. Ethiopian websites and pal talks are now the battleground pitting former friends against each other added with die hard TPLF worshippers who seem elated beyond control. One thing for sure is that forgetting the angle of bow the picture of Meles with Hailu handshaking has changed our politics here dramatically.

On this battle, all the combatants wanted to score a point. The now famous, "it is 5/five days noise" by Eng. Hailu is quoted widely as a rallying cry to separate him and his party from his diaspora supporters. TPLF or Woyane supporters publicly are rooting for Eng. Hailu's led party, AEUP as they were rooting for Lidetu's party after he surrendered on the crackdown of May 2005 to save his life and enter parliament, finishing his term for being a polite listener on most of Meles Zenawi's lectures for the last five years..

The next Five Months/5 is going to be critical for the coming "election" if AEUP can reach to its constituencies freely as was promised on the agreement with TPLF. As we heard on the weekend on AEUP radio, its organizers from Tigray, Illubabor, Afar are ready to establish the broken contact with their constituencies using the handshake as a cover. If that succeeded, the five months window of opportunity will change the political landscape of Ethiopia for the next Five Years/5 and maybe as a milestone for Ethiopian politics to be remembered for future..

The Medrek party leaders back home will also be on the bandwagon very soon if outsiders/Fernjis help them find face saving formula. Some of their leaders in North America are fund raising, of course ,to participate on the" election "as they have done for the last two decades. The current stalemate with the ruling party is not about substance but positioning and selling themselves as better and strong party to "challenge" TPLF for public.

TPLF knows and worked with most of the current leaders of Medrek. The separate negotiation they requested after it was rejected by TPLF, their supporters in the diaspora,however, have found a new enemy called "Enjerawe Hailu" and the insult and vilification is now at full speed and asking many of us what could be the motive behind all this ?

In any case if Medrek follows its "supporters" call here and go on attacking AEUP and its leaders as sell out, the first question they will get from the public is where they have been for the last nineteen years ? Were not they working for the same policy of TPLF they seem now new and why do the Ethiopian people believe them that they are different than Meles Zenawi's TPLF led EPRDF ?

It is also true most of noise against Eng. Hailu's AEUP is coming from Ginbot7supporters even if their leaders do not attack AEUP and its leader directly. They know that is not going to help them here in the diaspora because Ginbot7 is not believing TPLF will give power peacefully except armed rebellion then they should not make alliance of any kind with Medrek, the born again peaceful movement that will give excuse for TPLF to lock them up.

The victory news which Ginbot7 promised are now heard from east, the ONLF scoring victory over TPLF/Ethiopian soldiers and EPPF fighters annihilation of TPLF on the northern front. No doubt, this kind of real or make believe battle will be with us for the coming five months and Gibot7 has to focus participating, than reporting, on the joint military attack with OLF, ONLF, EPPF and guaranteeing another liberation, similar to the TPLF victory in 1991.

What our people can not and should not do is to be bystanders and let armed rulers or oppositions decide their future. The May 2005 verdict is still fresh in our peoples mind that people power can defeat armed thugs. The power of people is still a force that will send shiver to TPLF and all armed groups who care less for public opinion and in fact afraid of it very much.

The choice our people have is from two devils, the known armed tyrants and the future liberators. AEUP has chosen to play with the known. Ethiopians know from the recent local election experience that the ruling party is not only with guns but also with sacks of money to buy and coerce voters. Farmers are under the mercy of TPLF cadres so do workers.

We remember also the TPLF "supporters" rally on the eve of the May 2005 election. The thousands they come out coerced as supporters of TPLF/EPRDF in fact voted for Kinijit and no buying of vote will make our people vote for the current regime this time too in a fair and free election because the majority of our people lives have getting much worst than it was five years ago.

Will TPLF cheat the voting ? Surely, Will it win ? Not in a free and fair election ? Can we be idle ? Hell no !!! That is the message of Five Days, Five Months and Five Years, 555, Give me Five !!!

The forgotten people of Ethiopia !!!

2009-11-10T06:25:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw
We learned in school to love our king, King Haile Selassie, "Tsehaui Negusse", the shining king. . When the king was deposed by "Korartu Mere", strongman, Mengistu Hailemariam many of our people kept quiet and in fact when the king was driven away from his palace by old Volkswagen,crowds of Yong people were taunting him "Leba", thief, and nothing has been the same since that time.

Almost four decades, Ethiopia is without elected leaders and under one man dictatorship. For the first time in our history five years ago more than twenty five million people went out and voted for a party to lead them. The Ethiopian people used the window of opportunity to express themselves and influence their leaders by calling "Tebaberu Weyeme Tesebaberu", unite or perish. They got all of them, the unity that defeated TPLF overwhelmingly and later on jailed and "freed" leaders to destroy themselves. That part of our history is now played again in the month of November 2009.

This time our people are voiceless and no one bother to ask them what is good for them. TPLF boss who published "Bonaprtism" in the Badme war ten years ago to defeat its opponents is now succeeded in co authoring, "A code of Conduct" to destroy its opponents and remain the supreme leader for the next five years.

The wise leader, "Biltu Mereyachene", Meles Zenawi, is also free to sale our land for foreigners and the man who promised to feed our people three times a day is telling our people that we do not need to farm. Farming is now the business of foreign countries and our people are promised to feed themselves by selling their labor for these big foreign companies or be on food aid from donor countries for years to come.

The question now is when is our poor people to be heard. Not any kind of peaceful political dialogue will empower our people if more than 80 percent of Ethiopians live on rural land controlled and owned by TPLF. If TPLF cadres are making decisions on the land our people kept in their blood and sweat why do we believe this will change by getting whatever number of seats allotted to them in the TPLF parliament.

The next five months promise of "debate" that ignored the masses or left them under TPLF control will not bring any change to our people. The May 15, 2005 victory of our people can not be replicated this time because Meles Zenawi, co author, "Code of Conduct" has already delivered a win for TPLF in 2010 "election".

Politics without popular participation is an exercise to keep tyranny forever. Ethiopians are dying slowly by famine and poverty. Our country death is accelerating by our own political fragmentation too. If our people have their say, they will demand total liberty or death. Of course they will not ask five more years for the regime that destroyed them for two decades to stay in power.

Derartu Tulu answered for Ethiopian flag superbly in New York City!!!

2009-11-01T10:30:00.001-08:00

Tedla Asfaw

The 40th New York City Marathon on this cloudy Sunday started and ended with grace. Derartu Tulu after escaping the entanglement of feet on the start of the run which victimized one woman and another Kenyan to withdraw before the completion of the run was a great escape for Derartu ending with victory.

The defending Champion and the three time winner of New York City Marathon, Paula Radcliffe, was the favorite and no wonder Derartu was running close to her sometimes looking for eye contact to see if she is OK ! Ethiopian politeness and respect which you can not teach it in school.

Derartu Tulu, the two times Olympic gold medalist in 10 thousand meters and the one time winner of London Marathon, run in the five boroughs of New York City with grace and beauty. It seems she has a job to finish and no sign of panic, a sign of true champion. As an eighteen years old cruising on the final lap of the 10,000m in Barcelona Olympic in 1992 beating the South African girl she became the first African woman to win a gold medal in Olympics.

In 1992 back home then when our national flag was considered as a rug by the ruling TPLF and those collaborating rebels and the pride of being Ethiopian was at low level Derartu Tulu wrapped herself with an Ethiopian flag and gave us hope and since then I have fallen in love with this beautiful girl and now the mother of two children.

On the 20th mile, Manhattan, Derartu Tulu waved to the huge Ethiopian flag and kept on her mission, to win the New York City Marathon and be the first Ethiopian woman. After Paula left behind it was the Russian woman who run with Derartu and the master of the 10K sprinted at the right moment to take over the Russian and French and be the Queen of New York City by finishing in 2:28:54.

Interviewed after the win she said she is not yet finished and she is coming back. We are all proud of Derartu Tulu for giving us hope at our difficult time and running with grace and beauty and you are the true Queen of New York City. I would like also to congratulate Meb Keflegzi for winning the men's marathon and be the first since the American won in 1980s.

The care Derartu Tulu showed to the defending champion at the end of the race shows who she is, a champion who loves, respects others. Her love for her flag is unmatchable. The wave at the 20th mile for the green, yellow and orange, Ethiopian flag is the wave for all Ethiopians all over the wold who watched her on television. Derartu indeed the beautiful Queen of New York City on the 40th Marathon has always been Ethiopian Queen for almost two decades.

We love you Derartu and your beautiful family, see you next year to set a new record for women like the Ethiopian T. Jiffar did for men's marathon in 2001.

Sales men for China and Ethiopia on World Focus Radio !!!

2009-10-30T06:01:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

World Focus Radio host Martin Savidge talked with Professor Philip LeBel and Ato Ermyas Amelga a"businessman" from Addis Ababa yesterday on his weekly radio program about "Entrepreneurship in Ethiopia" which was aired on blogtalkradio live (Oct. 29)

I had commented earlier on his blog and requested if I can participate on the program. Since the program was not listeners call I had not a chance to question his guests how can entrepreneurship develops where the unelected regime in power is controlling all the resources, land and all cash generating crops and minerals.

" We can't discuss about one cash crop, coffee, without seeing the big picture of farming in Ethiopia. Land is owned
by the unelected government, Ethiopian farmers are now
tenants of the ruling regime TPLF led by Meles Zenawi and
his company EFFORT established by stolen aid money twenty
five years ago.

Large tracts of land have been also leased for foreign
countries or are converted to crops that produce bio energy.
When it comes to the small farms of coffee the regime wants
to discourage farmers to abandon planting coffee to turn it
into large scale coffee farms and it is amazing to see that
USAID is part of this project at the expense of poor
farmers.

Some farmers switch to other crops like Kat a narcotic crop
to support their families. Large areas of Teff farms
surrounding Addis Ababa also turned by government to flower
farm for European markets by those connected with the
regime.

No wonder we are now where we were twenty five years ago
and famine is threatening millions of lives again.

In general Ethiopia is run by unaccountable regime who
cares less for its people and profit at their expenses. The
crisis we witnessed in coffee farms just a tiny fraction of
our overall land policy crisis in Ethiopia.

The least we Ethiopians in the diaspora do is to stop the
Starbucks and others exploit our people with collaboration
with unelected regime in Ethiopia. Those like your guest
from Ethiopia today are only interested in making money at
the poor farmers expense. We saw on Market Makers program
recently that Eleni Gebremedhin working hard on behalf of
the regime to collect each sack of coffee to the government
stores to be shipped to profit her company called GUNA.

The Bonga and Harar I see on your program has not changed a
bit since I saw it more than twenty years ago. Where does
the tax revenue go ? Surely used on the race of our rich
tyrants to catch up with the world rich and famous. Ethiopia
needs real change, democratic and accountable government,
until then we say no to Starbucks, no to flower farm and no
to misguided USAID ".

I appreciate the host for reading the first paragraph of my comment on the program for which the professor replied by accusing Dr. Birhanu for his "harsh" call for overthrowing the Ethiopian regime similar to my "harsh" comment.

The Professor also looks like the spokes person for Chinese companies and I am not surprised for ignoring the question of accountability and the rule of law in Ethiopia raised by the host. The Professor is promoting development at the expense of everything , set to establish a New China in Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian"businessman" from Addis, Ato Ermias, is also acting like sales man for TPLF and he was careful choosing his words. Overall, both the Professor ant the TPLF cadre in Ethiopia should be ashamed of themselves for ignoring the real issue of millions of our people struggling to get a piece of bread daily and tell us about rosy economic opportunity for those connected with the regime, the TPLF cadres and the Chinese accomplishment in Ethiopia.

Agree to disagree !!

2009-10-28T11:49:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

We should agree to disagree and refrain from unwarranted attack like the one on Tekle, Editor of ECADF, by Dr. Getachew Reda on his Oct. 27 piece posted on his website. Why Tekle's "admiration" of Shabia is an issue when our people is suffering in all corners while TPLF and Shabia soldiers facing each other peacefully, maybe admiring each other ?

TPLF and Shabia can love and hate each other, why should it be a problem for Tekle ? Can we function and think free from these evil forces who brought us to the current mess we are in ? How can someone be an admirer of Shabia as Dr. Getachew Reda accused Tekle at this time when the whole world knows who Isaias' Shabia is ?

I have known closely Tekle for the last two yeas and I haven't seen anything which suggest that he is someone to be equated with Abraha Yaye who showed up in Asmara in the Badme war a decade ago and later on went to give support for TPLF after its defeat in 2005 election.

If Tekle supports Ginbot 7 that is his right and if we do not accept individuals freely associating themselves with organizations they choose , how is that going to help the creation of free and democratic Ethiopia ? I do not see Ginbot7 as an enemy and that in no way make me an admirer of Shabia.

Young Ethiopians like Tekle should be encouraged to do what they have been doing out of love for their country. I do not see what economic benefit such people are getting sacrificing their time and resources. Unfair attack is not helpful at all. The one who are benefiting from such attack are only the anti-Ethiopia forces led by Shabia and TPLF.

Millionaires were born out of Ethiopia's famine !!!

2009-10-25T11:17:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

Ato Gebre Medin Araya's, " Tigray Betelate Eje Mewdekena Yasketelew Mezez" part one and two, fourteen pages in Amharic is a timely piece on this 25th anniversary of the famine in our country Ethiopia. Sadly, another famine is unfolding at this very moment and those who want to make money out of it are well organized as usual. "Sewe Berasu Sanba Endayetefense Newe" interview of Ato Asgede who wrote two books recently about TPLF and was one of the eleven founders of TPLF also exposed what he knows about the current situation in Tigrai, famine and politics.

Ato Asgede on his recent interview with Reporter identified many places in Tigrai that has been exposed to drought. However, the regions suffering from drought in Ethiopia currently, BBC and other foreign medias showed Tigrai as non drought area. This is not a surprise and deliberately a misinformation campaign by TPLF. These foreign medias got their information from the regime in power and take it without checking other resources.

This false information is purposely designed to misinform the Ethiopian people as Tigrai Region/Kilil as beneficiary of the development plan on Tigrai for the last nineteen years. The propaganda of other regions in Ethiopia to learn from Tigrai was deliberately orchestrated to isolate the people of Tigrai from other Ethiopians.

Ato Gebremedhin on his educating piece , I recommend all to read, exposed how TPLF benefited from the famine of 1984 to build its money empire which later culminated as EFFORT. The one hundred million dollar handed over to Meles Zenawi and Sebhat Nega by Bob Gildoff, the organizer of live aid, in Sudan needs further investigation. It is a big robbery unknown for many of us especially to those who donated their money after they saw the heartbreaking video of a child seating on his dead mother body.

The one hundred million dollar is now on Meles Zenawi and Sebhat Nega's foreign account according to Ato Gebremedhin and we have the right to ask Bob Geldof what he knows. We know this money had not reached to the dying and starving people on whose name the money was collected.

The tons of food shipped to Sudan port had also ended up for sale in Middle East and somewhere else and it will be very hard to track what happened . However, by exposing such criminal activities of TPLF we can alert foreign donors not to hand over their aid to be controlled by TPLF and its Sudan collaborators. We know that Sudan port is the port chosen by TPLF to unload foods and other donated materials for the starving people this time.

Famine has been a gold mine for TPLF bosses. Their wealth back home and in foreign countries is at the expense of dead children women and the elderly. It is time to bring these criminals to justice. There is no statue of limitations on such crime.

Famine and accountability!!

2009-10-22T05:46:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

My country Ethiopia is preparing for a make-believe election on this coming summer. Drought as always is threatening our people and any layman can ask how comes a Western supported regime of Meles Zenawi could not feed its people ? We were told by the regime and its supporters that the Ethiopia economy has been growing double digit for the last ten years. Today's BBC headline news (Oct.22) was not different than the one we heard twenty five years ago for which the former dictator Mengsitu Halilemariam was accused by the West. Why we have not hold the current dictator, Meles Zenawi to the same standard ?

What is "economic growth" that could not feed its people ? Why do we waste resources in the fake election ? Our luck of feeding ourselves is partly because of failed land policy, accountability and the brain drain of the educated masses for the luck of freedom in their own country.

If Ethiopians failed to feed their own and every other five or ten years are debating with donor nations for the accuracy of the number of the starving, six million or ten million then we should be categorized as failed state and be done accordingly.

However, the starving and the million other proud Ethiopians whose life has gone worst for the last eighteen years under Meles Zenawi's unaccountable, apartheid rule have no choice except call for "our regime" to be our best spokes person to beg for food aid without any shame.

If there was decency a regime that can not feed its people should go and let an accountable administration took over to solve the equation of famine and accountability once an for all. Otherwise the next cycle of famine, call for food aid and the debate on the number of the starving will be who we are as a people and a country. That is shame !!!

.

Fwd: EFFORT VS Gebru/Seye's Medrek ????

2009-10-20T08:00:00.001-07:00

Dear Getachew Reda,

I read your piece you wrote to Professor Tecola Hagos supporting my short piece, " Medrek, the last Hope of Kilil Politics" on www.ethiolion.com. I am delighted to see debate raging on Internet on the issue of Medrek and your involvement on this to educate all of us is appreciated.

I sent a note to Professor Tecola Hagos on issues I did not cover while I wrote that piece and was interested to get a feedback after pro TPLF, Aiga pose a question to Gebru Asrat the architect of Medrek, his position on EFFORT. Who is the owner of EFFORT Mr. Gebru Asrat and Aiga demanded immediate answer on public.

I posted the note I sent to Professor Tecola Hagos as follows hoping he will reply to me to "correct my position " on Medrek and convince the wider public why Medrek is different from EPRDF and Arena from TPLF.

On Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 8:57 AM, Tedla Asfaw <tedla.asfaw@gmail.com> wrote: to Professor Tecola Hagos

I want you to inform me if Gebru/Seye have different position than that of Sebhat Nega on the issue of " EFFORT ". Is the "Leulawente" of Gebru Arena's party accepts that EFFORT is owned by the "People of Tigray". What is the similarity and difference between Gebru/Seye and Sebaht/Meles, and what is the position of the Tigrayan elites on the hot issue of EFFORT which comes out as on open querry on Aiga front page for Gebru Asrat the Medrek organization Chief ? Power comes through money and whoever controls the purse is going to dictate politics of poor Ethiopia and Ethiopians. Vote for us you will be paid. Is that maybe what Dr. Negaso Gidada is compalining about "No Level Field" or is he promised to get some by joining Gebru's Medrek who has big share of EFFORT ?

Be Akiberot,

Tedla Asfaw

Medrek, the last hope of Kilil Politics in Ethiopia !!!

2009-10-13T07:57:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

The TPLF known loyalists, Beyene Petros, Merara Gudina, Negasso Gidada and others will never retire from political circus until their master Meles Zenawi is forced out of the political stage by peoples revolt or "Yegodan Newte". Well if you do not subscribe to kilil politics and force TPLF from power, Ethiopia will brake apart like the former Soviet Union or Yugoslavia according to the current chairman of Medrek, Dr. Merara Gudina.

The TPLF "kilil" is an arbitrary drawn line that has no legitimacy in the Ethiopians eye and we are not going to be scared by what will happen after the demise of TPLF and its servants. The real force behind Medrek, However, is Gebru Asrat, Arena party leader who is preparing himself to be the first Sovereign Tigray Republic leader after the "disintegration" of Ethiopia.

So called "prominent" individuals like Dr. Negasso Gidada and Seye Abraha are known Kilil politics defenders who failed from Meles' favor on personal agendas. They wanted to replace TPLF by Arena, EPRDF by Medrek. Professor Mesfin Woldemariam on VOA Amharic yesterday denounced few UDJP members and leaders like Giizachgew Sheferaw who is the vice president of Medrek for abandoning their party principle of Unity, Democracy and Justice to the Kilil lords of Gebru, Seye, Merara, Beyene, Bulcha etc.

There is no difference between the current tribal warlords and the one who are conspiring to replace it by using poor Ethiopians "vote". TPLF did not ask the support of Ethiopians to topple Mengistu Hailemariam and is right for not asking the peoples vote to stay on power. TPLF is expected to rule for many years as reward to its sacrifice. It has also been true that TPLF will not allow anyone or organization who has not endorsed the Kilil politics to come to power in a free and fair election.

The cry of "no level field" we heard from Dr. Negasso Gidada recently travelling to Dembidollo his birthplace by talking to few people is not about "no level field" it is about "no field". People are not allowed to speak, organize freely and those who are allowed to speak their opinion are only those who bought the philosophy of Kilil.

Ethiopians in Dombidolo and other places what they demand is real freedom to choose their representatives and condemn all who have been conspiring with TPLF for more than two decades including Negasso Gidadda who is now complaining about no level field that has been true for more than twenty years including his time as a President of Ethiopia. People over there might have told Negasso that he is part of the problem too.

The option our people have is to reject both TPLF/EPRDF and its clone Arena/Medrek. Let them organize their election circus paid by donor nations. We know the divide and rule of Kilil politics is on its last breath and it is up to us to deny them the remaining available Oxygen by saying no to Kilil Politics and rejecting their election circus this coming summer.

Stop the torture of our sisters immediately !!!

2009-10-08T07:04:00.000-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

Ethiopian young women who traveled to Middle East and Gulf Nations working as maids have increased dramatically for the last two decades. These young women abuse has also increased dramatically, some of them end up dead, rapped and tortured and the video clip of Al Jazerra's TV, less than five minutes, this week showed one young woman tortured on boiling water by her female boss/master.

The victim body was totally burned and it seems the lady did not receive adequate medical care. Without Al Jazerra's professional investigative journalism we would never have known about the suffering of this sister. There are many sisters who are suffering as we speak and it is time for our community to stand with the victims.

Organized protest should start immediately against those countries who allowed this abuse by not taking legal actions against the perpetrators of this crime. This morning I spent few minutes with the media representative of United Arab Emirates(UAE) in Washington DC on telephone to inform her what I saw on Al Jazerra's clip that is posted on many Ethiopian websites.

The UAE media representative unfortunately has not seen the clip. However, she was disturbed by what I told her. A woman/master doing to another woman/slave who is under total control reminded us the day of slavery which is still fresh in some Arab countries household. They hate towards Ethiopian women most of them Christians might have made things even worst.

Moreover, some of these Arab countries are also "buying" our best women and men athletes to run for them. Our big athletes are also running for big prize in these Arab countries. All of them have responsibly to use their star power to come out and speak against the abuse of Ethiopian women which is rampant in the Arab land.

The diaspora Ethiopians power to expose this crime and call for justice can make big difference and I urge every Ethiopian to come out and protest by calling and writing to the UAE embassies all over the world immediately. For those who are in USA they can call 202-243-2448, media representative of UAE, and registered their anger and call for those who did the crime to be punished .

Call for Defiance !!!

2009-10-06T10:17:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

The so called spineless oppositions are begging TPLF to participate on the coming election theater on the summer of 2010. They are now forming two groups one led by Medrek and the other by Ayele's Kinijit and its subsidiaries to win the heart and mind of TPLF. Ayele claims everything is OK in Ethiopia and what we have to do is just to show up on the election day well behaved and dressed and the other group calls for the stage set up to be changed to attract poor Ethiopians for the coming coronation of Meles Zenawi as the unchallenged ruler of Ethiopia until death.

Some here from the diaspora also jump to this theater. One new group called Ethiopian Democratic Hibrehizb Unity Movement (EDHUM) is suggesting on its sixteen page "election manifesto" that participating on the coming election is a must for our people because the alternative is death.

EDHUM argues that the farmers will lose their land if they are not registered to vote so do the government employees. Forget about going to higher education or to travel aboard all will depend on showing your election registration card. Overall it said if you do not vote you are dead.

While the so called oppositions to TPLF are asking what is good for them EDHUM is warning us what will happen to the masses if they do not come out and vote. TPLF cares for the turnout because it wants to show to the wold that this is another miracle like the double digit economic growth.

Those of us who see this whole as a circus should come out and foil this circus by mobilizing the masses in the known gathering places like churches, mosques and schools. We have to tell people that the only way to get freedom is by sacrifice and it is time to reject TPLF and its all collaborators by saying NO !! to the make believe election of summer 2010.

The fake oppositions and organization like EDHUM are only worried for their own survival not about the well being of the masses whose lives are getting worst day by day for the last two decades. Had our parents followed cowardice advice and accept the mighty Italy seventy years ago we all could have spoken Italian by now.

Yes an organized resistance is very important and let us use the modern technology to our advantage and reach to our people to say no to Meles Zenawi and his collaborators. The dark city of Addis Ababa besides exposing our people for hardships have also given us opportunity to shout death to TPLF and its collaborators. Does TPLF see in our dark neighborhood too ?

Patriot Shaleka Atanew Wase

2009-10-06T07:51:00.001-07:00

I followed the late Shaleka Aranew Wasse memorial audio posted on Assimba website. I send my condolence on comment I posted on Debteraw the moment I heard his passing away. It is indeed sad such a brave man sacrifice is not recognized by the so called opposition medias in the diaspora.

The truth of the matter is our shortsightedness and selfishness in the business of politics. We divided ourselves so too Ethiopian heroes among ourselves. Rather than honor them as Ethiopia's heroes we own them and exploit them for our own narrow political interest.

I am not surprised to see patriotic fathers like Shaleka Atanew victimized on his death too. However, his patriotic story will be told thanks to his sons and all who know him very well. I have no doubt that a huge volume will come out soon to teach future generations the sacrifice paid to defend Ethiopia by ordianry people.

For those of who are in business of informing our people it is appropriate to tell the story of our heroes dead or alive without any prejudice.

Ethiopia Heroes are Our Treasure !!!

Tedla Asfaw

The 2016 Olympics !!

2009-10-02T06:14:00.001-07:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tedla Asfaw <tedla.asfaw@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 9:03 AM
Subject: The 2016 Olympics !!
To: worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

Here is a result and it is not a shocker at all. The Obamas and Oprah are good team, they might have few converts on their lobbying for Chicago for 2016. Make no mistake this is not lobbying for USA. I remember when Atlanta hosts Olympics in the 1980s many New Yorkers even do not know if the Olympics was that close to them.

Rio is not about one state, it is about the whole South America and they are going to take the Olympic 2016. It is not surprise for me and many New Yorkers even do not know if there is such competition. We are now in baseball season and every one is rooting for its own team here in USA. Chicagoan have also their own team and I do not think 2016 is in their mind.

The Obamas will accept their defeat and I am not going to cry for them. Go Rio !!, Go Brazil, Go South America !!!

Tedla Asfaw

Time to act !!!!

2009-10-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Ye Hagere Lijoche,

I have been following the conspiracy and the final deal to hand over our land to Sudan by Meles Zenawi and Beshir of Sudan. I followed few minutes ago Dr. Fisha Abebe on German Amharic today informing the Ethiopian people on the final plan of TPLF. As he said our people are given final warning by TPLF to give the land to Sudan settlers. How can the brave sons and daughters of Tewodros give their own to enemy and cry ? This is not our tradition and we have to find ways how to be with those braves who will never give their land no matter what. What is your immediate plan for this month ? One strong protest to remind Obama the future time bomb buried by Meles and TPLFwill help. Standing as always with our braves who will be fighting and shed their blood to keep the land that has been always Ethiopia's.

Thanks,

Tedla Asfaw

The freedom torch from London arrived in Pittsburgh !!!!

2009-09-25T06:36:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

Ethiopians protest at G20 gathering at Pittsburgh was live covered on ECADF yesterday afternoon and as far as I remember it is the fist live coverage on Internet of Ethiopians protest. The noisy crowd draw the attentions of local and foreign medias and this morning one of the local news papers reported about the protest. Major news media however concentrated on the anarchist battle with the police. Today there will be a big crowd of the Ethiopian North American Battalion who came to Pittsburgh as far as the west of USA and Canada.

The well disciplined and attractive Ethiopian protesters carry a lot of placards among many the most visible one was Meles and Beshir's photo with their victims bone on the background. It was creative and put the spotlight on Meles the darling of the west and Beshir the economic and military ally of China.

The talk of China signing to build dams in Ethiopia or the USA official found no ongoing genocide in Sudan is a known diversionary tactics not to held accountable these two butchers in Africa. it is all about greed and self interest which closed the eyes of most of the G20 members and the masses have to come out and expose this double standard in all avenues. Ethiopian protesters deserve Gold for exposing this crime and capture the attention of wide media.

Similar to the April G20 London protest this year the Ethiopian protest has reached to the ears of the rich and the powerful nations. The false promise of free election and human right training as has been used in the past is now recycled again to buy time and divide the momentum for real change in our country.

Who will forget the mass upheaval following the stolen election of May 2005 and the role played by USA and UK officials in Addis Ababa to buy time for Meles Zenawi and divide the opposition ? The upheaval in Addis five years ago was much bigger than this year election protest by Iranians. The only difference is that there were no USA and UK officials in Tehran to sabotage the upheavals.

The USA and UK administrations have to know one thing. Ethiopians do not need their help to change a government by their vote. A change we need from them is not to help the unelected killers, financially and militarily. Our people do not engage a war with both USA and UK and there is no reason to wage war indirectly on our people.

That was the message in April in London and that was the message in Pittsburgh yesterday and today. Obama has now replaced Bush so do Brown replacing Blair.However, the policy of these administrations hardly changes. The promising word of Obama on the Ghanaian Parliament last summer has yet to be realized.

What we see in Ethiopia is the old way of staying in power until death or driven from power by gun. If change of administration is good for USA and UK I want to assure the allies of Meles that Ethiopians showed their desire five years ago only to get an "F" thanks to the USA and UK embassies in Addis Ababa to keep the man they chose for us.

Here is what happened last night on the G20 dinner in Pittsburgh. The awkward greeting of Azeb the wife of Meles with the Obamas as reported by blogger most probably is a good opportunity for Obama wisely to share his wisdom. My brother and sister, twenty years in power is enough and probably has stressed your family and it is time to quit. It is not late to take such advice if there is anyone listening.

Meles and Mengistu, sounding, acting and ending the same way !!!

2009-09-18T07:48:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

The man who has been in power for almost two decades, Meles Zenawi , seems to stay in power until he is forced out of power like his predecessor Mengistu Halilemariam. Meles Zenawi should thank Mengistu for handed him over millions of captive people who were terrorized and oppositions divided among themselves.

For the last eighteen years under Meles this equation hasn't changed. People have been terrorized and oppositions divided among themselves under Meles Zenawi. The only change maybe, Mengistu's name is still be exploited by Meles like we heard him yesterday on news conference. The so called "oppositions" to Meles' TPLF led by Seye and Gebru were accused of working under Mengistu's order to bring back the Workers Party of Ethiopia (WPE).

What a joke !! In fact Meles has been following on Mengistu's foot steps. Mengistu was liquidating his enemies as anti-Ethiopia secessionists while Meles is killing and terrorizing his opponents as anti-constitution and Dergists. Both wanted to stay in power by all means including making fake elections.

The fact of the matter is both believe Ethiopia will disappear if they are forced out of power. That is why Meles and his blind supporters spread their propaganda of keeping their prime minster to "finish" the job he started. They are pretty sure that Meles will win the coming fake election on landslide.

Mengistu Hailemariam's name which has been exploited very well in TPLF's jungle is now used once again to keep Meles in power for the coming years. Have we heard the Afghanistan leader Karazai using the coming back of Taliban to accuse his opponent in this week election ? Not at all, in fact the west is now accusing Karazi who came to power with their guns for fraud election.

Why is then Meles bringing the name of Mengsitu Haliemariam to accuse his "opponents" ? Is Mengistu worst than Taliban when it comes to the western interest ? The tactic of Hutu VS Hutu which came to the attention of western supporters of the regime in the 2005 election was very embarrassing and a new tactic has to be formulated. However, bringing back Mengistu is a sign of desperation.

The 2010 fake election according to Meles Zenawi is between the bogey man Mengistu Hailemariam supporters who are now organizing themselves under the banner of Mederek and TPLF a party of "development" and "stability". The terrorized masses will be told about the brutality of Mengistu Hailemariam more than two decades ago and the "freedom" and the stability of Ethiopia under Meles Zenawi.

The negative repercussion of the Kilil administration as a ticking time bomb for future conflicts according to the international group study brought also the anger of Meles Zenawi on his news conference yesterday and accused the international agency who prepared the report. The Mengistu followers are coming to take your right of living if you wish together under Ethiopia or go your own way, independent Kilil, that was guaranteed under the article 39 of the Ethiopian Constitution will be the rallying cry for Meles' fake election this summer.

We all know Ethiopia under Mengistu's tyranny in the name of Ethiopian unity did much good to the ascending of Meles to his throne. If Ethiopians had succeeded in establishing a transitional popular government after the fall of King Haile Selasse following the Yekatit Yehizebe Ametse/revolution more than four decades ago there wouldn't have been Mengistu and Meles to come to power..

The political problem we had more than four decades ago still hunt us. There is no united opposition to challenge Meles and his gangs. No wonder then revoking Mengistu's name which has served Meles very well still is used to get sympathy from the western supporters of the regime to label the "opposition" as the hated Mengistu followers.

Forty years has passed but we are still here nothing has changed and the hope of peaceful transfer of power is not in vocabulary of the tyrants. For some Meles is on the path of the Romanian dictator, Nicolae Ceaucescu, who was executed in 1989. However, most likely his fate might be like of his predecessor Mengistu Hailemariam who is sounding, acting and most likeley end the same way.

The earth is not flat for our politicians

2009-09-07T19:36:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

In early 1980s an Algerian female student I met in Belgium told me what she was told as a student in her native country about Ethiopians. " Ethiopians have been educated in school as the earth is flat" and she questioned me if it is true. I explained to her that on my study before elementary school, Yeneta/teacher indeed told us that earth is flat with no limit.

In 2000 there was a book written by Thomas Friedman titled the earth is flat. However, there is a big difference between Yeneta's and Thomas flat earth. Yeneta's flat earth is beyond human knowledge while Thomas flat earth celebrates human technological development in the last twenty years.

Since 2000 China has been the dominant manufacturing giant while India became the brain power of the world. This flat world however turns into valleys and mountain in the Middle East and Africa. For the last eighteen years Ethiopia under TPLF turns into the valley of disaster.

TPLF is boasting the expansion of education at the same time educated Ethiopians who can make a big difference in educating the next generation have been in exiled in large number. The "educated people" back home let alone compete in the flat world they have not improved the life of their own people and our country is still known as a beggar nation.

The diaspora educated Ethiopians young and old have competed with the Chinese, Indians and others, have a success story to be told. When China and India excel Ethiopia under TPLF is waging an ethnic warfare to tear apart the fabric of our people by ethnic cleansing our only university.

The educators who were chased two decades ago are now educating many scientists in foreign country including some who are now leading us in manufacturing and information technology. As Mao destroyed the educated class in his cultural revolution ours made their own cultural revolution.

The TPLF cultural revolution has also taken a lesson from South Africa's apartheid, bantustaization/kilil and building a valley and wall among people. The fruits of knowledge from the flatness of the earth is under the control of TPLF with the help of the Chinese technology. Internet is filtered and our people are not benefiting at all from the information technology.

TPLF has also the strategy of building the Silicon Valley and Bangalore in its own kilil for future dominance. Large numbers of students sent to foreign country are recruited based on ethnicity. Some can succeed and most however are not ready for competition in many institutions where people are judged by their research not by their political inclinations.

The brain potential of Ethiopians in higher institutions transcends ethnicity. We have first class students and teachers of various ethnic backgrounds if they had a chance to make Ethiopia the next China and India combined. We can not say however the same for our politicians. The diaspora politicians like their counter parts in Ethiopia are miserable and they are living in mountains and valleys.

They never see the earth as flat and always look up or down. Grab power or die fighting for it without thinking horizontally and learn from each other. The masses showed their wisdom in preparing a flat landscape for leaders to take charge. Ethiopian politicians have failed our people for the last four decades.

Year is changing but our politicians never change. Where is the potential of our leaders that we saw in science and technology in the diaspora and how comes we do not have tens or hundreds of politicians who think horizontally to charter our fate together ? Yes indeed the earth has been flattened in the last twenty years except Ethiopian politicians back home and here in diaspora who are still living in the vertical world.

Greed behind the building of dams in Ethiopia !!!

2009-07-29T09:22:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

I worked on Awash River for five years from 1980-1985. As you well know the Awash River is regulated by the Koka Dam that is now silted up and is living day to day, producing little electrical power. The Awash River and the impact of the Koka Dam to the million or so Afar people who depend on it is well studied and we have also five decades of facts on the ground.

The Afar nomads use the river as a grazing and watering spot for their animals. In a dry season when the river is not flooding as is regularly done by those who operate the dam they have to take their herds to high lands looking for grass and water. Unlike the Oromo basin people the Afar people do not plant crops except in a very few cases.

The current dam in construction, Gibe 3, some advocates of river development said it did not take care of the downstream inhabitants and the environmental impact assessment is not done properly. From the government side we hear that all is done on a transparent manner and those who financed the project accept the project and construction is underway to be completed in few years if all goes well.

It seems there is politics behind all this. Meles Zenawi who has been in power by force since 1991 is a darling of the west. If this is a regime who is not favored by the west such project will be rotten on a design stage let alone be financed. The goal of the Ethiopia regime is to get cash by selling all resources of the country, land, water etc.

Currently the regime is busy leasing agricultural lands for cash. It illegally handed over huge amount of land in the west which is about 30,000 sq km to the butcher of Darfur, Omar Al-Beshir. The Chinese, Koreans and the Arabs are leasing huge lands to produce their own crop and no wonder this regime ignores all costs including human lives to make money.

This is pure greed and has nothing to do with developing our country. Moreover, all these are happening with the help of American and European administrations. The Gibe 3 project symbolically is under Ethiopian Electric Power,however, the real people behind are those who controlled all businesses in Ethiopia, the Endowment Fund For Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT).

EFFORT is everything when it comes to money. The greed to make money has turned also the Koka Lake in to green by way of selling flowers to European markets. Inhabitants are dying drinking poisoned lake as reported on recent Aljazera program. If you tell me nobody knows this, you are kidding me, it is corruption unparalleled in Ethiopia's history with the help of west disguised as development strategy.

The question here is not why we are building dams but who is profiting from it ? Where political legitimacy is lacking or legitimacy by buying votes on open market, in the name of election, is orchestrated our natural resources will be a curse on us similar to oil curse of oil exporting African countries.

Bulcha Demeksa, getting and thinking old !!!

2009-07-17T11:35:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

Obo Bulcha Demeksa the head of the Oromo Federal Democratic Movement (OFDM) who served the Imperial Regime of Ethiopia, has long experience working for international organizations, currently a member of the TPLF parliament is sharing his wisdom. For Obo Bulcha the future of Ethiopian politics has to revolve around "Kilil" and each kilil has to be represented by party or parties who represent their nationalities. Oromo for Oromo's , Amhara for Amhara's, Tigray for Tigreayans etc.

Multi ethnic parties are non existent for Bulcha and Kinijit who participated on the May election and won all the seat in Addis Ababa/Finfine according to Bulcha is an "Amhara" party. He said, "The multi ethnic vote Kinijit got in Addis Ababa is a vote against TPLF". A man who worked in many African countries if his expertise has been incorporated by now the whole Africa's political map has to be redrawn according to the TPLF Kilil which Bulcha has been supporting for the last eighteen years.

Ato Bulcha's problem with Meles is for non-Oromos coming to parliament representing Oromo. "The OPDO is not true Oromo". Yes OPDO is not supported by many Oromos because they are not standing to empower the Oromo people rather used by TPLF to ignite war among many ethnic groups who have been living together for centuries and for which Obo Bulcha accused TPLF on its own parliament in the past for the loss of lives and properties.

The scary thing,however, is Obo Bulcha does not believe non-Oromos can stand for Oromo cause. He does not believe that the millions who lived intermarried for centuries have a right to choose any party that can stand for their interest. Dividing people purely on language basis disregarding the fact on the ground is going to bring disaster to our people.

I have no problem with ethnic organizations but if I have to live with their dictate that is a problem. The majority ethnic group dictating on minorities or others who do not buy to their ideology is not different than TPLF minority and its local surrogates abusing our people in their kilil for the last eighteen years.

If one ethnic organization is not allowed to campaign on other Kilil because that is not his kilil is against the right of citizens which Bulcha would like to build on "Federal Ethiopia". Labelling Kinijit as an Amhara organization is also an insult to other nationalities who worked and died carrying a banner of Kinijit, freedom, individual and groups rights.

Obo Bulcha Demeksa concern for the Oromos is understandable and commendable,however, he failed to learn from eighteen years of experience working with TPLF tribal Federalism. The elites of Ethiopia underestimate the masses and do not learn from their futile mistakes ignoring common bondage that hold Ethiopians together and keep on calling for Rwanda type division. Understandably if Obama asked Ato Bulcha expertise on how to be effective as "opposition" in Ethiopia the answer might be donation of many buses to bus nationalities to their own "kilil" and return some of them representing their Kilil to form a "Federal Ethiopia". No one will pay for such adventure.

Reaction to Obama's speech in Accra, Ghana

2009-07-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tedla Asfaw <tedla.asfaw@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 3:26 PM
Subject: Reaction to Obama's speech
To: info@ecadforum.com, editor@abbaymedia.com, EMF Media <media.emf@gmail.com>, freefromtplf@aol.com, tsegaye@debteraw.com, quatero_webmaster@hotmail.com, ethiolion@ethiolion.com, EthioSun <info@ethiosun.com>, Addisu Abebe <aabebe@voanews.com>, yenenehe@yahoo.com, Gmail <eliaskifle@gmail.com>

Dear AV Readers,

Today July 15 on Straight Talk Africa I had an opportunity to call and comment. After I applaud Obama for his speech I added we should have to find a mechanism to retrieve Africa's loot accumulated on foreign banks. We have to set up a mechanism on how to retrieve the loot. I mentioned Ethiopia under Meles' TPLF where millions of dollars have been looted for the last eighteen years. You can go to www.voanews.com/english/africa/straighttalkafrica.cfm. My call was on the second half of the program around the forty five minutes.

                                                                                                          Thanks,

                                                                                                             Tedla Asfaw

Crisis in Ethiopian Orthodox Church

2009-07-09T20:02:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

I followed Adissu Abebe of VOA Amharic(July 9 ) program few minutes ago which shed me some light on the current crisis in Ethiopian Orthodox church. The problem in our church since TPLF has come to power is not new in fact it will be enough just to look around here in North America. Churches are built every other month according to their loyalty to this Bishop or that Bishop or this Priest or that Priest.

Otherwise how can poor community like Ethiopia afford many churches way higher than other well established communities in North America. I have stopped going to our church here in New York because I do not want to identify myself as a follower of this or that. Why should I spend my time when I know deep in my heart that we are gathering while holding anger and hate towards someone who is standing there to "pray".

The crisis in the church is identical to the crisis we faced in May 2005 during and after election. Our people demand unity, "Tebaberu woyeme Tesebaberu" to forge Kinijit to challenge TPLF. The Orthodox Christians get along very well with other Christians and Muslims while the Abuna paulose led church is poisoning the atmosphere and has brought tension between religious groups.

Back home our people stayed together, however, here in the Diaspora we are part of the problem by financing number of churches associated with corrupt bishops and priests.

Ethiopia has good people but not good leaders in politics, economics and social activities. I hope the next generation of leaders will be good to their people.

Medal for genocide organizer !!!!

2009-07-03T17:45:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

Paul Kagame of Rwanda is giving a medal for Meles Zenawi this weekend. Other recipients of the National Liberation Medal of Rwanda for fighting "Against Genocide" are the late Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Museveni of Uganda. Mixing Meles Zenawi with the late Julius Nyerere is an insult for whole Africa. The likes of Yoweri Museveni's nomination for this award is questionable too but what I vehemently object is the association of Melese Zenawi with"fight against genocide".

Does Paul Kagame follows the ongoing genocide in Africa ? Did he follow the Genocide Watch recent report to bring Meles Zenawi for crimes he committed against the Anuak and the Ogaden Somalis in Ethiopia ? What is the medal of Paul Kagame says to the victims of the genocidal crime of Meles Zenawi ?

How can a person who himself was the victim of the genocide insult others ? Paul Kagame can give any medal for Meles Zenawi but giving him a medal for fighting "against genocide" is a direct insult to the Ethiopian genocide victim families who are residing in foreign lands including some here in North America.

I can say straight to Paul Kagame on his face that yours genocide is not different than ours. You lost million of innocents for being from wrong ethnic group and in Ethiopia we lost thousands for not confirming to Meles' tribal philosophy. The difference is only in the quantity of victims and for some like Kagame who was on the receiving end of genocide to come and dishonor our losses is indeed a tragedy.

Ethiopians cried for the victims of the Rwanda genocide. We could not believe our eyes when neighbors killed their neighbors. The dictator Melese Zenawi who is to be awarded the National Liberation Medal of Rwanda similarly called for one neighbor to rise against the other when he was defeated in 2005 election even in the capital city of Ethiopia. He officially agitated for "interhawe" which ashamed all including his western supporters.

Genocide is a big crime which has international repercussion and that is why many who participated on the Rwanda genocide are charged for their crimes. Dictators like Al-Beshir of Sudan have been recently indicted on International Criminal Court for genocide in Darfur. The day Meles Zenawi faces this international court is not far. Giving a medal for Meles Zenawi as a "fighter against genocide" will not help him from being indicted for genocide.

Part one, TPLF's Election Debate Drama !!!

2009-06-27T10:22:00.001-07:00

Tedla Asfaw

Space available for rent, so much sq feet for so much dollar, and you can contact us at this number. In fact similar advertisement was posted on TPLF Ethio tube to attract new buyers of "Democracy Space" and we all know when it comes to business space it is one hundred percent controlled by Endowment Fund for Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT).

Some of the bidders/opponents were encouraged by the 2005 openness of this "democratic space bid" and since then, however, this space is only "allowed" on few sq meters area of the the TPLF parliament building in Addis Ababa. Out of the parliament building, the Ethiopian people are not allowed to gather or speak on any matters that concern them, Zero Space.

Ethiopian politics like the economy is now hundred percent owned and run by TPLF and this staged debate of politics on Ethiopian TV is a reality show. The staged drama is made for for USA, UK and other Western observers who will be allowed to monitor the "election 2010" in Ethiopia. Hey !!! Look debate is going on for all who believed in "peaceful struggle" and come on join this drama before time is running out.

The vote, however, has already been casted in rural Ethiopia way before anyone embarks on a mission to "monitor election 2010". EFFORT has already paid the rural poor masses to be member of TPLF/EPRDF and forced the poor opposition party out of business. In the city, government employees as well EFFORT controlled businesses have already bought the vote to be displayed publicly at the presence of the International monitors who come to witness the coronation of Mels Zenawi's TPLF for the next five years in power.

The TPLF security will be armed with Iranian type security motor bicycles to chase all trouble makers in the coming June 2010 landslide victory. Shooting on head will be discouraged while high speed chase of young people on the streets of Addis might bring larger causality for lack of proper training on riding the bikes. How about getting help from Iran ?.

We should also expect the "Shabia supported" oppositions like that of Ginbot7 trying to make another coup similar like that of Ginbot 8 this year to sabotage the coronation of TPLF. How about organizing our people not to be part of this coming circus ? A common front against TPLF made election drama should start early on all fronts.

The real opponents of the TPLF should make a call for Ethiopians to stay away from the election drama and punish those who are forcing our people to vote for TPLF. The TPLF cadres wherever they are should not be allowed to imprison, beat or kill anyone who is boycotting this fake election.

Citizens have to say no to all kind of intimidation by TPLF in schools, churches and mosques whenever they gather. Ethiopians have to boycott EFFORT the company that is bribing our people to keep TPLF forever on power. The staged one hour TV "debate" drama series be also boycotted..

The UDJP and AEUP parties should come out early on this game and make it clear that they will not be part of any TV made propaganda by TPLF. A call for unconditional release of Judge Birukan should be the number one priority of UDJP. MEDREk platform led by Gebru and Seye is also part of secret TPLF orchestrated drama to be boycotted.

The Ethiopian people problem is not lack of paid space to talk politics, it is a lack of real space for discussion and tackle all our problems including the right to be governed by our choice. Without free media, assembly all the rest is a circus TV reality show and we will boycott all these for what it is, to keep TPLF and EFFORT for years on power.