Hyenas kill two people

 Hyenas have killed two people in eastern Ethiopia, police said on Saturday.

A drunk man was mauled to death on Thursday while the remains of a university student were found three days after being reported missing.

Police said of the man that “only the front parts of his teeth, a portion of his skull and ripped cloth shreds were found the next day”.

Two female students were also attacked early this year and one of them killed

የሪፖርተር ጋዜጣ ከፍተኛ ዘጋቢ ጋዜጠኛ ተሸመ ንቁ ከአንድ ውር በፊት ጀምሮ የገባበት እንደማይታወቅ የስራ

 

 

 

 

የሪፖርተር ጋዜጣ ከፍተኛ ዘጋቢ ጋዜጠኛ ተሸመ ንቁ ከአንድ ውር በፊት ጀምሮ የገባበት እንደማይታወቅ የስራ

ባልደረቦቹና ቤተሰቦቹ ገለፁ፡፡

Global Crisis To Hit Ethiopia`s Growth

     Ethiopia’s economy faces a rough road ahead because of the global financial crisis and the strong growth seen over the past five years may be curbed by weaker exports, the finance minister said.

The coffee-exporting Horn of Africa nation has benefited from programmes to boost agricultural output and diversify its economic base, but still remains one of the world’s poorest, ranking 170 out of 177 on the U.N. Human Development Index.

“Ethiopia’s economy is in the process of take-off but given the current global financial crisis and the macro challenges Ethiopia faces, the road ahead will be very difficult and rough,” Minister of Finance Sufian Ahmed told Reuters.

“The country’s export earnings could be affected. We also expect Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) would be affected because donors will be under tremendous constraints and naturally we assume the areas they would want to make some cuts may be ODA,” he said in an interview.

Ethiopia prides itself as the origin of coffee and is the largest producer on the continent. Its beans are grown in a region known as Kaffa, which is said to have given its name to the plant.

Ethiopia earned $525 million from coffee exports in 2007/08, just over a third of its total export earnings. Leading buyers of Ethiopian coffee are Germany followed by Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United States and the Netherlands.

“For the last five years, the economy has registered very encouraging growth rates. To be precise, the annual average GDP (gross domestic product) growth of the last five years has been 11.6 percent,” said Sufian.

 

INFLATION TO SLOW

In June, the finance ministry said it expected growth of 10.8 percent in 2008. The minister did not give a new forecast.

The United Nations and the African Development Bank said then they expected Ethiopia to grow by 7.5 percent in 2008 and 7.4 percent in 2009, helped by broad-based expansion in industry, agriculture and services.

Despite its healthy economic figures, the nation’s 81 million people are still vulnerable to frequent bouts of drought and periodic floods that make them dependent on food aid.

Earlier this year, Ethiopia had to scrap taxes on flour and grains to cushion the impact of inflation which Sufian said had risen to an annual average of 25 percent over the last five years, from 10 percent previously.

Sufian said the country’s growth was still largely dependent on agricultural production but that services, trade, tourism and the construction sector were also expanding.

“Ethiopia’s economy is in a different trajectory now because the country does not depend on coffee alone, as it used to previously. Export commodities have been diversified and oil seed, pulses and flowers also generate foreign currency.”

Sufian said, however, that he expected inflation to slow as the impact of high food and fuel prices waned.

“Oil imports had been a big burden on us with an annual expenditure of over $2 billion. The price decline of the commodity is a relief to us,” he said.

“There is a sign that inflation will reach single digits this year, if not next year,” he said.

Ginbot 7 Movement for Justice, Freedom and Democracy Press Release

Ginbot 7 rejects the claim made by the regime in Ethiopia that no war crime took place in the Ogaden region.

On June 11 this year, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) had issued a report supported by satellite photos that accuses Meles Zenawi’s regime in Ethiopia of rampant war crimes, including the burning of villages, mass execution of civilians, rape, torture, and blockade of food in the Ogaden region.

To minimize the impact of the report, the Meles regime had setup a 7-member inquiry commission that would investigate the charges made by the HRW.

No one had any illusion that the ‘inquiry commission’ that was put together by the accused war criminals would find any crime against the regime, since its only purpose was to give political cover to the regime.

As expected, the so-called ‘inquiry commission’ has issued a report accusing HRW of fabricating stories of war crimes in Ogaden.

The ‘inquiry commission’ did not address charges made by the Red Cross, Amnesty International, the New York Times and others that are similar to what the HRW reported.

So who is to be believed? These international human rights and humanitarian groups, and the New York Times, or a commission set up by the accused?

Ginbot7 takes this opportunity to appeal to the international community to take the necessary steps to bring officials of the Meles regime to justice for the horrific war crimes they continue to commit against our brothers and sisters in the Ogaden region and against all the people of Ethiopia.

Israel forces Ethiopian airlines to land

Ethiopian Airlines ahs revealed that Israel traffic controllers, with the assistance of Israeli jetfighters, on 24 November forced one of its passenger planes to land on Israel soil, APA has learnt here.

Ethiopian Airlines said on Wednesday that the incident involved Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET-404/24, which was on its way from Addis Ababa to Tel Aviv in Israel.

It was reported that the Ethiopian aircraft was forced to land due to misunderstanding between the flight crew and Israeli Air Traffic Controllers.

\”As a result, the ATC held the flight for 18 minutes until they confirmed that the aircraft was in fact Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET-404/24 of November 2008,\” the airlines said here.

\”Thereafter, the flight was cleared to land at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv as per its schedule. The 200 passengers were also handled smoothly as usual.\”

Ethiopian air lines has been flying to Tel Aviv since 1998, operating four weekly flights to the Israeli capital

Ethiopia: Charge or Free Ethnic Oromo Terrorism Suspects

The Ethiopian government should immediately free 53 ethnic Oromos arrested several weeks ago on allegations of support for terrorism if it cannot credibly charge them, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch said that a court should not grant further police requests to extend their detention without charge past a December 1, 2008, deadline, in part because of serious risks of torture.

Ethiopian authorities have arrested more than 100 ethnic Oromo Ethiopians since October 30 in Addis Ababa and across Ethiopia’s Oromia region, and 53 remain in detention without charge in Addis Ababa. The government claims they were helping plot terrorist attacks on behalf of the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), that they were funding the rebel group or committing other, as yet unspecified crimes linked to terrorism or rebel activity.

“Ethiopia has well-founded fears of terrorist attacks, but has often manipulated those fears to suppress dissent,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “These mass arrests bear all the hallmarks of the ‘imprison first, investigate later’ tactics used to arbitrarily detain peaceful critics.”

While Ethiopia has valid security concerns related to bombings and other attacks, the government has routinely cited terrorism as a pretext for suppressing nonviolent opposition and arbitrarily detaining peaceful government critics. Over the years, Ethiopia’s government has regularly used accusations of support for the Oromo rebels, who have been carrying out a low-level insurgency for a decade, as a pretext for cracking down on political dissent among the Oromo population.

Those arrested include Bekele Jirata, secretary general of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, an opposition political party with seats in Parliament; three human rights activists working for the Ethiopian Human Rights Council in the town of Nekemte (since released); teachers and university lecturers; and several prominent businessmen and hotel owners. At their last court appearance, some of the detainees said that they had been taken from their cells at night and tortured. Torture has been a routine practice at Addis Ababa’s Maikelawi, or Central Investigation Unit, where the detainees are being held.

The Ethiopian government blames the Oromo rebels for numerous grenade and bomb attacks in Addis Ababa and elsewhere in recent years. A public statement by police and intelligence officials on November 22 accused legal opposition parties of harboring terrorists bent on “dismantling the national constitution” within their ranks.

The recent arrests coincide with a massive security deployment in Addis Ababa that took place in response to bombings on October 29. The Ethiopian trade mission in Hargeisa, Somaliland was hit by a suicide bomb attack that claimed at least four Ethiopian civilian lives. It was one of several near-simultaneous attacks in Hargeisa and the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in Somalia that killed at least 25 people, mainly Somali civilians. The attacks may have been carried out, though, by insurgents from Somalia, where the Ethiopian military has been engaged in support of the transitional government since December 2006. 

Past arrests of ethnic Oromos have targeted people from all walks of life, including political figures, teenage students, teachers, and civil society activists. In November, the government pardoned and released 44 people convicted of crimes linked to the rebels who had been in prison for long terms. Some had originally been sentenced to life in prison or death.

As Human Rights Watch has documented, governance in Oromia has long been marked by widespread acts of intimidation, arbitrary arrest, torture and other serious human rights abuses targeting people who criticize the government. Many of those targeted for abuses have done nothing more than to criticize local officials or participate in student protests.

Police investigators have not charged any of the recent detainees with a criminal offense. Courts have ordered some detainees released after police failed to provide any legal basis to justify their detention. Five detainees were released in Addis Ababa along with others who were detained in Nekemte, Dembi Dollo and other parts of Oromia. But 53 remain in custody in Addis Ababa after police officials obtained a court order to allow them to keep the detainees in custody for two weeks while they gathered evidence against them. When the two-week deadline expired on November 24, the police returned to court empty-handed but obtained a one-week extension, until December 1, to find evidence that might substantiate criminal charges.

This pattern of prolonged detention without charge is routine practice in cases of Oromo Ethiopians arrested on accusations of terrorism or of supporting the rebels. Ethiopian courts often eventually reject police requests for continued detention and order those held to be  released – but only after they have spent weeks or months in detention while police claim to look for evidence that could justify their being charged.

“Ethiopian judges deserve praise when they stand up to order the release of people detained without legal basis,” Gagnon said. “But often this only happens after detainees have already been held without charge for punitive lengths of time.”

Oromia is Ethiopia’s largest and most populous region. Its regional government is controlled by the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), a member of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

The Oromo Liberation Front fought alongside the governing party in the struggle to overthrow the Derg dictatorship, but after the war the two organizations fell out with one another. The OLF was outlawed and its leadership driven from the country. It is now based in Asmara, Eritrea. Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been poisonous since the two countries fought a bloody border war in 1998-1999 that claimed tens of thousands of lives. The border issue remains unresolved

Ethiopian government leaders are deeply divided over policy regarding the situation in Somalia

Ethiopian government leaders are deeply divided over policy regarding the situation in Somalia, where Ethiopian troops have helped prop up the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) since 2006.

Informed sources in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa have confidentially told Garowe Online that the policy dispute is partly due to differences between Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Seyoum Mesfin, the country’s influential foreign minister.

Mesfin told a regional conference in Addis Ababa this week that Ethiopia will not keep troops in Somalia “indefinitely” and that Somali leaders must work together at this “critical time.”

Ethiopia’s foreign minister is linked to a top general who commanded Ethiopian forces in Somalia, until he was replaced by Prime Minister Zenawi after TFG President Abdullahi Yusuf accused him of taking bribes.

In October, a conference organized in Kenya by the Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) was an “Ethiopian plot” to remove Yusuf from power, the sources added.

But divisions within IGAD – hostilities between rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea, tensions between Sudan and Kenya – have made the regional body an ineffective foreign policy tool, despite threats to impose sanctions on select Somali leaders.

The conference ended with IGAD leaders, including Foreign Minister Mesfin, verbally chastising the TFG leadership for failure against the rising tide of Islamic rule.

President Yusuf has since declared that Ethiopia can withdraw its armed forces from Somalia at any time and remarked that Addis Ababa can make an “independent” decision.

But Ethiopian Prime Minister Zenawi, who has been in power since 1991, is not fully supportive of the pullout initiative and fears the consequences.

Yusuf, a seasoned fighter, has refused to budge to Ethiopian pressure and is now traveling the Arab world for support, including visits to Libya and Sudan.

He remains a powerful figure inside Somalia, with a solid base support and loyal troops spread out between Puntland and Mogadishu.

Further, Ethiopian Prime Minister Zenawi suspects that Yusuf can use Darod clan ties to bolster the ongoing insurgency in Ethiopia’s Somali-inhabited Ogaden region.

Anna Gomez speaks!

በአውሮፓ ፓርላማ የሶሻሊስት ፓርቲ አባልና በኢትዮጵያ ግንቦት 7 ቀን 1997 ዓ.ም. ተካኺዶ በነበረው ምርጫ የአውሮፓ ምርጫ ታዛቢ ልዑካን ሊቀመንበር የነበሩት አና ጐሜዝ በቅርቡ ከዩሮ ጋዜጣ ጋር በኢትዮጵያ ስላለው የዲሞክራሲ ሁኔታ፣ ስለኦነግ (ስለየኦሮሞ ነፃነት ግንባር)፣ በቀጠናው ስላለው መረጋጋትና ”የቅርብ ወዳጃቸው ናቸው” ተብለው ስለሚጠቀሱት በዶ/ር ብርሀኑ ነጋ ስለተቋቋመው የግንቦት 7 ንቅናቄ ዙሪያ ያደረጉትን ቃለ-ምልልስ ለኢትዮጵያውያን አንባብያን በሚመች መልኩ በአማርኛ ቋንቋ ተርጉመን አቅርበነዋል። 

እንደሚታወቀው የግንቦት 7 1997 ዓ.ም. ምርጫ ውዝግብ ተከትሎ፣ 193 የሚጠጉ ሰዎች ሞት የተነሳ የአውሮፓ ፓርላማ በኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት ላይ ማዕቀብ እንዲደረግ ጥሪ አቅርቦ ነበረ። ፓርላማው ለምን ይህን የማዕቀብ ጥሪ ችላ አለው?  

እንደማስበው የአውሮፓ ኮሚሽን ጥሪውን ችላ አላለም፤ በወቅቱ ለኢትዮጵያ የዕርዳታ አሰጣጥ ሁኔታ ተቀይሮ ነበር። ነገር ግን ጊዜ በሄደ ቁጥር ነገሮች እንደወትሮ ነው የተመለሱት፤ እንደውም የአውሮፓ ሕብረት ለኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት የሚደረገውን ድጋፍ የቀጠለበትና የጨመረበት ሁኔታ ነው የሚታየው። እኛ እንደምናውቀው የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት የህዝቡን ፍላጐት የጣሰና ሙሉ በሙሉ በገዥው ፓርቲ ቁጥጥር ስር የወደቀ መንግሥት ነው። በአውሮፓ ኮሚሽን ወይም መንግሥታት ውስጥ ኢትዮጵያን በተመለከተ የአስመሳይነት ሥራ እየተሠራ ይገኛል። በአፍሪካ የዲሞክራሲና የሰብዓዊ መብቶችን ለማራመድ የአውሮፓ ኮሚሽን መሠረታዊ እሴቶችና ዓላማዎች ወጥነት ይጐድላቸዋል። ይህ ድርጊት በኢትዮጵያ ህዝብም ሆነ በአፍሪካ በአጠቃላይ የአውሮፓን ተዓማኒነት ጥያቄ ውስጥ የሚከት ነው። እኔንም በጣም የሚያሳዝነኝ ድርጊት ነው። 

እንደተጠቀሱት የአውሮፓ አስመሳይነት (Hypocrisy) በሁሉም የዓለማችን ክፍል የሚታይ ነው። ለምሳሌ ለምዕራብ ሀገሮች ቅርበት ያላቸው እንደ ሳዑዲ ዐረቢያ በመሳሰሉ ሀገራት የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ጥሰት ይስተዋላል። በሌላ በኩል ምዕራባውያን በዝምባብዌ ፕሬዝዳንት ሮበርት ሙጋቤ ላይ ያነጣጠረ ዘመቻ እያካሄዱ ይገኛሉ። በአንፃሩ ምንም ምርጫ ያላደረጉ ወይም የምርጫ ውጤትን ያጭበረበሩና የሰው ልጆች ሕይወት ስለጠፋበት ሀገራት እምብዛም ትኩረት ሲሰጡ አይስተዋሉም ይህ አስመሳይነት አልበዛም?  

የሰብዓዊ መብት ጥሰትን በተመለከተ የፕሬዝዳንት ቡሽ፣ የአውሮፓ መንግሥታትና ተቋማት ትልቅ ሽንፈት ነው። ምክንያቱም ሁኔታውን ስንመለከተው በዓለም አቀፍ ሕግና የሰብዓዊ መብቶችን ለማስከበር ከሚደረጉ እንቅስቃሴዎች ጋር ይቃረናል። ስለዚህም ነው በጥያቄህ ውስጥ እንደጠቀስከው አይነት ምሳሌዎችና ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ እየታዘብነው ያለው ሁኔታ ተመሳሳይ ነው። ለምሳሌ ባለፈው ጊዜ የቡድን ስምንት ስብሰባ ጃፓን በተካሄደበት ወቅት በዝምባብዌ መንግሥት ላይ ማዕቀብ ለማድረግ ጥሪ ቀርቦ ነበር። ማዕቀቡ የሙጋቤን ፈላጭ ቆራጭ መንግሥት ለማስወገድ ስለሚረዳ ተገቢ ነው። ነገር ግን በዚህ ጉባዔ ላይ ልክ እንደ የተከበረ አፍሪካዊ መሪ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር መለስ ዜናዊ አንዱ ተጋባዥ መሪ ነበሩ። መለስ ዜናዊ የሀገሪቱ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ሊሆኑ ይችላሉ፤ ነገር ግን በምርጫው ወቅት እንዳየሁት በኢትዮጵያዊያን ዘንድ ተዓማኒነት የላቸውም። ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ በዓለም ታላቅ መሪዎች ፊት ሊሸለሙ ወይም ሊቀርቡ አይገባቸውም። ምክንያቱም ፈላጭ ቆራጭ መሪ ከመሆናቸውም ባሻገር የሰው ሀገር ማለትም ሶማሊያን የወረሩ ናቸው። ስለዚህ በዓለማችን ላይ በግልፅ የሚታይ ተቃርኖ ወይም ወጥነት የሌለው አሠራር እየታየ ነው።  

በአጠቃላይ ሲታይ በኢትዮጵያ ባለፉት ሦስት ዓመታት የዲሞክራሲያዊ ሽግግር ሂደቱ እየተሻሻለ ነው ወይስ እየባሰበት ነው ይላሉ?  

በዓለም ላይ ያለውን የዲሞክራሲያዊ ሽግግር ሥርዓት ስናይ የተለያዩ ሁኔታዎች አሉ። በኢትዮጵያ ግን በእርግጠኝነት እየተሻሻለ አይደለም ማለት ይቻላል። በአንድ በኩል የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ለዲሞክራሲና ለለውጥ ያለው ፍላጐት ከፍተኛ ነው። እ.ኤ.አ. በ2005 ዓ.ም. በተካሄደው ምርጫ (ምርጫ 97) በሠላማዊ ሁኔታ ነው ህዝቡ የተሳተፈው። ነገር ግን ያ ሁሉ ተስፋ በመለስ ዜናዊ ሥርዓት መና ሆኖ ቀርቷል። ስለዚህ በኢትዮጵያ የዲሞክራሲ ሂደት አልተሻሻለም ማለት ይቻላል። አሁን የምናየው ሁኔታ የቡሽ አስተዳደር ማብቂያ የተቃረበበትና ከአዲሱ የአሜሪካን ፕሬዝዳንት ኦባማ አዲስ ዘመን የምናይበት ነው። አፍሪካዊ መሠረት ላልናቸው በፕሬዝዳንት ኦባማ ዘመን ዲሞክራሲና የሰብዓዊ መብት አያያዝና ጥበቃ በተመለከተ ለውጥ እንደምናይ ትልቅ ተስፋ አደርጋለሁ።  

ከቡሽ አስተዳደር በፊት የነበሩት ባለሥልጣናት፣ የሰብዓዊ መብትና ዲሞክራሲን በተመለከተ መረጋጋት ማምጣት እንደሚችሉ ተናግረው ነበር። ታዛቢዎችና የሰብዓዊ መብት ተሟጋች ድርጅቶች፣ የቡሽ አስተዳደር በተፃራሪ ሲሠራ እንደነበር ይተቻሉ። በኦባማ አስተዳደር ምን ያህል ለውጥ ይመጣል ብለው ይጠብቃሉ?

 እንደማስበው ማናቸውም ዕጩዎች በምርጫ ቢያሸንፉም በዓለም ዙሪያ ከፍተኛ ቀውስ ያስከተለው የቡሽ አስተዳደር ያከትማል። በኔ በእምነት የፕሬዝዳንት ኦባማን ስብዕናና የአፍሪካዊና እስያዊ ወይም ኢንዶኔዥያ ተቋዳሽ መሆናቸው ዩናይትድ ስቴትስ አመራር በኩል አፋጣኝ ለውጥ ማምጣት እንዳለበት እንዲገነዘቡ ይረዳቸዋል። ይህ ደግሞ የዲሞክራሲና ሰብዓዊ መብቶች መሠረታዊ እሴቶችና ብሎም ፍትህ በዓለማችን ይበልጥ እንዲሠፍን ይረዳል። በዚህ ዓለም ዲሞክራሲያዊ ያልሆነ አሠራር ማየት አንሻም፣ ከመረጋጋት የተሻለ ብዬ የማምነው ዲሞክራሲና ሰብዓዊ መብቶች ሲከበሩ ነው።  

በብዙ ፎረሞች ተቃዋሚ የኢትዮጵያ ፓርቲዎች፣ በገዥው ፓርቲ ላይ ጫና ለማሳደር አንድ መሆን ወይም መተባበር እንዳለባቸው ሲናገሩ ይደመጣሉ። እውነታው ግን በተቃራኒ ነው። ኅብረት፣ ኦፌዲን እና ሌሎችም ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች በፓርላማ ይገኛሉ። በሌላ በኩል ፓርላማ ያልገቡ የቅንጅት አመራር አባላት አንድነት ለፍትህና ለዲሞክራሲ ፓርቲ መሥርተዋል። የኦሮሞ ነፃነት ግንባር (ኦነግ) በምርጫ አልተሳተፉም። አሁንም ቢሆን የቀድሞ ቅንጅትና አንድነት ፓርቲ አመራር አባላት በተለየዩ ፓርቲዎች በመቧደን እየተከፋፈሉ ይገኛሉ። ለምሣሌ አንዳኛው በኢንጂንየር ኃይሉ ሻውል አመራር ስር ሲሆን፣ ሌላኛው በአቶ አየለ ጫሚሶ ስር ይገኛል። በሌላ በኩል እንደ ኦጋዴን ብሔራዊ ነፃ አውጪ ግንባር ያሉ አንዳንድ ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች፣ ከኤርትራ መንግሥት ጋር በመሥራት ላይ ይገኛሉ። እርስዎ እነዚህን ተቃዋሚ ፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች አንድ ለማድረግ ወይም ለማዋሃድ ምን እያደረጉ ይገኛሉ?

 ኢትዮጵያውያን የዲሞክራሲ ሥርዓት ለመተግበር የሚያደርጉትን እንቅስቃሴ ከልቤ እደግፋለሁ። ነገር ግን እኔ የውጭ ዜጋ ነኝ። ማንም ሰው ኢትዮጵያውያን የሚፈልጉትን ለውጥ ከውጭ ሆኖ ማምጣት አይችልም ይህ ለኢትዮጵያውያን የተተወ ሥራ ነው፤ ከኢትዮጵያ ውጭ ያሉ ሰዎች የአውሮፓ መንግሥታት በኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት ላይ ጫና እንዲያሳድሩ ግፊት ሊያደርጉ ይችላሉ፤ ያም ሆነ ይህ የተወሰነ ኃላፊነት ነው። ዋናው ኃላፊነት የወደቀው በኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ ነው። የኔ አጋርነት በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ለዲሞክራሲ ሥርዓት ከሚታገሉ ኃይሎች ጋር ነው። አሁን ያለው በማንም ያልተወከለና የተናቀ ሥርዓት ህዝቡ ላይ እያደረገ ያለው ጭቆና ዋናው ምክንያት፤ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ በተለያየ ምክንያት በመከፋፈሉ ነው፤ ይህ አሳዛኝ ሁኔታ ነው በጣም አሳዛኝ። ኢትዮጵያውያን በርዕዮተ ዓለም፣ በፖለቲካና በብሔረሰብ ያላቸውን ልዩነት አቻችለው፣ በአንድነት ለዲሞክራሲ ሥርዓት ከተባበሩ የመለስን አስተዳደር በመጣል፣ በምትኩ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሥርዓት መገንባት ይችላሉ። እንደ ከዚህ ቀደም የአማራን የበላይነትና አብዛኛው የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብ የሚይዙት የኦሮሞን ህዝብ ሥጋት እየነጣጠልን የምንሰብክ ከሆነ የመለስ ፈላጭ ቆራጭ ሥርዓት እንዲቀጥል የሚያደርግ ጥሩ አማራጭ ነው። ስለዚህ ነው እኔ ኢትዮጵያውያን በዲሞክራሲ፣ መልካም አስተዳደር፣ ፍትህና ለሰብዓዊ መብቶች ክብርና ኢኮኖሚ ዙሪያ ባሉ አጀንዳዎች፣ በአንድነት እንዲቆሙ ጥሪ የማቀርበው። ስለሆነም እኔ በምንም ዓይነት ኢትዮጵያዊያን በራሳቸው የሚሠሩትን ሥራ መተካት አልችልም።

 

ከግንቦት 7 ቀን 1997 ዓ.ም. ምርጫ በፊት ኢሪን ለተባለ የተባበሩት መንግሥታት የዜና ምንጭ በሰጡት ቃለምልልስ/ ሁሉም ተፎካካሪ ፓርቲዎች የደጋፊዎቻቸውን ስሜትና ምኞት በማርገብ፣ የምርጫውን ውጤት እንደ እውነት እንደሚቀበሉ ተስፋ አድርገው ነበር። ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎችና ገዥው ፓርቲ እርስዎ በወቅቱ ተስፋ አድርገው የነበረውን ተግባራዊ ያደረጉ ይመስልዎታል?

 ደኅና! ከምርጫው በፊትና በኋላም እንደታየው የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ በምርጫው በመሳተፍ ለዲሞክራሲ ያለውን ፍላጐትና ዝግጁነት አሳይቷል። በዚያ ወቅት አንዳንድ ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች ገዥው ፓርቲ የምርጫውን ሂደት ሊያዛባው እንደሚችል ያላቸውን ሥጋት ከመጀመሪያው ጀምሮ ሲነግሩኝ ነበር። በተወሰነ ደረጃ በወቅቱ ልክ ነበሩ። የአዲስ አበባ ምርጫ ውጤት እንደታወቀ ገዥው ፓርቲ የምርጫውን ውጤት በመላ ሀገሪቱ ማዛባት ጀመረ። መንግሥት የምርጫውን ውጤት ማጭበርበር ተከትሎ ለዲሞክራሲ የነበረው ተስፋ መና ሆነ። እኔ እንደማስበው ሥርዓቱ የህዝቡን ፍላጐት መቀልበሱ ለራሱ መጥፎ ነው፤ የአዲስ አበባ ምርጫ ውጤት የመላ ሀገሪቱ ምርጫ ውጤት ነፀብራቅ ነው። እርግጥ አንዳንድ ቦታ የውጤት ልዩነት ቢኖርም ማለቴ ነው። ስለዚህ ነው አሁንም ቢሆን ለተቃዋሚ ፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች ጥሪ የማቀርበው ነገር፤ ህዝቡ በምርጫ እንዳይሳተፍ የሚከለክል መልዕክት ማስተላለፍ አይገባቸውም፣ ህዝቡ ለመምረጥ መጥቷል። ስለዚህ መለስ ህዝቡ ለዲሞክራሲ ዝግጁ አይደለም ብሎ መናገር አይችልም። የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ለዲሞክራሲ ያለውን ዝግጁነት በምርጫ ወቅት በብዛት በመገኘትና በመምረጥ አስመስክሯል።  

አንዳንድ ታዛቢዎች በኢትዮጵያ የግል ፕሬስ አደጋ ውስጥ እንዳለ ይናገራሉ። ለዚህም የሚቀርበው ምክንያት የሕትመት ዋጋ መናር ነው። በዚህም ምክንያት በገዥው ፓርቲ አባላት የፋይናንስ ድጋፍ የማይደረግላቸው የፕሬስ ውጤቶች እየተዘጉ ይገኛሉ። ከዚህም በተጨማሪ የ2005 ምርጫን (ምርጫ 97ን) ተከትሎ ብዙ ጋዜጠኞች ላይ እንግልት ደርሷል። በቅርቡም አዲስ የፕሬስ ሕግ በፓርላማ ፀድቋል። ይህ ሕግ መንግሥት የሕትመት ውጤቶችን ከስርጭት በፊት እንዲያግድ ይፈቅድለታል። ታዛቢዎች ይህ እርምጃ መንግሥት ፕሬስን ለማፈን አዲስ ዓይነት እንቅስቃሴ እያደረገ እንደሚገኝ ይናገራሉ። የአውሮፓ ሕብረት በኢትዮጵያ የግሉን ፕሬስ ለመደገፍ የተለየ ዕቅድ ካለው ቢነግሩን?

 

በኢትዮጵያ ብዙም የግል ፕሬስ ውጤቶችን አናይም። ለዚህም ምክንያቱ መንግሥት የሚያሳድረው ጫና ነው። ይህን በተለያየ ደረጃ ከፋፍዬ ልነግርህ እችላለሁ። ከምርጫው በኋላ መንግሥት ባጠቃላይ የግል ፕሬስ አልፈቀደም። እኔ እስከ ማውቀው ድረስ መንግሥት ፕሬስን ለማፈን ውስብስብ አማራጮችን ይወስድ ነበር። ህዝቡ በኢንተርኔት መረጃ እንዳያገኝ በተለያዩ መንግሥታት ይደገፍ ነበር፤ እንደተነገረኝ መንግሥት የኮሚኒኬሽን ግንኙነቶችን ለማቆም የቻይናውያን ድጋፍ ተደርጐለታል። ስለዚህ ጥያቄው ለዲሞክራሲ ካለው ጠቀሜታ አንፃር ወሳኝ ነው። በኔ እምነት ዲሞክራሲን በኢትዮጵያ ለማስፋፋት በአውሮፓ የሚደረጉ የገንዘብ ድጋፎች የግልና ነፃ ፕሬስን ማካተት ይገባዋል። ይህ ድጋፍ ሊደረግላቸው የሚገቡ በሀገር ውስጥና ውጪ ላሉ የግል ፕሬስና ኤሌክትሮኒክስ ሚዲያዎች ነው። የሬዲዮ ሥርጭት ምናልባት ውጤታማ ነው ብዬ አምናለሁ። ምክንያቱም የራዲዮ ሥርጭት አድማሱ ሠፊ ነው። የራዲዮ ፕሮግራም የትም ሆነህ በአማርኛም ሆነ በሌላ ቋንቋ ልታስተላልፍ ትችላለህ። ይህ የገዥው ፓርቲ መረጃን ለማፈን ወይም ለማዛባት የሚያደርገውን ጥረት ያከሽፈዋል። ይህ ለአውሮፓ ሕብረትም ሆነ በአውሮፓ ፓርላማ በኩል ቅድሚያ ሊሰጠው የሚገባ ጉዳይ ነው። ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ዲሞክራሲን ለመገንባት ከተፈለገ ነፃ የሆነ የመረጃ ፍሰትን መደገፍ ይገባል። 

 የኢትዮ-ኤርትራ የድንበር ፍጥጫ እንደቀጠለ ይገኛል፣ መፍትሔው ምንድነው ብለው ያስባሉ?  

ለብዙ ኢትዮጵያውያን ሕመም ቢሆንም ኢትዮጵያ በባድመ ላይ የተሰጠውን ብይን መቀበል ይገባታል። ኢትዮጵያ ከኤርትራ ጋር ያላትን ግንኙነት በተመለከተ ሌሎች አማራጮች ማየት ይገባል። ይህ በኢትዮጵያና በኤርትራ መንግሥታት የሚወሰን ጉዳይ ነው። እኔ እንደማውቀው የኤርትራ መንግሥት ጨቋኝ ሥርዓት እንደሆነ ነው። የኤርትራ መንግሥት የጦርነት አባዜን እየተከተለ ይገኛል። በቀጠናው በብዙ ችግሮች እጁን እያስገባ ይገኛል። የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት አርቢትሬሽኑን አለመቀበሉ የሚያበሳጭ ነው። ከዚህም በተጨማሪ የዓለም አቀፍ ማኅበረሰብ የአሜሪካንን መንግሥት በግንባር ቀደምትነት ጨምሮ በኢትዮጵያ ላይ ጫና አለማሳደራቸው እንዲሁ የሚያበሳጭ ጉዳይ ነው። ስለዚህ ኢትዮጵያ የድንበር ውሳኔውን አለማክበሯ የጦርነቱ ሁኔታ በሁለቱ ሀገሮች እንዲቀጥል ዋነኛው ምክንያት ነው ብዬ አምናለሁ።

 የኤርትራ መንግሥት፣ የተባበሩት መንግሥታት ድርጅት፣ በኤርትራና በጅቡቲ መካከል ያለውን ችግር ማጋነኑ፣ ድርጅቱ ኢትዮጵያ የባድመን ግዛት መቆጣጠሯን ማስቆም አለመቻሉን ለመሸፈን የሚያደርገው ጥረት ኤርትራን ለማሳጣት ነው ይላል።  

እኔ ማለት የምችለው ኢትዮጵያ በመጀመሪያ ደረጃ የድንበሩን ውሳኔ መቀበል አለባት። የኤርትራን መንግሥት በአፍሪካ ቀንድ እያካሄደ ያለው ትርምስ በምንም ዓይነት ይቅርታ ሊደረግለት አይገባም። በመጀመሪያ ደረጃ የኤርትራ መንግሥት ልክ እንደ መለስ ሥርዓት ህዝቡን የሚጨቁን ሥርዓት ስለሆነ የሚደገፍ አይደለም። የኤርትራው መሪ ከኢትዮጵያ ጋር ያለውን ውጥረት ህዝቡን ለመጨቆን ይጠቀምበታል። የኤርትራ መንግሥት በቀጠናው የሚታወቀው በአፍራሽ መልኩ እያካሄደ ባለው እንቅስቃሴ ነው። የኤርትራ መንግሥት በሱዳን፣ በሶማሊያና በተለያዩ በቀጠናው በሚገኙ ሀገሮች ጣልቃ እየገባ ይገኛል። እንዲሁም በሀገር ውስጥና በውጭ እያደረሰ ባለው የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ጥሰት መጠየቅ ይገባዋል።

 አሁን አንድነት ለፍትህና ለዲሞክራሲ ብሎ ራሱን የሰየመው የቀድሞ የቅንጅት ለአንድነትና ለዲሞራክሲ ፓርቲ የመጪውን እ.ኤ.አ. 2010 (2002 ዓ.ም.) ምርጫ መሳተፍ የለበትም ይላሉ?

 የመለስ ሥርዓት ሥልጣን ላይ እስካለ ድረስ በኢትዮጵያ ለሚደረግ ምርጫ እምነት የለኝም። የ2005 ምርጫ እንደሚያስተምረን የመለስ ዜናዊ ሥልጣን ላይ ለመቆየት የምርጫን ሂደት ለማዛባት ወደ ኋላ አላለም። አሁንም ቢሆን በሥልጣን ላይ ያለው መንግሥት ነፃና ፍትሃዊ ምርጫ ያካሂዳል የሚል እምነት የለኝም። እንደኔ እምነት የሽግግር መንግሥት ብቻ ነው በኢትዮጵያ ነፃና ፍትሐዊ ምርጫ ሊያካሂድ የሚችለው።

US Embassy in Ethiopia issues terror warning

The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia has warned American citizens against taking part in the Great Ethiopian Run because of the threat of terrorism.

 

Friday’s message says embassy staff and their families should not to take part in the 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) race set for Nov. 23. The message followed an unspecified terror warning from the Ethiopian government about the race featuring tens of thousands of runners from Ethiopia and around the world. The race is led by distance great Haile Gebrselassie.

 

The message did not say if the event was named as a specific target but reminded U.S. citizens of deadly bombings this year in the capital, Addis Ababa.

 

Ethiopia is fighting insurgent groups and supporting the U.N.-backed government in Somalia.

 

 

Ginbot 7 congratulates president elect Barack Obama.

Ethiopians joyfully celebrate, with Americans and the rest of the world the election of Barack Obama to take the office of the presidency of the United States of America. Ginbot7 recognizes the symbolic and historical significance of this truly remarkable event that changed the United States of America and the world making Barack Obama, an African American, the 44th president of the United States of America. Evidently our joy of celebrating the victory of Barack Obama goes beyond the fact that this prodigious son of Africa has reach the highest summit of political power on Earth.

Ginbot7, Movement for Justice, Freedom and Democracy, has encouraged and mobilised its members and supporters to actively participate in Obama’s campaign, and it has also used its modest means of communication to urge Ethiopian Americans to register and vote for Obama because Ginbot7 utterly agrees with Obama’s assessment of the failure of American foreign policy that ignored the repression of freedom, justice, and democracy in Africa, Asia, and South America.

We, in Ethiopia have always argued that America’s national interest will best be served if the values of freedom, justice and democracy that made the nation of America great become the guiding spirit of its foreign policy. This is exactly what the president elect promised. We Ethiopians believe the personal convictions of Barack Obama for freedom and justice will guide his administration that America’s fundamental values must not be compromised to satisfy short term American interest.

Ethiopians are well aware of the challenges the new president faces. Changing the entrenched practices of past administrations, and dealing with the ruthless dictators and human right violators in many parts of the world is a task that needs time, wisdom, and perseverance. Ethiopians are also responsive of how the well connected lobbyists and the politically powerful will try hard to hinder Barack Obama from realizing his new foreign policy visions. Yet, we believe that Obama’s unique ability to defy the odds and become the first African American president of the US will put him in a much better position to over come most of the challenges that he faces.

Most importantly, we believe that Obama’s presidency will have the greatest impact in his ancestral land of Africa. The proud and independent people of Ethiopia believe that the fight for freedom and democracy, and the task of building strong economy in our country is our own responsibility. However, we treasure America’s unconditioned presence in helping us build democratic institutions. We Ethiopians want to make it clear that America’s long term interest in Ethiopia and around the horn of Africa will not be served by supporting Meles Zenawi’s tyrannical regime that invades its neighbours and oppresses its own citizens. All in all, it is the deep-seated belief of Ginbot7 and the Ethiopian people that Obama’s administration will not support the abuse of freedom anywhere to protect freedom elsewhere.