እያንጓለለ” የአዜብ ኮሜዲ

“መለስ ወደዚህ ዓለም ጭንቅላቱን ይዞ ለዝህች አገር ለዚህች ምድር የሚጠቅም ሃሰብ አመነጨ ለግሌ ለቤተሰቦቼ ሳይል አንድ ቀን ለራሱ ሳይሆን መንግስት በሚሰጠው ደመወዝ በፔሮል የሚከፈል መሪ በዓለም ላይ መለስ ብቻ ነው።” አዜብ መስፍን
የዛሬ ሁለት አመት ገደማ ዝናው ገኖ የነበረው የቀድሞው መንግስት ተራ ወታደር የነበረው ታምራት ገለታ የተባለ አባይ ጠንቋይ ሴት ወንዱን መሃይም ምሁሩን ብቻ ከተራው ዜጋ እስከዘመኑ ባለስልጣናት ሲያሰግድ ለቃልቻ ጣዖቱ ግብር ሲያስገባ የበረታ መንፈሳዊ ሃይል የተቀዳጀ እንደሆነ በአንድ ግዜ በተለያየ ቦታ እንደሚገለጽ ለተማጠነው ሃብት ጤና ትዳር እንደሚሰጥ በመስበክ ብዙ የዋሃንን አሳምኖ እስከ መመለክ ደርሶ የእግሩን እጣቢ እነደ ጠበል ሲያስጠጣ የነሆለሉለትን ሃብታሞች መድሃኒት በማጠጣት ገድሎ ሃብታቸውን የወረሰበትን የዩንቨርስቲ ምሩቃንን ሳየቀር ሳር እያስጎዘጎዘ ቡና እያስወቀጠ ይካደም የነበረበትን ሞራል አልባ የእውነት ድራማ በፍርድ መቋጫ እስካገኘበት ድረስ ያለውን የግለሰቡን የአጭበርባሪ ጥንቆላ ተውኔት ያንድ ወቅት መነጋገሪ ሆኖ የድርጊቱ ሰለባዎችና ራሱ ወንጀል ፈጻሚው ጭምር ለፖሊስ ይሰጡ የነበረውን መረጃ በየፌስቡኩና በዩትዩብ ተለቆ ጉድ ሲባል ነበር። ይህ አባይ ጠንቋይ ታዲያ በማጭበርበር ባካበተው ሃብቱ የገነባቸውን የቢዝነስ ተቋማት የላቡ ውጤት መሆኑንና ህብረተሰቡን በመርዳት ያበረከተው በጎ አስተዋጾ የማይገባ ስም እንደተሰጠው ለመከራከር ያቀረበው እፍረት አልባ ሙግት ተገቢ በሆነ ቅጣት መደምደሙን አስተውለናል።
ይህ አባይ ጠንቋይ ቢታሰርም አምሳያዎቹ የፖለቲካ ሟርትና የሙት ራዕይ አስፈጻሚ ተንበርካኪ የወያኔ ሎሌዎች መለስ የተባለ ጣዖት አቁመው ሲበሉም ሲጠጡም ስሙን ካለነሱት የማይሆንላቸው እንደ ሃይለማርያም ደሳለኝ ያለ ነሆለል ወንጌላዊ ነኝ የሚል ወንጀለኛ ከጠንቋዩ ካዳሚዎች በባሰ አገላለጽ መንገድና እውነት መለስ ነው ሲል የሬሳ አምልኮውን የገለጠበት አጋጣሚ የዘርና መንደር ደዌ አይነልቦናቸውን የጋረዳቸው ካህን ነን ባይ ባለጥምጥሞች ሳይቀር ቃላት ያረከሱበትን ቅጥፈታዊ ሙገሳዎችንና የተጋነኑ በተረት የተሞሉ ከንቱ ውዳሴያቸውን እንደ ቃልቻው ታሪክ በመገረም ስንከታተለው የከረምንው ቴያትር ገና ትዝታው ሳይጠፋ ወይዘሮ አዜብ ሰሞኑን ባህርዳር ላይ የዘላበደችው የሃገሬ ሰው የአቡዬን መገበሪያ የበላ ያስለፈልፈዋል እንዲሉ ሳትጠየቅ ባሏ በድህነት ኖሮ በድህነት ማለፉን ቅንድቧ ሰበር እንኳ ሳይል ተጨፈኑ ላሞኛችሁ መሐይማዊ ትንተናዋ ብዕሬን እንዳነሳና ከነባለቤቷ ሲፈጽሙ የቆዩትን ወንጀል ለማስታወስ እንድገደድ አድርጎኛል ታዲያም እንዲሁ በደረቁ እንዳይሆን ያ ህዝብ አዳም ያሸረግድለት የነበረ ቃልቻ ሴራው ከሽፎ ዘብጥያ ከወረደ በኋላ ኮሜድያኑ አዝናኝና አስተማሪ
የሆነውን እያንጓለለ በሚል የተሰራው ክሊፕ ከቁመቱ በላይና በሌለው ራዕይ በወያኔዎች ዘንድ ተመላኪ ከሆነው መለስ ዜናዊ ጋር በአጭበርባሪነት ይሁን በጣዖትነት ተመሳሳይ ሁኔታ እንዳላቸው ይህ በኩምክና የታጀበች ሙዚቃ እንዲመለከቱት እጋብዛለሁ
ልባዊ ወዳጄ የሆነው የቀድሞው የሕወሃት ታጋይ የዛሬው የዲሞክራሲ አክቲቪስት አቶ መኮንን ዘለለው የዛሬዋን ስም የለሽ ንግስት አንዳንዶች የዘረፋ ሴትወይዘሮ ሲሉ የሚጠሯት የሰው በላውና የዘረኛው መለዝ ዜናዊ ባለቤት አዜብ ጎላ (አዜብ መስፍን) ወልቃይት ከሚገኝ አንድ መሸታ ቤት መልምሎ ለትግል ሲያሰልፋት ያቺ የገጠር ኮረዳ ዛሬ በሚለዮኖች ህልውና የምትቀልድ መከራ የማይመክራን ልበ ድፍን ትሆናለች ብሎ የገመተም ሆነ ያሰበ አልነበረም። ምግብ አጥተው ለሞት ከሚዳረጉ ህጻናት አፍ በበሽታ ከሚማቅቀው ደሃ ወገናችን ላይ በባሏ አመራር ከነጭፍሮቿ ያለ ይልኙታ ሲዘርፉ የኖሩት የህዝብ ሃብት የውጭ ሃገራትን ባንኮች ማጨናነቁን ሪፖርቶች ይፋ በሚያደርጉበት ወቅት ላይ 11 ቢለዮነ ዶላር መዘረፉንና በህገወጥ መንገድ ከሃገር መውጣቱ በአስተማማኝ መረጃ ይፋ በተደረገበት ሁኔታ ላይ ባሌ በችግር ነው የኖረው መንግስት ከሚከፍለው ውጪ ቤሳ ቤስቲን የሌለው ሃቀኞች ነን ስትል ጆሮ አልሰማ አይል ሰማናት
ባለፉት ሃያሁለት አመታት ከስሙኒ ማራገቢያ ሻጭነት ተነስተው ዛሬ ቢጠሯቸው የማይሰሙ ሚሊየነሮች በሆኑበት ታጋይ ከበርቴዎች ልማታዊ ዘራፊዎች ከራሳአቸው አልፈው ተርፈው ለቅምጦቻቸው ሳይቀር የቅንጦት መኪና ስጦታ የሚያበረክቱበት የወታደራዊ አዛዠነት ከቁመታቸው በላይ የታደላቸው የትግሬው ነጻ አውጪ አባሎች የሚሰሩት ቪላ ኢንቨስት የሚያደርጉት ገንዘብ ከደደቢት ይዘው የመጡት ነው ካልተባለ በስተቀር አለም የሚያውቃቸው አዲስ አበባ ሲገቡ ከራሳቸው ተባይ ከገላቸው እድፍና ከእግራቸው ንቃቃት ውጪ የረባ ኩባያ እንኳ ያልነበራቸው ወያኔዎች የዛሬዎቹ ሻኛ ቁርሱ ወርቅ ትራሱ ለመሆን የበቁት ከደሃው ኢትዮጽያዊ አፍ ነጥቀው ለመሆኑ ማስረጃ ለመደርደር መሞከሩ ለቀባሪው ማርዳት ነው።እነዚህ የወያኔ ጉዶች ቁርበት ላይ ተወልደው ቁረበት ላይ እንዳላደጉ ዘርፈው ከሚያካብቱት ሃብት በተጨማሪ በቀል ባጫጨው አይምሮአቸው ለሚቀመጡበት የቢሮ ወንበርና ጠረጤዛ ሳየቀር በውድ ዋጋ በውጭ ምንዛሪ እንዲገዛ በማድረግ የሚያወድሙት ሃብት ስፍር ቁጥር የለውም። በችግር የሚለበለበው መላው ህዝባችን የ21 አመት የወያኔ ጉዞ የት እንዳደረሰው አርቲስቶቹ በሙዚቃ በተቀናበረ ኮሜዲ ያቀረቡት የፈጠራ ስራ ሁኔታውን በሚገባ ይገልጸዋል ብዬ ስለገመትኩ ሌላም የኮሜዲ ሙዚቃ ተጋበዙ።
የአዜብና የባሏ ጭፍራዎች እንዲህ በቅንጦት ካበዱ ዋናዎቹ ምን ሊኖራቸው እንደሚችል ለመገመት ጠንቋይ መሆንን አይጠይቅም። በአጭሩ የሌቦች አውራና የዘራፊዎች አዛዠ በግፍ የሰበሰበውን ሳይበላ የተጠራው መለስ ከምድራዊ ፍርድ ባያመልጥም በጥይት ያስፈጃቸው ብቻ ሳይሆን በረሃብ ከጠወለገች እናታቸው ደረቅ ጡት እየማጉ በሞት የተነጠቁት ጨቅላ ህጻናት ሳይቀር በአረመኔነቱ ለፍርድ ከጌታ ዘንድ እንደሚያቀርቡት እሙን ነው። የትላንቷ ኮማሪት የዛሬዎ ኤፈርት የተባለው የኢትዮጽያውያንን ደም የሚመጥ ሃገር ገዳይ ሞኖፖሊስት የቢዝነስ ተቋም ሃገሪቷ የሌላትን የገንዘብ አቅም ያካበተ ተጠያቂነቱ ማንና ለምን እንደሆነ የማይታወቅ ብድር ወስዶ የማይመልስ ሂሳቡን እንኳ ኦዲት የማያስደርግ በባልና ሚስት አመራር ይዘወር የነበረው ይህ ተቋም የማን ሆነና ነው መለስ የፔሮል ደመወዝ ተከፋይና የገንዘብ ደሃ የሚሆነው አዜብ መስፍን ለማያቅሽ ታጠኝ ዘራፊነታችሁን አለም ያወቀው ፀሃይ የሞቀው ለመሆኑ ትንሿ ማስረጃ ልጃችሁ እንግሊዝ ሃገር የምትማርበት ክፍያ ከዛች ከባሎ ደመወዝ ላይ ተቆርጦ ነው! ወይስ ልጆቻችሁ እንደ ጓድ መንግስቱ ሃይለማርያም ልጆች በሃገር ቤት እንደ ሌላው ዜጋ የመንግስት ትምህርት ቤት ነው የሚማሩት እሜዬቴ በካድሬነቶ ዘመን ትንሽ እንኳ ሂሳብ አልተማሩም እንዴ ቀጣፊ።
ወይዘሮ አዜብ ሌላው በዚህ ቅብጥርጥሯ ካነሳችሁ ውስጥ የመለስ ሃብት ጭንቅላቱ ነው ለዚህች ምድር ታላቅ ሃሳብ ያመጠቀ ፈላስፋ አድርገዋለች ለመሆኑ መለስ ለጥቅስ እንኳ የሚበቃ እውቀት ትቷል ወይ በየትኛው መጽሃፉ ነው ችሎታው የታየው በየትኛውስ ነጻ መድረክ ላይ ተገኝቶ ተከራክሮ ችሎታውነ ያስመሰከረው መቼመ ሴትየዋ ከዛ ከከብት በረት ካልተሻለው ፓርላማ ላይ ያለከልካይ ይቀባጥር የነበረውን ባዶ የቃላት ጋጋት በሚያቀርበው ዲስኩር እጁ እስኪግል እንዲያጨበጭብ መመሪያ የሚሰጠው ካድሬ ሁካታ ካልጠቀሰች በስተቀር ሌላ ብትጠየቅ የምትሰጠው መልስ አይኖርም። መለስ በዘመኑ ከጻፋቸው ውስጥ ህዝብ ዘንደ የደረሰው የሃገር ልዑዓላዊነትን አሳልፎ የሰጠበት የሻብያ መወድስ የተባለለት ኤርትራ
ከየት ወዴት ብሎ የደረሰው ቀሽም የክህደት ዶሴ ቀለሙ ሳይደርቅ ተሰብስቦ መቃጠሉ ይታወቃል ከዛ በተረፈ ይህ ነው የሚባል በሎጂክና በዲያሌቲክስ የዳበረ የራሱ ፈጠራ ውጤት ሳያኖር ያለፈ ቢሆንም ምንአልባት በብልጣብልጥነትና ውሸትን አጣፍጦ በማቅረብ በመልቲነቱ በመሪነት ደረጃ በዓለም ውስጥ የሚወዳደረው የሌለ የክብረ ወሰን ባለቤት ያደርገዋል።
ለሃገሩ ቀን ከሌት ሲደክም የኖረ እንደነበርም ደስኩራለች፤ ለመሆኑ መለስ የትኛውን በጎ ነገር ነው ለሃገር ያበረከተው፤ ዲሞክራሲን መልካም አስተዳደርን ፤እኩልነትን፤ ልማትን መለስ ለሃገራችን አበርክቷልን መልሱ በተቃራኒው ነው እድሜ ለመለሰ አመራር አንድነታችን ተዳክሞ ቁርሾ በህዘቦች ዘንድ እንዲኖር ተደርጓል፤ ህዝባችን በሃገር የመኖር የመስራት የመማርና ሃሳቡን በነጻነት የመግለጽ መብት ተነፍጎ ሃገር ጥሎ በመሰደድ የዓለም ክብረወሰን ጨብጧል፤ መለስ በዋሾነቱ በጫት ቃሚነቱና በትንባሆ አጫሽነቱ ጭምር ለትውልዱ መልካም አርዓያ በመሆን ፋንታ የጥፋት ተምሳሌት ሆኖ ያለፈ ምግባረ ብልሹ ነበር። ሌላው መለስ በአገዛዘ ዘመኑ ብቻ ሳይሆን ለወደፊቱም ጭምር ኢትዮጽያን በማድማት ትግራይን ለማበልጸግ እቅድ ነድፎ ዘረኝነት ለትውልድ እንዲተላለፍ ጭምር ያደረ እኩይ ግለሰብ ነበር።
ውሃን ድንጋይ ያናግረዋል እንዲሉ ሴትየዋ እንደ አለት ጠጥሮ ከተጣባት ሃሰተኝነት አልላቀቅ ብላ በሞተው ሰውዬ ላይ እርግማን እንድናበዛ አደረገችን እዚህ ላይ ሴትዮይቱም ሆነ ሌላው ወገን ሊያውቀው የሚገባ በደርግ ዘመን ጠቅላይ ሚንስትር የነበረው በመልከ መልካምነቱ የሚወሳው ፍቅረስላሴ ወግደረስ በግዜው አበላል እንደ ደርግ አባል አለባበስ እንደወግደረስ ተብሎ ይነገርለት የነበረው ይህ ከፍተኛ ባለስልጣን ወያኔ አዲስ አበባን ሲቆጣጠር ከዚህ ግለሰብ ካዝና የተገኘው ገንዘብ በጣም ትንሽ በመሆኑ ለራሳአቸው ለወያኔዎቹ አስደንግጦዓቸው እንደነበር በግዜው ከተለያዩ ጽሁፎች አንብቤያለሁ ፤ አዎን በደረጉ ግዜ የነበረ ባለስልጣን ግፋ ቢል ከጮማና ከውስኪ የማያልፍ በዘረፋ ያልተጠመደ በአብዛኛው በደመወዙ የሚተዳደር እንደነበር ከማንም በላይ ያረጋገጡት ራሳቸው ወያኔዎች ቢሆኑም ከላይ እንደተባለው የወያኔው ባለማሎች የሚያነቀሳቅሱተ የገንዘበ መጠን ለቁጥር የሚታክት ቢሆንም እንዲህ ጥቂቶች በቅንጦት በሚቀብጡባት ሃገር የእለት ጉርስ የአመት ልብስ አጥቶ በየበረንዳው ፍግም ብሎ ከሚያድረው አውታታ ጀምሮ ዛሬ ዛሬ ቤተሰብ ልጆቹን መመገብ ተስኖት ህጻናት በየትምህርት ቤታቸው ጠኔ ሲጥላቸው መስማት የተለመደበት ቁራሽ እንጀራ ማግኘት የከበደበት የመከራ ዘመን ለመድረሳችን አንዱና ዋናው ምክንያት መለስና ቡድኑ ያለቅጥ በዘረፋ መጠመዳቸውና ዘረኛና አድሏዊ በሆነው የልማትና የዕድገት ፖሊሲያቸው ከትግራይ ክልል በስተቀር መላዋ ኢትዮጽያ የሰቆቃ ቀጠና እንድትሆን በማደረጋቸው ነው። አዜብ መስፍን የባሏን ፍሬ አልባ ተረት ትቀባጥር በነበረበት የባሕርዳር ከተማ በትንሽ ኪሎሜትር እርቀት ላይ በዘራቸው ምክንያት ውጡልን ተብለው ለዘመናት ከኖሩበት ቅያቸው ሃብት ንብረታቸው ተቀምተው የወገን ያለህ የሚሉበት ሁኔታ መለስ ዘርቶት የሄደው አረም ሃገር ሊያጠፋ ዳርዳር ያለበት ሁኔት ተፋፍሞ በሚገኝበት ሁኔታ ላይ እንኳ አለመንቃቷ የሴትዮይቱን ለከት የለሽ እብሪት ከማሳየት ባሻገር ገና ሃገሪቱ በዚሁ ሙት መንፈስ ብዙ አበሳ እንደሚመጣባት ጠቋሚ ሆኖ ይታየኛል።
ኢትዮጽያን እግዚያብሄር ይባርክ አሜን !
ትንሳዔዋን ያሰየን!!
አሜን!!!

Ethiopia: Prime Minister Bereket Simon

After the late genocidal dictator Meles Zenawi was rumored to have been sick, incapacitated or dead, Bereket Simon used the time cunningly to direct the course of the current Ethiopian political direction to suit his needs and the needs of few of his close allies. I have in the past written that “the End of TPLF is here”; and current political developments in Ethiopia prove that in deed, has happened. TPLF revolution, Gedli Tigray is over, caput because Bereket Simon is the undisputed victor for now.
Gedli Tigray died when the TPLF abandoned their number one agenda, Greater Tigray (Abay Tigray) after they decided to rule Ethiopia instead of Tigray. As Ambassador Cohen stated, the minority hegemony in Ethiopia is unsustainable. However, and unfortunately for the people of Ethiopia, the minority regime was able to hold-on to power using force, intimidation and by rigging elections. They managed for a while by dividing the nation along ethnic lines and with the blessing of Western donors that funded the dictatorship unreservedly in pursuit of their agendas and interests.
The disappearance of Meles Zenawi fueled speculations about succession and the country’s future. The cloud of secrecy favored one person and that person is information Minister Bereket Simon who used the time to plot Ethiopia’s future political makeup and leadership. Bereket’s agenda are based on his need for his personal safety, since he has made many enemies from within the political circles of TPLF. And to ensure that the successors are friendly to him as well as his allies.
Bereket also had a lot in his favor. He had the ears of Meles Zenawi throughout, hence he was privy to classified information, the process, contacts, the agendas, strategies and he understood the messages, the tone, and the methodology of the regime since he directed it. Therefore, it was easy for Bereket to maintain the contacts and, importantly, to sell his succession agenda to the West particularly the US, which he was able to do rather easily.
The US recognized the transition immediately. Firstly, Hillary Clinton met with Hailemariam Desalegn and soon thereafter a call from President Barack Obama was made acknowledging US support for Hailemariam. This was a major victory for Bereket since it meant the continuation of US support and that translated to continuity for the regime.
That set off the juxtaposition by the various factions of the regimes inner-circle against those previously marginalized by Meles, Bereket and Azeb Mesfin. These include characters like Sibhat Nega that felt that they may have an opportunity to get back into the game after the death of Meles Zenawi.
Initially, there was a great deal of campaigning by these parties to gain public support. That fizzled because they hid the inner-tassel from the public until the mouthpiece of Bereket Simon, Aigaforum.com, posted red inked headline that announced, “Passing the Torch, TPLF Style! Veteran leaders of the TPLF, Amb Seyoum Mesfin, Amb Berhan G/kirstos, Arkebe Equbay and Zeray Asgedom have resigned and will be replaced in the TPLF CC as part of the ongoing process to renew the TPLF leadership by newcomers. The veterans contribution to the success of the TPLF/EPRDF was immense. Sources told us Seyoum’s farewell speech was so touchy many cried! (March 20, 2013)”
The statement above is laughable, childish however true to the duplicitous nature of these thugs that have terrorized the people of Ethiopia and the region for over two decades.
For long, the people of the region have seen these thugs undermine their intelligence when they make up stories like, “Sources told us Seyoum’s farewell speech was so touchy many cried!” The reality however is that Seyoum was forced-out. Many have reported that Seyoum was trying to mediate between the two factions and worked hard to bring them together fruitlessly. He was not expecting his eviction. Berhan G/kirstos was also forced out. In fact, he did not show up to the so called gathering of farewells because he was angry.
Moreover, what does it mean when they claim, “Passing the Torch, TPLF Style?” TPLF stands for Tigray People Liberation Front, Tigrayan revolution or Gedli Tigray. This raises some questions: A) is TPLF handing off power, B) if these ejected individuals were members of the TPLF politburo and thus revolutionaries does that mean that they retired from being revolutionaries and, C) is Gedli Tigray/TPLF done as a revolutionary entity…
The reality is that the TPLF core is sidelined, marginalized and replaced by a handful that have devised a new strategy on how to rule Ethiopia. In a strategy designed to set stage for the next election, the mouth piece of Bereket Simon, Aigaforum.com, released a list of the names in an attachment as part the statement quoted. But what is glaringly obvious is how dangerously divisive it is and how deceptive they try to be. The headline is about the TPLF passing the torch but the question is to whom. The list of names the duplicitous Aigaforum attached to its declaration is for IHADEG or the central committee members of Ethiopia. Therefore, does it mean that the TPLF handed its powers to this central committee? The fact remains; this is a way that Bereket and Azieb are maneuvering in order to deceive the people of Ethiopia and Tigray in particular.
In addition, it is worth noting how the key actors namely Bereket Simon and Azeb Mesfin positioned themselves within the political dynamic of the newly formed political structure; Azieb Mesfin as a the TPLF and curiously Bereket Simon as Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) central committee members.
The question how is it possible for Bereket to position himself with the Amhara group and Azieb with TPLF? The history of this duo is tied to TPLF’s. Thence, why position in this manner? But that is precisely the point. Azieb and Bereket have positioned themselves strategically to ensure control of these groups and regions and to pin them against each other if needed.
The alliance of Bereket and Azieb is far more dangerous than that of Meles because they do not represent the core of the constituencies they claim to represent. Azieb could not represent TPLF or Tigray after knocking off all those who came to power with Meles as TPLF. And how is Bereket Simon of TPLF going to represent Amhara?
It is also worth noting, if one goes through the entire list of the newly elected members of TPLF and ANDM, there is a huge gap in the way that Ethiopian Muslims are represented or, not at all. Are there no Muslims in the Amhara and Tigray regions of Ethiopia? This is a sign that these individuals are not interested on the unity of the people or future stability of Ethiopia, just the power.
Conclusion
Ethiopia is going through another major transition. This transition will determine the long and short term future of the country for worse. Because there is no way that the alliance between Azieb and Bereket can indefinitely marginalize major ethnic, religious communities and political organizations of the nation. The transition signals a power shift in motion; fait accompli. The reason, the US will always opts for continuity and stability and Bereket Simon has sold that effectively to the US, a major financier of the regime and the Ethiopia’s military. Hence, any change that comes could only be expected from the people. Bereket Simon has done everything to ensure continuity and positioned himself as a major player. In fact, he is the undisputed key or main figure in Ethiopia.
Awetnayu@hotmail.com

29 Ethiopian commando soldiers defect to Eritrea

March 24, 2013 — A total of 29 Ethiopian commando forces, who were trained in Blaten Special Force Institute, have defected to neighboring Eritrea.
The soldiers vowed they will liberate Ethiopia from what they say is an oppressive and ruthless dictatorship, according to their communiqué released on Saturday.
Ethiopia is no stranger to high profile military defections. in 2005, eight Ethiopian air force pilots, who were training in Israel, defected and claimed asylum at an Eritrean embassy in Israel.
Similarly, In 2006, over 300 Ethiopian troops, including Brigadier General Kemal Gelchu,who along with trusted colonels,defected to Eritrea.

የመቐለው ዘጋቢ “አሸባሪ” ተባለ

የሰሞኑን የህወሃት ስብሰባ እና ውሎ ከመቐለ ሲዘግብ የነበረው አብርሃ ደስታ፤ በህወሃት ሰዎች ማስፈራሪያ እና ዛቻ እንደደረሰበት ገለጸ። ከዚህም በተጨማሪ በኢትዮጵያ የፌስ ቡክ አካውንቱንም እንዳይሰራ አድርገውበት ነበር። አብርሃ ስለሰሞኑ ውሎው ውንዲህ በማለት ጽፏል።
! …….. “ኣሸባሪ” ነኝ ………..!
ትናንት በሰሩት ነገር ገርሞኝ ወድያ ወዲህ ስል ስለ ህወሓት ጉባኤ መረጃ ኣላሰባሰብኩም ነበር። ወደ ማታ ኣከባቢ በማላውቀው ስልክ ተደወለልኝ። ከተወሰነ ሰጣገባ በኋላ “ኣንተ ኣሸባሪ ነህ። በኣሸባሪነት እንደምንትያዝ ኣትጠራጠር” ኣለኝ።
“ኣዎ ኣሸባሪ ነኝ። ያሸበርኳቹ ያህል ነው የሚሰማኝ። ምክንያቱም ባላሸብራቹ ኑሮ የኔን ፌስቡክ ለማስዘጋት ባልተረባረባቹ ነበር” መለስኩለት።
ስልኩን ጀሮየ ላይ ጥርቅም ኣድርጎ ዘጋው።
“ለካ እንዲህ ለነፃነት የሚቆሙ፣ የፈለጉትን የሚፅፉ፣ ስለ ፍትሕ የሚዘምሩ ግለሰዎች ናቸው ‘ኣሸባሪ’ ተብለው በኣምባገነን ገዢዎች የሚሰየሙት” ስል ኣሰላሰልኩ። “ኣሸባሪ” የሚለውን ስም ወድጀዋለሁ። “ኣሸባሪ” መሆን ደስ ይላል። ጥያቄው መሆን ያለበት ‘የሚሸበረው ኣካል ማነው?’ (ሰለማዊ ህዝብ ወይስ ገዢው መደብ) ነው። ምናልባት እኔ “ኣሸባሪ” ከተባልኩ በኔ የተሸበረው ገዢው ፓርቲ ብቻ ነው።
ግን ገዢው መደብ የሚያሸብሩ ሰዎች ሌላ ስም ሊሰጣቸው ይገባል እላለሁ። ምክንያቱም መሪዎቻችን ስልጣናቸውን ያለ ኣግባብ ተጠቅመው ሰለማዊ ህዝብ ሲያሸብሩ ምን ብለን ልንሰይማቸው ነው? መንግስትን የሚቃወም “ኣሸባሪ” ከተባለ፣ ህዝብን በጭቆና የሚያሸብር ባለስልጣንስ ????
ከጭቆና በላይ ሽብር የለም። ምክንያቱም ጭቆና ማስፈራራት፣ ግድያ ……… ምናምን (ሰው ፈርቶና ተሸብሮ ሳይቃወም እንዲገዛ ለማድረግ የሚደረጉ ጥረቶች የሽብር ተግባራት ናቸው)። “ሽብር” ማለት’ኮ ኣንድ ኣካል ራሱ የሚፈልገውን ተግባር በሌሎች ሃይል በመጠቀም ወይ በማስፈራራት ለመጫን ሲሞክር ነው። ሌሎችን እያስፈራራ ያለው ማነው??? እኔ ወይስ ገዢው ፓርቲ? ኣሸባሪ ማነው? ማነው ሰለማዊ ዜጎችን በማፈን እያሸበረ ያለው?
ይሄንን ሳስብ ከቆየሁ በኋላ ትንሽ ቀለል ኣለኝ። ‘መንግስትን መቃወም ትክክል ነው’ ማለት ነው ብዬ በራሴ ተፅናናሁ። ምክንያቱም መቃወም ኮ የሚያስፈልግ የምንቃወምበት ምክንያት ሲኖረን ነው። ይሄው ምክንያት ኣገኘን። የሚቃወም ሰው ማፈን ዓፈናን በመቃወም መንግስትን ለመቃወም በቂ ምክንያት ነው።
ዛሬ ጠዋት ኣንዳንድ መረጃዎች ደረሱኝ። ባለፈው ቅዳሜና እሁድ (ለህወሓት ጉባኤ ድጋፍ ለማሰባሰብ ሰልፍ በተጠራ ግዜ) ስለ ሰልፉ ኣስፈላጊነትና የትእምት ንብረትነት ፅፌ ነበር። ከዚህ በመነሳት የተወሰኑ የፖሊስ መኮነኖችና የደህንነት ተጠሪዎች በጉዳዩ ተወያይተው እኔን ለማሰር ሓሳብ ኣንስተው ምክንያት በሚያፈላልጉበት ግዜ ሳይስማሙ ቀርተዋል።
የማክሶኞ ኣጀንዳ ባብዛኛው ‘የመለስ ታሪክ’ መተረክ ነበር (ከጉባኤው ኣጀንዳ ዉጭ)። ሰኞ በፃፍኳቸው ነጥቦች (ስለ ጉባኤው ኣሰራርና የድርጅት ሥራ ተግባራት፣ ስለ ፍትሕ ጉድለት፣ ስለ ህወሓት ምስጢር ባጠቃላይ) ትናንት ሮብ ኣጀንዳ ሁነው ውለዋል። “ሚስጢር እየወጣ ነው። የጉባኤው ምስጢር መጠበቅ ኣለበት” ተብሎ ከመድረክ ከባድ ማስጠንቀቅያ ተሰጥተዋል። ከቤትም “ምስጢራችን ከሌሎች ከምንሰማው በራሳችን የሚድያ ሰዎች ቢነገር ኣይሻልም ወይ?” የሚል ኣስተያየት ስለተሰጠ ሬድዮ ፋና ኣንዳንድ ነጥቦች (በተለይ ስለተቀነሱ የህወሓት ኣመራር ኣባላት ስም ዝርዝር) ማሰራጨቱ ሰምቻለሁ።
ሌላው ሳይታሰብ (በህወሓት ጉባኤ ታሪክ ለመጀመርያ ግዜ) ኣጀንዳ የሆነው የትእምት ጉዳይ ነው። “ትእምት ላይ ያነጣጠረ ዘመቻ ተከፍቶብናል” የሚል ሓሳብ ኣንስተው ድርጅቱ ጥሩ እየሰራ እንደሆነ ተሳታፊዎችን ለመጀንጀን ሞክረዋል። ትእምት ሌላ የብረታ ብረት ፋብሪካ እንደሚከፍትና በመሰቦ ሲሚንቶ በኩል ደግሞ የፕላስቲክ ፋብሪካ (በ ስድስት ቢልዮን ብር ካፒታል) እንደሚገነባ ተነግረዋል።
ትናንት ማታ ዛሬ ለሚመረጡ 45 የማእከላዊ ኮሚቴ ኣባላት 50 እጩዎች መርጠዋል። ኣርከበ ዕቁባይ፣ ስዩም መስፍንና ብርሃነ ገብረክርስቶስ ጨምሮ ዘጠኝ ሰዎች ከማእከላዊ ኮሚቴ ኣባልነት ተቀንሰዋል። ኣብዛኞቹ (የተቀነሱት) ከነኣርከበ ዕቁባይ ቡድን ናቸው። ጉባኤው ዛሬ ይጠናቀቃል።
ባጠቃላይ ግን በፌስቡክ የሚነገሩ ወሬዎች በህወሓት ጉባኤ ከፍተኛ ጫና ፈጥረዋል። በርስበርሳቸው ኣለመተማመንና መወቃቀስ ተያይዘውታል። የኔ ፌስቡክ ለማስዘጋት ከተቋቋመ ግብረ ሃይል የተወሰኑ የማእከላዊ ኮሚቴ ኣባላት በኣስተባባሪነት ተሳትፈዋል። ከተወሰነ ኣከባቢ ወይ ወረዳ በመጡ ሰዎች (You may guess) የኔን ፌስቡክ እንዲዘጋ ለማድረግ “የራሱ ስም ኣይደለም” በማለት (ጉባኤው በሰላም እንዲጠናቀቅ) ወደ Facebook Admin ሪፖርት እንዲያደርጉ መመርያ ተሰጥተዋል።
ኣዎ ኣሸባሪ መባል ደስ ይላል። ህወሓቶች እንዲህ በጣም ፈሪዎች መሆናቸው ኣላውቅም ነበር። በፌስቡክ እንዲህ ይሸበራሉ ብዬ ኣላሰብኩም ። ኣሁን ግን ራሳቸው ኣጋለጡ።

Ethiopia 'blocks' Al Jazeera website The leading website Ethiomedia.com has been blocked since 2007

Al Jazeera’s English and Arabic websites are reported to have been blocked in Ethiopia, raising fresh fears that the government is continuing its efforts to silence the media.
Though the authorities in Addis Ababa have refused to comment on the reported censorship, Google Analytics data accessed by Al Jazeera shows that traffic from Ethiopia to the English website had plummeted from 50,000 hits in July 2012 to just 114 in September. Traffic data revealed a similar drop for the Arabic website, with visits to the site dropping to 2 in September from 5,371 in July.
A blogger, who cannot be identified for his own safety, said Ethiopian censors had been targeting Al Jazeera since the Qatar-based network began airing coverage of ongoing protests against the way in which spiritual leaders are elected in the Horn of African nation.
The steep decline in web traffic began on August 2 last year, the same day that Al Jazeera Mubasher aired a forum with guests denouncing the government's "interference" with Muslim religious affairs, and three days after Al Jazeera English published an article detailing deadly ethnic clashes between two of the country's southern tribes.
Attempts by Al Jazeera to get an official response from authorities failed.
Poor track record
Ethiopia is ranked 137 out of 179 surveyed nations on the latest Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international advocacy group for press rights.
Both RSF and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have tied Ethiopia's deteriorating media environment, in part, to a 2009 anti-terrorism law that has been used to sentence 11 journalists since its ratification.
"The usage and practice of this law is illegal. It has a clause that makes whoever writes about so-called terrorist groups, which are mostly normal opposition groups, a terrorist," CPJ's East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes told Al Jazeera.
"Now it's got to the point that the law is being used to label those in the Muslim community conducting peaceful protests to defend their right to choose their spiritual leaders as terrorists. It's a sad state of affairs."
CPJ says Ethiopia is the second-highest jailer of journalists in Africa after neighbouring Eritrea, were seven journalists are currently detained.
Both the RSF and CPJ have expressed concern over reports that the country has begun using much more sophisticated online censorship systems over the last year, including ones that can identify specific internet protocols and block them.
Since Ethiopia's government owns the sole telecommunications provider in the country, Ethio Telecom, it allows authorities to tightly control internet freedom.

Categories: ICT Ethiopia suspected of using spyware to spy on journalists and opposition members

From Ethiopia to Vietnam, researchers map reach of German-made government spy software
LONDON — The discovery of a group of servers linked to an elusive espionage campaign is providing new details about a high-tech piece of spy software that some fear may be targeting dissidents living under oppressive regimes.
A Canadian research center said Wednesday that it had identified 25 different countries that host servers linked to FinFisher, a Trojan horse program which can dodge anti-virus protections to steal data, log keystrokes, eavesdrop on Skype calls, and turn microphones and webcams into live surveillance devices.
The report said evidence for the Ethiopian government’s use of FinFisher was particularly strong, explaining that Citizen Lab had found an example of the spyware which spread through a booby-trapped email purporting to carry images of Ethiopian opposition figures. Once the Trojan was downloaded, it would connect to a server being hosted by Ethiopia’s national telecommunications provider, Ethio Telecom.
It’s not clear who the Trojan’s intended targets might have been, although online messages have provided key evidence in several recent terror cases that have resulted in the incarceration of media and opposition figures.
Journalist Reyot Alemu was arrested in 2011 after she was caught attempting to anonymously email articles to a U.S.-based opposition website, while opposition leader Andualem Arage is currently appealing the life sentence he received last year after authorities got hold of his Skype conversation with an alleged enemy of the Ethiopian state.
Ethiopian opposition leader and Bucknell University academic Berhanu Nega said he had no proof that he or his colleagues had been hacked by the Ethiopian government, but he said he wouldn’t be surprised.
He said opposition figures had long been careful on the phone or over email, but he called FinFisher “the most pervasive kind of spying that we have been confronted with.
“We’re now trying to clear our computers.”
Read more ...

Six Civilians, including US citizen Killed in the Gambella region

March 13, 2013
Ethiopian National Defense Forces Killed 6 Civilians, including US citizen in the Gambella region of Ethiopia.
Press Release (Vancouver BC Canada)— On March 2, 2013, seventeen Anuak men were ambushed by Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), as they were sitting under a tree near Gilo river in a rural area in the Gambella region of southwestern Ethiopia. Six men were killed. Among those killed was a 33-year old American citizen, Omot Ojulu Odol, [B.D. 2/2/1978] who came to the U.S. as a teenager more than fifteen years ago. Mr. Odol had been visiting his homeland.

The Ethiopian government claims Mr. Odol was killed for acts of terrorism in the region; however, eyewitnesses and others on-the-ground in Gambella share a different story, as learned by the Anuak Justice Council (AJC), a human rights organization that has been investigating the incident since it occurred. The AJC has many contacts on the ground, some of whom were eyewitnesses, family members of the deceased, friends and community members. As the Government of Ethiopia responds from afar to questions regarding what happened, those present during the incident provide a different scenario to the attack and its aftermath. The reality is, not only is the federal government in Addis Ababa disconnected from the region, they have repeatedly committed egregious human rights crimes in the region, fabricated propaganda and twisted information so as to advance their own deeply entrenched economic interests in the area. 
Background: For those who do not know, the AJC was formed following the massacre of the Anuak by the same Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) in December 2003. At this time, 424 Anuak leaders were targeted and brutally slaughtered within three days. Most of their bodies were buried in mass graves and have never been recovered. This all has been documented by respected human rights organizations such as Genocide Watch in their two reports and by Human Rights Watch in their report entitled: “Targeting the Anuak: Human Rights Violations and Crimes against Humanity in Ethiopia’s Gambella Region [ http://www.hrw.org/news/2005/03/23/ethiopia-crimes-against-humanity-gambella-region]. Thousands more were killed over the next three years when the military presence was very heavy surrounding an attempt to drill for oil on indigenous Anuak land, which eventually failed. Since then, the region has never recovered. The Anuak, in particular, have never found safety and security and many have left for neighboring countries.  
The tensions in the region have only been exacerbated by the large-scale land acquisitions by foreign and local investors that have displaced 70,000 local people from land the Anuak and others have depended upon for their livelihoods for centuries. [For more information on the displacements, please see the investigation by Human Rights Watch entitled: “Waiting Here for Death” Forced Displacement and “Villagization” in Ethiopia’s Gambella Region. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/01/16/waiting-here-death ] Between now and 2015, another 150,000 indigenous Gambellans are to be moved to resettlement villages in a villagization program that has left the displaced homeless, with inferior land, with poorer access to water, with fewer or non-existing services and in hunger. In this milieu, anyone who attempts to defend their constitutional rights to their indigenous land can be called a terrorist and subject to human rights crimes.
Incident: From eyewitnesses and testimony from other local people, the AJC has learned that the incident began when someone reported to the local security in Gambella that an Anuak farmer had purchased a gun from the highlands in Ethiopia and had brought it back to this lowland area. Prior to the Anuak massacre in 2003, the Anuak had been disarmed of their guns despite using them for hunting and protection from the wild animals in the region that would prey on their livestock. Notably, the disarmament was ethnic-based and did not include those from other local ethnic groups. In fact, as of today, the Anuak remain the only disarmed people in the Gambella region while others still maintain the right to possess guns.
After receiving the report of this gun purchase, authorities had gone to the farmer’s house on February 28, 2013. He was not at home; however, there were some other young men in the home, some of his relatives and others his neighbors. One of his relatives, Mark Omot, who is 26 years old and whose father was killed in the Gambella massacre of December 2003, was interrogated and tortured. He was beaten by the barrels of the guns and he sustained many serious injuries to his head, neck and chest before finally telling the authorities that during the dry season, the majority of men go to the riverbanks to fish and hunt. [If you want to eat during the dry season, it greatly helps to have a gun to hunt.]
A local Anuak security official, along with the ENDF, took this man and forced him to help them find the farmer. After a search lasting several days, on the morning of March 2, the farmer was located about 40 kilometers away on the bank of the Gilo River near the village of Abelean and Apoo. Mr. Odol and sixteen others, including a number of children as young as ten years of age, were found sitting under the shade of a tree. Without warning, the ENDF began shooting at them, killing six persons, including an eleven-year-old. The others escaped, including the farmer. No one shot back. After the six men died, the troops searched through the bodies and their belongings and found only one gun. During their search of the bodies, they found Omot Ojulu Odol’s American passport and Washington D.C. driver’s license on him. This is when the entire situation changed. Instead of focusing on the farmer, the others they had killed or those who had escaped, they focused only on Mr. Odol and justified killing an American citizen by calling him a terrorist. They separated his body from the others and videotaped his body, propping the gun up beside him along with his American passport and U.S. driver’s license.
The security forces left the other bodies behind, without burying them, but took Mr. Odol’s body with them to the town of Pinyudo, the capital of the district of Gok. When in Pinyudo, they placed his lifeless body in the back of their army truck, flagrantly displaying him as they drove through the town, boasting that they had killed the man who did not want investment or development in the region. They claimed that there would now be peace and development in the region because this man, who was “anti-development”, “anti-foreign investment” and “anti-villagization”, was now finally killed. The location where Mr. Odol was killed was near to the place where land had been leased to a Turkish land investor.  They were among those who had been forcibly displaced from the area, ending up at the location 40 kilometers away where the farmer and they most of them were now living. 
Following this, the ENDF forces brought Mr. Odol’s body to the regional capital of Gambella Town, publically announcing their intent to display his body the following day, Sunday, March 3; however, the next day the people were told that his body would instead be displayed at the stadium and that the people should come and see the remains of a man who was “anti-development” and “anti-foreign investment.”
They claimed that he had been responsible for the attack on employees at the Saudi Star agricultural farm in May 2012 and for the deadly bus ambush in April 2012, which had occurred when he was not in Ethiopia according to reports from the ground.
However, the anticipated showing of his body in the stadium never took place. Allegedly, the central government in Addis Ababa stopped their plans, warning local officials that there could be a backlash because Omot Ojulu Omod had been an American citizen. This information was also confirmed by Gatluak Tut, Gambella Regional Vice President, when he was interviewed by the government-run newspaper, “Reporter,” on Wednesday, March 6.
On Monday, March 4, some ENDF went back to the village in Gok Depach where the farmer had lived and killed another farmer, Okwier Ojulu, who lived in the same vicinity. They saw him walking from his home and they ordered him to stop but he did not listen to them; knowing what had happened to the others and that if he stopped, he would be interrogated and possibly tortured. The soldiers then shot him in the back and killed him. His whole family witnessed his death. The soldiers left him dead on the road. Soldiers then arrested another farmer, Omot Abella, and his two teenage sons as well as one other Anuak farmer. People suspected that the defense forces feared retaliation from the villagers because of the people killed on the riverbank along with Omot Ojulu Odol. Those arrested, as well as Mark Omot, remain in custody in Pinyudo in the military’s detention center. 
Additionally, two others were also arrested. One was Mr. Oman Agwa, the chief of police of the Gambella region who had condemned the killing of Omot and the others, saying that these were innocent people and that there was no proof of them committing any crimes. Out of guilt or shame, the Anuak governor of the Gambella region, Omot Obang Olom, who was complicit in the massacre in 2003 of his own people, along with ENDF commanders, arrested this man in order to silence him. However, when Governor Olom was asked during an interview on Voice of America on March 5^th about the arrest of the chief of police, he claimed that the man had been arrested because authorities had found a T-shirt in the man’s house that called for the secession of Gambella from Ethiopia. No one else had ever seen such a T-shirt, but obviously free speech does not exist in one of the most repressive countries in the world– Ethiopia. He remains in detention in Gambella.
The second man arrested is Paul Agwa, a security guard at the Mekane Yesus Church in Gambella. He was accused of being related to the farmer who had bought the gun and authorities believed he had been aware of the purchase of the gun and had not reported it. There are reports that he was tortured during his arrest.   He remains in custody in Gambella. These are the facts from the people on the ground. 
The Anuak, including family members, reported the incident to the U.S. State Department. The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa later confirmed the man’s death to the State Department.
In reports the AJC received from U.S. government sources, they indicate the following:
Ethiopian officials have informed the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa that a U.S. citizen was killed on March 2, 2013, as part of an Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) operation against a rebel group that operates in the Gambella region of Ethiopia.
The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa has not been able to confirm the details of this reported incident, and is seeking additional information.

On March 7, Ethiopian television reported that security forces had killed Omot Ojulu Odol in Gambella because he was a terrorist. They never mentioned the other five persons who had been killed, including the eleven-year-old, perhaps because it would diminish their argument that they were fighting a “rebel group” operating in the region.
Conclusion: What began as a report of one gun being purchased by a farmer for hunting—a crime only for the Anuak—ended in the ambush and cold-blooded killing of six Anuak people who had committed no crime. Unknowingly, one of these victims they had killed had been an American citizen, which totally changed the rationale and focus of their actions, but yet it gives an accurate picture of the kind of insecurity the Anuak continue to face on a daily basis.
The AJC, as an organization that speaks for the well being of the Anuak, wherever they are found, finds it necessary to respond to the one-sided propaganda given in this case by the Ethiopian government. Most Anuak consider the TPLF/EPRDF regime, which has been in power for over 21 years, a terrorist regime that has a record of killing innocent people, not only in Gambella, but throughout the country. If they were genuine, they should have reported on the deaths and arrests of the others, but they did not. Sadly, this kind of biased and untruthful reporting by ETV and Tesfa- alem Tekle is not unusual, especially when the reporter, as in this case Tesfa- alem a hard-core TPLF supporter who based in Mekelle, northern Ethiopia.
From what we know, Omot Odol was not a terrorist. This was someone who was a responsible U.S. citizen who had had a job and reportedly, had never committed a crime in America, not even a driving violation; however, he had always spoken out against the human rights abuses committed by the current TPLF/EPRDF government. His own brother was killed by government-controlled military forces in 2008 and a few months later, his mother met the same fate. Maybe this was why he felt compelled to go back home to do what he could to speak out for justice. We are unaware of any crimes he has ever committed, and according to reliable sources, he was not even in Ethiopia at the time of either the Saudi Star attack or the ambush of the bus for which he is being accused.  
On the other hand, since 2003, the Anuak, simply for being of that ethnicity, have been targeted for repeated egregious human rights violations in their own land. No one has yet to be held responsible for these crimes, including for the December 2003 massacre and aftermath. Over the last several years, as the land grabs are continuing to displace the Anuak, those who speak out against the injustice can be called terrorists and are at great risk. Those Anuak who return to their homeland for visits from other countries are regularly targeted as suspicious persons by the authorities. We have documented more than twenty-one cases over the last two years where Anuak coming from the US, Canada, Europe or Australia have been detained and interrogated. Some have even been victims of torture and abuse by the TPLF/EPRDF. In certain cases, Ethiopian military and other security forces have even crossed international boundaries to harass and intimidate Anuak in the Republic of South Sudan and in Kenya. 
The killing of Omot Ojulu Odol is not unique to Gambella. What makes it different is the fact that Mr. Odol was an American citizen and that he was killed without any due process. The Government of Ethiopia now wants to avoid accountability to the U.S. Government by taking the easy way out, which is to label him as a terrorist and to accuse him of crimes that reportedly occurred when he was not even in the country. In a statement made by Gambella Regional governor, Omot Olom on ESAT [Ethiopian Satellite TV] on Friday, March 8, 2013, he said, “Anyone who broke the law in Ethiopia could be killed whether an Ethiopian or an American!”
Last month Governor Omot detained an Australian Anuak in Gambella, accusing him of aiding the rebels even though he lived in Australia. Allegedly security officials told him that they could kill him regardless of the fact he was an Australian citizen. In other words, educated Anuak from abroad are a real threat to them and they are obviously willing to break international laws in response to them.
We in the AJC are working to pressure the American government authorities to do their maximum in investigating this incident. To start, we have called on them to conduct an on-the-ground investigation in Gambella, beginning with exhuming the body in order to conduct forensic DNA tests to determine whether the remains are Omot Ojulu Odol’s, beyond a doubt. If it matches, we call on U.S. officials to claim his remains so that they might be given to his family for a proper burial.
As of now, the ENDF are the only ones who know where the body is buried. We also call on U.S. authorities to investigate who ordered the killing and who actually killed him so that they will be held accountable. Even if he was guilty of some crime, they should have arrested him and brought him to justice because of his American citizenship. This issue has already been taken up by some in the U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate.
The AJC and the Anuak as a whole, see Mr. Odol’s death and those of the other five Anuak killed alongside of him, as more names on the list of the thousands of Anuak who have already been killed by the TPLF/EPRDF since they came to power. The Anuak will not rest until justice has been served for all of them. It may not be done now, but surely there will be a day of accountability. Until then, the AJC will continue to gather the information and the names of those implicated in the crimes. When this government changes, the guilty will be found wherever they are and charged. This demand for accountability is not only for the Anuak, but for the rest of Ethiopians who have lost their lives throughout the country. 
May God comfort and strengthen the families of those who have lost these loved ones. Ethiopia has become like a weeping mother, crying for her precious children who have come to a premature end. May their deaths not be in vain but be building blocks towards a more peaceful, life-affirming Ethiopia. May God strengthen the living to reach out to each other to bring an end to this regime and their crimes against our Ethiopian people.
May Ethiopia stretch out her hands to God who will not abandon us if we call him in humility and faith.

=======================ENDS=======================.

Please do not hesitate to e-mail your questions or comments to Mr. Ochala Abulla, Chairman of the Anuak Justice Council (AJC): E-mail:

Let the evidence speak: Three-Decade TPLF’s Deception and Disinformation Strategy

by Ewnetu Sime
Tigrai People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is “celebrating” thirty eight years birth of their mob rule style at Mekele town. The on going discussions of the issues are not known to general public, at least to my knowledge. But it is expected that they will be confined to dogmatic ethnic politics and then viciously slandered one another to win the power struggle among themselves. TPLF survived all these years through deception or coercion and frequently by brutal force.  They had political and ideological differences within their guerrilla warfare years. Through violent internal purges or dissention, execution and finally the current ethno-centric TPLF’s leaders came out as winner. The present leaders continued the ethnic based authoritarian rule and eroded Ethiopian nationalist identity. A long Ethiopian history of cultural awareness is weakening through deception and disinformation strategy. They are attempting to rewrite history based on lies and political propaganda ploy.
As we witnessed and observed when the Derg dictatorship nears its terminal stage, TPLF realized a symbolic strategy is needed to seize power. They formed a ridicule united front with Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), EPDM the defector group from Ethiopian People Revolutionary Party (EPRP) called Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement, OPDO a group of Derg’s troop prisoners of TPLF and EPLF known as Oromo People’s Democratic Organization, and with others smaller ethnic
Groups. They then formed Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Party (EPRDF). Within EPRDF, TPLF is by far dominant and have a monopoly over everything, including policy formulation, politics, economics, etc…
After 38 years of their existence, TPLF leaders remain extremely corrupt and not able to break out their ethnic and regional enclaves. But sadly, TPLF_ EPRDF has squandered multiple opportunities for building a free society. The 1974 Ethiopia revolution that promised to bring about genuine peace, freedom, justice, to all Ethiopians has been hijacked and prolonged. Unless the opposition democratic forces are willing to collaborate among themselves and to step up effective indigenous discipline movement as seen in Arab Spring movements. Arab Spring movement leads the complete defeat of African tyrants. TPLF’s regime resembles with many African dictators. If the discontents continue unanswered, the consequence will be the inevitable collapse of dictatorial rule with all out uprising. Does this lead to anarchy and possible to another civil war?   Just by looking the countries that went through Arab Spring movement, the answer is no. One hope the opposition groups by focusing on common causes and shared values will do smart move and will take steps now to unite.
It is not a secret EPRDF is a just mask for TPLF to fragment or destroy the sovereignty of unitary state of Ethiopia. The goal of this alliance from its very inception has been to promote ethnic rights over national priority. As it stated above from this alliance TPLF has an enormous power. We already witnessed that they can and has done anything they want. As stated above, one of the alliances in EPRDF was the OLF. They have been reflected similar political aim to have one ethnic dominance and to destroy Ethiopian unity.  As we recall in 1991, the OLF leaders was given special treatment, and made to feel as though they are on the winning team.
However, before they get too comfortable in new position, TPLF’s leaders saw them as a threat to their power. Immediately, OLF’s leaders and supporters were attacked until TPLF is assured that they were no longer a threat.
Soon after, TPLF’s action has been revealed to rest of the Ethiopian people too, the Opposition and the patriotic people has been attacked, killed, jailed, tortured and destroyed without mercy. Ethnic rights concept is used as a shield for atrocity TPLF committed. As we know, to advance ethnic rights TPLF/EPRDF retained the kebele peasant associations from past Derg’s regime structure, which they used to control the people same way as the Derg did. At same time, TPLF cadres penetrated in every corner of the associations. Then the cadres implemented TPLF’s ethnic policy in full.
They introduced a system of identity cards through kebele specifying to which ethnic a card holder belonged. Ethnic division’s official instituted and discrimination by ethnic line become as norm for ruling TPLF aristocracy. Ethnic violence orchestrated by TPLF later erupted in Harare, Anwak in Gambella and on other several regions. Although they are so obsessed and entrenched on this barbaric style, ethnicity has not resonated to most of ordinary Ethiopians to date. This was proven in 2005 where the Opposition parties mobilized undivided mass and win election.
The history of Ethiopia revolution that ignited in 1974 largely about to be free from yoke of oppression and exploitation of all Ethiopians. The fight always against Oligarchs and tyrants since the day of Ethiopian Students Movement commenced in 1960. Liberation by revolution would entail fundamentally to bring about equality and justice for all. Unfortunately, TPLF’s leaders have refused to listen or ask what everyone else thinks. The effect is alienating more Ethiopian patriots and ordinary fair minded people from political process. TPLF’s deception and disinformation strategy hindering all forms democratic rights and become also a path for the continuation of a toxic single ethnic-based rule tyranny.
It is evident that ethnic based of political structure is incapable of providing any solution to the country political, social and economic problems. In multinational state all ethnic deserve to be treated equally. For several years TPLF’s deception and self-aggrandizing propaganda attempted nearly every method imaginable to paint the Oppositions are against respecting ethnic rights.  In contrary, the Oppositions are standing for diversity, equality, political democracy, social justice, unity, etc… In the past decades, we can enumerate several evidences that that the country is ravaged by a TPLF leaders to weaken Ethiopian solidarity. In the absences of oppositions, free media, check and balance system  they proven to be corrupt, and continue to loot the country wealth and natural resources at broad day light, and made it easy for cronies to do the same. In summary we all aware of the dire situation in the country and we shall speak out in any way we can. As seen in the past in Tunisia or Ethiopia, if we brought unbearable pressure on the dictators, they tend to flee the country and the supports also will change with the tide.

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