ፖለቲካ በደም አይጋባም – አርበኞች ግንቦት7 (ኢዲቶርያል)

ህዝባዊ ተቀባይነቱን ያጣው ወያኔ በሽፍትነት ዘመኑ ትግራይ ውስጥ ሲያደርግ እንደረነበረው ሁሉ፣ መንግስታዊ ስልጣኑን ከያዘም በሁዋላ መሰልጠን አቅቶትና እንደመንግስት ማሰብ ተስኖት፣ አገዛዜን ይቃወማሉ ብሎ የሚጠረጥራቸውን ዜጎች የቅርብ ቤተሰቦችና የሩቅ ዘመዶች ሳይቀር ማሰቃየት መጀመሩን ከአራቱም የአገራችን ማዕዘናት በየቀኑ የሚደርሱን ሪፖርቶች ያመለክታሉ።

በቅርቡ በአርባ ምንጭ ከተማ ለአገራቸው ነጻነት በገዛ ፈቃዳቸው ተነሳስተው ታሪካዊ ግዴታቸውን ለመወጣት በሞከሩ ወጣቶች ላይ የስርዓቱ ታማኝ ጥቂት የደህንነት ሃይሎች የወሰዱት እርምጃ ዘግናኝና ልብ የሚያቆስል ነው። ይህም አልበቃ ብሎ የተፈላጊ ወጣቶች መኖሪያ ቤቶች በታጠቁ የደህንነት ሃይሎች ተወረው ፍተሻ ተካሂዶባቸዋል:: እናቶች ህጻናት ልጆቻቸው ፊት “የተደበቁ ልጆቻችሁን አምጡ ” ተብለው መሳሪያ ተደቅኖባቸው፣ ኢ-ሰብአዊ ድርጊት ተፈጽሞባቸዋል።

በአገዛዙ ዘረኛና የተጨማለቀ ፖሊሲ ተማረው ተቃውሞአቸውን ለመግለጽ እርምጃ መውሰድ የጀመሩ የቴፒ ወጣቶችን ለማደን የተደረገው ሙከራ መክሸፉን ተከትሎ የፈደራል ፖሊስና መከላኪያ ሠራዊት በወላጆች ላይ ተመሳሳይ እርምጃ ወስደዋል። ወጣት ሴቶች እና እናቶች ርህራሄ በጎደላቸው የስርዓቱ ታማኝ ወታደሮች ተደብድበዋል፣ ተደፍረዋል፣ ታስረዋል። በሰሜን ጎንደርም እንዲሁ መብታችን ይከበር ብለው በተነሱ ወጣት ቤተሰቦች ላይ የገዢው ሃይል ታማኞች ፣ ግድያና አስገድዶ መድፈር ፈጽመዋል። እህትማማች ሴቶች መኖሪያ ቤታቸው ውስጥ እንዳሉ ተገድለዋል። በወታደሮች የተደፈሩ ሴቶች ቅስማቸው ተሰብሮ ወደ አደባባይ ለመውጣት እንኳ የማይችሉበት ደረጃ ደርሰዋል።

በመርአዊ ከተማ መኳንንት ጸጋዬ የተባሉ በሰላማዊ ትግል ስርዓቱን የሚቃወሙ ግለሰብ፣ በልጆቻቸውና በባለቤታቸው ፊት አሰቃቂ በሆነ ሁኔታ ተደብድበዋል፤ የልጆችን ስነልቦና በሚነካ መልኩም ሰዋዊ ክብራቸው እንዲዋረድ ተደርጓል።

በኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ላይ እየተፈጸመ ያለው ግፍ ድንበር የለውም፤ የወያኔን የበቀል ዱላ ያልቀመሰ፣ ማንነቱና ክብሩ ያልተዋረደ ህዝብ ማግኘት አይቻልም። በገዳዩ ስርዓት እየደረሰ ያለው ግፍ አንድ ጊዜ በሰሜን፣ ሌላ ጊዜ በደቡብ፣ ሌላ ጊዜ በምስራቅ እያለ ቀጥሎአል። የዚህ ፍጹማዊ የአፈና አገዛዝ ህልውና እንዲቀጥል እስከተፈቀደለት ድረስ ጭቆናው፣ መዋረዱ፣ መታሰሩና መሞቱ አይቆምም። የአገዛዙ ባህሪ እነዚህን ሰይጣናዊ ድርጊቶች ለመፈጸም እንጅ መልካም ነገር ለመፈጸም አያስችለውም።

ለነጻነት የሚደረገው ትግል በመሬት ላይ አድማሱን እያሰፋ በመጣ ቁጥር የጥቃቱ አይነትና መጠንም እየጨመረ እንደሚመጣ ስናስብ፣ ይህን ጥቃት የምናስቆምበት ወይም የምንቀንስበትን መንገድም መሻት ተገቢ ነው። ወያኔ በነጻነት ታጋይ ቤተሰቦች ላይ ጥቃቱን ሲፈጽም ከሚጠቅሳቸው ምክንያቶች መካከል አንዱ “ልጅህ ወይም ወንድምህ መንግሥታችንን ለመናድ ሌት ተቀን እየሰራ አንተ በሠላም ልትኖር አትችልም” የሚል ነው። ይህ ሁዋላ ቀር አስተሳሰብ ወያኔን ከሚመሩ ሰዎች የሚጠበቅ ቢሆንም፣ ፖለቲካ ወይም የነጻነት ጉዳይ በደም የሚወረስ ሳይሆን ከግለሰቦች ማንነት ጋር ተያያዞ የሚመጣ መሆኑን፣ ቀድም ብለው በሁለት ጎራ ለይተው ሲፋለሙ የነበሩ ወጣቶችን ታሪክ ማስታወስ በቂ ነው። ከአንድ ማህጸን የወጡ የአንድ እናት ልጆች የተለያዬ የፖለቲካ አመለካከት እንደሚይዙ ታሪካችን ብቻ ሳይሆን፣ የወያኔ ታሪክ ራሱ ምስክር ነው።

እውነታው ይህ ሆኖ ሳለ፣ በጅምላ በቤተሰብ ላይ የሚደርሰው ጥቃት፣ ከሁዋላ ቀርነትና ከግንዛቤ ማነስ የመጣ ነው ተብሎ የሚመጣ ብቻ ሳይሆን፣ ድርጊቱን ከሚፈጽሙት ሰዎች ስነልቦና ቀውስና የሁዋላ ታሪክ ጋር የሚያያዝ ነው። በንጹህ ዜጎች ላይ ጭካኔና ግፍ የሚፈጽሙ ሰዎች፣ የሰው ማንነት የሌላቸው፣ ከአስተዳደጋቸው ጀምሮ የተበላሹና ማህበረሰቡ “አይመጥኑም” ብሎ የተፋቸው ናቸው። አሁን በስልጣን ላይ ያሉና በህዝባችን ላይ የጭካኔ ዱላቸውን የሚያሳርፉ ገዢዎች የሁዋላ ታሪክ ቢጠና ከዚህ የተለየ እውነታ አይኖረውም።

ሌላው የወያኔ ስልት ደግሞ በአገር ውስጥ ያሉትን ብቻ ሳይሆን ከአገር ውጭ የሚንቀሳቀሱ የነጻነት ታጋዮችን ቤተሰቦችና ዘመዶች እየተከታተሉ ” እባካችሁ ዘመዶቻችሁ ከፖለቲካው እንዲርቁ አድርጉ፣ እንዲህ ካደረጋችሁ የምትፈልጉትን ነገር እናድርግላችሁዋለን፣ ለእነሱም የፈለጉትን ነገር እናደርግላችሁዋለን” በማለት ለመደለል መሞከራቸው ነው።

ለወያኔ ነጻነት ማለት ገንዘብ ነው፤ ቤት ነው፤ ሆድ ነው፤ ነጻነት የህሊናና የማንነት ጉዳይ መሆኑን ገና አላወቀም። ሁሉም ሰዎች ነጻነታቸውን በገንዘብ፣ በቤት፣ በሆድ ወይም በብልጭልጭ ምድራዊ ነገር ይሸጣሉ ብሎ ያስባል፤ በርግጥ በእነዚህ አላፊና ጠፊ ነገሮች ተታለው ነጻነታቸውን የሸጡ ቢኖሩም፣ ሁሉም ሰው ግን እንደዛ አይደለም። የወያኔን የግፍ አገዛዝ ተቃውመው ለነጻነት የሚታገሉ ሃይሎች ሁሉ፣ ቁሳዊ ፍላጎታቸውን ትተው፣ ህሊናዊና ማንነታዊ ፍላጎትን ለራሳቸውም ለህዝባቸውም ለማምጣት የሚታገሉ ናቸው። በወያኔና በእነዚህ ታጋዮች መካከል ያለው ልዩነትም ይህ ነው፤ ወያኔ ለአላፊ ጠፊው ምድራዊ ህይወት ሲጨነቅ፣ እነዚህ ተጋዮች፣ ዘላለማዊ ለሆነው ለነጻነትና ለማንነት ክብር ይጨነቃሉ። ስለዚህ ወያኔ ለህሊናቸውና ለማንነታቸው የሚታገሉ ሃይሎችን በቁሳዊ ፍላጎት ለመደለል የሚያደርገው ጥረት መቼውንም ፍሬ አያፈራምና ቤተሰቦችን እየጠራ ባያንገላታቸው ይመረጣል።

የአገዛዝ ዕድሜን ለማራዘም ሲባል በነጻነት ታጋይ ቤተሰቦች ላይ እየተወሰደ ያለው ጥቃት ከዚህ ቀደም በነበሩ ሁለት መንግሥታት ዘመን እንኳ ታይቶ የማይታወቅ ለመሆኑ ማስረጃ ማቅረብ አያስፈልግም:: መለስ ዜናዊ ከዚህ አለም በሞት በተለየበት ሰሞን የአገዛዙ ጋዜጠኞች አደዋ የሚገኘውን የወላጆቹን መኖርያ ቤት በቴለቪዥን ለህዝብ ዕይታ አቅርበው ፣ መለስ ዜናዊ ከጫካ እየሾለከ መጥቶ ያርፍ እንደነበር በገዛ ወንድሙ አፍ እንዲነገር አድርገዋል::

በአጭሩ ፓለቲካ በደም አይተላለፍም፤ ደምን ቆጥሮ በፖለቲካ ታጋይ ቤተሰቦች ላይ የሚደርስ ጥቃትም፣ ቂምና በቀልን ከመውለድ ውጭ የሚያመጣው ለውጥ አይኖርም። ህዝባዊ የነጻነትን ትግልን፣ የታጋዮችን ቤተሰቦች በማሰቃየት ወይም በመደለል ማስቆም አይቻልም። አፈናና ሰቆቃ ባለበት ቦታ ሁሉ ፣ የጊዜ ጉዳይ ካልሆነ በቀር፣ አመጽ የማይቀር ማህበራዊ ክስተት ነው :: በተለይ “የህዝብ ብሶት ወለደኝ” በማለት መሣሪያ አንስቶ 17 አመት ታገልኩ ለሚለው ወያኔ ይህ ግልጽ እውነታ ምርምር የሚጠይቅ ውስብስብ ፍልስፋና ሊሆንበት ባልቻለ ነበር :: ዳሩ ከተጣመመ አፈጣጠሩ፣ ከመሪዎቹ ምንነትና ማንነት እንዲሁም ስልጣን ከተያዘም በሁዋላ በዘረፋ የተሰበሰበው ሃብት የፈጠረው የኑሮ ምቾትና የተከማቸው የጦር መሳሪያ ያቀዳጀው እብሪት አይነ ልቦናውን ጋርዶታልና ለወያኔ ይህ ሃቅ ሊገባው አይችልም።

አርበኞች ግንቦት 7 የወያኔ የአፈና ክንዶች ሺ ጊዜ ቢፈረጥሙም ፤ በተቃዋሚዎችና የነጻነት ታጋዮች ቤተሰብ ላይ የሚወሰደው እርምጃ የህይወት መስዋትነት እያስከፈለ ቢመጣም እንኳ ለነጻነት የሚያደረገው ትግል ይበልጥ አጠናክሮ ይቀጥላል እንጂ ለአፍታም ቢሆን አይዘናጋም። የታጋይ ቤተሰቦችና ዘመዶችም፣ አሁን በወያኔ የሚደርስባችሁ ግፍና በደል፣ ለመላው አገራችን ነጻነት ሲባል የሚከፈል ዋጋ በመሆኑ ልትኮሩ እንጅ ልለትሸማቀቁ አይገባም ። በህዝብ ፊት የነጠሉዋችሁና ከማህበራዊ ህይወታችሁ እንድትገለሉ ያደረጉዋችሁ ቢመስላችሁ፣ እውነታው ተቃራኒው ነው፤ ከህዝብ የተገለሉት እነሱ ናቸው፤ የሚዋረዱትና የሚያፍሩት እነሱ ናቸው።

በዘረኛው የወያኔ አገዛዝ ሥር የሚማቅቅ እያንዳንዱ ዜጋ አርበኞች ግንቦት 7 የለኮሰውን የነጻነት ትግል ችቦ አንግቦ በወያኔ ከርሰ መቃብር ላይ የታፈረች የተከበረችና የዜጎቿን መብት በእኩልነት የምታስከብር አገር ለመገንባት በሚደረገው ትግል እንዲቀላቀል አርበኞች ግንቦት 7 ጥሪውን ያቀርባል:: የወያኔ የጥቃት እጆች የሚያጥሩትና ዜጎች በአገራቸው ተከብረው የሚኖሩት ወያኔ ሲወገድ ብቻ ነው!

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ !!!

Political prisoner exposes horrific tales of torture in Ethiopian dungeons

Berhanu Tekleyared, political prisoner in Ethiopia

Berhanu Tekleyared and his two other compatriots were caught last March by Ethiopian regime operatives as they were trekking towards the country’s northern border to join Ginbot 7, an armed resistance movement; and which the rubber stamp parliament in Addis Ababa declared as a “terrorist” organization along with other organizations such as the OLF and ONLF . Berhanu and two others, a woman by the name Eyerusalem Tesfaw and Fikremariam Asmamaw were leading members of the Blue Party, a popular political party in Ethiopia with no luck of winning seats in parliament thru peaceful and legal means of struggle as the ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) had rigged all the five elections held in the country in the last 25 years and made peaceful democratic change impossible by using all sorts of legal mechanisms and above all repressive measures against the peaceful and legal opposition in the country.

The three, during trials at the kangaroo courts in Addis Ababa have refused lawyers and told the court upfront that they were members of Ginbot 7 and they have committed no crime. Tekleyared was even bolder when he told the court that he tried all peaceful means through his party to bring democratic changes in the country, and that the only option left for him was to join armed groups. He challenged the court that the “anti terrorism law” that he was told had violated, is itself against the constitution.

Held in inhumane conditions, beaten and tortured, Tekleyard, the young political prisoner had, however, managed to slip a letter through the cracks of the highly guarded dungeon, exposing the torture and inhuman treatment of political prisoners and other prisoners of conscience.

Although Tekleyared was no exception and did not escape the daily realities of beatings and harassment by Ethiopian prison officials; he chose not to talk about his own ordeal, but instead, wrote about the tribulations of his fellow prisoner. In a letter that’s widely circulating in the social media, after it was first released by ESAT, Tekleyared, who was head of organizational affairs for the Blue Party at the time of his abduction, gave horrific details about the treatment of a young prisoner, who is now his mate at the notorious Kilinto penitentiary.

The young prisoner, whose name Tekleyared withheld for the obvious reasons, had confided him about the torture he endured, which was carried out by TPLF prison officers while he was at the infamous Central Police Station in Addis Ababa, seen by many as Ethiopia’s torture chamber. The young man was charged according to “the terrorism law,” a law cooked up by the TPLF regime to be used against dissenters, members of opposition political parties and journalists who dare to write the truth. Suffice to mention the case of the Zone 9 bloggers collective, journalists Eskinder Nega and Temesgen Desalegn. Eskinder and Temesgen are still in jail serving 18 and 3 years respectively, while the Zone 9 bloggers were released last month after a year and half in the notorious Kaliti prison. A court in Addis Ababa dropped all charges against the bloggers following an international uproar and criticism. Ethiopia has a long list of dissenters, politicians, journalists and ordinary citizens arrested and incarcerated with no proof whatsoever of “committing” what the brutal regime called “acts of terrorism”. Writing criticisms against the government, speaking one’s mind on issues of democracy and freedom, being a member of an opposition political party etc, etc, are good enough reasons for the brutal regime to level terrorism charges against law abiding citizens.

The young prisoner, who hails from Gondar, told Tekleyared that the authorities first moved him around to the various secret houses in Addis Ababa and elsewhere before they took him to the Central Police Station. He was told by his tormentors that he was a “terrorist” and his charges were “terrorism.” At the secret houses and at the Central Police Station, he was mercilessly beaten by the TPLF prison bosses in a futile endeavor to make him confess the trumped up charges. The young man however refused to give false confessions to his tormentors. The regime is known for using confessions obtained under duress to convict people whom it deemed dissenters.

In one of those days of agony, the prison officials, after ruthlessly beating him, forced him to take off his pants and pound him till he blacked out. He was told by one of the TPLF Tigrayan officers that they were beating him naked just to prove their point that the Amharas have “taken their pants off,” a reference in the Amharic language to mean that one “is not man enough to challenge anyone” and has “surrendered” to the powers that be.

Insulting and taunting the Amaharas has been a common practice by the TPLF Tigrayan security and prison officials when they torture the Amharas whom the regime perceives (or wants other Tigrayans to believe) as enemies of Tigrayans. Here, a distinction between the TPLF Tigrayans and the people of Tigray is warranted, the overwhelming majority of whom are also victims of the ruthless TPLF that claim to represent them. The gang of criminals at the TPLF, who happen to hail from Tigray, control the government, security, the military, foreign affairs, and even the economy by far disproporunate to their number and an iron fist rule. It is worth to mention here that the Tigrayans represent only 4% of the over 90 million Ethiopian population.

Tekleyared in his letter also called on leaders and the rank and file of the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), that claims to represent the Amharas but in reality which has aligned itself with the TPLF, to instead show their allegiance to the Amharas who are being persecuted by the TPLF Tigrayan regime. The ANDM, one of the four members of the coalition, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is a puppet Party, which solely serves the interests of the TPLF Tigayans. He said the ANDM did nothing when thousands of Amahars were uprooted and displaced from Southern Ethiopia. He recalled that leaders of the ANDM had instead made a mockery of the misery of the displaced Amharas saying “no single Amhara was displaced from Southern Ethiopia.” It is a public knowledge that some of the leaders at the top of the ANDM are not Amharas but Tigrayans.

Tekleyared brought to the attention of leaders and the rank and file at the ANDM the sacrifices made by Amharas who rallied behind ANDM and TPLF in their days as rebels fighting to topple the military regime in Ethiopia. He warned in the letter that those Amahara fighters did not give their lives in vain, but for the respect of the Amaharas and others as equal partners in a utopia of Ethiopia that they wished to create. He expressed his disgust that the ANDM, copycatting from the TPLF, is celebrating its 35th anniversary spending 300 million birr (roughly 15 million dollars) for a lavish party while 15million people, many of whom Amharas, need immediate food assistance; and at a time when children were dying as a result of the ongoing drought in Ethiopia.

The torture story of the young prisoner and of Tekleyared is just one from the thousand others that has become the norm instead of the exception in the present day Ethiopia, the country held hostage by the TPLF Tigrayans.

ባለቤቱን ካልናቁ አጥሩን አይነቀንቁ፣ (ይገረም ዓለሙ)

ፕሬዝዳንት መንግሥቱ ኃይለማሪያም ወደ መጨረሻ የሥልጣን ዘመናቸው አካባቢ “ ብታምኑም ባታምኑም ንቀውናል ተዋርደናል በቁማችን ሞተናል” በማለት የተናገሩት ዛሬ ብሶ ተባብሶ እየታየ ነው፡፡ ወያኔዎች ኢትዮጵያዉያንን በንቀት ማየታቸው ሊገታ አልቻለም፡፡ ይባስ ብሎ በጌታው የተማመነ ሎሌ ሁሉ እሱም እንደ አቅሙ ሕዝብን እየናቀ እያጠቃና ለጌታው ጥቃት እያመቻች ሎሌነቱን አስከብሮ ለመኖር እየታተረ ነው፡፡ ወያኔ ደግሞ ሎሌ መረጣው ይሳካለታል፡፡አንዱን ተጠቅሞ ሲጥል ሌላውን ያገኛል፡፡

ሚስትህ አረገዘች ወይ ቢሉት ማንን ወንድ ብላ እንዳለው ሰው ወያኔዎቹም ሆኑ “የሀገሩን ሰርዶ በሀገሩ በሬ ” ብለው በየቦታው ያሰማሩዋቸው ሎሌዎች ማንን ሰው ብለው አደብ ይግዙ፤ ማንን ፈርተው ንቀታቸውን ያቁሙ፤ በማን ተገደው ከግፍና በደል ተግባራቸው ይገቱ፡፡አዎ በድክመታችን ተንቀናል፣ በመበታተናችን ተዋርደናል፣ እናም በቁማችን ሞተናል የሚለው የመንግሥቱ ኃለማሪያም አባባል መነገር ካለበት ከምንግዜውም በላይ ዛሬ ነው፡፡

እየገደሉ፣ እያሰሩ፣ ከቤት ንብረት እያፈናቀሉ፣ እያሳየቃዩና ከሀገር እያሰደዱ ሲያላግጡብን፣ ዶክመንተሪ ፊልም ሲሰሩብን ፣ ጮቤ ሲረግጡብን ወዘተ የገጠማቸው የበረታ ተቃውሞ ባለመኖሩ ንቀታቸው ጣሪያ ደርሶ አንባገነንታቸው ለከት አጥቶ እነሆ ዛሬ በመራባችን ይመጻደቁ ይሳለቁብናል፡፡ዓለም ስለ ርሀባችን ሲያወራና የእርዳታ እጁን ሲዘረጋ እነርሱ ጮማ እየቆረጡና ውስኪ እየተራጩ ዳንኪራ ይረግጣሉ፣ በበአል ስም እየተጠራሩ አሸሸ ገዳሜ ይላሉ፡፡ ከዚህ በላይ ንቀት በምን ይገለጣል፡፡

በርግጥ እኛ ከመማማረር አልፈን ማምረር አልችል ብለን እንጂ፤በየራሳችን ሲደርስ ከመጮህ አልፈን ተባብረን አገዛዝ በቃን ማለት አለመቻላችን እንጂ የቃል እንጂ የተግባር ሰው መሆን አቅቶን አንጂ ወዘተ ወያኔዎች ደርግን በማሸነፋቸው ራሳቸውን ለማንም ለምንም የማይገሩ አድረግው በማየት ለኢትዮጵያውያን ያላቸውን ነቀት ማሳየት የጀመሩት ገና አዲስ አበባን በቅጡ ሳይለማመዱ ነው፡፡

በ1985 የአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርስቲ ተማሪዎች ለኤርትራ መገንጠል ሽንጣቸውን ገትረው የሰሩትን የወቅቱን የተመድ ዋና ጸኃፊ ግብጻዊውን ቡትሮስ ጋሊ አዲስ አበባ መምጣት በመቃወም ሰልፍ ሲወጡ ገና የግቢያቸውን አጥር ሳይጨርሱ ነበር የቆመጥ ሲሳይ የጥይተ እራት ያደረጉዋቸው፡፡ ያንን የጭካኔ ተግባር የሚያውቅ ሁሉ እንደሚያስታውሰው ከአረመኔያዊ ድርጊታቸው ባልተናነሰ ሰልፉን ለመበተን ጥይት የተጠቀምነው ካለፈው መንግሥት የወረስነው አድማ መበተኛ አስለቃሽ ጭስ እና ውኃ መርጫ መኪና ባለመኖሩ ነው በማለት በንቀት የተናገሩት ቆሽት የሚያሳርር ነበር፡፡ በዚህም ሳያበቁ ይህም ሆኖ የሞተው አንድ ሰው ርሱም ኢሰፓ ነው በማለት የአንድ ሰው ህይወት ለእነርሱ ሕይወት ያለመሆኑን ኢሰፓ የሆነን ሰው ደግሞ እንደ ሰው የማይቆጥሩ መሆናቸውን ነበር ያረጋገጡልን፡፡

ከዛን ግዜ ጀምሮ ወያኔዎች በድርጊትም በንግግርም ለሕዝብ ያላቸውን ንቀት እያሳዩ ሀያ አራት አመታት በሥልጣን ቢቆዩም ዛሬም ለህዘብ ያላቸው ንቀት ሊገታ አልቻለም፡፡የሚፈጽሙብንን ሁሉ ችለን ተባብረንና በርትተን ከመታገል ርስ በርስ እየተናቆርንና በደሉን ሁሉ ችለን እንደ ግመሏ ህእ እያልን መኖራችን የልብ ልብ ሰጥቶአቸው ዛሬ ደግሞ በመራባችን ይሳለቃሉ ያፌዛሉ፡፡ ንቀታቸውን ያሳያሉ ፡፡አቶ ሬዲዋን ሁሴን ከግንኙነት ምኒስትር ቦታቸው ከመነሳታቸው በፊት በአፋር ከብቶች የሞቱት ውኃ በወቅቱ ስለማያጠጡዋቸው ነው አሉ፡፡ ስልጤው ሬድዋን ህይወቱ ከከብት ጋር ለተሳሰረው አፋር ለከብት ውኃ ስለማጠጣት ሊያስተምሩት፡፡ ወይ ንቀት!! በዚህ አጀኢብ ስንል ወጪ ጉዳይ ምኒስትሩ ከ96 ሚሊየን ሕዝብ 8 ሚሊየን ቢራብ ምንድን ነው በማለት ህውኃት ለኢትዮጵያውያን ያለውን ንቀት በግልጽ ነገሩን፡፡ ወያኔዎች የሞተው አንድ ሰው እሱም ኢሰፓ ነው እንዳሉት ዛሬም የተራቡት ርሻቸውን ትተው በተቀዋሚነት የተሰለፉ ናቸው አለማለታቸው እድገት ማሳየታቸው ይሆን!

ሕዝብ በሚፈራበትና ሕግ የበላይ በሆነበት ሀገር ቢሆን ዶ/ሩ ይህን ተናግረው በሥልጣናቸው አይቀጥሉም ነበር፡፡ ሁሉም ባለመኖሩ ግን ነገሩ በዚህ አላበቃም፡፡ የናቁትን ሀገር በአህያ ይወሩታል እንደሚባለው ወያኔ በየቦታው ያስቀመጣቸው ራሳቸው ያልሆኑና የማይሆኑ ሰዎች በጌቶቻቸው ትዕዛዝ በመራባችን መሳለቃቸውን ምን ታመጣላችሁ ንቀታቸውን ማሳየታቸውን እንደቀጠሉ ነው፡፡ ለአፉ ለከት የሌለው አቶ ጌታቸው ረዳ አቶ ሬድዋን ከነበረበት ወንበር ላይ ሆኖ ርሀብ የለም እያንዳንዱ ኢትዮጵያዊ በዓለም ኣቀፍ ደረጃ የተረጋገጠውን የካሎሪ መጠን እያገኘ ነው በማለት የተሳለቀው በዚሁ መንገድ ነው፡፡

ዛሬም ከጫካ አስተሳሰባቸውና ከደደቢት ትልማቸው ያልተላቀቁት ወያኔዎች የናቁት ህዝብ ምንም እንደማያውቅ አድርገው በማየት ሁሉን ነገር ደብቀው ለማለፍ ይጥራሉ፡፡ (በርግጥ ዛሬም ድረስ ያልተጋለጠ ገድለው የቀበሩዋቸው አፍነው የሰወሩዋቸው (ከራሳቸወም ከተቃዋሚዎችም) ሰዎች እንዳሉ ይታወቃል፡፡) የደበቁት ሲደረስባቸው የዋሹት ሲነቃባቸው ታዲያ ቢሆንስ ምን ታመጣላችሁ አይነት ንቀታቸውን ያሳያሉ፡ እብሪታቸውን ለአደባባይ ያበቃሉ፡፡በዚህ የማይሆን ሲሆን ደግሞ የማስቀየሻ ስልት ይፈልጋሉ የክርክሩን አቅጣጫ ለማስለወጥ ይንደፋደፋሉ፡፡

ሊደብቁት ሞክረው ባልተሳካላቸው ርሀብ ምክንያት የወያኔዎች ሁለቱም ባህሪያቸው ታይቷል፡፡ ፈጣን ተከታታይ ባለ ሁለት አሀዝ እድገት እየተባለ ብዙ የተወራለት ዕድገት አንድ የአዝመራ ወቅት መሻገር ባለመቻሉ በተጨባጭ የሌለ የፕሮፓጋንዳ እድገት መሆኑ እንዳይጋለጥና የአመታት ልፈፋቸው ውሀ እንዳይበላው ለማድረግ የማይሞከር ነገር ርሀብን ለመደበቅ ሞከሩ፡፡ በመረጃ ዘመን ርሀብን የሚያህል ነገር እደብቃለሁ ብሎ ማሰብ ራሱ እብሪትና አንባገነንነት ምን ያህል የአዕምሮን ማሰቢያ ክፍል እንደሚደፍኑ የሚያሳይ ነው፡ ርሀቡ በአለም ደረጃ ሲጋለጥ ደግሞ መኖሩን አምኖ ችግሩ ኤሊኖ ያመጣው ነው በማለት የችግሩን እንዴትነት አቅጣጫ ለመለወጥ ተሞከረ፡፡ በኤሊኖም ይሁን በማናቸውም የአየር ሚዛን መዛባት የሚፈጠር የዝናብ እጥረት ድርቅ ማስከተሉ አጠያያቂ አይደለም፡ አጠያያቂው የዝናብ እጥረት ድርቅ ማስከተሉ ነው፡፡ ይበልጥ ወያኔ ላይ የሚነሳው ጥያቄ ድግሞ ፈጣኑ ተከታታይ ባለ ሁለት አሀዝ የኢኮኖሚ እድገት እውነት ከሆነ እንዴት አንድ የዝናብ ወቅት መሻገር ተሳነው የሚለው ነው፡፡

ኢሊኖን የችግሩ ምክንያት አድርጎ ከሚረጨው ውኃ የማይቋጥር ፕሮፓጋንዳ በተጨማሪ ችግሩ ከመንግሥት አቅም በላይ እንዳልሆነ ተደርጎ የሚነገረው መመጻደቅ፣ በጎን ደግሞ ርዳታ መለመንና በየባለሥልጣናቱ የሚነገረው አንዱ ከአንዱ የማይዛመድ ቅጥፈት በወያኔ ሰፈር እንዴት አንድ ከትከሻው በላይ ጭንቅላቱ የከበደው ሰው ይታጣል የሚያሰኝ ነው፡፡ አቤት የድህነታችን ስፋት፡፡

ከለንደን አዲስ አበባ ተጉዙ በአንፍናፊ ሙያው ረሀብ ህይወት ከቀጠፈበት ቆቦ ከአንድ መንደር ዘልቆ ምስል ከድምጽ ያቀነባበረው የቢቢሲ ጋዜጠኛ ያሰራጨውን የርሀብ ዜና ለማስተባበል ተብሎ ልጇ በረሀብ መሞቱን ለቢቢሲው ጋዜጠኛ የነገረችው እናት ለወያኔ ጋዜጠኞች በበሽታ ነው የሞተው ብላ አንድትናገር መደረጉን አይተናል ሰምተናል፡፡ ከዚህ የከፋ ጨካኝነት፣ ከዚህ የባሰ የህዝብ ንቀት መገለጫ ምን ይኖራል፡፡ ለነገሩ ማስተዋል ብሎ ነገር የሌላቸው ሆነው ለማስተባበል ብለው በሰሩት ዜና ቢቢሲን ማየት ለማይችለው ሁሉ መርዶውን አደረሱት አረመኔነታቸውንም አሳዩበት፡፡

ምንም ተባለ ምን ርሀብ መኖሩ ተረጋግጧል፤ወያኔዎችም ተገደው አምነዋል፤ርዳታም ልመናም ገብተዋል፤ ልመና ራስን ካለመቻል የሚመጣ በመሆኑ የአቶ ኃይለማሪያም በምግብ ራሳችንን ችለናል ፉከራ ባዶ መሆኑ ታይቷል፡፡ በአቶ መለስ ተጀምሮ አንዳይቆም ተናዘው የሞቱ ይመስል ፕሮፓጋንዳው የቀጠለው ፈጣን ተከታታይ ባለሁለት አሀዝ እድገትም የወረቀት እድገት መሆኑ ተጋልጧል፡፡ስለሆነም ልመና የገባ መንግሥት ያለውን ይቆጥባል፣ የቅንጦት ነገሮች ያቆማል፣ ከምንም ነገር በላይ የሰው ህይወት ይበልጣልና ፓርላማው መክሮ የመንግሥት ቀዳሚና ዋና ተግባር የዜጎችን ህይወት መታደግ እንዲሆን አመራር ይሰጣል በጀት ይወስናል ወዘተ፡፡ ወያኔዎች ግን ማንን ሰው ብለው ፣ ከ96 ሚሊየን ህዝብ ስምንትም ሆነ አስራ አምስት ሚሊየን ቢራብ ምን ጉዳያቸው ሆኖ፡፡

አለም እየጮኸበትና እየጮኸለት ያለ ርሀብ ተከሰቶ እየለመኑ መቀናጣት እየተበደሩ አሸሸ ገዳሜ ማለት ህዝብን ከመናቅ ውጪ ምን ሊባል ይችላል፡፡ብአዴን ለወያኔ በሎሌነት የገባበትን ክብረ በአል በአሸሸ ገዳሜ ለማክበር አወጣው የሚባለው ገንዘብ እንኳንስ በዚህ በርሀብ ወቅት ቀርቶ በማናቸውም ጤናማ ወቅት በአንዲት በድህነት በምትታወቅ ሀገር በሚኖር ያውም የራሱ ነጻነት ለሌለው አንድ ድርጀት በአል ማክበሪያ ሊውል የሚገባው አይደለም፡፡ ብአዴን እኔም እንደ አባቴ ብሎ ምንስ ሎሌ ብሆን ህውኃት ያደረገው እንዴት ይቀርብኛል ብሎ ሰሞኑን የፈጸመው ድርጊት ከምንም በላይ ለህዝብ ላይ ያለውን ንቀት ያሳያበት ነው፡፡

ብአዴን በርግጥ ራሱን የቻለ ድርጅት ከሆነ ይህንን ማሳየት ማስመስከርና ማረጋገጥ ያለበት ከህውኃት ጋር በአል በማክበር ፉክክር አይደለም፡፡ አወክለዋለሁ እንደሚለው ሕዝብ ብዛት በፌዴራል ደረጃ ተመጣጣኝና ወሳኝ የሥልጣን ቦታዎችን በመያዝ፤በክልል ደረጃ ከይስሙላ የክልል መንግሥትነት ወደ ትክክለኛ መንግስትነት በመሸጋገር፤ ከሎሌነት ወጥቶ በነጻነት መቆም በመቻል፣ወዘተ ነው ፡፡ በህውኃት የተፈጠረና ለህውኃት እያገለገለ ያለ ድርጅት ከዚህ መውጣቱን በተግባር ማሳየት እስካልቻለ ድረስ ልብወለድ ታሪክ ቢያወራ ሀውልት ቢገነባ በአል ደግሶ አሸሸ ገዳሜ ቢል እወክለዋለሁ የሚለውን ሕዝብ አይደለም አባሌ የሚላቸውንና አብረው ሲጨፍሩ የከረሙትን እንኳን ማሳመን አይችልም፡፡

ህዝብ በርሀብ በሚሰቃይበት ወቅት 300 ሚሊየን ብር አውጥቶ ሀውልት በመገንባትም ሆነ ዳንኪራ በመርገጥ ከህውኃት ጋር መፎካከር ብአዴንን ነጻነት ያለው ድርጅት አያስመስለውም፡፡ በዚህ ተግባሩም ሎሌ አለመሆኑን ማረጋገጥ አይችልም፡፡ ለህዝብ ያለውን ንቀት ግን በሚገባ አሳይቷል፡፡ባለቤቱን ካልናቁ አጥሩን አይነቀንቁ እንደሚባለው ወያኔ ከእነ ፈጠራቸው ድርጅቶች ሕዝብን የሚንቁ ባይሆኑ ኖሮ ሌላው ሌላው ቢቀር በረሀባችን ባልተሳለቁ ነበር፡፡

A historical reflection on famine in Ethiopia

An edited excerpt from my book “Red Tears” which I found relevant to the current drought in Eth

Drought is a natural phenomenon but it is often the reaction of society and governments that creates a famine. This article examines the reactions of past rulers to food shortages in Ethiopia. One of the gifts of history is that it can teach us what may happen through what has happened so that society and governments learn from them but rarely do. They would rather commit the mistakes and then regret their own decisions because it results in the unnecesary death and suffering of many, or the demise of the regimes.

The current crisis as stated by The Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) is summarized:

The Ethiopia Humanitarian Country Team (EHCT) has early estimates that 15 million people will likely need food assistance in 2016, around half covered through the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) and the rest through emergency assistance. Needs are likely to be particularly high in July and August 2016 during the peak of the lean season in Meher-producing areas. In many areas of the country, lean season may start early this year.

Ethiopia’s history is filled with terrible famines, because life for rural Ethiopians has changed so little over the centuries. To understand famine in Ethiopia, it is necessary to under-stand how the peasants live.

Life for the Average Ethiopian

Less than 20% percent of the Ethiopian population (90 million) is urban. The vast majority of Ethiopians have always supported themselves through subsistence farming or by raising cattle, sheep; or goats. They live on the edge of survival; their methods of farming and their lives are primitive. Each family grows what it consumes. The chief source of power is the draft ox; in some parts of Ethiopia, the camel is used for plowing. Many farmers have to borrow or rent oxen because they are too poor to possess their own. Wealth in the pastoral regions is measured in cattle, valued not for their meat, but for their potential as a source of oxen.

The daily work is quite strenuous. They expend a great deal of energy, but even in the best of times they never have much to eat; consequently they are often undernourished. There are many lean years when harvests are poor, and there is always the threat that a crop could fail completely, affecting not just a few scattered individuals as in the Western World, but entire communities or even entire provinces. Severe famine is, and has always been, within the living memory of every village.

The ultimate irony is that even if nature is kind and harvests are good, the peasants’ lives remain unaffected: they gain nothing from their best years because they are not allowed to accumulate wealth, even in the form of food stores. In times of plenty the state, church, or landlords have always stepped in to seize the surplus, leaving the peasants just enough to scrape by until the next harvest. For the subsistence farmer, regardless of the harshness or benevolence of the physical environment, there are no good years.

This has been the pattern of existence in Ethiopia for centuries. The peasants, survival is so precarious that the least break in the pattern threatens them with shortages and hunger. Once that shortage is upon them, it is the government that will determine the degree of suffering, either helping or hindering the effects of famine. Whether the masses starve or survive depends both on preventive steps before and effective measures after, the onset of trouble.

Early Famine

Ethiopia`s written history dates from the early middle ages, when droughts and plagues of natural pests such locusts, caterpillars, or rates were the most common causes of crop failure. Historical portrayals of famine-stricken regions could easily have been describing the scene in 1984 or the crisis the country faces now. . An observer writing of the northern famine of 1625-6 describes once thriving farmlands left utterly barren, “as if someone had put fire to it“ and starving peasants who “looked more like exhumed people than live ones because all their bones showed on them.

In those days Ethiopians who were spared the effects of deprivation sold their possessions to aid the starving, and the Emperor gave food and cloth to the refugees so many occasions. The Ethiopian people regarded the Emperor as their natural benefactor. His role, from ancient times until the 1974 Revolution, was one of father to his people; he was in the minds of the peasants, a sacred personage, the Elect of God by virtue of his decent from King Solomon. This was the role taken seriously by most Emperors and by none more so than by Menelik a century ago, during the most devastating famine up to that time.

The Famine of 1888-1892

This famine was extraordinary both in its extent and its origins. The Italian nation, joining the rush for an African empire, had chosen Ethiopia as likely prizes. They were already wresting ports from the empire along the coast of Eritrea, where in 1887 they landed a shipload of cattle at Massawa. Unknown to anyone, the cattle were infected with the highly contagious rinderpest (cattle plague) which spread with deadly effect over the entire Horn of Africa. By 1890, fully 90 percent of the cattle and oxen in the country were dead. This disaster multiplied, for deprived of their oxen, peasants were too demoralized or weakened from chronic malnourishment to prepare their fields with hoes. Beginning in 1888, a large percentage of land lay fallow and the famine began.

In the pastoral regions, it was even worse. Food had always been obtained by trading animals and hides. Wealth was calculated in herds, which now were exterminated overnight. There were suicides among the once-rich herdsmen.
To make matters worse, the ‘rinderpest’ was coupled with several years of severe drought and devastating invasions of locusts and cater-pillars. From 1888 through 1892, grain became scarce, prices rose to astronomical heights, and people began to starve in great numbers. Martini, an Italian who later became Governor of Eritrea, records frightening images which could have been taken from any of the shelters in 1984 a century later:

The dead awaited the hyenas, the living awaiting death. From a thicket issued a thin murmur of voices…we are accosted for help, and from their death beds suddenly rises a mob of skeletons whose bones can be seen under the taut skin as in the mummified skeleton of saint Bernard. They try to follow us, they also crying out meskin, meskin [alms, alms] …I stumble on young boys searching in the excrement of camels to find a grain of durra. I flee, horrified, hiding my watch chain in shamed of the breakfast I had eaten, of the dinner which awaited me.

According to this author (Martin) bandits roamed the countryside looting anyone or anything they could find. Parents sold their children as slaves to the Arabs rather than see them starve. Anything remotely resembling food was eaten: cow-hides were ground to powder and baked in to cake; horses, dogs, carrion or even the carrion-eaters themselves were consumed. Cannibalism broke out, and there were appalling stories of mothers devouring their children. Lions, leopards, Jackals, and hyenas became so bold that they entered even the largest cities to feast on the victims lying in the streets. In some villages they would attack the living who, too weak to defend themselves, were dragged screaming in to the night.

Those strong enough to walk quit their homelands in droves, trekking great distances in search of food. Large tracts of land in the North were depopulated, and in some cases completely abandoned, creating in the minds of the Italians the illusion that the land was ripe for conquest-a political dynamic that would continue for the next 40 years. Refugees headed either for the coast where they hoped grain might be imported, or to the cities. The Italians, in control of Asmara, were so alarmed by the number of refugees that they closed the gates to the city and turned their backs on the starving people.

Emperor Menelik, behaved with the fullest humanity and generosity toward those in need. The record of Menelik`s efforts to aid his people portrays a truly benevolent ruler doing everything in his power to bring relief to his subjects. In the first year of famine he opened his private granaries throughout the country, until they were entirely depleted. Many victims flocked toward the capital, Entoto, as the heart always heart of the empire and home of the father protector of whom they had always heard. Menelik, in contrast to the Italians at Asmara, welcomed them and spent part of everyday distributing alms to the needy. When Entoto became filled with refugees, Menelik had an additional building erected to shelter them. He imposed austerity measures at the palace; beef was forbidden and any meat became a rarity. He unsuccessfully attempted to import grain. Aware of the peasants` reliance on their oxen, he encouraged them to hoe by hand. He went in to the fields himself with a hoe, so the entire country might hear about it and follow his example. Hearing that some chiefs and noblemen were hoarding grain in the provinces, he sent his officials to seize it and distributes it among the poor. When his own herds had finally been replenished after the famine, he generously gave away hundreds of cattle to restore the provinces to their former productive state.

Menelik was, in short, an Emperor who cared about his people and their troubles, a leader who faced problems with resolution and imagination. Subsequent rulers, including his nephew, Haile Selassie, could have learned a great deal from his example.

The 1972-1973 Famine

Haile Selassie was not an evil man, but his priorities were misplaced.

He was so concerned with establishing a strong central government and modernizing the country that he failed to meet the challenge of natural disaster. Like Menelik, he viewed himself as the father of the people. He was in fact very religious and was horrified when he learned the true degree of disaster, but he made the error of relying on an untrustworthy bureaucracy. In it’s final stage, the 1972-1973 famine reached such deadly proportions that the emperor`s image of wisdom and fatherliness was shattered, and the people no longer had faith in him. He then made the mistake of trying to cover up his negligence. He and his ministers took the position that they were not to blame. It was this false pride, this lack of courage to admit mistakes that brought about his downfall.

Most of the facts about the 1972-1973 famine and it’s cover up were uncovered by a commission of Inquiry set up at the beginning of the Revolution Its Chairman was Professor Mesfin Wolde Mariam, whose findings form the basis of this summary.

The 1972-1973 famine caused 200,000 deaths from starvation and its attendant diseases, but it will best be remembered for its political implications: it led directly to the end of the Empire and the rise of Mengistu. Like the 1984-1985 famine it need never have happened; it was brought about by the indifference and disorganization of the government.

As early as 1964 there were reports of extensive hunger in Wollo province; chronic food deficits continued throughout the decade. Warnings and urgent requests for food brought very little response. A trickle of relief grain entered the province sporadically, but no measures were taken to stockpile grain from other areas. No attempt was made to improve agricultural yield through technological innovations, even though everyone knew the region was prone to sever natural disasters.

Consequently, when after years of poor rainfall in Wollo the 1971 rains did not come at all, the government was completely unprepared. In a nightmare of red tape and bureaucratic incompetence, local authorities languidly exchanged letters of concern. The pace was maddeningly slow. Days would go by before replies were made to requests for more information; months sometimes passed before there were answers to demands for food. Despite sharp warnings from some local administrators, there was no sense of urgency in the central government. Not until five months after the failure of the rains was a committee formed to look in to the problem. Not until a year and two months after grain was first requested, did some finally arrive, and that was pathetically inadequate. Thousands were already dead and thousands more would die.

In 1972 the rains failed again in Wollo and Tigray; again there would be no harvest for this region. Now two million people were affected. All the horrors of widespread famine were set in motion, as some victims were driven to stealing, and disease spread through the shelters. The governmental committee felt it needed more time to study the situation. Their study eventually showed that a problem did indeed exist –but only one-tenth of the estimated food requirement was available and even that could not be transported.

By the beginning of 1973 the capital was full of whispers of famine in Wollo. Up to this point the ministries had been indifferent to the problem. Now, with rumors sweeping through the streets and people demanding answers, they resorted to the cover-up: they denied ever having heard of a famine. Through the media they gave assurances that the situation was normal, that there were in fact surpluses. Their lies were exposed and the rumors were confirmed when bands of ragged, starving peasants arrived at the outskirts of the capital in February 1973. Police were ordered to prevent them from entering the city, but it was too late. Small groups from the city were able to talk with the peasants and obtain the first definite confirmation that famine existed.

The government then grew indignant. Like Mengistu a decade later, they claimed that rumor-mongers were fabricating a crisis in order to discredit the government. A high government official appeared on television in February saying that there was no famine, and if there was it was the people`s fault. He reasoned that it was “the obligation of the people to inform higher authorities whenever there is drought. Since this was not done by the people, it appeared that they were not aware of their obligations.”

The university was instrumental in unraveling this disinformation campaign, sending a camera team in to the famine region and exposing the true state of the peasants in a continuing exhibition at the geography department. The people of Addis became convinced that the government was lying and could not understand why the Emperor was doing nothing.

It is uncertain whether the Emperor knew anything about it. His ministers were deliberately keeping news of the famine from him. In their view, their first duty was to protect the ruler from bad news. To understand their reasoning, one must understand the role of Haile Selassie for Ethiopians. He was not just a ruler. He was the oldest, most prestigious ruler in Africa. Any claim Ethiopia could make to greatness was embodied in him. He was a world figure who had been feted by Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Nixon. His uncle Menelik had successfully resisted attempts to colonize Ethiopia, and at the battle of Adwa had led Makonen, had been one of the leaders in the battle. Ethiopia`s entire sense of self, the pride that it felt as a nation and a people, were embodied in Haile Selasie. In keeping with that feeling, any blemish, any hint of trouble, could not be contemplated. As far as the officials were concerned, Ethiopia could have no major problems, and the Emperor didn’t need to hear about the small ones.

There was a certain amount of self-survival in the official cover-up as well Government officials were almost invariably aristocrats, members of the ruling class in a feudal society. Their political, social, and economic well-being depended upon the survival of the Emperor and the system which he perpetuated. Protecting him was protecting their own interests.

Another factor was his advanced age. He was over 80 and his mind was not as quick as it once had been.

Finally, however, the rumblings reached even the Emperor`s ears and he decided to act. He sent the Minister of Interior on a fact-finding mission to Wollo. When the minister returned in May 1973, he under-played the severity of the famine in his oral report to the Emperor. Nine days later, in a written report, he described the scene more bleakly; crowds of ragged, famished people were lining the main high way north of Addis Ababa, stopping cars and buses to beg for food.

Throughout 1973 the government was sending some relief grain to the stricken areas, but in inadequate amounts even by their own estimates. At the same time, with grim reports sitting on their desks, the various ministries continued to deny the existence of the famine. In Addis people were so disgusted and distrustful that they took up private collections to aid the starving, and even paid for the own transport to distribute it themselves.

Rumors and denials continued throughout the year, and agitation grew. But it was not until a British journalist, Jonathan Dimbleby, went to Wollo in September 1973 and filmed the horrifying scenes of the unknown Famine (sometimes referred to as The Hidden Hunger) that the situation exploded. The film aired on television around the world, showing the misery in Wollo in all its ghastly detail. Ethiopian embassies were instructed to deny the validity of the film, a tactic that only added to the revulsion felt by the world community toward the Haile Selassie regime. Ethiopian students in Europe wrote home of what they had seen on television; anti-government feeling grew in the capital.

During the civil unrest of 1974, the old regime was discredited by contrasting the sufferings of the people with the opulent lifestyles of the Emperor and his men. Posters appeared showing an emaciated peasant beside a picture of the Emperor feeding meat to his dogs from a silver tray. On the night before the Emperor was deposed, re cut version of Dimbleby`s film was shown, juxtaposing starving peasants against scenes of the Emperor squandering money on banquets. Overnight the people turned against him. No one thought of standing up him when he was jailed the next day.

In late 1974 I became the Deputy Commissioner of the RRC and was involved in relief and rehabilitation efforts in the affected areas. We set out to demystify the Emperor and show the people how ruthless he and his regime had been (and how benevolent and caring the revolution was) Dimbleby’s film was repeatedly shown around the country, and Dimbleby himself was one of the foreigners to be honored by the revolutionary government.

Then history began to repeat itself. Mengistu gradually became the new monarch. He enveloped himself in an aura of awe and terror. In England, Dimbleby spoke out against the Red Terror in 1977; he was publicly condemned in Addis and banned from ever returning to Ethiopia. His film was never shown again. The pictures we had been using in exhibits about the revolution started disappearing. The one of the Emperor feeding meat to his dog was blown up to life size for the opening of the National pictorial Exhibition. Then it was given a sharp look of disapproval by Mengistu, and it vanished from sight soon after.

And indeed for Mengistu they merely generated cynicism. Why hold these past events up to public ridicule when Mengistu was now throwing away more on a high lifestyle than the Emperor ever had?

Lessons

The famine of the 1980s was the third large-scale famine in one hundred years.

The crisis has shown how little has changed. Far from the benevolence of Menelik, and even worse than the incompetence of Haile Selassie`s regime, Mengistu and a few of his cronies willfully, ruthlessly turned their backs on the suffering of the people. For them the end always justified the means, and that end is the political metamorphosis of Ethiopia to a structured and regimented society. The faster they arrive at that goal, the better they will like it, regardless of who falls by the way side. They were in effect tapping that mystique and aura of divinity that always surrounded the old emperors and rerouting it in to a worship of Marx, Lenin, and Mengistu.

Even as the famine raged, Mengistu declared the creation of a new state structure that made him president of the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. There was another colorful celebration costing millions of dollars, even as the specter of famine was hovering again over the northern provinces. Meanwhile, in another six-hour speech, Mengistu extolled the glories of the Revolution and it’s achievements under his leadership.

Thanks to the efforts of the RRC the international community responded in unprecedented manner. It became the largest humanitarian operation since the Second World War.

Despite the cold war, East and West joined hands and showed remarkable historic cooperation to save lives. As a result, millions of lives were saved. But far too many perished as a result of Mengistu’s reluctance to receive aid from the West. (For details read my book: Red Tears)

We hope that the drought of this year (2015 and 2016) would not lead to such kind of tragedy. According to the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) there are 15 million people affected by the current drought. FEWS predicts that:

Delays in humanitarian assistance or in the distribution of PSNB resources will result in increase in the local prevalence of malnutrition as households further reduce their food consumption.

If this happens it will be another huge catastrophe and the rhetoric of the EPRDF on the so called growth will be deluding itself and will sound hollow when it resonates on an empty stomach.

Border points between Kenya and Ethiopia closed

Several border points between Kenya and Ethiopia have been closed this weekend following a deadly incident on Friday, November 20. 

Ethiopian immigration officials allegedly closed at least five border points. The closure has left several hundred Kenyan citizens stranded.

The crossings between the two nations were closed at approximately six pm on Friday, November 20.

Border points included in the Ethiopian closure: Sololo, Forolle, Dukana, Illeret and Moyale town.

Jackson Ngtold The Standard about the tense situation: “All our officers are accounted for. We lost three officers and we are in command of the situation but tension is still high across. Kenya’s border with Ethiopia is still open and I am not aware whether they have closed theirs. But due to the tension there is no movement.

The violence on Friday, November 20 is reported to have killed at least four Ethiopian soldiers.

Kenyan security forces have been placed on high alert following the invasion by Ethiopian forces who killed three police officers in Sololo on Friday November 20, 2015.

This wouldn’t be the first incident of tension around border points between Ethiopia and Kenya.

A guard was killed in Moyale, Kenya, during a shootout between Ethiopian troops and members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

Boru Huka, a guard at the Full Gospel Primary School was killed during the incident. The fire fight took place at around 1 AM on May 31st near a meteorological station. The Moyale district hospital was stormed by Ethiopian forces during the incident.

Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom – A disgrace to Ethiopia’s once Reputed Diplomacy

by Engidu Woldie

Ethiopia’s top diplomat, Tedros Adhanom, gave a lengthy interview to the Voice of America’s Tizita Belachew of the Amharic service in which he once again brought shame on himself and his TPLF comrades. We will revisit here some of the ridiculous remarks he made while he was answering, or rather, evading questions by the VOA broadcaster as well as pertinent questions by listeners of the VOA, thereby unmasking who the individuals claiming to rule Ethiopia really are.

The malaria expert turned Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister (anything is possible under the rule of the TPLF – with all due respects to malaria scientists out there – and any person with close ethnic ties to the powers that be can assume government positions; merit has no place) was full of a hodge-podge of nonsensical ideas. Indeed unbecoming of a diplomat.

He started by saying that there were fewer proportion of people who needed food aid in the current drought than the 1984 famine. Tedros brought in a mathematical argument, that only 8.2 million, out of the 96 million, needed food aid this time; and according to this math genius, the proportion of people who needed food aid this year is far less than that of the 1984 famine in which 500,000 out of the 32 million were affected. “It is only 8.2 million, of the 96 million; the 88 million is ok!” he hammered at his point and gave credit to his own government for bringing the proportion of the starving people far lower than the proportions in the previous regimes. Mathematical argument aside, it is extremely depressing to hear that the 8.2 million starving population (although UN estimates 15 million by the turn of the coming year) were mere mathematical figures and proportions to this diplomat. Not to mention his remark that “no person has lost his life this time, but only cattle were dying.” He also used the now well-liked argument by Ethiopian oligarchs in defending their failures and covering up their mess: “there is drought in California too,” trying in vain to draw a parallel between two countries: the richest country on earth and…., well, you got the idea.

It is evident that the small-time diplomat and his gang of criminals at the helm of the TPLF did not take any lesson from past regimes who commit colossal mistake in covering up the 1974 and 1984 famines, that resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands, which human rights defenders say amounts to crimes against humanity.

And here is Teddy’s classic: Andargachew Tsige, Ethiopia’s true son and torch bearer of freedom, who was kidnapped in Yemen almost two years ago, now held incommunicado by the ruthless regime, “has finished writing a book on his lap top provided by the government.” Andargachew, according to this joke of the year, “was shown around the various development projects underway in the country,” and it is possible that “he could be pardoned if he repents his mistakes.”

The Honorable Foreign Minister has not heard the news months ago that Andargachew has spoken to the British Ambassador to Ethiopia, Greg Dorey, about his condition in solitary confinement. Andargachew told the Ambassador, who was allowed to visit him three times since his abduction, that he was held in the most inhuman way unimaginable with no access to lawyers and medical treatment; and that he actually didn’t know what his charges were. Andy, as he was called affectionately by his followers and admirers, had actually told the ambassador that he did not see the point of being alive anymore and that he would prefer being put to death. “Seriously, I am happy to go – it would be preferable and more humane,” Andy told the ambassador as reported by Al Jazeera.

The ne’er-do-well diplomat however want us to believe that his government, that sentenced Andy to death in absentia on trumped up charges, had provided him with a fancy laptop to write a book and talk to his family via Skype from his cell; and that he had been shown around the city to see the glass and cement sky scrapers, proof of the so-called economic progress in Ethiopia. It is also worth mentioning here that the diplomat has said in the interview that the struggle launched to free Ethiopia of the cancerous TPLF was a “foolish endeavor” and the leader of the struggle, Andy, was “a fool” for struggling to bring democracy to his country.

Faced with the question why elections were not free and fair in Ethiopia, and when the country will see democracy, the diplomat without an integrity but a veneer of a smooth operator, resorted to the usual mumbo jumbo that dictators at the helm of electoral authoritarianism resort to – that “democracy is a process” and “blacks were not allowed to vote in the US fifty years ago.” Instead of comparing apples and oranges, he should have looked at Ghana and others, in our own continent. Ghana has become a vibrant democracy in shorter years than his TPLF/EPRDF, which came to power 25 years ago.

What has been unfolding in Ethiopia could be characterized, and so called “process” that Tedros brought as a cover up is not as a process of progression on the democratic trajectory from infancy to maturity as a political system with its own rules of the game but a total regression to an electoral authoritarianism, a police state, and worse since, in particular, the 2005 national election. Electoral Authoritarianism is state that orchestrates the semblance of having periodic elections, displays other superficial facets of the democratic process, but in actuality and substance it is an authoritarian state not amenable to a genuine, open, and accountable process and procedures of a democratic political order , to be worthy of its name, that includes holding free and fair elections that meets internationally accepted standards, a vibrant independent press, an independent electoral board, and an independent judiciary that is not subservient to political manipulations and interferences.

Such substantive and basic conditions for Tedros’ democratic “process” do not exist in TPLF/EPRDF’s Ethiopia especially since 2005. But for Tedors comparing Ethiopia and Ghana or discussing the theories and practice of democracy as a system or as a drama /show , which is the hallmark of the system instituted by the TPLF/EPRDF in Ethiopia, would be tantamount to opening the Pandora’s box which Tedros , who has neither the integrity nor more than a superficial and cadre like knowledge about such matters as to pontificate what is democracy, what are the pillars of such a political system, what are the fundamental liberties and rights of citizens under a democracy, what are the basic mechanisms of checks and balances that limit state power (the basic and foundational thesis of a democratic and liberal political order) and protect the fundamental rights of the citizens, the role of civil societies, and that of a vibrant independent press that serves as watch dog and speaks truth to power; what constitutes the rule of law and how it is upheld , functions, and protected from the political and executive machinery of the state; and how the judiciary has real power that makes it immune from the executive branch, etc, etc.

Instead and as expected, he tried to bring the attention of listeners to the 2005 election, the election in which the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), a.k.a Kinijit, won in a landslide victory. He was referring to the very election that his regime reversed the results through the barrel of a gun, massacring 200 innocent citizens who took to the streets demanding their vote to be respected and incarcerated tens of thousands under inhuman conditions. He accused the now leader of the armed resistance, Prof. Berhanu Nega, of refusing to take the mantle of the city mayor, when we all know that Tedros’ master, Meles Zenawi, the Prime Minister at the time, brought all the major departments of the city and even the armed forces under his command at the stroke a pen, relegating the mayoral position to that of a clerical duty and handed to the outsider Mr. Berhane Deressa, the person mentioned by Tedros as well.

Tedros denied the presence of hidden dungeons in Ethiopia where dissenters of the regime have been held incommunicado without due process of law, subjected to the cruelest treatment and torture, usually by TPLF Tigrayans who dominate the security and intelligence apparatus of the regime and run all the secret safe houses where torturing political prisoners are routine practices in Addis Ababa and elsewhere in Ethiopia. This, ladies and gentlemen, is not to mention the genocide perpetrated by the regime against the people of the Ogaden, the Gambella, the persecution of Oromos, and the persecution of the Amaharas in various parts of Ethiopia, as well documented by international human rights groups and organizations, including by US State Department’s Bureau of Human Rights and Labor annual reports on the Human Rights conditions in Ethiopia. To the public’s surprise and dismay, there is no single TPLF official that faced justice and made to account to all the gross violations of rights and crimes against humanity committed in all these years against tens of thousands of Ethiopians in many parts of the country.

He also dodged the question why it was seen unlawful by his government when Ginbot7 and other even peaceful and legal opposition groups, whose huge supporters were not represented in the government, and who tried all peaceful means to come to power democratically, have resorted to armed struggle because his regime has made all conditions to struggle peacefully and bring about a democratic change almost impossible in Ethiopia. He also reiterated his government’s trade mark cliché that “there are no political prisoners in Ethiopia.”

His other laughable remark was that he and his comrades were in a way responsible for the death of Meles Zenawi, because as Tedros said, they have “forced him to stay at his party and government position and work under enormous stress,” against his will; a reference also used by the late dictator every time he was asked why he was in power for over 20 years and if he would resign. Tedros is so delusional that he thinks they would have spared Meles’ life if he and his comrades “did not force him to stay in power and work under stress.”

One of the Foreign Minister’s outright denials came when he was asked if he admits the fact that Ethiopia at the moment is a rule by oligarchy; and Tigrians control the intelligence and security, military and even the major business conglomerates in the nation. The reason why almost all of the army generals and top officers were from Tigray, according to Tedros, was because the government “had to take merit into consideration.” To Tedros, the skilled army generals and officers, who were tested in the battlefield, but who happen to belong to another ethnic group, have no merit at all.

Does Foreign Minister Tedors know that in 25 years, a captain in the armed forces could reach a rank of general if the system is merit based? How many non-Tigrayans are in the leadership positions of the Defense forces in Ethiopia? In terms of percentage and distribution of the major ethnic groups including the Oromo and Amharas, how many of them have reached the rank of a general? Why does Tedors think that he can hoodwink the Ethiopian people, when in fact, according to recent studies, 90% of the generals and commanders commanding cores, divisions, and regiments are Tigrayans, who represent only 4% of the Ethiopian population?

It is a well-known fact that the overwhelming majority of these TPLF Tigrayan generals and high ranking officers at the apex of the command , control and communications of the armed forces of the Ethiopian Defense Forces, have no academic background beyond 8th and 9th grade to even understand Military Science, a hallmark of a military professional, leave alone, educational base that allows them to master the science and arts of commanding and coordinating conventional armed forces – ground, air force, airborne, mechanized, etc. – that requires real and adequate theoretical and practical education, training, and experience in the profession. Here we are not referring to a guerrilla army, due to its own logic which does not require much by way of an education in the science and art of the military profession, from which these TPLF generals and high ranking officers hail from, by far distinguishable from conventional armed forces that require another set of education, norms, institutional system of promotion, reward, and discipline, and with its own set of scientific body of knowledge for the military professional developed since the days of the German general staff in the 19th century as well as other aspects of running and managing a vital edifice such as a country’s defense infrastructure and institutions.

It is sickening to see that such a man lacking an iota of honesty, integrity, and depth of knowledge, is sitting on the desk of Prime Minister Aklilu Habtewold, diplomat par-excellence and a tough negotiator in the international diplomatic stage, when it comes to the country’s interest, in the heydays of Ethiopia as a key player and harbinger of African independence.

So much about Teddy Adhanom, considered by cronies and benefactors of the ethnocentric regime, as one of the best and competent individuals who could fill the big shoes of Meles Zenawi, the butcher of Ethiopia (as the title of the butcher of Addis Ababa has already been bestowed upon his predecessor, Mengistu Hailemariam), who kicked the bucket a couple of years ago.

ድርቅ ርሃብና ችጋር ምንና ምን ናቸው? ኢትዮጵያስ ለምን የርሀብ ሀገር ሆነች? (ፈቃደ ሸዋቀና)

ሀገራችን መሬት ላይ እንድ ሌላ ግዙፍ የርሀብና የችጋር ዳመና እያንዣበበ ነው። አንዳንድ ቦታም ግዳይ መጣል መጀመሩን እየሰማን ነው። ይህ ችግር በሰብዓዊዕውቀትና ሀይል የሚፈታ ሆኖ ለምንድነው እንዲህ እየተመላለሰ የሚጎበኘን? ሌሎች ሀገሮች ተመሳሳይ የአየር ሁኔታ ችግር እየገጠማቸው እንደኛ ለአዋራጅ ጉስቁልናና ልመና አልተዳረጉም። እኛ ጋ ምን የተሰወረብን ነገር አለ? የአፍሪካ የውሀ ሰገነት የምትባልና ከማንም የማይተናነስ የተፈጥሮ ጸጋ ያላት ሀገር ይዘን ለምን እንደዚህ አይነት ሕዝብ ሆንን? በጅጉ የሚደንቅ ነገር ብቻ ሳይሆን በንዴት የሚያቃጥል ነገር ነው። እንደሚመስለኝ ችግሩን የልፈታንበት አንዱ ምክንያት ተገቢና የበሰለ ውይይት የማናካሂድ ህዝብ መሆናችንና ይህንንም ለማድረግ የመወያያና መፍትሄ ፍለጋ ሁኔታ እንዳይፈጠር መንግስታቱ ተጠያቂነትን ለማምለጥ ሲሉ የሚፈጥሩት እንቅፋትነት ይመስለኛል። እስከመቼ በዚህ ውርደት እንደምንቀጥል ባሰብኩ ቁጥር የሚያመኝን ህመም ችዬ ነው ይህን ለውይይት የሚሆን ጽሁፍ የጻፍኩት።
ከላይ በርዕሱ ላይ ያነሳኋቸውን ቃላት ብዙ ሰዎች በተለዋዋጭነት ሲጠቀሙባቸው መስማት ያልተለመደ ነገር አይደለም። ችጋርን ወይም ሰፊ መጠን ያለውን የሀገራችንን ርሀብ ድርቅ እያሉ የሚጠሩ ሰዎች ብዙ ናቸው። ርሀብና ችጋርንም እንደዚሁ የሚያደበላልቁ ሰዎች ብዙ ናቸው። ዝቅ ብዬ ለማሳየት እንደምሞክረው ድርቅ የምንለው የአየር ባህርይ ርሀብና ችጋር ብለን ከምንጠራቸው ነገሮች ጋር በመሰረቱ የመንስዔና የውጤትም ሆነ ሌላ የተፈጥሮ (structural) ተዛምዶ የለውም። ይህንን በቅጡ ለመረዳት የቃሎቹን ቀጥተኛና ቴክኒካል ትርጉም የያዙትንም ጽንሰ ሀሳብ በቅጡ መለየት ያስፈልጋል። በዚህ ላይ ይህን የሚያረጋግጡ በርካታ የአለማችንን ተመክሮ መመልከት ይጠቅማል።

ድርቅ (Drought) ባንድ አካባቢና ባንድ ወቅት ባልተለመደ ሁኔታ የሚደርስን የዝናብ መጥፋት ወይም መጠን መዛባት የሚገልጽ ቃል ነው። ከሰው ቁጥጥር ውጭ የሆነ የአየር ሁኔታንና የአየር ሁኔታን ብቻ የሚገልጽ ሀሳብ ነው ማለት ነው። ርሀብ (Hunger) በምግብ አለመብቃት ምክንያት ሰዎች የምግብ ፍላጎታቸው ሳይሟላ ቀርቶ ውሎ ለማደር ብቻ ምግብ የሚያገኙበት አልፎ አልፎም በምግብ ችግር ምክንያት ለሞት የሚዳረጉበት ሁኔታ ነው። ችጋር (Famine) ሰዎች የሚላስ የሚቀመስ ምግብና ውሀ በማጣት አካላቸው እያለቀ ሄዶ በብዙ ቁጥር (mass) ለዕልቂት የሚዳረጉበት ሁኔታ ነው። ድርቅ በመሰረቱ ከርሀብም ሆነ ከችጋር ጋር ተፈጥሮአዊ ዝምድና የለውም ብያለሁ። በሌላ አነጋገር ድርቅ የርሀብም የችጋርም የተፈጥሮ ምክንያት አይደለም። በምግብ ራስን ለመቻልና በችጋርም ሆነ በርሀብ ላለመጠቃት የግድ እህል አምራች ሀገር መሆንም ላያስፈልግ ይችላል። ሌላ ነገር ሰርተው ምግባቸውን ከውጭ ገዝተው የሚኖሩ ሀገሮች እሉ። ስለዚህ ድርቅና ኤል ኒኖ የርሀብ ምንጭ ነው የሚለው ልፈፋ ሌላ የጎላ ስሕተትና የችግሩን ዕውነተኛ መንስዔ መሸፈኛ ሆኖ እያገለገለ ነው። እንዲያ ቢሆን ኤል ኒኖና ድርቅ አገር እየመረጡ ችጋርና ርሀብ አያመጡም ነበር።

ድርቅ የተፈጥሮ ሁኔታ ስለሆነ ለመከላከልም አይቻልም። ችጋርና ርሀብ ሰው በጥረቱ ሊከላከላቸውና ሊያጠፋቸው የሚችሉ ነገሮች ናቸው። ብዙ ሀገሮች ይህን በማድረጋቸው ከኛ የበለጠ ድርቅ እየመታቸው እንኳን ችጋርም ርሀብም አይነካቸውም። እድግመዋለሁ ድርቅ የርሀብና የችጋር የተፈጥሮ ምክንያት አይደለም። ይህን የሚሉ ሰዎች ወይ አውቀው እውነተኛውን ችግር መሸፈን የሚፈልጉ ወይ አገላብጦ ማየት የተሳናቸው የዋሆች ናቸው። አንድ ሰው ናላው እስኪዞር ድረስ አልኮል ጠጥቶ ሰክሮ መኪና ሲነዳ ተጋጭቶ ወይም ገደል ገብቶ ቢሞት የሞቱን ምክንያት በደፈናው የመኪና አድጋ ነው ብሎ መሸፋፈን እውነት እንዳልሆነ ሁሉ በኛም ሀገር እየተደጋገመ የሚደርሰውን ርሀብና ችጋር በኤል ኒኖና በድርቅ ማመካኘት ዕውነት አይደለም። ሌላው ቀርቶ ችጋርንና አደገኛ ርሀብን በጊዜ በመለመን ማስቀረት ይቻላል። በሀገራችን የስከዛሬዎቹን ችጋሮች ጥፋት መቀነስ ወይም ማስወገድ ያልተቻለው መንግስታቱ ክብራቸው ወይም ሊፈጥሩ የፈለጉት ገጽታ የተበላሸ እየመሰላቸው ችግሩን በመደበቃቸውም ነው። ባሁኑ ሰዓት የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ባለስልጣኖች ለርዳታ ሰጭዎች የሚያቀርቡትን አንዴ ራሳችንን ስለቻልን ራሳችን እንወጣዋለን ሌላ ጊዜ ደግሞ ርዳታ ስጡን የሚሉ የተምታቱ መልዕክቶችን አሁን ሀገሪቱ ውስጥ ግዳይ መጣል ከጀመረው ርሀብ ጋር ስናስተያየው ከዚሁ በባዶ ቤት የአክብሩኝ ባይነት የመግደርደርና የመደባበቅ ተግባር ብዙ አለመራቃችንን ያሳያል። የኢትዮጵያ ሹማምንት ነጋ ጠባ በሚቲዮር ፍጥነት ኢኮኖሚ አሳደግን ሲሉን የነበረው ፕሮፓጋንዳና ኢኮኖሚው አንድ የድርቅ ወቅት የሚያሻግር አቅም የሌለው ሆኖ መገኘት እንዳሳፈራቸው በግልጽ ይታያል። ይህ እንዳይሆን ቀድሞ ነበር ስታቲስቲክሱን አልሞ መደቆስ የነበረባቸው። ለመሆኑ አንድ አስርት ሙሉ በሚያስጎመጅና አለም እይቶት በማያውቅ መጠን ሲያድግ የነበረ ግብርና እንዴት ያንድ በልግና መኸር ዝናብ ችግር መሻገር ኣቃተው? አለም ለዚህ ጥያቄ መልስ እየፈለገ ይመስለኛል። እስካሁን ለዚህ ጥያቄ መልስ የሰጠ ሹም ግን አላየሁም።
ችጋር በድርቅ ሳይሆን ሰዎች በተለይም መንግስታት አስበው መስራት ያለባቸውን ስራ በዕውቀትና በትጋት ባለመስራታቸው ወይም በተለያየ ምክንያት ትክክለኛ

ፖሊሲ ለመከተል ባለመፈለጋቸው የሚመጣ አደጋ ነው። እዚህ ላይ ከባህል ጋር የተያያዙ ሌሎች ሊለወጡ የሚገባቸውና የሚችሉ ምክንያቶችን መጨመር ይቻል ይሆናል። በአለም ዙሪያ በብዙ መጠንና በተደጋጋሚ ማየት እንደምንችለው ሰዎች ምግባቸውን ባግባቡ የማያሟሉባቸው ሀገሮች የተሳሳተ የኢኮኖሚ ፖሊሲ የሚገፉ ወይም አፈናና አድሎ የበዛባቸው ፣ ማናለብኝነትና አምባገነናዊ ፖለቲካ ስርዓት የሰፈነባቸው ፣ ማህበራዊ ግጭቶችን በውይይት ከመፍታት ይልቅ መጨፍለቅ በሚያበዙ ወይም ሙስና በሚፈጥረው ቀውስና ብልሹ አስተዳደር የተበከሉ የህግ ልዕልና የሌለባቸው ናቸው። እውሮፓና አሜሪካ ውስጥ ብዙ ጊዜ ትልልቅ ድርቅ ይከሰት እንጂ ሰው ተርቦ ሞተ ሲባል የማንሰማው ዴሞክራሲያዊና ግልጽነት የሰፈነበት ስርዓት ስላላቸውና መንግስት ልሒቃኑና ተቋማቱ ከነፖለቲካ ልዩነታቸው ካለምንም ይሉኝታና መፎጋገር ስለመጭው ዘመን ተጨንቀው ስለሚያስቡ ስለሚወያዩና ስለሚያቅዱ ነው።

የኢትዮጵያ ባለስልጣኖች የቀድሞዎቹም ያሁኖችም ድርቅን የርሀብና የችጋር ምክንያት አድርገው ራሳቸውን ነጻ ለማድረግ በሚያደርጉት ሀሰተኛ ጥረት በጣም ይመሳሰላሉ። የቀድሞዎቹን መንግስታት ህዝብ በማስራብና ለችጋር በመዳረግ የሚከሱት የዛሬዎቹ መሪዎች አሁን ሀገሪቱን የገጠማትን የርሃብና የችጋር አደጋ ልክ እንደቀድሞዎቹ በድርቅ በተለይ በፈረደበት ኤል ኒኖ ማመካኘቱን ተያይዘውታል። ኤል ኒኖ ከችጋር ጋር ዝምድና ያለው ስራቸውን ባግባቡ ባልሰሩ ሀገሮች እንደሆነ እንድናውቅ አይፈልጉም። በነሱ ቤት አንድም የፖሊሲም ሆነ የሀገር አስተዳደር ምክንያት የለበትም። የችግሩ መንስዔ የግብርና ፖሊሲ ፣ ያጠቃላይ የኢኮኖሚ ወይም የመሬት ይዞታ ፖሊሲ ወይስ የዴሞክራሲ ችግር ብሎ ሰው እንዲጠይቅና መልስ እንዲፈልግ አይፈልጉም።

አቶ ሀይለማሪያም ደሳለኝ አንድ የዲያስፖራዎች (ይህ ዲያስፖራ የሚል ቃል ሲያስጠላኝ) ነው በተባለ ስብሰባ ላይ በድርቅ ምክንያት ካሊፎርኒያና አውስትራሊያም እየተሰቃዩ ነው ሲሉ ወዶ አይስቁ ሳቅ እየሳኩ ስምቻቸዋለሁ። እኛ ሀገር ላይ የተለየ ነገር አልመጣም እያሉ መዋሸታቸው ነበር። እኝህ ሰውዬ እንዴት ምስክር አይኖርም ብለው እንደገመቱ በጣም ነው የገረመኝ። እኔ ራሴ ድርቁ በገነነበት ባለፈው ስፕሪንግ ካሊፎርኒያ ሳን ፍራንሲስኮ ኦክላንድና ሳን ሆዜ አካባቢ ነበርኩ። ጆግራፈር ስለሆንኩ ለንደዚህ አይነት ጆግራፊያዊ ክስተት መመልከቻ ትልቅ አይን አለኝ። ሁኔታውን ስራዬ ብዬ ነበር ለማየት የሞከርኩት። ብዙ የደረቀ ሳርና ቅጠል ብዙ ቦታ አይቻለሁ። አፈሩም ብዙ ርጥበት እንዳልነበረው አይቻለሁ። አቶ ሀይለማሪያም የሚያወሩት ስቃይ ግን በቦታው አልነበረም። ለመኪና ማጠቢያ ውሀ አራርቆ መጠቀምን ፥ የጓሮ አትከልት ዉሀ ቆጥቦ ማጠጣትን ፥ ቧንቧ የሚያወርደው ውሀ ቀጠን እንዲል ማድረግንና ሌሎች የውሀ ቁጠባ ስራዎችን ሰቃይ ነው ካላሉ በስተቀር ስቃይ አልነበረም። ብዙ ያካበቢው ነዋሪ ድርቅ መኖሩን እንኩዋን የማያውቅ አለ። ካለኝ መረጃ አውስትራሊያም ስቃይ ሊባል የሚችል ነገር አልነበረም። በነገራችን ላይ አቶ ሀይለማሪያም ስለ ካሊፎርኒያና አውስትራሊያም በድርቅ መሰቃየት ሲናገሩ ያጨበጨቡት ዲያስፖራዎች በጅጉ አስገርመውኛል። ጭብጨባቸውን ስሰማ አቅለሽልሾኝ ነበር ብዬ ዕውነቱን ልናገር መሰለኝ። ቪዲዮውን ያላያችሁ እዩትና የገባችሁ ካላችሁ የጭብጨባውን ትርጉም ንገሩኝ። የድርቅ ስቃያችን ከካሊፎርኒያና ከአውስትራሊያ ጋር ይመሳሰላል ስለተባለ ሀገራችን እኩል ሆነች ብለው መደሰታቸው ይሆን? ቁጥሩ ይህን የሚያህል ገልቱ ዲያስፖራ ያለ አይመስለኝም ነበር።

ወደተነሳሁበት ነገር ልመለስ። ድርቅ የምክንያት ርሀብና ችጋር የውጤት ግንኙነት እንዳላቸው እያደረግን የምንለፍፈው ወሬ ከደረቅ ውሸትነቱ አለፎ ለስንፍና የሚዳርግ አደገኛ ነገርም ነው። ተፈጥሮን (ድርቅን) መቆጣጠር ስለማንችል ድርቅ በመጣ ቁጥር ለሚመጣው ርሐብና ችጋር እጅ እየሰጠንና እየለመንን ከመኖር ሌላ ምርጫ የለንም ወደሚል አደገኛ ድምዳሜ ይወስደናል። ለሀገሩ የሚቆረቆር ማንኛውም ቅን ኢትዮጵያዊ የሀገራችን የርሀብ ምንጭ ድርቅና ኤል ኒኖ ነው የሚለውን ሀሰት የማታለያ ፕሮፓጋንዳ መቀበል ቀርቶ ለመስማት ፈቃደኛ ሊሆን አይገባም። ባለስልጣናትም ይህን ውሸት በመደጋገም ካለባቸው ሀላፊነት እንዲሸሹ ልንፈቅድላቸው አይገባም። ይህ የችግሩ መፍቻ የመጀመሪያ ርማጃ ይመስላኛል።

ግጥጥ ያለው ዕውነት ግን እንዲህ ነው። የኖቤል ሎሬቱን አመርትያ ሴንን የመሳሰሉ የኢኮኖሚክስ ባለሙያዎች እንደሚነግሩን ዴሞክራሲ ባለበት ቦታ ሁሉ ርሀብና ችጋር የለም። ችጋርና ሰፊ ህዝብ የሚሸፍን ርሀብ በአንድ ሀገር ውስጥ የዴሞክራሲና ነጻ ማህበረሰብ አለመኖር ውጤት ናቸው። ዴሞክራሲ ባለበት ሀገር እንደልብ በሚካሄድ ክርክር የሀሳብ አማራጮች ይፈልቃሉ። አምባገነኖች ህዝብ የሚጠቅምና ርሀብ ጭራሽ የሚያስወግድም ቢሆን እንኳን ስልጣናቸውን የሚፈታተን ከሆነ ርሃብና ችጋሩን ይመርጣሉ። ነጻ ውይይትና ክርክር ስልጣንና ፖሊሲ የሚጠይቅ ስለሆነ ይህንን እንድንወያይ አይፈልጉም። በኢትዮጵያ የመሬት ይዞታን ፖሊሲ ህዝብ አይከራከርበትም። ሀገሬውን የመንግስት ጭሰኛ ያደረገ ፖሊሲ በኔ እምነት ርሀብተኛ ሀገር ለመሆናችን አንድ ምክንያት ይመስለኛል። የቀድሞው ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ይህ ነገር ከተቀየረ የሚቀየረው በመቃብራችን ላይ ነው ነበር ያሉት። የገበሬው የይዞታ ባለቤትነት ርግጠኝነት አለመኖር ፣ የግለሰብ ይዞታዎች ከጊዜ ጊዜ እየተቆራረሱ ማነስ ፣ በርሻ መሬት ላይ ያለውን የሰው ብዛትና ግፊት ለመቀነስ የሚያስችል የኢኮኖሚ ፖሊሲ ባግባቡ አለመዘርጋት ከብዙ ጥቂቶቹ የሀገራችን የርሀብና የችጋር ምክንያቶች ይመስሉኛል። ተገቢና ስራ ላይ ባግባቡ መዋል የነበረበትን የብሔረሰቦች የእኩልነት ጥያቄ ወደ በለጠ ልዩነትና ሰዎችና ካፒታል ብሄረሰብ ሳይመርጡ እንዳይዘዋወሩ የሚያደርገው ፖለቲካ ሁኔታ ችጋር ይፈለፍል እንደሆነ እንጂ ብልጽግና አያመጣም። አነስተኛ ገበሬዎችን በገፍ እያፈናቀሉ ለውጭ ሀገር ቱጃር መሬት መሸንሸን ችግርና ርሀብ ያፈላ እንደሆን እንጂ የማንንም ችግር ሲያስወግድ አልታየም። ሀገርን ለዜጎቿ ሳይሆን ለባዕዳን መስሕብ በማድረግ የዳበረና ችግር ያስወገደ ሀገር የለም። ይህን ማረም የማይችል መንግስት ርሃባችንን በኤል ኒኖ ሲያመካኝ ማፈር አለበት። በነዚህና እነዚህን በመሳሰሉ ማነቆዎች ላይ በግልጽና በቅንነት ተወያይተን መፍትሄ ካላበጀን ርሀብና ችጋር በየጊዜው የሚጎበኙን የውርደት ሀገር ሆነን መኖራችን ይቀጥላል።

የሀገራችንን ባለስልጣኖች አስመልክቶ በጣም የሚያስተዛዝበው የርሀቡ ደረጃ ለምን ባደባባይ ተዘገበ በማለት ባለማቀፍ ሚዲያዎች ላይ የሚያካሂዱት ቡራ ከረዩ ነው። የሚዲያው የርሀቡን አስከፊነት በስፋት መዘገብ ልመና ለማቀላጠፍ ይረዳ እንደሆን እንጂ ጉዳት የለውም። ቡራ ከረዩው ሀገርና ህዝብ ተጎዳ በሚል ሳይሆን በብዙ ቅባት ያሳመርነው ገጽታ ለምን ይነካል ነው። ሰሞኑን ቢቢሲ ያቀረበውን ዘገባ አስመልክቶ የመንግስት ሹሞችና ደጋፊዎች የሚያደርጉት ያዙኝ ልቀቁኝ በጣም አስገራሚም አስተዛዛቢም ነው። በካሜራ ላይ ሰለባዎች እየተናገሩ ያካሄዱትን ዘገባ በምን ምክንያት ነው የምናወግዘው? ለንደን ያለው ኤምባሲ የሚለው ቢያጣ የርሀቡን አስከፊነት አስመልክቶ ቢቢሲ ባቀረበው ዘገባ ላይ በሰጠው የተቃውሞ መልስ ቢቢሲ ርሀቡን ያመጣው ኤል ኒኖ ነው የሚለውን የመንግስት ውሸት ደግሞ ባለማለቱ አጥብቆ ይከሳል። እንዲህ ይላል። “The report also failed to give perspective on the drought situation currently unfolding in Ethiopia and around the world and how it is triggered by the El Nino phenomenon”. የዚች አረፍተ ነገር ቁም ነገር ችግሩን ያመጣብን ኤል ኔኖ ስለሆነ ምንግስታችን አይጠየቅም የምትል ነች። ተጠያቂነትን ማምለጫ ብልጠት መሆኗ ነው። ኤል ኒኖ ሀገር እየለየ ነው እንዴ ጥቃት የሚያደርሰው? አስር ዐመት ሙሉ ግብርና ከሁለት ዲጂት በላይ ያደገባትን ሀገር ከቀርፋፋዎቹ እንዴት እድርጎ እንደመረጣት ግራ የገባው ታዛቢ ታዲያ ምን ይበል?

በኔ አመለካከት ከዚህ በአለም ፊት በተደጋጋሚ ካዋረደንና እያዋረደን ካለ ርሀብና ችጋር መገላገል የምንችለው በችግሩ ዙሪያ በግልጽ በመወያየት ነው። የስካሁኑን ተመክሯችንና መረጃዎቻችንን ይዘን በግልጽ እንወያይ። ይህ የወገንተኛ ፖለቲካ ጉዳይ አይደለም። የህልውና ጉዳይ ነው። ወደ ዝርዝር ምክንያቱ እንግባ ካልን በመንግስት ላይ ብቻ በማመካኘት የምንገላገለውም አይደለም። እንደ ህዝብ ያሉብንም ባህላችን ውስጥ የተዋቀሩና ለችግሩ የዳረጉን ብዙ ችግሮች አሉ። በሀገራችን ይህን ሁላችንም የምንወያይበት ዴሞክራሲያዊ መድረክ ያስፈልገናል። ለመፍትሄውም ፍለጋ ሆነ ያገኘነውን የመፍትሔ ሀሳብ ስራ ላይ ለማዋል ዲሞክራሲ የግድ እንደሚያስፈልገን ግን ብዙ መከራከር ያለብን አይመስለኝም። ይህን ማድረግ ካልቻልን የሚቀጥለው ቸነፈር ጊዜም ይህንኑ እያወራን በውርደታችን ለመቀጠል ተስማምተናል ማለት ነው።

UN releases $17 million to drought affected Ethiopia

UN Emergency Fund releases $17 million to help communities affected by worst drought to hit Ethiopia in decades

(New York, 12 November 2015) – United Nations humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien today released US$17 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support people affected by the worst drought in Ethiopia in decades. UN and partners are supporting the ongoing response led by the Government of Ethiopia.

The El Niño global climactic event has wreaked havoc on Ethiopia’s summer rains. This comes on the heels of failed spring rains, and has driven food insecurity, malnutrition and water shortages in affected areas of the country.

“A timely response to the emergency is critical. If we don’t act today, we face an even graver situation tomorrow, with more immense needs in 2016,” warned the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “CERF funds will immediately provide crucial food supplies for people affected by the drought, now, when they need it most.”

The emergency funding will be provided to the World Food Programme so it can support some 1.37 million Ethiopians with food, and provide specialized nutritional supplements to 164,000 malnourished women and children.

The Government reports that 8.2 million people now require emergency food assistance, up from 2.9 million in early 2015. The number of people who need food assistance in East Africa is forecast to increase to over 22 million at the start of next year, including 15 million in Ethiopia.

By the end of the year, the UN’s global emergency fund will have provided over $80 million in response to humanitarian needs because of climate-related events linked to El Niño. Since July alone some $76 million has been disbursed to agencies to carry out essential aid activities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Malawi, Myanmar, Somalia and Zimbabwe.

CERF pools donor contributions in a single fund so that money is available to start or continue urgent relief work anywhere in the world. Since its inception in 2006, 125 UN Member States and dozens of private-sector donors and regional Governments have contributed to the Fund. CERF has allocated more than $4 billion in support of humanitarian operations in 95 countries and territories.

አገር ሲያረጅ ጃርት ያፈራል፤ በአክሊሉ ወንበር ቴዎድሮስ ተቀምጧል

በዕድሜአችን የደረስንባቸውንም ሆነ በታሪክ የምናውቃቸውን በዚህች ሀገር በመሪነትም ሆነ በከፍተኛ ሥልጣን ላይ የነበሩ ሰዎች ስናስብ የዘመናችን ባለሥልጣናት በብዙ መንገድ አንሰውና ቀለው ነው የሚታዩት፡፡ በውሸታምነታቸው በዘረኛነታቸውና ለሀገርና ለሕዝብ በአላቸው እኩይ አመለካከት ደግሞ አይደለም ትናንት ከነበሩት ወደ ፊትም ከሚመጡት የሚስተካከላቸው የሚገኝ አይመስልም፡፡ ነገረ ስራቸው ሲመዘን፣ የማይታመን የማይጨበጥ ንግግራቸው ሲሰማ እንዲህ የሚያደርጋቸው ከደደቢቱ እኩይ ዓላማቸው በላይ የተቀመጡበት እነዚያን ታላላቅ ኢትዮጵያውያንን ያስተናገደ ወንበር እያቃዣቸው ሳይሆን አይቀርም ያስብላል፡፡

በቃል እየተነገረ በጽሁፍ እየሰፈረ ከትውልድ ትውልድ እየተሸጋገረ ከእኛ ከደረሰውና ለልጆቻችንም ከሚተላለፈው የአባት አናቶቻችንን ብሂላዊ አነጋገር መካከል “አንበሳው መኝታ ጅቡ ተኝቶበት ይባንን ጀመረ በህልሙ እየመጣበት” የሚለው የእነዚህን ዘመንኞች አድራጎት የሚገልጽ ይመስለኛል፡፡ ይህን እንደ አዲስ ለማለት ያበቃኝ ሰሞኑን በአሜሪካ ድምጽ ራዲዮ የሰማናቸው የዶ/ር ቴዎድሮስ አድሀኖም ነገር ነው፡፡

ከወራት በፊት በአሜሪካ ድምጽ ራዲዮ የአማርኛው ክፍል ቀርበው አንዳርጋቸው ልማታችንን ማየት አስጎምጅቶት ከተማ እያስጎበኘነው ነው፤ እስር ቤት ላፕ ቶፕ ገብቶለት መጽኃፍ እየጻፈ ነው ከሚለው ጀምሮ ሰሞኑን በሶስት ክፍል በቀረበው ከቀረቡላቸው ጥየቄዎች ጋር የማይዛመድ ምላሻቸው የእነ አክሊሉ ሀብተወልድ መንፈስ እያባነናቸው በቅዠት ውስጥ ሆነው አንጂ በእውን ሆነው በደንብ ነቅተው እያሰቡ የተናገሩት ነው ብሎ ለማመን ይቸግራል፡፡

ዶ/ር ቴዎድሮስ በአሜሪካ ድምጽ ራዲዮ በድንገት ቀርበው ከተደመጡ በኋላ የተናገሩትን ሲያስቡ አሳፍሮአቸው ይሁን ወይንም በድንብርብር የተናገሩት የሚያስነሳው ጥያቄ አስፈርቶአቸው ባይታወቅም ለጥያቄዎ መልስ ፕሮግራም ላይ ለመቅረብ የገቡትን ቃል ሽረው ቀጠሮ እየሰጡ የውኃ ሽታ ሆኑ፡፡ ሰሞኑን በራዲዮ ጣቢያው በድብቅ ያውም በጨለማ ተገኝተው ኢትዮጵያውያን ጋዜጠኞችን ማነጋገራቸው ይፋ ከሆነ በኋላ ቀጠሮ ያሰረዛቸው ፍርሀትም ይሁን ሀፍረት እንዴትና በምን አንደለቀቃቸው ባይታወቅም የሸሹት ፕሮግራም ላይ ተገኝተው በሶስት ክፍል ሰምተናቸዋል፡፡ የሚገርመው ማለት የሚያበዙት ዶ/ር ነገር የሚገርመው ባለፈው ቃለ ምልልሳቸው ከተናገሩትም ሆነ ከተነገራቸው የተማሩም የታረሙም ሆነው አለመገኘታቸው ነው፡፡

በአንድ ነገር ግን ላመስግናቸው አምነውበት ይሁን ወይንም ሰሞኑን ወያኔ የተያያዘው የማስቀየሻ ስልት አካል ይሁን ባይታወቅም ኩራቴ እትዮጵያዊነቴ ሲሉ ተደምጠዋል፡፡ በፍርሀት ይሁን በጥላቻ ኢትዮጵያ የሚለውን የሀገራችንን ድንቅ ስም ላለመጥራት ሀያ አራት አመታት የሀገራችን ሕዝቦች ሲሉ ከምናውቃቸው ሰዎች መካከል ኢትዮጵያዊነት ኩራቴ ሲሉ መስማት የኢትዮጵያዊነትን ኃያልነት የሚያሳይ ነው፡፡በወያኔ አንደበት ይህ አንዲነገር ያበቃ የኢትዮጵያ አምላክ ይክበር ይመስገን፡፡

በክፍል አንድ መጀመሪያ ላይ ኢህአዴግ ከሕዝብ የሚደብቀው ነገር የለም ይሄ ሊሰመርበት ይገባል በማለት በውሸት የጀመሩት ምላሽ በሶስት ክፍል በውሸት ነው ያለቀው፡፡ እኛ የምናውቀው ኢህአዴግ አይደለም ሌላ ሌላውን ሞትን እንኳን ለመደበቅ የሚታገል መሆኑን ነው ፡፡ የአቶ መለስን ሞት በወቅቱ መግለጽ ያልተፈለገው ኢህአዴግ ከጫካ ጀምሮ ይዞት በመጣው የድብቅነት ባህርይው መሆኑን በመግለጽ አቶ በረከት ትክክለኛውን ኢህአዴግ በወቅቱ ነግረውናል፡፡ ሥልጣን ላይ ያለነው ለመከብር ሳይሆን ሀገርና ሕዝብ ለማገልገል ነው አሉን፣ እልሰሜን ግባ በለው ነው የሚለው የሀገሬ ሰው፡፡ አቅለው ብለው ቆለለው እንዲሉ ከ96 ሚለዮን ሕዝብ 8. ምናምን ሚሊዮን ቢራብ ምንድን ነው ሲሉም ሰማናቸው፡፡ በክፍል ሶስት እንዲሁ የሚጠየቁትን መመለስ ትተው የቡና ላይ ወሬ የሚያወሩ ይስል አስር ግዜ ምን መሰለሽ ትዝታ እያሉ መለስን ቀጥል ባንለው አይሞትም ነበር፣ እኔ አሁን ከሁለተኛ ተርሜ በኋላ እለቃለሁ ሲሉ አነጋገራቸው ሁሉ የውጪ ጉዳይ ምኒስትር አልመስል ያላት ጋዜጠኛ በጤና ጥበቃ ምኒስትርነትዎ እንጠብቅዎት አለቻቸው፡፡ እውነት ብላለች ቢያንስ እዛ ቦታ ሳይሻሉ አይቀሩም፡፡ በአጠቃላይ ጋዜጠኛዋ ትዝታና ዶ/ር ቴዲ አልተገናኝቶም፡፡ ጥያቄና መልሱ ሀራምባና ቆቦ ነበር ማለት ይቻላል፡፡ ዶ/ር ቴዲ እነ አክሊሉ ሀኃብተወልድን የመሰሉ ቀን ከሌት ለሀገራቸው ጥቅምና ክብር ይታትሩ የነበሩ ሰዎች የተቀመጡበት ወንበር ላይ ተቀምጠው እያባነናቸው ነው እንዲህ ከእውነት ጋር የሚጣሉት፣ እያቃዡ ለትዝብት የሚዳረጉት አንበል!

የጋጠኞቹ የሙዚቃ ምርጫም ለዶ/ር ቴዎድርስ መልእክት ያለው ነበር፡፡ በተደጋጋሚ የተያዘላቸውን ቀጠሮ ሰርዘው በመቅረታቸው ጋዜጠኞቹ ይህንኑ ለአድማጮቻቸው ገልጽው በተለያየ መንገድ የደረሱዋቸውን ለዶ/ር ቴዎድሮስ የተጠየቁ ጥያቄዎችን ከአስደመጡ በኋላ ስለሆነ የቀረቡት ለክፍል ሁለቱ መንደርደሪያ ያጫወቱት የሙሀሙድ አህመድን “የዘገየሽበት ምን ይሆን ምክንያቱ” የሚለውን ዘፈን ነው፡፡ ጥሩ ምርጫ፡፡ ዶክተሩ ለተጠየቁት ጥቄ ለአንዱም ቀጥተኛ ምላሽ ባለመስጠታቸውም ይመስላል ጋዜጠኞቹ ወደ ክፍል ሶስቱ ዝግጅት ያንደረደሩን “ፍቅሬ በምን ቋንቋ በምን ቃል ላስረዳሽ” በሚለው የታምራት ሞላ ሙዚቃ ነው፡፡ አዎ ትዝት የራስዋንም የአድማጮችንም ጥያቄዎች ለማስረዳት ብዙ ደክማ አልተሳካላትምና ጥሩ ገላጭ ሙዚቃ ነው የተመረጠው፡፡

ዛሬ ዶ/ር ቴዎድሮስ በተቀመጡበት ወንበር ላይ የነበሩት ጸኃፊ ትዕዛዝ አክሊሉ ኃብተወልድ ለዚህች ሀገር የደከሙትን በአካል ኖሮም ይሁን የተጻፈ አንብቦ የሚያውቅ በሁለት ነገር የሚያፍርም የሚያዝንም ይመስለኛል፡፡አንደኛ አንደዛ ቀን ከሌት ማድረግ ከሚገባቸው በላይ ለሀገራቸው የደከሙና በርካታ ውጤታማ ተግባራትን ያከናወኑ ሰው ሊሾሙ ሊሸለሙ ብሎም በክብር ሊጦሩ ሲገባ ይህችው ሀገር ባፈራቻቸው ጉዶች በግፍ በመገደላቸው፤ሁለተኛም በርሳቸው ወንበር ላይ እነ አቶ ኃይለማሪያም ደሳለኝ እነ ዶ/ር ቴዎድሮስ አድሀኖም ሲፈራረቁበት በማየቱ፡፡

እነ አክሊሉ በአርቆ አሳቢነት አንድ ያደረጉትን ሀገር የዶ/ር ቴዎድሮስ ቡድን በዘረኛ አሰተሳሰቡ ሁለት አደረገው፤ ከስንት ወሮበላ ነጭ ጋር ታግለው ከስንት ሀገር በቀል ከሀዲ ጋር ተፋልመው ያስከበሩትን የባህር በር ወያኔዎች የግመል መጠጫ ብለው እንደ እንደአልባሌ ነገር ጣሉት፡፡ በአለም መድረክ ያስከበሩትን ኢትዮጵያዊነት አዋረዱት፡፡( ዛሬ ኩራቴ ኢትዮጵያዊነቴ ሲሉ ቢደመጡም) በዚህ ዘመን መገኘት እንዴት አያሳፍር! ዶ/ር ቴዎድሮስን እያዩና እየሰሙ የቀደሙትን እዛ ወንበር ላይ የነበሩ ታላላቅ ሰዎች ሲያስቡ እንዴት አይነድ እንዴትስ ውርደት አይሰማ!

ሰለ ዶ/ር ቴዎድሮስ የመዋሸት ድፍረት ምክንያት እያሰብኩ ዛሬ ርሳቸው በተቀመጡበት ወንበር እነማን ነበሩ በማለት በማስታወስ ሳሰላስል የአክሊሉ ማስታወሻ በሚል ርዕስ የአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርስቲ በ2003 ያሳተመውን መጽኃፍ አገኘሁ፡፡ ጸሐፊ ትዕዛዝ አክሊሉ ሀብተወልድ መስከረም 10ቀን 1967 ዓም ለመርማሪ ኮሚስዮኑ ያቀረቡት ጽሁፍ በሚለው በዚህ መጽኃፍ ውስጥ ከብዙ በጥቂቱ የተገለጸው የአክሊሉ ተግባር በርግጥም በወንበራቸው የሚቀመጡትን በተለይም ለቦታው የማይመጥኑትን የሚያባንን የሚያቃዥ ነው፡፡

ወያኔ በማን አለብኝትና በአፍቅሮተ ሻዕቢያ ሰክሮ ያስገነጠላትን ኤሪትሪያን በተመለከተ ያከናወኑትን ተግባር ኤርትራን ለማስመለስ ያደረግሁት ጥረት በማለት ጸሀፊ ትዕዛዝ እንዲህ ገልጸውታል፡፡

…… ያራቱ መንግሥታት በሎንዶን ተሰብስበው የኢትዮጵያን ሀሳብ እኛ አንሰማለንና በዚህች ቀን አንድትገኝ የሚል መልዕክት አርብ /ሁለት ቀን ሲቀረው/አስታወቁ፡፡ ያን ግዜ አውሮፕላን የለን፤ የእንግሊዝ / B.o.c./ የሚመጣው በሳምንት አንድ ቀን ነው፡፡የትራንስፖርት ችግር ስላለብኝ ለአራትና ለአምስት ቀን አስተላፉልኝ ብዬ ጠየቅሁ፡፡ እነሱም ባልነው ቀን ታልሆነ ብለው ጥያቄየን አልቀበል አሉ፡፡ ችግር ላይ ሆንን፡፡አንድ ትንሽ አይሮፕላን ፤ለጃንሆይ የአንግሊዝ መንግሥት የሰጣቸው ፣አንሬጅስተርድ የሆነች፤ይዤ ለመሄድ ቆረጥሁ፡በሱዳን፤ግብጽ፤ግሪክ፤ፈረንሳይ አገር እያረፈች ቤንዚን በመውሰድ መጓዝ ስላለባት ተነኝህ አምባሰደሮች የተጻፈ ወረቀት ተቀብዬ ቅዳሚት ተነሳሁ፡፡ ሱዳን ደህና ተቀበሉን፡፡ ግብጽ ግን ሉክሶር ስንደርስ ወረቀቱን ባሳየውም “እኛ ተእስራኤል ጋር ጦርነት ላይ ነው ያለነው፡፡

ይህ ወረቀት እውነት መሆኑን አላውቅም፤ፓይለቱም ነጭ ስለሆነ ታስር ሰዓት /4 afternoon/ በኋላ መብረር ክልክለል ነው፡፡ ስለዚህ በቀጥታ ወደ ካይሮ ሄዳችሁ እዚያ ትመረመራላችሁ ፤ በአውሮፕላን እናስከትላችኋለን አለኝ ” እሽ ብለን ተሳፈርን፡፡ ፓይለቱ ምን ላድርግ አለኝ፡፡ ካይሮ የሄድን ጊዜ ተሰኞ ቀጠሮ ሊሰናከልብኝና የኢትዮጵያ ጉዳይ ሊበላሽ ነው፡፡ ለፓይለቱ ዝም ብለህ ቀይ ባህርን እየተከተልክ ሂድ፤ ሪስክ ማድረግ አለብን አልኩት፡፡ በዚሁ ዝም ብለን እየሰጋን ተጓዝን ፡፡ሜዲትራኒየን ባህር ስንደርስ እፎይ አልን፡፡ ማታ በጨለማ በ3 ሰዓት ሼፐር ደረስን፡፡ ቤንዚን አለቀብን፤እንድንወርድ ፈቃድ ጠየቅን፡፡ መብራት ስለሌላቸው የካሚዎን መብራት አብርተው ለመውረድ ቻልን፡፡ አዚያም አደርን፡፡በማግስቱ ዕሁድ ግሪክ ደረሰን፤ደህና ተቀበሉን፡፡ ወዲያው ተነስተን ፈረንሳይ አገር ማርሴይ አረፍን፡፡ ቤንዚንም ታልከፈላችሁ አንሰጥም ብለው ያልታወቀ አውሮፕላን ነው በማለትም አስቸገሩን ፡፡ በእንደዚህ አኳኋን እንደምንም ሎንዶን ደረስን፡፡ ይህ አንዱ ምሳሌ ብቻ አንዲሆን ነው፡፡ ( ገጽ 46)

አክሊሉ እንዲህ ያለ መስዋዕትነት ሊያስከፍል የሚችል ርምጃ እየወሰዱ፤በተባበሩት መንግሥታት ድርጅት መድረክ በእውቀትም በዲፕሎማሲያዊ ጥበብም በድፍረትም እየተከራከሩ ነበር የኢትዮጵያን አንድነት አስጠብቀውና በአለም አቀፍ መድረክ አስከብረው ያቆዩዋት፡፡ በርሳቸው ወንበር የተቀመጡት ግን ተከራክሮ መርታት አይደለም ሲፈረድባቸውና ሲፈረደላቸው አንኳን ማወቅ ተስኖአቸው አለም አቀፉ ፍርድ ቤት ለኢትዮ ኤርትሪያ ግጭት ( የለም ለወያኔ ሻዕቢያ ግጭት ማለቱ ነው እውነት የሚሆነው) ምክንያት ተደርጎ የቀረበውን ባድመን ለእኛ ተፈረደልን ብለው አደባባይ ወጥታችሁ ደስታችሁን ግለጹ አሉን፡፡ የተወሰነው ለኤርትራ መሆኑ ታውቆ ውሸታው ሲጋለጥም ሀፍረት አልተሰማቸውም፡፡በርግጥ ሀገር ሲያረጅ ጃርት ያፈራል፡፡