የአቦይ ስብሀት ነገር!

የአቦይ ስብሀት ነገር!

ከአሁን በፊት በዚሁ ርዕስ ፅሁፍ እንደፃፍኩ አስታውሳለሁ። አጋጣሚ ሆኖ ዛሬም ይህን ፅሁፍ ለመፃፍ በምነሳበት ወቅት ከዚሁ ርዕስ ሌላ ሀሳቤን በአንድነት ጭምቅ አድርጎ ሊገልፅልኝ የሚችል ርዕስ ሊመጣልኝ ስላልቻለ እንደገና በዚሁ ርዕስ መጠቀሙን ወደድኩ።
አባይ ስብሀት በልበወለድ ዓለም የተፈጠሩ ሰው ቢሆኑ ኖሮ እጅግ በጣም አጨቃቃጪ፣ አነጋጋሪና የተለየ ስብዕና ያላቸው ገፀ ባህርይ ሆነው የተቀረፁ እጅግ በጣም የተዋጣለት ገፀ ባህርይ ይሆኑ ነበር። የሚገርመው ነገር በእውኑ ዓለም ያሉ ሰው ሆኖው ሳለ እንዲህ ዐይነት አነጋጋረና ግራ አጋቢ የሆነ ገፀ ባህርይ ያላችው ሰው መሆናቸው ነው። ለዚህ ሳይሆን አይቀርም ብዙውን ጊዜ በሚናገሩት ነገር ሁሉ ትኩረት ሳቢ ሆነው የምናገኛቸው። ለዛሬ ባለፈው በህዳር 17 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም. በአዲስ አባባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ የጋዜጠኝነትና ኮሙኒኬሽን ዲፓርትመንት ተጋብዘው ተናገሩት ላይ ይሆናል ትኩረት የማደርግው። አቦይ ስብሀት በዩኒርሰቲው ተገኝተው ፖለቲካዊ ሀሳባቸውን ለተማሪዎች እንደሚያካፍሉ ዜናውን እንደሰማሁ ደግሞ ምን ሊሉ ይሆን ብዬ ነበር ከተወሰኑ ጓደኞቼ ጋር በመሆን እዚያ የተገኘሁት። እኔም የዩኒቨርሲቲው ተማሪ መሆኔ ጠቀመኝና የተማሪነት መታወቂያን አሳይቼ ወደ አዳራሹ ዘለኩ። አቦይ ስብሀት ሙሉ ለሙሉ ጥቁር የሆነ ሱፍ ለብሰው፣ ከፊት ለፊት በተደረደሩ መደዳ ወንበሮች ላይ ተሰይመዋል። ከዚያ ድፎ ዳቦ እንዲቆርሱ ተደረገና ወደ ዝግጅቱ፣ ዋናው ጉዳይ ተገባ። በአንድ የጋዜጠኝነትና ኮሙኒኬሽን ዲፓርትመንት ተማሪ ጥያቄ አቅራቢነት አቦይ ስብሀት ለጥያቄዎቹ ሰፋ ያለ መልስ መስጠት ጀመሩ። ለዛሬ ትኩረቴን እጅግ ከሳቡኝና ግርምት ከፈጠሩብኝ የአቦይ ስብሀት ንግግሮች የተወሰኑትን እዚህ ላይ እያነሳሁ ሀሳብ እሰጥባቸዋለሁ።
1. ሀገር ማለት
አቦይ ስብሀት «ሀገር ማለት ህገ መንግስቱ ነው፤ ሌላ ነገር አይደለም።» የሚል ነገር ተናግሯል። ይሄ ለእኔ ምን ማለት እንደሆነ ግለፀው ብባል፤ እንዲህ በሌላ ምሳሌ ላስቀምጠው እችላለሁ። ትዳር ምንድነው ለሚለው ጥያቄ «ትዳር ማለት የጋብቻ ሰርቴፍኬት ማለት ነው።» ብሎ የመመለስ ያህል ነው። ይሄ አነጋገር ስሜት ሊሰጥ ይችላል?! ትዳርን ትዳር የሚያድርገው የጋብቻ ሰርቴፍኬት አይደለም፤ የጋብቻ ሰርቴፍኬት ትዳሩን ህጋዊ ያደርገው እንደሆነ እንጂ ራሱ ትዳር ሊሆን የሚችል ነገር አይደለም። ሀገርም እንደዚያ ነው፤ ያለ ህገ መንግስት ሀገር ሊኖር ይችላል፤ ሀገር ከሌለ ግን ህግ መንግስት የሚባል ነገር አይኖርም። ህገ መንግስት የተፈጠረው በጣም ትናንት በሚባል ጊዜ ሲሆን፤ ሀገሮች የተፈረጡትና የኖሩት ግን ለብዙ ሺህ ዓመታት ነው። ለምሳሌ፤ የእኛ ሀገር ታሪክ ብንወስድ እንኳ የሀገሪቷ ታሪክ ከሶስት
ሺህ ዓመት በላይ ሲሆን በህገ መንግስት ስም መተዳዳር የጀመርንበት ጊዜ ሲታይ ደግሞ አንድ መቶ ዓመትም አልሞላንም። ለነገሩ በሀገራችን በጠመንጃ ጉልበት እንጂ በአግባቡ በህገ መንግስት የሚያስተዳድረን መንግስት እስከዛሬ አላገኘንም ወይም አልፈጠርንም።
2.ስለኤርትራውያን
አቦይ ስብሀት ስለኤርትራውያን ሲናገሩ «ኤርትራውያን ከኢትዮጵያውያን በላይ ነው ኢትዮጵያዊነትን በጣም ይፈልጋሉ፤ በአንፃሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን የሚፈልጉት የኤርትራ መሬት ነው ህዝቡ አይደለም። አሰብ ቀይ ምናምን ይላሉ።» ብለው እርፍ! ምንም እንኳ ንግግሩ እጅግ በጣም የሚገርም ቢሆንም የአርትራውያንን ኢትዮጵያዊነት ከአቦይ ስብሀት መስማቴ ጥሩ ለውጥ ነው እላለሁ፤ ኤርትራውያን ከእኛ በላይ፣ ከኢትዮጵያውያን በላይ ኢትዮጵያዊነትን ይሰማቸዋል የሚለውን ግን ቀልድ ነው ሊሆን የሚችለው። ሲጀመር እንዲህ ብሎ ለመናገር በመጀመርያ ህዝቡ ስለዚህ ጉዳይ ያለው አቋም ተጠንቶ፤ በደንብ በተጠናቀረ መረጃ ተደግፎ ነው መቅረብ የነበረበት። ከሁሉም በላይ እጅግ አድርጎ የሚያሳዝነው ደግሞ ኢትዮጵያውያን የኤርትራን መሬት እንጂ ህዝቡ አይፈልጉትም መባሉ ነው። እኔ የማውቀው በተቃራኒው ነው፤ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ለኤርትራውያን ጥልቅ የሆነ ፍቅር እንዳለው ነው፤ አሁን ይሄ ሁሉ ነገር ከተፈጠረ በኋላ እንኳ እንደ ራሱ ህዝብ እንደወንድም ህዝብ እንጂ እንደ ጎሮቤት ህዝብ ወይም እንደባዕድ ህዝብ የሚያያቸው አይደለም። አቦይ ስብሀት የኤርትራ እና የኢትዮጵያ ህዝቦች የጊዜ ጉዳይ ካልሆነ በስተቀር ነገሮች እየሰከኑ ሲሄዱ ለምሳሌ በኤርትራ ያለውን ስርዓት ሲቀየር በሆኑ ቅርፅ ተባብረው የፖለቲካና የኢኮኖሚ ግንኙነታውን ማጠናከር የሚችሉበት እንድል እንዳለ፤ በፌዴሬሽንም በኮንፌደረሽንም በሌላም መልኩ የነበራቸውን አንድነት መመለስ የሚችሉበት ሁኔታ ይፈጠራል ብለው እንደሚያምኑ የተናገሩት በዚያን ቀን ከተናገሯቸው አዎንታዊ ንግግሮች አንዱ ነበር። ስለ ኤርትራው ፕሬዚደንት ሲናገሩ ኢሳይያስ የሚፈልገው አጀብና እዩኝ እዩኝ ማለት እንጂ ሌላ ነገር አይደለም ብሏል፤ እርሱ ገንዘብም አይፈልግም ብሏል። የምን ገንዘብ እንደሆነ ግልፅ ባያደርጉትም የእርዳታ ገንዘብ ማለታቸው ሊሆን እንደሚችል መገመት የሚቻል ነው። ሀበሻ አይደሉ፤ እኛ እና እርሱ ልዩነታን እዚህ ላይ ነው ማለታቸው መሆን አለበት በቅኔ!
ይልቅ የሰሞኑ አንዱ ገጠመኝ ልንገራችሁ አንድ ኤርትራዊ ከሳውዲ አረቢያ ኢትዮጵያዊ ነኝ ብሎ ከኢትዮጵያውያን ጋር ተደባልቆ እንደመጣ ሲነግሩኝ፤ እንዴት ነው ዶ/ር ቴዎድሮስ አድሃኖም ኢትዮጵያውያንን የሚለዩበት ብልሀት አጥተው ነው ወይስ የኤርትራውያን ኢትዮጵዊነት ተቀብለው ነው እንደዚህ ወጣት ያሉ ኤርትራውያን በነፃ ከእኛ ዜጎች ጋር ወደ ሀገራችን እያመጡ ያሉት ያስባል። ሻዕቢያ ካልላካቸው ምንም ችግር የለውም፤ ኢትዮጵያም ሀገራቸው ነው። ድሮም ቢሆን በሻዕቢያ ፕሮፖጋንዳ ተታልለው ነው እንገንጠል ብለው የሄዱት እንጂ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ስለጠላቸው አልነበረም። አቦይ ስብሀት እንዳሉት እነዚህ ኤርትራውያን እየመጡ ያሉት ትክክለኛ ኢትየጵያውያን እነርሱ ናቸው ተብሎ ከሆነ ግን በማን መንግስት እየተዳደርን እንደሆነ መጠየቃችን አይወሬ ይሆናል። «እናንተ ከኤርትራውያን ያነሳችሁ ኢትዮጵያውያን ናችሁ» የሚለን መንግስት መቼውም ቢሆን ጤነኛ መንግስት ሊሆን አይችልም፤ የእኛ መንግስትም የመሆን እድል የለውም።
3. የቀበጡ ፖለቲከኞችና ጋዜጠኞች
በእስር ላይ ስለሚገኙ ጋዜጠኞችና ፖለቲከኞች ተጠይቀው ሲመልሱ «ይሄ ስርዓት በስንት መስዋዕትነት የመጣ ስርዓት ነው፤ በዚህ ላይ ሁኔታ በመጣ ስርዓት ላይ ማንንም እንዲቀብጥ ሊፈቀድለት አይገባም። መለስ በፓርላማ ስላንዳንድ ፖለቲከኞችና ጋዜጠኞች አስመልክቶ ሲናገር ጉዳት እስካላደረሱ ድረስ ወንጀለኛ መሆናቸውን እያወቅንም እንታገሳቸዋለን ሲል ሰምታችሁት ይሆናል ተሳስቷል። ማንም ሰው በህገ መንግስቱ ላይ በስርዓቱ ላይ የመቅበጥ ምልክት ሲያሳይ ጊዜ ሊሰጠው አይገባም፤ እርምጃ መውሰድ ያስፈልጋል። ስለዚህ ማንም ቀበጥ በስርዓቱ ላይ እንዲጫወትበት አንፈቅድም» ብሏል። እንግዲህ በእርሳቸው አባባል
ከሄድን እነ አንዷለም አራጌ፣ እነ ርዕዮት ዓለሙ፤ እነ ውብሸት ታዬ፣ እነ እስክንድር ነጋ በቅብጠት ነው የታሰሩት ማለት ነው። በእስር ጉዳይ ላይ ቀብጠት አለ እንዴ! ለዚያውም በእኛ ሀገር! የኖርዌይ መንግስት እንደዚያ ቢል ብዙም ላይገርም ይችላል፤ ምክንያቱም የእስር ቤታቸው ሁኔታ እጅግ የሚያማልል ነው። ከእኛ አንፃር ስታየው! በቃልቲ ለመታሰር እንዴት ነው ቅብጠት የሚሆነው። እነርሱ የታሰሩት የነፃነት የፍትህ ጥያቄ እንስተው እንጂ ቀብጠው አይመስለኝም። እኔም ይሄን ጉዳይ አንስቼ ቅብጠት ሊሆን እኮ ነው በአቦይ ስብሀት አተያይ! ጠያቂው በመቀጠል «እነዚህ የታሰሩት ጋዜጦኞች በአንድ በእኩል ወንጀለኛ ተብለው ታስሯል በሌላ በእኩል የሀሳብን በነፃነት የመግለፅ ታጋዮች ተብለው በዓለም አቀፍ እየተሸለሙ ነው ይሄ ሁለቱ ነገር አይጋጭም ወይ?» ብሎ ሲጠይቃቸው፣ ፈገግ ብለው ያሰራው አካል እኮ አይደለም እየሸለማቸው ያለው! በማለት ተሳልቋል።
4. ስለሰማያዊ ፓርቲ
«ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ የምን ፓርቲ እንደሆነ ግራ የሚገባ ነው፤ የሃይማኖት ፓርቲ ይሁን የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ይሁን አይታወቅም» አሉ። በመቀጠል ደግሞ «ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ሙስሊም ወንድሞቻችን ሲል ሰምታችሁ ይሆናል። እነርሱ ናቸው የሞስሊሞች ወንድም የሚሆኑት! አቤት ሙስሊሞቹ ሲጠሏቸው ብታዩ! ወደ እኛ እየመጡ ለምን እንዚህን አታሳርፉልንም ነው እኮ የሚሉን።» በማለት ተናግሯል። እዚህ ላይም መረጃ ሰብስበው ጥናት አድርገው አይደለም የተናገሩት። የተወሰኑ ሙስሊም ጓደኞቻቸው ጋር በጉዳዩ ላይ እውርተው ሊሆን ይችላል፤ ነገር ግን በጣት የሚቆጠሩ ሙስሊሞች በዚህ ጉዳይ ላይ ያላቸውን ሀሳብ ማወቅና በብዙ ሚሊዮን የሚገመቱ ሙስሊሞች ለሰማያዊ ያላቸውን አመለካከት ማወቅ የተለያየ ነገር ነው።
5. ስለሀብት ክፍፍል እና ስለኢህአዴግ ርዕዮተ ዓለም
ስለሀብት ክፍፍል ሲናገሩ ደግሞ «በአለም አንደኛ ፍትሀዊት ሀገር ዶብብ ኮርያ ስትሆን፤ ኢትዮጵያ ደግሞ ሁለተኛ ናት፤ አሜሪካ ደግሞ የመጨረሻዋ ነች አሉ። እንግዲህ አሜረካን በደንብ የምታውቁ መስክሩ፤ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ስላለው ሁኔታ እንኳ በቅርብ እናውቀዋለን፤ ምስክር መጥራት የሚያስፈልገን ነገር አይደለም። አቦይ ስብሀት ስለኢህአዴግ ርዕዮተ ዓለም ሲናገሩ፤ «ኢህአዴግ ቀኝ ዘምም ግራ ዘመምም አይደለም፤ ‘centrist’ ነው ‘pragmatic’ ነው» አሉ። አቶ ልደቱ አያሌው «ሶስተኛ አማራጭ» የሚሉትም ይሄ “centrist” የሚባለውን በሌበራል ዴሞክራሲ ውስጥ የሚመደብ ርዕዮተ ዓለም ነው። ማንም ሰው ወይም ፓርቲ በቀኝ አክራሪነት ወይም በግራ አክራነት ላለመመደብ በስም “centrist” መባለን ይፈልጋል። እንደ እውነቱ ከሆነ ግን በእኛ ሀገር በትክክል “centrist” ሊባሉ የሚችሉ ፓርቲዎች ያሉ አይመስለኝም። በፓርቲው ውስጥ ወደ ቀኝ ጥግ የመሄድ ዝንባሌ እንዳለ ሆኖ በፕሮግራም ደረጃ ወደ “centrist” የሚጠጋ አቋም ያለው አንድነት ፓርቲ ብቻ ይመስለኛል። ሌላው ሁሉ አንድም በቀኝ፣ አንድም በግራ የሚመደብ ነው። የኢህአዴግ እንኳ ግራ ዘመምም ለመሆኑ ክርክር ውስጥም የሚገባ አይደለም። አቦይ ስብሀት ወደ ጫካ ሲገቡ እድሜያቸው ሰላሳ ዘጠኝ እንደነበረ ራሳቸው በዚያው መድረክ ላይ የተናገሩ ሲሆን አስራ ሰባት ዓመት በትግል 23 ዓመት ደግሞ በስልጣን የቆዩ ከመሆናቸው አንፃር አሁን የሰባ ዘጠኝ ዓመት አዛውንት ናቸው ማለት ነው። ነገር ግን አሁንም ጠንካራ እንደሆኑ ታዝቤያለሁ፤ የዓይን መነፅር እንኳ ሳያድርጉ ነው ሲንቀሳቀሱ የነበረው። ነገር ግን አነጋገራቸው ሁሉም አይቶ እንዳሳለፈ ሰው ሆኖ አላገኘሁትም፤ ይልቅ ገና የፖለቲካ ስሜቱ እንዳልነበረደለት ጎረምሳ ነው በትዕቢትና በማን አህሎኝነት ሲናገሩ የነበሩት። በተለይ ስለተቃዋሚዎች ሲናገሩ ያላቸውን ጥላቻ በግልፅ ያስታውቅ ነበር። ጥላቻ በዚህ ዕድሜ በጣምም ጥሩ አይደለም።
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ዱርዬ መልክ የለውም

by Riyad Ebrahim

Riyad Ebrahim

የየትኛውም ሀገር መንግስት ሀገሩን የሚመራበት ኢኮኖሚያዊ ዘዴ አለው ከነዚህ ዘዴዎች ውስጥም አብዛኛው ሀገራት የሚጠቀሙበት ማርኬት ኢኮኖሚ ኮማንድ ኢኮኖሚ ትራዲሽናልኢኮኖሚ እናም ሚክስድ ሲሆኑ የኛሀገር የምትከተለው ደግሞዱርዬአዊ ይባላል። ምክንያቱም የወያኔ አደረጃጀት ከላይ እስከታች በዝምድና በዘር በማንአለብኝነት የተዋቀረስለሆነነው። ምክንያቱም የወያኔ መንግስት አንድ ዱርዬ ግለሰብ ያለውን ባህሪ ሙሉ በሙሉ ያሟላ በመሆኑነው። ልብ ብዬ መንግስታችንን ሳስበው አንዳንድ በአካል የማውቃቸውን ዱርዬዎችን ያስታውሰኛል። ዱርዬ አላማ የለውም፣ይዘርፋል፣ ሰውይገድላል፣ገድሎም ቤተሰብ ይበትናል፣የሀገር ጉዳይ አያሳስበውም፣ ለራሱና ለመሰሎቹ ከማሰብ ሌላ የሚደንቀውም የሚጨንቀውም ነገር የለም። ለዚህ ሁሉ ጥፋቱም አንድም ጊዜ እራሱን የሚወቅስበት ህሊና የለውም።የተጠያቂነት ስሜትም የለውም።ታዲያ ይሄ የዱርዬ ባህሪያት መንግስታችን     አያሟላም ትላላችሁ?

ከወያኔኣዊ ባህሪያት አንደኛው፦ ከዘሮቹ አልፎ ለተቀሩት ዜጎች አልፎ የሚያስብበት ጊዜ እንደሌለው በተደጋጋሚ አሳይቶናል። ስንት ወንድምና እህቶቻችን ናቸው ለፍተውና ተግተው ተምረው ከወያኔ ባለመወለዳቸው ስራ አጥ የሆኑት። ከዚህ በተቃራኒው ብዙም ሳይለፉ መጠነኛ ኮርስ ብቻ ወስደው ከወያኔ በመወለዳቸው ብቻ ከፍተኛ የስልጣን እርከን ላይ የተቀመጡት። ከሁሉ የሚያሳዝነውም ለተቀመጡበት የስልጣን እርከን ሙያዊ ብቃት ስለሌላቸው የሚያደርሱት ሀገራዊ ጥፋትም ጭምር ነው።

ሁለተኛው፦በግድ የለሽነትና በማን አለብኝነት ጥንት አባቶቻችን አጥንቶቻቸውን ከስክሰው ደማቸውን አፍሰው እንደ ሀገር ያቆሟትን ሀገር ያለማመንታት መሬታችንን ቆርሰው ለጎረቤት ሃገራት  ሰጥተዋል።

ሶስተኛው፦ ማንኛውንም ተቀናቃኝ በሃይል እያሳደዱ ከእነደብዛ ማጥፋት መለያቸው ከሆነ ከርሟል። ግርም የሚለው ተቃዋሚዎቻቸውን አጥፍተው ሲያበቁ ባገኙት አጋጣሚ ጠንካራ ተቃዋሚ የለም ብለው መደስኮራቸው ነው ።በመሳሪያ ከሆነ አዎ የለም በጠርጴዛ ዙሪያ ከሆነ ግን በእጥፍ የሚያስከነዳ ሞልቷል እላለሁ ።

አራተኛው፦ውሸት የአፍ መፍቻ ቋንቋቸው ስለሆነ ከጠዋት እስከማታ ሚድያቸውን(ኢቲቪ) በመጠቀም ነፍስ ያላወቁ ህጻናትን ውሸት ያስተምራሉ።ነፍስ ያወቀውማ ምን ሲደረግ የእነሱን በሬ ወለደ ይሰማል። ታዲያ ትውልድን ውሸት ከማስተማር የበለጠ ምን ጥፋት ይኖራል!

  አምስተኛው፦አድርባዮቻቸውን ውሻዊ ባህሪ ማላበስ የዱርዬዎች መለያ ባህሪ ነው። ዋናው ዱርዬ ከበታቹ ያሉትን ሲሻው እንደ ውሻ ሲያዝ እነሱም በበኩላቸው  ሲታዘዙ ን

ጹሃን ዜጎችን ንከሱም ሲላቸው ያለማመንታት ሲነክሱ ይኖሩና እርሱም ማዘዝ የሰለቸው እለት እራሳቸውን ነክሶ ይጥላል። ለዚህም ምስክር ይሆነን ዘንድ በርካታ አድርባዮችን መጥቀስ ይቻላል።ለጊዜው ግን እነ ጁነዲን ሳዶ፣ መላኩ ፋንታ ማየት በቂ ምስክር ነው። የቀን ጉዳይ ነው እንጂ እነ ኩማ ደመቅሳ፣አባዱላገመዳ፣ደመቀ መኮንን እና ሌሎችም መሰል ተግባራት ላይ ያሉ ተራቸውን የሚጠብቁ አድርባዮች መሆናቸው ግልጽ ነው።

በዘረፋ ከተባለም በርትተው ሀገሪቷን በራቁት ለማስቀረት ሌት ተቀን እየሰሩ ይገኛሉ። ገደብ ያጣ ዝርፊያቸውን ያስረዳ ዘንድ በዋናነት ለሀገሪቱ የገቢ ምንጭ የሆኑትን ከቡና፣ ከተለያዩ ማዕድናት፣ ከቆዳ፣ ከአበባ፣ በዕርዳታ ስም ወደ ሀገር ቤት የሚገባው ገንዘብ የት እንደሚገባ መጠየቅ ሟቹ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር እንዳሉት ቀዩዋን መስመር እንደ ማለፍ ይቆጠራል። ተቆጥሮም አይቀር ሽብርተኛ ያሰኛል። ግድ የለም ሂሳቡን የሀገሪቱ ቁልፍ ህዝብ  እጅ ሲገባ በጋራ የምናወራርደው ይሆናል።ሀዘኔ ግን በየጊዜው በወያኔ ክንድ እየተደቆሱ ለመሬት ግብአት ለዋሉት ወገኖቻችን ነው።የተነጠቀን ህይወት ማስመለስ አይቻልምና።

ምክንያቱም ይህ የሽፍታ ቡድን ሀገሪቱን ወደ እድገት ጎዳና የመምራት ቅንጣትታህል ፍላጎት እንደሌለው በተለያዩ አጋጣሚዎች አሳይቶናል። እስከሚገባኝ ድረስ የዜጎችእድገት ማለትየ ሀገር እድገት ማለትነው። ለወያኔ ግን ይሄ የገባው አይመስለኝም ምክንያቱም የዜጎች ኑሮ ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ እያሽቆለቆለ ህዝቦችዋ በረሀብ እና በጥማት በሚኖሩባት ሀገር ባለበት ወቅት ወያኔ ግን ኢኮኖሚያችን ፩፩ ዲጂት አድጓል ሲል ቅንጣት ታህል አያፍርም።ለነገሩ ሽፍታ ወንበዴ እኮ አያፍርም።ሀገር እኮ ማለት ሕዝብ ነው ። ሕዝብ ደግሞ ከተራበ ሀገሪቱዋ አደጋ ላይ ናት ማለት ነው።  ወንበዴ አላማየለውም፣ ከዘላቂ ነገር ይልቅ ለጊዘያዊ ፍላጎቱ ሙሉ ጊዜውን ይሰዋል፣የገዛ ድርጊቱ እንኩዋን ለሰው ለራሱ ግልጽ አይደለም፣ ጉዞ ሲጀምር የሚያደርሰውን ቦታ አያውቅም፣ ተስፋን አያውቅም፣ መረጋጋትን አልፈጠረበትም፣ ህሊና የለውም፣ ሁሉን በእጁ ማድረግ ይሻል፣ ሁሉን በሃይል ማዘዝ ይቀናዋል፣ የሰውን ሃሳብ ማድመጥ ለሱ ሽንፈት ነው፣ የንጹሃን ደም ለሱ ቧልት ነው ፣መዝረፍ ለሱ ተራ ነገር ነው፣የሻውን ነገር ለታይታ ወይም ለመመፃደቅ ብቻ ያለ እቅድ እና ፍላጎት ጊዜና ገንዘቡን ያፈሳል። የሰው ልጅ ከነዚህ ባህሪያቶች ውስጥ አንዱ ወይም ሁለቱ ሊኖረው ይችላል ወንበዴ ግን ይህን ሁሉ ባህርያት በጅምላ ይይዛል። ለዚህም ነው ዱርዬ መልክ የለውም ያልኩት። ዱርዬውን መንግስታችንን ልብ ብላችሁ ከታዘባችሁት የሚሰራው ነገር ለራሱም  ግልጽ አይደለም፣እየሄደበት ያለው መንገድ የት እንደሚያደርሰው አያውቅም፣ሀገሪቱዋ የህዝብ በመሆን ፈንታ ሁሉን ነገር ያለ ገደብ በእጃቸው ሲያደርጉት አይተናል፣ እያንዳንዱ እንቅስቃሴ እና ትኩረታቸው ተጽእኖ ማሳደር የሚችሉ የምዕራብ ሀገራትን ልብ ለመግዛት አገልግሎት የሚውል ሀሰተኛ ዲሞክራሲ ማካሄድ ላይ ብቻ ነው።ታድያ ይሄ ዱርዬ መንግስትአይደለም ትላላችሁ ? በስተመጨረሻም ወያኔን ሊገባው ከቻለ አንድ ምክር እመክራለው ህዝብን ሁልጊዜ ማታለል ማዋከብበ ሀይል መያዝ አይቻልም። ስለዚህም ከወዲሁ እየሄዳችሁበት ያለው መንገድ የትም አያደርሳችሁምና ቆም ብላችሁ በጥሞና ብታስቡበት መልካም ይመስለኛል። ህዝብ በቃኝ ያለ ዕለት ማንም እንደማያቆመው ከተለያዩ በአምባገነን ሲተዳደሩ ከቆዩ ሀገራት ተመክሮ መውሰድ ብልህነትነው። በእነኚህ ሀገራት የተከሰተው አይነት አሰቃቂ የዕርስ በዕርስ ጦርነት ያየነውን በሀገራችን እንዳላይ ነው ጸሎቴ።መንግስት የያዘውን መንገድ የሙጥኝ ካለ ግን ውጤቱን መገመት አያዳግትም።

The Strange Twist in Amhara Politics: Rehabilitating Past Tyrants

The latest fanfare surrounding the celebration of Menelik’s centennial marks an interesting strategic shift in Amhara politics. This memorialization function which, both by design and default, turns every futile, petty, even downright brutal acts of ancient kings into a dazzling action, began a decade ago with a successful resurrection of Haile Selassie I. Now it’s Menelik’s turn.  With the publishing of his memoirs and multiple interviews, Mengistu is just around the corner.  I argue that the resurrection and rehabilitation of the memory of past rulers is not just an obsession of  the fringe in the right and some populist artists, but  a calculated and systematic undertaking by intellectuals supported by the broader political community suggestive of a deeper and seismic shift  in the Amhara politics.

In 1990s most  people, regardless of their ethnic background, remembered Hailesilassie for the despotic ruler that he was, as a king who oppressed millions, starved Wallo and held the country in perpetual darkness. That began to change in less than a decade. All of a sudden, newspapers, magazines and songs began transforming him into a glorious king whose deeds, big and small, must be inscribed in stone and made present for posterity. His remains were exhumed and given a public burial; his crimes were erased from public discourse. With  vocalist Teddy Afro as a leading of revivalist voice  of the Solomonic dynasty, Hailesialassie’s sanctification reached its climax. He was accorded a status of not just a caring Emperor of Ethiopia, but also a unifying father of Africa.With his revival in public culture, those who suffered under his authoritarian rule rendered even more invisible and inaudible.
With successful completion of Haileselassie’s remaking, the next project is the difficult task of portraying Menelik’s legacy as the most shining not only in Ethiopia but also in Africa. The Adwa victory has always been celebrated but now all of a sudden it began receiving a heightened emphasis in media, academia and the arts. The historical significance of the war in the black-white racial divide is now given special attention and Menelik is refashioned as a hero of all black people around the world (despite the fact he himself denied being black, telling the black rights activist Benito Sylvain “I am not a Negro at all; I am a Caucasian”).
To further advance this tactic of cleansing Menelik, small slices of credits were thrown for his commanders such as Habtagiorgis (Qusee) Dinagdee and Balcha Safo. This credit sharing was meant to spread the blame around so that the massacres committed during the war of conquest in the South would be reframed as a war of unification waged by the unified leadership of all nationalities, not just the Amhara onslaught on the rest. The aim is to turn the bloody massacre of millions  into a blessed holy war, as declared recently.
Now we are observing the beginning of an attempt to sanitize the not so distant dark memory of Mengistu Hailemariam’s rule. A two volume  biography by a talented writer and autobiography are followed by choreographed interviews on noble issues such as the future of Ethiopia and Mandela’s legacy! It’s a matter of time before we start seeing picture of him on t-shirts and banners.
The question then is this: why are Amhara elites laboring so hard to rehabilitate the image of past tyrants at the cost of antagonizing the rest of the nationalities? The answer is that they are undertaking a fundamental shift in their political strategy from the Pan-Ethiopianist narrative to a plain Amhara ethno-nationalism. Masking the Amhara partisan interest under the garb of pan-Ethiopian rhetoric required deemphasizing the past. However, as a result of the robust transformation in the national consciousness of other groups over the last few decades, neither hiding the past nor masking partisan interest in the name of unity is selling well. In fact, the past has been dug out and being used as a roadblock to the ambition of restoring the Amhara hegemony. Moreover, the effort to bury the past in order to keep the increasingly less profitable pan-Ethiopian narrative floating has split and weakened the Amhara base. The division is between those who want to openly advocate for Amhara interest and those who want to stick to the masking. Now it seems a consensus is emerging in favor of the modified version of the former.
As mentioned above, the indignation and violence committed by the Amhara elites in the past have  been used to delegitimize the ambitions of the current generation of Amharas.  Hence, they feel that their effort to distance themselves from the legacy of these rulers has not worked. Thus, in rehabilitating past tyrants, Amhara elites are trying to turn historical legacy of those men from political liability to asset.  They aim to do this in two ways. One is by denying, minimizing or rationalizing the heinous crimes committed by their past rulers; thereby developing a narrative that provides post facto justification for it. If that past is successfully reframed as unfortunate but justifiable and largely positive undertaking, men like Menelik would no longer be liabilities but assets whose credit in ‘unifying the country’ could be cashed out by the current generation. Once the war of conquest is turned into a civilizing mission, it  then  would enable Amhara elites transform the discourse from defensive to offensive, attacking their adversaries as ‘ungrateful savages’.  Note the common utterance that goes ‘had it not been for Menelik, you would have remained naked and enslaved by European colonialists’!
The second tactic is to embrace the legacy of the past rulers as a way of turning them into unifying and motivating historical figures for the Amhara base. This is particularly important at a time when the Amhara political community lacks any contemporary unifying figure due to being scattered into countless rival factions. While Menelik can be rebranded as a unifying figure, the rehabilitation of both Hailesialssie and Mengistu would also help to heal the wound caused by the split of the Amhara base in the 1970s in support of or  opposition to the monarchy and the revolution.
As effective as this strategy of rehabilitating past rulers to advance contemporary politics may be, it carries serious risks for the Amhara political agenda. By promoting these past rulers, Amharas will obviously face two problems. Morally, it becomes hard to justify their criticism of Tigrean domination or point out crimes committed by leaders like Meles Zenawi  while glorifying their own. Second, by rehabilitating these rulers, Amhara elites might be benefiting from a unified and energized base, yet  at the same time they further antagonize the rest of the nationalities—consequently facilitating  recreation of a unified opposition to themselves, the type that brought down their past hegemony.
Finally the shift in Amhara politics from the pretension of speaking for others and hiding behind the Ethiopianist mask towards openly advocating their partisan self-interest is an encouraging development.  But they have to seriously think how best to articulate this transformation. No doubt that these past  rulers  could be considered  heroes  in the Amhara community. After all they brought about and sustained  their  socio-economic domination that lasted almost a century and still persists. But they were  also a brutal war criminals who devastated other nations; turning them into a socio economic underclass. Hence using these rulers as  central  heroes of the emerging Amhara nationalism would be scratching old wound and putting the Amhara political community in  perpetual tension with the rest of the peoples in the region.

taken from gulele post
  http://www.gulelepost.com/2013/12/19/the-strange-twist-in-amhara-politics-rehabilitating-past-tyrants/

Afan Oromo first transmission

December 2013 marks the 39th year since the first transmission of the 'Afan Oromo' program on the state-owned 'Ethiopian Radio.' The 'Afan Oromo' program of the 'Ethiopian Radio' began in December 1974 - prior to that, Afan Oromo was banned from being transmitted on radio or, for that matter, from being used in all official arenas; even after 1974, the ban on Afan Oromo in official arenas continued - rendering the 1-hour per day 'Afan Oromo' radio program a token effort by the Ethiopian empire. At the beginning, there was hope that the 'Afan Oromo' radio program would be an outlet for Oromo stories; however, soon after its first transmission, the 'Afan Oromo' program degenerated into the mouthpiece of the Ethiopian empire in Afan Oromo. To relate it to current affairs, the recent SABC's (South African Broadcasting Corporation's) interview with Capt. Gutu Dinka (the real "interviewee") and the so-called Prof. Mamo Muche epitomizes the relationship between the Oromo people and the 'Afan Oromo' program of the 'Ethiopian Radio.' The real storyteller is subdued to voicelessness, and those in the Ethiopian empire speak their version of the story on the airwaves. Unless the Oromo nation develops own modern media outlet to tell the Oromo stories, the nation's long walk to freedom will be prolonged - the struggle should never be to demand the oppressor to also speak in Afan Oromo (i.e. in addition to the oppressor's language), but for the oppressed to develop modern media outlet to stop voicelessness in this era of modern media.

* Photo: From Gadaa.com's Archives (An Elder Being Interviewed by Citizen/Radio Journalists - date: late 1970's; Oromo elders are considered a library with archived oral history and wisdom of the Oromo).

“438 Days” in Ethiopian custody – a book by Swedish Journalists

 

By: Yusuf M Hasan (somalilandsun) Somalilandsun –

 The Authors of “438 DAGAR” Martin Schibbye, and Johan Persson, which is a book detailing their “438 Days” in Ethiopian custody and related experiences have now turned to exposing the ills they perceive to be ongoing in the Ogaden Region. In an exclusive interview with journalist Mohamed Farah of Ogadentoday Press the two Swedish scribes say their motivation to pursue information on the region some refer to as “Ethiopia’s Darfur” or “Africa’s Palestine” by the burning desire to bring to light inhuman activities that were known but craftily what hidden from the International Community. Describing their arrest by Ethiopian Counterinsurgency forces operating in the Ogaden region against the Ogaden National Liberation Front-ONLF that led to the 438 Days” in Custody Journalist Schibbye said that 150 soldiers who had been pursuing them for some time opened sporadic gunfire injuring him on the shoulder while colleague Johan got hit in the arm Though the two faced extreme torture especially lack of medical attention, the counter insurgency forces viewed them as hostile elements geared towards disruption of national security since they, the Swede journalists undertook their coverage under guidance of and accompanied by members of ONLF, an armed group the Ethiopian government considers rebellious thence outlawed. Below are the verbatim excerpts of the interview Ogadentoday Press: Welcome to Ogadentoday Press Martin Schibbye: Thank Very Much Ogadentoday Press: What makes you to travel into Ogaden and put yourself at risk? Martin Schibbye: Despite, many reports written about the conflicts in the Ogaden, no-one set foot in the oil-fields to report on and that drove us to try and use our legs to see with our own eyes the impacts of the Oil-Industry rather than googling to cover the story. The only conventional way into the area is to make an official visit, stage managed by the Ethiopian regime, pausing for a few hours in some well‐run hospital. These things are organised at regular intervals. At some point, you have to make a choice as a journalist. Either you produce a text in which Ethiopia claims there is peace in Ogaden, while the separatist movement, ONLF, insists there is a state of war. And you’re satisfied with that. Or you try to find out what’s true. Which of the perspectives are accurate. Either refugees were tortured by the Ethiopian army, or they weren’t. Either there is conflict in the region – or not. It shouldn’t be a matter of opinion. That is why we have to go into, so we can see with our own eyes what the consequences are of the activities of the international oil companies Ogadentoday Press: Did you have a chance to meet and interview the local Ogadenis inside Ogaden region? Martin Schibbye: No, not really, the conflict level is high and the area is militarized .We passed through an empty village that its residents fled due to the conflict. We pass abandoned huts, and meet an elderly man wandering the desert who says his village was burnt to the ground and everyone was killed. He planned to flee to Dadaab. We also make a long interview with the commander of the ONLF group that is guiding us about why they fight and their views on foreign oil companies. Because of the heavy fighting in the area that we passed through the Ethiopian army detected, followed and ambushed us. Ogadentoday Press: When did you fall into the hands of the notorious Liyu Police militia? And how did they treat you? Martin Schibbye: On June 30, about 150 Ethiopian soldiers attacked and opened fire on us I got hit in the shoulder and Johan got hit in the arm. Then, I shouted: “Media! Media! International Press!” After we were arrested, we were not given medical care, a chance to contact our Embassy, or taken to a court but instead kept us in the desert for four days. It was the longest and the worst days that I have ever experienced in my life. The army started to make a mockumentary about what has happened and they brought in military journalists and gave us clean clothes. We were told to co-operate or we would be killed. To make us cooperate they arranged a mock execution. Driving us around to different locations to act like a Steven Spielbergy film. The film’s director was the vice-president, Abdullaahi Yuusuf Weerar, conversing with the regional president, Abdi Mohamoud Omar by phone. Ogadentoday Press: Were you imprisoned in one of Ogaden jails? Martin Schibbye: We spent a couple of nights at the police station in the regional prison of Jigjiga but then we were taken to Maekalawi prison in Addis Ababa. In the beginning, we thought that if we could prove that we were journalists we would go free, but the opposite happened. We were sentenced and charged as terrorists because of being journalists. They made an assessment. At one hand international criticism on the other hand to scare away both foreign journalists and the local ones. Meles Zenawi was on top of our case from day one and wanted to make an example. In detention we realized that we were not alone as all the cells from right to left where crowded with politicians and Journalists charged with terrorism. It was obvious that we were in the middle of crackdown because of Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law restricted freedom of expression and used it as a tool to crackdown on dissidents. Ogadentoday Press: How do you describe Kality jail to people that have never been in it? Martin Schibbye: Its impossible. Its eight zones with 800-1000 prisoners in every zone. Basically its crowded like a music festival, but without beer, without music and with a lot of soldiers with guns. It was 200% overcrowded, hot, dusty, lack of water, full of rats and fleas and many people were very sick among them, people with HIV and tuberculosis infections. But the conditions were not as significant as the other inmates. What is concerning is not the condition but who they put in there: Journalists and political opposition figures. There was also something else in Kality. A friendship between prisoners. The first word I learned in Amharic was “nubla”, “come and eat”. We hade a lot of support from fellow prisoners. Ogadentoday Press: Ethiopia government regards jailed Journalists in Kality as terrorists, do you agree? Martin Schibbye: No, we have been accused of the same things, we had been to the same prison and had the same sentences-but that is where the parallel ends: Eskinder Nega, Woubshet Taye, and Reeyot Alemu and many others still there. Only me and Johan are free. All these young Ethiopian journalists faced a tough choice. They are intelligent, and well-educated .They could have chosen an easy life. They could have chosen another profession, but the love for the truth to their country for their human being made them journalists. They stayed and continued to write, and that decision brought them to Kality. With nine detained journalists left in Kality, Ethiopia today is one of the leading countries in the world when it comes to imprisoning members of the press. Repression of the media has also made the country a world leader when it comes to running journalists out of the country. Ogadentoday Press: Do you believe that your book for “438 days” can expose both the plights of Ogaden people and Prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia? Martin Schibbye: Since our release I have often been asked if the attention helps the imprisoned or not. My answer is that it is far more important than food and water. When you’re locked up as a prisoner of conscience, the greatest fear is to be forgotten. The support from the outside is what keep you going and international coverage does provide a certain level of protection. Prison guards and administrators will think twice because they know the world is watching. But we should also be aware of that the arrest of me and Johan Persson made evident the damage to its reputation the Ethiopian government was willing to accept in its effort to silence independent reporters. One positive outcome of our book and a newly released documentaryfilm based on material smuggled out by Abdulahi Hussein (a former adviser to the state president Abdi Muhamud Omar and now a refugee in Sweden) is that The International Public Prosecutors Office in Sweden has decided to start an investigation of suspected war crimes against a number of identified politicians and military personel in the Ethiopian region of Ogaden. Pointed out are the regional president Abdi Muhamud Omar and the vice president Abdulahi Werer. I hope that the ones responsible for the terrible atrocities can be held accountable. As long as Ethiopia can commit crimes, jail journalists and get away with it, it is a cheap and easy way of censorship. To jail a journalist should be regarded as a crime against humanity. But in this regard, I don’t put my hopes to international pressure. For now, the jailed journalists are nothing more than “an irritant” in the diplomatic world. It’s business as usual. I put my hope in the young generation which I shared the concrete floor with in Kality. Despite, the daily propaganda on the Ethiopian state television, ETV, very few in Kality regards the jailed journalists as terrorists. I have an unquestioning faith in Ethiopia’s young people. Ogadentoday Press: Thank you so much, Martin Schibbye for your time.

EMF