Hvide Hus 'talsmand Jay Carney meddelte i sidste uge, at præsident Obama har inviteret formændene for Ghana, Tanzania, Benin og Meles Zenawi at deltage i G8-topmødet (forum for regeringerne i otte af verdens største økonomier) for en diskussion af fødevaresikkerheden på 19 maj på Camp David (Presidential tilbagetog) i Maryland. USA har været at uddele fødevarehjælp til det afrikanske kontinent i årtier. Nu Præsident Obama siger, at der er en anden truende "fødevarekriser" i Afrika. Oxfam siger, "Alle tegn peger mod en tørke blive en katastrofe, hvis der ikke gøres noget snart." FN Levnedsmiddel-og Landbrugsorganisation (FAO) har udsendt appeller om ekstra 70 millioner dollars til at hjælpe nogle 800.000 husstande i det tørke-ramte Sahel-regionen i Vestafrika. Etiopien og Somalia forventes at være ground zero for det forventede hungersnød. Ifølge April 25, 2012 rapporten fra USAID-finansierede Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), det sydlige Etiopien vil sandsynligvis erfaring hungersnød: "De forventede lavere end gennemsnittet regnen vil have væsentlig negativ indvirkning på produktion af afgrøder, græsgange regenerering, og opfyldning af vandressourcer i hele regionen, med den mest alvorlige og umiddelbare virkninger i Belg-afhængige områder i det sydlige Etiopien. "I de seneste par år eller så, har jeg skrevet over en halv snes kommentarer om hungersnøden og fødevaremangel i Etiopien. (Se links nedenfor).

De Hunger Word Games i Etiopien

Etiopiske regering i løbet af de sidste fire årtier har bebrejdet fødevaremangel og hungersnød på alt undtagen deres egen ligegyldighed, inkompetence og forsømmelighed. Kejser Haile Selassie i 1974 lod var der ingen hungersnød, indtil "The Hidden Famine" af Jonathan Dimbleby blev sendt til en chokeret og vred Etiopiens befolkning. Tidligere socialistiske junta leder Mengistu var arrogant afvisende over for den 1984-85 hungersnød, hvor omkring en million mennesker omkom. Mengistu ville foragteligt reagere på journalister ved at udfordre dem, "Hvad hungersnød?"

Zenawi er klogere end sine forgængere. Han spiller public relations og semantiske spil med hungersnød i landet. Han vil bruge et ord, undtagen "F" ord, at beskrive de kroniske og massiv fødevaremangel i landet. For Zenawi der "ikke er hungersnød i Etiopien" kun "spot mangel", "alvorlig underernæring", "fødevareusikkerhed", "fødevarekrise", "alvorlig tørke" og så videre. "Food mangel" er ikke et resultat af dårlig landbrugs planlægning og praksis, officiel inkompetence, massiv korruption, kriminel uagtsomhed, osv., men er forårsaget af "tørke", "uregelmæssig regn" "beskadiget eller forsinket afgrøder", "skovrydning" , "jorderosion", "overgræsning" og andre økologiske faktorer. I januar 2012 igen Zenawi nægtet hungersnød i Etiopien i et CNN interview: "Etiopien står over for en stor hungersnød. Hvordan kan du retfærdiggøre udgifterne til en militær operation i et andet land, når dine egne folk sulter? "Zenawi svarede," Der er ingen hungersnød i Etiopien, som alle humanitære organisationer vil fortælle dig. Der er en alvorlig tørke, men vi er i stand til at holde vores folk fodret .... "

Den internationale fattigdom mongers / alfonser (PMPs) har opfundet en "videnskabelig" klassifikationssystem for "fødevaremangel", bag hvilken Zenawi har været i stand til at skjule den sande omfang og alvoren af ​​problemet i landet. De eufemismer af PMPs undgå "F" ord helt uanset ende af fødevaremangel. For de PMPs de betingelser, falder ind under en af ​​følgende kategorier: "Akut fødevareusikkerhed, stresset, Crisis, Emergency og katastrofe." Det er "videnskabeligt" umuligt at få hungersnød i Afrika! Så tavshedens sammensværgelse går på at holde hungersnøden i Etiopien skjult ved klog anvendelse af maskering eufemismer.

Zenawi og hans bedste løjtnanter har været lovende for at afslutte "fødevaremangel som følge af tørke" i en meget kort tid. I 2009, stolt Simon Mechale, leder af landets "katastrofeforebyggelse og-beredskab agenturet", erklærede: ". Etiopien vil snart helt sikre fødevaresikkerhed" I flere år har Zenawi blevet annoncerer sin "Productive Safety Net Programme" som mekanisme til at afslutte "cyklus af afhængighed af fødevarehjælp" ved at bygge bro "produktions-underskud og beskytte husholdnings-og community aktiver". I oktober 2011 Zenawi sagde hans parti trofaste: "Vi har udtænkt en plan, der vil sætte os i stand til at producere overskud og være i stand til at brødføde os selv i 2015 uden behov for fødevarehjælp." Zenawi "Plan til at producere overskud" er ved at "leasing" millioner af hektar landets primære landbrugsjord til såkaldte internationale investorer (jord grabbers), hvis eneste formål er at gøre afgrøder til eksport. Etiopien vil producere fødevarer til at brødføde andre nationer, mens etiopierne sulte. Zenawi er stærk modstander privat ejendomsret til jord, som ved alle ekspertgrupper regnskaber er den vigtigste faktor for at sikre fødevaresikkerheden i en nation. Men sidste år, mad inflationen i Etiopien forblev på 47,4 procent.

Fødevarer er blevet brugt som et politisk våben i Etiopien. Sult har været nye våben valg at skabe støtte til Zenawi regime og at decimere hans politiske rivaler. Zenawi har været temmelig vellykket i at knuse hjerter, sind og spiritus hos de mennesker, ved at holde deres maver tom. De, der modsætter Zenawi regime er ikke kun nægtes humanitær fødevarebistand og nødhjælp, er de også ofre gennem et system af udsættelser, benægtelse af jord eller reduktion i arealet samt nægtelse af adgang til lån, gødning, såsæd, osv. I tilfælde af folk i Gambella i det vestlige Etiopien, er hele samfund blevet tvunget ud af landet for at gøre plads til indiske "investorer" i strid med internationale konventioner, der beskytter de oprindelige folks rettigheder. Human Rights Watch, among other organizations, has raised serious concerns over the misuse of humanitarian food aid: “The Ethiopian government is routinely using access to aid as a weapon to control people and crush dissent. If you don't play the ruling party's game, you get shut out. Without effective, independent monitoring, international aid will continue to be abused to consolidate a repressive single-party state.” In 2009, US State Department promised to investigate allegations that “$850 million in food and anti-poverty aid from the US is being distributed on the basis of political favoritism by the current prime minister's party.” No report has been issued.

In 2011, US Census Bureau made the frightening prediction that Ethiopia's population by 2050 will more than triple to 278 million. Ethiopia's chronic “food insecurity” is expected to get increasingly worse culminating in a “Malthusian catastrophe” (where disease, starvation, war, etc. will reduce the population to the level of food production) in the foreseeable future. Zenawi's regime has failed to implement a national family planning program which will avert such a catastrophe.

Famine in Ethiopia is Ninety Percent Man-Made

In 2011, Wolfgang Fengler, a lead economist for the World Bank, in a refreshingly honest moment for an international banker said, “The famine in the Horn of Africa is a result of artificially high prices for food and civil conflict than natural and environmental causes. This crisis is manmade. Droughts have occurred over and again, but you need bad policymaking for that to lead to a famine.” In other words, it is bad and poor governance that is at the core of the famine problem in Ethiopia, not drought or other environmental causes. Penny Lawrence, Oxfam's international director, after visiting Ethiopia observed: “Drought does not need to mean hunger and destitution. If communities have irrigation for crops, grain stores, and wells to harvest rains then they can survive despite what the elements throw at them.” Martin Plaut, BBC World Service News Africa editor explains that the “current [Ethiopian food] crisis is in part the result of policies designed to keep farmers on the land, which belongs to the state and cannot be sold.” So the obvious questions are: Why does a regime that has rejected socialism and is presumably committed to a free market economy insist on complete state ownership of land? Why is there not an adequate system of irrigation for crops, grain storages and wells to harvest rains throughout the country? Does Zenawi really have a food security policy for the country?

The Hunger Games at Camp David

After four decades at the humanitarian food aid trough, it is unlikely that Ethiopia will achieve food security even in the distant future. President Obama is rightly concerned over the “food shortages” in the Horn and the Sahel in the coming year. Last month, the United States pledged to provide nearly $200 million in additional humanitarian aid to the Horn in anticipation of “poor rains and drought”. In 2011, the US provided over $1.1 billion in humanitarian aid to Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

On May 19, President Obama and the G8 leaders will have to face some tough questions: What is the moral hazard of endlessly supplying food relief to the Horn countries? Why should the world continue to help a country that leases millions of hectares of the most fertile land in the country and become the breadbasket for India and the Middle East while its people are starving? Why should the world provide food aid to a country when the ruling regime weaponizes the aid to decimate opposition, crush the democratic aspirations of the people and flagrantly violate human rights? Does aiding dictators who use food aid for political purposes end famine and food shortages in Africa?

The G8 leaders can talk about “food shortages” until the cows come home, but the answer to famine in Ethiopia and in the Horn is not never ending handouts to starving populations and free lunches to panhandling dictators. Handouts create a moral hazard of negative dependency by recipients which incapacitates them from fending for themselves. Zenawi and the other African dictators have no incentive to address the “food shortage” issue because they are absolutely and positively sure that the US and other G8 countries will ALWAYS deliver humanitarian food aid to their starving populations year after year. As a world leader, the US has a moral obligation to provide humanitarian food aid to famine victims; but it also has the moral responsibility of leveraging the billions in handouts (development aid, loans from the multilateral institutions and budget support payments) to dictators to promote democracy, human rights and rule of law in Africa.

In May 2010, Zenawi's party won 99.6 percent of the seats in parliament. Despite two decades of one-party domination, Zenawi has not been able to do much to address the structural problem of food insecurity in the country. But he has been blowing his horn about bogus stratospheric economic growth. Ethiopians suffer from chronic food shortages and famine because they lack a political framework that can deal effectively with the problem. The Indian economics Nobel laureate Amartya Sen argued that the best way to avert famines is by institutionalizing democracy and strengthening human rights: “No famine has ever taken place in the history of the world in a functioning democracy” because democratic governments “have to win elections and face public criticism, and have strong incentive to undertake measures to avert famines and other catastrophes.” Famines are kept hidden from public view by jailing opposition leaders, journalists and civic society advocates who could sound the alarm over an impending famine.

What Should the US Do for Ethiopia?

All the US needs to do for Ethiopia is practice what it preaches. In 2009 in Accra, Ghana President Obama preached:

Development depends on good governance. History offers a clear verdict: Governments that respect the will of their own people, that govern by consent and not coercion, are more prosperous, they are more stable, and more successful than governments that do not. No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny. And now is the time for that style of governance to end…. In the 21st century, capable, reliable, and transparent institutions are the key to success — strong parliaments; honest police forces; independent judges; an independent press; a vibrant private sector; a civil society. Those are the things that give life to democracy, because that is what matters in people's everyday lives…. History is on the side of these brave Africans, not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions. With better governance, I have no doubt that Africa holds the promise of a broader base of prosperity….  

Listening to Zenawi plead for more aid before the G8 to deal with the looming “food crises” (but “no famine”) is like listening to the man who killed his parents and asked for leniency from the court because he is an orphan. Now that's a chutzpah!

Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:

http://www.ecadforum.com/ Amharic/archives/category/al- mariam-amharic

http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24

Previous commentaries by the author are available at:

http://open.salon.com/blog/ almariam/ and

www.huffingtonpost.com/ alemayehu-g-mariam/

Author's prior commnetaries on famine in Ethiopia:

The “Silently” Creeping Famine: http://www.huffingtonpost. com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ ethiopias-silently-creepi_b_ 418068.html

What Should the World Do To Save Starving

Why are Ethiopians Starving Again in 2011? http://open.salon.com/ blog/almariam/2011/08/20/why_ are_ethiopians_starving_again_ in_2011

“Famine and the Noiseome Beast” http://www.ethiopianreview. com/content/11124

Ethiopia: Apocalypse Now or in 40 Years? http://open.salon.com/ blog/almariam/2011/07/10/ ethiopia_apocalypse_now_or_in_ 40_years

Ethiopia: Starve the Beast, Feed the People! http://open.salon.com/ blog/almariam/2011/08/14/ ethiopia_starve_the_beast_not_ the_people

Ethiopia: Meles Zenawi and the Weaponization of

በካምፕ   ዴቪድ   የአፍሪካ   የችጋር   ትርኢት

ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ

ባለፈው ሳምንት የሁዋይት ሀውስ ቤተ መንግስት ቃል አቀባይ ጄይ ካርኒ ፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማ የጋናን፤ የታንዛንያን፤የበኒን ፕሬዜዳንቶችንና መለስ ዜናዊን የስምንቱን የኤኮኖሚ ሃያላን ሃገሮች (G8) ስብሰባ ላይ በካምፕ ዴቪድ ሜሪላንድ በሜይ 19 ስለ ምግብ ዋስትና በሚካሄደው ውይይት ላይ እንዲገኙ መጋበዛቸውን ይፋ አድርገዋል፡፡ የአሜሪካን መንግሥት ለዘመናት ለአፍሪካ አህጉር የምግብ እርዳት ሲያደርግ መክረሙ ይታወቃል፡፡ አሁንም በድጋሚ አፍሪካን ‹‹የመረረ የችጋር ወቅት›› ገጥሟታል ይላሉ ፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማ፡፡ ኦክስፋም በበኩሉ ከአሁኑ አስፈላጊው ሁሉ ካልተደረገ በስተቀር በመታየት ላይ ያሉ ጠቋሚ ምልክቶች ሁሉ እጅጉን ዘግናኝ የሆነ መአት እንደሚከተል ያሳያሉ ይላል፡፡ የተባበሩት መንግስታት የምግብና የእርሻ ድርጅት በበኩሉ ባስተላለፈው የድረሱ ጥሪው፤ በሳሄል ምእራብ አፍሪካ ለ800,000 በችጋሩ ለተጎዱት ረሃብተኞች መርጃ የሚሆን 70 ሚለዮን የአሜሪካን ዶላር እንደሚያስፈልግ፤አስቀድሞ ማስጠንቀቂያው መተንበዩን መሰረት አድርጎ ኢትዮጵያና ሶማልያ በጉዳቱ ወደ አዘቀዘቀው ደረጃ እንደሚወርዱም ይፋ አድርጓል፡፡ የዝናቡ አናሳ መሆንም አስፈላጊውን ምርት ስለማያስገኝ የግጦሽ መሬትንም መልሶ ስለማያለማው፤በአጠቃላዩ አካባቢም የውሃ እጦት ሌላው ችግር በመሆኑ የደቡብ ኢትዮጵያውን ክፍል በእጅጉ የሚጎዳና ሕዝቡንም ለመረረ ችጋር ከብቱንም ለእልቂት የሚዳርግ ክፉ ቀን እንደሚመጣ ይተመናል:: ይህ ደሞ በገሃድ እየታየ ያለ በመሆኑ አደጋው ከአደጋዎች ሁሉ የባሰ በሆነ መልኩ ነው፡፡ አንባቢዎቼ እንደሚያስታዉሱት ሁሉ ባለፉት ሁለታ ዓመታትና ከዚያም ባለፈ በኢትዮጵያ ስለሚከሰተው ችጋር በርካታ አስተያየቶችን አስመልክቼ ጽፌ ነበር፡፡

የችጋር   ትርኢት በኢትዮጵያ

ባለፉት ዘመናት የነበሩት አሁንም ያሉት የኢትዮጵያ ገዢዎች ስለችጋር መከሰት የራሳቸውን ቸልተኛነት፤ አቅምየለሽነት በመካድ ነጻ በማድረግ በተጠያቂነት ያልወቀሱትና ሃላፊነት ያልሸሹበት ዘዴ የለም፡፡ በ1974 ዓ.ም. ግርማዊ ቀዳማዊ ኃይለ ስላሴ ዲምብልቢይ ይፋ እስኪያደርገው ድረስ ረሃብ የለም ሲሉ ከርመው ነበር፡፡ በዲምብልቢይ ፊልም ሕዝቡ ረሃቡን አየ፤አዘነ፤ አንገቱን ደፍቶ አለቀሰ፡፡ የወገኑ በችጋር መቆላት ቅስሙን ሰበረው፡፡ የቀድሞው የሶሻሊስት ጁንታ መሪ መንግስቱ ሃይለማርያምም በ1984-85 የተከሰተውን ችጋር በድፍረተና በማንአለብኝት ክዶ ሁኔታውን በዓይናቸው ያዩትንና የታዘቡትን ሁሉ ገሸሽ በማደረግ ስችጋሩና እልቂቱ አንስተው ሲጠይቁት በመመጻደቅ ‹‹የምን ችጋር›› ነበር እያለ ያሾፍ ነበር፡፡

መለስ ካለፉት መሰል ገዢዎች ሁሉ የተለየ ብልጣ ብልጥ ነው፡፡ በሃገሪቱ በላይ በሚንሰራፋው የችጋር ወቅት ሁሉ የህዝብ ግንኙነት መሳይ ተግባር ይወጣል፡፡ያለው “የምግብ እጥረት” በሚል ሽፋን በመጠቀም በጣም የጎላውን “ረሃብ” የሚለውን ቃል አይጠቀም እንጂ ከዚያ ባሻገር ምንም አይቀረውም፡፡ ለመለስ በሃገሪቱ ላይ ችጋር የለም፡፡ ያለው የምግብ እጥረት ነው፡፡ የከፋ የተመጣጣነ የምግብ እጦት ነው: ያለው የምግብ ዋስትና ማጣት ነው፤ የምግብ አቅርቦት ችግር ነው፤ እና ሌላም ልላም ይላል መለስ፡፡ እንደሱ የማሳሳቻ ጥምጥም አካሄድ እነዚህ ሁሉ የየእርሻ ዘዴን አጠቃቀም አለማወቅ ያመጣቸው ችግሮች፤የባለስላጣናቱ የእውቀት ድህነት፤ሙስና፤እና የወንጀለኛነት ውጤት ወዘተ አይደሉም ቢልም፤እነዚህ ሁሉ ግን በችጋርና ድርቅ፤በተደጋገመ የዝናብ እጥረት ሳቢያ የሰብል መበላሸት፤የደኖች መጨፍጨፍ፤የመሬት መሸርሸር፤ ከመጠን በከላይ የመሬቱ ምርታማነት ማጣት እና በሌሎችም ሰበቦች የተፈጠሩ ችግሮች ናቸው፡፡ መለስ ባለፈው ጃነዋሪ 2011 ላይ ለሲ ኤን ኤን በሰጠው የቅጥፈት መግለጫ ላይ፡ “ኢትዮጵያ በጣም አሰቃቂ የሆነ የችጋር ወቅት ውስጥ ሆና፤ ሕዝቡም ለችጋር ተጋልጦ ሳለ አንተ በሌላ ሃገር ጉዳይ ጣልቃ ገብ በመሆን ይህን ያህል ገንዘብ እንዴት ታባክናለህ? ለሚለው የሰጠው ዓይን ያወጣ የቅጥፈት ምላሽ፤‹‹ማንኛቸውም ሰብአዊ ድርጅቶች ሊነግሩህ እንደሚችሉ በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ችጋር የለም ድርቅ ቢኖርም እኛ ግን ሕዝባችንን በአግባቡ ልንመግብ እንችላለን…….›› ብሎ አድበስብሶታል::

ዓለም አቀፎቹ የድህነት ቃራሚዎች / አጎብጓቢዎች (fattigdom mongers / alfonser "PMPs") የምግብ እጥረትን ለማስረዳት << ሳይንሳዊ >> መገለጫ ፈጥረውለት፤ መለስ ደግሞ ያንን በሃገሪቱ ላይ ያንሰራፋውን የችጋር መጠንና በሕዝቡ ላይ የሚያደርሰውን እልቂት ለመደበቂያና መሸሸጊያነት እየተጠቀመበት ነው፡፡ እነዚህ ቃራሚ / አጎብጓቢዎች ምንም ያህል የምግብ እጥረት ቢኖርና ገጦ ቢታይም ችጋር የሚለውን መግለጫ እየሸሹትና ሳይንሳዊውን መደባበቂያ መግለጫ በመስጠት ላይ ናቸው፡፡ መለስ ደግሞ በዚህ በተፈጠረው መግለጫ ውስጥ በመሸጎጥ ችጋረ የለም ይለናል፡፡ በነሱ ብልጥታዊ ሰበብ ደግሞ ሁኔታው ​​በ << የከፋ የምግብ ዋስትና እጦት >> ጭንቀት፤አጉል ገጠመኞች> ... እያሉ ያሾፋሉ፡፡ በአፍሪካ ውስጥ በሳይንሳዊ ማስረጃ እንደተረጋገጠው ችጋር ሊኖር ጨርሶ አይችልም ብለው ሳያምኑበት ሊያሳምኑ ይጥራሉ፡፡ ስለዚህም የዚህ ሁኔታውን አፍኖ በዝምታ የማለፉ አድማና ዱለታ በማጭበርበሪያ ጭንብል በመሸፈን የኢትዮጵያን የችጋር አሰቃቂ መልክ ለመደበቅ ከፍ ያለ ጥረታቸው ነው፡፡

መለስና ከፍተኛ መኮንኖቹ በድርቅ ሳቢያ የተፈጠረውን የምግብ አቅርቦት እጥረት በአጭር ጊዜ ውስጥ ተቆጣጥረን እናሸንፈዋለን ብለው ምለው ተገዝተው ነበር፡፡የሃገሪቱ የድርቅ መከላከያን የአስቀድሞ ጥንቃቄ ሹም ስምኦን መቻሌ፤ መኩራራትና በእርግጠኝነት << ኢትዮጵያ በቅርቡ የምግብ ዋስትናን ጣረጋግጣለች >> ብሎ ነበር፡፡ ላለፉት በርካታ ዓመታትም መለስ "የሴፍቲ ኔት ፕሮግራም "፤ በምግብ ተረጂነት ላይ መተማመንን ለማስቆም፤ፈላጊውንና አቅራቢውን በማቀራረብና በቂ ምርት በማስገኘት የፕሮግራሙን ስኬታማነት በማስተዋወቅ ላይ ይገኛል፡፡ በኦክቶበር 2011 መለስ ለታማኝ የፓርቲው ሰዎች የተለመደ ቅልመዳውን ሲያቀርብ << ከምግብ ተረጂነት የሚያወጣንንና እራሳችን በበቂ ለመመገብ የሚያስችለንን፤ በ 2015 ከምግብ እርዳት ጋር የምንለያይበትን ዘለቄታዊ እቅድ ነድፈናል ብሎ ነበር፡፡ የመለስ የበቂ ምርት ማግኛ ዘዴም፤የሃገሪቱን በሚሊዮን ሄክታር የሚቆጠር ለም መሬት ለውጭ ኢንቬስተሮች ለሚላቸው ባዕዳን የተመረጡ የእርሻ ቦታዎችን በሊዝ በመችብቸብና ዓላማቸውም የሃገሪቱ ሕዝብ በችጋር እያለቀ ምርታቸውን ወደ ውጭ ሃገራት ለመሸጥና ለማትረፍ የሆነውን አሰራር ነው፡፡ መለስ የመሬቶችን የህዝብ ሃብት በማድረግ ከተረጂነት መውጫ መንገዱን ጥርቅም አድርጎ ዘግቶ የህዝቡን ባለንብረትነት ፈጽሞ ይቃወማል :: ይህ ደግሞ በየትም ቦታ ታይቶ የማይታወቅ ስርአት ነው፡፡ባለፈው ዓመትም የምግብ አቅርቦት ዋጋ ግሽበት 47,4 በመቶ እንደሆነ ቀጥሏል፡፡

በኢትዮጵያ የምግብ አቅርቦት እንደፖለቲካ መሳርያነት ጥቅም ላይ እየዋለ ነው፡፡ችጋር አዲሱ የተቃዋሚዎች ማጥፊያ፤ ማዳከሚያ ተስፋ ማስቆረጫ መሳርያ በመሆን በማገልገል ላይ ነው፡፡ መለስ ኢትዮጵያውያንን በችጋር ማጥ ውስጥ በመዝፈቅና ሆዳቸውን ባዶ በማድረግ ሕዝቡ አንገቱን እንዲደፋ ሞራሉን እንዲያጣ፤ ጥንካሬው ተሰብሮ አገልጋዩ እንዲሆን፤መንፈሱ እንዲላሽቅና ህሊናው የመከራ ቋት እንዲሆንና ማሰብ እንዲያቅተው በማድረግ ገዢነቱ ተሳክቶለታል፡፡ ሕዝቡም አቅሙን ተገፏል ወኔው ተዳክሟል፡፡ የመለስን አገዛዝ የሚቃወሙ ሁሉ ሰብአዊ የምግብ ተረጂነት መብታቸውን መገፈፍ ብቻ ሳይሆን፤ለስደት በሚዳርገው ዘዴ ስደተኛ በማድረግ፤እነሱነታቸውን በማጣጣልና ተስፋ በማስቆረጥ፤አለያም የያዙትን የእርሻ ማሳቸውን በሰበብ አስባቡ በመቆራረጥና በማሳነስ፤የብድር ተጠቃሚነት መብት እንዳይኖራቸው፤ የማዳበርያና የዘር እህል እንዳያገኙ በማድረግና በሌላም ሌላ ግፍ ማዳከሙ ተሳክቶለታል፡፡ የጋምቤላን ጉዳይ በተመለከተም የዓለም አቀፉ የሰብአዊ መበት የሚጥሰውን ነዋሪዎች ከያዙትና ካለሙት መሬታቸው ላይ በግዴታ እንዲለቁ በማድረግ አንድ ሙሉ ነዋሪ ቦታውን ሕንዶች በኢንቬስተርነት እንዲነጥቋቸው ተደርጓል፡፡ ከብዙዎቹ ተሟጋቾች መሃል ሁማን ራይትስ ዎች፤ በሰብአዊ የምግብ እርዳታ ፕሮግራሙ ላይ: ሲዘግብ << የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት በተከታታይ የምግብ እርዳታውን እንደ ፖለቲካ መጠቀሚያ፤ ተረጂውን ማግለያ፤ ለመቆጣጠርያነት እያዋለው ነው፡፡ የገዢውን ፓርቲ ጨዋታ ለመቀላቀል ፈቃደኛ ካልሆንክ በተገቢው የተቆጣጣሪ የውጭ ታዛቢ ግበረ ሃይል እንዳትታገዝ ሆነህ ከጨዋታው ውጪ ትደረጋለህ፡፡ ስለዚህም የተጠናከረና ወለም ዘለምን የማይቀበል በራሱ ተማምኖ የሚንቀሳቀስና ግድፈቱን ይፋ የሚያወጣ የውጪ ታዛቢ ካለተፈጠረል በስተቀር ይህን ጨቋኝ ኢሰብአዊ የሆነ ገዢ መንግስት ማስተካከል የማይሞከር ነው >> ብልዋል :: በ 2011 ላይ በሃገሪቱ ውስጥ ካለው ገዢ ፓርቲ ጋር ተወዳጅተውና ተቀብለው ከሚንቀሳቀሱት ውጪ በፖለቲካ አመለካከት ልዩነታቸው ሳቢያ ከአሜሪካን መንግስት ተችሮ የነበረው 850 ሚሊዮን ዶላር የማግለል ስርጭት በመለስ ፓርቲ ስለተፈጸመው የስርጭት ደባ የአሜሪካው ስቴት ዲፓርትመንት ለማጣረት ቃል ቢገባም፤ << እስካሁን ድረስ ስለጉዳዩ አንድም የወጣ ዘገባ የለም >> :: በ 2011 የአሜሪካው የምርምር ቢሮ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ቁጥር በ 2050 በመጠን በመግዘፍ ወደ 278 ሚሊዮን ያሻቅባል፤ ብሎል :: በዚህም በሽታ ችጋር ጦርነትና እልቂት ሌላም ሌላም ሰበብ ሕዝቡን ወደ ምግብ አምራችነት ግዳጅ ያሰድገባዋል፡፡ የመለስ ገዢ መንግስት ብሔራዊ የቤተሰብ መምሪያ እቅድ በአግባቡ መዘርጋት ስላልቻለ ወደ ተፈራው ችጋርና ችግር በተፋጠነ ሂደት መግባቱ የማይቀር ነው፡፡

በኢትዮጵያ የሚከሰተው ችጋር 90 በመቶው ሰው ሰራሽ ነው፡፡

የዓለም ባንኩ መሪ ኤኮኖሚስት ዎልፍጋንግ ፌንግለር በኦገስት 17 2011 ላይ እንደ ዓለም አቀፍ የባንክ ሰውነቱ ለአስተያየቱ እጅጉን ታማኝ ነበር፡፡ ሲናገርም፡ - << በአፍሪካ ቀንድ ያለው የችጋር ጉዳይ ለዋጋ የሚጠየቀው የተጋነነነ ዋጋና በሚፈጠረው የእርስ በእርስ ግጭት የመጣ እንጂ በተፈጥሮ ሳቢያ የተከሰተ አይደለም፡፡ይህ ችግር ሰው ሰራሽ ነው፡፡ድርቅ በተደጋጋሚ ተከስቷል፡፡በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ሁኔታው ​​ወደ ርሃብ እንዲቀየር ያደረገው ግን ዋነኛው ሁኔታ መጥፎ ፖሊሲ መፈጠሩ ነው፡፡በሌላ አገላለጥም በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ መጥፎና እኩይ አስተዳደርየችጋሩ መንስኤ ነው እንጂ ድርቅና የአካባቢ ዓየር ያመጣው ጣጣ አይደለም፡፡ የኦክስፋም ዓለም አቀፍ ዳይረክተር የሆኑት ፔኒ ላውረንስ ፤ኢትዮጵያን ከጎበኙ በኋላ የደረሱበት ድምዳሜ << ሕብረተሰቡ ለሰብሉ የመስኖ ውሃ ቢኖረው፤የሰብሉ ማጠራቀሚያ ጎተራ በብቃት ቢያገኝ፤እና በቂ ውሃ ከዝናቡ ማቆርያ ቢሰራለት ማንኛቸውንም የሚያጋጥማቸውን ችግር ሁሉ በቀላሉ ሊቋቋሙት ይችላሉ በማለት ዘግበዋል፡፡ የዓለም አገልግሎት የአፍሪካ ኤዲተር የሆኑት የቢቢሲው ማርቲን ፕላውት ሲሉ፤ያሁኑ በገበሬው ላይ የወረደበት ችግር መንስኤ መንግስት መሬቱን የራስህ ነው ግን አታዝበትም አይነት ደንብ በማውጣት ገበሬው ከዚያ እንዳይነቀሳቀስ ለማድረግ ያወጣው ደንብ በመሆኑ ሊነሱ የሚገባቸው መሰረታዊ ጉዳዮች፤ ሶሻሊዝምን ያወገዘው መንግስት እና ነጻ የገበያ ኤኮኖሚን እተላለሁ የሚል አካል፤ መሬትን በተመለከተ ከመንግስት ቁጥጥር ውጪ ሊሆን አይችልም በማለት መመጎቱ ለምንድን ነው? ለምበንስ ስርአት ያለው የመስኖ ውሃ እንዲዘረጋ አልታቀደም? የሰብል ማከማቻ ሰፋፊ ቋትስ ለምን የለም? የዝናብ ውሃ መማቆርያስ ለይስሙላ ሳይሆን በወጉ ለምን አልተዘጋጀም? በእርግጥና በእውነት ግን ለኢትዮጵያ መለስ ዜናዊ የምግብ ዋስትና ፖሊሲ አለው?

ለዓመታት በሰብአዊ የእህል ምጥዋት አረንቋ ውስጥ የተዘፈቀችው ኢትዮጶያ በቅርቡ የምግብ ዋስትናን ታረጋግጣለች ብሎ ማሰብ ከቅዠት ውጪ ሊሆን አይችልም፡፡ የመጪው ዐመታት በአፍሪካ ቀንድና በሳህል ሊያጋጥም በሚችለው ችጋርና የረሃብ ሰደድ እጅጉን ያስጨንቃቸዋል፡፡ ባለፈው ወር የአሜሪካን መንግስት ሊከተል የሚችለውን የዝናብ እጥረትና የሚያመጣውን የድርቅ ሁኔታ ለመቋቋምና ሕዝቡን ከችጋር ሞት ለመታደግ ተጨማሪ የ 200 ሚሊዮን የምግብ ዕርዳታ ለመቸር ቃል ገብቷል፡፡የአሜሪካን መንግስት ለኢትዮጵያ፤ ኬንያና ሶማልያ የ 1,1 ቢሊዮን ዶላር የሰብአዊ ዕርዳታ ሰጪ ነው፡፡

በሜይ 19 ላይ ፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማና የ G8 መሪዎች እንደገና ሊያጤኑት የሚገባቸው 3 መሰረታዊ ጥያቄዎች አሉ፡፡ማለቂያ የሌለው እርዳታ ለአፍሪካ ቀንድ ሃገራት መስጠቱ የሚያስከትለው የሞራል ድቀት ምን ሊሆን ይችላል? እነዚህን ፈላጭ ቆራጭ ግፈኛ ገዢዎች መርዳቱና እነሱ ያንን መተማመኛ በማድረግ ተደላድለው ለግፍ አገዛዝ በእርዳታው ገንዘብ የበለጠ መመቻቸታቸው የረጂዎቹን የሞራል ኪሳራ አያስከትልም? በአፍሪካ ውስጥ በተደጋጋሚ በመከሰት ላይ ያለውንስ የችጋርና የድርቅ መፈራረቅና በተደጋጋሚ መከሰት ዘወትር ሰበቡ የዓየር ለውጥ በመሆን መቀጠሉስ በአፍሪካ ላለው የማይነቀል የምግብ እጥረት አስተዋጽኦ አያደርግም? የ G8 መሪዎች ለመለስ ዜናዊ ሊያቀርቡለት የሚገቡ ሌሎች ጥያቄዎች አሉ፡፡በሚሊዮን ሄክታር የሚቆጠር ለም መሬቶቹን ለህንድና ለአረብ ሃገራት የምግብ ዋስትና ማምረቻነት እየሸጠ የራሱን ሕዝብ ወደ ችጋርና ሞት የሚዳርግን ሃገር፤ ዓለም መርዳት ያለበት በምን መመዘኛና ሰበብ ነው? ለምንስ ተብሎ ነው የሚሰጠውን የሰብአዊ የምግብ አቅርቦት መርጃ ለፖለቲካ መጠቀሚያ በማድረግ ተቃዋሚዎቹን ለመጉጃ፤ ለማስደንበርያ፤ ለማስራቢያ፤ ለማፈናቀያ፤ዴሞክራሲን ለመጨፍለቂያ፤ሰብአዊ መብትን ለመድፈሪያ፤ ፍትህን ለማጥፋት መጠቀሚያ ለሚያደርግ ሃገርስ ለምን ተብሎ ነው የሚረዳው?

የ G8 መሪዎች ስለ‹‹ምግብ እጥረት›› መነጋገር ይችላሉ፡፡ በኢትዮጵያና በአፍሪካ ቀንድ ላለው ችጋር ምላሽ ግን፤በረሃብ በመሰቃየት ላለው ሕዝብ እፍኝ ምጽዋት መቸርና፤ ለፈላጭ ቆራጭ ጨካኝ ገዢዎች የመዝናኛ ወቅትና የነጻ ምሳ አቅርቦት የችግሩ መቅረፊያ ሊሆን አይችልም፡፡ እፍኝ ምጽዋት ችጋርን ከማጥፋት ይልቅ የሞራል ውድቀትን በማስከተል የዘልአለም ተመጽዋችነትን ፍላጎት ያበረታታል፡፡ መለስና መሰለቹ ግፈኛ የአፍሪካ ጨቋኝ ገዢዎች የምግብ እጥረቱን አስመልክቶ ለሕዝቡ ዘላቂ መፍትሔ የማስቀመጥ ሃሳብም ፍላትም የላቸውም:: ምክንያቱም ዓለም ሁል ጊዜ ረሃብን በተመለከተ እንደማይጨክን ስለሚያውቁ ችግሩን እያወቁት አፍነው በመያዝ በመጨረሻው ደቂቃ ላይ ጩኸታቸውን ማቅለጣቸው የተለመደ ዘዴያቸው ነው፡፡የአሜሪካን መንግስት እነደዓለም ቀደም ሹመኛነቱ ርሃብ በገባበት ሁሉ ደርሶ እርዳታ በመስጠት ተጠቂዎችን ከችጋር ማዳንን የሞራልና ሰብአዊ ግዴታ አድርጎ ያየዋል፡፡ ከዚሁ ጋር በተያያዘም ለዚህ ሁኔታ የሚሰጡትንም የልማት እርዳታ ችሮታ፤ብድርን፤የበጀት ድጋፍ ችሮታውንም ለዴሞክራሲ ማበብና ተግባራዊነቱ፤ የሰብአዊ መብት መከበርና መየበቅ፤የህግ የበላይነትን ማክበርና ለሱም መገዛትን ማረጋገጫ ጉልበትም አድርገው የመያዝ የውዴታ ግዴታ አለባቸው፡፡

በ2010 በተካሄደው የማስመሰያ ምርጫ የመለስ ፓርቲ 99.6 የፓርላማ ወንበሮችን አሸነፍኩ ብሎ ስልጣን መያዙ ይታወሳል፡፡ ባለፉት ዓመታት ውስጥ መለስ ዜናዊ አስገራሚ የኤኮኖሚ እድገት አሳይተናል በሚል የማይጨበጥ ተስፋ ቢስ እድገት ከመፎከር ውጪ እድገቱን ግን ማሳየት ካለመቻሉም ባሻገር፤በሃገሩ ውስጥ ያለውን የምግብ እጥረት ለማሸነፍ እዚህ ግባ የሚባል ስትራቴጂ ማቅረብ አልቻለም፡፡ በሃያ አንድ ዓመታት የመለስ አገዛዝ ውስጥ፤ኢትዮጵያ ከእርዳታ ለማኝነት ሳትላቀቅና በየጊዜው የልመናዋ ቋትም እየበዛ ከመሄድ አልተላቀቀም፡፡ ኢትዮጵያውያን እጅጉን በከፋና መፍትሔ በሌለው የምግብ እጥረት ውስጥ መዘፈቁ፤ከችግሩ ጋር በቀጥታ ሊታይ በሚችል መልኩ የፖለቲካ አሰራር ባለመዘርጋቱ ነው፡፡ የሕንዱ የኤኮኖሚ የኖቤል ሽልማት አሸናፊው አማርቲያ ሴን ርሃብን ለማስወገድ ትክክለኛው መንገድ፤ዴሞክረሲን ሕዝባዊ በማድረግ ሰብአዊ መብትንም በማጠናከር ነው በማለት ያስረዳል፡፡ በዓለም ታሪክ ውስጥ፤ዴሞክራሲ በትክክለኛው መልኩ በሚተገበርበት ቦታ ችጋር ደርሶ አያውቅም፡፡ ምክንያቱም ዴሞክራቲክ አደስተዳዳሪዎች ምርጫቸውን ማሸነፍ ስለአለባቸውና የህዝብንም ሂሳዊ አመለካከት በግላጭ ስለሚቀበሉ ያጋጠማቸውን ችጋርና ድርቅ መቋቋምና አጥጋቢ መፍትሔ የማስገኘት ግዴት ስለአለባቸው ነው፡፡

የሴን ዴሞክራሲያዊው ‹‹የድርቅን አስቀድሞ ማስጠንቀቂያ አውታሮች” የሉም:: ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች አላአንዳች ሰበብ ይጨፈለቃሉ፤ መሪዎቻቸው ለመከራ ይዳረጋሉ፤ይወነጀላሉ ይታሰራሉ፡፡ ነጻው ፕሬስም ይታፈናል፤ ነጻ ጋዜጠኞችም ገዢውን መንግስትና ሹመኞቹን በሚፈጽሙት ደባና ሙስና በማጋለጣቸውና ገዢዎችም ለሚከተሉት ጭፍን የማንአለብኝ አገዛዝ አስተሳሰባቸውን በመግለጽና ትክክለኛውን መንገድ በማመላከታቸው ለወህኒ ይዳረጋሉ፡፡ ስለችጋሩ እውነታውን ሊዘግቡ አይፈቀድላቸውም፡፡ መንግስታዊ ያልሆኑ ድርጅቶች፤ድርቅን ለማስወገድ የተቋቋሙት ድርጅቶችም ጭምር አረማመዳቸው ሁሉ ጥንቃቄን ባጠናከረ መልኩ በፍርሃት መሆን እንዳለበት ተረድተዋል፡፡ ህጉ ሀገሬውንም የውጭውንም የእርዳታ ተግባር ፈጻሚውንና የሰብአዊ መብት ተሟጋቹን በወንጀለኛነት የሚያካትት ሆኗል፡፡ መለስ ዜናዊ አመጣዋለሁ እያለ በማይተገበር የሃሰት የዴሞክራሲ ነጻነት እውነታ በመዋሸት የተካነ ነውና የዓለም አቀፍ እርዳታ ድርጅቶችን በዚህ መንገድ ሲያታልልና ሲዋሻቸው ኖሯል፡፡ ባለፉት በርካታ ዓመታት ሂደት ውስጥ መለስ ሊመጣ ነው ደርሷል፤ በዝግታ እንደርስበታለን ብለን አቅደን ፈጥነን ደረስንበት የሚለውን የዴሞክራሲ ነጻነት እንኳን ልናየውና አካሉ ልንሆን ቀርቶ በሕልማችን እንኳን ለማየት ተስኖናል፡፡ ይልቁንስ የመለስ አገዛዝ ጭካኔ በየቀኑ ከአቅም በላይ እየሆነ፤ አገዛዙ ሕዝብን ኑሮ እንዲመረው የሚያደርግ፤ ሲጨንቀው በሚያወጣቸው እዛዞችና አዋጆች ግራ መጋባት፤ የተማረው ዲግሪውን ታቅፎ ኮብል ስቶን መጥረብ፤ ያን ኮብል ስቶን ሊጠርበው የሚገባው የተማረው የሚቀመጥበት ወንበር ላይ በድፍረት መጎለትና የመለስን እድሜ መለመንን በየቀኑ እያደገና የሕዝቡም ችግርና ስቃይ በዚያው ልክ ሰበዛ ማየት ግን ተችሏል፡፡

አሜሪካ ለኢትዮጵያ ምን ሊያደርግ ይገባል ?

አሜሪካ ለኢትዮጵያ ሊያደርግ የሚገባው፤አደርጋለሁ በማለት ሲያውጅ የነበረውን ብቻ ነው፡፡ በ2009 ፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማ ጋና: አክራን በጎበኙ ወቅት፤ ሲናገሩ እንዳሉት:-

ልማት ሁል ጊዜ የሚሳካው መልካም አስተዳደር ሲኖር ነው፡፡ ታሪክ ትክክለኛውን ውሳኔ ያቀርባል፡፡የራሳቸውን ሕዝቦች ውሳኔ ሚያከብሩ መንግስታት፤በጉልበትና ማንአለብኝነት የሚገዙ ሳይሆኑ በሕዝባዊ ይሁንታ የሚያስተዳድሩ፤የበለጠ ፍሬያማ፤ የተረጋጉ፤ከፈላጭ ቆራጭና በግፍ ከሚገዙ የበለጠ የተሳካላቸው ናቸው፡፡ የራሳቸውን ምቾትና የግል ሃብታቸውን በማሰቀደም ሃገራቸውንና ሕዝባቸውን የሚበዘብዙ መሪዎች ሃገር ጨርሶ ለሃገራቸው ጠቀሚ ንብረት አያተርፉም፡፡ ማንም ቢሆን የሕግ የበላይነት ተረግጦ በሙስናና በዘረፋ በሚመራ ሃገር ውስጥ መኖርን አይመኝም፡፡ ይህ አይነቱ ስርአት ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሳይሆን የግፍና የመከራ አገዛዝ ነው፡፡ ያን የመሰለውን የግዛት ዘመን ጨርሶ ለመጣልና ለማስወገድ ወቅቱ አሁን ነው…….. በ21ኛው ክፍል ዘመን ችሎታ ያላቸው፤ ታማኝ የሆኑ፤ለተጠያቂነት የበቁ ኢንስቲቲዩሽኖች የስኬት ማረጋገጫዎች ናቸው—– ጠንካር ምክር ቤቶች፤የሲቪል ማሕበረሰብ አባላት፤ታማኝ የፖሊስ አባላትና የመከላከያ ሃይል፤ ነጣ ይፍትህ ስአት አባላት፤ነጣ የመገናኛ ብዙሃን፤ንቁ የሲቪል ማሕበረሰብ አባላት፤ እነዚህ ናቸው ለዶሞክራሲያዊነት ነፍስ ዘርተው የሚያገለግሉት ምክንያቱም በሕዝቡ የእለት ተእለት ኑሮ ውስጥ አስፈላጊዎቹ መዘውሮች፡፡ …ታሪክ ከነዚህ ጀግና አፍሪካውያን ጎን ይቆማል እንጂ በጉልበትና አላስፈላጊ በሆነ መንገድ ስልጣንን የሙጢኝ የሚሉትና ሕገ መንግስታቸውን ለራሳቸው እንዲሆን በዘፈቀደ ራሳቸውን በስልጣን ለማቆየት በሚለውጡትና በማያከብሩት ጎን አይኖርም፡፡ አፍሪካ ማን አለብን ባዮችንና በጉልበታቸው የሚመኩትን አትፈልግም፡፡ የምትፈልገው ጠንካራና ጉልበታም የሆኑ ድርጅቶች (ኢንስቲቲዩሽኖች) ነው፡፡ በተሻለ አስተዳደር እርግጠኛ ነኝ አፍሪካ ተጨባጭ የሆነ ሰፊ ልማትና የእድገት ራዕይዋን የማሳካት ተስፋዋ እውን ይሆናል፡፡

ካሁን በፊት የቀረቡ የጸሃፊው ጦማሮችን ለማግኘት እዚህ ይጫኑ >> http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic

Dear President Obama,

I am sure you do not have time to read my letter nonetheless it gives me a certain amount of release from the pain I am feeling and the little chance of this letter getting to you fills my soul with great amount of joy and hope. I am an Ethiopian immigrant currently living in California. I came to your country to go to college. I am always grateful to the American people in general and the citizens of the State of Oregon in particular that supported me in fulfilling my dream. Their graciousness in welcoming me and their generosity in helping me with financial aid to finish my education will stay in my heart forever.

Upon finishing my education I have become a productive member of society and hopefully contributed my share in making your nation a beacon of light for all of mankind. I have been blessed enough to get married to a beautiful person and raise a family. I am glad to claim I am the personification of the American dream come true. I am not writing you to ask a favor for myself but I want to tell you about the dire situation regarding the homeland I left behind a long time ago. I want to give you an idea about my country Ethiopia and the horror faced by my people in the year two thousand twelve as the rest of humanity thrives.

The source of this unbearable pain forced on my country is none other than the individual that shows up in every meeting the heads of the advanced industrialized countries attend to solve problems and plan the future. I am sure you have noticed him during picture sessions and dinner parties. He is the one who claims to represent Africa and is usually given the corner seat in the back to keep quiet and observe.

His name is Meles Zenawi and his title is chairman of TPLF party and Prime Minster of Ethiopia. He has been in power for the last twenty years. It is not that he was elected to that position since free democratic elections are not allowed but he has managed to organize sham election and rigged voting not once but five times in a row. I will tell you a few things to give you an idea of how he manages to do that.

1) Tryk: Der er ingen fri presse i Etiopien. There is only one local TV controlled by his party. The only radio-broadcasting unit is under his communications department. There are no independent newspapers in the country. The few that are allowed to exist are routinely harassed and their publishers and editors spend most of their time in his rubberstamp court. Today a few are in his dungeon accused of fabricated charges and plenty are forced out of the country. There is only one Internet provider and his outfit controls that. He uses Chinese technology to block any foreign TV or Radio broadcast and Internet sites. Your Voice of America broadcast is routinely jammed. Today there are more journalists and Independent Web sites outside the country than in our homeland. The Ethiopian people are kept in the dark by design.

2) Political Party and Civic organizations: The dictator does not allow real independent political parties. On paper there are over eighty political parties in the country, but they are all the creations of the dictator. The few that dare to organize independently are subjected to harassment, imprisonment and even murder. His claim that there are no worthy opposition parties is a cruel joke. In Ethiopia being an opposition party leader is a death wish. We have lost many worthy leaders in the last twenty years. Independent labor unions, civic organizations and non-government affiliated associations are not allowed. If they dare to organize they are brought under government control within a short time.

3) Administration: He has divided the country into what is known as Kilil. Kilil is a black version of Apartheid; the system the White South African set up to control black citizens. The individual appoints all Kilil administrators usually local lackeys for show purpose. His party and ethnic group controls the Army and Security service with all commanders' hand picked from his ethnic group. Ninety nine percent of high-ranking military officials belong to the dictators ethnic group. The individual and his party inherited the dreaded Kebele system set up by the departing military dictatorship to control neighborhoods and enhanced its capability using modern means. Today the Kebele system is the eyes and ears of the TPLF party and is present in every household to terrorize and control.

4) Economy: All land belongs to the state. The Ethiopian people are sharecroppers. When he took power twenty years ago facilitated by your State Department he created a congramolate called EFFORT controlled by his ethnic group. All major confiscated business and property were given to EFFORT and today it is the premier corporation in the country involved in banking, transportation, manufacturing, import export and the hospitality business. EFFORT is bigger than Ethiopia. Unable to grow the economy, ill prepared to unleash the creative potential of his people the dictator is currently selling our fertile and virgin land to foreign investors. This is despite the billions of aid dollars given by your country and Western Europe and the billions more written off the book from the IMF and World Bank. His sole purpose is to stay in power by bullying and enrich his ethnic group, family and friends.

Dear Mr. President, you might think what a coward people we are to allow such and individual to do us so much harm and accept it with silence. That is not so. We were not always that docile. The simple explanation I can offer you is that he came on the scene at a very unfortunate time for us. The twenty years of military dictatorship has sapped our strength to fight back. We were caught at a time when in the name of socialism our people and country had gone thru a very traumatic process. Our moral compass was left in disarray. No one was willing to continue the self-inflicted agony we experienced. The current dictator also showed up carrying an olive branch that promised to form an all-inclusive government. Your State Department was the premier facilitator of such transfer of power from the Military to the new liberators.

Unfortunate for Ethiopia your country still is coddling and enabling the dictator. He is considered the front line in the fight against terrorism The Pentagon is pouring money and resources to train his army. He is given the green light to interfere in Somalia in the so-called war against terror. We pay the price. The US is not made safer with all the support given to the regime but the Ethiopian people are made insecure and hopeless. Today the Ethiopian people are migrating out of their homeland at an alarming rate. The young and able and the educated are leaving their country in search of a better tomorrow. Washington DC your capital is living proof of the flight of our people outwards.

We ask you to intervene and stop this human catastrophe. We believe it is the right thing to do. It is the moral thing to do. Ethiopian Americans were in the forefront of your campaign for the presidency. We were filled with hope that you will intercede and help our motherland enter the twenty first century with dignity. It has not happened. Your State Department never fails to record and publish the crimes of the Ethiopian regime. The annual report is a very alarming detailed testimony of the nature of the illegal regime and the crimes it commits against its own people. Thanks to Wikileaks we are made conscious of the terrorist acts of the security department's involvement in setting up explosives on its own citizens and blaming the opposition. Your Ambassador was part of the cover up of this crime. It is wrong.

We would like to call your attention to the policy the US followed in the aftermath of the Second World War when it came to Europe. The US was instrumental in encouraging democratic forms of government. US aid was based on the rule of law. Sixty years later Europe enjoys the fruits of such progressive and forward-looking policy. We ask your administration follow the same principle when it comes to Africa. We deserve nothing less. We ask your administration stop coddling and enabling dictators, misfits and loathsome individuals from terrorizing their own people.

The Ethiopian people are faced with a sad dilemma. How could they fight back against a terrorist regime armed and supported by a big power like your country? It is not a fair fight by any stretch of imagination. They find it confusing that on one hand you preach democracy and human rights while on the other hand you furnish the weapons and facilitate loans from World Bank and the IMF to the their tormentor. Wouldn't you say the US would have a lasting and worthy relationship with a strong and democratic Ethiopia rather than a country always on the verge of civil war and a pitiful hand stretched begging for food and medicine?

The Prime Minster is showing up at your dinner table next week. We all know he has nothing to contribute to such discussion. The country he has been leading for the last twenty years is beset with famine, double digit unemployment, runaway inflation and human misery in a large scale. He has no record to be proud of. He has no opposition to shame him. His presence at this gathering is unexplainable and undeserved. His single TV station and his sole Radio broadcast will present a different picture. They will use the occasion to bully the Ethiopian people. There is no other voice to set the record straight.

We wish you would UN invitee or dis invite him. We know that will not happen. On the other hand we ask you use the occasion to make it clear to him that your constituents are not happy with his actions. We wish that you explain to him US aid goes hand in hand with the existence of the rule of law and respect for human rights. The American people are blessed to have such a caring and honorable person as a leader. You lead a very honorable and generous nation that has stood with Ethiopia in its time of need. We ask you to step forward and do the right thing at this critical moment in our history. We ask you to think of the eighty million Ethiopians that are made to suffer because on man and his ethnic based party is enabled by your country and others to run amok and brutalize. History will not look kindly at such abdication of responsibility.

Dear Mr. President, we are aware of what happened to dictator Gadaffi. We are witnessing the unfolding human misery in Syria. That is what is waiting Ethiopia if the regime continues its mal treatment of its won citizens. That is what we are trying to avoid from happening in Ethiopia. You can help us.

Finally we are not asking you to fight our war. We are perfectly capable of doing the job ourselves. We are simply petitioning you not to stand with the dictator. Not to give him lethal aid and training to turn his fire on us. We know it is in your power to make a stop to this enabling activity. The children of Ezana, Tewodros, Yohanes, Minilik, Aba Jifar, Tona and many others are up to the task given the opportunity. We have taken care of our business for over three thousand years and there is no reason to think we will not rise up to the occasion now. Just give us a level playing field and Green Yellow and Red will fly high on our ancient mountains and fields.

PS We have a petition on line to be presented to your office along this letter. The Web address is as follows: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/obama-stop-monster-zenawi-invitation.html

Warlord Charles Taylor Caged!

Efter 420 dages forsøg (over næsten fire år), 115 vidner, over 50.000 sider af vidnesbyrd, og 1.520 udstillingsgenstande, blev Charles Taylor, krigsherre-vendt-præsident i Liberia, fundet skyldig i 11 punkter af FN Særlige Domstol for Sierra Leone . Taylor was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity (including murder, rape, mutilating civilians, including cutting off their limbs, conscripting child soldiers, sexual slavery and other acts of terrorism) committed in Sierra Leone from November 30, 1996, to January 18, 2002. Over 50,000 people died in that conflict. Taylor “aided and abetted” the notorious warlords Foday Sankoh, Sam “the Mosquito” Bockarie and Issa Sesay of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone. Taylor participated in the planning, instigation and commission of these crimes and provided weapons and military support in exchange for “blood diamonds” mined by slave laborers in Sierra Leone. Taylor will be sentenced next month.

There were some problems in the prosecution's evidence. There were few documents to show the depth and scope of Taylor's involvement with the rebels. There was no evidence that Taylor was at the scene of the rebel crimes. There was little evidence showing the Liberian troops Taylor sent to Sierra Leone were directly involved in the war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, prosecutors were able to use radio and telephone intercepts and the testimonies of Taylor's close associates and security detail and show that Taylor had shipped weapons to the rebels in exchange for (blood) diamonds.

Taylor avoided conviction for “command responsibility” under article 6(3) of the Statute of the Special Court which imputes criminal responsibility “if the superior knew or had reason to know that his or her subordinate was about to commit crimes prohibited by the Statute or had done so, and the superior failed to take the necessary and reasonable measures to prevent or punish the perpetrators”. Despite evidence that Taylor had knowledge RUF rebels were committing war crimes and crimes against humanity and that he had significant influence over them, there was insufficient evidence to prove that he had effective “command and control” over them to prevent the crimes or punish the perpetrators.

Taylor denied all of the charges and any responsibility for the crimes committed in Sierra Leone. He testified on his own behalf for seven months seeking to portray himself as a peace maker. The trial reportedly cost $USD250 million! Was it worth the expense? Does justice have a price tag?

Rogues Gallery of African Criminals Against Humanity

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for other current and former African heads of state, including Cote d'Ivoire's former president Laurent Gbagbo and Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir (and the late Moamar Gadhafi). In November 2011, Gbagbo was quietly whisked away to the Hague from house arrest in Cote d'Ivoire to face justice before the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity (murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and other inhuman acts) that were allegedly committed during the post-election period. Gbagbo will soon be warming Taylor's chair.

Al-Bashir sneered at the ICC indictment in 2009: “Tell them all, the ICC prosecutor, the members of the court and everyone who supports this court that they are under my shoe.” (In time, he may come under the ICC's shoes.) The UN estimated well over 300,000 people have perished under Bashir's regime. Along with Al-Bashir, the ICC has also issued warrants against other Sudanese nationals including Ahmed Haroun, a lawyer and minister of humanitarian affairs, Ali Kushayb, a former senior Janjaweed (local militiamen allied with the Sudanese regime against Darfur rebels), Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, a rebel leader and two others.

The ICC has also indicted criminals against humanity in Kenya. Uhuru Kenyatta, finance minister and son of Kenya's famed independence leader Jomo Kenyatta, resigned following an ICC ruling that he will face trial for crimes against humanity in connection with the communal post-election violence between supporters of presidential candidates Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki in 2008. The UN estimates some 1,200 people died in weeks of unrest between December 2007 and February 2008, and 600,000 people were forcibly displaced. Cabinet secretary Francis Muthaura, a close ally of president Mwai Kibaki, former Education Minister William Ruto and radio announcer Joshua arap Sang face similar charges.

In Uganda, the ICC has indicted senior leaders of the “Lord's Resistance Army” including the notorious Joseph Kony, his deputy Vincent Otti and three other top commanders. In the DR Congo various rebel and militia leaders and Congolese military officers and politicians including Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, Bosco Ntaganda, Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui and two others have been indicted. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Moammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi who was arrested in Mauritania in March of this year. Libya is contesting ICC jurisdiction so that it may be able to try the two suspects in Libyan courts.

No ICC Indictments in Ethiopia?

While seeking out war criminals and criminals against humanity in the Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, the DR of Congo, Libya and other places, the ICC and UN Security Council have avoided “Crimes Against Humanity Central– Ethiopia”. The evidence of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Ethiopia is fully documented, substantial and overwhelming.

An official Inquiry Commission appointed by Meles Zenawi in its 2006 report documented the extrajudicial killing of at least 193 unarmed protesters, wounding of 763 others and arbitrary imprisonment of nearly 30,000 persons in the post-2005 election period in Ethiopia. The Commission was limited to investigating the “violence that occurred on June 8, 2005 in Addis Ababa and violence that occurred from November 1 to 10, 2005 and from November 14 to 16, 2005″ in other parts of the country. (The Inquiry Commission has evidence on extrajudicial killings by security forces for dates other than those indicated, and had those casualties been included in the official Commission report the numbers would have increased several fold.) The killings investigated by the Commission occurred after Zenawi publicly declared that all of the country's security and military forces were under his direct, exclusive and personal control.

The Commission's evidence further showed that nearly all of the 193 unarmed protesters died from gunshot wounds to their heads or upper torso. The Commission found substantial evidence that professional sharpshooters were used in the indiscriminate and wanton attack on the unarmed protesters. The Commission further documented that on November 3, 2005, during an alleged disturbance at the infamous Kality prison near Addis Ababa, guards sprayed more than 1,500 bullets into inmate cells in 15 minutes, killing 17 and severely wounding 53. These and many other shocking facts were meticulously documented by the Inquiry Commission which examined 16,990 documents, received testimony from 1,300 witnesses and undertook months of investigation in the field. There is also documentary evidence to show that there are at least 237 named police and security officials directly implicated in these crimes and subsequently dismissed from their positions. No person has even been criminally investigated, arrested, charged, prosecuted or in any way held accountable for any of these crimes.

In December 2003, in the Gambella region of Ethiopia, 424 individuals died in extrajudicial killings by security forces. A report by the International Human Rights Clinic of Harvard Law School's Human Rights Program corroborates the extrajudicial killings. In 2008, in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, reprisal “executions of 150 individuals” and 37 others were documented by Human Rights Watch:

Ethiopian military personnel who ordered or participated in attacks on civilians should be held responsible for war crimes. Senior military and civilian officials who knew or should have known of such crimes but took no action may be criminally liable as a matter of command responsibility. The widespread and apparently systematic nature of the attacks on villages throughout Somali Region is strong evidence that the killings, torture, rape, and forced displacement are also crimes against humanity for which the Ethiopian government bears ultimate responsibility.

No person has even been criminally investigated, arrested, charged, prosecuted or in any way held accountable for any of these crimes.

In 2010, Human Rights Watch made a submission to the UN Committee Against Torture “regarding serious patterns of torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in Ethiopia.”

Torture and ill-treatment have been used by Ethiopia's police, military, and other members of the security forces to punish a spectrum of perceived dissenters, including university students, members of the political opposition, and alleged supporters of insurgent groups, as well as alleged terrorist suspects. Human Rights Watch has documented incidents of torture and ill-treatment by Ethiopian security forces in a range of settings. The frequency, ubiquity, and patterns of abuse by agents of the central and state governments demonstrate systematic mistreatment involving commanding officers, not random activity by rogue soldiers and police officers. In several cases documented by Human Rights Watch, military commanders participated personally in torture.

No person has even been criminally investigated, arrested, charged, prosecuted or in any way held accountable for any of these crimes.

International Criminal Court of Justice or International Criminal Court of Selective Justice?

It is historic and commendable that the ICC UN Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone has convicted Charles Taylor for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The verdict is undoubtedly a giant step forward in ending the culture of official impunity and criminality in Africa. African dictators and tyrants may no longer assume automatic impunity for their criminal actions. David Crane, the former prosecutor who indicted Taylor in 2003 correctly pointed out, “This is a bell that has been rung and clearly rings throughout the world. If you are a head of state and you are killing your own people, you could be next.” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the Taylor verdict as “a significant milestone for international criminal justice” that “sends a strong signal to all leaders that they are and will be held accountable for their actions.”

But the ICC and the UN Security Council must not succumb to the shameful practice of selective justice. It is hypocritical to indict criminals against humanity in the Sudan, Kenya, Uganda and the DR Congo and pretend to “hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil” on the war criminals and criminals against humanity in Ethiopia. There cannot be a double, triple or quadruple standard of justice tailored for different grade of war criminals and criminals against humanity. There is no such thing as a good war criminal or criminal against humanity. There can be no beauty contest among warthogs. What is good enough for the Sudan, Kenya, Uganda and the DR Congo MUST be good enough for Ethiopia because what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Based on the compelling and substantial readily available evidence, the ICC has a legal duty and a moral obligation to at least open an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ethiopia since 2002 when the court was created.

FREE ALL ETHIOPIAN JOURNALISTS AND POLITICAL PRISONERS!!!

Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:

http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic

http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24

Previous commentaries by the author are available at:

http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/ and

www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/

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