Tuesday, September 22, 2015

የሀገር አድን ጥሪ ለወጣቱ!(ከአርበኞች ግንቦት7 ወጣቶች መምርያ )

   
 እኛ የዘመኑ ወጣቶች በሃገራችን ላይ የተጫነብን የወያኔ የመርገምት አገዛዝ ያጎሳቆለን፤ በኑሮ የተበደልንና በሰላም ለመኖር ያልታደልን ፍጡሮች ብንሆንም ህዝባችን ነጻነቱን ሲቀማ፣ መብቱ ሲደፈር፣ ክብሩ ሲዋረድ ከዳር ቁመን የምንመለከትበት አንዳች ምክንያት ሊኖረን አይገባም። ወቅቱ ለነፃነታችንና ለመብታችን ባላንጣ የሆነውን አምባገነን የወያኔን ስርዓት ፊት ለፊት ተጋፍጠን፣ በትግላችን ደቁስን ማንነታችንን የምናስመስክርበት ወቅት እንጂ በፍርሃትና በዝምታ ተውጠን ወደኋላ የምንልበት ስዓት አይደለም። ደግሞም እኛ ወጣቶች ለመብት እና ነፃነታችን ተፈጥሮ የለገሰችንን እምቅ ኃይልና ጉልበት ተጠቅመን በቁርጠኝነት ተነስተን ካልታገልን የሥርዓቱን አምባገነናዊ የጭቆና አገዛዝ በፍርሃትና በዝምታ እንደተቀበልን ተደርጎ መወስዱ የማይቀር ነው።
 ከምንግዜውም በላይ እኛ ወጣቶችን ዛሬ ሁለት አበይት ጉዳዮች በጉልህ ያሳስቡናል፤ ሊያሳስቡንም ይገባል። እነዚህም ሃገራችን ያለችበት አሳሳቢ ሁኔታና የኛ የተተኪው ትውልድ የወደፊት ተስፋ ምን ሊሆን ይችላል? የሚሉት ናችው። በቀደመው ጊዜ በሃገራችን የተፈራረቁት አምባገነን ገዥዎች ለወጣቱ ተስፋና የተሻለ ነገር ከመስጠት ይልቅ በጠላትነት ፈርጀው በሽብር እየገደሉና ጥቃት እየፈጸሙበት ሲያሳድዱት ኖረዋል። የወጣቱ ሰቆቃ አሁን በወያኔ ዘመን ደግሞ እጅግ በጣም በከፋ ሁኔታ ተባብሶ ቀጥሏል።
 የወያኔ መሪዎች ለኢትዮጵያዊያን ወጣቶች ማዕከላዊን፡ ቃሊቲን፤ ሽዋሮቢትን፣ ዝዋይን እና የመሳስሉ የሰቆቃ እስር ቤቶችን ሲያሰፉ እንጂ የሥልጠናና የምርምር ተቋም ሲያድሱና ሲገነቡ ለማየት አልታደልንም። የሚገነቡ የትምህርት ተቋማትም ለሥርዓቱ የእድሜ ማራዘሚያ እንጂ የእውቀት ማስጨበጫ ተቋም እንዳልሆኑ ተግባራቸውንና ውጤታቸውን መመልከት ይቻላል። በአደባባይ ያለፍትህ የሚገደለው ወጣት ባንክ ሲዘርፍ ተገኘ፣ ወንጀል ሲሰራ ተያዘ የሚሉ የሀሰት ምክንያቶች እየተለጠፉበት ያለኃጢአቱ የሀሰት ስም በመቀባት ዳግም ይገሉታል።
የነገ ሀገር ተረካቢ ትውልድ ከሚፈራበት የትምህርት ተቋም ድረስ በመግባት የአማራ ህንጻ፣ የኦሮሞ ህንጻ፣ የትግሬ ህንጻ…ወዘተ እያሉ የትምህርት ሥርዓቱን ከጠባቡ የፓለቲካ ግባቸው ጋር በማያያዝ በነገ ተስፋችን ላይ ዘምተው የልዩነት ግድግዳ ባሳፋሪ መልክ እየገነቡ ቀጥለዋል። አላማው ደግሞ በጎስኝነት በሽታ ተውጠን ከእህቶቻችንና ከወንድሞቻችን ጋር እየተባላንና እየተገዳደልን የምንኖርበት ሲኦል ለመፍጠር መሆኑ አያጠያይቅም። በዚህም ሳቢያ ብሔራዊ ሰሜታችን እየደበዘዘ ሄዷል። ብሔራዊ ሰሜት ከሌለን ደግሞ አገር አለን ማለት ጨርሶ የሚታስብ እንደማይሆን ግልጽ ነው።
 በነገራችን ላይ ዛሬም ድረስ ወያኔዎች ለእድገትና ለልማት መዘጋጀታችውን እየደሰኮሩ ህዝብን በማታለል የስልጣን ዘመናቸውን ለማርዘም መውተርተራቸውን አላቆሙም። በየጊዜው ኢትዮጵያ ተመነደገች፤ ልማቱ ተፋጥኗል እያሉ በሃሰት ህዝብን ለማወናበድ ይሞክራሉ።እውነታው ግን በእጅጉ ተቃራኒ መሆኑን የህዝቡን የኑሮ ሁኔታን በመመልከት መረዳት ይቻላል። ዛሬ የፋሽስቱ ወያኔ አገዛዝ በፈጠረው የተወሳሰበ ችግር በሀገሪቱ የወጣት ሥራ ፈትና ተጧሪ ሞልቶና ተትረፍርፎ በሚታይበት፤ ሥራ የማግኘት እድል በፓለቲካ ታማኝነት ብቻ በሆነባት ሃገርና ወያኔ የፓለቲካ ሥልጣኑንና ወታደራዊ ኃይሉን ተጠቅሞ የሀገሪቷን ሀብት እያጋበስ በሚዘርፍበት ሁኔታ ላይ ቆመን ልማትና እድገት ማለት ለእኛ ለኢትዮጵያውያን ተራ ማጭበርበሪያና ዲስኩር ካልሆኑ በስተቀር ፈጽሞ ትርጉም የሚሰጥ አይደለም።
ለነገሩ ወያኔ ከመጀመሪያው ጀምሮ ያዘጋጀልን ቃሊቲ፤ ማዕከላዊ፤ ሁርሶን፤ ሽዋሮቢትንና የመሳሰሉትን የማሰቃያ ማጎሪያዎች መሆኑን የተረዳን ስለሆነ በዚህ የምንደናገር አይደለም። ለዚህም ነው በአሁኑ ወቅት እኛ ወጣቶች ተሰባስበንና ተደራጅተን ከመታገል ውጪ ሌላ ምርጫ የለንም ብለን በድፍረት የምንናገረው።
 አምባገነንነት ስርዓት ካልተገታ የአገር ሰላም ሆነ የህዝብ ህልውና እና አንድነት ዋስትና አያገኝም። በአሁኑ ወቅት በኢትዮጵያ ሥልጣን የጨበጡት ወንበዴ ግለሰቦች የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብን ሀብት እየተቀራመቱ ለግል ጥቅማቸው የሚያውሉ፣ ህዝቡን የሚገሉ፤ የሚረግጡና የሚበድሉ በተለይ ደግሞ ለባእድ ጥቅም የተገዙ ናቸው። እነዚህ ግለስቦች ብሔራዊ ስሜታችውን አሽቀንጥረው የጣሉ፤ የራሳችውን ባህል፤ ወግ፤ ታሪክና ሕዝብ አምርረው የሚጠሉ ከራሳቸውና ሥልጣን ላይ ካስቀመጧቸው መንግሥታት ጥቅም ውጪ ሌላ ምንም የማይታያቸው ናችው።
ታዲያ የሃገራችን ህልውና ከመቼውም በላይ ለከፋ አደጋ ተጋልጦ ባለበት በአሁኑ ወቅት በተለይ የእኛ የወጣቶች ግዴታና ድርሻ ምን መሆን አለበት ብለን ራሳችንን መጠየቅና ብሎም መልስ ለመስጠት መዘጋጀት ሀገራዊ ግዴታንና ኃላፊነትን ለመወጣት የመጀመሪያው እርምጃ መሆን ይኖርበታል።
ጭቆናንና በደልን በመታገል ረገድ ደግሞ የቀደምት የታላላቅ ወንድሞቻችንና እህቶቻችን አኩሪ ገድል ለዛሬው ትግላችን ትልቅ የትምህርት ማእከል ሆኖ ያገለግለናል። ሀገራችን ከኋላቀር ሥርዓትና ከብልሹ አገዛዝ ተላቅቃ፤ ድህነትን አሸንቀጥራ ጥላ በልማት ጎዳና እንድትራመድ፤ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሥርዓት እውን እንዲሆን፤ ማህበራዊ ፍትህ እንዲስፍን ባጠቃላይም ተጨባጭና ዘላቂ ለውጥ በሃገራችን እንዲመጣ ጽኑ እምነት ሰንቀው ለሕዝባዊ ትግሉ ሕይወታቸውን መስዋእት በማድረግ ሲታገሉ የነበሩ ጀግና ወጣቶች እንዳሉ ታሪክ ያስገነዝበናል።
ዛሬም ጭምር ግንባራችውን ሳያጥፉ መስዋእትነትን በመክፈል እያስመስከሩ ያሉ መኖራቸውን ስንመለከት ጀግና የሚያፈራው ጀግናን ነውና እኛም ወጣቶች አንገታችንን ቀና አድርገን ዛሬም እንደ ትናንቱ ለሃገራችንና ለህዝባችን ነፃነት መታገል ብሔራዊ ግዳጃችን ብቻም ሳይሆን ታላቅ ክብርም ጭምር መሆኑን ተገንዝበን ለሞት ሽረቱ ትግል በቁርጠኝነት መነሳት ይኖርብናል። ከፊታችን ለሚጠብቀንና ሃገራችን እያሰማች ላለው የሀገር አድን ጥሪ መልስ ለመስጠት እኛ የኢትዮጵያ ወጣቶች ከሃገር ቤት እስከ ውጪው አለም ድረስ የተቀናጀና የተቀነባበረ ንቅናቄ በመፍጠር ምላሽ ልንሰጥ ይገባል።
በኅብረትና በጽናት ከታገልን ደግሞ የወያኔን የሰቆቃ አገዛዝ አሰወግደን የሕዝባችንን ሮሮ የማናስቆምበት እና ተጨባጭ ለውጥ በሀገራችን ለማምጣት የማያስችለን አንዳች ምድራዊ ሃይል እንደማይኖር በእርግጠኛነት መናገር ይቻላል። ዛሬ በድቅድቅ ጨለማ ውስጥ እንዳለ ብልጭ ብልጭ እንደሚል ኮኮብ ብንመስልም በርግጠኝነት ነገ ከፀሐይ ደምቀን ከአሽዋ በርከትን የምንታይበት ጊዜ ይመጣል፤ እየመጣም ነው።
 በመጨረሻም የአርበኞች ግንቦት 7 ንቅናቄ ወጣቱን ትውልድ መብቱንና የዜግነት ክብሩን ለመጎናጸፍ እንዲችል ብሎም የሀገር እና የወገን ነፃነትን ለማምጣት ወያኔን ታግሎ ማሸነፍና ከስልጣኑ ማውረድ ግድ ነው ብሎ በጽኑ ያምናል። በአገር ውስጥም ሆነ በመላው ዓለም ተበታትኖ የሚገኘውን ወጣት በአገሩ ተከብሮ እንዲኖር የተለየና የተቀደሰ አማራጭ አለው። ይኸውም እየተደራጁ መታገል፣ እየታገሉ መደራጀት ነው ብሎ ንቅናቄያችን ያምናል።
የአርበኞች ግንቦት 7 ንቅናቄ የነደፈውን ጊዜ የማይሽረውን ሁለገብ የመታገያ ስልትና አላማን ከግብ ለማድረስ ትግልን በጽናት መቀጠል የሚለው መርሁ ሲሆን ተደራጅቶ በጽናት መታገልን በተግባር ለማዋል ደግሞ ሁሉም ኢትዮጵያዊ ወጣት ንቅናቄውን እንዲቀላቀል ጥሪ ያደርጋል። ተደራጅቶ ሊያጠፋን የተነሳን ጠላት በተደራጀ ሃይል ማንበርከክና ከስር መሰረቱ ማስወገድ ይቻላልና። ስለዚህ የአርበኞች ግንቦት 7 ንቅናቄ በአረመኔው የወያኔ አገዛዝ ላይ የሚካሄደውን ትግል አጠናክሮ በመቀጠል በአገር ውስጥ ወጣቱን በህቡዕ ከማደራጀት ጀምሮ በውጭው ዓለም በየአህጉሩ በተዋቀሩ የንቅናቄው መዋቅሮች አማካኝነት ወጣቱን አደራጅቶ በማንቀሳቀስ አስፈሪ የሆነ የነፃነት ማዕበል ፈጥሯል። አሁንም የንቅናቄውን ዓላማ የሚደግፉና በነፃነት ትግሉ ለመሳተፍ የቆረጡ ወጣቶች እንዲቀላቀሉ የአርበኞች ግንቦት7 ወጣቶች መምርያ በድጋሚ ሃገራዊ ጥሪ ያቀርባል!

ፈሪዎችንና ባንዳዎችን ወደ ጎን በመተው እውነተኛ ታጋዮችን ይዘን ትግላችንን እንቀጥላለን!!!

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ!  

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Mitsat; የምጻት ቀን ሳይመጣ ከነጻነት ትግሉ ጎን እንሰለፍ!(Yibeltal Gashu)

ይቺ ግጥም በብዙ መከራና  ስቃይ ውስጥ ለሚገኙ ኢትዮጵያውያን መታሰቢያ ትሁንልኝ። የራስችንን ነጻነት በራሳችን ለማወጅ ትግላችንን አጠናክረን ወያኔን ለማሶገድ መረባረብ ይኖርብናል። የምጻት ቀን ሳይመጣ ከነጻነት ትግሉ ጎን እንሰለፍ!

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Philip Hammond warns Ethiopia over treatment of Briton on death row

Foreign secretary condemns detention of Andargachew Tsige in solitary confinement with no access to consular help or right to appeal
 
Placards demand the immediate release of UK citizen Andargachew Tsige, also sometimes spelled Tsege, who was given a death sentence in his absence. Photograph: Alamy
The treatment of a Briton on death row in Ethiopia is threatening to undermine the country’s relationship with the UK, the foreign secretary has warned.
In an unusually blunt statement, Philip Hammond has called for rapid progress in the case of Andargachew Tsige, who is being held in solitary confinement in an unknown location in Ethiopia.
The foreign secretary’s comments, released a year after Tsige was abducted while transiting through Yemen, is a clear sign of official disapproval of the approach taken by the regime in Addis Abbaba. The Foreign Office is escalating the case beyond confidential diplomatic exchanges.
Andy Tsige pictured with his family. Photograph: Yemi Hailemariam/Family

On Wednesday, Hammond spoke to the Ethiopian foreign minister, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, about the case on the phone. His statement said: “I am deeply concerned that, a year after he was first detained, British national Andargachew Tsige remains in solitary confinement in Ethiopia without a legal process to challenge his detention.
“I am also concerned for his welfare and disappointed that our repeated requests for regular consular access have not been granted, despite promises made.
“I spoke to foreign minister Tedros and made clear that Ethiopia’s failure to grant our repeated and basic requests is not acceptable. I informed Dr Tedros that the lack of progress risks undermining the UK’s much valued bilateral relationship with Ethiopia.

UN investigates Briton on death row in Ethiopia

“I asked Dr Tedros once again to permit immediate regular consular access and for our concerns regarding Mr Tsige’s welfare to be addressed. I have also asked that the Ethiopian authorities facilitate a visit by Mr Tsige’s family. Foreign Office officials will continue to provide consular support both to Mr Tsige and to his family during this difficult time.”
Tsige’s partner, Yemi Hailemariam, also a British national, lives in London with their three children. She has spoken to him only once by phone since his abduction.
“He’s in prison but we have no idea where he is being held,” she told the Guardian last month. “He said he was okay, but I’m sure the call was being listened to. He had been in Dubai and was flying on to Eritrea when the plane stopped over in Yemen. He hadn’t even been through immigration. We think Yemeni security took him and handed him over to the Ethiopians.
Yemi Hailemariam outside the Foreign Commonwealth Office in April Photograph: Alamy

“They say there was an extradition agreement, but it was so quick there was no time for any semblance of a legal hearing. Yemen and Ethiopia had close relations then. The [Ethiopian] government have put him on television three times in heavily edited interviews, saying he was revealing secrets.
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“He has been kept under artificial light 24 hours a day and no one [other than the UK ambassador] has had access to him.”
Tsige, 60 – known as Andy – had previously been secretary general of Ginbot 7, a political opposition party that called for democracy, free elections and civil rights. He first came to the UK in 1979.
The Ethiopian government has accused him of being a terrorist. In 2009, he was tried with others in his absence and sentenced to death. The latest reports suggest that his health is deteriorating.
His lawyer, Ben Cooper, of Doughty Street Chambers, said: “We welcome the Foreign Secretary condemning the illegality of Andy Tsige’s detention, confirming the fact of his solitary confinement and demanding consular visits. But we have a simple ask: please request Andy Tsige’s return home to his family in London. Mr Tsige was kidnapped by Ethiopia at an international airport and the only remedy for kidnap is release. Why has Mr Hammond not yet asked Ethiopia to release Andy so he can return home to England?”
Juan Méndez, the UN special rapporteur on torture, has written to the Ethiopian and UK governments saying he is investigating Tsige’s treatment.

Who is Andargachew Tsige?
Andargachew, or Andy, Tsige fled Addis Abbaba in the 1970s following threats against his life from the military regime, the Derg, which then controlled Ethiopia.
A student activist, he had attracted the attention of the authorities. His younger brother was killed by the security forces. Tsige escaped into the mountains to join opposition groups.
In 1979, after falling out with fellow rebels, he sought asylum in the UK. He studied at the University of Greenwich and obtained full UK citizenship.
Tsige returned to Ethiopia after the Derg was overthrown but moved back to the UK in the early 1990s where he became active in opposition politics.
In 2005, he returned to Addis Abbaba again. He took part in that year’s election and was briefly imprisoned. after being freed, he founded a new political movement, Ginbot 7, from his exile in London.
The organisation was alleged by the Ethiopian government to have launched a failed coup in 2009. Tsige was condemned to death in his absence.
In June 2014, he had flown to the Gulf to give lectures. An unexpected change to his return route saw him fly back via Yemen where he changed planes. At Sana’a airport, he was arrested by guards and put on a plane to Ethiopia on the grounds that there was an extradition agreement between the two countries.
Supporters say that had he been born white and in the UK, the Foreign Office would have taken a more forceful line in campaigning for his release from death row in east Africa.
His partner, Yemisrach Hailemariam, and their three children live in London. She has campaigned actively for his freedom.
In February a delegation of MPs, led by Jeremy Corbyn, his local member, was scheduled to visit Ethiopia in an attempt to secure his release. The trip was abandoned following a meeting with the Ethiopian ambassador.

Source: Theguardian

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Ethiopia's higher-education boom built on shoddy foundations (Dr Ali Eftekhari)

The country desperately needs new universities to drive development, but most of the 30 built in the last 15 years fall woefully short
 
The declining standard of Nigeria’s premier institution, the University of Ibadan, ten years ago is reflected in Ethiopia where the quality of new universities varies widely. Photograph: George Esiri/REUTERS
Ethiopia’s higher education infrastructure has mushroomed in the last 15 years. But the institutions suffer from curricula being abandonded due to funding cuts, unqualified – but party-loyal – lecturers, and shoddily built institutions. The rapid growth of Ethiopia’s higher education system has come at a cost, but it is moving forward all the same.

Beatings for asking for help: corporal punishment in India's schools
Twenty years ago the Ethiopian government launched a huge and ambitious development strategy that called for “the cultivation of citizens with an all-round education capable of playing a conscious and active role in the economic, social, and political life of the country”. One of the principal results of Ethiopia’s agricultural development-led industrialisation strategy (ADLI) has been a rapid expansion in the country’s higher education system. In 2000 there were just two universities, but since then the country has built 29 more, with plans for another 11 to be completed within two years.
The quality of these new universities varies widely; from thriving research schools, to substandard institutions built to bolster the regime’s power in hostile regions. One professor recalls a hurried evacuation from part of a recently completed university while he was working there: one of the buildings had collapsed.
But there have also been success stories. The University of Jimma, for example, has come first in the Ethiopian Ministry of Education’s rankings for the past five years, and is held up as evidence of ADLI’s efficacy since its establishment in 1999. The most recent development at Jimma, the department of materials science and engineering (MSE), opened for students in 2013, and has quickly expanded to become one of the top research schools in the sub-Saharan region. The department’s founder, Dr Ali Eftekhari, has since been nominated for a fellowship from the African Academy of Sciences on the back of the project’s success.
This success is much-needed. At 8%, African higher education enrolment is significantly lower than the global average of 32%, and Ethiopia trails even further behind, with fewer than 6% of college-age adults at university. Research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (Stem) is starting from a particularly low base in Africa. The World Bank reported last year that though the sub-Saharan region has “increased both the quantity and quality of its research” in recent years, much of this improvement is due to international collaboration, and a lack of native Africans is “reducing the economic impact and relevance of research”.
Dr Eftekhari echoes these concerns: “The problem for development in Ethiopia and similar African countries is higher education itself. This is the reason that I focused on PhD programs. “For instance, Jimma’s department of civil engineering has over 3,000 undergraduate students. These civil engineers are the future builders of the country, but there is not one PhD holder among the staff; most only have a BSc.”
Eftekhari improvised and sweet-talked in order to get the department established; in its first year, the department taught 18 PhD students – all native Ethiopians – on almost zero budget, with staff donating their time and money until funding was secured from the ministry of education. Despite the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front’s (EPRDF) push for development, Ethiopia’s political landscape remains a minefield for education professionals, says Eftekhari: “People are always suspicious about the political reasons behind each new project. I decided to start with zero budget to allay those doubts. In developing countries everything has some degree of flexibility. I used this to borrow staff and resources from the rest of the university until we could secure a budget.
“Many of the staff saw the project as a career opportunity,” says Eftekhari, but altruism also played a part. The department’s research focuses primarily on solving the country’s pressing poverty and development problems. “They knew they were actually saving lives,” says Jimma’s innovation coordinator, Maria Shou.
The belief that science and engineering is key to alleviating poverty propels the work of the school. Projects range from the development of super-capacitors for the provision of cheap power, to carbon nanomaterials for Ethiopia’s expanding construction industry. “You only need a couple of weeks in Ethiopia to realise that materials science is a priority,” says Pablo Corrochano, an assistant professor at the school. “Even in the capital you’ll experience cuts in power and water; in rural areas it’s even worse. Producing quality and inexpensive bricks for building houses, designing active water filters, and supplying ‘off-the-grid’ energy systems for rural areas are all vital to the country’s development.”
However, Jimma’s success could be seen as a bit of an anomaly. Paul O’Keeffe, a researcher at La Sapienza University of Rome, who specialises in Ethiopia’s higher education system, believes that similar initiatives are needed, but that the government’s politics are an obstacle: “My research indicates that the rapid expansion of the public university system has seen a dramatic decline in the quality of education offered in recent years. Instead of putting resources into improving the existing system, or establishing a few good institutions, the EPRDF has built many new universities, largely for political reasons.
“A lot of the time the universities are merely shells. They do not function as universities as we would expect and are poorly resourced, and in some cases shoddily built. It would seem that they are built almost as a token where the EPRDF can say to hostile regions ‘look we are doing something for you, we’ve built a university’.”

Ethiopia crackdown on student protests taints higher education success

Even when the universities do function, the quality of education is often low: “Once the funding, say from a western development agency, is finished for a particular course, it is no longer taught as the university authorities believe they can get funding for a new course instead; whatever is the latest fashionable course. So often this type of education for development is not sustainable.”
Reports of spies, classroom propaganda, of curricula that have been abandoned en mass due to funding cuts, and of unqualified staff are common at these universities, which make up the bulk of Ethiopian higher education, says O’Keeffe. “The party line is peddled during class, students are required to join the party, [there are] various reports of spies in the classrooms, who monitor what is said and who says it.”
A lecturer at Addis Ababa University, who wished to remain anonymous, is concerned primarily with the lack of qualifications among staff: “What is disturbing is that those who have just graduated with BAs and MAs are the lecturers. That is the manpower that they have. If you talk with students you wouldn’t believe that these students actually graduated from these so-called universities. Their inability to articulate their thoughts is breathtaking. It is extremely frustrating and you wonder how they have spent four years at university studying a doctorate.”
In this context, the MSE school provides a beacon of hope. The school’s success demonstrates that higher education – Stem research in particular – has the potential to thrive and play a central role in helping Ethiopia to reach its goal of becoming a middle-income nation by 2025, provided political interests are put to one side. Let’s hope the EPRDF takes note.
Source: The guardian , June 22, 2015

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

የአንዱዓለም አራጌ መልክት ከቃሊቲ

ለእያንዳንዳችሁ በተናጠል ልባዊ የአክብሮትና የናፍቆት ሠላምታዬ በግፍ ከታሰርኩባት ጠባቧ ክፍል ይድረሳችሁ!

ኢትዮጵያውያን ለዘመናት እውን ያላደረግነውን የህዝባዊ ልዕልና ጥያቄና ሌሎች ከነፃነት እጦት ጋር የተቆራኙ በአገዛዙ የሚፈፀሙ አያሌ የአፈና ተግባሮችን ለመቃወም በተጠራው በዚህ ሠላማዊ ሠልፍ ላይ ከጎናችሁ መሠለፍ ባለመቻሌ ባዝንም፣ ከተሰለፋችሁላቸው ዓላማዎች አንዱ የእኔና የጓደኞቼን ከእስር መቀቀቅ የሚመለከትና የታሰርኩለትም ዓላማ አካል በመሆኑ በመንፈስ ከጎናችሁ እንዳለሁ አምናለሁ፡፡ በዚህም ታላቅ ደስታ ይሰማኛል፡፡
ኢትዮጵያ ህዝባዊ ልዕልና የሠፈነባት የነፃነትና የዴሞክራሲ ምድር ትሆን ዘንድ የቀደሙ ትውልዶች ከፍተኛ መሰዋእትነት ከፍለዋል፡፡ ሌላውን ትተን የዛሬ 4ዐ ዓመት የተደረገውን ትግል ብቻ መጥቀስ ጥሩ ማሳያ ይሆናል፡፡ የዛሬ 4ዐ ዓመት ‹‹ሕዝባዊ መንግሥት›› ለመመስረት በሚል በተደረገ ትግል ሊለካ የማይችል መስዋዕትነት ተከፍሏል፡፡ ነገር ግን ‹‹ከጎናቸው ተሰልፈን ታገልን የሚሉን ወገኖች ዛሬ የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብ እግረ ከወርች አስረው እየረገጡት ይገኛሉ፡፡
ዛሬም ከ4ዐ ዓመት በኋላ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ የሉዓላዊ ሥልጣኑ ባለቤት መሆን አልቻለም፡፡ ዛሬም ከ4ዐ ዓመት በኋላ ሕዝብ ከገጠር እስከ ከተማ በካድሬዎች ፈርጣማ መዳፍ እየታሸ ነው፡፡ ዛሬም ከ4ዐ ዓመት በኋላ ከማደናገሪያ ስልትነት ባለፈ የህዝብ የመናገርና የመፃፍ መብት አልተከበረም፡፡ ዛሬም 4ዐ ዓመት በኋላ አገዛዙን የሚቃወሙ ዜጎች በበሬ ወለደ ክስ በግፍ ይታሰራሉ፡፡ እኔና ጓደኞቼ ለዚህ ማሳያዎች ነን፡፡ ዛሬም ከ4ዐ ዓመት በኋላ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ የመረጠው ሳይሆን አፈ-ሙዝ ያገነነው በምርጫ ተውኔት 99.6% የህዝብ ድምጽ በመዝረፍ ሀገራችንን በዓለም ፊት የሚያኮስስና የህዝቧን ክብር የሚያዋርድ ተግባር የሚፈፀምባት ሀገር ነች፡፡ ዛሬም ከ4ዐ ዓመት በኋላ በአጠቃላይ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ በጥቂት የወቅቱ አምባገነኖች በገዛ ሀገሩ እስረኛ ሆኖ ይገኛል፡፡
ዛሬ እየተካሄደ ያለው ሠልፍ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ከዘመናት እስራት ነፃ ለመውጣት የሚያደርገው አጠቃላይ ትግል አካል ነው፡፡ ኢትዮጰያውያን የየትኛውም ቋንቋ ተናጋሪዎች ብንሆን፣ የየትኛውም እምነት ተከታዮች ብንሆን፣ የየትኛውም ፖለቲካ ፓርቲ አባሎች ብንሆን፣ በየትኛውም የፆታና የእድሜ ክልል ብንገኝ ሁላችን አንድ የሚያደርግ ሰብአዊ ልዕልናችን ተከብሮ በነፃነት የመኖር ተቀዳሚ አጀንዳ አለን፡፡
ነፃነት ማንም በችሮታ ወይንም በአዋጅ የሚያረጋግጥልን ሳይሆን በነፃነት ለነፃነት የተፈጠርን ሉዓላዊ ፍጡራን መሆናችንን ከልብ ስናምን የምንጎናፀፈው ፀጋ መሆኑን መረዳት ያስፈልጋል፡፡ ትልቁ የነፃነት ጠላት እራስን ዝቅ አድርጎ ከማየት የሚመጣ ፍርሃት ነው፡፡ ፍርሃትን ያላሸነፈ ሕዝብ በአዋጅ ነፃ ሊወጣ አይችልም፡፡ አዋጅ መች ቸገረንና? ፍርሃትን ያላሸነፈ ህዝብ የነፃነቱ ባለቤት ሊሆን አይችልም፡፡ ፍርሃትን ያላሸነፈ ህዝብ ለልጆቹ ነፃ ሀገር ሊያወርስ አይችልም፡፡ የፍርሃትንና የግለኝነት ወረርሽኝ ማስወገድ ፈጽሞ ጊዜ የሚሰጠው ተግባር አይደለም፡፡ ፍርሃትንና ለኔነትን ድልነስታችሁ ዛሬ ለነኀነት መሰለፍ በመቻላችሁ የተግሉን የመጀመሪያና ወሳኝ መዕራፍ ተሻግራችኋል፡፡
ፍርሃትን በማሸነፍ ለነፃነት መታገል ወሳኝ የመሆኑን ያህል፣ ከቀደሙ ስህተቶቻችን መማር፣ ትግሉን በተጠናና በከፍተኛ የኃላፊነት ስሜት ማካሄድም የዚያኑ ያህል አስፈላጊና ወሳኝ ነው፡፡
እስከ አሁን በዝምታችን አምባገነኖች የልብ ልብ እንዲሰማቸው ብሎም አፍነው እንዲገዙን እድል ሰጥተናቸዋል፡፡ እስከ አሁን መብቶቻችንና ሰብአዊ ክብራችን በግደለሽነት እንዲረገጡ በመፍቀዳችን ኢትዮጵያና ሕዝቧ የጥቂት ገዢዎች አንጡራ ሀብት ሆናለች፡፡ እስከ አሁን በቁርጠኝነት ባለመታገላችን ዛሬም እንደ አዲስ ከአምባገነንነት ጋር ግብግብ መግጠም ግድ ሆኖብናል፡፡ የአፈናውን የክፋት ደረጃና የአገዛዙን አሙለጭላጭ የአፈና ስልቶች ግንዛቤ ውስጥ ያስገባና ዘመኑን የሚመጥን የፀና ሠላማዊ ትግል ማድረግ ከእያንዳንዱ ኢትዮጵያዊ ይጠበቃል፡፡
ሠላማዊ ትግል በአንድ ወይንም በሁለት ሠልፍ የሚቋጭ ሳይሆን አያሌ ስልቶችንና ሠፊና ቀጣይነት ያለውን እንቅስቃሴ የሚያካትት ነው፡፡ የፖለቲካ ባህላችንና አስተሳሰባችንን ከማዘመን ጀምሮ ገዢዎች ነፃነትን የማይፈሩበትን ስነ-ልቦና እንዲላበሱ ማድረግና ለበርካታ ዘመናት በጭቆና ደቅድቅ ጨለማ ውስጥ ያለችውን ሀገራችን የነፃነት ብርሃን ከደር እስከዳር የሚበራባት ሀገር እስክትሆን ድረስ መታገል ያስፈልጋል፡፡ ከዚህ የላቀና የከበረ ምን ቁም ነገር ይኖራል?
ይህ ትውልድ ለማመን የሚከብዱ ታላላቅ ገድሎችን የሰሩ አባቶች ልጆች መሆናችንን ለአፍታ እንኳ መዘንጋት አይገባውም፡፡ በተግባርም የላቀ ገድል በመስራት ማንነቱን ሊያስመሰክር ይገባል፡፡ አባቶቻችን የሞቱላትንና የአጽማቸው ማረፊያ፣ እትብታችን የተቀበረባትንና የሁለንተናዊ ማንነታችን ማህደርና የልጆቻችን ተስፋና መኖሪያ የሆነችውን የምንወዳትን ሀገራችንን ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሥርዓት የሰፈነባት የማይደርቅ የህዝባዊ ሉዓላዊነት ምንጭ እስክናደርጋት ድረስ እጅ ለእጅ ተያይዘን ትግላችንን በጽናት መቀጠል የጠበቅብናል፡፡ የዓላማና የህሊና ንጽህናን ተላብሰን ለወንድማማችነት፣ ዴሞክራሲና ነፃነት በምናደርገው ሠላማዊ ትግል ፈጣሪም ከእኛ ጋር እንደሚሆን አምናለሁ፡፡
በመጨረሻም ይህንን አጋጣሚ በመጠቀም በእስራኤል አገር የሚገኙ ኢትዮጵያውያን እየከፈልኩት ላለው ዋጋ እውቅና ሰጥተው ስለዘከሩኝ፣ የኢሳት ቴሌቭዥን ተመልካቶችና የዘ-ሀበሻ ድረ-ገጽ ታዳሚዎች ‹‹የዓመቱ ሰው›› ብለው በመምረጠ ላጎናፀፉኝ ትልቅ ክብር ከፍ ያለ ምስጋናዬን ለማቅረብ እወዳለሁ፡፡ እንዲሁም ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ በግፍ የታሰርን ሰዎች እንድንፈታ በመጠየቁ አመሰግናለሁ፡፡ በአጠቃላይ በፀሎት ከማሰብ ጀምሮ በሀገር ውስጥና በውጭ ሀገራት የምትገኙ ኢትዮጵያውያን ወገኖቼ በተለያዩ እንቅስቃሴዎች ከጎኔ በመቆማችሁ የላቀ ምስጋናዬ ይድረሳችሁ፡፡ ይህ የመከራ የሀሩር ወቅት አልፎ ብርሃን በሞላው የፀደይ ወቅት በነፃነት ለመኖር ትግላችንን ከመቼውም ጊዜ በላቀ ሁኔታ አጠናክረን ልነቀጥል ይገባልይገባናል፡፡

የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብም ሆነ ህሊናዩን የሚያሳዝን አንዳችም ነገር ፈጽሜአለሁ ብዬ አላምንም! ፍፁም ሠላም ይሠማኛል፡፡ እኔን እዚህ ያቆመኝ የነፃነት ናፍቆት ነው፡፡

ፈጣሪ ኢትዮጵያን ይባርክ!
አንዱዓለም አራጌ (የህሊና እስረኛ

Source: Zehabesha (2013) 

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Ethiopian General Election: An Insult to the People and Democracy (by Graham Peebles)

Every five years the Ethiopian people are invited by the ruling party to take part in a democratic pantomime called ‘General Elections’. Sunday 24th May saw the latest production take to the national stage.
With most opposition party leaders either in prison or abroad, the populace living under a suffocating blanket of fear, and the ruling party having total control over the media, the election result was a foregone conclusion. The European Union, which had observed the 2005 and 2010 elections, refused to send a delegation this time, maintaining their presence would legitimize the farce, and give credibility to the government.
With most ballots counted, the National Election Board of Ethiopia announced the incumbent party to have ‘won’ all “442 seats declared [from a total of 547], leaving the opposition empty-handed…the remaining 105 seats are yet to be announced.” ‘Won’ is not really an accurate description of the election result; as the chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress, Merera Gudina, put it, this “was not an election, it was an organised armed robbery”.
The days leading up to the election saw a regimented display of state arrogance and paranoia, as the government deployed huge numbers of camouflaged security personnel and tanks onto the streets of Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar. For months beforehand anyone suspected of political dissent had been arrested and imprisoned; fabricated charges drawn up with extreme sentencing for the courts, which operate as an extension of the government, to dutifully enforce.
Despite the ruling party’s claims to the contrary, this was not a democratic election and Ethiopia is not, nor has it ever been, a democracy.
The country is governed by a brutal dictatorship in the form of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) that has been in power since 1991, when they violently overthrew the repressive Derg regime. The EPRDF speaks generously of democracy and freedom, but they act in violation of democratic principles, trample on universal human rights, ignore international law, and violently control the people.
Independent international bodies and financial donors, from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to the European Union and the US State Department, are well aware of the nature and methods of the EPRDF, which is one of the most repressive regimes in Africa. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that Ethiopia is “the fourth most heavily censored country in the World”, with more journalists forced to leave the country last year than anywhere except Iran.
In the lead up to the recent election, CPJ found that, “the state systematically cracked down on the country’s remaining independent publications through the arrests of journalists and intimidation of printing and distribution companies. Filing lawsuits against editors and forcing publishers to cease production.” Various draconian laws are used to gag the media and stifle dissent, the Anti Terrorist Proclamation being the most common weapon deployed against anyone who dares speak out against the government, which rules through fear, and yet, riddled with guilt as they must surely be, seem themselves fearful.

Democracy and Development

The government proudly talks a great deal about economic development, which it believes to be more important than democracy, human rights and the rule of law, all of which are absent in the country. And, yes, during the past decade the country has seen economic development, with between 4% and 9% (depending on who you believe) GDP growth per annum achieved, the CIA states “through government-led infrastructure expansion and commercial agriculture development.” It is growth, however, that depends, the Oakland Institute make clear, on “state force and the denial of human and civil rights.”
GDP figures are only one indicator of a country’s progress, and a very narrow one at that. The broader Ethiopian picture, beyond the debatable statistics, paints a less rosy image:
Around 50% of Ethiopia’s federal budget is met by various aid packages, totaling $3.5 billion annually. Making it “the world’s second-largest recipient of total external assistance, after Indonesia” (excluding war torn nations, Afghanistan and Iraq), Human Rights Watch states. The country remains 173rd (of 187 countries) in the UN Human Development Index and is one of the poorest nations in the world, with, the CIA says, over 39% of the population living below the low poverty line of $1.25 a day (the World Bank worldwide poverty line is $2 a day) – many Ethiopians question this figure and would put the number in dire need much higher.
Per capita income is among the lowest in the world and less than half the rest of sub-Sahara Africa, averaging, according to the World Bank, “$470 (£287)”. This statistic is also questionable, as Dr. Daniel Teferra (Professor of Economics, Emeritus at Ferris State University,) explains, “In 2008-2011 income per capita (after inflation), was only $131,” contrary to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) 2013 report, which put the figure at $320.
The cost of living has risen sharply (current inflation is around 8%) and, as The Guardian reports, “growing economic inequality threatens to undermine the political stability and popular legitimacy that a developmental state acutely needs. Who benefits from economic growth is a much-contested issue in contemporary Ethiopia.” Not amongst the majority of Ethiopians it isn’t: they know very well who the winners are. As ever it is the 1%, who sit in the seats of power, and have the education and the funds to capitalize on foreign investment and development opportunities.
Some of those suffering as a result of the government’s development policies are the 1.5 million threatened with ‘relocation’ as their land is taken – or ‘grabbed’ from them. Leveled and turned into industrial-sized farms by foreign multinationals which grow crops, not for local people, but for consumers in their home countries – India or China for example.
Indigenous people cleared from their land are violently herded into camps under the government’s universally criticised “Villagization” program, which is causing the erosion of ancient lifestyles, “increased food insecurity, destruction of livelihoods, and the loss of cultural heritage”, relates the Oakland Institute. Any resistance is met with a wooden baton or the butt or bullet of a rifle; reports of beatings, torture and rape by security forces are widespread. No compensation is paid to the affected people, who are abandoned in camps with no essential services, such as water, health care and education facilities – all of which are promised by the EPRDF in their hollow development rhetoric.

An Insult to the People

Economic development is not democracy, and whilst development is clearly essential to address the dire levels of poverty in Ethiopia, it needs to be democratic, sustainable development. First and foremost human rights must be observed, and there must be participation, and consultation, which – despite the Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s duplicitous comments to Al Jazeera that, “we make our people to be part and parcel of all the [developmental] engagements,” – never happens.
The Prime Minister describes Ethiopia as a “fledgling democracy”, and says the government is “on the right track in democratizing the country”. Nonsense. Democracy is rooted in the observation of human rights, freedom of expression, the rule of law and social participation. None of these values are currently to be found in Ethiopia.
Not only is the EPRDF universally denying the people their fundamental human rights, in many areas they are committing acts of state terrorism (one thinks of the abuses taking place in the Ogaden region and the atrocities being committed against the Oromo people, for example, that amount to crimes against humanity.
The recent election was an insult to the people of Ethiopia, who are being intimidated, abused and suppressed by a brutal, arrogant regime that talks the democratic talk, but acts in violation of all democratic ideals.

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Graham is Director of The Create Trust, a UK registered charity supporting fundamental social change and the human rights of individuals in acute need. He can be reached at:graham@thecreatetrust.org.

Friday, June 19, 2015

ሰማዕትነት፦ ለዓላማ ሲሉ ማንኛውንም ዋጋ መክፈል መቻል ነው!

ሰማዕትነት ለሰው ልጅ እንግዳ  ነገር አይደለም። የነበረ፣ ያለና የሚኖር ነው። የሰማዕታት ተግባራትና ዓላማቸው የከበረ፣ ስማቸውም ዘላለማዊ በመሆኑ ትውልድና ታሪክ ሲያወሳቸው ይኖራል።
የሰማዕታትን ራዕይ፣ ዓላማና ተልእኮ ፍሬ እንዲያፈራ ማድረግ የትውልድ ታላቅ አደራ ነው።
አደራ መወጣት ከባድ ቢሆንም፤ የሀገር፣ ነጻነት፣ፍትህና ማንነት ብለው ሰማዕትነትን የተቀበሉ ሰማዕታት የሰጡንን አደራ በተገቢው መንገድ ከግብ እናደርሳለን። ራዕያቸውን ሰንቀን ወደፊት ከመጓዝ በቀር ከወያኔ ጋር በምንም በምን አንደራደርም።
ሰሞኑን በአሰቃቂ ሁኔታ በወያኔ አሸባሪ ቡድን በግፍ የተገደለው የህግ ባለሙያ፣ የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ከፍተኛ አመራር፣ የፓርላማ እጩ ተወዳዳሪ፣ የነጻነት ታጋይ፣ ለሀገርና ህዝብ የቆመው ወጣት ሳሙኤል አወቀን እና የአረና ፓርቲ የፓርላማ እጩ ተወዳዳሪ ታደሰ አብርሃን በተመለከተ ዓለም አቀፍ ብዙኃን መገኛዎች በዜናቸው እንዲህ ለታሪክ ዘግበውታል።  

“ከታሰርሁም ህሊናዬ አይታሰርም ከገደሉኝም ትግሌን አደራ በተለይ የኔ ትውልድ አደራ! ተገደልሁም ታሰርሁም ነፃነት አይቀርም!” ሳሙኤል አወቀ

“ማንኛውም የምከፍለው ዋጋ ለሀገሬና ለነጻነት ነው፤ በአካል ብታሰርም ህሌናዬ አይታሰርም፣ ከገደሉኝም ትግሌን አደራ”   ~ በግፍ የተገደለው ሳሙኤል አወቀ

እኛም እንላለን፡፡ አደራህ ከባድ ነው፡፡ ቃልህን እናከብራለን፡፡ አላማህንም እናሳካለን!!!! (ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ)








ሳሚ፦  “ብታሰርም፣ ማንኛውንም ዋጋ ብከፍልም፣ ብገደልም ይህን ሁሉ የማደርገው ለሀገሬና ለነፃነቴ ነው” ያልከው ቃል /ህያው ሆኖ ለዘላለም በክብር በወርቅ ቀልም በልቦቻችን ተጽፎ ከመቃብር በላይ ይኖራል!!!! የሞትክለትን ዓላማ እናሳካለን፤ የአደራ ቃልህን እናከብራለን!!! መሪ ቢታሰርም ቢሞትም ትግል ግን ይቀጥላል . . .እንዲያውም ሚሊዮኖችን የነጻነት ታጋይ ተክቶ ያልፋ።።።።።።።።።።።።።።።።።።።።
 ታዴ፦ የሞትክለት የነጻነት ትግል በዓላማህ ጽናት ታድሶ ትውልድ ተረክቦታል! የወያኔ ማፍያ ወሮበላ ቡድን የትግራይን ህዝብ ሊወክል እንደማይችል በግልጽ ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ አሳይተሃል!

ክብር ለሰማዕታት! ነጻነትና ፍትህ ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ! ውድቀት ለወያኔ ወሮበላ ቡድን ይሁን!!!