Mengistu Hailemariam and our moral compass

by Yilma Bekele

Today I felt like crawling under the blanket and just hide. I know that is what children do. They think hiding under the blanket makes them invisible. It give them a feeling of security and that what I was looking for. Some place to hide and feel secure from my clueless people. Clueless is what we are and I guess I just have to live with it. Predictable like the season is how we function and I have to accept it.

Watching American Diplocrisy in Ethiopia

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

America is Watching!?

Diplomacy by hypocrisy is “diplocrisy”.

Edmund Burke, the British statesman and philosopher, said “Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing.” We’ve heard many promises on human rights in Africa from President Obama and his Administration over the past four years.  “We will work diligently with Ethiopia to ensure that strengthened democratic institutions and open political dialogue become a reality for the Ethiopian people…

Generational Shift May Shake Up Ethiopian Politics After Meles Zenawi

Generational Shift May Shake Up Ethiopian Politics After Meles Zenawi

I'm an Amara (እኔ አማራ ነኝ)  By Yilma Bekele April 25, 2013

"Ich bin ein Berliner."  - "I am a Berliner" Those words were spoken by President John F. Kennedy on June 26, 1963 in West Berlin. He said that to show solidarity with the people of Berlin after the East Germans with the approval of the Soviet Union erected the Berlin Wall to prevent their captive citizens from fleeing to the west.

The passage I like the most is when he said “Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis romanus sum ["I am a Roman citizen"]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Berliner!"... All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7ve9TJTx9Q&feature=player_embedded#t=8s

Malawi Police arrest six illegal immigrants from Ethiopia in Karonga

Six illegal immigrants from Ethiopia are under police custody in Malawi’s northern border district of Karonga following their arrest on Friday.

Chief Immigration Officer Hudson Mankhwala

The arrest comes few days after the police in the district nabbed 35 illegal immigrants from the same country.
Karonga Police Officer In-Charge Forster Mangani blames the influx of the illegal immigrants into Malawi on porous borders which the country has.

Ethnic Cleansing in Ethiopia: Letter to Ban Ki-moon

April 19, 2013
His Excellency, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations
Dear Your Excellency,
Subject:  Ethnic Cleansing in Ethiopia

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon

First, we, the leadership team of the undersigned Ethiopian civic and political organizations, present our compliments to Your Excellency. It is with deep anguish and regret that we should like to alert you and appeal to your office, and through your office, to the Security Council of the United Nations concerning the unprecedented level of human displacement and ethnic cleansing that is currently taking place in Ethiopia. You will agree with us that ethnic cleansing is an affront to human worth and dignity and endangers peace and stability in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. It must be halted without any delay. These recurring and well documented violations of fundamental human rights are perpetrated by the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) the ethnic-elite coalition government that has been ruling Ethiopia for the past 21 years.

ሽንፈት፤… ድል፤ ሽንፈት… (ተመስገን ደሳለኝ)

ከምሽቱ አንድ ሰአት አልፏል፤ የእጅ ስልኬ ደጋግሞ ቢጮኽም ትኩረት አልሰጠሁትም፡፡ ከጥቂት ሰከንዶች ፋታ በኋላ የቢሮዬ ስልክ ጮኸ፤ አነሳሁት፡፡ ለካስ እንዲህ በአንዱ አልመልስ ስላት፣ በሌላው እያፈራረቀች የምትደውለው ዕድሜዋ ወደ ሰባ እየተጠጋ ያለው አሮጊቷ እናቴ ኖራለች፡-

‹‹አቤት! እናቴ›› ‹‹ለምንድነው የዚህን ያህል ስልኩ ሲጮኽ የማትመልሰው?›› ቆጣ ብላ ጠየቀችኝ፡፡

‹‹አስቸኳይ ስራ ላይ ስለነበርኩ ነው›› ‹‹ኤዲያ! አንተ ደግሞ ሁል ጊዜ ጠብ ለማይል ነገር፣ ችክ ማለት ትወዳለህ›› …በእርግጥ እናቴ እውነቷን ነው! ችክ ያልኩ ቸካካ ነገር ሳልሆን አልቀርም ፡፡ ‹‹ልዕልና›› ጋዜጣ ታግዳለች፤ እንደ‹‹ፍትህ›› እና ‹‹አዲስ ታይምስ›› ሁሉ የስርዓቱ የአፈና ሰለባ ሆናለች፤ የሚገርመው ግን መታገዷ አይደለም፣ የታገደችበት መንገድ እንጂ፡፡ ከዚህ ቀደም ደጋግሜ እንደገለፅኩት አቶ መለስን የተኩት ሰዎች ከእረሱም የባሱ ጭፍን አምባገነኖች ናቸው፡፡ ማንንም አይፈሩም፡፡ እግዚአብሄርንም ቢሆን ‹‹በአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ካልተጠመቅህ አምላክ ሆነ እንድትቀጥል አንፈቅድልህም›› ከማለት አይመለሱም፡፡