Ethiopia: Seeing Green - The Economic Potential of Ecotourism

The little-known lush Lepis woodland has the potential to transform the lives of the 2,000 community members in its midst - if they can successfully develop a sustainable community tourism business, as other communities have done in Ethiopia. Without any facilities as of yet, the site is one of the Rift Valley's best kept secrets.
By Hans Larson
30 March 2010
Tashita Bararit, volunteer Lepis guide, turns around to see the reaction of the people he has just led to base of Lepis Falls. His smile reflects what he sees in their faces.

Imagine a place with a lush green forest, full of life, a rich multilayered under storey teaming with birdlife, many of them endemic. Imagine a cool oasis full of secluded nooks and crannies interlinked by trekking trails. Imagine an 80 meter waterfall tucked away in the grotto of a cliff, towering above and cascading down into a pool below, with birds flitting back and forth to cleanse their feathers in the cool mist.

That is a description of the natural resources of Lepis, a collection of four communities only 30km from the main road that connects Addis Abeba with Hawassa (Awassa). The turnoff is right before the Shashemane junction, at Arsi Negele, 231km from Addis Abeba.

Until the USAID funded Ethiopian Sustainable Tourism Alliance (ESTA) was tipped off by the Arsi Negele Concern for Environment Development Association (ANCEDA) and until ESTA brought various stakeholders in the tourism industry to Lepis, many of the community members had no idea that they were sitting on a potential income generating resource.

"An ignorant person gets thirsty as the water flows right past him," Lepis community member Ahmad Woya said in regard to his community's previous lack of awareness.

ESTA took Lepis community members to Adaba Dodola, which has already been developed into a successful sustainable community tourism project with the help of GTZ. They were then able to see for themselves the benefits of protecting and utilising such natural resources.

Sustainable tourism expert Brad Weiss has been working with ESTA for almost a year and a half.

"We do not want to tell the communities what to do. We just guide and facilitate the process," he said. "It has to be their project from the start."

ESTA has currently identified six potential communities to work with for the rest of the five-year programme. It is currently developing business plans for two of them, including Lepis.

ESTA is partnering with community conservation areas (CCAs), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Gambo District of the Arsi Forest Enterprise, the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society (EWNHS), SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, Horn of Africa Regional Environmental Centre (HOAREC), Selam Environmental Development Association (SEDA), ANCEDA, Hawassa University, and George Washington University in Washington D.C. ESTA has additional partners for other related projects.

Lizzie Weber and Ryan Foster from George Washington University came to Ethiopia for two weeks ending today, March 28, 2010, to guide the business proposal creation process for the community at Lepis and write up the things the community discussed and decided on during their meetings at the edge of the towering forest.

During one such meeting on Tuesday, they mostly just asked questions to help guide the process and took notes. This ensured that the motivation for the project and ideas for the business proposal came from the community members themselves.

The community members discussed where to locate a campsite within the forest. They selected four potential sites that were secluded, safe, scenic and accessible.

Another important part of the business proposal was the mission statement for the ecotrekking community venture, said Sintayehu Gurmessa, student head of Academic Affairs and graduating class member of Hawassa University's Hotel and Tourism Management School.

"The mission statement reads, 'By conserving our natural environment and using it for ecotourism development, we will improve the livelihoods of our community,'" he said.

A risk evaluation process was also tackled by the community, covering various doubts and fears regarding the project.

"What if the forest is cut or the wildlife poached?" Weber asked the 30 community members who attended the meeting. "This will also take a lot of difficult work, long meetings, and physical labour, and what if people in the community lose interest?" she questioned.

Foster was additionally concerned about whether there were times of the year when everyone in the community was busy, such as during harvest time. Even though the area is green year-round and the waterfall and river flows continuously, the community said there were such occasions.

Lepis is so beautiful and full of birdlife that some tour operators who were brought to get acquainted with the area said they could start bringing tourists even before any development work was done. This underlined the marketability of the site.

"The main thing is that these projects must be market based, otherwise a lot of work will be done for nothing," said Weiss.

He has experience working on sister projects in four other countries including Ecuador, Mali, the Dominican Republic, and Uganda, under the umbrella organisation Global Sustainable Tourism Alliance.

Another key to success is getting all the stakeholders to cooperate, all the way from outbound tour operators in market countries to the communities at the individual sites visited, from government offices to NGOs, even airlines.

"It is really important to get the whole system in the room," he said.

Some of the players know more than others and can help everyone including themselves by sharing their information. Everyone has to at least know their role in building a successful tourism market, he explained.

The timing for Lepis is great. Other birding locations such as Wondo Genet are being degraded and dropping off tourism itineraries.

On Friday, George Washington University students shared the podium with students from Hawassa University including Tekalign Lemma who introduced the team at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Archives near National Theatre on Sudan Street. The presentation was attended by Minister Tadelech Dalecho and almost 50 other people, many of whom were from tour operations based in Addis Abeba.

"Africa was the only world region to experience tourism growth in 2009 with international arrivals increasing by five per cent," began Weber.

But, she shared a bar graph depicting Ethiopia as the 23rd most popular country in Africa for international arrivals behind Madagascar. Egypt, South Africa, and Morocco were first, second, and third.

The George Washington University students identified bird watching as one of the most undeveloped sources of tourism income, due to its current low market share and lucrative nature of such tours which typically involve wealthier travellers who stay longer and spend more money. This was especially good news for Lepis, which has at least five endemic birds according to Tedesse Hailu of EWNHS.

Lepis will be competing with five other communities for continued support from ESTA.

"The amazing thing is that the community took the initiative to improve trails, and they even made a makeshift bridge over the Lepis River and served us lunch," said Jessie McComb, an ESTA consultant who recently joined the Lepis project with Mekonnen Gebre Egziabher who has been working on the project for nine months.

Sustainable Development
Mekonnen is frustrated with the undeveloped state of Ethiopia's tourism sector after decades of hold-ups during the Derg regime. He hopes that people will put the time and effort necessary into developing Ethiopia's true potential.

Some of the tour operators at the presentation on Friday voiced their eagerness to help Lepis develop its true planned project.

"That is the hope," said Weiss. "The nature of ESTA's project, like all donor projects, is that it has a limited lifetime, in this case five years."

Lepis can currently be visited as a day trip from Langano or Hawassa, but there is currently no accommodation (even campsites) for longer stays or any significant, well maintained trails for that matter. All this as well as a hygienic food a beverage service is part of the business plan for the small community of 2,000, tucked away in the foothills west of the Bale Mountains.

Ethiopia: The A B C’s of Stealing an Election

By Alemayehu G. Mariam
It is a staple of the criminal defense bar to represent thieves, robbers, burglars, muggers, pickpockets, shoplifters, embezzlers, con men, fraudsters and swindlers. It is also the ineluctable lot of the defense lawyer to learn about the M.O. (modus operandi, techniques) of the criminal classes with professional detachment. But few defense lawyers could claim the dubious honor of representing criminals that specialize in election heists. So, when the Carter Center issued its post-mortem “Ethiopia National Elections Observation Mission 2005 Final Report” recently, a unique academic opportunity became available to learn about how an election is actually stolen.

First, a detailed discussion of the specific findings of that Report is unnecessary. Anyone who has followed the May 2005 electoral process and observed the post-election period even with marginal interest is familiar with the facts presented and reviewed in the Report. Second, the diplomatically finessed conclusion of the Report tells the whole story. The 2005 Ethiopian election was stolen in broad daylight:

In spite of the positive pre election developments, the Center’s observation mission concludes that the 2005 electoral process did not fulfill Ethiopia’s obligations to ensure the exercise of political rights and freedoms necessary for genuinely democratic elections.

The real value of the Report lies in its plain depiction of how the 2005 Ethiopian election was stolen. One could say the Report is a sort of manual on the anatomy of election theft. To be sure, the Report effectively shows the “dos and don’ts” of a successful election heist and the specific things one must do in the “pre-election”, “election day” and “post-election” period. Carrying out the perfect election theft, however, is not for the faint of heart. One must have the cunning of a smiling villain, the audacity of a desperado outlaw and the brutality of a back alley thug to successfully steal an election in broad daylight. Above all, the accomplished election thief understands, masters and applies five basic principles.

Principle #1 (The Setup): Pander to your Western donors who bankroll you.

Elections in dictatorships are all about pleasing and trying to hoodwink Western donors, who are themselves all too willing to oblige with a wink and smile. They know elections in dictatorships are always stolen, but need an “election” charade to make plausible denials that they knew the election is stolen. In other words, they need a convenient cover story to shroud their hypocrisy in a garb of moral and intellectual virtue while concealing their criminal complicity in the theft. They pretend to maintain the appearance of neutrality and mediation in public while doing business as usual with the election thieves after dark. The smart election thief understands these basic facts and will do everything to make the donors happy, give them all the diplomatic cover they need and eventually squeeze more cash out of them.

The smart election thief will do just the right symbolic things to please the donors such as opening up “political space” for “competition and dialogue”, making grand pronouncements of “reforms”, giving lip service to open and vigorous electoral campaigns, not overtly interfering with civil society groups and the independent press and so on. It is a big deal for Western donors to see that “international election observers” are on the ground “watching” the “election” (from being stolen?!), and hopefully giving their blessings at the end. Western donors are kind of funny though: They want the local people to believe that an election could be stolen just a little and still be “free and fair.” But the people know that just as there is no such thing as a woman who is a little bit pregnant, there is also no such thing as an election that is a little bit stolen that is “free and fair”.

The Carter Center Report describing the 2005 pre-election period in Ethiopia stated:

The early pre-election period saw indications of growing space for political competition and dialogue. Government leaders, and opposition leaders met face-to-face to discuss the electoral process and needed reforms, with government agreeing to implement some of the key reforms called for by the opposition. International observers were invited and freedom of movement was assured. The Carter Center assessment team found the country’s political conditions conducive for an improved election. Government representatives exhibited openness to constructive criticism, and a willingness to consider recommendations for reforms. The opposition appeared ready to participate in the elections, and civil society was positioned to conduct voter and civic education and to observe the process…

Oh! What about democracy, free and fair elections, the people’s voice and all that good stuff? Not a problem. Western donors know the Ethiopian people are too poor, too hungry and too ignorant to understand or appreciate democracy. It is actually a simple problem of mind over matter: Western donors don’t mind (a stolen election) and the Ethiopian people don’t matter.

Principle #2 (Setting up the Heist): Use lots of smoke and mirrors.

Razzle-dazzle and theatricality are critical props before an election takedown. This requires keeping “the people” and the opposition distracted with all sorts of cute election games and amusements. One of the best election games is called “election code of conduct”. It is similar to a children’s game of marbles in which one player owns all the marbles. The game has only one rule: The guy who writes the “code” always wins the elections. As the election date nears, it is necessary to create hoopla and hype. The Carter Center Report describes:

The pre-election period witnessed unprecedented participation by opposition parties and independent candidates, and an unmatched level of political debate in the state-dominated electronic and print media and at public forums held across the country. Political parties agreed to a Party Code of Conduct, committing themselves to compliance with provisions calling for fair play and supporting peaceful political competition. Ethiopian civil society organizations were active in the pre-election period, observing election preparations and sponsoring a series of televised debates on public policy issues between government officials and opposition leaders.

Principle #3: (The Takedown) Snatch the election, faster than a New York pickpocket.

The smart election thief is lightening fast when it comes to the takedown. He does not wait for election returns, results or tabulations. He does not wait for verification reports and analysis of international observers or resolutions of vote challenges. On election day, he moves swiftly and declares victory before the votes are counted, imposes martial law and runs away with the prize in broad daylight in view of millions of stunned voters who look on in total disbelief. The Carter Center Report describes:

The May 15 voting process progressed relatively smoothly with Carter Center observers reporting that polling was calm and peaceful in the polling stations visited, with only limited incidents of disturbances reported. However, problems began to emerge during the counting and tabulation phases, with significant irregularities and delays in vote tabulation and a large number of electoral complaints. Preliminary but unconfirmed reports of election results from the political parties began to circulate on election night suggesting that the opposition parties had scored significant electoral gains, especially in Addis Ababa and other urban areas. On the night of the election, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi declared a one-month ban on public demonstrations in the capital and brought the Addis Ababa security forces (soon to be under the command of the opposition that won Addis Ababa) under the control of the office of the Prime Minister.

Principle #4 (The Getaway): Run them down if they get in your way!

As in any daylight crime, there may be witnesses. The smart election thief will use “shock and awe” to make a successful getaway. He will use extreme violence to deal with anyone standing in the way of his getaway. He will destroy any evidence of the theft and make it impossible to determine the full magnitude of the crime. He will boldly declare that it is necessary to kill unarmed demonstrators and jail nearly all of the opposition leaders to save democracy!

It's very obvious now that the opposition tried to change the outcome of the election by unconstitutional means. We felt we had to clamp down. We detained them and we took them to court. In the process, many people died, including policemen. Many of our friends feel that we overreacted. We feel we did not. There is room for criticism nevertheless it does not change the fact that this process was a forward move towards democracy and not a reversal. Recent developments have simply reinforced that. The leaders of the opposition have realized they made a mistake. And they asked for a pardon, and the government has pardoned them all.
The official Inquiry Commission set up to investigate the post-2005 election violence reported :
There was no property destroyed. There was not a single protester who was armed with a gun or a hand grenade as reported by the government-controlled media that some of the protesters were armed with guns and bombs. The shots fired by government forces were not to disperse the crowd of protesters but to kill by targeting the head and chest of the protesters.
Principle #5: Deny, deny, then lie.

The smoothest criminals always deny, deny and lie that they have done anything wrong. It is no different for the smart election thief. In other words, once you get away with the heist, follow the wisdom of the Amharic saying “Ye leba ayne derek meles o leb adrik.” (A boldface thief will tax your patience by persistent denial.) Deny having stolen the election. Distract attention from oneself by pointing an accusatory finger at others and make ridiculous claims about “interhamwe” conspiracies, “blind hatred” and so on. Follow the teachings of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”

As any criminal defense lawyer knows, the criminal perpetrator gains special psychological advantages by following a strategy of denial. The act of denial enables the criminal to shield himself from the shocking reality of his wrongdoing. It also offers him an opportunity to admit a fact but deny the seriousness of the crime (rationalization). In many cases, denial enables the criminal to admit a wrongdoing and its seriousness while avoiding moral responsibility altogether.
Everyone, including the most ardent critics of the government, agrees that right up to election day the democratic elections in Ethiopia were exemplary, by any standard. The issue arises as to whether the counting of the vote was done in a fair and transparent fashion. Here, there are varied assessments. We argue that while there may have been mistakes here and there, on the whole it was a credible and fair count. The opposition did not agree. So we said: ‘Let’s check. Let’s review the counting in the presence of foreign observers.’ We did that. After we did that, two groups of observers the African Union and the Carter Center said that while there had been some mistakes, the outcome of the election was credible.
(See also footnote 2 above.)

Principle # 5.5: Go back to Principle #1.

If at first you succeed in stealing an election, steal and steal again! Welcome to Ethiopia Election May 2010!

Whoever said “crime does not pay” has not tried stealing an election! Steal an election and you can steal everything in sight (or out of sight) with impunity, indefinitely!

“The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do.”
Joseph Stalin


Alemayehu G. Mariam, is a professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino, and an attorney based in Los Angeles. He writes a regular blog on The Huffington Post, and his commentaries appear regularly on pambazuka.org, allafrica.com, newamericamedia.org and other sites.

Forget about democracy

The chances of a fair vote in the coming election are fast receding
Mar 25th 2010

THE United States, the richest and most powerful nation on earth, is also the most generous donor to one of the poorest, Ethiopia. America says it gives $1 billion in aid every year to Africa’s second-most-populous country, which also happens to host the African Union’s headquarters.

Yet Barack Obama’s administration has barely stirred itself to protest against recent attempts by Ethiopia to jam programmes in Amharic, the country’s main language, beamed by the Voice of America, a respected state-funded broadcaster. Ethiopia’s prime minister, Meles Zenawi, brazenly says he will continue to jam the signal for as long as it incites what he calls hatred. He has compared the Amharic service to the hate speech spewing from Radio Mille Collines, which helped provoke Rwanda’s genocide in 1994. The State Department called the comment inflammatory but seems loth to make Mr Zenawi suffer for it.

One reason is that the Pentagon needs Ethiopia and its bare-knuckle intelligence service to help keep al-Qaeda fighters in neighbouring Somalia at bay. Many of Washington’s aid people argue that, though Mr Zenawi is no saint, he still offers the best chance of keeping Ethiopia together; even now, as one of the world’s least developed countries, it cannot feed itself.

Human-rights campaigners think the limpness of America and European Union countries, especially Britain, in the face of Mr Zenawi gives him a free rein to abuse his own people. This week’s report by Human Rights Watch, a New York-based lobby, claims that, after 20 years in power, Mr Zenawi’s ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front has “total control of local and district administrations to monitor and intimidate individuals at a household level.” With a general election due on May 23rd, opposition supporters, says the report, are often castigated as subversives by the government, denied the right to assembly, and harassed. The press has been “stifled”. Newspapers avoid writing about opposition parties or people the government says have terrorist links.

Furthermore, says Ben Rawlence, who wrote the report, “Meles is using aid to build a single-party state.” Foreign governments, he says, have colluded in eroding civil liberties and democracy by letting their aid be manipulated by Mr Zenawi. Because of his party’s stranglehold at village level, its members can decide on entitlements such as places for children in school and the distribution of food handouts. Peasants who back the opposition get less. Farmers complain they are denied fertiliser for the same reason.

The Ethiopian government has denounced the report as outrageous and ridiculous. Mr Zenawi says that groups such as Human Rights Watch interpret human rights too narrowly. The only way to guarantee Ethiopia a free future, he argues, is to keep it stable while it continues to develop. His political calculations are straightforward. He reckons, for instance, that reporting by the Voice of America does more harm inside the country than outside criticism of his censorship.

In any case, Mr Zenawi has signed up for a code of electoral conduct and invited foreign election observers in. He still has time to win over critics before the election, for instance by freeing an imprisoned opposition leader, Birtukan Mideksa, as a goodwill gesture.

Aid-giving governments, for their part, are unlikely to change their minds. Even after hundreds of protesters were shot dead by the police after the last elections in 2005, aid to Ethiopia was only repackaged in different forms, not suspended. Besides, foreign politicians have promised their own voters that they will dish out large amounts of aid and argue that at least Ethiopia is less corrupt than many other African countries. Mr Zenawi understands this well—and exploits it.

Source

Fears over Ethiopia's press code for poll coverage

By Aaron Maasho (AFP) – 1 day ago
ADDIS ABABA — A new press code that sets guidelines for coverage of Ethiopia's elections in May has drawn fire from embattled media staff, who face fines and jail time if found guilty of violations.

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia approved the framework two weeks ago, ahead of the May 23 polls, but journalists are already voicing their disapproval and fears over its restrictions.

The code bans journalists from carrying out interviews of voters, candidates and observers during election day, while it also prohibits predictions ahead of the announcement of results.

Transgressors face one year in jail for reporting on the latter.

"We stand against every article that is stipulated in the law. It simply puts an unreasonable amount of burden on any journalist," Anteneh Abraham, head of the Ethiopian National Journalists Union, told AFP Tuesday.

"We simply can't work under those conditions. The strict restrictions have instilled fear in all media workers," he added.

Further restrictions have also been placed on coverage from inside polling stations during the same day, in particular the limited access granted for photography and video footage.

However, an article on security has sparked the most concern due to what is seen as ambiguity.

"Media workers must refrain from reports that may incite rebellion and terrorism," according to the article.

It bans the "preparation, publishing and distribution of reports that foment political instability and chaos along ethnic, religious, linguistic ... lines."

"It's way too dangerous for anyone," a reporter told AFP on condition of anonimity.

"I will simply avoid covering the elections as it is not worth the potential trouble," he added.

Anteneh said he doubted the legality of the government's decision to allow an electoral board to come up with a press law, and slammed its authorities for adopting the code "in secret" without consulting all stakeholders.

But election panel spokesman Mohammed Abdurahman defended the code.

"The law does not intend to restrict coverage. Every element was given thorough consideration and is meant to safeguard the holding of transparent and free elections," said Mohammed.

"For example, predictions are not allowed because there is no credible institution that can carry out polls in Ethiopia," he added.

Journalists have had their run-ins with the government in Addis Ababa, notably in the violent aftermath of the 2005 elections which claimed some 200 lives and saw dozens of reporters rounded up and imprisoned.

Last week, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said he was prepared to censure the Voice of America's Amharic language service for its "destabilising propaganda."

More than 29 million people have registered to vote for Ethiopia's fourth elections since the communist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam was toppled in 1991.

source AFPThe Big Short: Inside the Doomsday MachineThe Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

VOA starts Ethiopia satellite service after jamming,

Tue Mar 23, 2010 1:41pm GMT
By Barry Malone
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - U.S.-funded broadcaster Voice of America is broadcasting its local Amharic language service to Ethiopia via satellite after the country's Prime Minister ordered it jammed and sparked a diplomatic row.

Ethiopia holds national elections in May and international press freedom advocacy groups say the government is cracking down on the media before the vote. The government denies that.

"The international broadcasting agency launched this new means of transmission in order to overcome the jamming by the Government of Ethiopia," the broadcaster said on its website on Tuesday, adding it started using satellite over the weekend.

VOA said it was also exploring other methods of broadcasting to the country. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on Friday accused VOA's radio service in Ethiopia's dominant language of broadcasting "destabilising propaganda".

He compared it to Radio Mille Collines, whose broadcasts are blamed by many for sparking the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

His comments drew sharp criticism from the U.S State Department. Analysts say Ethiopia -- reliant on foreign aid -- is the key U.S. ally in the Horn of Africa.

"The prime minister may disagree with news carried in Voice of America's Amharic Service broadcasts; however, a decision to jam VOA broadcasts contradicts the Government of Ethiopia's frequent public commitments to freedom of the press," State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said over the weekend.

VOA says its shortwave broadcasts into Ethiopia in Amharic have been jammed for three weeks. It also transmits in the Ethiopian languages, Afan Oromo and Tigrinya, whose services have been unaffected.
Ethiopia is one of the world's poorest countries and most of its 80 million people have no access to satellite dishes or the Internet. VOA and Germany's Deutsche Welle are the only foreign broadcasters producing Amharic radio programmes.

VOA was set up during World War Two to counter anti-U.S. propaganda and it broadcasts in 45 languages.

Analysts expect the Meles government to win the election. The opposition says that is because its members are harassed and jailed. The government says the opposition is trying to discredit the poll because it has no chance of winning.

Ethiopia: In Defense of the Voice of America

By Alemayehu G. Mariam
Meles Zenawi seems to have a morbid fascination with genocide. Whenever the going gets tough -- bad news, tightening election campaigns, stiffening political opposition -- he whips out the specter of Rwandan-style “interhamwe” (which in Kinyarwanda or Rwanda means “those who stand, work, fight, attack together”) in Ethiopia to change the subject. Predictably, as recent news of his rebel group’s use of famine aid money in 1984 for weapons purchases received massive international coverage, the opposition stepped up its campaign for the so-called May elections, the U.S. State Department issued its condemnatory human rights report on his regime and Bob Geldof went bananas, Zenawi resurrected his favorite “interhamwe” bogeyman to justify his decision to jam the Voice of America:

We have been convinced for many years that in many respects, the VOA Amharic Service has copied the worst practices of radio stations such as Radio Mille Collines of Rwanda in its wanton disregard of minimum ethics of journalism and engaging in destabilizing propaganda.

The last time Zenawi pulled the same “interhamwe” cock-and-bull story, he was smacked down by the European Union Election Observation Mission for engaging in “unacceptable and extremist rhetoric”. The EU Final Mission Report on Ethiopia’s Legislative Elections (2005) stated :

The end of the campaign became more heated, with parties accusing each other of numerous violations of campaign rules. Campaign rhetoric became insulting. The most extreme example of this came from the Deputy Prime Minister, Addisu Legesse, who, in a public debate on 15 April, compared the opposition parties with the Interhamwe militia, which perpetrated the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The Prime Minister made the same comparison on 5 May in relation to the CUD. The EPRDF made the same associations during its free slots on radio and TV… Such rhetoric is unacceptable in a democratic election.

Welcome back to the future. We are still living in 2005, except in 2010 Zenawi is trying sneak into the political arena the ghosts of Rwanda using a new spiritual medium, the Voice of America’s Amharic Radio Service. Nice try, but nothing doing. “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

What is this “interhamwe” Zenawi is talking about?
In 1993, a year before the Rwandan genocide, a notorious “privately-owned” radio station calling itself Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines began broadcasting hate messages to incite Hutus to commit violent acts against Tutsis. It also broadcast racist and hateful messages against moderate Hutus, Belgians and the U.N. mission in the country. When President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was killed after his plane was shot down in April, 1994, Mille Collines began calling for a “final war” to “exterminate the (Tutsi) cockroaches.” The station read on the air the names of people to be killed, and helped direct the murderous militias to different locations where victims could be found. It also emboldened and encouraged the killers by providing them updates on their genocidal activities: “In truth, all Tutsis will perish. They will vanish from this country ... They are disappearing little by little thanks to the weapons hitting them, but also because they are being killed like rats.”
When Zenawi says, “the VOA Amharic Service has copied the worst practices of radio stations such as Radio Mille Collines,” he is asserting that the Amharic service has called for a “final war” and the “extermination” of certain groups of Ethiopians like “cockroaches”, “vermins” and “rats”. He is also saying that the Amharic service is directing and coordinating murderous militias and groups for genocidal activities to make sure that some Ethiopians “will perish and vanish from the country.”
Has the VOA Amharic service in its history ever called for such genocidal and criminal actions?
Since Zenawi is accusing the VOA of the “worst practices” of genocidal radio, we challenge him to produce a single word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, story, analysis, commentary, editorial or any other broadcast whatsoever in audio, written or symbolic form to back up his reckless and irresponsible charges. We pledge to bring to the bar of American justice the VOA or any individual in that organization and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law if Zenawi could produce a single molecule or speck of evidence, or a single example of the “worst practices of radio stations such as Radio Mille Collines” committed by the VOA!
The U.S. response to Zenawi’s bizarre allegations was uncharacteristically bold, and gave Zenawi a much needed introductory lesson in his own constitution.
The United States opposes Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles’ decision to jam Voice of America’s Amharic Service and condemns his comparison of their programming to Radio Mille Collines of Rwanda. Comparing a respected and professional news service to a group that called for genocide in Rwanda is a baseless and inflammatory accusation that seeks only to deflect attention away from the core issue… The Minister may disagree with news carried in Voice of America’s Amharic Service broadcasts; however, a decision to jam VOA broadcasts contradicts the Government of Ethiopia’s frequent public commitments to freedom of the press. We note that the Ethiopian Constitution states that all citizens have the right to freedom of expression ‘without any interference’ and that this right shall include freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, ‘regardless of frontiers.’ The Constitution further notes that freedom of the press shall specifically include ‘prohibition of any form of censorship.’ We look to the Government of Ethiopia to abide by its constitution.
But while we are on the subject of “interhamwe”, who gave the following speech recently? :

There are those who maintain an eagle eye on the regime with bitter animosity and sully it by painting and drenching it in soot. Regardless, our country has marched into democracy confidently and irreversibly. Anti-democratic and anti-people forces have so much contempt that they badger our uneducated people telling them chaff is wheat. However, our people are used to winnowing the chaff in the wind and keeping the wheat. Our enemies are peddling chaff to the people and trying to find holes to sabotage our peoples' democracy, peace and development. But since our organization knows that our operation is airtight, we are not concerned. The chaff hope to provoke the people into anger and incite them to undemocratically resort to violence. Although they (the ‘chaff’) can not dirty up the people like themselves, they may try to smear the people with mud in the hope of inciting them into lawlessness.

Could it be that “dirty chaff”, “anti-democratic and anti-people forces”, “enemies”, “saboteurs of the peoples’ democracy”, “inciters of violence” and “mud smearers” are kinder and gentler words for Radio Mille Collines’ “cockroaches, rats and vermins” who need to be “exterminated”?

The U.S. should demand proof of the allegations against the VOA or a prompt apology and a solemn promise never to pull this loony “interhamwe” hoax again. In the alternative, it is time for the U.S. to take decisive action against Zenawi’s dictatorship.

Zenawi can try to jam the VOA Amharic broadcast at the cost of tens of millions of dollars, resources that could be used to aid famine victims and provide health care and education. But we know the whole thing is a futile attempt to distract public attention from the recent stories about the millions of dollars stolen from famine aid to buy guns in 1984, the fantastic reception Medrek candidates are getting in Tigray, the murder of Aregawi Gebreyohannes in Tigray, the fact that no credible international observers will be coming to observe the “elections” in May, the damning U.S. State Department human rights report, the soaring inflation, corruption and on and on. Suffice it to say that Zenawi can fool some of the Ethiopian people all of the time, and all of the Ethiopian people some of the time, but it is unlikely that he will be able to fool the VOA, the BBC, Deutche Welle, Bloomberg News, the New York Times, the Guardian, the Associated Press, ABC, CBS, The Huffington Post….

In the name of decency, those of us who have listened to VOA’s Amharic service broadcasts over the years offer the VOA and its Amharic service our profound apologies for the deeply offensive and scurrilous remarks. Though we may have had reasonable differences of opinion with the Amharic service, we have never had cause to doubt the professionalism of the service’s reporters, editors and management, their commitment to fairness and accuracy in reporting and their strict adherence to the principle of fair play. For these qualities demonstrated consistently over the years, we express our deepest appreciation, gratitude and respect to the VOA and its Amharic service.

Alemayehu G. Mariam, is a professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino, and an attorney based in Los Angeles. He writes a regular blog on The Huffington Post, and his commentaries appear regularly on pambazuka.org, allafrica.com, newamericamedia.org and other sites

“Ethiopia in grave danger” a case against Mr. Issaias Final Part

By Tibebe Samuel Ferenji

“Constitution is a piece of paper” Mr. Issaias Afeworki.

The premise that prompted me to write such a lengthy article is the issue of considering Mr. Issaias as a liberator of Ethiopia. Contemplating such daring concept by itself forces us to raise a rhetorical question that says how is a man who failed to “liberate” Eritreans could assist to “liberate” Ethiopia? I have no doubt that the question raises some eye brows. A close reading of Mr. Issaias’ and Mr. Meles’ records clearly shows that these individuals fought not to liberate the Eritrean and the Ethiopian people from the brutal rulers but to crown themselves in their respective kingdom and to be dominant players in the Horn of Africa. Historical accounts indicate that these are people who came to power with act of cruelty, by purging their close comrades, and assassinating anyone who challenged and attempted to expose who they are. More over, their record shows their conduct during the armed struggle era was an indicative of what they have become.

It is this writer’s belief that allying with Mr. Issaias by any Ethiopian opposition group put Ethiopia in grave danger. I have no illusion to believe that those who are considering such unhealthy “marriage” would achieve their objectives and bring Issaias’ rein of terror to Ethiopia; rather, my concern is that the marriage would give Mr. Issaias an opportunity to prolong his rule in Eritrea by claiming Eritrea still to be at war with Ethiopia. Such continuity will force Eritreans to continue to flee towards Ethiopia which in turn will continue to erode the meager resources that we have. In addition, the mere idea of waging an armed struggle against the regime in Ethiopia from Eritrea will have an effect in prolonging Mr. Issaias’ power grip in Eritrea; and this may allow organizations like Al-Shebab and Al-Qaeda to engage in terror plot with the assistance and facilitation of Mr. Issaias. Though Mr. Issaias’ sphere of influence has shrank tremendously since 1998, he still have the capability of garnishing some support from radical elements in Somalia and other parts of Horn of Africa who would love to collaborate with him for the demise of the regime in Ethiopia. At this juncture, I don’t think that Mr. Issaias’ “power” stretches longer than EDGA HAMUSE, but we also have to worry the an intended consequence of an armed struggle staged from Eritrea prolonging the power grip of the regime in Ethiopia.
A lot has been said about Mr. Issaias Afeworki by his detractors as well as supporters. There is no doubt that Mr. Issaias was a hero and considered “a liberator” by majority of Eritreans at one point of his life. Particularly those who were not aware the real character of Mr. Issaias and his dealings with the CIA, Asrate Kassa (the former governor of Eritrean province) and others to secure his place as a leading figure in Eritrea believed in him and considered him a father of a new nation. The majority of his supporters are not aware that Mr. Issaias used the children of Eritrea and Ethiopia as a stepping stones to crown himself “as king of kings” in the Eritrean territory. The record clearly shows that Mr. Issaias’ motive from the beginning was to be a ruler and a dominant figure in the African politics rather than liberate the oppressed Eritreans. The record also shows that Mr. Issaias betrayed his comrades, and betrayed the TPLF that breath a life in the EPLF when it was close to total destruction by the Ethiopian forces in early 1980s. It is mystifying how Mr. Issaias, who back stabbed those who trusted him, outmaneuvered those who challenged him and those who attempted to deal with him in good faith; a man who came to power with assassination and murder; a man who hijacked the Eritrean freedom and crowned himself as the ultimate ruler; a man who deceived Ethiopians who dealt with him, could be trusted now?

Currently, it will not be an exaggeration to state that Mr. Issaias is despised by the majority of Eritreans. So far, he is able to prolong his grip to power by propagating the potential war with Ethiopia. Any armed struggle staged from Eritrea gives a pretext to Mr. Issaias to continue to rule Eritrea with his iron fist. I am not in a position to question the real motive of Ethiopian opposition group who want to ally with Mr. Issaias. However, I have no doubt that Mr. Issaias’ motive is not the “liberation of Ethiopia” but the opportunity to have full control of Ethiopia directly or indirectly and to fulfill his long time ambition of being a dominant and unchallenged player in the Horn of Africa politics.

For those who want to be in bed with Mr. Issaias, it is important to remember that the so called liberation movements mercilessly assassinated those who differ from them in their political view and who had a much better positive role in the future of Ethiopia/Eritrea. Several Ethiopians of Eritrean origin have paid a dear price with their lives to protect the interest of Ethiopia and Eritrea. At the early stage of the struggle, my cousin Fitawrari Embaye Hadera, a young lawyer, an administrator of Mendefera and an ardent proponent of the Ethio-Eritrean unity was assassinated by murderer thugs whose vision was not the well being of the Eritrean people, but to clime to the throne by any means necessary. The so called liberators fabricated their own version of history in order to “create” a country that they can rule in the name of liberation.

It is worth to note that Mr. Issaias left the ELF because he could not be a dominant figure in the organization. There is no record that indicates that Mr. Issaias attempted to reform the ELF within; rather, the record shows that he opted to establish a splinter group and his initial objective was the demise of his former comrades in arms-the ELF. When Mr. Issaias established the EPLF, he did not only over promised and under delivered to the Eritrean people, but also has denied the Eritrean people their basic God given rights despite the fact their children sacrificed their lives for it. The detailed role of Mr. Issaias in the so called “liberation movement” is beyond the scope of this piece; the writer’s purpose is to highlight Mr. Issaias’ astuteness, conniving and deceptive behavior and to clearly show that Mr. Issaias is a man who never keeps his promise and that he is an egomaniac who des not want any competition in being “the strong man” of the Horn of Africa. More over, it is to highlight and give credible evidence to undoubtedly assert that Mr. Issaias never had and never will act in the best interest of Ethiopia; and allying with him put our nation in particular and the Horn of Africa in general in grave danger.
As most historian stated, Mr. Issaias was born in Eritrea. There are conflicting stories regarding his parentage. Some have written stating that Mr. Issaias was born from Tigrean parents. Mr. Issaias joined the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) in 1966. About four years later, Mr. Issaias, with some of his comrades created a splinter cell from the ELF called Selfi Netsanet. The emergence of a Christian dominated opposition group in the Eritrean movement was welcome news to the Israelis and the West. As the ELF was getting its strength, there were concerns in the Western world the dominant “Muslim” group controlling the Red Sea. Then, the ELF, dominated by Muslims, was getting its support from the radical Arab nations like Syria and its fighters including Mr. Issaias were trained in Communist China.
When Selfi Netsanet was formed, its leader Abraham Tewolde and his deputy Mr. Issaias Afeworki were approached by then CIA agent Richard Copland. According to Dr. Tesfatsion Medhanie’s book, “Eritrea – Dynamics of a National Question,” Abraham did not last long, he died a mysterious death and in 1971, Mr. Issaias became a top figure in the Eritrean movement. The speculation is that Abraham was poisoned by Mr. Issaias. It is no coincidence that after Abraham’s death, Mr. Issaias strengthen his relationship with the CIA. By all indication, Mr. Issaias wanted the ELF to be destroyed with the assistance of the Western world. In his letter to the CIA and to various Western governments, Mr. Issaias emphasized that the ELF is an organization that is assisted by Arabs and Socialist countries and sought their financial and material support to fight against the ELF.
According to Dr. Alem Eshete’s article “the case against the CIA” “Ato Isayas Afeworki, not having appreciated the American indirect reference regarding their disinterest for Ethiopian unity, stressed that they wanted full independence and that they will not accept a federal solution that may be proposed by the new government after Haile Selassie. In reply Richard Copeland had assured Isayas that as long American interests were safeguarded. They care less about Ethiopian unity. “If you satisfy our conditions, and you want independence in return you shall have your independence” Isayas was told. Richard Copeland went indeed further to advice Isayas not to accept the federal solution from a new government. Ato Isayas was further assured that if Selfi Netsanet could succeed in bringing the Red Sea coast under its control, they promised to supply unlimited quantity of arms by sea.”
For long time, Eritreans have been told that the “Eritrean Independence” was achieved without the support of the outside world is a myth that exaggerated EPLF’s military might. From the start, Mr. Issaias was in the payroll of the CIA. In 1970s the EPLF was supported by the Western world to defeat the ELF with a military assistance from the TPLF. It is also necessary to remember that in early 80s, when the EPLF was bombarded with Arial assault, and when the only place the EPLF fighters had to hide was the Sahil area, and when the EPLF was gasping its last breath seconds from total annihilation by the Ethiopian army, the TPLF gave life to the EPLF by engaging the Ethiopian army which helped the EPLF push back and regroup. More over, In 1980s, the EPLF and the TPLF were provided with funds, material, intelligence and other support to topple Mengistu and to assist the Israelis in smuggling operation of Ethiopian Jews to move them to Israel. It is worth to note that according to Dr. Aregawi Berhe, Mr. Meles spent the night before he entered Addis Ababa at the American embassy in Khartoum.
As I have indicated in the past, Mr. Issaias initially eliminated those considered fifth columnists within the EPLF and he literally destroyed Menkea. After the Menkea leadership was destroyed, Mr. Issaias turned his gun against those who helped him eradicate Menkea. After, MENKEA, he started another campaign to eliminate those he considered threats to his “leadership” and began a campaign in the name of eliminating those who have “rightist tendencies”. In this devious campaign, Mr. Issaias killed people like Solomon Weledemariam, Dr. Iyom, Haile Jebha, Mehari Sheka, etc. these were people considered his allies at one point of the struggle.
In the past, Mr. Issaias had told Major Dawit that he was interested in the unity of Ethiopia; he also promised to participate in the transitional government should the 1989 coup succeed. In fact, Mr. Issaias had promised to Mr. Herman Cohen and others that he would be part of the transitional government when the military regime was overthrown. As Dr. Tecola Hagos stated, Issaias and the TPLF leadership outmaneuvered Herman Cohen to achieve their diabolical objectives by promising things that they knew they will not keep. After the military regime was overthrown and when the process to establish the Transitional Government of Ethiopia began, Mr. Issaias reneged from his promise and stated that “The EPLF (Issaias) didn’t fight all these years for few Cabinet Posts”. For any one who is a student of history, this statement should make it clear that Mr. Issaias had his personal interest at heart instead of the “nation” that he claim he fought for. He did not consider the cost and benefit for Eritrea when he single handedly determined the future of Eritrea; rather, he clearly understood that he would not be a team player unless he is the one who is at the helm of power.
Mr. Issaias had managed to keep his relation with CIA and his deceptive behavior from the Eritrean people which served him well until 1996. In 1996, after the constitution of Eritrea was drafted, the façade that shielded Mr. Issaias as a man who fought for justice and democracy was not only cracked, it was violently shattered. In 1990, a year before he marched into Asmara, Mr. Issaias was interviewed by Adulis Radio; this was what he said “The EPLF has already underlined its commitment to create a multi-party system in Eritrea. A one-party system wills neither enhances national security or stability nor accelerates economic development. In fact a one party system could be a major threat to the very existence of our country. For these reasons we will have to avoid these malaises in tomorrow's Eritrea”. When the time came to relinquish power to the people and when the people demanded for multi party system and a Constitution that should govern the State of Eritrea however, Mr. Issaias said “Constitution is a piece of paper.” This was the man who declared to the world that Eritreans would have four choices during the referendum; when the time came however, he did not even allow an open discussion on Eritrean issue. In fact, during the referendum, Eritreans who lived in other parts of Ethiopia were threatened to participate and vote “Yes” for the “independence”. The EPLF had a secret prison in Addis Ababa to detain Eritreans who have deep seated belief in the unity of Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Eritrean business community did not have choice but to go along with the EPLF and the TPLF. Several Eritreans I have encountered have horrible stories to tell regarding the joint operation of the EPLF and TPLF thugs forcing them into voting “Yes” for the Eritrean referendum. In such tainted and manipulated process, no serious person could take the so called referendum as free and fair. Eritreans opportunity to decide their fate was hijacked once again by few elites whose interest has never been justice, freedom, and democracy. It is also worth noting that it was in 1993, Mr. Issaias’ mercenary squad assassinated Mr. Tesfamichael Giorgio in Addis Ababa near his residence. Mr. Tesfamichael is the one who exposed Mr. Issaias’ connection with the CIA. Mr. Tesfamichael had attended a meeting between the CIA and Mr. Issaias in early 70s.
Historical evidence clearly indicates that Mr. Issaias came to power by liquidating those who he considers threats to his power. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to realize “Liberation” was not Mr. Issaias’ agenda, for the Eritrean people have not been liberated from the injustice that ruled them for so long. It is paradoxical to imagine Ethiopians who are telling us that they want a democratic Ethiopia and that they want to see the reign of the rule of law could consider collaborating with the man who believes that a Constitution is a piece of paper. If the Ethiopian opposition groups are thinking that the mere fact allying with Mr. Issaias would frighten the TPLF, they are miscalculating their political strategy. A rabbit may think she is a lion because she is standing next to a lion; however, standing next to a dead lion neither threatens the “enemy” nor gives comfort to the rabbit.
I do agree with Mr. Jawar Mohammed who spoke at the Ethiopian and Eritreans Friendship Conference last weekend. Mr. Jawar talked about the need to challenge tyranny through nonviolence and for the opposition groups need to adapt nonviolent struggle as a means to bring about change in Ethiopia. According to Mr. Jawar, “nonviolent strategies and tactics have yet to be employed to mobilize people to confront and disobey those who are abusing them in a well-coordinated and systematic manner”. I could not agree more. Instead of wasting valuable resources by allying with Mr. Issaias, all opposition forces should work hand in hand to form a formidable opposition to challenge the EPRDF. Those who believe in allying with Mr. Issaias should take a lesson from the Taliban that allied with Al-Qaeda and invited its demise.
Finally I would like to live you with this question. If we truly believe in the principle of the enemy of my enemy is my friend, should we also allay with Al-Qaeda? For Al-Qaeda has declared war against the regime in Ethiopia.
“History has been badly abused in the course of the liberation struggle; it has not merely been misconstrued, but has also become the subject of fraudulent discourse”. Tesfatsion Medhanie
With great appreciation for taking your time to read this piece. Thank You!

The BBC was right to report claims of aid abuse in Ethiopia

Even competent agencies have been ripped off – it's the nature of humanitarian crisis

Edward Girardet The Guardian, Thursday 18 March 2010

Bob Geldof rages against the "thoroughly discredited BBC World Service programme that claimed that nigh on the entire humanitarian relief effort by all aid agencies during the Ethiopian famine was diverted to arms" (My rage at this calumny, 10 March).

But the BBC report was not specifically about Band Aid. Nor does it discredit the World Service to report on international aid deliveries during the Ethiopian crisis of the 1980s. The real issue is about the way humanitarian assistance to victims of war and famine was – and still is – manipulated by all sides, whether rebel or government.

As a foreign correspondent reporting on humanitarian crisis zones and conflicts in Africa and Asia during this period, I consider myself "one of the dozens of journalists of record" who covered the region. The BBC report referred to a situation that anyone familiar with the politics of aid knows only too well. Geldof, whose commitment I have always admired, comes off as naive and self-righteous.

It is not "weird" that journalists at the time failed to discover the story, as Geldof asserts. Aid always has been – and still is – ripped off by warring factions no matter how well-meaning or competent the international aid agencies. This is simply the nature of conflict and humanitarian crisis. Aid is a resource to be exploited, whether for weapons, personal gain or political power. The Pakistanis and Afghan mujahideen did it; Angola's Unita rebels did it; and so did the government and guerrillas in Ethiopia. Organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross openly and transparently assume that some of their aid (30% in Somalia) will be stolen.

During the 1980s, I had regular contact with guerrilla groups in the Horn of Africa, such as the TPLF (including its humanitarian wing, Rest), the EPLF and ELF. I also reported from the government side out of Addis. All did their best to dupe both aid workers and journalists.

Rest, for example, was extremely well organised. It provided impressive humanitarian surveys, such as the number of lactating mothers in specific villages and refugee camps. However, there was no way of verifying whether all the aid was actually going through or not. Inside the guerrilla zones Rest always controlled what you saw and where you travelled. The Ethiopian Dergue did exactly the same thing.

Everything was elaborate while the show was on, but the moment one left it was a different matter. Once I visited a bustling "government displaced centre" near the Sudanese border. Twenty minutes after leaving I returned because I had forgotten my jacket. The camp was empty. It had been a complete charade in a bid to solicit international sympathy and funding.

No aid organisation working in the region during those days can truthfully assert that 100% of its assistance reached the victims. One only needed to visit the bazaars of Kasala, Omdurman and Addis, where bags of donated wheat and other relief were openly sold. While the abuse may not have been 95%, the BBC report raised the right questions and in a proper journalistic manner.

Source The Guardian

“Everything comes too late for those who only wait.”

“The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you ”
(American and Trappist Monk t Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey in Trappist, Kentucky, 1915-1968)

By Abebe Gellaw

Opening the conference, Dr Worku Negash, who moderated the dialogue without taking sides on behalf of the Stanford Ethiopian Forum, noted that the unique gathering was a beginning in the right direction to normalize the toxic relations between Ethiopians and Eritreans, who have been through so much conflicts and pains due to their tragic past.


Eritrean Professor Mesfin Araya of City University of New York said that the Eritrean middle class that blindly rallied around Isaias Afeworki and the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front committed a “collective suicide in post-independence Eritrea.”


Another Eritrean scholar, Professor Tesfatsion Medhanie, who teaches politics and law at Bremen University, Germany, on his part tried to analyse why Ethiopia and Eritrea were separated and how they can start a process of reunification that can lead up to federation. According to him, the main cause of the conflict between the Ethiopian state and Eritrean nationalists was mainly a result of the decision taken by Emperor Haile Selassie to dissolve Eritrea’s federal status in 1962.


Historian Dr Daniel Kindie, argued that federation, in stead of confederation, was much more plausible than confederation given the history of the two nations. Dr Daniel laced his argument with a historical context by emphasising on the root causes of tensions and conflicts that were deliberately created and sustained by colonial powers especially the British Empire that has deliberately sowed deadly divisions and conflicts among the people of Africa.


One of the founders of the Tigray People Liberation Front, Dr. Aregawi Berhe, who resides in The Hague and is currently a researcher at Leiden University, spoke about the “horrendous looting and plundering” being committed by Meles Zenawi and his cronies. According to Dr. Aregawi, the main obstacles for peace, reconciliation and unity in the Horn of Africa are the ruthless rulers robbing and messing up the poor people.
He said that the most important precondition for co-operation and reconciliation between the oppressed people of Ethiopia and Eritrea is freedom. “Under these dictatorial regimes, neither confederation nor federation can be viable alternatives,” he noted.



Obang pointed out that there was an urgent need for healing among Ethiopians and Eritreans who have been subjected to extremely traumatic suffering and bloodshed. He said that people should go through four phases of transitions: awareness of the truth, transformation, healing and embracing one another with wholehearted compassion and forgiveness.

Source Abugida

Which Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa? Conference on Governance, Peace, Security, and Development

Washington DC, 9-11 April 2010
Doubletree Hotel
300 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA, USA 22202
Tel: 1+(703) 416-3846 Fax: 1+(703) 416-4147 -

Press Release

Advocacy for Ethiopia (AFE) and Ethiopian National Priorities Consultative Process (ENPCP) are pleased to announce the convening of a historic three-day conference on good governance, peace, security, and sustainable development in Washington, D.C, and April 9-11, 2010, at the Double Tree Hotel, Crystal City, VA. The purpose of this conference is to bring together scholars, civil society leaders, activists, diplomats, journalists of the free press and representatives of the international community to one forum to highlight potential tragic conflicts that have escaped the minds of many in the past. The conference will focus on how to put Ethiopia, the most populated country in the Horn, on a path towards rapid, equitable, democratic and sustainable growth and development. Creating the foundation for pluralist democracy and rapid and equitable development, in which everyone will benefit, will pave the way for regional peace, stability, economic cooperation, security and shared prosperity.

Her Excellency Ms. Anna Gomes, member of the European Parliament who had headed its election monitoring team to the 2005 Ethiopian parliamentary elections and had exposed electoral fraud, irregularities and crimes against innocent civilians and opponents, will be our key-note speaker at the plenary session on Saturday, April 10, 2010. Since then, Ms. Gomes has continued to champion civil liberties, human rights and democratization in Ethiopia. Many confirmed high ranking dignitaries from the U S Government and Congress, including the US State Department, human rights organizations, think tank/policy and advocacy NGOs are expected to speak as keynote speakers and distinguished speakers at plenary sessions on Friday, April 9 and Saturday, April 10.

Many eminent scholars, professionals, researchers, academics, civil society leaders and past Ethiopian Government officials from many States in the US, Europe, Canada, Ethiopia, and the countries of the Horn will present well researched and scholarly and policy-oriented papers on themes relevant to this forum. In order to cover as many topics as possible, the organizers have scheduled concurrent sessions. Themes and topics will include, but will not be limited to: pre and post election scenarios, meaning and application of good governance, human rights, freedom of the press, politics beyond ethnicity and ethnic-polarization, the role of civil society organizations, independent judiciary, election board, policy and security, the political economy of poverty, aid, debt and dependency, foreign direct investment (FDI) and regulations, farmland leases and sales to foreign investors and the role of FDI in achieving food security, economic monopolies and the domestic private sector, economic productivity, regional economic integration, peace and security in the Horn Africa, the threat posed by terrorism, environmental degradation, and climate change in the region.

At the end of the conference, on Sunday, April 11, a public meeting will be held at which distinguished personalities will address the participants and the community at large. Speakers and presenters are committed in crafting and disseminating a roadmap for rapid, equitable and sustainable development and democratization of Ethiopia. The conference intends to hold a special program to honor those who have made notable sacrifices in the struggle for freedom, political pluralism and shared prosperity.

This conference is sponsored by a number of civil society networks and advocacy organizations. This is the first time that Ethiopians in the Diaspora have gone beyond political advocacy for a single political group or ideology and focused solely on a common purpose whose objective is to serve the needs, hopes and aspirations of all of the Ethiopian people. The Conference is co-sponsored by Africa Action and TransAfirca Forum, two of the oldest Africa advocacy organizations in the US.

March 16. 2010
E-mail: HornofAfircaGPS@gmail.com
Tel: 202-386-3037

The BBC's allegations over Ethiopian aid: what is the truth?

Posted by Nicholas Winer - 10 March 2010 11:17

Aid workers must be pragmatic - if food was getting to people, then the money was doing its job.

I have followed, with a certain incredulity, the recent story put out by the BBC that 95 per cent of the aid to the Tigrayean rebels was diverted. I mean, 95 per cent is a vast amount of money, and why, I ask myself, would any group of self respecting conmen steal it all? Surely they would need to show that enough good was being done, so that the cash cow would come back again and again and again. The cross-border aid process ran from 1984 to the fall of Mengistu's regime in Addis. This was no one-off smash and grab.

Initially, the TPLF simply sent people from Tigray to Sudan to be fed and housed by the UN and the international NGO community. It seemed a cheap and efficient way to manage a famine in Tigray. But the horrific sight of 300,000 people arriving en masse was overwhelming. The Sudanese camps suddenly turned into a second Korem, until enough aid could be delivered to reduce the death toll. The TPLF consistently deny that this was what they had done. I, and others, couldn't conceive how such a vast sea of people could have moved through such tightly controlled rebel territory without the active guidance of the TPLF.

What happened next is the crux of the BBC's story and of Paul Vallely's refutation in the Independent. There had been a good harvest in western Tigray, but the poor had no money to buy it. The TPLF, through their civilian wing REST, determined sensibly that buying from the producers to feed the consumers was better for all than dumping food aid into the market. Why, they argued, suppress the price of food for the few who had managed to grow enough to sell? This impeccable free trade logic from hardline Marxists won immediate sympathy. And so began the process of meeting merchants, handing out cash, and checking on both food distribution and nutritional levels.

Khartoum, before Sharia law and the "Courts of prompt and Instant Justice", was a vibrant, dusty and chaotic city. TPLF soldiers swaggered around with gold cigarette lighters, and Johnnie Walker Black Label was their favourite tipple. REST had a large house in an expensive suburb, where rents were too high for us Oxfam types. It was a friendly house, with an endless flow of people coming and going. As foreigners, we never knew who was who, but no one was turned away, and the atmosphere was beguilingly appropriate for beginning a relationship of trust.

The recent angry response to the BBC by aging colleagues that every effort was made to build checks and balances into the purchase and distribution process speaks volumes about their real anxiety that many things could've gone wrong. They wanted to be sure that if food or money did go astray, it wouldn't be because they'd been negligent. On that basis -- and the detailed explanations of Paul Vallely -- the more extreme claims made by the BBC must be discounted. But for the very same reason, so too must any outright denial that anything did go astray.

The truth, I think, lies somewhere between the two positions. The proud young TPLF fighters in Khartoum and the earnest workers of REST intermingled, working for the same cause, under the same authority. There was much we were never privy to as aid workers (and the same applied to journalists), and so it would be foolish to state anything too categorically. It was in the interests of both REST and the TPLF to ensure a continued supply of resources to them and their people. This they did by providing a satisfactory level of access. That was smart and logical thinking.

Had they not been of a Marxist orientation they would have had an easier time of it from the USA, and perhaps would not have needed to be so accommodating: they could have done with their own Charlie Wilson. As it was, the best they could have hoped for was to be considered the good 'commies', as opposed to the bad ones of Mengistu's regime. The verdict too has to be out on what the CIA in Sudan did and didn't know. At the time it seemed not enough, given their boringly incessant attempts to question aid workers coming out of Tigray, and yet rather a lot, given their involvement in the highly complex evacuation of Ethiopian Jewry to Israel.

The people they seemed most interested in were often the health workers who travelled widely, witnessed bombing raids by the Ethiopians, and saw where TPLF fighters were based. This was precisely what the spooks wanted to know about. The health workers, on the other hand, weren't too pleased with these extra attentions, but they were the ones who knew whether the process was working or not. If the people weren't hungry, then that was what counted. That was, after all, what the grain buying programme was for. That was what determined whether the money was well spent. Counting bags of grain was never going to be a fool-proof process, nor could it have been a guarantee of success. The process did work. The flood of refugees into the border camps slowed to a trickle, and health levels improved in Tigray. That's what people gave Sir Bob their money for and, by and large, it did what was expected of it.

It was always evident that greater access, and thus greater accountability, was mroe possible with the structures established by the Tigrayeans than with those of the Eritreans. That this was so is still reflected in the different political realities of the two countries. So, I ask myself if the story even has the right focus. What happened to aid to the Eritrean rebels, where accountability was much harder to establish? What of the tales of an underground TPLF political prison in Gondar, to which no aid worker was ever granted access? No surprise there. This wasn't just famine, but a nasty and brutal war zone. To suggest that the TPLF never pulled a fast one and took their share would be a very foolish and naive assertion.

Today the TPLF -- sorry, government of Ethiopia -- own vast tracks of sorghum-growing estates on the Sudan border, right next to Western Tigray where this all began. In a land where private property is illegal, these (ad)venture capitalists are a real success story. As ever, someone else is paying the price.



Nicholas Winer is the former director of Oxfam in Sudan and Ethiopia. He is also the author of "The Tethered Goat" a political thriller set in Mengistu's Ethiopia.

source

Heads must roll at the BBC, says Geldof after Ethiopia aid report

By Paul Vallely
Geldof upped the ante in the row between Band Aid and the BBC yesterday by calling for the director of the BBC World Service, Peter Horrocks – who is also the BBC's director of global news – to be sacked.


The musician-turned-poverty campaigner also called for two other BBC journalists to be fired after various BBC news outlets claimed that 95 per cent of the $100m aid donated, by Live Aid and others, to fight famine in rebel-held northern Ethiopia in 1985 was diverted to be spent on weapons.

Geldof, who organised the Live Aid concerts that raised $250m to tackle famine Africa, also lamented the "intense systemic failure of the World Service", which he said was once the jewel in the BBC's journalistic crown.

He claimed there had been a "total collapse of standards and systems at the World Service which has a special and particular duty of care to the truth".

The Band Aid Trust is preparing an official complaint to the broadcasting regulator Ofcom about the BBC story, which ran on all main BBC news outlets as well as the World Service.

Last night, the Live Aid organiser called for the sackings of Mr Horrocks, Andrew Whitehead, the World Service news and current affairs editor, and Martin Plaut, the originator of the story, which Geldof claimed was "thoroughly discredited and sexed up".

Geldof said he was doubly disappointed because he had always been a great supporter of the World Service. He said it "beggared belief" that BBC journalists could take seriously a claim that 95 per cent of the aid to Tigray was spent on weapons. "Where were all the dead people then? If no one was getting food, why was nobody dying? That would have been one of the first questions I'd have asked," he added. There were not many deaths in Tigray "because they were getting help – and massive amounts of it", he insisted.
Geldof said he was doubly disappointed because he had always been a great supporter of the World Service. He said it "beggared belief" that BBC journalists could take seriously a claim that 95 per cent of the aid to Tigray was spent on weapons. "Where were all the dead people then? If no one was getting food, why was nobody dying? That would have been one of the first questions I'd have asked," he added. There were not many deaths in Tigray "because they were getting help – and massive amounts of it", he insisted.

In an article in today's Guardian newspaper, Geldof says the BBC World Service has a particular duty of care "because in thousands of small rooms in the many dark spots of our planet, people huddle secretly and in great danger [to listen to the World Service] to hear the reality and the truth behind their situation. And to tabloid all that away of an instant? Tragic beyond measure".

He claims that the reporter, Mr Plaut, and his producers and editors, have, on the basis of unsubstantiated claims, compromised the neutrality of the Red Cross, which relies on its neutrality for access to war zones, dungeons and concentration camps.

"Just as the Ross-Brand affair exposed the systemic weaknesses of the BBC in the area of entertainment, so this now does in the news sector of the World Service – with far more drastic consequences," Geldof adds. "Why did alarm bells not go off early on in this sorry tale? Where were the checks, balances, neutrality, even-handedness? They all failed at the World Service."

Senior White House advisers, high-level United Nations delegates, senior British diplomats, many aid agencies, and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia who led the Tigray rebels at the time, had all refuted the BBC story, Geldof insisted, "and yet the World Service is so far off the rails it cannot recognise or acknowledge the truth".

In addition to the sackings of the three journalists, he wants an immediate investigation into what he claims went wrong. "Steps should be taken to rectify the identified faults," he says. "The World Service must work very hard to re-establish its hard-won and trusted reputation as the world broadcaster of excellence."

The Independent asked for an interview with Mr Whitehead but a BBC spokesman said: "Sorry, we won't be able to accommodate your request."

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Even Band Aid is not above criticism

By Rageh Omaar

The Guardian

Bob Geldof is furious at the BBC story about NGO funds buying rebels' arms, but the politics of delivering aid are always complex

There are some things that are just too sensitive and difficult to inquire about, and the idea that considerable sums that ordinary people around the world – but especially here in the UK – raised to aid and help their starving fellow humans in Ethiopia in the mid-1980s is one of them. Band Aid and the accompanying humanitarian efforts on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians threatened with famine in the northern province in Tigray was much more than just an important moment captured in a rock concert. It was transformational. It changed forever how politics, aid and the electronic media would function in response to humanitarian needs.

For western politics and aid, what happened in 1985 was the big bang. Nothing would ever be the same again. Even more fundamentally than that, it said something about who we were and what we were all capable of. For any of us who were there at the concert, gave money, lived through it and got involved, in however small a way, it was quite simply life-affirming.

But it also made Band Aid and the entire humanitarian response to the famine in Tigray almost holy; only the shameless or mendacious would subject it to critical review in the way that Martin Plaut of the BBC has done this past week when, after nine months of research, he found what he and the BBC World Service believe is credible evidence that aid money from famine relief efforts was used by the rebel group fighting Ethiopia's military dictatorship under Mengistu to buy arms.

Many of the humanitarian relief agencies involved in Tigray Province and Ethiopia in 1985 have understandably reacted with horror. They have swiftly and universally condemned the BBC for the report, saying that their scrupulous oversight of the aid could not have let this happen, and nothing of the sort happened.

But why the strong and blanket reaction without a hint of wanting to know more?

Let's get some things straight: humanitarian operations in the midst of large-scale civil wars where territory is held by rival powers are almost always politicised and misused. The idea that this never happens and that NGOs are never put in situations where, in order to get the aid delivered, they have to work with and often through the powers that control the territory where the suffering is taking place is a ridiculous fantasy. It's happening now, in Congo; in my own country, Somalia, where al-Qaida-affiliated groups have dictated how the World Food Programme delivers emergency food; and also in Zimbabwe, where I have just spent two weeks talking to aid workers having to work through government bodies in delivering aid to prisoners of Mugabe.

One aid worker told me: "There is a really bad outbreak of measles in townships with huge HIV infection rates, but we can't mention or talk about it if we want to remain here." Those are just three examples; there are many more.

Plaut is a first-class journalist. He hasn't just come to this. He was actually there on the frontlines in Tigray, with his wife, a nurse, in 1984, as the famine was brewing. One of his main sources, ridiculously dismissed by Sir Bob Geldof on the Andrew Marr show on Sunday as an exiled malcontent and "not a credible voice whatsoever" on this story, was actually a founding member of the rebel group, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and one of the main military commanders in the Ethiopian civil war in 1985.

The BBC's assertions and evidence need to be seriously and open-mindedly followed. Their assertion is that aid agencies in the mid-80s had to work through an organisation called the Relief Society of Tigray (Rest) in order to get to the starving people. The Ethiopian dictatorship did not control the province. But Rest was undeniably the humanitarian wing of the rebel movement. Of that, there is no doubt.

So, effectively, the relief agencies were working and channelling their efforts via the rebel group, the TPLF. I am absolutely sure that all the NGOs were extremely diligent about how their money was spent in getting relief to the people who needed it. But they did not have oversight and control of Rest. In fact, they had no way of knowing whether the official buying sorghum for them from Rest was an independent local aid worker, or a member of the rebel group posing as one.

I know the TPLF very well. I was based as a reporter in Addis Ababa immediately after the rebel group came to power in 1991. The TPLF is the most ruthlessly organised and efficient guerrilla group I have ever encountered. The fact that this peasant army, with thousands of women among its ranks, overthrew the might of the Mengistu regime proves that. These rebels were drawn from the very families and communities that the Ethiopian regime was trying to starve. I have no doubt in my mind that, faced with a government that was using famine as a tool of war against them, the TPLF would seek to use the ocean of money coming from around the world, in response to efforts like Band Aid, to buy the weapons that would rid them and the rest of Ethiopia of what was a horrendous regime.

The politicising of aid is a fact of life everywhere. The challenge is to stop it getting in the way of saving lives. As Plaut says, in Tigray this politicising did not get in the way of saving lives, and perhaps that is why many didn't ask questions. As a Somali, looking at what happened in my country during the US-led humanitarian intervention in 1992 and what is happening today, what I find unacceptable is that a humanitarian operation can be elevated to the status of being above criticism.

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The Nightingale sings of persecution in Eritrea

She tells her story in her powerful new book, Song of the Nightingale, which is being published with the support of Release International.

Here is an extract:

A single candle flickers, its flame barely illuminating the darkness. They never burn for more than two hours after the container door is locked: there is not enough oxygen to keep the flame alive any longer. It will go out soon.

Despite the proximity of so many people, it is freezing cold. Condensation drips from the roof and slides down my cheek, and when it moistens my lips I taste rust. The air is thick with a dirty metallic tang, the ever-present stench of the bucket in the corner, and the smell of close-pressed, unwashed bodies.

I peer around, trying to work out where she is, the woman whose mind is gone. There, by the small window hacked roughly into the side of the container.

I stiffen. Sometimes she blocks the opening by stuffing her blanket into it, cutting off our limited supply of fresh air. Other nights she shouts and wails, rocking the container so that none of us can sleep. She is worse now there are more of us; nineteen in a space that can only sleep eighteen. Tonight she is quiet, and it makes me uneasy.

But I am so tired, and so I force my body to relax against the hard floor. Abruptly the candle snuffs out, I close my eyes, and think of my daughter. Please Lord, keep her safe. The floor creaks. Someone must be getting up and stumbling across the sleepers to the toilet bucket. I try to shut the noise out.

Suddenly, without warning, hands close on my neck like a vice. My eyes fly open, but it is too dark to see. Then there is a guttural snarl, and I know that it is her, the madwoman, her fingers tight on my throat. I push myself up but I have no breath to scream, and I am not strong enough to shake her off. So I do the only thing I can do: I bang my free hand on the wall of the container and kick out.

All around us prisoners are waking up. One tries to pull her away from me, but now she has one hand on my throat and the other knotted in my hair, yanking it away from my scalp. I gulp down a breath and manage a scream. The other prisoners start to shout too, and bang the sides of the container.

There are shouts now coming from outside, and the sound of hurrying feet, the noise of the bolts sliding back and the pop as air rushes into the container and then the doors are flung open.

My eyes burn as torchlight sears across my face, and then a guard is yanking her away from me and beating her about the head and body with his baton. I fall onto all fours, gasping in air. The guards pull her out of the container, and slam the door again.

Sometimes I cannot believe that this is my life: these four metal walls, all of us corralled like cattle, the pain, the hunger, the fear. All because of my belief in a God who is risen, who charges me to share my faith with those who do not yet know him, and who I am forbidden to worship.

I think back to a question I have been asked many times over my months in prison: ‘Is your faith worth this, Helen?’

And as I take a deep breath of the sour air, as my scalp stings, the mad woman rants outside, and the guards continue on their rounds, I whisper the answer ‘Yes’.

Song of the Nightingale by Helen Berhane with Emma Newrick is published by Authentic. It is priced at £7.99 and is available to order from Release International on 01689 823491.

Upwards of 2,000 Christians are detained in Eritrea for their faith. Release is gathering signatures on a petition calling on the government of Eritrea to safeguard the basic human rights of its citizens, including freedom of worship.

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VOA Amharic Broadcasts Jammed in Ethiopia

International shortwave radio monitors have confirmed that VOA broadcasts in the Amharic language are being jammed. Amharic is the main official language and the language of commerce in Ethiopia.

VOA representatives in Ethiopia have been received complaints from listeners about noise drowning out its Amharic Service broadcasts. People trying to tune in can hear occasional snippets of the VOA broadcast covered by a loud crackle.

The static began February 22 on all five VOA shortwave frequencies aimed at East Africa in the 25 and 31-meter shortwave bands.

The other foreign broadcast heard in Ethiopia, the German government's Deutsche Welle Amharic language program, also reports experiencing some interference, in the past few days.

Monitors say VOA transmissions in two other Ethiopian languages, Afan Oromo and Tigrinya, are being heard normally. They are broadcast on the same frequencies, before and after the hour-long Amharic program.

VOA and Deutsche Welle were jammed around the time of the last parliament election in 2005, and again before the 2008 nationwide local elections. The next crucial parliament vote is scheduled for May 23.

In 2008, the authoritative BBC monitoring service reported it was able to determine that the jamming signals originated from within Ethiopia. This time, however, no such determination has been made.

In a telephone interview, Ethiopian Communications Office spokesman Shimelis Kemal denied any government involvement in the jamming. "This is a baseless allegation. The government doesn't espouse a policy of restricting media outlets from disseminating their messages to Ethiopian audiences," he said.

Ethiopian officials have often described VOA's Amharic Service as the 'voice of the opposition', saying its broadcasts reveal an anti-government bias. Meleskachew Ameha, an Amharic Service reporter in Addis Ababa, was detained for two weeks, last year, in a case involving alleged possession of illegal broadcast equipment. He was released without charge.

Audience research in 2008 suggested about 11 percent of adult Ethiopians regularly tune in to VOA language service broadcasts.

Voice of America Director Danforth Austin issued a statement Wednesday saying, 'VOA deplores jamming and any other form of censorship of the media'.

The Voice of America is a multi-media international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. Government. VOA broadcasts more than 1,500 hours of news and other programming every week in 49 languages to an audience of more than 125 million people
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