Ethiopia: I am an Amara. "ene Amara negne."

By Yilma Bekele
"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!"

Today it feels me with so much pride to say all Ethiopians where ever we live say in unison “ene Amara negene” Injustice against any of Ethiopia’s children is injustice to all of her children. We feel each other’s pain. When one Ethiopian is marginalized, when a single Ethiopian is put in harm’s way it is an affront to each one of us and we all suffer. It was none other than Martin Luther King Jr. who took injustice to heart when he declared “he who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

Tell me my fellow Ethiopian. What do you see in the picture above? It is a picture of people huddled together. It must be night time, what are they doing outside in the cold? Why are they sad? There is no mistaking that they are our people. I can tell that Ethiopian face from a mile away. Look at that slender chiseled face, kind eyes and welcome demeanor. They are our sisters, brothers, mothers or fathers sitting on bare soil, with no chairs and it is difficult to tell whether it is outdoors or inside. There is no question they seem to be confused, tired, and sad. Notices the young girl on the left with barefoot and looking resigned and observe the father on top right holding his chin and just seeming to wonder about the dire situation. I want you to see the child on his mother’s lap looking sad and his mother looking straight at the photographer not for pity but seems to be saying ‘take a good look, don’t forget my ace!’ I cried because I am human, I hurt because I cannot be there to hold their hand, rub their shoulders and ‘whisper it is ok, I am here to help.’ Oh my God the pain is killing me; it is tearing my soul apart. Why is this happening to my people? Why am I witnessing this suffering?

They are not just numbers. They are not statistics we refer to from some paper. They are living, breathing human beings. There is no Ethiopia without them. A house cannot stand without a foundation and a country does not exist without people. The people you see above are Amaras from the region referred to as Beneshangul/Gumuzl Kilil in Western Ethiopian that were deported from their own land to places they don’t even know. They are the homeless Ethiopians. They are stateless people within a country called Ethiopia. They are the surplus Ethiopians. How does such calamity happen? Was there an invasion by a foreign forcer? Was there some kind of natural disaster? Was there a civil war?



No they are the victims of a policy carried out by a rogue regime gone wild. Their plight is a calculated and thought out policy put in place by the regime in power. They are the recipient of a plan drawn by Meles Zenawi and his friends to keep our country in perpetual conflict and destroy Ethiopia from within. This is not an isolated event or an opportunistic move on the spur of the moment. No this is a plan drawn over thirty years ago same as Adolf Hitler’s plan of what he called to as the ‘Final Solution’ to annihilate the Jewish people. This is Meles Zenawi, Sebhat Nega, Seyoum Mesfin, and Abbay Tshaye’s and company nefarious plan directed at a single ethnic group. The ‘Final Solution’ against the Amara people.



Fascist Mussolini in his own evil ways knew that he cannot conquer Ethiopia without partitioning us. Thus he divided our country into six units as follows: 1) Eritrea to include Tigrai – capital Asmara 2) Amhara to include Begemeder, Gojjam, Wello and northern Shoa - capital Gonder 3) Galla and Sidamo –capital Jimma 4) Addis Abeba 5) Harar 6) Somalia-capital Mogadishu. Meles Zenawi and his Woyane party went further and created what we today call nine Kilils.

He called it Federalism but in actuality it was South Africa’s Apartheid system in East Africa.



Musoloni and the Italians were in charge of the six units they created. The white minority government in South Africa was the boss of all the Bantustans. In Ethiopia Meles Zenawi with his Tigrai ethnic based Woyane party ushered a new era of abuse, conflict, civil war and the beginning of the destruction of our ancient land.

All Tigray’s are not Woyane. On the other hand there is no reason to shy away from stating the obvious-most Tigrais are the beneficiary of the system set up by Woyane warlords. They are the number one Ethiopians standing heads high above all others. This is not hate. This is not a figment of my imagination. Nothing happens in Ethiopia without the knowledge and consent of the Woyane party. This is a very painful statement to write down but why hide from the truth.



It is also true that Woyane agents and provocateurs planted among us are posing as Amara/Oromo among others and making ugly and hateful statements directed at our brothers and sisters from Tigrai ethnic group. This is the Way Woyane operates and we are all familiar with that mentality. We should also be aware of the fact that Woyane has been systematically attacking Ethiopian history, Ethiopian heritage and the concept of being an Ethiopian in order to carry out their goal of setting us against each other. They have convinced a few gullible people, uneducated and lumpen individuals that our country is not worth saving and separation and going your own way is an option.



We should all try harder not to allow any kind of hateful speech; any put down of each other based on ethnicity and should at no time and place tolerate such ugly and backward behavior. It is commendable to be proud of one’s ethnicity and heritage but it is not a license to attack and degenerate someone from another group. We do not have choice what ethnic group to belong to when born, we are what we are. No one decide ahead to be white or black, to be Chinese or Indian, to be short of tall or be female or male. That is all in the hands of a higher authority. Ignorance and pettiness is what makes us stressed and lash out against those we are not familiar with.

Then some evil people like our Woyane warlords use our weakness to divide us, to be suspicious of each other and plant the seeds of hatred in our society. It is a struggle not to be taken by such propaganda that is intended to make us feel better even with an empty stomach. Let alone our old and poor backward country even the industrialized and educated countries have not been able to tackle this cancer in their body politic.



But we Ethiopians are resilient people. The fact of the matter is over twenty years of hate filled propaganda by Woyane has not been able to accomplish their goal of setting us against each other. Proof in point being during Woyanes deportation of our Eritrean citizens it was heartwarming to see our ordinary people crying and being distressed following the buses that was hauling our brethren, it was a display of true Ethiopian love to see the citizens of Gurafereda washing their hands of Shiferaw Shigute’s ugly deed and today we are sure that our citizens of Bena Shangul do not agree with this current nightmare visited on them by the new Woyane warlords in Arat Kilo.

Do you really think puppet Shiferaw Shigute of Southern Region, do you for a second believe puppet Ahmed Naser Ahmed Of Beneshangul/Gumuz Kilil will carry out such ugly deed without the approval and consent of Meles Zenawi then and Debretsion Gebremichael today? No sir, this kind activity is carried out with the direction of the highest body of the party that is run by Debretsion and company.



It does not do us any good to speculate why they are doing this criminal act. Why would a government declare war on its own people is a question history always tries to answer. It is nothing new. It has happened before we have witnessed it unfold all around us. Rwanda was yesterday, Bosnia is still fresh in our mind and Gurafereda and Beneshangul are close to our heart. No matter how you put it in Ethiopia under the leadership of the Woyane Tigrai based TPLF party our country is turning into hell on Earth. Our Gambellan citizens are uprooted from their ancestral land, Sidama citizens are hunted like wild animals and the Amaras are the favorite target of these disturbed and sick individuals in charge.



Of course we can fight their hatred based criminal act with more hate. I believe MLK Jr. said it better when he wrote ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.’ I do not hate Woyane. I do not want to be like them. Again I will quote you MLK when he said “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too much a burden to bear.” My heart aches when I think of the dead Meles Zenawi, I cringe when I see the picture of Bereket Semeone, Debretsion Gebremichael, Sebhat Nega or Abbay Tshaye’s. They must carry such a burden with them how do they ever sleep at night? How do they function among the company of people with such overwhelming evilness engulfing the depth of their soul?



We all have responsibilities in our daily life. We are fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, cousins, neighbors and workers interacting with other fellow human beings. Sometimes our duties and expectations from those around us is a source of stress and uneasiness. Fathers and mothers worry about the welfare of their family, children are under constant pressure to perform better and our work place puts up so much demand on us we are driven to the edge. It is all because we all want to be loved, needed and do better for those around us. The ultimate satisfaction is when a job done comes out perfect and those around us appreciate the effort. That is the reward that feeds the ego.

Our leaders do not seem to understand that. Given the chance to lead and make a better world for their fellow citizens that put so much trust and faith in them they callously throw away the opportunity to excel. They choose the path of hate, divide and rule and the road of destruction. Instead of sharing the bounty that comes from all working together and lift everybody higher they choose to hoard little crumbs for themselves and those around them. They play with words to fool themselves. They try to manipulate reality to fit their myopic vision. They think calling famine nutrition deficiency changes the pain, naming their terror squad internal security wipes the blood of their hands or doctoring the book balances the account for real. It is a sickness with no cure.



I wrote down I cried and felt broken heart when I saw the picture of my people from Beneshangul then I thought about it. Yes it is human to feel their pain but that is not the answer to our problem. I went back to MLK to see what he tells me about mending a broken heart. How did the great leader deal with such ugliness in the world. This is what he said “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” It is true my response should be what am I going to do about this situation that is keep me up all night?



I am going to be proactive. I will not sit down and observe and take this abuse silently. I am in the USA. I will do my best to discuss with my people so we can find a solution that is sustainable. I will write and talk every chance I get to develop a culture of inclusiveness based on equality, respect and justice. I will support all those forces that are struggling to overcome this force of darkness by any means necessary. I will strive harder to learn from this negative experience and turn it into a positive experience so we can together build a better and just society. I will organize my fellow exiles to contact their Senators, Representatives, locally elected officials so they can pressure the US government to stop coddling such a criminal enterprise masquerading as a government.



I am also heartened by political parties, civic organizations and groups that are currently working under harsh conditions in Ethiopia to gather information, proof and documents regarding the ethnic cleansing situation. I also believe upon getting our documents in order we could be able to do a citizen’s arrest of all the mentioned criminals when they show up outside the country. We can as victims of government atrocity hold these despicable individuals and hand them to our local police. Armed with our documents we have every right as human beings to ask that they be brought to justice since they are breaking international law which our country is signatory of. It is just but another arsenal in our fight against injustice. Finally since information is power I give my word of honor that I do my at most best to strengthen and make ESAT the most powerful media in my beautiful homeland. I ask my fellow Ethiopians to sit down and think hard because indifference has not brought us any amount of measurable respite from this from this never ending atrocity by a regime one wild.

Ethiopia: Washington Update

By Mesfin Mekonen
Over 1,000 Ethiopians and Ethiopian-Americans demonstrated in front of the White House last week to protest the Ethiopian government's human rights abuses to Amhara Ethiopians. The protests demanded a stop to the forced displacement of Ethiopians. Protestors asked the Obama administration to investigate human rights abuses in Ethiopia. Organizers of the demonstration are planning a similar event in front of the World Bank's Washington headquarters on April 20th at 8am.

Although U.S. State Department officials publicly claim that the U.S. government is promoting democracy and human rights throughout the world, human rights groups say the U.S. is giving a "free pass" to dictators who help U.S. anti-terrorism efforts. A recent Washington Post article cited the example of Ethiopia, quoting human rights groups accusing "the U.S. government of holding its tongue about political repression in Ethiopia." The article added: "The countries that cooperate with us get at least a free pass,” acknowledged a senior U.S. official who specializes in Africa but spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid retribution. “Whereas other countries that don’t cooperate, we ream them as best we can.”

Johnnie Carson, who recently resigned as the State Department's top official responsible for Africa, made the customary comments in response to questions from the Washington Post. “These security relationships do not provide an excuse for us not to engage fully with the leaders of all of these countries on the very fundamental principles that are at the heart of our policy: strengthening democratic institutions.” Carson did not, however, provide any concrete examples of the U.S. taking on African dictators who support the war on terrorism. The Post article is at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/niger-rapidly-emerging-as-a-key-us-partner/2013/04/14/3d3b260c-a38c-11e2-ac00-8ef7caef5e00_story_1.html

The House subcommittee on Africa, global health, global human rights and international organizations held an illuminating hearing on democracy in Africa on April 16. The hearing focused on U.S. support for elections in Kenya, but many of the issues discussed are applicable to Ethiopia. A representative of the National Democratic Institute discussed the importance of creating a democratic ecosystem and warned against believing that the act of voting defines democracy. He said: " Ultimately, it is the people of a country who determine the credibility of their elections and the country’s democratic development. Additionally, while elections are a key ingredient of democracy, it should be understood that they are not synonymous with democracy."

The message for Ethiopia is clear. Democracy and democratic institutions must exist 365 days a year, not just on voting day. For example, it is ridiculous to think Ethiopia or any other country can have fair, free elections in the absence of access to a free press, in the context of harassment and violence against opposition politicians, and when there is no freedom of assembly.

In his opening statement, Representative Chris Smith (R-N.J.) noted the upcoming election in Ethiopia. "Ethiopia’s next election will replace the late
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and also will determine whether the political opposition will have more space to operate than in previous elections."
Hopefully Smith, the U.S. Congress, the State Department and media will investigate the human rights abuses that are endemic in Ethiopia. Pressure from the outside world can help bring about change in Ethiopia, and the first step toward creating that pressure is create awareness of the situation.

Anti Amhara crime perpetrators should face justice

Madeness in the TPLF camp, I will never pray forgive them because they do not know what they are doing, but instead I pray to send TPLF to hell where they belong, they never do anything right in their life time even their leader Meles died without understanding himself

One may ask why rulers commit genocide, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing on the very people they rule. Although nothing would justify, heinous rulers always provide bizarre and incomprehensible justifications. The tyrants in Ethiopia, for example, say Amharas were evicted because they cut trees. For them cutting trees is enough reason to commit ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. As the world knows, these kinds of despicable crimes have been committed in Rwanda, Liberia, Sudan, Ethiopia and other countries. The star actors of genocide and crimes against humanity in Rwanda, Liberia and Sudan are already facing justice. The tribal and racist-primitive rulers who have been committing ethnic cleansing and crimes against Amharic speaking people (the Amharas) for the last 22 years in Ethiopia are still leaving lavish lives at the expense of the resources of their victims-the Amharas.


“My country, Ethiopia

You are fool, deceivable

You feed your murderers

While you starve your martyrs!”


No single spot exists in the mountains, plains, low lands, deserts, jungles, rivers and lakes, where Amharas did not spill their blood to protect the national integrity and sovereignty of Ethiopia. A lot has been said about the battle of Maqdala, Adwa, Mychew, and The Five-Year War with Facist where Amharas gave their chest for bullets and their whole body for mustard gas in order to transfer a proud and free country to us. Let’s just gaze at the very near past. It was the Amhara peasants who broke the back bone of invader Siad Barre. It was the Amhara militia who protected our natural sea ports until mama Ethiopia’s neck and breasts were butchered by her traitor children. What is the gladiator Amhara getting in return now? Systematic discrimination, frequent eviction, endless displacement, repeated ethnic cleansing, chronic crime against humanity, and genocide?



One of the leading Ethiopian online news papers on Ethiopian affairs, Ethiomedia, covered on its March 17, 2013 front page, that 59 uprooted Amharas were killed by car accident in Benishngul Gumuz, western Ethiopia while they were forcefully evicted after their property was confiscated. [1] Similarly the Ethiopian Satellite Television, an independent news outlet, reported that more than 3, 000 people were evicted from Benishangul area. [2] These crimes were also discussed in the Voice of America Amharic program. [3] The evicted people and the deaths include children and pregnant women. Mind you, the victims only crime was being born Amhara. Dr. Yakob Hailemariam, one of the Lawyers who investigated the Rwandan Genocide, call this act of the TPLF lead government ethnic cleansing. [4]



In this 21st century human traits such as age, gender, and ethnicity are protected human characters. In civilized societies (at least in theories), discriminating based on these protected traits is illegal and immoral. However, concepts such as legality and morality are not found in the dictionaries of the barbaric tribal rulers of Ethiopia. Unfortunately, the ruling party’s fundamental policy in Ethiopia dictates cadres to organize people based on ethnicity and the language they speak. Furthermore, this backward policy (The Wild-animals’ law as the distinguished scholar professor Mesfin woldemariam calls it)promotes the different ethnic groups to discriminate each other based on human nature such as race, language, religion and so on. The Amharas, who are mainly against this uncivilized jungle law, have been the prime victims of this brutal and retarded policy since the racist Tigrai People Libration Front (TPLF) took power through a Trojan horse- the Ethiopian Democratic Libration Front (EPRDF).



The Amharas are the second largest ethnic group in the country. Some, in fact, argue that Amhara could be the largest group in the nation if counted in unbiased manner. Ancient and modern history teaches that this population group existed with other ethnic groups in Ethiopia and the surrounding East African countries since humans started to live as society on this earth. However, the Amharas have never claimed certain regions of Ethiopia as their own sole state. Unfortunately, TPLF created a segregated area called Amhara killil (Killil -a local term for segregation) for these grroups of people.



Many including former members of TPLF have stated that TPLF leaders have been labeling the Amharic speaking people as their enemies since they organized themselves as communist Guerilla fighters in the early 70’s. [5] The crimes committed against Amharic speaking people since this rebel group (formerly labeled as terrorist group by USA) took power are the practical applications of this former communist Guerilla fighters’ racist-jungle manifesto.



As mentioned above, systematic discrimination of Amhara has been on the making for more than two decades. As soon as the TPLF took power in 1991, it cleansed more than 42 intellectuals (almost all of them Amharas) from the teaching positions at Addis Ababa University. [6] It established a unique and effective contraception programs in the Amhara communities to reduce the number of births. No sane Amharic Speaking individual with viable conscience is allowed to take key positions in the government. Those individuals who claim to represent the Amharas in the government are either non-Amharas or Amharas who sell out their soul and conscience to money and other ephemeral advantages.



About two years after the TPLF took power, thousands of Amharic speaking people including women and children were massacred in the eastern part of the country called Bedeno. [7] It needs an outstanding historical film maker to document how these unfortunate people were thrown away from the top of the cliff as high as 100 meters. It takes Schindler's List film director to document the suffering of the children of these victims. It takes the skill of a horror film maker to produce how women were repeatedly raped in front of their husbands during this crime against humanity. Similar crimes have been committed against Amharic speaking people in Central, Southern, Western and Northern Ethiopia. Such kinds of atrocities were relatively abated by the formation of the All Amhara People Organization. Unfortunately, this organization’s leader, Professor Asrat (the first surgeon in the country), was incarcerated and died because he was denied access to medical care by TPLF lead government.



As a continuation of “cleanse the Amharas motto”, thousands of Amharic speaking people were forced to leave from Gura Ferda (southern Ethiopia) in 2012. [8] These unfortunate people were forced to leave their houses and other property behind and no one really knows who exactly has robbed their possessions. Many have suffered and died during this disgraceful ethnic cleansing. Only God and the victims know about what happen to the cleansed victims who are not dead at this point. The officials who systematically conducted theses dreadful crimes still hold higher positions in the States and Federal Government. Such is the case in the current Ethiopia-you commit wicked crime, you get promotion.



Besides being forcefully evicted from their homes at the different regions of the country, Amharas also roam to different parts of the world even to the failed state Somalia to escape the systematic discrimination and ethnic cleansing. During this mass migration, Amharas die every day in hundreds from various causes such as flood, wild animals, hunger, diseases, etc. Still among those who are able to escape and live in the foreign land, many die of slavery and suicide.

In summary, Amharas were not born Amharas by choice. Their ethnicity or language is their protected identity. Above all, the evicted Amharas fathers’ and forefathers’ have spilled their blood in every corner of Ethiopia to defend the sovereignty and pride of our nation. The land currently cultivated by Indian, Chines and Arab traders is enriched with Amhara’s blood and flesh. Despite this glorious history of their ancestors, Amharas have been discriminated and cleansed by TPLF lead government which is composed of disloyal and treacherous individuals who sold out our sea access and fertile land. This act of the narrow-minded TPLF government is not just totally immoral but absolute crime that should not happen in 6000 BC let alone in 21st century. If the TPLF lead rulers continue the ethnic cleansing of Amharic speaking people with this rate, Amharas will be endangered species in the near future. Therefore, those people who have direct or indirect participation in systematic discrimination, evicting, and ethnic cleansing of the Amharas or any other ethnic group should face justice as soon as possible. Lawyers and Judges (especially of Ethiopian origin) have professional, moral, ethical, historical and national responsibility to force these horrendous criminals face justice.

Statement by President Barroso following his meeting with Mr Hailemariam Dessalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia

Press point/Brussels

18 April 2013

Good morning ladies and gentleman,
It is a great pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn on his first official visit to Europe.
I also know this is the first official visit that he pays outside of Africa after his election, and I thank you for that. I think this is a signal of the commitment of Ethiopia to the good relationship with the European Union.
Let me also stress on behalf of the European Union our interest to further deepen our political and economic relations, and to tackle wider regional security challenges.
Today we had a very open and friendly discussion on a number of issues related to our bilateral relations.
I have congratulated Ethiopia on its continued significant and broad based economic performance as well on its impressive progress in poverty reduction and Millenium Development Goals' achievements.
But Ethiopia still has potential do more and better. I have heard the Prime-Minister's plans for the next stages of development of the country. I had the opportunity to recall that this ambitious agenda also requires the widest possible participation and support throughout society.
Ultimately economic growth can only be sustained if it is achieved in an open society respectful of fundamental rights and also freedom, from freedom of expression to freedom of the press.
We want to be a partner of Ethiopia in this process. And if I may quote the Prime Minister, indeed we are a partner and we are proud of our contribution to Ethiopia's growth and development. We have been a very active partner in terms of cooperation, development and investment, with our companies there, and we want to remain a very important partner, in the interest of Ethiopia, in the interest of the region, in the interest of our overall relations with Africa and also in the interest of the European Union. Our relationship with Ethiopia is today a more mature relationship, it's not just of course development assistance, it's much more than that. It's also political cooperation, it's also what we can do together to tackle some common challenges.
We have already substantial and diversified economic and trade relations. The European Union is the most important trade partner for Ethiopia, with over 40% of Ethiopia's exports coming to Europe. This reflects our broader openness and commercial commitment to Ethiopia and our African friends

And we stand ready to support the Government in its long-term vision leading to growth and increased investment and, at this respect, we fully support Ethiopia's efforts to join the World Trade Organisation.
Our development cooperation is also part of our commitment to Ethiopia's prosperity. Good results have been achieved in our cooperation on food security and on basic service delivery throughout the country. We look forward to continuing this good cooperation throughout the next European Development Fund, the 11th European Development Fund, which will apply as of next year, with an even stronger focus on health issues. It is my pleasure to announce today that the European Union has already now agreed to an additional allocation of € 30 million for maternal health. The Prime Minister has explained to me how Ethiopia intends to reach on time all the Millenium Development Goals and this is our additional contribution for that purpose. Once again I'm congratulating Ethiopia for the achievements so far.
Finally, I also commended Prime Minister Dessalegn for Ethiopia's important and positive role on a number of regional issues and crisis situations in the Horn of Africa and beyond. I am referring specifically to Ethiopia's political and security efforts in Sudan, its engagement in Somalia and within regional organisations. As chair of the African Union, Ethiopia will represent Africa at the G20 summit and during the climate negotiations, key issues for the European Union where we share a strong agenda with our African partners.
So we also discussed some regional issues, and the broader priority of the African Union-European Union relationship. Next week I will be in Addis Ababa, precisely chairing, on the European side, the meeting between the African Union Commission and the European Commission. We are precisely now preparing what it can be a very successful Summit, the 2014 European Union-African Union Summit. And I'm sure that Ethiopia, under the leadership of Prime Minister Dessalegn, will give a very important contribution for that success.
Prime Minister,
You can be assured that the European Union will continue to support Ethiopia on its path towards further economic and social development, in our mutual interest.
And once again thank you for your visit to Brussels