Legal Affairs
Congress Apologizes for Slavery, Jim Crow
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Statues in Stonetown, Zanzibar mark the center of the slave trade in East Africa. iStock
Slavery apology: long overdue, or too late?
Tell Me More, July 30, 2008 · On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives issued an unprecedented apology to black Americans for the institution of slavery, and the subsequent Jim Crows laws that for years discriminated against blacks as second-class citizens in American society.
Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Tennessee, drafted the resolution. Cohen explains the apology's long journey for Congressional approval and the significance of its timing.
Transcript: Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) Introduces U.S. Apology for Slavery, Jim Crow
July 29, 2008
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and Mr. Chairman. It is with pride that I introduce this resolution with 120 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. It is with pride that I serve as a member of this institution, in this building that was built with slave labor, and for which the new Visitors Gallery will be known as Emancipation Hall.
It was a gentleman from this side of the aisle, the party of Lincoln, Representative Zach Wamp from my state, and this side of the aisle, Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., who eloquently spoke to a subcommittee of which I'm a member, urging the remembrance and recognition of the work of the slaves who helped construct this magnificent capitol building and have the entryway named Emancipation Hall.
This country had an institution of slavery for 246 years and followed it with Jim Crow laws that denied people equal opportunity under the law. There was segregation in the south and other places in this country, at least through the year 1965 when civil rights laws were passed. There were separate water fountains for people, marked white and colored, there were restaurants, there were separate hotels, there were job opportunities that were not available to African-Americans. There were theaters that were segregated.
It's hard to imagine, in 2008, that such a society existed and was sanctioned by law, that the laws of the nation provided for segregation and enforced slave fugitive slave laws.
In fact, the history of slavery goes not just through the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to our constitution, but as so eloquently written, just yesterday, in "The Baltimore Sun" in an editorial by Mr. Leonard Pitts Jr., that slavery existed up until about World War II, but it was a form of slavery where people were bought and sold for debts, it was slavery by another name.
In a book called Slavery By Another Name by Douglass Blackman, a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, when he talked about a convict leasing system in the south where in poor black men were routinely snatched up and tried on false petty or nonexistent charges by compliant courts, assessed some fine they could not afford, and then put into the servitude of an individual who bought them. This system continued up until World War II.
The fact is, slavery and Jim Crow are stains upon what is the greatest nation on the face of the earth and the greatest government ever conceived by man. But when we conceived this government and said all men were created equal we didn't in fact make all men equal, nor did we make women equal.
We have worked to form a more perfect union, and part of forming a more perfect union is laws, and part of it is such as resolutions like we have before us today where we face up to our mistakes and we apologize, as anyone should apologize for things that were done in the past that were wrong. And we begin a dialogue that will hopefully lead us to a better understanding of where we are in America today and why certain conditions exist.
In 1997, President Clinton talked to the nation about the problem this country had with race. And he wanted a national dialogue. He considered an apology for slavery. I happened to run into President Clinton at that time, at the Amtrak station here in Washington and discussed with him having an apology for Jim Crow as well as slavery.
I encompassed that in a letter dated July 2, 1997 that as a state Senator in Tennessee I wrote to President Clinton. In that letter, I urged him to have a slavery apology and a Jim Crow apology and to mark it on the 30th Anniversary of the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, and that event tragically took place in April of 1968 in my city and that the appropriate time for President Clinton to have that apology would be on that 30th anniversary.
In going through my papers as I was elected to congress, I found this letter and I thought about it and I said to myself, you're a member of congress, you don't need to wait on a response from the President of the United States, which my friend, the president's office, failed to make a response.
I can take action myself. So I introduced the resolution in February of 2007 with 120 sponsors joining me as time went on. It is important on this day that we admit our error, that we apologize. I've been in this body and voted with the rest of the body on unanimous voice vote to encourage, this past year, the Japanese Government to apologize for its use of Chinese women as "comfort women" during the war.
And not a voice was raised questioning that resolution which passed unanimously on us calling on a foreign country to apologize for its use of "comfort women." Twenty years ago this congress passed a bill apologizing for the internment of Japanese citizens during World War II. In fact, subsequent to the consideration of this resolution, the distinguished lady from California, Ms. Matsui, has a resolution recognizing and celebrating the 20th anniversary of the passage of that bill.
This Congress did the right thing in apologizing for the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans during World War II and in encouraging the Japanese Government to apologize for the use of "comfort women." But the fact that this government has not apologized to its own citizens, African-Americans, for the institution of slavery and for the Jim Crow laws that followed and accepted that fact and encouraged changes in our dialogue and understanding in the actions of this country to rectify that is certainly a mistake.
And today we rectify that mistake. This is a symbolic resolution but hopefully it will begin a dialogue where people will open their hearts and their minds to the problems that face this country, from racism that exists in this country on both sides and which must end if we're to go forward as the country that we were created to be and which we are destined to be.
So it is with great honor that I speak on this resolution and urge the members of this body to pass this historic resolution, recognize our errors, but also recognize the greatness of this country, because only a great country can recognize and admit its mistakes and then travel forth to create indeed a more perfect union that works to bring people of all races, religions and creeds together in unity as Americans part of the United States of America.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the time and I urge my colleagues to vote unanimously to pass this resolution today. Thank you.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Faces of Power and Piety an illuminted Manscript at the Getty Center, France
www.eastafricaforum.net http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnN29381985.html U.N. council to disband Eritrea-Ethiopia force
Tue 29 Jul 2008Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS, July 29 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council is planning to disband its peacekeeping mission to the volatile border between Eritrea and Ethiopia after Eritrea forced out most of the U.N. troops, diplomats said on Tuesday.
The mandate for the 1,700-strong force expires on Thursday and a draft resolution circulated at the United Nations by Belgium calls for an end to the mission.
The resolution, which council diplomats said would be put to a vote on Wednesday, calls on the two sides "to show maximum restraint and refrain from any threat or use of force against each other, and to avoid provocative military activities."
The United Nations withdrew its peacekeeping force from the border in February after Eritrea cut off fuel supplies. The force had been in place since 2000 after a two-year war between the Horn of Africa neighbors that killed some 70,000 people.
Eritrea is angry that the United Nations has been unable to enforce a ruling by an independent boundary commission awarding the bulk of disputed border territory to Eritrea.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned in April that the withdrawal of the peacekeepers could spark renewed conflict on the 1,000-km (620-mile) frontier.
Eritrea's ambassador to the United Nations, Araya Desta, told Reuters Asmara did not want a military confrontation with Addis Ababa but was fed up with what he described as an illegal occupation of Eritrean territory.
"We have a right to take our land, to do anything possible to take back our territories," Desta said. "I don't envisage at this stage any use of military force to do that."
The Brussels-based think-tank International Crisis Group said last month the armies of the feuding neighbors were "less than a football pitch" apart, risking a catastrophic new war.
Asmara says a November 2007 "virtual demarcation" of the border by the now-defunct boundary commission ended the issue. Ethiopia says Eritrea is illegally massing troops on the border in a supposedly demilitarized zone and it wants to discuss the border demarcation further.
The Eritrea-Ethiopia dispute is part of a set of regional tensions that extends into Somalia, where Ethiopian troops are supporting an interim government, and into Djibouti, whose forces clashed with Eritrean troops last month.
____________
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/LSGZ-7GZH4C?OpenDocument
ReliefWeb/UN
28 Jul 2008
Situation report: Drought/Food Crisis in Ethiopia Complete report:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/LSGZ-7GZH4C/$File/full_report.pdf
Highlights:
- Malnutrition rates continue to rise with no sign of stabilisation
- Reports indicate the geographic scope of the crisis is widening to include Afar
- UNICEF requests the Government to grant a blanket tax exemption of emergency therapeutic feeding supplies until the end of 2008.
Humanitarian Overview
Current Context
The humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia continues to escalate despite the concerted efforts of the government and the humanitarian community to respond to the needs of affected communities.
The current crisis, manifest in acute food insecurity and accelerating rates of malnutrition, is a product of the interaction of a number of factors including; drought, a sharp increase in market prices and crop failure. The immediate impact upon communities in drought-affected regions of the country is reduced access to food and water, erosion of livelihoods and heightened vulnerability to malnutrition especially among children.
Humanitarian partners have been responding to the treatment needs of children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in SNNPR and Oromiya since the outset of the crisis. Reports indicate that the geographic scope of the crisis has expanded to encompass communities in Afar, Amhara and Somali Regions.
The humanitarian community continues to grapple with serious shortfalls in commodities essential to deliver much-needed emergency relief. Due to logistical challenges and breaks in the food pipeline the shipments of food scheduled to arrive in July and August will not be sufficient to respond to the needs of people affected by the crisis. Food baskets have been reduced for July distributions as a result of shortfalls.
The DPPA have completed the belg assessment process and early indications are that more people will require additional support over the next six months due to continued food insecurity. Initial findings indicate critical food security problems in Afar, Amhara, Tigray and Somali Regions. Teams charged with conducting an assessment of food security in Oromiya and SNNPR are due to debrief partners on the 29th July 2008.
Government and humanitarian partners have been working to find ways to strengthen the capacity of the humanitarian community to respond to the crisis in Ethiopia. Food distributions, securing quick release of essential humanitarian commodities from customs and enhanced response in the Somali Region have been among the core issues tackled by government and partners during the course of the week.
The Somali Region Special Committee, led by the Director General of DPPA and the Humanitarian Coordinator, will meet on a weekly basis to facilitate a strengthened response to the crisis in the Somali Region.
The Special Committee met with 13 NGOs on Wednesday 23rd July to discuss options to scale up humanitarian interventions in the region and is lobbying for clearance of additional NGOs to intervene in areas affected by the crisis. The Special Committee is working in tandem with technical task forces to develop coordinated plans of action in the health and nutrition, water and sanitation and agriculture and livestock sectors.
_________________________
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-getty30-2008jul30,0,777381.story
Los Angeles Times
July 30, 2008
Getty Museum adds rare Ethiopian book
Suzanne Muchnic The J. Paul Getty Museum has added a rare Ethiopian Gospel book to its collection of illuminated manuscripts. Created around 1504-05 with five full-page paintings and many ornamental touches, it is one of the few such volumes to have survived wars and a Muslim purge of early Christian imagery in Ethiopia.
Purchased at an undisclosed price from a private collection in France, the new acquisition will go on view Aug. 12 in "Faces of Power and Piety," an exhibition of portraiture in illuminated manuscripts at the Getty Center.
"This is a wonderful addition to the collection, visually and culturally," said Thomas Kren, the Getty's curator of manuscripts. "It's a great and beautiful object. And it belongs to the classic tradition of Gospel books, one of the greatest vehicles for Christian art. Within that context, it's a completely distinctive variation."
The book -- which measures 13 5/8 by 10 1/4 inches -- contains full-page illuminations of the Virgin and Child and evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The portraits are painted in a bold style that Kren described as "almost modern." Ethiopian illuminators favored blocks of vivid color and strong patterns, including zigzag motifs on textiles and clothing.
In the Getty's example, architectural borders enhance an eight-page concordance, or index, of Gospel stories; abstract designs frame other sections.
The area now known as Ethiopia had become a great power by the 3rd century. Christianity was introduced there in the 4th century, and a distinctive visual arts style emerged in the 6th century. But Ethiopian-illuminated manuscripts are few and far between outside their native land.
The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, which claims the largest collection of Ethiopian art outside Ethiopia, has eight.
At the Getty, the recently acquired Gospel book has joined a single Ethiopian leaf from the 14th century, depicting St. John.
"In theory," Kren said, "our collection is European, but we have a range of Gospel books. To have an Ethiopian example adds a whole dimension to this form of medieval Christian art."
Tue 29 Jul 2008Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS, July 29 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council is planning to disband its peacekeeping mission to the volatile border between Eritrea and Ethiopia after Eritrea forced out most of the U.N. troops, diplomats said on Tuesday.
The mandate for the 1,700-strong force expires on Thursday and a draft resolution circulated at the United Nations by Belgium calls for an end to the mission.
The resolution, which council diplomats said would be put to a vote on Wednesday, calls on the two sides "to show maximum restraint and refrain from any threat or use of force against each other, and to avoid provocative military activities."
The United Nations withdrew its peacekeeping force from the border in February after Eritrea cut off fuel supplies. The force had been in place since 2000 after a two-year war between the Horn of Africa neighbors that killed some 70,000 people.
Eritrea is angry that the United Nations has been unable to enforce a ruling by an independent boundary commission awarding the bulk of disputed border territory to Eritrea.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned in April that the withdrawal of the peacekeepers could spark renewed conflict on the 1,000-km (620-mile) frontier.
Eritrea's ambassador to the United Nations, Araya Desta, told Reuters Asmara did not want a military confrontation with Addis Ababa but was fed up with what he described as an illegal occupation of Eritrean territory.
"We have a right to take our land, to do anything possible to take back our territories," Desta said. "I don't envisage at this stage any use of military force to do that."
The Brussels-based think-tank International Crisis Group said last month the armies of the feuding neighbors were "less than a football pitch" apart, risking a catastrophic new war.
Asmara says a November 2007 "virtual demarcation" of the border by the now-defunct boundary commission ended the issue. Ethiopia says Eritrea is illegally massing troops on the border in a supposedly demilitarized zone and it wants to discuss the border demarcation further.
The Eritrea-Ethiopia dispute is part of a set of regional tensions that extends into Somalia, where Ethiopian troops are supporting an interim government, and into Djibouti, whose forces clashed with Eritrean troops last month.
____________
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/LSGZ-7GZH4C?OpenDocument
ReliefWeb/UN
28 Jul 2008
Situation report: Drought/Food Crisis in Ethiopia Complete report:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/LSGZ-7GZH4C/$File/full_report.pdf
Highlights:
- Malnutrition rates continue to rise with no sign of stabilisation
- Reports indicate the geographic scope of the crisis is widening to include Afar
- UNICEF requests the Government to grant a blanket tax exemption of emergency therapeutic feeding supplies until the end of 2008.
Humanitarian Overview
Current Context
The humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia continues to escalate despite the concerted efforts of the government and the humanitarian community to respond to the needs of affected communities.
The current crisis, manifest in acute food insecurity and accelerating rates of malnutrition, is a product of the interaction of a number of factors including; drought, a sharp increase in market prices and crop failure. The immediate impact upon communities in drought-affected regions of the country is reduced access to food and water, erosion of livelihoods and heightened vulnerability to malnutrition especially among children.
Humanitarian partners have been responding to the treatment needs of children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in SNNPR and Oromiya since the outset of the crisis. Reports indicate that the geographic scope of the crisis has expanded to encompass communities in Afar, Amhara and Somali Regions.
The humanitarian community continues to grapple with serious shortfalls in commodities essential to deliver much-needed emergency relief. Due to logistical challenges and breaks in the food pipeline the shipments of food scheduled to arrive in July and August will not be sufficient to respond to the needs of people affected by the crisis. Food baskets have been reduced for July distributions as a result of shortfalls.
The DPPA have completed the belg assessment process and early indications are that more people will require additional support over the next six months due to continued food insecurity. Initial findings indicate critical food security problems in Afar, Amhara, Tigray and Somali Regions. Teams charged with conducting an assessment of food security in Oromiya and SNNPR are due to debrief partners on the 29th July 2008.
Government and humanitarian partners have been working to find ways to strengthen the capacity of the humanitarian community to respond to the crisis in Ethiopia. Food distributions, securing quick release of essential humanitarian commodities from customs and enhanced response in the Somali Region have been among the core issues tackled by government and partners during the course of the week.
The Somali Region Special Committee, led by the Director General of DPPA and the Humanitarian Coordinator, will meet on a weekly basis to facilitate a strengthened response to the crisis in the Somali Region.
The Special Committee met with 13 NGOs on Wednesday 23rd July to discuss options to scale up humanitarian interventions in the region and is lobbying for clearance of additional NGOs to intervene in areas affected by the crisis. The Special Committee is working in tandem with technical task forces to develop coordinated plans of action in the health and nutrition, water and sanitation and agriculture and livestock sectors.
_________________________
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-getty30-2008jul30,0,777381.story
Los Angeles Times
July 30, 2008
Getty Museum adds rare Ethiopian book
Suzanne Muchnic The J. Paul Getty Museum has added a rare Ethiopian Gospel book to its collection of illuminated manuscripts. Created around 1504-05 with five full-page paintings and many ornamental touches, it is one of the few such volumes to have survived wars and a Muslim purge of early Christian imagery in Ethiopia.
Purchased at an undisclosed price from a private collection in France, the new acquisition will go on view Aug. 12 in "Faces of Power and Piety," an exhibition of portraiture in illuminated manuscripts at the Getty Center.
"This is a wonderful addition to the collection, visually and culturally," said Thomas Kren, the Getty's curator of manuscripts. "It's a great and beautiful object. And it belongs to the classic tradition of Gospel books, one of the greatest vehicles for Christian art. Within that context, it's a completely distinctive variation."
The book -- which measures 13 5/8 by 10 1/4 inches -- contains full-page illuminations of the Virgin and Child and evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The portraits are painted in a bold style that Kren described as "almost modern." Ethiopian illuminators favored blocks of vivid color and strong patterns, including zigzag motifs on textiles and clothing.
In the Getty's example, architectural borders enhance an eight-page concordance, or index, of Gospel stories; abstract designs frame other sections.
The area now known as Ethiopia had become a great power by the 3rd century. Christianity was introduced there in the 4th century, and a distinctive visual arts style emerged in the 6th century. But Ethiopian-illuminated manuscripts are few and far between outside their native land.
The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, which claims the largest collection of Ethiopian art outside Ethiopia, has eight.
At the Getty, the recently acquired Gospel book has joined a single Ethiopian leaf from the 14th century, depicting St. John.
"In theory," Kren said, "our collection is European, but we have a range of Gospel books. To have an Ethiopian example adds a whole dimension to this form of medieval Christian art."
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Can Ethiopia succeed with Half Free Economy at 53.2%
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Ethiopia's economy is 53.2 percent free, according to our 2008 assessment, which makes it the world's 124th freest economy. Its overall score is 1.2 percentage points lower than last year, partly reflecting declines in five areas. Ethiopia is ranked 26th out of 40 countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region, and its overall score is slightly worse than the regional average.
Ethiopia does not rank strongly in any category but does score moderately well in fiscal freedom, government size, and labor freedom. The top income and corporate tax rates are moderate, and overall tax revenue is not large as a percentage of GDP. Government expenditures are not high, and labor markets, unlike those in most of Europe and the rest of Africa, are lightly regulated.
A developing nation, Ethiopia does not score well in trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom, property rights, and freedom from corruption. The banking system is weak and subject to strong political pressure, as is the rule of law. Property rights cannot be guaranteed.
Background:
Ethiopia is one of sub-Saharan Africa's poorest countries. A military council, the Derg, deposed and killed Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 and established a repressive socialist regime under Mengistu Haile Mariam. The Derg was overthrown in 1991. While Ethiopia is moving toward multi-party democracy, obstacles to progress are abundant, as demonstrated by the 2005 post-election crackdown on protestors.
Agriculture contributes over 45 percent of GDP, accounts for over 80 percent of exports, and employs over 80 percent of the population. The government remains involved in key economic sectors and reserves others for Ethiopians. Since its war with Eritrea, Ethiopia has depended heavily on Djibouti for access to foreign goods. The border remains heavily armed, and conflict could be renewed. Ethiopia invaded Somalia in support of Somalia's transitional federal government in December 2006.
Business Freedom - 58.3%
The overall freedom to start, operate, and close a business is restricted by Ethiopia's national regulatory environment. Starting a business takes an average of 16 days, compared to the world average of 43 days. Although the cost is high, obtaining a business license requires less than the world average of 19 procedures and 234 days. Regulation is generally regarded as fair but not always transparent. Bureaucracy is cumbersome, but closing a business is relatively easy.
Trade Freedom - 63%
Ethiopia's weighted average tariff rate was 13.5 percent in 2002. Restrictive foreign exchange controls, burdensome trade-related regulations and bureaucracy, import restrictions, and inadequate infrastructure add to the cost of trade. An additional 10 percentage points is deducted from Ethiopia's trade freedom score to account for these non-tariff barriers.
Fiscal Freedom - 77.2%
Ethiopia has burdensome tax rates. The top income tax rate is 35 percent, and the top corporate tax rate is 30 percent. Other taxes include a value-added tax (VAT) and a capital gains tax. In the most recent year, overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 12.6 percent.
Freedom from Government - 80.9%
Total government expenditures, including consumption and transfer payments, are low. In the most recent year, government spending equaled 25.2 percent of GDP. Despite a decade of privatization, state ownership and management still guide many sectors of the economy.
Monetary Freedom - 69.4%
Inflation is relatively high, averaging 10.6 percent between 2004 and 2006. Relatively unstable prices explain most of the monetary freedom score. The government influences prices through its regulation of state-owned enterprises and utilities, subsidizes and controls the prices of petroleum products, and controls the prices of pharmaceuticals and fertilizers. An additional 10 percentage points is deducted from Ethiopia's monetary freedom score to adjust for measures that distort domestic prices.
Investment Freedom - 40%
Despite efforts to liberalize foreign investment laws and streamline registration, official and unofficial barriers persist. Sectarian and ethnic violence (particularly on the Somali border) continues. Certain sectors remain off-limits. The Ethiopian Investment Commission provides a one-stop service that significantly cuts the cost of obtaining licenses.
An investment promotion authority has been established to lure foreign capital into certain sectors like textiles. Foreign exchange accounts, payments, and current transfers are subject to controls and restrictions, as are capital transactions. All investments must be approved and certified by the government.
Financial Freedom - 20%
Ethiopia's financial sector is small and significantly government-influenced. The central bank is not independent, and the government strongly influences lending, controls interest rates, and owns the largest bank (Commercial Bank of Ethiopia), which accounts for two-thirds of outstanding credit. Six local private banks have appeared since the mid-1990s and have increased their share of total deposits, loans, and credit, but foreign banks remain barred.
The state-run bank faced collapse several years ago, but its over 50 percent of non-performing loans has since been reduced to just over 25 percent. Foreign firms may not invest in banking or insurance. One of the insurance sector's nine companies is state-owned. There is no stock market, but the private sale of equity is common.
Property Rights - 30%
Enforcement of property rights is weak. The judicial system is underdeveloped, poorly staffed, and inexperienced despite efforts to strengthen its capacity. Property and contractual rights are recognized, but judges lack an understanding of commercial issues.
An international arbitration body's decision may not be fully accepted and implemented by Ethiopian authorities. A highly restrictive land-tenure policy makes it very difficult to register property. Private ownership of land is prohibited; land must be leased from the state.
Freedom from Corruption - 24%
Corruption is perceived as widespread. Ethiopia ranks 130th out of 163 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2006. Despite legal restrictions on corruption, officials have been accused of manipulating the privatization process, and state-owned and party-owned businesses receive preferential access to land leases and credit.
Labor Freedom - 69.5%
Burdensome employment regulations hinder employment opportunities and productivity growth. The non-salary cost of employing a worker is very low, but dismissing a redundant employee is relatively costly. The difficulty of laying off a worker creates a risk aversion for companies that would otherwise hire more people and grow. Restrictions on the number of work hours are rigid.
Ethiopia
Rank: 124
Regional Rank: 26 of 40
Printer-Friendly Version (PDF)
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Quick Facts
Population:
71.3 million
GDP (PPP):
$75.1 billion
10.3% growth in 2005
5.1% 5-yr. comp. ann. growth
$1,055 per capita
Unemployment:
n/a
Inflation (CPI):
6.8%
FDI (net inflow):
$205.0 million
Official Development Assistance:
$1.3 billion (53.2% from the U.S.)
External Debt:
$6.3 billion
Exports:
$1.9 billion
Primarily coffee, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds
Imports:
$4.9 billion
Primarily food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles
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Ethiopia's economy is 53.2 percent free, according to our 2008 assessment, which makes it the world's 124th freest economy. Its overall score is 1.2 percentage points lower than last year, partly reflecting declines in five areas. Ethiopia is ranked 26th out of 40 countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region, and its overall score is slightly worse than the regional average.
Ethiopia does not rank strongly in any category but does score moderately well in fiscal freedom, government size, and labor freedom. The top income and corporate tax rates are moderate, and overall tax revenue is not large as a percentage of GDP. Government expenditures are not high, and labor markets, unlike those in most of Europe and the rest of Africa, are lightly regulated.
A developing nation, Ethiopia does not score well in trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom, property rights, and freedom from corruption. The banking system is weak and subject to strong political pressure, as is the rule of law. Property rights cannot be guaranteed.
Background:
Ethiopia is one of sub-Saharan Africa's poorest countries. A military council, the Derg, deposed and killed Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 and established a repressive socialist regime under Mengistu Haile Mariam. The Derg was overthrown in 1991. While Ethiopia is moving toward multi-party democracy, obstacles to progress are abundant, as demonstrated by the 2005 post-election crackdown on protestors.
Agriculture contributes over 45 percent of GDP, accounts for over 80 percent of exports, and employs over 80 percent of the population. The government remains involved in key economic sectors and reserves others for Ethiopians. Since its war with Eritrea, Ethiopia has depended heavily on Djibouti for access to foreign goods. The border remains heavily armed, and conflict could be renewed. Ethiopia invaded Somalia in support of Somalia's transitional federal government in December 2006.
Business Freedom - 58.3%
The overall freedom to start, operate, and close a business is restricted by Ethiopia's national regulatory environment. Starting a business takes an average of 16 days, compared to the world average of 43 days. Although the cost is high, obtaining a business license requires less than the world average of 19 procedures and 234 days. Regulation is generally regarded as fair but not always transparent. Bureaucracy is cumbersome, but closing a business is relatively easy.
Trade Freedom - 63%
Ethiopia's weighted average tariff rate was 13.5 percent in 2002. Restrictive foreign exchange controls, burdensome trade-related regulations and bureaucracy, import restrictions, and inadequate infrastructure add to the cost of trade. An additional 10 percentage points is deducted from Ethiopia's trade freedom score to account for these non-tariff barriers.
Fiscal Freedom - 77.2%
Ethiopia has burdensome tax rates. The top income tax rate is 35 percent, and the top corporate tax rate is 30 percent. Other taxes include a value-added tax (VAT) and a capital gains tax. In the most recent year, overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 12.6 percent.
Freedom from Government - 80.9%
Total government expenditures, including consumption and transfer payments, are low. In the most recent year, government spending equaled 25.2 percent of GDP. Despite a decade of privatization, state ownership and management still guide many sectors of the economy.
Monetary Freedom - 69.4%
Inflation is relatively high, averaging 10.6 percent between 2004 and 2006. Relatively unstable prices explain most of the monetary freedom score. The government influences prices through its regulation of state-owned enterprises and utilities, subsidizes and controls the prices of petroleum products, and controls the prices of pharmaceuticals and fertilizers. An additional 10 percentage points is deducted from Ethiopia's monetary freedom score to adjust for measures that distort domestic prices.
Investment Freedom - 40%
Despite efforts to liberalize foreign investment laws and streamline registration, official and unofficial barriers persist. Sectarian and ethnic violence (particularly on the Somali border) continues. Certain sectors remain off-limits. The Ethiopian Investment Commission provides a one-stop service that significantly cuts the cost of obtaining licenses.
An investment promotion authority has been established to lure foreign capital into certain sectors like textiles. Foreign exchange accounts, payments, and current transfers are subject to controls and restrictions, as are capital transactions. All investments must be approved and certified by the government.
Financial Freedom - 20%
Ethiopia's financial sector is small and significantly government-influenced. The central bank is not independent, and the government strongly influences lending, controls interest rates, and owns the largest bank (Commercial Bank of Ethiopia), which accounts for two-thirds of outstanding credit. Six local private banks have appeared since the mid-1990s and have increased their share of total deposits, loans, and credit, but foreign banks remain barred.
The state-run bank faced collapse several years ago, but its over 50 percent of non-performing loans has since been reduced to just over 25 percent. Foreign firms may not invest in banking or insurance. One of the insurance sector's nine companies is state-owned. There is no stock market, but the private sale of equity is common.
Property Rights - 30%
Enforcement of property rights is weak. The judicial system is underdeveloped, poorly staffed, and inexperienced despite efforts to strengthen its capacity. Property and contractual rights are recognized, but judges lack an understanding of commercial issues.
An international arbitration body's decision may not be fully accepted and implemented by Ethiopian authorities. A highly restrictive land-tenure policy makes it very difficult to register property. Private ownership of land is prohibited; land must be leased from the state.
Freedom from Corruption - 24%
Corruption is perceived as widespread. Ethiopia ranks 130th out of 163 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2006. Despite legal restrictions on corruption, officials have been accused of manipulating the privatization process, and state-owned and party-owned businesses receive preferential access to land leases and credit.
Labor Freedom - 69.5%
Burdensome employment regulations hinder employment opportunities and productivity growth. The non-salary cost of employing a worker is very low, but dismissing a redundant employee is relatively costly. The difficulty of laying off a worker creates a risk aversion for companies that would otherwise hire more people and grow. Restrictions on the number of work hours are rigid.
Ethiopia
Rank: 124
Regional Rank: 26 of 40
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Quick Facts
Population:
71.3 million
GDP (PPP):
$75.1 billion
10.3% growth in 2005
5.1% 5-yr. comp. ann. growth
$1,055 per capita
Unemployment:
n/a
Inflation (CPI):
6.8%
FDI (net inflow):
$205.0 million
Official Development Assistance:
$1.3 billion (53.2% from the U.S.)
External Debt:
$6.3 billion
Exports:
$1.9 billion
Primarily coffee, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds
Imports:
$4.9 billion
Primarily food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles
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Sunday, July 27, 2008
The Price of Seeking Good Governance!
Report
What price have you and your motherland paid?
By Golto Aila | July 26, 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You may be an architect of the political order of the day, a professor of political science, an elementary school teacher, an administrator, a resident of another country, or an ordinary citizen living in Ethiopia, but you cannot escape the impact and consequences of the politics of your motherland!
Whether one actively influenced (or tried to influence) or has been passively moving along with the political current, there are consequences of those actions or inaction and the impact is felt at personal, communal and national levels.
I will describe the various players in the Ethiopian landscape with examples, not to condemn of disparage, but to state facts with the view to helping each of us to contemplate on the role we played, so that we may mend our ways if need be, before we kick the proverbial bucket! Taken in totality the politics of Ethiopia over the last 40 years have had led to the creation of the state of affairs that can be neatly summarized as follows:
1. Internal politics:
a. Multiplicity of liberation movements – endangering the lives of people they plan to “liberate” and destabilizing the nation and the region
b. Multiplicity of opposition parties that don’t see eye to eye with each other – they are as hostile against each other as they are against the dictator they want to get rid of! Individually they are incapable to remove the dictator yet they can master the courage to come together to work together as any people with functioning brains would!
c. Division of the nation along ethnic lines – the nation has fallen prey to the dictator’s devious scheme of dividing the ethnic groups against each other for perceived benefit of each, while in this is a ploy to divide and destroy! The entire nation has remained blind to this scheme!
d. Disenfranchisement of the population
e. Undemocratic governance
f. Muzzling of the press and opposition
2. Compromise of national sovereignty
a. Secession of Eritrea
b. On-going dispute over Badme
c. Ceding of territory to Sudan for and under dubious circumstance
3. Regional instability:
a. Stand-off between Ethiopia and Eritrea
b. Invasion of Somalia
c. Thread of spill over of Somali conflict into Ethiopia
d. Stand-off between Eritrea and Djibouti
e. Collaboration between the Ethiopian liberation movements and the regime in Eritrea
4. Economic chaos:
a. The country’s wealth in the hands of the few in the ruling party
b. Trade monopoly in the hands of one ethnic group
c. Use of the land to brow-beat farmers into toeing political lines and enrichment of the few while dis-incentivizing the masses!
d. Failure to develop agricultural land to facilitate self-sufficiency in food production
e. Lack of infra-structure
5. Famine:
a. Recurrent famine, man-made and responsible for recurrent destruction of human life
6. Incompetent administration:
a. Tribalism: Secondary to lack of self confidence and primitive logic tribalism is used to administer Ethiopia thereby alienating Ethiopians against each other to the detriment of the nation and its people. The myopic view of the administration that this will protect them against the other hostile tribes, when in fact its action actually perpetuates hostilities.
b. Nepotism
c. Secessionism: The current administration is tribal and secessionist! The probable strategy is that it will pillage Ethiopia and degrade it so that when the time comes for them to declare their independence in the state of Tigray, there won’t be a formidable threat from Ethiopia.
They forget that the enemies they have created all around themselves over the last 17 years are also waiting for the opportunity to strike back. So here is a strategy by a moronic administration trying to build a haven of peace for themselves while in fact the outcome will be hell on earth both for them all in the region!
As stated above, there are different categories of people who have played different roles in the evolution of Ethiopia’s politics over the last 40 years! The population was the silent majority during the Emperor’s era.
They largely worshiped the emperor, revered his officials, toiled the land and never complained. Due to the lack of knowledge of their rights, fear or lack of opportunity to exercise those rights, they toed the royal line hoping for a better day to come, well they did not do anything to make it come, and the day did not come!
The loyalists (royalists) of that era lived cushy lives! They lived in like royalties and rubbed shoulders with aristocrats like them all over the world. Now the red carpet days are over, only a distant memory! Many (not all) are nostalgic and cannot give up the hope that, by some miracle, the good old days will return at the sun-set of their lives so that when their days to depart come they would be escorted with full regalia befitting an aristocrat!
Today, some at least, are playing very cynical roles as Ethiopia struggles to find its identity, not to mention the famine that threatens to wipe out its population! I am yet to see or learn any positive contribution today, by many in this category of Ethiopians in spite, of their wealth of knowledge and abilities!
Many who opposed the imperial rule have perished as a result of summary executions, some endured protracted imprisonments, and others went into exile. Those who opposed did so for different reasons: Some wanted secession, some wanted more democratic treatment of the population, some opposed for their own selfish reasons!
Perhaps only those who wanted to secede partially achieved their goals eventually! Their victory is not what any sensible person would savor! Those who wanted freedom for Eritrea must be turning in their graves today – Eritrea jumped from the frying pan into fire! If they fought for independent Tigray (which the majority of our Tigrean compatriots don’t want), today they must be praying that won’t happen! Others who died fighting for or are still alive after suffering and toiling for similar causes have yet to see the fruits of their sacrifices!
Mengistu’s era: Again there were the silent mass of the population who were herded into socialist indoctrination! They were forced worship Mengistu and were terrified of his military machine that was ubiquitous and pervasive! Many perished under the yoke of oppression, many were wiped out one of the most severe famine in the history of the nation, and many ran into exile for their lives.
Those who remained did so and remained subservient to one of the most brutal rulers in modern Africa! What was left over remained to serve yet another oppressor of a different kind. There has never been a let-up for them as they face yet another famine and devastation today! Oh, if only they knew the power they have! If only they know that waking up as a giant Ethiopia, acting in SOLIDARITY, they can wipe out oppression from Ethiopia in a matter of days, even while starving!
Mengistu’s murderers and supporters have met with the fate they deserve, largely – whether by slaughter by current dictator, or justice by those who they tormented, by a life time of fear and insecurity wherever they are! They never thought their rule of terror would come to an end! Those who did not torture or kill under Mengistu, but supported that regime must live a life-time of guilt!
Many of those who opposed Mengistu were slaughtered, maimed or forced into exile. The majority fought valiantly for the well being of their motherland and fellow Ethiopians. Their dreams have not been realized. Their sacrifices have not been honored by those who were left behind to carry on the struggle for justice!
Meles era : Life under the current regime parallels the previous two eras as list below:
1. The silent majority
a. Toe the line
b. Subservient to the whim of the ruler
c. Some ran away
d. Victims of Famine
e. Victims of poor health
f. Poverty
2. The loyalist functionaries
a. Owners of big businesses
b. Subjugation of the public
3. The opposition
a. Imprisoned
b. Killed or maimed
c. Exiled
d. Disorganized
e. Ineffective
The most disheartening aspects of the current state of affairs, is that the population who had not learned to defend itself against dictatorial rule in spite of many decades of subjugation allowed, mainly for selfish reasons, to be manipulated into divisive ethnic camps by the current regime.
Inter-ethnic suspicion today is as great as or probably worse than the suspicion of the current regime! In spite of being witnesses to the rape and dismemberment of their country by a destructive, occupying power the population has lost the will to fight for their survival and the survival of their Motherland.
The population is now wont to come under the spell of opposition redeemers who have yet to find the need to form SOLIDARITY in order to rescue their Motherland from the hands of most destructive regime ever to rule Ethiopia, and who have programs which are at best worthless and at worst likely to destroy what will be left after Meles’ departure!
The cost: Arguably the best of the last three regimes was the imperial era! Ethiopia under the leadership of Emperor Haile Silasie fought off the Italian occupation single-handedly and reclaimed its independence and dignity among the community of nations in the world.
The Emperor gave Ethiopia the best there was at his time! Mengistu used savage methodology to impose Communism in Ethiopia for what he thought was for common good! Mengistu’s was a patriotic regime and believed in the sovereignty of Ethiopia! What we have in Ethiopia today is a secessionist enterprise set up to dismantle Ethiopia, before it declares its independence, LEGALLY, as enshrined in their Constitution! The cost of decades of misrule may be summarized as follows:
1. The masses
a. Remained down trodden
b. Poverty
c. Starvation
d. DEATH en mass by starvation and disease
e. Exploited by the administration who uses their aid money to create personal wealth
2. The royalist/aristocrats
a. Nostalgia for the good old days
b. Cynical about any effort to advance
c. Supportive of the representatives of the old order
d. In exile
e. Will never get what they were used to and that makes them bitter
3. The royal opposition
a. They did suffer and if they wanted secession then it is a mess today
b. If they wanted democracy they haven’t got it and the fact that the population and the opposition have failed to grasp the moment must be disheartening, and they must be resigned to the fact that they will not see the day that they suffered for, to realize!
4. The mengistu functionaries
a. Those who have tortured people are living in hiding all over the world
b. Those who were not directly involved in killing are living in shame all their lives –only consolation is a worse monster has come after them!
5. The mengistu opposition
a. Death
b. Maimed
c. Exiled.
i. Lived in opposition to Mengistu and against each other
ii. Lived their lives in permanent transit – taxi driver, janitor, bell boy etc while waiting for Mengistu to fall – When he fell they were far away and the prize went to Meles and Issayas Afewerki
iii. Did not learn the errors that left them by the wayside in Mengistus error, they are still shooting venomous arrows at each other, while the dictator in Addis Ababa watches this fratricidal sport from the comfort of his Palace!
6. The meles functionaries
a. Have thrived on the suffering of Ethiopians
b. They sense the party may be nearing the end
c. Have difficulty figuring where to go next
d. Some may not want to think about tomorrow
e. Some may have decided to take their destiny in their hands and destroy everything so that nothing is left behind after their departure!
7. The meles opposition
a. Loyal opposition living in the hope that MELES WILL CHANGE IS MIND AND LET THEM HAVE POWER - a breathtakingly idiotic day dream!
b. Opposition in diaspora:
i. Genuine patriots and uniters – sadly few and far between
ii. Party loyalists bent on domination – apparently the most important objective is to replace Meles. Thankfully they won’t succeed, since their success is most likely equivalent to the perpetuation of Meles’ rule!
iii. closet racists/ethnicists – I am sad to note that Meles is not the only ethnicist in Ethiopian politics. I believe the reason the multiple opposition groups don’t want to join hands is substancially because of ethnic consideration. What will destroy Ethiopia is Ethnic primitivity!
iv. Loosers who would not let others make progress because of mutual resentments.
v. People who have university education who have lived in the hope of returning home to rule and failed to make home where they live – now belong neither here nor there. Bitter, have thrown in the towel and belatedly trying to make up for time lost looking after themselves!
vi. Intellectuals who have difficulty to fit in with the rank and file – churning out criticism from high up
vii. Intellectuals who are genuinely interested in the welfare of their motherland but shunned or distrusted by a cynical and disillusioned rank and file
Salvaging a legacy! Let me briefly list the categories of the players in Ethiopia’s political life:
1. The rank and file Ethiopians
2. The royalists
3. The mengistu loyalists
4. The mengistu era opposition
5. Meles functionaries
a. Influence meles
b. Influence legislation
6. The meles era opposition
a. Loyal opposition
b. Diaspora opposition
It is now four decades since the end of the Imperial era! The average age of the young students that stood up against Mengistu in the aftermath of the Emperor’s fall is now mid-fifty’s! Those who were part of the imperial administration are now in their mid-seventies on average! Those who are actively engaged in a fight against current regime are probably average between 25 and 35 years of age! In spite this wide disparity in age (and era) and many other social parameters the common and important aspects these groups share are:
1. Apparently firm commitment to remove the obnoxious regime of the day
2. Ensure the sovereignty of Ethiopia (this of course excludes secessionists)
3. Abject failure make any impression on the regime of the day
4. Complete failure, over four decades to learn how to strategize against and remove a common enemy!
Here are some facts (no figures):
1. Ethiopia is a nation of about 70 + million people and the majority want to remove current regime from power
2. The regime in Addis Ababa cannot count on more than 4 million Ethiopians to support them when it comes to the crunch
3. Almost every political party wants to remove the current regime by one method or another
4. Almost every Ethiopian opposed to the current administration acknowledges the need of making a united stand and met with no success in that effort!
5. The country is being destabilized by internal conflict, regional conflict, debilitating poverty and starvation, piecemeal dismemberment of Ethiopia as the current regime bribes its neighbors with pieces of Ethiopian real estate in order to buy time in office!
6. A large and potentially formidable Diaspora which, if it flexed its muscle, can effect change in Ethiopia in very short time!
The most important and basic observation is item # 4 above! If only there is a success in the effort to unite and make SOLIDARITY, the rest is a matter of time and Ethiopians at home and all over the world can walk with their heads held high! But why have we failed to bring about that unity that we all acknowledge as necessary? Here are possible explanations:
1. We call for unity because, under the prevailing circumstances in Ethiopia, it is the politically correct thing to do, when in fact the intensions of some are actually to fragment! Example – the current fragments of Kinijit calling for unity!
2. Call for unity when, in fact, the calling group’s intension is actually to assimilate and dominate others
3. Total lack of interest by some organizations in bringing about any unity. Example – the Liberation movements
4. Mutual distrust among various groups because of previous clashes
5. Visceral hate between different parties and individuals who cannot put personal differences aside for the good of our Motherland.
6. Superiority and inferiority complexes!
7. SIMPLE LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO TURN AN OLD ADVERSARY INTO A NEW ALLY FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL! We don’t need to scratch our heads here to find an example – Remember the Democratic primaries which ended last month - Hillary Clinton vs Barrack Obama?
How many Ethiopians have spent 18 months and hundreds of millions of dollars attacking one political enemy every day and every night of those 18 months using hundreds of thousands of people, spending hundreds of thousands of hours on one single political adversary? We know how long it took Clinton and Obama to put all that behind and stand together to fight a common enemy! Ethiopians have more need for each other to salvage their motherland than Obama’s need for Hillary Clinton, but what did he do?
I am sure one can added many more to this list. The Ethiopian political landscape is pathetic and there is a mounting frustration everywhere. This frustration has led to all sorts of inconsequential efforts which invariably raise the population’s hope only to be dashed in no time – examples are the mushrooming of new political parties peddling same old contents in new wrappings!
When we started the debate on the need for a SOLIDARITY FORUM, it was because of the realization that, based on the experiences so far, and especially in the aftermath of Kinijit’s break-up, that direct approach between the political parties will not bring a meaningful progress for our people.
The SOLIDARITY FORUM is an idea which utilizes a grass-root movement to affect the right kind of change! Unfortunately, while in principle the concept of the SOLIDARITY was largely accepted, the community has failed to come forward and claim it. On the contrary, there appears to a strategy of wait and see whether the concept will take hold, thereby denying the SOLIDARITY the most essential ingredient for its success – grass-root mobilization!
In every human endeavor, whenever the individual efforts failed it is the united stand – SOLIDARITY which saved the day. We as a community reached here today not because of our individual efforts but because of the SOLIDARITY OF OUR PEOPLE to confront adversaries.
So I have no doubt the only way our motherland will be saved is by our united stand, at the time we decide that we should stand together. That decision does not lie in Heaven, or with Meles, or with European Union, or with the USA! The decision to be united lays with all Ethiopians and nothing good will happen unless all Ethiopian stand together!
As some of you who are familiar with my writings know, I am single-minded about what is needed for Ethiopia. I am single-minded about the need of unity, and that it must be implemented sooner rather than later. I have identified here different categories of people through different eras and who have played commendable or despicable roles.
My objective is not to condemn these people but to acknowledge facts. The truth is that most people all over the world, given similar circumstances that prevailed in Ethiopia over the last four decades, would most likely have done the same! For each of us and those who have been part of any atrocity, it is time to come to terms with ourselves, and ask what we shall have to do to atone for our wrong doing or our involvement in any impropriety!
What I am asking and have been asking people for the last two and a half years is not easy. I have been called all sorts of names including a foreigner, a CIA mole, a day dreamer, naïve, etc, but it has not deterred me from repeating, albeit with frustration, what I and most of you who read my writings know to be the truth – ETHIOPIA WILL FALL APART UNLESS ETHIOPIANS STAND IN SOLIDARITY! If you agree with me about the need for SOLIDARITY or UNITY (whichever sounds good to you), and if you also have reached the conclusion that we lack the skills to overcome past differences to talk to each other, then I ask all of you to consider the following:
1. Form an ad hoc committee to form a unity forum (e.g. Solidarity Forum/Solidarity Movement for New Ethiopia) and all Ethiopians in and out of the country should bless this organ
2. The committee should do the following
a. Raise money to hire internationally recognized political arbitrators (e.g. Northern Ireland, South Africa)
b. Call a reconciliation conference to include all the stake-holders including the government of Ethiopia (at some point after the opposition has consolidated its position)
c. Discuss a transition administration while a new constitution is drafted with the help of international constitutional experts
d. Use the window of opportunity now available to campaign for the commitment of the Presidential candidates (both McCain and Obama!) before they take office. We can only get the deserved attention if we stand as credible representatives of the Ethiopian people. You can rest assured Meles is already in the two camps!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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What price have you and your motherland paid?
By Golto Aila | July 26, 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You may be an architect of the political order of the day, a professor of political science, an elementary school teacher, an administrator, a resident of another country, or an ordinary citizen living in Ethiopia, but you cannot escape the impact and consequences of the politics of your motherland!
Whether one actively influenced (or tried to influence) or has been passively moving along with the political current, there are consequences of those actions or inaction and the impact is felt at personal, communal and national levels.
I will describe the various players in the Ethiopian landscape with examples, not to condemn of disparage, but to state facts with the view to helping each of us to contemplate on the role we played, so that we may mend our ways if need be, before we kick the proverbial bucket! Taken in totality the politics of Ethiopia over the last 40 years have had led to the creation of the state of affairs that can be neatly summarized as follows:
1. Internal politics:
a. Multiplicity of liberation movements – endangering the lives of people they plan to “liberate” and destabilizing the nation and the region
b. Multiplicity of opposition parties that don’t see eye to eye with each other – they are as hostile against each other as they are against the dictator they want to get rid of! Individually they are incapable to remove the dictator yet they can master the courage to come together to work together as any people with functioning brains would!
c. Division of the nation along ethnic lines – the nation has fallen prey to the dictator’s devious scheme of dividing the ethnic groups against each other for perceived benefit of each, while in this is a ploy to divide and destroy! The entire nation has remained blind to this scheme!
d. Disenfranchisement of the population
e. Undemocratic governance
f. Muzzling of the press and opposition
2. Compromise of national sovereignty
a. Secession of Eritrea
b. On-going dispute over Badme
c. Ceding of territory to Sudan for and under dubious circumstance
3. Regional instability:
a. Stand-off between Ethiopia and Eritrea
b. Invasion of Somalia
c. Thread of spill over of Somali conflict into Ethiopia
d. Stand-off between Eritrea and Djibouti
e. Collaboration between the Ethiopian liberation movements and the regime in Eritrea
4. Economic chaos:
a. The country’s wealth in the hands of the few in the ruling party
b. Trade monopoly in the hands of one ethnic group
c. Use of the land to brow-beat farmers into toeing political lines and enrichment of the few while dis-incentivizing the masses!
d. Failure to develop agricultural land to facilitate self-sufficiency in food production
e. Lack of infra-structure
5. Famine:
a. Recurrent famine, man-made and responsible for recurrent destruction of human life
6. Incompetent administration:
a. Tribalism: Secondary to lack of self confidence and primitive logic tribalism is used to administer Ethiopia thereby alienating Ethiopians against each other to the detriment of the nation and its people. The myopic view of the administration that this will protect them against the other hostile tribes, when in fact its action actually perpetuates hostilities.
b. Nepotism
c. Secessionism: The current administration is tribal and secessionist! The probable strategy is that it will pillage Ethiopia and degrade it so that when the time comes for them to declare their independence in the state of Tigray, there won’t be a formidable threat from Ethiopia.
They forget that the enemies they have created all around themselves over the last 17 years are also waiting for the opportunity to strike back. So here is a strategy by a moronic administration trying to build a haven of peace for themselves while in fact the outcome will be hell on earth both for them all in the region!
As stated above, there are different categories of people who have played different roles in the evolution of Ethiopia’s politics over the last 40 years! The population was the silent majority during the Emperor’s era.
They largely worshiped the emperor, revered his officials, toiled the land and never complained. Due to the lack of knowledge of their rights, fear or lack of opportunity to exercise those rights, they toed the royal line hoping for a better day to come, well they did not do anything to make it come, and the day did not come!
The loyalists (royalists) of that era lived cushy lives! They lived in like royalties and rubbed shoulders with aristocrats like them all over the world. Now the red carpet days are over, only a distant memory! Many (not all) are nostalgic and cannot give up the hope that, by some miracle, the good old days will return at the sun-set of their lives so that when their days to depart come they would be escorted with full regalia befitting an aristocrat!
Today, some at least, are playing very cynical roles as Ethiopia struggles to find its identity, not to mention the famine that threatens to wipe out its population! I am yet to see or learn any positive contribution today, by many in this category of Ethiopians in spite, of their wealth of knowledge and abilities!
Many who opposed the imperial rule have perished as a result of summary executions, some endured protracted imprisonments, and others went into exile. Those who opposed did so for different reasons: Some wanted secession, some wanted more democratic treatment of the population, some opposed for their own selfish reasons!
Perhaps only those who wanted to secede partially achieved their goals eventually! Their victory is not what any sensible person would savor! Those who wanted freedom for Eritrea must be turning in their graves today – Eritrea jumped from the frying pan into fire! If they fought for independent Tigray (which the majority of our Tigrean compatriots don’t want), today they must be praying that won’t happen! Others who died fighting for or are still alive after suffering and toiling for similar causes have yet to see the fruits of their sacrifices!
Mengistu’s era: Again there were the silent mass of the population who were herded into socialist indoctrination! They were forced worship Mengistu and were terrified of his military machine that was ubiquitous and pervasive! Many perished under the yoke of oppression, many were wiped out one of the most severe famine in the history of the nation, and many ran into exile for their lives.
Those who remained did so and remained subservient to one of the most brutal rulers in modern Africa! What was left over remained to serve yet another oppressor of a different kind. There has never been a let-up for them as they face yet another famine and devastation today! Oh, if only they knew the power they have! If only they know that waking up as a giant Ethiopia, acting in SOLIDARITY, they can wipe out oppression from Ethiopia in a matter of days, even while starving!
Mengistu’s murderers and supporters have met with the fate they deserve, largely – whether by slaughter by current dictator, or justice by those who they tormented, by a life time of fear and insecurity wherever they are! They never thought their rule of terror would come to an end! Those who did not torture or kill under Mengistu, but supported that regime must live a life-time of guilt!
Many of those who opposed Mengistu were slaughtered, maimed or forced into exile. The majority fought valiantly for the well being of their motherland and fellow Ethiopians. Their dreams have not been realized. Their sacrifices have not been honored by those who were left behind to carry on the struggle for justice!
Meles era : Life under the current regime parallels the previous two eras as list below:
1. The silent majority
a. Toe the line
b. Subservient to the whim of the ruler
c. Some ran away
d. Victims of Famine
e. Victims of poor health
f. Poverty
2. The loyalist functionaries
a. Owners of big businesses
b. Subjugation of the public
3. The opposition
a. Imprisoned
b. Killed or maimed
c. Exiled
d. Disorganized
e. Ineffective
The most disheartening aspects of the current state of affairs, is that the population who had not learned to defend itself against dictatorial rule in spite of many decades of subjugation allowed, mainly for selfish reasons, to be manipulated into divisive ethnic camps by the current regime.
Inter-ethnic suspicion today is as great as or probably worse than the suspicion of the current regime! In spite of being witnesses to the rape and dismemberment of their country by a destructive, occupying power the population has lost the will to fight for their survival and the survival of their Motherland.
The population is now wont to come under the spell of opposition redeemers who have yet to find the need to form SOLIDARITY in order to rescue their Motherland from the hands of most destructive regime ever to rule Ethiopia, and who have programs which are at best worthless and at worst likely to destroy what will be left after Meles’ departure!
The cost: Arguably the best of the last three regimes was the imperial era! Ethiopia under the leadership of Emperor Haile Silasie fought off the Italian occupation single-handedly and reclaimed its independence and dignity among the community of nations in the world.
The Emperor gave Ethiopia the best there was at his time! Mengistu used savage methodology to impose Communism in Ethiopia for what he thought was for common good! Mengistu’s was a patriotic regime and believed in the sovereignty of Ethiopia! What we have in Ethiopia today is a secessionist enterprise set up to dismantle Ethiopia, before it declares its independence, LEGALLY, as enshrined in their Constitution! The cost of decades of misrule may be summarized as follows:
1. The masses
a. Remained down trodden
b. Poverty
c. Starvation
d. DEATH en mass by starvation and disease
e. Exploited by the administration who uses their aid money to create personal wealth
2. The royalist/aristocrats
a. Nostalgia for the good old days
b. Cynical about any effort to advance
c. Supportive of the representatives of the old order
d. In exile
e. Will never get what they were used to and that makes them bitter
3. The royal opposition
a. They did suffer and if they wanted secession then it is a mess today
b. If they wanted democracy they haven’t got it and the fact that the population and the opposition have failed to grasp the moment must be disheartening, and they must be resigned to the fact that they will not see the day that they suffered for, to realize!
4. The mengistu functionaries
a. Those who have tortured people are living in hiding all over the world
b. Those who were not directly involved in killing are living in shame all their lives –only consolation is a worse monster has come after them!
5. The mengistu opposition
a. Death
b. Maimed
c. Exiled.
i. Lived in opposition to Mengistu and against each other
ii. Lived their lives in permanent transit – taxi driver, janitor, bell boy etc while waiting for Mengistu to fall – When he fell they were far away and the prize went to Meles and Issayas Afewerki
iii. Did not learn the errors that left them by the wayside in Mengistus error, they are still shooting venomous arrows at each other, while the dictator in Addis Ababa watches this fratricidal sport from the comfort of his Palace!
6. The meles functionaries
a. Have thrived on the suffering of Ethiopians
b. They sense the party may be nearing the end
c. Have difficulty figuring where to go next
d. Some may not want to think about tomorrow
e. Some may have decided to take their destiny in their hands and destroy everything so that nothing is left behind after their departure!
7. The meles opposition
a. Loyal opposition living in the hope that MELES WILL CHANGE IS MIND AND LET THEM HAVE POWER - a breathtakingly idiotic day dream!
b. Opposition in diaspora:
i. Genuine patriots and uniters – sadly few and far between
ii. Party loyalists bent on domination – apparently the most important objective is to replace Meles. Thankfully they won’t succeed, since their success is most likely equivalent to the perpetuation of Meles’ rule!
iii. closet racists/ethnicists – I am sad to note that Meles is not the only ethnicist in Ethiopian politics. I believe the reason the multiple opposition groups don’t want to join hands is substancially because of ethnic consideration. What will destroy Ethiopia is Ethnic primitivity!
iv. Loosers who would not let others make progress because of mutual resentments.
v. People who have university education who have lived in the hope of returning home to rule and failed to make home where they live – now belong neither here nor there. Bitter, have thrown in the towel and belatedly trying to make up for time lost looking after themselves!
vi. Intellectuals who have difficulty to fit in with the rank and file – churning out criticism from high up
vii. Intellectuals who are genuinely interested in the welfare of their motherland but shunned or distrusted by a cynical and disillusioned rank and file
Salvaging a legacy! Let me briefly list the categories of the players in Ethiopia’s political life:
1. The rank and file Ethiopians
2. The royalists
3. The mengistu loyalists
4. The mengistu era opposition
5. Meles functionaries
a. Influence meles
b. Influence legislation
6. The meles era opposition
a. Loyal opposition
b. Diaspora opposition
It is now four decades since the end of the Imperial era! The average age of the young students that stood up against Mengistu in the aftermath of the Emperor’s fall is now mid-fifty’s! Those who were part of the imperial administration are now in their mid-seventies on average! Those who are actively engaged in a fight against current regime are probably average between 25 and 35 years of age! In spite this wide disparity in age (and era) and many other social parameters the common and important aspects these groups share are:
1. Apparently firm commitment to remove the obnoxious regime of the day
2. Ensure the sovereignty of Ethiopia (this of course excludes secessionists)
3. Abject failure make any impression on the regime of the day
4. Complete failure, over four decades to learn how to strategize against and remove a common enemy!
Here are some facts (no figures):
1. Ethiopia is a nation of about 70 + million people and the majority want to remove current regime from power
2. The regime in Addis Ababa cannot count on more than 4 million Ethiopians to support them when it comes to the crunch
3. Almost every political party wants to remove the current regime by one method or another
4. Almost every Ethiopian opposed to the current administration acknowledges the need of making a united stand and met with no success in that effort!
5. The country is being destabilized by internal conflict, regional conflict, debilitating poverty and starvation, piecemeal dismemberment of Ethiopia as the current regime bribes its neighbors with pieces of Ethiopian real estate in order to buy time in office!
6. A large and potentially formidable Diaspora which, if it flexed its muscle, can effect change in Ethiopia in very short time!
The most important and basic observation is item # 4 above! If only there is a success in the effort to unite and make SOLIDARITY, the rest is a matter of time and Ethiopians at home and all over the world can walk with their heads held high! But why have we failed to bring about that unity that we all acknowledge as necessary? Here are possible explanations:
1. We call for unity because, under the prevailing circumstances in Ethiopia, it is the politically correct thing to do, when in fact the intensions of some are actually to fragment! Example – the current fragments of Kinijit calling for unity!
2. Call for unity when, in fact, the calling group’s intension is actually to assimilate and dominate others
3. Total lack of interest by some organizations in bringing about any unity. Example – the Liberation movements
4. Mutual distrust among various groups because of previous clashes
5. Visceral hate between different parties and individuals who cannot put personal differences aside for the good of our Motherland.
6. Superiority and inferiority complexes!
7. SIMPLE LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO TURN AN OLD ADVERSARY INTO A NEW ALLY FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL! We don’t need to scratch our heads here to find an example – Remember the Democratic primaries which ended last month - Hillary Clinton vs Barrack Obama?
How many Ethiopians have spent 18 months and hundreds of millions of dollars attacking one political enemy every day and every night of those 18 months using hundreds of thousands of people, spending hundreds of thousands of hours on one single political adversary? We know how long it took Clinton and Obama to put all that behind and stand together to fight a common enemy! Ethiopians have more need for each other to salvage their motherland than Obama’s need for Hillary Clinton, but what did he do?
I am sure one can added many more to this list. The Ethiopian political landscape is pathetic and there is a mounting frustration everywhere. This frustration has led to all sorts of inconsequential efforts which invariably raise the population’s hope only to be dashed in no time – examples are the mushrooming of new political parties peddling same old contents in new wrappings!
When we started the debate on the need for a SOLIDARITY FORUM, it was because of the realization that, based on the experiences so far, and especially in the aftermath of Kinijit’s break-up, that direct approach between the political parties will not bring a meaningful progress for our people.
The SOLIDARITY FORUM is an idea which utilizes a grass-root movement to affect the right kind of change! Unfortunately, while in principle the concept of the SOLIDARITY was largely accepted, the community has failed to come forward and claim it. On the contrary, there appears to a strategy of wait and see whether the concept will take hold, thereby denying the SOLIDARITY the most essential ingredient for its success – grass-root mobilization!
In every human endeavor, whenever the individual efforts failed it is the united stand – SOLIDARITY which saved the day. We as a community reached here today not because of our individual efforts but because of the SOLIDARITY OF OUR PEOPLE to confront adversaries.
So I have no doubt the only way our motherland will be saved is by our united stand, at the time we decide that we should stand together. That decision does not lie in Heaven, or with Meles, or with European Union, or with the USA! The decision to be united lays with all Ethiopians and nothing good will happen unless all Ethiopian stand together!
As some of you who are familiar with my writings know, I am single-minded about what is needed for Ethiopia. I am single-minded about the need of unity, and that it must be implemented sooner rather than later. I have identified here different categories of people through different eras and who have played commendable or despicable roles.
My objective is not to condemn these people but to acknowledge facts. The truth is that most people all over the world, given similar circumstances that prevailed in Ethiopia over the last four decades, would most likely have done the same! For each of us and those who have been part of any atrocity, it is time to come to terms with ourselves, and ask what we shall have to do to atone for our wrong doing or our involvement in any impropriety!
What I am asking and have been asking people for the last two and a half years is not easy. I have been called all sorts of names including a foreigner, a CIA mole, a day dreamer, naïve, etc, but it has not deterred me from repeating, albeit with frustration, what I and most of you who read my writings know to be the truth – ETHIOPIA WILL FALL APART UNLESS ETHIOPIANS STAND IN SOLIDARITY! If you agree with me about the need for SOLIDARITY or UNITY (whichever sounds good to you), and if you also have reached the conclusion that we lack the skills to overcome past differences to talk to each other, then I ask all of you to consider the following:
1. Form an ad hoc committee to form a unity forum (e.g. Solidarity Forum/Solidarity Movement for New Ethiopia) and all Ethiopians in and out of the country should bless this organ
2. The committee should do the following
a. Raise money to hire internationally recognized political arbitrators (e.g. Northern Ireland, South Africa)
b. Call a reconciliation conference to include all the stake-holders including the government of Ethiopia (at some point after the opposition has consolidated its position)
c. Discuss a transition administration while a new constitution is drafted with the help of international constitutional experts
d. Use the window of opportunity now available to campaign for the commitment of the Presidential candidates (both McCain and Obama!) before they take office. We can only get the deserved attention if we stand as credible representatives of the Ethiopian people. You can rest assured Meles is already in the two camps!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Perspective on Obama's International Visit: Any resemblance to Hitler or Kennedy?
http://blackstarnews.com/?c=135&a=4728
New York Times’ Ugly Obama Slur
Black Star News Editorial
July 26th, 2008.
The New York Times today published a hateful and patently false Op-Ed article about Senator Barack Obama’s European trip.
The article contains scandalous assertions, incredible claims, and in an instance of character assassination of the most malicious and vile order, claims that Obama evoked memories of Germany's mass-murderer Adolph Hitler.
It’s become clear in recent weeks that there is still an entrenched cabal of Hillary Clinton supporters in The New York Times; after all, editors have the right to reject Op-Ed articles that are completely at odds with reality or any semblance of sanity. Perhaps the Op-Ed editors believe that by allowing the author to insult Senator Obama and even diminish his prospects of being elected president, that they are doing Clinton a favor by exacting some form of revenge?
We cannot find any other explanation for The New York Times’ hating on Obama.
The scandalous Op-Ed was authored by Susan Neiman and headlined “Change Germans Can’t Believe In.” Here are some of the unconvincingly stupid assertions the article contains, as when she refers to Obama’s visit to Europe: “But it’s been hard for me to find a European, aside from two Harvard-educated friends in Paris, who confessed to excitement — not just about the visit, but the prospect of an Obama presidency.”
So, in other words, we are to believe that 200,000 Germans showed up to catch a glimpse of Obama and to hear him speak because they all had nothing to do on that day? Why even publish an article that is at odds with reality from almost the very first sentence?
The author then seamlessly moves to petty hatred and bitterness: “It is true that Der Spiegel, the German newsweekly, featured Mr. Obama on its cover, topped by the words ‘Germany Meets the Superstar’ — but the cover was satire, and nasty satire at that. The editors managed to find the ugliest photograph of Mr. Obama ever taken. It caught the senator at a moment that might be exhaustion but looks like conceited smirking.”
Of course the author is entitled to her own reading of the Spiegel cover—but how can she know for fact that that’s what the editors of Spiegel intended? There is a lot of presumptuous malice in her assertion here; malice that some Times editors clearly welcome.
“Mr. Obama makes Europeans uncomfortable,” this nasty author continues, and then slams the senator with a despicable comparison to Germany’s most infamous mass murderer, “In Germany, politicians in front of large, shouting crowds evoke images that nobody wants to see repeated.”
How does The New York Times allow such slander to be published? What kind of brew do they drink at the Times while editing articles?
To allow even a hint of comparison of Senator Obama to Hitler? What other reference could have been intended? Was this meant to scare Jewish voters that are still concerned about Obama’s stance on Israel, when throughout his trip he made it unambiguously clear that he supports the Jewish state and a two-state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian crises? The New York Times owes the senator a big apology for this nasty writing. The man should be criticized based on his stance on issues and on policies--this was however a despicable low blow.
“Mr. Obama’s speech gave Europeans a chance to hear the difference between optimism and idealism,” the nasty author concludes. “Optimists refuse to acknowledge reality. Idealists remind us that it isn’t fixed.”
The author and The New York Times remind us that some old hatreds die slowly.
To comment or to subscribe to or advertise in New York’s leading Pan African weekly investigative newspaper, or to send us a news tip, please call (212) 481-7745 or send a note to Milton@blackstarnews.com
Also visit out sister publications Harlem Business News www.harlembusinessnews.com and The Groove music magazine at www.thegroovemag.com
"Speaking Truth To Empower."
Milton Allimadi, Publisher/CEO
The Black Star News Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 64, New York, N.Y., 10025
(212) 481-7745
Please visit also visit www.blackstarnews.com
===========================================
See below the Op-Ed published on the New York Times
==========================================
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/opinion/26neiman.html?th&emc=th
The New York Times
July 26, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
Change Germans Can’t Believe In
By SUSAN NEIMAN
Berlin
WITH gestures that ranged from a wink to a sneer, most anyone you met here this week volunteered the view that Barack Obama’s visit to Europe caused unprecedented frenzy. But it’s been hard for me to find a European, aside from two Harvard-educated friends in Paris, who confessed to excitement — not just about the visit, but the prospect of an Obama presidency.
It is true that Der Spiegel, the German newsweekly, featured Mr. Obama on its cover, topped by the words “Germany Meets the Superstar” — but the cover was satire, and nasty satire at that. The editors managed to find the ugliest photograph of Mr. Obama ever taken. It caught the senator at a moment that might be exhaustion but looks like conceited smirking. When Der Spiegel featured Mr. Obama on its cover in March, the cover line was “The Messiah Factor.” Must one add that this, too, was not meant to be taken at face value?
Europeans will be as relieved as 72 percent of Americans to see the end of the Bush administration, but their attitudes toward the Democratic candidate are far from being the same as the ones he arouses at home. Mr. Obama makes Europeans uncomfortable.
In Germany, politicians in front of large, shouting crowds evoke images that nobody wants to see repeated. But genuine worries about demagoguery are not all that’s at issue. The mocking undertone that accompanies most descriptions of Mr. Obama in the European news media signifies a trans-Atlantic divide. George W. Bush made matters far worse than they ever were, but the neoconservatives who advised him were right about one thing: Europe is gripped by a world-weariness that resists American dreams.
Not every European shows scorn for Mr. Obama. Karsten Voigt, the astute coordinator of the German Foreign Ministry’s America policies, thinks the United States is attempting a “complete renewal of its own political culture.”
But then, Mr. Voigt told me last week, he considers himself a Kantian. Very few Germans do. Robert Kagan, the conservative foreign-policy expert, once claimed that Americans are hard-headed Hobbesian realists, while Europeans are Kantian idealists, but he got it backwards. European institutions may be closer to those imagined by Enlightenment thinkers, but the Enlightenment’s spirit crossed the Atlantic long ago. The whole-hearted enthusiasm of audiences back home is an American thing. Europeans wouldn’t understand.
Berlin, in particular, is in the middle of a very post-heroic moment. Its former bravado about its history now approaches indifference. Take the awkward turquoise building where visitors from the West used to part from loved ones at the Friedrichstrasse border. Dubbed the “Palace of Tears” by East Berliners, it later symbolized the local talent for black humor and raw energy when it was turned into a disco after reunification. Surrounded by cranes at work on yet another office building, the Palace of Tears no longer has any function, nor anyone to complain about it.
So when Mr. Obama reminded Berliners of their greater moments — the airlift, the destruction of the wall — he risked more scoffing. There was plenty of speculation about which German sentence he would memorize to one-up John F. Kennedy’s famous speech.
In fact, what Mr. Obama did was far more interesting. He studied a speech given by Ernst Reuter, West Berlin’s beleaguered mayor during the 1948 airlift. When Reuter said, “People of the world, look at Berlin!” he was calling for help. When Mr. Obama echoed him, he was using the city as a model — for all the other possibilities that Berliners, and the rest of us, are slow to acknowledge.
This was no feel-good speech about working together. Mr. Obama’s riff on the Berlin airlift was a reminder that you need not drop a bomb to be a hero, and that American influence lasts when we don’t. Nor was he merely flattering his hosts about their achievements or calling to mind happier days of trans-Atlantic partnerships. He was using the past to remind us all that we need not resign ourselves to the way things are now. What better place to remember than in the heart of Berlin?
“No one could live long in Berlin without being completely disabused of illusions,” said Ronald Reagan in his speech calling on Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate. I remember that day in 1987: the eyeballs rolled upward amid jaded sighs.
Mr. Reagan’s hosts heard his remarks with not quite concealed contempt, for most saw his speech as a tiresome bit of American naïveté. They had made their peace with a structure they thought would last forever — like the barrier between rich and poor nations whose existence, Mr. Obama concluded Thursday, is the greatest challenge of this century.
In other speeches, Mr. Obama has emphasized “the extraordinary nature of America,” where loyalty is less about particular places or tribes than particular ideas: above all the idea that we are not constrained by accidents of birth. We can make of our lives what we will.
Nothing quite like this is open to Europeans. The German philosopher Jürgen Habermas proposed that Germans cultivate what he calls constitutional patriotism, but neither the estimable Mr. Habermas nor his countrymen have found the language to inspire it. Americans are lucky that our national thinkers could write words that continue to ring.
Mr. Obama’s speech gave Europeans a chance to hear the difference between optimism and idealism. Optimists refuse to acknowledge reality. Idealists remind us that it isn’t fixed.
Susan Neiman, the director of the Einstein Forum, is the author of “Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-Up Idealists.”
New York Times’ Ugly Obama Slur
Black Star News Editorial
July 26th, 2008.
The New York Times today published a hateful and patently false Op-Ed article about Senator Barack Obama’s European trip.
The article contains scandalous assertions, incredible claims, and in an instance of character assassination of the most malicious and vile order, claims that Obama evoked memories of Germany's mass-murderer Adolph Hitler.
It’s become clear in recent weeks that there is still an entrenched cabal of Hillary Clinton supporters in The New York Times; after all, editors have the right to reject Op-Ed articles that are completely at odds with reality or any semblance of sanity. Perhaps the Op-Ed editors believe that by allowing the author to insult Senator Obama and even diminish his prospects of being elected president, that they are doing Clinton a favor by exacting some form of revenge?
We cannot find any other explanation for The New York Times’ hating on Obama.
The scandalous Op-Ed was authored by Susan Neiman and headlined “Change Germans Can’t Believe In.” Here are some of the unconvincingly stupid assertions the article contains, as when she refers to Obama’s visit to Europe: “But it’s been hard for me to find a European, aside from two Harvard-educated friends in Paris, who confessed to excitement — not just about the visit, but the prospect of an Obama presidency.”
So, in other words, we are to believe that 200,000 Germans showed up to catch a glimpse of Obama and to hear him speak because they all had nothing to do on that day? Why even publish an article that is at odds with reality from almost the very first sentence?
The author then seamlessly moves to petty hatred and bitterness: “It is true that Der Spiegel, the German newsweekly, featured Mr. Obama on its cover, topped by the words ‘Germany Meets the Superstar’ — but the cover was satire, and nasty satire at that. The editors managed to find the ugliest photograph of Mr. Obama ever taken. It caught the senator at a moment that might be exhaustion but looks like conceited smirking.”
Of course the author is entitled to her own reading of the Spiegel cover—but how can she know for fact that that’s what the editors of Spiegel intended? There is a lot of presumptuous malice in her assertion here; malice that some Times editors clearly welcome.
“Mr. Obama makes Europeans uncomfortable,” this nasty author continues, and then slams the senator with a despicable comparison to Germany’s most infamous mass murderer, “In Germany, politicians in front of large, shouting crowds evoke images that nobody wants to see repeated.”
How does The New York Times allow such slander to be published? What kind of brew do they drink at the Times while editing articles?
To allow even a hint of comparison of Senator Obama to Hitler? What other reference could have been intended? Was this meant to scare Jewish voters that are still concerned about Obama’s stance on Israel, when throughout his trip he made it unambiguously clear that he supports the Jewish state and a two-state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian crises? The New York Times owes the senator a big apology for this nasty writing. The man should be criticized based on his stance on issues and on policies--this was however a despicable low blow.
“Mr. Obama’s speech gave Europeans a chance to hear the difference between optimism and idealism,” the nasty author concludes. “Optimists refuse to acknowledge reality. Idealists remind us that it isn’t fixed.”
The author and The New York Times remind us that some old hatreds die slowly.
To comment or to subscribe to or advertise in New York’s leading Pan African weekly investigative newspaper, or to send us a news tip, please call (212) 481-7745 or send a note to Milton@blackstarnews.com
Also visit out sister publications Harlem Business News www.harlembusinessnews.com and The Groove music magazine at www.thegroovemag.com
"Speaking Truth To Empower."
Milton Allimadi, Publisher/CEO
The Black Star News Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 64, New York, N.Y., 10025
(212) 481-7745
Please visit also visit www.blackstarnews.com
===========================================
See below the Op-Ed published on the New York Times
==========================================
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/opinion/26neiman.html?th&emc=th
The New York Times
July 26, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
Change Germans Can’t Believe In
By SUSAN NEIMAN
Berlin
WITH gestures that ranged from a wink to a sneer, most anyone you met here this week volunteered the view that Barack Obama’s visit to Europe caused unprecedented frenzy. But it’s been hard for me to find a European, aside from two Harvard-educated friends in Paris, who confessed to excitement — not just about the visit, but the prospect of an Obama presidency.
It is true that Der Spiegel, the German newsweekly, featured Mr. Obama on its cover, topped by the words “Germany Meets the Superstar” — but the cover was satire, and nasty satire at that. The editors managed to find the ugliest photograph of Mr. Obama ever taken. It caught the senator at a moment that might be exhaustion but looks like conceited smirking. When Der Spiegel featured Mr. Obama on its cover in March, the cover line was “The Messiah Factor.” Must one add that this, too, was not meant to be taken at face value?
Europeans will be as relieved as 72 percent of Americans to see the end of the Bush administration, but their attitudes toward the Democratic candidate are far from being the same as the ones he arouses at home. Mr. Obama makes Europeans uncomfortable.
In Germany, politicians in front of large, shouting crowds evoke images that nobody wants to see repeated. But genuine worries about demagoguery are not all that’s at issue. The mocking undertone that accompanies most descriptions of Mr. Obama in the European news media signifies a trans-Atlantic divide. George W. Bush made matters far worse than they ever were, but the neoconservatives who advised him were right about one thing: Europe is gripped by a world-weariness that resists American dreams.
Not every European shows scorn for Mr. Obama. Karsten Voigt, the astute coordinator of the German Foreign Ministry’s America policies, thinks the United States is attempting a “complete renewal of its own political culture.”
But then, Mr. Voigt told me last week, he considers himself a Kantian. Very few Germans do. Robert Kagan, the conservative foreign-policy expert, once claimed that Americans are hard-headed Hobbesian realists, while Europeans are Kantian idealists, but he got it backwards. European institutions may be closer to those imagined by Enlightenment thinkers, but the Enlightenment’s spirit crossed the Atlantic long ago. The whole-hearted enthusiasm of audiences back home is an American thing. Europeans wouldn’t understand.
Berlin, in particular, is in the middle of a very post-heroic moment. Its former bravado about its history now approaches indifference. Take the awkward turquoise building where visitors from the West used to part from loved ones at the Friedrichstrasse border. Dubbed the “Palace of Tears” by East Berliners, it later symbolized the local talent for black humor and raw energy when it was turned into a disco after reunification. Surrounded by cranes at work on yet another office building, the Palace of Tears no longer has any function, nor anyone to complain about it.
So when Mr. Obama reminded Berliners of their greater moments — the airlift, the destruction of the wall — he risked more scoffing. There was plenty of speculation about which German sentence he would memorize to one-up John F. Kennedy’s famous speech.
In fact, what Mr. Obama did was far more interesting. He studied a speech given by Ernst Reuter, West Berlin’s beleaguered mayor during the 1948 airlift. When Reuter said, “People of the world, look at Berlin!” he was calling for help. When Mr. Obama echoed him, he was using the city as a model — for all the other possibilities that Berliners, and the rest of us, are slow to acknowledge.
This was no feel-good speech about working together. Mr. Obama’s riff on the Berlin airlift was a reminder that you need not drop a bomb to be a hero, and that American influence lasts when we don’t. Nor was he merely flattering his hosts about their achievements or calling to mind happier days of trans-Atlantic partnerships. He was using the past to remind us all that we need not resign ourselves to the way things are now. What better place to remember than in the heart of Berlin?
“No one could live long in Berlin without being completely disabused of illusions,” said Ronald Reagan in his speech calling on Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate. I remember that day in 1987: the eyeballs rolled upward amid jaded sighs.
Mr. Reagan’s hosts heard his remarks with not quite concealed contempt, for most saw his speech as a tiresome bit of American naïveté. They had made their peace with a structure they thought would last forever — like the barrier between rich and poor nations whose existence, Mr. Obama concluded Thursday, is the greatest challenge of this century.
In other speeches, Mr. Obama has emphasized “the extraordinary nature of America,” where loyalty is less about particular places or tribes than particular ideas: above all the idea that we are not constrained by accidents of birth. We can make of our lives what we will.
Nothing quite like this is open to Europeans. The German philosopher Jürgen Habermas proposed that Germans cultivate what he calls constitutional patriotism, but neither the estimable Mr. Habermas nor his countrymen have found the language to inspire it. Americans are lucky that our national thinkers could write words that continue to ring.
Mr. Obama’s speech gave Europeans a chance to hear the difference between optimism and idealism. Optimists refuse to acknowledge reality. Idealists remind us that it isn’t fixed.
Susan Neiman, the director of the Einstein Forum, is the author of “Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-Up Idealists.”
Friday, July 25, 2008
The Horn and its challenges
A Week in the Horn
18.7.2008
• US destabilizing the Horn of Africa, claims Eritrea
• France pledges full support to Djibouti
• Newly trained TFG forces arrive in Baidoa; two victories over Al-Shabaab
• Is there no political space in Ethiopia?
• Racism from Ireland and the reality of development in Africa and Ethiopia
• On Tuesday this week, President Issayas wrote to the President of the Security Council accusing the United States of a series of acts of destabilization in the Horn of Africa. President Issayas alleged the US had misused its leverage in the UN Security Council to paralyze implementation of the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission for the last six years.
He claimed that the US was continuing unabated in its objective: “we are fully aware of the ‘game plan’ that is being contrived as well as the overt campaign that is already underway”. The letter concluded by reiterating a call to the UN Security Council “to seriously examine the acts of destabilization that the US Administration is fomenting day and night in our region and to seek appropriate remedies to the dangerous trend.” Of course, all this is rubbish, but it raises the question of why Eritrea has continued its absurd attacks on the US.
Is it because the present US administration only has a few months left and Eritrea wishes to establish credentials for the next administration? Or is it a further attempt to try and ingratiate itself with the critics of US policy in Iraq and elsewhere?
President Issayas’ letter also referred to an earlier Eritrean claim that Ethiopia had recently occupied Eritrean and Djiboutian territory at Musa Ali, a point where the borders of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti meet. Eritrea has alleged that what it calls Djibouti’s false claims of an Eritrean invasion of Djibouti have been designed to distract from Ethiopian actions at Musa Ali.
Yesterday, Foreign Minister Seyoum also wrote to the President of the Security Council emphasizing the absurdity of this fabrication. There had, he said, been no military takeover of any Eritrean or Djiboutian territory at Musa Ali, a mountain peak a long way inland from Ras Doumeira the point of Eritrean aggression against Djibouti last April. It would, of course, be easy for the UNMEE forces that have been deployed at Bure, close to Musa Ali, to verify the situation there.
Minister Seyoum, who noted that the US Government was fully able to reply on its own account to the wild and extraordinary attacks on it, went on suggest that even the most diehard friends and supporters of Eritrea could no longer hide the fact that Eritrea had become a major liability to peace and security in the region.
It had gone to war with almost all its neighbours, with Yemen, Ethiopia and Djibouti. It has continuously supported armed opposition movements, even terrorist organizations, in the region, suspended its membership of IGAD, and consistently defied numerous Security Council resolutions and forced out a UN Mission from the border with Ethiopia. Nor did it make any secret of this activity.
Minister Seyoum concluded by repeating that Ethiopia believed the Security Council should now take the challenge posed by Eritrea very seriously, and that it should no longer continue to shirk its responsibility for peace and security in the sub-region.
Yesterday, the Eritrean Foreign Ministry launched into a new attack on Ethiopia and on Prime Minister Meles claiming Ethiopia had breached the Algiers Agreement. With perhaps unintended irony, Eritrea criticized what it called the “US-led international community’s refusal to shoulder its moral and legal obligations under the Algiers Agreements” and its continued “appeasement” of Ethiopia.
In fact, of course, Eritrea has long been in fundamental breach of the Algiers Agreements by its total violation of the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) and its enforced removal of UNMEE, both central elements in the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, without which the Algiers Agreements collapse and demarcation cannot proceed. Eritrea’s own actions have deliberately and specifically torn up the Algiers Agreements.
As Foreign Minister Seyoum noted in his letter to the Security Council President on Tuesday: “Eritrea must fulfil the international obligations to which it committed itself in 2000 and its regional obligations to peace and stability”. It is these, and these only which allow for the real possibility of peace in Somalia, the restoration of security and the much needed normalization of relations throughout the region.
• Meanwhile, at an event marking France’s National Day, on Monday, at Mouhoule, the French Defence Attaché in Djibouti, General Philippe Lefort, pledged France’s full support to Djibouti in the border dispute with Eritrea. “Our Djibouti friends know well”, he said, that “that we will participate unhesitatingly at their side if circumstances require it.” France has now established a base at Mouhoule for support of the Djibouti army. Mouhoule is some 30 kilometres from the border at Ras Doumeira.
The French Ambassador to Djibouti, Ambassador Dominique Decherf, who was also present along with Djibouti’s Chief of Staff, General Zakaria Cheikh Ibrahim, took the opportunity to underline that cooperation between France and Djibouti had been consolidated further since the outbreak of the conflict with Eritrea. He emphasized that bilateral defence ties would now be strengthened further. France has 2,900 troops based in Djibouti as well as naval units and air squadrons.
Ambassador Decherf called on Eritrea to withdraw from the areas it had occupied and to return to the status quo ante. The African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries (ACP) at an extraordinary meeting in Brussels this week commended Djibouti for the restraint it has shown, and announced their intention to send a fact-finding mission to the disputed area. So far none of the missions sent to the region, by the Arab League, the African Union or the UN have been able to visit Eritrea, though all have been welcomed in Djibouti.
The situation along the Djibouti-Eritrea border is currently calm. The Government of Somaliland has sent 2000 sheep and goats to the Djibouti army at the warfront, as a gesture of solidarity. Meanwhile, the Government of Djibouti has banned one of the main opposition parties, the Movement pour le Renouveau Démocratique (MRD). This is not the first time the MRD has been in trouble with the authorities. On this occasion it has been accused of treason after an alleged statement in which the MRD apparently urged Eritrea to invade Djibouti.
• The Transitional Federal Parliament in Somalia has now endorsed the Djibouti agreement of June 9 between the TFG and ARS. The head of the TFG delegation to the peace process tabled a resolution in support of the agreement which was adopted without opposition and no abstentions. In the process, parliament underlined its commitment to support the peace process in full and agreed to support the committee mandated to follow this up until peace and reconciliation was achieved with the full implementation of the agreement.
The Parliament also debated on how the Government should sustain its security forces. All members of parliament agreed to contribute 100 USD each to assist TFG security. Parliament decided to establish a nine member parliamentary task force to check whether all the necessary support to the security forces was being provided. This week, more than 2,300 newly trained TFG forces arrived in Baidoa after completing their training in Ethiopia.
The Parliamentary leadership held discussions with the new forces, who expressed their readiness to defend the country and the Government from any and all anti-peace elements. While en route to Baidoa, Al-Shabaab forces led by a non-Somali tried an ambush. The Al-Shabaab unit was heavily defeated, losing its leader and seven others killed, and 13 wounded. Two RPG and other weapons were captured as well as remote controlled explosives, radio equipment, training manuals and operational plans.
Al-Shabaab also suffered another defeat in the Arafat area of Mogadishu yesterday, losing 31 fighters led by an ex-colonel and former head of the Special Guard unit of President Abdikassim Salad Hassan, president of the previous Transitional National Government. TFG forces again captured a number of weapons as well as a minibus being used to transport the fighters.
Meanwhile, the UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah noted on Wednesday that the progress made to advance the Djibouti Agreement was encouraging. He described the Agreement as a courageous step forward by Somali leaders, and welcomed the mobilization of significant resources for the implementation of the Agreement by the EU, Norway and the US.
He said that the UN Security Council would be meeting to discuss Somalia shortly, and hoped a joint Somali delegation would undertake a mission to the Security Council and go on to meet the Somali Diaspora in the US and elsewhere. Mr. Ould-Abdallah said the period since the signing had allowed those Somalis uncomfortable with the idea of a reborn Somalia, time to adjust adding that “as peace calls for courage, patriotism and firm determination, it always has many enemies”.
The UN Special Representative appealed to all Somali patriots to unite their ranks, defend their dignity and come together for peace and justice. He strongly condemned the senseless killings of innocent Somalis. In the last few weeks there have been a string of kidnappings and targeted killings of aid workers in an apparently deliberate attempt to interrupt the flow of humanitarian aid into Somalia.
The killings have included Osman Ali Ahmed, head of the UNDP’s operations in Somalia. A number of international and local aid agencies have suspended operations intensifying an already serious humanitarian situation. Leaflets threatening local aid workers with death if they continue operating have been distributed in Mogadishu. Suspicion for these attacks has largely fallen on Al-Shabaab, and although Al-Shabaab has denied responsibility for the killing of Osman Ali, it has a long record of committing similar murders and assassinations.
• The passing of the Mass Media and Freedom of Information Proclamation, the new Press Law, and the discussions on the Charities and Societies Bill, have led to claims, particularly by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI), and by opposition groups that the political space in Ethiopia is “ever diminishing”.
These allegations have been made on any number of occasions by opposition parties since the 2005 election, notably by the various fragments of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD). The CUD performed strongly in the 2005 election, and the number of opposition MPs increased from 12 to 172, 109 from the CUD, but despite its claims it did not win. Following its defeat and its leadership's vain efforts to keep its elected members out of Parliament, the CUD broke into fractions.
Originally a coalition of four parties, it appears to have fractured into at least six groups. Its supporters’ groups in the Diaspora appear to be equally divided. One faction, the UEDF-MEDHIN, is firmly in Parliament under the leadership of Lidetu Ayalew. Two factions continue to wrangle over the name, and other elements have set up a new party, Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), which has elected Birtukan Mideksa as its chairperson.
It is the first time any political party in Ethiopia has chosen to be led by a woman. The UDJ was not registered in time to participate in April’s local elections but can be expected to have built up significant momentum by 2010. The former CUD chairman, Hailu Shawal, has returned to Ethiopia and also appears to be setting up yet another separate party.
One other element of the former CUD, headed by Berhanu Nega, has created a new party, the Movement for Justice and Democracy or Gimbot 7, in the Diaspora and appears to have rejected democratic activities entirely, apparently planning to go into a coalition with various opposition groups which have devoted themselves to armed struggle, and in some cases are now based in Eritrea. None of this needed any help from the ruling EPRDF or the Government and splits within opposition parties cannot be blamed on reduced political space.
Indeed, despite all efforts by former CUD members to blame their own divisions on pressure from government, none of this suggests any diminishing political space; rather a constantly expanding one. At the beginning of this month, four opposition parties, two of whom are represented in Parliament, and two leading political personalities came together to form the Forum for Democratic Dialogue in Ethiopia.
They included the UEDF, the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, the Somali Democratic Alliance Forces and the Union of Tigrians for Democracy and Sovereignty (ARENA), together with former President Dr. Negasso Gidada and former Minister of Defence, Siye Abraha. In fact, following the successful kebele and woreda elections in April, all parties are beginning to gear up for the federal and regional state elections in 2010.
There is no justification to suggest that there is insufficient ‘political space’ for these parties. There are currently nearly 70 parties registered for state and local elections and some 8 parties registered as national organizations.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) have also related ‘political space’ to the Press Law and most recently to the draft Charities and Societies bill. Referring to the latter, AI claims that the restrictions on the activities of foreign NGOs in areas such as citizenship, human rights, and conflict resolution and justice are inexplicable. Not everybody would agree.
AI might take another look at its own output and that of HRW, and the criticisms of both, for an explanation as to why the Government wishes NGOs to operate under proper supervision. No one suggests that the right to defend human rights should be subject to geographical restrictions, but such organizations do not need to be externally based. Nor indeed are they all.
The point of the draft proclamation on Charities and Societies is that it allows for increased supervision of NGOs. The NGOs claim this means strict government control and interference. They reject any suggestion that they might need such supervision or that they themselves should demonstrate proper responsibility for their own activities.
In fact, it should hardly be a problem for most international or national NGOs to be registered, or in this case re-registered. Nor should the creation of a government organization, the Charities and Societies Agency (CSA) to oversee NGO operations cause any difficulty. There is hardly any country in the world without a similar organization.
It is true that the creation of the CSA will make it easier to monitor NGO activity. Another, equally accurate way of putting it would be to say that the legislation will regulate a situation which had got way out of control as NGO's have demonstrated by their objections to regulation, indeed to any limitation of their activities or even to being held accountable in any way. Last year the government was forced to close down 17 NGOs, and others have been found usurping UN privileges, failing to pay tax and breaking the law in numerous ways.
There is no doubt that a number of NGOs could improve the quality and capacity of their delivery. This is why the Government wishes to have clearly defined rules and regulations which will allow NGOs to operate freely and smoothly. This is why Prime Minister Meles had two meetings with the NGOs to discuss their concerns.
To claim that this is narrowing ‘political space’, threatening to silence the “few remaining independent civil society voices”, is insulting to the many civil society organizations that operate freely. Given the total lack of monitoring in the past, it is no surprise that international NGOs have been nervous about something that subjects them to closer scrutiny and control and which demands greater transparency.
Indeed, the government bears some responsibility for failing to monitor the activities of NGOs sufficiently and for not establishing the necessary mechanisms to do so. In fact, there is no reason that closer scrutiny of NGOs should be a problem, nor the establishment of control of external funding for political parties.
This is something that all democratic countries do. There is no doubt that NGOs sometimes face cumbersome bureaucratic hurdles. The Charities and Societies Bill will provide the means to improve this as well as improve accountability, and ensure all funds go where intended, whether for aid, development or the furtherance of other causes.
Complaints over the new Mass Media and Freedom of Information Proclamation, usually referred to as the Press Law, have a somewhat similar ring. Its critics include both HRW and AI. The Proclamation was finally passed on July 1st by the House of Peoples Representatives after six years of discussion and consideration by various consultants, stakeholders and journalists to frame provisions that safeguard the right of self-expression and the freedom of the press as laid down in the Constitution.
As even its critics admit, with an extremely liberal introduction and preamble, the Proclamation aims to implement values of accountability and transparency for government activities. It allows for improved facilitation of public discussion on issues of common interest and obliges government officials to make available necessary information to individuals and the media.
It is now obligatory for office holders to respect the public right to information, and officials are duty bound to report on their activities and make information available upon demand by journalists and the public. Attempts to classify as confidential any documents revealing illicit or corrupt practices, inefficiency, or scandalous actions by individuals or organizations, is forbidden. In fact, incorporated into the Proclamation is what amounts to a Freedom of Information Act though there are, as is usual, some exceptions, as stated by law, covering national trade secrets or defence and intelligence reports.
Any form of prior censorship is forbidden and the police cannot detain journalists. The Ministry of Information has the power to register and license media organizations, and limitations remain on cross-media ownership. The Government, however, is given the right to prosecute cases of defamation of officials even where those defamed might choose not to press charges; and there is a significant increase in the scale of compensation for ‘moral’ damage by the media.
In fact, the Proclamation encourages “developmental journalism”, underlining the need for responsibility and professionalism in the media. This became necessary after the independent media failed to put its own house in order in the last few years. Like many in the NGO community, the media largely failed to realize the need for responsibility, and failed to take advantage of the long series of consultations over the bill. Indeed, few have demonstrated any interest in creating a platform for continued engagement with the government.
Despite this the Proclamation is very clear in its aim to leave the business of self-discipline largely to the media. The complaints that the Government retains too much power over the private media come from those who have clearly shown over many years that they do not want to engage with the Government. It is a position that has been loudly supported by HRW and other similar, externally-based, organizations.
The law will now bring about a fundamental change in the way information is accessed and disseminated. It will help provide for a responsible and accurate press and media. It is, however, a process which does depend upon the full engagement of all stakeholders, media, public and government agencies alike, and the demonstration of a responsible attitude by all involved.
The Proclamation has been described by one newspaper as “improved but imperfect”. On the contrary, in fact, it will open up government and officialdom to much greater transparency and accountability and greatly expand the political space available. The Mass Media and Freedom of Information Proclamation passed the House of Peoples Representatives by 291 to 77 votes with nine abstentions.
• Last week an article in the Irish Independent (“Africa is giving nothing to anyone – apart from AIDS” by Kevin Myers) hit a new low in Irish journalism. It was racist, offensive and deliberately intended to cause outrage and to provoke, and Mr. Myers' admission that his article would win no friends did nothing to moderate the disgust anyone would feel on reading such rubbish.
It has nothing to do with freedom of speech or expression. It is a classic case of total irresponsibility, calculated to give journalism a bad name. It is no surprise that the Immigrant Council of Ireland is planning to make an official complaint about its publication which clearly appears to breach Irish law under which it is an offence to publish or distribute written material if it is threatening, abusive or insulting and intended to, or is likely to, stir up hatred. This is in fact an article that might, indeed should be ignored.
It deserves to be buried. However, in its accusations that Africa only survives by help from the outside world and then wastes it on increasing its population, it does use Ethiopia as an example. Mr. Myers claims that Ethiopia is “vastly over-populated, environmentally devastated and economically dependant”, aligning himself with those who have been trying to get restrictions on aid to Ethiopia.
He refers to the “self-serving generosity” that has been one of the curses of Africa, sustaining political systems that would otherwise have collapsed and has been inspiring Bill Gates programme to rid Africa of malaria, which he describes as “one of the most efficacious forms of population control now operating.” Evil is not a word to be used lightly but it seems appropriate here.
It is also appropriate to note that Africa, and Ethiopia, bears little relationship to the continent Mr. Myers portrays. In the last five years, Africa as a whole has achieved over 5% average growth, and last year, ten African states had a growth rate of over 7%. Ethiopia at 9.5% had the highest rate of any non-oil economy.
In fact, over the last five years Ethiopia has averaged double figure growth, and despite the problems of this year, caused by drought coupled with the sharp international rises in oil and food prices, will still manage nearly 11% growth this year. A joint UN/African Development Bank statement in June noted that industry grew at 11% of GDP in 2006-07 and manufacturing at 10.5%; agriculture at 9.4% in real terms. Last year saw the fifth good harvest in a row.
Exports increased by over 18% in 2006-07 to $1.2 billion, and are expected to rise to $1.8 billion this year. Growth has benefited from investment in infrastructure supported by donor funding, and paradoxically electricity shortages in May and June (due to shortages of water) underlined the enormous increase in demand produced by development. All these are not merely abstract figures in government or donor balance sheets. Subsistence farmers are being drawn into the commercial economy.
The agriculture sector, helped by institutional reforms and increased infrastructure is becoming more resilient, even though this year there has been an increase in numbers needing food aid following poor belg rains. In the Amhara Regional State, for example, there has been a 25% increase in land under cultivation, from 2,900 to 3,700 hectares in the five years to 2006. Since 2002, the number of jobs in the region has risen by nearly half a million, 52,000 in industry last year alone. 45% of the region now has access to pure water, 1645 villages have telephone links and there are some 80,000 mobiles in the region.
Primary school enrolment reached over 90% two years ago, and the region now has five universities, five agricultural colleges, five teacher training colleges and three technical colleges. There are 2283 health clinics (up from 421 in 1991), 168 health centres (39 in 1991) and 17 hospitals (9 in 1991).
The Somali Regional State has some 1,000 primary and secondary schools, five colleges and a university. There are six hospitals and over 250 clinics and health centres. It, too, is benefiting from the substantial investment in telecommunications infrastructure; one recent project has been the connection of more than 600 secondary schools to the Internet. Similar statistics could be adduced with respect to all other regional states.
The Government’s primary concern remains the war on poverty, and the key objectives of the Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP), covering the period 2005/06-2009/10, to achieve sustained, robust and pro-poor economic growth to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, one of which is to halve poverty by 2015.
This is showing positive results. The proportion of people living in poverty declined from 44% in 2000 to 39% in 2005, and both urban and rural poverty indices have fallen. PASDEP aims to reduce this proportion to 29% by 2010. It is undeniable that a great deal remains to be done. Ethiopia is deeply appreciative of the generosity of donors. It does, however, put aid to good use. It is on track to achieve most MDGs and to lift Ethiopia into the ranks of middle-income countries within the next two or three decades.
18.7.2008
• US destabilizing the Horn of Africa, claims Eritrea
• France pledges full support to Djibouti
• Newly trained TFG forces arrive in Baidoa; two victories over Al-Shabaab
• Is there no political space in Ethiopia?
• Racism from Ireland and the reality of development in Africa and Ethiopia
• On Tuesday this week, President Issayas wrote to the President of the Security Council accusing the United States of a series of acts of destabilization in the Horn of Africa. President Issayas alleged the US had misused its leverage in the UN Security Council to paralyze implementation of the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission for the last six years.
He claimed that the US was continuing unabated in its objective: “we are fully aware of the ‘game plan’ that is being contrived as well as the overt campaign that is already underway”. The letter concluded by reiterating a call to the UN Security Council “to seriously examine the acts of destabilization that the US Administration is fomenting day and night in our region and to seek appropriate remedies to the dangerous trend.” Of course, all this is rubbish, but it raises the question of why Eritrea has continued its absurd attacks on the US.
Is it because the present US administration only has a few months left and Eritrea wishes to establish credentials for the next administration? Or is it a further attempt to try and ingratiate itself with the critics of US policy in Iraq and elsewhere?
President Issayas’ letter also referred to an earlier Eritrean claim that Ethiopia had recently occupied Eritrean and Djiboutian territory at Musa Ali, a point where the borders of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti meet. Eritrea has alleged that what it calls Djibouti’s false claims of an Eritrean invasion of Djibouti have been designed to distract from Ethiopian actions at Musa Ali.
Yesterday, Foreign Minister Seyoum also wrote to the President of the Security Council emphasizing the absurdity of this fabrication. There had, he said, been no military takeover of any Eritrean or Djiboutian territory at Musa Ali, a mountain peak a long way inland from Ras Doumeira the point of Eritrean aggression against Djibouti last April. It would, of course, be easy for the UNMEE forces that have been deployed at Bure, close to Musa Ali, to verify the situation there.
Minister Seyoum, who noted that the US Government was fully able to reply on its own account to the wild and extraordinary attacks on it, went on suggest that even the most diehard friends and supporters of Eritrea could no longer hide the fact that Eritrea had become a major liability to peace and security in the region.
It had gone to war with almost all its neighbours, with Yemen, Ethiopia and Djibouti. It has continuously supported armed opposition movements, even terrorist organizations, in the region, suspended its membership of IGAD, and consistently defied numerous Security Council resolutions and forced out a UN Mission from the border with Ethiopia. Nor did it make any secret of this activity.
Minister Seyoum concluded by repeating that Ethiopia believed the Security Council should now take the challenge posed by Eritrea very seriously, and that it should no longer continue to shirk its responsibility for peace and security in the sub-region.
Yesterday, the Eritrean Foreign Ministry launched into a new attack on Ethiopia and on Prime Minister Meles claiming Ethiopia had breached the Algiers Agreement. With perhaps unintended irony, Eritrea criticized what it called the “US-led international community’s refusal to shoulder its moral and legal obligations under the Algiers Agreements” and its continued “appeasement” of Ethiopia.
In fact, of course, Eritrea has long been in fundamental breach of the Algiers Agreements by its total violation of the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) and its enforced removal of UNMEE, both central elements in the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, without which the Algiers Agreements collapse and demarcation cannot proceed. Eritrea’s own actions have deliberately and specifically torn up the Algiers Agreements.
As Foreign Minister Seyoum noted in his letter to the Security Council President on Tuesday: “Eritrea must fulfil the international obligations to which it committed itself in 2000 and its regional obligations to peace and stability”. It is these, and these only which allow for the real possibility of peace in Somalia, the restoration of security and the much needed normalization of relations throughout the region.
• Meanwhile, at an event marking France’s National Day, on Monday, at Mouhoule, the French Defence Attaché in Djibouti, General Philippe Lefort, pledged France’s full support to Djibouti in the border dispute with Eritrea. “Our Djibouti friends know well”, he said, that “that we will participate unhesitatingly at their side if circumstances require it.” France has now established a base at Mouhoule for support of the Djibouti army. Mouhoule is some 30 kilometres from the border at Ras Doumeira.
The French Ambassador to Djibouti, Ambassador Dominique Decherf, who was also present along with Djibouti’s Chief of Staff, General Zakaria Cheikh Ibrahim, took the opportunity to underline that cooperation between France and Djibouti had been consolidated further since the outbreak of the conflict with Eritrea. He emphasized that bilateral defence ties would now be strengthened further. France has 2,900 troops based in Djibouti as well as naval units and air squadrons.
Ambassador Decherf called on Eritrea to withdraw from the areas it had occupied and to return to the status quo ante. The African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries (ACP) at an extraordinary meeting in Brussels this week commended Djibouti for the restraint it has shown, and announced their intention to send a fact-finding mission to the disputed area. So far none of the missions sent to the region, by the Arab League, the African Union or the UN have been able to visit Eritrea, though all have been welcomed in Djibouti.
The situation along the Djibouti-Eritrea border is currently calm. The Government of Somaliland has sent 2000 sheep and goats to the Djibouti army at the warfront, as a gesture of solidarity. Meanwhile, the Government of Djibouti has banned one of the main opposition parties, the Movement pour le Renouveau Démocratique (MRD). This is not the first time the MRD has been in trouble with the authorities. On this occasion it has been accused of treason after an alleged statement in which the MRD apparently urged Eritrea to invade Djibouti.
• The Transitional Federal Parliament in Somalia has now endorsed the Djibouti agreement of June 9 between the TFG and ARS. The head of the TFG delegation to the peace process tabled a resolution in support of the agreement which was adopted without opposition and no abstentions. In the process, parliament underlined its commitment to support the peace process in full and agreed to support the committee mandated to follow this up until peace and reconciliation was achieved with the full implementation of the agreement.
The Parliament also debated on how the Government should sustain its security forces. All members of parliament agreed to contribute 100 USD each to assist TFG security. Parliament decided to establish a nine member parliamentary task force to check whether all the necessary support to the security forces was being provided. This week, more than 2,300 newly trained TFG forces arrived in Baidoa after completing their training in Ethiopia.
The Parliamentary leadership held discussions with the new forces, who expressed their readiness to defend the country and the Government from any and all anti-peace elements. While en route to Baidoa, Al-Shabaab forces led by a non-Somali tried an ambush. The Al-Shabaab unit was heavily defeated, losing its leader and seven others killed, and 13 wounded. Two RPG and other weapons were captured as well as remote controlled explosives, radio equipment, training manuals and operational plans.
Al-Shabaab also suffered another defeat in the Arafat area of Mogadishu yesterday, losing 31 fighters led by an ex-colonel and former head of the Special Guard unit of President Abdikassim Salad Hassan, president of the previous Transitional National Government. TFG forces again captured a number of weapons as well as a minibus being used to transport the fighters.
Meanwhile, the UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah noted on Wednesday that the progress made to advance the Djibouti Agreement was encouraging. He described the Agreement as a courageous step forward by Somali leaders, and welcomed the mobilization of significant resources for the implementation of the Agreement by the EU, Norway and the US.
He said that the UN Security Council would be meeting to discuss Somalia shortly, and hoped a joint Somali delegation would undertake a mission to the Security Council and go on to meet the Somali Diaspora in the US and elsewhere. Mr. Ould-Abdallah said the period since the signing had allowed those Somalis uncomfortable with the idea of a reborn Somalia, time to adjust adding that “as peace calls for courage, patriotism and firm determination, it always has many enemies”.
The UN Special Representative appealed to all Somali patriots to unite their ranks, defend their dignity and come together for peace and justice. He strongly condemned the senseless killings of innocent Somalis. In the last few weeks there have been a string of kidnappings and targeted killings of aid workers in an apparently deliberate attempt to interrupt the flow of humanitarian aid into Somalia.
The killings have included Osman Ali Ahmed, head of the UNDP’s operations in Somalia. A number of international and local aid agencies have suspended operations intensifying an already serious humanitarian situation. Leaflets threatening local aid workers with death if they continue operating have been distributed in Mogadishu. Suspicion for these attacks has largely fallen on Al-Shabaab, and although Al-Shabaab has denied responsibility for the killing of Osman Ali, it has a long record of committing similar murders and assassinations.
• The passing of the Mass Media and Freedom of Information Proclamation, the new Press Law, and the discussions on the Charities and Societies Bill, have led to claims, particularly by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI), and by opposition groups that the political space in Ethiopia is “ever diminishing”.
These allegations have been made on any number of occasions by opposition parties since the 2005 election, notably by the various fragments of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD). The CUD performed strongly in the 2005 election, and the number of opposition MPs increased from 12 to 172, 109 from the CUD, but despite its claims it did not win. Following its defeat and its leadership's vain efforts to keep its elected members out of Parliament, the CUD broke into fractions.
Originally a coalition of four parties, it appears to have fractured into at least six groups. Its supporters’ groups in the Diaspora appear to be equally divided. One faction, the UEDF-MEDHIN, is firmly in Parliament under the leadership of Lidetu Ayalew. Two factions continue to wrangle over the name, and other elements have set up a new party, Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), which has elected Birtukan Mideksa as its chairperson.
It is the first time any political party in Ethiopia has chosen to be led by a woman. The UDJ was not registered in time to participate in April’s local elections but can be expected to have built up significant momentum by 2010. The former CUD chairman, Hailu Shawal, has returned to Ethiopia and also appears to be setting up yet another separate party.
One other element of the former CUD, headed by Berhanu Nega, has created a new party, the Movement for Justice and Democracy or Gimbot 7, in the Diaspora and appears to have rejected democratic activities entirely, apparently planning to go into a coalition with various opposition groups which have devoted themselves to armed struggle, and in some cases are now based in Eritrea. None of this needed any help from the ruling EPRDF or the Government and splits within opposition parties cannot be blamed on reduced political space.
Indeed, despite all efforts by former CUD members to blame their own divisions on pressure from government, none of this suggests any diminishing political space; rather a constantly expanding one. At the beginning of this month, four opposition parties, two of whom are represented in Parliament, and two leading political personalities came together to form the Forum for Democratic Dialogue in Ethiopia.
They included the UEDF, the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, the Somali Democratic Alliance Forces and the Union of Tigrians for Democracy and Sovereignty (ARENA), together with former President Dr. Negasso Gidada and former Minister of Defence, Siye Abraha. In fact, following the successful kebele and woreda elections in April, all parties are beginning to gear up for the federal and regional state elections in 2010.
There is no justification to suggest that there is insufficient ‘political space’ for these parties. There are currently nearly 70 parties registered for state and local elections and some 8 parties registered as national organizations.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) have also related ‘political space’ to the Press Law and most recently to the draft Charities and Societies bill. Referring to the latter, AI claims that the restrictions on the activities of foreign NGOs in areas such as citizenship, human rights, and conflict resolution and justice are inexplicable. Not everybody would agree.
AI might take another look at its own output and that of HRW, and the criticisms of both, for an explanation as to why the Government wishes NGOs to operate under proper supervision. No one suggests that the right to defend human rights should be subject to geographical restrictions, but such organizations do not need to be externally based. Nor indeed are they all.
The point of the draft proclamation on Charities and Societies is that it allows for increased supervision of NGOs. The NGOs claim this means strict government control and interference. They reject any suggestion that they might need such supervision or that they themselves should demonstrate proper responsibility for their own activities.
In fact, it should hardly be a problem for most international or national NGOs to be registered, or in this case re-registered. Nor should the creation of a government organization, the Charities and Societies Agency (CSA) to oversee NGO operations cause any difficulty. There is hardly any country in the world without a similar organization.
It is true that the creation of the CSA will make it easier to monitor NGO activity. Another, equally accurate way of putting it would be to say that the legislation will regulate a situation which had got way out of control as NGO's have demonstrated by their objections to regulation, indeed to any limitation of their activities or even to being held accountable in any way. Last year the government was forced to close down 17 NGOs, and others have been found usurping UN privileges, failing to pay tax and breaking the law in numerous ways.
There is no doubt that a number of NGOs could improve the quality and capacity of their delivery. This is why the Government wishes to have clearly defined rules and regulations which will allow NGOs to operate freely and smoothly. This is why Prime Minister Meles had two meetings with the NGOs to discuss their concerns.
To claim that this is narrowing ‘political space’, threatening to silence the “few remaining independent civil society voices”, is insulting to the many civil society organizations that operate freely. Given the total lack of monitoring in the past, it is no surprise that international NGOs have been nervous about something that subjects them to closer scrutiny and control and which demands greater transparency.
Indeed, the government bears some responsibility for failing to monitor the activities of NGOs sufficiently and for not establishing the necessary mechanisms to do so. In fact, there is no reason that closer scrutiny of NGOs should be a problem, nor the establishment of control of external funding for political parties.
This is something that all democratic countries do. There is no doubt that NGOs sometimes face cumbersome bureaucratic hurdles. The Charities and Societies Bill will provide the means to improve this as well as improve accountability, and ensure all funds go where intended, whether for aid, development or the furtherance of other causes.
Complaints over the new Mass Media and Freedom of Information Proclamation, usually referred to as the Press Law, have a somewhat similar ring. Its critics include both HRW and AI. The Proclamation was finally passed on July 1st by the House of Peoples Representatives after six years of discussion and consideration by various consultants, stakeholders and journalists to frame provisions that safeguard the right of self-expression and the freedom of the press as laid down in the Constitution.
As even its critics admit, with an extremely liberal introduction and preamble, the Proclamation aims to implement values of accountability and transparency for government activities. It allows for improved facilitation of public discussion on issues of common interest and obliges government officials to make available necessary information to individuals and the media.
It is now obligatory for office holders to respect the public right to information, and officials are duty bound to report on their activities and make information available upon demand by journalists and the public. Attempts to classify as confidential any documents revealing illicit or corrupt practices, inefficiency, or scandalous actions by individuals or organizations, is forbidden. In fact, incorporated into the Proclamation is what amounts to a Freedom of Information Act though there are, as is usual, some exceptions, as stated by law, covering national trade secrets or defence and intelligence reports.
Any form of prior censorship is forbidden and the police cannot detain journalists. The Ministry of Information has the power to register and license media organizations, and limitations remain on cross-media ownership. The Government, however, is given the right to prosecute cases of defamation of officials even where those defamed might choose not to press charges; and there is a significant increase in the scale of compensation for ‘moral’ damage by the media.
In fact, the Proclamation encourages “developmental journalism”, underlining the need for responsibility and professionalism in the media. This became necessary after the independent media failed to put its own house in order in the last few years. Like many in the NGO community, the media largely failed to realize the need for responsibility, and failed to take advantage of the long series of consultations over the bill. Indeed, few have demonstrated any interest in creating a platform for continued engagement with the government.
Despite this the Proclamation is very clear in its aim to leave the business of self-discipline largely to the media. The complaints that the Government retains too much power over the private media come from those who have clearly shown over many years that they do not want to engage with the Government. It is a position that has been loudly supported by HRW and other similar, externally-based, organizations.
The law will now bring about a fundamental change in the way information is accessed and disseminated. It will help provide for a responsible and accurate press and media. It is, however, a process which does depend upon the full engagement of all stakeholders, media, public and government agencies alike, and the demonstration of a responsible attitude by all involved.
The Proclamation has been described by one newspaper as “improved but imperfect”. On the contrary, in fact, it will open up government and officialdom to much greater transparency and accountability and greatly expand the political space available. The Mass Media and Freedom of Information Proclamation passed the House of Peoples Representatives by 291 to 77 votes with nine abstentions.
• Last week an article in the Irish Independent (“Africa is giving nothing to anyone – apart from AIDS” by Kevin Myers) hit a new low in Irish journalism. It was racist, offensive and deliberately intended to cause outrage and to provoke, and Mr. Myers' admission that his article would win no friends did nothing to moderate the disgust anyone would feel on reading such rubbish.
It has nothing to do with freedom of speech or expression. It is a classic case of total irresponsibility, calculated to give journalism a bad name. It is no surprise that the Immigrant Council of Ireland is planning to make an official complaint about its publication which clearly appears to breach Irish law under which it is an offence to publish or distribute written material if it is threatening, abusive or insulting and intended to, or is likely to, stir up hatred. This is in fact an article that might, indeed should be ignored.
It deserves to be buried. However, in its accusations that Africa only survives by help from the outside world and then wastes it on increasing its population, it does use Ethiopia as an example. Mr. Myers claims that Ethiopia is “vastly over-populated, environmentally devastated and economically dependant”, aligning himself with those who have been trying to get restrictions on aid to Ethiopia.
He refers to the “self-serving generosity” that has been one of the curses of Africa, sustaining political systems that would otherwise have collapsed and has been inspiring Bill Gates programme to rid Africa of malaria, which he describes as “one of the most efficacious forms of population control now operating.” Evil is not a word to be used lightly but it seems appropriate here.
It is also appropriate to note that Africa, and Ethiopia, bears little relationship to the continent Mr. Myers portrays. In the last five years, Africa as a whole has achieved over 5% average growth, and last year, ten African states had a growth rate of over 7%. Ethiopia at 9.5% had the highest rate of any non-oil economy.
In fact, over the last five years Ethiopia has averaged double figure growth, and despite the problems of this year, caused by drought coupled with the sharp international rises in oil and food prices, will still manage nearly 11% growth this year. A joint UN/African Development Bank statement in June noted that industry grew at 11% of GDP in 2006-07 and manufacturing at 10.5%; agriculture at 9.4% in real terms. Last year saw the fifth good harvest in a row.
Exports increased by over 18% in 2006-07 to $1.2 billion, and are expected to rise to $1.8 billion this year. Growth has benefited from investment in infrastructure supported by donor funding, and paradoxically electricity shortages in May and June (due to shortages of water) underlined the enormous increase in demand produced by development. All these are not merely abstract figures in government or donor balance sheets. Subsistence farmers are being drawn into the commercial economy.
The agriculture sector, helped by institutional reforms and increased infrastructure is becoming more resilient, even though this year there has been an increase in numbers needing food aid following poor belg rains. In the Amhara Regional State, for example, there has been a 25% increase in land under cultivation, from 2,900 to 3,700 hectares in the five years to 2006. Since 2002, the number of jobs in the region has risen by nearly half a million, 52,000 in industry last year alone. 45% of the region now has access to pure water, 1645 villages have telephone links and there are some 80,000 mobiles in the region.
Primary school enrolment reached over 90% two years ago, and the region now has five universities, five agricultural colleges, five teacher training colleges and three technical colleges. There are 2283 health clinics (up from 421 in 1991), 168 health centres (39 in 1991) and 17 hospitals (9 in 1991).
The Somali Regional State has some 1,000 primary and secondary schools, five colleges and a university. There are six hospitals and over 250 clinics and health centres. It, too, is benefiting from the substantial investment in telecommunications infrastructure; one recent project has been the connection of more than 600 secondary schools to the Internet. Similar statistics could be adduced with respect to all other regional states.
The Government’s primary concern remains the war on poverty, and the key objectives of the Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP), covering the period 2005/06-2009/10, to achieve sustained, robust and pro-poor economic growth to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, one of which is to halve poverty by 2015.
This is showing positive results. The proportion of people living in poverty declined from 44% in 2000 to 39% in 2005, and both urban and rural poverty indices have fallen. PASDEP aims to reduce this proportion to 29% by 2010. It is undeniable that a great deal remains to be done. Ethiopia is deeply appreciative of the generosity of donors. It does, however, put aid to good use. It is on track to achieve most MDGs and to lift Ethiopia into the ranks of middle-income countries within the next two or three decades.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Ciminals of Genocide will get justice even if it is late!
By DUSAN STOJANOVIC, Associated Press Writer
17 minutes ago
BELGRADE, Serbia - Radovan Karadzic grew a long, white beard to conceal his identity and even managed to openly practice alternative medicine while in hiding, officials said Tuesday in revealing details of the war crimes fugitive's capture after a decade on the run.
ADVERTISEMENT
Karadzic, the wartime leader of Bosnian Serbs, was arrested Monday night in a Belgrade suburb, officials said. A judge has ordered his transfer to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, to face genocide charges, war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said.
Karadzic has three days to appeal the ruling. His lawyer, Sveta Vujacic, said he will launch the process to fight extradition on the last day, Friday, to thwart authorities' wishes for his immediate transfer.
Karadzic — a psychiatrist accused of masterminding the deadly wartime siege of Sarajevo and the executions of up to 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica during Bosnia's 1992-95 war, Europe's worst massacre since World War II — had topped the tribunal's most-wanted list for years.
Government official Rasim Ljajic said Karadzic, once known for his distinctively coifed hairdo, was unrecognizable.
"His false identity was very convincing," Vukcevic said. "Even his landlords were unaware of his identity."
Karadzic used a false name, Dragan Dabic, Ljajic said.
The editor in chief of Belgrade's "Healthy Life" magazine, Goran Kojic, said he was shocked when he saw the photo of Karadzic on TV, recognizing him as a regular contributor to the publication.
"It never even occurred to me that this man with a long white beard and hair was Karadzic," Kojic said.
Karadzic's whereabouts had been a mystery since he went on the run in 1998, with his hideouts reportedly including monasteries and mountain caves in remote eastern Bosnia.
Serbian security services found Karadzic, 63, on Monday while looking for another top war crimes suspect facing genocide charges, Bosnian Serb wartime commander Gen. Ratko Mladic, Ljajic said.
Karadzic "was arrested Monday evening near Belgrade while changing locations," he said. "International pressure was to arrest Mladic, and a few had expected that Karadzic would be captured."
His family in Bosnia, banned from leaving the country over suspicions that they helped him elude capture, asked Tuesday to have the restrictions lifted, his daughter told The Associated Press.
Sonja Karadzic said family members want to spend at least a few hours with Karadzic before his transfer to U.N. custody.
"We even suggested traveling under police escort to see him for at least for a few hours," she said. "For years we have not seen our father, husband and grandfather; my mother's health is not very good, and we do not have the financial means necessary to travel to Netherlands."
A judge finished interrogating Karadzic on Tuesday and issued the order for his extradition.
Ljajic refused to reveal more details about his arrest, saying Karadzic's movements are being analyzed and will be kept secret until Mladic's capture. "We are absolutely determined to finish this job," he said.
Karadzic — disguised by the bushy beard and glasses — managed to move freely while living in a new part of Belgrade and working at a private clinic, Ljajic said, holding up a photo of a much thinner-looking Karadzic.
Governments worldwide hailed the arrest of the man described by the tribunal as the mastermind of "scenes from hell, written on the darkest pages of human history."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called it a "historic moment."
"The victims need to know: Massive human rights violations do not go unpunished," she said in Berlin.
European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels said the arrest sets Serbia firmly on the path toward EU membership.
"We have waited for this for 13 years. Finally. Finally," said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in Brussels. "This is a very good thing for the rapprochement of Serbia with the European Union."
In Sarajevo, Bosnian Muslims rushed into the streets Monday night to celebrate the news of Karadzic's arrest.
"This is a very important day for the victims who have waited for this arrest for over a decade," said the tribunal's head prosecutor, Serge Brammertz. "It clearly demonstrates that nobody is beyond the reach of the law and that sooner or later all fugitives will be brought to justice."
During the siege of Sarajevo that began in 1992, Bosnian Serb troops starved, sniped and bombarded the city center, operating from strongholds in Pale and Vraca high above the city and controlling nearly all roads in and out.
Inhabitants were kept alive by a thin lifeline of food aid and supplies provided by U.N. donors and peacekeepers. Walking down the street to shop for groceries or driving down a main road that became known as "Sniper Alley" was a risk to their lives.
The siege was not officially over until February 1996. An estimated 10,000 people died.
The international tribunal indicted Karadzic on genocide charges in 1995. The psychiatrist and self-styled poet-turned-hardline Serbian nationalist continue to wield behind-the-scenes power over Bosnian Serbs, occasionally appearing in public before going into hiding three years later.
The worst massacre was in Srebrenica in 1995, when Serb troops led by Mladic overran the U.N.-protected enclave sheltering Bosnian Muslims. Mladic's troops rounded up the entire population and took the men away for execution.
By war's end in late 1995, an estimated 250,000 people were dead and another 1.8 million driven from their homes.
Under the U.N. indictment, Karadzic faces 11 counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities committed between 1992 to 1996.
He would be the 44th Serb suspect sent to the tribunal in The Hague. The others include former President Slobodan Milosevic, who died there in 2006 while on trial.
___
Associated Press writer Jovana Gec contributed to this report
17 minutes ago
BELGRADE, Serbia - Radovan Karadzic grew a long, white beard to conceal his identity and even managed to openly practice alternative medicine while in hiding, officials said Tuesday in revealing details of the war crimes fugitive's capture after a decade on the run.
ADVERTISEMENT
Karadzic, the wartime leader of Bosnian Serbs, was arrested Monday night in a Belgrade suburb, officials said. A judge has ordered his transfer to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, to face genocide charges, war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said.
Karadzic has three days to appeal the ruling. His lawyer, Sveta Vujacic, said he will launch the process to fight extradition on the last day, Friday, to thwart authorities' wishes for his immediate transfer.
Karadzic — a psychiatrist accused of masterminding the deadly wartime siege of Sarajevo and the executions of up to 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica during Bosnia's 1992-95 war, Europe's worst massacre since World War II — had topped the tribunal's most-wanted list for years.
Government official Rasim Ljajic said Karadzic, once known for his distinctively coifed hairdo, was unrecognizable.
"His false identity was very convincing," Vukcevic said. "Even his landlords were unaware of his identity."
Karadzic used a false name, Dragan Dabic, Ljajic said.
The editor in chief of Belgrade's "Healthy Life" magazine, Goran Kojic, said he was shocked when he saw the photo of Karadzic on TV, recognizing him as a regular contributor to the publication.
"It never even occurred to me that this man with a long white beard and hair was Karadzic," Kojic said.
Karadzic's whereabouts had been a mystery since he went on the run in 1998, with his hideouts reportedly including monasteries and mountain caves in remote eastern Bosnia.
Serbian security services found Karadzic, 63, on Monday while looking for another top war crimes suspect facing genocide charges, Bosnian Serb wartime commander Gen. Ratko Mladic, Ljajic said.
Karadzic "was arrested Monday evening near Belgrade while changing locations," he said. "International pressure was to arrest Mladic, and a few had expected that Karadzic would be captured."
His family in Bosnia, banned from leaving the country over suspicions that they helped him elude capture, asked Tuesday to have the restrictions lifted, his daughter told The Associated Press.
Sonja Karadzic said family members want to spend at least a few hours with Karadzic before his transfer to U.N. custody.
"We even suggested traveling under police escort to see him for at least for a few hours," she said. "For years we have not seen our father, husband and grandfather; my mother's health is not very good, and we do not have the financial means necessary to travel to Netherlands."
A judge finished interrogating Karadzic on Tuesday and issued the order for his extradition.
Ljajic refused to reveal more details about his arrest, saying Karadzic's movements are being analyzed and will be kept secret until Mladic's capture. "We are absolutely determined to finish this job," he said.
Karadzic — disguised by the bushy beard and glasses — managed to move freely while living in a new part of Belgrade and working at a private clinic, Ljajic said, holding up a photo of a much thinner-looking Karadzic.
Governments worldwide hailed the arrest of the man described by the tribunal as the mastermind of "scenes from hell, written on the darkest pages of human history."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called it a "historic moment."
"The victims need to know: Massive human rights violations do not go unpunished," she said in Berlin.
European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels said the arrest sets Serbia firmly on the path toward EU membership.
"We have waited for this for 13 years. Finally. Finally," said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in Brussels. "This is a very good thing for the rapprochement of Serbia with the European Union."
In Sarajevo, Bosnian Muslims rushed into the streets Monday night to celebrate the news of Karadzic's arrest.
"This is a very important day for the victims who have waited for this arrest for over a decade," said the tribunal's head prosecutor, Serge Brammertz. "It clearly demonstrates that nobody is beyond the reach of the law and that sooner or later all fugitives will be brought to justice."
During the siege of Sarajevo that began in 1992, Bosnian Serb troops starved, sniped and bombarded the city center, operating from strongholds in Pale and Vraca high above the city and controlling nearly all roads in and out.
Inhabitants were kept alive by a thin lifeline of food aid and supplies provided by U.N. donors and peacekeepers. Walking down the street to shop for groceries or driving down a main road that became known as "Sniper Alley" was a risk to their lives.
The siege was not officially over until February 1996. An estimated 10,000 people died.
The international tribunal indicted Karadzic on genocide charges in 1995. The psychiatrist and self-styled poet-turned-hardline Serbian nationalist continue to wield behind-the-scenes power over Bosnian Serbs, occasionally appearing in public before going into hiding three years later.
The worst massacre was in Srebrenica in 1995, when Serb troops led by Mladic overran the U.N.-protected enclave sheltering Bosnian Muslims. Mladic's troops rounded up the entire population and took the men away for execution.
By war's end in late 1995, an estimated 250,000 people were dead and another 1.8 million driven from their homes.
Under the U.N. indictment, Karadzic faces 11 counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities committed between 1992 to 1996.
He would be the 44th Serb suspect sent to the tribunal in The Hague. The others include former President Slobodan Milosevic, who died there in 2006 while on trial.
___
Associated Press writer Jovana Gec contributed to this report
Monday, July 21, 2008
Educating a Black Irish Jew that Coffee is not made by Starbucks!
Last week an article in the Irish Independent (“Africa is giving nothing to anyone – apart from AIDS” by Kevin Myers) hit a new low in Irish journalism.
It was racist, offensive and deliberately intended to cause outrage and to provoke, and Mr. Myers' admission that his article would win no friends did nothing to moderate the disgust anyone would feel on reading such rubbish. It has nothing to do with freedom of speech or expression.
It is a classic case of total irresponsibility, calculated to give journalism a bad name. It is no surprise that the Immigrant Council of Ireland is planning to make an official complaint about its publication which clearly appears to breach Irish law under which it is an offence to publish or distribute written material if it is threatening, abusive or insulting and intended to, or is likely to, stir up hatred.
This is in fact an article that might, indeed should be ignored.
It deserves to be buried. However, in its accusations that Africa only survives by help from the outside world and then wastes it on increasing its population, it does use Ethiopia as an example.
Mr. Myers claims that Ethiopia is “vastly over-populated, environmentally devastated and economically dependant”, aligning himself with those who have been trying to get restrictions on aid to Ethiopia.
He refers to the “self-serving generosity” that has been one of the curses of Africa, sustaining political systems that would otherwise have collapsed and has been inspiring Bill Gates programme to rid Africa of malaria, which he describes as “one of the most efficacious forms of population control now operating.” Evil is not a word to be used lightly but it seems appropriate here.
It is also appropriate to note that Africa, and Ethiopia, bears little relationship to the continent Mr. Myers portrays.
In the last five years, Africa as a whole has achieved over 5% average growth, and last year, ten African states had a growth rate of over 7%. Ethiopia at 9.5% had the highest rate of any non-oil economy.
In fact, over the last five years Ethiopia has averaged double figure growth, and despite the problems of this year, caused by drought coupled with the sharp international rises in oil and food prices, will still manage nearly 11% growth this year. A joint UN/African Development Bank statement in June noted that industry grew at 11% of GDP in 2006-07 and manufacturing at 10.5%; agriculture at 9.4% in real terms.
Last year saw the fifth good harvest in a row. Exports increased by over 18% in 2006-07 to $1.2 billion, and are expected to rise to $1.8 billion this year.
Growth has benefited from investment in infrastructure supported by donor funding, and paradoxically electricity shortages in May and June (due to shortages of water) underlined the enormous increase in demand produced by development.
All these are not merely abstract figures in government or donor balance sheets. Subsistence farmers are being drawn into the commercial economy. The agriculture sector, helped by institutional reforms and increased infrastructure is becoming more resilient, even though this year there has been an increase in numbers needing food aid following poor belg rains. In the Amhara Regional State, for example, there has been a 25% increase in land under cultivation, from 2,900 to 3,700 hectares in the five years to 2006.
Since 2002, the number of jobs in the region has risen by nearly half a million, 52,000 in industry last year alone. 45% of the region now has access to pure water, 1645 villages have telephone links and there are some 80,000 mobiles in the region. Primary school enrolment reached over 90% two years ago, and the region now has five universities, five agricultural colleges, five teacher training colleges and three technical colleges. There are 2283 health clinics (up from 421 in 1991), 168 health centres (39 in 1991) and 17 hospitals (9 in 1991).
The Somali Regional State has some 1,000 primary and secondary schools, five colleges and a university. There are six hospitals and over 250 clinics and health centres.
It, too, is benefiting from the substantial investment in telecommunications infrastructure; one recent project has been the connection of more than 600 secondary schools to the Internet. Similar statistics could be adduced with respect to all other regional states.
The Government’s primary concern remains the war on poverty, and the key objectives of the Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP), covering the period 2005/06-2009/10, to achieve sustained, robust and pro-poor economic growth to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, one of which is to halve poverty by 2015.
This is showing positive results. The proportion of people living in poverty declined from 44% in 2000 to 39% in 2005, and both urban and rural poverty indices have fallen. PASDEP aims to reduce this proportion to 29% by 2010. It is undeniable that a great deal remains to be done.
Ethiopia is deeply appreciative of the generosity of donors. It does, however, put aid to good use. It is on track to achieve most MDGs and to lift Ethiopia into the ranks of middle-income countries within the next two or three decades.
It was racist, offensive and deliberately intended to cause outrage and to provoke, and Mr. Myers' admission that his article would win no friends did nothing to moderate the disgust anyone would feel on reading such rubbish. It has nothing to do with freedom of speech or expression.
It is a classic case of total irresponsibility, calculated to give journalism a bad name. It is no surprise that the Immigrant Council of Ireland is planning to make an official complaint about its publication which clearly appears to breach Irish law under which it is an offence to publish or distribute written material if it is threatening, abusive or insulting and intended to, or is likely to, stir up hatred.
This is in fact an article that might, indeed should be ignored.
It deserves to be buried. However, in its accusations that Africa only survives by help from the outside world and then wastes it on increasing its population, it does use Ethiopia as an example.
Mr. Myers claims that Ethiopia is “vastly over-populated, environmentally devastated and economically dependant”, aligning himself with those who have been trying to get restrictions on aid to Ethiopia.
He refers to the “self-serving generosity” that has been one of the curses of Africa, sustaining political systems that would otherwise have collapsed and has been inspiring Bill Gates programme to rid Africa of malaria, which he describes as “one of the most efficacious forms of population control now operating.” Evil is not a word to be used lightly but it seems appropriate here.
It is also appropriate to note that Africa, and Ethiopia, bears little relationship to the continent Mr. Myers portrays.
In the last five years, Africa as a whole has achieved over 5% average growth, and last year, ten African states had a growth rate of over 7%. Ethiopia at 9.5% had the highest rate of any non-oil economy.
In fact, over the last five years Ethiopia has averaged double figure growth, and despite the problems of this year, caused by drought coupled with the sharp international rises in oil and food prices, will still manage nearly 11% growth this year. A joint UN/African Development Bank statement in June noted that industry grew at 11% of GDP in 2006-07 and manufacturing at 10.5%; agriculture at 9.4% in real terms.
Last year saw the fifth good harvest in a row. Exports increased by over 18% in 2006-07 to $1.2 billion, and are expected to rise to $1.8 billion this year.
Growth has benefited from investment in infrastructure supported by donor funding, and paradoxically electricity shortages in May and June (due to shortages of water) underlined the enormous increase in demand produced by development.
All these are not merely abstract figures in government or donor balance sheets. Subsistence farmers are being drawn into the commercial economy. The agriculture sector, helped by institutional reforms and increased infrastructure is becoming more resilient, even though this year there has been an increase in numbers needing food aid following poor belg rains. In the Amhara Regional State, for example, there has been a 25% increase in land under cultivation, from 2,900 to 3,700 hectares in the five years to 2006.
Since 2002, the number of jobs in the region has risen by nearly half a million, 52,000 in industry last year alone. 45% of the region now has access to pure water, 1645 villages have telephone links and there are some 80,000 mobiles in the region. Primary school enrolment reached over 90% two years ago, and the region now has five universities, five agricultural colleges, five teacher training colleges and three technical colleges. There are 2283 health clinics (up from 421 in 1991), 168 health centres (39 in 1991) and 17 hospitals (9 in 1991).
The Somali Regional State has some 1,000 primary and secondary schools, five colleges and a university. There are six hospitals and over 250 clinics and health centres.
It, too, is benefiting from the substantial investment in telecommunications infrastructure; one recent project has been the connection of more than 600 secondary schools to the Internet. Similar statistics could be adduced with respect to all other regional states.
The Government’s primary concern remains the war on poverty, and the key objectives of the Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP), covering the period 2005/06-2009/10, to achieve sustained, robust and pro-poor economic growth to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, one of which is to halve poverty by 2015.
This is showing positive results. The proportion of people living in poverty declined from 44% in 2000 to 39% in 2005, and both urban and rural poverty indices have fallen. PASDEP aims to reduce this proportion to 29% by 2010. It is undeniable that a great deal remains to be done.
Ethiopia is deeply appreciative of the generosity of donors. It does, however, put aid to good use. It is on track to achieve most MDGs and to lift Ethiopia into the ranks of middle-income countries within the next two or three decades.
Another Famine? Nature or a failed generation?
“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
”
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3
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Ethiopia "surprised" by fascist monuments in Italy Afrol News
Ethiopian War Hero General Legesse Tefera honored (Ethiomedia)
Al Amoudi's Firm to Secure Large Plot for Bio-Fuel Addis Fortune
Ethiopia Fights Off Famine Image by Growing Long-Stemmed Roses Bloomberg
Martin Luther King "I have a dream" (Youtube)
Ethiopiques - Performing at Glastonbury 2008 Source BBC
West condemns Mugabe, ignores other Africa despots
Tourists flock to Ethiopia to see Ark of Covenant's home
Ongoing battle over the 'lost Jews'
Opposition holds "Forum for Democratic Dialogue in Ethiopia"
Murder suspect linked to body found in Danish harbour
Ethiopia: Gov't Prepares Assault On Civil Society
Professor Mesfin's speech (Youtube)
OFDM calls for probe into "massacre"
Ethiopia's political landscape worrying
Another famine! Is it Nature or the Generation that Failed Ethiopia?
By Addisu T
When I went back to work on Monday morning, a colleague told me about the weekend coverage of “the Ethiopian famine” on BBC to express his sympathy. He is a good person and I know he only meant well. But to be honest, this is exactly a subject that I and many Ethiopians in Diaspora dread and want to avoid. This subject hurts Ethiopians deep down to their bones.
Even the well meaning sympathy and the charity at times become a pain to our consciousness.
The sad thing is that, no matter how much one tries to run away from the subject, it is difficult to escape when emaciated and shocking images of children are brought into the living rooms of millions of people through out the world.
Following BBC’s coverage, Channel 4 gave sufficient time to show the ongoing starvation in Ethiopia. As the media chases the biggest headline of the week, there is no doubt that others would follow to bring the painful and embarrassing truth to the world. Hence, there seems to be no place to hide.
Whoever asks a question about Ethiopia’s man-made trap in poverty and starvation deserves explanation. This time, no rhetorical excuses such as feudalism, imperialism, nature, too little rain, too much rain, God or “the absentee Amhara landlords” as Dr. Solomon Enquai of REST put it in the 1980’s can be acceptable.
The Never Ending Social Experiment on the Masses
To avoid the recurring starvation, the world and the rest of us want an honest discussion why Ethiopians are dying of starvation in the world where many people suffer from excessive consumption and obesity.
I feel obliged to remind foreign educated Ethiopian ‘elites’ (as they would like to call themselves), their generation has been in charge of the country for more than 40years and that there are no more “absentee landlords or backward nobilities” to blame.
Monarchy, Feudalism, peasants to individuals (not to the State) and serf-system were abolished and they are the thing of the past. Of course, “Land to the Tiller” was declared to be proudly recorded on resumes of the Ethiopia’s revolutionary generation and their comrade junior army officers.
Scientific Socialism and Communism as panacea for the oppressed was declared and now it is watered down into “revolutionary democracy”, what ever it means (may be Maoism version 3.2:).
Wealth was considered as a subversive greed and a source of all-evil to be condemned. A desire to own and accumulate was branded as anti-revolutionary and petty Bourgeoisie. So the wealth as well as the wealthy were destroyed or chased out of the country.
We had also total nationalization and distribution of wealth, which become distribution of poverty. Interestingly this generation has gone from one extreme to the other; from rounding up the wealthy and shooting them to becoming tycoons of itself among the largest starving population.
Along with these social experiments, the people were categorised and re-categorised many times along “class” as “oppressors and oppressed”, revolutionary and reactionary, colonizers and colonized, chauvinist and narrow nationalist, secessionist and unionist. You name it, we had every word from Thesaurus that is used to categorise people along their difference from primordial ethnic to conceptual abstraction.
Even God was blamed to be deposed and exiled to free the people from religion, which is branded as “the opium of the masses” and cause of starvation. Now He is allowed to return but the same generation claims to know what is best for God to get involved in selection and appointment of God’s Ambassadors on earth.
We had from Colonel Mengistu’s “Green Revolution, villagisation, and settlement” experiments to Ato Meles’s “extension programme”.
We had also from Sasakawa-Jimmy Carter’s “Harvest 2000” master plan to feed Ethiopians to Ato Meles’s “Agriculture Led Accelerated Development”. All were touted as a route to feeding the starving masses.
Lesson Learnt: the Guinea pigs are still dying
Despite all these social experiments on real people, no body has reported back why nationalisation, extermination of petty-Bourgeois, declaration of Scientific Socialism, ethnic nationalism or Agriculture led Industrialisation failed to stop starvation.
It is heart breaking to note that we still see Ethiopians on TV, facing death by starvation in the 21st century where obesity, cholesterol, high blood pressure is becoming the biggest health concern in the rest of the world, including among Ethiopian “elites” and rulers who happen to control state power and conduct these “ism” social experiments.
The big lesson we have learnt from the last 40 years half baked social experiments and borrowed rhetoric is that Ethiopia’s problem cannot and will not be solved by reciting versus from borrowed philosophy books. We know now reciting quotes wouldn’t grow potatoes.
That is why the Guinea pigs need to say, for heaven sake stop these slogans, rhetoric, hyperboles and “ism”. We heard it all for the last 40 solid years, but where is the bread? Our problems can only be solved by empowering the people to be in charges of their destiny without being Guinea pigs for semi-educated experts.
None of the rhetoric from Communism to Revolutionary Democracy, from land to the tiller to current magic potion of “nation and nationalities” did empower the people to have loaf of bread on the table, except making the generation appear civilized and sophisticated while making the vast majority of the people Guinea pigs for social experiment.
Our problems can only be solved by making ones hand dirty and digging the ground. It can only be solved by empowering citizens to work hard to accumulate assets for rainy days. It can only be solved through open, original and critical debate rather than trying to impress the people and donors with plagiarised jargons in foreign language. We don’t need to look the answers in books or go to Russia or China to copy models. Ethiopia’s problems are unique and need someone to think to find solutions. In the last 40 years everybody was busy copying and no body was thinking.
What the people want?
Ethiopians are not demanding more from their “elites”. The people are still cheering when a rail carriage passes once in a week that was bought by Emperor Menilik some 100 years ago. The people are still content with Airlines, telecommunication, power stations, and educational system that were built 70 years before by another condemned Emperor. They see the flag and the lion on the logo to hang on to failed modernisation.
In all honesty, the Ethiopian poor did not ask like Pakistanis, Indians, or Libyans that their “elites” lock themselves up in underground bunker to develop nuclear warheads. No, no, not even a steam engine or horse-drawn carts. The people had been only asking for bread for 40 years that has never been materialised. Instead they were fed with quotes from books of Joseph Stalin or Adam Smith.
Now one can say, taxpayer’s money that was spent on educating the revolutionary generation would have been better value for money if it had gone down the drain. None of the basic problems of the Ethiopia people, like bread, clean water, a needle, a wheel for horse drawn cart or penicillin to treat infection has been solved.
Instead, the taxpayers’ money was spent in creating egotistical and pretentious generation that spent its time promoting conflict and fighting each other to control state power to enrich and to die of cholesterol and Whisky poison.
A generation that claims to know-it-all the likes of Bertrand Russell and Mao by first name has not yet figured out where bread comes from. Despite its pretence of being “civilized” with exterior three pieces of suit, silk ties, Italian made shoes and borrowed lingo, “the question of bread” has proved that this generation is nothing but incompetent.
Still, for the poor and unfortunate Ethiopians, a loaf of bread is more precious than a life saving medicine for cancer or HIV. Bread do not need sophisticated microbiology lab to develop it like a vaccine to cure HIV. It needs a plot of land and freedom for a person to work in the fields in good and bad times. It needs the rights to be a master of its destiny but not be a peasant to the state and local authorities. It needs a right to own, develop and keep.
So why this elementary truth become the most difficult task for this generation that boasts about moving mountains, overthrowing the old order and claim to become the “vanguard of the masses?
At a risk of repeating myself, I want to remind this generation that 21st century has been a century of excess and abundance. Tones and after tons of food have been dumped in sea and landfills. The biggest killer in the rest of the world has been excess, over indulgence, high blood pressure, obesity, stroke, cholesterol. Not lack of a loaf of bread. It is only Ethiopians who are subject to such a tragedy under the leadership of the most “enlightened generation that Ethiopia ever had”.
A million dollar Question: Why are people starving?
Now we need to ask why people are dying. Is it because the country is a barren land that cannot support the growing of cereals and vegetables? Is it because the population is primitive and does not know how to farm and grow its food or lazy to work? Or is it because it is mismanaged by the so called elites that know nothing about digging or planting?
The Facts, nothing but the facts
The Country
Ethiopia is not a barren land. It is a country blessed with natural resources. It has vast amount of fertile and uncultivated land; it is a water tower of Africa with many rivers flowing through its territories to irrigate million hectares of land in Egypt, Sudan, and Somalia.
The country has vast and untapped hydroelectric, mineral and oil potentials. It has the largest biodiversity and a very diverse climate suitable for growing anything and everything all round the year. It has the largest livestock population in Africa; a large swath of savannah grazing land. It has the ancient culture, historical sites and national parks with variety of wild lives to attract tourism.
It is a beautiful and blessed country with all sorts of national resources if there was a generation that wants to make its hand dirty and develop her. No, no, that is not a priority. The generation has to dispel published and unpublished works of Joseph Stalin, Bertrand Russell, and Mao first. If disagreement arises over translation, there is no other option but to fight until the last man and his gun is left. That is more important to this generation.
When it feels enlightened, the generation has to spend all its energy in ridiculing Ethiopia, in working hard in convincing the whole world that Ethiopia is a ‘coloniser’ and a menace to everyone. Hence, it has to devote all its resources solve “the question of Ethiopian’s clonisation of Eritrea” and neighbouring countries.
If anyone disagrees with this contention, then it has to fight it out until the last revolutionary man and his gun is left on the face of the earth. No it is not the question of bread but the issue whether Ethiopia is an Empire state, a nation state or a prison of states that primarily preoccupy the generation.
Oh I forgot! Of course the generation has to take part in solving global warming, in patching the hole in ozone layer and in writing treaties on equitable distribution of the black hole for the benefit of all nations, nationalities and the people of the world. Growing potatoes has never given anyone such self-importance and in any case can wait until the “question of space law” is ratified.
The question why this generation is so obsessed with self-importance and in keeping an exterior civilized appearance while people are dying of starvation is mind boggling. The future generation may need to set up an institute to study it.
The People
The country cannot blame its population because inhabitants of this country were pioneering of civilization and farming for thousands of years and they had survived for centuries without Western or Eastern education or more appropriately mis-education. They have been farming and breeding animals for thousands of years. They had laws, orders, and social systems.
They had moral, ethics, and religions to regulate the balance between people and nature. The people of this blessed land had been writing and publishing books for thousands of years addressing philosophical, religious, and astrological constellations.
The Elite
What I said about the country and the people are irrefutable hard facts. Why is that the generation that had never scribbled a single original work or has grown a flower in its backyard could be allowed to patronise and claim to educate the people? Does speaking English make oneself an expert in everything?
Ethiopia is neither poor nor the population need to be clothed, settled, and educated to learn farming and animals’ husbandry.
Paradoxically, 21st century is the time when Ethiopia opened its door for outside influence and modern education. With it, it unfortunately produced egotistical good-for-nothing generation.
Those who have gone through modern education boast about their achievements on their business cards with prefixes such as BA, Eng. MBA, MSc, PhD, and Professor. Despite all accolades from Western institution, Ethiopians life sustaining calorie consumption has gone down to a level where people die of starvation.
The old social system that was blamed for starvation by the generation is long gone. The past cannot be blamed for the current starvation. But, the problem has been recurring many times in the last 40 years in spite of the generation’s obsession to experiment with new jargons and borrowed rhetoric from foreign lands to address a simple question.
In the last 40 years, many countries have transformed themselves from poor and bottom of human development index to prosperous, industrialised and developed society. There was more than enough time for those who want to use their brain and hands to work and solve the question of bread. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
Putting in perspective why people are starving
An adult needs about 2000 calories to have a healthy life style and kids about 1200 calories for a healthy growth. Having more calories without having physical exercise could lead to being fat with all the consequence of health problems. Having fewer calories per day leads to losing weight and becoming thin. But in the short term, an adult can survive with as low as 600 calories per day consumption. People die of starvation when they do not have anything to eat to support basic metabolic activities.
To simplify things, let me explain what 600 calories mean. 1 gram of bread contains about 4 calories. Hence, 600 calories can be obtained by eating about 150 grams of bread a day. Fatty food contains twice the amount of calorie. For example in 1 gram of fat, there is about 9 calories.
To put it in perspective, a medium size big Mac sandwich is 540 cal, medium fries is 300 and medium coca-cola is about 210. That means one medium meal at MacDonald is more than 1050, which is enough to keep a person alive for two or 3 days. A Starbucks large white chocolate mocha with whip contains more than 500 calories, which is enough to sustain life for a day.
When we come back to our main point, a person can live with 150 grams of bread or 150 grams of wheat “Kolo”, or a bit of bread, cabbage, or beetroots. Mind you, that is what it takes to save life, not expensive antiretroviral drugs.
Why then a country with large fertile land, abundant water resources, very well educated or (mis-educated elite that is capable of splitting atoms with its rhetoric), very favourable and diverse climate to grow everything conceivable on this planet, huge bio-diversity, the largest livestock population in Africa and with billions dollars of foreign aid money failed to provide at least 150 grams of Kolo for its law abiding and dying population? This is the a million dollar question that Ethiopia’s rulers and elites need to answer.
This time we have to be honest to stop running away from this subject out of embarrassment to discuss and find solution. Denials will not solve the problem. The elite may hide behind fortified villas, 4x4, Armani suit, silk ties and crocodile shoes to convey an outward image of progress but that cannot save us from inward humiliation.
Every where else necessity has been a mother of invention, but with us, it has rather been a mother of rhetoric. So it is time to wake up and smell the coffee. There is no much time left; this generation has a short time to solve this problem or be remembered who talked too much to pass the begging bowl for its children.
People are starving and as they say charity begins at home. What about the elites taking a practical action for the first time. What about donating your silk ties for charity to feed a starving child? I wonder how many of the political leaders, academic, government officials, opposition leaders, elites or “vanguards of the masses” would give up their silk ties or black label whisky to save a child. I bet it is very few indeed!
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Temelkach said:
It is a good article.
But, the writer blames this generation for the famine in Ethiopia.
What i would like to know is that is the writer part of this generation or what?
June 27, 2008
a guest said:
It is a very eye opening article. I have never seen other writers framing the recurring famine from this angle.
When i think of it, i agree with the writer that there is no any old system to blame.
This generation was given the chance for more than 40 years to put Ethiopia ahead. But, what we actually see is that our country moving backward in every aspect.
Looking back, i belive King Hailesellasie's period was over all much more better than that of Colonel Mengistu's. That of Colonel Mengistu's better than that of Ato Meles.
The current generation should take its fate into its hand and should not let the that failed generation to screw our country any more.
The new generation should be able to say enough is enough.
June 27, 2008
Helina said:
To blame the generation for the recurrent famine in Ethiopia is over simplification of the matter, to say the least. I think, all of us should be blamed. We have done nothing with respect to the famine.
It is the collective failure by all of us; ie. leftist of right or the government or the opposition, educated or uneducated,..etc. Thus, i do not think it is fair to single out a generation as a scape goat unless there is some hidden motive behind it.
June 28, 2008
tewbel said:
I share the cry of the author, it is rare indeed to read such an honest appraisal of Ethiopia's tragedy. Wellbeing, freedom ansd self respect cannot be gained without sacrifice. Every generation of Ethiopians rich or poor has paid a high price in flesh and blood to keep the country independent and bestow it to the next generation. The so called 'educated elite' of the past four decades paid the price for the wrong reason and has nothing to offer anymore.
Where is the new generation who says 'my country or death' ?????
June 28, 2008
zelalem said:
It is a brilliant article. Our politicians have been very busy promoting their self interest rather than finding solution to improve the life our society. Typical example is the cadres and supporters of the current regime who have made and are still making themselves millionaire. Even in the Mengistu regime huge amount of money was allocated for cadres and members of the ruling party.
June 28, 2008
Belai said:
In all honesty, the article came up with simple and fresh approach in identifying the weakest link that hampered progress and development in Ethiopia. The author put 3 parameters that are need for development. First natural resources, second the population and third the system which is predominately put in place by the elites.
First he argued saying that Ethiopia is not a barren land. I agree. As he put it, it is a blessed land with natural resources. Less than 10% of cultivatable land has been cultivated. Ethiopia exploited less than 2% of the hydroelectric potential. Since the 1960 we had been hearing about Ethiopia’s oil reserve that has not yet given due attention to provide exploration right to those who had the mean to bring it to the surface Till now no company was given exploration right to search for minerals and oils. Minerals just do not come to the surface; some one has to dig down to find it. You either do it, or give others to do it for you.
He also argued to prove that the inhabitants of the land were creative, ingenious, industrious, who left their mark on the landscape from Axum to Addis. So they do not need to be civilized or re-invent. They know how to farm, they know how to curve monuments, they know how to right. They had mathematics, literature, religion, art and technology. In short they are a kind of people that need to patronised.
Then he went to show how irresponsible the generation was in chasing trivial issues in the last 40 years. It sound judgmental but it is true. If there is anything that this generation want to creadit for let us hear it. Still now none of the Ethiopian politicians and intellectuals talk about famine or poverty, but if there are given the stage they can kill any with their rhetoric of self-determination, colonialism blab la mean. It is true, these guys have killed each other over semantics like Labader and Wezader.
So in effect the author is right in saying the generation is responsible for Ethiopia’s current problem. There is no country in the world that has up to 14 million people exposed to starvation. Every year upto 4 million people need food supplies to survive. If this is not an issue to this generation, what else would be.
Tubs up for Addis, some one need to call a spade a spade.
June 28, 2008
Sam said:
Question:
What could you possibly do if your mother or child is about to die because nothing to eat now ? Would you just spend time on analyzing the problem or responde for the emergency ?
Answer:
The answer we all have for the foregoing question is what we need to do NOW !!!
Opinion:
Let us go to analysis after we respond to the emergency.
Thanks,
Sam
June 29, 2008
Addisu said:
Hi Sam,
Thank you for your comment. I think problem solving is a three-stage process: - First,. Problem definition, Second, Analysis and third Action planning.
The first step to solving problem is to know the source of the difficulty. Real problems are often masked by symptoms. It is easy to be mislead into solving the symptoms instead of the causes. Unless the cause is dealt with, fresh headaches will undoubtabily arise. As you can see, famine has been with us continuously for 36years. There was no year where the people were not starving or stretching their hands to the charity. Every year around 4 million people need handout to survive. The vast majority of the kids are malnourished. We only see it when the graph drastically picks above this baseline or when BBC broadcasts shocking images. In some years, the number of people stretching their hand reaches up to 14 million people.
Sam the purpose of the article is to provoke discussion and find a permanent solution.. It is not to mimic the rhetoric of the Ethiopian Revolutionary Generation. God forbid I do not wish to be like one of them. Once you define the problem you analysis the data. Those data could be natural phenomena, government policies, and attitude to work, serf-system to the government or other parameters. Then you progress in to Action Planning. Your action need to have urgent, short-term, and long-term activities until the problems are solved. I do not want to make it like MBA lecture but I think that these is right way of solving problems.
I know you are concerned and want to focus on urgent actions. That is noble. Let me suggest one immediate solution. Please go and put some money in to Oxfam for Ethiopia appeal or other charity that operates in Ethiopia. Or send some money to families in affected areas to buy something. If you see my article, it concludes by asking Ethiopian rulers and intellectuals to give their silk ties or double scotch to save a child.
Thank you again for your coment
June 30, 2008
Me and myself said:
When are we going to wake up and decide that WE the people, not the government can fix the mess that we are in. Even though our leader have a great deal of responsibility of making a difference, we can't fail with them if they do. I just think that responsibility starts from individuals. Just think of a nation full of hard working responsible citizens.
July 15, 2008
”
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3
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Another famine! Is it Nature or the Generation that Failed Ethiopia?
By Addisu T
When I went back to work on Monday morning, a colleague told me about the weekend coverage of “the Ethiopian famine” on BBC to express his sympathy. He is a good person and I know he only meant well. But to be honest, this is exactly a subject that I and many Ethiopians in Diaspora dread and want to avoid. This subject hurts Ethiopians deep down to their bones.
Even the well meaning sympathy and the charity at times become a pain to our consciousness.
The sad thing is that, no matter how much one tries to run away from the subject, it is difficult to escape when emaciated and shocking images of children are brought into the living rooms of millions of people through out the world.
Following BBC’s coverage, Channel 4 gave sufficient time to show the ongoing starvation in Ethiopia. As the media chases the biggest headline of the week, there is no doubt that others would follow to bring the painful and embarrassing truth to the world. Hence, there seems to be no place to hide.
Whoever asks a question about Ethiopia’s man-made trap in poverty and starvation deserves explanation. This time, no rhetorical excuses such as feudalism, imperialism, nature, too little rain, too much rain, God or “the absentee Amhara landlords” as Dr. Solomon Enquai of REST put it in the 1980’s can be acceptable.
The Never Ending Social Experiment on the Masses
To avoid the recurring starvation, the world and the rest of us want an honest discussion why Ethiopians are dying of starvation in the world where many people suffer from excessive consumption and obesity.
I feel obliged to remind foreign educated Ethiopian ‘elites’ (as they would like to call themselves), their generation has been in charge of the country for more than 40years and that there are no more “absentee landlords or backward nobilities” to blame.
Monarchy, Feudalism, peasants to individuals (not to the State) and serf-system were abolished and they are the thing of the past. Of course, “Land to the Tiller” was declared to be proudly recorded on resumes of the Ethiopia’s revolutionary generation and their comrade junior army officers.
Scientific Socialism and Communism as panacea for the oppressed was declared and now it is watered down into “revolutionary democracy”, what ever it means (may be Maoism version 3.2:).
Wealth was considered as a subversive greed and a source of all-evil to be condemned. A desire to own and accumulate was branded as anti-revolutionary and petty Bourgeoisie. So the wealth as well as the wealthy were destroyed or chased out of the country.
We had also total nationalization and distribution of wealth, which become distribution of poverty. Interestingly this generation has gone from one extreme to the other; from rounding up the wealthy and shooting them to becoming tycoons of itself among the largest starving population.
Along with these social experiments, the people were categorised and re-categorised many times along “class” as “oppressors and oppressed”, revolutionary and reactionary, colonizers and colonized, chauvinist and narrow nationalist, secessionist and unionist. You name it, we had every word from Thesaurus that is used to categorise people along their difference from primordial ethnic to conceptual abstraction.
Even God was blamed to be deposed and exiled to free the people from religion, which is branded as “the opium of the masses” and cause of starvation. Now He is allowed to return but the same generation claims to know what is best for God to get involved in selection and appointment of God’s Ambassadors on earth.
We had from Colonel Mengistu’s “Green Revolution, villagisation, and settlement” experiments to Ato Meles’s “extension programme”.
We had also from Sasakawa-Jimmy Carter’s “Harvest 2000” master plan to feed Ethiopians to Ato Meles’s “Agriculture Led Accelerated Development”. All were touted as a route to feeding the starving masses.
Lesson Learnt: the Guinea pigs are still dying
Despite all these social experiments on real people, no body has reported back why nationalisation, extermination of petty-Bourgeois, declaration of Scientific Socialism, ethnic nationalism or Agriculture led Industrialisation failed to stop starvation.
It is heart breaking to note that we still see Ethiopians on TV, facing death by starvation in the 21st century where obesity, cholesterol, high blood pressure is becoming the biggest health concern in the rest of the world, including among Ethiopian “elites” and rulers who happen to control state power and conduct these “ism” social experiments.
The big lesson we have learnt from the last 40 years half baked social experiments and borrowed rhetoric is that Ethiopia’s problem cannot and will not be solved by reciting versus from borrowed philosophy books. We know now reciting quotes wouldn’t grow potatoes.
That is why the Guinea pigs need to say, for heaven sake stop these slogans, rhetoric, hyperboles and “ism”. We heard it all for the last 40 solid years, but where is the bread? Our problems can only be solved by empowering the people to be in charges of their destiny without being Guinea pigs for semi-educated experts.
None of the rhetoric from Communism to Revolutionary Democracy, from land to the tiller to current magic potion of “nation and nationalities” did empower the people to have loaf of bread on the table, except making the generation appear civilized and sophisticated while making the vast majority of the people Guinea pigs for social experiment.
Our problems can only be solved by making ones hand dirty and digging the ground. It can only be solved by empowering citizens to work hard to accumulate assets for rainy days. It can only be solved through open, original and critical debate rather than trying to impress the people and donors with plagiarised jargons in foreign language. We don’t need to look the answers in books or go to Russia or China to copy models. Ethiopia’s problems are unique and need someone to think to find solutions. In the last 40 years everybody was busy copying and no body was thinking.
What the people want?
Ethiopians are not demanding more from their “elites”. The people are still cheering when a rail carriage passes once in a week that was bought by Emperor Menilik some 100 years ago. The people are still content with Airlines, telecommunication, power stations, and educational system that were built 70 years before by another condemned Emperor. They see the flag and the lion on the logo to hang on to failed modernisation.
In all honesty, the Ethiopian poor did not ask like Pakistanis, Indians, or Libyans that their “elites” lock themselves up in underground bunker to develop nuclear warheads. No, no, not even a steam engine or horse-drawn carts. The people had been only asking for bread for 40 years that has never been materialised. Instead they were fed with quotes from books of Joseph Stalin or Adam Smith.
Now one can say, taxpayer’s money that was spent on educating the revolutionary generation would have been better value for money if it had gone down the drain. None of the basic problems of the Ethiopia people, like bread, clean water, a needle, a wheel for horse drawn cart or penicillin to treat infection has been solved.
Instead, the taxpayers’ money was spent in creating egotistical and pretentious generation that spent its time promoting conflict and fighting each other to control state power to enrich and to die of cholesterol and Whisky poison.
A generation that claims to know-it-all the likes of Bertrand Russell and Mao by first name has not yet figured out where bread comes from. Despite its pretence of being “civilized” with exterior three pieces of suit, silk ties, Italian made shoes and borrowed lingo, “the question of bread” has proved that this generation is nothing but incompetent.
Still, for the poor and unfortunate Ethiopians, a loaf of bread is more precious than a life saving medicine for cancer or HIV. Bread do not need sophisticated microbiology lab to develop it like a vaccine to cure HIV. It needs a plot of land and freedom for a person to work in the fields in good and bad times. It needs the rights to be a master of its destiny but not be a peasant to the state and local authorities. It needs a right to own, develop and keep.
So why this elementary truth become the most difficult task for this generation that boasts about moving mountains, overthrowing the old order and claim to become the “vanguard of the masses?
At a risk of repeating myself, I want to remind this generation that 21st century has been a century of excess and abundance. Tones and after tons of food have been dumped in sea and landfills. The biggest killer in the rest of the world has been excess, over indulgence, high blood pressure, obesity, stroke, cholesterol. Not lack of a loaf of bread. It is only Ethiopians who are subject to such a tragedy under the leadership of the most “enlightened generation that Ethiopia ever had”.
A million dollar Question: Why are people starving?
Now we need to ask why people are dying. Is it because the country is a barren land that cannot support the growing of cereals and vegetables? Is it because the population is primitive and does not know how to farm and grow its food or lazy to work? Or is it because it is mismanaged by the so called elites that know nothing about digging or planting?
The Facts, nothing but the facts
The Country
Ethiopia is not a barren land. It is a country blessed with natural resources. It has vast amount of fertile and uncultivated land; it is a water tower of Africa with many rivers flowing through its territories to irrigate million hectares of land in Egypt, Sudan, and Somalia.
The country has vast and untapped hydroelectric, mineral and oil potentials. It has the largest biodiversity and a very diverse climate suitable for growing anything and everything all round the year. It has the largest livestock population in Africa; a large swath of savannah grazing land. It has the ancient culture, historical sites and national parks with variety of wild lives to attract tourism.
It is a beautiful and blessed country with all sorts of national resources if there was a generation that wants to make its hand dirty and develop her. No, no, that is not a priority. The generation has to dispel published and unpublished works of Joseph Stalin, Bertrand Russell, and Mao first. If disagreement arises over translation, there is no other option but to fight until the last man and his gun is left. That is more important to this generation.
When it feels enlightened, the generation has to spend all its energy in ridiculing Ethiopia, in working hard in convincing the whole world that Ethiopia is a ‘coloniser’ and a menace to everyone. Hence, it has to devote all its resources solve “the question of Ethiopian’s clonisation of Eritrea” and neighbouring countries.
If anyone disagrees with this contention, then it has to fight it out until the last revolutionary man and his gun is left on the face of the earth. No it is not the question of bread but the issue whether Ethiopia is an Empire state, a nation state or a prison of states that primarily preoccupy the generation.
Oh I forgot! Of course the generation has to take part in solving global warming, in patching the hole in ozone layer and in writing treaties on equitable distribution of the black hole for the benefit of all nations, nationalities and the people of the world. Growing potatoes has never given anyone such self-importance and in any case can wait until the “question of space law” is ratified.
The question why this generation is so obsessed with self-importance and in keeping an exterior civilized appearance while people are dying of starvation is mind boggling. The future generation may need to set up an institute to study it.
The People
The country cannot blame its population because inhabitants of this country were pioneering of civilization and farming for thousands of years and they had survived for centuries without Western or Eastern education or more appropriately mis-education. They have been farming and breeding animals for thousands of years. They had laws, orders, and social systems.
They had moral, ethics, and religions to regulate the balance between people and nature. The people of this blessed land had been writing and publishing books for thousands of years addressing philosophical, religious, and astrological constellations.
The Elite
What I said about the country and the people are irrefutable hard facts. Why is that the generation that had never scribbled a single original work or has grown a flower in its backyard could be allowed to patronise and claim to educate the people? Does speaking English make oneself an expert in everything?
Ethiopia is neither poor nor the population need to be clothed, settled, and educated to learn farming and animals’ husbandry.
Paradoxically, 21st century is the time when Ethiopia opened its door for outside influence and modern education. With it, it unfortunately produced egotistical good-for-nothing generation.
Those who have gone through modern education boast about their achievements on their business cards with prefixes such as BA, Eng. MBA, MSc, PhD, and Professor. Despite all accolades from Western institution, Ethiopians life sustaining calorie consumption has gone down to a level where people die of starvation.
The old social system that was blamed for starvation by the generation is long gone. The past cannot be blamed for the current starvation. But, the problem has been recurring many times in the last 40 years in spite of the generation’s obsession to experiment with new jargons and borrowed rhetoric from foreign lands to address a simple question.
In the last 40 years, many countries have transformed themselves from poor and bottom of human development index to prosperous, industrialised and developed society. There was more than enough time for those who want to use their brain and hands to work and solve the question of bread. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
Putting in perspective why people are starving
An adult needs about 2000 calories to have a healthy life style and kids about 1200 calories for a healthy growth. Having more calories without having physical exercise could lead to being fat with all the consequence of health problems. Having fewer calories per day leads to losing weight and becoming thin. But in the short term, an adult can survive with as low as 600 calories per day consumption. People die of starvation when they do not have anything to eat to support basic metabolic activities.
To simplify things, let me explain what 600 calories mean. 1 gram of bread contains about 4 calories. Hence, 600 calories can be obtained by eating about 150 grams of bread a day. Fatty food contains twice the amount of calorie. For example in 1 gram of fat, there is about 9 calories.
To put it in perspective, a medium size big Mac sandwich is 540 cal, medium fries is 300 and medium coca-cola is about 210. That means one medium meal at MacDonald is more than 1050, which is enough to keep a person alive for two or 3 days. A Starbucks large white chocolate mocha with whip contains more than 500 calories, which is enough to sustain life for a day.
When we come back to our main point, a person can live with 150 grams of bread or 150 grams of wheat “Kolo”, or a bit of bread, cabbage, or beetroots. Mind you, that is what it takes to save life, not expensive antiretroviral drugs.
Why then a country with large fertile land, abundant water resources, very well educated or (mis-educated elite that is capable of splitting atoms with its rhetoric), very favourable and diverse climate to grow everything conceivable on this planet, huge bio-diversity, the largest livestock population in Africa and with billions dollars of foreign aid money failed to provide at least 150 grams of Kolo for its law abiding and dying population? This is the a million dollar question that Ethiopia’s rulers and elites need to answer.
This time we have to be honest to stop running away from this subject out of embarrassment to discuss and find solution. Denials will not solve the problem. The elite may hide behind fortified villas, 4x4, Armani suit, silk ties and crocodile shoes to convey an outward image of progress but that cannot save us from inward humiliation.
Every where else necessity has been a mother of invention, but with us, it has rather been a mother of rhetoric. So it is time to wake up and smell the coffee. There is no much time left; this generation has a short time to solve this problem or be remembered who talked too much to pass the begging bowl for its children.
People are starving and as they say charity begins at home. What about the elites taking a practical action for the first time. What about donating your silk ties for charity to feed a starving child? I wonder how many of the political leaders, academic, government officials, opposition leaders, elites or “vanguards of the masses” would give up their silk ties or black label whisky to save a child. I bet it is very few indeed!
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Temelkach said:
It is a good article.
But, the writer blames this generation for the famine in Ethiopia.
What i would like to know is that is the writer part of this generation or what?
June 27, 2008
a guest said:
It is a very eye opening article. I have never seen other writers framing the recurring famine from this angle.
When i think of it, i agree with the writer that there is no any old system to blame.
This generation was given the chance for more than 40 years to put Ethiopia ahead. But, what we actually see is that our country moving backward in every aspect.
Looking back, i belive King Hailesellasie's period was over all much more better than that of Colonel Mengistu's. That of Colonel Mengistu's better than that of Ato Meles.
The current generation should take its fate into its hand and should not let the that failed generation to screw our country any more.
The new generation should be able to say enough is enough.
June 27, 2008
Helina said:
To blame the generation for the recurrent famine in Ethiopia is over simplification of the matter, to say the least. I think, all of us should be blamed. We have done nothing with respect to the famine.
It is the collective failure by all of us; ie. leftist of right or the government or the opposition, educated or uneducated,..etc. Thus, i do not think it is fair to single out a generation as a scape goat unless there is some hidden motive behind it.
June 28, 2008
tewbel said:
I share the cry of the author, it is rare indeed to read such an honest appraisal of Ethiopia's tragedy. Wellbeing, freedom ansd self respect cannot be gained without sacrifice. Every generation of Ethiopians rich or poor has paid a high price in flesh and blood to keep the country independent and bestow it to the next generation. The so called 'educated elite' of the past four decades paid the price for the wrong reason and has nothing to offer anymore.
Where is the new generation who says 'my country or death' ?????
June 28, 2008
zelalem said:
It is a brilliant article. Our politicians have been very busy promoting their self interest rather than finding solution to improve the life our society. Typical example is the cadres and supporters of the current regime who have made and are still making themselves millionaire. Even in the Mengistu regime huge amount of money was allocated for cadres and members of the ruling party.
June 28, 2008
Belai said:
In all honesty, the article came up with simple and fresh approach in identifying the weakest link that hampered progress and development in Ethiopia. The author put 3 parameters that are need for development. First natural resources, second the population and third the system which is predominately put in place by the elites.
First he argued saying that Ethiopia is not a barren land. I agree. As he put it, it is a blessed land with natural resources. Less than 10% of cultivatable land has been cultivated. Ethiopia exploited less than 2% of the hydroelectric potential. Since the 1960 we had been hearing about Ethiopia’s oil reserve that has not yet given due attention to provide exploration right to those who had the mean to bring it to the surface Till now no company was given exploration right to search for minerals and oils. Minerals just do not come to the surface; some one has to dig down to find it. You either do it, or give others to do it for you.
He also argued to prove that the inhabitants of the land were creative, ingenious, industrious, who left their mark on the landscape from Axum to Addis. So they do not need to be civilized or re-invent. They know how to farm, they know how to curve monuments, they know how to right. They had mathematics, literature, religion, art and technology. In short they are a kind of people that need to patronised.
Then he went to show how irresponsible the generation was in chasing trivial issues in the last 40 years. It sound judgmental but it is true. If there is anything that this generation want to creadit for let us hear it. Still now none of the Ethiopian politicians and intellectuals talk about famine or poverty, but if there are given the stage they can kill any with their rhetoric of self-determination, colonialism blab la mean. It is true, these guys have killed each other over semantics like Labader and Wezader.
So in effect the author is right in saying the generation is responsible for Ethiopia’s current problem. There is no country in the world that has up to 14 million people exposed to starvation. Every year upto 4 million people need food supplies to survive. If this is not an issue to this generation, what else would be.
Tubs up for Addis, some one need to call a spade a spade.
June 28, 2008
Sam said:
Question:
What could you possibly do if your mother or child is about to die because nothing to eat now ? Would you just spend time on analyzing the problem or responde for the emergency ?
Answer:
The answer we all have for the foregoing question is what we need to do NOW !!!
Opinion:
Let us go to analysis after we respond to the emergency.
Thanks,
Sam
June 29, 2008
Addisu said:
Hi Sam,
Thank you for your comment. I think problem solving is a three-stage process: - First,. Problem definition, Second, Analysis and third Action planning.
The first step to solving problem is to know the source of the difficulty. Real problems are often masked by symptoms. It is easy to be mislead into solving the symptoms instead of the causes. Unless the cause is dealt with, fresh headaches will undoubtabily arise. As you can see, famine has been with us continuously for 36years. There was no year where the people were not starving or stretching their hands to the charity. Every year around 4 million people need handout to survive. The vast majority of the kids are malnourished. We only see it when the graph drastically picks above this baseline or when BBC broadcasts shocking images. In some years, the number of people stretching their hand reaches up to 14 million people.
Sam the purpose of the article is to provoke discussion and find a permanent solution.. It is not to mimic the rhetoric of the Ethiopian Revolutionary Generation. God forbid I do not wish to be like one of them. Once you define the problem you analysis the data. Those data could be natural phenomena, government policies, and attitude to work, serf-system to the government or other parameters. Then you progress in to Action Planning. Your action need to have urgent, short-term, and long-term activities until the problems are solved. I do not want to make it like MBA lecture but I think that these is right way of solving problems.
I know you are concerned and want to focus on urgent actions. That is noble. Let me suggest one immediate solution. Please go and put some money in to Oxfam for Ethiopia appeal or other charity that operates in Ethiopia. Or send some money to families in affected areas to buy something. If you see my article, it concludes by asking Ethiopian rulers and intellectuals to give their silk ties or double scotch to save a child.
Thank you again for your coment
June 30, 2008
Me and myself said:
When are we going to wake up and decide that WE the people, not the government can fix the mess that we are in. Even though our leader have a great deal of responsibility of making a difference, we can't fail with them if they do. I just think that responsibility starts from individuals. Just think of a nation full of hard working responsible citizens.
July 15, 2008
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