Ethiopia: Trial begins for mom accused of strangling infant

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Opening statements are scheduled Monday at the trial of a woman accused of strangling her 7-month-old son, then telling authorities he fell from a third-story apartment window in Normal Heights.

Zewoinesh Badasso, a native of Ethiopia, is charged with murder and assault in the Sept. 7, 2012, death of her son, David. Badasso, 35, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Jurors will first hear evidence in the guilt phase of trial. If Badasso is convicted, a sanity phase will follow.

San Diego, California News Station – KFMB Channel 8 – cbs8.com
At an earlier hearing, Deputy District Attorney Nicole Rooney said two passersby found David in the west alley of the 4500 39th St. sometime after 5 p.m. on Sept. 7, 2012. They called police, and the child was rushed to Rady Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Before police arrived, Badasso allegedly appeared in the alley and told one of the passersby that David was her baby and he had fallen out of a third-story apartment window. The defendant then “manhandled” the baby, picking him up by one arm, the passerby testified.
During an autopsy, medical examiners noticed severe ligature marks around the tot’s neck and other injuries to his face and neck, indicating some form of beating, Rooney said.

Defense attorney Amy McDonald said her client moved to the United States from Ethiopia more than 13 years ago and had been in San Diego only a short time.
Badasso was staying with “friends of a friend” and had just moved into their Normal Heights apartment three days prior to David’s death, McDonald said.
McDonald said at her client’s arraignment that Badasso, while holding David and trying to open an unfamiliar window, lost hold of the child as he jerked in her arms, and he fell out the window.
Source :-http://www.cbs8.com/
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“ታሪክ ለባለ ታሪኩ” (ገብረመድህን አርአያ፣ አውስትራሊያ)

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“ታሪክ ለባለ ታሪኩ”

ገብረመድህን አርአያ፣ አውስትራሊያ

January 30, 2014

ኢትዮጵያ ሃገራችን ትልቁ እድሏ ከጥንት ዘመን ጀምሮ እስከ ዛሬ ድረስ ብዙ የታሪክ ሊቃውንትና ጸሓፍት ያፈራች ሃገር መሆኗ ነው።
በጥንቱ ዘመን በኢትዮጵያ መቀመጫቸውን አክሱም ያደረጉት ነገሥታት ታሪካቸውን እና ጥበባቸውን በሳብኛና በግእዝ እያጻፉ አዘጋጀተዋል። በመቀጠልም መቀመጫቸውን ወደ ዛጔ፣ ላስታ ላሊበላ፣ ወሎ ሲተላለፍ በዚያ የነገሡ ነገሥታትም ታሪካቸውን እና ጥበባቸውን በግእዝና በአማርኛ እያዘጋጁ አልፈዋል። የነገሥታቱ መቀመጫ ከወሎ ወደ ሸዋ፤ ከዛም ወደ ጎንደር ሲሸጋገር፣ የነበረው ታሪክ፣ ጥበብና የነገሥታቱ ዝርዝር ሁኔታ ተዘጋጅተው ተመዝግበዋል።
የታሪክ ሊቃውንት የነጋሥታቱን ብርቱና ደካማ ጎኖቻቸውን እና የሰሩትን ታሪክና ገድል ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ በማሳወቅ፣ ሕዝቡም በተራው ያለፉት ነገሥታት የጣሉበትን የጀግንነት አደራ እንዲጠብቅ አድርጎታል። የኢትዮጵያን ሉአላዊነት፣ ዝና እና ክብር እንዲሁም ታሪክና የታሪክ ቅርሶቿ በክብር እንዲንከባከባቸው በሰጡት አደራ መሰረት ኢትዮጵያ ለማንም ቅኝ ገዢ ሳትንበረከክ በዓለም ደረጃ ዝነኛ ሆና የወጣች ሃገር እንድትሆን አድርገዋታል።
የታሪክ ሊቃውንት በ845 በኢትዮጵያ አክሱም ዘመነ መንግሥት በኢትዮጵያ ንጉሥ አንበሳ ውድም ልታወድም የተነሳችው ዮዲት ጉዲት ዙፋኑን ገልብጣ፣ አብያተ ክርስቲያናቱን በማቃጠል፣ ሃውልቶችን እያፈረሰች ታሪካዊ ቅርሶችን በማውደም፣ ክርስቲያኖችን በመጨፍጨፍ ብዙ ከባድ ግፎችን ፈጽማለች። ቀጥሎም በ1515 በአፄ ልብነ ድንግል ዘመን መንግሥት ግራኝ አህመድ የተባለ ጠላት ተነስቶ ብዙ አብያተ ክርስቲያናትን፣ ታሪካዊ ገዳማትን እና ታሪካዊ መዛግብትን ከማውደሙም በላይ፣ ክርስቲያኖችንም አንገታቸውን በሰይፍ እየቀላ ሕዝብ ጨርሷል። ታሪክ ጸሐፊዎችም በዮዲት ጉዲትና በግራኝ አህመድ የተፈጸመውን ግፍ በጥቁር ታሪክነቱ ከትበው ለትውልደ ኢትዮጵያውያን አስተላልፈዋል።
አሁን ባለንበት ዘመን ከሰሜን ኢትዮጵያ ትግራይ የመጣው ገዢ፣ ህዝባዊ ወያኔ ሓርነት ትግራይ (ህወሓት) ኢትዮጵያን እና ሕዝቧን ከላይ ከተጠቀሱት የኢትዮጵያ ጠላቶች እጅግ በጣም ተወዳዳሪ የማይገኝለት፣ በክፉ መልኩ ኢትዮጵያን እና ሕዝቧን ያወደመ፣ የሃገር ሉአላዊነትን ያፈረሰ፣ ሃገር የሸጠ፣ ወጣት ሴቶችን እና ወንዶችን ለባርነትና ለስደት የዳረገ ነው። ከየት መጣ ሳይባል ኢትዮጵያን በቅኝ ግዛት በመቆጣጠር ሃገር በማፍረስ፣ ሕዝብን ከተወለደበት በማፈናቀል የሚፈጽመውን ፋሽስታዊ ተግባራቱን የታሪክ ጸሐፊዎችና የኢኮኖሚ ሊቃውንት ኢትዮጵያውያን እየጻፉት ነው።
በህዳር 2006 መጨረሻ አስደንጋጭ ዜና በዓለም ሚዲያዎች ተነገረ። የደቡብ አፍሪካው የነፃነት አባት ኔልሰን ማንዴላ ከዚች ዓለም በሞት እንደተለየ ተገለጸ። የዓለም ሕዝብና መሪዎቹ የተሰማቸውን ጥልቅ ሃዘን በማስተላለፍ የኔልሰን ማንዴላን አንጸባራቂ ታሪክና ኤ.ኤን.ሲን በመምራት የከፈሉትን መስዋእትነት፣ በተካሄደው መራራ ትግል ደቡብ አፍሪካን ከአፓርታይድ ስርዓት አላቀው ሃገሪቷን እና ሕዝቧን ነፃ ምውጣታቸውን፣ እስከ ግባተ መሬታቸው ድረስ በትግል የፈጸሙትን አኩሪ ታሪካቸውን እና ገድላቸውን ካለምንም ማቋረጥ በዓለም ዙሪያ ነግሮላቸዋል፣ የሰላምና የእርቅ አባትም ተብለዋል።
በቀብራቸው እለትም ከ100 በላይ የዓለም መሪዎች ደቡብ አፍሪካ ድረስ በመጓዝ ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ በዓለም ያልታየ እጅግ የደመቀ የቀብር ስነስርዓት ተፈጽሞላቸዋል። የዚህ ሁሉ ድምር ውጤት ማንዴላ የፈጸሙት የትግል ድልና ታሪክ ነው። ስለሆነም ታሪክ ለባለ ታሪኩ እንደሆነና እንደሚገባ በኔልሰን ማንዴላ ታይቷል። ጥቁር ታሪክ የተሸከመው ወያኔ ህወሓት ደግሞ ከትወልድ ወደ ትውልድ እየተላለፈ፣ እየተረገመና እየተወገዘ ልክ እንደ ዮዲት ጉዲት በሳጥናኤል ምስል እየታወሰ ይኖራል።
የኔልሰን ማንዴላን ህልፈት ተከትሎ የዓለም መሪዎች የተሰማቸውን ሃዘን ሲገልጹ፣ የዓለም ብዙሃን መገናኛዎችም ለሶስት ሳማንታት የቆየ ሰፊ ሽፋን ሰጥተውታል። በዚህም የተነሳ ለህወሓት አመራርና ካድሬዎቹ፣ እንዲሁም የፋሽስቱ ስርዓት መሳሪያ በመሆን የሚያገለግሉት ብአዴን፣ ኦህዴድ፣ ደቡብ ህዝቦች ተብለው በሚታወቁት የገዢው አጎብዳጆች ላይ የራስ ምታት ለቆባቸው ሰንብቷል። ምክንያቱም የህወሓት መሪ ከዚህ ዓለም በሞት ሲቀጠፍ ማንም የዓለም መሪም ሆነ ሕዝብ ከግምት ውስጥ ስለአላስገባው። ሚዲያውን በተመለከተ አልጀዚራና ቢቢሲ ከ2 ደቂቃ ባነሰ ጊዜ መለስ ዜናዊ የኢትዮጵያው አምባገነን መሪ ሞተ ብለው ከመናገር የዘለለ ምንም አልጨመሩም።
በ24/12/2013 በአይጋ ፎረም ርእሰ አንቀጽ “ማንዴላን በማሳበጥ የመለስ ራእይ አይሟሽሽም”!! በሚል ርእስ ስር የተጻፈውን አንኳር አንኳሩን ልዳስስ፤
ከመነሻው ጀምሮ ኔልሰን ማንዴላን በመጥፎ ስምና ተግባር እያብጠለጠለ የመለስ ራይእይን እና ጀግንነት፤ ሀገር ወዳድነት ወዘተ. እያለ ሙግስናውን ይቀጥላል፤
- ጀግናው መለስ ዜናዊ ጦርነት ሳይንስ እንጂ በእድል የሚገኝ አይደለም ብሎ የተነተነ ምሁር ሲሆን፣ ፋሽስት በሆነው ደርግ ላይ ያረጋገጠ ጀግናና የብዙ ጀግኖች ፈጣሪ ነው ይላል፤
በመሰረቱ የዚህ ርእሰ አንቀጽ ጸሐፊ የመለስ ዜናዊን ማንነት የማያውቅ፣ ለጥቅሙ ብሎ በአየር ላይ የሚንሳፈፍ ፊኛ ፍጡር ነው። መለስ ዜናዊ ከተሓህት/ህወሓት ለትግል ከተደባለቀበት ጊዜ አንስቶ በጦርነት ተሳተፍ ተብሎ በግዴታ በተሰለፈባቸው ጦርነቶች ገና የመጀመሪያዋ ጥይት ስትተኮስ ፈርቶ የሸሸ ለመሆኑ በጊዜው የነበሩ የተሓህት ታጋዮች በሚገባ እናውቃለን። በተሓህት ህግና ስነሥርአት መሰረት ከጦርነት ያፈገፈገ ሞት ይፈረድበታል። መለስ ዜናዊ በአደዋ፣ ፈረሰማይ፣ አዲደእሮ፣ ማይቅንጣል፣ ሃገረሰላም፣ አዲ-ኮኸብ፣ ገለበዳ ወዘተ. በተደረጉት ጦርነቶች ፈርቶ የሸሸና ያፈገፈገ ግለሰብ ነው። ለምን እንደሌሎቹ አፈገፈጋችሁ ተብለው እንደተገደሉት መለስ ዜናዊ ስላልተገደለበት ምክንያት በቀዳሚነት የሚጠየቅበትና መልስ የሚሰጠው አረጋዊ በርሄ ነው። ጀግኖች የፈጠረ ማለት ቀልድና ቧልት ነው። ሌቦችን እና ዘራፊዎችን የፈጠረና ራሱም ቀንደኛ ዘራፊ የሆነ ሰው ጀግኖች ሊፈጥር አይችልም። መለስ ዜናዊ ምንም የጦርነት ሳይንስም ሆነ ወታደራዊ ጥበብ የለውም።
- የባለ ራእይነትና አርባኝነት ትልቁ ዓላማው ኢትዮጵያን በአጭር ጊዜ ከበለጽጉት ሃገሮች ጋር እንድትቀላቀል ማድረግ ነው። የትራንስፎርሜሽን እቅዱም የዚሁ ራእይ አካል ነው ይላል። ቀጠል በማድረግም፣ የታላቁ መሪ ራእይ ስኬታማ እየሆኑ መምጣታቸውን እየተመለከትን ነው። የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ ከጭቆና በማላቀቅ የኢኮኖሚ ባለቤትነቱን ያረጋገጠ ጀግና ነው ብሎም ያትታል።
ባለርእሰ አንቀጹ ይህን ሲጽፍ ከጠባብ አስተሳሰብ በመነሳት ነው። ህወሓት ኢትዮጵያን በቅኝ ግዛት ከተቆጣጠረበት ከግንቦት 1983 እስከ አሁን ድረስ በሃገሪቱና በሕዝቧ የወረደው ፋሽስታዊ አገዛዝ ረሃብ፣ በሽታ፣ እንክርት፣ መፈናቀል፣ እስራት፣ የሃገር መሬትና ድነበር ለባእዳን መሸጥ፣ ሰቆቃ፣ አፍኖ ማጥፋት ወዘተ. እየተፈጸሙ ያሉት የመለስ ዜናዊ ራእይና የህወሓት አመራሮች እቅድ መሆኑን ማወቅና መገንዘብ መቻል ያለበት ይመስለኛል። በመሰረቱ የርእሰ አንቀጹ ጸሐፊ ህወሓት ማነው? ሲፈጥርስ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ድርጅት ሆኖ የተፈጠረ ነው ወይ? የሕዝብ ፍቅርና ስሜት መስፈርቱ ነበር ወይ? በኢትዮጵያ ሉአላዊነት ያምን ነበር ወይ? የሚሉትን ጥያቄዎች ያላገናዘበ ከጠባብ ዘርኝነት ስሜት የመነጨ ነው። ውሸት በመደርደር መለስንም ሆነ የህወሓት አመራርን ለልማት የቆሙ አስመስሎ መጻፍ የጸሐፊው አባላት ሳይቀሩ ይታዘቡታል፣ ይንቁታል። ለምን ቢባል፣ ጸረ-ሕዝብና ጸረ-ሃገር የሆነውን የህወሓትን ጥቁር ታሪክ በወርቃማ ቀለም መለወጥ አይቻልምና። ኢትዮጵያን ለማፍረስ ትልእኮው አድርጎ የተነሳ ድርጅት ነው። ከላይ የተጠቀሱትን ኢትዮጵያን ወሮ ከተቆጣጠረ ጀምሮ በተግባር ታይተዋል። ስለሆነም የመለስ ራእይ ለእድገትና ትራንስፎርሜሽን የሚበጅ ሊሆን አይችለም። የመለስና ግብረአበሮቹ ባህሪና የፖሊሲ አቋመቸው ጸረ-ዲሞክራሲ፣ ጸረ-ሃገርና ሕዝብ ነው። በቅጽበት ተለውጠው ለሕዝብና ለሃገር ተቆርቋሪ ሊሆኑ አይችሉም። ዲሞክራሲ ገና ከጅምሩ አንድ ድርጅት ሲፈጠር መሰረታዊ የዲሞክራሲ መሰሶዎች አበጅቶ የሚዳሰስ፣ የሚታይ ጠንካራ የህንጻ ብረት መሳሪያ መሰረቱን የጣለ ከሆነ ነው። ህወሓት ግን ከዚህ ያፈነገጠ ጠባብና ዘረኛ ፋሽስት ድርጅት የዲሞክራሲ መድረኩ አይፈቅድለትም። ስለዚህ፣ የኢኮኖሚ ባለቤትነትን ያረጋገጠ የመለስ ዜናዊ የጀግንነት መግለጫ ነው የሚለው አባባል ከእውነት የራቀ የጠባብ ዘረኝነት አስተሳሰብ ነው። ውሃ የማይቋጥር ቀዳዳ ጣሳ እንበለው።
- መለስ ዜናዊ ከድህነት በላይ አዋራጅ ከድህነት በላይ ክፉ ጠላት የለም የሚለው ራእይ በወሰደው ቆራጥ አመራር የከተማና የገጠር ልማት ፖሊሲዎችና የአፈጻጸም ስልቶች የመለስን የልማት አርበኝነትና ጀግንነት በትክክል የሚያሳይና የሚያርጋግጡ ናቸው ይላል።
የመለስ ዜናዊ የልማት፣ የእድገት አርበኝነት እያሉ በየቀኑ ሕዝብን የሚያደነቁሩ የህወሓት ካድሬዎች ብአዴን፣ ኦህዴድ፣ ደቡብ ህዝቦች ናቸው። ህወሓት የፈጠራቸው ቅጥረኛ ድርጅቶች ሃገር እያፈረሱ፣ ሕዝብን እየጨፈጨፉ ሲሆን፣ መሪያቸው የህወሓት አመራር ድህነትን የተዋጋ፣ ሰፊ የልማት አውታር በመዘርጋት ኢትዮጵያን የለወጠ ብሎ መናገር ከሃዲነት ነው። ወያኔ ህወሓት በ1983 ሃገር ወሮ በቅኝ ግዘቱ ስር ባደረጋት ማግስት የኢትዮጵያ ሁኔታ ሙሉ በሙሉ ተለዋወጠ። ሕዝቡ በርካሽ እየገዛ የሚጠቀምባቸው የምግብ አይነቶች ጤፍ፣ ስንዴ፣ ቅቤ፣ ሥጋ ወዘተ. ዋጋ የሰማይ ጣራ ነካ። እስከ ደርግ ዘመን ፍጻሜ ድረስ ጤፍ በኩንታል ብር 45-60 ይሸጥ ነበር። ቅቤ፣ ዘይት፣ ስጋ ወዘተ. በተመጣጣኝ ዋጋ ይገበይ ነበር። በወያኔ ህወሓት አገዛዝ ቅቤ፣ ዘይት ወዘተ. ከገበያ ጠፍቷል። ጤፍ በኩንታል ብር 1500-1800 ደርሷል። ከአፄ ኃ/ሥላሴ እስከ ደርግ ዘመን ማንኛውም ኢትዮጵያዊ በቀን ሶስት ጊዜ መብላት ይችል ነበር። በአሁኑ ስርዓት ግን በቀን አንድ ጊዜ ለመብላት የሚታገለው ሕዝብ ቁጥሩ በርካታ ሆኗል። የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ በታሪክ አይቶት ለማያውቀው ድህነት ከተዳረገ 23 ዓመት አስቆጥሯል። መራሹ ገዢ ህወሓት የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ ለከፋ ረሃብ፣ በሽታና ስደት ዳርጓል። “እንኳንስ ዘንቦብሽ ዱሮውንም ጤዛ ነሽ” እንደሚባለው፣ ከትግሉ መነሻ ጀምሮ እስከ መጨረሻው ወያኔ ህወሓት ለኢትዮጵያና ህዝቧ ጠላት ሆኖ የተፈጠረ ድርጅት ነው። ከ1967 ጀምሮ ሕዝቧን በጎሳና በዘር ከፋፍዬ አጠፋታለሁ ብሎ የተነሳ ድርጅት ነው። ይህንን ከመጠን ያለፈ ጥላቻ ከትግሉ መነሻ ጀምሮ ሲያራምደው የመጣና ዛሬ በተግባር እያሳየው ነው። ምክንያቱ፣ ህወሓት ኢትዮጵያዊ አይደለምና።
የህወሓት ካድሬዎችና ደጋፊዎች የምትናገሩትና የምትጽፉት ገደብ የለሽ ውሸት፣ በሙስና እና በዝርፊያ ባገኛችሁት ንብረት ከነቤተሰባችሁ እየተንደላቀቃችሁ ጠግባችሁ ብታድሩም፣ ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ የምትነግሩትና የምትጎስሙትን የውሸት ነጋሪት ውድቅ ካደረገው ዓመታት አልፈዋል። ህወሓት፣ ብአዴን፣ ኦህዴድ፣ ደቡብ ህዝቦች በሕዝብ ፊት ቀርባችሁ ፍርዳችሁን የምታገኙበት ጊዜ ተቃርባለች።
ህወሓት ኢትዮጵያን ሲቆጣጠር ተሸክሞት የመጣውን በቀል አማራው፣ ኦሮሞው፣ ጋምቤላው፣ አፋሩ፣ ኦጋዴኑ ወዘተ. ዘር የማጥፋት ተግባሩን ፈጽሞታል። አሁንም እያጠፋ፣ እየገደለ በየወህኒ ቤቶቹ እየማገደው ነው። ይዞት የመጣው ድህነትና በሽታን ብቻ ነው። ፖሊሲው የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ ከዓለም ሃገሮች በድህነት ከወለል በታች ያደረገ ስርዓት ነው። የኢትዮጵያ ገበሬ የመሬቱ ባለቤት በነበረበት ወቅት እራሱን እና ቤተሰቡን አብልቶ ቀሪውን ለገበያ በማቅረብ ሕዝቧ እንደአቅሙ በልቶና ጠጥቶ ያድር ነበር። የህወሓት አስተዳደር መሬት የመንግሥት ነው ብሎ በማወጁ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ በገጠሩም በከተማም መሬት አልባ ሆኗል። የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ በገዛ ሃገሩ ሁለተኛ ዜጋ ከመሆኑ የተነሳ ሲሞት እንኳን የሚቀበርበት ቦታ ያጣ ሕዝብ ሆኗል። የመለስ ራእይ እድገትና ልማት ነው ተብሎ የተጻፈው፣ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ በዚህ ሁኔታ ይቀጥላል የሚል አመለካከት ካለው ፈጽሞ ተሳስቷል። የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ለገዢው ስርዓት መቃብር ቆፍሮ እየጠበቃቸው ነው። የሚተርፋቸው ጥቁር ታሪካቸው ከትውልድ ትውልድ መተለለፉ ብቻ ይሆናል።
ይህንን በዚሁ ላብቃ። በሌላ መልኩ ደግሞ መልስ ልስጥህ። “ማንዴላን በማሳበጥ የመለስ ዜናዊ ራእይ አይሟሽሽም” ያልከው ጸሐፊ ይህንን አንብብ።
ለመለስ ዜናዊ ከድህነት በላይ ክፉ ጠላት የለውም ብሎ መጻፉ ትክክል ነው፣ እስማማበታለሁ። መለስ ዜናዊ የድሃ ቤተስብ ልጅ መሆኑ እንዳይታወቅበት ብዙ ጊዜ ሲከላከል እንደነበር የምናውቀ ሃቅ ነው። መለስ ዜናዊ የሹምባሽ አስረስ ተሰማ የልጅ ልጅ ነው። የሴት አያቱም ወ/ሮ ዘውዲቱ መንገሻ ይባላሉ። አድዋ አውራጃ የተወለደው አስረስ ተሰማ ደግሞ ኤርትራዊ ሲሆን፣ መለስ ዜናዊ በትግራይ ያለው ትውልድ በሴት አያቱ ብቻ ነው። ወራሪው ጣልያን ለሁለተኛ ጊዜ በአፄ ኃ/ሥላሴ ዘመነ መንግሥት በተሸነፈበት ጊዜ የጣልያን ባንዳው ሹምባሽ አስረስ ተሰማ በግዞት አድዋ ውስጥ ነበር። በ6 ወራት ጣልያን ሙሉ በሙሉ ተሸንፎ ኢትዮጵያ ነጻነቷን ስትቀዳጅ አስራስ ተሰማ በደረሰበት ድንጋጤ ታሞ ሞተ። ዜናዊ አስረስም ከአድዋ ከተማ ወደ ኤርትራ አልተመለሰም። ቀደም ብሎ በጣሊያን ጊዜ ያገባቺው ሚስቱም አንዴ አድዋ፣ ሌላ ጊዜ ደግሞ አዲኳላ እየተመላለሱ ኖረዋል። ዜናዊ አስረስ ከወ/ሮ አለማሽ ወ/ልኡል መለስ ዜናዊን ጨምሮ 5 ልጆች ወልደዋል። ሌሎች ሁለት ኤርትራውያን ሴቶች ስለነበሩት በጠቅላላው 13 ልጆች አሉት። ዜናዊ አስረስ ጣልያንኛ በመጠኑ ይናገራል፣ ግን አይጽፍም። ዜናዊ አስረስ ሥራ ያልነበረው ድሃ ስለነበር ማመልከቻ ጸሐፊ በመሆን ኑሮውን ይገፋ ነበር። በኤርትራዊነቱ ስለሚታወቅ በአድዋ አውራጃ ውስጥ የእርሻ መሬት አልነበረውም። አባቱ ሹምባሽ አስረስ ተሰማ በሕዝብ ላይ ብዙ ግፍ የፈጸመና በጣሊያን ባንደነቱ የተነሳ አድዋ ውስጥ በጣም የተጠላና የተገለለ ነበር። ይህንን ሁሉም የአድዋ ሰው የሚያውቀው ሃቅ ነው። ድህነት የሚያሳፍርና የሚያሸማቅቅ አይደለም። የዚህ ጽሑፍ አቅራቢ የድሃ ልጅ ነኝ፣ ስለሆነም አላፍርበትም። በድህነቴ እኮራለሁ እንጂ የሌለኝን አለኝ ብዬ አልመጻደቅም።
መለስ ዜናዊ ግን ይህን አይቀበልም፣ ቤተሰቦቹም ይህን አይቀበሉም። ወንድሞቹ በክፉ ድህነት ያደጉ፣ እህቶቹ እነ ገርግስ ዜናዊ በአሁኑ ጊዜ ሚሊየነር ብትሆንም እንጀራ እየሸጠች ያደገች፣ ኒቆዲሞስ ዜናዊም እንቁላል እየቀቀለና እንጀራ በየጠላ ቤቱ ማታ ማታ እየሸጠ ያደገ ነው። ይህ ሁሉም ሥራ ነው፣ የሚያስከብር እንጂ የሚያሳፈር አይደለም። ዜናዊ አስረስ በአፄ ኃ/ሥላሴ ዘመን የአድዋ አውራጃ ገዢ ነበር ብሎ ዋሸ። የተናገረውን ሁሉ ረስቶ ለሞቱ በተቃረበ ጊዜ አፄ ኃ/ሥላሴ አዲስ አበባ ድረስ አስጠርተው የአባትህን ሥራ ልስጥህ፣ በአታሼ ድረጃ ሥራ ልመድብህ ሲሉኝ አልቀበልም አልኩ በማለት ተናግሯል። የወላጅ አባቴን ሃብትና ንብረት ጠብቄ ለልጆቼ አወርሳለሁ ብዬ ወደ አድዋ ተመልስኩ ብሎ የተናግረውን በድረ ገጾች አይቸዋልሁ። ይህ ሁሉ ደረቅ ውሸት ነው። የሚኖረው ተወልደን ባደግንበት አድዋ ከተማ ነው። እስከምናውቅ ድረስ ምንም አይነት ሃብት የሌለው፣ በማመልከቻ ጸሐፊነት የሚተዳደር ደሃ መሆኑን የወቅቱ የአድዋ ከተማ ሕዝብ ያውቀዋል። መለስም ሥልጣን እንደጨበጠ የደሃ ልጅ እንዳይባል በተክለ ሰውነቱ እንዳትጠጋው አደረጋት። ድህነት አያሳፍርም። በዚህ ዓለም አሳፋሪ ነገር ውሸት፣ ዝርፊያ፣ ሙስና፤ የንጹሃን ደም ማፈሰስ፣ ባጠቃላይ ወንጀል ናቸው። መለስ ዜናዊ የዚህ ሁሉ ቀንደኛ ተዋናይ ነው።
አንድ እውነተኛ ታሪክ ላቅርብ። የታሪኩ ባለቤት የአድዋ ሰው ሲሆኑ አሁን ግን አልፈዋል። ታሪኩን በጊዜው የነበሩ የአድዋ ከተማ ኗሪ የሚያውቁት ትክክለኛ የታሪክ ሃቅ ነው። አባቶቻችን ለኛ ለልጆቻቸው ነግረውና አስተምረው አልፈዋል።
አስረስ ተሰማ የታወቀ የጣሊያን ባንዳ ነበር። ጣሊያን ኢትዮጵያን እንደወረረ አስረስ ተሰማ የጣሊያኖች ታማኝ አሽከር ነበር። በጣሊያኖች የተሰጠው ማእረግ መጀመሪያ ኮማንዳቶሪ ሲሆን፣ ቀጥሎም ካባሌሪ ሆነ። ትንሽ እንደቆየም ሹምባሽ አስረስ ተብሎ ይጠራ ነበር። በአድዋ፣ አዲግራትና አክሱም በርካታ ግፎችን ፈጽሟል። ግለሰቦችን ሁለት እግራቸውን፤ እጆቻቸውን እና ጆሯቸውን በመቁረጥ እስከግድያ በሚደርስ ድርጊት አስቃይቷል። በገበያ ቀን ኢትዮጵያውያንን ሰላይ እያለ ሴት ከወንድ ሳይለይ ለገበያ በወጣው ሕዝብ ፊት አርባ አርባ ጅራፍ በመግረፍ ስፍር ቁጥር በሌለው ሕዝብ ላይ ስቃይ አድርሷል። በዚህ መጥፎ ተግባሩ የታወቀው ሹምባሽ አስረስ ተሰማ ለዓመታት በዚህ አይነት ሲቀጥል፣ የሕዝቡ አቤቱታ ለራስ ስዩም መንገሻ ይደርስ ነበር። ጣልያን ውድቀቱ በተቃረበበት ወቅት፣ ራስ ሥዩም ደጃዝማች ገ/ህይወት መሸሻን ይህንን ሰው እንደምንም ብለህ ይዘህ አምጣልኝ የሚል ትእዛዝ ሰጥተዋቸው ነበር። ደጃዝማቹ አካባቢውን ስለሚያውቁት በሶስት ሳምንት ክትትል አዲኳላ በምትገኘው ማይጫአት፣ ልዩ ስሟ አዲአዝማቲ ከምትባል ቦታ በሌሊት ተከታትለው ሹምባሽ አስረስ ተሰማን ከልጃቸው ዜናዊ አስረስ ጋር ማርከው ያዟቸው። በሌሊት ወደ አድዋ አሸጋግረው ለፊታውራሪ ገ/አምላክ ከነልጁ በግዞት እንዲቆይና ለፍርድ እንዲቀርብ አደረጉ። ፊታውራሪ ገ/አምላክ ማለት የወያኔ ህወሓት መሪ የነበረው በ1993 ከነስየ አብርሃ ጋር የተባረረው የአለምሰገድ ገ/አምላክ ወላጅ አባት ናቸው። አስረስ ተሰማ ለጥቂት ወራት በግዞት ላይ እንዳለ ኢትዮጵያ ጣልያንን አሸንፋ ነጻነቷን ተቀዳጀች። አስረስ ተሳማና ዜናዊ አስረስን የራስ ሥዩም አሽከሮች ይኖሩበት ወደነበረው አድዋ እንዳሥላሴ አዘዋወሯቸው። የጣልያንን ሽንፈት በሰማ ጊዜ ታሞ ከትንሽ ጊዜ በኋላ ሞተ። ሹምባሽ አስረስ በሞተ ጊዜ የሚቀበርበት ቦታ ታጥቶለት ነበር። ጥቂት የሆኑት ቀባሪዎቹ እንዳሥላሴ ቤተ ክርስቲያን በመሄድ በቦታው እንዲቀበር ቢማጸኑም፣ ንብሰ ገዳይና የጣልያን አሽከር በቤተ ክርስቲያናችን አናስቀብርም ብለው ከለከሉ። አስረስ ተሰማ ከቆየባት ቤቱ በግመት 300 ሜትር ርቀት ላይ በምትገኘው እንዳጽዮን ቤተ ክርስቲያን ሂደው ሲጠይቁ፣ ለምን እንዳሥላሴ አትቀብሩትም፣ የቤተ ክርስቲያኑ አለቃ አስረስ ተሰማ በዚች ቅድስት ማርያም ቦታ፣ ገዳይና ከሃዲ የጣልያን አሽከር አናስቀብርም የሚል መልስ ሰጥተው አሰናበቷቸው። በቀሪዎቹ ቤተ ክርስቲያናት እንደ እንዳ መድሃኔዓለም፣ እንዳ ገብርኤል፣ እንዳ ሚካኤል ፈጽሞ የማይታሰብ ሆነ። ያላቸው አማራጭ በረሃ ውስጥ ጉድጓድ ቆፍረው ምቅበር ብቻ ነበር። ማይ ምድማር ውሰዱ ተባሉ። ይህ ቦታ ደግሞ የወንድሞቻችን እስላሞች መካነ መቃብር ነው። በአጥር የተከለለ በጣም ሰፊ ሜዳ ነው። ቦታው በክብር የሚጠበቅ ስለሆነ ማንም ዝር አይልበትም። ስለሆነም እዛም አልተቻለም። እንደ አማራጭ ብለው ያሰቡት ማይ ምድማርን ተሻግሮ በሚገኝ ቦታ ላይ ሆነ። ማይ ምድማር ማለት፣ ከሰሜን በኩል ማይጓጓ ወንዝ፤ በፀሃይ መውጫ በኩል አሰብ ወንዝ የአድዋን ከተማ ለሁለት ሰንጥቆ የሚያልፍ ሲሆን፣ ሁለቱ የሚገናኙበት ቦታ ማይምድማር ተብሎ ይጠራል። አንዳንድ ጊዜም ጉራንጉር ተብሎ ይጠራል። ከማይምድማር ተሻግሮ የሚገኘው ቦታ ደግሞ የእንዳ ጊዮርጊስ መሬት ነው። ብዙ የመስኖ እርሻ ስላለበት ቀባሪዎቹ እዚያ ማድረግ እንደማይችሉ ስለተገነዘቡ፣ ሬሳውን ተሸክመው ወደ ተምቤን በሚያቀና መንገድ ተጉዘው አንድ በማይታወቅ ቦታ ቀበሩት። ከቀባሪዎቹ ከማስታውሳቸው መካከል አቶ ግብረቱ፣ አቶ ገብሩ፤ ልጃቸው ዜናዊ አስረስ ሲሆኑ ቀሪዎቹን ማስታውስ አልቻልኩም። የሹምባሽ አስረስ ተሰማ ሬሳ በረሃ እንደተጣለ አባቶቻን ነግረውናል። ይህንንም በወቅቱ የነበረው የአድዋ ሕዝብ በግልጽ የሚያውቀው ነው። ዜናዊ አስረስ ከሕዝብ የተገለለ፣ ልጆቹም ከሰው ተገልለው ማደጋቸው ሁሉም የሚያውቀው ሃቅ ነው።
መለስ ዜናዊ በቤልጂየም ሆስፒታል መሞቱን ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ያበሰረው ኢሳት ነበር። ሕይወቱ ያለፈችው ከብዙ ስቃይ ብኋላ ነው። ነብስ ይማር ያለው ኢትዮጵያዊ አልነበረም፣ እሰይ አምላክ ፍርድህን ሰጠህ ከማለት በስተቀር። ሬሳው ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ይቀበር አይቀበር አይታወቅም። የአያቱ ሹምባሽ አስረስ ተሰማ ሬሳ የገጠመው አይነት እድል እንደገጠመው እገምታለሁ። የማይቀረው ጊዜ ሲደርስ ስላሴ የተቀበረው ባዶ ሳጥን የአያቱን አይነት እድል እንዲሚያገኝ አልጠራጠርም። መለስ ዜናዊና ግብረ አበሮቹ ኢትዮጵያን ሲቆጣጠሩ በእናቱም በአባቱም የደጃዝማች ልጅ ነው ብለው በድረ ገጽ ተጽፎ አንብቤአለሁ። ከላይ እንደዘረዘርኩት ከእውነት የራቀ ነው። ባንዳዎቹ ኢትዮጵያ ወደ ነፃነቷ እያመራች በነበረችበት ጊዜ አስመራ ለነበረው ጄነራል ደቦኖ አቤቱታ አቅርበው ነበር። የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት ለራሱ ሰዎች ራስ፣ ደጃዝማች፣ ፊታውራሪ ወዘተ. እያለ ማእረግ ሰጥቷቸዋል። እኛ የጣሊያን አሽከሮች ግን ምንም አይነት ማእረግ አልተሰጠንም። እኛም ልክ እንደ ኢትዮጵያውያኖቹ አይነት ማእረግ እንዲሰጠን እንፈልጋለን ብለው አቤት ብለው ነበር። አቤቱታቸውን ግራዚያኒ ወደ ሮም መንግሥት በማስተላለፍ ሹመቱን እንዲሰጥ ተፈቀደለት። በዚያም መሰረት የጣሊያኑ ባለሥልጣን ለባንዳዎቹ ደጃዝማች፣ ፊታውራሪ ወዘተ. እያለ አምበሸበሻቸው። ለአጭር ጊዜም ቢሆን፣ የዚህ ተጠቃሚ የሆኑት፣ የዜናዊ አስረስ ባለቤት የነበረች አለማሽ ገ/ልኡል፣ አባቷ ደጃዝማች ገ/ልኡል ሲሆኑ፣ ሹምባሽ አስረስም ደጃዝማችነት ተችሮት ነበር። ይሁንና ሳይጠራበት በኢትዮጵያ ጀግኖች ተይዞ ግዞት ገባ። ሌላው የዚህ ተጠቃሚ የነበሩት የስብሃት ነጋ አባት ፍታውራሪ ነጋ ነበሩ። ማእረጉን ባገኙ በጥቂት ወራት ጣልያን ተሸንፎ ሲወጣ፣ እስከ እለተ ሞታቸው ድረስ የአድዋ ሕዝብ በጣልያን የተሰጠውን ፊታውራሪነት አልተቀበለላቸውም። አብዛኛው ኗሪ አቶ ነጋ ሲላቸው፣ ጥቂት የቅርብ ጓደኞቻቸውና ዘመዶቻቸው በጣልያኑ ሹመት ፊታውራሪ ነጋ እያሉ ሲጠሯቸው አውቃለሁ።

ይድረስ ለህወሓት አመራር አባላት፣ ለብአዴን እና የደቡብ ኢትዮጵያ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦች እና ሕዝቦች ዲሞክራሲይዊ ንቅናቄ

የደቡብ አፍሪካው መሪ ኔልሰን ማንዴላ በሞቱ ጊዜ የዓለም ሕዝብና መሪዎቻቸው መራራ ሃዘናቸውን ገልጸዋል። የዓለም ብዙሃን መገናኛዎችም ሶስት ሳምንታት ሙሉ የኔልሰን ማንዴላን አርበኝነት፣ የንፃነት መሪነታቸውን፣ የሰላምና የፍቅር አባትነታቸውን እና አንጸባራቂ ታሪካቸውን በስፋት ዘግበዋል። ይህ ነው እንግዲህ ታሪክ ለሰሪው፣ ታሪክ ለባለታሪኩ የሚባለው።
መለስ በሞተበት ጊዜ ሕዝብ በቀበሌ ተገዶና ብር 100 የውሎ አበል እየተሰጠው ነው ለቀብር የወጣው። ከዓለም መሪዎች መካከል የተገኙትም ጥቂቶች ናቸው። አብዛኛዎቹም ከነአካቴው የሃዘን መግለጫ እንኳን አልላኩም። ሚዲያውም ቢሆን፣ በጣም ጥቂቶቹ፣ አምባገነኑ መሪ መለስ ዜናዊ ሞተ ብለው ከመዘብ ያለፈ አላደረጉም። የኢትዮጵያ ገዢው መደብ ግን በዚህ ተናዷል። በዚህ የተነሳ፣ “ማንዴላን በማሳበጥ የመለስ ራእይ አይሟሽሽም” ብለው ጽፈዋል። እናንተ በየጊዜው የነበራችሁ የህወሓት አመራር አብሎችና አባላት ሆይ፣ መሪዎቻችሁ የፈጸሙት ግፍና ግድያ ለናንተ ደስታ ይሰጣችኋል። በትግልና በአመራር ዘመናቸው ዘርፈዋል፣ በሙስና ተጨማልቀዋል፣ የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ ለስደት፣ ለረሃብና ለሰቆቃ ዳርገዋል። እናንተም የዚህ ሁሉ ግፍ ተሳታፊዎች ናችሁ። ድርጊታችሁና ታሪካችሁ በደም የተጨማለቀ መሆኑን ዘንግታችሁ መለስ ዜናዊን ከኔልሰን ማንዴላ ጋር ማወዳደራችሁ በጣም አሳፋሪ ነው። በሁለቱ መካከል ያለው ልዩነት የሰማይና የምድርን ያክል ነው። ባለፉት ጽሑፎቼ እንደገለጽኩት፣ አጠር ባለ መልኩ፣ ሕወሓት ኢትዮጵያን ተቆጣጥሮ ያለ ድርጅት ነው። ስርዓቱም ፋሽስት፣ አምባገነን፣ ጠባብ ዘረኛ፣ ሽብርተኛ፣ ጸረ-ኢትዮጵያ ሉዓላዊነት፣ ጸረ-ኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብና የባእዳን ቅጥረኛ ነው።
ከ1969 መጀመሪያ ጀምሮ በትግራይ ሰላማዊ ዜጋ ላይ ግድያውን አቀጣጠለው። ግድያው ሳያንሰው ሃብትና ንብረቱም ተወረሰ። ከደደቢት በረሃ የጀመረውን አማራ የትግራይ ሕዝብ ጠላት ነው በማለት በተለያዩ ጊዜያትና ቦታዎች አማራውን በመጨፍጨፍ የዘር ማጥፋት ወንጀል ፈጽመዋል። ለሴቶች በግዳጅ የማምከኛ መድሃኒት በመስጠት የአማራው ቁጥር እንዳይጨመር አድርገዋል። ከኖርበት ቀየውና መሬቱ በግዳጅ እንዲፈናቀል አድርገዋል።
ህወሓት ኢትዮጵያን እንደተቆጣጠረ ከ1985 መጀመሪያ ጀምሮ በኦሮሞ ሕዝብ ላይ ሰፊ የጥቃት ዘመቻ በመክፈት የግድያ፣ የቤት ማቃጠል፣ ንብረቱን መዝረፍና ከፍ ያለ ሰቆቃ አድርሶባቸዋል። እንደ አማራው ሁሉ ከመኖሪያ ቦታውና ከመሬቱ ላይ ተፈናቅሏል። የኦነግ አባል ናችሁ እየተባሉ በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ያለምንም የፍርድ ውሳኔ ወደ ወህኒ ወርደዋል። በየቦታው በከፍተኛ ትምህርት ተቋሟት የሚማሩት የኦሮም ልጆች ከትምህርታቸው ተባረዋል። የተባረሩትም፣ መባረራቸው አልበቃ ብሎ ለእስር ተዳርገዋል። ደጉና ሩህሩሁ የኦሮሞ ሕዝብ ከእርሻው ተፈናቅሎ የረሃብና የበሽታ ሰለባ ሆኗል።
ህወሃት በጋምቤላ አኝዋኮች ላይ በፈጸመው የዘር ማጥፋት ወንጀል ተጠያቂ ነው። ሕዝቡ ከመሬቱ ተፈናቅሎ አብዛኛው በጎረቤት ሃገሮች ስደተኛ ሆነው በየሃገሩ እየተንከራተተ በችግር ላይ ነው።
የኦጋዴን ሕዝብም የዘር ማጥፋት ወንጀል ተፈጽሞበታል። ቤት ንብረቱ በህወሓት ወታደሮች ተቃጥሎበታል። ሴት ልጆቹና ሚስቶቹ ተደፍረውበታል። በተጨማሪም ከመሬቱ ላይ ተፈናቅሎ ለስደት ተዳርጓል።
የአፋር ሕዝብም በሌሎቹ የኢትዮጵያ ጎሳዎች የደረሰው ደርሶበታል፣ እየደረሰበትም ነው። የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ ከማሰቃየት ባለፈ ደግሞ የኢትዮጵያን ዳር ድንበር ለሱዳን መንግሥት ሸጠዋል። ሃገሪቱን ካለባህር በር አስቀርተዋል። የሃገር ሃብትና ታሪካዊ ቅርሶችን አውደመዋል፣ ሸጠዋል። ጊዜው ሲደርስ በኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብና በሃገሪቱ ላይ ለፈጸማችሁት ወንጀል ለፍርድ ያቀርባችኋል።

ይድረስ ለትግራይ ሕዝብ

ውድ የትግራይ ሕዝብ ሆይ!! ተሓህት ደደቢት በረሃ እንደወረደ በየሰበብ አስባቡ በየቤተ ክርስቲያናት እየመጡ፣ የትግራይ ሕዝብ በደመኛ ጠላትህ በአማራው የተጠቃህ ነህ። ነፃ የነበረችው ትግራይ ሃገርህ ወድቃልችና ተነስ። ከመሪ ድርጅተህ ተሓህት ጎን ተሰልፈህ አማራው ጠላትህን ደምስስ፣ ሲሉህ የሰጠኸው መልስ፣ አማራ የትግራይ ሕዝብ ጠላት አይደለም፣ ሆኖም አያውቅም፤ አብረን ተባብረን እና ጎን ለጎን ተሰልፈን፣ በአድዋና በማይጨው ጦርነት ጠላት የደመሰስን እና በደማችን አንድ የሆንን ኢትዮጵያውያን ነን። የአማራ ጠላት የሚባል አናውቅም። ትግራይ ኢትዮጵያ፣ ኢትዮጵያም ትግራይ ናት፣ የቅኝ ግዛት አይደለችም። ስለዚህ ኢትዮጵያዊነታችንን የሚነፍገን ምንም ሃይል አይኖርም። ድርጅታችሁ ትሓህት የምትሉትንም አናውቀውም፣ አንቀበለውም ብለህ መልሰሃል።
ይህንን ዓላማቸውን ለማዛመት በየቦታው የተንቀሳቀሱት የተሓህት መሪዎች በሁሉም ቦታ ተመሳሳይ ተቃውሞ ገጠማቸው። ተቃውሞው በሁሉም ከተሞች ሲበዛባቸው በብስራት አማረ የሚመራው የፈዳያን ቡድን በጠራራ ፀሃይ ሕዝቡን ፈጀው። ከየከተማው ሰዎችን እያጋዙ በየእስር ቤቱ እያጎሩ ገደሉት። የገጠሩን ሕዝብ ደግሞ ‘ትግራዋይ ሸዋዊ’ (የትግራይ ሸዋ)፣ ፊውዳል፣ ጸረ-ትሓህት፣ ጸረ-ኤርትራ ትግል ወዘተ. በማለት በውሽት በመወንጀል በቀንና በሌሊት በአፋኝ ቡድን እየተያዘ፤ ሃብት ንብረቱ እየተወረሰ ሃለዋ 06 ተወረወረ። እዚያም ገብቶ በብዙ ሺህ የሚቆጠሩት እንደተገደሉ አንተው እራስህ የምታውቀው ሃቅ ስለሆነ ምስክር አያስፈልግህም። ልጆችህ በተሓህት እየታፈኑ ወደ ሜዳ ወጥታችሁ ታገሉ እየተባሉ ብዙ ሺዎች ወንድና ሴት ልጆችህን ለሻእቢያ አሻግሮ ሸጠብህ። በቀይ ኮከብና በተለያዩ ዘመቻዎች ለሻእቢያ ተሰልፈው በማያውቁት የኤርትራ በረሃ ማለትም በሳህል፣ አቁርደት፣ ከርከበት፣ ናቅፋ፣ ሰሎሞና ወድቀው ቀሩብህ። በወቅቱ አንተው የትግራይ ሕዝብ ተሓህት/ህወሓትን በግለጽ የተቃወምከውና ያወገዝከው ስለነበረ መስካሪ አያሻህም። ኢትዮጵያዊነትህን እና ለሰንደቅዓላማዋ ያለህን ፍቅር አስመስክረሃል፣ ታሪክም ዘግቦታል።
ውድ የትግራይ ሕዝብ ሆይ፤ የህወሓት አመራሮችን ማንነት ጠንቅቀህ ታውቃለህ። ዛሬ ኢትዮጵያ ሃገራችን በሰቆቃና በችግር ውቅያኖስ ውስጥ ሰምጣለች። ይህ የሆነበት ምክንያት የህወሓት መሪዎች ኤርትራውያን እና የትግራይ ባናዳዎች ተሰባስበው በህወሓት ስም ሃገር አውድመዋል። ባንተ ስም ብዙ ሸቅጠዋል። በስምህ የመጣውን ሰፊ እርዳታ የህወሓት መሪዎች ዘርፈው ሸጠዋል። ይህም ካንተ የተደበቀ አይደለም። ወያኔ በጠነሰሰው ተንኮል በጠራራ ፀሃይ ያለረህራሄ በቦምብ ተደብድበሃል፣ ይህ ነው የማይባል የሰውና የንብረት ውድመት ደርሶብሃል። ከኢትዮጵያውያን ወገኖችህ ጋር ቅራኔ ውስጥ ሊከቱህም ብዙ ጥረዋል። በቆራጥ ኢትዮጵያዊነትህ ቁጣህን በማሳየት የወያኔ መሪዎችን አሳፍረሃቸዋል፣ አሁንም በርታበት፣ ቀጥልበት። የህወሓት መሪዎች 40 ዓመት ሙሉ አሰቃይተውሃል፣ አሁን በቃኝ በል። ከኢትዮጵያዊ ወገነህ ጎን ተሰልፈህ ግንባር ቀደም በመሆን ይህንን የህወሓት ገዳይና ሽብርተኛ ቅጥረኛ ፋሽስት ስርዓት በተበባረው ሕዝባዊ አመጽ መቃብር አስገብተን የኢትዮጵያን ሉአላዊነት፣ አንድነታችንን እና ነፃነታችንን እንጎናጸፍ።
የተከበርክ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ሆይ፤ ሰላማዊ ትግል እያልን ጊዜ አንስጠው። የተጀመረውን ሕዝባዊ ቁጣ በማቀጣጠል እጅ ለእጅ ተያይዘን በሕዝባዊ ማእበል ወያኔን ደምስሰን ሃገራችን ኢትዮጵያን ነፃ እናውጣት።
የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲ መሪዎች ለመስዋእትነት ቁርጠኛ ሁናችሁ ውጡ፣ ሕዝቡን ምሩት። በውጭ ሃገር ያለህ ኢትዮጵያዊም የትግሉ የጀርባ አጥንት ስለሆንክ አስፈላጊውን ሁሉ ለማቅረብ ተዘጋጅ።
በበረሃ ያላችሁ የትጥቅ ታጋዮችም ውጡ፣ የፋሽስቱን የወያኔ ሰራዊት በምታውቁት የውጊያ ስልት አጥቁት። የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ያልተቆጠበ ድጋፉን ይሰጣችኋል። ጊዜው አሁን ነው፣ ሕዝቡም የናንተው ነው።
ድል ሊትዮጵያ እናታችን!!
ጥር 2006

Eritrea under fire for rights abuses at UN review

February 3, 2014, Geneva (AFP) — Enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and torture were just a few of the violations Eritrea was accused of during a UN review of its human rights record Monday.

Diplomats gathered at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva condemned the isolated and autocratic country’s brutal repression of basic rights, charging the lack of freedom was prompting a mass exodus.

Eritrean refugees look through barbed wire at Sudan’s Shagarab refugee camp in Kassala last year

The government of Eritrea’s “widespread violation of human rights and the lack of prospects for participatory democracy contribute to large numbers of Eritreans fleeing the country,” US representative Peter Mulrean told the assembly.

He was echoing the concerns of many of the 70 state representatives who spoke at Eritrea’s so-called Universal Periodic Review, which all 193 UN countries must undergo every four years.

Chile and others urged the country to probe all reports of enforced disappearances, Denmark said it had done far too little to eliminate torture, while Estonia lamented the “disregard of freedom of expression.”

Tesfamichael Gerahtu, Eritrea’s ambassador to Britain, batted away the slew of charges, insisting that if anything was limiting human rights in Eritrea, it was the “unjustified sanctions” imposed on the country by the international community.

“To add insult to injury, Eritrea has been subjected to a litany of accusations of gross violations of human rights,… (that) are mainly motivated by sinister political agendas,” he told the council.

Reporters Without Borders has ranked it the worst country in the world for press freedom, but Gerahtu insisted “There is no media censorship in Eritrea.”

He said the 10 journalists and 11 opposition politicians arrested in a 2001 crackdown — many of whom have since died in custody while others are still being held in secrete locations “were not detained because they expressed their ideas, (but because of) treason.”

“I wish there had been a lie-detector device there. It was a mockery,” exiled Eritrean journalist and writer Dessale Berekhet Abraham told AFP after listening to the session.

The 38-year-old who now lives in Norway said he knew Gerahtu well — he was once his teacher at Eritrea’s Revolution School — and that he didn’t take the “lies” personally.

“What else could he say if he wants to go back to Eritrea?” he asked.

Gerahtu meanwhile called on the UN diplomats to focus on Eritrea’s progress in areas like reducing maternal and child mortality rates and in fighting HIV, as well as its 2007 law banning female genital mutilation.

And, he said, the country would hold its first free elections since it won independence from Ethiopia in 1993 and implement a 1997 constitution once the threats against its “national security” had dissipated.

“Eritrea’s security situation does not and never has justified the denial of basic human rights to its people,” the British representative said.

Only when the country has a democratically elected government and a constitution that ensures basic rights “will Eritreans stop fleeing,” he added.

The UN refugee agency has registered more than 300,000 Eritreans refugees in neighbouring countries, with thousands fleeing every month, often under very dangerous conditions.

Eritreans, along with Somalis, accounted for most of the more than 300 migrants who perished in a boat tragedy off Italy’s Lampedusa last October.

Source: AFP

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Posted by admin - 03/02/2014 at 4:51 pm

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Eskinder Nega wins Golden Pen of Freedom Award

Monday, January 27, 2014 @ 07:01 PM ed

2014 Golden Pen of Freedom awarded to jailed Ethiopian journalist

Eskinder Nega, an Ethiopian publisher, journalist and blogger who is serving an 18-year jail sentence under anti-terror legislation, has been awarded the 2014 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

Mr Nega was arrested on September 14, 2011 after publishing an article criticising his government’s use of the 2009 Anti-Terror Proclamation to jail and silence critics, including Ethiopian actor and activist Debebe Eshetu.  He was sentenced on 23 January 2012 and denounced as belonging to a terrorist organisation.

In making the award, the WAN-IFRA Board sent a message to the Ethiopian government that misusing anti-terror legislation to jail journalists and those critical of his government is unwarranted and against international protocols, including the Vienna Declaration on Terrorism, Media and the Law.

“This award recognises the courage of Eskinder Nega to speak out despite the risks that saw him jailed under his country’s draconian and overly broad anti-terror laws,” said WAN-IFRA President Tomas Brunegård, speaking on behalf of the Board.

“We call on the Ethiopian government to release Eskinder Nega and all journalists convicted under the sedition provisions, including Solomon Kebede, Wubset Taye, Reyot Alemu,and Yusuf Getachew”, said Mr Brunegård, who recently visited Ethiopia as part of an international mission that found that the country’s publishers and journalists practice journalism in a climate of fear.

The Golden Pen of Freedom is an annual award made by WAN-IFRA since 1961 to recognise the outstanding action, in writing or deed, of an individual, a group or an institution in the cause of press freedom. More on the Golden Pen can be found at http://www.wan-ifra.org/node/31099

The award will be presented on 9 June during the opening ceremonies of the World Newspaper Congress, World Editors Forum and World Advertising Forum, the global summit meetings of the world’s press, to be held in Torino, Italy.

In an opinion piece published in the New York Times, Mr Nega said of his imprisonment: “I’ve never conspired to overthrow the government; all I did was report on the Arab Spring and suggest that something similar might happen in Ethiopia if the authoritarian regime didn’t reform… I also dared to question the government’s ludicrous claim that jailed journalists were terrorists.”

WAN-IFRA has been vocal in their opposition to Ethiopia’s misuse of anti-terror legislation, writing to late Prime Minister H.E. Meles Zenawi in 2012 requesting the immediate release of Mr Nega and most recently demanding his release, along with four other imprisoned journalists, in a joint international press freedom mission to Ethiopia, conducted with the International Press Institute. The full report from the international press freedom mission can be found at http://www.wan-ifra.org/node/97172

Mr Nega opened his first newspaper, Ethiopis, in 1993, which was soon shut down by authorities due to its critical reporting. He then, along with his wife Serkalem Fasil, managed Serkalem Publishing House, responsible for newspapers such as Asqual, Satenaw and Menelik, all of which are currently banned in Ethiopia.  He has also had his journalist’s licence revoked since 2005, but continued to publish articles despite the ban.

Mr Nega is no stranger to being imprisoned due to his writings. He was detained at least seven times under Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.  This included a 17-month jail sentence, along with his wife, on treason charges for their critical reporting on the Meles government’s violent response to peaceful protests that followed the disputed 2005 elections.

WAN-IFRA, based in Paris, France, and Darmstadt, Germany, with subsidiaries in Singapore and India, is the global organisation of the world’s newspapers and news publishers. It represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries. Its core mission is to defend and promote press freedom, quality journalism and editorial integrity and the development of prosperous businesses.

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Deputy CEO and Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs, WAN-IFRA, 96 bis, rue Beaubourg, 75003 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 07. Fax: +33 1 42 78 92 33. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: larry.kilman@wan-ifra.org                             sourse addis voice

Saving Ethiopia From the Chopping Block

Sunday, February 2, 2014 @ 09:02 PM Alma                                             Alemayehu G Mariam

Alemayehu G Mariam

 WE live in a time that gives new meaning to Shakespeare’s line in Julius Caesar: “The evil that men do lives after them…” Today we come face to face with the evil Meles Zenawi has done when he lived. A piece of Ethiopia is retailed once again to the Sudan. They call it “border demarcation.” I call it call it border slicing, dicing and pricing — all for thirty pieces of silver!

In July 2008, I gave an impassioned speech in defense of the territorial integrity of the Ethiopian motherland at a conference called by a North American civic society group known as “Gasha for Ethiopia”:

We are here today to help stop Meles Zenawi from completing his evil plans to dismember our motherland. When Meles gave away the Port of Assab, we remained silent and paid the price of being landlocked. In 1998, Badme was invaded and 80,000 Ethiopians sacrificed their lives and drove back the enemy. But Meles promptly converted Ethiopia’s battlefield victory into total diplomatic defeat by agreeing to deliver Badme to the invaders in arbitration… (Today) we are told by people who live in Western Ethiopia that Meles has delivered their ancestral lands and homes to Sudanese dictator [and fugitive from justice at the International Criminal Court] Omar al-Bashir in a secret agreement…

I deeply regret that six years after I gave that speech, we have not been able to thwart Meles’ evil plans to dismember our motherland. Meles is gone and we now face the evil that lives after him. Is it true that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men and women do nothing”? Has evil finally triumphed?

Ethiopia on the Meles Zenawi’s chopping block

In December 2013, Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti announced that the ruling regimes in Ethiopia and the Sudan “have ended their border disagreement on ‘Fashaga’ area” and “agreed to resolve all their border demarcation disputes.” Karti said the leaders of the two regimes have “signed a historical document putting the final demarcation lines.” Sudan’s foreign ministry rejected any suggestion of “border disputes” between Ethiopia and the Sudan indicating only that there were minor disagreements on “limited points at the border”. The public relations strategy of the regime in Ethiopia over the past weeks has been to been to underplay the “border demarcation issue” and overplay the “enormous significance” of the “strategic framework agreement” which allegedly includes “cooperation agreements on security, economic, agricultural, educational and cultural levels.”

In 2001, the reasons given for the “border demarcation” were quite different.The Sudanese regime at the time explained the demarcation was necessary to “‘develop and integrate’ Al-Qadarif State with Tigray State in northern Ethiopia… The two regions were agriculturally productive, with Al-Qadarif, considered to be the ‘bread basket’ of Sudan… The existing road from Al-Qadarif to Mekele… is being repaired and upgraded… Tigray State would benefit through having better access to the Red Sea, as the road to Al-Qadarif connected to Port Sudan. ‘That makes Port Sudan closer to Mekele than the Eritrean port of Massawa or the Somali port of Berbera…”

In 2008, Meles Zenawi wagged his forked tongue dripping with lies about the “agreement” with the Sudan. In May of that year, his foreign ministry first put out a statement categorically denying any agreement for the transfer of any Ethiopian land to the Sudan. That statement accused alarmist “media” and “irresponsible” elements outside the country for creating fear and panic. Sudanese officials contradicted that statement by  publicly announcing “acquisition of territory” from Ethiopia. By mid-May, Meles and his henchmen could not keep a lid on the secret land transfer deal and began backtracking on their initial story. They said only preliminary work on border demarcation had been done, but nothing had been finalized. Within days, Meles and Co., had invented a brand new lie. They casually admitted to “implementing prior agreements” concluded by the imperial/Derg regimes with the Sudan.

Their lies began to unravel even more when the Ethio-Sudan Border Affairs Committee began to aggressively probe the issue and investigate what was really happening on the ground in the affected border areas. Ethiopians victimized by Meles’ land giveaway to the Sudan began giving interviews to the Voice of America and other international media outlets. The victims complained bitterly that they had been driven out of their ancestral lands by occupying Sudanese forces. Their farm equipment and tools had been confiscated by Sudanese forces and scores of Ethiopians had been arrested and detained in Sudanese jails. At that point, Meles had no choice but to “fess” up and admit that he had indeed signed an agreement with Sudan.

On May 21, 2008 Meles publicly described his agreement with Bashir as follows:

We, Ethiopia and Sudan, have signed an agreement not to displace any single individual from both sides to whom the demarcation benefits…We have given back this land, which was occupied in 1996. This land before 1996 belonged to Sudanese farmers. There is no single individual displaced at the border as it is being reported by some media.”

In November 2008, more conclusive evidence was revealed in a Wikileaks cable. “Former TPLF Central Committee member and former Defense Minister Seeye Abraha told” American embassy officials in Addis Ababa that in a move to deal with “on-going tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan”, Meles had turned over land to the Sudan “which has cost the Amhara region a large chunk of territory” and that Meles’ regime had tried to “sweep the issue under the rug.”

Meles then and his flunkies today insist on keeping that agreement “under the rug”. However, Meles’ 2008 public statement on the “agreement” he “signed” with Bashir reveals some valuable indications. By Meles’ own admission, there is no question that as of May 2008 there existed a formal “signed agreement” between himself  and Bashir which memorialized detailed terms and conditions of the “land giveback”. As to the subject matter of the “agreement”, Meles put on the record a number of important issues. The “agreement” 1) pertains to questions of non-displacement of persons in the giveaway territories; 2) addresses preservation of benefits of all persons affected by the border demarcation;  3) restores ownership rights to Sudanese farmers on land supposedly occupied illegally by Ethiopian farmers; and 4) in its entirety cedes territory (“give back of land”) illegally “occupied” by Ethiopians “in 1996” back to the Sudan.

It is important to understand and underscore the fact that the “agreement” Meles and Bashir “signed”, by Meles’ own description  and admission, has nothing to do with the so-called Gwen line of 1902 (“Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1902” setting the “frontier between the Sudan and Ethiopia”). It also has nothing to do with any other agreements drafted or concluded by the imperial government prior to 1974, or the Derg regime between 1975 and 1991 for border demarcation or settlement. Meles’ “agreement”, by his own admission, deals exclusively with border matters and related issues beginning in 1996, when presumably the occupation of Sudanese land by Ethiopians took place under Meles’ personal watch.

Why do they insist on keeping secret and refuse to make public “agreements” that have given a “large chunk” of Ethiopian territory to the Sudan?

The whole “border demarcation” canard (hoax) fabricated by Meles and Hailemariam is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. The real deal went down in 2008. There is no question whatsoever that Meles signed, sealed and delivered a “large chunk of territory in the Amhara region” to the Sudan and tried to “sweep the issue under the rug.” In 2014, the marionette prime minster Hailemariam Desalegn is staging another elaborate political theatre to continue Meles’ charade and trying to “sweep the issue under the rug” forever more.

Hailemariam and his puppet masters think they can hoodwink, dupe and bamboozle the Ethiopian public. They think Ethiopians are too dumb and stupid not to see through their smoke and mirrors land giveaway games. They can play their foolish games all they want, but Hailemariam has to answer one question: “Where are the secret “agreement(s)” that have given up a ‘large chunk of territory in the Amhara region’?” Why did Meles in 2008 and Hailemariam and Co., today insist on keeping the secret agreement(s) secret from the public ‘by sweeping them under the rug”?  Why are they not willing to present the “agreements” to the parliament (“Council of Representatives) for ratification as mandated by the Ethiopian Constitution?

The answer is simple: The secret “agreement” Meles talked about in 2008 and Hailemariam babbles about today are not what they are  portrayed it to be. They are all lies. Of course, to say Meles lies is to mention his name,  MeLies. They all lie through their teeth. If Meles’ and Hailemariams’ public statements on their “agreements” truly reflect the words in the written “agreements” they signed with Bashir, what possible harm could come from making the actual “agreements” public? Wouldn’t the actual written “agreement(s)” be the best evidence of the truth or falsehood of Meles’ and Hailemariam’s public statements?

Secrecy is the lifeblood of the ruling regime in Ethiopia. They think by keeping things secret, they have fooled everyone. Meles when he was alive and his lackeys today have such total contempt for the intelligence of the Ethiopian people that they truly believe they can pull the wool over the people without detection or scrutiny.   When Meles and his gang delivered the Port of Assab and Badme on a silver platter, few muttered their objections. Meles and his gang learned an important lesson from that: Ethiopia is their private estate and they can do whatever they pleased with Ethiopians or Ethiopian territory with impunity.

Any “agreement” by Meles/Hailemariam to relinquish any part of Western Ethiopian territory to the Sudan is unconstitutional

Back in May 2008, I argued that Meles has no legal authority to hand over Ethiopian land to the Sudan, or for that matter anyone else. Today, Hailemariam also has no legal right or authority to turn over Ethiopian land to the Sudan. Having said that, there is no question that Meles has “signed” an “agreement” to relinquish a “large chunk of territory in the Amhara region” to the Sudan. Hailemariam and his puppet masters are now trying to make us swallow this illegal land transfer by sweet talk of a “strategic framework agreement”. The fact of the matter is that any transfer of Ethiopian land to the Sudan or any other country by the regime in power today is without any legal basis under the Ethiopian Constitution or international law.

The threshold legal question is whether a secretly concluded international agreement in violation of Article 12 of the Ethiopian Constitution can pass constitutional  muster. Meles, while he was alive, and his successors today have defiantly concealed the actual text of  the so-called “agreements” with Bashir  from the general public and the Council of Representatives. Under Article 12 of the Ethiopian Constitution, Meles and his successors have a strict duty of accountability. Article 12 (“Functions and Accountability of Government”) provides, “The activities of government shall be undertaken in a manner which is open and transparent to the public… Any public official or elected representative shall be made accountable for breach of his official duties.” Meles and his successors as “public officials” have an affirmative constitutional duty to perform their duties in an open and transparent manner. Secret deals to hand over a significant slice of the country’s territory without full public disclosure of the terms and conditions and without formal ratification by the Council is a clear violation of Article 12.

The are several core legal questions that arise from the “signing” of the purported “agreements” by Meles and his successor: 1) Whether Meles and/or Hailemariam has independent constitutional authority to sign a binding “agreement” (treaty) on behalf of Ethiopia. 2) Whether any “agreement” by Meles and/or Hailemariam have any legal significance under the Ethiopian Constitution.  3) Whether any “agreement(s)” entered into by Meles and Hailemariam are biding upon a successive legitimate Ethiopian government under international law. 4) Whether any territory seized by the Sudan under any “agreements” signed by Meles and/or Hailemariam could properly be characterized as an “occupied territory” by the Sudan under international law.

Article 51, section (4) of the Ethiopian Constitution specifies that one of the “powers and duties of the Federal government” is to “determine foreign policy and implement the same. [It also] enters into and ratifies international agreements.” The general foreign relations powers of the “federal government” are divided between executive management of the foreign policy field, and ratification of “international agreements” by the parliament. Article 55 (12) specifically reserves as one of the exclusive “powers and duties of the Council of Peoples’ Representatives”, the power to “ratify international agreements signed by the executive branch.”

The land giveaway “agreements” signed by Meles and Hailemariam are in flagrant violation of Article 55(12).  Meles and Hailemariam may negotiate agreements with other governments and even sign them. Their   constitutional power is expressly limited to negotiating, drafting and signing international agreements. However, any “agreements” with other governments signed by Meles or Hailemariam are not worth the paper they are written on unless the Council of Representatives ratifies them as required under Article 55 (12).

It is undisputed that both Meles and Hailemariam have not only failed and willfully refused to present the “agreements” with the Sudan for ratification to the Council. They have also defiantly declined to extend the simple courtesy of presenting the “agreements” for parliamentary review and discussion. Failure to present the “agreements” to the Council for ratification is a gross violation of constitutional separation of powers principle and a flagrant interference in the ratification powers of the Council.

Article 86 describes the “principles of foreign relations” the “federal government” (the prime minister and the Council of Peoples’ Representatives) must follow in conducting Ethiopia’s relations with other countries and international entities. Sections 2 and 3 of Article 86 provide that the federal government must follow a foreign policy “based on equality and mutual benefit; ensuring that international agreements entered into, protect the interests of Ethiopia” and further requires “respect [for] international laws and agreements that respect Ethiopian sovereignty and are not contrary to the interests of its peoples.”

It is manifest that the only reason Meles and Hailemariam have chosen to keep the “agreements” they signed with the Sudan secret is because those “agreements” are patently and manifestly offensive to Ethiopian sovereignty. They keep the “agreements” secret because it can be objectively shown that they put Ethiopia at a distinct disadvantage and are completely contrary to the interests of the Ethiopian people. There is absolutely no other reason to keep the agreements secret! Alternatively, they can disclose the secret agreements and disprove my claim that those “agreements” are based on inequality and to the singular disadvantage of Ethiopia.

Article 9 (“Supremacy of the Constitution”) of the Ethiopian Constitution provides that the “Constitution is the supreme law of the land. All laws, customary practices, and decisions made by state organs or public officials inconsistent therewith, shall be null and void… All citizens, state organs, political organizations, other associations and their officials, have the duty to comply with this Constitution and abide by it… Assuming power in any manner other than as provided by this Constitution is prohibited.”

Any “agreement”, “treaty”, “pact” or “deal” with any government concluded by Meles and Hailemariam in violation of Articles 12, 55(12), 86(2)(3) are “null and void”.

Is an agreement “Null and Void” under the Ethiopian Constitution binding on any legitimate successive Ethiopian government and enforceable against Ethiopia under international law?

Article 9 (4) of the Ethiopian Constitution states, “International agreements ratified by [by the Council of Representatives] Ethiopia are an integral part of the law of the land.” What about “international agreements that are not ratified [by the Council of Representatives] by Ethiopia?

One need not be a constitutional scholar to answer this question: International agreements that are not ratified by the Council of Representatives are not worth the paper they are written on! No future legitimate Ethiopian government is bound by “null and void” “agreements”; and under international law, Ethiopia reserves the right to denounce any such agreements and demand removal of Sudanese occupation forces from Ethiopian territory at an international tribunal.

While international law favors effectuation of treaty obligations between states (principle of “pacta sunt servanda” or “agreements must be kept”), it also fully recognizes specific legal grounds for a state to denounce (terminate) or withdraw from an agreement if it can prove the existence of improper or wrongful circumstances at or during  the time of entry into agreement. The Vienna Convention on Treaty Law which governs resolution of treaty disputes provides various grounds for invalidation of treaties. Article 46 (1), (2) (“Invalidity of Treaties”) recognize invalidation of “agreements” that are concluded in violation of the “internal laws” of a state party:

A State may not invoke the fact that its consent to be bound by a treaty has been expressed in violation of a provision of its internal law regarding competence to conclude treaties as invalidating its consent unless that violation was manifest and concerned a rule of its internal law of fundamental importance.

A violation is manifest if it would be objectively evident to any State conducting itself in the matter in accordance with normal practice and in good faith.

Article 49 provides that “if a State has been induced to conclude a treaty by the fraudulent conduct of another negotiating State, the State may invoke the fraud as invalidating its consent to be bound by the treaty.” Article 50 enables a state to invalidate an agreement if the “treaty has been procured through the corruption of its representative directly or indirectly by another negotiating State.” If coercion has been used either against the state or the representative of the state in procuring the agreement, such coercion is a further basis for invalidation of a treaty.

What is incontrovertible about the purported agreements executed by Meles and Hailemariam is that both individuals concluded “agreements” that are “null and void” under the Ethiopian Constitution as demonstrated above. The only remaining  questions are 1) whether the ratification requirement of Article 55 (12) was “objectively manifest” to the Sudanese regime at the time of the signing of the “agreements”;  2) whether there was “corruption”  and “fraud” in the “agreement” process and 3) whether there was conduct that amounted to “coercion” in the negotiation or agreement process.

There is little doubt that the requirement of legislative ratification in Ethiopia was “objectively evident” to Bashir when he signed the “agreements”; and no ratification took place in the Ethiopian Council of representatives as required. Sudan has a legal duty under the Vienna Convention to undertake due diligence in the ratification process of the Ethiopian state. Sudan “conducting itself in the matter in accordance with normal practice and in good faith” would have easily discovered the particular ratification requirement. In light of the total secrecy surrounding the “agreements” and all of the smoke and mirrors gamesmanship, it is reasonable to assume that future investigations into the negotiations and drafting of the purported “agreements” will yield substantial evidence of “corruption, fraud and coercion”.

Other constitutional issues negating the validity of the “agreements” to give away Ethiopian lands to the Sudan

Meles and Hailemariam have also violated the collective rights of the people living in the “large chunk of territory in the Amhara region” that has been given away to the Sudan. The “agreements” effectively invalidate Article 39 (right of nations, nationalities and peoples) of the Ethiopian Constitution by imposing upon the people living in the territory transferred to the Sudan by forcibly separating them from Ethiopia without their consent. Neither Meles nor Hailemariam have the constitutional power to do a land give back” or to bargain away the territory and the nationality of the people living in those areas, or to unilaterally force upon the “nationalities and peoples” in that area an “agreement” over which they have not been consulted or asked to decide in a referendum. Under interntional law, a state has an obligation to consult the inhabitants of a territory before ceding sovereignty over it. No such consultation occurred before Meles and Hailemariam turned over “a large chunk of territory in the Amhara region” to the Sudan.

Moreover, Article 2 of the Ethiopian Constitution  provides that “the territory of Ethiopia shall, as determined by international agreements, comprise of the borders of the member states of the Federation.” This constitutional language implicates a direct role for the “member states” as their internal and external borders are determined and set. It is manifest that Article 2 requires a plebiscite (vote of the people) in the “Amhara region” before the “agreement” with the Sudan could be effectuated by any organ of the Ethiopian “federal” government.

Not all that concerned about an illegal agreement with the Sudan

I am dismayed but not overly concerned about the validity of illegal agreements concluded by Meles &  Hailemariam and Co. There are many known unknowns about the so-called agreements. We know they concluded the “agreements” with cloak and dagger secrecy because they are hiding something big, but what exactly they are hiding is unknown. We know there is corruption in securing the “agreements” but the magnitude and depth of corruption is unknown. We know there is deception in securing the “agreements”, but the slickness of deception is unknown. We know there is fraud in the agreement, but the breadth and scope of the fraud is unknown. We know there are all sorts of shenanigans in the agreements, but the medley of tricks, chicanery and  intrigue is unknown. In time, the secret “agreements” will be laid bare and the truth revealed. For “Truth will not remain forever on the scaffold, nor wrong sit forever on the throne.”

The territorial integrity of Ethiopia is simply and absolutely non-negotiable. Meles Zenawi, Hailemariam Desalegn —  whoever — can pretend to play their game of Ethiopian land giveaway to the Sudan, Saudi or Indian “investors”. The fact of the matter is that they have as much right to give away Ethiopian land as Jesse James and his gang to give away the banks they robbed.

There is an ancient land called Ethiopia that is our motherland. Ethiopia cannot be sliced into “kilils”, diced into “ethnic federalism” or priced into a border “agreement”. When it comes to the territorial integrity of Ethiopia, there is no Oromo Ethiopia, Amhara Ethiopia, Tigre Ethiopia, Gurage Ethiopia… or Gambella Ethiopia. There is simply the people of Ethiopia.  We must unite around the  territorial integrity of the motherland and the indivisibility of the Ethiopian people. We must remain vigilant so that the evil that lurks in the grave remains in the grave. Let no tyrant — tin pot dictator — put asunder what God has put together: One Ethiopia Today. One Ethiopia Tomorrow. One Ethiopia Forever.

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.

Previous commentaries by the author are available at:

http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/    sourse addis voise

www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/

Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:

http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic

http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24

Ethiopian prisoner of conscience Mr Bekele Gerba life in danger due to lack of medical careq

February 3, 2014 (CNN iReport) — Mr Bekele Gerba Ethiopian prisoner of conscience and lecturer in Addis Ababa University life is in danger due to lack of medical care. He has served the 3 year and 6 months imprisonment almost one month ago. However, he is still suffering in notorious Ethiopian prison with serious ailment because Ethiopian government doesn’t want to release him even after he has served his time behind the bar. Mr Bekele is a father of four young children who needs him most this time.

In the interview with local radio Afuura Biyyaa, his daughter Ms. Bontu Bekele clarified the problems she observed while visiting her father recently. She told the journalists ‘’more than 200 prisoners of conscience in the same prison are suffering from similar ailment.’’ The probability of having contagious disease in that cell shades dark light on the life all prisoners as all of them are suffering from similar symptoms like; night sweats, body fatigue, weight loss and heavy fever. The families of Mr. Bekele are left helpless as their mother has also lost her job due to political views of her husband which resulted in his imprisonment and immediate suspension of his wage from the day he was arrested. Ms. Bontu pledged all humanitarian and international community to put pressure on Ethiopian government to save her father’s life.

The following paragraph is quoted from Mr. Bekele’s speech in court after hearing his fine.

“I have dedicated my life to fight injustice, inequality, racism and oppression with passion. Not by my choice but by the will of God I was born as an Oromo. To fight for the human rights dignity and equality of my people by peaceful means and pay any price for this struggle is an honor for me. If I have to ever apologize in this life I dedicated for the struggle it is only for two things. One, if I chose not to speak spoken against the sufferings and anguish of Oromo people enough and if my motive in hiding this suffering was for a lesser purpose than the brotherhood of all people, I will ask the Oromo people to forgive me. Second, if I have ever exaggerated the injustice against the Oromo people and I did this to gain personal fame and fortune, I will ask God to forgive me.

Source: CNN iReport

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