Author: Gemoraw

‘The Ethiopian Wolf’: An adventure tale with a heroic goal

18 March 2014

Two photographers traveled to the highlands of Ethiopia to document the lives of the endangered wolves and the work being done to save them.
mnn.com
Ethopian Wolf book cover
The Ethiopian wolf, one of only two wolf species in Africa, is seriously endangered, with only 450 individuals left. However, hope remains among the conservationists who are doing heroic work to preserve this fascinating species for future generations. Success would not only mean survival for the Ethiopian wolf, but also a great deal learned about how to save other species threatened by things like habitat loss, disease and overgrazing.
Ethopian wolf pup
This is a review of a book about this very adventure: Photographers Will Burrard-Lucas and Rebecca R. Jackrel traveled to the highlands of Ethiopia to document the lives of the remaining Ethiopian wolves and the work the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme is doing to save the species.
Full disclosure: I personally know Jaymi Heimbuch who wrote the text portion of this book. Does that make me biased? Well, maybe. But I did my best to remain as objective as possible! I also conducted an interesting experiment: I sat down with my wife and showed her “The Ethiopian Wolf,” and while she was looking at the book, I was secretly noting at her reactions.
Ethopian Wolves book spread
Her first comment was that the book looked really nice. (It does! My snapshots of the pages don’t do it justice). But what really struck me is that every time she flipped a page, she would go “ooooh” and “aaaah” at the photos, or sometimes laugh at the funny ones. (There’s a shot of a giant mole-rat that is particularly hilarious.)
giant mole rat
But even better: The photos are so good and so intriguing that on pretty much every page she read the descriptions to learn more, or or she discussed something that caught her attention. I think that’s the real test for a book of this type. Are you not only enjoying the photos, but also seeing thought-provoking things that make you want to learn more about the topic covered? On that front, “The Ethiopian Wolf” is a great success. Effortlessly educational, in other words.
The people behind the book, Ethopian Wolf
In “The Ethiopian Wolf,” there’s a good balance between the Ethiopian wolves and their natural habitat, and the conservation efforts to save them. If you get the book for the pretty pictures, you’ll be thrilled; and if you get it to learn more about what’s being done to save the species, you won’t be disappointed either.
The authors, on horseback
Above you can see the book’s photographers, Rebecca R. Jackrel and Will Burrard-Lucas. Kudos to them, great work! It must not have been easy to get all these shots in such a remote corner of the world.
You can buy the book at the book website. Note that 50 percent of profits from every book sale will be donated to the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme.
This story originally appeared on TreeHugger and is republished here with permission.

Rise of the Daughters of Ethiopia! Alemayehu G Mariam

MARCH 16, 2014
Rise of the Daughters of Ethiopia!
Alemayehu G Mariam

Semayawi Women“We can’t take it anymore!”

Semayawi Party in Ethiopia has done it again!

This time it is the young women of Semayawi Party who took to the streets of Addis Ababa during the 5k run held as part of the International Women’s Day celebrations on March 9. They spoke; no, they cried out the unvarnished truth to the abusers of power:

“We can’t take it anymore! We are hungry! We need freedom! We need freedom! Free Eskinder! Free Andualem! Free Abubaker! Free Reeyot! Free political prisoners! We need justice! Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Don’t divide us! Ethiopia is One! One Ethiopia! We can’t take it anymore! We are hungry…”

I take my hat off to the young women leaders of Semayawi Party. I am so proud of them. Over the past few months, many people questioned why I rose up and enthusiastically supported Semayawi Party. If anyone has questions why I am the #1 cheerleader for Semayawi Party, let them watch this VIDEO and find out.

I cannot in good conscience stand on the sidelines watching when a ruthless regime is clubbing and bludgeoning Ethiopia’s young daughters and sons like baby seals. I will not watch silently when Ethiopia’s young people are jailed, beaten, tortured and abused simply because they exercised their human right to speak. I will be their voice and tell the world about their persecution and suffering.

They protested peacefully. They suffered peacefully. That is what Semayawi Party is all about, suffering for peaceful and nonviolent change. The Semayawi Party young women leaders and members joined the 5k run just like everybody else. They ran and they marched, peacefully. They broke no law. They did not throw a single rock. They assaulted no one. They did not engage in a single scuffle. Not one person out of the thousands of runners suffered injury as a result of their participation (or for no other reason). Not a single piece of property was damaged. Not a single official was threatened or injured. The Semayawi Party women did not even use a single abusive word. They did it all peacefully, gracefully and with class. Those young women were the quintessential definition of pure class! I am so proud of them that my cup runneth over!

The 5k event was sponsored by the regime’s “Ministry of Women, Children & Youth Affairs” as the climax of the International Women’s Day celebrations. The regime’s theme was “Choice Women First 5km Run” (whatever that means). The regime boasted the event would attract over 10,000 women and girls. When the regime put out the call for women participants, it forgot that the dynamic young women leaders of Semayawi Party would also receive the memo. They did. They showed up in yellow T-shirts, but not to be a propaganda prop for the regime. They were there to run. Run for their freedom. Run for Ethiopian national unity. Run to free political prisoners. Run to call attention to the misery and despair of the people. The young Semayawi women displayed not only courage in the face of a regime known for its barbaric brutality but also used stunning creativity to expose the brutality of the regime.

At the end of the 5k run, seven young Semayawi Party women were arrested, beaten and jailed. Among the victims of human rights abuse include Meron Alemayehu, Mignote Mekonnen, Metasebiya Tekle, Weyni Neguse, Negest Wondyfra, Woynshet Molla, and Emebet Girma. Another three young men who hold top Semayawi Party positions, including Getaneh Balcha (Head of Organizational Affairs), Berhanu Tekleyared (Head of Public Relations) and Abel Ephrem (a member of Public Relations Committee) were also jailed when they went to inquire on the condition of the young women detainees.

Daughters of Taitu and Menelik in kangaroo court

I have always said that the regime in Ethiopia operates a kangaroo court system. The “charges” against the Semayawi Party leaders demonstrate beyond a shadow of doubt that the regime indeed operates a kangaroo court system. The charges against the Semayawi leaders could happen only in the theatre of the absurd. The kangaroo court drama which unfolded during the second “court hearing” on March 14 would have offered theatrical grist to Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco, Jean Genet or even Franz Kafka. It was legal drama staged in an irrational and nihilistic justice system invisibly manipulated by faceless, nameless, brainless, conscienceless, feckless and faithless politicians and imposters whose lifeblood is the suffering and misery of their victims. It is a kangaroo justice system where justice is so disfigured it has no face. Justice so mangled it has no body. The face and body of justice in Ethiopia’s kangaroo court is a robotic judge who is remote-controlled and repeats only what he is programmed to say by his masters. The body of justice is represented by thugs in uniform.

According to one observer in the courtroom, a “police inspector” by the name of “Yemata” testified that the Semayawi women were observed engaging in terrorism by publicly shouting that “they are daughters of Tayitu (a 19th Century Ethiopian Empress) and daughters of Emeye Menelik (a 19th Century Ethiopian Emperor and husband of Empress Taitu).” The “inspector” also alleged that the accused shouted in public that they are “hungry and demanded the release of political prisoners and jailed journalists including Reeyot and Eskinder and Andualem and others.” That is the essence of the alleged “terrorist acts” committed by the Semayawi Party women.

The hearing was delayed by over an hour because the Semayawi women had refused to change their T-shirts in jail for their “court” appearance. The police believed allowing them to appear in “court” in their T-shirts would signify political defiance. The police reportedly scuffled with the women to force them to change their T-shirts before making the trip to “court”. The Semayawi young men remained in the holding area until the women were brought in. The “courtroom” was packed with observers and all of the Semayawi Party leadership was present in full force.

The “federal prosecutor” requested that he be given 14 days continuance to investigate and gather evidence while the women remained in jail. (The practice of arresting and jailing a suspect and going out to look for evidence of wrongdoing is the hallmark of the regime’s kangaroo court system. This bizarre pre-trial tactic has been used in every single high profile criminal case over the past decade, including the two dozen or so former officials and businessmen arrested for corruption last year. Their cases remain in limbo as the prosecutor is still looking for evidence of their corruption, even though the regime publicly stated that they had been investigating the case for over two years.)

The prosecutor argued against bail for the Semayawi Party leaders because they “will destroy evidence already in police custody and that they could intimidate and scare witnesses from testifying”. The Semayawi defendants’ attorney, Ato Alemu Gobebo (whose daughter is the jailed and internationally celebrated journalist Reeyot Alemu) argued for bail and pointed out the political nature of the prosecution. He made it clear that his clients are entitled to bail as a matter of law and the prosecution’s opposition was merely a ploy to keep them in jail. The “judge” denied bail and continued the matter. (In a number of previous high profile cases including the “trials” of the Kinijit Party leaders in 2006, the regime has engaged in witness intimidation, bribery, tampering and subornation of perjury.)

According to court observers, the Semayawi women reported being victims of threats and physically assaults in jail by police and security officials. They were also offered large sums of money to become moles and spy on other Semayawi Party leaders. One of the accused, Nigest Wondifraw, told the “court” that the previous night three male police had come to her cell at midnight and ordered her out. One of the officers brandished a stick and threatened to club her to death unless she cooperated. The other women reported similar threats. They also complained that the police humiliated and threatened them with beatings to make them “back down; they hit us to stop our active membership and fellowship in the Blue Party.” The “judge”, described by observers as “clueless”, ordered the police to complete their investigations and return on March 18.

Fight the power in kangaroo court

The arrest and prosecution of the Semayawi Party women is the regime’s first shot across the bow to warn Semayawi Party to stay put and shut up as the so-called 2015 election looms over the horizon. The regime’s message to Semayawi Party is clear and unmistakable. It follows the three act drama written by the late Meles Zenawi’s drama long ago. Act I. Use the kangaroo courts to harass, intimidate, paralyze and incapacitate Semayawi Party, its leaders and members well ahead of the “elections”. That way any additional crackdowns will look “normal” to the public and not appear vindictive. Act II. A few months before the elections, roundup Semayawi Party leaders and members and warehouse them in jail. That should keep the kangaroo courts busier than a “five dollar hooker”, as the old expression goes. Act III. After the “elections”, deja vu 2005!

There are two options in dealing with the legal persecution and lynching of Semayawi Party leaders and members. 1) Shake one’s head in dismay at the kangaroo court proceedings and walk away in disgust. 2) Fight like Kilkenny cats in kangaroo court and defend the rights of the Semayawi Party leaders and members.

The regime is counting on the fact that Ethiopians and others will be so disgusted with the whole kangaroo court charade that they will shake their heads and ignore it, or at best criticize it and move on. They calculate that the Semayawi Party leaders will in time be “forgotten” like Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu, Andualem Aragie, Abubaker Ahmed and the rest. There is little doubt that the regime expects to continue its kangaroo court harassment campaign with maximum effect and efficiency.

The essence of nonviolent struggle is to use the institutions and laws of the oppressor against the oppressor. There should be no mistake. No one is expecting to see even the shadow of justice in the regime’s kangaroo courts. No one suffers under any delusion of getting justice in kangaroo court. We know exactly what is going to happen. The script has already been written; more accurately, the same script used to prosecute (more accurately persecute) previous political defendants has been updated by changing the names and few other details.

We have seen that movie before. The accused Semayawi Party leaders and members will be shuttled back and forth to kangaroo court every few weeks. There will be more delays as the regime’s prosecutor goes out looking for evidence (though that sounds absurd since the running event is over and no additional evidence can be obtained). Requests for bail will be denied, even if it is made a thousand times. The Semayawi Party women will be beaten, mistreated and abused in jail. They will be pressured to rat on each other. They will be offered money and things to sell their souls. They will be offered riches to sell out top Semayawi Party leaders. They will be denied visits by friends, party members and leaders. They will be thrown in solitary confinement. They will be denied medical assistance. Their lives will be made hell on earth in the “stinking jails”, as described by the regime’s own hired expert. The case will drag on straight into the 2015 “elections”. The strategy is simple: Distract, harass, intimidate and sidetrack Semayawi Party leaders and paralyze them from participation in the so-called election.

Regardless of the regime’s script to railroad the Semayawi leaders to prison, there are four compelling reasons why the regime must be challenged and confronted in its own kangaroo courts. First, the regime’s donors and loaners, who make the gross abuses of human rights possible, should be forced to witness their handiwork. This must be done despite the fact that the donors and loaners do not give a rat’s behind about justice or human rights in Ethiopia. Second, the kangaroo trial of the Semayawi Party leaders should itself be a trial of kangaroo courts in kangaroo courts. The regime itself must be put on trial in its own kangaroo courts. Third, the kangaroo court trials must be vigorously contested to make a historical record so that those who sit in judgment (and those who stood behind the curtain manipulating the fingers of those sitting in judgment) today will be judged by their own judgment tomorrow. If those who sit in judgment today think they will forever escape the long arms of justice, let them remember the Nuremberg Trials, the trials in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, the International Criminal Court trial of Charles Taylor and even the local prosecution of Jean Bedel Bokassa and so many others. The tables always turn. Think about it. Always!

We can learn a lot from South African history. In 1964, the Apartheid regime put on trial leaders of the African National Congress and other anti-apartheid activists including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Ahmed Kathrada, Elias Motsoaledi, and Billy Nair. These seven leaders, like the “Taitu Seven” Semayawi party leaders, did not believe they would get justice in Apartheid kangaroo courts. But they vigorously contested the charges. In doing so, they made history not only for South Africa but also the whole world. The Rivonia Trial of the seven anti-apartheid leaders is today the foundation of justice in South Africa.

Fourth and perhaps most importantly, it is necessary to fight like hell in kangaroo court because that is the only way those who believe in the rule of law can teach in a living and breathing way the criminals who have no respect for the law. Only those who uphold the rule of law have the right to lecture and hector outlaws. A government that disrespects its own laws breeds contempt for itself and the rule of law. Semayawi Party must be second to none in upholding and defending the rule of law.

Support the “Taitu Seven Legal Defense Fund”

Semayawi Party Legal Defense FundI am asking all of my readers to contribute to the “Taitu Seven Legal Defense Fund”. I know there are many who have read my Monday commentaries for years. This is my eight year writing Monday commentaries. I know there are many who disagree with me on everything. I also know I have many, countless many, who agree with me on at least a few things. My appeal is to them. I ask each one of them to help me help the “Taitu Seven” in their trial and tribulations in the kangaroo courts of the regime in Ethiopia. I ask them to make a donation. It does not matter how small. Over the years, I have met thousands of Ethiopians who have told me that they appreciate what I have tried to do. I take no credit for what I have done; if anything, I find myself woefully inadequate in my efforts to improve the human rights situation in Ethiopia.

Exactly seven years ago to the month, I told my readers exactly what I was trying to do in my commentary entitled, “The Hummingbird and the Forest Fire: A Diaspora Morality Tale”. I am doing all that I can do. Now I am asking my readers to do what they can do. Imagine hundreds of thousands of humming birds working together to put out a forest fire. The “Taitu Seven” are in the fire pit of a brutal regime. We can watch them burn or we can fight back with them. Contribute the “Taitu Seven Legal Defense Fund.” Show that you care for Ethiopia’s future – its young men and women.

Ask a Semayawi Party woman…

Semayawi Taitu Defense FundI must confess that I did not agree with Maggie Thatcher, the former British prime minister, on many things. But on her view of women in politics, I have no disagreements. “In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.” Let’s do something for the young women leaders and members of Semayawi Party.

Run Semayawi women, run…! Keep on running for freedom…

Please donate on line at: http://www.semayawiusa.org/donate/

Donate by Bank Deposit/Transfer

Payable to Semayawi North America Support
Bank of America
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Amharas or Amharicans and who to blame in Ethiopia?

March 15th, 2014

By Admasu Belay

This article is in response to the commentary “Ethiopia Anew: A Call to Amhara Ethnic People” which has shocked many Ethiopians around the world. We all respect the work of Dr Zelalem Eshete in trying to solve the maze that is Ethiopian politics. But his article indirectly vilifying and accusing Amhara people is misleading and historically inaccurate. Just like OLF’s best friend Wallalign Mekonnen, Dr Zelalem seems to have bowed down to the pressure and propaganda waged by the tribalists among us.

I will discuss how Dr Zelalem’s article asking “Amhara people” to confess and repent our so called “sins” defies common sense. First of all, we have to understand the different identities in Ethiopia and how they are created. Did the Amhara ethnic group or “Amhara nation” ever existed before? Ofcourse no. If the myth that an Amhara conquest/oppression of others (like Oromo, gurage etc) ever happened, then shouldn’t an “amhara nation” exist first? The truth is an “Amhara country” never existed. The only two times we see a resemblance of one “amhara nation” or geographic entity in history is during the brief Italian occupation and under the current TPLF rule. Having lost in their first war against Ethiopia, the Italians knew the only way they can weaken Ethiopian patriots was by divide & rule policy. That strategy eventually fell and we know the current TPLF/OLF aparthied system will also fail.

Dr Zelalem’s first mistake is in believing the “amhara” ethnic identity currently propagated by TPLF/OLF. While there are some people who label themselves Amhara, most of us never call ourselves amhara. For example, i am from Wollo and all my family members say they are Wolloye, all neighbors back home and all friends say they are Wolloye, never Amhara. What Wallalign Mekonnen said is actually better applied here because us Wolloyes have our own culture, own national dress, own dialect, own music and own identity. In fact, if our ancestors were studied some Wolloyes can’t be even associated with an Amhara identity since many originally belong to other ethnic groups but happen to speak Amharic. Even if TPLF/OLF imposed Amhara label on them, they are not amhara. Some “modern” politicians call these amharic speaking people of diverse ethnogroups “Amharicans.” The same way, there are many so-called “Amharicans” from every ethnic group in Ethiopia which happen to speak Amharic as first language.

As mentioned on another Ethiomedia article, Wallalign’s claim that Ethiopian nationalism is fake because Amharic belongs to Amhara and so many other “nationalities” exist, is also another wrong conclusion. As we can see even in the American example, German-Americans are majority population in the multi-ethnic USA but English is the official language due to convenience and to unify the country.

Anyhow, What does our people (falsely labelled amhara) in wollo who died in hundreds of thousands during the 20th century famines have to confess and repent about? What did we do wrong? We are the ones who suffered the most. The truth is we actually deserve apologies from the rest of Ethiopia, not the other way around. For example, since the time of Menelik, almost 80% of development projects and all types of advancements were planted throughout present day “Oromia” (in addis, ambo, adama, debrezeit almost everywhere in oromia!) while our Wollo people were starving to death! The Shewan rulers only cared about Shewa region, which is part of current Oromia. Even western historians like Donald Levine noticed this when he said “Amharic-speaking Shewans consider themselves closer to non-Amharic-speaking Shewans than to Amharic-speakers from distant regions.” He was correct and that takes us to another important point: when did Ethiopia ever had rulers claiming to be Amhara? There were many non-amhara Ethiopian leaders since centuries ago (like the Oromo Emperor Iyoas I in 1700s) but let us focus and look at our leaders the last hundred years between 1914-2014. —–
[1] — During the post-Menelik era, the most powerful figures were the army commander Mikael Ali (Oromo), Iyasu V (oromo) and Emperor Haile selassie (mixed including Oromo).
[2] –During the Derg era, the most powerful leaders were General Aman Andom (Tigrayan/Eritrean), Tafari Benti (Oromo) and Mengistu (Welayta/mixed). [3] — And recently we had Meles zenawi (Tigrayan) and Hailemariam Desalegn (welayta).
As we can see, most of our past leaders can be labelled Amharicans, but they could never be labeled as Amhara.

What TPLF/OLF had done is (just like the Italian occupiers) simplify our identities and divide our people by using only language as a sole defining tool of identification. But There is another elephant in the room that TPLF/OLF hides from Ethiopians. Since the 60s when marxism/socialism poisoned our politics, the only reason that we are always blamed and accused as oppressors in Ethiopia is because we speak Amharic as our first language. Nothing else, nothing more. The harsh truth that TPLF/OLF can’t swallow is that if we did not have our own alphabet and if the powerful Orthodox church (which was the state for centuries) did not use our more convenient language as its lingua franca, the roles could have easily been reversed in Ethiopian politics today. It is all by chance and there was no design to oppress others as Amharicans come from many diverse background and ethnicity, but simply share this language that was gradually adopted by all.

What is more unfortunate today is that the victims are the ones being accused and becoming more victimized in Ethiopia. Many crimes might have occurred over a century ago in the past. But in more recent memory, it is us Amharic speakers who are being oppressed and killed in Ethiopia. The slow genocide of Amharic speakers started when the OLF joined TPLF government in the early 1990s and massacred thousands of so called “Amharas.” This OLF/OPDO crime has continued in recent years in southern and eastern Ethiopia. Dr. Zelalem, This is what the current generation has seen first hand! This are the crimes that TPLF/OLF should confess and repent for!

In general, reconciliation is vital in Ethiopia but we have to separate the system/government from the whole group. We can not blame the whole Oromo people for OLF’s crimes or the whole Tigray people for TPLF’s crimes. We should not blame any whole group of people for the crimes of any Ethiopian governments.

 

Ethiopia Anew: A Call to Amhara Ethnic People REALLY? A reply to Zelalem Eshete’s article (PhD)

By Andualem Tefera

March 14, 2014

In present-day Ethiopia there are two political schools of thought. These schools lead to the political struggle and the actions taking place on our land today. They are diametrically opposed to each other. The first one states that all problems that existed and still exists in Ethiopia emanate from the rulers oppressing Ethiopians at large. This leads to the struggle of Ethiopians to have a say in the political sphere of the country. The oppression of the rulers of the country has many forms and shape but it is all the rulers against the ruled. There is one ruling group and then there is the rest. The rulers own power through the state apparatus and the means of production.

The other school of thought states that what went on in Ethiopia and still goes on today is the oppression of other nations and nationalities by one nation in Ethiopia – stated Amhara. It is the Amharas who rules, it is the Amharas that oppressed, it is the Amharas as a unit that are the problems and the causes of all problems in Ethiopia.

These two schools of thought correspond to the political organizations that exist in Ethiopia today. Those in power in Ethiopia today come from the second school of thought. Those that formed their own liberation fronts and are struggling to “decolonize themselves” from Ethiopia or “secede from Ethiopia” belong to this second school of thought.

On the other hand those that are in the countrywide political organizations and want to get rid of those in power today belong to the first school of thought. Let me make one thing very clear.

If we are serious to change the political system in Ethiopia, we must have an explicitly different vision from the rulers on the land. If we do not have this, then we better stop being dishonest to ourselves and to all Ethiopians at large. There should be a clear distinction between the two political philosophies. This is where I come from. No matter who rules and no matter where the rulers count their ancestral heritage from, it has been the rulers against the ruled. Here I want to add that, no matter how bad TPLF is today, I cannot blame all Tigrayans wherever they are for the action of TPLF. It is the ruling group of TPLF that is responsible for the ills of Ethiopia today. Tigrayans are not ruling us today. It is TPLF and TPLF alone that is ruling us. Now let me focus on why I wrote this article.

Where Is Dr. Zelalem Eshete (PhD) Going With this?

Rulers were not Ethiopians but Amharas? What was perpetuated on the other ethnic groups was done by the ethnic Amharas and not by the ruling class? Were all the ethnic Amharas privileged lot? Are you saying there was no class struggle but ethnic dominance? Here, I am trying to read Dr Zelalem Eshete.

A political thinking has objective. The objective lends the thinking philosophy to the political mind. There is a reason behind each and every political move, every political proposal and every political action. When TPLF blamed the Amhara for all things wrong under the SUN, they have a political agenda of disuniting Ethiopians. And thanks to people like Alemnew Mekonnen and Dr. Zelalem Eshete, even those from Amhara origins are dancing to the tune of TPLF.

It was Alemnew Mekonnen who lectures that the Amharas are poison. And now what is Dr. Zelalem Eshete telling us? Dr. Zelalem Eshete wrote on March 10, 2014 and posted on a number of Ethiopian websites an article: Ethiopia Anew: A Call to Amhara Ethnic People. I read it and reread it. Understanding the fact that this kind of article is draped with a political agenda sent our way. Some may ignore it and give it no attention. Some may call it rubbish and not deal with it. This is a reference for future propaganda work and I felt I need to respond to it. I observed Dr. Zelalem Eshete has written other articles and posted them too.

On this particular article, Dr. Zelalem Eshete calls on the Amharas “. . . to be accountable to the ills of our forefathers.” Does he know what our forefathers did? In short, does he know Ethiopian history?

He started with: “This is a call to Amhara ethnic people from an Amhara ethnic individual.” OK, I have no problem with that but, I would like to make a remark that you do not have to be an Amhara to state what is wrong and what is right, unless you have an objective behind stating that. In reference to the non-Russian Stalin’s extravagant exercise of power of the central government against a minor nation, Lenin stated that if you scratch some communists you will find Great Russian chauvinists. It may not be word for word but it is close and the message is clear. This is to say that you do not have to be from a certain nation to be a mouth piece and a chauvinist of that nation for good or bad.

The good doctor prescribes three-pronged solutions.

A) Confession: deal with the past

Here he meant the Amhara have a unique responsibility of dealing with the past per his description. The Amhara have responsibility for what the rulers of the past have done, be it good or bad. The past is not Ethiopia but Amhara. This emanates from the fact that the Amhara, not the rulers have done terrible things to others and thus need to look back and confess. WOW! I understand someone from the second school of thought promoting this. That is logical since it is the bases for their political philosophy and administrative policy. I can also accept if the good doctor is coming on behalf of that school of thought. Where does his past start and where does his past end? Does the good doctor know the condition of the Amhara right now? Are they still responsible for what is going on in Ethiopia today? Do they still hold the power and need to learn how to behave so everything will be fine? What is the purpose of this confession where the good doctor wants the ARSOADER from MERHABETIE goes to Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM DESALEGN and confesses about what his forefathers did to his forefathers? Does this make sense?

B) Repentance: deal with the present

Unless my understanding of morality lets me down, you repent for what you did and promise not to do it again. The Amhara are not responsible for what Atse Theodros, Atse Yohannes, Atse Minilik, Aste Haile Sellassie or Dictator Mengistu Hailemariam did. On the contrary, those who lived in Megezez, in Wereylu, in MoTa, in Beyeda suffered in those years, under those rulers equally or more than people in the rest of the country. Does the good doctor know the condition of the Amhara right now? Are they still responsible for what is going on in Ethiopia today? Do they still hold the power and need to learn how to behave so everything will be fine? What is the purpose of this repentance? The good doctor wants the Amhara to give back to others what the Amha owes them. The reality is the Amhara are driven away from the land they cultivated for decades and are being killed there. Do you want them to repent for believing they are Ethiopians who can live anywhere in Ethiopia?

C) Discover: deal with the future

Last I checked TPLF is making sure that there will not be an Amhara alive by the end of its term. What future is there for the Amhara? Do you still fear that the Amhara are going to make the future very bad for the others? I cannot say the Amhara think like this or do like this, or behave like this or something like that. The Amhara like any other ethnic in Ethiopia are all over the political space. Some are close to our good doctor – like Alemnew Mekonnen, who has something to gain by promoting the political philosophy of TPLF. This is his ticket to survive. For others like me, it is a reality where Ethiopians that are thrown under the bus. Many are thrown over cliffs. Many are dismembered. Many are displaced. Many have lost all they owned. This is not hair splitting practice of academicians. It is the life of millions of people, be it in the “Amara Zone” or the rest of Ethiopia. You want the Amhara to deal with the future where their future is in the hands of TPLF. Show your true self!

Dr Zelalem Eshete has this to say at the end of his article.

“When we right the wrongs of the past through confession and repentance, then only we are free from the shackle of the past to envision the future together as a family of one. . . In conclusion, fulfilling our responsibility would pave the way for the healing process to begin.”

This in a nutshell is the central message of the article. It is the Amhara’s refusal to fulfill our responsibility by not righting the wrong of the past that our country is in its present predicament. The path to move forward is hampered by the Amhara not accepting its fault. TPLF do not worry, you are not at fault. The good doctor has testified on your behalf, like your paid agent Alemnew Mekonnen.

The Amahara: Not responsible for past or present wrongs_ A response to Dr Zelalem Eshete’s article

By Alemayehu Behulu

March 14, 2014

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In recent days, my cousin, Dr. Zelalam Eshete has been writing articles about our beloved motherland, Ethiopia. I am so happy to see an educated young Ethiopian like him participating in socio-political debates. I encourage him and the likes of him to continue working towards the betterment of Ethiopia. Speaking of education, Dr. Zelalem never knew grades “B” and below, since he was an A, A+ on all exams he took, in high school or universities. So, it puts me in disadvantage to respond to my beloved brother. As far as education goes, the only little communality we have is that we are both engineers in different fields, and of course at different education level. However, Ethiopia is a mother to all educated or not, the haves and or the have nots, so I decided to respond to his article regarding our common Ethiopia. Of all his articles, the one which prompts me to respond to is the one posted on one of my favorite sites – Ethiomedia – and is titled

To begin with, I do not think it is a good idea to judge our 18th, 19th, even 20th century leaders with today’s, 21st century book. Secondly, Ethiopia has her share of good and bad as any nation came before and after her. So, blaming one ethnic for all bad deeds which took place in Ethiopia may not serve well for our future. Of course, we should evaluate our past and correct the wrongs, even if it requires asking for forgiveness, we should do so and move on.However, the forgiveness should be two-way highway. But, Dr. Zelalem hands the responsibility of all wrongs done in the county only to one ethnic group. Here’s an excerpt:

“We, Amahra of today, need to take the responsibility on our own initiative and stand in the gap to be accountable to the ills of our forefathers. The brokenness of the marginalized, abused and neglected people begets that they are the soul of Ethiopia. This is because the new unity of Ethiopia is championed and realized first by those who are marginalized and abused”.

I argue to the contrary based on the following three points:

First, whatever wrong done in Ethiopia is not only Amhara’s responsibility. Rather, the responsibility is the government at the time. Even if we take our recent leaders, whatever Atse Yohanis had done doesn’t represent the Tigray people, other than his administration, so is whatever Atse Tewodros had done doesn’t reflect the Gonder or the Amhara people, and the same goes for Atse Haile Selassie and Mengistu. By the way, there are conflicting reports which ethnic the later two leaders belong. Some say they both have Amhara and Oromo blood. Even, yes, even the current regime of Ethiopia which constitution is based on ethnic and led by Tigray elites, whose late leader Zenawi public statements indicated hatred for one ethnic, doesn’t represent the entire Tigray people, but his/current administration. Based on this facts, I argue the statement Amhara is responsible is invalid. Second, Amhara has done more than its fair share. If people from Amhara ethnic are monster as some political organizations try to portray today, the 60’s Ethiopian revolution wouldn’t have seen the day light. Those youngsters, including those from well to do family, in spite of being fed Nech Teff and Mikut, stood for poor and oppressed Ethiopians. They knew they will lose their luxury life, but they fought and die for the freedom of fellow oppressed citizens. Most of the leaders of that time were Amahars. One typical example which even frequently being quoted by Dr. Biyan of OLF was Wallelgne. Here is the quote from the well known Wallelgne’s paper:

“What are the Ethiopian peoples composed of? I stress on the word peoples because sociologically speaking at this stage Ethiopia is not really one nation. It is made up of a dozen nationalities with their own languages, ways of dressing, history, social organization and territorial entity. And what else is a nation? It is not made of a people with a particular tongue, particular ways of dressing, particular history, particular social and economic organization? Then may I conclude that in Ethiopia there is the Oromo Nation, the Tigrai Nation, the Amhara Nation, the Gurage Nation, the Sidama Nation, the Wellamo [Wolayta] Nation, the Adere [Harari] Nation, and however much you may not like it the Somali Nation.

This is the true picture of Ethiopia. There is of course the fake Ethiopian Nationalism advanced by the ruling class and unwillingly accepted and even propagated by innocent fellow travellers.

What is this fake Nationalism? Is it not simply Amhara and to a certain extent Amhara-Tigre supremacy? Ask anybody what Ethiopian culture is? Ask anybody what Ethiopian language is? Ask anybody what Ethiopian music is? Ask anybody what the “national dress” is? It is either Amhara or Amhara-Tigre!!”

Dr. Zelalem, I will send you the full version Wlelgne’s paper. The point is that Wallelgne was seeing world from the point of so called socialism where oppressed people will be freed. He wasn’t seeing himself as Amhara. From his writings, he sees himself from the angle of “alem yewzaderch tihonlech”, loose interpretation, world will be led by proletariat. He was going as far as standing against his own Ethnic though the idea was a blind folded Socialist thought. On this topic, I suggest you to call our uncle who resides in the same county with you. Our uncle fought for the oppressed and paid the price, jailed, and tortured as a member of the then EPRP. I spoke with him in length on various occasions. This is what he said, I will paraphrase it. “had I thought our struggle would cause the destruction of Ethiopia as I see today, had I thought it would cause animosity between me and my precious friends, I wouldn’t have done it. It was a short sited struggle”. So, the ethnic people of Amhara should not be apologetics. The appeasing politics should be over. Amharans have done more than their fair share for the betterment of their countrymen and women regardless of ethnic background. They shouldn’t be responsible for neglecting other ethnics as you put it. Actually, the Amharas should have been praised for love of all Ethiopians. For additional information on the 60’s Student Movement, please visit yatwlid website, get books written by Professor Mesay and many others.

Third, if we dig back not only Amharas are responsible for wars and destruction. I will give you using the examples of the two ethnics which we both are well acquainted with, Oromo and Amhara. There are many books and articles out there. In the 15th century, originating from South, Oromo warriors reached as far as Tigray. On their way, they were not feeding milk people of Semen Shoa, Gojjam, Wollo, Gonder up to Tigray. But, they were fighting and concurring. Let me give you typical example, in Gojjam and Gonder the name “Muche, which translates Lij in Amharic” is very common. Example of this is Professor Muche. This is not by accident. This is the result of those wars. There are still ancestors of Oromos residing in those areas. You and I are very familiar about Ormos in Shoa and the rest. Please ask Abiye, our grandfather; he will tell you. The same goes for the Amara in the 19th century, expanding to South. Also, please check Abera Tola’s Ethiopia: Dark side of Oromo expansions and Menelik conquests.

In conclusion, I totally agree with you on reconciliation. However, not at the expense of one ethnic; reconciliation is a two-way street. The appeasing politics brought this misery of division to county of ours. The truth has to be told. The lie politics are becoming history. I will finish with what one Ethiopian Professor said during the celebration of Ethiopian Millinium at Howard University, Wahsington, DC “because of the appeasing politics of the 60’s, we lost Eriteria and made our country landlocked”.

–
The writer can be reached at haggeren_alresam@yahoo.com

Ethiopia Anew: A Call to Amhara Ethnic People

By Zelalem Eshete (PhD)

March 14, 2014

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This is a call to Amhara ethnic people from an Amhara ethnic individual. This is a about looking at ourselves inwardly first than looking at others outwardly. In doing so, it is my intention to demonstrate how we can put the problem of unity at the center and look at other ethnic people using different sets of eyeglasses thereby taking the unity dialogue to a new level in truth and love.

We, Amahra of today, need to take the responsibility on our own initiative and stand in the gap to be accountable to the ills of our forefathers. The brokenness of the marginalized, abused and neglected people begets that they are the soul of Ethiopia. This is because the new unity of Ethiopia is championed and realized first by those who are marginalized and abused.

To that end, we rise up and address the problem at hand with three-pronged solutions. How desperately we need to be part of the solution towards a national reconciliation for the transformation of Ethiopian history from marginal unity to authentic unity.

Confession: deal with the past

The Greek word for “confess” is homologeo which means: “to say the same thing” and then “agree, admit, acknowledge”. It is time we say the same thing as the truth. There is debt in the history books. It doesn’t matter if we personally do not have a prejudice against another ethnic group. The debt of past tragedy needs to be settled. It is real and grave. There is nothing more tragic than considering and treating another human being as sub-human because they are of a different ethnic group. We need to teach history to our kids so that they too stand in the gap and become a part of this historic healing process by acknowledging the shame.

The people who suffered a lot shouldn’t be burdened to convince us about what happened. We need to learn on our own and come to the realization that the flaw of a fallen humanity also tarnished the Ethiopia we admire. We need to be burdened by the gravity of the situation so much that our soul is sick of the mistakes made.

Repentance: deal with the present

The Greek word for repentance means: “think differently after” or “after a change of mind”. This is the second step we need to take. Unless we repent, confession is just a lip service with no value whatsoever. Real confession, a realization and acknowledgment of the mistakes done, brings us to repentance. This activity moves us from the past to the present. Repentance or change of thinking is the one that unstuck us and get us moving on the path to healing and reconciliation.

The new Ethiopia is built on this new thinking birthed out of confronting the reality as it is. Lack of repentance (change of thinking), forces us to perpetuate the ills of the past right into the future. It is inexcusable to march on the same or engage in reactive mode in the 21st century.

Discover: deal with the future

When we right the wrongs of the past through confession and repentance, then only we are free from the shackle of the past to envision the future together as a family of one. Together, we discover our new identity that unites us all in truth as never before. Remember that only love is meant to bind us together.

When we come to the light and experience genuine unity based on equality and nobility – we will know that our past unity is just a shadow crying out for the real one. As our identity crises exits and makes a way for the new identity to come forth defining Ethiopia anew – the whole world would witness the other face of Ethiopia: One Family under our Creator!

In conclusion, fulfilling our responsibility would pave the way for the healing process to begin. Unless we move ahead with a new wholesome identity, we relive the mistake of the past reformatted differently that even makes us a victim today.

I conclude by echoing the words of Nelson Mandela:

“Great anger and violence can never build a nation. We are striving to proceed in a manner and towards a result, which will ensure that all our people, both black and white, emerge as victors.”–
You can find other writings of Dr. Zelalem Eshete at: www.EthioFamily.com

መሣፍንት ባዘዘው: ጎንደሬ አድምጥ!

ጎንደሬ አድምጥ!
(መሣፍንት ባዘዘው)ዛሬ ልወርድብህ ነው! ከዛ መሃል ፒያሳ ላይ ከቆመው የመይሳው ሃውልት ላይ ተለጥፈህ ፎቶ መነሳትህን ተው!! ለጊዜው የቴዲ ልጅ ነኝ እያልክ መዝፈኑንም ያዝ አድርገው።ጀግና ሳንሆን የጀግና ልጅ ነኝ እያሉ መኮፈስ ይብቃን!! የቴዎዽሮስ ሃሞት እንጥፍጣፊዋ እንኳ ከኛ ዘንድ ሳትኖር እንዴት የጀገናውን ስም በከንቱ እንጠራዋለን?

ወልቃይት ሲቆረስ ዝም! ጠገዴ ሲቆረስ ዝም! ዋልድባ ሲታረስ ዝም! አርማጭሆ ሲሸጥ ዝም! የቴዎድሮስ ሃገር ቋራ ሲሸጥ ዝም! ትውልድ በጫት ሱስ እዬደነዘዘ ፣ የትምህርት ፖሊሲው ጥራት እያሽቆለቆለ… እያዬህ “እምቢ!” ማለት ካቃተህ የቴዎድሮስ ልጅ ነኝ አትበለኝ። አሁንስ በዛ ብለህ መነሳት ከቃተህ …እንኳን ከመይሣው ሃውልት ላይ ፎቶ ልትነሳ ነው እና በአጠገቡ ማለፍ የለብህም። እውነት እኔ እዛ ሃውልት ላይ ተደግፌ ፎቶ መነሳት አፍራለሁ። ሌላውን ሁሉ ተወው! እስኪ የወያኔን ሃሳብ ከመደገፍ ተቆጠብ።እስኪ መጀመሪያ በሃሳብ ደረጃ “እምቢ!” በል!

እስኪ ግራ እና ቀኝህን ተመልከት! ያቺ የተቀደሰች ከተማ በጫት ቤቶች ስትሞላ እየታዬህ አይደለም?ትንንሾችህ በአንተ እግር እዬተተኩ ወደ ሱስ እዬገቡ እንደሆን አስተውለሃል? ከ20 አመት በፊት የነበሩት ቸቸላ ሆስፒታል እና ፖሊ ክሊኒክ ስንት ሆስፒታል እና ክሊኒክ ተጨመረላቸው? ወገንህን እሲኪ ቸቸላ ላይ ሄደህ እየው…ሜዳ ላይ እንደ ምናምንቴ ወዳድቆልሃል!ፋሲለደስ ስንት ሃይድኩል ወለደ? ምንም!! ስንት ፋብሪካ ተተከለ? …… የወያኔን ሴራ ከአንተ የበለጠ ማን ያውቀዋል? እና ምነው ተኛህ? ኧረ ንቃ!!!

በእንግሊዝ ፕሪሚየር ሊግ እዬተቧደንክ ከመነታረክ እስኪ ስለ ቴዎድሮስ መንፈስ ተወያይ። እውነት የቴዎድሮስ ልጅ መሆናችንን በተግባር እናሳይ!! ዘፈን ብቻ ሰለቸኝ!! የኛም ትውልድ ቴዲን አምጦ ይውለድ እና መጭው ትውልድ ይዝፈንልን!! በየመጠጥ ቤቱ የአራዳ ልጅ፣ የፒያሳ ልጅ እያልክ በቢራ ጠርሙስ ስትፈነካከት ለም መሬትህ ለሱዳን ተቸብችቦ አለቀልህ…እስኪ በየቀበሌ መቧደንክን ትተህ አንድ ሁን እና በጠላትህ በወያኔ ላይ ተነስ!!

የተዋበች የምንተዋብ ፣የጥሃይቱ ሴት ልጆች በየሺሻ ቤቱ ሲውሉ እያዬህ እንዴት አስቻለህ? ከትንንሽ እህቶችህ ጋር የሺሻ ገመድ እዬተቀባበልክ ስታጨስ ምንም አይሰማህም?? ኧረ እንደተኛን ነግቶ ተመልሶ መሸ………

ንጉስ ሆይ ሞቅ ብለዎት እንዳይሆን: ALEX Abrehame – በነገራችን ላይ

መፀሃፍ ቅዱስ አንብብ እያለች ንዝንዝ ችክችክ የምታደርገኝ ልጅ ነበረች(ዝንሻ የት ይሆን ያለሽው? እኔ እንኳን ‹‹በዚች አሳባ ልጠብሽኝ›› መስሎኝ ነበር ) ፡፡ ፍሬሽ እያለን የጀመረች ስትነዘንዘኝ ስትነዘንዘኝ…. እሽ እያልኳት ቆይቸ አምስተኛ አመት ላይ መፀሃፍ ቅዱስ የሚባለውን ነገር ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ አነበብኩ !! እንደፊክሽን ነበር ከመጀመሪያው የጀመርኩት…ከባድና ጥቁር ሽፋኑን ገለጥ ሳደርግ ሌላ ባዶ ጠንካራ ገፅ ..ያንንም ገለጥ….

መፀሃፍ ቅዱስ
የብሉይና የሓዲስ ኪዳን መፃህፍት
በብርሃንና ሰላም ማተሚያ ቤት ታተመ…..
ከዛ ማውጫ…..ማውጫው ግራ አጋባኝ ….ኦሪት ዘ ፍጥረት “ኦሪትም” …. ‹ዘ› ም … ፍጥረትም ……ምን እንደሆነ አላውቅም
ኦሪት ዘ ፀአት …የባሰው መጣ
ኦሪት ዘሌዋዊያን …….ዝም ብየ ማውጫውን አየሁ አየሁና ‹‹ትንቢተ ዳንኤል›› የሚል ሳይ በቃ ይሄን ላንብብ አልኩ….ምክንያቴ ትንሽ ያስቃል ፡፡ ዘጠነኛ ክፍል አብረን የተማርን ቆንጆ ልጅ ስሟ ቃል በቃል ‹‹ትንቢተ ዳንኤል›› የሆነ ነበረች እና የስሟን ሚስጥር ማወቅ አጓጓኝ ….

ዳንኤልን ሳነብ እሷን እረሳኋትና ታሪኩን በጣም ወደድኩት ደጋግሜ ደጋግሜ አነበብኩት ! የገረመኝ ታዲያ 5 ዓመት ሙሉ እኔን አንብብ እያለች ስትነዘንዘኝ የነበረችውን ልጅ ስለትንቢተ ዳንኤል ስጠይቃት ‹‹እኔ እንኳን አላነበብኩትም አብርሽ›› አለችኝ!! ገርሞኝ ልሞት!! (ዝንሽ እስካሁን መቸስ አንብበሻዋል! ለነገሩ እንደኔ ከላይ ከላይ ማለቴ ሳይሆን አንብቦ ለመለወጥ ወላ ለነፍስ ጉዳይ)

ለማንኛውም ዛሬ ትንቢተ ዳንኤል ላይ የመሰጠኝን ታሪክ ላውራችሁ ታውቁታላችሁ ግን በቃ ላውራችሁ ምናለበት ብትሰሙኝ….
ሲጀምር ያለውን እንተወውና የሆነ ናቡከደነፆር የሚባል አምባ ገነን ንጉስ አለ(ከአምባ ገነን ስለጀመረኩ ይቅርታ) …እኔ እንኳን ተመችቶኛል ንጉሱ

….ነገረ ስራው ያስቃል ህልም አየና ህልም ፈች አስጠራ፡፡ ከዛ ህልም ፈችወቹ ‹ይበሉ ንጉስ ሆይ ህልመዎትን ይንገሩንና ብትንትን ብጥርጥር አድርገን እንፍታው ›› ምናምን አሉ፡፡ በሆዳቸው ‹‹ንጉስ ሆይ ህልመወት ሲሳይ ነው›› ሊሉ ተዘጋጅተው ንጉሱ ምኑ ጅል….

‹‹ በሉ እናንት የአገሬ ምርጥ አስማተኞች… አዋቂወች…ሙህራንና ፖለከኞች ….. መጀመሪያ ምን ህልም እንዳየሁ ንገሩኝ እግረ መንገዳችሁን ፍቱት ››ብሎ ቤተ መንግስቱን ቀውጢ አደረገው!! ምድረ ጠቢብ ኢቲቪ ላይ ማትሪክ ሊኮርጅ እንደሚቅበዘበዘው የማስታወቂያው ልጅ ጭንቀት ዋጣቸው አይናቸው ቃበዘ!! ‹‹ያየሁትን ህልም እረስቸዋለሁ ጠቢብ ሁሉ ጠንቋይ ሁሉ ወላ ካድሬ ሁሉ የሰው ህልም እየሰሙ ማዳነቅ ብቻ አይደለም ህልም ከነፍችው ውለዱ›› አላቸዋ ከየት ያምጡ !

የሰው ህልም ላይ ትንታኔ ሲሰጡ የሰው ህልም ‹ሸር› ‹ ኮሜንት› ‹ታግ› ሲያደርጉ የኖሩ ሁሉ ህልም ከየት ያምጡ !ሁሉም አቢወታዊ እርምጃ ተወሰደባቸው(ሂሂ)……. እና ይሄ ንጉስ ሌላ ቀን የራሱን ሃውልት ከወርቅ አሰራና የሆነ ሜዳ ላይ አስተክሎ ‹‹… ህዝቤ ሁይ ውጣ የሃውልቴ ምረቃ ነው ለሃውልቴ ስገድ ››ብሎ አዘዘ!! ካልሰገድክ እሳት ውስጥ ነው የምወረውርህ አላቸው እንደበቆሎ !!

ተቆጠረ 1…2…3….አዳሜ በግንባሩ ተደፋ! ሃውልቱን አክብሮ ሳይሆን እሳቷን እያሰበ …ንጉስ የለኮሳትን እሳት የእሳትና ድንገተኛ አደጋ ወላ ማንም አያጠፋትም…. እና ህዝቡ በግንባሩ ሲደፋ ሶስት ጥጋበኛ ጎረምሶች እንደአገር ጎብኝ ዘና ብለው ቁመው ታዩ….‹‹እዛጋ! እንጨት ውጣችኋል አትሰግዱም›› ብሎ ባለ እምቢልታ አንዴ አንባረቀባቸው! ወይ ፍንክች! ‹‹እንጨትማ የዋጠው የንጉስህ ሃውልት ነው ጎንበስ አይል ቀና ድንጋይ! እዚህ ተገትሮ በፍቅር ሳይሆን በትዛዝና ማስፈራሪያ ህዝብ እያሰገደ ያነጅባል› ብለው እያሰቡ ….

ለንጉሱ ተነገረው ‹‹ንጉስ ሆይ ኧረ የሆኑ ፍንዳታወች ገጥመውናል ለአንተ ምስል አንሰግድም ብለው እንደጅብራ ተገትረዋል››
‹‹ጆሯቸውን ይዛችሁ እያዳፋችሁ አምጡልኝ እከከከከከከከከ››
ሶስቱ መልከ መልካም ወጣቶች ንጉሱ ፊት ቀረቡ…
‹‹እናንተ ናችሁ ከወርቅ ላሰራሁት ሃውልቴ አንሰግድም ያላችሁት››
‹‹አዎ ንጉስ ሆይ አሉ በትህትና….›› ንጉሱ ለመልሳቸው ስም አወጣለት ‹‹ብልግ ያለ ትህትና›› ሲል

‹‹ለምን ቢባል?›› ንጉስ ጠየቀ
‹‹ ሃውልቱ አልታየንም ›› ከሶስቱ ዳንኤል የሚባለው መለሰ ይሄ ዳንኤል ካሁን በፊት የንጉሱን ህልም ከነፍችው የተናገረ ነብይ ነው ‹የራሱ ህልም ያለው ሰው ለማንም ቅዠት ሲሰግድ አይኖርም› ዳንኤል ህልም አለው!!
‹‹አልታየንም?….ስልሳ ክንድ ቁመት ስድስት ክንድ ወርድ ያለው ሃውልት … ያውም የወርቅ ሃውልት አልታያችሁም ?››
‹‹ አዎ ንጉስ ሆይ ሃውልትህ አልታየንም›› ኮራ ብለው መለሱ
‹‹እውር ናችሁ…››
‹‹አይደለንም! ግን ከአንተ ሚጢጢ ሃውልት ፊት ሌላ ግዙፍ ህያው ምስል ቁሞ ስለነበር ጋረደን››
‹‹ማነው እሱ ከእኔ የገዘፈ ….››ንጉሱ ፀጉሩን ነጨ
‹‹እርሱ መለኪያ የሌለው ሰማይ ብርኩማው ምድር <የሊስትሮ ሳጥኑ> እግሩን የሚያሳርፍባት…. እግዚአብሄር ነው እኛንም አንተንም የፈጠረ››

ንጉሱ እነዚህን ሰወች ለአይኑ ጠላቸው አንገሸገሹት አንገበገቡት ‹‹ውሰዱና እሳት ውስጥ አስገቡልኝ ማን እንደሚያድንህ አየያለሁ እያንዳንድህ›› እንደአሪፍ ቲያትር ንጉሱ ፊት ለፊት ጉዳቸውን ሊያይ በዚያውም ደፋሮቹ አመድ ሲሆኑ እያየ ዘና ሊል …. ሰባት እጥፍ በነደደ እሳት ውስጥ ህዝብ እያያቸው ሶስቱም ተወረወሩ፡፡

አንዳንድ የዘመኑ ነዋሪወችም ‹መንግስት በሶስቱ ሰወች ላይ የወሰደው እርምጃ ተገቢ ነው እንደውም የመንግስት ትእግስት በዝቷል› ሲሉ ተሰሙ!! አለመስገዳቸው አስወረወራቸው ያለ አልነበረም ሆድ ሲያውቅ ዶሮ ማታ (ፀረሰላም በጥባጭ አዋኪ የህዝብንና የመንግስትን ሰላም ያደፈረሱ የወርቅ ሃውልቱን በሃይል ለመናድ የሞከሩ ክሳቸው ነበር) የእሳቱ ወላፈን ወርዋሪወቹን በላና እርሃቡን አስታገሰ….

አዚች ላይ ነው አሪፍ ነገር የተፈጠረው እሳቱ ዳኛ እንዳዘዘው የፍርድ ቤት ፖሊስ የእስረኞቹን ገመድ ፈታና ሶስቱም በእሳቱ ውሰጥ ሰበር ሰካ እያሉ ሲመላለሱ ታዩ ኧረ አራት ናቸው …. !!

ደግሞ ለተንኮሉ መጀመሪያ የታየው ለንጉሱ ነው….ሪፖርት ተሳስቶ ነው ምናምን እንዳይባል!! ‹‹እንዴ ቆይ ስንት ነበሩ እነዚህ ልጆች ›› ጣቱን እየቆጠረ ስማቸውን እየጠራ ቢደመር ሶስት! ቢያባዛ 3 ! ቢቀነስ 3 !ወይስ እንደፈንዲሻ እሳት ውስጥ ሲገቡ ይበዛሉ… እና አራተኛው ሰው ማነው? ማነው ይሄ ድንኳን ሰባሪ (ማለት እሳት ሰባሪ)….አአአ ግርማ ሞገሱ ድንኳን ሰባሪ አይመስልመ…..ምናምን አሉ….

ንጉሱ ባነነ ሂሳቡን አቁሞ በ ‹ፒስ› ወደሳቱ ጠጋ አለ እና ጉሮሮውን ጠራርጎ በዜማ ‹‹ ገባኝ አሁን ገና ገባኝ አሁን ገና …›› ሃሃሃሃሃ ሰናፊላ (ምንድነው ግን ሰናፊላ) ብቻ ሰናፊላቸው አልተቃጠለም……ሲወጡ ኮራ ብለው ሲወጡ ….ስልጣን በስልጣን አደረጋቸው ….በስልጣናቸው አልባለጉም በእሳት የተገኘ ስልጣን ነው ብለው ሙጭጭ አላሉም ……ይለናል መፀሃፉ ሳናውቅ በስህተት እያወቅን በድፍረት ለጨማመርነውና ለቀናነስነው ይቅር ይበለን!! አሜን!!

የኤርትራ ጥያቄ እና የዘመናት ብዥታዎች

08 March 2014

Image(አፈንዲ ሙተቂ)
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ኤርትራን በኢትኖግራፊ መነጽር በዳሰስኩበት የክፍል አንድ ጽሑፌ ላይ የተሰነዘሩ አንዳንድ አስተያየቶች የኤርትራን ችግር ከመሰረቱ እንዳስሰው አነሳስተውኛል፡፡ በተለይም ብዙዎች የሚሳሳቱባቸውን ነጥቦች ማብራራት ተገቢ ሆኖ ታይቶኛል፡፡ ስለዚህ በራሴ ጥናት በደረስኩበት መደምደሚያ መሰረት የግል እምነቴን የሚያንጸባርቀውን ይህንን መጣጥፍ አሰናድቻለሁ፡፡====የኤርትራ ጥያቄ አነሳስ===

አንዳንዶች “የኤርትራ ጥያቄ በኢጣሊያ ቅኝ ገዥዎች የተፈጠረ የስነ-ልቦና መቃወስ ነው” የሚል እይታ አላቸው፡፡ ይሁንና ይህ አነጋገር ከመሰረታዊ የታሪክ ሐቅ ጋር ይጋጫል፡፡ የኢጣሊያ ቅኝ ገዥዎች ኤርትራን ለ60 ዓመታት ይዘዋታል፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ ህዝቡን የተለየ ስነ-ልቦና ያለው ህዝብ አድርገው ለመቅረጽ ብዙም አልሞከሩም፡፡ በሌላው የአፍሪቃ ሀገር እንደሚታየው ኤርትራዊያን ከጥንታዊ ማንነታቸው ብዙም አልተለወጡም፡፡ ባህላቸውንና ቋንቋቸውን በሚገባ አስጠብቀዋል፡፡ ለምሳሌ በኢጣሊያዊት ኤርትራ ጣሊያንኛ መናገር የሚችለው ህዝብ ከመቶ አስር እጅ ብቻ ነበር፡፡

የኤርትራ ጥያቄ መንቀልቀል የጀመረው በእንግሊዞች አስተዳደር ዘመን ነው፡፡ በዚያ ዘመን ፓርቲ፣ የሙያ ማህበራት፤ ነጻ ፕሬስ፣ ወዘተ በተግባር ላይ በመዋላቸው ህዝቡ በግዛቲቱ የወደፊት እጣ ላይ እንዲነጋገር መንገድ ከፍተዋል፡፡ ይህ ውይይት ተጧጡፎ ሁለት ተጻራራ ጎሳዎች እንዲፈጠሩ ምክንያት ሆኗል፤- የአንድነትና የነጻነት ጎራ፡፡ ታዲያ የአንድነት ጎራው ዛሬ እንደሚባለው መላውን የኤርትራ ህዝብ የሚወክል አልነበረም፡፡ የነጻነት ደጋፊም ዛሬ እንደሚባለው በጣም አናሳ አይደለም፡፡ ከተባበሩት መንግሥታትና ከልዩ ልዩ ምንጮች የተገኙ መረጃዎች እንደሚጠቁሙት 40% የሚሆነው የራቢጣ ኢስላሚያ ፓርቲ ደጋፊ እና 6 % የሚሆነው የሊበራል ፕሮግሬሲቭ ፓርቲ (የወልደአብ ወልደማሪያም ፓርቲ) ደጋፊ “ነጻነት”ን ይፈልጉ ነበር፡፡ የአንድነት ደጋፊዎች (የሀገር ፍቅር ማህበር አባላትና ሌሎቹም) ብዙሃን የነበሩ መሆናቸው ትክክል ቢሆንም ከኤርትራ ህዝብ 48 % የሚሆነውን ብቻ ነበር የሚወክሉት፡፡ የተቀረው አነስተኛ ቡድን ፕሮኢታሊያ (የጣሊያንን ሞግዚትነት የሚፈልግ ፓርቲ) ደጋፊዎች ነበሩ (እነዚህኛዎቹ ከኢጣሊያ ቅኝ ገዥዎች የተወለዱ ክልሶቸ ነበሩ)፡፡

የኤርትራን ጥያቄ ከዐረቦች ተንኮልም ከእስልምና ተስፋፊነት ጋር ማያያዝም አግባብ አይደለም፡፡ ጥያቄው በኤርትራ ምድር ነው የተነሳው እንጂ በዐረቦች ዘንድ አይደለም፡፡ ዐረቦች ከጥንት ጀምሮ ሁለታችንንም “ሐበሻ” ነው የሚሉን፡፡ በ19ኛው ክፍለ ዘመን አጋማሽ ኤርትራን ለመያዝ የዘመተችው ግብጽ ፍላጎቷ ሁሉንም የሰሜን ምስራቅ አፍሪቃ ሀገራት ጠቅላላ በመያዝ የአባይን ምንጭና የቀይ ባህር ንግድን መቆጣጠር እንጂ ኤርትራን ለብቻ ገንጥላ የተለየ ቀጣና ማድረግ አልነበረም፡፡ ለዚህም ነበር ግማሽ ጦሯን ይዛ ከዘይላ እስከ ሀረር ድረስ የተዘረጋ ግዛት የመሰረተችው፡፡ በኤርትራ በኩል ግን ከምጽዋ በስተቀር ሊሳካላት አልቻለም፡፡ በራስ አሉላ የሚመራው ጦር ድባቅ እየመታት መልሶአታል፡፡ በታጁራና ጅቡቲ በኩል የመጣውን ጦሯን (በኮሎኔል ሙዚንገር የሚመራውን) ደግሞ የአፋር ጀግኖች ደምስሰውታል፡፡

በእንግሊዞቹ ዘመን የነጻነቱን ጥያቄ በስፋት ይደግፉ የነበሩት ሙስሊሞች እንደነበሩ መካድ አይቻልም፡፡ ሙስሊሞቹ ይህንን ሃሳብ ሲያቀነቅኑ የነበሩት በዘመኑ በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ይታይ ከነበረው ተጨባጭ እውነታ በመነሳት እንጂ “ኢትዮጵያ የምትባለውን ሀገር ስለሚጠሉት አይደለም፡፡ የኤርትራዊያኑ ሙስሊሞች ስጋት “በኃይለ ሥላሤዋ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ከተቀላቀልን በሀይማኖታችን ምክንያት ከፍተኛ ጭቆና ይፈጸምብናል፤ ስለዚህ ኤርትራ ነጻ ሀገር ብትሆን ነው መብታችን የሚከበረው” የሚል ነው፡፡ የአጼ ኃይለ ሥላሤ መንግሥት የሙስሊሞቹን ስጋት ለመቅረፍ የሚያስችሉ እርምጃዎችን ቢወስድ ኖሮ የኤርትራ ጥያቄ ባልተከሰተ ነበር፡፡

ከላይ እንደተጠቀሰው ሁለቱ ጎራዎች ተቀራራቢ ሚዛን ነው የነበራቸው፡፡ የተባበሩት መንግሥታት ኤርትራ በፌዴሬሽን ከኢትዮጵያ ጋር እንድትተሳሰር ያደረገበት አንዱ ምክንያትም የሁለቱ ጎራ ደጋፊዎች የተቀራረበ የሀይል ሚዛን (46ለ48) ያላቸው መሆኑን ከግምት ውስጥ በማስገባት ነው፡፡ በሌላ በኩል በእንግሊዞች አስተዳደር የመጨረሻ ዓመታት በሁለቱ ጎራዎች መካከል ከፍተኛ የሆነ ሽኩቻና መጠፋፋት ይካሄድ ስለነበር የተባበሩት መንግሥታት የትኛውንም ጎራ ደግፎ ጥያቄውን ቢፈታው የከረረ የርስ በርስ ጦርነት ይከሰታል የሚል ፍርሃት አድሮበት ነበር፡፡ በመሆኑም “ኤርትራ በፌዴሬሽኑ ከኢትዮጵያ ጋር ብትዋሃድ በሁለቱም ጎራ መካከል ፍጅት እንዳይቀሰቀስ ለማገዝ ይችላል” የሚል እምነት ነበረው፡፡

=====የፌደሬሽኑ ፎርሙላ====

ይህኛውም ብዙ ሰዎች የሚሳሳቱበት ነጥብ ነው፡፡ የኃይለ ሥላሤ መንግሥትም ሆኑ የደርግ መንግሥት ደጋፊዎች ለኤርትራ የተፈቀደው ፌዴሬሽን ምን ዓይነት እንደሆነ ግንዛቤው ያላቸው አይመስለኝም፡፡ “ፌዴሬሽኑ መነካት አልነበረበትም” የሚል ሐሳብ ሲሰነዘር ለተቃውሞ የሚነሱትም በዚሁ ምክንያት ይመስለኛል፡፡ በሌላ በኩል የነጻነት ጎራ ደጋፊዎች በተባበሩት መንግሥታት የተፈቀደውን የፌዴሬሽኑን ፎርሙላ ከከፍተኛ ቅሬታ ጋር የተቀበሉት መሆናቸውም ይረሳል፡፡

ለኤርትራ የተፈቀደው ፌዴሬሽን ዛሬ ላይ ተሁኖ ሲታይ እጅግ በጣም “ሊበራል” የሚባል ነበር፡፡ ሌሎች የኢትዮጵያ ግዛቶችም በዚያ ሞዴል ቢቀረጹ ኖሮ ዛሬ የሚታየው ምስቅልቅል ሁኔታ ተለውጦ ሀገራችን ሌላ መልክ በያዘች ነበር፡፡ በዚያ ዘመን ነጻ ያልወጡት ሶማሊላንድና ጅቡቲም የኛ አካላት ሊሆኑ ይችሉ ነበር ለማለትም ያስደፍራል፡፡ ነገር ግን ንጉሡና ባለሟሎቻቸው በግዴለሽነት ሰረዙት፡፡
——
ኤርትራ በወቅቱ ከኢትዮጵያ ጋር የተዋሃደችበት ፌዴሬሽን በትክክለኛው አገላለጽ ሲታይ “ሙሉ ራስ ገዝ አስተዳደር” የሚባል ነው፡፡ ኤርትራ የራሷ ፓርላማ፣ ህግ አስፈጻሚና ህግ ተርጓሚ አካላት አሏት፡፡ መንግሥቱን የሚመራው “ዋና ስራ አስፈጻሚ” (Chief Executive officer) በፈረቃ ከክርስቲያን ደገኞቹና ከሙስሊም ቆለኞቹ እንዲመረጥ ተወስኗል፡፡ ዋና ስራ አስፈጻሚው ክርስቲያን ከሆነ የፓርላማው ፕሬዚዳንት ከሙስሊም ቆለኞች ነው፡፡ ስራ አስፈጻሚው ከቆለኞቹ ሲመረጥ ደግሞ የፓርላማው ፕሬዚዳንት ከደገኞች ይሆናል፡፡

የኤርትራው ራስ ገዝ አስተዳደር ከውጭ ጉዳዮች፣ ከገንዘብ ነክ ጉዳዮች፣ ከንግድና ከመገናኛ በስተቀር በሁሉም ነገሮች ላይ መወሰን ይችላል፡፡ እነዚህ አራት ዘርፎች የሚመሩት የፌዴራሉ መንግሥት ሆኖ በሚሰራው የአጼ ኃይለ ሥላሤ መንግሥት ነው፡፡ የምጽዋና የአሰብ ወደቦችም በፌዴራሉ መንግሥት ስር ነበር የሚተዳደሩት፡፡
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ታዲያ ይህ ፌዴሬሽን ምን በደለ?. ምን አጠፋ?… ይህንን ፌዴሬሽን ለማፍረስ መቸኮል አግባብ ነው?…. ዛሬ እኮ ለኢትዮጵያ እንዲህ ዓይነት ያልተማከለ አስተዳደር ያስፈልጋታል ነው እያልን ያለነው፡፡ የአጼ ኃይለ ሥላሤ መንግሥት ግን በማን አለብኝነት አጠፋውና ረዥሙን ጦርነት ቀሰቀሰ፡፡ የሀገራችንም ታሪክ ሌላ መልክ ያዘ፡፡

===ፌዴሬሽኑ እንዴት ፈረሰ?====

ሌላው በብዙ ሰዎች የሚሰነዘረው አባባል “ፌዴሬሽኑ የፈረሰው በአንድነት ኃይሎች ሙሉ ፈቃደኝነትና ግፊት ነው” ይላሉ፡፡ ይህኛውም አባባል ምንም ማስረጃ የለውም፡፡ እንዲያውም በፌዴሬሽኑ ዘመን የፌዴሬሽኑ አስተዳዳሪዎች ይከተሉት ከነበረው አድሎአዊነት የተነሳ ከአንድነት ጎራ ደጋፊዎች መካከል እጅግ የሚበዙት የፌደሬሽኑ ተቃዋሚ በመሆን የነጻነቱን ጎራ ተቀላቅለዋል፡፡ በተጨማሪም የቢትወደድ አስፋሓ መንግሥት በኤርትራ ሰራተኞችና የሙያ ማህበራት ላይ በሚያካሄዳቸው የእመቃ ተግባራት ብዙዎችን አስቀይሟል፡፡ ስለዚህ የአንድነት ሀይሎች ጉልበት ኖሯቸው በመንግሥቱ ላይ ግፊት የሚፈጥሩበት ሁኔታ በጭራሽ አልነበረም፡፡ አብዛኛው የኤርትራ ህዝብ “አደይ ኤሪትሪያ”ን መዘመር የጀመረው በነዚያ አመታት ነው፡፡

ፈዴሬሽኑን በግልጽ ያፈረሱት የቢትወደድ አስፋሓ ደጋፊችና ጄኔራል አቢይ አበበን የመሳሰሉ የአጼ ኃይለ ሥላሤ መንግሥት ሹማምንት ናቸው፡፡ ቢትወደድ አስፋሓ ከመጀመሪያኑ በኤርትራ የተሾሙት ለዚሁ ነበር፡፡ እኝህ ሰው በኤርትራ ተወለዱ እንጂ አልኖሩባትም፡፡ ዕድሜአቸውን ያሳለፉት እዚሁ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ በትርጉም ስራ ላይ ነበር፡፡ በጣሊያን ወረራ ዘመን በአዲስ አበባ ሀገረ ገዥነት ተሹመው በአዲስ አበባ ገነተ-ልዑል ቤተ መንግሥት የሚቀመጡት የዱክ ኦፍ አኦስታ እና የጄኔራል ናዚ አስተርጓሚ ነበሩ፡፡ በኋላም በሲቪል ሰርቪሱ ውስጥ ከፍተኛ ስልጣን ተሰጥቷቸዋል፡፡ ለጣሊያን መንግሥት በአስተዳዳሪነት ተሹመው ለሰጡት አገልግሎት ቤኒቶ ሙሶሎኒ ፊት ቀርበው የፈረሰኛ ኒሻን ተሸልመዋል (አምባሳደር ዘውዴ ረታ፣ የኤርትራ ጉዳይ፣ ገጽ 461-462 ተመልከቱ)፡፡

ቢትወደድ አስፋሓ ለሶስት ዓመታት በኤርትራ ፌዴሬሽን የንጉሠ ነገሥቱ ምክትል እንደራሴ ነበሩ፡፡ በዚያ ዘመን በደጃች ተድላ ባይሩ የሚመራው የኤርትራ አስተዳደር በሁለት እግሩ ቆሞ እንዳይሰራ በማድረግ ተግባር ላይ ነው የተጠመዱት፡፡ በዚህ ረገድ ከዋናው እንደራሴ ራስ አንዳርጋቸው መሳይ (ሁለተኛው የልዕልት ተናኘወርቅ ባለቤት) ጋርም ዘወትር ይወዛገቡ ነበር፡፡ የሚገርመው ነገር አጼ ኃይለ ሥላሤ አማቻቸው በቢትወደድ አስፋሓ ላይ የሚያቀርቡትን ክስ በስራ ከመበለጥ የመጣ የዝቅተኝነት ስሜት (inferiority complex) አድርገው መቁጠራቸው ነው፡፡

ቢትወደድ አስፋሓ ከ1955 ጀምሮ ፌደሬሽኑ እስከፈረሰበት ድረስ (1962) ቺፍ ኤክስኩቲቭ ኦፊሰር ወይንም የራስ ገዙ ዋና ስራ አስፈጻሚ ሆነው ሰርተዋል፡፡ እዚህ ላይ አንድ ነገር ልብ በሉ፡፡ የኤርትራን ዋና አስፈጻሚ የሚመርጠው የኤርትራ ፓርላማ ነው፡፡ ተመራጩ የፓርላማው አባል መሆን አለበት፡፡ ይሁንና የአጼ ኃይለ ሥላሤ “የኤርትራ ስራ አስፈጻሚ የግዴታ የፓርላማው አባል መሆን የለበትም” በሚል የጉልበተኝነት ስሜት ቢትወደድ አስፋሓ ለፌዴሬሽኑ ስራ አስፈጻሚነት እንዲመረጡ አድርገዋል፡፡

ቢትወደድ አስፋሓ የኤርትራ ዋና ስራ አስፈጻሚ ሆነው ሲሾሙ መጀመሪያ ያደረጉት ነገር ለሚወስዷቸው እርምጃዎች ህጋዊ ሽፋን ለማሰጠት የኤርትራ ፓርላማ የኃይለ ሥላሤ መንግሥት እንደሚፈልገው አድርጎ ማዋቀር ነው፡፡ በዚህም መሰረት ቀደም ሲል በተባበሩት መንግሥታት ታዛቢነት የሚካሄደውን የምርጫ ዘይቤ ለወጥ በማድረግ አሁን በአፍሪካ የሚካሄደውን የምርጫ ቲያትር አመጡ፡፡ ለምሳሌ ከምዕራብ ቆላ በሚመረጡ ሙስሊሞች ወንበሮች ላይ ለርሳቸው ታማኝ የሆኑትን የደጋ ሙስሊሞችን አስመርጠዋል፡፡

ከዚህ በኋላ ነበር ፌዴሬሽኑን የማፈራረሱ ስራ የተጀመረው፡፡ ፓርቲዎች ታገዱ፡፡ ነጻ ፕሬስም ታገደ፡፡ የሰራተኛ ማህበራትም ታገዱ፡፡ “ዐረብኛ የባዕድ ቋንቋ ነው” በሚል ከህገ-መንግሥቱ ተፍቆ ወጣ፡፡ ከዚያም የኤርትራ ባንዲራ እንዳይውለበለብ ተደረገ፡፡ በማስከተልም ትግርኛ ከስራ ቋንቋነት ተሰረዘ፡፡ በምትኩ አማርኛ የስራ ቋንቋ ሆነ፡፡ “ዋና ስራ አስፈጻሚ” የሚለው የፌዴሬሽኑ ገዥ መጠሪያም “ዋና አስተዳዳሪ” በሚል ተተካ፡፡ ፡ በመጨረሻ ላይ “የኤርትራ ፓርላማ ወስኗል” በሚል ፌዴሬሽኑ ፈረሰ፡፡

ፌዴሬሽኑ እንዲህ እየተገዘገዘ ነበር ቀስበቀስ የፈረሰው፡፡ የፈዴሬሽኑ አፍራሾችም ድሮ ለአንድነት የታገሉ የአንድነት ሀይሎች ሳይሆኑ ቢትወደድ አስፋሓ በሚፈልጉት መንገድ የተመረጡ አድር ባዮች ነበሩ፡፡

ይህንን የቢትወደድ አስፋሓን ታሪክና የማምታት ዘዴ ብዙዎች ጽፈውታል፡፡ በአማርኛ ታሪኩን በሰፊው የጻፉት ግን አምባሳደር ዘውዴ ረታ ናቸው፡፡ አምባሳደር ዘውዴ መጽሐፉን ሲጽፉ ቢትወደድ አስፋሓን የአንድነትና የነፃነት ጠበቃ በማድረግ ነው የሚያንቆለጳጵሱት፡፡ ቢትወደድ አስፋሓ የወሰዱትን እርምጃ አንድ በአንድ እየተረኩልን እንኳ ህገ-ወጥነታቸውን ያደንቁላቸዋል፡፡ ታዲያ በጣም የሚያሳዝነው ነገር በዚሁ መጽሐፍ ውስጥ ጸሐፌ ትዕዛዝ አክሊሉ ሀብተወልድ ኤርትራን በፌዴሬሽን ለማስመለስ ያደረጉት እልህ አስጨራሽ ትግልና ፌዴሬሽኑ እንዳይፈርስ ያደረጉት ጥረት ሰፋ ብሎ የቀረበ መሆኑ ነው፡፡ ጸሐፌ ትዕዛዝ አክሊሉ ለአጼ ኃይለ ሥላሤ “በህግ ፈርመን የተቀበልነውን አደራ ማክበር አለብን” የሚል ተደጋጋሚ ምክር ቢሰጧቸውም ንጉሡ በጭራሽ ሊሰሟቸው አልፈቀዱም፡፡ በመሆኑም ኢትዮጵያና ኤርትራ ሁለት ሀገር የመሆናቸው እርሾ ተጠነሰሰ፡፡

===የኤርትራ ነጻነት ትግል እና የኤርትራዊነት ስነ-ልቦና===

የኤርትራ ነጻነት ትግል የተለኮሰው ፌዴሬሽኑ በተባበሩት መንግሥታት ድርጅት ታዛቢዎች በወጣለት ህገ-መንግሥት መሰረት ስራዎቹን በአግባቡ ማከናወን ስላቃተው ነው፡፡ ከላይ እንደተገለጸው በ1950ዎቹ አጋማሽ አብዛኛው ህዝብ ከአንድነት አቀንቃኝነት ወጥቶ ወደ ነጻነት ፈላጊው ጎራ መቀላቀል ጀምሯል፡፡ ትግሉን በተደራጀ መንገድ የመጠንሰሱን ሃሳብ የወጠነው ግን ሰባት ሰዎች የመሰረቱት “ማህበር ሸውአተ” የሚባለው እድር መሳይ ማህበር ነው፡፡ ይህ ማህበር ከጥቂት ጊዜ በኋላ “ምንቕስቓስ ሓርነት ኤርትራ” (“ሐረካት ታሕሪረል ኤሪትሪያ”/Eritrean Liberation Movement) የሚባል ድርጅት ወለደ (ድርጅቱ በታሪክ ምዕራፎች “ሐረካ” እየተባለ ነው የሚጠራው)፡፡

“ሐረካ” ወደ ትግሉ የገባው ፌዴሬሽኑ ከመፍረሱ ከሶስት ዓመታት አስቀድሞ ነው፡፡ የትግሉ ዋነኛ ዓላማም “የኤርትራ ፌዴሬሽን በህገ-መንግሥቱ መሰረት ስራውን እንዲያከናውን መጠየቅ” ነበር፡፡ ይሁንና አብዛኛው ኤርትራዊ ኤሊት ለአስር ዓመታት ባየው የፌዴሬሽኑ አሰራር ተስፋ የቆረጠ በመሆኑ “የፌዴሬሽን አሰራርን በጭራሽ አንቀበልም” ባይ ሆነ፡፡ በተለይም የቀድሞ የኤርትራ ፓርላማ አባላት በዚህ ላይ ግትር አቋም ያዙ፡፡ በመሆኑም ከነጻነት በመለስ ሌላ አማራጭ ለመቀበል ዝግጁ ያልሆነው “ተጋድሎ ሓርነት ኤርትራ” ወይንም “ጀብሃት ታሕሪረል ኤሪቲሪያ” (ጀብሃ) እ.ኤ.አ መስከረም ወር 1961 በካይሮ ከተማ ብዙ ህዝብ በተሰበሰበት ተመሰረተ፡፡ ጀብሃ ትግሉን ለሃያ ዓመታት ከቀጠለበት በኋላ በውስጣዊና ውጫዊ ችግሮች ተዳክሞ ሲወድቅ ከርሱ የተገነጠለው “ህዝባዊ ግንባር ሓርነት ኤርትራ” ወይንም “ጀብሃት አሽ-ሻዕቢያ ሊ-ተሕሪረል ኤሪቲሪያ” (ሻዕቢያ) እርሱን ተክቶ መዋጋቱን ተያያዘው፡፡ በ1983 (1991) ኤርትራ ነጻ ሀገር ሆነች ፡፡ የኤርትራ የነጻነት ትግል የተጓዘበት መንገድ ከብዙ በጥቂቱ ይህንን ይመስላል፡፡ ይህ መሆኑ እየታወቀ “የቅኝ ገዥዎች ተንኮል”፣ “የዐረቦች ሸር” ወዘተ.. የሚሉ ሰበቦችን መደርደር ራስን መደለል ነው፡፡

ኤርትራዊነት “የቅኝ ተገዥነት ስሜት የፈጠረው የተቃወሰ ስነ-ልቦና ነው” የሚለውም ክስ ከዚሁ ጋር ነው የሚታየው፡፡ ኤርትራዊያንን እስከምናውቃቸው ድረስ ለፈረንጅ ገዥ ያላቸው ስሜት ከኛ ጋር ተመሳሳይ ነው፡፡ ለዚህም ነበር በ1929-1933 የኢጣሊያ ወረራ ዘመን በርካታ የኤርትራ ጀግኖች ድንበር አቋርጠው ከኢትዮጵያ አርበኞች ጋር የተቀላቀሉት፡፡ የኢትዮጵያ ባንዲራ በኢጣሊያ ወታደሮች መረገጡ አንገብግቦት የጠላቶቹን አንገት በሰይፍ የቀላው ጀግናው ዘርዓይ ደረስ ከተወለደበት ኤርትራ ውጪ የተቀረውን የኢትዮጵያ ክልል ለአንድም ቀን ረግጦ አያውቅም፡፡ ጀግኖቹ አብረሃ ደቦችና ሞገስ አስገዶምም በቅኝ ገዥዋ ኮሎኒያል ኤሪትሪያ ነበር የተወለዱት፡፡ የህዝቡ ስነ-ልቦና በቅዥ ተገዥነት ስሜት የተቃወሰ ቢሆን ኖሮ እንደዚህ የበረከቱ ጀግኖች በሀገሩ ላይ ባልበቀሉ ነበር፡፡
——
ለኤርትራ ጥያቄ መፈጠር እርሾ የሆነው የቅኝ ተገዥነት ስሜት ሳይሆን የኛ መንግሥታት ሲያካሄዱት የነበረው ኢ-ፍትሐዊነትና ብሄራዊ ጭቆና ነበር፡፡ ያለፉት መንግሥታት ቤታችንን በማስተካከል ለሁላችንም እንዲመች ቢያደርጉት ኖሮ ጥያቄው ባልተፈጠረ ነበር፡፡ ለዚህ ፋና ወጊ የነበረውን የልጅ እያሱ ፖሊሲ መጥቀስ ይቻላል፡፡

ይልቅ ከኤርትራዊያን ጋር የማንግባባው “ኢትዮጵያ ቅኝ ገዥ ነበረች” በሚለው አገላለጽ ነው፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ ቀርቶ ረጅም ሀገር አቋርጠው ምጽዋን ለአራት መቶ ዓመታት የያዙት ኦቶማን ቱርኮች እንኳ ቅኝ ገዥ ተብለው አልተጠሩም፡፡ መንግሥታቶቻችን የኤርትራን ጥያቄ ጆሮ ዳባ ልበስ ብለው ለመስማት ባይፈለጉትም አውሮጳዊያን እንዳደረጉት አዲስ ሀገር በወረራ አልያዙም፡፡ መሬቱ ከጣሊያኖች መምጣት በፊት በራስ አሉላ ስር “መረብ ምላሽ” ተብሎ ይተዳደር ነበር፡፡ በጥንቱ ታሪክ ውስጥ ደግሞ ኤርትራ “ባህረ ነጋሽ” የሚል ስያሜ የነበራት ዋነኛዋ የኢትዮጵያ አስኳል እንደነበረች ነው የምናውቀው፡፡ የጥንቱ “አቢሲኒያ” (ሐበሻ) የሚለው አጠራር መጀመሪያ የተፈጠረው በኤርትራና በትግራይ ውስጥ ነው፡፡ እዚህ ላይ ፕሮፌሰር መስፍን በግንቦት ወር 1983 የለንደን ኮንፈረንስ ሲካሄድ ለፕሬዚዳንት ኢሳያስ አፈወርቂ “እኛ ኢትዮጵያዊያን አይደለንም ማለታችሁ ትልቁ ስህተታችሁ ነው፤ ኢትዮጵያዊያን እኛ እንጂ ሌሎች አይደሉም ብትሉ ኖሮ ትንሽ እውነት ይኖርበት ነበር” ያሉትን መጥቀስ ተገቢ ነው፡፡ የፕሮፌሰር መስፍን አገላለጽ ለዘመናችን ሰው ባይስማማም የታሪክ ሐቅ አለበት፡፡

====የመንግሥታቱ የቅራኔ አፈታት እንከኖች====

የኤርትራን ጥያቄ ያወሳሰበው አንዱ ምክንያት መንግሥታቱ ቅራኔዎችን በሰላማዊ መንገድ ለመፍታት አለመከጀላቸው ነው፡፡ ሁሉም ሀገረ ገዥ እና አስተዳዳሪ ጦርኝነትን እንጂ ተስፈኝነትን ሲዘምር አልታየም፡፡ እስቲ ነገሮችን በምሳሌ ላስረዳ፡፡

ጀብሃ በአንድ ጊዜ ብዙ ተከታዮችን ለማፍራት የቻለው ራስ አስራተ ካሣ በሚያካሄዱት የጭካኔ ዘመቻ የኤርትራ ቆላ ህዝብ በብዛት ወደ ግንባሩ በመጉረፉ ነው፡፡ ራስ አስራተ ከሚወስዱት እርምጃ ሳይታረሙ ተከታታይ ዘመቻዎችን ሲያካሄዱ ደግም ህዝቡ በብዛት ወደ ሱዳን ተሰደደ፡፡ የተቀረው ጀብሃን ተቀላቀለ፡፡ ሻለቃ ዳዊት ወልደጊዮርስ “ሬድ ቲርስ” በተሰኘው መጽሓፋቸው ራስ አስራተ ያዘመቱት ጦር በወሰደው እርምጃ በአንድ ጀንበር ብቻ ከአምስት ሺሕ የማያንስ ህዝብ ማለቁን ያስረዳሉ፡፡

የደርግ መንግሥት ሲመጣም ችግሩ ተባባሰ እንጂ አልተቃለለም፡፡ በተለይም ሻዕቢያ ተከታታይ ድል በሚቀዳጅባቸው የመጨረሻዎቹ ዓመታት ሺዎች በታንክና በመድፍ አልቀዋል፡፡ ለምሳሌም በዓለም የመገናኛ ብዙሃን ሰፊ የመነጋገሪያ አጀንዳ ለመሆን የበቃውንና በ1980 በቀይ ባህር ዳርቻ ባለችው የሸዒብ ከተማ ህዝብ ላይ የደረሰውን ፍጅት መጥቀስ ይቻላል፡፡

እነዚህ መንግሥታት የኤርትራን ችግር በሰላም ለመፍታት የወሰዷቸው እርምጃዎች ኢሚንት ናቸው፡፡ ራስ አስራተና የአሜሪካ ሚሊታሪ አዛዦች በአጼ ኃይለ ሥላሤ ጠያቂነት የተቋቋመውን የሰላም ኮሚቴ በመጥለፍ ጀብሃና ሻዕቢያ እንዲጨራረሱ ለማድረግ ሞከሩ፡፡ የደርግ መንግሥት ደግሞ አብዛኛው ኢትዮጵያዊ የክፍለ ሀገሩን ችግር በሰላም ለመፍታት ያግዛሉ በማለት ተስፋ ያሳደረባቸውን ጄኔራል አማን አንዶምን አስገደለ፡፡ እንዲህ ማድረጋቸው ሳያንስ በጄኔራል አማን ላይ ተከታታይ የቅጥፈት ወሬ ማስወራት! ያሳዝናል፡፡

ደርጎች እስከዛሬ ድረስ “ጀኔራል አማን የተገደሉት ወንበዴዎቹ ኤርትራን እንዲገነጥሉ ሁኔታዎችን ማመቻቸታቸው ስለተደረሰበት በዚህ አኩርፈው ቤታቸው ውስጥ ስለመሸጉ ነው” ይላሉ፡፡ በደርግ ወገን ሆነው የጻፈ የትኛውም ሰው ይህችን ቃል ይደጋግማል፡፡ ይሁንና ለህሊናቸው ታማኝ የሆኑት ፕሮፌሰር መስፍን ወልደማሪያም “በጄኔራል አማን ላይ የተደረገው ቅጥፈት እጅግ በጣማ ያሳዝናል፤ ጄኔራል አማን ኤርትራ ከኢትዮጵያ እንዳትገነጠል ተገቢውን ጥረት ያደረጉ ኩሩ ኢትዮጵያዊ ናቸው” በማለት ምስክርነታቸውን ሰጥተዋል (የክህደት ቁልቁለት የተሰኘውን መጽሐፍ አንብቡ)፡፡ ጄኔራል ጃጋማ ኬሎም በሰጡት የምስክርነት ቃል ይህንኑ አረጋግጠዋል፡፡

የደርግ መንግሥት የሚወስዳቸው እርምጃዎች የኤርትራ ጥያቄ እጅግ በጣም የተወሳሰበ እንዲሆን ነው ያደረጉት፡፡ ደርግ በመውደቂያው ሰሞን ከሻዕቢያ ጋር ንግግር ለማድረግ መሞከሩ ሚዛን የሚደፋ ዜና ለመሆን ያልቻለው ወርቃማው እድል ካመለጠ በኋላ የተመዘዘ ካርድ ስለሆነ ነው፡፡

ከደርግ ቀጥሎ የመጣው ህወሐት ለኤርትራ ጥያቄ እውቅና መስጠቱ የሚያስወድሰው ነው፡፡ ነገር ግን ከኤርትራዊው አጋር ድርጅቱ (ሻዕቢያ) ጋር ወደፊት አብሮ መኖር ስለሚቻልበት ሁኔታ በመነጋገር የኢትዮጵያን ጥቅም የሚያሰፋበትን ሁኔታ መቀየስ ሲገባው “የኤርትራ ጥያቄ የቅኝ ግዛት ጥያቄ ነው” የሚል ግትር አቋም የሚያራምድ ሆኖ ተገኘና ህዝቡን አስቀየመ፡፡ በተጨማሪም የኤርትራ ሪፈረንደም በተካሄደበት ወቅት ውሳኔውን የሚያጸድቅበት “ማንዴት” ከህዝብ ያልተሰጠው የሽግግር ጊዜ መንግሥት ይዞ ውሳኔውን በማጽደቁ የህዝቡን ልብ ሰበረው፡፡ ለዚህችው ብቻ ሲታገል የኖረ አስመሰለበት፡፡
——–
ከላይ እንደለገጽኩት የኤርትራ ጥያቄ አግባብነት የነበረው ጥያቄ ነው፡፡ መንግሥታቱ ግን በተገቢው መንገድ አላስተናገዱትም፡፡ ኃይለ ሥላሤና ደርግ በጀብደኝነት ጥያቄውን ረገጡት፡፡ ይህኛው መንግሥት ደግሞ ከህዝብ ስልጣን ሳይሰጠው ጥያቄውን ዳግም መቀስቀስ በማይቻል መልኩ ዘጋው፡፡ በመሆኑም አሁን ያለው ትራጄዲ በሶስት መንግሥታት የተፈጸሙ ስህተቶች ድምር ውጤት ነው ማለት ነው፡፡

===የብዙሃን ጥያቄ===

ሌላው የተሳሳተ እሳቤ ደግሞ “ጥያቄውን ያነሱት እፍኝ የማይሞሉ ወንበዴዎች ናቸው” የሚለው ነው፡፡ በተለይ የደርግ መንግሥት በእንዲህ ዓይነት ፕሮፓጋንዳ ይታወቃል፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ በታሪክ እንደታየው ጥያቄው የብዙሃን ኤርትራዊያን ጥያቄ ነው፡፡ ከቅርብ ጊዜ ወዲህ በርካቶች ይህንን ጉዳይ የተቀበሉት ይመስለኛል፡፡ ይህም ትልቅ ተስፋን ያጭራል፡፡

በርግጥም የኤርትራ ጥያቄ የብዙሃን ነው፡፡ ጥያቄው የጥቂቶች ቢሆን ኖሮ ሻዕቢያ ለበርካታ ዓመታት እሳት በሚተፋው በጠባቡ የሳህል በረሃ አሸምቆ በቢ.ኤም እና በሚግ የሚወጋውን ዘመናዊ ጦር መመከት ባልቻለ ነበር፡፡ ግንባሩ ከኤርትራ ህዝብ ድጋፍ ስለሚያገኝና በተሰው ጓዶች ምትክ አዳዲሶችን መተካት በመቻሉ ነበር በትግሉ ለመግፋት የቆረጠው፡፡ የፈለገውን ያህል የዐረብ ፔትሮ-ዶላርና የምዕራባዊያን የዲፕሎማሲ ድጋፍ ቢጎርፍለት ከህዝብ የሚያገኘውን ድጋፍ ፈጽሞ ሊተካለት አይችልም፡፡ ስለዚህ የአሁኑ ትውልድ ይህንን እውነታ ተቀብሎ ነው ከኤርትራ ህዝብ ጋር ስለአብሮ መኖርና ስለመልካም ጉርብትና መነጋገር ያለበት፡፡ “እፍኝ የማይሞሉ ወንበዴዎች” የሚለው ተራ የፕሮፓጋንዳ አነጋገር ከሁለቱም ወገን ሺዎች እንዲረግፉ ነው ያደረገው፡፡ የኛዎቹ ጄኔራሎች በደርግ መንግሥት መጨረሻ ገደማ ተደፋፍረው መፈንቅለ መንግሥት ለማካሄድ የሞከሩት እንዲህ ዓይነቱን እልቂት ለማስቀረት ነው፡፡

በሌላ በኩል ኤርትራዊያን ብሄራዊ የነጻነት ጥያቄ ማንሳታቸው እንደ ሐጢአትና ተአምር ሊቆጠር አይገባም፡፡ በየትኛውም ዓለም የሚኖር ህዝብ ጭቆና ደረሰብኝ ባለ ጊዜ እሪ ብሎ መነሳቱ ከታሪክ የተማርነው እውነታ ነው፡፡ በአሁኑ ዘመን እንኳ በመቶዎች የሚቆጠሩ ብሄራዊ የነጻነት ንቅናቄዎች አሉ፡፡ የፍልስጥኤም ህዝብ፣ የኩርዲስታን ህዝብ፣ የሰሜን አፍሪቃው የበርበር ህዝብ፣ የኢንዶኔዥያው የአቼ ህዝብ፣ የሩሲያው የቺቺኒያ ህዝብ፣ የስሪላንካው የታሚል ህዝብ፣ የምዕራብ ሰሐራ ህዝብ ወዘተ… የሚያካሄዷቸውን ንቅናቄዎች መጥቀስ ይቻላል፡፡ ስለዚህ የሁለቱን ህዝቦች መልካም ጉርብትና የምንሻ ከሆነ ይህንን ጉዳይ አጽንኦት ልንሰጠው ይገባል፡፡

====የወደፊት መንገድ====

ኤርትራና ኢትዮጵያ ወደፊት እንዴት ሊሆኑ ይችላሉ?… አንድ ላይ የሚተዳደሩበት ጊዜ ይመጣ ይሆን?
በጣም ከባድ ጥያቄ ነው፡፡ በሁሉም ወገኖች በኩል ቅንነት ካለ ግን “ይቻላል” ባይ ነኝ፡፡ ይህ በጎ ህልም ነው፡፡ ይህንን ህልም ከሚያልሙትም አንዱ ነኝ፡፡ እንደኔ ተመሳሳይ ህልም ያላቸው ወገኖችም ብዙ ናቸው፡፡ “ይህንን ህልም እውን ለማድረግ ምን መደረግ አለበት?”… የሚለው በዚህ አነስተኛ መጣጥፍ የሚመለስ አይደለም፡፡ ነገር ግን ህልማችን እውን እንዲሆን ከፈለግን መሰረታዊውን ሐቅ መቀበል አለብን፡፡ በቅድሚያም የኤርትራ ጥያቄ “የተገንጣዮች ሴራ ነው”፣ የዐረቦች ተንኮል ነው፤ የቅኝ ተገዥነት ስሜት የፈጠረው ነው” የሚሉ ታሪካዊ መሰረት የሌላቸውን ሰበባ-ሰበቦች እርግፍ አድርገን በመተው ጥያቄው የህዝቡ ጥያቄ እንደሆነ መቀበል አለብን፡፡ ከዚያ በማስከተል ነው በግለሰብና በቡድን ደረጃ የሚሰሩ ስራዎች የሚተገበሩት፡፡ ለአሁኑ ከትንሹ ነገር እንጀምር፡፡ ለዚህም ምሳሌ ልስጣችሁ!

ከኤርትራ ነጻ መውጣት በኋላ እየተለመደ የመጣ አባባል አለ፡፡ “ኤርትራዊያን ሰው ይንቃሉ፤ ራሳቸውን እንደ ፈረንጅ ይቆጥራሉ፣ ትዕቢተኞች ናቸው? እነርሱን መለማመጥ አያስፈልግም” የሚል፡፡ ከተማረና ከተመራመረ ሰው ባይሆንም ብዙዎች እንዲህ ሲሉ እሰማለሁ፡፡ በርግጥ ችግሩ ሊኖር ይችላል፡፡ ሆኖም ይህ በየትም ዓለም የሚታይ ክስተት መሆኑን መዘንጋት የለብንም፡፡

እንዲህ ዓይነት ችግሮች የንቃተ ህሊና አለመብሰል እንከኖች ናቸው እንጂ ከብሄራዊ የነጻነት ጥያቄ ጋር የሚያድጉ አይደሉም፡፡ የህዝብ ለህዝብ ትስስሩ ሲጠናከር ችግሮቹም ቀስ በቀስ ይወገዳሉ፡፡ ስለዚህ እንዲህ ዓይነቶቹን ተራ ጉዳዮችን እንደ ምክንያት እየደረደሩ ከኤርትራዊያን ጋር ያለንን ቀረቤታ ለመገደብ መሞከር ተገቢ አይደለም፡፡ “ናቁኝ” ብሎ ለታሪክ የሚጠቅም መሰረት ከማኖር ማፈግፈግም የታሪክ ተወቃሽነትን ያስከትላል፡፡ ስለዚህ እንዲህ ዓይነቶቹ ተራ ጉዳዮችን ከሰበብ መቁጠር ተገቢ አይደለም፡፡

በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ አንድ መሆንን የምንመኝ ከሆነ ኤርትራዊያኑን የሚያስቀይም ድርጊት አንፈጽም፡፡ አንዳንዶች ቢያስቀይሙን እንኳ ለህልማችን እውን መሆን ስንል እንታገሳቸው፡፡ ኤርትራዊያን ወንድሞቻችን መሆናቸውን እንቀበል፡፡ እንወያይ፡፡ አንሽሻቸው፡፡ ባለፉት ዘመናት ለተከሰተው መጋደል ይቅር እንባባል፡፡
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ሰላም
አፈንዲ ሙተቂ
የካቲት 24
በሀረር ከተማ ተጻፈ፡፡