If comical Girum is an Arbegna, then Arbegnotch Ginbar is a KG

By: Dilwenberu Nega (03/31/09)

The PR machinery of the so-called Arbegnotch Ginbar, Abbay Media, which claims to be the “Information Bank of Ethiopia”, is in fact funded by Shabia and run by DJ Girum Yilma’s wife who is the daughter of one of Shabia’s General.   Working from the comfort of Girum’s council flat in London - whose rent is being paid by the rate payer of the very country that Abbay Media accuses of propping up the Ethiopian Government – continues to churn out mendacious news in a vain attempt to stop the haemorrhaging of anti- Ethiopian Government opposition support which has resulted in drying up its coffers.    But at the beginning of February, unemployed Girum was summoned to the Embassy of the State of Eritrea where the riot act was spelled out for him.   Cash-strained Eritrea is considering stopping funding to Abbay Media, unless it is able to make it into the British media.

Girum - a through and through Amhara – became the darling of Shabia and a house-hold name in London not only via his Shabian wife, but with his services to  Shabia which dates back to the era of the near madness that had gripped Ethiopians in London following General Election 2007.   By offering his extensive data base of Ethiopians in London – which he had accumulated as a DJ – to the Embassy of the State of Eritrea, opposition groups were able to hoodwink the Ethiopians in Great Britain with their emergency appeal to derail the democratic process in Ethiopia.

It is against this veracious account of the personalities at the driving seat of Abbay Media, that the article must be viewed.   We should and must not allow ourselves to be dragged by sweet-talking and attention-seeking individuals who are trading as defenders of the Ethiopian people for whose livelihood, it must be stated, these self-righteous individuals have offered nothing but hot-air.   We have the freedom to go to Ethiopia and reach our own conclusions on whether or not the Ethiopia we have found is any better than the Ethiopia we had left.   It is, therefore, an insult to our intelligence to allow ourselves to be goaded by people who themselves are incapable of administering their own family, let alone consider them for the lofty task of leading our ancient country to greener pasture.

I, therefore, decided to put pen and paper together on this matter because I happened to be one of the invitees to Ato Bereket Simone’s speaking engagement at the Ethiopian Embassy in London.   To say and to write nothing in the face of naked lies being ventilated by one of Shabia’s news networks would, therefore be, a luxury that I can ill afford.   No big surprise, then, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has come to the conclusion that the best way to reward the hodgepodge representations being made by these fake democracy activists must be to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear no matter how loud their rubble-rousing in the squares of London is going to be.

 Much to the chagrin of the eight ‘freedom and democracy activists’ who formed a picket-line by the entrance to the Embassy of the Federal Democratic Government of Ethiopia in London, Ato Bereket Simone’s meeting with invited Ethiopians attracted crowds that over-filled the function room of the Ethiopian Embassy so much so that many had to endure the discomfort of remaining standing throughout the marathon session at nearby corridors.   I myself was approached by Girum as I made my way to the Embassy.  He had the nerve to attempt to lecture me on life in Ethiopia where his parents run a flourishing clinic in Addis Ababa’s Beklo-bet area.   I told him as – they would say in America: - “tell it to the marines!”

With the benefit of hindsight, I believe the Ethiopian Embassy was right to deny entry to this bunch of lads who were exhibiting clear signs of being starved of the oxygen of publicity at the time.   Their intended purpose was to either enter or disturb the smooth running of the meeting or to bar invitees from the Embassy by resorting to a cacophony of hurling invectives and appealing to the conscience of invitees.   On both counts, the picketers have failed and failed disastrously.   Moreover, they suffered the indignity of being shooed away by the Metropolitan Police.   With no British news outlet at hand to cover their antics, ‘the eight musketeers’ resorted to their evening round on the cab.    But to give credit where credit is due, they won the game of the swindler par excellence by being the first to post their fabricated story on opposition websites, because they are aware that attack is the best form of defence.   But soon ETV will nail the naked lies of Abbay Media when it shows high-lights of the meeting Bereket had with Ethiopians in London.    This would be proof, if proof were ever needed, of the reason why Abbay Media is the Ethiopian Disinformation Bank.   Let’s hope that this nailing of the lie will teach them a good lesson.   Until then let the ‘Girums of the phantom Arbegnotch Genbar’ dwell in the comfort of their KG.   But for us who have taken the courageous first step of coming out from the ‘herd mentality’ syndrome - by refusing not to be spoon-fed by a handful of wolves in sheep clothing - the struggle to shield the silent majority from being hoodwinked by yet another round of fundraising campaign for an opposition that has established an axis of evil with Shabia will gather momentum.