OPPOSITIONS’ AND SUPPORTERS’ ENDLESS
SMEAR CAMPAIGNS
PART 10
By Mathza
Most of the
oppositions’ leadership and their handful supporters, particularly the
minuscule vociferous Diaspora, and some individuals obsessed with lust for
power and hatred against Prime Minister Meles Zenawi have been and are doing
anything to get rid of him, the TPLF and the EPRDF. They are intimidated and
demoralized by his intelligence, capability, competence and the respect he
commands in the international community. Their hatred is limitless. In their
obsession and desperation to snatch power, they have crossed the line of
treason by compromising and endangering the sovereignty, security, territorial
integrity and national interests of
They condemn
They praise,
congratulate, defend, encourage and support—instead of denouncing—the
atrocities committed by separatists and jihadists;
They condemn
They
collaborate and scheme with the Eritrean government which has been and is
trying hard to destabilize and disintegrate
They belittle
EPRDF's sound government policies and strategies, which have proved successful;
They deny and
ridicule the double-digit economic growth, a remarkable progress and
performance in socio-economic development in the last five years; and
They
unashamedly accuse the Prime Minister of being a stooge of developed countries
because of, among others, his success to mobilize foreign assistance (For
example: by not giving in to pressure from such countries to allow foreign
banks to operate in Ethiopia he not only shielded the development of local
banks but also saved the country from the devastating impact of the current
global financial crisis).
In short,
these hate-mongers and anti-Ethiopia elements do not care at all about
One of their tactics is a
negative smear campaign portraying the country's image and, in particular, it’s
dedicated Prime Minister with all kinds of monstrous adjectives and pictures.
Among the methods used include politicizing everything, outrageous allegations,
lies, exaggerations, wild generalizations, spinning, misinterpretation and
spreading rumors. Practically all of the writings of these-diehards are replete
of despicable descriptions and character assassinations, all intended purely to
bring down the government. This writing ferrets out examples of statements that
do not make any sense, are illogical, are concocted, or are not supported by
facts—purely intended to misinform and mislead readers, particularly the
Diaspora silent majority. It is a modest attempt to expose those bigots who
have been hoodwinking and continue to hoodwink the Ethiopians and the
international community. (In the future, there will be a series of matrixes
like the one below, each preceded by the current two paragraphs).
|
Title/Source/Date |
Author’s
Statement |
My Comments |
|
1. ፍኖተ ሳምንታዊ
ዜና
ዘገባ,
by EPRP, ethiolion.com, |
|
As
usual the current EPRP weekly report is “alu-bwalta.” Most of its content is
based on lies, allegations, inuendos, exaggerations, spinning, etc. It is a
collection of most of the rubbish that the EPRP has been spewing in recent
years. The only objective of including the report in this PART 10 is to draw
the attention of readers who have not read it. |
|
2. አዳም ስሚዝ ይህንን ቢያይ ኑሮ በጣም ይደነግጥ
ነበር,
by ፈቃዱ በቀለ, ethiolion.com. |
Amariat Sen: ሰሚዝ የፈለገው ግለሰቦች በራሳቸው ጥረት እንዲንቀሳቀሱና በዚያውም መጠን ብዙ እንስቲቱሽኖች ተፈጥረው ህብረተሰቡን እንዲቆጣጠሩ ሲያሳስብ በምንም ዐይነት ግን አንድ ወጥ ስርዓትና ለትርፍ ብቻ መሮጥን በፍጹም አላስተማረም። ስሚዝ የገበያ ኢኮኖሚ ተግባራዊ ሊሆን በማይችልባቸው መስኮች፣ እንደ ጤንነትና የትምህርት መስክን የመሳሰሉትንና ድህነትን ማስወገድ የመንግስት ሚና እንደሆኑ አጥብቆ አሳስቧል። ኢንስቲቱሽኖች ሁሉ ከችግሮች ጋር እንዲጣጣሙና ችግሮችን ሊፈቱ በሚችሉበት ሁኔታ መዘጋጀት እንዳለባቸው አስተምፘል። ስለሆነም በምንም ዐይነት ሁሉም ነገር ለገበያው መለቀቅ እንደሌለበትና በገበያ „ፍልስፍናም“ ሊፈታ እንደሚችል ተደርጎ መወሰድ እንደሌለበትአመልክቷል። Writer: የገበያ ኢኮኖሚ ለጥቂት ፈንጪዎች ዝም ብሎ የሚተው ነገር አይደለም። ማንኛውም ነገር ህግና ስርዓትን ተከትሎ መሄድ አለበት። ጥቂቶችን የሚያደልብ፣ አብዛኛውን ደግሞ ወደ ድህነት የሚገፈትርና የሚደቁስ የህብረተሰቦች መመሪያ መሆን በፍጹም የለበትም። |
The
writer attributes the ideas on the left to Amartya Sen, the Nobel Laureate in
economics. The current global financial meltdown followed by
the economic crisis (based on market fundamentalism: unregulated system, excessive liberalizatrion, greed and speculation) may not have occurred
had the neo-liberals taken heed from Adam Smith. I
agree with the writer. There must be
stronger supervision and regulation on the capitalist system as it is based
on greed and speculation which are increasingly concentrating wealth on a
dwindling number of multinational corporations/conglomorates and excessively
compensating a relatively small number of individuals. Unfortunately, this system (lacking
ethical standards and contributing to worldwide corporate corruption) with
its tentacles spreading worldwide may eventually have devastating impact on
developing countries. Indigenous people lacking in resources and the
wherewithal cannot compete with conglomorates in production, marketing and
provision of financial and other services. They are forced to adopt the one-size-fits-all laissez fair capitalist system as practiced in developed countries. They are
pressured to liberalize even the development of infrastructures. (N.B.:
Infrastructures were the domain of the public sector when developed countries
were developing.) Telecommunication
in Ethiopia is a case in point. The government opted to retain its
development to ensure the spread of telecommunication services to rural areas — a sensible thing to do in a resource-strapped country.
This would not be possible with a profit motivated private sector which would
concentrate its activities in urban areas. This policy infuriated the vocal
Diaspora Ethiopians who were dreaming to become instant millionaires. It was
probably the main reason for their incessant barage of criticism against the
government’s resistance to liberalize the telecommunications sector. All
the unjustifiable demands by developed countries will, sooner or later, bring
developing countries under the complete domain of the conglomorates. It will,
of course, be worse as the conglomorates — because of their sheer size of
investments, financial muscles and highly integrated
production-trade-services — will increasingly harden dictating their terms
and conditions in poor developing countries. They will continue to expand
ownership of all kinds of businesses, including industries, and squeeze out
busineses owned by citizens. One way to minimize such negative impact and
possible public resentment would be for foreign corporate investors to go
into partnership/joint ventures with local investors as well as help the
latter secure loans. This and other approaches that take the interest of
local people is likely to minimize problems that may inevitably arise between
foreign investors and the local people in the future. As we all know the PM has been arguing for a developmental state which
allows the government some control over the economy of the country. The bail
out and nationalizations – which are totally
against the tenets/principles of capitalism – recently undertaken and
being undertaken by developed countries have proven that the PM’s approach to
development was correct (see also Meles
Vindicated by Tamrat G. Giorgis, Addis Fortune). |
3.
|
The Political Instability Index shows the
level of threat posed to governments by social protest. The index scores are
derived by combining measures of economic distress and underlying
vulnerability to unrest. The index covers the period 2009/10, and scores are
compared with results for 2007. (Source: Social unrest, Economist
Intelligence Unit, the Economist) |
Social unrest is The
Economist Intelligence Unit’s title of the global article. According
to the article |
4.
Reporter's Notebook:
|
Dr. Seid Hassan, Professor of Economics…
senior government officials close to the prime minister and his wife that are
alleged to have been engaged in unlawful business activities are protected
from public scrutiny. However, verifying the ION claim that state
power was abused to advance these businesses [similar to the Dr.’s] is
difficult. |
Dr. Said Hassan has been
repeatedly making this and other similar allegations. He has, so far, failed
to provide an iota of evidence. Of all persons, one would expect those with PhD’s
to adhere to a professional honor code and present arguments supported by
facts. Alas, this is not the case with many of them. The caution expressed by
the writer in the second paragraph on the left is worth noting in this
regard. |
|
5.
Ethiomedia Intro, |
|
It is sad that Ethiomedia and
its likes day in day out hammer their denial of double-digit economic growth
in |
6. Putting
the cart in font of the horse, by Yilma Bekele,
ethiopianreview.com,
|
Control of the trade of coffee is a must
for the minority regime. ECX was a vehicle to take control of the independent
merchants and drive them out of the coffee business. It [ECX] is just another criminal action by
a government against its own citizens. Thus confiscation of tons of coffee from
private warehouses is just another chapter in our saga of humiliation by the
illegal regime. |
As far as oppositions and their
likes are concerned the government does not do anything properly. They
invariably give opposite interpretations of all and any government policies,
strategies, plans, projects, etc. The baseless accusations in the middle
column are good examples. If the government had not established the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX)
they would have accused it of not establishing it. As we are all aware there are
many institutions that need to be created. They do not exist for lack of
resources, both financial and human resources. Until recently the ECX, an
agricultural marketing system, was one of them. Some elements in the business
community who flourished in manipulative/chaotic business dealings did not
welcome it. As is the case with fear of the unknown, others look at this
change with suspicion. Still others, those who sabotage government
activities, would go to any length to render the new institution unworkable
as is now the case with coffee marketing. Reduction in international
coffee prices and speculation are the overt reasons for not exporting coffee. The major reason, however, is the coffee
exporters do not like to go through the ECX, because, as BBC put it, it does not
allow them to conduct “murky auction system often abused by market
players.” The coffee exporters know that
the country is in dire need to earn foreign exchange in the face of dwindling
export possibilities as a result of the global crisis. They know that earning
foreign currency is crucial to maintaining the momentum of fast economic
growth and development the country has experienced in recent years. They know that the global crisis and its
negative impact will get worse before it gets better. They know it will take
time and cannot withhold their coffee for long. In short, they know coffee
prices will not rise and therefore speculation will not work for some time to
come. This being the case why were they adamant about hoarding coffee after
the government practically pleaded with them to sell? Is this what the country deserves in return for all the efforts the government
has done and is doing to promote Ethiopian brand coffees in the world market? The
coffee exporters have either no concern for the well being of the country or
have a hidden agenda. |
|
7. የአይጥ
ምስክር
ድንቢጥ
፤
የባንዳ
አወዳሽ
ሹምባሽ,
Program qutr 65, ethiolion.com, Megabit 20 2001 |
…Teteqashu sewye [David Shin] Woyannen
Addis Ababa bemasgebat ye etiopian yemekera m’raf lemekfet yebeqawn
yelondon’n gubae lemazegajet kene Herman Cohen gar bemetebaber gnbar qedem
mina yetchawete indeneberem yemizenega aydelem… |
The EPRDF did not need the
blessing or permission of Messrs. David Shin and Herman Cohen to enter There is nothing that the
hateful and jealous vocal Diaspora does not do to play down the credit the EPRDF
deserves in liberating the people of |
8. የኢትዮጵያ
ኤሌክትሪክ
ኮርፖሬሽን
ለዲአያስፖራው
ሕብረተሰብ
ለመሼጥ
ስላወጣው
ማስታወቂያ
አንዳንድ
አመላካች
ሀሳቦች,
ከፕ/ር ሰይድ ሀሳን , ethiolion.com,
|
አቶ መለስ ዘናዊ …በአንድ በኩል የኢትዮጵያ ገበሬ ሀብታም ሆኗል ብለው ይነግሩናል፡፡… በግብርናው ክፍል የተደረገው የኤኮኖሚ ድል ኢትዮጵያን በቅርቡ “መለስተኛ ሀብታም” ተብለው ከሚጠሩት አገሮች ጋር ልያስመድባት ይችላል ብለው ነግረውን ነበር። …በተከዜ ወንዝ ላይ የተተከለው የኤለክትሪክ ሀይል ማመንጫ ወደ
$450.00 ሚሊዮን ዶላር ከባከነበት በኋላ ዋጋ-ቢስ መሆኑን አሁን አቶ መለስ ዘናዊ እራሳቸው በቅርቡ በሰጡት ጋዜታው መግለጫ አምነዋል።… …ግልገል ግቢ
3 የተሠራው መብራቱን ለኬንያ ለመሸጥ ስለሆነ፤ ኬንያዊያን በመብራቱ ተጠቃሚ Eንዲሆኑ ድሀ
Aገራችን Iትዮጵያ ከውጭ Aገር ተበድራ ለኬንያዊያን መዋEለ-ንዋይ (investment) Aደረገች ማለት ነው።… …3ኛው ግልገል ግቢ የተሠራው ለኬንያዊያን ስለሆነ የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት መሪዎችን (እነ አቶ መለስን) “የእኛን ገንዘብ እንዲታባክኑ በኬንያዊያን ተቀጥራችኋልን?”… |
It is sad and disgusting to
observe that the “professor” writer is getting more vocal and stronger in
advocating against any development in As in his other articles this
article is loaded with numerous statements that one would not expect from a
professor. It is inundated with unsubstantiated allegations and spins
intended to derail the development process in the country. Examples of
spinning are presented in the middle column. The PM never said the farmer has
become rich, Ethiopia can in the near future (beqrbu) attain the level of
middle income (melestegna habtam) countries and the Tekzie hydropower project
is useless (waga bis). These are pure mendacious fabrications and spins of the writer. By the
way, with respect to attaining middle income level, the PM’s latest declaration
is that I assume the writer knows very well that In his desperate effort to convince the
Ethiopian Diaspora not to buy the Millennium Bond he came out with a weird
and absurd calculation (- 42% = 4%- 46%). It does not apply to the Ethiopian
Diaspora who invest in foreign currencies which will be repaid in similar
currencies. The investors are, therefore, immune to inflation and the Brr
depreciation in I leave the rest to other observers: Johannes
(Yemillenium Bondna Ye Etiopia Edget, Aiga Forum, |
9. ሰንደቅ
አላማችን
(ኮማንደር
አሰፋ
ሰይፉ),
ethiolion.com,
|
|
In this write-up Commander
Asefa Seifu laments the fall of the
feudal system. He objects to the addition put on the Ethiopian national flag.
He relates the original flag to religion and the feudal leaders and by extension
to the ruling class, the ethnic group at the time. He, therefore,
inadvertently stumbled upon the very reason why a change on the flag had to
be made. At the time the decision was made on what flag to adopt, most
nations and nationalities objected to continuing to use the unrepresentative
original flag which they associated with colonialism, hegemony, oppression,
racism, etc. A compromise solution was adopted to maintain it with the
addition. The add-on symbolizes inclusiveness and represents the over 80
nations and nationalities of |
10. Obama
scolded Ethiopia's dictator Meles Zenawi, ethiopianreview.com,
|
U.S. President
Barrack Obama scolded |
Elias
of ethiopianreview.com came out with a title “Obama scolded Ethiopia's
dictator Meles Zenawi.” His source is couched in “Obama
reportedly told Meles.” As the picture attached to Elias’s write-up shows the
conversation between Obama and Meles was conducted in the presence of the then
President of South Africa, Kgalema Motlanthe. This implies that one
of the three leaked the information, which is very unlikely. Besides,
President Obama is a sophisticated person who is not likely to use “deplorable
and unacceptable” language, especially during his first casual encounter with
a Prime Minister representing |
PART 9: http://aigaforum.com/articles/smear_campaign_part9.pdf