OPPOSITIONS’ AND SUPPORTERS’ ENDLESS
SMEAR CAMPAIGNS
PART 11
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. - Washington
Update, Mesfin Mekonen, ethiolion.com, - Ethiopians in |
The Meles regime is paying DLA Piper
hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby Congress to block legislation
(Washington Update). |
The following quotes from
the horse mouth, DLA Piper, exposes the liars: -…the firm's
representation of the Ethiopian government actually ended in November… -…we [DLA
Piper] disagree with these individuals [vocal Ethiopian Diaspora] and do not
believe their views reflect the majority of Ethiopian Americans… -…very vocal
elements of the Ethiopian Diaspora… go to great lengths to try to embarrass
or demean those who are associated with it [the Ethiopian government]. It
should be noted here that lobbying is one among many services DLA Piper
rendered to the Ethiopian government. The others — still on-going and involving
no compensation (on pro bono initiatives)
— include services in policy, regulatory, legislative and legal matters.
(Source; The Ethiopian Community in Washington is
Hating on DLA Piper, Above
The Law, Tuesday, April 21, 2009).
|
|
2. Yehzbawi Sbseba Tri,
EDP, Aiga Forum, |
|
The so-called opposition
parties’ attitude towards EPRDF, particularly TPLF, has its roots in hate,
jealousy and revenge. Their common goal is, by hook or crook, to get rid of
the EPRDF and its government. To accomplish this they harp on lies,
exaggerations, rumor-mongering, spinning, etc. They never ever speak or write
about EPRDF’s accomplishments. On the contrary, they deny anything worthwhile
has been done. When they do on rare occasions they give negative
contradictory interpretations of government successes and actions. They say
and write the country and people are worse off now than during the Derg era. The Ethiopian Democratic
Party (EDP) is the only rational and mature opposition party in the country. It has become a
model of a loyal opposition party which should be emulated by others if the
process of democratization is to attain its goal. |
|
3.
Message in a Bottle by Alemayehu
G. Mariam, ethiomedia.com, |
But he [Dr. Hailu Araya of
UDJ] knows there are armies of arsonists that have spread out through our
homeland to stoke up the wildfires of ethnic and religious hatred, division
and antagonism just to cling to power. |
It is clear that the target
of the statement in the middle column is the EPRDF and by extension the TPLF.
“Ethnic and religious hatred, division and antagonism just to cling to power”
does not, by any stretch of imagination, apply to the EPRDF. On the contrary, it is the domain of the writer and his likes. The
fact that Ethiopians of all nations and nationalities and creed now feel and
accept their Etiopianess is a bitter pill the writer and his likes find
impossible to swallow. Whereas the EPRDF brought
ethnic and religious equality and harmony,
the writer and his likes are working day and night to undo this. There is no
stone unturned in attempts to destroy the federal structure and revert to the
old one. This would mean going back to a centralized system and provincial
administration, an unacceptable and impossible process?. |
|
4.
Berhanu Nega denies leading alleged Ethiopian coup plot By Marc Scolforo,
Assocaited Press Writer, By Tricia Pursell, The
Daily Item, |
"I'm very suspicious
that there was an attempt [the recent plot] at all..." "The government, every time, it
panics…It's always treason, always acting against the government." "It became very clear immediately
after our release that they will not at all tolerate any opposition,
meaningful opposition." "It is really a criminal
government…Any struggle against tyranny should be supported." …any mechanism to get rid of an
illegitimate tyranny is legitimate as far as we are concerned." |
In his interview with the
VOA, Addis Dimts Radio, BBC and others the vociferous and bombastic Dr.
Berhanu Nega denied that he masterminded the plot and did not have anything
to do with the recent planned attempt
at assassinating senior government officials and destruction of public
infrastructure. Soon after the Ethiopian
government publicly broadcasted the names of the leaders ot the plot (General
Teferra Mammo said to have been the head of Ginbot 7's military wing and Ato
Melaku Teferra), Dr. Berhanu continually denied knowledge of the instigators
although he repeatedly mentioned the father of Tsige Andargachew, and his own
father and cousin. During the above interviews, he rambled on and repeated the same accusations
(some of which are cited in the middle column) against the PM and his group.
One of the accusations was bearing a grudge (qimegna). This should have been the other way
round. One of the reasons why Dr. Berhanu is so bitter is that he holds a
deep-seated resentment against the Meles group because the latter pushed him
out together with his EPRP from Tigray around the beginning of the struggle
against the Derg. Another is his failure to secure a ministerial appointment in the incumbent government. The plot was
planned to start chaos in the country akin to that of EPRP’s inter-urban clashes with the Derg regime. This was in line with his dream to get rid of the EPRDF
and its government by any means provided the means did not bring harm to
civilians. This was a gimmick designed to fool the people and gain their support. How
practical is it to remove an incumbent government by force without, at the minimum, incurring collateral damage to the civilian
population? Could he guarantee that, that will not happen? From experience elsewhere,
including neighboring He labels the
government criminal. When those like him repeat the same they often site the
2005 unfortunate incident perpetrated by the so-called oppositions, including
him. It should be noted here that the accusation that the government stole
the election is not true as the government had won, a fact confirmed
by election observers except Ana Gomes, his friend. He and his likes are therefore the criminals who caused
the 2005 deaths by inciting violence amongst the people. That violent incident and
others were orchestrated in order to show the world that the government
abuses human rights and there is no democracy in He is a highly
opinionated and self-centered person. He claimed that, thanks to his
internationally known case, he and his colleagues never experienced beatings
in prison. This is a twisted justification for the absence of beatings that
is routinely claimed by his likes. |
5. It's time for
Ethiopian transitional government in exile, ethiopianreview.com,
|
There is a new player in
the field, Ginbot 7…The Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front (EPPF)… OLF, TPDM,
and ONLF have strong military presence inside The international
community will see that there is a better alternative that will be able to
bring democracy, peace and stability in the Horn of Africa region. Merge the EPPF, OLF, ONLF,
TPDM, and SLF fighters under one unified command to be named Ethiopian Armed
Forces. |
Elias’s transitional
government in exile is a hallucination. It is, among other things, predicated
on bringing together disparate groups, including separatist OLF and ONLF. As
we all know, many attempts have been made in vain to bring together
oppositions, including and excluding separatists. The so called government in
exile, if ever established, will meet the same fate, a quick death. If
established by some miracle it would serve as a stepping stone for the
separatists to achieve their dreams. It is absurd to expect the
international community to support and help oppositions to become an
alternative government for |
|
6.
Conventional cultural assimilation in By Beyene Geletaw Zeleke,
ethiomedia.com, May 2, 2009 |
The deep structure of TPLF “politics” 1) Corrupted mind: operated by people with low level of human conscience
(mind) namely id. 2) Greed: it has spread its tentacles even
to the only export commodity namely coffee. 3) Lack of Confidence: they don’t own any
significant amount of knowledge and the steams to administer people
accordingly. 4). Not Being Pleased with Spontaneity of
Language and Culture: they don’t understand both the meaning and significance
of unity. |
Apparently, the writer is an ardent
advocate of conventional cultural assimilation. He wants to revert to the
outmoded assimilation that was forced upon the non-Amharic speaking people of
The younger generation who is being misled
by the old generation may not know there was a time when people who spoke their
languages were frowned upon, ridiculed and humiliated with the result that
they stopped communicating in their mother tongues. When they expressed
themselves in Amharic they were scorned by such words as “tebtaba”. Despite
this and the fact that it was dubbed “yewof quwanquwa”, Tigrigna was
practically the only language spoken in public in The catalog of insults in the middle column
is a reflection of the writer and his likes hatred against the TPLF. They
hold grudge against the TPLF for instituting the ethnic-based federal system.
These are the naive people who were dreaming the TPLF would hand them power
on a silver platter to do as they wished. They got frustrated when it occued
to them that they were hallucinating. Then they began to use the end
justifies the means approach. They have been at this for 18 years always
hoping against hope and predicting the imminent end of the incumbent
government, meaning the TPLF as they equate government to TPLF. The last paragraph characterizing TPLF as
not understanding “both the meaning and significance of unity” is outrageous.
It is thanks to the TPLF that the country is in one piece. Had the writer and
his likes been in the place of TPLF there would not have been a united |
7. Terminal Paranoia!, by Alemayehu
G. Mariam, ethiopianreview.com,
|
Fear permeates the ruling dictatorship. They are overwhelmingly rejected by every
single ethnic group in the country, bar none. …the economy has ground to a halt… … …the regime has become an international pariah… |
This article, like all
write-ups of this writer, comprises an endless litany of lies, exaggerations
and inventions. The five examples of the litanies presented in the middle column support my assessment. The first
statement is one of many in which the word “fear” and related words appear.
All references to this word imply that the EPRDF is panic stricken. From
EPRDF history and past decisive actions one cannot, in all honesty, apply it
to EPRDF. The following quotation from Tesfaye Habisso’s ‘The Case of Birtukan Mideksa
in Retrospect’ (03/04/09) says it all:
“During its more than seventeen years of rule since 1991, the ruling
party and Government have never, ever bent backwards to the breaking point to
appease any foreign powers and international institutions or any
external/internal critics of the regime, when these criticisms happened to be
not sound and constructive. No Diaspora, and for that matter, no external
powers and international institutions have ever been able to make or break
governmental policies or decisions in Ethiopia or to bend the ruling party
and government to their will in matters that the latter believed were not in
the best interests of the nation and the country.” Wegards the other
allegations none of them are true. The latest World Bank report, for example,
commended the Government of Ethiopia and attested that “Over the past two
decades, |
8. Ethiopia's
dictatorship will fall soon - Dr Berhanu Nega,
ethiopianreview.com,
|
Dr. Berhanu: …Woyanne will fall soon, he
promised. …the tribal regime is
carrying out ethnic cleansing against Amhara members of the armed forces. |
For the last 18 years we
have been reading and hearing predictions regarding the fall of the
TPLF/EPRDF/government. This time Dr. Berhanu promised us this will happen
soon. How soon is soon – a week, a few weeks, a
month, a few months? Of course, there is no doubt that he will prove himself
incapable to bring about the prediction. With respect to ethnic
cleansing, this is a weapon the likes of him are increasingly resorting to
drive a wedge within the EPRDF. This tactic will have no effect as many
others have been tried time and again. The EPRDF leadership
comprises a bunch of dedicated liberation fighters. They have died and been wounded, brought peace and security, and kept the
country united. Now they are dedicated to bring democracy and development
which they are doing successfully. The oppositions or their permutations and
combinations can not match EPRDF’s dedication. It should be noted here
that Dr. Berhanu was one of those EPRP members who ran away from the fighting
field. Some of his comrades in arms stayed behind, fought and won and are now
among the dedicated senior members of the EPRDF. He, apparently, thinks it is
his turn now to dislodge the EPRDF as the latter did with the Derg! (By the way, readers may remember that
Berhanu ran to the Hilton Hotel where he hid himself in Ana Gomes’s Hilton
Hotel room during the 2005 incident.) |
9. A spiraling crack
in Ethiopian regime's core By Zeinab Made, ethiopianreview.com,
|
The dripping of name of
participants and withholding of their identities is intended to show that
those behind the plot are non-Tigreans (largely
Amharas and Oromos) in the army. But what comes as a blow is
the information that is was circulating in the security
machinery which reveals that a Tigrean military officer
General Tadesse Worede and a handful of mid- and low-level Tigrean officers
are at the center of the plot to topple the clique …information…from foreigners like Israelis
and others in the region… |
The complaint that the
names and identities of the plotters were withheld because the plotters
include Tigrayans is absurd. The writer claims information about Tigrayan
involvement came from foreigners. This is a foolish claim which readers can
not buy knowing the competency and efficiency of the Ethiopian security
system. The writer, of course, would not consider other reasons for not releasing
the names. Prematurely doing so could, for instance, compromise actions the
government was taking. All under custody were in court soon after they were
detained and subsequently reappeared in court. Besides, can the writer give
an example of persons officially identified by their ethnicities after
political detentions? I, for one, never heard or read of such a thing, except
for groups, such as OLF and
ONLF. Doing so would be, obviously, prejudicial to the persons concerned. The
writer would have vehemently objected had the ethnic identities of the
alleged plotters been made public. |
10. 55 Ethiopians
convicted of helping rebels groups, ethiopianreview.com,
|
Many of the prisoners are
being kept in dark prison cells without even access to toilet. |
Is
Elias Kifle, the pathological liar, telling us the prisoners urinate and
defecate in their cells? Shame on him for fabricating such nonsense. Can
anyone (others than the likes of Elias) confirm that he/she has heard
prisoners having no access to toilets? If this were true the prisons in |
To read
Part 10 please click here!