OPPOSITIONS’ AND SUPPORTERS’
ENDLESS SMEAR CAMPAIGNS
PART 12
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 Ethiopia. The following are examples supporting
this statement:
They condemn
Ethiopia’s defense against jihadists;
They praise,
congratulate, defend, encourage and support—instead of denouncing—the
atrocities committed by separatists and jihadists;
They condemn
Ethiopia’s reaction to such atrocities;
They
collaborate and scheme with the Eritrean government which has been and is
trying hard to destabilize and disintegrate Ethiopia;
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 Ethiopia
and Ethiopians. Their only desire is to be in power by any means—in the
driver’s seat—without any concern on how that might impact Ethiopia and its
people, enie kemotku serdo aybqel.
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.
55 political prisoners sentenced after 3-year ordeal Independent source,
ethiomedia.com, May 11, 2009 |
…the prison guards are
armed with sticks and are continuously beating and terrorizing these innocent
prisoners...The families and friends of the inmates are unfortunate receivers
of these weapons of terror when they come to visit. She [Ms. Hirut Kifle] was
able to describe to the group the horrible condition she was treated by
Meles’s Tigrean guards when she was first incarcerated two years earlier. |
The article was,
apparently, written by an “independent source” or is it Ethiomedia itself?
Whoever he/she is is one of those persons heavily loaded with hate and
prejudice against Tigrayans. He/she is
one of those mentally deranged who will, by any means, seek to blemish
Tigrayan people’s reputation. The means, in this case, are Tigrayans who
purportedly guard the Akaki prison and beat not only the prisoners but also
their families. It is common knowledge that oppositions and their supporters
blame all and every problems on and find scapegoats in Tigrayans. Remember
they have been repeating ad infinitum that the Agazi force, which they alleged to have participated in
quelling the regrettable 2005 violent riots,
was entirely Tigrayans. Pictures of some of
the military killed during quelling the riot showed that this was a lie.
Besides, there was/is no military wing consisting of one ethnic group after the
government decided to make the military representative of all nations and
nationalities a long time ago. |
|
2. To Ambassador
Johnnie Carson, |
…the Obama Administration
must take the initiative to encourage all in the opposition parties…to create
a united non-partisan vehicle with credible democratic agenda, with the view
to forming an administration of national unity… |
The
oppositions and their likes, mainly because of their own doing, are frustrated and hopeless. The idea of begging help
for foreign (including through embassies in Addis Ababa) intervention to dislodge the incumbent government is
becoming the only way for oppositions to oust the government and grap power
(see item 5 of PART 11). Within less than two-week period there was a third
pleading for help. Golto Aila in his Ethiopia after Meles – Strategizing for
the Survival of Motherland (5/16/09) says “He [President Obama] may have
several means of pressuring Meles out of office…” They all want help from the
outside to enable them to fulfill their lust for power. They want President
Obama to intervene on their behalf, i.e. organize them since they are
incapable and undemocratic (witness recent events and turmoil within UDJ) to do it on their own. How tragic, pathetic and
laughable! Too bad, the Obama Administration has made it clear that there
will not be significant change in Ethio-US relationship and cooperation. We
all know that relations between governments are based mainly on the interests
of their respective countries. The dire circumstances pertaining in the Horn
of Africa constitute common interests for the USA and Ethiopia—hence
President Obama’s statement reflecting reality. The writer claims he is
from southern Ethiopia. He is either a neftegna or a native-Amhara wanabe. He
is more likely the former and one among many writers under native cover. It
is, however, possible he could be among
some of those brainwashed remnants that to this day behave and act more
Catholic than the Pope. |
|
3. WHEN OUR HOME IS BURNING, by Golto Aila,
ethiolion.com, 5/17/09 |
Meles is also alleged to
have set Muslims against Christians to start inter-religious conflict in the
hope that there will be a fundamentalist movement in Ethiopia and its
neighborhoods with the view of ensuring the inflow of financial and military
support from the USA. He seems to have partially succeeded! |
Here below are my previous
comments on this absurd and preposterous allegation: 1. “No evidence! It is
unthinkable that, in a country that prides itself in religious tolerance,
Prime Minister Meles would pity Christians against Muslims, a time bomb. It
is satanic to think that he who is fighting Islamic extremism would undermine
the existing exemplary peaceful religious coexistence. According to the U.S Department of State “the Ethiopian government
respects religious freedom in practice.” (see item 5, Part 1)” 2. “The two
items on the left are among the seven items that Finot Democracy posted in
one of its Samntawi Zena Zegeba (Tir
16/2001). As usual, that week’s presentation
is replete with report received (“yederesen zegeba”). According to the
“reports”, “Woyane” is behind the recent trouble between Christians and
Muslims. It accused Woyane of purposely creating conflict designed for the
followers of the two religions to annihilate each other. It adds that this
approach has been attempted a number of times
in the past. It claims that young people were rounded up at churches and mosques and taken to unknown
places. The
Samntawi Zena Zegeba accuses the Patriarch Abune Paulos and Sheikh Elias
Redwan as being accomplices with “Woyane”. It said that the annihilation was avoided
thanks to the forward
looking (arqo astewy) people. It is indeed
sad that there are persons and groups that think the unthinkable and demonize
government and religious leaderships. They have no conscience. They are full
of hatred to the brim. They are racists. They are obsessed with snatching
power at any cost to the people and the country. They advance their political
agenda under the guise of religion. They do not care of the consequences of
their acts and incitement. If these do not describe these creatures what
does! What devilish mind can come up with the above accusations? Are they
telling us the government which prides itself on religious tolerance is so
foolish to play with fire, start religious war that will spread like wild
fire and consume everybody? They should be reminded that it is thanks to the
EPRDF instituting religious and ethnic harmony
that saved the country from being a failed state, worse than Somalia? The
Reporter’s articles “የመንግሥት
መግለጫ ኦርቶዶክስ
ቤተ ክርስቲያንን
አሳዝኗል” (25 January
2009) and “ሁሉም ወደ
አእምሮው ቢመለስ
መልካም ነው”(25 January 2009) on the contrary, show the government
has done its investigation and was reported rounding the culprits who were
creating conditions for Christian/Islam conflict. As a result, 18 members of Kwarej, a
radical Islamic group, are under custody. The PM’s reply to a related question
in his recent interview showed the accusation was garbage. What is amazing is that the Finote and
EPRP mafia have the audacity of insulting the intelligence of readers.
Anyway, that is to be expected from robots that specialize in fabricating
lies and spinning statements and events” (See item 4, PART 7). |
|
4.
New directives to provide full access for Eritreans to their assets in
Ethiopia By Habtu Mesfin,
ethiomedia.com, May 20, 2009 |
In addition to those
Ethiopian citizens that have been expelled from Eritrea empty-handed, many
business people in Ethiopia have lost tremendous assets worth billions of
dollars at Assab port as the result of the breakout of war between the two
nations. |
The magnitude (billions of
dollars) is likely an exaggeration. The compensation for this will eventually
be settled based on the ruling of the Claims
Commission at The Hague. It is a matter of time. It was unfortunate that
many Eritreans were expelled following the start of the war between Ethiopia
and Eritrea in 1998. Eritrea started the war and big mouthed Isayas hinted
that he was in a position to make use of Eritreans in Ethiopia. There were
apparently some Eritreans who were considered risks for Ethiopia. Because of
this, the government decided to deport those
suspected of sympathizing with or working for the government of Eritrea.
Given the short time to identify the risky elements,
many Eritreans who should have not been deported were deported. Among this
group were those who were targeted and falsely exposed by individuals and
groups with selfish motives, including taking over jobs, businesses and
possessions of the deportees. The new directives are aimed at correcting the
wrongs done to this group of Eritreans and those who were not politically
motivated. As for expulsion of
Ethiopians from Eritrea in 1991/92, the
Ethiopian government should pursue compensation for the individuals. It has
been reported that gold teeth of deportees were extracted before the
deportees were dumped on the Ethio-Eritrea boarder. |
5. Asmara, the
cleanest city in Africa, ethiopianreview.com, May 20th, 2009
|
By contrast, the savage
Woyannes turned Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia's once beautiful and vibrant capital, into
the 6th dirtiest city in the
world, according to Forbes
Magazine. |
According to Elias, Addis Ababa was
‘beautiful and vibrant’ and, apparently, clean. His assertion contrasts with
that in the link he provided. The link is an article titled “The ameliorating
and deteriorating aspects of Addis Ababa” dated April 17th, 2008
by Getachew Belaineh. In contrast to Elias’s lies about Addis Ababa, Getachew
in his first paragraph informs readers that “Addis Ababa
is now developing and expanding offering the city a new look and
personality.” Those who visited Addis Ababa in recent years know who of the
two is lying.
|
|
6. A barefaced act of betrayal, by Yonas Kibru, ethiomedia.com, 5/27/09 |
…many Eritreans have been
and are still being recalled to government posts they appeared to have been
sacked from at the outset of the war… |
Please refer to my comments
in item 4 above. The assertion that
Eritreans have been and are still being reinstituted to their former
government posts is “bere wolede.” Firstly, it implies this was the case
before the issuance of the directives. Secondly, it is too early to claim
that the directives are already under implementation. Thirdly, it is not
supported by concrete evidence, such as names of Eritreans and the government
institutions concerned. |
|
7. Minority ethnic
domination of the military in Ethiopia, by Neamin Zeleke,
ethioipianreview.com, May 27th, 2009 |
It is important to note
what is written in a recent statement released by AFAR MOVEMENT (AM) – QAFAR
UGUGUMO. The statement
mentions a UN Report 2002 that indicates that about 98% of directorial,
managerial, adviser, technician and engineering positions in the State of
Afar are all occupied by non-Afar speaking people. The statement
discloses quoting an ex-cabinet member of the Afar state that “All advisers
and expertise are all Tigreans.” |
According to the
writer information provided by Afar Movement is the basis of this writing. It
is known that separatists and oppositions exaggerate and fabricate anything
to justify and enhance their causes and claims. During the past regimes
some areas and ethnic groups were neglected. As a result they were left
behind, particularly in terms of education. When the federal system was
established there was drastic shortage of skilled manpower to run the state
machinery. Budgets allocated to such states were not utilized properly and in
many instances part of the budget had to be returned to the treasury. To
remedy the situation, the federal government
and neighboring states provided them with skilled personnel to serve as
advisers while their people were being
trained. In the case of the Afar state,
neighboring Amhara and Tigray states were and are still involved in providing
assistance. The figure 98% is highly
suspect. Most of the non-Afars were at advisory level, not at executive
level. Their numbers have been decreasing with time. Considering the much
larger pool of available expertise in the Amhara state (3.5 times the
population of Tigray state and disproportionate availability of elites), the
last quotation would have made more sense had it been phrased to read “All
the advisers and expertise are Amharas.” From
this the ill intention of the writer is clear. (Note the contradiction:
directorial, managerial, adviser, technician and engineering positions versus
advisers and expertise in the same paragraph.) |
|
8. Environment and Economic Development in Ethiopia, by Getachew Belaineh, nazret.com, 05/27/09 |
…MOARD and IAR
are not living up to their duties and responsibilities to help farmers
utilize the land and become productive. The way to
improve inherently low agricultural productivity is by helping local farmers
improve their primitive farming practices, making available the necessary
yield-boosting inputs including fertilizers and improved seeds, and reforming
the land ownership policy to liberalize the agricultural sector to promote
private sector development. |
The author is unfair in his
criticism of MOARD and IAR. He claims that the performance of the latter is
way below (in a frozen mode) of the 1970’s
and early 1980’s. From the many success stories that were reported in the
past so many years, he is either exaggerating or lying. We await for the IAR
to respond. I have, on many occasions,
observed writers listing recommendations that should be acted upon by the
government. I have no doubt that suggestions are welcome as long as they are
relevant and new. Most are, unfortunately, not. They are formulated by
Chauvinists who have no misgivings about deceiving their readers with
unoriginal recommendations with hidden agenda. Readers know well that the
proposals in the second paragraph on the left are among the high priority
areas of the government. They are among the many development
policies and strategies and tasks the government has been and is
implementing to fight and eradicate poverty in Ethiopia. As a result, we have witnessed with great satisfaction the
successes achieved. It is gratifying to witness the unthinkable, at this
early stage of development, of some farmers becoming millionaires! In view of
this, it is ridiculous to propose as own
ideas what have already been and are being practiced with success within the
framework of the Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program
(SDPRP). |
9. Endgame! by Alemayehu G. Mariam, June
1st, 2009, ethiopianreview.com
|
In plain language, H.R.
1105 cuts off military assistance to the identified rogue regimes, but allows
the President to waive the prohibition on a case by case basis in the
national interest… Admittedly, U.S. military
assistance to the dictatorship in Ethiopia has not been very large, although
the dictatorship has received the lion’s share of such aid in the past. |
The writer seems
elated and at the same time disappointed about H.R. 1105. He is elated
because, he thought, it would negatively impact the Ethiopian government. And
he is disappointed because, even if H.R. 1105 were to apply to Ethiopia, it
would not matter much as U.S. military assistance in his own words “has not
been very large.” In fact, it was not significant, amounting to only a couple
of millions of US$. In other words, Ethiopia can absolutely do without U.S.
military assistance. Thanks to the new Obama Administration, however,
Ethiopia will benefit from development aid: as past aid was limited mainly to
HIV-AIDS and emergency food assistance. This is a ‘merdo’ to the writer and
his likes. |
10. The imperative
for Ethiopians dealing with Eritrea, By Neamin Zeleke,
ethiomedia.com, June 11th, 2009
|
(a) There is a fundamental change in our
thinking process. There is a shift of attitude among Ethiopians. A positive
and essential change… (b) …no one else but only Ethiopians can
liberate our country…Confidence that we are able and willing to do it by
forging alliances with who ever accepts our need and willing to work with us
towards our national salvation… (c)
… in order to liberate Ethiopia from the anti-Ethiopia ruling Tigrayan mafia,
Ethiopians need to make a strategic alliance with the State of Eritrea… (d) …Moreover, the President of Eritrea has
made it public that his country has no intention of working against
Ethiopia’s unity. |
The introductory paragraph
of the article tries to build false premises for justifying cooperation with
the external enemy in order to oust the EPRDF government (a). It states
attitudinal change among Ethiopians. Which Ethiopians? The numerically
insignificant and vocal Diaspora led by individuals, such as the pathological
liar Elias Kifle and the wishy-washy Dr. Beranu who hides when the going gets
tough? Note the contradiction in
(b). He asserts, “only Ethiopians can
liberate” Ethiopia. If that is so, why does he align himself with
non-Ethiopians, particularly Ethiopia’s number one enemy, President Isayas?
Anyway who is to liberate whom, from what and from whom? According to the writer, alliance with the State of Eritrea is a must to liberate Ethiopia from the “Tigrayan mafia’s” rule, which he characterizes as comparable to that of apartheid South Africa (c). Alliance with the one man dictator in Asmara— who does not even tolerate any semblance of democracy, media freedom, etc.—surely can only be short-lived. It comprises alliances with different Ethiopian oppositions with disparate objectives who, obviously, share the same concept of convoluted democracy and dictatorial rule. In other words, they have to be in the category described by “birds of feather flock together” or ‘Ewur le ewur teyayizo gedel.” For Ethiopia, which is in the process of instituting democracy and the rule of law, success of the alliance, very highly unlikely, would mean 180-degree reversal of all political, social and economic developments dramatically achieved so far. It would mean derailing the accelerating progress the country is in and postponing the imminent take-off stage. That is one of the objectives of the so-called alliance! The gullible writer tells
us (d) that the warmonger and infantile President- for-life Isayas’s Eritrea
“has no intention of working against Ethiopia’s unity.” It is naïve of him to
buy this statement of the one-man-ruler who told what the writer’s likes want
to hear. If the President’s intention were genuine then why has he been
taking contrary actions that would dismantle Ethiopia. For example, why does
he encourage, organize, support, train and arm separatists (OLF, ONLF, etc.),
war mongering Ginbot-7 and jihadist Al Shabaab/Hizbu-al
Islam whose intention is to convert Ethiopia to an extreme Islamic
state? Is he oblivious that Eritrea will share this same fate as Ethiopia if
the Islamic terrorists will have their way? Why does he serve as a conduit
for military, financial and logistical support
assistance, including foreign combatants
from Ethiopia’s enemies to Al Shabaab and Hizbula-al Islam? For these and
other reasons it is mockery, foolish and suicidal to trust the pariah Eritrean
President who invaded Ethiopian held territories in 1998-2000 with a view to
destabilizing and disintegrating the country. The man is megalomaniac, egoistic, bragger, paranoid, insanely and full of
hatred toward Ethiopians; he is loaded with all kinds of brand new myths that
exalt him and propagate the uniqueness and superiority of Eritreans.
Unfortunately, he has succeeded in brainwashing many of his people to
believing in the myths that he planned for Eritreans to distant themselves
from their Ethiopian brothers and sisters. |
PART 11: Please click here
to read Part 11