OPPOSITIONS’ AND SUPPORTERS’ ENDLESS
SMEAR CAMPAIGNS
PART 9
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. Western world's overt support for Ethiopian suffering, by Ethiopundit, ethiopianreview.com, March 4th, 2009 |
Meles is rewarded with
status at G-8 summits and more importantly billions in unaccounted for aid
that secure him in power and fill his personal coffers. |
Are
you serious to accuse Prime Minister (PM) Meles Zenawi of using aid money for
personal purposes? If you are, your assertion is nothing but “bere wolde.”
Can you cite a single factual example to prove your
allegation? Can you provide the source – a name of an individual or an
insitution from the donor group – of your allegation? We all know that aid
funds are monitored and audited by donors. Future and additional aid is
predicated on previous proper use of funds. The increasing assistance given
to Ethiopia is proof of proper utilization of funds provided. To you and
your likes chagrin the PM was recently invited as Africa respresenative at the G20 summit held in London. This is the latest of such kind of invitations and
a manifestation of his caliber and status in the
international community. Besides, he was unanimously chosen by the African
Heads of State and Government at the recent 12th AU
summit in Addis Ababa to represent them at the G20 summit (definitely not at
his request, a lie by Abebe Gellaw, ethiomedia.com, 4/4/09). He contributed
to obtaining concessions for Africa ($50bn pledge) pertaining to the
global financial crisis and economic recession from the developed world. The
concessions include reaffirming commitment to MDG, achieving ODA pledges,
instituting a world economy with effective
regulation and the sale of part of IMF gold
reserve. The last was made possible at the urging by the PM who was ridiculed
by some of the vocal Diaspora. This was a win-win for the PM and lose-lose
for the vocal Diaspora, particularly the hateful and venomous Prof. Al
Mariam. Shame on him and his likes who are so frustrated with the PM’s
success that they have lost their dignities, if
they had them. The significantly increasing number of bogus articles
churned out before, during and after the G20 summit is an indication of their
desperation, hollowness, failure, and so forth. |
|
2. The dark cloud hanging
on university campuses in Ethiopia, by Tedla Asfaw, ethiolion.com,
3/7/09 |
…Recently two students
were killed in the Bahrdar University for being from wrong ethnic group,
Amharas… …His [Meles’s]
contempt and hate for Amahra people also has no boundary even do
not spare the lives of two students in Bahrdar University this month… |
I
have been following the sad incident at Bahrdar University. This is, however,
the first and only time I learned of the death of two students. As readers
may have noticed, this allegation is presented twice with the assumption that
the lie would be cemented in the minds of readers. His
calling the PM Amhara hater is a reflection of his hate of non Amahara ethnic
groups. How could the PM have spared the lives of the two students who were
alive and kicking? In any case, is the writer telling us that the PM in Addis
was in a position to spare their lives – implying that the PM knew that
they were to be killed – and did not prevent this from happening? How absurd
can one be! |
|
3. ማስወገድን አታንሱ፤አገር
ትፈርሳለች ፤ ወያኔን
አትንኩ፤ጦቢያ ትጠፋለች,
ethiolion.com, 3/8/09 |
“Woyane
kelele zegochwa yibetatenalu hageritum t’tefalech” |
The
writer alleges that the statement in the middle column comes from former TPLF
members, Seye Abreha, Gebru Asrat and their supporters. He himself seems to
be for complete change (destruction of EPRDF’s achievements) and starting
fresh from scratch following the demise of the EPRDF and the government. In
other words, the poor people will have to suffer going through coup and
counter coup type of cycles in order to satisfy his and his likes selfish
ends and interests and supposedly to prove their better policies and
strategies they claim they have! Apparently, they do not care an iota about
destroying what has been built with scarce resources and human sucrifices. Yes the
statement could come true if other forces with intent to dismantle the
ethnic-based federal structure take over. What the writer does not seem to
understand is the people have vested interest in maintaining the new system.
They will fight to preserve it. This means the statements in both left
columns would come true. (Please refer to PART 4, item 7 and PART 6, item 4,
for more detail). A number of
writers have lamented and admitted the fact that EPRDF/TPLF’s fall will
be disasterous to Ethiopia. The following Quotations from Firdu Yitayew (Ethiopia
at Cry and Embedded Calamity, ethiolion.com, 4/12/09) illustrate this point: “…There
is no strong opposition political group that is well structured to take over
power and lead Ethiopia in case of any incidental power vacuum left by TPLF… … we are no more prepared to
rescue and save Ethiopia if and when the TPLF regime decays and falls apart
by its own internal upheavals… …There is no organizational
structure ready to replace TPLF-regime in case one day TPLF dissolves itself
from the political arena by its own making…” The above facts by the writer are
among the justifications for the EPRDF to continue its service to the people
until the federal system is irreversibly established.
|
|
4. That Day! What will happen to the Tigreans?, by Assta B. Gettu, ethiopiareview.com March 11th, 2009 |
(a) When that Day comes what will happen to
the Tegarues (Tigreans)? That Day is to some a Day of doom; to others a Day
of Joy and celebration, and that Day is the final Day of Meles Seitanawi
(Zenawi). |
The title is very
threatening to Tigrayans. It threatens their very existence. It is a subtle
call for a genocide, akin to that of Rwanda. What have they done to deserve
this? Is this the gratitude the people who bled, sacrificed and freed the Ethiopians,
including the writer, from the Derg regime deserve? Is this the appreciation
the people who brought peace and introduced democracy deserve? Is this
the gratitude the committed and dedicated people who with other brother and
sister Ethiopians are repeating their sacrifices in the struggle to free
Ethiopians from poverty deserve? Is this the gratitude the people who preserved
the unity of the country against all odds deserve? etc. etc. It is thanks to
EPRDF/TPLF the country went through unprecedented progress in the face of
daunting challenges and sabotages by disgruntled elements. The write-up is
replete with threats of which (a) to (e) are examples. The key words are: doom,
retaliate, executed, target and reprisal. These are words which come from
an insane person. A normal person would not even think of them. I am
confident that such words are repulsive to the average person of all nations
and nationalities of Ethiopia. What does the writer
mean by “go free and work in their country in (e)? Is he suggesting that the
Tigrayans should secede and have their own country? He does not, apparently,
seem to know what blunder he is making. By the way, that Day…
a Day of Joy and celebration for the likes of the writer will never come.
The Ethiopian nations, nationalities and peoples will never allow the jealous
feudalists, racists, chauvinists, hypocrites and dergists to reverse the ethnic-based
government structure which is the main cause for the hatred of the egocentric
minority against the TPLF and Tigrayans. It is a fait accompli. It is done.
Forget it. Despite the hatred,
jealousy and vengeance of the writer and his likes, history by honest
historians (not like those who are biased and known to spin) will vindicate
accusations heaped daily on TPLF and Tigrayans. |
|
5. The Neglected Voice
of the Ethiopian Diaspora: by Maru Gubena, PhD,
ethiolion.com, 3/18/09 |
…Tragically, depressingly,
embarrassingly…our voice, as the Ethiopian Diaspora community, has been
neglected for decades now, by almost all ministries and diplomatic
communities of western countries and even those in Africa. Even worse, due to our
own continuing actions and dishonest behaviours, we, the members of the
Ethiopian Diaspora, have in recent time been repeatedly and continuously
accused and charged as “liars and economic refugees. Yes, almost all western
immigration offices and ministries have hard evidence that a good number, if
not the majority, of Ethiopian Diaspora members have stated in their
applications for asylum that they have been tortured and would be either
immediately killed or imprisoned by the authorities in their country of
origin if they were forced to return - yet after receiving their living
permits from western immigration authorities, they return to Ethiopia of
their own accord, using temporary travel documents. It is indeed a shame!
Shame on all of us! |
The
writer laments for the vocal Diaspora
pleading is neglected by host governments. He admits that the Ethioipian
Diaspora are dishonest. They claimed to have been tortured; they will be
killed if sent back to Ethiopioa. And yet once they possess residence permits
they become frequent travelers to Ethiopia. As the writer put it “It is indeed a shame! Shame on all of us!” In this connection,
it should be noted here that, unlike during the past regimes, Ethiopians, as
soon as EPRDF took over the government, were entitled to passports and do not
need exit visas to leave their country any time. The
above and the quotations in the middle column are clear and unequivocal
confessions of the vocal Diaspora minority. They prove that the noises the vocal Diaspora has been making for past
18 years are baseless and empty. It shows that practically all the complaints
and allegations against the Ethiopian government that the Diasopra has been
making at the doors of host countries were not credible. They are extentions
of the lies related to obtaining residence permits. How can host governments
take such people seriously? |
|
6. The IMF and Ethiopia's dictator cooking up fake
statistics, by Fekade Shewakena,
ethiopianreview.com, March 19th, 2009 |
…the super inflated
growth numbers [GDPs] we have been given are hard to relate to realities on
the ground...How does it happen that one in six Ethiopians, nearly 15% of the
population, has turned out to be food aid dependent if the country has been
growing at the rates Meles dishes out all these years?... How is it that the
number of the absolute poor quadrupled after all these successive fabulous
numbers are issued?... Why have we even failed to keep our subsistence
agriculture at subsistence levels?... |
Readers must be bored
reading and hearing “teret-teret”/hearsays about statistics related to
Ethiopia. The GDP, population figures, agricultural production, etc. say those
with hidden agenda are all manufactured. Let us look at GDP in
2008. According to The World Fact Book (CIA), GDP was $25 billion which works
out to over $300 GDP per capita compared to less than $100 in the 1990’s. In
terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) this was about $800. The PPP’s in
billions of Dollars for 2006, 2007 and 2008 were $55, 61 and 66,
respectively. The question is what is their basis for denying the
accuracy and reliability of these statistical realities? What evidence does he
have to show that the number of absolute poor quadrupled? On the contrary,
despite the high annual population growth (over 2.5%), the level of poverty
fell from 59% during the 1990s to 38.7% in 2005, according to the United
Nations and the World Bank. Why
did not a single person in
the field of statistics nor a member of the Economic Society of Ethiopia in
the country allege the concoction of statistics? Come on, don’t tell me they
are afraid to do so. Many of your likes resort to this kind of answer when
cornered to reply to such unpalatable questions. You very well know that the
local media write and say worse about the EPRDF and the government. |
|
7. ስብሰባና
ሀበሻ ስብሰባ, በልጅግ አሊ, ethiolion.com,
3/20/09 |
1. ከባቡር
የወረድኩበት ከተማ ትርምሱ
ብዙ ነበር። አማራጭ ስላልነበረን
የሃገር ልጅ መፈለግ ጀመርኩ።
- መጀመሪያ
ያገኘሁትን ሰላም አልኩት።
- አስላመት
አለኝ ። - ቀጠልኩና
ኢትዮጵያዊ ነህ አልኩት።
ምንም መልስ
ሳይሰጠኝ ገላምጦኝ ሄደ። 2. ከዛም አለፍ
እያሉ የሚመጡትን ጠያይም
እኔን የሚመስሉ ሰዎችን
ዝም ብዬ አሳልፍ ጀመርኩ።
ከብዙ ግዜ ቆይታ በኋላ
አንዷ ብቻዋን ስትመጣ
አየኋትና፣ - ኢትዮጵያዊ ነሽ?
ብዬ ጠየቅኋት። - አምሃራይ ብላኝ
እየሳቀች ጥላኝ ሄደች።
3. [the third person,
apparently an Amhara] ስላም
አልኩትና ጥያቄውን አዘገየሁ።
- ታዲያስ
አለኝ። - አለን
አልኩት። - አዲስ ነሽ መሰለኝ
አለኝ። 4. አንድ
እንደ ሌሎቹ ፀጉሩን ያላጎፈረ
ብቻው ሲመጣ አግኝቼ ይህ
ኢትዮጵያ ሳይሆን አይቀርምብዬሰላም
አልኩት። - ንህዳ
አለኝ? - አለና አልኩ እኔም።ሳድሱን
በእራብእ ቀየርኩና ትግሪኛ
አደረግሁት። |
This
is nothing but fiction. During his first day in his host country the writer claims to have approached four
individuals he thought were Ethiopians—presumably within an hour or two on
the street and in a limited area. Three out of the four were Tigrigna speakers.
For those with exopsure to the probability theory this is highly unlikely.
The fact that Amarigna speakers outnumber Tigrigna speakers by many multiples
renders his claim practically untrue, a lie. The
above plus his other claims were designed and formulated to support his
agenda of discrediting Tigrigna speakers and the TPLF. It is one among many
tactics people like him use to create hatred against Tigrayans and the TPLF.
The latest is a demonstration in Germany against the inclusion of Mekelle in
the short listing among three African cities to be the partner city of Tübingen. They
think such tactics will one day enable them to attain a critical mass that will remove the EPRDF/TPLF and hand
them power on a silver platter. |
|
8. WOYNAE PITBULLS AT
AIGA FROUM, by Lisaneworq Mulatu, ethiolion.com, 3/21/09 |
Whereas Prof. Daniel
outlined the facts about the transfer of Ethiopian territories to the
Sudanese regime, the incorporation of former regions of Gondar and Wollo to
Tigray, the |
A
lot has been said and written by oppositions, government officials and
individuals (including mine in item 1, PART 2) in regard to land given to the
Sudan. In view of this I will limit my brief comments to the “incorporation of former regions of Gondar and Wollo to Tigray”
accusation. Readers
have heard and read countless unsubsantated condemnations about the
incorporation. The areas in question in Gonder and Wollo were originally
inhabited by Tigrayans and were part and pacel of Tigray proper. They were
confiscated with a view to weaken Tigray. The Tigrigna names of towns and
woredas testify to this. The name Adi Arqay, a town in present day North
Gondar zone (about half way between the Tekeze boundary and the city of
Gonder) is, for instance, a pure Tigrigna name. One
thing readers do not read or hear about is Dallol and its suroundings. It was
part of Tigray, constituting over a third of its area, transferred to Afar.
The area is rich in natural resources, including billions of tons of a
variety of salts in Dallol. Other resources are sulfur and geothermal. It
will, surely, be the center of development. Sainak Potash, an
Indian company, was reported engaged in activities related to the
exploitation of one of the salts, potash, a fertilizer material. |
|
9. Ethiopia prepares for yet another fake
battle with malaria, ethiopianreview.com, March 22nd, 2009 |
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is
yet another fake battle with malaria. It is to be remembered that before the
Woyanne tribalist junta came to power in 1991, malaria had been effectively
eradicated in Ethiopia. One of the first institutions Meles and his Woyanne gang had
dismantled when they took power was the Ethiopian Malaria Prevention Center
saying that each ethnic region should have its own Center. Of course all of
the equipment and supplies from the dismantled Center in Addis Ababa were
shipped to Tigray. What Health Minister Tewodros Adhanon and his Woyanne regime are currently doing is
nothing more than a scheme to milk more money from donor countries. |
There
is no limit to what the publisher would say to slander the PM and the TPLF. This
time he is telling the readers just the opposite of the positive conclusion
of the VOA article on which his editorial note is based. The article’s
positive expectation is based on the country’s perventive health policy and
strategy and an array of inputs. Thirty thousand health extension workers/village-level health workers, two bed
nets per family and medical provision (life-saving medicines, diagnostic kits
and protective gear) are ready to counter any outbreak of malaria. When the
international aid agencies confidently believe the country can wipe
out malaria why does the publisher claim it is a fake battle? Often times, he and
his likes allege that everything, even factories and institutions, are
dismantled and taken to Tigray. This time we are told for the first time that
the dismantling and transferring to Tigray included equipment and supplies
related to malaria. |
|
10. Ethiopia doubles livestock export in the face of
starvation, ethiopianreview.com, March
21st, 2009 |
EDITOR'S NOTE: While
over 15 million Ethiopians are going hungry, Woyanne-affiliated companies are
doubling profits from exporting livestock. |
As
is the case with the the previous section (item # 9), the title is the invention of the
publisher, not that of the source, Reuters. The
implication in the editor’s note is the government should use the meat from
the livestock to feed the 15 million hungry Ethiopians (the actual figure is
12.4 million food insecure, not hungry). This is impractical as meat is not
the staple diet of the peole. Besides, it would be very expensive. The
logical thing to do is to export the livestock and import wheat using the
export earning. This is economics 101. What
is wrong in doubling the income from the export of livestock? |
Click
here to read Part 8 Posted on Aiga