In opening this blog, our intention is not to side track you from the main task at hand-defeating poverty and building the Hedase Dam! It is not our intention to remind you of your old wounds and fresh hurts! It is not our intention to remind you to point fingers and devoid you of a forgiving heart that you have towards the derge! Our intention is simply to give you a venue to air your grievances, anger and even “ululeta”. We have received many requests to open the blog and have received many comments about the recent release of the derge functionaries. We cannot post them all but you can! Have your say, just for the record, that derge victims were not forgotten on the day the criminals were let go free so to speak!
Getachew, how could you say majority of Ethiopians support such measure? Are you saying EPRDF got majority vote thus is entitled to do what ever it wants or you are saying EPRDF told the public what they intend to do in regard to derg officials during the election thus by deduction the public supports the release of the convicts? Just asking brother!
To respond to the comment by the Administrator: The government has an authority to make certain decisions. This may not be what you and I like or want but it is a fact of life. Also, don’t forget that the majority of the Ethiopian population is under the age of 40 (or at least around that) and does not have the traumatic experience that you and I have. My old elementary school Gondar has a web site designed by volunteers whom I never knew they existed (born or grown up after I left). I looked at the site to find lively discussions on HIV/AIDs, gender, teacher performance, jobs, and other social issues. This is Ethiopia’s new generation that is imitating the Chinese and Indians, instead of dealing with hangover from the past (like us). Again, I do not applaud the government’s move but I accept it.
i t is difficult to belive that the criminals are released from prison. I think it is time for the fall of this regime. this regime is very weak, its constitution is weak, and full of fallacies. It is time to go. This regime doesnot have the confidence to implement its own constitution. It is a sign of weakness to ask elders and religious leaders for mediation when you have law of rule that you established. It a sad time for all ethiopians all over the world except the derg cronies. This regime is trying to make happy the dergs and their diaspora associates. God bless our country and our people.
I have a lot of difference with AIGA outlooks and actions but I always respected the forum continue to visit their site to find out the truth from every direction.
Today, I saw a courge I never seen in any Ethiopian website in AIGAFOURM. Thank you for standing firm for those who died on these criminals hand and order!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If EPDRF release the worst criminals Ethiopia has seen, they should release every criminals in the country.No need to have jails.
What they did, can not be explained by any reason.
No rule of the law, no transparency, no accountability. Our great leader works in mysterious ways…it not for us simple soles to question his wisdom.
Dear Aiga
This issue is like phosphurus the more it is exposed and airated the more flamable it becomes. The two tear legal system one for the rich or politicaly power wilding and the second for the poor “yemanem lege” is infuriating and unacceptable.
Why do we have capital punishment in the criminal jrus prudence if it can not be applied to the worst criminals? Who will it be meted out to? To the poor who in a moment of insanity commits murder? But not to the junta that carried out inhumane torture, rape, and massacre for 17 years unabated. The Derge didn’t only commit the crime but displayed the corps in the streets, and collected money from the victim’s family for the cost of the bullet that killed their loved one. So this is who deservs pardon? Yet the poor farmer who was convicted of murder and convicted with out any scintific evidence such as DNA is executed shall I say murdered by the government.
It has been a manifestation of our loyality to the EPRDF to defend it every time it bungles up and I am not surprised to see Getachew Mokanent defending and trying to explain away the actions of the EPRDF, as I see myself in him.
Until this moment I had adulated the EPRDF and even locked horns with friends and foes indefence of the EPRDF but this injustice has opened my eyes and I have come to realize that the people are taken for granted and no wonder Meles with kokiness could insult or humiliate opposition memebers of the parliament with full support of persons like myself and Getachew with impunity.I think it is time to wake up as injustice to the weak is injustice to all of us. If we are nonchalant to the abuse of other citizens soon or later we bring demise to ourselves.
I hate the derg officials for the horrible crimes they committed against so many Ethiopians. There is hardly any family that is not, directly or indirectly, affected by what they have done. No punishment can satisfy our rage. We may drug their bodies on the street, hang them, shoot them, we will still be angry thinking of the mass graves in Gondar, Tigray, Addis, etc. It can’t even be a deterrent at all. I think the whole purpose of life time prison and capital punishment is to keep the individual from committing tanother crime again. But these people, after twenty years in prison are dead alive and it does not make any difference to them whether they are in or out of prison.
I think what EPRDF has done is human that all of us has to learn from. By the way the move is not out of character for EPRDF. Some hate mongers and chauvinists may not like to admit, but EPRDF is very tolerant government that does not believes in killing.
As to the opposition no matter what EPRDF does, their stand id damn if you do damn if you don’t. That is why it does not matter what they think.
Dear AIGAWOCH,
Tell the TPLF that in this country particularly in Tigray, there is lots of corruptions including by the TPLF it self due to establishment of EFFORT with unknown ownership, just benefiting some individuals by the name of Tigrean people, no transparency, no accountability because they know there is no law.
So EPRDF and TPLF should know they would no have any space in Tigray, hope to a kind of cracks among them just as it happens in 1993 E.C. That is all the wish of every Tigrean. How Hawzenian denied their right to demonstrat againt the unfair decision???
In most cases I was top supporter of this Government but now I am afraid, how when you see things against your own people!!!!!
Erqe-selam werede? who and who have reconciled? and on what basis? I have not seen any official appology from the criminals to the Ethiopian people. Why? I very well know that Legesse Asfaw, Melaku tefera and the every bucher has denied what he did until the last minute.
It is indeed very sad breach of law and the constitution. If anyone takes any sort of revange against the buchers, then the government has no any legal or moral ground to arrest the person, thus it is legitimate right of the victim. Now it is clear that there is no government that protects us from such criminals; we are living in a state of anarchy. Secondly, why the hell are other prisonors for whatever reason still kept in jails? can anyone justify this? As mentioned earlier by someone, all prisons MUST BE CLOSED NOW.
I do not understand why the government chose these few criminals at the expense of the victim people of Ethiopia. I am forced to question my government and the power behind this decision. Asazagn wusane, tesfa asqorach kistet….
I want to ask Abraha Hailu, what makes you so different from those opposition forces that are in the business of opposing EPRDF no matter what? You support the EPRDF is unconditional and any dissenting voice has to be dealt with. What is wrong with governing by consensus and trying to find the middle ground? If you really support EPRDF you will fight to keep it relevant and honest. This is especially important in such a political system where there are no check and balances. I agree EPRDF probably released the prisoners with good intentions but history has witnessed so many disasters that were products of good intentions. As they say ‘YALTENEKA GELEGEL YAWEKAL’ .
Making people accountable for their horrendous crimes is just. Though many of us have lauded EPDRF’s contributions to the positive developments in Ethiopia, they never fail to shock us with their occasional dictatorial tendencies. Really, where in the hell did the EPDRF leadership get the nerve to release prisoners who were literally responsible for genocide? Some of those criminals, such as Legese and Melaku, really needed to go to the International Court for crimes against humanity… How does the Meles leadership intend to pacify and console the many who lost their loved once at very tender ages? How do they plan to overcome the weight of evidence provided by hundreds of Ethiopians during the long and fair legal handling of the cases in the country’s judicial system? If they let these criminals go free, they might as well close the Museum for the fallen that was recently opened at Meskel Square, so the history of the crime is forgotten. What is being done by the EPDRF leadership is politically inept, if not callous, and a total abuse of power!!
I am sadened and angered with verdict to let these criminals go free after all the suffering and the humilation the parents of those massacred without a due process afforded the due process, but these criminals had their day in court. ow it is done there is nothing else we can do except leak our wounds and lmove on.
Long Live Freedom
እኔ በበኩሌ ከማከብራቸዉ ዌብሳይቶች ቢኖሩ እንኳን አይጋ ፎረም አንዱ እና የመጀመሪያዉ ነዉ። አሁን ጉዳዩ ካለቀ በኋለ ግን አስተያየት ስጡ ቢባል ምን ትርጉም አለዉ? ቀድሞ ነበር እንጂ! ሆኖም ያሁኑ አስተያየት መስጠት ቢቀድም እና ከዚያ በኋላ መንግስቱ ቢወስን እርግጥ ሕዝቡን ተገን በማድረግ ተሰሚነቱ የበለጠ ይመስለኛል። ተቃዋሚ ነን በሚሉ ዌብሳይቶች ስለመፈታታቸዉ አንድም ነገር አልተገለጠም። ምክንያቱ ሊገባኝ አልቻለም። መፈታታቸዉን የወደዱት አይመስለኝም ወይስ ከኋላዉ ሌላ ነገር አለ? አባቶቻቸዉ እና ዘመዶቻቸዉ አይደሉ እንዴ በተለይ አሜሪከ ዉስጥ ያሉት፣ እንዴት ደስታቸዉን ባለመግለፃቸዉ ግራ አጋብቶኛል።
Clemency is, as we see it done in any democratic government including here in the United and any where else, not done by consensus, ballot, or by the constitution. The due process of the cases is done based on the existing law. However, clemency is something that leaders in a free society are entitled to give to any sentenced criminal just because their conscience feels it right. Don’t forget, they represent us and they are in a way the people.
The law has been served because they have been proven guilty as charged. Remember, EPRDF could have killed these people the day they were arrested. Some of us would have said it is right and it is great. But it would have been a grave mistake and I am glad it did not happen that way. So, many of us share the rage that people like Chombe are expressing. But it does not mean keeping the half dead criminals in prison until they die would have solved the differences in our opinion on how EPRDF does business.
It is a bitter sweet to swallow, I know some where some how , the old trend of the revenge politics has to come to an end , otherwise the road to the peace will be more hurdle and too much bumper, but having saying that releasing people like Legese Asfaw and Melaku Tefera in this context is not only a joke but it is an insult to the victims thier families and to those beloved patriots who sacrificed thier dear life to bring those criminals to justice, there fore I would say the EPRDF government has failed and let the ethiopian people down on this one .
Undoubtedly the release of the Derg official touched nerves among us who have been supporting the EPRDF with all its shortcoming.
Honestly, I felt sad, humiliated, and betrayed by the government whom I have been defending its shortcoming.
Is there justice in Ethiopia? Or is the EPRDF the only justice Ethiopia has which does whatever it likes to do?
I am deeply ashamed by the release of these criminals.
Ato Abraham Hailu is liberally saying that clemency is given in democratic countries inspite of existing laws prohibiting such actions. I do not know of any country in the west that gives clemency to genocidal criminals and and those that have compromised the security of a nation.
These are not simple political criminals. They are members of a government that systematically murdered those that are in its control for 17 cruel years.
There is no reason, then, why PM meles won’t release Kelbesa Negewo, who was given life in the US by the unfliching heroic deeds of the two women whom he tortured and imprisoned for over a decade.
This is beyond any rational person’s imagination. Sad indeed
ክንፈን የገደለዉ ሰዉ ሞት ተፈርዶበት ፍርዱ ተፈፃሚ መሆኑን ሁላችንም እናስታዉሳለን። ምናልባት እስከ ዛሬ ድረስ በእስር ቢቆይ ኖሮ የመፈታት እድል ይኖረዉ ነበርን? እንበል እና አንድ ግለሰብ የቀይ ሽብር ሰለባ የነበረ ከእነዚህ ከተፈቱት 16 የተደራጁ የመንግስት ገዳዮች አንዱን መንገድ ላይ ያገኘዋል። ይኸ ሰዉዬ ባለፉት አሰቃቂ ግዜያት ያጣቸዉን ዘመዶቹ ያስታዉሰ እና ከቁጥጥር ዉጪ በመሆን ገዳዩን ይገድለዋል። ሰዉዬዉ ሄዶ እጁን ለፖሊስ ይሰጣል። የገደለበትን ምክንያት በፖሊስ ሲጠየቅ በግፍ ዘመዶቼን ስለጨረሰብኝ መቆጣጠር ስላልቻልኩ ገድዬዋለሁ ብሎ ይመልሳል። ታድያ ሰዎች የዚህ ሰዉ ፍርድ በዚህ ወቅት ምን ሊሆን ነዉ? እንደዚህ ነገርም ሊመጣ እንደሚችል ለመግለፅ ነዉ የፈለግሁት። መልስ ባገኝበት እወድ ነበር።
First of all my comment is just from what I believe and I have lived all my life.I have no any other motives.My apology if it hurts any of my people.
Even though people in both sides misunderstood it,I have great appreciation for our government for taking this Sacred or Nobel step.The reason I say this is,Because First and for most this people are no more threat,Second wheather it is enough or not ,they have served in prison for more than 15 years.Last but not least I believe they have taken good lesson that this government leadership is is by far different from what they did when they were leaders.
In my opinion,the fight should be against evil systems,not harmless x-criminals.
Stop this non sense and lets unite our hands to fight poverty,corruption,ignorance and bad Governance.
Isn’t most Ethiopian people religious people,so where is the sense of forgive your enemy or love your enemy.
Respectifully
RESPECT the CONSTITUTION!!!!! We Have to stand up before it is too late. with out law and order any thing is just meaningless. HITLER was constructing roads, and other infrustractures too. this is pure dictatorial tendency.
There are things that you forgive and forget,
Things that you forgive and but not forget,
Things that you never forgive and forget
Even if it is difficult to compare incomparable things, I am sure you remember what happened in South Africa during the apartheid era. So today they forgive each other but that doesn’t means that they forget it and live together for a better South Africa.
There are few points one has to note from these release:-
If I were on the feet of EPRDF, I would judge them by an international court and everybody can say and believe justice is done.
The problem here is they are judged by the government who over through them and they are jailed for 20 years. If the government believes this is enough, I agree and they have to come out. In judgment scenarios, it is impossible to make happy every party.
In addition to this, a judged individual or group does not need to beg for excuse or a pardon as he/she completed the number of years they sentenced for.
መፃፍ ስላስፈለገኝ ብዬ አይደለም እሁን የፃፍኩት። አንዳንድ ነገሮች እየገረሙኝ ስለሆነ ብቻ ነዉ። ኢህኤዴግ ያልፈለገዉን ግለሰብ በእድሜዉ ነዉ የሚቀጣዉ። እርጅና እስከተጫጫነዉ ድረስ ይጠብቅ እና ከዚያ በኋላ ያ ሰዉ ተቀናቃኝም ቢሆን የተማረ በዝግታ እያብከነከነ ያሳልፈዋል ማለት ነዉ። „It is tantamount to introducing a penalty by stealth and is totally unacceptable.“ ይኸ አሰራር የተለመደ ስለሆነ አሁንም በነኚህ ገዳዮች የፖለቲካ ትርፍ ለማግኘት ሲል እድሜየቸዉ ዞሮ ዞሮ የሄደ ነዉ በሚል ተገን የተጎጂዎችን የሰነልቦና ስቃይ በደንብ ሳይረዳም ሊሆን ይችላል ጉዳዩን እዉን አድርጎታል። ጥያቄዉ ቀላል እንዳልሆን እንዴት አልገባቸዉም? አሁን ሕዝቡ ላገሬ ቦንድ አይደለም ስጋዬንም እሰጣለሁ እያለ ያለ የሌለችዉን ገንዘብ በዚህ የኑሮ ዉድነት እየደጎመ ፈሪሃ እግዜአብሄር ነዉና አሁን ገዳዮቹን ብንለቅ የሚለዉን ፍልስፍና (በማንኛዉም አገር ያልተደረገዉን) እንዴት ሊመጣላቸዉ ቻለ? ጥሩ እንቅስቃሴ ዉስጥ ያለን ህብረተሰብ ለምን ሙቅ ወሀ ይከልሱበታል? መቆየት ብዙ ያሰማል አለ አንድ ብዙ መቆየት ያማረዉ ሰዉ እና መቆየቱን ኋለ የረገመ !!!
land hzb land ager kemhret yebelte min yderegletal.mengstuna hayleslasie gedlew min agnu kewrdet besteqer.mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeettttt
tru new demmefaseses min yametal ketarik enmar
selam
What we are simply asking is for the ruling party to make an official statement of the release to explain its actions and the legal justifications behind it… nothing more, nothing less. The government can not hide this under the carpet as this is one of the few major events that happened in Ethiopia in the last two decades. As they say ‘GEMEL SERKO, AGOMBESO MEHED’
This is not only about the DEREG and retribution, this action will have far reaching consequence that only time will tell.
Chombe,
I agree with you, that the government shoud come out and brief the people on these highly sensetive and divisive issue to justify the realese of these killers.
Long Live Ethiopia!!!
Thank you Aiga for the Publication!! I know AIGA is a serious and very informative website from the Beginning. But one thing which I didn’t understand is: Why is there no even a single word about the release of these murderers not cited on the so-called opposition websites? Why didn’t give their opinion about it? It is such a thing for me as an earthquake. Otherwise they were for every matter extending their tongues in great distances. what is behind it?
I ma happy!…they deserve to be released!!!!….What they did then was correct at that time …Because..they did it to discharge their responsibility of leading and saving the country!!!…TRY to be logical and Rational!…Don’t only talk about RED TERROR!..Have you ever opened a discussion forum about the WHITE TERROR????????tell me?….Although you are trying to deny the fact..GOD ,History and Ethiopian People remember every thing!!!..These officials ,though,I was not matured enough then,took the RIGHT measure-they had tried their best to save the country from the traitor EPRP-the agent of SHABIA and Mohammed ZIAD-BARE(Somalia)!!!
They should not have been imprisoned in the first place. All the above comments either been posted by ignorance or simply because of the blind love for your TPLF.
One thing you missed here is that there will be time the eprdfites being seen somewhere in Kaliti for the same reason.
TPLF, EPRP and derg isepa were part and parcels of the era of murderous [political system known as communism and all have performed red terror on various degrees. All are liable for their actions.
There is blood in their hands. I can not see any difference between Meles, Melaku or kiflu tadesse. Meles think this is smart way of escaping prison by giving an amnesty to these people. For me it is too late and hope one day ethiopians will see the eprdfites in their hands!
Leav’em alone,
Tell that to a mother, a father,a brother or a sister who lost a loved ones, it is uncalled for on your part to suggest that they should not have imprisoned in the first place . One way of the these thugs will suffer the rest of their life, because their concious will not let them rest in peace.
Long Live Ethiopia