Global Voices » Endalk

Ethiopia Accused of Ethnic Cleansing Over Mass Amhara Evictions

Endalk — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:49:36 +0000

Thousands of ethnic Amharas in western Ethiopia are being expelled en masse from the country's Benishangul Gumuz region, where many have settled, in what some are condemning as a campaign of “ethnic cleansing“.

Ethiopia has been divided into nine ethnically based and politically autonomous regional states and two chartered cities since 1996. The Amhara people, reportedly including children, pregnant women, and the sickly, are being uprooted to a rural area of Ethiopia's Amhara region, which contains their historical homeland.

Human rights advocates say the deportation is illegal according to Ethiopian and international law. Ethiopian authorities have maintained that these claims are unsubstantiated, saying that they have been moving and resettling indigenous and local farmers in the name of villagization programs.

This isn't the first time Ethiopian officials have forced Amhara people to move to another region. A reported 22,000 Amharas were evicted from southern Ethiopia and their homes confiscated in 2012.

A report by Ethiopian Satellite Television in March 2013 and made available on YouTube [amh] quotes opposition party leaders condemning the eviction.

Many Ethiopians are opposed to the government policy of the rural population's mass eviction. An online petition, demanding the government stop the resettlement campaign, had 1,919 signatures at the time of this post's publication on April 11, 2013.

The petition page, which is addressed to Dr. Chaloka Beyani, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, and many other Ethiopian government high officials, reads:

According to the information that I have, the eviction is poorly organized and is marred by several cases of human right violations. This petition is in protest of this eviction and is intended to get the plight of these voiceless Ethiopians to the attention of the Ethiopian government and international rights organizations. Please sign the petition and invite your friends to sign as well. This is the least we can do to show our solidarity with Ethiopians who are being victimized by a misguided and irresponsible policy.

Jawar Mohammed, a political analyst and blogger, theorized on his Facebook page about the reasons behind the mass evictions of the Amharas:

Its my view that the mass eviction at this time has well calculated political agenda and is being hatched by the real power holders. By instigating attack on vulnerable Amharas who reside outside their regional state, the regime would like to stir ethnic victim-hood sentiment. This is meant to force Amhara political leaders to resort to open ethnic partisan advocacy, which would undermine their pan-Ethiopianist narrative. What does the regime benefit from this?

Since the 2005 election, the TPLF [Tigray People's Liberation Front, one of Ethiopia's political parties and the real dominant player in Ethiopia politics although the ruling party is Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF)] has been trying hard to transform its ethno-nationalist narrative to that of statist nationalism. That is it wants to justify its continuous rule by presenting itself as guardian of the Ethiopian state and its historical legacy. However, before it can achieve that, it has to displace the previous claimant–the Amhara elites. Hence such surgical attack on their ethnic brethren would eventually force Amhara elites to embrace ethno-nationalism and give up the throne of Ethiopian nationalism to the new claimant- Tigrean elites.

The sad thing is while the rulers experiment with all kind of dirty tricks to prolong their days in palace, innocent and poor farmers struggling to survive on a dollar a day income are pushed around. Making these farmers homeless at the time when people are barely surviving at their home due to the unbearably high cost of living is a heartless crime that sets a dangerous precedent, that must be condemned by everyone, in regardless of who we are or what political opinion we have.

Blogger Ephrem Eshete asked [amh] Ethiopians to strongly denounce the evictions:

ሊወገዝ የሚገባው ተግባር መነሻው ምንም ይሁን ምን፣ የክልሉ ፓርቲ ከማንም ጋር ይስማማ አይስማማ በነዚህ ዜጎች ላይ የተደረገው ተገቢነት የሌለው ነገር ነው። የዜጎች በአገራቸው ውስጥ የመዘዋወር፣ የመኖር መብት እንዲህ በጥቂት የፓርቲ ሹመኞች መወሰኑ የሚያስጨንቅም የሚያስደነግጥም ምልክት

This action should strongly be denounced. The parties administering their respective regional states might have agreed on terms [for evictions] but it is wrong regardless of the reasons for the uprooting of these citizens of Ethiopia. It is alarming as well to know Ethiopian citizens’ rights to movement in their country is decided by political party officials.

Abraha Desta, an activist based in Tigray, Ethiopia identified [amh] three reasons for activists to support the Amhara people:

ሰዎች ከቀያቸው በሃይል (በግፍ በዘርሓረጋቸው እየተለዩ) ሲፈናቀሉ (ሲባረሩ) የከፋ የሰብኣዊ መብት ጥሰት ነው። ዜጎቻችን (ወገኖቻችን) ሲፈናቀሉ የሚደርሳቸው ኢኮኖሚያዊ፣ ማሕበራዊና ስነልቦናዊ ቀውስ (Helplessness) መገመት ኣይከብድም። ሁሉም ኢትዮዽያ ሊተባበራቸው ይገባል፤ መንግስት ይህን ተግባሩ እንዲያቆም ተፅዕኖ ማድረግ ኣለብን።

እኛም እየተፈናቀሉ ካሉ ሰዎች ጎን መሰለፍ ያለብን ይመስለኛል። ምክንያቱም (1) ወገኖቻችን ናቸው። እኛ ኢትዮዽያውያን ያልደረስንላቸው ማን መጥቶ ይረዳቸዋል? (2) ዛሬ በኣማራ ተወላጆች እየተፈፀመ ያለው ግፍ (ኣሁንኑ ካልቆመ) ነገ በእያንዳንዳችን እንደሚፈፀም ማወቅ ይኖርብናል። (3) የማፈናቀል ተግባሩ የብሄር ፖለቲካ ችግር ኣባብሶ የጥላቻ ፖለቲካ ስር ሰዶ የኢትዮዽያ ሀገራችን ኣንድነት የሚፈታተን ይሆናል።

The following should be our reasons to stand by the sides of our fellow citizens: 1) The people are Ethiopians, so if we are not standing by their side who is going to support them? 2) If what happens to the Amharas does not stop here by now we should know that tomorrow it is going to happen to everyone. 3) These acts might inflame ethnic politics which might turn into hate politics that will jeopardize the integrity of Ethiopia.

However, Mesfin Negash warned [amh] that these acts should not be taken as acts of a certain ethnic group against another ethnic group but rather acts of people who don’t have any sense of decency:

የዛሬ አፈናቃዮች በብሔረሰብ ካባ ለመደበቅ ቢሞክሩም ሕግ ፊት የሚቀርቡበት ቀን እንደሚመጣ አምናለሁ። ተፈናቃዮዩቹ በሙሉ የአማራ ብሔር ተወላጆች ቢሆኑም አፈናቃዩ ወገን ግን የየትኛውም ብሔር ወኪል እንዳልሆነ እናስታውስ፤ አደራ። ግፈኞቹ፣ መዝባሪዎቹ፣ ወሮበሎቹ፣ ሆድ አደሮቹና ዘረኞቹ አፈናቃዮች ብሔራቸው “ነውር” ነው። ነውረኞች።

Today’s culprits of these mass evictions are trying to paint their acts and hide under ethnicity, but I believe a day shall come when these people will stand before a court of law. Though the evictees are Amharas, we should believe the perpetrators are not representatives of a certain ethnic group. Please be reminded that the ethnicity of wrong doers, looters and racists is indecency!

Correction: An earlier version of this piece included an image from the petition site that we believed was from 2012 of evicted Amharas. The image has since been deleted, a reader traced the original image to this article published in 2010, according to which Amharas in the image are seeking loans. Apologies for the error.

Ethiopia's Ex-First Lady Claims Late PM Meles Zenawi Was ‘Poor’

Endalk — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:41:03 +0000

The widow of late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has ruffled feathers in the east African country with a claim that her husband lived on a meager monthly income of 220 US dollars, the equivalent of 4,000 Ethiopian birr, while in office.

Azeb Mesfin‘s remarks came during the 9th convention of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front on March 25, 2013 as she complained that the party's official eulogy for her late husband was missing important details. She claimed the late president was a simple man who did not have a bank account, a driver's license, or an ID card.

“Meles came to this world with nothing but ideas and he contributed these ideas to his fellow humans,” she told the convention. “His salary after tax and other contributions to his party was around 4,000 birr. He lived by that and for that we are proud of him. He never considered his family and what will happen to them in the future. He was an honest man who committed himself to his work.’’

Ethiopian netizens are making funny of remarks by the former First Lady. Image courtesy of @MahletSolomon

Many were skeptical and balked at her comments, some pointing to reports that Zenawi had a net worth of three billion US dollars.

Satire blogger Abe Tokichaw commented [amh] on his Facebook page:

አራት ሺህ ብር ላጥ እያደረጉ ደሀ ነን…

አቶ መለስ ዜናዊ በወር ተቆራርጦ የሚደርሳቸው ብር አራት ሺህ ምናምን ብር ብቻ ነበር ሲሉ ባለቤታቸው ሰሞኑን ሲቀውጡት ሰምተናል፡፡

ከንግግራቸው ሁሉ ግን ያስገረመችኝ እንደማንም ሳይስገበገብ… የምትለው ናት፡፡ ማነው የተስገበገበ…!? ደግሞም ቀጠሉ በፔሮሉ ብቻ የሚተዳደር መሪ ነው፡፡ አቶ ሃይሌስ በምንድነው የሚተዳደሩት ማለት ነው…? ሌሎቹስ…?

የወሮ አዜብ ንግግር ግን ከኮመዲያን ተርታ የሚያሰልፋቸው እንደሆነ ብዙዎች ተስማምተዋል፡፡ እኔም እስማማለሁ፡፡ ኮመዲያን ሀዜብ ሆይ እባክዎ በሳቅ አይግደሉን! በስንቱ እንሙት…

You are gulping down 4,000 Birr and yet want sympathy.

We have just heard that the widow of Meles Zenawi is creating a storm by claiming that her husband received a monthly salary of only 4,000 Ethiopian birr. From her speech, I was particularly impressed with her remark stating that Meles was never gluttonous like others! Say what? Are any of his peers gluttonous?! She continued…Meles was a leader who was being paid only from payroll. Here I ask again, do other officials got their income from other sources? Where does Prime Minster Hailemarim Desalegn get his salary? What about others?

Many have agreed that her speech made her look like a comedian! I couldn't agree more! I am asking your highness Comedian Azeb, please don’t kill us with laughter.

Blogger Seble Teweldebirhan summarised online commentary following Mesfin's remarks.

AddisNeger, one of news media sites blocked in Ethiopia under its Internet censorship policy, used their Facebook page to share the buzz created on Twitter following Mesfin's comments:

The Ethiopian social media particularly, Twitter is now ablaze with #SomeoneTellAzebMesfin campaign to challenge Azeb Mesfin's narrative that tries to picture her and her late husband as poor people. Samuel Larsson, a Swedish journalist who is actively following the campaign said the campaign “carries strong witnesses of real poverty”

Twitter users used the hashtag #SomeoneTellAzebMesfin to remind the former first lady that she is not poor.

Abiy Teklemarim (@abiyetk) wrote that Mesfin must be confused:

@abiyetk: #SomeoneTellAzebMesfin that she must have confused it with his poverty in political morality.

Mahlet Solomon (@MahletSomon) treated the claim with sarcasm:

@MahletSomon: #SomeoneTellAzebMesfin that I believe she is poor and that I have a vegetarian dog.

Gudu Kassa (@Gudu_Kassa) attempted to give Mesfin a dose of reality:

@Gudu_Kassa: #SomeoneTellAzebMesfin poor is the women who had to give birth in the woods because you sold their properties as farmlands.

Tamerat (@Tamefeyisa) reminded her what poverty really is:

@Tamefeyisa: #SomeoneTellAzebMesfin that you know you are #poor when you have to decide which one of your children should or shouldn't go to school

Mahlet Fantahun (@faantish) asked Mesfin to go on Twitter to know what is being said about her:

@faantish: #SomeoneTellAzebMesfin to come on twitter and go through #SomeoneTellAzebMesfin

Ethiopians Jailed for Protesting Italy's ‘Butcher of Ethiopia’ Memorial

Endalk — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 15:41:09 +0000

A group of 43 protesters were detained in Ethiopia after demonstrating against a small Italian village's publicly funded memorial to Rodolfo Graziani, a general under fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini whose war-time atrocities earned him the nickname “the Butcher of Ethiopia”.

Authorities claimed that the protesters did not have permission to demonstrate and rounded up the group as they rallied in front of the Italian embassy in the country's capital Addis Ababa on 17 March, 2013. The group was forced to stay the night in prison until their release the next day.

Rodolfo Graziani – The Butcher of Ethiopia. Image: Public Domain

The construction of a mausoleum and a park in honor of Graziani in the Italian village of Affile, unveiled in August 2012, has touched a nerve in Ethiopia. A ruthless military commander, Graziani led the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. Within the year, he had defeated Ethiopian forces and the country was made an Italian colony.

After a failed assassination attempt in 1937 by two local resistance fighters, Graziani ordered the massacre of thousands of Ethiopians.

This was the first protest against the memorial in Ethiopia. Befeqadu, a blogger and Global Voices Amharic translator who was one of protesters detained, published an account of his brief time in one of the filthy prisons. He refuted claims that police had no notice of the demonstration [amh]:

የተቃውሞ ሰልፍ ለማድረግ የሚያስፈልገው ቅድመ ሁኔታ ለመስተዳድሩ ማሳወቅ ሲሆን፣ መስተዳድሩ ደግሞ በ24 ሰዓት ውስጥ ‹‹አይሆንም›› የሚል ደብዳቤ ካልጻፈ እንደተፈቀደ ይቆጠራል፡፡ ስለዚህ ሰልፍ ማድረጉ ሕጋዊ ስህተት የለበትም፣ ጉዳዩ ባንድ ጀምበር የተወለደ ሳይሆን ጋዜጦች ዜና የሰሩለት፣ ቁጥቦቹ ሬድዮዎች ሳይቀሩ ያወሩለት ጉዳይ ስለሆነ ወንጀል ነው ፍርድ ቤት ሊያቀርቡት አይችሉም/አይገባቸውምም፡፡

One of the criteria to hold a peaceful demonstration is to notify the City Administration. But if the administration fails to inform the denial of the demonstration though letter within 24 hours; then it can be assumed as permission for demonstration. So, there is no fault in holding the peaceful protest. After all, this issue was never an abrupt issue; it has been reported by select local media. They know it is not a crime prosecutable in a court of law.

In a widely circulated blog post, attorney Kiflu Hussain criticized the reaction of Ethiopian authorities to the protest:

Can you imagine the Israeli government being indifferent if the Germans decide to erect a monument for Adolf Eichmann? At present, we Ethiopians not only have indifferent “Ethiopian” rulers. Rather, since May 1991, we have a bunch of sellouts in the Menilik Palace [the palace, which is near the parliament in Addis Ababa, was built by Emperor Menelik] who do the bidding of our worst enemies, some of whom have been blacklisted by history as war criminals and criminals against humanity. Just yesterday, March 17, 2013, the Ethiopian regime rounded up scores of Ethiopians who attempted to peacefully protest the erection of a monument to a Fascist criminal in front of the Italian Embassy in Addis.

Exiled satirist blogger Abetokichaw added [amh]:

ጣሊያንን የተቃወሙ ኢትዮጵያውያን በገዛ መንግስታቸው ታሰሩ እኔ የምለው… እንዴት ነመው ነገሩ ጣሊያን ከኢትዮጵያ አልወጣም እንዴ…?

Patriotic Ethiopians who went up against the fascist were incarcerated…I am just wondering are the Fascists still in Ethiopia?

However, alleged pro-government blogger Daniel Berahane questioned if the demonstration was genuine and defended their incarceration on his Facebook page:

#Ethiopian #opposition politicians staged a little drama today.

I never heard a word from them for more than 6 months on the #statute constructed for fascist #war #criminal #Graziani in #Italy. There is no press statement on their websites either at least since September.

Today, they came out of nowhere and wanted to conduct demonstration on the matter.
Apparently, they didn't fulfill legal requirements, thus the police put the situation under control and detained some of them for investigation (probably released by now).

So….what was this really about?

1/These guys are planning to go the diaspora for fund-raising, so they need to put up a show to claim they are alive.

2/They are under pressure from supporters, journalists, diplomats, etc. for not holding public events, so they need one case to say: “see, this dictatorship doesn't even let us oppose Graziani”.

3/May be they are hoping they can galvanize substantial political support by making Graziani a domestic political agenda.
———
P.s.- I wouldn't say conducting a legal demonstration is a piece of cake, but I strongly object resorting to illegal attempts – esp. when no one went to court complaining denial of legal permit.

In a hilarious and biting commentary on the matter, Girma Tadesse wrote a post for The Gulele Post in which he imagined the dialogue that would be exchanged between various monuments to prominent people including Graziani. Others included former Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who was hailed as a visionary leader by his party and ethnic group but condemned as a ruthless dictator by others, and Sir Alex Ferguson, the current and longest serving manager for the Manchester United football club:

[Rodolfo Graziani] – hi everyone…sorry I’m late; I was watching out for some street protesters

[Alex Ferguson] – ciao Grazziani [sic]; how come you don’t look scared around these guys?

[Graziani] – why would I be scared?

[Ferguson] – you murdered their citizens a while back!

[Graziani] – hold on here; first of all I didn’t murder them I only gave the order after I got an order. Second, that’s a long time ago, 77 years. You guys still live in the past? Why don’t you ask these two, they executed and enslaved their own citizens yet still stand tall?

[Ferguson] – who do you mean?

[Meles Zenawi] – RG is trying to point fingers at me and MII. Listen to me old master, I didn't murder my own citizens; there are no citizens of mine in Gambella and very few outside Tigray. I’m pretty sure Menelik didn't massacre or enslave his ‘own people’ either. So get your facts straight.

Waving Different Flags, Ethiopians Celebrate their Fight at AFCON 2013

Endalk — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:42:33 +0000

Ethiopians across the world are celebrating TeamEthiopia, their national Soccer team, who fought a hard draw against defending champions Zambia in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in Nelspruit, South Africa.

Besides the beauty of the Ethiopian game and the composure the players showed after a long absence from the AFCON tournament, Ethiopian politics was at the centre of online discussion. Ethiopian fans in the stadium displayed various placards and flags representing different political interests.

Ethiopian Muslims protest the Ethiopian Government while supporting the Ethiopian Team in South Africa at The Cup of African Nations 2013. From the Awolia School Support Page Facebook Page

In a bid to create a sense of deja vu for Ethiopians the blog Addis Rumble published a few historical photos from old AFCON tournaments in which Ethiopia had participated.

In the pictorial post titled, The Ethiopian comeback it wrote:

This week Ethiopia is making a surprise comeback at the 2013 Cup of Nations in South Africa after knocking out neighboring rivals Sudan through an aggregate 5-5 draw in the final qualification round. In the days after the qualification was secured in October last year, Addis seemed like a transformed city. Previously you would hardly notice any football celebrations in the cityscape (other than of the usual English Premier League teams) but following the qualification most of the capital’s blue taxis and mini-buses – usually the best way of distilling public opinion – started displaying posters of the national team with a ‘Yes We Can’ text added.

The occasion was also packed with interesting Ethiopian political tidbits. Mohamed Ademo, a blogger based in New York wrote on Facebook about how different groups stood behind one team despite their variation on the political and cultural spectrum:

Sport brings people together. The cheerful Oromo crowd in South Africa today is a good example of that. In the states, rarely do we see both sides (Oromo and other Ethiopians) cheering for the same team. We have separate sporting tournaments and federations.

For Ethiopia's football fans in South Africa, the choice today was between OLF flag, the defacto Oromo flag, and the EPRDF (Ethiopia's ruling party) flag. As you have said so eloquently, whether the Oromo and non-Oromo fans of Team Ethiopia displayed different flags didn't matter. They both supported one team.

For far too long, at international sporting events and bazaars, a monolithic image of Ethiopia have been presented to the world. An Ethiopia with 3000 years of history that is still a christian island, has one flag, and speaks only Amharic.

But in reality, Ethiopia is a truly diverse nation with divergent aspirations and historical experiences. As a result, contending national sentiments (isms) have emerged. Under previous Ethiopian regimes, for example, the use of Afan Oromo in public spaces and government offices was banned.

In EPRDF's Ethiopia, while linguistic and cultural rights are – at least in theory – respected, wearing or displaying an OLF flag amounts to an act of terrorism. What you saw today (the bitching and moaning about Oromo flag from those who still want to control the narrative of Ethiopia) is an extension of that false sense of unity. I concur with you that, at the absence of “national” consensus, the way forward is to recognize our differences and respect people's rights to identify however they see fit.

In the same vein, our Oromo activists should also stop pouncing on every chance to question the nationalism of those who are passionate football fans – and chose to look beyond politics.

All the while, it's imperative to stay civil and use this opportune moment to ask: who is Ethiopian, what's the Ethiopian identity, does the EPRDF flag represent the aspirations of the diverse people of Ethiopia, does waving OLF flag automatically make one a secessionist, why do Oromos love the OLF flag, why are non-Oromo Ethiopians so scared of assertive Oromo nationalism etc.

Shared by Ermias M Amare on Facebook

On Twitter, under the hashtags of #TeamEthiopia and #Eritrea, there was also a great deal of discussion about sport and politics! Kweschn Media tweeted:

While #Zambia's fans waved only 1 flag, #Ethiopia‘s side had more than 2 flags. Politicized soccer – Reflection of unresolved issues.

But for Zerihun it would have been great for Eritreans if Eritrea was still a part of Ethiopia. Mentioning the alleged failed coup attempt by Eritrean rebel soldiers, he tweeted:

If you hadn't been allowed to secede, you could have enjoyed the game with us :) #Ethiopia makes fun of today's #Eritrea Coup #TeamEthiopia

Ethiopia will face Burkina Faso in the second match of group C of the AFCON tournament while Zambia will play Nigeria. The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, is ‘the’ football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). This is the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, and is being held from 19 January to 10 February 2013.

Movement to “Respect The Constitution” in Ethiopia

Endalk — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 07:07:00 +0000

A group of young Ethiopian bloggers and activists based in Addis Ababa teamed up with Ethiopian netizens to demand their government to start respecting the Ethiopian Constitution. The #RespectTheConstitution campaign features both on Facebook and Twitter and it gives information about how the Ethiopian government is violating its own constitution.

Facebook banner saying “Respect the Constitution” [amh]. Image source: Respect the Constitution Facebook page.

On Facebook the group created a fan and event page which are growing rapidly. The campaign has called upon the ruling party not to instill fear among Ethiopians rather to inspire citizens to say ‘no to unconstitutional fear’ Befeqadu, a Global Voice Amharic Editor sharedthe following message which has become viral on Facebook:

ፍርሐት ሕገ-መንግሥታዊ አይደለም፤ የአንድን አገር የሰብኣዊ መብት ጥሰት ባሕል እና ታሪክ መንሰራፋት የሚያረጋግጥ እውነታ እንጂ! ፍርሐት አርቆ አሳቢነትን ይገላል፣ ብሎም የተሻለ ነገን የመፈለግ እና የማለም አቅም ያሳጣል። ፍርሐት እንቅፋት ነው፣ ፍርሐት መንፈስን ሰብሮ ሐሳብና ምናብ ያሳጣል፤ ነጻነት ግን ፈቃድ ላይ የተመሰረተ ነው፣ ነጻነት ያበረታታል፣ ነጻነት ሰላማዊ ነው፣ ነጻነት ይታገሳል፣ ነጻነት ፍቅር ያቃል፣ ነጻነት ከሁሉም ይልቃል፣ ነጻነት ማለቂያ የለውም/ዘላቂ ነው፡፡ ራዕይ የሌለው ሕዝብ ይባክናል ይባላል፡፡ ኢሕአዴግ ሕዝቡን በፍርሐት ግድግዳ በማጠርና ሐሳብን በነጻ የመግለጽ ተፈጥሯዊ መብታችንን በመገደብ ሕዝባችንን እያባከነው ነው፡፡ ሕገ-መንግሥቱን በማክበር እና ኢሕአዴግም እንዲያከብረው በመጠየቅ ኢትዮጵያን እናድን፡፡ ሕገ-መንግሥቱ ይከበር

FEAR is unconstitutional and evidence of the entrenched culture and history of gross human rights violations in our country. Fear kills imagination and inhibits the potential to aspire and envision a better future. Fear is limiting and discouraging. Fear cripples the spirit and shatter ideas and ideals. Freedom is allowing, Freedom inspires, Freedom is peaceful, Freedom tolerates, Freedom Loves, Freedom transcends, Freedom sustains. They say without vision people perish. EPRDF is driving the nation to perish by creating a wall of fear and denying our inherent right to freedom of speech and expression. Save Ethiopia by Respecting and Demanding EPRDF to #RespectTheConstitution! ሕገ-መንግሥቱ ይከበር!

Meanwhile, Ethiopian Muslims after Friday’s prayers staged a peaceful protest named after Article 27 of the Ethiopian Constitution which is about freedom of religion, belief and opinion. They have shared their peaceful protest in pictures.

Ethiopians muslims protesting on 7 December, 2012 at Grand Anwar Mosque against government interference into their affairs. Number 27 refers to the freedom of religion article in the Ethiopian constitution . Photo courtesy of Dimtsachin Yisema Facebook page.

On Twitter the #RespectTheConstitution hashtag created a buzz. CPJ’s Africa Media program observed:

@africamedia_CPJ: #Ethiopia's twittosphere buzzes with #RespectTheConstitutionechoing #protests for religious & other freedoms #socialmedia #FF@BillGates

Almost all the Provisions/Articles of the Constitution are being changed into tweets. Kirubel Teshome tweeted:

Freedom of thought, speech and expression are the most inflated and expensive commodities in #Ethiopia today.#RespectTheConstitution!

Daniel Beyene tweeted:

@DanielBeyene: The media have the right to report freely and to criticize any action of the government #FreeMedia #RespectTheConstitution #Ethiopia

KweschnMedia has also tweeted:

@KweschnMedia: Art. 29:5 “media controlled by gov shall b organized in a manner suitable 4 accommodation of differences of opinion”#RespectTheConstitution

Mahlet Solomon tweeted:

@MahletSolomon: Dec8th ,FDRE will mark the 18thyr of the adoption of the constitution while having 1000s in prison for exercising their right #RespectTheConstitution

Wiping Out Ethiopia's History for the Sake of Development

Endalk — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:45:56 +0000

It was in 1896 that Ethiopian forces led by Emperor Menelik II had defeated an Italian army with better contemporary military technology at the Battle of Adwa. Subsequently, the victorious Emperor had brought in a range of technologies including railway to transform his country. For his triumph at Adwa and for his endeavor to change Ethiopia in his own ways, a statue in his honor was erected at the center of Addis Ababa called Arada.

The statute of Emperor Menelik II in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo courtes of Abel Wabell.

Almost forty years later, in 1935, the Italians launched a new but a prearranged military campaign endorsed by their then belligerent leaders. The Italians managed to have a brief military occupation of Ethiopia but faced a staunch resistance from Ethiopians.

Pope Abune Petros, who was among the first Popes of Ethiopian Orthodox Church, was the leading figure of the resistance in Ethiopia. The Italians never liked what he was doing as a patriot and tried to stop him. He was forced to appear before General Rodolfo Graziani to submit and declare the Ethiopian patriots as bandits. He refused to comply with their demand and condemned the aggressors instead. He asked Ethiopians to struggle for their freedom. Finally, the Italians executed him in public. As it was done with Emperor Menelik II, a statue of Abune Petros was built at the center of Addis Ababa as reminiscent of his unwavering stand for his country.

However, unconfirmed reports are circulating online that the two iconic statues found on an historical thoroughfare might get wrecked due to an Addid Ababa rail tunnel construction project. The reports have not been received well by some netizens.

The statute of Pope Abune Petros in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo courtesy of Abel Wabell.

Daniel Kiberet, a blogger who usually write on culture, history and spirituality of Ethiopia, asks [amh]:

ይህ የባቡር መሥመር የአቡነ ጴጥሮስንና የዐፄ ምኒሊክን ሐውልት እንዲነሡ ያደርጋል?
ለዚህ ጥያቄ ምላሹ ‹አዎን› ከሆነ ስለ ባቡሩ የሚኖረን ግምት ይለያል፡፡ ኢትዮጵያን እናሳድጋለን ስንል ያሳደጓትን እየዘነጋንና መታሰቢያቸውን እያፈረስን መሆን የለበትም፡፡ ‹በማን ላይ ቆመሽ እግዜርን ታሚያለሽ› አለ ያገሬ ሰው፡፡ የምናመጣው አዲስ ነገር ባለን ላይ የሚጨመር እንጂ ያለንን የሚያጠፋ መሆን የለበትም፡፡ መኪና ያስፈልገናል፣ ግን እግር የሚቆርጥ መሆን የለበትም፡፡ ወደድንም ጠላንም ይህች ሀገር የታሪክና የቅርስ ሀገር ናት፡፡ ይህ ታሪኳና ቅርሷ ደግሞ የህልውናዋም ምንጭና መሰንበቻም ጭምር ነው፡፡ ይህን ታሪክና ቅርስ እያጠፉና እያበላሹ የሚመጣ ለውጥ አንገት ቆርጦ ፀጉርን እንደማስተካከል ነው የሚቆጠረው፡፡ እናም የሚመለከታቸው ሁሉ ወደ ርምጃ ከመግባታቸው በፊት ሦስት ጊዜ ሊያስቡ ይገባል፡፡ መቼም የመጀመርያውን ባቡር ያስገቡትን የዐፄ ምኒሊክን ሐውልት አፍርሶ ባቡር እናስገባ ማለት የታሪክ ምጸት ነው፡፡ ለነጻነት የተሠውትን የአቡነ ጴጥሮስ ሐውልት ነቅሎ በባቡር ላይ በነጻነት ለመሄድ መከጀል ግፍ መሥራት ነው የሚሆነው፡፡”

Will the Addis Ababa rail lines construction destroy the statues of Emperor Menelik II & martybishop Abune Petros?

If the answer to this question is yes, our stance for the rail lines construction would be different! Our development should not come at the expense of the statues of forefathers of Ethiopia who have given their life for the country! There is a saying which says “Are you gossiping God while you give your weight for the soil!” What we put in for development should reflect on what we already have, it should not destroy what we have. We might need vehicles but the vehicles should not cut off our feet. Whether we like it or not Ethiopia is a country with rich history and heritage and these are foundations for our survival and continuation. So constructing rail lines at the cost of Ethiopia’s iconic figures is like going to a barber shop for hair cut after amputating one’s head! The project group should think thrice before they decide to demolish these statutes. Destroying a figure of a man who had built the first railway in Ethiopia a century ago to construct rail lines is a complete sarcasm! Demolishing the statute of a man who had given his life for freedom of his country and wishing to commute freely on the train is an indulgence.

Abush Zekaryas relates an incident related to the recent controversy, which erupted in Italy after a small town east of Rome built a memorial to a Fascist military leader, General Rodolfo Graziani, using public funds. He writes [amh]:

ጣሊያናዊያን ለፋሽስቱ ግራዚያኒ መታሰቢያ ሲያቆሙ ኢትዮጵያዊያን የአቡነ ጴጥሮስን እና የአጴ ምኒልክን ሀውልት ሊያፈርሱ ነው ይባላል፡፡ እንዲህ ነው ልዩነት እና እድገት

While some Italians built a memorial to a Fascist military leader, there is a rumor that Ethiopians are set to demolish the iconic statues of Menelik II and Abune Petros! What an irony – this is the difference and this is the progress!

And Aderegen, an anonymous group of bloggers, posted on their blog [amh]:

እኛ እያልን ያለነው ሀገሪቱ ላይ የሚሰሩ ፕሮጀክቶች ለምን ቅድመ ጥናት ሲካሄድ የእምነትና የሐውልት ቦታዎች ፤ የአባቶቻችን ለቤተክርስቲያንም ሆነ ለኢትዮጵያ አሻራቸውን ያስቀመጡበት ቦታ ከግምት ውስጥ አይገባም ? ወይስ ከበስተጀርባ ሌላ ነገር አለ……?..

What we are asking is “Why are these kinds of projects not preplanned? Why are the statues and historical places of our forefathers who have contributed a lot for Ethiopia not given due emphasis during planning? Or is there a conspiracy against Ethiopia’s history?

However, pro-government media, Fana Broadcasting Corporate, has a self contradictory story on their website denying the iconic statues will be demolished for rail lines construction! [amh]:

ሀውልቱ ምንም ችግር ሳይደርስ የባቡር መስመር ዝርጋታው ይከናወናል ያሉት ሃላፊው ፥ የባቡር መተላለፊያ ዋሻ ከሃውልቱ ስር ስለሚገነባ ፤ ግንባታው እስኪያልቅ ድረስ ሃውልቱ ለጥቂት ጊዜ ተነስቶ ከዋሻው መጠናቀቅ በኋላ ወደ ቦታው እነደሚመለስ ተናግረዋል።አያይዘውም ይህ የባቡር መስመር ግንባታ የዳግማዊ ሚኒሊክ ሀውልትን በምንም መልኩ እንደማይነካው የሚወራው ወሬ መሰረተ ቢስ መሆኑንም ነው ያስረዱት።”

The rail lines will be contracted without doing any damage to the statues. However, as the Addis Ababa rail tunnel project passes through the iconic thoroughfare it will momentarily dig up the Abune Petros statue and it will not get anywhere near the statue of Menelik II. All the rumors revolving around this are baseless.

This is the second time in a year that the Ethiopian government has sparked controversy involving a statue. Kwame Nkrumah's statue, which was unveiled at the African Union (AU) headquarters, which was built with help of the Chinese government, has also sparked anger amongst Ethiopians as many Ethiopians feel that the country's former leader Haile Selassie also deserved recognition.

Is Meles Zenawi's Ghost Haunting Ethiopians?

Endalk — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:46:51 +0000

It has been three months since Meles Zenawi, the late Ethiopian Prime Minister, was formally declared dead at the age of 57 after months of speculation as to his whereabouts. However, Meles Zenawi’s ghost shows no sign of loosening its grip over Ethiopians, through his portraits in the streets of Addis Ababa and almost all major cities, towns and rural villages.

As his legacy continues to be discussed in various international mainstream media, Ethiopians have been taking to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to reflect on his legacy.

Discussing unpleasant facts of Zenawi's legacy, Kirubel Teshome wonders why many Ethiopians fail to put Meles Zenawi’s legacy in context on the ground.

Portrait of the late Meles Zenawi at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo courtesy of Endalk, used with permission.

Kirube writes:

I used to wonder about people who bitterly hate Genet Zewde while she was a minister of Education and love Meles, People who hate Bereket Simon and admire Meles, those who detest Ethiopian Television and have kind word for Meles, those who despise Ethiopian Telecom and adore Meles. Now that he is dead and we are told that he has been the thinker and doer of all the undertakings the country does the past two decades, can you at least have the decency to get of them and blame the man who is behind all these degenerations and denounce the legacy he built? If he takes all the praise to himself, should he not be entitled to solely take all the blame as well?

On one of major unpleasant chapters in Zenawi's legacy, Abiye Teklemariam writes:

An Ethiopian court just convicted Bekele Garba, Olbana Lellisa and others of committing acts of terrorism. This is the country we have, this is the country we have! I am sure many of the people who were singing the praises of our late PM immediately after his death doesn’t even know who these people are.

However, some consider Meles Zenawi a visionary leader and believe that his legacy should be maintained. In a Facebook post, Jossy Romanat recounts a conversation he had about the legacy of Meles Zenawi with his friend:

A Sunday conversation between Me and My Friend (MF).

MF: Do you think PM. Meles Zenawi was a great leader?
ME: Yes indeed! He was a great leader and probably the best Ethiopia has seen so far. However, this doesn’t mean he wasn’t irreplaceable, as you always believe.

MF:- If you think PM. Meles was a great leader, do you support the idea of naming different institutions after his name? Like the “renaissance dam” to be named “Meles Zenawi dam” and his image to be featured on the 100 Birr bill ?

ME: – There is no problem with naming things after a great leader at all. For example, I was happy to see that Mekelle University named its new camps in Quiha as “Meles Zenawi Institute of Technology” I also heard the same story from Jigjiga University. And then, it seems many Universities, offices, towns and villages are busy naming whatever thing they have after Meles. It sounds like they are in completion as to who wins the “game” of the day well, and this could go beyond the limit. For example, yesterday I heard that one of the oldest high schools in Tigray (which was named after one of the past Ethiopian heroes) has been changed to “Meles Zenawi high school” – If this is true, it is ridiculous and disrespecting PM. Meles. Besides, don’t we have other local heroes who should be recognized at the local level, at least? Can’t we just give whatever we want for the new ones and keep the old ones as they are. Regarding the renaissance dam, well I believe it is appropriate to name the dam after Meles as it is believed to be one of his ambitious plans and had full energy and commitment for its accomplishment. But then, I fear that this could be against Meles’s belief because when he decided to name the dam “renaissance dam” he probably had a good reason for that. But still completely in support of the idea of “Meles Zenawi Dam”. As to featuring Meles’s image on any of the Ethiopia banknotes/bills, I do not think it is a good idea.

The Ethiopian ruling party, EPRDF, has had to endure an endless censure for using the name and pictures of Meles Zenawi to unite the country under his vision. However, some people feel that the party is abusing the late leader to the maximum.

In an open memo, Kirubel Teshome asks the widow of Meles Zenawi to stop cheap adoration of her dead husband:

Open memo to W/ro Azeb Mesfin: Can you please, please, please, tell the Addis Ababa .A city administration to stop violating the wish of the late PM. You openly told Ethiopians and the world that Meles was not a kind of person that indulges individual fame or cult. You revealed how he would have disliked to see all this images of him being a wall paper of the city. I am sure, by now, you may have noticed how the city administration have been relentless in advancing against his legacy by painting the town with pictures of the late PM. I wonder why they don”t wish to let him have peace at least on his death? It is also against his legacy to see cleaner and greener Addis. Can you please call for the immediate collection of his images from the walls, fences and buildings of Addis? It would be a favor that the people of Addis will not forget!

Since his death, the late prime minister has been praised for the economic growth Ethiopia has claimed to have recorded over the past two decades. By the same token, he has also been criticized for jailing political activists and journalists, using vaguely defined terrorism offenses.

Is Ethiopia Fit to be a Member of the United Nations Human Rights Council?

Endalk — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 07:37:27 +0000

Ethiopia was among four African countries that were elected as members of the United Nations Human Rights Council on 12 November, 2012. Other countries that were elected for a three-year term are Argentina, Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Estonia, Gabon, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Montenegro, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Venezuela.

However, Ethiopia’s election to Human Rights Council did not go down well with most Ethiopians. Writing about the election the Ethiopian satirist Abe Tokichaw wrote in Amharic [amh]:

Ethiopian blogger and journalist Eskinder Nega was sentenced to 18 years in jail with 23 other activists on On 13 July, 2012. Photo courtesy of FreeEskinderNega.com

ኢትዮጵያ የተባበሩት መንግስታት ሰብአዊ መብት ኮሚሽን አባል ሀገር ሆና ተመረጠች።
የትኛዋ ኢትዮጵያ!? የትኛው ሰብአዊ መብት!? የትኛው የተባበሩት መንግስታት የሰብአዊ መብት ኮሚሽን!?

እኔ የምለው ኢትዮጵያዊው የዩልኝታ ባህላችን ያለው ህብረተሰቡ ዘንድ ብቻ መሆኑ በጣም አሳሳቢ ችግር አይመስላችሁም? እንዴ መንግስት እኮ ይሉኝታ ቢኖረው ኖሮ “ተመድ የሰባዊ መብት ኮሚሽን አባል አድርጌ መርጨሀለሁ!” ሲለው… “አረ በህግ አምላክ እኔ አልሆናችሁም ሀገር ተሳስታችሁ ነው! ወይ ደግሞ ባታውቁኝ ነው የመረጣችሁኝ…!” ማለት ነበረበት። ነገር ግን መንግስቴ “ምን ይሉኝ” ያልፈጠረበት ነውና አሜን ብ
ሎ መቀበሉ ሲገርመን፤ ጭራሽ በአደባባይ “እንዲህ ነን እኛ ሰብአዊ መብት ጠባቂዎች” ተብሎ ተነገረን!

Ethiopia has been elected to be a member the United Nations Human Rights Council. Wait, Wait! Which Ethiopia? Which Human Right? Which United Nations Human Rights Council?

Is it not worrisome that an Ethiopian sense of discomfiture is not shared by our government? If our government had any Ethiopian sense of discomfiture, they would have rejected [the seat] when they got elected as a member the United Nations Human Rights Council! They would have admitted that the Ethiopian government would not fit in the Human Rights Council but our government never had an Ethiopian sense of discomfiture and accepted the membership to United Nations Human Rights Council gladly! They even went on to declare that the Ethiopian government has a good human right record!

Zerihun Tesfaye, an exiled journalist and blogger, described the conundrum of Ethiopia’s election in an extended Amharic note on Facebook:

እስቲ ልነሳና ልበል አልቸም አልቸም
እሷ የኔን ነገር ትተዋለች መቼም” የሠፈራችን አዝማሪ።

አንዲህ ነገር ዓለሙን የተዉ ግለሰቦች፣ ዓለም አቀፍ ተቋማት እና መንግሥታት ሲያጋጥሙ አዝማሪውን ተቀብሎ ማንጎራጎሩ ሳይቀል አይቀርም። ስለኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት ሰብዓዊ መብት ረገጣ አንዳንዴ እኛን ባለጉዳዮቹን በሚያስደንቅ ኹኔታ የዓለም ዓቀፉ ማኅበረሰብ ሲያቀነቅን “ወይ ጉድ ለካንስ እነዚህ ሰዎች የልብ አውቃ ኖረዋል” ብለን ተስፋ እናደርጋለን። አንድ ቀን የለውጡ አካል ሆነው የነጻነታችንን እንቀዳጃለን ብለንም ልባችን በሐሴት ትሞላለች። እናም የጋዜጠኝነት ሙያችንም የረዳንን ያህል “የማቃጠር ሥራ” እንሠራለን። አልፎ አልፎም “መንግሥት በቃሊቲ 50 ንጹሃን ዜጎችን አጎረ” ብለን ስናውጅ፤ “አይ መረጃችሁ አልተሟላም እኛ የደረሰን 120 ሰዎች ነው” ብለው ከነስም ዝርዝራቸው ሲያሳዩን እንደመምና አሁንም ተስፋ እናደርጋለን-ከኛው ከጭቁኖቹ ጋር ናቸው ብለን።
ሌሎች የማይጠቀሱ ጉዳዮች ተደራርበው ትላንት የተባበሩት መንግሥታት የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ካውንስል ይህቺን በሰብዓዊ መብት አያያዝ “የማትጠረጠር” አገር አባል አድርጎ ሲመርጥ ግን የሠፈሬን አዝማሪ ማስታወስ ግድ አለኝ። በእውነት እነዚህ የመብት ተሟጋቾች እና ተቋማት ተስፋ ሊያስቆርጡን እየሞከሩ ነው? ወይስ በየትኛውም መስፈርት አገርን ለማስተዳደር ብቃቱ የሌለው ቦዘኔ መንግሥት ምን አልባት አባል ሲሆን የጠባይ ለውጥ ያመጣ ይኾን ብለው? አሁን አሁን “እየተፎጋግርን” ያለን ያህል ተሰማኝ።
ክፋቱ አሁንም የእነሱን ድጋፍ የምንፈልግ መሆናችን፤ “የለማኝ ስልቻ ቢንከባለል ከለማኝ ደጅ” እንዲሉ።

Let me chant, I can’t, I can’t as she has forgotten my cause! Says a local songster.

I find it easy to join this local songster and chant with him when we fall upon international organizations and governments who deafen their ears to our cause! But paradoxically, sometimes international organizations have a better understanding than Ethiopians themselves, about horrendous human right situations in Ethiopia and we feel better as we consider the international community is recognizing our great efforts. Sometimes we even think the international community is part of the revolution we aspire to in Ethiopia and our hearts fill with joy! So through journalism we used to report a lot on human rights abuse in Ethiopia. For instance, if we report fifty innocent Ethiopians are jailed in a famous prison called “Kality” some of the international community members correct us with more accurate number (120) of innocent prisoners including their names! Then we feel these people are with us and hope good things are yet to come!

But when I heard of the news of Ethiopia’s election to the United Nations Human Rights Council last evening, the hymn of our local songster rang a bell! Are these intergovernmental human rights organizations trying to destroy our optimism? Or do they think a bad-mannered government will get better when it becomes a member of United Nations Human Rights Council? Nowadays I feel everybody has become politically correct to everybody! But the worse thing is still we need their help!

And another concerned netizen, Yohanes Molla, wrote [amh]:

እማር በሰር ጫሪም፣ ጒቸ ገግት ቧሪም፡፡” የጉራግኛ ተረትና ምሳሌ (ወማካ) ነው፡፡ ወደ አማርኛ ሲመጣ “አህያ ላይ ስጋ ጭነው፣ ጅብን ሸኝ አሉት፡፡” ማለት ነው፡፡ እንግዲህ ይህ ሲሆን ውጤቱ ግልፅ ነው፡፡ ጅቡ አህያዋ ላይ የተጫነውን ስጋ ሁሉ ይበላዋል፡፡ ምናልባት አህያዋንም ጠግቦ ካቆያት ነው እንጂ እርሷንም በጊዜ ይበላታል፡፡

ትናንት ማምሻውን በእንቅልፍ ልቤ አንብቤው…. ‘ህልም ነው!… ቅዠት ነው!’ እያልኩ ተኝቼ፣ ዛሬ ስነቃ እውን ሆኖ የደገመኝና እስካሁን ድረስ በአህምሮዬ ላይ ተተክሎ ቀኔን ያጠቆረብኝና፣ እያቃጨለብኝ ያለውን ኢትዮጵያ የተመድ የሰብዓዊ መብት ካውንስል አባል የመሆን ወሬ ጉዳይ ከዚህ ተረትና ምሳሌ የተሸለ ምን ይገልፀው ይሆን?!

There is a local proverb which says: A fool makes a donkey carry red meat and sends her along with a hyena! So the hyena will chomp through the red meat and later turn on the donkey!

Last night I read about Ethiopia's election to the United Nations Human Rights Council being heavy-eyed so I thought of it as a nightmare. However, when I woke up this morning I could not escape this story! It keeps coming back to me and makes my day horrific! So what could better describe Ethiopia’s election to United Nations Human Rights Council other than the proverb I cited above!

Jawar Mohammed wrote a detailed analysis of how Ethiopia secured a seat in the council. But Daniel Berehane disagreed with those opposing Ethiopia's membership to the council:

I see no anomaly with Ethiopia being elected to the UN Human Rights Council.

Both Ethiopia and the Council have good Constitutions.

They both have capacity (political, financial, etc) limitations implementing it.

Perfect match.

Human rights groups have been criticizing Ethiopia as one of the most serious human rights violators in Africa with huge number of dissidents, activists and journalists languishing in jail.

Ethiopia: Remembering Jailed Dissident Blogger Eskinder Nega

Endalk — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:52:40 +0000

On 13 July, 2012, Ethiopia's federal court sentenced a prominent Ethiopian blogger Eskinder Nega and 23 other opposition activists to 18 years in jail for allegedly participating in terrorist activities.

Eskinder Nega is a journalist, who turned to blogging to find a breathing space online for his dissenting views, has been in a prison for a year now. 14 September, 2012 marks the first anniversary of his arrest. The Ethiopian online community remembers him on Facebook:

Mesfin Negash writes:

One year since journalist Eskinder Nega arrested in front of his son. We mark the day demanding the release of Journalists and other prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia. Light a candle wherever you may be today. We want Eskinder and others FREE!

Ethiopian jailed blogger and journalist Eskinder Nega. Photo courtesy of FreeEskinderNega.com

Jawar Mohammed shares Qale'ab Tadesse Che Jr.’s note which was written by Serkalem Fasil, the wife of Eskidner Nega, and demands that the Ethiopian government free all political prisoners:

It is one year today since Eskinder Nega was thrown to jail , he was then falsely charged with terrorism and sentenced to 18 years imprisonment.

According to the note below by his wife and fellow journalist Serkalem Fasil, when he was a
rrested, Eskinder was bringing their 6 year old child from school. The police stopped him on his way and would not even let him bring the kid home. They violently split the boy from his father. What was strange was that they ( police) kept video tapping and taking pictures as the boy was crawling on the ground and crying watching his father who was being thrown around and hand cuffed. None of them tried to comfort the terrified baby.

Since then all the young child could to talk is police. He repeats how the police took his father.He is scared that they would come any time. He is terrified of them.

Serkalem asks, “now tell me who is the terrorist?”

She says she is worried more about the psychological impact this had on her young son than incarceration of Eskendir, because unlike the child, the father was prepared and knew this was coming. She says every every time he leave the house, Eskinder used to say goodbye to them because he suspects he might be snatched away before returning home in the evening.

Free Eskinder Nega and the rest of the over 30,000 political prisoners languishing in the various Ethiopian jails.

Meanwhile, Facebook users created a Facebook group which says “iCare” with all members of the group making their Facebook profile pictures with an Ethiopian flag with a note on it which reads “I care!”:

Nebiyu Hailu one of the members of the group writes:

Every single day [especially 14 of September] shows me that Meles Zenawi was monster, evil, cruel dictator. Thanks God I’ll never see Meles again. But this good-for-nothing Epdrf guys must free up Eskinder Nega, Andualem Arage & other political prisoners. I really care! we need freedom. After all we live in a big prison.

Zone Nine, a blog which is a host of nine young Ethiopian bloggers, reports the online event and demands the release of all political prisoners [amh]:

ኢትዮጵያውያን የፌስቡክ ተጠቃሚዎች የረጅም ጊዜ ጦማሪውና የነፃነት ተሟጋቹ እስክንድር ነጋ ወደ እስር ቤት የገባበትን አንደኛ ዓመት የፕሮፋይል ፎቶዋቸውን (በዚህ ምስል) በመቀየር እያስታወሱት ነው፡፡ ዞን ዘጠኝ እንደ የሕዝብ ውይይት እና የነፃነት ደጋፊነቷ እስክንድር ነጋንና ሁሉንም የሕሊና እስረኞች መንግስት እንዲፈታ ትጠይቃለች፡፡

The one year anniversary of the incarceration of Eskinder Nega is being marked by Ethiopians on Facebook! Ethiopians are changing their profile pictures with an Ethiopian flag with a message on it! As a group of bloggers who firmly believe in free press and free discussion we demand to the Ethiopian government to free Eskinder Nega and all political prisoners!

The Ethiopian government has increased its online censorship activities since September 2011. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), since 2011 the Ethiopian government has convicted 11 independent journalists and bloggers under a sweeping anti-terrorism law. Among those jailed are two Swedish journalists who are serving an 11 year prison term for allegedly supporting an ethnic Somali rebel group.

Eskinder Nega is the winner of Pen America's PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award for his endeavor for freedom of expression in an extremely inhospitable media landscape.

Ethiopia: Rage and Sorrow as Meles Zenawi's Death Confirmed

Endalk — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 18:19:42 +0000

Today's official confirmation of the death of Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s prime minster, has stirred both rage and sorrow. Ethiopians all over the globe reacted to his death with mixed emotions on Facebook and Twitter where his name is trending.

Following his death, Meles Zenawi is trending on Twitter. Source: Twitter Screenshot

Meles Zenawi, died of an undisclosed illness, Ethiopian State TV confirmed on Tuesday, August 21, 2012. He was 57 and is believed to have died in a hospital in Europe on Monday just before midnight after contracting an infection.

Rumors about the health and whereabouts of Ethiopia’s Prime Minster Meles Zenawi have been circulating online for weeks after disappearing from the public immediately after the G20 meeting in Mexico in June. He even failed to attend the 21st Ordinary Session of the African Union which was hosted in Addis Ababa in July.

Facebook:
Reacting to the official confirmation, Fekade Adera said:

RIP Mr. Meles! finally we officially learnt that you are gone. Never too late to your remnants to draw some good lesson from your demise.

Mesfine Negash posted on his Facebook page:

#WhereIsMelse? He was dead till proven alive. Now officially proven dead! The seismic lie exposed.

Meles Zenawi at the World Economic Forum in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, May 2010. Photo courtesy of World Economic Forum (CC BY-SA 2.0)

However, Solomon Birhanu remembered him in a positive light:

..He set the standard what to offer to be Ethiopia leader , he accomplish so many but there were too many on the line, his vision was greater than anyone can imagine ….but no one know him very well , he is the man studied master & PhD while he is in PM position , he studied all the past, present & future wisdom,he pushed hard him self to see the unseen so that all Ethiopia can see it, he librate him self from material world so that others will librate automatically , he think big & dream big, he sees no one will see, he lives for others not for him self, …. If you push very hard, something will break that is what happen ….. I am just very sad . You did not lost we lost you, RIP PM meles !

Abiye Teklemarima has a message for people who think it is impolite to highlight ignoble acts of a public figure after their death:

Glenn Greenwald on the etiquette of saying good things and expressing good wishes in the immediate aftermath of the death of public figures:

But that is completely inapplicable to the death of a public person, especially one who is political. When someone dies who is a public figure by virtue of their political acts discussions of them upon death will be inherently politicized. How they are remembered is not strictly a matter of the sensitivities of their loved ones, but has substantial impact on the culture which discusses their lives. To allow significant political figures to be heralded with purely one-sided requiems — enforced by misguided (even if well-intentioned) notions of private etiquette that bar discussions of their bad acts — is not a matter of politeness; it’s deceitful and propagandistic. To exploit the sentiments of sympathy produced by death to enshrine a political figure as Great and Noble is to sanction, or at best minimize, their sins. Misapplying private death etiquette to public figures creates false history and glorifies the ignoble.”

Mehrat congratulated Abiye for sharing the message from Greenwald:

OMG! I love you for sharing this, Abiye Teklemariam Megenta! And God bless Glenn Greenwald's soul! You both rock! You have no idea how therapeutic it is for me to read this right now!

Tsion wrote:

i second this saying ‘Misapplying private death etiquette to public figures creates false history and glorifies the ignoble’

Meaza disagreed:

I don't agree! Today i only opt to think about the other side of meles. Meles the reformer, Meles the visionary, meles the african leader:(….. I wholeheartedly say ‘rest in peace prime minister'!

Girma said that Zenawi deserves some respect:

Despite the flaws He has made,He deserves some respect -He was once a leader(for better or worse)!

Twitter:

@BBCDanielS: Meles Zenawi had many flaws and crushed dissent ruthlessly at times. But Ethiopia is a far better place today than 20 years ago.

@EurasiaGroup: Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi is FOURTH African president dead in office in 2012. Joins: Sanha (Guinea-Bissau); Mutharika (Malawi); Mills (Ghana)

@Sam2habesha: RIP to the Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.. & RIP to the hundreds of people he murdered also..

@ayittey: Shedding crocodile tears over the demise of the crocodile liberator, Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia.

@addis_fortune: Question:- “Federal and regional election after this?” Bereket [Government Spokesperson] reposnded “Not at all.” #Ethiopia #MelesZenawi

@TigistSelam: Ethiopia has a lot to look forward to, despite it's sudden loss. At the end of it all, it is the people that matter. #Ethiopia #MelesZenawi

@dicthandbook: Dead Dictator: Meles Zenawi (Ethiopia), pro at torture, detention, one party system, surveillance. Must have read Dictators Handbook.

Meles Zenawi was President of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995 and later became the Prime Minister of Ethiopia in 1995 following the general elections that year.

Ethiopia: Powerful and Political Church Patriarch Dies

Endalk — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 08:18:53 +0000

The head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Abune Paulos, has died aged 76. Abune Paulos, spent the last two decades as the sole figurehead of the popular Ethiopian Orthodox Church leading 40 million Ethiopians (half the country's population.) His death has sparked a debate on religion and politics and re-triggered speculation about the whereabouts of Prime Minster Meles Zenawi.

Writing about Abuna Paulos in a Facebook post Abiye Teklemariam noted:

In the last two decades, Meles Zenawi and Abuna Paulos had probably been the two most powerful men in Ethiopia. Did I just say “had”? The patriarch is dead. Meles Zenawi, despite the protestation of the hacks, is either incapacitated or dead. What a time!

Patriach Abuna Paulos at the Ethiopian Orthodoxy Epiphany (Timket) Celebration January 2005. Photo released into the public domain by Wikipedia user Jhaustein.

The news of the death of Abuna Paulos, who was a strong supporter of Meles Zenawi, has drawn feelings of uneasiness many Ethiopians have about the whereabouts of Meles Zenawi. The situation in which the government is operating has been explained by Birrkan Fanta who posted [amh]:

“ከአቡነ ጳውሎስ ጋር በተያያዘ ከቅርቡ የሙስሊም ወንድሞቻችን ተነስተን በቀጣይነት ሊከሰት የሚችለውን ነገር መገመት የምንችል ይመስለኛል … የመንግስት የቤት ስራ በዝቶዋል .. በእንቅርት ላይ ጆሮ ደግፍ አንደሚሉት …መቼም ሽፈራው ጃርሶ ቀጣዮን አዲስ ፓትሪያርክ ለመምረጥ ለማስመረጥ ደጋሚ መጋረጃዉን የሚከፍቱ አይመስለኝም … አባይ ፀሃዬ እንደበፊቱ በቀላሉ የሚወጡትም ጉዳይ አይመስለኝም ያውም ማስተር ማይንድ እምጥ ይግባ ስምጥ ሳይታወቅ …አይይይ አይመስለኝም … ግን ሁላችንም አንድ ነገር ተምረናል …በቃ ድምፃችን ይሰማ ማለትን !”

In relation to the death of Abuna Paulos and our compatriots Ethiopian Muslim peaceful protest, we can easily forecast what would happen next. I can see that now Ethiopian government is overloaded with a lot of backroom assignments. For them it is just like having a goiter over meningitis at the same time. . . . I do not think they will find it simple this time around. The whereabouts of their mastermind (Prime Minster Meles Zenawi) is still unknown. But one thing we have all learned is let our voice be heard!

Mesfin Negash shared his reflection on Facebook about the relationship between church and state in Ethiopia:

Patriarch Paulos of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is dead. With it one of the principle supporter of the Ethiopian dictatorship is gone for good. Not only his appointment was a pure political manipulation but his years as the head of the Church was scandalous, humiliating, controversial and corrupt in all senses of the term. The Church is once again on a historical crossroad. If the church miss(es) this chance to bring a less political and more pro-church leader, the internal crisis may never stop in decades. We will certainly witness another drama in the (s)election of the next Patriarch. I can imagine what is going inside the church now. Some may regret that Aba Paulos can see neither his own nor his protectorate MZ's funeral procession as he used to enjoy being the focus of attention for every reason under the sun. Now you may RIP.

Daniel Kibret, blogging from Addis Ababa, pointed [amh] out four areas the church should be concerned with:

በዚህ ጊዜ ውስጥ አራት ነገሮች እንዳይፈጠሩ ጥንቃቄ ያስፈልጋል
1. የእርሳቸው ደጋፊና ተቃዋሚ በሆኑ አካላት መካከል በሚፈጠር ግጭት ቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱ እንዳትታወክ
2. ሀብት እና ቅርስን የማሸሽ አዝማሚያ እንዳይከሰት
3. ቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱን ማን ለጊዜው ይምራት በሚለው ዙርያ በሚፈጠረው ልዩነት አደጋ እንዳይከሰት
4. በቀጣይስ ማን በወንበሩ መቀመጥ አለበት በሚለው ዙርያ ችግር እንዳይከሰት

አሁን የመረጋጊያ ጊዜ ነው፡፡ ቅዱስ ሲኖዶስ ምንም ዓይነት ውሳኔ ከመስጠቱ በፊት ለፓትርያርኩ የኀዘን ጊዜ ያውጅ፡፡ ጊዜያዊ ኮሚቴ ያቋቁም፡፡ ነገሮችን በግልጽነት ለሕዝቡ ይፋ ያድርግ፡፡

On this occasion we should be concerned on the following four points:1. Church should not be disturbed with the potential quarrel between Abune Paulos supporters and his opponents
2. There should be no tendency of prowling of assets and heritages. They should be conserved
3. The issue selecting an interim leader of the church should not unwrap sudden dangers
4. The issue of who should be the new pop should not be a point of divergenceThis time must be a time for serenity. The Supreme Council should announce an official mourning period before taking any decision. An ad-hoc committee should be established. The public should be notified on regular basis.

It seems religion and state are deeply intertwined in Ethiopian politics. Recently Ethiopian Muslims have also been protesting against state intrusion into their religious affairs.

Ethiopia: Messages of Solidarity from Christians for Muslims

Endalk — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 01:43:10 +0000

As Ethiopian Muslims pursue their peaceful protest in a bid to end the Ethiopian government’s meddling in their religious affairs, messages of unity from their compatriot Christians have gone viral in the Ethiopian digital space.

Many Ethiopian Christians have changed their Facebook status to announce their allegiance to Ethiopian Muslims.

There is no better summary than Abiye Teklemariam’s message of unity:

I don't like when you trample upon my basic right to worship. I don't like when you shove your version of my religion down my throat. I don't like when you intimidate, arrest and jail my leaders without any legitimate reason or due process. I don't like when you defile my place of worship. I don't like when you stoke the flames of suspicion and fear between Christians and Muslims in this beautiful country of mine. You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. I am Abiye Teklemariam. And today I AM A MUSLIM!

Jawar Mohammed posted:

“Muslims in Ethiopia respect our Christian brothers and sisters and are hopeful that the recent fights and violence will not lead to a larger conflict between Muslims and Christians. We have other more important issues to deal with now in Ethiopia.”

I may add that despite ill wishes by some ‘international’ actors and deliberate provocation by our evil dictators, we, citizens of that country will never allow conflict between our Muslim and Christian communities. Indeed we have better things to do such as getting rid of dictators and pulling our country out of poverty, rather than fight among ourselves.

Obang Metho's message of unity included a verse from the Qur'an:

Meles and his TPLF are trying to steal the real Ethiopia from us and make us to be divided. How can we stop him from breaking up our families and keeping future generations in bondage? We can stop him by loving our neighbor as ourselves. We can do it by refusing to tolerate hate, corruption, injustice, genocide, greed, lies or doing nothing. As it says in the Qur’an, [2:263] “Kind speech and forgiveness is better than charity followed by injury; and Allah is Self-sufficient, Forbearing.”

On Twitter, Welansa Asrat advised her Muslim compatriots to keep up their protest. She tweeted:

@Dr_Asrat: Ethiopia #EthioMuslims Keep up the Protests & Know That Christians around the World Support You – Centuries Of Love & Respect Between Us.

Mohammed Ademo used HashTracking to measure the impact of tweets with Ethio-Muslims hashtag:

@OPride: 323 tweets tagged #EthioMuslims generated 140K + impressions, reaching 50,671 followers in 24 hrs via @hashtracking

Ethiopian Muslims peaceful protest is now well over half a year and still counting.

Islam is the second-most widely practiced religion in Ethiopia after Christianity. In Islamic history and tradition, Ethiopia is known as the “Haven of the First Migration or Hijra.”

Ethiopia: Muslim Protest Gaining Momentum

Endalk — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 11:05:28 +0000

Signs of Ethiopian Muslims activism against government’s meddling in their religious affairs became evident when they took their campaign online in May. As their online activism grows offline, members of Ethiopian Federal Police have started using force against the protesters.

Ethiopian Muslim women. Photo source: Boyznberry Flickr page (CC BY-NC 2.0)

According to local activists Facebook page Dimtsachin Yisema (Let Our Voice Be Heard) physical violence, which includes transgressing sacred places in their mosques, was used against them. An Ethiopian Muslim campaigner and writer Merim Bint Islam posts on her Facebook page with a note:

This is how brutal beatings were done on our brother, yesterday in Awuliya.

Addis News Updates ‏@AddisFocus #Ethiopia'n regime's forces unshamefully confiscated over a hundred animals (oxen) from a Mesjid in Addis which was ready for sadaqa.#Islam

The YouTube video below shows Ethiopian Muslim protestors in April 2012:

Though the actions of the police were reportedly brutal, activists on Facebook page are incessantly advising their fellow Muslims to keep their calm. Ethiopian Muslims Facebook page shared Ahmedin Jebel’s note which reads [amh]:

ሕዝበ ሙስሊም ሆይ! ሰላማዊና ሕገ መንግሥታዊ መብት የማስከበር እንቅስቃሴያችን ከተጀመረበት ጊዜያት ጀምሮ ላለፉት ስድስት ወራት በሚቻለን ሁሉ ሁከት እንዳይነሳ ጥረናል፡፡ ምክንያቱም ሁከት መነሳቱ መቼም ቢሆን ለኛ አይጠቅመንምና፡፡ የተለያዩ አካላት ሁከት ዉስጥ አስገብተውን ሂደታችንን ለማደናቀፍ የሚቻላቸውን ሁሉ ሞክረዋል፡፡ እየሞከሩም ነው፡፡ መንግሥትም ይሁን የትኛውም ወገን ቢተናኮሰን፣ ቢተኩስ፣ ቢያስር፣ መስጂዶች ቢደፈሩም ምላሻችን የችኮላና ህጋዊ ካልሆነ፣ ይበልጥ አላማቸውን የሚያሳካና ሕዝበ ሙስሊሙን ለአደጋ የሚያጋልጥ ከሆነ ለኛ ዉድቀት እንጂ ድል አይደለም፡፡

To All Ethiopian Muslims since the beginning of our movement for the last six months we have strived to keep ourselves away from destructive demonstration as these actions would cancel out our struggle. Different groups have been trying to instigate us to violent actions by their wounding actions. They even transgressed our sacred places but we should stand our ground firmly because if we succumb to their tactics we will become losers.

Meanwhile, Abiye Teklemariam wrote on Facebook:

Activists claim gov't underlings may deliberately stage a fake violent demo. near the AU headquarters to blame it on Muslim protesters.

Political and religious situation in Ethiopia look uncertain as rumors about whereabouts and health of the Prime Minster Meles Zenawi circulate and Muslim protests gain momentum.

Islam is the second-most widely practiced religion in Ethiopia after Christianity.

Ethiopia: Where is Meles Zenawi?

Endalk — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:43:15 +0000

Rumors about the health of Ethiopia’s Prime Minster Meles Zenawi have dominated the Ethiopian social media sphere for weeks raising questions about the future of Ethiopia without him.

Zenawi has not been seen around since G20 meeting which was hosted in Mexico in June. He has not even attended the 21st Ordinary Session of the African Union which is being hosted in Addis Ababa until 16 July 2012.

Netizens have been sharing their thoughts regarding his health and disappearance on Twitter and Facebook. Social media users have been wondering why the story about his health and whereabouts is overlooked by the mainstream media.

Janice Winter tweeted:

‏@janice_winter: Are foreign correspondents in Addis Ababa awake? Where is English news of Zenawi's ailing health & disappearance from planned public events?

Meles Zenawi at the World Economic Forum in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, May 2010. Photo courtesy of World Economic Forum (CC BY-SA 2.0)

On his Facebook page Desta Wegegnaw asked [amh]a similar question:

ኧረ ወሬው ከምን እንደ ደረሰ ንገሩን? ዶይቸ ቬሌም ቪኦኤም ምነው ፈሩሳ የጠቅላያችንን የጤና ጉዳይ መንገር? ማን ይሙት አሁንም አልሰማንም ሊሉ ነው? ድንቄም::

Deutsche Welle or DW and Voice of America (VOA), are you scared of telling us the truth about Prime Minister’s health? Or didn’t you hear about it? What an irony!

Abiye Teklemariam in his extended note on his Facebook page reflected:

Facebook is awash with rumors of Meles Zenawi's impending demise. Most of the variables on the ground in Ethiopia indicate that the regime is what political scientists call “Triple Threat”. Its features include a very strong military that is often used as a last resort adjudicator of political contentions, a strong leader with military background, and a party with an ideological facade that keeps its moderate cohesiveness. Triple threats resemble personalist dictatorship in that they wouldn't allow the rise of individuals with power bases to contest the supremacy of the dictator's rule.

But while it is very unlikely for classical personalist dictatorships to survive the demise of the dictator, triple threats have a remarkable ability to remain resilient even after the death of the strong leader because of the structure and power of their armies. In Ethiopia, the army is organized in a manner that makes collective action for opponents of the regime within it very difficult but mobilization of resources and man power by regime supporters easier. I think if Meles dies, we will see a quick move by regime supporters within the army to quash lone wolf rebellions inside the army and spontaneous mass uprisings outside. Were there organized opposition forces with the ability to exert coercive power in Ethiopia, the army would face serious challenges and might make concessions. Without such alternative centers of power, I expect a relatively quick consolidation of power and a return to a more repressive rule. This is a long-winded way of saying that people with democratic aspirations for Ethiopia shouldn't get all too excited about Meles Zenawi's death before we did our homework.

Daniel Berhane receive a dismissive remark from a government official when he tried to probe about Meles Zenawi’s health:

I did my best to probe about Meles Zenawi health and the answer I got could be summed up in this dismissive remark from one official:

“what is the matter with these [media?] guys…can't you live without rumors….can't the man get rest? he is just exhausted……we aren't gonna say anything b/c it not necessary. You will see him in a few days anyways…..”

Zelalem Kibret has collected Twitter reactions on Storify titled “Meles, Where are You?”

Ethiopia: Disconnecting Citizens From the Future

Endalk — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 21:26:27 +0000

Ethiopians have their attention focused on the controversial new bill which criminalizes the use of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services such as Skype and Google Talk. Netizens are especially furious over the country’s state owned Ethio-Telecom, which proposed the new bill. Meles Zenawi's government claims that the new bill is meant to prevent external security threats.

A number of Facebook groups have already been created to condemn the state-controlled telecommunication service provider. One of the groups is Ethio-Telecom Sucks which has 1,297 members so far. Members of this group usually share their frustration with Ethio-Telecom services but the recent controversial telecom bill and the deployment of Deep Packet Inspection – a form of computer network packet filtering that examines internet traffic – caused members to be even more vocal.

Logo of Ethio Telecom Sucks Facebook group. Photo source: Group's Facebook page.

One member of this group posts [amh]:

እኛ ሃገር ከዛሬ ትናንት ይሻላል፤ ከነገ ደግሞ ዛሬ:: ስለዚህ እንደ አያት ቅድመ አያቶቻችን “ተመስገን” እያልን መቀጠል ነው የሚበጀን:: የእነ ‘ስካይፕ’ እና የነ ‘ጉግል ቶክ’ መከልከል ሲገርመን “የ ‘ኢሜል አካውንት'ም አያስፈልጋቸውም አርፈው የሃገር ውስጥ ምርት በሆነው ኤሮግራም ይጠቀሙ” የሚል ህግ ካልወጣ ከምላሴ ፀጉር….

In our country yesterday was better than today and sure today is better than tomorrow. Therefore, just like our great grand fathers it is better for us to be grateful for everything and move on. We should not be shocked with the prohibition of Skype and Google Talk because I am convinced that there will be laws that will proscribe us to use aerogram instead of email in the future.

While expressing their contempt for the bill, some Ethiopians compare it to the controversial anti-terrorism law. Another comment reads:

Instead of passing this crazy legislation wasn’t it sensible to just block the VOIP protocol if it is really for national security ?(That is if using Skype really vests a trait) Unless the intention of this open ended law is to use it to convict people with no real grounds at all and just arrest whoever they want. This just sounds like a succession of the Terrorism law

Daniel Berhane disagrees. He blames the government public relations machine for failing to explain the essence of the bill while blaming the Western media for rushing to condemn the bill without even confirming whether the bill was passed to be a law or not.

Daniel writes a post titled “Skype me Indeed”:

Though the media rush to make unverified claims, which is obviously based on remarks from some local politicians/activists, is disturbing, it is the Ethiopian government’s inability and unwillingness to provide info mainly to be blamed. Strangely, officials in Addis were as informed on the matter as the guy on the street regarding the matter in the past week.

For Mesfin Negash it does not matter whether the bill was passed into law or not. He points out that it is a custom of the Ethiopian government to encourage citizens to do something then criminalize the same thing later. He shows how the website of Ministry of Information Technology promotes the use of VoIP. The section that promotes the use of VoIP was taken dawn right away the bill went public. Mesfin Negash shares the screen shot of this section on Facebook:

Promote then criminalize! Two days ago I visited Ministry of Communication and Information Technology's website http://www.mcit.gov.et/?q=home.aspx. In the service section of the site, one of the services promoted was VoIP. It was laughable to read one government promoting and criminalizing VoIP. Right now I could access all the content of the section except that of VoIP.
Fortunately I had captured the page that promoted VoIP. The first line of this subsection of VoIP reads: “If you've never heard of VoIP, get ready to change the way you think about long-distance phone calls.” Interesting. Promote then criminalize looks the underlying working principle of MZ. Promote freedom of speech then make it a crime, promote freedom of assembly then criminalize it…..promote VoIP then criminalize. Next time you hear something promoted expect the criminalization.

Argaw Ashine who wrote the story for Africa Review for the first time before it got picked up by mainstream media writes:

I read some distorted headlines mentioning my name as a source about the new telecom law which criminalizes use of VoIP which includes , Skype, Viber, Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger and Pal-talk etc. To make clear, The imprisonment for using social media software is 2-8 years and internet phone calling service provision(intent cafe) is punishable up to 15 years.

I respect and appreciate all the efforts by other media organizations but I am not responsible for any other publication/broadcast except the one published by my own agency Africa Review or the whole NMG outlets.

Endalk briefly analyzes the bill on his blog:

This proclamation [bill] provides broad and ambiguous definitions particularly for telecommunication services and equipment which might be used to include blogging and possessing social media pages such as facebook and twitter.

The draft Proclamation defines telecommunication services as anything designated as telecommunication service by Ministry of Information Technology (MIT) with the exception of broadcasting and intercom connections and listed more than ten services that are considered as telecom services. Furthermore the proclamation enlarges the definition of telecommunication equipment in considerable ways to include any apparatus intended to use for telecommunication services and it includes its accessory and software.