Rebirth for Ethiopian Democratic Struggle
Democratic struggle in Ethiopia goes to the beginning of the century but the output is not yet seen by the people due to the wrong strategies considered in the past years and one needs to bring a new vision or version of struggle to overthrow tyranny from this undeveloped,illitrate,hunger stricken and undemocratic country.
It is easy to say than to do but we, Ethiopian, have to discuss about this issue and find a solution. Here i post this idea so that intersted groups irrespectives of their political,religous,ethnic as well sexual orientation can put their ideas,as the English proverb" one hand washes the other."
The past years if statstics counts Ethiopians had formed more political parties than any African countries but the result as to me is a zero sum game interms of bringing democratic rights in the country. Why? This is the basic question to deal with. How? I want to put some ideas for those who think that they are contributing for the well-being of the country interms of bringing democratic rule and the rule of law.
I will use my experiences about the different parties prevailed as well some issues and experiences from other countries i have visited.
Ethiopia as country of mosaic ethnic groups,it is a futile excercise to organize according to nations and nationalities because during the last two centuries the movement of people in search of work or resources has played a significant role in the amalgamation of the people from different ethnic origins some going from North to South some going from East to West /south/north and if one tries to organize parties (as now done)in this line it will left out those with mixed ethnic backgrounds.
The second issue is that it is not good to organize parties along religious lines as some countries due to that their are families with both major religions in a family or a vicinity so the only way out to organize parties interms of visions and programs stand the only way out to bring a balanced and sound democratic rule in the country.
What have we experienced in the last half century in terms of political organizations is that there is either a hidden connection of the above that is to say that all the parties luck transparency and vision or the commitment to their respective objctives set in the formation of the parties.
So the end is sometimes the beginning and one has to start thinking a new way of formulating Ethiopians along a new amalgamated front based on the manifestos of the parties.
Why we need a new way of reorganization is due to:
1. If we detailly examine the parties organized in / outside of the country their roots are buried in the 1960s theories of the then popular ideas of marxism lenninism or as a whole left oriented
2.As organization the prevailing parties started their formation through secretly recruiting their members and this excercise is still popular in the eve of the 21st century (some due to security reasons and some due to nepotic reasons)which will curb transparency.
3.the other main feautures of all parties is the issue of formal transformation of power from one excecutive committee to another is not seen as a whole including the ruling party EPRDF (one can remember the fall out of some members from TPLF)as well in other parties which they themselves think are the most democrats but end up in faction formation
4.when paries are organized and if we look in the by-laws they are terrefic but what is excercised is the words of the chairperson rather than the guideline set.
5. Most members including excecutives are more than once shifted from one prominent party to the other due to some unaccountable reasons and would like to mix things and loose dedication and loyality in the new party and when criticized will start moving to other parties or take some group faction in the party which makes things more intertwined
So what has to be done to ameliorate this marxist oriented, shifting members behaviour build parties and party excecutives who always want to be the chair of the party until their death or until they go out of steam?
The most and formost issue has to be to refine the programs of parties and examine why always their is fall out and to come to sensible solutions. Besides that the number of oppositions within/outside the country is enormous and they have to open up a forum for discussing their difference and come together to overthrow the tyrant regime and afterwards put their ideas to the people of Ethiopia with their concrete programs to be decided by the votes of the people.
UNITY CAN BRING DOWN EPRDFs TYRANNY UNLESS OTHERWISE IF WE DO NOT UNITE THERE WILL BE EPRDF AND ITS CADRES DECIDING FOR US.
September 24, 2008
Are we dull or Our struggle?
Are we dull or Our struggle?
As everyone of us are aware the struggle for the inception of democracy in Ethiopia goes to the last fifty years but we are not going far in terms of achievement why?are we dull or are we myopic to put a decent strategy to achieve our goal?what are our culpits? what have to be done to ameliorate our failures?
In order to discuss these issue we have to look into out history of struggle at phases and their problems attached to,so i will raise so issues and try to put my ideas so that others can discuss on it.
Ethiopians in the last 50 yeears had struggled to overthrow the fuedal based Imperial regime as well the military dictators but end up on Ethnic based dictators who do not want to hear the people as well put visionary democratic government.Besides all thios the same phenomena is growing with all the different government who came to power,that is the pestillence and hunger throughout the nation. To substantiate these one can remember the drought of Tigray and Wollo regions during the last years of the Imperial regime,the 1984/85 catastrophic hunger and drought in the country and now the severely wide spread drought in the country.Why? are we dull or our struggle astrayed by few egoist and selfish governers?
Most Ethiopians think that the catastrophs in the country are the results of maladministration.egoist policy,nepotism and corruption which i also share these ideas but the root causes also lie with in the political structure we have during the last 50 years.So we have to study what have to be done in order to alleviate the pertinent problems in the coutry.
Ethiopian economy being based mostly on agricultural production(85%employment,60%foreign exchange) one has to deal with this sector in order to find some solutions to enhance productivity as well production.The developmental strategies used by the Socialist government as well the now so called liberalgovernment do not set strategies which focus on the rural development and enhancement because these governments are using the land as a means of political tool to facilalte their election as well the sectors strategy is only a symbol to say that we have some written policy but there must be a crucial change in the country if one needs to boast productivity as well feed the escalatinly growing population boom.
If we take countries who were at the same stage of development in 1974 (korea,vietnam,kenya etc)are now moving into self suffiecent or developing countries while Ethiopian isone of the last poorest countries in the planet.Why?The root causes for Ethiopia are multifaceted but the mjor are ill agricultural,educational and health and infrastructural policies.
When i raise these problems as a core issue i do not want to state what the statistics show the per capita of health professionals,teachers student ration,productivity of land,illitracy rate,road per capita etc but what i want to emphasise is the nature of the ministries which are crucial to development and their structural organization,how they function,their budgetary allocation and some facilities availed to the rural population.
Any state has got its ministries and deprtments at all levels but the structural arrangment in Ethiopia is more or less the same as any country because it is adopted from experieces of others and taking experience is onething but copying is where governments are wrong.
In Ethiopia all facilities (budget,cars,school materials,medicines,laboratories,office equipment,personnel,communication equipments) are allocated where there is not actual beneficiary in ministry of agriculture or health,infrastructure or education,that is to say that the minister will have minimum three vechcles(atleast one sedan,two 4 wheel drive)and more than two secretaties(one serving tea/coffee,one transpoting file to and from,one special seccretary for the office) while a person working in the rural areas do not have atleast a bicycle to bring materials from a place where it is distributed or is bought.These are the same with the alocation of budgets and educational/medical supplies as well to students/patients or farmers organizers who are atelast devoting most of their time with the beneficiaries.
The second issue what i raised was ill agricultural policy launched by the now EPRDF as well the socialist government which were till 1991.
In Ethiopia farmers despite they are given the least budgets and facilities are also tenants of the government,that is a farmer can be evicted if the government thought he is against the ruling party or symphasis oppositions or as the priminister Meles Zenawi once put it "we can evict anyone(foreigner)if we hate the color of their eyes. So a farmers always is thinking about eviction so do not invest to plant perrenial crops which can bring more saving to him but focus on annual crops whether the waether(climate) is favourable or not. The other issue related to this is that the farmer due to uncertainity do not invest on technologies to produce semifinished or finished products (added costs) to earn more by putting his labour on products.
The socialist as well the EPRDF government always propagate Agricultural Led Industrialisation as a corner stone policy to launch but in a country where the producer is uncertain to decide what to produce?where to produce?where to sell his product it is a bizzare for the farmer.
Let i bring some experience i encountered during the first years of EPRDF the world bank gave Ethiopia 642 million Dollars for the structural adjustment program in the country what EPRDF did with this money is to buy political parties which are affiliated to them by allocating millions of Birr to political leaders to distribute to its members of which i know 5000000 Birr was given to ONLF(now labeled as TERRORIST by EPRDF) as well import cotton with 12 USD per kilo while closing cotton farms which produce raw cotton to textile factories in the country.
A government with a vision has to restructure the economic activities in due time but one has not replace parastatals(state owned) with parapartatals(party owned corporation)but what EPRDF did is dissolved all the agricultural input distributors and formed regional party owned firms.
If this vicious trend is to continue the people in Ethiopia are in a grave danger to be starved year in year out.
Entwurf
As everyone of us are aware the struggle for the inception of democracy in Ethiopia goes to the last fifty years but we are not going far in terms of achievement why?are we dull or are we myopic to put a decent strategy to achieve our goal?what are our culpits? what have to be done to ameliorate our failures?
In order to discuss these issue we have to look into out history of struggle at phases and their problems attached to,so i will raise so issues and try to put my ideas so that others can discuss on it.
Ethiopians in the last 50 yeears had struggled to overthrow the fuedal based Imperial regime as well the military dictators but end up on Ethnic based dictators who do not want to hear the people as well put visionary democratic government.Besides all thios the same phenomena is growing with all the different government who came to power,that is the pestillence and hunger throughout the nation. To substantiate these one can remember the drought of Tigray and Wollo regions during the last years of the Imperial regime,the 1984/85 catastrophic hunger and drought in the country and now the severely wide spread drought in the country.Why? are we dull or our struggle astrayed by few egoist and selfish governers?
Most Ethiopians think that the catastrophs in the country are the results of maladministration.egoist policy,nepotism and corruption which i also share these ideas but the root causes also lie with in the political structure we have during the last 50 years.So we have to study what have to be done in order to alleviate the pertinent problems in the coutry.
Ethiopian economy being based mostly on agricultural production(85%employment,60%foreign exchange) one has to deal with this sector in order to find some solutions to enhance productivity as well production.The developmental strategies used by the Socialist government as well the now so called liberalgovernment do not set strategies which focus on the rural development and enhancement because these governments are using the land as a means of political tool to facilalte their election as well the sectors strategy is only a symbol to say that we have some written policy but there must be a crucial change in the country if one needs to boast productivity as well feed the escalatinly growing population boom.
If we take countries who were at the same stage of development in 1974 (korea,vietnam,kenya etc)are now moving into self suffiecent or developing countries while Ethiopian isone of the last poorest countries in the planet.Why?The root causes for Ethiopia are multifaceted but the mjor are ill agricultural,educational and health and infrastructural policies.
When i raise these problems as a core issue i do not want to state what the statistics show the per capita of health professionals,teachers student ration,productivity of land,illitracy rate,road per capita etc but what i want to emphasise is the nature of the ministries which are crucial to development and their structural organization,how they function,their budgetary allocation and some facilities availed to the rural population.
Any state has got its ministries and deprtments at all levels but the structural arrangment in Ethiopia is more or less the same as any country because it is adopted from experieces of others and taking experience is onething but copying is where governments are wrong.
In Ethiopia all facilities (budget,cars,school materials,medicines,laboratories,office equipment,personnel,communication equipments) are allocated where there is not actual beneficiary in ministry of agriculture or health,infrastructure or education,that is to say that the minister will have minimum three vechcles(atleast one sedan,two 4 wheel drive)and more than two secretaties(one serving tea/coffee,one transpoting file to and from,one special seccretary for the office) while a person working in the rural areas do not have atleast a bicycle to bring materials from a place where it is distributed or is bought.These are the same with the alocation of budgets and educational/medical supplies as well to students/patients or farmers organizers who are atelast devoting most of their time with the beneficiaries.
The second issue what i raised was ill agricultural policy launched by the now EPRDF as well the socialist government which were till 1991.
In Ethiopia farmers despite they are given the least budgets and facilities are also tenants of the government,that is a farmer can be evicted if the government thought he is against the ruling party or symphasis oppositions or as the priminister Meles Zenawi once put it "we can evict anyone(foreigner)if we hate the color of their eyes. So a farmers always is thinking about eviction so do not invest to plant perrenial crops which can bring more saving to him but focus on annual crops whether the waether(climate) is favourable or not. The other issue related to this is that the farmer due to uncertainity do not invest on technologies to produce semifinished or finished products (added costs) to earn more by putting his labour on products.
The socialist as well the EPRDF government always propagate Agricultural Led Industrialisation as a corner stone policy to launch but in a country where the producer is uncertain to decide what to produce?where to produce?where to sell his product it is a bizzare for the farmer.
Let i bring some experience i encountered during the first years of EPRDF the world bank gave Ethiopia 642 million Dollars for the structural adjustment program in the country what EPRDF did with this money is to buy political parties which are affiliated to them by allocating millions of Birr to political leaders to distribute to its members of which i know 5000000 Birr was given to ONLF(now labeled as TERRORIST by EPRDF) as well import cotton with 12 USD per kilo while closing cotton farms which produce raw cotton to textile factories in the country.
A government with a vision has to restructure the economic activities in due time but one has not replace parastatals(state owned) with parapartatals(party owned corporation)but what EPRDF did is dissolved all the agricultural input distributors and formed regional party owned firms.
If this vicious trend is to continue the people in Ethiopia are in a grave danger to be starved year in year out.
Entwurf
September 18, 2008
ARE WE FOR OR AGAINST
it was nice if i put it in Amharic to open the forum for all to contribute for Ethiopia irrespective of their individual opinion or the motto which drive them from behind but i am not due to that i use some organizations internet access which did not have Ethiopic or other softwares to write Amharic. Despite that it is my idea to invite all intersted groups to bring Ethiopians to end the mysery which is put on us.
Before i enter to the issues i will remind my colleague Ethiopians please do not feel anything/anyone to discuss your mind because it is the core to bring unity and refined strategies and solutions to enhance democracy in our country(Ethiopia).
when i raised the question "Are we for or Against" it is open to all who can use this ediomatic word, to start with who are we? can one say individually we? whose representation have you? etc. But when i use this word it is only to open a forum to all Ethiopians (us) and mainly to us who everyday give our ideas in the different forums which are easily availed with the help of technology because of the access we have around us is better than our sisters,brothers,mothers,fathers,daughters and sons living in an open prison under the tyrant EPRDF Government.
What i want tp raise here are sequence of questions which i always try to get solutions but never find one so may be it could be the same to the likes of me.
When i say are we for or against what i mean is that are we against the emancipation of our people towards democracy? Do we always dream of democracy and stay to hinder its way? Are we realy on the right mind when we envy democratic Ethiopia? Are we always see division and subtraction as a means rather than multiplication and addition? Are we sometimes driven by egos than good will? Are we for cultism not against it?
As to my experience and the history of the struggle for democracy in Ethiopia backs far more years from my date of birth but the emancipation of our people still exists in my fifties,that, does not mean to why but it is better to ask why not, what reasons are curving it, is it/was it myopic or readiness was illusion?are we jut phrase mongerers and are blindfolded to have vision? have we special interest democracy will take out of us? does unity means a spear which will kill us as well our people?
Then let i bring some of my experiences to show the answer to all the questions above are yes except the question about envying democratic Ethiopia the reason can be set on the following reasoning.
1974-1991
From the start of the revolution the visionary parties have the same idea but different strategies to emancipate our people but that strategic fault brought the fall of the visioned parties and brought up 17 years of misery and murderers(i will let the details for historians and politicians (if any)).
1991-2005
As to my dairies and the past realities the number of hatching of parties in the country was the main aim of the ruling party and some who are not even ready to participate in the government came to vision as oppositions to orchestrate and agravate the misery and well blindfolded for the piece of place given to them and failed to farsight the revenge weded to them and fall to it and left playing the scene written to them.Moreover open up instruments of tyrany in their cooperation.
2005 till now
Atleast the wave of democracy was at the door of Ethiopian households in May 2005 but things which i raised as a question were more of a yes than a no so the cumulative effect was what we had seen it for the most 20 months after that,what was next to answer the above questions our politicians as wll as we ourselves were not on the right vision or track to say enough is enough to tyranny or to also cultism and we were fragmented because either we were in illusion/phrase mongerers/egoist.
What we see now a party which we said and believe had a vision is fragmented in to pieces which returns back to my core question "are we against or for".
As to me unless we individually think lonely and come to our mind first and second to evaluate ourselves how we contribute to the mass struggle of the people we are contributing to the misery of ourselves and our people.
The above idea is what i think which is against our peoples motto but for EPRDF a bonafide and lastly i call all Ethiopians to come to their mind and come under an umbrella to fight the regime and give their ideas later to the people to decide on their plans,programs and visions.
Let we raise ourselves to a new ways of thinking
Before i enter to the issues i will remind my colleague Ethiopians please do not feel anything/anyone to discuss your mind because it is the core to bring unity and refined strategies and solutions to enhance democracy in our country(Ethiopia).
when i raised the question "Are we for or Against" it is open to all who can use this ediomatic word, to start with who are we? can one say individually we? whose representation have you? etc. But when i use this word it is only to open a forum to all Ethiopians (us) and mainly to us who everyday give our ideas in the different forums which are easily availed with the help of technology because of the access we have around us is better than our sisters,brothers,mothers,fathers,daughters and sons living in an open prison under the tyrant EPRDF Government.
What i want tp raise here are sequence of questions which i always try to get solutions but never find one so may be it could be the same to the likes of me.
When i say are we for or against what i mean is that are we against the emancipation of our people towards democracy? Do we always dream of democracy and stay to hinder its way? Are we realy on the right mind when we envy democratic Ethiopia? Are we always see division and subtraction as a means rather than multiplication and addition? Are we sometimes driven by egos than good will? Are we for cultism not against it?
As to my experience and the history of the struggle for democracy in Ethiopia backs far more years from my date of birth but the emancipation of our people still exists in my fifties,that, does not mean to why but it is better to ask why not, what reasons are curving it, is it/was it myopic or readiness was illusion?are we jut phrase mongerers and are blindfolded to have vision? have we special interest democracy will take out of us? does unity means a spear which will kill us as well our people?
Then let i bring some of my experiences to show the answer to all the questions above are yes except the question about envying democratic Ethiopia the reason can be set on the following reasoning.
1974-1991
From the start of the revolution the visionary parties have the same idea but different strategies to emancipate our people but that strategic fault brought the fall of the visioned parties and brought up 17 years of misery and murderers(i will let the details for historians and politicians (if any)).
1991-2005
As to my dairies and the past realities the number of hatching of parties in the country was the main aim of the ruling party and some who are not even ready to participate in the government came to vision as oppositions to orchestrate and agravate the misery and well blindfolded for the piece of place given to them and failed to farsight the revenge weded to them and fall to it and left playing the scene written to them.Moreover open up instruments of tyrany in their cooperation.
2005 till now
Atleast the wave of democracy was at the door of Ethiopian households in May 2005 but things which i raised as a question were more of a yes than a no so the cumulative effect was what we had seen it for the most 20 months after that,what was next to answer the above questions our politicians as wll as we ourselves were not on the right vision or track to say enough is enough to tyranny or to also cultism and we were fragmented because either we were in illusion/phrase mongerers/egoist.
What we see now a party which we said and believe had a vision is fragmented in to pieces which returns back to my core question "are we against or for".
As to me unless we individually think lonely and come to our mind first and second to evaluate ourselves how we contribute to the mass struggle of the people we are contributing to the misery of ourselves and our people.
The above idea is what i think which is against our peoples motto but for EPRDF a bonafide and lastly i call all Ethiopians to come to their mind and come under an umbrella to fight the regime and give their ideas later to the people to decide on their plans,programs and visions.
Let we raise ourselves to a new ways of thinking
March 18, 2008
Ethiopia Election Under Tyranny
The outright rejection hangover of the EPRDF tyrant regime during the May 2005 election was not yet over but the cruel government is planning to held another fill up and local election in the next month without confrontation because of three main reasons
1. As it is indicated in the EPRDF constitution handed to us it describes the legistlator.judiciary as well the executive are independent bodies with out the interference of the parties governing the country but what we see is EPRDF is the executive,legistlator and the judiciary body of the country. This phenomenon was clearly justified when the fiasco trial was conducted for about 22 months in the court of Kaliti which ended up with the decision of Meles Zenawi which shows the end justifies the means.
2. EPRDF did not expected that opposition parties could confront the ruling party and its puppets but what the people decide was enormous rejection, so EPRDF has to dismantle its opposition for this election either trying to harras,make them illegal by giving to name and the emblem of the party to an individuals who are the supporters of the ruling party,or buying time by disarraying party members some in jail,some to flee from the country,some to evict them from their work place,some to bypass the salary increment done for all civil servants and some dead. Moreover in rural areas to forbid fertlizers,credit and some basic agricultural supplies unless and otherwise they support the ruling party or putting the prominent members as labeling them as members of the liberation fronts of which EPRDF labeled as terrorists or saying they are sent by the neibouring coutry Eritrea. In general the ruling party think that the preparations done currenlty are far more better than the 2005 election to fill some members in the parlament and new electrorates at the local level.
Is the mandate of the people or one governing party to dismiss an elected member without the constituent is not a clear question which needs a clarification which is not a problem for a tyrrant,because they are the rule,directives and the solo democrats who always know for the people than the people.
3. The EPRDF second assignment done for the last two years to gain its power grip is the prepare minimun 300 electorate from every locality in which in Ethiopia condition the last hierarchy of administration called Kebele some times have around four hundred inhabitants of which about 15-20 percent are in the teen age below 17 who cannnot participate in the due process,that is the number of nomimnees are more than what a Kebele comprise. The reason is clear that it is done purposefully since the now available oppsitions are not well organized and grass rooted as the former opposition CUDP,so EPRDF think it is a tactical move. As to my information EPRDF have filled its electees without the know how of some people who even do not know they run for the local election.
What all this shows is that EPRDF has to be clothed the color of democratic government for the west not to its people and know clearly is not a party "by its people for its people".
We have to stop such a theatrical election process every time eletion comes in Ethiopia by showing the world the reality and the drama done in our Ethiopia.
I hereby plea Ethiopian to join hand in hand to change this tyrant governmrnt for our own sake.
Sooner or later EPRDF will fall by the vote of Ethiopian people
1. As it is indicated in the EPRDF constitution handed to us it describes the legistlator.judiciary as well the executive are independent bodies with out the interference of the parties governing the country but what we see is EPRDF is the executive,legistlator and the judiciary body of the country. This phenomenon was clearly justified when the fiasco trial was conducted for about 22 months in the court of Kaliti which ended up with the decision of Meles Zenawi which shows the end justifies the means.
2. EPRDF did not expected that opposition parties could confront the ruling party and its puppets but what the people decide was enormous rejection, so EPRDF has to dismantle its opposition for this election either trying to harras,make them illegal by giving to name and the emblem of the party to an individuals who are the supporters of the ruling party,or buying time by disarraying party members some in jail,some to flee from the country,some to evict them from their work place,some to bypass the salary increment done for all civil servants and some dead. Moreover in rural areas to forbid fertlizers,credit and some basic agricultural supplies unless and otherwise they support the ruling party or putting the prominent members as labeling them as members of the liberation fronts of which EPRDF labeled as terrorists or saying they are sent by the neibouring coutry Eritrea. In general the ruling party think that the preparations done currenlty are far more better than the 2005 election to fill some members in the parlament and new electrorates at the local level.
Is the mandate of the people or one governing party to dismiss an elected member without the constituent is not a clear question which needs a clarification which is not a problem for a tyrrant,because they are the rule,directives and the solo democrats who always know for the people than the people.
3. The EPRDF second assignment done for the last two years to gain its power grip is the prepare minimun 300 electorate from every locality in which in Ethiopia condition the last hierarchy of administration called Kebele some times have around four hundred inhabitants of which about 15-20 percent are in the teen age below 17 who cannnot participate in the due process,that is the number of nomimnees are more than what a Kebele comprise. The reason is clear that it is done purposefully since the now available oppsitions are not well organized and grass rooted as the former opposition CUDP,so EPRDF think it is a tactical move. As to my information EPRDF have filled its electees without the know how of some people who even do not know they run for the local election.
What all this shows is that EPRDF has to be clothed the color of democratic government for the west not to its people and know clearly is not a party "by its people for its people".
We have to stop such a theatrical election process every time eletion comes in Ethiopia by showing the world the reality and the drama done in our Ethiopia.
I hereby plea Ethiopian to join hand in hand to change this tyrant governmrnt for our own sake.
Sooner or later EPRDF will fall by the vote of Ethiopian people
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