The New Trajectory of Totalitarian Thinking

The tyranny of Ideology

In an absorbing book “The Devil in History” Romanian-American political scientist Vladimir Ismaneau embarks on a comparative analysis of two seemingly contradictory ideologies of the 20^th century – Communism (far left) and Fascism (far right) – and finds striking similarity between these systems of political totalitarianism.

With polymathic virtuosity, Ismaneau illuminates communism’s close affinity with fascism by examining the “intellectual origins, political passions, radicalism, utopian ideals, and the visions of salvation and revolution” these two radical movements espoused and pursued.

Communism and fascism share a dogmatic vision of social re-engineering to be achieved through a “scientific” political formula. Communism’s ultimate destiny was the attainment of the dictatorship of the proletariat which supposedly emancipates mankind from all forms of exploitation. Fascism envisioned an epoch of racial purity (Hitler) or national splendor (Mussolini). Both ideologies dehumanized their adversaries. Both are founded on the premise that certain groups or ideas must be deservedly excluded or obliterated. In Bolshevik Russia, functionaries of the Tsarist regime, the clergy and rich people were categorized as “byvshie liudi” (the former people) and were excluded from the “new” Socialist order. Stalin killed 20 million people in the name of Communism. Nazi Germany systematically slaughtered or deported Jews and other “subhuman” races.

These two most conspicuous totalitarian philosophies of the 20^th century had lots of similarities but also differences. For instance, while in Communism, the dictatorship of the party is enthroned through revolution, in Fascism, a “charismatic and visionary leader” who is elected by voting consensus is the source of all ideas and guidance.

Ismaneau scrutinizes the two systems’ “absolute commitment to ideology” and illustrates how the pursuit of a draconian political formula – which would take mankind to a promised land of justice and purity – paved the way for all forms of totalitarian thinking in the 20^th century; how it led to “a frenzy of genocide, thought control and a complete annihilation of the concept of the individual”; and how it justified the orgy of violence that resulted in the deaths of millions of human beings. The author denounces the “nihilistic principles of human subjugation and conditioning” pursued by communists and fascists in the name of attaining “presumably pure and purifying goals”, and concludes with a poignant refrain: “no ideological commitment, no matter how absorbing, should ever prevail over the sanctity of human life”.

Ismaneau did not extend his analysis to the mayhem Capitalism which sired imperialism, colonialism and militarism inflicted on humanity for two millennia. After all, foisting evil on humankind in the ostensible pursuit of good and promotion of higher ideals is not exclusive to fascism or communism. Throughout the history of mankind, mindless tyrants, self-styled revolutionaries, and religious and political zealots used myriad of ideologies and belief systems as vindicating motifs and mobilizing planks to unleash wars, to rob, to pillage, to enslave, to oppress, to exterminate real or perceived adversaries. Predatory Capitalism actuated slavery. Colonialism underwrote French genocide against Algerians and the dehumanization of indigenous populations in conquered lands. Colossal crimes against humanity were committed in Chile, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, Africa – to name but few – in the last fifty years alone by presumably redemptive ideologies.

Utopia – the dangerous ingredient

Vaclav Havel defined ideology as something that offers human beings “the illusion of identity, of dignity, and of morality while making it easier for them to part with them.” Ideologies have potent hypnotizing power. Ideologues therefore are invariably astigmatic – which means they have a distorted vision of reality.

All Ideologies also have the propensity to turn deadly, but as Steven Pinker argues in the “Better Angels of Our Nature” some are more predisposed to generate violence and misery than others. One of the things that make ideologies dangerous is the “prospect of utopia”. Ideologies that propagate visions of pleasure and plenty can be described as messianic ideologies. “Since utopias are infinitely good” Pinker denotes, they sanction the-end-justifies-the-means mentality. For the utopia of these messianic doctrines to be attained, all obstacles must be eliminated at all cost. Messianic ideologies cannot function without “enemies”. Most often, these ideologies identify the main source of societal ills as a “definable group” or thought, which becomes the “enemy”.

The import of these points will become evident as we go into the thrust of this article.

Having provided a general background on the dangers of messianic ideologies and the commonalities in their foundational premises, modus operandi and vision, this article will trace the origins of Revolutionary Democracy – as practiced in present-day Ethiopia – to past totalitarian projects, and argues that Revolutionary Democracy is not a new thinking but a synthesis of old ideologies and systems – Marxism, Leninism, Maoism, Capitalism, Liberalism, etc. – renovated and re-marketed to rationalize flagrant totalitarianism. The article asserts that there is no logical or empirical evidence to support the putative link between revolutionary democracy and recent economic development in Ethiopia. It further argues that the ongoing national debate on the type of ideology Ethiopia should adopt is worthless and irrelevant and posits that the debate should have been about values not nebulous ideologies.

The false national debate

In the last two decades, the national debate in academic circles in Ethiopia focused on the merits and demerits of Revolutionary Democracy – espoused by the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) – and the globally hegemonic Liberal Democracy. The debate replicates the partisan divide in the country and has rarely been dispassionate.

Without extending the parameters of this debate any further, it is useful to give a brief description of the core tenets of revolutionary democracy and Liberal Democracy before delving into the central theme of my argument.

Revolutionary Democracy prioritizes group rights over individual rights, advocates for strong, interventionist government and the presence of a dominant political party that stays in power for a period long enough to facilitate socio-economic transformation. The distinctive attributes of a Liberal Democracy include free and fair elections, economic freedom, genuine separation of the powers of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, human rights, a multiparty system, the rule of law, freedom of speech, free trade and the protection of private property.

The relevance of a particular ideology to a given country context and the pros and cons of competing ideologies can be endlessly debated. However, these debates often produce little more than scholastic perorations. They rarely create consensus or yield outright winner. Each side argues from a position of blind conviction and because there are enough ambiguities and variations within each ideology, the argument becomes circular, tedious, and messy. This makes debates on ideologies pointless.

A more useful format could have been adopted. First, a set of values that must guide the practical application of contending ideologies would be agreed on. Next, the extent to which these mutually agreed moral axioms are adhered to in the implementation of the relevant ideological theories would be evaluated. For instance, freedom of speech and thought, rule of law, respect for human rights and civil liberties could have been identified as the guiding set of values. These universal moral principles enhance the collective welfare of humanity. Any ideology that upholds these ethical principles has a higher chance of preventing violence. Conversely, any ideology that prevaricates on or openly denigrates these values has a higher likelihood of leading to violence. These guiding values and their practical implementation should inform what is good for Ethiopia over and above feeble ideologies.

Therefore, firstly, the national debate ought to have been whether these ethical principles are respected in EPRDF’s Ethiopia.

Secondly, the efficacy and primacy of revolutionary democracy doctrine must be examined against its own practice, not against presumed failures and shortcomings of liberal ideology or professed future returns of economic development.

Thirdly, Ethiopia registered rapid economic growth in the last ten years. The ruling party must be lauded and credited for the effective utilization of foreign aid and for adopting sound economic policies such as agricultural-development-led-industrialization (ADLI) and state-sponsored micro-enterprise development initiatives. Researching the causative or correlative relationship between development and revolutionary democracy is beyond the purview of this article. But the putative linkage between the two factors should have been subjected to logical and empirical interrogation.  It is a causative fallacy to argue that because B follows A, A is the reason for B.  Sadly, proponents of revolutionary democracy in Ethiopia frequently engage in this fallacy; and it seems they have been granted a free pass for long.

It is logical to suggest that recent economic development in Ethiopia has more to do with the injection of foreign aid into the economy and less with revolutionary democracy sloganeering. For example,without foreign aid, even such sensible economic policies as ADLI, micro-enterprise development, and safety-net programmes that address chronic food insecurity in Ethiopia, may not have amounted to much. Economic ideas are fine, but to get to fruition, they need funds.

Is the main cause of the present economic growth and infrastructural development in Ethiopia foreign aid or ideology? Would social, economic and infrastructural transformation have been achieved without the massive foreign development assistance that averaged between USD 2 to 3 billion annually in the last decade? Would the “mixed economy” model – which is paraphrased to “Developmental State paradigm” in EPRDF political grammar – have brought about meaningful economic returns without sustained Western funding?

Only a proper research could establish the existence or absence of a relationship between revolutionary democracy and economic development in Ethiopia, but these questions must be asked.

Parenthetically, the EPRDF regime which owes its survival to the billions of dollars of aid it gets from the West ironically accuses opposition parties as lackeys of the West. It attacks liberalism day and night but beseeches liberal economies for more aid.  How and why it gets away with all these contradictions should have been probed.

Perhaps most crucially, why a supposedly superior and rescuing doctrine as revolutionary democracy mortally fears, criminalizes, harasses and banishes contending ideas should have been at the heart of the national debate.

Revolutionary Democracy: the Utopia and Dogma

There is more to the prefix “revolutionary” in Revolutionary Democracy than a mere appellation. It is the strand that ties revolutionary democracy to Communism and in some ways to Fascism. Deflected by miasmic comparisons of the scale of the damages caused by these ideologies, we should not exonerate revolutionary democracy simply because it has not inflicted as much pain as the two other totalitarian ideas. We need to look at the utopia and the dogma inherent in revolutionary democracy, which makes it as dangerous as any other messianic ideology.

The vision of EPRDF’s revolutionary democracy is a “new and prosperous Ethiopia” where the rights of nations and nationalities are “fully respected”. Granted, some visions are benign and more realistic than others.  Granted, it is unfair to equate the achievable vision of an economically better-off and politically inclusive Ethiopia to communism’s romantic pursuit of a proletarian dictatorship and Fascism’s search for racial purity and ultranationalist grandeur. Yet, Communism, Fascism and Revolutionary Democracy all have one thing in common: “absolute commitment to ideology”.

The similarity becomes clearer when dogma creeps into this commitment. EPRDF believes that it is the sole owner of the ideas that can steer Ethiopia towards the nirvana of an inclusive, prosperous and peaceful country. It is not this absolute belief in the righteousness of its own doctrine that makes EPRDF and revolutionary democracy dangerous. It is its stubborn resolve to destroy rival ideas by all means possible that makes it as dangerous as the systems that pursue seemingly more sinister utopias. John Gray – Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics – says that “in politics, the other face of radical evil is an inhuman vision of radical goodness”. Revolutionary Democracy personified by EPRDF arrests and executes political opponents, harasses dissenting ideas, strips Ethiopians of all political rights and civil liberties for the good vision of “a prosperous Ethiopia”. At best, it is a vision of radical goodness which becomes an inhuman vision because it justifies the evil of oppression.

Revolutionary Democracy at work

Ernest W. Lefever contends that the defeat of Communism and Fascism has not eliminated the return of totalitarian thinking and temptations. He was remarkably prescient when he warned that “out of the rubble of failed systems, the chaos of defeat, and the agony of alienated peoples, a new totalitarian savior could again arise proclaiming a new utopia”.

In the foregoing sections, we have seen how totalitarian ideologies crave adversaries and feed on scapegoats. Examples from recent Ethiopian political history would help to crystallize this notion.

In 1974, Emperor Haile-Selassie’s 44 years reign ended. Revolutionary Ethiopians rocked the foundations of the monarchy but the coup de grace was served by a military junta led by Colonel Mengistu Haile-Mariam.  The junta ordained a Marixist ideology – the precursor to today’s “revolutionary democracy”. In fact, “revolution” and “democracy” became the junta’s catchwords. The DERG – as the junta would later call itself – terrorized the Ethiopian people for 17 years, unleashing waves of violence under different pretexts.

First, it declared a class war on “Imperialists, the bourgeoisie and semi-bourgeoisie”. Next came the turn of own ideological allies – The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP), All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement (alias MEISON) – who started to embrace a different interpretation of Marxism. Then, Eritrean and Tigrayan nationalists started an armed struggle against the DERG and the junta morphed into a defender of “Ethiopian unity” and turned its gun on Tigrayans and Eritreans.

In 1991, Mengistu’s regime collapsed.  The triumphant Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) arrived as the “new savior”. Revolutionary Democracy quickly found its enemy. TPLF picked Amharas – who immediately became Ethiopia’s “byvshie liudi” (former people) – as its focal enemy. TPLF unleashed an unremitting vitriolic propaganda against Amharas and Unionist Ethiopians. Adjectives with accusatory undertones such as “chauvinists” and “Neftagna” (armed settlers) permeated the new political vocabulary. Amhara’s were summarily categorized as beneficiaries of the old systems. They were identified as the source of all societal ills in Ethiopia. In Oromia – Bedano (Harar) and Arbagugu (Arsi) – Amhara civilians were butchered. TPLF did not commit these crimes; but the massacres were the macabre fruits of sustained TPLF anti-Amhara propaganda.

The Amhara’s were targeted mainly because they were the most vocal opponents of the secession of Eritrea. There is another theory which paints the witch-hunt against Amharas as a mere extension of historical power struggle between the two Semitic nationalities in Northern Ethiopia. The advent of ethnic-nationalism and TPLF’s iron hand dealt a decisive blow to Amhara and centralist fight back.

The Amhara “threat” was quickly neutralized, but the next enemy did not take long to emerge. The Oromos – the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia – demanded their “rightful place” in the new political arrangement. TPLF found its second enemy, which it destroyed with astounding efficiency. Documentary “evidences” showing “narrow” Oromo “extremists” slaughtering Amhara settlers in Bedano, Arba-gugu and other areas started to surface. Evidences, that never bothered TPLF before it fell out with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)! The atrocities were real. Extremist Oromos allegedly carried out the massacres. TPLF is culpable though, because it was the main instigator of hate against Amharas.

The third enemy of TPLF would turn out to be its alter ego Sha’bia (EPLF) – the ruling party in Eritrea and TPLF’s erstwhile ally and mentor. The May 1998 to June 2000 Ethio-Eritrean war was not a war of choice for TPLF.  Eritrea started the war. Nonetheless, the TPLF found yet another scapegoat to continue internal political repression.  The war also gave the TPLF a breathing space as most Ethiopians postponed their anger against the regime and stood by the TPLF-led government in a show of remarkable patriotism.

In 2005, buoyed by the support it received from the Ethiopian people during the war, TPLF/EPRDF opened up the political arena and granted opposition parties some space for competition. It would prove to be a turning point for democracy in Ethiopia. The consensus is that the EPRDF lost that election to the opposition. The biggest winner was the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) – alias Kinijit in Amharic. The CUD competed on a political agenda that emphasized “national unity” and opposed ethnic federalism. The success of the CUD shocked EPRDF to the core.

To EPRDF, not only did the CUD triumph represent the revival of the detested “Amharas”, it awakened it to the grim reality that it can never win a free and fair elections. TPLF’s coalition partners in the EPRDF – ANDM (Amhara), Oromo (OPDM), SEPDM (Southern region) – were all routed in their respective regions because the nations and nationalities they purported to represent veritably saw them as veritable puppets of the TPLF.

EPRDF firmly closed whatever little political space that existed.  So much so, that in the 2010 elections, it “won” all but one of the 547 seats in the House of Representatives (the Parliament). Today, EPRDF members and supporters control all State and religious institutions at the Federal level and in Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ (SNNP) region. The Judiciary, Security sector, and economy are firmly in the hands of EPRDF. Satellite parties allied to EPRDF rule the so-called “developing’ regions – Somali, Afar, Benishangul, Harari, and Gambella.

More recently, “anti-terrorism” accorded EPRDF a new scapegoat. Centralist political parties are branded relics of the past. Ethno-nationalists who embraced ethnic federalism but advocate for a genuine implementation of the project are labeled “terrorists” and are outlawed. Serious opposition parties are banned from operating inside the country and operate in exile. Opposition parties inside the country can issue statements through foreign media or by organizing subdued events but they cannot freely mobilize the grassroots. Elections are meaningless because the National Election Board (NEBE) is a functionary of the ruling party/government.

Revolutionary Democracy has a dual attribute. Like Communism, EPRDF and its satellite parties control government at federal and regional levels, which makes the party and the government one and the same. Like Fascism, all ideas in revolutionary democracy emanate from its “magnetic” leader Meles Zenawi. Up until and even after his death, he was and continues to be credited as the originator of all ideas that ERPDF implements; particularly, the ones that worked.

This is the anatomy of a Revolutionary Democracy.

Conclusion

Debating the goodness or badness of one or another ideology is pointless. No ideology has a silver bullet that would take humanity to a worldly paradise. There are enough ambiguities in the theories of every ideology. Even if the theories of one ideology are found more relevant to a given context, it means nothing unless the practice matches the theory. Practice often deviates from theory in totalitarian ideologies.

But more importantly, arguing over ideologies is the thing of the past. If the 20^th century was the era of ideology, the 21^st century is the age of values. Freedom and justice which are innate human desires matter to humanity more than erratic ideologies, because these enduring values are the only institutions can minimize the occurrence of violence. Ideologies by their nature do not avert violence, they fuel it.

If we have to embrace ideologies, we should embrace only those that accept – in theory and practice – the inviolability of the sanctity of human life. The quality and relevance of a doctrine must be judged against this singular moral principle. An ideology that stifles freedom of speech, suspends human rights and imposes an arbitrary application of law is an anathema to human progress and a recipe for violence.

Today, in Ethiopia, systematic and gross violations of human rights are committed. There is no independent judiciary to uphold the rule of law. The regime arbitrarily applies rules of natural justice and the rule of law, thereby turning the avenue of society into a scary chamber where injustice is domesticated. Plighted by politically correct thinking, the EPRDF stifles freedom of thought and freedom of expression. The regime is bent on crushing individual thinking and browbeating the Ethiopian nation into accepting that an idea could only be valid if it came from “the correct” group, which in this case happens to be the top echelons of EPRDF.

EPRD’s revolutionary democracy has all the hallmarks of a messianic ideology with its utopia, dogma and concomitant violence. It is not a new ideology by any stretch of imagination. It is a revised trajectory of totalitarian thinking presented as a redeeming doctrine, and has a lot in common with past totalitarian schemes. George Steiner’s decisive contention in the “Grammars of Creation” comes to mind. “We have no more beginnings”. How true!

Equally, Liberal Democracy is not a perfect system. Some of its core postulates such as the relationship between elections and citizen participation in resource allocation and political decision-making and the validity of some of its core economic propositions have been criticized since its earliest days by Marxists, socialists, left-wing anarchists, empiricists, and proponents of “direct” democracy. However, the consensus is that while not a perfect system, Liberal Democracy reduces political uncertainty and instability by providing the public with regular chances to change those in power without changing the legal basis for government.

At any rate, the deficiencies of Liberalism cannot expiate the sins of revolutionary democracy.

Intellectuals who are enamored with the “good intellect and intentions” of Meles Zenawi and rationalize his appalling human rights records are guilty of either willful ignorance or disagree with Professor John Gray’s dauntingly erudite reminder: “radical evil can come from the pursuit of progress”.

muktaromer@ymail.com

http://ecadforum.com/blog/revolutionary-democracy-in-ethiopia/

Report compiled by Jilcha Hamid and Arif Ali

Jan. 14/2013 – It has been reported that the Ethiopian-Somali regional state militia known as ‘Liyu Police’ have attacked the town of Qumbi in Eastern Oromia killing many and displacing the population. For the past month the Liyu Police have been attacking, harassing and displacing civilians in the lowland region of Mayu Mulluqe county (woreda) in East Hararge zone. Attacks have taken place in and around the municipalities of Qumbi Goohaa, Seelaa Jaajoo and Aanaa Miinoo according to locals. Many have fled these areas to neighbouring places such as Burqa Tirtira and the vacated areas remain under the Liyu police occupation, until this report is filed.

Since its creation in 2007 the Liyu Police militia has been known to commit atrocities against civilians in the Ogaden region and has launched attacks on neighbouring Somali tribes on numerous occasions. However  in the last few months, the militia  has  began carrying out cross-boarder raids into Oromia region. Its to be remembered that this  heavily armed militia overrun the town of Moyale  in Southern Oromia resulting in the death of cozens of people and forcing terns of  of thousands to flee to Kenya, as reported by Al Jazeera.  All indications are that the attacks have been carried out on the orders of the Federal government in Addis Ababa.  As reported at the time, during the attack on Moyale, the 4th army division stationed  just two miles outside the town center watched silently as the militia overrun the police station and ransacked the town.  Then the militia was allowed safe passage to retreat after looting and burning the town while administrators of the Borana province who protested against the army complacency were thrown to jail where they still remain.

Similarly, prior to   the recent attacks, the local militia in Mayu Mulluqe in charge of security had been disarmed while the Liyu Police have continued to receive supply of arms and food from the federal government, according to officials of the East Hararghe province who do not wish their name to be disclosed.  residents of After the militia’s incursions into Oromia region began last month, trucks transporting weapons to the areas controlled by the militia have been reported by witnesses. Locals in Burqa Tirtira have blockaded roads preventing weapons from reaching the militia currently occupying Qumbi. Despite this, weapons have been flown in and the campaign has continued. It is believed that Burqa Tirtira town may be the next target of the onslaught. This militia is so well trained and heavily armed that, they have taken over most of the fight against the Ogaden insurgents enabling the federal government to move most of its contingents to the northern  front where confrontation with Eritrea is on the rise.  The Guardian recently  reported that the British aid money is been used to arm and train the Liyu police .

According to a source in the Somali region, president of the region and commander of the Liyu police told the Somali elders  that  the cross-boarder raids and invasions by the Liyu police is meant to reclaim territories lost to Oromia during the 2004 boarder referendum. It is to be recalled that referendum was  organized to settle dispute between the two regions over 420 kebeles in 12 districts. The referendum resulted in residents living in the 80% of the disputed areas voting to join Oromia. However, the demarcation was has been dragging for the last nine years. The final phase of the demarcation was supposed to take place  this year, Hence, the recent invasions are meant to to establish fact on the ground to influence the final outcome.

However, the territorial dispute seems to be  more of a cover story than a real motive for both the regional and federal government in catalyzing this conflict. There are two motives at play, tackling the activities of  the Oganden insurgents and dispersing the growing resistance of the Muslim population. The government suspects that Oromo communities in the region has been complacent  in facilitating for  the Ogaden  insurgents to pass through and hide  within the Oromo territories whenever they are pressured in their home region. The government securities believe that local elders’ coziness   towards the Oganden rebels might be orchestrated   by the Oromo  Liberation that historically enjoys strong support in the area. Hence the regime  is reviving  the territorial dispute to frustrate the  operational alliance between the two insurgents.

Moreover, East Hararge zone has as of late been the target of the governments Ahbash indoctrination campaign and was singled out in a leaked government document  as a target zone for government “re-education” due to the so called spread of “extremism”. The report complained that administrators in charge of many of the districts in the province have been openly hostile towards and refuse to implement the indoctrination campaigns.  Therefore these attacks by the Liyu Police militia can be interpreted as an effort by the Ethiopian government to instill fear in the population and force them into submission in exchange for protection against the cross-boarder raids. If the government does at some point decide to step in and call off its dogs, they will likely try to appear as the peacemaker and the populations only source of security, while sowing hatred and distrust between Oromos and their neighbors.

17,January 2013

the gulele post.

by Teshome Debalke

The news Woyane plotted to assassinate the legendary Journalist Abeba Gellaw shouldn’t surprise anyone. It isn’t an isolated incident; many cadres in North America have been threatening Ethiopians through cyber space, by phone and in person to stop them from supporting the opposition camp for years. And many did comply than endangering their loved one at home. This case is different because Abebe Gellaw is refused to be silenced by the lowlife criminals in the US that are accustomed to get away with murder in Ethiopia.

The high profile assassination plot on Abebe Gellaw shows the increasingly desperate Woyane is beginning to realize its lawless rule is going to end; resorting in assassination plot as far as in the North America. The fact the young cadres that came to seek refugee in US reviles Woyane is using the lax US immigration policy to dispatch its assassins in North America.

It was reported the regime stanch supporters sought asylum to remain in the US to do the dirty bidding of Woyane out of

Ethiopian Ambassador in the U.S. Girma Birru

the Embassies in cover of diplomacy. Under the leadership of Ethiopian Ambassador Girma Birru the Embassy in Washington DC is said to be infested with spies of the regime doing the dirty job of TPLF. The Ambassador will be responsible for allowing assassins to operate under his nose.

Like any terrorist organization there is no boundary Woyane wouldn’t cross using diplomatic cover. In Africa; from North Sudan all the way to South Africa Ethiopian Embassies are used as a cover to harbor Woyane spies and assassins to do unspeakable crimes against Ethiopians.

For example, last year in South Sudan Woyane kidnapped Ethiopian refugees and attempted to transport them back to Ethiopia. The plot instigated in the Ethiopian Embassy in Juba failed when the South Sudanese security was alerted of the plot. The Minster of Interior dispatched security personal to Juba International Airport and found the assassins and the chartered plane with the refugees in it, according to The New Nation.  It is also alleged the chartered plane was disguised as transporting Peace Keepers and their supply under the UN flag. It is well known Woyane provides soldiers for Peacekeeping Mission under auspices African Union and United Nation to do its dirty bidding under cover.

Ambassador Abadi Zimo, a core TPLF member

Countless Ethiopians have been victims of assassination and kidnapping in Sudan alone under the Bashir government sanction. The Ethiopian Embassy in Sudan, under the leadership of Ambassador Abadi Zimo, a core TPLF member is where the plan is excusted and a safe harbor for the assassins provided under diplomatic cover. General Samora Yusuf, the Woyane defense Minster frequent trips to Sudan is related to the plot of eliminating oppositions from Sudanese territory. The clandestine operation out of the Embassy is not known for Ethiopians. The Embassy doesn’t revile its clandestine activities to the public with the only e-mail contact provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affair.

The fall out from the assassination plot on Abebe will knock on every Woyane cadres’ door in North America and elsewhere. According to FBI source, ‘several complaints were filed through out the US to the presence of Woyane’s operatives and agents are assigned to look into it. Since the crimes involve foreign government’s agents it is a Federal matter and, Ethiopians are advised to report to the FBI instead of their local police, advised the anonymous source.

The State Department is aware of Woyane’s activities for long time and closely watching the development.  The Congressional Committee on Terrorism notified and requested to call for special investigation. The Immigration and Naturalization Service is also aware of Woyane operatives seeking asylum for the purpose of spying on Ethiopians, according the source.

The assassination plot will open the opportunity to examine the recent asylum seekers fraudulent application to obtain permits to stay in the US. The fraud extends in the resettlement program of Eritrean refugee out the five refugee camps in the Tigray. It is alleged TPLF operatives are being  is resettling its spies in North America and Europe paused as Eritrean refugees.

Ethiopians should be cautious associating with Woyane operatives that would put them in incriminating positions. For example, Identity theft is one of the ways the agents use to attack Ethiopians they paused danger for the regime and everyone is venerable. It is important to safeguard your identity and personal information.

While high profile assassination plot make it to the Media most of the crimes of the agents are unreported. The agents are dispatched to infiltrate the Ethiopians community to disrupt the struggle and robe the community. Though the focus is on political crime of the agents the economic crimes are as much damaging to Ethiopians through out the world.

The so called Diaspora investors are part of the cover up of TPLF to sabotage the democratic struggle. The plot is to higher TPLF’s operatives as Diaspora investors by providing them financing and land to make it look like the regime is stable enough to attract Diaspora investors.   Special attention must be given to the so called Diaspora investors hired to do the dirty biding of the regime. There is no investment in today’s Ethiopia without doing the political bidding of TPLF’s regime to legitimize its rule and corruption. The so called investors sucked in the plot will be advised to pull out before they incriminate themselves in corruption and money laundering.

The US Attorney General Office-Corruption and Money Laundering Task Force is aware of the activities of TPLF’s operatives.  Since investigation of this magnitude is sealed no one knows how far it may be. But, similar investigations are public when charges are filed in the Federal Courts naming the offenders.

Ethiopian Ambassador Seyum Mesfin in China

Other investigations are initiated by different government agencies and international organization in North America and Europe. Asia, where TPLF’s operatives led by Ethiopian Ambassador Seyum Mesfin in China have a free ride and remains a challenge to investigators of plots. The new regime in China is notified the activities of TPLF operatives. It remains to be seen how far the new Primer of the Communist Party of China that made fighting corruption his first priority would go to dismantle TPLF’s

corrupt operatives.  It worth officially notifying the Chinese government the two peoples’ bilateral relationship is not going to sustain. There would have legal ramification that would compromise all investment and loan made with the highly corrupt TPLF operatives paused as the government of Ethiopia. Deals made behind close doors without proper disclosure are not binding by international convention and rule and considered null and void on the people of Ethiopia.  Every international government, organization and investor should be notified to that fact.

Ethiopians are advised to take their association with Woyane and its operatives seriously if they want to avoid being implicated from criminal activists of the regime and its operatives. The fact the regime want to deal with you in the back door is a sign to get you involved in the criminal activity against your people that would have consequences in the future. Notifying the proper authorities to crimes of the Woyane operatives is your responsibility.

The people of Ethiopia must be free from the self confess criminal regime ruling them with impunity. There is no negotiation on the fundamental rights of the people of Ethiopia to be ruled by their own chosen government. That fact is not even denied by the ruling regime itself; pretending it is an elected representative of the people. Most of its supporters and apologist are juvenile enough to believe the regime that practically runs everything, including counting the peoples votes to make the regime legitimate. It shows without saying stupidity has no virtue; making a fool out of themselves is the best they could do.

The fact they choose to support a criminal regime against their own people says more about them than the regime itself. Therefore, they are willing to get involved in all kinds of criminality, including assassinations.  If they aren’t willing criminals against the people of Ethiopia we don’t know what they could be.

Therefore, all Ethiopians must speak in one voice; the era of criminal regime running down our people into poverty, exploitation and oppression is over and done with. Only dumb and wicked believe otherwise.

There is no question our people will be free from Woyane tyranny and its riffraff. It is long over due to finally be free to draw their destiny under their own government. Those of us that live overseas should be attentive enough the help our people than propping up a criminal regime to prolong their mystery. Our people would never forgive us nor will history be kind to our transgression.  There is no excuse whatsoever to extend the life of Woyane tyranny by one more day.

17,January 2013

ECADF NEWS.

Ethiopia’s bogus GDP growth defies not only economic realities but also common sense

By TesfaNews,

After cooking the books for the past several years to make hyperbolic claims of economic growth, the Ethiopian government finds itself, again, at odds with the International Monetary Fund over this year’s projected GDP growth figures.

The IMF says Ethiopia’s economy will grow by 6.5 percent in 2013 while the government insisted a double-digit 10 percent based on, of course, fabricated and massaged GDP statistics. 

Such Dubious claims to only imply the country is in some kind of runaway economic development are not the first and will not be the last.  Taking Ethiopia’s largely aid dependent economy with a net Official Development Assistance (ODA) of 5 billion dollar a year, bragging about a multi-year runaway GDP defies not only economic realities but also common sense.

However, for a number of years the Ethiopian government has been pulling public relations tricks by using the IMF as a front to channel its own preferred economic statistics to prove its economic prowess and success to the world. However, since recently, the IMF has stopped accepting at face value GDP related data from the Ethiopian Central Statistics Office  after it has learned that the country’s statistics collection methods are full of speculations and exaggerations.  Since then, it called for a complete “transformation” of the agency and started to implement its own “staff estimates and projections” before it incorporates the statistical fairy tale of the Central Statistics Office in its annual reports.

All of these economic bluster and wind-bagging about unmatched economic boom, prosperity and progress comes from a regime that highly described as one of “the most economically illiterate in the modern world.”

In a country of 80 million out of which 12 million survives on an emergency relief assistance, with 70% urban youth unemployment rate and the lowest youth literacy rate in Africa, ungoverned rate of corruption, over 25 billion dollar in capital flight, mounting military spending financed onborrowed money coupled with almost half of Ethiopia’s export revenues earmarked to meet debt-servicing obligations, the only double-digit growth Ethiopians witnessed so far was the amount and number of off shore bank accounts of their tribal leaders.

15,January 2013

tesfanews.

The Horn Times Breaking News-15 Jan 2013
by Getahune Bekele-Pretoria, South Africa

Preparation under way to immortalize the late Ethiopian evil fuehrer at 2013 AFCON tournament

Ethiopian embassy sources in Pretoria have told the Horn Times that over 10,000 t-shirts bearing the late poisonous tyrant Meles Zenawi’s image have been printed and thousands of refugees are recruited by well known TPLF cadres to don them. The refugees will be bused to Mbombela stadium for free where the black lions would face the defending champions, the copper bullets of Zambia.

Already thousands of tickets for the opening ceremony have been handed out by embassy officials to ethnic Kenbatas smuggled into South Africa over the years by state sponsored human traffickers with false hope of getting rich quickly. They will be waving TPLF flags wearing jerseys bearing Zenawi’s face.

The ruling minority junta in Ethiopia wants to hijack the 2013 soccer spectacle to immortalize the late cold blooded murderer, Zenawi, who should have been captured, flogged and hanged; but instead received a hero’s sending off with more than 21 African heads of state attending his funeral against the wishes of 90 million severely tyrannized Ethiopians.

Master of blood sport, Zenawi never played or watched sport in his entire life.

However, if the sheer counter attacking of the Ethiopian community association in South Africa, known for its firm anti-TPLF stance and Bête Ethiopia, another group famous for organizing massive anti-TPLF rallies in South Africa is anything to go by, the divisive plan of hijacking major sporting events to sow the bitter seeds of ethnicism by the junta is bound to fail.

Civic organizations and religious groups are also warning those who are ready to be used as cheap dummies to think about their future as asylum seekers in the Republic of South Africa.

“TPLF supporters and an estimated 3,000 cadres are all living in South Africa as refugees. They obtained asylum by falsely claiming torture and persecution by the minority junta. But they go to rallies and embassy meetings with refugee identity documents in their pockets. It is time for South African government to take serious action on these fake refugees. That is a clear abuse of the privilege extended to us by the ANC government.” A spokesperson told the Horn Times.

Assiduous leaders of both the Ethiopian community association and Bête-Ethiopia are currently very busy, extensively moving around to explain to refugees about their rights and obligations; Pleading with them not to embarrass themselves and their host nation South Africa by openly associating with the regime which uprooted them from Ethiopia.

Both FIFA and CAF are notified about the evil plans of the junta.

Furthermore, despite the outdated minority junta’s attempt to divide Ethiopians, the stark fact is, soccer mad black lions supporters are ready to rally behind their team.

A supporter who cannot be named for fear of attacks on his family back home told the Horn Times that the divisive TPLF national anthem will be jeered and heckled and the crowd will sing the patriotic communist era anthem “Ethiopia first!” and the popular “Ethiopia our fortress” song alongside the ANC liberation era song made famous by pres Jacob Zuma, awlethu umisiniwami, which means “give me my machine gun”.

According to Ethiopians, their national team will be the best supported visiting teams at the 29^th edition of the prestigious tournament.

infohorntimes@gmail.com

15, January 2013

ECADF NEWS.

January 15, 2013: The government and the International Monetary Fund are at odds over projected GDP growth figures. The IMF says Ethiopia’s economy will grow by 6.5 percent in 2013. The government estimate is around ten percent.  The argument is important because the government is seeking more international investment.

Government critics point out that the biggest deterrent to investment is endemic government corruption.  And that is quite true.  Surveys indicate Ethiopia may be less corrupt than some of its neighbors (ie, Sudan and Eritrea) but the perceived level of corruption in Ethiopia is quite high, particularly in the construction industry. An international corruption survey ranked Ethiopia 113th on its list (tied with Albania). Still, Ethiopia has shown consistent economic growth since 2004 and 2005. The country’s coffee is a prized international commodity and coffee exports have increased. The government is seeking investments in its agriculture sector and food-processing.

January 13, 2013: Kenya is considering deploying soldiers to the Tana River area in an attempt to stop further inter-ethnic (tribal) warfare.

January 12, 2013: An Ethiopian Ogaden exile group has asked the government of Great Britain to not give Ethiopia foreign aid money to train paramilitary militias in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region. The group claimed that Ethiopian paramilitary Liyu police habitually terrorize Ogaden natives.

January 10, 2013: Ten people were killed in what Kenyan officials described as a retaliatory tribal attack near the Ethiopian border. The attack occurred in the town of Kibusu (southeastern Kenya, Tana River delta area).  Since mid-2012 the area has witnessed several raids and counter-attacks between the Pokomo and Orma tribes. The Pokomo are farmers and the Orma are pastoralists (cattle herders).  Both sides have complained about the lack of police protection.  Kibusu is a Pokomo town. The Orma reported that one of their villages (Ndura) had been attacked on January 9 and nine people were killed.

January 8, 2013: Several members of Ethiopia’s ruling party officials were killed when the bus they were traveling in hit a landmine in the town of Lalibela. A rebel group called the Ethiopian Unity and Freedom Force (EUFF) claimed to have laid the mine.

January 5, 2013: Two young men were killed in a grenade attack on the Dagahaley refugee camp in northeastern Kenya (Dadaab area). Seven people were wounded in the attack. The camp is about 100 kilometers from the Somalia border and many people in the camp are Somalis. Al Shabaab militants have attacked Somali refugees in northern Kenya.

January 2, 2013: A senior Kenyan official in the town of Garissa (northeastern Kenya, Somalia border area)  claimed that several recent terror attacks in the city and its immediate area were committed by local men who at one time had crossed into Somalia to serve with pro-Somali government militia forces. The official said the men had subsequently deserted the TNG militia forces. Al Shabaab allegedly pays anyone who kills a Kenyan policeman or soldier $8,000, and the former deserters may now be working for Al Shabaab.

January 1, 2013: The Ethiopian Army’s continued presence in Somalia is largely under the radar. However, a recent Somali government statement indicated that the Ethiopian Army is continuing to train pro-Somali government militias. The Ethiopian Army recently completed training an 800-man unit in Somalia’s Bakol region.

December 30, 2012: Security personnel in Djibouti shot and killed one teenager and wounded several other people in an incident in the town of Obock. The civilians were allegedly conducting a peaceful protest about their school’s lack of a good sports facility.

December 29, 2012: As 2012 ends, the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) continues to occupy the Somali port of Kismayo where locals report seeing KDF soldiers on patrol, wearing helmets and body armor. They are often accompanied by Somalis who belong to the Ras Kamboni militia. There are also pro-Somali government militiamen in the city, some of whom are now in what is called the Somali National Army. Kismayo has two airfields, an airfield near the city and the international airport, which is about 15 kilometers inland. The KDF has contingents at both airfields. The KDF has built bunkers around the international airport. Theunit at the international airport is basically a mechanized infantry battalion (supported by tanks).  All KDF troops are now part of the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

December 26, 2012: Raiders now identified as members of the Turkana tribe attacked a Samburu tribe village near the Kenyan town of Baragoi (north central Kenya). The raiders stole over 250 head of cattle. At least 12 people were wounded in the attack. Authorities believe this group probably launched the attack on December 22.

December 23, 2012: A senior member of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has reportedly defected from the rebel group. The ONLF leader is said to have joined the Ethiopian government.

December 22, 2012: Kenyan police reported that suspected Al Shabaab terrorists shot and killed three in the town of in Garissa (northeastern Kenya). One man was also wounded.

Two hundred heavily armed raiders attacked the Kenyan village of Masikita (Baragoi area). The raiders stole 400 cattle and over one thousands goats. Authorities reported the bandit group had light machine guns and grenades as well as assault rifles and pistols. 

December 15, 2012: Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) occasionally distributes a list of combat actions in the Ogaden. It is difficult to know just how accurate these lists are. For one thing, the Ethiopian government restricts international press access to parts of the Ogaden (especially those where the ONLF operates). A recent list of attacks cropped up on an ONLF website. The ONLF claimed its fighters killed 40 Ethiopian soldiers and allied militia fighters in a battle near the village of Labiga (Dhagahbur province). This clash took place on December 8.  Another ONLF rebel group attacked a garrison in the village of Gosolalev and killed 18 soldiers.

December 14, 2012: Kenya’s police and military have both acknowledged that they are deeply concerned about security for the nation’s March 2013 national elections. Kenya has a spotty record when it comes to election violence. The last election set off several weeks of inter-tribal violence. That threat still remains but it is exacerbated by Al Shabaab’s threats to conduct terror attacks throughout the country. Al Shabaab characterizes its attacks as retaliation for the Kenyan military’s (Kenya Defense Forces) intervention in Somalia. The election is scheduled to take place on March 4, 2013.

It looks like Eritrea has decided to respond indirectly to Ethiopia’s offer to negotiate. Eritrea’s president, Isaias Afwerki, has reportedly asked Qatar’s government to act as a go-between and possibly serve as a mediator if negotiations develop. This is a change from past peace-feelers, which Eritrea has tended to reject out of hand.

December 13, 2012: Two Ethiopian political figures who were accused of belonging to the Oromo Liberation Front have been convicted in court of belonging to a banned organization and inciting rebellion. Bekele Gerba, a member of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (an opposition party) was sentenced to eight years in prison. Olbana Lelisa was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Kenya has placed its police and military on high alert for the entire Christmas holiday season. The government said that it has credible intelligence that Al Shabaab militiamen intend to launch terrorist attacks in Kenya during the Christmas holidays.

December 11, 2012: The Kenyan government said its security forces had arrested six suspected Al Shabaab terrorists. The arrests took place I the Ruka area (Somalia-Kenya border). The security personnel seized hand grenades and two pistols.

December 8, 2012: Ethiopia’s prime minister has reportedly offered to negotiate without pre-conditions with Eritrea. The prime minster, Hailemariam Desalegne, indicated that he is willing to travel to Eritrea to conduct the negotiations.

15,January 2013

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