If you want to see change, be the change!

 

We often want to see others speak like us, behave like us, think like us and do everything like us. That’s where we get it wrong.

 

We should remember that we all have our own unique nature and personal gifts. Each of us are unique and different. Yet we have many things in common. Many things to agree or disagree based on how we process what we see, hear, and in general sense.

 

The question often unasked and that remains unanswered is ‘how often do you do proper research and subsequent actions on your mental faculties?’

 

It is vital to step back and reflect on self. Vital to see:-

 

📍 The importance of working on your mental faculties and the need to focus on the person you want to be.

📍 The importance of getting into the habit of doing it now. Today is the day.

📍 The importance of trusting yourself, believing in your capacity, working on your challenges, and keeping up on your great accomplishments. .

📍 The importance of stretching. Do not be limited by what you see or think. Take time to reimagine.

📍 The importance of Discipline – which needs a due attention. Discipline matters most. 

 

Hence it is always important to have time to reflect, evaluate and be honest to yourself before taking actions. Even if you don’t want to act, you  need to have convincing reasons as you don’t want to regret your inactions at some point in time.

 

The bottom line is that you have to revisit your mental facilities and take actions on each of them as and when needed. Go into the habit of taking actions if you are keen to see changes/reactions. Through the process you empower yourself and consequently help others empower themselves.

 

#leadership #Mindset 

 

1 Book for Ethiopia - ፩ መፅሐፍ ለኢትዮጵያ

 

Books enlighten. Books equip. Books entertain. Books empower. The benefits of books are countless. To get these enormous benefits, access to books is vital.  

That is why we should have the determination to collect as many books as possible from across the world for the libraries in Ethiopia. Helping the extremely limited libraries we have across Ethiopia with books is more than important. It is very encouraging to see the likes of Abrehot Library at the centre  of Addis. Equally it is vital to equip this library and others with books needed. It is also important to think about the next libraries that should be built across Ethiopia. Together we have a responsibility to build a generation that is better and informed. We have a responsibility to have a generation that has access to information and consequently to knowledge. A future generation with better opportunities.

That is why we should challenge friends and good intentioned people around the world to think of providing at least one book for Ethiopia. Those who have capacity should also organise themselves, build libraries, and provide the libraries with books and useful library products. It is all about doing the right thing at the right time. It is all about investing in a generation that will look after our common world responsibly. It is all about shaping our collective future and helping the future generation to triumph.

Let my thought be your thoughts and consequently our thoughts. Let us transform our libraries together. Let us also think of building libraries in every corner of Ethiopia and equip them with what they need. It is only the will. They say, ‘ where there is a will, there is a way’.

Those who feed you, control you!

 

Ethiopia’s current wheat production is beyond the expectations of many. A country as big as Ethiopia; a country with large fertile lands as Ethiopia; a country with more than 80% of its population dependent on farming; a country with more than 110 million people of which around 65% are less than 30 years of age should have been self sufficient when it comes to the production of wheat and other agricultural products. Poor policies, bad governance, absence of sustainable peace, intermittent drought are among  the reasons for the low productivity so far.

That is no more the case as Ethiopia has now reshaped its policies and got determined to be among the top wheat producers in Africa and the world. According to the US Department of Agriculture, ‘Wheat production in Ethiopia for 2022/23 is projected at a record level of 5.7 million Metric Tons while corn forecasted to 10.2 million Metric Tons.’ About 600,000 additional hectares of wheat planted in 2022 alone, according to Bloomberg. This is praiseworthy and worth celebrating.

This is a great achievement for Ethiopia and highly commendable. We say well done to Ethiopia for great wheat production in every corner of the country. It is believed that there will be enough wheat firstly for Ethiopia; then for export. This is one of the most important policies any government should have. Be self-sufficient!

As Ethiopia takes the lead, it is hoped that other African  countries follow the suit and strive to be self sufficient. This is something to take seriously and duplicate in every corner of the continent.

In the meantime we say Keep going Ethiopia!  Rise up fellow Africans. Time to work together and shape our own destinies.

ዲያስፖራው ለሀገሩ ፣ ኢትዮጵያን በጋራ ወደ ከፍታ

 

የዲያስፖራ ኮሚኒቲዉ ወደ ሀገር ቤት በብዛት ለመግባት እየተዘጋጀ ባለበት በአሁኑ ወቅት ብዙ ነገሮችን ማሰብ ተገቢ ነው። ዲያስፖራው ወደ ሀገር ቤት መግባቱ በራሱ ፖለቲካዊ ፣ ኢኮኖሚያዊና ማህበራዊ ጠቀሜታው ብዙ ነው። ዲያስፖራው ብዙ ማድረግ ይቻላል። ይህ ጊዜ ከምንም ጊዜ በላይ ለሀገራችን ገንዘባችንን ፣ እውቀታችንን ፣ ጉልበታችንን ፣ ልምዳችንን የምንሰጥበትና በጦርነት ለተጎዱ ወገኖች ተግባራዊ ስራ በመስራት ለወገኖቻችን አለኝታ መሆናችንን የምናሳይበት ነው:: በሀገር ቤት ያሉ እንደ ውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስቴር፣ ዲያስፖራ ኤጀንሲ ፣ የቱሪዝም ሚኒስቴር ፣ አደጋና መከላከል ኮሚሽን፣ ትምህርት ሚኒስቴር ፣ ጤና ጥበቃ ሚኒስቴርና ሌሎች ሲቪክና ልዩ ልዩ ተቋማት በተቀናጀና በተናበበ መልኩ አጋጣሚውን ሊጠቀሙበት ይገባል። ዲያስፖራው በቡድን በመሆነ በተለይ በጦርነቱ በተጎዱ አካባቢዎች እንደ ትምህርት ቤት ግንባታ ፣ የጤና ተቋማት ግንባታና በጣም ወሳኝ በሆኑ የመሰረተ ልማት ስራ ላይ እንዲሰማራ ሁኔታዎች ሊመቻቹለት ይገባል። ዲያስፖራው ለሀገሩ ያለውን ፍቅር በዓለም ዙሪያ አሳይቷል። በተጨማሪው ብዙ አቅም እንዳለውም አሳይቷል። ዋናውና ወሳኙ ጥያቄ ይህንን የዲያስፖራውን እምቅ አቅም ለመጠቅም ዝግጁ ነን ወይ የሚለው ላይ ነው። ለዚህ ተግባራዊነት በተለይ የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚ/ር ከፍተኛ ኃላፊነት አለበት።

ከላይ የተጠቀሱት አስቸኳይና ወቅታዊ ተግባራትን ማከናወን እንዳለ ሆኖ ዘላቂና አሳታፊ እቅዶችን ማዘጋጀትና ለተግባራዊ እንቅስቃሴ መዘጋጀት ኢትዮጵያ በጋራ ወደ ከፍታ ለመውሰድ ጠቀሜታው ብዙ ነው።

በተጨማሪም ዲያስፖራው በግሉና በተደራጀ መልኩ ብዙ ነገሮችን ማከናወን ይችላል።

የሚከተሉትን ማከናወን ለሞራል እርካታ ከማገዙም በላይ ሀገራዊ ግዴታን ለመወጣት ይጠቅማል።

1. የውይይት መድረኮችን፣ ኮንፈራንሶችን፣ ልዩ ልዩ ዐውደ ጥናቶችን በማዘጋጀት ህዝባችን የተገኙትን ለውጦች እውቀቱን፣ ገንዘቡን፣ ጊዜውን በመስጠት በተግባር ማገዝ እንዲችል ማበረታታት።

2. ከሚመለከታቸው አካላት ጋር በመነጋገር ዜጎች የገንዝብ እገዛ እንዲያደርጉና ገንዘባቸውም ለታቀደለት ዓላማ እንዲውል ንቁ ተሳትፎ ማድረግ።

3. ዜጎቻችን ወደ ሀገራቸው በመሄድ እወቀታቸውንና ጊዜያቸውን ለወገኖቻቸው እንዲያካፍሉ ማበረታታት።

4. ዜጎቻችን ከሀገር ቤት የሚያገኙትን እውቀትና ልምድ በሚኖሩበት ሀገር ለሚገኙ ወገኖች ማካፈል የሚችሉበትን መድረክ ማመቻቸት።

5. ዜጎች የውጭ ትምህርት እድል እንዲያገኙ ጥረት ማድረግ፣ አስፈላጊ ሆኖ ሲግኝ በተደራጀ መልኩ ማገዝ።

6. ኢንቨስትመንት ወደ ሀገር ቤት እንዲገባ ማበረታታት።

7. ሀገራችን ከቱሪስቶች ጉብኝት የውጭ ምንዛሬ ልታገኝ የምትችለበትን ሁኔታ መፍጠር ።

8. ዜጎች ህጋዊ በሆኑ የገንዘብ አስተላላፊ ድርጅቶች በመጠቀም ሀገራችን የወጭ ምንዛሪ እንድታገኝ ማድረግ።

እነዚህንና ሌሎች ተግባራትን በተደራጅ መልኩ በማከናወን ሀገራዊ ግዴታን በመወጣት ከህሊና ወቀሳም መዳን ይቻላል። ከምንም በላይ ግን ለዲሞክራሲያዊ ተቋማት ግንባታ ዲያስፖራው ከፍተኛ እገዛ ማድረግ ይችላል ። ይጠበቅበታልም።

Coup in the Sudan – what does it mean for Ethiopia?

Late 2018 and early 2019 was monumental for Sudan. The people of Sudan were defiant in their persistent struggles for change. Their struggles to bring change was mostly led by young people and women. We remember the iconic Alaa Salah, whose photo went viral globally. She was just inspirational.

Following the removal of long-time dictator Omar Al Bashir, Ethiopia supported the people of Sudan as they worked on their transition. Ethiopia indeed played a significant role in those days. The people of Sudan had hopes and aspirations. Civil society started to flourish. There were many positive developments.  Young people and women, who were very instrumental in bringing down Al Bashir were confident Sudan was on the right track.

Yet things have been complicated for over a year now. The Sudanese leadership was unpredictable. Sudan's stand on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was very confusing and unethical. At times Sudan was not defending its own interests and was not ready to compromise despite calls from concerned Sudanese intellectuals. It was  rather acting to satisfy the demands of Egypt, which was very unfortunate for Sudan. To make Sudan’s relationship with Ethiopia even worse and complicate things further, Sudan has been accused of supporting TPLF terrorist group that is waging war on Ethiopia, an important strategic neighbour of the Sudan. In short Sudan’s policy on Ethiopia was very confused depending on the civil or military leadership. Initially it sounded that Sudan’s civil government led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok wanted to work with Ethiopia constructively, although it had challenges from the military, which has strong ties with Egypt.

The past one year therefore has been a challenge for Sudan’s Prime Minister, who was going through lots of pressure not only internally but also from western powers, especially the United Sates. USAID’s administrator Samantha Power was one of those putting undue pressure on Sudan and pushing it to the edge. For Administrator Power, it was all about getting what she wanted to achieve, not about Sudan’s strategic interest. It was about the Humanitarianism pretext and demanding changes at a pace Sudan was not able to cope with.

 

October 2021 was full of protests and unpredictability for Sudan. It is to be recalled Mr. Jeffrey Feltman, United States special Envoy for the Horn of Africa has been in the Sudan twice in a month time. Mr. Feltman who is not trusted by many in the Horn Of Africa had just departed the Sudan, when the military deposed the Civil government of Prime Minister Hamdok.  To make it even worse, the military has now declared state of Emergency and once again showed that it is not ready to hand over power to a civilian led government.  The hopes of those who sacrificed a lot in 2018 and 2019 and most recently are still on the air.

What does this change mean for Ethiopia?

The relationship between Ethiopia and Sudan has been very fragile for over a year now. Ethiopia and Sudan have yet to work on their boarder disputes, especially that of al-Fashaga. That would undoubtedly take time and patience to resolve. Ethiopia also wants Sudan to stop offering shelter to TPLF fighters, who fled to Sudan but have been training in the Sudan and trying to return to Ethiopia to join the TPLF terrorist group. Ethiopia is keen to see positive cooperation and a win-win situation on the stalled negotiation of the GERD. Ethiopia is keen to see a stable and prosperous Sudan that is ready to work with its neighbours constructively. That is why the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry Issued a statement following the coup in the Sudan.

Statement of the Government of #Ethiopia on the Current Situation in the #Sudan pic.twitter.com/gxbSIIElp2

— MFA Ethiopia🇪🇹 (@mfaethiopia) October 25, 2021

In the meantime, Ethiopia has to be cautious and follow the situation in the Sudan very closely, whilst preparing itself for every eventuality. One thing is for sure, a strong and united Ethiopia is vital for the stability of the region as Ethiopia is an anchor country. That is what western powers ignore intentionally and support all those against Ethiopia.

Ethiopia could play vital roles as in the 2019 negotiation between the military and civil society if the need arises once again.

See how Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was hailed for brokering the Sudan deal in 2019.

#Ethiopia supported the people of Sudan as they worked on their transition. It played a significant role. That is why we say a strong & united Ethiopia is vital for the stability of the region as an anchor country.

See how PM #AbiyAhmed was hailed for brokering the Sudan deal👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/WC0YeelWvi

— 𝘽𝙚𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙖 🧡 (@BekeleWoyecha) October 25, 2021

ኢትዮጵያውያን ማንንም አንጠላም - ነገር ግን ሃገራችንን ሲነኩብን ዝም አንልም

 

እ.አ.አ ኖቬምበር 2020 መጀመሪያ ላይ ህውሃት በኢትዮጵያ የመከላከያ ጦር ላይ ያደረገውን ጥቃት ተከትሎ በትግራይ የተቀሰቀሰው ጦርነት ብዙ ዋጋ አስከፍሏል። በዚህ ጦርነት የብዙሃን ህይወት የጠፋ ከመሆኑም በላይ፤ በዙሃን ወገኖቻችን የአካል መጉድል፣ መፈናቀልና ልዩ ልዩ ጉዳት የደረሰባቸው መሆኑ ይታወቃል። የጦርነት ምንም ደግ የለውም።

ይህን ጦርነት አሳዛኝ የሚያደርገው  በወንድማማቾችና እህትማማቾች መካከል የሚደረግ የተወሰኑ የስልጣን ጥመኞችን በዕብሪት የተሞላ ፍላጎት ለማሟላት በሚንቀሳቀስ አሸባሪ ኃይልና በተቃራኒው ደግሞ የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብና ሀገሪቷን የመጠበቅ ኃላፊነት ባለበትና በብዙሃኑ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ድጋፍ ባለው የኢትዮጵያ ጦር ሰራዊት መካከል የሚደረግ ጦርነት መሆኑ ነው።

እንደሚታወቀው ህውሃት በኢትዮጵያ ለ27 ዓመታት በስልጣን በቆየበት ዘመን እጅግ በጣም አምባገነን ከመሆኑ የተነሳ እጅግ በጣም ብዙ ዘግናኝ የሆኑ ተግባራትን ሲፈፅም የቆየ ነው። ህወሃት በስልጣን ለመቆየት የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብ በዘር መከፋፈል ብቸኛው አማራጭ አድርጎ ስላመነ ህዝባችንን ለመከፋፈል የተቻለውን ሁሉ ሲያደርግ ቆይቷል። በብሄሮች መካከል ጥርጣሬ እንዲኖር፤ የጋራ አጀንዳ እንዳይኖርና ኢትዮጵያዊነት እንዲከስም ህወሃት ብዙ ሰርቷል።

ህወሃት ኖቬምበር 2020 ላይ የመከላከያ ኃይላችን ላይ ጥቃት ሲያደርግ የተለያዩ እሳቤዎችን ከገንዛቤ በመክተት እንደሆነ ይገመታል። በህወሃት ዕምነት የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ተከፋፍሏል። በህወሃት ዕምነት የኢትዮጵያን ሰራዊት በቀላሉ በማሸነፍ ስልጣን በቀላሉ መያዝ ይቻላል የሚል የተሳሳተና በዕብሪት የተሞላ ግንዛቤ ነበር። በህዋሃት ዕምነት በኢትዮጵያ የመንግስት ስልጣን መያዝ ብቻ ሳይሆን በኤርትራም የመንግስት ለውጥ ማምጣት ይቻላል የሚል እጅግ በጣም ሌሎችን አሳንሶ የማየት፤ እራስን ያለማወቅና የማግዘፍ ዝንባሌ ነበር።

በህዋሃትና ጥቂት ደጋፊዎቹ ውስጥ የተፈጠረው የበላይነት ስሜት የሌሎችን ጥንካሬ ለማየት እንዲሳናቸው አድርጓቸዋል። ለዚህም ሕወሃት ጦርነቱ እንደተጀመረ ይስጥ የነበረው መግለጫ ትልቅ ግንዛቤ ይሰጣል።

The late Sekuture Getachew exposed TPLF's crimes of attacking the Ethiopian National Defence Force in November 2020.@nytimes exposed #TPLF’s use of #ChildSoldiers

We thank them both for telling the truth unexpectedly. When would the west condemn TPLF?@France24_en @RT_com pic.twitter.com/c7jMAmm3Je

— 𝘽𝙚𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙖 (@BekeleWoyecha) July 17, 2021

 

የህወሃቱ ሴኩቱሬ ጌታቸው ስለ ህወሃት አጥቂነትና ጠንካራነት ሲነግረን ህወሃት መብረቃዊ ጥቃት ማድረግ ብቸኛው አማራጭ እንደነበረ ነግሮናል። ይህ ትዕቢት የተሞላበት ንግግር ብዙዎችን አስቆጥቷል። ህወሃት በወቅቱ ጥቃት ሲፈፅም የነበረው ግንዛቤ መከላከያን ጨምሮ የተቀረው ህዝብ ምላሽ የማይሰጥና እራሱን መከላከል የማይችል አድርጎ አሳንሶ የማየት ዝንባሌ ነው። በሃገር ውስጥም ሆነ በውጭ ያለው የህወሃት ኃይልና ደጋፊ ትልቅ የሆነ የግንዛቤ ችግር ያለበት ባይሆን ይህ ጦርነት እዚህ ደረጃ አይደርስም ነበር። እነ አሉላ ሰለሞን ጦርነት ባህላዊ ጨዋታችን ነው ሲሉን፤ እነ ስየ አብርሃ ደግሞ ስለ ጦርነት እኛ ፊት እንዳታወሩ ይሉን ነበር። ይባስ ብሎ ፈረንጆቹ እነ ኸርማን ኮህንና ሌሎች አውሮፓውያን ህወሃትን ከሌላ ዓለም የመጣ ለማስመሰል ሞክረዋል።

Ethiopian P.M. Abiy is fooling himself if he believes his inexperienced army can defeat the battle hardened TPLF military, even with Eritrean support. To keep #Ethiopia unified, it must be truly decentralized through unprecedented constitutional dialogue.

— Herman J. Cohen (@CohenOnAfrica) November 5, 2020

ህወሃት ራሱን በራሱ ጠልፎ ከወደቀ በኋላ እንዴት ብቻዬን እውድቃለሁ በሚል ጦርነቱን ወደ ሌሎች ክልሎችና ሉዓላዊት ሀገር ወደ ሆነችው ኤርትራ ለመውሰድ ብዙ ጥሯል። ህወሃት አልተሳካለትም እንጂ የአፍሪካ ቀንድና ቀጠናውን ጦርነት ውስጥ ለመክተት ያላደረገው ጥረት የለም።

ህወሃት የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብ በዳይ ሆኖ ሳለ የምዕራብ ዓለም ፖለቲከኞች፣ ጋዜጠኞች፣ በኤክስፐርትነትና በስብዓዊ መብት ተቆርቋሪነት ስም ድብቅ ዓላማቸውን ከሚያከናውኑ ግለሰቦችና ተቋማት ከፍተኛ ድጋፍ ሲያገኝ ቆይቷል።

ምዕራባውያን ፖለቲከኞችና ሚዲያዎች ለህወሃት ድጋፍ ከመስጠት በተጨማሪ በኢትዮጵያ ላይ አላስፈላጊና መርህ አልባ የሆነ ተፅዕኖ ሲያደርጉ የቆዩ ሲሆን አንዳንዶቹ የአሜሪካና የአውሮፓ ባለስልጣናትና ቢሮክራት በኢትዮጵያ የመንግስት ለውጥ እንዲኖር እየሰሩ መሆናቸውን የሚያሳዩ ምልክቶች እየታዩ ነው። በዩጎዝላቪያ፣ ኢራቅ፣ ሊቢያ፣ ሶሪያና የመን እንዳደረጉት ሁሉ በኢትዮጵያ የውስጥ ጉዳይ ውስጥ ጣልቃ ለመግባት እየተዘጋጁ መሆናቸውን የሚያሳዩ ምልክቶች እየታዩ ነው።

የምዕራቡ ዓለም ፖለቲከኞች ጋ የግንዛቤ ችግር ያለ ይመስላል። ኢትዮጵያ የራሷ የሆኑ የቆዩና በመላው የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ውስጥ ዘልቀው የገቡ የጋራ እሴቶች መኖራቸውን፤ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ለጠላት መቸም ቢሆን ተንበርክኮ የማያውቅ መሆኑን፤ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ከመቸውም በላይ በአንድነት ሆኖ ለሃገሩ ዘብ ለመቆም ዝግጁ መሆኑን፤ የኢትዮጵያ ጉዳይ የኢትዮጵያ ብቻ ሳይሆን የመላው አፍሪካና የጥቁር ህዝቦች ጉዳይም ጭምር መሆኑን ግንዛቤ ውስጥ ያለማስገባት ሁኔታ ይታያል።

ኢትዮጵያውያን በፖለቲካ አመለካከት ልንለያይ እንችል ይሆናል። በተለያዪ ዓለማት ተበትነን እየኖርንም ሊሆን ይችላል። በሃገራችን ጉዳይ ግን በፍፁም አንደራድርም።

ኢትዮጵያ ለሌሎች ሃገራት የምትሰጠውን ክብር ራሷም ማግኘት አለባት። ስለዚህ የአሜሪካና የአውሮፓ ፖለቲከኞችና ቢሮክራት በኢትዮጵያ የውስጥ ጉዳይ ላይ የሚያደርጉትን ጣልቃገብነት መታገል ግዴታችን ነው ። ከማንም በፊት የኢትዮጵያን ጥቅም ማስጠበቅ የምንችለው እኛው ራሳችን ኢትዮጵያውያን ነን:: ኢትዮጵያውያን በፍፁም ችላ እንዳንል። 

ኢትዮጵያውያን ማንንም አንጠላም። ነገር ግን ሃገራችንን ሲነኩብን ዝም አንልም። በኢትዮጵያ ጉዳይ ዝምታ የለም። በፍፁም።

 

EU is getting it wrong on Ethiopia- it is regrettable

I was a great fan of the European Union; great admirer of the system. I believed it was an institution that was for fairness, genuine human rights protection, democracy and rule of law. As a British citizen, I had chance to travel visa free across Europe; rights to work across Europe; European Health Insurance and many good things, I thought the union was good for Europe and a good model for other continents. 

When the United Kingdom went to the polls in June 2016 to decide on the EU referendum, I voted to REMAIN. UK decided to LEAVE. I have many good friends who voted LEAVE. When I asked them for their reasons for voting LEAVE, they often said, ‘EU is autocratic and doesn’t listen to citizens on the ground’. I can see that. 

All EU’s actions on Ethiopia since the November 2020 conflict are unfriendly, immoral and out of character. It looks it has lost a partner in the TPLF. It looks EU’s attitude for Ethiopia and for Africa is different from its attitude for Europe and other parts of the world. EU is trying to dictate a sovereign country. EU is trying to say, ‘do it my way or I will suspend this or that’. We recall that EU suspended developmental aid to Ethiopia following the conflict in Tigray. It wanted to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. When Ethiopia was bold and determined, EU changed its attitude. EU for sure knows Ethiopia is an important and strategic partner in Africa. That was why it once again made a statement on the strategic importance of Ethiopia for the European Union and started to work with Ethiopia. EU also decided to send observers to the June 2021 general election, which was a good sign of rebuilding relationships. EU even sent a team to observe the preparatory work. All these were welcomed by Ethiopia. 

Although Ethiopia welcomed EU’s decision to send observers to the June 5 general election, we have now learned that EU is not sending observers. The reasons are clear. Ethiopia is not bowing down to EU’s unconvincing demands. EU has put forward unusual conditions to Ethiopia to observe the June 5 election. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, EU has demanded that it should bring in telecommunication equipment for VSAT services if it were to observe the June general election. This has never happened; and why now? Ethiopia is ready and capable to provide telecom services during EU’s and indeed others’ stay in the country as observers. What makes EU so special to put this as a precondition to observe an election? To insist that EU should bring in equipment for VSAT services smells fishy; rather disrespectful and unexpected. Do they want to give the equipment to TPLF remnants and resuscitate TPLF from the ashes? 

EU shouldn’t forget that when it is in Ethiopia, it is only a guest, nothing more. 

Another demand by EU is very dangerous. EU has demanded that it wants to make public comments and announcement about the general election before even the National Board of Ethiopia. This is scandalous and seriously questionable. EU had observed Ethiopia’s sham elections in the past. It knew the elections were not democratic. Yet it didn’t have demands. So why now? 

Whether EU likes it or not, the June 5 general election will go ahead. Ethiopians don’t need validation by EU on their most important democratic exercise. Ethiopians decide, nobody else! Ethiopia will prevail and come out victorious in all fronts. One thing is for sure, EU also will come back; it is a matter of time. For the time being we say, thank you but not thank you! See you later, EU.

 

GERD - Get it done no matter what!

As Ethiopia prepares for the filling of its most important dam, we have seen anger in some quarters in Egypt, which could be either intentional to create tension or total ignorance of the situation. Whatever the challenge, Ethiopia has to get its Dam done. 

If the origin of the Nile was Egypt, then Egypt might find a tap to stop the flow of Nile Waters. Fortunately that is not the case. To think as if the source of the Nile to be Egypt is disingenuous.  

No need to be angry at Ethiopia’s flagship project like 2 year old toddlers crying for everything they see. 

Egypt has to come to a negotiating table for a 21st century negotiation. Ethiopia is contributing 85% of the Nile Waters and deserves fair share. We all know Nile waters are more than enough for all. 

Vital to remember that both the 1929 & 1959 agreements are void and unacceptable as far as Ethiopia was concerned. Ethiopia is not a signatory to the party. 

Equally vital to stop intentionally ignoring the reality as it is for the benefit of all to come to a mutually acceptable agreement. It is not time for one side wins all and others remain bystanders. 

After all it is about Mutual Benefits, Reciprocity, and Sovereign Equality. This is 21st century, where we are interdependent on one-another and should cooperate; but that cooperation should be mutually sought based on mutual interests. 

ከፊታችን የተደቀነውን ፈተና በጋራ ማለፍ ይገባል

የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ በተለያየ ጊዜ ፈተናዎች አጋጥመውታል። ባለፉት 5 ወራት ግን ፈተናዎቹ ዘርፈ ብዙ ሆነዋል። ተደጋጋሚ ዘር ተኮር ጥቃቶች ፤ በትህነግ አነሳሽነት የተጀመረው ግጭትና ታላላቅ የሚባሉት እንደ ቢቢሲ እና ሲ ኤን ኤን ያሉ የሚዲያ ተቋማት የተዛባና እውነትን መሰረት ያላደረገ ዘገባ ፤ በሰብአዊ ድርጅት ስም የሚሰሩ እንደ አምነስቲና ሂውማን ራይትስ ዎች ያሉ ተቋማት ውስጥ ያሉ ድብቅ አላማ የተሸከሙ ግለሰቦችና ድርጅቶቹም ጭምር በግልፅ የሚታይ መርህ ያጣ ውንጀላ ፤ የአውሮፓ ህብረትና የአሜሪካ ቅጥ ያጣ ጉትጎታና ከልክ ያለፈ ጫና።

የኢትዮጵያ ጠላቶች ከዚህ የበለጠ ጫና ለመፍጠር ሊሞክሩ ይችላሉ። የሰው ኃይል ፣ የገንዘብና የቁሳቁስ አቅርቦት በማሟላት የበለጠ ጥፋት ለማስከተል 24 ሰዓታት ባለማቋረጥ ሊሰሩ ይችላሉ። ከምንም ጊዜ በላይ ጥንቃቄና አርቆ አስተዋይነት ያስፈልገናል:: ዛሬም እንደ ጥንቱ ተስፋ ያስፈልጋል። ከምንም በላይ አንድነት ያስፈልጋል።

እንደ ኢትዮጵያዊ ከመቼውም ጊዜ በላይ መደራጀትና ለአንድ አላማ መስራት ብቸኛው አማራጫችን ነው::

ከፊታችን የተደቀነው ፈተና መታለፉ አይቀርም። ፈተናዎቹ ቢበዙም ህዝባችን ዛሬም እንደ ጥንቱ በህብረት በመሆን ኢትዮጵያን ሊታደጋት ይገባል። ኢትዮጵያም ማሸነፏ አይቀርም።

በመላው ዓለም ያሉ ኢትዮጵያውያን ከመቼውም በላይ በህብረትና በብዛት በመሆን ስለ ኢትዮጵያ ሊጮሁና ለኢትዮጵያ ህብረት በትጋት ሊሰሩ ይገባል። ኢትዮጵያ ከመቼውም በላይ ልጆቿን ትሻለች::ሀገራችን ስትጠራን ደግሞ አቤት ማለት ምርጫችን ሳይሆን ግዴታችን ነው። ይህንን ግዴታችንን ጊዜ ሳንወስድ መወጣት አለብን። ሀገራችን የገባችበትን አጣብቂኝ ሁኔታም በሰከነ አዕምሮ መመርመር የግድ ይሏል።

በውጩ ዓለም የምንኖር ሰዎች ብዙ ጊዜ የምንገነዘበው ነገር አለ። በፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች መካከል የሚኖረው ፍጥጫ እጅግ በጣም ከባድ መሆኑን። ፓርቲዎቹ እስከ መጨራሻው የሚነጋገሩ አይመስሉም። የሀገር ጉዳይ ሲመጣ ግል ሁሉም በአንድነት ይቆማሉ። በፖለቲካ አመለካከት መለያየት፤ በሀገር ጉዳይ ግን አንድ መሆን በየትኛውም አለም ያለ ነው። ኢትዮጵያውያንም በሀገር ጉዳይ ላይ ቁርጥ የሆነ አቋም ሊኖረንና ለወደፊቱ ትውልድ የተሻለች ኢትዮጵያን ልናስረክበው ይገባል።

ኢትዮጵያዊነት ይለምልም።

ሰገጤ ነኝ አለች ፤ እኔም ሰገጤ ነኝ

ሰገጤ ነኝ አለች

እኔም ተከተልኳት

እሷ ብቻ አይደለች

እኔም ሰገጤ ነኝ

ስለ ሀገር ማውራቷ

ከልብ መታከቷ

መጮህ መጨነቋ

ኢትዮጵያ ማለቷ

አንተን ካበሳጨህ

አንቺን ካናደደሽ

ችግሩ ካንተው ነው

ፈተናው ያንችው ነው

መድኃኒቱን እወቅ

መፍትሄ ፈልጊ

ሰገጤዎች ጎራ

ብዙ መፍትሄ አለ

ከመፍትሄው ዋናው

ወደርም የሌለው

የኢትዮጵያ ፍቅር

ፍቱን መድኃኒት ነው