By: ELIAS MESERET and ANGELA CHARLTON, Associated Press

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) – Grieving family members of victims of the Ethiopian air disaster are being given sacks of earth to bury in place of the remains of their loved ones.

Officials have begun delivering bags of earth to family members of the 157 victims of the crash instead of the remains of their loved ones because the identification process is going to take such a long time.

Families are being given a 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) sack of scorched earth taken from the crash sites, members of two different families told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid any possible government reprisal. An Ethiopian government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters also confirmed the deliveries of soil.

“The soil came as it became impossible to identify bodies and hand over remains to family members,” one family member said. “We will not rest until we are given the real body or body parts of our loved ones.”

Forensic DNA work has begun on identifying the remains but it may take six months to identify the victims, because the body parts are in small pieces. However, authorities say they will issue death certificates within two weeks. The victims of the crash came from 35 countries.

A mass memorial service for the dead is planned in Addis Ababa to take place Sunday, one week after the crash. Muslim families have already held prayers for the dead and are anxious to have something to bury as soon as possible.

Interpol and Blake Emergency Services, hired by Ethiopian Airlines, will work with Ethiopian police and health officials to identify the bodies, Dagmawit Moges, Ethiopia’s Minister of Transport said on Saturday.

“Preparation for the identification process has already started and we will make sure that the post mortem investigation will start as soon as possible,” she said.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has sent about 16 members to assist the investigation, she said.

In Paris, investigators started studying the cockpit voice recorder of the crashed Ethiopian Airlines jet Saturday, grieving family members were given sacks of dirt to bury in place of the remains of their loved ones.

The French air accident investigation agency BEA tweeted Saturday that technical work on the recorder began. The BEA also said work resumed on the flight’s data recorders.

The recorders, also known as black boxes, were sent to France because the BEA has extensive expertise in analyzing such devices. Experts from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the plane’s manufacturer Boeing are among those involved in the investigation.

The Ethiopian disaster and a crash last year in Indonesia were both of the Boeing 737 Max 8 planes. The United States and many other countries have grounded the Max 8s as the U.S.-based company faces the challenge of proving the jets are safe to fly amid suspicions that faulty sensors and software contributed to the two crashes that killed 346 people in less than six months.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said regulators had new data from satellite-based tracking that showed the movements of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 were similar to those of Lion Air Flight 610, which crashed off Indonesia in October, killing 189 people.

Both planes flew with erratic altitude changes that could indicate the pilots struggled to control the aircraft. Shortly after their takeoffs, both crews tried to return to the airports but crashed.

Boeing said it supports the grounding of its planes as a precautionary step, while reiterating “full confidence” in their safety. Engineers are making changes to the system designed to prevent an aerodynamic stall if sensors detect that the jet’s nose is pointed too high and its speed is too slow.

Investigators looking into the Indonesian crash are examining whether the software automatically pushed the plane’s nose down repeatedly, and whether the Lion Air pilots knew how to solve that problem. Ethiopian Airlines says its pilots received special training on the software.

___

Charlton reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Dave Koenig in Houston and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed.

___

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

The post Grieving families given earth from Ethiopian crash site appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Flight data from the Ethiopian Airlines disaster a week ago suggest “clear similarities” with a crash off Indonesia last October, Ethiopia’s transport minister has said.

Both planes were Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.

Last Sunday the Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed after take-off from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board.

Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges told journalists that a preliminary report would be released within 30 days.

“Clear similarities were noted between Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Indonesian Lion Air Flight 610, which would be the subject of further study during the investigation,” Ms Dagmawit told journalists on Sunday.

In both cases flight tracking data showed the aircraft’s altitude had fluctuated sharply, as the planes seemed to experience erratic climbs and descents.

A mass funeral for the victims of last week’s crash took place in the Ethiopian capital
Boeing Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg later reaffirmed that the company was supporting the investigation.

In a statement, he added that Boeing was going ahead with a software update that will address the behaviour of the flight control system “in response to erroneous sensor inputs”.

Also on Sunday, ceremonies took place both in Kenya and Ethiopia to honour the victims.

Thousands of people gathered in the Holy Trinity cathedral in Addis Ababa where empty coffins were draped in the national flag. None of the bodies has yet been formally identified because of the impact.

What do we know about the Ethiopian Airlines crash?
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 took off from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport on the morning of 10 March, bound for Nairobi in Kenya.

Minutes into the flight, the pilot reported difficulties and asked to return.

Visibility was said to be good but air traffic monitor Flightradar24 said the plane’s “vertical speed was unstable after take-off”.

An eyewitness at the scene told the BBC there was an intense fire as the aircraft hit the ground.

French air safety investigators examined the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder – or black boxes as they are often called – and have handed over their findings to their Ethiopian counterparts.

What happened in Indonesia?
On 29 October Lion Air Flight 610 crashed after taking off from Jakarta airport, killing 189 people.

The families of the victims visited the site of the crash to pay tribute
Investigators later identified problems with the anti-stall system, which is designed to stop a plane from pointing upwards at too high an angle where it could lose its lift.

During flight JT610, the system repeatedly forced the plane’s nose down, even when the plane was not stalling – possibly due to a faulty sensor.

Pilots tried to correct this by pointing the nose higher, until the system pushed it down again. This happened more than 20 times.

BBC

The post Flight data points to similarities in two Boeing crashes appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Federations of ethnonational states can become explosive during moments of political liberalization. Abiy Ahmed must tread carefully to avoid a Balkan nightmare.

The post Don’t Let Ethiopia Become the Next Yugoslavia appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

The post Gunmen Kill Five Miners in Ethiopia, Foreigners Among Dead appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

The post Abyi Ahmed Must Choose !!!!! Tedla Asfaw appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Despite all rumors of impending doom I am not worried or afraid Ethiopia will disintegrate into pieces in the immediate future. It has been tried before. Ask Mussolini or Meles, they will tell you. Our ancient homeland is one of the few in the world with over thousand years of continuous history. It took many generations to build that bond and kinship. Anyway the world community will not accept it either. Not because they think the existence of our country is an important issue but no one can stomach the idea of one hundred million refugees roaming the planet. They will do any ‘band aid’ solution that will keep our ethnic cleansing activity local. Rest assured your little predilection to do evil will stay hidden. That is the good news.

The bad news is that the little activity we carried out about a year ago regarding being free seems to be stalling, if not arrested. It looks like some folks are not done with their old vision and are trying hard to stay relevant. Are we back to square one? Not really, we are actually moving on an excellent trajectory. There are hopeful signs the recent brand of hooliganism will fail like the ones before it.

The root of the current problem can be traced to what started to take shape the last five years and reached its conclusion a year ago. The struggle against ethnic dominance that began when Woyane landed was relentless. The regime after the demise of the evil leader was left without an evil replacement worthy of his dark vision. Like what he did with our country he has emasculated those around him to the point of dysfunctional. The Muslim movement sapped the energy of the feeble regime. The Diaspora organized and fought back using all means. Foreign currency was in short supply and the countryside started its final push to choke Woyane. Oromo youth paid a heavy price; left to defend themselves with clubs while their leaders stumbled over each other to take credit.

There was no light at the end of the tunnel for Woyane. They took the safe way out. It was what is called ‘soft landing’ for Woyane warlords. For a loser on the run they came out winning. They left everything intact in Addis and took first class flight on Ethiopian Airlines to Alula Aba Nega International in Mekele and were accorded hero’s welcome. What is today known, as ‘Team lemma’ became the perfect patsy for criminal Woyane. Our new leaders were ‘left holding the bag’ meaning they suffer the consequences and get the blame for what Woyane gang did.

Well they deserve it. They and their friends marginalized all other that sacrificed and claimed to be the real liberators. They kept quiet when their friends and supporters were openly rude. Just because they voted in their illegal politburo to win over Woyane they boasted how smart they are and how we were liberated without bloodshed. They slowly started making their role bigger than life and OPDO was renamed ODP and today we are asked to bow down and thank our new liberators while they put out press release setting down the rules of the game.

While we are trying to digest the new reality none other than OLF shows up to demand a bigger share of the pie called Ethiopia. Why they were taken seriously is not clear but they did manage to raise our stress level. How they accomplished such a feat out of nothingness is a fascinating story. The drama started with Obo Lemma’s journey to Asmara to invite the OLF Chairman to enter Addis as a hero. The idea was to give legitimacy to an organization that has nothing to show after over forty years of existence. Not a single liberated village, not a single act of inflicting pain on Woyane, not a single manual to make the case for liberation nothing, nada – you get my drift. Well they couldn’t even organize a happy victory ride into Addis because it is one of those things they are not organized to do.

OLF and their new friends of ‘intellectuals’ have been busy showing us that they are not ready to play in the big league. Right of the bat they came up with a proposal no sane person will ever bring to a peace table. They wanted to start with redrawing the map of Ethiopia in general and Addis Ababa in particular and while they are at it they wanted to change the name of the City too. What do you think? I was thinking my hope that the over twenty years of exile would give one a chance to sit and reflect and wreck the old brain to come with solutions that would bring people together and move history forward was left in shambles. That is not the OLF way. Actually OLF does not have any road map. Who needs a road map when you have no idea where you are going? There is no vision there. They really thought robbing a bank was the road to legitimacy or will instil fear in us. Woyane loots the National bank and here comes OLF robbing a small branch in their own town.

Do you think this idea of ‘owning’ Addis Ababa will fly? Over five million is the estimated population of Addis. It is not easy to change such a large metropolitan areas demographic in a short time. We are sure they do not have an army to enforce their will since that would’ve been the thing to display when they returned if such thing existed. Right now they are not sure how this is to be accomplished. If not by force then how is a good question. The residents of Addis have the number, the independence and support of all Ethiopians not to be bullied around by some unelected officials. They also have many leaders steeled in the battle for liberation from Woyane – they are not a pushover. I believe that is why they forcefully made their demands known. We are with you Addis Ababan’s. I doubt anybody that cannot even liberate a village in Wollega can effectively control the capital.

As we all know the subsidiaries of Woyane TPLF have supposedly broken off ties to the parent organization. Their names have been changed in accordance to the wishes of TPLF. They did not even have the courage to drop their ethnic identity stamped by Meles and Company. The same people trained and placed in position with the blessing of Woyane are still in control. Today’s ODP or ADP are led by the same folks that implemented Woyane policies to the village level. Why we are demanding the arrest of criminal Woyane politburo members while we are appointing Oromos or Amharas that were part of the criminal enterprise and now hold party and government positions is what is confusing some folks at the moment. It is giving ammunition to Woyane criminals while awaiting arrest but that is the Ethiopian way- never close a chapter. .

It is clear now our liberation came with a price. Team Lemma made a deal with the devil and lost. The illegal nature of the government is continuing unabated. The ethnic cleansing is done with the police turning a blind eye, the house demolition is being carried at night in no regard for life and the fanning of ethnic flames is tolerated. In Addis Ababa young people are arrested enmas and taken away-just like the good old days. The poor residents of the capital city are threatened on a daily basis making life uncertain. Is this what liberation is about? The events of Legetafo and Burayu, the dragging in Shashemene the cleansing in Ogaden and today displacement in the South is showing the ineffectiveness of the regime. It is reduced to reacting instead of being proactive. The regimes base of support are the common denominator in all the atrocities mentioned above. They are the cause of its instability. They are taxing the patience of the other actors and they are making a mockery of their own leaders. Why else would they place them in the middle of demolitions, cleansings and unfettered power grab?

The PM has to show courage and confront those that are trying to reverse the change we fought for. His party has to reign in the young and the restless and refocus their aim towards positive activity. The PM is the leader of all of Ethiopia. He has to start acting it. He cannot stay tied down and indebted to one group. That would be like being taken hostage. The failure of one should not affect the health of the country. As a politician he should work to welcome others under his tent if he wants to succeed. This idea of putting all your eggs in one basket did not work for our Tigrai warlords. It wouldn’t work for others either.

What was accomplished here both by OLF and Woyane is divert our attention from the job at hand. We have already wasted one whole year with nothing of value accomplished. Those that caused untold misery to our people are sitting in Mekele and taunting us. The organization they built in their image today is still functioning in our land. EFFORT is still the premier Ethiopian business and it was built with stolen capital and run like a state organization with all the benefit and none of the risk. The Television, the Radio and the Newspapers are still run by Woyane trained bosses. All this organizations have a budget from the Federal Govt. and that is not wise use of our limited resource. We demand they cut the tie. We have accomplished nothing of consequence other than the Diaspora coming and going and I do not think that was one of our worries.

Dear OLF and petty supporters, our people rebelled against Woyane and won. We did not fight against individual abusers but against a system. Not part of the system but the whole system. That is what was rejected a year ago. As far as we are concerned the list on the table includes the Constitution, the Map, the Land question to name a few. Feel free to add your grievances. What OLF is trying to do today is enshrine what was done illegally. That is not acceptable. They should be ashamed for carrying Meles’s banner of inter ethnic conflict.

The world knows we got rid of Woyane in a very admirable manner because our people are wise and thoughtful. No matter how we were goaded by Woyane we did not go to the dark side. It is our ancient culture, our beliefs and wisdom that saved us. We cried for Iraq, we felt sad for Libya; we are witnessing the happenings in Syria and Yemen. You see we escaped an inferno. Now some are pulling us back towards the fire, no thank you.

But our people are creative and forward-looking. Despair was replaced with hope when I saw our friend Eskinder Nega doing what he does best  – fight injustice. The Town Hall meeting with the residents of Addis Ababa is the type of grassroots movement that will empower our people. The assembly registered their concerns and placed the authorities on notice not to trample on their hard won victory. We Ethiopians are going to organize and assert our rights one village at a time. Eskinder and his friends were teaching us by example the smart method to safeguard what is won and chart a better future.

Stabilizing the country is the most important task at hand. The economy is in shambles, people are eating once a day if lucky and the future looks bleak. Today with rampant unemployment, inflation and other ills the country in dire situation. The young people with no education and no future are ready and willing to listen to voices some not well meaning. They are easy target for those that think chaos is the way to attain their misguided goal.

Here is the statistics about our country. Our population stands at one hundred and eight million (108M) out of which sixty three percent (63%) are under the age of twenty-four. Sixty three percent of the population has not been trained to produce anything of value but has to be housed and fed. That is not a simple task. That is what should keep our leaders awake at night not some arbitrary line inside one country. The sixty three percent born and raised under Woyane is a generation that should be handled carefully. They were raised in a society where the moral compass was amiss. Woyane encouraged lying, stealing, standing false witness and infected the mind with khat and other chemicals at a young age. Life under Woyane was a constant struggle. The sixty three percent there now are what is left of the hundreds of thousands that escaped from all corners of the country. They carry a heavy burden but are not equipped to handle the load we placed on their shoulder.

There is no choice but for the adults to start acting like one. Sixty three million idle youth is a time bomb ready to explode. That is exactly why our political, community and business leaders have to be extra careful of what they say and what they do. Sure it is not difficult to stir up a mob in a place where the grievances are plenty and the young ones are ready to rebel, but what next? The intellectuals leading the charge caused both of the last two debacles we suffered. Both times theory did not pan out in practice. Why everything looks so simple and great on paper but unfortunate for us our highly educated friends and their eighteen-year-old anarchist supporters have not solved why it falls flat in real life. That is not stopping them from playing their fiddle while Addis burns like Nero did while watching Rome burn.

The post How to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Yilma bekele appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

By Live 5 News Web Staff | March 19, 2019 

The post Boeing CEO releases extended statement in wake of 737 MAX 8 grounding appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

There is no historical record of justice under the last apartheid regime in South Africa that was abolished because of the very injustice until TPLF warlords imposed it at the same time to commit injustice on the people of Ethiopia that defeated it in the Battle of Adwa 123-years ago. To expect justice under apartheid rule is simply prolonging injustice that is urgently needed to do anything else.

by Teshome Debalke

In the wake of the 123-years anniversary of the Adwa victory over colonialism and its residue — poverty, slavery and apartheid reinstituted by TPLF warlords led apartheid regime, Ethiopians shouldn’t be complicit in helping the new PM dismantle the only apartheid system that exist in the world and the main source of all ‘current problems and challenges’ in Ethiopia as it was designed by the usual suspects.

Therefore, regardless of what TPLF warlords and their apartheid comrades in arms and pen think and believe they have anything worthy to offer Ethiopians more than the weapons of mass-destruction (apartheid) of their sponsors’ that got them in their present pre-indictment, their bravado on one hand and crocodile tears in another to convince anybody let alone Ethiopians to sustain the status qua doesn’t  go further than what is often described as ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’.

No one ever articulated the Ethiopian version of TPLF led apartheid than Professor Al Mariam. His 2017 article titled “Apartheid State of Emergency 2.0” is one of the collection of commentaries in his arsenal to end the most intrusive apartheid regime in  extended history Ethiopia’s.

Tracing the historical root of apartheid that excited TPLF warlords and surrogates to go as far as committing crimes against humanity, corruption, and treason go as far back in the early 1650s Dutch and British settlers (invaders) of in Southern Africa and the subsequent exponential expansion by the British led seven European nations’ conquest of the world starting from the 17^th century Agriculture Revolution followed by 18^th century Industrial Revolution that instituted apartheid rules in the colonies.

It gives Ethiopians that defeat colonialism a window of opportunity who put up TPLF warlords and surrogates to fall in love with apartheid and continue to mimic it day-in-and-day-out disguised as Revolutionary Democracy in the 21^st century.

After all, there is nothing revolutionary nor democracy what a British mining magnet and the champion of apartheid politics in South Africa Cecil John Rhodes who served as Prime Minster from 1890 to 1896 of Cape Colony that put it bluntly as;

“We must find new land, from which we can easily obtain raw material and at the same time exploit the cheap slave labor that is available from the natives of the colonies. The colonies would also provide a dumping ground for surplus goods produced in our factories.” 

The architect of institutionalized apartheid in Southern African and an ardent believer in British Imperialism, Rhodes and his British-South Africa Company founded the Southern Africa territory of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe and Zambia). His statement that coincided with the Berlin Conference of 1984-85 initiated colonialists’ ‘Scramble for Africa’ miserably failed in Ethiopia by the defeat of the invading Italian regime on March of 1896 at the Battle of Adwa led by the legendary King Menelik II. Ever since, the war on the history of Ethiopia, her people’s heritage and the legendry King that made it happen became fashionable by the old colonialists as well as their domestic agents recruited to preserve the defeated ideology of Colonialism and its legacy of Apartheid across the globe.

The emergence of domestic ‘mercenary’ class to undermines and reduce the glories history of Ethiopia and King Menelik II led victory eventually led to the second invasion and the five-years occupation of Fascist Italy regime that introduced six ethnic apartheid Regions’ rule from 1936 -1941 for the first time in extended history of the nation.

The restoration of Emperor Haile Selase government after the defeat of the Mussolini led Fascist regime in World War II eventually dismantled the occupying ethnic apartheid regime but, the attempt to undermine Ethiopia and her leaders continued.

Unfortunately, 50 years later since Fascist Italy imposed ethnic apartheid was abolished, domestic agents led by the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) reinstated it once again in 1991 with the endorsement of the same old colonialists led by Britain and, the assault on Ethiopia and her legendry leaders continued to this day.

The striking similarity between TPLF led ethnic apartheid regime and Fascist Italy colonial regime during its occupation as expressed by the British mogul and apartheid proponent in South Africa Cecil John Rhodes in 1880s and the evicted Austrian envoy Nazi baron Roman Freiherr Von Prochazka to Ethiopia in the early 1930s that led to the Fascist reinvasion and occupation is testimony to that reality.

Prochazka’s book titled Abyssinia: The Powder Barrel (Die Schwarze Gefahr) published in 1935 (a year before Fascist’s reinvasion and occupation that implemented ethnic apartheid rule) revels where, by who and why apartheid rule was planned and executed in Ethiopia. It reads;

“The numerous peoples and tribes who inhabited the territory of Ethiopian state, and which differ in race, languages, culture and religion from the ruling minority of the Abyssinians proper, would long ago have thrown off the Abyssinian yoke if they have been given the right of self-determination. Instead, they have been forcefully kept cut off from European influence and from the advantage that progressive colonization could confer up on the country. The final aim of (Abyssinia) policy of antagonism to the white race, in collaboration with Japan, is nothing less than to act as a champion of all the colored people of Africa… it is incumbent to delegation of the civilized nation in Abyssinia to warn their government to take a defiant stand before the Abyssinians attack and destroy western culture and civilization in its entirety. There is no such thing Abyssinia people. The greater part of non-Christian tribes in Abyssinia has no more burning desire than to be free from the tyranny of the Amhars…if they would vote freely, they would certainly prefer a European protectorate to universally hated extortionist and slave drivers. This country is cracking at all its joints and has only been kept together up to the present by methods of ruthless coercion”

Prochazka frustration that reflected the colonialists’ dilemma how to implement ethnic and religious apartheid to colonize Ethiopia and the subsequent reinvasion and implementation of ethnic apartheid regime consisting of six ethnic Regions is enough for anyone that can read-and-write let alone for contemporary scholars with any worthy credentials to discount.

Fortunately, Fascist occupation and its ethnic apartheid regime was defeated again but, the old Colonialists’ onslaught remained alive via domestic agents when TPLF warlords reinstated apartheid 50 years later once again as Ethiopians witness warlords scream ethnic Apartheid-or-Death — echoing the same old colonialists’ narratives. Mind you, not in the name ‘Civilizing Mission’ as the old Colonialists’ use to say nor “progressive colonization” as Prochazka suggested but, in the name of Revolutionary Democracy.

Astonishingly, the same Western elites that detest the Apartheid system in South Africa and Jim Crow laws of the American South Confederacy are cheering apartheid for Ethiopia. Sadly, the infamous ‘Kenyan-American U.S. President Barak Obama lauded as the first African American President was among them.

More disturbing, the indigenous proponents of ethnic apartheid on Ethiopia led by TPLF apologists to reduce Ethiopians to a slave status where their land, resources and labor could be readily available for their old colonial sponsors as Cecil John Rhodes declared over 100 years ago and Prochazka advised 50 years later to qualify them as modern-day ‘mercenaries’ of the defeated colonialists.

It is no longer a mystery what TPLF warlords and surrogates are instructed to do by their sponsors via ethnic apartheid rule. The more they resist to dismantle Apartheid that benefited them, the more they expose themselves who they are and, the proof is in the pudding more so in the economy that drives the politics of apartheid to empower many elites fixated with ethnicity and, increasingly religion as ordered to elude Ethiopians from figure out what drive them and who may be behind them.

Obviously, the old Colonialists didn’t invade the Africa continent for love of its people or the climate. It was for the same old resources and slave labor as Rhodes declared that persisted in the 21^st century. Nor, they implemented apartheid for the rights and liberties of the people as Prochazka suggested but, to neutralize the unity of the people and the inevitable revolt that comes with occupation, violation of rights and exploitation of resources.

Martin J. Wiener’ in The Journal of Historical Society March 2013 Issue titled The Idea of Colonial Legacy and the Histography of Empire” chronicled several interpretations of colonial legacy and summed it up as; the colonies “were prevented, it was argued, by four fold inheritance from colonialism: first, of authoritarian state structures and habits, with “emergency” laws readily employed to suspended liberties; second, by economic structures created to facilitate foreign exploitation of nations’ resources; third; by colonial authorities’ promotion of religious and ethnic distrust; and finally, by ongoing international political and economic relationship and structures emerging out of colonialism designed to preserve and maintain this pernicious colonial inheritance.”

The five-years’ Fascist occupation that instituted ethnic apartheid as articulated by Prochazka is a testimony to that reality. Fifty-years later, TPLF warlords and surrogates didn’t reinstituted the same ethnic Apartheid rule on the people of Ethiopia for love of the people or to insure their rights via ‘Revolutionary Democracy’ either but, to fulfill Prochazka’s dream on behalf of their sponsors.  They know it, Ethiopians and the people of the world know it.

Without mimicking the colonial ethnic and religious apartheid hiding behind Revolutionary Democracy and Developmental State, TPLF warlords and surrogates would have been nothing more than modern village gangs terrorizing the population with donated weapons as Ethiopian witness them fulfill their sponsors’ obligations of sustaining Apartheid at all cost.

Unfortunately, that is not all. Contemporary elites that bought the defeated colonialists’ apartheid narratives as badge of honor by accepting TPLF warlords led ethnic and religious divide as legitimate political engagement — not on its merits but to undermine Ethiopians’ unity and wisdom of Ethiopian leaders that defeated it hands down as Prochazka decried. Unfortunately, many are embroiled with the colonialists’ narrative of their own heritage, culture and history.

Here is a good example. Awol K Allo, in an Op-Ed of March 1, 2019 on Al Jazeera titled How a Major anti-colonial victory divided Ethiopia — reflecting contemporary ‘scholars’ that propagate the colonialists’ narrative of Ethiopia reinstituted by TPLF warlords.

Instead of ‘how the defeated colonialists divided Ethiopians via TPLF and its surrogates’, in the 123-years anniversary of the Adwa Victory Allo, a ‘Lecturer in Law at Keele University U.K.’ choice to make the victors the villains (“Amhara dividers/invaders”) for defending their nation from the victimizers (colonialists invaders) that surrounded Ethiopia as innocent bystanders as prescribed by Prochazka.

Imagine accusing leaders that defend their country from three of the seven powerful colonial forces of the 19^th century right after they signed a pact of 1884-85  in the Berlin Conference to invade and partial Africa and enslave and exploit the people as ‘dividers’ or ‘expansionist invaders’ for routing them out against all odds?

Contemporary elites trained to ‘eat their own roots’ are what the famous Pakistani-British award-winning author Kamila Shamsie known for her ‘Home Fire’ novel asked; ‘how do you eat your own root?

The partition of the present-day Pakistan and the Kashmir standoff between India and Pakistan is as the result of colonial Britin initiated religious apartheid during the independence movement as Al Jazeera documentary titled Boarders of Blood. Unfortunately, Al Jazeera promotes ethnic and religious apartheid in Ethiopia and elsewhere disguised as a Free Press when it serves its own ‘sponsors’ agenda.

Likewise, and closer to Ethiopia, the ongoing Yemeni civil war can be traced to the Feb 1934 colonial British held South Yemen colony based in Aden led ‘treaty of friendship’ with both the Kingdoms of the newly created nation of Saudi Arabia and the indigenous rulers of North Yemen to resolve the war to control Yemen that was under colonial British and Ottoman empire.

But, beyond TPLF and surrogates’ sponsors led by U.K.; contemporary root-eating elites in general are the biggest obstacle to the liberty and rights of the people of Ethiopia and the independence of the nation our forefathers paid for by blood and treasure and, it was not by accident but by design rewriting history and disseminating fairytale propaganda.

The British politician Lord Macaulay 2^nd Feb 1835 address to the Parliament said it best how to make contemporary elites ‘eat their own roots’ to force Ethiopians submit for colonial rule.

He said.

“I have travelled across the length and breadth of Africa I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibers, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage and therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Africans think that all that is foreign and English is good and great than their own, they will lose their selfesteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation”

Unfortunately, almost two centuries later enough root-eating elites made Lord Macaulay’s dream come through by ‘breaking up her spiritual and cultural heritage’, denying her existence of Ethiopia as a nation by reinventing history and implementing apartheid to divid the people by ethnicity and religion.

A good example of the result of Lord Macaulay proposal is the young root-eating elite Jawar Mohammed and the CEO of Oromia Media Network (OMN). A proponent of ethnic Apartheid i.e. “Ethiopia get out of Oromia” and Oromo First, he is no stranger and alone to promote colonialists’ agenda with selective amnesia.

For instance, from all writing system, the root-eating proponents of apartheid Oromo elites adapting Latin as an official alphabet of ‘Affan Oromo’ language testify to that reality.

The irony  a western educated elite like Jawar that proclaimed to be a follower of Islam doesn’t know the history of Islam he claims to voluntarily follow is interwind with ‘the spiritual and cultural heritage’ of Ethiopia for over 1400 years to reduce her history starting from  the defeat of colonialism over 100s years ago is a testimony; the problem of Ethiopia rests on root-eating contemporary elites’ selective amentia to undermine Ethiopia and her people as Lord Macaulay of colonial British’s parliamentarian proposed in 1835 and Prochazka reinforced in 1935.

There is no question Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed took the first step in the right direction to emancipate Ethiopians from TPLF enablers instigated colonial apartheid rule surrounded by root-eating elites. Their resistant to sustain the ethnic apartheid divide status qua to fulfill the obligation to their sponsors speaks volume to ask; who is compromised by the old and defeated colonialists’ agenda against the people of Ethiopia and why.

On the 123 years celebration of the greatest victory over colonialism in the Battle of Adwa in full gear for the first time since TPLF warlords led apartheid rule came 27-years ago, look no further than the propaganda Media led by the usual suspects discount the victory to prolong the life of the only apartheid rule in the world.

Reuters wire service of U.K. like most western and domestic Medias conveniently erased the leader of the Adwa victory — Emperor Menilk II on its report of unnamed correspondent titled Ethiopians celebrate defeat of colonialists, call for unity. But, to its credit, it highlighted the anniversary celebration summed up by Bonsa Kuma expressing; “I call myself independent because my fearless father fought the battle from all corners of the country…, I rode for two days to get here to remember my heroes” said, the 27-year old who arrived in the capital on a horseback’.  In contrast, root-eating elite ‘scholars’ crisscross continents on airplanes to tell us otherwise.

However, the same Reuters’ reporter present at the same celebration in Addis Ababa stated, PM Abiy “also joined a chorus of calls to end violence’ quoting his remark of “the young generation of today should repeat the victory of Adwa by defeating current challenges and barriers” to “published report by the state-owned Media” — discounting the new PM role of bringing Ethiopians together in unity as Ethiopian leader  as oppose the Oromo leader preferred by the usual ethnic apartheid proponents.

Sadly, root-eating elites led by the Adwa Gang and surrogates continue to undermine the glories heritage and culture of the people of Ethiopia and the history of the nation not to mention the wisdom and bravery of her leaders that defeat it.

It is clear for one-and-all why the name Ethiopia is allergic for root-eating elites and their sponsors and, why the PM calls of the young generation to repeat the victory of Adwa by “defeating current challenges and barriers” frightens modern-day Prochazkas’ apartheid ideology followers. Even the blind and deaf can see and hear; the same ethnic apartheid divide TPLF enablers instituted that continue to disfranchise Ethiopians is the cause of the ‘violence’ mainstream western Medias like Reuters as well as local Medias chose to ignore.

Therefore, the absence or skewed narratives on Ethiopia and her greatest victory over colonialism in the world history by major international, regional and local Media networks is not by accident but by design.

Of course, the infamous Al Jazeera featured story on the 123^rd years’ anniversary the Adwa victory wasn’t about the celebration but, an Op-Ed of an individual in U.K. “how the victory divided Ethiopia” wasn’t by accident either.

Here are a few mainstream western Media coverage undermining the 123th anniversary of Adwa Victory.

The Continental Telegraph of U.K. Headline reads ‘not First Battle Victory of Blacks over White Colonizers but First War Won’ injecting and generalizing race to reflect the same racist attitude of the old colonialists’ in seven European nations that still feel privileged to invade any nation to enslave the people and keep the spoil. In Ethiopia

Agency France Press (AFP) and Associated Press (AP) reporters in Ethiopia known to cover anything skipped the most important event altogether.

More unrelenting are make-believe Medias run by root-eating indigenous elites.

The mouthpieces of TPLF in the diaspora did not shy away undermining Ethiopian leaders by piggybacking on the Adwa victory either.

For instance, from all relevant Ethiopians on the Adwa Victory, the infamous Aiga Forum featured TPLF ethnic apartheid warlord/Chairman Deberthion Gebermariam’s  message of empty unity on a victory he and comrades denied since they embarked in war with Ethiopians on behalf of their sponsors.

Likewise, the official TPLF owned propaganda Medias like Walta and Fana masquerading as private are playing it safe by pivoting the nature of TPLF to make it holier and failed to mention; the Adwa Victory is a victory of colonialism TPLF warlords brought back on the people of Ethiopia 100 years later via their Amhara villain Emperor Menilk II that defeated it as their bogyman.

Fana Broadcast Service report actually was savvier on the victory than its TPLF propaganda partners by featuring ‘President’ Sahle Work Zewde that served TPLF warlords with distinction representing the Ethiopia Federal government and the “Chief Administrator of Tigray regional state, Dr Debretsion Gebermichael”  to get its agenda across reinforcing the same apartheid ethnic regional states imposed on the people of Ethiopia is legitimate.

The most fascinating of all is TPLF warlord operated The Reporter masquerading as a Free Media. In an Op-Ed by unnamed ‘Stuff  Reporter’ titled Reviving Ethiopian nationalism as Adwa Victory is CelebratedAmare Argawi cunningly blamed the victims (the opposition) for his TPLF warlord comrades’ crime; not to mention blame the new PM Abiy i.e. “the government’s inability to appoint a successor in place of the outgoing Prime Minister in a manner that reassures both the Ethiopian people and the international community only serves to exacerbate the air of uncertainty”  instead of blaming the source of uncertainty are his comrades led by Deberthion Gebermicael hiding in Mekele doing what they did best for the last four decades — instigating ethnic and religious conflicts.

It continently goes on;

“The historic mistake that the EPRDF and its allies committed in belittling Ethiopianism is today exacting a heavy toll as is the treachery of some in the opposition camp. The internecine conflicts incited by parochial politicians and their ilk have led to the death of thousands of innocent citizens, injured tens of thousands, displaced around a million and caused the vandalizing of the properties of hard-working folks. Ethiopians have never resorted to the kind of ethnocentric violence and destruction we have witnessed over the past two years. Nowadays there abound elements bent on sowing discord instead of doing their part to restore Ethiopia’s greatness by exploiting the considerable potential its patriotic and far-sighted people embody. They have no qualms about amassing power and wealth at the expense of the masses. This is why Ethiopianness is waning alarmingly”

The irony a journalist wannabe and Founder of Media Communication Center with public money out of the jungle to have the audacity to blame the oppositions and the new PM for crimes of his comrades says more how the minds of apartheid proponents masquerading as journalists work.

Similarly, ethnic apartheid competitor Medias like Oromia Media Network (OMN) that erase the Adwa victory altogether short of calling it Ethiopia (Amhara) invasion of ‘Oromia’ as prescribed by the old colonialist speaks for itself. Though it is not clear why OMN ‘reporters’ led by Jawar Mohammed are not for religious apartheid as prescribed by Prochazka, it is clear religion as oppose ethnicity is not as effective politics in their primary agenda of undermining Ethiopia as a nation.

At the meantime, clandestine Media operators are savvier than the official ethnic apartheid mouthpieces but, not smart enough to hide their true feeling about Ethiopians in general and the Adwa victory leader Emperor Mekilk II in particular by erasing the legendary leader of the Adwa Victory altogether as expected and altering the history of Ethiopia to their liking.

The infamous no-see, hear… evil of TPLF warlords instigated ethnic apartheid Tadias Magazine featured Headline was the Op-Ed of Ayele Bekerie (PhD) titled ‘The Victory of Adwa, an exemplary Triumph to the rest of Africa’ —  skipping Ethiopia and the Ethiopian leader[s] that actually won the Battle.

Unfortunately, the author is not an ordinary root-eating elite but a Professor of ‘African and African American Studies at Cornell University and Mekele University, according public record.  He not only failed to mention a single Ethiopian leader that made the Adwa Victory possible or “an exemplary Triumph to the rest of Africa” as he put it — giving TPLF apartheid a stamp of approval in Ethiopia as prescribed by Prochazka – so much for a scholar of African and African American Studies that was born in American Universities out of the Jim Crow Laws of the Southern Confederacy States against African Americans to perpetuate colonialist apartheid and erase Ethiopian leaders that made it possible.

No one know why TPLF operatives masquerading as scholars, experts and journalists think they can get away insulting the intelligence of the people of Ethiopia by passing TPLF warlords’ crimes on the innocent. Then again, if Ethiopians don’t understand the history of the old colonial apartheid mission that set them up, they will continue to do what they know best.

Therefore, ‘why Ethiopians must help PM Abiy dismantle Apartheid system altogether’ answer is nonother than root-eating elites’ selective amnesia that made the universally rejected Apartheid rule possible. After all, unlike their visionary forefathers that defeated ethnic apartheid, they want to have and eat their cake at the same time — the defeated colonial apartheid political system to divide Ethiopians and the political, social and economic benefit it afforded them — ‘two birds in one stone’?

Dismantling the colonial Apartheid political system IS “the current challenge and barrier” facing the people of Ethiopia as PM Abiy put it without saying. It must be defeated again particularly by the young generation. Unfortunately, the problem is, it contradicts with the interest of apartheid proponents.

Given it is an established historical fact colonialists invented Apartheid is evil for the entire humanity to the benefit of the few, there is no plausible explanation to sustain it except to benefit the root-eating elites and their sponsors’ interest over the many.

Therefore, Ethiopians must dismantle the apartheid political system as a prerequisite for everything else for numbers of reasons including to honor our foresighted leaders that sacrificed in blood-and- treasure to defeat colonial conquests via apartheid that showed its ugly head in 21^st century, thanks to TPLF warlord and surrogates.

But there is a whole more social, economic and security reasons of dismantling TPLF instigated apartheid.

For instance, TPLF warlords redrew internal ethnic apartheid boarders that displace and cleanse millions of Ethiopians around the country at enormous cost as we are witnessing the ongoing violence unfold over artificial ethnic boarders. Like the old colonialist, it is to maintain power via perpetual conflicts with one ethnic group to hate another.

In that regard, land grab, slave labor and resource extraction of the last 27 years is the historical hallmark of colonial apartheid rule as prescribed in the 19^th century by the Father of Apartheid and business mogul Cecil John Rhodes of Southern Africa.

When it comes to security of the people and the nation, “authoritarian state structures and habits, with “emergency” laws readily employed to suspended liberties” as it was argued by Martin J. Wiener’ remained the hallmark of colonial apartheid legacy TPLF bestowed on the people of Ethiopia that brought the revolution for change and the rise of PM Abiy to power. The ‘security’ apparatus TPLF set up that parallel the British colonial rule is a testimony to that reality.

The famous South African comedian and the Daily Show host Trevor Noah said it best;

“What the apartheid system was really good at doing was convincing groups to hate one another”.

Likewise, TPLF warlords and associates are good convincing Ethiopians ‘to hate one another’ on the behest of their old colonial sponsors.

In the 123^rd anniversary of the Adwa Victory that defeated apartheid, they would be advised again to abandon it to celebrate their culture and heritage robed by their sponsors than attempt to doubletalk or shoot their way out of their predicament as we are witnessing.

As the legendary the late anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela said; “Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is manmade and can be removed by the actions of human beings”.

Whether the new PM remove the manmade poverty, slavery and apartheid or not all depends how long he can tolerate TPLF led ethnic warlords that live off apartheid and root-eating elites around him that benefit from it playing hide-and-seek to prolong the status qua as Ethiopians wonder with amazement as they scramble to make up more fairytales and instigate more conflicts from their hideouts.

Unfortunately, root-eating elites in the diaspora that should know better are the most aggressive apartheid propagators on their own people while they enjoy the privilege of living in non-apartheid nations afforded to them by their sponsors. Therefore, helping the PM Abiy ‘remove apartheid’ is not an option but a duty of every Ethiopian alive especially the young generation that would inherit ‘to hate each other’ for generation to come.

And, how but full disclosure of who they are and what they have done so they can be accountable for their transgression would abolish apartheid, poverty and slavery?

The PM has his hands full. In one hand, he is operating under apartheid rule handed to him by the TPLF warlords and surrogates since he was a teenager. In another hand, he is calling for unity, democray and the rule of law to make everyone accountable.

Drawing lesson from South Africa reviles; apartheid and democracy are like water and oil that cannot mix. Therefore, his dilemma is real and, requires bold steps in his part disclosing everything about TPLF warlords led apartheid in the name of the people of Tigray, Oromo, Amhara, Somali…

Who can he blame but root-eating elites at home and from abroad surrounding him with unverifiable credential that propagate the rejected Apartheid rule on the people of Ethiopia?

When knowledge is used for self-preservation or doing the bidding of apartheid sponsors as oppose to empower individuals – all society’s ills including slavery, poverty, apartheid… are inevitable as we witness contemporary root-eating elites tramped on one another to make up stuff to be relevant under apartheid rule.

Plato wrote;” knowledge without justice ought to be called cunning rather than wisdom”.

There is no historical record of justice under the last apartheid regime in South Africa that was abolished because of the very injustice until TPLF warlords imposed it at the same time to commit injustice on the people of Ethiopia that defeated it in the Battle of Adwa 123-years ago. To expect justice under apartheid rule is simply prolonging injustice that is urgently needed to do anything else.

Who is primarily responsible but root-eating scholars, experts and journalists that see, hear and speak no evil of apartheid to accomplish their sponsors’ mission that was defeated 123 years ago?

Where is the justice for the people of Ethiopia in that?

The article is dedicated for the legendary Journalist and the former prisoner of the apartheid regime Eskender Nega that challenge apartheid proponent head-on.  Short of wisdom to understand, the root-eating elites don’t even understand; he is emancipating their colonized mind 123-years later after it was defeated in the Battle of Adwa.

The post Why Ethiopians must help PM Abiy abolish the Apartheid system all together? appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

By Travis Fedschun | Fox News

The day before a brand new Lion Air jet crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Indonesia’s capital city last fall — likely due to an equipment malfunction — an off-duty pilot reportedly helped save the aircraft when it began to dive.

The extra pilot was on the flight from Bali to Jakarta and was seated in the cockpit jumpseat when the crew of the Boeing 737 Max 8 struggled for control of the aircraft, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

During the flight, the jet displayed unusual variations in altitude and airspeed in its first several minutes, Reuters previously reported. Some of those variations included an 875-foot drop over 27 seconds when the plane would typically be ascending, before stabilizing and flying on to Jakarta.

As the jetliner was in a dive, the extra pilot figured out what was wrong and told the crew how to disable a malfunctioning flight-control system to save the aircraft, two people familiar with Indonesia’s investigation told Bloomberg.

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES CRASH DATA SHOWS ‘CLEAR SIMILARITIES’ WITH LION AIR ACCIDENT, TRANSPORT MINISTER SAYS

The crew was told to cut power to the motor causing the plane’s nose to dive down, which is part of a checklist that all pilots are required to memorize, according to Bloomberg.

Boeing 737 Max jets are grounded at Sky Harbor International Airport, Thursday, March 14, 2019 in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Hours later with a different crew on board, the same aircraft crashed into the Java Sea after takeoff, killing all 189 aboard.

Officials investigating the Lion Air crash previously said they were looking into the plane’s anti-stall system, which was engaged and repeatedly pushing down the aircraft’s nose prior to it crashing into the sea. The Indonesia safety committee report also said the plane had had multiple failures on previous flights and hadn’t been properly repaired.

“All the data and information that we have on the flight and the aircraft have been submitted to the Indonesian NTSC. We can’t provide additional comment at this stage due to the ongoing investigation on the accident,” Lion Air spokesman Danang Prihantoro told Bloomberg.

Federal prosecutors investigating development of Boeing 737 Max 8 after deadly crashes

A grand jury subpoena has reportedly been issued to someone involved in the jet’s development; Doug McKelway reports from Washington.

The new information comes as investigators are trying to piece together what caused Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 to crash earlier this month just minutes after takeoff, killing all 157 people, including eight Americans, aboard.

The French civil aviation investigation bureau, BEA, said Monday that black box data from the Ethiopian Airlines flight showed “clear similarities” to the Lion Air crash. Ethiopian authorities asked BEA for help in extracting and interpreting the crashed plane’s black boxes because Ethiopia does not have the necessary expertise and technology.

INFIGHTING HAMPERS ANALYSIS OF ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES FLIGHT RECORDERS, SOURCE SAYS

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration previously said satellite-based tracking data showed that the movements of the Ethiopian Airlines flight were similar to those of the Lion Air plane. In both incidents, the planes flew with erratic altitude changes that could indicate the pilots struggled to control the aircraft. Shortly after their takeoffs, both crews tried to return to the airports but crashed.

The Federal Aviation Administration last Wednesday announced Boeing 737 Max 8 and 737 Max 9 models were being temporarily grounded in the U.S. “as a result of the data gathering process and new evidence collected at the [Ethiopia crash] site and analyzed.”

U.S. prosecutors are looking into the development of Boeing’s 737 Max jets, a person briefed on the matter revealed Monday, the same day French aviation investigators concluded there were “clear similarities” in the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 last week and a Lion Air jet in October. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

The U.S. joined several other countries in grounding the aircraft following the deadly crash.

On Monday, the Associated Press reported that prosecutors are looking into the development of Boeing’s 737 Max jets, including how the company was regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration.

A federal grand jury in Washington sent a subpoena to someone involved in the plane’s development seeking emails, messages and other communications, the person briefed on the matter told the AP.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Spokesmen for the Justice Department and the inspector general said Monday they could neither confirm nor deny the existence of any inquiries, while the FAA would not comment.

“Boeing does not respond to or comment on questions concerning legal matters, whether internal, litigation or governmental inquiries,” Boeing spokesman Charles Bickers told the AP in an email.

Is the Boeing Max series too sophisticated for some airlines?

After two crashes of Boeing Max jets, aviation analyst Mike Boyd says we can’t rule out the fact that not everyone may be qualified to fly or service the planes.

The company late Monday issued an open letter from its CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, addressed to airlines, passengers and the aviation community.

Muilenburg did not refer to the reports of the Justice Department probe, but stressed Boeing is taking actions to ensure its 737 Max jets are safe, including a software update and offer related pilot training for the 737 Max to “address concerns” that arose in the aftermath of October’s Lion Air crash. The planes’ new flight-control software — which automatically pushes the plane’s nose down when a single sensor detects the nose is pointed too high, indicating the possibility the aircraft could stall — is suspected of playing a role in the crashes.

Fox News’ Katherine Lam and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The post Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 8 was reportedly saved by off-duty pilot day before deadly crash in Indonesia appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Voice of Amara Radio Elias Gebru Godana – 20 Mar 2019

The post Voice of Amara Radio Elias Gebru Godana – 20 Mar 2019 appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

The post Boeing, FAA Officials Called to Testify in U.S. Senate on 737 MAX Plane Crashes appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

by Jason Neely; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Frances Kerry

ADDIS ABABA (REUTERS) – Ethiopia has begun examining cockpit voice and flight data recordings from doomed Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 and is working with U.S., EU and French experts, the Ministry of Transport said on Thursday.

The post Ethiopia Says U.S., EU, French Teams Helping Analyze Crash Black Boxes appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

The political climate has become more permissive—up to a point

Ayalkibet, a portly man in a garish white suit, is taking an oath. Hand raised, expression sombre, he reads a pledge to administer his café wisely. Four colleagues nod in approval. “But only for a month,” prompts one, following the text as he recites it. Ayalkibet skips over that proviso; his colleagues look up in alarm. So begins a recent episode of “Min Litazez?” (“How can I help you?”), a hit Ethiopian sitcom, in which the temporary manager schemes to extend his time in office.

Who might this represent? Not, surely, Ethiopia’s new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, who has convulsed the country’s politics by promising free elections next year and to step down if he loses. And, indeed, “Min Litazez?” is too clever for such clunky comparisons. But the audience is invited to draw their own, and many viewers have seen a reflection of Abiy in the protagonist. In previous seasons there was no doubt that Ayalkibet—then a petty tyrant of the workplace—stood in for the ruling party’s authoritarian old guard, whom Abiy shoved aside last March. Now, as Ethiopians acclimatise to a more gentle leadership, the character has been transformed. No longer a dictator, he is a well-meaning but pompous honcho with a weakness for the limelight.

The Economist

The post Satire is flourishing in Ethiopia appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

The March 10 crash

On March 10, the world was hit by the news that a passenger aircraft operated by Africa’s top national carrier had crashed. The reference point for the information was solely the office of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

It remained the most quoted source for hours before the flier, Ethiopian Airlines, confirmed with further details of the said incident.

The focus of this article is to put as much information as possible on the crash, straddling the before, during and aftermath of what is one of the deadliest incidents Ethiopian has faced in recent years.

You can read about the following areas in our continued coverage below:

• Airline fights NYT, Washington Post misinformation
• Black-box analysis in Addis, to involve French, American experts
• Ethiopia’s reputation stable, FAA orders audit of 737-Max 8
• Ethiopian investigators return from Paris
• Ethiopian freezes all Boeing 737Max orders
• Boeing confirms updating of design software
• Photos: Mass funeral ceremony for accident victims
• Ethiopian says victims DNA tests to take months
• Trump’s nice words about Ethiopian as he speaks with Abiy
• Black box investigations start

Airline fends off misinformation by U.S. media

In a space of 24-hours, Ethiopian Airline has issued two press statements pointing out what it says are false reports by two American media outlets – the New York Times, NYT; and Washington Post.

On Thursday, the airline said it was disappointed at a report carried by the New York Times which suggested pilot of the ET 302 was not properly trained.

The article titled “Ethiopian Airlines Had a Max 8 Simulator, but Pilot on Doomed Flight Didn’t Receive Training,” reported that the airline was complicit in the crash but Ethiopian insisted that its pilots had completed all necessary training for the planes they handle.

“We urge all concerned to refrain from making such uninformed, incorrect, irresponsible and misleading statements during the period of the accident investigation,” the statement read in part.

View image on Twitter

Ethiopian Airlines

@flyethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines expresses its disappointment on the following wrong reporting of the @nytimes titled “Ethiopian Airlines Had a Max 8 Simulator, but Pilot on Doomed Flight Didn’t Receive Training”

2,606

5:02 AM – Mar 21, 2019

2,212 people are talking about this

Twitter Ads info and privacy

Early Friday morning, the airline issued another statement in response to an article published a day before in the Washington Post.

Ethiopian strongly refuted what it said were baseless and factually inaccurate allegations in the said story. “All the allegations in the article are false defamations without any evidence, collected from unknown and unreliable sources to divert attention from the global grounding of the B-737 MAX airplanes.”

The statement underscored the high level of training and safety standards that the airline has committed to over the past decades. “The airline has invested more than half a billion dollars in infrastructure only in the last 5 years which is not common in a typical global airline,” the statement added.

As in the case of the NYT statement, they stressed the need for all stakeholders to wait for the outcome of the probe currently underway to ascertain the real cause of the crash. It accused the Washington Post of trying by their story to divert attention from the real issues.

“…the subject article us trying to cover the main focus of the world to unrelated and factually incorrect allegations.” The airline also demanded that the said article be recalled and an apology issued with the correct facts.

View image on Twitter

Ethiopian Airlines

@flyethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines strongly refutes all the baseless and factually incorrect allegations written in the @washingtonpost dated March 21, 2019.

536

12:57 AM – Mar 22, 2019

335 people are talking about this

Twitter Ads info and privacy

Black-box analysis in Addis, to involve French, American experts

From the day of the unfortunate plane crash (March 10) through to the retrieval of the black boxes (flight recorders). Then the acceptance of French authorities to help download the information contained along with European and American experts.

The content of the black-boxes have this week returned to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. The next leg of a keenly watched investigation process is analysing the downloaded data.

The Bloomberg portal reports that experts seized with the matter are gathering in Ethiopia to ascertain the exact cause of the ET302 crash in Ethiopia’s Bishoftu.

Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses, BEA, the Paris-based civil aviation safety body that helped download the data said it was sending three investigators to help in the process even though all analysis was to be carried out by Ethiopians.

Aside the Ethiopian and BEA teams, experts from the United States’ Federal Aviation Authority, FAA, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and plane manufacturer Boeing have also been invited to partake.

Pressure has over the past week been mounting on Boeing after the crash. In a matter of days, the world grounded all of the Boeing Max 737 8s that were in operation. The company’s shares also tumbled on the stock market.

Boeing is currently the subject of federal investigations along with its regulator, FAA, who have partly been blamed for doing a poor job in the certification process of the now controversial jets.

The Ethiopian crash came five months after a similar one suffered by Indonesian operator Lion Air, that flight had 189 people on board. Initial commentary have suggested that there were clear similarities between the two accidents. Initial results of the Ethiopian crash is expected in 30 days.

Backlash over biased foreign media coverage of ET302 crash

Ethiopian has faith of travellers, partners; US orders 737-Max audit

On Tuesday (March 19) the U.S. government ordered the aviation regulator to conduct an audit of the Boeing 737-Max 8 jets as part of efforts aimed at identifying the cause of recent plane crashes.

The Department of Transportation asked the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, to: “proceed with an audit to compile an objective and detailed factual history of the activities that resulted in the certification of the Boeing 737-MAX 8 aircraft.”

It said the move was to “help inform the Department’s decision making and the public’s understanding, and to assist the FAA in ensuring that its safety procedures are implemented effectively.”

The March 19 order was contained in a memo issued by Secretary Elaine L. Chao and directed at the FAA’s Inspector General.

Meanwhile a Reuters news analysis shows that the airline remains in the good books of travellers and its business partners in the wake of the March 10 incident.

The airline has confirmed that its bookings and scheduling has remained stable post March 10. International lenders and African partners also said relations were normal.

Explainer: Travelers and partners keep faith with Ethiopian Airlines

March 19: Ethiopian investigators return from Paris

Ethiopian air crash investigators have returned to Addis Ababa from Paris where they had reviewed the black box data from a doomed Ethiopian Airlines jet, two sources familiar with the investigation told Reuters on Tuesday.

Data from the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder is now in Addis Ababa, one of the sources said on condition of anonymity.

The crash of the Boeing Co 737 MAX 8 airliner last week killed all 157 people on board and prompted regulators to ground the model pending more information from the investigation.

“Clear Similarities”: Black box data from doomed Ethiopian, Lion Air incidents

March 18: Why Ethiopian has frozen orders for controversial jets

Ethiopian Airlines have reportedly frozen all its orders for the Boeing 737 Max jets. The Addis Ababa correspondent for Bloomberg said the move was pending the probe from crash of ET302.

The journalist quoted a spokesperson as confirming that Ethiopian’s remaining orders for Boeing aircraft will depend on preliminary results of investigation report expected within 30-days.

This is the latest move of the Airline around the beleaguered planes. They were the first to ground all the models a day after the incident which claimed 157 lives.

Most Airlines followed suit whiles countries around the world also closed their airspaces to the plane. Eventually the US govt and the regulator agreed to ground the jets. A decision Boeing said they agreed with.

March 17: Boeing statement on ET302 accident investigations

Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg issued the following statement regarding the report from Ethiopian Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges today.

First and foremost, our deepest sympathies are with the families and loved ones of those onboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.

Boeing continues to support the investigation, and is working with the authorities to evaluate new information as it becomes available. Safety is our highest priority as we design, build and support our airplanes.

As part of our standard practice following any accident, we examine our aircraft design and operation, and when appropriate, institute product updates to further improve safety.

While investigators continue to work to establish definitive conclusions, Boeing is finalizing its development of a previously-announced software update and pilot training revision that will address the MCAS flight control law’s behavior in response to erroneous sensor inputs.

We also continue to provide technical assistance at the request of and under the direction of the National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. Accredited Representative working with Ethiopian investigators.

In accordance with international protocol, all inquiries about the ongoing accident investigation must be directed to the investigating authorities.

Scared Ethiopian pilot mentioned flight control issue before crash

Funeral ceremony held for crash victims

A burial service was held today (March 17) for victims of the March 10 crash that claimed 157 passengers in the Ethiopian town of Bishoftu.

Family, friends and other mourners converged for the burial ceremony of the crash victims at the Holy Trinity Cathedral Orthodox church in Addis Ababa.

Technical investigations into the cause of the accident is currently underway in France. Data from the black boxes have been downloaded and a team of European experts are supposed to work on them.

Crash victim DNA tests to take months

Ethiopian Airlines said on Saturday that DNA testing of the remains of the 157 passengers on board flight 302 may take up to six months as it offered bereaved families charred earth from the plane crash site to bury.

As families wait for the results from the investigation into the cause of the crash, Ethiopian Airlines is planning to hold a service on Sunday in Addis Ababa, at the Kidist Selassie, or Holy Trinity Cathedral, where many of the country’s past rulers are buried beneath its pink stone spires.

“We were told by the company that we will be given a kilo (of earth) each for burial at Selassie Church for a funeral they will organise,” said one family member who asked not to be named.

Papers given to the families at the Skylight Hotel on Saturday said death certificates would be issued within two weeks, and an initial payment made to cover immediate expenses.

The return of remains – most of which are charred and fragmented – would take up to six months, the papers said, but in the meantime earth from the crash site would be given.

Abdulmajid Sheriff, a Kenyan whose Yemeni brother-in-law died, said they had already held a service.

“We are Muslims we didn’t care about that (earth). We did yesterday our prayers at the mosque and that is all for us.”

Trump on Ethiopian and Abiy’s reforms

U.S. president Donald Trump has praised the Ethiopia national carrier in a call with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday. Abiy’s office said the two had spoken in a phone call which centered on the March 10 crash and on reforms back home.

READ MORE: Trump calls Abiy: Hails Ethiopian, backs reforms

Black box investigations start

Starting Friday, BEA investigators will try to retrieve information from the cockpit voice and flight data recorders, which were damaged in the disaster.

Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier, sent the black boxes to France because it does not have the equipment to analyze the data.

The information that they contain helps explain 90 percent of all crashes, according to aviation experts.

The first conclusions could take several days.

The crash-proof housing on the data recorder appeared to be intact but the voice recorder, which should have picked up the conversations between the pilots and between the pilots and air traffic controllers, appeared damaged at one side, according to pictures released by the agency.

On Wednesday, US authorities said new evidence showed similarities between the Ethiopia crash and that of a Lion Air flight in Indonesia in October that killed 189 people.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said findings from the crash site near Addis Ababa and “newly refined satellite data” warranted “further investigation of the possibility of a shared cause for the two incidents.”

According to the flight data recorder, the pilots of Lion Air Flight 610 struggled to control the aircraft as the MCAS repeatedly pushed the nose down following takeoff.

The Ethiopian Airlines pilots reported similar difficulties before their aircraft plunged to the ground.

Data from Air Traffic Communications

The captain of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 requested permission to return to Addis Ababa airport three minutes after takeoff as it accelerated to abnormal speed, the New York Times reported.

All contact between air controllers and Flight 302 to Nairobi was lost five minutes after it took off, a person who reviewed air traffic communications told the newspaper.

Within a minute of the flight’s departure, Captain Yared Getachew reported a “flight control” problem as the aircraft was well below the minimum safe height during a climb, the newspaper reported, citing the source.

“Break break, request back to home,” the Times quoted the pilot as saying just prior to the crash. “Request vector for landing.”

After being cleared by the control room to turn back, Flight 302 climbed to an unusually high altitude and disappeared from radar over a restricted military zone, the source added.

Boeing suspends delivery of 737 MAX jets

The world’s biggest plane maker, Boeing announced on Thursday it was suspending deliveries of its op-selling 737 MAX as French investigators took delivery of the black boxes from the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 passengers and crew.

“We are pausing the delivery of the 737 MAX until we come up with a solution,” a Boeing spokesman said, adding that “we are going to continue the production, but we are assessing our capacities.”

France’s BEA air safety agency confirmed it has received the black box recorders from the plane, which was just four months old and crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on Sunday.

Black boxes arrives in France, families angry at airline

Hours after France confirmed that it was available to analyze the black boxes from the crashed Ethiopian airline jet, investigators from Addis Ababa arrived in Paris with the boxes.

Work on the materials will be handled by the accident investigation agency, BEA. Ethiopian had on early Thursday confirmed that France had opted to help with the analysis.

The United States transport safety board have also sent three investigators to France to assist with the downloading and analysis of the information contained in the boxes.

View image on Twitter

BEA | Bureau d’Enquêtes & d’Analyses   @BEA_Aero

03/10 accident to the #Boeing737Max @BoeingAirplanes ET-AVJ operated by @flyethiopian / First picture of the FDR provided by the Ethiopian investigation team.

542

8:52 AM – Mar 14, 2019 · Le Bourget, France

463 people are talking about this

Twitter Ads info and privacy

The Washington-based NTSB is the federal agency that: “investigates accidents in aviation, highway, marine, rail & pipeline and makes recommendations to improve transportation safety for everyone.”

Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting about a standoff in Addis Ababa where families of victims stormed out of a meeting with the airline.

According to Maggie Fick, Reuters East Africa bureau chief: “The airline had called a meeting with families in a hotel in Addis Ababa but around 100 relatives walked out.”

They were protesting what they said was lack of timely information from the airline. Most of them had visited the crash site in Bishoftu to pay their respects to departed relations.

France accepts to analyze black box

France’s air accident investigation agency BEA will analyse black-box flight recorders from a Boeing 737 MAX 8 which crashed near Addis Ababa on Sunday, a spokesman said.

Ethiopian Airlines said earlier it would send the two cockpit voice and data recorders abroad for analysis.

The French announcement resolved uncertainty over the fate of the two recorders after Germany’s BFU said it had declined a request to handle them because it could not process the new type of recorder used on the 737 MAX jets, in service since 2017.

The BEA is one of the world’s most active air crash agencies alongside the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States and has laboratories at its Le Bourget headquarters.

REUTERS

Other key planks you can read about:

• Boeing suspends deliveries of 737 MAX jets
• Black boxes in France, families lash out at airline
• Germany rejects, France accepts ‘black box analysis’
• US govt orders Boeing to ground all 737 MAX 9 and 9 jets
• Ethiopian Airlines CEO wants Boeing to ground 737 MAX planes
• Black boxes to be sent to Germany
• Airline CEO visits Bole International Airport
• Boeing team on ground in Addis Ababa

US regulators orders Boeing to ground jets

Three days after the accident in Ethiopia and in the wake of global ‘blacklisting,’ the United States says the manufacturer will be ordered to ground all Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 jets.

Industry experts had long speculated that it was only a matter of time before the US Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, made the order.

Boeing had in earlier statements stressed that it was not going to suspend
the production. It has said in a recent statement that it respected the FAA’s latest decision.

View image on Twitter

The FAA

@FAANews

#FAA statement on the temporary grounding of @Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in a U.S. territory.

1,793

12:09 PM – Mar 13, 2019 · Washington, DC

2,109 people are talking about this

Twitter Ads info and privacy

Foreign allies commiserate with Ethiopia – PM

Black boxes to be sent to Germany

Ethiopia lacks the forensic capabilities of other countries, a spokesman for Ethiopian Airlines said on Wednesday, explaining that the black box voice and data recorders recovered on Monday would be sent overseas for analysis.

What is the black box or flight recorder? It is basically an equipment that records information about the performance of an aircraft during flight.

“There is no capacity here so the black box will be sent elsewhere for analysis. The investigation team will decide where,” the spokesman told Reuters.

Reuters later confirmed that the European destination in question is Germany.

U.S. officials said the black box devices suffered some damage but they were confident of some initial results within 24 hours of the data being downloaded.

‘Ground all 737 MAX planes’: Ethiopian Airlines CEO

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told the BBC on Wednesday, that he believes Boeing Co should ground all of its 737 MAX 8 jets until it is established that they are safe to fly.

Ethiopian Airlines on Monday grounded its remaining fleet of 4 737 MAX planes after Sunday’s fatal crash.

Several other airlines all over the world have grounded this model of the plane, citing similarities between the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash and the Lion Air crash in October last year.

Spotlight on Boeing 737 MAX planes

In the aftermath of Sunday’s crash, which was the second involving the Boeing 737 MAX 8 within a space of six months, several airlines have grounded their fleets of the same plane model, while countries have banned the 737 MAX planes from operating in their airspaces.

Reuters calculations show that as of Wednesday morning, about two-thirds of the 371 Boeing 737 MAXplanes operating in the world have been grounded.

Adding to the pressure on Boeing, Norwegian Air said it would seek recompense for lost revenue and extra costs after grounding its 737 MAX aircraft.

“We expect Boeing to take this bill,” Norwegian said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

With no link proven between the two crashes, however, the United States has bucked the trend and allowed 737 MAX planes to continue operating even though Europe has suspended them.

Of the top 10 countries by air passenger travel, all but the United States and Japan have halted flights of the 737 MAX. The EU, China, Indonesia, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, India and others have temporarily suspended the plane.

Boeing, the world’s biggest planemaker, has said it retains “full confidence” in the 737 MAX. Its shares fell 6.1 percent on Tuesday, bringing losses to 11.15 percent since the crash, the steepest two-day loss for the stock since July 2009.

The drop has lopped $26.65 billion off Boeing’s market value.

Airline CEO visits Addis Ababa’s Bole Int’l Airport

CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde Gebremariam, paid a visit to the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. Operations were continuing as normal with workers and passengers going through their usual routines.

Gebremariam was very much in the forefront of events on March 10 when the incident occured.

Visiting the accident site and later giving a press conference to update the general public on the extent of the accident at the time.

One photo that became defining during his visit showed him holding a part of the crashed plane at the site. It was Bulletin No. 2 in which the airline confirmed that all aboard the ET 320 had perished.

Ethiopian Airlines

@flyethiopian

Africa’s biggest hub Addis Ababa Bole international airport is as busy as always availing our customers of the standard service. Ethiopian airline’s GCO Mr.Tewolde Gebremariam has visited the terminals and witnessed the smooth operations.

1,156

11:41 AM – Mar 12, 2019

380 people are talking about this

Twitter Ads info and privacy

Other key planks you can read about:

• Ethiopia appreciates global solidarity
• Black box retrieved from crash site
• PHOTOS: Search and rescue mission on site
• Who are the victims?
• Strong defense for Ethiopian’s safety record
• The Boeing 737 MAX8 – multi-pronged pressure
• PHOTOS: Memorial service in Addis Ababa
• Previous accidents by Ethiopian Airline
• The quality of information flow: govt and airline
• African, world leaders send condolences
• The departure and destination of ET302
• How long did the flight last, casualty list
• POEM: Travel gathered 157, death swooped
• About Ethiopian – Africa’s aviation leader

Boeing team joins investigators

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the plane crash in Bishoftu on Sunday, there are local and international experts involved in the process, reports have suggested.

Aircraft manufacturing company Boeing, announced a technical team which has since arrived on site of the Ethiopian Airlines flight that killed 157 people to provide technical assistance.

Boeing team in Ethiopia to provide assistance

Ethiopia appreciates global solidarity

The Prime Minister’s office on Monday sent out one message on social media in relation to the incident of 24-hours prior.

And it was a message of appreciation for the global solidarity that Ethiopia – government and airline got. Most of the messages of support were posted on Twitter aside the likely flooding in of diplomatic cables.

The PM’s message read: “On behalf of the FDRE Government, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expresses his gratitude to world leaders and the international community for their messages of condolence and support in our time of mourning all the precious lives we lost aboard ET 302.”

Black box retrieved from crash site

A key technical part of the plane, the black box, was retrieved by a search and rescue team that was dispatched to the site hours after the incident.

What is the black box or flight recorder? It is basically an equipment that records information about the performance of an aircraft during flight.

It is usually a very key component to getting to know the likely cause of the accident. Ethiopian confirmed that both parts had been retrieved: “The Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) of ET302 have been Recovered.”

PHOTOS: Search and rescue mission on site

There is a coordinated local and international response on the ground to help uncover the mystery that led to 157 lives perishing in a swoop.

The Airline and other responsible state outfits like the Federal Police and Transport Bureaus have been joined by experts from across the world, from the Kenya, South Africa, United States, Israel and INTERPOL among others. Manufacturer Boeing also is an integral part of the team.

Who are the victims?

A key plank of reportage on accidents in recent times is a focus on the victims, even perpetrators.

Social media in part did a great job of helping get profiles of victims a announcements were routinely made by families or employers.

Some governments also named their nationals via social media as was the case with Russia, Nigeria.

Read more about the victims on: Euronews, our France-based sister channel

Strong defence for Ethiopian’s safety record

The accident thrust the issue of flight safety to the fore. The figures show that the carrier had an impeccable safety record with industry players and people on social media mounting a robust defence.

One of the earliest to give Ethiopian a pass mark was Alex Macheras, who has since Saturday been busy giving perspectives to multiple media outlets regarding the ET302.

Here were his initial comments very early on:

The Boeing 737 MAX8 – multi-pronged pressure

Boeing and maybe insurers of Ethiopian Airlines will be one of the most concerned entities in these times. The manufacturer has been under serial pressure in the wake of the crash.

Its shares have plummeted but more worrying is the impact on continued usage of the particular jets. Close to a dozen carriers – Ethiopian being the first – have grounded all their 737 Max8 jets.

It turns out that it is the second deadly crash involving the same make of plane in five months. The first was when a Lion Air flight also crashed and claimed lives in October 2018.

Read more about the Boeing 737 Max8 Aircrafts

Previous fatal accidents by Ethiopian Airline

In 2010, its passenger jet crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after taking off from Beirut. 90 people were lost in the incident.

In 1996, 123 out of 175 persons on board a flight were killed after its plane was hijacked. One of the engines stopped when the flight run out of fuel.

An attempt at emergency water landing led the plane to hit a coral reef resulting in the losses.

Back in 1988, a departing plane struck a flock of pigeons and crash-landed as it returned towards the airport. 31 lives were lost.

In effect the March 10 accident becomes the worst in the company’s 74-years of operation. It was founded by Emperor Haile Selassie and is one of the crown jewels of the economy.

PHOTOS: Memorial service in Addis Ababa

The Ethiopian government declared a day of mourning on Monday, it was observed with flag flying at half-mast.

Solemn and sombre moods were also captured in Addis Ababa where friends, family and acquaintances even strangers gathered to observe a memorial.

Tears, emotions and shared grief enveloped the venue. Same was the case over in Nairobi at the opening of the UN conference as a minute silence was observed in memory of the departed.

africanews

@africanews

Replying to @africanews

PHOTOS: Ethiopian Airline crash – Emotional memorials in Addis Ababa

Black box recovered: https://bit.ly/2VQFgME 

10

8:00 AM – Mar 11, 2019

See africanews’s other Tweets

Twitter Ads info and privacy

The quality of information flow: govt and airline

Social media proved decisive in the wake of the Ethiopian Airline crash of March 10, 2019; as government through the Prime Minister’s office and the airline coordinated official response with disarming effect.

By close of day, the two entities had issued just about a dozen messages on Twitter but the content these messages carried were enough to fully inform of and assure of appropriate measures going forward.

The PM’s office issued three tweets in all against the Airline’s seven yet the media had seemingly been given enough on the incident by close of day March 10.

African, world leaders send condolences

On Sunday, March 10, 2019; African leaders united – this time not with the usual words of electoral congratulations or condemnation of terrorism but more over words of commiseration and brotherly support in a hard time.

This was after the Addis Ababa – Nairobi flight crashed in the early hours of Sunday morning. The incident had become the biggest global news item of the day – by a stretch.

The death toll had Kenya topping as the most affected nation with 32 citizens overall. Other African nations lost citizens as did the United States, Canada, Slovakia etc.

Here are tweets from some African and world leaders:

The departure point and destination of ET302

The basic facts are as follows: The flight had left the Bole International Airport in the capital Addis Ababa. It was heading for the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Why Addis Ababa and Nairobi: In the wake of Ethiopians rise and rise as Africa’s biggest carrier, the Bole International Airport plays a crucial role as hub from where most Ethiopia flights connect with the world.

Nairobi on the other hand hosts the United Nation’s biggest office in Africa. It is also a big conference destination and was billed to host the UN environment confab.

How long did the flight last, where did it crash and casualty list

It crashed only six minutes after take-off in the town of Bishoftu in Oromia region. Hours on, it was confirmed that all passengers (149) and crew (8) were killed in the incident.

A melange of passengers were aboard the flight – from humanitarian workers to professionals on their way to a United Nations Environment summit holding in Nairobi.

Since then the following issues have come up: identification and naming of victims, plane manufacturer Boeing under multi-pronged pressure, the world continues to solidarize with Ethiopia and all affected.

POEM: Travel gathered 157 lives, death swooped

Plans, dreams, aspirations, hopes and emotions plunged in Ethiopia
Over 30 nationalities united in a passenger flight hoping to reach
But reach they did not when the flight returned and “buried” them
The grief that tears through the world sears the hearts of millions
Despite loss of 157, it’s clear millions are hit – directly, indirectly
The ultimate leveller in all of this is the non-discriminator – death
The plane had arrived from South Africa and was passed fit to go
It won’t make it to Nairobi, the next stop, and none aboard made it
It crashed six-minutes after take-off, try as pilot did to return to base
In town of Bishoftu, Oromia region – Ethiopia’s biggest, most populous

Not the white or black
Not the rich or poor
Not the adult or child
Not the educated or illiterate
Not the tourist or official
Not the young or old
Not the father or child
Not the pilot or the passenger
Not the Muslim or Christian
Not the believer of atheist
Not the first or last to board
Not the first-timer of frequent flier
Not the economy or business class
Not the ordinary or the UN passport holder

The plane was evaluated and passed – it fell
The pilot attempted to return – it wasn’t to be
The people’d wished they weren’t aboard – they were
Some’d prayed for a safe flight – but death came
The safety procedures were given – didn’t count
Some’d been wished safe flight – didn’t happen
Travel gathered them in one place – death swooped
The passengers, plane, belongings – all gone
Captain with 8000 hours flying time – does death care?
The friends, family, Africa and the world – mourns
Same day other Ethiopian flights safely landed – fact
This day people will reconsider Ethiopian – human nature
Others will not blink and get aboard – accidents happen
May the “lessons” of March 10 save lives – legacy

About Ethiopian – Africa’s aviation leader

The airline currently flies to over 50 African cities in what is the largest network by a national carrier. It is also in talks to help about a dozen African countries to establish and manage their carriers.

Ethiopian – a member of the Star Alliance group in its seven decades of operation has become one of the continent’s leading carriers in terms of efficiency and operational success.

They command the lion’s share of the pan-African passenger and cargo network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to 95 international destinations across five continents.

It is the first African operator to take delivery of the Boeing 787-9 dreamliner. Its operations have transformed the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa into a continental hub.

African News

The post Ethiopian crash hub: Airline rebuts misinformation by U.S. media appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

ESAT interview Biruk with Eskinder Nega March 2019

The post ESAT interview Biruk with Eskinder Nega March 2019 appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

By Belayneh Abate

In the western world,  you have to produce astounding  resume to get a decent job.  To reassure the job offer, you have to provide references that could speak highly about your past achievements in addition to your resume. Based on the resume and the references, the employer can predict what you can and cannot do in the future. In other words, the employer predicts your future achievements based on your past accomplishments.

Before  the Westerners start to read resumes, our forefathers  used to predict future abilities based on the past activities. Predicting the future achievements based on the past accomplishments  was the culture of our ancestors. For example, our forefathers never  elected a volunteer slave, a  liar, a traitor, a looter,  or a coward as Gobez Aleqa, Shimagille, or Atbia Dagna. Our forefathers used to think in three dimensions  for long not to give the hands of their daughters to uncultured and unprincipled boys or boys raised of such parents.

The Ethiopian elites have lost the principles and the culture of our forefathers as much as they have failed to follow the Westerners’ tradition of reading resumes. As the result of this tragic failure, many Ethiopian elites cheer behind murderess,  looters, volunteer slaves and traitors.

It was perplexing to watch the Ethiopian elites endorsing  the murderers, looters, and  volunteer slaves that shuffled power last year under the pressure of the West after thousands of people were massacred , disabled and tortured by these looters and volunteer slaves.

The opportunist Ethiopian elites salivated when the volunteer slaves such as Abiy Ahmed pretended to act as visionary leaders that  stood on their own spines. Failing to stand by their forefathers principles and ignoring to read their resumes, the opportunist elites blindly trusted the  shameless volunteer slaves when these volunteer slaves acted as if they emancipated themselves from the bondage of slavery.

The opportunist elites did not want to listen when principled citizens cried not to support the volunteer slaves that murdered and tortured patriots that freed them. Defying the concerns of principled citizens and shouting the “national unity” mantra as an excuse,  the gullible elites failed to admit that these slaves were criminals, who were librated by the martyrs they slaughtered.

Like an immature girl cheated by a cunning but useless boy, the gullible elites were miserably seduced by the slaves’ rhetoric and pretensions behind podiums. These elites forgot how the Legesse Zenawi’s gang group selected these slaves in order to establish its rule at the graves of Chauvinists and Neftegnas. The elites forgot that Legesse Zenawi’s gang group never assigned slaves that would question the atrocities and treasons the group committed.

As aliens that recently descended from Mars, these unprincipled elites acted as if they did not  know that the criminal  party Abiy Ahmed leads made the country land- locked, granted land to Sudan, promoted endless ethnic conflicts, massacred people, tortured and sterilized innocents. The pseudo- elites did not want to remember  that this party executed these atrocities and treasons after designing and building effective weapons. The elites do not want to admit that these effective weapons were Abiy and other volunteer slaves who are now embraced like a darling first child by the unprincipled elites.

The unprincipled elites did not want to listen when principled citizens spoke loud that trusting  these criminal slaves is trusting Yihuda. Yihuda served Satan betraying Christos that groomed him as disciple. Similarly, these slaves served Legesses’s gang group betraying the people that cultivated them from cradle to adulthood.

The opportunist elites do not want to admit that Yihuda was a better traitor than the volunteer slaves they support. Yihuda never hammered nails to Christos’s extremities nor did he tie rope around his neck to gratify Satan. But these slaves, who are now supported by opportunist elites,  shot bullets and bombs to their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters to please their masters. Yihuda regretted his treason and committed suicide, but these slaves showed no remorse and placed themselves into seclusions. Instead of placing themselves into seclusions, these shameless traitors pretended as if they were visionary leaders to steal the hearts of the naive mass and unprincipled  elites.  The elites fail to understand that these shameless slaves were regrouping themselves to stay in power for the coming decades.

The shameful Ethiopian elites are also supporting the traitor leaders of “opposition” political parties, who are currently dancing with the criminal  leaders of the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

How could a sane elite stand behind the  traitor opposition party leaders that dine with the heads of EPRDF that massacred, amputated, sterilized and blinded the members and supporters of their political parties? What kind of sane elite supports  traitor politicians that open a bottle of sparkling Champagne and cut a decorated cake with the murderers of their members and followers? What kinds of citizens vote for these types of traitors?

The Ethiopian elites have failed to follow the principles of our forefathers as much as they have failed to master the western culture of reading resumes. As a result of their failure,  the Ethiopian people, known for granting the outmost respect to intellectuals, have completely lost hope on the Ethiopian elites.

In order to get the trust of the Ethiopian people back and to save the country from demise, the elites should follow the principles of our forefathers and  stop supporting the criminal  slaves that massacred, amputated, sterilized and tortured millions of our citizens!

Thank you.

Similar Reads:

ፍትህ የሌለው እርቅ ሥራ እንደሌለው እምነት የሞተ ነው!
http://quatero.net/amharic1/archives/30170

የንፁሓን ደም ይጮሃል! https://www.ethiopianregistrar.com/amharic/archives/52522

No One Has the Right to Forgive on Behalf of the Dead Souls!
https://ecadforum.com/…/no-one-has-the-right-to-forgive-on…/We Shall never Feed or Trade on Dead Souls!
https://www.zehabesha.com/we-shall-never-feed-or-trade-on-…/We Shall Never Forget the Dead Souls to Lick Ice Cream of Political Advantages from Blood Stained Spoons
http://ethioforum.org/we-shall-never-forget-the-dead-souls…/

ጋሰለ አረሩ አዴፓም ብአዴን ነው!

http://www.zehabesha.com/amharic/archives/93561?fbclid=IwAR3AskKLvdQTLp5VlwyCsWq3aketRmZoEbkIc-2q98ZNF_MF3IE8MMrRylc

ይሁዳ ክርስቶስን በሰላሳ ዲናር ሸጠው! (በላይነህ አባተ )

https://www.satenaw.com/amharic/archives/61148?fbclid=IwAR3skqKYI5wqfws8KKvVW5mvBq_lNKKKhmSCzkNqATuqOCy34Uv8UH_mFUw

አለባብሰው ቢያርሱ ባረም ይመለሱ!

https://welkait.com/?p=18008&fbclid=IwAR3K6AxHr2Oi1Fg9x_5DvhLZyjjq-g8jozpAxhMSfW3Anvcww8zoCJ9IkZI

እርምን ቆረጣጥም!

http://quatero.net/amharic1/archives/30994?fbclid=IwAR25wpnAkgJBnRrgrUkoybRV_i5_6UUWfTfXWwfZNjR1LqT4e6JSF76O7os

The writer can be reached at abatebelai@yahoo.com

March, 2019

The post The Ethiopian Elites Have Failed to Follow The Principles of Our Forefathers! appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

The action follows two deadly crashes involving two of the aircraft

By Stanley Widianto and Timothy McLaughlin | Washington Post

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia’s national airline Garuda Indonesia is moving to cancel an order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets following the deadly crashes involving two of the aircraft, a spokesman for the company said Friday.

The decision comes less than two weeks after an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed en route to Nairobi from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people onboard. A flight of Lion Air, a low-cost Indonesian airline, crashed in October shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, killing all 189 passengers and crew.

Both crashes involved the 737 Max 8 model and have brought intense scrutiny to U.S.-based Boeing, which marketed the 737 Max 8 as a fuel-efficient jet of the future, as well as to the Federal Aviation Administration. Garuda Indonesia’s cancellation is believed to be the first scrapping of an order for the plane in reaction to the crashes.

Ikhsan Rosan, a spokesman for Garuda Indonesia, told The Washington Post the decision to cancel the order was due to “consumers’ low confidence” in the airplanes following the crashes. The order was first announced in October 2014.

Rosan said airline officials told Boeing of the decision by letter and were scheduled to meet with representatives from Boeing to discuss the matter on March 28. A spokesman for Boeing said the company does not comment on discussions with customers.

“The discussion won’t be easy,” he said. Garuda Indonesia ordered 50 of the aircraft, Rosan said, and one has been delivered but was grounded after the Ethiopian Airlines crash earlier this month. Garuda Indonesia has a fleet size of 144 aircraft, according to the company’s website. An additional 58 aircraft are operated by its low-cost carrier, Citilink.

Authorities investigating the crash of Lion Air flight 610 say erroneous sensor data triggered an automated anti-stall feature, known as the MCAS, in the new Max planes. The glitch kept pushing the plane’s nose down, ultimately causing it to plunge into the Java Sea, investigators found. Divers scoured the waters off the coast of Jakarta for the plane’s two “black boxes.” The voice recorder was recovered in January.

The Ethiopian Airlines crash appeared to share similarities with the Lion Air case, including an erratic up-and-down flight path and the pilot reporting “flight control” problems shortly before crashing, authorities said. Investigators in France and Ethiopia then said information from the Ethiopian flight data recorder showed “clear similarities” with the Lion Air flight.

On Thursday, investigators in Jakarta confirmed that a third pilot was aboard the same Lion Air plane during a flight on Oct. 28, a day before it crashed. During that flight, the plane experienced similar issues with the MCAS system, but that pilot reportedly disconnected the system.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General and the Department of Justice are looking into the Boeing 737 Max following the crashes.

The post Indonesian carrier cancels order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8s appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

PRESS RELEASE

   COMMEMORATION  OF  THE 82^ND  YEKATIT  12  MARTYRS DAY ANNIVERSARY

The commemoration of the 82^nd Yekatit 12 Martyrs Day anniversary regarding the massacre of one million Ethiopians by Fascist Italians including the 30,000 killed in Addis Ababa during February 19-21, 1937 has taken place in various cities of which we have had a confirmation from the following:

1. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;
2. Rome, Italy;
3. Pretoria, South Africa;
4. Vancouver, Canada;
5. Harare, Zimbabwe;
6. Tampa, USA;
7. Washington, DC, USA;
8. Denver, Colorado, USA;
9. Silver Spring, Mary Land, USA;
10. Aurora, Colorado, USA;
11. Tampa, Florida, USA;
12. Houston, Texas, USA;
13. Dallas, Texas, USA;
14. New York, USA;
15. Atlanta, Georgia, USA;
16. New York, New York, USA.

We are confident that numerous other cities have commemorated the event in the same and other countries. What have been unique in the context of the 82^nd event include:

1. The commemoration of the event in Rome with the collaboration among

the Ethiopian Embassy, ANPI (National Association of Italian Partiasans);

FARI (Federation of the Assembly of the Assembly of RasTafarians in Italy);

ECAT (Ethiop9an Community Association in Italy);EXODUS (Ethiopian Cultural Service);

2. The meeting arranged by the Ethiopian Community Association in Vancouver with the Italian Consul General who responded positively to the struggle for justice for Ethiopia;
3. The arrangement of the event by community associations in a number of cities including Atlanta, New York and Vancouver;
4. The additional number of signatures obtained for the petition presented on the Alliance’s website (Global Alliance for Justice – The Ethiopian Cause) calling on the Vatican to apologize to the Ethiopian people for its complicity with Fascist Italy’s war crimes.

The Alliance continues with its struggle for justice so that Ethiopia would achieve the remuneration as well as the restitution it deserves for the huge war crimes it suffered by Italy during 1935-41 and the Vatican’s apology to the Ethiopian people for its complicity with Fascist Italy. The Alliance also hopes that the United Nations would accord a recognition of the Italian war crime in Ethiopia including the one million Ethiopians massacred, the looting of huge quantities of Ethiopian properties, the destruction of 2,000 churches, 525,000 homes and 14 million animals and the recent establishment of a mausoleum for the Fascist Italian, Rodolfo Graziani.

It is pleasing to note that an Italian court has passed a verdict against those responsible for the establishment of the mausoleum for the Fascist Italian “butcher of Ethiopia”, Rodolfo Graziani.

The Alliance expresses its appreciation and thanks to all those who commemorated the 82^nd anniversary of the Yekatit 12 Martyrs Day event, especially those in Rome, Italy and expresses the hope that, with the help of the Almighty, Ethiopia would achieve its well deserved objective.

The post PRESS RELEASE….. COMMEMORATION  OF  THE 82ND  YEKATIT  12  MARTYRS DAY ANNIVERSARY appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

by Mekuria Gize

I heard PM Abiy’s speech he made at the Sheraton Addis hotel. His speech has mixed messages. It was full of rhetoric with some truths (truths like Addis Abeba River projects, the Eritrea-Ethiopia relationship, Tourism, Volunteer work, Road map were well intentioned). Let me start first with the best truths he spoke about. The explanation he delivered about Addis Abeba River projects and tourism is flawless and convincing. It is illogical logic for us to comment against the Addis Abeba River Projects simply because Ethiopia has so many poor people to worry about. Even the Egyptian pyramid that was constructed by slave Jewish labour has a great value for the world today. So we Ethiopians should not criticise every new idea. We rather have to discuss the feasibility of the project, benefits and social costs (if any displacement of people as a result of this project). So the correct approach is to create Advocacy Group to defend the right of people living near the rivers the projects are envisaged. The peripheral argument he gave about the value of tourism is also right considering the monetary values Ethiopia can generate from the sector. However, I want to remind PM Abiy that tourism is in danger from the continued inflation in the country.  PM Abiy has a lot of jobs to do to contain inflation. Otherwise, tourism is to collapse soon. I am telling you this with no economics background but no economist has told you up to now.

Eskindir Nega’s Movement

I am in favour of Eskinder Nega’s movement to change into a political party platform like Addis Abeba Democratic Party or Addis Abeba Peoples’ Party (AADP or AAPP).  At the moment Ginbot 7 has failed miserably. Semayawi party led by Yeshwas Assefa has been fooled into abolishing his party and do nothing. These Pan Ethiopian parties should have been at the forefront when Addis Abebans are threatened by qerroo and the ODP. This was the occasion they could have mobilized their supporters but instead, they preferred to have lobbying job inside Menelik’s palace. So Eskinder can have the momentum going if he formed a party or help create a party he believes in if he wants to stay in his journalistic profession. I urge well-intentioned Ethiopians including Reyot, and professionals known to teach us at Reyot to urge Eskinder to go that line, even if he is doing a peaceful mobilization for Addis Abeba caretaker council. The former is preferred. He will permanently lock out the pretenders like Ginbot 7 and Semayawi.

The critiques PM Abiy made on the so-called “road map” often demanded by the misguided intellectuals is quite right. We often try to bring words we learned in university courses or heard from political parties programs overseas and want to apply it to Ethiopia.

Elsewhere in his speech, as usual, the prime minister walked in a fine like with words that can be interpreted either as affirmative or negative. He is skilled in that job. But we need to be focused on the substance. He has not denounced the extremists in Oromia (including the ODP) which are the main cause for Addis Abebans to be concerned. Instead, he blamed  Addis Abebans for not going to Oromia and ask their problems. Addis Abebans do not need to do that. What they are demanding is their universal right written in the constitution – the right to administer themselves. Another saddening line of the PM’s speech is his challenging of  the audience at Sheraton why they have not opened a similar forum in Tigray and ask them why they are frown. These are the people who caused unimaginable harms to us Ethiopians for 27 years and embezzled the country to its bones. There are many criminals in Tigray that are wanted by his own court system. He failed to bring these criminals, yet he sends his attack dogs  stop peaceful demonstration in Addis Abeba or even incriminate them. The PM’s speech is alarming, in some cases, having the rhetoric of Meles Zenawi and Mengistu Hailemariam. He is starting to move into territories of dictatorship

One line of talk the PM often cites is the issue of patience. When he talks about patience, it is different from what we say. Yes, he needs to show patience for people who exercise their rights per the country’s law. But it will be unimaginable to accuse those that exercise their rights, and do nothing against instigators like Jawar Mohammed, Eskiel, Dereje Etena, Tsegaye Ararsa, etc. We know he made sure the Oromos dominate the army and the security to call his biting dogs in time of need. Ethiopians must stand alerted to defend themselves until the PM condemns the extremists and the wanton press release of ODP, and recognise the right of Addis Abebans on Addis Abeba.

The prime minister had warned Addis Abebans that they are only safe when the regions around them (Oromia, Amara, SSEP, and etc) are in peace. It seems he forgot his main duty as PM of Ethiopia- keep peace and security in all parts of the country, and protect Addis Abebans as well. A leader has to execute his/her duties and not blame Addis Abebans for demanding their rights. Addis Abebans did nothing wrong except reacting to the frightening messages of Oromo fundamentalists and the ODP. His neglect in protecting Ethiopians and inability to stop displacement of people in the whole of the country is surely a reminder of the era of the Soviet Union in 1991, where each federal states warlord took the law into their hands and disintegrated the country. PM Abiy is promoting disintegration indirectly by not maintaining peace and security in Ethiopia.  Gorbachev’s Perestroika did not stop the Soviet Union from breaking apart. The world must watch the dangers of not keeping law and order in Ethiopia. If Ethiopia is in problem, the whole East Africa will be engulfed in violence facilitating conditions ripe for the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism.

Conclusions

PM Abiy’s vision for the Addis Abeba River projects is laudable except social problems have to be addressed at an amicable level. There are many good ideas he raised as usual.

Prime minister failed to assure Addis Abebans, and denounce Oromo extremists who dine and wine at the taxpayers’ money in five-star hotels. His own party, the ODP threatened Addis Abebans and he never criticised it.

PM Abiy’s view on who transgresses the law and needs punishment is different from the views of the public. The public wants instigators who demonstrate using clubs, machetes and sharp objects are contained. Prime minister wants to send his attack dogs (the police) to suffocate democracy by arresting people who demanded their God-given right, the right to assemble peacefully and denounce the attempt to take away democratic rights.

The prime mister failed to understand that the Meles Zenawi constitution was written before any legally elected government took over. Mengistu Hailemariam and Meles Zenawi have come to power changing previous constitutions.

The post Half Truth and Half Deception at the Sheraton Addis Meeting appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.

March 23, 2019
Tegenaw Goshu

Let me from the outset make myself clear as far as the very purpose of my comment is concerned.

First, I have no any intention of provoking unnecessary and unproductive conversation on the article (s) of the Professor that made me not to remain silent or not to go without expressing my point of view. I absolutely have no personal or any other interest except believing that it is quite right to call a spade a spade whenever and wherever it is appropriate regardless of social, economic, academic (educational), professional, political status of persons or groupings.

I sincerely understand that it would be wrong for me to undermine the very professional and academic qualification of the writer of this article (the Professor). Neither it is right for me to have a judgment on his very personal behavior nor any other personal matter.

My very purpose is to express my critical point of view on not only his very uncritical or totally passive approach toward  Prime Minister Abyi Ahmed   that sounds going  too far to the extent of worshiping or creating  the politics of personal cult . To fall in love with anyone who does relatively good things with our critical and constructive way of political thinking and behavior is truly great and appropriate! But falling in love with a politician (s) uncritically and complacently is terribly inappropriate and unproductive. It could end up with foolishly declaring oneself a victor whereas the reality on the ground self-evidently tells the resurfacing of suffering from serious setback if not terrible failure.

I strongly argue this is what we are witnessing in our country as far as the very hard reality revealing itself on the ground is concerned. It is so ridiculous for those politicians (“agents of change”) to keep going with their voracious political rhetoric whereas extremely terrible things are happening   in several parts of the country including right at the very backyard of their palaces (the head of government/the PM Office and the head of state/the President’s Office.

Second, I genuinely and firmly believe that the very political culture and thinking of our intellectuals (though not all) who are emotionally or otherwise complacent toward the politicians (leaders) is one of the most notoriously stupid reasons for the very poor if not wrong public perception about the politicians (“agents of transition to a democratic system”). Those intellectuals who had no any critical argument or way of thinking toward the incumbent leaders more specifically the Prime Minister and few members of his team at the very beginning of the desirable movement for change have their own undesirable if not miserable contribution to what went terribly wrong before the change had to take off in a meaningful manner.

So, the very purpose of my comment is not to have unnecessary arguments and counter –arguments with the Professor and his uncritical admirers.  But it is to express my strong conviction that there is a compelling reason for genuinely concerned citizens not to remain shy of challenging (criticizing) uncritical, irrational, excessively subjective, arrogantly self-assertive and absurdly complacent political attitudes/ behaviors and practices.

Having said these couple of points about the very purpose of my comment, let me proceed to the points of view I want to express:

I am one of those fellow Ethiopians who do try to go through writings  (articles) written and forwarded by any ordinary compatriot and more   particularly by well-educated (highly educated) ones on any area of subject that matters a lot to our country. I do this because I sincerely and strongly believe that this is one of the ways through which we can gain knowledge (well-substantiated and organized information) that in its turn paves the way for mutual understanding by either avoiding or lessening the misunderstandings we may suffer from.

Needless to say, it is this kind of communication (interaction) that enables us to become beneficiaries of doing something practically desirable for the common good we do aspire.    It goes without saying that we are in a very serious situation that desperately begs for this kind of communication (interaction) of a real sense of sincerity and civility more than ever. I wonder whether we are learning a bitter lesson from the very general crisis we have gone though and still are going through. I wonder whether this generation is a generation of self-aware enough about the magnitude of general crisis (political, socio-economic, moral, spiritual (the very essence of inner soul). I wonder whether this generation is truly willing and ready to find feasible and reliable means to totally liberate itself from a political system of deception and hypocrisy still being orchestrated by political elites who are trying to continue the very divisive and mutually destructive political agenda and practice of ethno-centrism that has never been the wishes of the people.

When it comes to the article I am referring to, I was one of those compatriots who used to go through the relentlessly continuous and excessively long articles (writings) of Professor Alemayehu Gebremariam for the last several years. Though not as I used to be, I still try to glance over articles (writings) of the Professor believing that to stay away from doing so is not only undesirable but also wrong. It is wrong because staying away from or trying to avoid arguments on issues (serious challenges) whenever we feel it is difficult to us to deal with disqualifies not only our basic reasoning power but also the very essence of intellect and intellectuality we may claim to have.

It is from this very perspective that I read the article written by the Professor and forwarded (published) on ECADF (03/21/19 after unusually having a considerable time interval. It is titled “Remembering the Sharpeville (South Africa) and Meles Massacres (Ethiopia) in 2019”.

Well, going all the way back to not only recorded history but also to the extent of time immemorial in search of any inhumane action committed by those who wanted to rule over the society they belonged to is one of  the disciplines ( fields) that should be dealt with by intellectuals who are believed to have power of intellect.  It is not merely a matter of digging out what happened in the past and put it in the right context of history but it is also (most importantly) a matter of learning appropriate lessons and not to repeat what terribly went wrong .  What we desperately need at this extremely critical moment of our country is a critical, balanced, rational, all-around, farsighted, justice for all political way of engagement (participation). It must be noted here that intellectuals of various areas of profession have a very especial role in this regard.

Are we witnessing this kind of comprehensive and critical approach and participation in our country? It will be wrong to answer this question in a generalized and absolute terms of yes or no. But it is self-evidently   clear that the current situation in our country is characterized by a very weak if not failed participation of educated Ethiopians in general and those who belong to the highest level of intellect and intellectuality in particular.

What makes this very essence of knowledge and skill terribly not only clumsy but also deeply disappointing is when it is intended to praise (admire) the politicians we may fall in love with as blameless (cult figures). Articles (writings) by Professor A.G/Mariam about the incumbent leaders especially Prime Minister Abyi Ahmed are typical examples.   The clumsiness and absurdity of this kind of way of political thinking and behavior becomes horribly disappointing when it comes from intellectuals who are supposed to be as rational, critical, realistic, balanced, and sustainable solution -seeking as possible.

Any literate ordinary Ethiopian with a relatively critical and rational reasoning power can easily sense how the very topic of the article is framed in a very highly skewed way of thinking or state of mind.

It is true that the very inner circle of TPLF and those EPRDF politicians and cadres who felt losing their abusive political power cannot stay away from the disruptive behavior and action during this struggle for genuine freedom and justice.  I wholly agree that we cannot and should not undermine let alone disregard their very ugly if not deadly attempts until they would realize that the room and the window they are using are closed on their backs forever by the freedom and peace-loving people of Ethiopia.  

But it is terribly wrong if not miserably complacent not to have the moral and political courage to be critical of the very weaknesses of not taking timely and appropriate actions by Prime Minister Abyi Ahmed who is the leader of both the ruling party and the head of the government.

Needless to say, it is both morally and intellectually absurd not to show a sense of regret when those politicians (leaders) who we gave our unreserved admiration terribly failed to take timely and effective preventive actions to protect innocent citizens from the horrible consequences we are witnessing day in and day out.

It absolutely does not make sense not to directly, straight-forwardly and constructively criticize the very unjustifiable weaknesses of not taking timely and necessary actions to mitigate the suffering of hundreds of thousands of innocent citizens before it became incredibly unbearable day in and day out. Is this not an open secret that revealed itself months ago and getting worse, not better?

Is the Professor not aware of this tragic situation caused by the very ill-conceived and ill-advised politics of ethno-centrism which is being entertained by political groupings, mainly by the former OPDO and the current OPD of which the Prime Minister is the member of the top leadership?

The Professor redundantly and voraciously tries to lecture us about the wonderfully crafted and articulated political rhetoric of the Prime Minister. Yes, despite the fact that the Prime Minister has a problem of some sort of inconsistency and nativity of encountering the very complex and challenging political world, his political rhetoric is wonderfully and positively inspirational.

But all this good political oratory can make sense when and where it is tested by the very reality on the ground. If this is not what we are desperately looking for and want to carry on, we honestly have to take deep breath and come up with the right way of doing politics. Needless to say, the right way of doing politics especially for our intellectuals such as Professor A.G/Mariam is to help politicians (leaders) by delivering ideas and recommendations with a real and genuine sense of critique and encouragement, not uncritical and disingenuous political behavior that goes to the extent of creating a personal cult (worshiping).

Absurdly enough, what the Professor trying to justify is that the Prime Minister as well as the ruling circle and the government he leads cannot be hold responsible and accountable because it was and is the making of Meles’s Massacres of 2019. Doesn’t this sound not only politically skewed but also practically disingenuous?  I strongly argue that it is terribly skewed and politically misleading because if we try to make those politicians blameless figures whereas it is abundantly clear that they are not and cannot be, the solution we try to recommend will end up with being wrong if not disastrous.    It is totally a political stupidity and moral degradation not to hold the incumbent politicians (leaders) responsible and accountable   for all the horrible displacements/forced evictions, bulldozing of houses and exposing innocent citizens together with their families and many more miserable way of life (if it is life at all) .

I am sorry to say but I have to say that the article does not deserve any attention let alone initiating any reasonable and useful conversation. But I strongly argue that the way he presents himself and argues on the ongoing struggle for fundamental peoples’ democratic system in Ethiopia is horribly uncritical, terribly emotional, excessively redundant and voracious. The way he tries to characterize all individuals and groupings outside the very circle of the Prime Minister  is excessively arrogant as he sounds a person who foolishly convinces himself “I know all but others do not ” .  Well, it is the right thing to criticize those few who blindly complain as if there is nothing positively encouraging in the process of   the struggle for fundamental democratic system. But insulting all those who suffer from their own weaknesses or ineffectiveness as “blockheads” because they criticize the Prime Minister and his government does not make the Professor morally and politically superior at all. I am sure that the Professor knows what Socrates has to say, “what I know is that I do not know”.

If we are truly honest with ourselves, it is because we most of us (with the exception of very and very few) are “blockheads” as far as the very question of  why we could not go beyond making highly jargonized and redundant political rhetoric and theorization is concerned. 

Is this not this kind of political culture and attitude of ours that has enabled the ethno-centric dictatorial regime to stay in power for a quarter of a century?

Is it not true that intellectuals and others with various levels of education who were and are supposed to be at the very forefront of the political struggle for genuine freedom and justice?

Yes, although the degree of being “blockheads” differs, it is very difficult to find many among us who are blameless in this political context of ours except very and very few.

So, it is now better to say let’s unblock our own blockheads and move forward accordingly. I strongly argue and believe that in this endeavor of unblocking the blockheads has to start from our intellectuals who terribly suffer from avoidance of direct involvement and participation in the struggle for the realization a fundamental peoples’ democratic system in our country. Not the other way round.

As a strong believer of calling a spade a spade is necessary, telling a person directly and straightforwardly about his or her undesirable way of thinking and behaving is the right thing to do whenever and wherever it is necessary or reasonably applicable regardless of his or her academic or any other type of status.

I found this article as the concluding part of articles of the last about ten months devoted to “blameless politicians or agents of the change.” The Professor sounds frustrated as the result of his own behavior of falling in love with politicians especially with Prime Minister Abyi Ahmend unconditionally or uncritically from the very beginning.

As a well- educated person, he was supposed to behave and act objectively and critically instead of writing piles of “great cornicles of admiration of Prime Minister Abyi Ahmed (“ውዳሴ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር አብይ አህመድ“) that was politically nonsensical as a matter of fact or reality in our country. Now, he is making things worse by not trying to hold the Prime Minister and his government responsible for what horribly went wrong and still is going wrong in many parts of the country.

Yes, if he (the Professor) is truly and heroically intellectual, he was supposed to be courageous enough to tell those politicians whom he has fallen in love with directly, straightforwardly and constructively that the way they behave and act is going in the wrong direction and it should be corrected before it would be too late. He was supposed to be critical of the very ugly political behavior of hypocrisy and conspiracy that are horribly stifling the very struggle for the realization of democratic society. Adding  salt to the wound, we are witnessing a very ugly if not dangerous political conspiracy to replace the hegemony TPLF/EPRDF with that of OPD/EPRDF together with extreme elements of ethno-centric political groupings and  the so-called activists .

Does the Professor really believe that the Prime Minister and team Lemma have no knowledge about the horrible consequences of ethno-centric political agenda and practice that are being carried out by the very members of their own high ranking members of the leadership and their cadres who continued controlling both the party and government structures all the way down to the smallest local governments (kebeles)?

Coming up with this kind of article which is characterized by kind of uncontrolled emotion and even anger is totally unproductive. I found it something that clearly shows the very undesirable mixture of frustration and unsuccessful self-assertion that will never be able to make either things in general or the specific way of doing politics better.   It makes things worse as it loses both political and moral courage to have rational, critical, realistic and productive engagement with all political actors (state and non-state) and help things move forward accordingly.

Yes, it is wrong to undermine his (the Professor’s) relentless effort to prepare and forward articles of truly informative about the ethno-centric dictatorial regime controlled by TPLF for many years.  However, following the assumption of political power by Dr Abyi Ahmend, he did not take time to create uncritical or passive type of attachment that has later developed into the very clumsy political attitude of “touch not Prime Minister Abyi Ahmend” and stay focused on blaming and condemning TPLF and undermining the role of political opposition parties. Doesn’t this sound so hasty and unproductive especially when it comes from our intellectuals who claim to be highly educated and experienced? It does sound!

I hate to say but I have to say that I did not read any substantive recommendation on the question of how we can find the way out (solution) in this article of defending the Prime minister.

It is deeply disappointing to witness our intellectuals such as the writer of this article who are still trying to tell the people that the “the PM is blameless; it is others who should be blamed for what is going wrong.” Terribly self-degrading!

True, all Ethiopians from individual to a group(s) level are responsible and they deserve the blame for what they did not do to make a big and meaningful change of ideas and practices. But there is no doubt that the PM and his party and government are at the very forefront of responsibility and accountability. They deserve unreserved blame not only for not acting quickly and effective to prevent the horrible things going on in the country, but also for turning their backs on the innocent   people of Ethiopia who accepted and praised them as their earthly saviors.

Is the professor telling the people that they (the people) have wrong perception about those politicians who shamefully and stupidly started playing the politics of hypocrisy, conspiracy and deception in the name of democratic reform?

If the Professor is saying that the people are stupid enough about the horrible failure of the PM and his inner circle that has caused deeply painful happenings almost in all parts of the country, he (the Professor) must be victim of not be willing and able to see outside the very box of the politicians he uncritically or unconditionally has fallen in love with. And that is not desirable at all as far as the very essence making a concerted effort in order to make a truly democratic system a reality is concerned.

Agree or disagree, it is these kinds of our approaches and behaviors that have made politicians excessively/ voraciously and unrealistically self-asserted. Accept it or not, these kinds of political attitudes and behaviors of ours have played a very significant role in the emergence and lingering of dreadful situations in many parts of the country.

I strongly argue and believe that though we are too late to save many lives we lost as the result of the political identity of ethno-centrism instigated by evil-minded individuals and political groupings, and to prevent the forced eviction of hundreds and thousands  of innocent citizens  due to the same political madness; we have to behave differently and act quickly in order to stop all this craziness of self –destruction and move in the right direction of establishing a truly democratic system.

To this end, intellectuals and all educated members of the society desperately need to get out of both their uncritical/passive way of supporting this or that political actor. And they have to liberate themselves from their political attitude of staying as spectators of political a game being played by others.

I am reasonably optimistic that we all together can change things not only for the better but also for the best!

The post Ethiopia: It is Much More Disappointing than Encouraging appeared first on Satenaw Ethioopian News & Breaking News: Your right to know!.