• By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Mar 1, 2017

Ethiopia says it has thwarted a planned attack by an Eritrea-backed group on its massive dam project, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Deputy government spokesman Zadig Abraha told the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate on Wednesday evening that 20 members of the armed group were “completely annihilated” earlier this week.

Zadig says “actions were taken” against 13 members of the Benishangul Peoples Liberation Movement. The spokesman did not give details, but similar statements have meant people were killed.

The spokesman says the other members escaped to Sudan, which then handed them over.

Ethiopia’s dam project is about halfway complete and has been a source of regional tension. Egypt has long suspected it will reduce its share of the Nile River.

Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea have a long history of border disputes.

By AFP

Opposition activist Berhanu Nega, pictured in 2005, has been sentenced to death in a previous trial

Ethiopia’s government has charged three prominent opposition activists with inciting riots, destroying property and plotting a coup, a government spokesman told AFP on Wednesday.

The allegations come after months of clashes between police and anti-government protesters that killed hundreds and were only quelled after authorities declared a nationwide state of emergency in October.

Those facing charges include Jawar Mohammed, head of the banned Oromia Media Network, and Berhanu Nega, an opposition activist who has already been sentenced to death in a previous trial.

Both men are being charged in absentia since they live outside the country, but a third defendant, Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) Merera Gudina, was arrested in December and will be tried in the capital Addis Ababa.

“These people caused considerable damage and they are responsible for those damages,” said Fentaw Ambaw, public affairs director for Ethiopia’s attorney general.

Members of the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups began protesting in 2015 against the country’s political system, which is dominated by the ruling party of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

Last year, protesters in the Oromia region outside the capital began targeting foreign-owned factories they claimed were built on land unfairly taken from them by the government.

The violence threatened to stunt the growth of Ethiopia’s economy, which is one of the continent’s best performers and expanded by nearly 10 percent in 2015.

Mohammed, who lives in the United States, told AFP he has received no formal notice of the accusations against him and does not plan to appear in Ethiopia to defend himself.

He denied instigating the protests, and said he was being targeted for his organisation’s coverage.

“They are meaningless. There is no way they’re going to get us,” Mohammed said of the charges. “The government was very unhappy with the fact that we had sources, we had reporters all over the country getting fresh news and perspectives as it was happening.”

Since the declaration of the state of emergency, Hailemariam has reshuffled his cabinet to include more members of the Oromo ethnicity, and the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has started meeting with opposition parties to find a solution to the protests.

But the meetings have not prevented police from arresting political activists, said Yeshiwas Assefa, chairman of the Blue Party, a major opposition group.

More than 70 of his party’s members have been taken into custody since the state of emergency was declared.

“We are asking the government to release our prisoners,” Assefa said. “They are not taking the dialogue seriously.”

Voice of Amara Radio – 01 Mar 2017

By Associated Press March 2 at 6:56 AM

ADWA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia is celebrating Adwa Victory Day, marking a battle that helped to ensure that the country was never colonized. Just two African nations can make that claim.

The government is using the anniversary of the 1896 win over Italian forces to rally support from youth who protested last year in several parts of the East African nation demanding wider political freedoms.

“The Adwa victory is a symbol of courage for all Africans and black people around the world,” government spokesman Negeri Lencho told The Associated Press

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is among the invited guests. He says the victory at Adwa “made a statement that it was possible for Africans to win.”

Ethiopia remains under a state of emergency because of the months of sometimes deadly protests.

BY CONOR GAFFEY ON 3/2/17 AT 8:30 AM

Eritrea has denied any involvement in an alleged plan to attack an under-construction Ethiopian dam, which is set to become the biggest hydropower dam in Africa.

Ethiopia’s deputy government spokesman, Zadig Abrha, told the state-run Fana Broadcasting Corporation that 20 members of an Eritrean rebel movement—known as the Benishangul Gumuz People’s Liberation Movement—had been apprehended while attempting to attack the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Abrha said that Ethiopian security forces killed 13 of the rebels, while seven fled into neighboring Sudan. But the Ethiopian government spokesman said that Sudan had handed the rebels over and they were now in Ethiopian custody.

Construction workers are seen in a section of Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam in Benishangul Gumuz Region, Guba Woreda, Ethiopia, March 31, 2015. The dam has been a source of regional controversy, especially between Ethiopia and Egypt.

TIKSA NEGERI/REUTERS

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel told Bloomberg News that the accusation that his country sponsored the group “is preposterous and peddled for some sinister reason.” Gebremeskel added that he had “never heard of this group.”

Ethiopia and Eritrea have a history of tense relations. Eritrea only seceded from Ethiopia in 1991 after a 30-year independence war, and the two countries have regularly clashed on the boundaries of their borders. Tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides were killed in a border war focused on the town of Badme between 1998 and 2000.

Ethiopia has also accused Eritrea of sponsoring anti-government protests, led by the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups, which have been occurring regularly since November 2015. Eritrea has denied the allegation.

Construction began on the GERD project, which is being built in the Benishangul Gumuz region close to the border with Sudan, in 2011. The project is set to cost $6.4 billion and is due for completion in 2018, according to Bloomberg.

The project has been a source of tension between Ethiopia and Egypt, with the latter saying that the dam could reduce the amount of Nile water flowing into Egypt. The presidents of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan signed an initial agreement in 2015 to end the dispute and allow Ethiopia to continue with construction, but Egypt has continued to express its concerns.

Ethiopia has received backing for the project from five other Nile Basin countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The Horn of Africa country wants to do away with a 1929 treaty, orchestrated by the British, that gives Egypt a veto on any projects relating to the Nile by upstream countries.

David Steinman/Forbes

In what could be an important test of the Trump Administration’s attitude toward foreign aid, the new United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, and UN aid chief Stephen O’Brien have called on the international community to give the Ethiopian government another $948 million to assist a reported 5.6 million people facing starvation.

Speaking in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, during the recent 28th Summit of the African Union, Guterres described Ethiopia as a “pillar of stability” in the tumultuous Horn of Africa, praised its government for an effective response to last year’s climate change-induced drought that left nearly 20 million people needing food assistance, and asked the world to show “total solidarity” with the regime.

Ethiopia is aflame with rebellions against its unpopular dictatorship, which tried to cover up the extent of last year’s famine. But even if the secretary general’s encouraging narrative were true, it still begs the question: Why, despite ever-increasing amounts of foreign support, can’t this nation of 100 million clever, enterprising people feed itself? Other resource-poor countries facing difficult environmental challenges manage to do so.

wo numbers tell the story in a nutshell:

1. The amount of American financial aid received by Ethiopia’s government since it took power: $30 billion.

2. The amount stolen by Ethiopia’s leaders since it took power: $30 billion.

The latter figure is based on the UN’s own 2015 report on Illicit Financial Outflows by a panel chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki and another from Global Financial Integrity, an American think tank. These document $2-3 billion—an amount roughly equaling Ethiopia’s annual foreign aid and investment—being drained from the country every year, mostly through over- and under-invoicing of imports and exports.

Ethiopia’s far-left economy is centrally controlled by a small ruling clique that has grown fantastically wealthy. Only they could be responsible for this enormous crime. In other words, the same Ethiopian leadership that’s begging the world for yet another billion for its hungry people is stealing several times that amount every year.

America and the rest of the international community have turned a blind eye to this theft of taxpayer money and the millions of lives destroyed in its wake, because they rely on Ethiopia’s government to provide local counterterror cooperation, especially with the fight against Al-Shabab in neighboring Somalia. But even there we’re being taken. Our chief aim in Somalia is to eliminate Al-Shabab. Our Ethiopian ally’s aim is twofold: Keep Somalia weak and divided so it can’t unite with disenfranchised fellow Somalis in Ethiopia’s adjoining, gas-rich Ogaden region; and skim as much foreign assistance as possible. No wonder we’re losing.

The Trump Administration has not evinced particular interest in democracy promotion, but much of Ethiopia’s and the region’s problems stem from Ethiopia’s lack of the accountability that only democracy confers. A more accountable Ethiopian government would be forced to implement policies designed to do more than protect its control of the corruption. It would have to free Ethiopia’s people to develop their own solutions to their challenges and end their foreign dependency. It would be compelled to make the fight on terror more effective by decreasing fraud, basing military promotions on merit instead of cronyism and ending the diversion of state resources to domestic repression. An accountable Ethiopian government would have to allow more relief to reach those who truly need it and reduce the waste of U.S. taxpayers’ generous funding. Representative, accountable government would diminish the Ogaden’s secessionist tendencies that drive Ethiopia’s counterproductive Somalia strategy.

But Ethiopia’s government believes it has America over a barrel and doesn’t have to be accountable to us or to its own people. Like Mr. Guterres, past U.S. presidents have been afraid to confront the regime, which even forced President Barack Obama into a humiliating public defense of its last stolen election. The result has been a vicious cycle of enablement, corruption, famine and terror.

Whether the Trump Administration will be willing to play the same game remains to be seen. The answer will serve as a signal to other foreign leaders who believe America is too craven to defend its money and moral values.

Mr. Steinman advises foreign democracy movements. He authored the novel “Money, Blood and Conscience” about Ethiopia’s secret genocide.

BY CONOR GAFFEY ON 3/4/17

Six months after her partner Andargachew Tsege was abducted at an airport in Yemen in June 2014, Yemi Hailemariam says she remembers her phone ringing.

It was around 8 a.m. on a Sunday morning in December 2014, six month she had last heard from her partner. “He’s on the phone and I’m like, ‘Where are you?’ He says, ‘I’m still there,’” Hailemariam, 48, tells Newsweek . “You can imagine how stressful it was.”

The “there” that Tsege was referring to was a secret location in Ethiopia, the country where he was born, where security forces had taken him after Yemeni officials detained him at the international airport in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on June 23, 2014. A British citizen and an active voice in Ethiopia’s political opposition in exile, Tsege, now 62, remains in a notorious Ethiopian prison, facing a death sentence. An Ethiopian court tried and convicted Tsege, along with several other political accomplices, of plotting a coup against the country’s government in 2009, and sentenced him to death.

That Sunday morning, Hailemariam was given no explanation as to why Tsege was finally allowed to call her after so many months. After passing the phone to her three children, who had tearful conversations with Tsege, Hailemariam—aware that her partner was probably under observation as he spoke—cautiously told him that the family had not given up on getting him back. “I said, ‘We are working so very hard to get you home.’” But her longtime partner simply replied by telling her not to let their children get their hopes up, in case the worst happened.

But after almost three years away, Hailemariam is hopeful that her partner may return home soon. Earlier in February, three top British legal officials penned a letter to British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, urging him to push for Tsege’s release from detention, which they say is “in violation of international law.” This development, along with what Hailemariam believes is the Ethiopian government’s fatigue at holding him—the country is dealing with other problems, including a wave of anti-government protests since November 2015, while Tsege’s ongoing detention is likely straining ties with the U.K., a major donor to Ethiopia—has renewed the family’s hope of getting Tsege back. “[But] I don’t know if I’m being too much of an optimist,” she says.

Andargachew Tsege, center, is pictured with his partner Yemi Hailemariam, left, and family. Tsege has been on death row in Ethiopia since 2014.YEMI HAILEMARIAM

Born in Addis Ababa in 1955, Tsege left Ethiopia in the late 1970s: The country’s military government, known as the Derg, had initiated a mass crackdown on political opposition, killing hundreds of thousands of opponents—including Tsege’s younger brother—in a brutal repression known as the Red Terror. He sought asylum in the U.K., but returned briefly to Ethiopia following the 1991 revolution, in which the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) overthrew the Derg. Tsege hoped the new government would establish a democratic state in Ethiopia, but he was quickly disillusioned at the ethnocentric policies of the EPRDF, an ostensibly multi-ethnic coalition but which was dominated by, and consequently favored, the Tigrayan ethnic minority. He returned to London within two years, where he became an outspoken critic of the Ethiopian government: Tsege spoke before the U.S. Congress in 2006 and the European Union’s Committee in the same year on Human Rights on Ethiopia’s poor human rights record, according to Reprieve, a U.K. charity campaigning for his release. In the early 2000s, Tsege also met Hailemariam, who had grown up in Ethiopia and the United States; the couple have been together for around 15 years and have 10-year-old twins, Yilak and Menabe. Hailemariam also says that Tsege has been like a father to her elder daughter, Helawit, 17.

He visited Ethiopia again in 2005 to campaign for an opposition coalition in the 2005 elections, and was arrested—and allegedly tortured—in the aftermath. But, back in London, he co-founded the opposition movement Ginbot 7 in 2008. The movement says its mission is to bring about a democratic political system in Ethiopia. Ethiopian authorities, however, say Ginbot 7 is planning an armed struggle to overthrow the government and declared it a terrorist group in 2011. No other states or international organizations have defined Ginbot 7 as a terrorist group.

Political opposition is not exactly welcomed in Ethiopia. In the 2015 elections, the EPRDF won every single seat in the country’s parliament. Over the past 18 months, security forces have fatally clashed with protesters from the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups. The demonstrations began in November 2015 against plans to expand Addis Ababa, potentially forcing Oromo farmers to be evicted from the fringes of the capital, but have morphed into anti-government protests against the alleged marginalization of the two ethnic groups. After months of refusing to give a definitive death toll, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said in October 2016 that more than 500 people have been killed in the protests, though opposition activists say the number could be higher. In a climate where repression is rife, the most effective political opposition often comes from those in exile. “They have absolute control in Ethiopia, absolute,” says Hailemariam. “The one thing they don’t have any control over is the diaspora.”

Many of Ethiopia’s opposition movements are based in neighboring Eritrea, which is where Tsege was heading in June 2014 for a meeting with opposition figures when Yemeni officials stopped him at Sanaa airport. Hailemariam says that, when Ethiopian security forces arrived, they hooded Tsege “Guantanamo-style” and took him to Ethiopia, where Tsege spent more than a year in solitary confinement before being moved to Kality Prison, dubbed a gulag by Amnesty International for its dire conditions.

Ethiopian state television subsequently broadcast several heavily-edited videos of Tsege, one in July 2014 and one in early 2015, in which Tsege denied that he was being tortured. In the 2014 video, Tsege appears disorientated and undernourished in the video, and screaming is heard in the background.

The U.K. has only been able to provide limited assistance to Tsege during his detention. When British officials are allowed to meet Tsege, Ethiopian authorities will not allow them to ask much more than the state of his health, and Tsege told the British ambassador to Ethiopia in a November 2015 meeting that “nobody talks to you or answers the questions you raise,” according to a readout of the meeting shown to Newsweek by Reprieve.

Tsege was a vocal critic of the Ethiopian government and founder of Ginbot 7, a political movement classed as a terrorist organization by the administration in Addis Ababa.YEMI HAILEMARIAM

The conditions of Tsege’s rendition are among the things disputed by three senior legal officials in the U.K. In a letter seen by Newsweek , the trio—Dominic Grieve, the ex-Attorney General for England and Wales; Charlie Falconer, a former U.K. justice secretary; and Ken Macdonald, director of public prosecutions in England and Wales for five years—said that Tsege’s rendition constituted “kidnapping” and that his solitary confinement for a year was “cruel inhuman and degrading treatment.” The three officials argued that Tsege’s abduction was unlawful; that Tsege will not be able to obtain a fair hearing in Ethiopia; and that the U.K. is hiding behind Ethiopia’s right to govern itself as an excuse not to intervene in the case. (On the last point, the trio refuted a prior claim made by former foreign secretary Philip Hammond and reiterated by Johnson in an August 2016 open letter on Tsege’s case that the U.K. doesn’t interfere in the judicial systems of other sovereign nations, citing the government’s intervention in the case of Karl Andree, who was imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for drinking alcohol.)

“I think Boris Johnson’s response to this situation is bizarre and inexplicable,” Macdonald, one of the signatories, tells Newsweek. “Andy is a British citizen; the foreign secretary knows that he was illegally kidnapped by the Ethiopians; he knows that he was given no due process at all in his [2009] trial; he knows that Andy was sentenced to death and has no right of appeal.” Macdonald refuses to speculate as to why the foreign secretary may be reluctant to engage more actively on the issue, but says that the current response is “completely inadequate.”

In an emailed statement to Newsweek, a spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office says that Tsege’s continued imprisonment and lack of access to a lawyer “is a serious concern.” The FCO spokesman says that the British government has “provided significant support” to Tsege and his family, and that it would continue to press the Ethiopian administration to provide Tsege with legal representation. (The FCO spokesman also says that the foreign secretary met with Hailemariam—something she confirms—on February 7 to “reaffirm our commitment to [Tsege’s] case.)

But Macdonald says that the U.K. government’s strategy of seeking legal counsel for Tsege is misguided. “It’s worthless because the man has been sentenced to death and has no right of appeal, so what’s the point in having a lawyer?” says Macdonald. “It’s an example of the British government not pulling out all the stops to help a British citizen who’s in desperate trouble abroad. That’s bad news for all of us.” Macdonald says that the British government should be interceding with Ethiopia “publicly or behind closed doors” with the goal of getting Tsege home, not simply securing him access to a local lawyer.

Tsege’s future plight remains unknown to his family. It appears unlikely that his death sentence would be carried out: Ethiopia last executed a death row prisoner—an Ethiopian soldier convicted of murdering the head of the country’s intelligence agency in 2001—in 2007, and carrying out the penalty in Tsege’s case would likely damage bilateral relations with Britain, an important partner for Ethiopia: The country received £334.1 million ($416.2 million) in foreign aid from the U.K. in 2015, the highest amount of any African country. But in a 2014 interview, the Ethiopian prime minister refused to confirm whether Tsege would be executed. “They are a government that’s very arbitrary,” says Hailemariam, Tsege’s partner. “With that type of government where there’s no constraints, then as long as he’s in their hands, anything and everything is possible.”

But Hailemariam remains optimistic that the latest intervention in Tsege’s case may, finally, force the British government to demand its citizen back. And until he does return, she says the family will continue to feel his absence. “If ever there was one person who does not belong in prison, [it’s Andy],” she says.“[We miss] his presence. For the kids, it’s the time they spent with him; his love; his eternal optimism,” she says. The family has no choice but to wait and see if that optimism will be rewarded.

By Aaron Maasho | ADDIS ABABA

An Ethiopian opposition leader from a region hit by deadly anti-government protests last year pleaded not guilty in court on Friday, after prosecutors brought charges against him for inciting unrest.

Merera Gudina, leader of the Oromo Federalist Congress from the Oromiya region which was the center of protests against land grabs, was arrested in November after returning from meeting members of the European Parliament in Brussels.

On Friday, prosecutors formally charged Merera with a bid to “dismantle or disrupt social, economic and political activity for political, religious and ideological aim … under the guise of political party leadership,” according to a charge sheet brought before a high court in Addis Ababa.

Merera was also accused of backing a terrorist group and flouting guidelines of a state of emergency imposed in October during his trip to Belgium.

Two other dissidents were also charged with similar accusations in absentia.

Last week, Human Rights Watch criticized the move to arrest Merera.

“Instead of taking actions that would demonstrate genuine resolve to address long-term grievances, the government again used politically motivated charges to further crack down on opposition parties, reinforcing a message that it will not tolerate peaceful dissent,” the U.S.-based watchdog said.

More than 500 people were killed in protests in the Oromiya region that stretched for months until the government declared a six-month state of emergency in October.

The demonstrations were initially triggered by anger over a development scheme for the capital that demonstrators said would force farmers off their land, but then broadened into demonstrations against political restrictions.

Businesses in Oromiya and other areas, many of them foreign-owned, were attacked. Foreign firms have often been leased land by the government that locals say was seized from them for little compensation and sold on at great profit.

Ethiopia’s government, which scrapped the capital’s development plan after protests erupted, has pledged to increase compensation and enact widespread political reform.

Opposition parties failed to secure a single seat in parliament in the last elections in 2015.

Merera’s trial will resume on March 9.

(Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by George

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (left) and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. Credit: Africanews

Sirleaf was one of the top dignitaries who graced this year’s commemoration, which was led by Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Sirleaf, who is on an official visit to Ethiopia, joined the celebration and said the events of 1896 served as a turning point for African countries that were under colonial rule. It showed that Africans could defeat the colonial powers.

She was expected to meet with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to discuss bilateral issues and also pen some agreements in the area of trade and cooperation. However, the PM is out of the country on an official visit to Uganda.

While Desalegn was in Kampala, his host, President Yoweri Museveni, lauded the efforts of Ethiopia at repelling the Italians in the historic battle.

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It’s also the anniversary of the Battle of Adwa, where King Menelik defeated the Italians in 1896. I congratulate Ethiopia on this occasion.

The 121st anniversary brought together an array of security forces with a blend of veteran members of the military. The event was attended by diplomats, government officials and the general public.

Ethiopian troops scored a victory back then by driving out the Italians, who had wanted to annex the country after taking over Somaliland. The battle is named after the town of Akwa, located in the northern Tigray region.

Documentary: Tedros Adhanom incompetency, politics, and immorality part 1

Vision Ethiopia

Conference Theme

 National Unity and Building Democratic Institutions in Ethiopia

ብሔራዊ አንድነትና የዲሞክራሲ ተቋማትን በኢትዮጵያ ስለመግንባት

Vision Ethiopia, an independent network of Ethiopian scholars and professionals, in collaboration with the Ethiopian Satellite Television and Radio (ESAT), is pleased to announce that the Fourth Conference will be held on September 16 and 17  2017, in the Washington D.C. metro area. Abstract, and preferably the entire paper should be sent to visionethiopia2016@gmail.com on or before, August 20 2017. The theme of the conference is National Unity and Building Democratic Institutions in Ethiopia.

The theme of the Fourth Conference builds upon the theme and deliberations of the Third Conference that was held from October 23 to 24, 2016. At the Third Conference, where there were over 25 moderators and panelists, speakers  and participants resolved the urgent need to build institutions that map the transition from conflict to a post-conflict constitution making order. The videos are available at ESAT’s and other websites. The communique of the conference highlighted the issues and identified the actionable areas. Since October 2016 new conferences and town hall meetings were held in various parts of the world, and most conferences had deliberated on the reality in Ethiopia and underscored the need for transition. Analysts agree that the root causes of the conflict remain unresolved. Indications also suggest that fragmented low intensity conflicts and tensions are escalating in various parts of the country.

The Fourth Conference aims at addressing two critical issues that are the cornerstones of successful transitions. They are rebuilding national unity and creating and maintaining effective institutions, be they formal or informal. The continuity of the Ethiopian state with its territorial integrity, the unity of its diverse population, and their democratic aspirations are critically dependent on the quality and strength of institutions.  The protection and cultivation of an enduring and evolving national unity and sovereignty of Ethiopia, through effective institutions, are the central tenets of a meaningful national discourse on transition in the context of Ethiopia. Moreover, the management of national crisis, the process of transition from conflict to post-conflict order, and cultivation of  an enduring and stable political, economic, security and social system in Ethiopia requires addressing the challenges of building effective and reliable local and national institutions. Formal and national institutions should have a number of attributes which should include, consistent with theory: shared national values, sets of functioning rules for decentralization, ethical standards, procedures and norms designed to constrain those in authority, reliable system of entry to and exit from political power, and ensure the freedom and rights of the governed.

Unity is intricately connected with political institutions and national defense and security organs that protect and defend the rights and sovereignty of an internationally recognized territory. However, national unity will not be ensured unless political organizations find a formula so that the central power reflects shared values and identities. National and regional institutions, including security, justice, economic and education systems need to respect the rights of majorities and minorities, those who cherish dual or multiple identities and those who do not see conflict or competition between regional/local identity and national identity. It is imperative to note that without national institutions, participatory democracy, the rule of law, freedom and rights of citizens, gender equality, and credible electoral systems we cannot resolve the conflict that the country has unfortunately entered into.  At the same time, evidence also indicates that creating a mono ethnic or faith republic does not ensure citizens to live in peace, democracy and prosperity.

The Conference has the following interconnected sub-themes that we would like panelists to address in depth, using their research-based analysis geared towards the building and strengthening of institutions in post-conflict Ethiopia:

1. Rebuilding the national unity of the country through effective formal & informal institutions;
2. Building civic and rights institutions at national, regional, provisional, district and village

levels;

3. Establishing a genuinely inclusive, accountable and transparent federal system of

government that upholds the principles of unity in diversity, fairness and justice;

4. Establishing fair and just market-based and decentralized economic institutions;
5. Establishing country-wide shared customs to prevent potential escalation of conflict, as

well as upholding values, customs, and traditional practices that can be fused to be enshrined in national identity/symbols and legal instruments;

6. Reducing corruption and establishing accountable and transparent government that serves the general public; designing mechanisms to consolidate peace and implement effective rule of law;
7. Establishing institutional mechanisms to avoid the capture at state, regional, and national levels;
8. Establishing a dynamic, pluralistic and empowering free & responsible media that helps keep citizens informed; establishing  a system that enables citizens to express themselves freely (short of hate speech); providing legal and constitutional protection to citizens to access information; eliminate censorship in all its forms;
9. Establishing a vibrant civil society that protects national wealth (national infrastructure roads, bridges, railway lines, dams, natural resources, heritages, places of worship, etc.), rights, including the rights of women, children, youth, minorities, the disabled, war veterans and victims of conflicts;
10. Establishing mechanisms that prohibit religious fundamentalism & restrain those who

try to fuse ethnicity and faith for separatist agenda;

11. Reforming and/or reconstituting a national defense and security establishment, composed of all nationalities in its ranks and files; reforming and/or reconstituting the federal and local police force; making the national defense forces apolitical, professional and free from corruption and prejudice;
12. Establishing a system of party politics based on political pluralism; a representative and effective electoral system that encourages regional parties to transform themselves into national parties, and avoids factionalism;
13. Establishing an independent, accountable and transparent national and regional governance and justice system that fuses the trias politika doctrine with local institutions (cultures, beliefs and cognitive systems), and defines roles for traditional authority;
14. Designing ways to establish a system that ensures equality, regardless of gender, age, or ethnic origin;
15. Institutional frameworks that guarantee an unfettered free and fair electoral processes and results;
16. An institutional approach to the design of foreign policy that serves the interests of the nation, and the continent;
17. Identifying ways and means of integrating combatants to the national army;
18. An institutional approach to combating drought, hunger, famine, outmigration and the effects of climate change;
19. Institutionalizing the role of the diaspora for successful transition.
20. Institutionalizing transition justice, restorative justice, reconciliation and accountability.

There is an intense debate among Ethiopians in their understanding of these issues. Every group starts from its ideological predilections and attempts to create a “social-political reality” about the past and the present, a narrative that apparently supports its position. Integrity and the discovery of knowledge are threatened by organized mobs, the coercive powers of the State, demagoguery, denial and cronyism. The social media is crowed with both carefully thought ideas and war of words. The historicity and socialization of the debate, and the interpretation and contextualization for past and present situation in the country, and more importantly on how to move forward and build the new foundation for the establishment of a democratic, peaceful, and prosperous Ethiopia appears to have reached a stalemate. It has turned out to be ‘the dialogue of the deaf”.

Furthermore, to achieve their goals political parties and various movements have used different strategies that range from peaceful resistance to armed struggle to enforce change and institute reforms. New realities indicate that conflict is escalating in  the already  conflict ridden region of the Horn of Africa, and the  geopolitics of  the Red Sea region is rapidly changing (the conflict in Yemen giving foothold for Arabian and superpower armies in the Horn of Africa), and hence introducing new threats to landlocked Ethiopia. The international community has witnessed the justified worries of the public and the uprisings; and where the country is heading to, an even worse political crisis and an escalation of civil war unless the current trend and approach are changed.

The ruling party must take full responsibility for the crisis, with no ifs and buts. The Prime Minister’s total failure to set a shared vision for the country and the internal power struggle after the sudden death of the autocrat that led a minority insurgency, have paralyzed the institutions of the State and exacerbated the crisis. The purge in the satellite parties did not resolve the rot at the top. Civil and political rights have been taken away, and the country has been officially been put under military rule. Even after the declaration of the nation-wide State of Emergency, the ruling party continues to misread the demand for change, and assumes that the uprising shall be crushed. Its cronies attempt, although unsuccessfully, to legitimize the imposition of the State of emergency and minority/military rule.  Both peaceful and armed groups however agree that the regime cannot be reformed and needs to be replaced, and with the closure of the peaceful avenues for change, parties are increasingly opting for armed insurrection to break up the opaque system built by the TPLF/EPRDF over the quarter of a century. Despite the political posturing and the resort to the repressive ways, recognizing the inevitability of change and embracing the inevitable would be by far better than conflict and violence ridden transition as it leads to a “win-win” situation for the conflicting parties.

The purpose of the upcoming Fourth Conference is therefore to bring together researchers, professionals, political and rights activists and experts from different background and disciplines to deliberate, without fear or favor, on these interrelated issues, and explore ways and approaches to move forward. The focus is on building national unity through the creation and strengthening of institutions. The Conference will facilitate different ideas and approaches to be considered on the basis of their merit and analytical foundations to address the pressing issues in the country. It is also hoped that the Conference will provide space for concerned Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia to share their well thought out perspectives and recommendations for the broader population of Ethiopia, both at home and abroad. It is with this understanding that panelists and participants are encouraged to address the key issues and present their thoughts to the Ethiopian public so that the direction and content of the road map towards post-conflict political order in Ethiopia is clear and understandable by the masses. Papers may be written in either Amharic or English, follow acceptable reasoning, avoid jargon, foul and inflammatory language, and anecdotal evidence. For the presentation author(s) are encouraged to communicate using language(s) that most of the target audience in Ethiopia understands.

Alemayehu G. mariam
Author’s Note: This commentary is the third installment in an ongoing series opposing the lobbying efforts of the Praetorian regime in Ethiopia which rules by a declaration of emergency. For years and particularly over the past month, I have strongly argued to the Trump administration to review U.S. foreign aid programs in Ethiopia and Africa. I am heartened by the announcement of the Trump Administration  yesterday that there will be “fairly dramatic cuts” in U.S. foreign aid beginning in 2018.

T-TPLF and the power of money

Is the U.S. Government for sale?

Could the U.S. Government be purchased with U.S. aid money given out to help the poor?

The Thugtatorship of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (T-TPLF) definitely believes it is. The T-TPLF thinks it can buy the whole kit and caboodle of the U.S. Government today for $2 mills. It has done it before, but could it do it again in the Age of Trump?

Why would the T-TPLF agree to pay SGR Washington D.C. (Lobbying) USD$150,000 per month, for a total of nearly $2 million a year, to lobby members of Congress and the Trump Administration unless it believed it can buy the U.S. Government at cut-rate?

Of course, the big question is: Where the hell did the T-TPLF get the $2 million to blow on a lobbying extravaganza? For the past year, the T-TPLF has been pleading poverty, claiming it has no money to feed the millions of Ethiopians facing famine and starvation and fast running out of foreign exchange reserves.

Before the Obama Administration gave the T-TPLF free access to USAID or more accurately the “U.S. Aid Candy Store” (USA-CS) under the management of Susan Rice and Gayle E. Smith, the T-TPLF splurged on lobbying spending nearly USD$3 million in the span of a single year.

Between April 14, 2008 and October 14, 2009 (including a large payment in December 2007), the T-TPLF spent USD$2,888,235 on lobbying using three top Washington firms:

Moving suitcases full of cash to offshore accounts is a staple of the T-TPLF and its hangers on. In April 2016, two Chinese migrant workers found $356,246 in cash at an airport in China and local police returned it to three travelers from ‪Ethiopia.

According to Global Financial Integrity (GFI), “Ethiopia, which has a per-capita GDP of just US$365, lost US$11.7 billion to illicit financial outflows between 2000 and 2009.” The outflow has never stopped and today Ethiopia is not only a failed nation but also a financially bankrupt one.

A simple question to ask is: “Who in Ethiopia has $12 billion to squirrel away in offshore accounts the world over?”

The answer is another question: “Who in Ethiopia has 100 percent control of the “parliament”, the economy, the military, the civil service, the media, and even the internet?

When the T-TPLF is literally smuggling tens of billions out of the country, $2 million is chump change, a drop in the ocean of corruption.

What I find incomprehensible is the fact that T-TPLF today is panhandling the U.S. and the international community for more money to help famine victims and needs USD$948 million while it is squandering $2 million on fat cat lobbyists.

Why should American taxpayers shell out a billion dollars when the T-TPLF has squirreled away 12 billion in offshore accounts? To demand the American taxpayer foot the bill for the T-TPLF’s lobbying extravaganza is not only an outrageous abuse of American generosity but also an insult added to injury.

The audacity of the T-TPLF criminals is not limited to stealing U.S. aid money. They have been committing securities fraud in the U.S. along with who knows what else.

In June 2016, the T-TPLF  agreed to pay the American Securities and Exchange Commission USD$6.5 million dollars in “disgorgement” for selling unregistered bonds in the U.S. for a period of years. (Disgorgement is repayment for ripping off some one.)  Selling unregistered bonds in the U.S. is a  crime under the “Securities Act of 1933”, sec. 20 (b)).

Did the T-TPLF actually pay the $6.5 million in fines to the SEC? Does it have the money to pay the fine?

So, where did the $2 million for lobbying come from?

Did the T-TPLF skim $2 million from U.S. aid and squirrel it away for a rainy lobby day?

Did the T-TPLF dip into its $12 billion kitty in offshore accounts?

Did the T-TPLF get $2 million as a gift from some fat cat?

Did the T-TPLF embezzle tax dollars collected from starving and toiling Ethiopians to feed the mean “K” Street junkyard dogs?

Did the T-TPLF take out a loan? From the Bank of China? The World Bank?

Did the T-TPLF get the money from the down payment on the fire sale of the “Ethiopian Railway Line” or the Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics Services Enterprise?

Or is it earnest money on the soon to be executed sale of Ethiopian Airlines?

I don’t know.

To me, the $2 mills reek of ripped off U.S. aid.

The one irrefutable fact about the T-TPLF is that they believe they can buy anyone and anything to remain in power. It is only a matter of how much, not if they can buy it.

The T-TPLF leaders truly believe they can buy decisive influence in the U.S. Government during the Trump era. They did not spend a red cent during the Obama administration because they had free access to the USA-CS.

The T-TPLF bought and sold tens of thousands Ethiopian Diasporans by promising them “free land” to build houses, “tax holidays” if they invested and easy access to officials so they can get things done without following established rules and regulations. The avaricious Diasporans flocked back and spent their money like drunken sailors making everything expensive for the local people trying to live hand to mouth. Today, many of those same Diasporans who bought the T-TPLF story hook, line and sinker are regretting their decisions and dangle on the hook. Their investments are worth pennies on the dollar. I tell them it is no use crying over spilled milk. They should have heeded my advice, “Buyer beware!” Such are the just desserts of greed and total indifference to the people’s need.

The T-TPLF has bought one group of Diaspora Ethiopians to fight another group of Diasporans by secretly funding often both sides. We know there are T-TPLF agents in every American state reaching out to individuals offering them money and benefits to work behind the scenes stirring trouble and even dividing and destroying church congregations to ensure the churches will not be a base of support for any anti-TPLF movement.

The T-TPLF bought enough influence to stop H.R. 2003 in the Senate although people power got it passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007. Today, the foremost defender of the T-TPLF in the Senate, James Inhofe, says he can guarantee business as usual for the T-TPLF in the Trump Administration. Inhofe once said the late thugmaster Meles Zenawi was his “brother” and “friend”.

The T-TPLF leaders, families, cronies and supporters have bought multi-million dollar homes in the U.S. and operate multi-million dollar businesses. They send their children to American schools and colleges paying vast sums all on government salaries of a few hundred U.S. dollars a month.

Just last week, according to one report, the T-TPLF handed out 657 women 8.790 birr to buy goodwill and at the same time create division among the people of Gonder where an uprising against T-TPLF rule broke out over the past year and continues today in various forms of popular armed and civil resistance.

But money cannot buy legitimacy. Money cannot buy the people.

End of the USA-CS for Africa?

It seems the US Aid Candy Store will finally close.

Yesterday, Mick Mulvaney, the White House Office of Management Budget director, announced the “Trump administration will propose “fairly dramatic” reductions in U.S. foreign aid when it submits its fiscal 2018 budget later this month.

While I, in no way take any credit whatsoever for this move by the Trump Administration, I am encouraged and deeply humbled that that my lone solitary voice against the rape of the American taxpayer by dictators and thugtators was heard in the Trump Administration at the highest levels. It is said that “Even a voice in the wilderness is sometimes heard, and unwilling listeners do, now and then, become converted.” The ironies of life!

People Power v. Money Power

Over the past couple of weeks, I have heard various people express the view that Diasporan Ethiopians cannot fight the T-TPLF’s lobby campaign backed up with a well-funded war chest.

There are those who are ready to raise the white flag of surrender by the mere mention of USD$2 million being handed out to one of the “K” Street Lobbying White Knights in Shining Armor marching towards The Hill or the down Pennsylvania Avenue at The White House. They say the lobby firms are too powerful to fight against. They say, money talks and everything else walks. No money, no voice. No matter what you say, without large amounts of money, nobody will hear you. In Congress. In the White House. In the bureaucracy.

But as Gandhi taught, “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” There is nothing stronger in the universe than the will of the people. The will of the people is the true power of the people. Money power is no match to the willpower of the people.

I have been asked by well-intentioned but disbelieving individuals how I could possibly think that Ethiopian Americans who are splintered by ethnicity, religion, language, etc. could expect to win against a powerhouse lobbying firm. They think I am in denial or just naïve in believing Ethiopian American grassroots advocates could come together and make a dent in the solid armor of a “K” Street lobbying firm.

Perhaps I am naïve about the power of money, but I do understand People Power. If we can get the nearly one million Ethiopian Americans and the tens of millions of their friends, neighbors, associates, co-workers, faith-members, classmates and members of their civic, social, cultural, professional political organizations and other associations to join in, we can surely beat the T-TPLF’s power of money.

There is a story about a time in Jericho when the trumpets were sounded and the people gave a loud shout and the wall collapsed.

If we put our voices together and give a loud shout, “No influence peddling in our government by a corrupt and brutal regime!”, we too can collapse the wall of money the T-TPLF is building around the U.S. Congress and the Administration.

The fact of the matter is that Ethiopian Americans are not alone in this fight. We have African American, Hispanic American, Jewish American, Armenian American, Arab American, Greek American, Asian American, …. groups and organizations that could partner with us to achieve our objectives. But we must reach out to these groups and their members on an individual and organizational basis and partner with them. That means we must build coalitions with like-minded groups one brick, one organization, at a time.

We have a lot to learn. That is much to learn from mistakes of the past and the things we did right and learn new skills for effective grassroots advocacy. HR 2003 was a great experience in advocacy. I offer a little “civic education” to those who are not clear about lobbying and grassroots advocacy in the U.S.

Lobbying

Lobbying in the public mind is equated with bribery, influence peddling, corruption and crookedness. Donald Trump’s signature campaign promise was to “drain the swamp”. He said, “If we win on November 8th, we are going to Washington, D.C.—when we win, OK—and we are going to drain the swamp.” He meant that he would eliminate the enormous influence of lobbyists who peddle influence in the U.S. government and the “entire corrupt Washington Establishment” which thrives on campaign contributions of lobbyists and others who do the same thing under different labels, e.g. consultants, experts.

The term “lobbyists” is applied loosely in general public discussions. I am concerned here specifically with paid lobbyists whose principal business is to hire out their services to clients and receive compensation for work they do to persuade legislators and policy makers to act in favor of their client’s business or cause. Lobbyists get paid for persuading politicians to do something to benefit their clients or not do something that could harm their clients or prevent change in the existing state of affairs. For instance, the T-TPLF lobby aims to increase US aid to the regime, defeat legislative efforts in Congress aimed at sanctioning the regime and give them a free pass to the USA-CS.

It is said that the term “lobbyist” first came into use in the mid-seventeenth century when notable Englishmen gathered in the lobby of the House of Commons to share their views with parliamentarians. “Lobbying” has been a fact of political life in America as an activity that is protected by the right to petition government in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1791. Lobbying in the 1790s consisted of a few individuals trying to get special favors from Congress. One notable lobby sought to get benefits for veterans of the Continental Army from the newly established Congress. It was not until the decade before the American Civil War that the term “lobby” began to have special significance as gun makers made gifts of firearms to lawmakers to curry goodwill. It was after the Civil War during the Gilded Age (when America grew economically and demographically and corruption and corporate financial shenanigans became prevalent) that lobbying became a full-scale influence-peddling industry.

Lobbying became a serious problem after the Great Depression when foreign governments and businesses tried to influence Congress. In 1938, Congress passed the Foreign Agents Registration Act, requiring foreign governments, businesses and institutions to publicly disclose their relations with American politicians. In 1946, Congress passed the Lobbying Registration Act (repealed in 1995) requiring anyone who spent at least half of their paid time directly lobbying the federal government. In the wake of major corruption investigations and prosecutions in the 1990s involving the infamous and powerful lobbyist Jack Abramoff federal contracts, Congress passed the 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act defining lobbying activity. In 2007, Obama declared he will not accept lobbying money and Congress passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act requiring electronic filing of lobbying disclosure reports and limiting “gifts” to members of Congress from lobbyists. In 2009, Obama banned lobbyists from working at any agency they had lobbied in the last two years.

Despite Congressional and executive efforts to limit the influence of lobbyists, the revolving door functions to recycle former members of Congress, ex-congressional staffers, political appointees and has been declining over the past several years due to stricter laws, rules and regulations. In 2007, there were nearly 15 thousand “lobbyists” compared to 9700 in 2016.

Grassroots Advocacy or People Power

Grassroots advocacy is simply “citizen lobbying”. I use the phrase cautiously since citizen advocates do not engage in advocacy like paid lobbyists for the sole reason of getting obscene hourly rates for  compensation. The lobbyist who is paid $150,000 a month for his services cares only about one thing: Making $150,000 a month!

Grassroots advocacy or citizen lobbying differs from paid lobbying in several respects:

1) Grassroots citizen advocacy and mobilization occurs when a group of concerned, motivated and civic-minded individuals come together to organize in support or in opposition to a particular cause(s)  or issue(s) that is of interest to them or has the potential to serve a greater common good. There are grassroots groups and organizations advancing environmental, civil liberties and other causes. There are even groups consisting of a “loose-knit conglomerate of exiles, sympathetic members of Congress, and nongovernmental organizations” that focus on a particular country.

2) Unlike paid lobbying which relies on the resources and skills of an elite corps of powerful lawyers, marketing and advertising professionals and “consultants” and “experts” with back-channel connections to politicians, grassroots advocates work to reach out and contact their lawmakers and other government and public officials  and urge them to act in support or opposition of their issues and causes.

3) Unlike paid lobbyist who gain access to officials by developing personal relationships with officials and their staffers (and engaging in a variety of other activities including making campaign contributions, using the economic leverage of their clients, running media and advertising campaigns, holding “informational seminars” for officials and wining and dining them at golf resorts to educate them about the issues, and even creating bogus grassroots organizations to supplement and leverage their positions), grassroots advocacy generally relies on word-of-mouth outreach efforts aimed at creating and sustaining a public awareness and mass mobilization effort on issues and problems and mobilizing individual action.

4) Unlike paid lobbyists who aim to bring about results for their clients in the short-term, grassroots advocacy aims to build support to change attitudes, policies and practices over a longer period of time.

5) Grassroots advocacy gives effective voice to ordinary people who do not have millions of dollars to blow on high-powered lobbyists. It offers ordinary folks an opportunity to be heard by their representatives and officials. Ordinary people are able to show their lawmakers how their rights and interests are affected by particular issues. By directly communicating with lawmakers, they convey the raw emotion of their concern for the issues.

A well-organized small grassroots group can often give the million-dollar lobbyists a run for their money.

Each person is a leader in a grassroots citizen advocacy campaign

There are those who (I regret to say “sitting on their derrieres”) pontificate and demand the immediate establishment of a leadership group and organization to do what needs to be done. They seem to believe that an elite group of individuals could manipulate and direct the masses of citizens into taking action in one form or another. To invoke an old Ethiopian saying, “The sky is near to those who sit on their rear ends pointing an index finger”.

The fact of the matter is that citizen advocacy is led by citizens. Every citizen engaged in a grassroots movement is a leader, a vanguard and a pathfinder. In many ways, grassroots movements are leaderless in the traditional sense. They are led by ordinary civically-minded citizens who are not willing to take it anymore. Grassroots advocacy places on each concerned citizens the responsibility to self-educate on the issues, to learn new skills necessary for civic engagement, to seek out and link up with others engaged in grassroots advocacy and develop the courage to stand up and be counted.

We live in a time and place where the means of mass communication have made it easier than ever to learn new things and collaborate with others at the speed of light. It is so much easier today to gather around an issue by using internet resources. Fragmented groups can come together and join up for a common cause. It has never been easier to mobilize hundreds or millions of people through social media, email, internet radio and websites, blogs. It is no longer an absolute necessity to march in the streets every day for an opportunity to be heard by lawmakers and other officials. With a computer keyboard and mouse, millions of supporters can be mobilized for immediate action.

There is no longer an excuse for individual inaction in the fact of the most important issues of the day which will impact generations to come.

Getting involved is a civic duty and obligation

Alexis de Tocqueville, the insightful 19th-century French commentator on “Democracy in America” was the first to discuss the importance of civil society organizations (free association of citizens for social or political purposes) as buffers between citizens and the state. He thought these nongovernmental groups operating in their own interests served to promote democratization and revitalized society.   He felt democracy in America had a tendency to promote individualistic lifestyles which makes it fertile ground for the growth of free social and political associations which could revitalize democracy and society at the same time.  de Tocqueville also noticed two trends among the Americans he observed. Some of the Americans were civically-minded, creative, courageous, eager and prepared to take initiatives and action to engage the government. Others were timid and not interested in free and independent thought and would just as soon follow the herd and follow the opinion of the majority.

de Tocqueville’s observations are just as applicable to 21^st century Ethiopian Americans. The same two trends in de Tocqueville’s America are present today. There are Ethiopian Americans who are eager to step up to the plate and others who want to sit in the bleachers and watch silently from a distance. There may be others who may feel more comfortable living a life of de facto second-class citizenship.

I do not want to sound jingoistic but American citizenship offers great constitutional liberties, rights, privileges and responsibilities. We have the right to free speech and to petition government for grievances. We have the right to vote and to hold our lawmakers and officials accountable for what they do and do not do.

Our elected representatives work for us. They do not work for the T-TPLF or any other foreign governments. The T-TPLF does not pay taxes in America. It is in the enviable position of extracting  billions of dollars from the American taxpayer. The T-TPLF does not vote in America. It steals elections in Ethiopia.

For those of us who appreciate the genius of de Tocqueville “Democracy in America”, we know that American citizenship carries with it considerable responsibilities. Those responsibilities are even greater on all those who escaped political persecution from their home countries and emigrated to the U.S. Defending the U.S. Constitution from enemies domestic and foreign is a responsibility, indeed a solemn oath, every naturalized American citizen is required to take and live up to.

The T-TPLF is free to flash its wads of millions of dollars and dangle it before certain American politicians, but it is our job and solemn duty as to make sure T-TPLF’s money power does not crush Ethiopian American people power.

I should like to remind my Ethiopian American readers of an admonition attributed to de Tocqueville: “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”

In the 21^st century, the question shall be whether the American Republic will endure the relentless onslaught of foreign bribe money flowing into Congress and the administration!

To be continued…

(OPride) — Ethiopia’s state-run TV Oromiyaa on Thursday abruptly ended its live transmission of the regular session of the Oromia Regional State legislature. Activists allege the order to halt the live cast came from Ethiopia’s intelligence services.

Clips from the brief broadcast shared on social media show an impassioned rebuke of the federal government over its complacency in the efforts to end ongoing raids and cross-border attacks against Oromo civilians by the Somali Regional State special police known as Liyu Police.

For the past three months, locals in five Oromia zones and 14 districts bordering the Somali region reported armed incursions by the notorious paramilitary security force. At least 150 civilians have been killed and many others injured in the attacks, which began in late December, according to locals.

The Liyu police was established in April 2007 following the attack by the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) on a Chinese oil exploration field near the town of Abole. (The raid left 74 Ethiopian soldiers and nine Chinese workers dead.) Funded in part by grants from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, the Liyu police was meant as a counterinsurgency force against ONLF rebels. It was created and led by Abdi Mohammed Omar (“Abdi Illey”), the current president of Somali Regional State, who was then the regional security chief.

The Liyu Police has been controversial from the start. In the lawless and largely forgotten Ogaden, the unit operates with total impunity at the behest of its founder, Abdi Illey. Ogadeni activists and human rights groups have documented egregious human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, execution of civilians, rape, torture and destruction of villages.

Abdi Iley is the law in Ogaden and the Liyu Police is Iley’s arm to quash any dissent, far or near.

Thursday’s heated exchange at Caffee, which apparently forced the regional broadcaster to pull its live-feed, caps a week of tensions between the two quasi-federal states: Oromia and Ogaden. After weeks of public outcry, Oromia Regional State Government Communication Affairs Bureau Head, Addis Araga, told the Voice of America Afaan Oromo that armed groups from the Somali region have been conducting raids and have caused wanton destruction in 14 districts in Oromia. The affected districts are Qumbi, Cinaksan, Midhaga Tola, Gursum, Mayu Muluqe and Babile in East Hararghe; Bordode in West Hararghe; Dawe Sarar, Sawena, Mada Walabu and Rayitu in Bale; Gumi Eldelo and Liban in Guji; and Moyale in Borana.

Addisu noted that the armed attackers have two primary goals. First, illegal territorial expansion. This is evident in the fact that when the group ambushes a given area and the locals flee for their lives, they hoist the Somali region’s flag to make it appear it is their territory. “This is unacceptable by all measures,” Addisu told VOA. A long-running border and territorial dispute between the two states was settled by a referendum that’s held in October 2004. Except for a few rural villages, the area has been demarcated and the bordering states are governed by the terms of that referendum, Addisu said. (Oromia and Ogaden share a border that is more than 1000 kilometers long stretching from the northeast Jijiga highlands to the Kenyan border in the southeast.) The referendum was held in some 420 kebeles in 12 districts along the border. In the end, 80 percent of the residents in the disputed areas voted to join or stay in Oromia. Addisu says the results are final and binding. And that no new referendum will be held.

The second goal of the invading force is economic, according to Addisu. He acknowledged that lives have been lost and the force has been looting property.

Locals paint a much darker picture. Mothers and young girls have been gang raped, according to one Mayu resident, who spoke to OPride by phone. He said the attacking Liyu Police were fully armed and they moved about in armored vehicles brandishing machine guns and other heavy weapons. They stole cattle, goats, camels and other properties.

Oromia state officials insist they are trying to resolve the issue amicably in consultation with the Somali region. And that the Command Post, which is currently running the country, has intervened to stop the attack on civilians.

By contrast, the Somali Regional State is advancing two parallel narratives. On the one hand, they allege that armed troublemakers are coming into their state’s territory from Oromia and wrecking havoc and that its police force was only playing defense. On the other hand, according to Addisu, Somali authorities told Oromia officials that they did not know who the perpetrators are.

Addisu insists that “no Oromo should be killed in his home.” And that the perpetrators should be held accountable. Yet the killings continue.

Oromo lawmakers seem to confirm what locals told OPride and other media outlets: The so-called Command Post and federal authorities are tacitly enabling the abuses of Liyu police. Addisu said the Oromia state government does not believe federal forces took sides or were complicit in the attacks. But he said if that’s found to be true, a legal action will be taken since “no one is above the law” even though the emergency rule has effectively put the security forces above the law, a law which is already seen as good only on paper.

Over the years, the Liyu Police’s mandate has expanded far beyond fighting ONLF. According to a research by Landinfo, an independent body within the Norwegian Immigration Authorities, Liyu Police today is responsible “for protecting the border and for handling general security challenges in the region.” It operates regional checkpoints and patrols border areas, especially along the Ethiopia-Somalia border. In 2013, Liyu Police had an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 members. Its force has since grown to approximately 42,000, according to Landinfo.

Fariya Aliye, one of the lawmakers who spoke out at the heated Oromia Regional Council meeting, noted that in East and West Hararghe zones of Oromia alone, six districts have partly or fully fallen outside of the Oromia regional administration. And are not even receiving critical public services offered by the state. The assembly congregated in a grand hall in Adama town, 60 miles south of Addis Ababa, seemed uncomfortable as they listened to her testimony. It was so quiet that one could hear not only a pin drop from miles away but also the hissing of a long-suppressed volcano about to erupt.

Oromo and Somali authorities agree on one thing: people of the two regions lived side-by-side for a long time and share culture and generally enjoy cordial relations.

To the vast majority of the Oromo people, this is nothing short of an aggression, a proxy war by the ruling oligarchy to cow the Oromo into submission. Tigrean elites have been single-handedly ruling the country for over quarter a century. The Oromo have been staging massive protests that began in November 2015. Ethiopian authorities declared in October 2016 a state of emergency that seems to have brought a semblance of order, at least on the surface.

But as one young protest organizer told OPride recently, “what the Tigreans have failed to do with the Addis Ababa master plan, they are now trying to do it using the Liyu Police as its Trojan Horse and they want us to stay put.” In other words, the latest armed incursions by Liyu Police is yet another land grab scheme in the ongoing dispossession of the Oromo people from their lands.

An elder in the diaspora who hails from one of the Oromo districts threatened by the Liyu Police and who gave only his last name as Jilo said he feared not only for the future of peace and stability but also the future peaceful coexistence of the two peoples. “I see thick blood running as our mighty rivers.”

The feeling is widely shared. Oromo anger against the Tigrean dominated government in Addis runs high despite the detentions of thousands of youth who had gone to the streets to air popular grievances. After months of indoctrination, released detainees show no sign of backing down. In fact, the detention and indoctrination appear to have simply fueled their longstanding mistrust of the system.

“When will this government stop rubbing salt in our wounds?” ask many an enraged Oromo, at home and abroad.

Given growing divisions within the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), federal authorities are unlikely to reign in Abdi Iley’s horses of war, which the Oromo sense to be beholden and acting at the behest of the Tigrean top brass.

In the short run, this means that the semblance of calm that had returned to Ethiopia after the declaration of the state of emergency, albeit only on the surface, risks unraveling at the seams.

The impassioned plea from the Oromia council members shows growing discontent with the lack of application of the country’s pseudo-federation and its subversion using different administrative and security measures.

Federal authorities have largely turned a blind eye to simmering inter-state border conflicts in part because the ethnicized nature of the conflict eliminates prospects for an inter-ethnic alliance, as is becoming common among exiled dissidents, against the central government.

Abdi Iley’s latest gamble and similar border disputes between and within many other states point to deepening strains over the promises of the federation and the reality as lived by ordinary Oromos. As with Ogaden, other regions have armed militias that routinely raid and loot adjacent districts in Oromia. By contrast, people in Oromia have been fully disarmed. In some localities, even carrying a spear and a stick (ulee/shimala) can run afoul of the law. Oromia had such a counter-insurgency force back in the 2000s until it was disbanded by the order of the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi with the recommendation of Samora Yunus, the Ethiopian army’s chief of staff.

Abdi Iley’s invading forces are hoping to exploit the security gap and the defenselessness of Oromo farmers and pastoralists who are already on the margins of the society. A fact that’s only made worse by the suffocating state of emergency, which has further militarized the Ethiopian state and made street protests unthinkable. But the storm continues to gather, hardening the public and forging consensus among the Oromo elite across political divides, including within the ruling party. It will only be a matter of time until the Oromo decides to arm itself in self-defense. That prospect bodes ill for the country’s long-term stability and future.

Even though many among the Oromo general public and established opposition groups dismiss it as a public relations stunt orchestrated from behind to woo the Oromo into its fold and distract it from its struggle, the OPDO under its new leader, Lamma Magarsa, is undeniably showing increasing assertiveness. In fact, his rhetoric and approach have raised some hope that the organization is finally beginning to respond to popular pressure. However, historically the OPDO has a perennial trouble of not living up to its rhetoric. A consistent underachiever, it simply lacks the organizational coherence and political adroitness to outmuscle and outmaneuver its dominant partner now the shaky EPRDF coalition, the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front.

Given the deep web of historical, social and cultural affinity between the two groups, the current conflict is unlikely to strain people-to-people relations (in Ethiopia the latter has always been cordial and the conflicts largely center on control of state power). But it will definitely sour the relations between the Oromo and Ethiopia’s autocratic rulers and prepare the grounds for another explosion of public anger that is likely to dwarf the protests of 2014-2016. Since the regime has closed off all avenues to peaceful resolution of the country’s many pressing problems, with the arrest and charging of the leaders of the only Oromo opposition group operating peacefully and legally, and heed the demands of both Amhara and Oromo protesters, the question is when rather than if such an explosion will transpire. If and when it does, the consequences will be catastrophic for Ethiopia and the region.

Source-  opride.com

Kampala, March 5, 2017

South Sudan News Agency

In an exclusive interview on Sunday, a former Ugandan intelligence agent told the South Sudan News Agency (SSNA) that Egyptian government is actively pursuing a sneaky military strategy against Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and that Egypt is also assisting South Sudanese government in its war against the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO).

James Moises, the former intelligence operative alleges that Egypt and Uganda mutually agreed last year to achieve what he described as “two different interests. Moises went into details, explaining why Uganda and Egypt joined forces against Ethiopia and South Sudan’s armed opposition.

“First of all, Egypt’s diplomatic campaign to stop Ethiopia from constructing GERD has failed. Secondly, Uganda failed to destroy South Sudanese rebels. These two different interests are the ones uniting Cairo and Kampala,” Moises said. Adding, “Addis Ababa must not believe Cairo and Kampala when talking about anything related to GERD.”

“This is a sneaky strategy against the Ethiopian government,” he asserted.

Moises revealed to the SSNA during the interview that Ugandan President first proposed to the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in December 2016 that if Cairo agrees to give Juba weapons and ammunition it wants to defeat the SPLM/A-IO, then Uganda would support any campaign Egypt wants against Addis Ababa. He further disclosed that Museveni even promised el-Sisi that he has what it takes to bring on board other East African countries to back-up Cairo.

Egypt supplies South Sudan with weapons and ammunition

Moises also disclosed that Egypt is supplying South Sudan with sophisticated weapons, ammunition, and modern military equipment, adding “Kampala manages Cairo military aid to South Sudanese government.”

This is not the first time James Moises make claims like these.

In July 2013, about four months before South Sudan civil war broke out; he wrote an article exposing Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni meddling in South Sudan internal affairs. His piece caused panic in the entire East African region and around the world and widely credited for exposing Uganda’s troops present in South Sudan before the war erupted.

Moises also warned in November 2015 that the August 2015 peace deal would not succeed, saying South Sudanese president Salva Kiir and his Ugandan counterpart Museveni had already drawn up a plan to prevent the implementation of the agreement. He then disclosed that Kiir and Museveni’s scheme to frustrate peace implementation would include first agreeing to IGAD and the international community brokered demands, allow rebels to come to Juba, and then start a war in the capital.

Last month, the rebel military command accused Egyptian air force of carrying out air attacks on its positions in Kaka town in Upper Nile.  Cairo denied the allegations.

South Sudanese rebels also alleged in January that  Egypt and South Sudan had strike a dirty deal, alleging the pact between the two countries includes a secret sabotage campaign against Ethiopia’s G

By: Berhane Tadese

As annual public event, The Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association of New York and Global Alliance -the Ethiopia cause organized a Town Hall Meeting to pay tribute to victims of Rodolfo Graziani cowardly attack that claimed thousands of innocent Ethiopians lives on February 19, 1937 (G.C). The occasion also included to remember Ethiopian patriots who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our beloved country during the Italian aggression from 1935 -1941. The meeting was held on Sunday, March 5, 2017 at 220 Manhattan Ave NY, NY. The ceremony started as audience stood silently to perform few minutes moment of prayer remembering the dead.

The event’s program is reserved for special guest speakers: Dr. Girma Abebe, Mr. Howard Parker and also Ambassador Imru Zelleke joined by Skype. The speakers told the audience their vivid experiences, the atrocity that took place, and the role of Ethiopian patriots.  The gallant Ethiopian people showed determination love of their country and pride to fight back the invader army. Why the Italians invaded Ethiopia? Some say Adwa was avenged and some explained it as the grand scheme of scramble for Africa by Europeans Colonial powers for granary of source of raw material and free labor.

Given the Italians military supremacy, the guerilla patriots resisted the occupation with outdated rifles and without effective allies from outside world.  The patriots strived under impossible condition during the battle. As diplomacy effort, Emperor Haile Selassie gave powerful speech demanding protection to free Ethiopia, on June 30, 1936 (G.C), before League of Nations and made statement “Today it is us, tomorrow it will be you”. The plea failed and the Emperor continued to live in exile.

As we commemorate this day, we owe a debt of gratitude to many patriots sacrifice. To name the few: Ras Abebe Aregayi, Lt. General Jagama Kelo, Dejazmatch Geresu Duki, Dr. Melaku Beyan, Lij Haile Mariam Mamo, Dejazmatch Kebede Bizunesh the list goes on and so many forgotten heroes to mention here. Professor Mesfin Woldemariam concisely puts it in his writing “…………So many unsung and forgotten heroes unknown to Ethiopians and known only to God. I am so proud and deeply grateful to all of them!].”

In addition to the Speakers presentations, in memory of the dead, the story of activist Dr. Melaku Beyan article was distributed to the audience. The story was written by Dr. Girma Abebe.  Last month, Dr. Melaku’s story was posted on several Ethiopians websites. It is one of inspirational stories that make up the forgotten heroes families.  According to the paper, Dr. Melaku was well educated person. He received his doctoral degree in US.  He returned back home prior the Italian invasion. Soon after, the Italian invaded Ethiopia. He served in the battle field. Then he was pulled out from the battle field and sent to New York where the African American already showed a solidarity supporting for the Ethiopian people fight against Fascist invasion. Dr. Melaku led the awareness campaign about the Italian naked aggression. Dr. Melaku did monumental task in explaining the wholesale destruction of villages, churches and mass murder of innocent civilians by Italian army. He greatly contributed to the African Americans, Caribbean’s to have a unified stand and unlimited support to Ethiopian cause. There is no doubt that his historic activism for just cause continue to stand tall for generation to come. Dr. Melaku died at age 40 in New York Rockland hospital. He is buried in Bronx, NY. Unfortunately, his death occurred a year earlier prior Ethiopia became free from the occupation.

The Italian fascist acts are much more. According to Professor Astair G. Mengesha’s article entitled:

“Cry Justice”.

She interviewed several people and documented unfortunate stories of ordinary Ethiopians and infamous scene of Addis Ababa in her article. To cite one case from her writing:  “…..Some of their experiences cannot be quantified but they can only be felt. Stories of Ethiopians of the fascist era may help us envisage the terror of the time. 

Case: 5

The story of the following woman took place in the rural area in southwestern Ethiopia from where the Ethiopian freedom fighters, the “Black Lions” operated. It is a story of a wife of one of the fighters. When they could not find the husband, they took her to their post and tortured her for several days to extract information of his whereabouts. She did not know. Ultimately, a couple of soldiers came with a prisoner, her husband. The commander of the post was to go to Addis Ababa. So he took the prisoner with him on the plane. When the plane reached cruising height, he dropped her husband down from the sky. The woman was traumatized, lost her mind and became gravely ill. She could not care for her very young children. The youngest was six months old. She died a few months later leaving her boys as orphans.

Such sad stories were common in Ethiopia during the fascists’ time. I have heard many similar horrible stories. Since I am professionally interested in issues of gender during times of war, I interviewed a number of people who have experience of live during the five years of the Italian occupation.

I thought you were coming thought the war was ending
I have been calling and calling aren’t you listening
the children are crying
when I saw you falling
I thought you were coming
it was only a dream, dreaming

Cry Justice  

……Our ancestors were mocked. Our churches burned and desecrated. Our religion was ridiculed and our dignity was stolen. Our properties have been robbed. Ethiopia was raped. ……I cry for Justice.” (Read more click link (http://www.globalallianceforethiopia.org/drastair.pdf )

80th years have passed since the Italian attack on February 19, 1937 and only few survivors are left to recall that tragic days. Our two speakers Dr. Girma Abebe and Ambassador Imru Zelleke are real survivors of those tragic days. The Speakers provided us eye witness account and personal experience as young boy during the Italian invasion. Ambassador Imru, now age 94. He might be the only POW at age thirteen still live and understand the truma. Their message is eloquently delivered to bring out courage and bravery in all of us. The audience were moved by Speaker presentations, and shared their thoughts.

Looking at the past we learned our Patriots were how gallant, how brave they were to keep Ethiopia free from aggressor.  We must continue to have the same courageous stand to combat foreign aggression and embrace our patriot’s role, put value and appreciation of their sacrifice. One hope the young generation will keep the memory by paying tribute each year as a key historical significant event.

The Town Hall Meeting benefited to keep alive Ethiopwinet and also to remind us our deep rooted history. Thanks is extended to the Speakers telling the story of courage and glory of Ethiopian people. Lastly, we commemorate Yekatit 12 to evoke the memory of the massacre and expression of sadness and at the same time to pledges in solidarity “Never Forget”.

Long live Ethiopia!!!

by Abby Phillip, Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post
March 5, 2017

FBI Director James Comey asked the Justice Department this weekend to issue a statement refuting President Donald Trump’s claim that President Barack Obama ordered a wiretap of Trump’s phones before the election, according to U.S. officials, but the department did not do so.

Comey made the request on Saturday after Trump accused Obama on Twitter of having his “‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower.” The White House expanded on Trump’s comments Sunday with a call for a congressional probe of his allegations.

The revelation, first reported by the New York Times, underscores the fraught nature of the FBI’s high-profile investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. A key question fuelling that inquiry is whether Trump associates colluded with Russian officials to help Trump win.

Neither Justice nor the FBI would comment Sunday.

The development came as Trump’s charge against Obama — levelled without any evidence — was being rebuffed both inside and outside of the executive branch. It drew a blunt, on-the-record denial by a top intelligence official who served in the Obama administration.

Speaking on NBC News on Sunday morning, former director of national intelligence James Clapper denied that a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) wiretap was authorized against Trump or the campaign during his tenure.

“There was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time as a candidate or against his campaign,” Clapper said on “Meet the Press,” adding that he would “absolutely” have been informed if the FBI had received a FISA warrant against either.

“I can deny it,” Clapper said emphatically.

In his claims early Saturday morning, the president tweeted that he “just found out” that Obama had “my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower” before the election, comparing it to “McCarthyism.”

“Is it legal for a sitting President to be ‘wire tapping’ a race for president prior to an election?” Trump asked in another tweet. “Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!”

By Sunday morning, the White House doubled down on Trump’s explosive tweetstorm and called for the congressional probe.

Current and former government officials said such surveillance would not have been approved by any senior Justice official in the Obama administration. And Trump’s allegation raised hackles in the FBI leadership, insinuating as it did that the bureau may have acted illegally to wiretap a presidential candidate without probable cause that he was an “agent of a foreign power,” as the foreign intelligence surveillance law requires.

“This is Nixon/Watergate,” Trump tweeted Saturday.

A spokesman for Obama countered several hours later that the former president never authorized a wiretap of Trump or any other American citizen. “Any suggestion otherwise is simply false,” the spokesman said.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Sunday cited “reports” of “potentially politically motivated investigations” during the 2016 campaign, calling them “troubling.” But none of the media reports cited by the White House provides evidence of a politically motivated surveillance effort against Trump.

“President Donald J. Trump is requesting that as part of their investigation into Russian activity, the congressional intelligence committees exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016,” Spicer said. “Neither the White House nor the President will comment further until such oversight is conducted,” the statement added.

Congressional committees in both the House and the Senate are probing not just suspected Russian efforts to undermine the 2016 election but any contacts between Russian officials and the Trump campaign.

Comey’s request is sure to raise eyebrows in light of his actions last year in the bureau’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server.

Last July he held a news conference – without telling the Justice Department what he would say – to announce that the bureau had concluded Clinton did not commit a prosecutable offence. Then, 11 days before the election, Comey wrote Congress despite warnings from senior Justice officials that doing so would violate department policy and said the FBI was examining new emails that had come to light. Nothing came of the bureau’s additional review, but Comey took heat for his actions, which Democrats say influenced the outcome of the election.

It is not clear why Comey, who is the senior-most law enforcement officer who has been overseeing the FBI investigation from its inception in the Obama administration, did not himself issue a statement to refute Trump’s claims. Nor is it clear to whom he made his request. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself last week from all investigative matters related to the Trump campaign and any potential Russia links. The acting Deputy Attorney General, Dana Boente, a career federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, is now overseeing the probe.

Trump’s tweets early Saturday may have been prompted by the comments of a conservative radio host, which were summarized in an article on the conservative website Breitbart. The Breitbart story had been circulating among Trump’s senior aides on Friday.

The White House’s escalation of Trump’s claims were kept at arm’s length by congressional Republicans appearing on Sunday morning news broadcasts.

When asked about Trump’s allegations, Senate Intelligence Committee member Tom Cotton, R-Ark., declined to comment on the tweets but said he has “seen no evidence of the allegations.”

“Whether that’s a FISA court application or denial of that application or a re-submission of that application, that doesn’t mean that none of these things happened. It just means we haven’t seen that yet,” Cotton added, speaking on Fox News Sunday.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said he is not aware of evidence to back up the president’s claim. “I have no insight into exactly what he’s referring to,” he said on “Meet the Press.” “The president put that out there, and now the White House will have to answer for exactly what he was referring to.”

Obama’s allies were more blunt, denying flatly that the former president had ordered a wiretap of Trump’s campaign.

“This may come as a surprise to the current occupant of the Oval Office, but the president of the United States does not have the authority to unilaterally order the wiretapping of American citizens,” said former Obama White House press secretary Josh Earnest. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told “Meet the Press” that Trump is “in trouble” and acting “beneath the dignity of the presidency.”

“The president’s in trouble if he falsely spread this kind of information,” Schumer said. “It shows this president doesn’t know how to conduct himself.”

Earnest added that Trump was attempting to distract from the controversy involving contacts between his campaign aides, including now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Russian officials.

“We know exactly why president Trump tweeted what he tweeted,” Earnest added. “Because there is one page in the Trump White House crisis management playbook, and that is simply to tweet or say something outrageous to distract from a scandal. And the bigger the scandal, the more outrageous the tweet.”

Trump’s tweets early Saturday may have been prompted by the comments of a conservative radio host, which were summarized in an article on the conservative website Breitbart. The Breitbart story had been circulating among Trump’s senior aides on Friday.

But appearing on ABCs “This Week,” White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders repeatedly said that the president’s allegation was worth looking into.

“He’s asking that we get down to the bottom of this, let’s get the truth here, let’s find out,” Huckabee Sanders said. “I think the bigger story isn’t who reported it, but is it true. And I think the American people have a right to know if this happened, because if it did, again, this is the largest abuse of power that, I think, we have ever seen.”

Asked whether Trump truly believes Obama wiretapped him, Huckabee Sanders deflected.

“I would say that his tweet speaks for itself there,” she said.

Clapper’s comments referred only to whether Trump campaign officials had been wiretapped. But their conversations could also have been captured by routine surveillance of Russian diplomats or intelligence operatives.

U.S. monitoring of Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, for example, caught his conversations with Trump adviser Michael Flynn during the campaign. Flynn went on to become Trump’s national security adviser, but he was forced to resign last month after admitting that he had misled other senior Trump officials about the nature of those conversations.

The FBI and the National Security Agency also have obtained intercepted communications among Russians officials in which they refer to conversations with members of the Trump team, current and former U.S. officials have said.

On the broader question of apparent Russian interference in the 2016 election, Clapper urged congressional investigators to attempt to settle the issue, which he said has become a “distraction” in the political sphere.

The intelligence community found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government – at least until the end of the Obama administration, he said Sunday.

“We had no evidence of such collusion,” he said on “Meet the Press.” But Clapper added a caveat: “This could have unfolded or become available in the time since I left government.”

Whether there was any collusion is a key question fueling a wide-ranging federal probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

On Jan. 6, the U.S. spy agencies collectively released a report concluding that Russia carried out cyberhacks and other “active measures” with an intent to help Trump and harm the campaign and potential presidency of Hillary Clinton. The report, Clapper pointed out, included “no evidence” of collusion with the Trump campaign.

But the investigation by the FBI, the NSA and the CIA continues. The Senate and House intelligence committees also are conducting investigations.

by Killian Stokes

About 100 million people rely on coffee for their livelihood but they’re not always getting a fair deal, writes Killian Stokes.

Killian Stokes

WHEN WE THINK about the products on supermarket shelves, there isn’t a level playing field. Take wine and coffee for example.

The French don’t export green grapes. They export bottled and branded wine and consumers actually pay more for premium French brands such as Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne.

As a result, more jobs, income and profits stay in France and France makes about €12bn a year from its wine exports.

At the same time, a big coffee-producing country like Ethiopia only earns €760m from coffee. Both are premium products, so what’s the problem?

Fairtrade Fortnight

Fairtrade has been fantastic for raising awareness but it was supposed to address this imbalance.

Fairtrade is marking Fairtrade Fortnight at the moment and after 20 years of Fairtrade products on our shelves in Ireland, has it achieved its aims of addressing poverty in developing countries?

Short answer? Not really. Fairtrade in the UK announced sales of £1.64bn this week for products with their certification. That gave farmers £30m in “premium payments” for their products. After 20 years of campaigning, that’s not a lot of added value for producers.

A Problem Worth Solving – A Look at Coffee

Agegnehu and Genet in Moyee’s Roastery in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Coffee has become the world’s favourite drink. It’s bigger than wine, beer and booze put together. Each day we drink 2 billion cups of coffee and the global coffee industry is worth almost €100 billion a year.

Across the developing world about 100 million people rely on coffee for their livelihood, that’s the coffee farmers and their families. But these are amongst the poorest people on the planet. 90% of coffee farmers earn less than €2 a day while 90% of coffee growing countries still need international aid to survive.

While 100% of coffee is grown in the coffee belt, 99.9% of all coffee we drink is roasted in Europe or America. Coffee is exported out of the coffee belt as raw green bean and so even if coffee farmers earn slightly more with Fairtrade premiums, most of the jobs, income and profits from coffee are exported out of the coffee belt. This has to change.

Ethiopia, which I mentioned earlier, is the birthplace of coffee, the home of Arabica and the producer of some the finest beans in the world including Harrar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe beans.

It is Africa’s largest producer of coffee, coffee accounts for 30% of its exports. 1 in 4 Ethiopians rely on coffee for their income. That’s about 20 million people.

Ethiopia should earn enough to power its economy, but as that value’s being added in the West, it has to rely on about €3 billion in foreign aid per year.

A Better Deal for the Coffee Belt – Trade over Aid

If Ethiopia started to develop its coffee industry, with roasting, packaging and quality control taking place at origin, it could create millions of jobs and triple the country’s income from coffee to €2.5 billion a year. It could begin to trade its way out of poverty.

At Moyee Coffee we call this approach FairChain. We now roast 85% of our coffee in Addis Ababa, as well as packaging and quality control jobs. By roasting locally, we create more jobs and ensure more profit stays with the people who contribute most to the coffee chain.

We think that’s an idea worth talking about this Fairtrade Fortnight. Let’s move the conversation beyond supporting farmers and look at supporting entire industries in developing countries.

We believe this FairChain revolution can spread throughout the coffee belt and make a real difference in the fight to tackle poverty.

Killian Stokes is an adjunct lecturer on Business and Global Development at the Quinn School of Business in UCD and the co-founder of Moyee Coffee Ireland (moyeecoffee.ie), the world’s first FairChain coffee.

Voice of Amhara Daily Ethiopian News March 7, 2017