Eskinder Nega Fenta De Birhan's man of the Year 2012

De Birhan
31 Dec 2012

As we are hours away from 2013, we at De Birhan have chosen Eskinder Nega for a second time as man of the year 2012. We wish Eskinder will be free in 2013 and join his lonely wife and child. 

EPRDF's magazine says Meles achieved his dream of enabling Ethiopians to eat three times a day

In the Country of Kumra (a word coined by Ethiopians by merging Kurs, mesa and erat/breakfast, lunch and super to explain the change of their capacity to afford eating from three to one per day), Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front  (EPRDF's ) magazine, Addis Raeye, which public servants are being forced to buy, stated that the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles  Zenawi had achieved his dream of enabling Ethiopians to eat three times per  day. A copy of the magazine is priced at 100 birr. 

Intra-war among Ethiopian soldiers kills 40

De Birhan 
28 Dec 2012

A clash among Ethiopian soldiers who are stationed at Bure Front, a small disputed area on the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia that started on Tuesday 25, 2012 has taken the life of over 40 soldiers while 39 were wounded, Ethiopia Satellite Television (ESAT) reported.  The wounded are being treated at Manda Hospital. 

Perceiving that war between Ethiopia and Eritrea had erupted, residents were reportedly leaving the area. High ranking military officials were roving the area with helicopters in an attempt to control the violence, ESAT added. ESAT reported that there were various speculations about the cause of the violence:  some said it was caused due to disagreements between TPLF army officials while others say it was a clash between groups that support the leadership and those that oppose it. 

Bure is  50 miles west of Asseb. Eritrea considers Bure to be a part of its Southern Red Sea Zone, while Ethiopia considers Bure part of Administrative Zone 1 of its Afar Region. This area lies across the important Awash-Asseb highway, which in the past has been an important trucking route.The Front is lead by General Saere Mekonen. 

Watch the full video report below,

በቡሬ ግንባር የሚገኘው የኢትዮጵያ ሰራዊት እርስ በርሱ ተዋጋ

ታህሳስ ፲፱ (አስራ ዘጠኝ) ቀን ፳፻፭ ዓ/ም

ኢሳት ዜና:-የኢሳት የመከላከያ ምንጮች እንደገለጡት በቡሬ ግንባር በሚገኙ የመከላከያ ሰራዊት አባላት መካከል ማንዳ እየተባለ በሚጠራው አካባቢ ማክሰኞ ሌሊት የተጀመረው የእርስ በርስ ጦርነት እስከ እኩለቀን ዘልቆ እንደነበርና አሁንም ውጥረቱ እንዳለ መሆኑን ለማወቅ ተችሎአል።

የእርስ በርስ ጦርነቱ እንደተጀመረ የአካባቢው ነዋሪ ኢትዮጵያ እና ኤርትራ ጦርነት ጀመሩ በሚል ቀየውን ለቆ የተንቀሳቀሰ ሲሆን፣ ከፍተኛ ወታደራዊ ባለስልጣናት በሄሊኮፕተር እየተንቀሳቀሱ ጦርነቱን ለማስቆም ጥረት ሲያደርጉ እንደነበር ምንጮቻችን ገልጸዋል።

40 ወታደሮች መሞታቸውን እንዲሁም ከ39 በላይ ደግሞ መቁሰላቸውን ከማንዳ ሆስፒታል የተገኘ መረጃ ያመለካተ ሲሆን፣ ሆስፒታል ሳይደረሱ የሞቱ፣ ወደ መቀሌ ሆስፒታል በሄሊኮፕተር የተወሰዱ ወታደራዊ አዛዦች መኖራቸውንም ለማወቅ ተችሎአል።

ዘግይቶ በደረሰን ዜና ደግሞ 15 ወታደሮች ወዲያውኑ መሞታቸውን ፣ 12ቱ ደግሞ ለሞት ሲያጣጥሩ በአይናቸው ማየታቸውን አንድ ስማቸውም ድምጻቸውም እንዳይተላለፍ የጠየቁ በሆስፒታሉ ውስጥ የሚሰሩ ነርስ ተናግረዋል።

የግጭቱን መንስኤ በትክክል ለማወቅ አልተቻለም። አንዳንድ ወገኖች ግጭቱ በህወሀት ወታደራዊ ባለስልጣናት መካከል በተፈጠረ አለመግባባት የተነሳ ነው ሲሉ ሌሎች ወገኖች ደግሞ በህወሀት ደጋፊ ወታደሮችና በተቀረው ሰራዊት መካከል የተፈጠረው አለመግባባት ነው ይላሉ። ኢሳት የግጭቱን ትክክለኛ ምንጭ ለማወቅ ጥረት እያደረገ ነው።

ማንዳ ከቡሬ ግንባር 21 ኪሎሜትር የሚርቅ ሲሆን፣ ግጭቱ በትክክል የተነሰባት ቦታ አሊ ፉኑ ዳባ እየተባለ በሚጠራው የጎሳ መሪ ስም በተሰየመ አሊ ፉኒ አካባቢ ነው። ግጭቱ በዚሁ ስፍራ ይጀመር እንጅ ወደ አራት አጎራባች አካባቢዎች ተሰራጭቶ እንደነበር ምንጮች አመልከተዋል።

ከትናንት በስቲያ እና ትናንት ውጥረቱ እንደነበር ለማወቅ የተቻለ ሲሆን፣ ምናልባትም ግጭቱ እንደገና ሊያገረሽ ይችላል በሚል ስጋት የአካባቢው ሰዎች ቀያቸውን እየለቀቁ ነው።

የቡሬ ግንባር ዋና እዝ መቀሌ የሚገኝ ሲሆን፣ በሰሜን እዝ አዛዥ ጄነራል ሳእረ መኮንን እንደሚመራ ይታወቃል።

ቡሬ ግንባር የኢትዮጵያ መከላከያ ሰራዊት ከባድመ ቀጥሎ ሀይሉን በብዛት ያሰማራበት ቦታ መሆኑ ይታወቃል። ኢሳት በቅርቡ በሰሜን ግንባር የተመደበን አንድ የመከላከያ ሰራዊት አባል በማናገር በሰራዊቱ ውስጥ ያለውን ችግር መዘገቡ ይታወሳል።

በሌላ ዜና ደግሞ በአካባቢው ለሚንቀሳቀሰው የአፋር ጋድሌ ሚሊሺያ ሀይል ወጣቶችን ትመለምላላችሁ የተባሉ የሚሊሺያው ወታዳራዊ አዛዥ የሆኑት የኮሎኔል ሙሀመድ አህመድ 4 የቅርብ ዘመዶች ተይዘው ታስረዋል። በአካባቢው ከፍተኛ ውጥረት መንገሱንና መንግስትም ካለፉት ሁለት ሳምንታት ጀምሮ በርካታ ወታደሮችን ማስፈሩን መዘገባችን ይታወሳል።

Negotiations under way to bring imprisoned Bashir Makhtal back to Canada

As the sixth anniversary of the arrest and imprisonment of a Canadian citizen in Ethiopia approaches, preliminary negotiations are taking place for a possible prisoner transfer to Canada.

Read more here thestar

Oxfam: 'Band Aid' Image Damages Africa Efforts

Source : Sky News

Oxfam says it wants to tell positive stories about Africa in an attempt to change the perception that the continent is hopeless.

Powerful images from Ethiopia's 1984 famine set the tone for UK views       

The British public needs to get rid of the "Band Aid" portrayal of Africa as a hopeless continent if they are to help with its problems, Oxfam says.

The charity says Africa's negative image in Britain is undermining efforts to bring an end to hunger on the continent.

The aid agency has revealed that three-fifths of people questioned for a survey said they have become desensitised to images of hunger, drought and disease.

Although nearly three-quarters of respondents thought it was ultimately possible to bring an end to hunger across the continent, only one in five believed they could play an active role in achieving it.

Almost half of more than 2,000 people surveyed by YouGov identified hunger as one of the three most pressing problems facing Africa next year.

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure launched Band Aid to raise money in 1984

Respondents said media and advertising portrayals of Africa and developing countries in other parts of the world are "depressing, manipulative and hopeless".

And just under half said they were left feeling that conditions for people living in the developing world would never improve.

The results come 18 years after Bob Geldof and Midge Ure formed their Band Aid charity supergroup in response to shocking images of people affected by the famine in Ethiopia.

Oxfam says it intends to strike a more optimistic tone in its future campaigning.

Its chief executive, Dame Barbara Stocking, said: "Oxfam has led the way in drawing attention to the plight of Africa's most vulnerable people and we aren't trying to gloss over the problems that still beset so many of them, particularly levels of malnutrition that remain stubbornly high.

Geldof has continued to campaign with friends including U2 frontman Bono

"But we've come a long way since the 1980s and Band Aid's Do They Know it's Christmas? We need to shrug off the old stereotypes and celebrate the continent's diversity and complexity, which is what we are attempting with this campaign.

"The relentless focus on ongoing problems at the expense of a more nuanced portrait of the continent, is obscuring the progress that is being made towards a more secure and prosperous future.

"If we want people to help fight hunger we have to give them grounds for hope by showing the potential of countries across Africa; it's a natural instinct to turn away from suffering when you feel you can do nothing to alleviate it."

Mirel Wagner: from Ethiopia to Finland

ይቺ እህታችን ሚረል ዋግነር ትባላለች። 24 ኣመቷ ነው። በልጅነቷ ወደ ፊንላንድ ኣገር ተወስዳ እዛው ነው ያደገችው። አሁን በአለም ታዋቂ ሙዚቀኛ እየሆነች ነው። እኔ ኢትዮጲያዊቷ ትሬሲ ብያታለሁ። መንፈሴም በድምጿ ደንሳልች። ከታች ሁለት ሊንኮች ኣስቀምጫለሁ ሙዚቃዎቿን እምሰሙበት። ፌስ ቡክም ላይ ላይክ ኣርጔት። 

Mirel Wagner is a 24 year old singer/songwriter, born in Ethiopia and raised in Espoo, Finland. Since age 16 she's writing gloomy Blues and Folk songs, stripped down to the bone. De Birhan calls her the Ethiopian "Tracy Chapman"...Listening to her numbers, forces ones spirits to dance. 

Time Magazine on its August 7, 2012 Issue named her in its " 11 Great Bands You Don’t Know (But Should)" List and described her as, 

Finnish singer-songwriter Mirel Wagner stands out in a crowd. While her pedigree is unique (born in Ethiopia, raised in Finland), it is her voice that is most fascinating. The 24-year-old singer’s satiny, slow intonation has been known to stop people in their tracks only to then lead them down a rabbit hole of haunting and eloquent songs about murder, depression and death. Her love of the blues, especially Robert Johnson and Skip James, influences not only her chosen topics, but also her lilting lovely sound, resulting in songs that are equal parts wildly unsettling and wholly seductive. Her self-titled album is out now on Friendly Fire Recordings.

And recommended her for Fans of: Billie Holiday, PJ Harvey

We have her fab song below, 

ANDM officials grilled

By De Birhan
Dec 24, 2012

Months before Ethiopian PM Meles' death, three top officials of the regime and member party of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front  (EPRDF'), the "Amara" ,  Amara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) were in the U.S. meeting Ethiopians living in various States of America. The officials were Kassa Tekeleberihan Gebrehiwot, President of the Ethiopian House of Federation and Central Committee member of ANDM,  Helawi Yosef, Ethiopian Ambassador to Israel and CC member of ANDM and Demeke Mekonen, Deputy PM of Ethiopia, CC member of ANDM and Minister of Education. The three leaders had perhaps gone through one of the excruciating moments of their life since assuming public office. Faced with little or no opposition and demand in their home country, the officials were faced with hard talk and critical questions from Ethiopians living in the U.S. to the point when the officials were unable to lead and conduct the session. Most of the participants grilled the leaders for "giving huge chunk of Ethiopian land from Gonder to Sudan in exchange for not hosting Ethiopian rebels there" and other criticisms in relations to sovereignty and human rights abuses in Ethiopia. One of the series of footage being released is attached below: 

ዳርፉር የሚገኘ ኢትዮጲያዊ ሰላም ኣስከባሪ ወታደር ሶስት ሌሎች ኢትዮጲያዊያን ወታደሮችን ገሎ ራሱን አጠፋ

In this photo released by the United Nations African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), UNAMID Force Commander, Lieutenant General Patrick Nyamvumba from Rwanda inspects one of the UNAMID vehicles that suffered an ambush Tuesday night that killed four peacekeepers, in El Geneina, Sudan, Oct. 2012. (AP Photo/Albert Gonzلlez Farran, UNAMID)

KHARTOUM: Three peacekeepers shot dead by one of their comrades in Sudan's troubled Darfur region were all Ethiopian, a source familiar with the incident told AFP on Saturday.

The shooter, who subsequently killed himself, was also from the East African country, the source said, asking for anonymity.

"All of them are Ethiopian," said the source.

The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has not released the nationalities of the dead or details of what led to the shooting. While UNAMID is investigating circumstances surrounding the incident, the source told AFP that the peacekeepers are in a stressful environment, "all the time in a dangerous place and all the time away from families."

In October five peacekeepers died in hostile action. A South African member of the force was killed during an ambush en route to the Hashaba area of North Darfur, and four Nigerians lost their lives in an attack near El-Geneina, West Darfur.

The attack on the Nigerians was the deadliest in UNAMID history, according to UN sources. The October killings brought to 43 the number of UNAMID troops killed in hostile action in the nearly five-year history of the world's largest peacekeeping mission.

UNAMID has a mandate to protect civilians in Sudan's far-west region, where rebels began an uprising against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government almost a decade ago.

Read more: dailystar.com.lb

Breaking News: ግንቦት ሰባት ፖፕላር ፎርስ ተመሰረተ

For Immediate Release

London, United Kingdom,

December 20, 2012

Ginbot7 Popular Force (GPF) makes official announcement on its formation and calls on all freedom loving Ethiopians to join the resistance against tyranny.

Ginbot7 Popular Force (GPF) announces its official formation and calls on the oppressed people of Ethiopia to join the resistance and rise up in arms against the Tigrai People Liberation Front (TPLF) led dictatorial regime of Ethiopia. GPF has taken this radical step because the alternative will be forfeiting to tyranny all rights and dignity associated with being human and a citizen of Ethiopia.

GPF believes that all civilised options for peaceful political engagement in Ethiopia are firmly shut by the regime in Addis Ababa.  The degree of terror that prevails inside the country has made the general public live in absolute fear and insecurity.

Under the prevailing conditions the only way that citizens of Ethiopia can bring about democratic change and make liberty and justice a reality for all is to use all available means, including arms, against the brutal dictatorship in Ethiopia.

GPF is committed to the forcible removal of the dictatorial regime of the TPLF, usher the condition for peaceful and democratic transition, play a part in the creation of a strong and capable national defence, security and police force whose only allegiance is to the constitution of the land, thereby, bringing an end to the existing affiliation of these institutions to the political forces in the country.

Finally, GPF urges the international community to refrain from bankrolling the criminal regime in Ethiopia and demand that donor countries use their financial leverage to exert pressure on the TPLF regime to stop its policy of terror that will seriously destabilize an already fragile situation in the Horn of Africa.

“የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል” የምሥረታ መግለጫና ሃገራዊ ጥሪ

ቀን ታህሳስ 11  2005

የወያኔን ዘረኛና አምባገነን አገዛዝ ከኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ጫንቃ ላይ በትጥቅ ትግል ለማስወገድ “የግንቦት7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል” የሚል ስያሜ የሰጠነውን፣ በሃገር ወዳድና ለህዝብ ተቆርቋሪ በሆኑ ወጣቶች፣ ምሁራንና ዜጎች የተሞላውን ድርጅት መመሥረታችን በዛሬው እለት ለመላው የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ በይፋ እናበስራልን።

የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል፣ የሕዝብ ሉዓላዊ የሥልጣን ባለቤትነት የተረጋገጠባት፤ የዜጎች መብቶች፣ ሃገራዊ አንድነት፣ ደህንነትና ጥቅም የተከበሩባት ጠንካራና ዲሞክራሲያዊት ኢትዮጵያ እውን ሆና የማየትን ራዕይ የሰነቀ ድርጅት ነው።

የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል ወያኔን በኃይል የማስወገድ፤ ሰላማዊና ዲሞክራሲ የሥልጣን ሽግግር በሃገሪቱ እንዲኖር የማስቻል እና ከማንኛዉም የፓለቲካ ድርጅት ጋር ያልወገኑ ነፃ፣ ጠንካራና ብቃት ያላቸው ህገ-መንግሥታዊ የመከላከያ፣ የፓሊስና የደህንነት ተቋማት እንዲኖሩ አስተዋጽዖ የማድረግ ተልዕኮ ይዞ የተነሳ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አለኝታ ነው።

የግንቦት7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል ራዕይና ተልዕኮ የተቀዳው በቀጥታ ሕዝብ በህይወቱ በደሙ በስቃይና በመከራ ውድ መስዋዕትነት ከከፈለለት የ1997 ብሄራዊ ምርጫ ነው።

የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይልን እውን ያደረገው ወያኔ የ1997ቱን ምርጫ ተከትሎ ህገ ወጥ በሆነ መንገድ በስልጣን ለመቆየት በምርጫው ማግስትና እስካለንበት ወቅት በወሰደውና እየወሰደ ካለው የእብሪት እርምጃ ነው።

የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል ወያኔ ድርድርና እርቅ የማይገባው፣ ትዕግስትን እንደፍራቻ፣ አርቆ  አሳቢነት እንደ ሞኝነት የሚቆጥር በዚህም ስሌት ሕዝብን ለዘላላም እየረገጠና እየዘረፈ ለመግዛት ቆርጦ የተነሳ እኩይ ኃይል መሆኑ ጠንቅቆ  የተረዳ ነው። የወያኔ አገዛዝ ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ የተወለት ምርጫ በዝምታ በባርነት መገዛት ወይም ለነጻነት መዋጋትን ብቻ መሆኑን የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል ጠንቅቆ ያውቃል ።

በግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል ውስጥ የተሰባሰብን ዜጎች በደማችን የሚፈስ የቀደምቶቻችንን የነጻነት ቅርስ ተሸካሚዎች ነንና ባርነትን አማራጭ አድርገን ለመቀበል ከቶውኑ አይቻለንም። ብቸኛው ምርጫ የወያኔን የባርነት ግብዣ በአመጽ መክተን በወያኔ  መቃብር ላይ የነጻነትን ሰንደቅ ማውለብለብ ነው።

ዛሬ በሃገራችን በወያኔ አምባገነናዊ እብሪት ያልታፈነ፣ ያልተዋረደና ያልተዘረፈ የሃገሪቱ ዜጋ አይገኝም። የወያኔ ሹማምንት በሃብት ላይ ሃብት፤ በድሎት ላይ ድሎት ሲጨምሩ፣ የአብዛኛው ኢትዮጵያዊ እጣ ፈንታ ግን መፈናቀል፣ መሰደድ፣ መንገላታት፣ መታሰር፣ መደብደብና መገደል ሆኗል። ኢትዮጵያ እና ኢትዮጵያዊያን እንደ ወያኔ ዘመን የተዋረዱበት፣ የተናቁበትና የተበደሉበት ጊዜ የለም። የዚህ  ሁሉ ሰቆቃ አብይ ምክንያት የወያኔ ዘረኛ አምባገነን አገዛዝ ነው። ወያኔ ከሥልጣን ሳይባረር አንዳችም በጎ ለውጥ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ማሰብ አይቻልም።

የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይል የወያኔን እኩይ ባህሪያትና ተፈጥሮ በመመርመር፣ የወያኔ  የአመጽ እብሪት በሕዝባዊ አመጽ የሚተነፍስበት ሁኔታ  እስካልመጣ ድረስ፣ ወያኔ መብታቸውን ከመጠየቅ ውጭ ምንም እንከን የሌለባቸውን ንጹሃን ዜጎች ከማሰር፣ ሰቆቃ ከመፈጸም፣ ከመግደል ከማሳደድና  ከማፈናቀል እንደማይቦዝን ከልብ ያምናል።

ሁላችንም ሃገራችንን ነጻነታችንን የምንወድ  ዜጎች ያለን ምርጫ ቀበቷችንንና  መቀነታችንን ጠበቅ፣ ሃሞታችንን ኮስተር አድርገን ወያኔ ያሳጣንን ሰላምና ነጻነት፡ የቀማንን ሃገርና አንድነት በመራራው ትግላችን ማስመለስ ብቻ  ነው።

የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ሃይል በዛሬው እለት ራሱን ይፋ ያደረገው ይህ ወያኔን የማስወገድ ትግል የተጀመረ መሆኑን የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ እንዲያውቀውና ትግሉን እንዲቀላቀል ወገናዊ ጥሪውን ለማሰማት ነው ።

1. ህገ- መንግስታዊ መብታቸውን ተጠቅመው ሰላማዊ ተቃውሞዎች ለማድረግ ጥረት ያደረጉ ዜጎች በሽብርተኛነት እየተከሰሱ በእድሜ ልክ እስራት ሲቀጡና ሰቆቃ ሲፈፀምባቸው የታዘባችሁ ወጣቶች፤
2. ለሃይማኖት እኩልነት በመታገላቸው በእስር ላይ እየማቀቁ፣ እየተገረፉና እየተሰቃዩ  ያሉ የሙስሊም ምዕመናን ተወካዮች ጉዳይ የሚያሳስባችሁ ወገኖች፤
3. በቤተክህነትና በክርስትና ተቋማት ላይ እየተፈፀመ ያለው ደባ የሚያንገበግባችሁ ወገኖች ሁሉ፤
4. ለወያኔዎችና ሸሪኮቻቸው እድገትና ምቾት ሲባል ከይዞታችሁ የተፈናቀላችሁ ወገኖቻችን ሁሉ፤
5. በወያኔ ቱጃሮች ሥራችሁ መቀማቱ ሳያንስ፣ ገቢን ሳይሆን ወገንተኛነትን መስፈረት ባደረገ መመዘኛ ከአቅም በላይ የሆነ የወያኔ ግብር፣ ታክስና መዋጮ የተማረራችሁ ነጋዴዎች፤
6. ማኅበራችሁ በወያኔ ፈርሶ ወይም ተጠልፎ የጋራ ድምፃችሁን የምታሰሙበት፣ ከቀጣሪያችሁ ከወያኔ  ጋር ፍትሃዊ የጉልበታችሁን ዋጋ ክፍያ መደራደሪያ  ያጣችሁ ላብአደሮች፣ መምህራን፣ የሲቪል ሰርቪስ ሠራተኞች፤
7. ምንም አይነት የአካዳሚ ነጻነት በሌለበት ሁኔታ ጥራቱን ያልጠበቀ ትምህርት እንድትከታተሉ የተፈረደባችሁ፣ ትምህርታችሁን ጨርሳችሁ ከየኮሌጁና ከየዩንቨርስቲው ስትመረቁ እጣችሁ ድንጋይ ማንጠፍ የሆነው ወጣት ተማሪዎች ፣
8. በነጻነት ወጥቶ  መግባት፣ ሰርቶ ለመኖር የተሳናችሁ፣ በገዛ ሃገራችሁ ገና በጎልማሳ እድሜችሁ የወላጆቻችሁ ጡረተኞች እንድትሆኑ የተፈረደባችሁ፣ እንደ ወላጆቻችሁ ትዳር መስርታችሁ ልጆች ወልዳችሁ የመሳም እድላችሁ በወያኔ ዘረኛና ዘራፊ ፖሊሲዎች ጨንግፎ የቀረባችሁ፣ አደገኛ በረሃዎችንና ባህሮችን በማቋረጥ ለመሰደድ ልባችሁ እየከጀለ ያለ የሃገራችን ውድ ወጣቶች፤
9. በአረብ ሃገራት ለባርነት ስራ በወያኔ እየተሸጣችሁ፣ እጣችሁ ተገዶ  መደፈር፣ በፈላው ወሃ መቀቀል፣ መደብደብ፣ መዋረድና ከፎቅ ላይ እየተወረሩ ክቡር ህይወትን ማጣት ለሆነው ውድ እህቶች፣

10. ለኢትዮጵያ የወደፊት እጣ ፈንታ ግድ ያላችሁ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ምሁራን በሙሉ፤

11. የሕዝብ ድምጽ ይከበር በማለታችሁ፣ ለሃገር አንድነትና ክብር መሰለፍ እንደ ወንጀል ተቆጥሮባችሁ እንደ ባዕድ ጦር የተበተናችሁና የተገፋችሁ፣ በመከላከያ ሰራዊት ውስጥ በሚታየው ዘረኛነት እየተቃጠላችሁ፣ በሕዝብ ላይ ዝመቱ በተባላችሁ ቁጥር ከህሊናችሁ ጋር መዳማት የመረራችሁ  የኢትዮጵያ ወታደሮች እና፤

12. በድህነት አስገዳጅነት፣ እንዲሁም በሌሎችም ማስፈራሪያዎችና ጫናዎች የወያኔ/ኢህአዴግ ድርጅቶች አባል የሆናችሁ ወገኖቻችን በሙሉ፣

ዛሬ ነገ ሳትሉ የግንቦት 7 ሕዝባዊ ኃይላችንን ተቀላቀሉ።

ተባብረን ወያኔን እናስወግድ!

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ!!!

አድራሻ:  ስልክ ቁጥር – +442081230056
ኢሜል አድራሻ pr@ginbot7pf.org

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Journalist Temesgen speaks to AAU students : Reportage

By De Birhan Staffer 

21 December 2012 

Addis Abeba 

On April 8, 2001. 

Two most prominent and 'controversial' academics, in the eyes of the regime, Dr. Berhanu Nega and Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, as per the invitation of the then Student's Union of the Addis Abeba University (AAU) mainly the Union's President, Student Teklemichael Abebe, held a day-long panel discussion at the hall of the National Lottery on academic freedom. That was possibly the only and last time that AAU students had invited "controversial" individuals and had dared to openly discuss and debate on a "sensitive" issue. The 2001 Panel  was followed by student riot in the main campus of Addis Ababa University. The two academics were arrested on the allegations that this Panel "incited a student protest at Addis Ababa University the next day", however they were both released later on bail. Due to the protests that followed it, hundreds of students had fled to neighboring Kenya. One of them being Teklemichael (a lawyer by training), who is now resettled in Canada and working for ESAT Television and Radio in the U.S.  after almost half a decade of stay in Kenya. 

Dr. Berhanu Nega is often heard as saying that, that Panel and the events that followed it were moments that "ignited" him to be fully involved back in politics decades after he left the then Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Party (EPRP) as a young man. 

Today (21-12-2012), 11 years after that event, graduating students of the Addis Abeba University School of Journalism and Communications, Undergraduate Program have for the first time invited a prominent person who is "controversial and on the watch list of the regime", Journalist Temesgen Desalegn,  to speak about media and media freedom in Ethiopia. Temesgen was the editor in chief of the critical newspaper, Feteh, which was closed by government order. The Ethiopian government filed over 100 lawsuits against him, some of which he is still fighting. He has also been arrested this year. Now he works as the editor in chief of another critical magazine, Addis Times. 

These weekly sessions are often organized when they invite speakers to panel on different topics of interests. The program has been ongoing for a couple of years now. Most of the guests invited were journalists, artists,  writers, academics and other celebrities.  De Birhan has learnt that there were times when journalists who came from the State's media as guest speakers and spoke about certain "sensitive" matters to the students and had to later receive "warning letters" from their bosses. 

According to De Birhan's Staffer who was in the auditorium attending the session, the hall was crowded by students and unusually by staff and lecturers of the School who were all happy and interactive during the program. In a time when most people are wary of discussing politics and rights issues openly, most students were observed participating with liberty as was Temesgen. 

De Birhan has taken record of some of the questions that the students raised and Temesgn's responses. 

• About himself : He said he was born in Arat (4) Kilo area, Addis Abeba and graduated in Accounting from the Addis Abeba University College of Commerce and in History from the same University. 
•  A student said that he had heard that he was a delinquent as a child. Temesgn humorously responded saying " As I said I was born and brought up in Arat (4) Kilo  and Arat (4) Kilo hosts individual and State delinquents, perhaps through that categorization, yes".
• Asked about his opinion about Ethiopian opposition parties, he said "well I doubt if our oppositions do agree on/about Christmas let alone other issues" 
• On his opinion on the future of journalism in Ethiopia, he said "I know that your journalism professors know first hand that you wouldn't get journalism jobs but they teach you diligently. The future and present of journalism is as you just see it" 
• He was also asked what he felt about Meles' death and he said "I love my country sincerely and I want my country to be developed, so this dream can come true when and only people like Meles leave their position"
• Another young student asked him about his future,as most of his friends are in exile and in prison and he has many charges. He said "I'll fight up to 'keranyo', I don't know my future but my last will may be like 'keranyo'"
• Asked about freedom of speech in Ethiopia he said "What do you want me to say? Is it not better you ask Ato Bereket?"
• Also asked what his view was about the current Prime Minister Hailemaraim Dessalgn, he said that it would be very difficult to say anything when Hailemaraim is not present. He said Hailemaraim has to be himself first to comment on him. 

Temesgen advised the students to stick to and apply the fundamental "ethics and principles of journalism"  when they join the workforce. After the session ended, students had expressed their "love and appreciation"  to him and were deliberating on the issues he had spoken about. 

Ethiopia: 4 Journalists Win Free Speech Prize

(New York) - Four Ethiopian journalists have received the prestigious Hellman/Hammett award for 2012 in recognition of their efforts to promote free expression in Ethiopia, one of the world’s most restricted media environments.

Eskinder Nega Fenta, an independent journalist and blogger; Reeyot Alemu Gobebo of the disbanded weekly newspaper Feteh; Woubshet Taye Abebe of the now-closed weekly newspaper Awramba Times;and Mesfin Negash of Addis Neger Online were among a diverse group of 41 writers and journalists from 19 countries to receive the award in 2012. Eskinder, Reeyot, and Woubshet are imprisoned in Ethiopia; Mesfin fled in 2009. All four journalists were convicted in 2012 under Ethiopia’s draconian anti-terrorism law.

“The four jailed and exiled journalists exemplify the courage and dire situation of independent journalism in Ethiopia today,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Their ordeals illustrate the price of speaking freely in a country where free speech is no longer tolerated.”

The Hellman/Hammett grants, administered by Human Rights Watch, are awarded annually to writers and journalists around the world who have been targets of political persecution and human rights abuses. The prize is named after two American writers who were harassed during the 1950s anti-communism investigations. Lillian Hellman suffered professionally and had trouble finding work while Dashiell Hammett spent time in prison. A distinguished selection committee awards the grants to honor and support journalists whose work, activities, and lives are suppressed by repressive government action.

The journalistic work and liberty of the four Ethiopian award-winners has been suppressed by the Ethiopian government in its efforts to restrict free speech and peaceful dissent, clamp down on independent media, and limit access to and use of the internet. They represent a much larger group of journalists in Ethiopia forced to self-censor, face prosecution, or flee the country, Human Rights Watch said.

Eleven Ethiopian and foreign journalists have been charged and sentenced under Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law in 2012. Critical blogs and internet pages are regularly blocked. The Ethiopian parliament passed a new  telecommunications law in 2012, further controlling internet usage, just weeks after the biggest state printer, Birhanena Selam,issued a new contract for its publishers stipulating that it could censor the content of any publication it deems to violate the law. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the third-largest number of journalists forced to flee their countries since 1992 has been from Ethiopia, after Somalia and Iran.

Like many other journalists in Ethiopia, the four award-winners have suffered greatly, both personally and professionally, in following their profession and exercising their right to free speech, Human Rights Watch said.

On July 13, after nine months in detention, Eskinder Nega, a veteran Ethiopian journalist and the foremost critic from the media of the ruling Ethiopian government, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, as well as participation in a terrorist organization and treason. His case is under appeal. He has been jailed numerous times. Eskinder and his wife, the fellow journalist and newspaper publisher Serkalem Fasil,were arrested, detained for more than two years, and charged with treason following the contested 2005 elections. They were acquitted of all charges in April 2007. Since his release, Eskinder has faced ongoing harassment, surveillance, and intimidation. The authorities denied him a publishing license. In February 2011 he was once again briefly detained. Despite the ongoing harassment, he refused to leave Ethiopia and continued to write and speak out until he was again imprisoned.

Woubshet Tayewas the deputy editor of the Awramba Times prior to his arrest on June 19, 2011. He was convicted, along with Reeyot Alemu, on three counts of terrorism in January 2012. Woubshet alleged in court that he had been tortured during his pretrial detention, but the complaint was never investigated by the court. His arrest was not the first threat he faced as a result of his work. In 2010, prior to the general elections, an official from the government's media licensing office accused him of “intentionally inciting and misguiding the public.” Woubshet was also briefly detained following the 2005 elections.

Reeyot Alemu was an English teacher and a columnist with one of the last remaining independent papers, Feteh. Reeyot was arrested on June 21, 2011, and convicted on January 19, 2012, on three counts of terrorism. In August, an appeals court reduced her sentence from 14 to 5 years, maintaining one of the terrorism charges against her.

Mesfin Negash works for Addis Neger Onlinewebsite, which he established along with other colleagues after fleeing the country in 2009. Mesfin was convicted in absentia in the same trial as Eskinderunder the anti-terrorism law’s article on support for terrorism, which contains a vague prohibition on “moral support.”Mesfin was one of the editors of the now-defunct popular analyticalAddis Neger newspaper, but was forced to close the paper and go into exile in November 2009, with most of the paper’s senior staff, after the authorities threatened him. 

Court Reporting : የእነ እስክንድር ነጋ የዛሬ የፍርድ ቤት ውሎ

Exclusive to De Birhan from Addis Abeba 
19 Dec 2012

አንዱአለም አራጌ፣ናትናኤል መኮንን እና ክንፈ ገ/ሚካኤል የይግባኝ መከራከሪያ ነጥቦቻቸውን በጠበቃቸው አማካኝነት አቀረቡ፡፡እስክንድር ግን የይግባኝ መከራከሪያ ነጥቦቹን ራሱ ሲያቀርቡ የሚገርም ሆኖ አግኝቼዋለሁ፡፡

እስክንድር ላይ የቀረበ የአቃቤ ህግ የክስ ጭብጥ በኢፊድሪ ሕገ-መንግስት መሠረት በአመፅ ያለምርጫ ስልጣን መያዝ ኢ-ሕገመንግስቲዊ ድርጊት ነው፡፡ይህንንም ከግብ ለማድረስ የArab Sprig እንደ ዋቢ አድርገህ ኢትየጵያ ውስጥ እንዲደገም ቀስቅሰሃል፡፡ስለዚህም አሸባሪ ነህ፡፡ የእስክንድር የመከራከሪያ መልሶች 1-የArab Sprig በአንድም የሰሜን አፍሪካ እና የአረብ አገራት የህዝብ እንቅስቃሴ በአመፅ የመንግስት ስልጣንን ለመያዝ የተካሄደ አይደለም፤ነፃና ፍትሃዊ ምርጫ እንዲካሄድ ለማድረግ እንጂ፡፡በግብፅ፣በቱኒዚያ እና በሊቢያ አንድም የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ያለምርጫ በህዝባዊ አመፅ ወይም በviolence ስልጣን ላይ የወጣ የለም፡፡

2-የተለያዩ የአለም መንግስታት የኢትዮጵያንም መንግስት ጨምሮ ይህንን የArab Sprig እንቅስቃሴ ለፍትሕ የተደረገ ሲሉ አሞካሽተውታል፡፡ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ አራት ጊዜ(1987፣1992፣1997 እንዲሁም 2002 ዓ.ም) ምርጫዎች ተካሂደዋል፡፡ነገር ግን አንዱም ነፃ እናፍትሃዊ አልነበሩም፤ይህም ኢ- ገመንግሰታዊ ነው፡፡ስለሆነም በየትኛው የሒሳብ ስሌት ነው የእኔ ይህንን የሕዝብ እንቅስቃሴ በሀገሬ እንዲደገም መፈለግ በሽብርተኝ የሚያስፈርጀኝ?

ሌላው የአቃቢ ህግ የመከራከሪያ ነጥብ የግንቦት ሰባት አባል ነህ የሚል ነበር፡፡ለዚህም የድምፅ እና የፅሁፍ ማስረጃ አቅርቧል፡፡ እስክንድርም ሲመልስ የፅሁፍ ማስረጃውም ግንቦት ሰባት ልሳን ላይ የሚወጡት ፅሁፎች ከእኔ ፅሁፍ ጋር ተመሳሳይነት ስላላቸው ብቻ አባል ነህ ልባል አልችልም፡፡የድምፅ ማስረጃዎቹ ደግሞ ሁሉም በpublicly የተናገርኳቸው ናቸው(በስልክ ተጠለፈ(Interception) የተባለውንም ማስረጃ ይጨምራል)፡፡ታዲያ የት ነው በህብዑ የተንቀሳቀስኩት? አንድም እንኳ በግሌ(Private) ያደርግኩት ግንኝነት እንዴት እንደማስረጃ ማቅረብ ሳይቻል እንዴት ነው በህቡዕ ተንቀሳቅሰሃል የተባልኩት? ሲል ተከራክሯል፡፡

በተጨማሪም አቃቢ ህጉም አንተ ጋዜጠኛ ነህ ፤ ግን ከተለያዩ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች ጋር እየተገናኘህ የምታደርጋቸው ድርጊቶች ከሙያህ ውጭ ሌላ የፖለቲካ አጀንዳ እንዳለህ ያሳያል በማለት ፍርድ ቤቱን ከዚህ ጋር አያይዞ እንዲያይለት ጠየቀ፡፡እስክንድርም ሲመልስ ከሁሉም ህጋዊ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች ጋር ያደርግኩት ንግግርም ሆነ ግንኙነት ሃሳቡ ቀረበው(Initiation) ከራሳቸው ከፓሪቲዎቹ ነበር፡፡ለምሳሌ ከመኢዴፓው ዘመኑ ሞላ ጋር የተደረገው ግንኙነት ሊያካሄዱት ለታሰበው ህዝባዊ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ የእኔ አስተያየት ለምስማት ነበር፡፡(በነገራችን ላይ ስለዚሁ ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ አስተያየት ከእኔ ብቻ አልነበረም)፡፡ እኔም በዚያ ወቅት የሰጠኃቸው አስተያየት ከቻላችሁት ሰልማዊ ሰልፉን ሰርዙት ፤ካልቻላችሁ ደግሞ ከኢትዮጵያ ውጭ ካለ ማንኛውም አካል የገንዘብም ድጋፍም ሆነ ምንም አይነት ግንኙነት አይኑራችሁ፡፡በተመሳሳይም ኔታ በአንድነት ፓርቲ ላይ ያደረግሁት ንግግር በፓርቲው ተጋብዤ ነበር፡፡

ሌላው የአቃቢ ህግ ክስ ደግሞ እነ እስክንድር የሲቪክ ማህበር በማቋቋም ለሽብር አላማ ማዋል ነበር፡፡የእርሱም ምላሽ የሲቪክ ማህበሩን ልናቋቁም የነበረው ስድስት ሆነን ነበር፡፡ከነርሱም ውስጥ ሁለቱ ተከላካይ ምስክሮች ሆነውኝ ስለማህበሩ ምስክርነታቸውን ሰጥተዋል፤ታዲያ ቀሪ አምስት የማህበሩ አባል በሽብርተኛነት ለምንስ አልተከሰሱም፤ሰዎቹም ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ እየኖሩ ነው፡፡ታዳያ የፖሊስስ ስራው ምንድን ነው፤እነዚህን አምስት አሸባሪዎች አድኖ ያልያዘው?

በመጨረሻም አንዱአለም አራጌ እኔ ከታሰርኩ ከአንድ አመት ከሶስት ወር ጀምሮ የታሰርኩበት ቦታ የቅጣት ቦታ ወይንም ጨለማ ቤት ነው፡፡ይህ ቦታ እኔ እስከማውቀው ድረስ እዚህ ቦታ የሚታሰር እስረኛ እስር ቤት ውስጥ ባለበት ጊዜ የተለያዩ የዲሲፒሊን ጉድለቶች ያሰየ የሚታሰርበት ነው፡፡እኔ ግን ከታሰርኩ ጀምሮ ከእንደዚህ አይነት ድርጊቶች ንፁህ እንደሆንኩ በግፍ እንድታሰር ተደርጓል፡፡በተጨማሪም ክፍሉ ጠባብ እና አልጋ የሌለው እንዲሁም ወለሉ ትቢያ ነው፡፡የልብ ህመምተኛ በመሆኔ በተለይም ሌሊት የመተንፈስ እያጋጠመኝ ይገኛል፡፡ስለሆነም ክቡር ፍርድ ቤቱ ይህንን ግምት ውስጥ በማስገባት ወደ ሌላ የመታሰሪያ ክፍል እንድቀየር ለማረሚያ ቤቱ ትዕዛዝ እንዲያሰተላልፍልኝ እጠይቃለሁ፡፡

English Translation

The Federal Supreme Court has heard the appeals of the lawyers of three officials of opposition parties : Andualem Arage, Nathnael Mekonen and Kinfe Gebremichael today. Journalist Eskinder Nega represented himself.  The prosecutor argued that according to the current FDRE Constitution assuming power via protest is unconstitutional, thus the prosecutor said, Eskinder is a 'terrorist' and accused him of using 'the Arab Spring' as a case and campaigning for it to be repeated in Ethiopia. Eskinder on his part argued that in one of the Northern African countries has the 'Arab Spring' been used to unseat regime via violence but the protests were rather held to seek 'fair and free election'. He said in none of the States such as Libya, Egypt or Tunisia did any political party come to power through violence but election.

Secondly, Eskinder said many countries including the Ethiopian government have hailed the "Arab Spring' as a protest for "justice". Four general elections have been conducted in the past 21 years and none of them were free and just which this is unconstitutional. So in what equation does my attempt of for the repetition of this popular movement considered a "terrorist act", Eskinder argued.

The prosecutor also argued that Eskinder is a member of Ginbot 7 Movement and it presented audio and textual evidences that it said show his membership. Eskinder responded that the mere resemblance of the articles he writes with those that often appear on the Movement's newspaper doesn't make him a member of the Movement. Regarding the audio evidences, Eskinder argued that none of the recordings or so called ''interceptions" were not held in private but were conducted in public with media organizations.  

"Therefore in the absence of any evidence that presents any private contact I had with the Movement, how can I be labelled a terrorist?" Eskinder asked. The prosecutor also argued that Eskinder is a journalist but has been in contact with various political parties and this explains that he has his own political agenda. Eskinder said that all the communications and contacts he had were initiated by the parties themselves. 

He said for instance the conversation he had with Zemenu Mola of All-Ethiopia Democratic Party (AEDP) was to offer his opinion on the peaceful rally they had planned. "My comment was that they should cancel the protest if possible and if not they should not receive any form of support from Diaspora based organ. Similarly, the speech i made at UDJ party was at the invitation of the party." Eskinder said. 

The prosecutor also charged Eskinder for publishing a civic organization for "terrorist purposes".  Eskinder responded saying that they had planned to establish with six other people and while the six other are not caught by the police if the organization was of such nature why only him? 

Finally, the official of the opposition UDJ Party, Andualem Arage said that he was arrested in a dark room for over a year where undisciplined prisoners are kept. The room has no bed and is infested. As I am a cardiac patient, I am frequently having breathing problems during nights, thus I seek the Court to please give an order to the Prison Administration to change him into another cell. The judge stated that he would call the Prison Administration and check Andualem's case. 

Court adjourns Eskinder, Andualem's case for final verdict

De Birhan

19 Dec. 2012

The Ethiopian Federal Supreme Court, after hearing the appeals of journalist Eskinder Nega  and opposition official Andualem Arage and three other opposition officials today, has given an appointment for January 18, 2013 for final verdict.  

Arrested in 2011 and detained without access to an attorney for nearly two months, Mr. Nega was sentenced to 18 years in prison under the country’s broad 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation on July 13, 2012. Mr. Nega’s arrest and prosecution came after he wrote online articles and spoke publicly about the possibility of an Arab Spring-like movement taking place in Ethiopia. After his sentencing, the government initiated proceedings to seize his assets, including the home still used by his wife and young son.

Eskinder, who holds an American Green Card and whose properties have recently been impounded, has been arrested over eight times since he returned back to his country and started journalism. Representing himself, Eskinder today argued in the Courtroom the Arab spring style of changing a regime is constitutional, said local sources who attended the session.

Mengistu HaileMariam's assination authorization letter

The following text in Amharic is a historic copy of Mengistu HaileMariam's authorization letter to have Emperor Haile Selassie's officials killed. The brutal dictator Mengistu did also reportedly kill the Emporer. 

Sudan and South Sudan reach security agreement

Dec 18, 2012

There has been a breakthrough in security talks between Sudan and South Sudan. During security talks in Ethiopia, both countries agreed to pull their troops from disputed border areas and create a safe demilitarized zone. The announcement was made by African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki.

16 የኣውሮፓ ፓርላማ ኣባላት ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋ በአፋጣኝ እንዲፈታ እሚል ደብዳቤ ፃፉ

For Immediate Release: 16 Members of the European Parliament Call for the Release of Imprisoned Ethiopian Journalist Eskinder NEGA 

December 18, 2012

For Immediate Release

Contact: Patrick Griffith

+1 (202) 423-7925

pgriffith@freedom-now.org

16 Members of the European Parliament Call for the Release of Imprisoned Ethiopian Journalist Eskinder Nega

Washington, D.C.: Today, 16 members of the European Parliament issued a public letter to Ethiopian Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn expressing their grave concern regarding the continued detention of imprisoned journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega.

Arrested in 2011 and detained without access to an attorney for nearly two months, Mr. Nega was sentenced to 18 years in prison under the country’s broad 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation on July 13, 2012. Mr. Nega’s arrest and prosecution came after he wrote online articles and spoke publicly about the possibility of an Arab Spring-like movement taking place in Ethiopia. After his sentencing, the government initiated proceedings to seize his assets, including the home still used by his wife and young son. An appeal hearing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday, December 19th.

The letter, notes that the Ethiopian government has an obligation to uphold the right to free expression and reminds the newly appointed Prime Minister that he has “the unique opportunity to lead Ethiopia forward on human rights and bring the country fully within the community of nations.” The letter closes by urging the Prime Minister to take all measures within his power “to facilitate the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Nega.”

“This is an important recognition by members of the European Parliament from across the political spectrum that the right to free expression is universal and must be respected by the Ethiopian government,” said Freedom Now Executive Director Maran Turner. “Mr. Nega has been wrongfully detained in Ethiopia in violation of his right to freedom of expression, and he must be released.”

The text of the letter is copied below and a full PDF of the letter can be found at the below link. Freedom Now, a legal advocacy organization that represents prisoners of conscience around the world, serves as international pro bono counsel to Mr. Nega.

http://www.freedom-now.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Nega-MEP-Letter-12.18.12.pdf

Soldiers transport to Mekele, few arrested

By Derese Tariku, De Birhan Staffer
Addis Abeba 
18 December 2012 

Ethiopia has been transporting soldiers to Mekele, North Ethiopia since Friday 14 December, 2012. Over 20 buses carrying soldiers have so far reached Mekele. The soldiers are being collected from Shewa Robit Training Center. A private bus company, Star Bus, an affiliate of the regime, has been contracted to undertake the transportation. The same company was responsible for the transportation of soldiers to North Ethiopia for the past couple of years. The reasons for the deployment have not yet been disclosed. 

Last week, ESAT Radio had reported that over 15 Ethiopian Defense Engineering and Corporation lecturers and many middle ranking army officers from the Ethiopian Defense Forces have been arrested and were taken to Tatek Training Center.

Ethiopia’s Growth doubtful unless secondary education curricula changed: WB

By Aderajew Asfaw

Monday, 17 December 2012 12:25 Capital Ethiopia

Ethiopia may not be able to achieve its transformation into a middle income economy without commensurate changes in General Secondary Education (GSE), a World Bank (WB) study revealed. One of the key issues to be evaluated while responding to the changing demand for human resource is the issue of curricular choices in general secondary education. 

A study book entitled Secondary Education in Ethiopia: Supporting Growth and Transformation published by the WB to communicate the results of the bank’s ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion, was launched on 7 December, 2012 at the Hilton. 

Ethiopia is aspiring to become a middle income country by 2025 and it is making remarkable progress in this direction. During the PASDEP period (2005/06-2009/10) the economy grew on an average by 10 percent. Ethiopia has managed to put in place a robust infrastructure road network and power system among others. Foreign direct investment is growing year by year. The country aims at universalizing GSE by 2025. This aspiration is not likely to materialize, according to the study. International experience indicates that it is highly unlikely that all students entering GSE would have attained the competency levels required to handle a curriculum designed as a prerequisite for eventually joining higher education. 

In Ethiopia GSE serves twin purpose-preparing students for Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) and higher education. The government has a policy of streaming 80 percent of graduates to TVET and the rest to higher education. Since all students in GSE follow the same curriculum, the content depth for this level is determined by the prerequisites for higher education by default. 

By the time children complete primary education, the study says, they develop diverse abilities, aptitudes and aspirations.  Results of GSE Certificate examinations show that a large proportion of grade 10 students do not attain the basic level of competency the curriculum implies. This problem will only worsen as the participation rate in GSE increases. This is not unique to Ethiopia. 

On the one hand, students who are not able to attain the basic competency level at the end of grade 10 would get demoralized. And on the other hand the nation would have wasted scarce resources by trying to help students with low abilities to handle the higher level that they are not prepared to master, the study argues.  

These implications are serious enough to push for  alternatives to a single curriculum for GSE. As of now, only 20 percent of GSE graduates will become higher education graduates. Even when this share increases, some of the GSE graduates will continue to become plumbers, carpenters, sales persons, contractors, agriculture extension workers, midwifes, etc. All of them don’t need to master mathematics of the same difficulty level as the ones who are destined to become engineers as clearly, many people succeed in their life without mastering all the difficult topics in mathematics and physics courses of GSE. 

The streaming GSE graduates according to their abilities is justified in Ethiopia on the ground that the society needs TVET graduates, and professionals of natural sciences and social sciences in certain proportion. When this logic is extended to the GSE level it is hard to justify that all students at GSE level have to have the identical competencies.  

Based on the results of GSE examination, most able students are selected for the Natural Sciences stream of the preparatory, while those least able for TVET, and the rest for the Social Sciences stream of the preparatory. If Ethiopia is practicing segregation of students as per their abilities at grades 11-12, it is hard to justify not doing so at grade 9-10 to protect the egalitarian values. There is no proof that the single curricular option yields greater benefits to society and students than the other curricular choice option says the study. In this context it may be worthwhile looking at the example of how Germany steams students based on their abilities and aptitudes.