Abune Matthias arch-bishop of Jerusalem (for the Ethiopian church) elected Patriarch

De Birhan 
28 Feb 2013

Abune Mathias elected the 6th Ethiopian Patriarch 

Addis Abeba EOTC to vote on the 6th Patriarch

By De Birhan 
27 Feb 2013

After talks for "Unity and Reconciliation" between the Addis Abeba based and the Diaspora based Synods of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (EOTC) failed, the Addis Abeba based Synod is set to elect its 6th Patriarch tomorrow (28 Feb 2013), De Birhan understands. The fifth Patriarch, the late Abune Paulos, died last year. The Diaspora based Synod on its part sent a press release to ESAT TV calling  Ethiopian Orthodox Christians "not to accept the new Patriarch elect". The State owned new agency, Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported that so far 800 followers of the Church have registered to cast votes out of the needed 850 for the 6th Patriarch of the Church. ENA said the stated number of archbishops, department heads of the patriarchate office, ancient monasteries and churches, clergy, followers of the EOC and Sunday school students, among others, are registered to vote for the new patriarch. The results of the election would made Official on the same day.

The five candidates are:

His Eminence Abune Mathias            His Eminence Abune  Elsae'

                     

His Eminence Abune Yosef                  His Eminence Abune Hizkiel 

                           

   His Eminence Abune Matheos 

   

Coach Grooms Ethiopia's Running Talent

25 Feb 2013

CNN's African Voices meets Sentayehu Eshetu who has a strong eye for spotting world class running talent.

Qatar to host first ever Eritrea political Symposium

25 Feb 2013

The Qatari Arabic Site, Farajet.net  today reported that Arab and International Relations is to host a public symposium mid-March entitled "Eritrea, present and future" in Doha, Qatar.  The  Symposium will cover the following key points: Eritrea identity and the neighborhood, the existing political situation, the future vision of the government and the opposition, human rights.  Eritreans abroad  have been invited including politicians in the opposition, Eritrean and human rights activists, journalists, intellectuals and writers.  The Eritrean Embassy in Doha is reported to have has also received an invitation to participate on the Symposium. Observers believe the Eritrean government, which is suffering from cracks internally will not participate at the seminar. The organizers may resort  to invite elements intellectuals, Farajet reported.  

Private sources indicate that the Arab and international relations forum received positive response from  most invited to participate in the symposium, while few apologized a few not been able to attend  for various reasons.  This is the first seminar of kind in Qatar organized by the Arab International Relations Forum.

MP Girma's Interview with Ruling Party Radio

By De Birhan 

24Feb 2013

Ethiopia's sole opposition MP, Girma Seifu had a Live "Mogache"(Hardtalk) interview with the TPLF owned Fana FM. De Birhan recorded most of it, so do listen below,

Ethiopian Minister Junedin seeks Asylum in Kenya

Junedin Sado

EthioChannel,  pro regime "private" Saturday Newspaper has today reported that top ruling party official and "the Minister of Civil Service" has sought asylum in neighboring Kenya. A political scientist with a close knowledge of the former Minister that De Birhan talked to said that Junedin's family couldn't confirm the Report and that he was not contactable. De Birhan has also learnt from Junedin's family sources that he was not in Kenya but "somewhere else receiving treatment".  

Junedin Sado's wife, Habiba Mohammed, is one of 29 people facing terrorism charges related to protests by Muslims. Habiba was charged  in October 2012 with funneling money from the Embassy of Saudi Arabia to Islamist terror groups, at a hearing at the Ethiopian Federal High Court.  Junedin last year published a letter in the same newspaper defending his wife and criticizing the federal prosecutor's charges. In the letter, Mr. Junedin said that he had approached the Saudi Arabian Embassy in his personal capacity to raise money to build a mosque to fulfill the wishes expressed in the will of his late mother. The money recovered from his wife, Mr. Junedin said, was meant for the mosque and not to fund terrorist activities. 

Jundein was president of the Oromia Region from 28 October 2001 until 6 October 2005. He subsequently was appointed Transport and Communication Minister, which is the office he was holding when Prime Minister Meles Zenawi moved him to the Science and Technology Ministry October 2008. Following the 2010 general election, Junedin was appointed Minister of Civil Service until in November 2012, Prime Minister Hailemariam reshuffled him in his Ministerial reshuffle. The Oromo People’s Democratic Organisation (OPDO), a constituent of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, the ruling coalition had also expelled him from the Organisation. It was reported that after "self criticism he was readmitted and secured his posts".  He previously served as the president of the OPDO. Although the Ethiopian Parliament had the plan of "removing Junedin's immunity" in its agenda, it was not implemented to that effect. Junedin has also been the Board Chairman of the Addis Abeba University (AAU).

Junedin was one of the "most powerful" ruling Party officials who represented the regime in various international and local duties. He was also one of the few Ministers that represented the ruling Party in Ethiopian General election debates. A close confident and loyal of the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Junedin was one of the ardent critics of Ethiopian opposition and Muslim critics/protesters, sources who know the Minister closely at the Oromia Regional  Council recount.

EthioChannel's cover story on Junedin

The paper also stated that it was not established how Junedin left for Kenya, so far.  Some sources close to De Birhan had informed us that Junedin had absconded to Kenya with eight senior members of OPDO and colleagues. There are no details on the whereabouts of his three underage children. 

Ethiopian Official rebukes CPJ's Risk List report

By De Birhan

22 Feb 2013

In an interview with an Addis Abeba based FM Radio Station, Sheger FM 102.1, Ambassador Dina Mufti, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs categorically rebuked the recent report of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that listed Ethiopia as one of the top 10 countries that are risky for journalists titled CPJ Risk List. He said such reports and Organisations are "driven by their financiers views" than understanding what was really happening in Ethiopian journalism. Dina told the Radio that his Government takes human rights at its core and doesn't the accept reports of rights groups. 

Listen to the full News Report here 

Ethiopia to redirect Abay River

By De Birhan
20 Feb 2013

Ethiopia is to "divert" the direction that Abay River flows in late March 2013,  acoording to the Addis Abeba based Sheger FM 102.1  Radio and De Birhan's sources at the Ministry.  The Radio reported quoting an official from the Ethiopian Ministry of Energy and Water.

The diversion is necessary to avoid the inundation  of the massive building of the Grand Renaissance Dam underway in Ethiopia, Fekihahmed Negash, a Directorate Director at the Ministry told the Radio. A new cofferdam will be dug to divert the flow of the River, the Director added. This will be the first ever redirection of the Blue Nile in the history of Ethiopia, as to the Radio.

De Birhan has also learnt from a source within the Ministry that four diversion tunnels have been built in BeniShangul Region on the left and right sides of the River. Once the construction is finished the two coffer dams will be demolished and the actual water course will be reinstated. 

Ethiopia had started constructing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River about 40 km (25 mi) east of Sudan in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia aiming to produce 6,000 MW. 

Listen to the audio report here:

“Freedom of Expression to All, Now!” : Zone 9's Press Release

De Birhan 
20 Feb 2013

Zone9, an informal group of young Ethiopian bloggers and activists working together to create an alternative independent narration of the socio-political issues in Ethiopia, all members based in Ethiopia, has just released its second Online Campaign titled “Freedom of Expression to All, Now!” today (20 Feb 2013).   The general aim of this campaign, says the Presser, is "to express concern on the danger paused by the ever growing media censorship in Ethiopia." The Group previously campaigned for one week calling the "Constitution to be respected".

Please find the full presser attached below: 

Press Release on

The 2^nd Online Campaign against Censorship

“Freedom of Expression to All, Now!”

Zone9 is an informal group of young Ethiopian bloggers and activists working together to create an alternative independent narration of the socio-political issues in Ethiopia and thereby foster public discourse that will result in emergence of vibrant, well informed and proactive community of readers for the betterment of the Nation.

In an effort to meet our objectives, we have identified holding online campaigns as one of the effective ways of motivating interest, sharing information and initiating public discourse. Consequently, we have made plans to hold four online campaigns in the year 2005 (Ethiopian Calendar) and held one under the motto “Respect the Constitution” from December 6^th-8^th, 2012 which can be said fairly successful in terms of informing the online Ethiopian community about their rights enshrined in the Ethiopian constitution

Here we come again with the second online campaign, this time under the motto “Freedom of Expression to All, Now!”. This campaign coincides with the blocking of our blog and, recently, our Blog’s Facebook page for Facebook users without Secured Socket Layer (https://) connection. The main Blog, like several other Blogs, has been blocked from being accessed in Ethiopia for more than eight months now.

The general aim of this campaign is to express concern on the danger paused by the ever growing media censorship in Ethiopia. The censorship has taken different formats from self-imposed in fear of repercussions to well-intended blocking of websites and Blogs in addition to banning of publications. Some of this censorship is committed in an expressed intent of guardianship of maintaining a harmonious society; the rest is not given any explanation. We have come to the understanding that this practice endangers ideas plurality and it leaves the government without adequate accountability. It is in this presumption that The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in its article 29 clearly states;

1. Everyone has the right to hold opinions without interference.

2. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression without any interference. This right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any media of his or her choice.

3. Freedom of the press and other media and freedom of artistic creativity is guaranteed. Freedom of the press shall specifically include the following elements:

(a) Prohibition of any form of censorship. (b) Access to information of public interest.

4. In the interest of the free flow of information, ideas and opinions which are essential to the functioning of a democratic order, the press shall, as an institution, enjoy legal protection to ensure its autonomy and diversity.

5. All media financed by, or under the control of the State, shall be regulated in order to ensure diversity in the expression of opinion.

6. These rights can be limited only through laws which are guided by the principle that freedom of expression and information cannot be limited on account of the content or effect of the point of view expressed. Legal limitations can be laid down in order to protect youth, and the honor and reputation of individuals. War propaganda as well as the public expression of opinion intended to injure human dignity shall be forbidden by law.

7. Any person in violation of legal limitations on the exercise of these rights is accountable under the law.

From Feb. 21 through 23, 2013, during the campaigning term, articles that show the hardship being experienced by Ethiopians who want to exercise their constitutional right of self-expression and the danger censorship pauses on the country’s effort to alleviate itself from poverty, its number one enemy, will be published on Zone9’s Blog and Facebook Page including the page created for this specific purpose.

The campaign’s main mediums will be Twitter and Facebook. Articles will be published on our Blog, mini articles will be shared on individual’s Facebook pages and tweets will be made with hash tag ‘#StopCensorship’. There will also be a banner prepared for the campaign which will be used as a profile and cover picture of all participants which will be public to all freedom loving online community to join

As usual, we call up on the online community to actively take part in this campaign and show the concern is shared among all Ethiopians.

We blog because we care!!!

Zone9!

Email: zone9ners@gmail.com;

Twitter: twitter.com/zone9ners

Facebook: facebook.com/zone9ners

Teddy Afro's speech after taking an award for his "Peace" role

De Birhan
19 Feb 2013

On February 15, 2013 the legendary Ethiopian Musician Teddy Afro accepted a Commendation Award from the City of San Jose on behalf of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Friendship forum EEFF. The award acknowledged EEFF's dedication to peace and reconciliation. 

Teddy Afro was honored for his role in promoting peace and reconciliation. Speakers at the award ceremony included; Teddy Afro, Eritrean and Ethiopian EEFF members, religious leaders from the Eritrean and Ethiopian Orthodox church and community representatives. 

The following video is Teddy's short but wise speech at the award ceremony

Clegg told Hailemariam to “properly address and resolve” what he described as the “not proportional” application of the antiterrorism law,the trail of Eskinder Nega et al

18 Feb 2013
Addis Fortune

Nick Clegg’s, United Kingdom deputy prime minister, visit here late last week was marked as the first bilateral high level visit to Addis Abeba by a western politician since mid 2011. Although he came to promote the agendas of the G8 Summit, which his country currently chairs, he also met Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on Friday, February 15, 2013, in his office to deliver “polite but forthright” messages from a country that puts 1.3 billion pound sterling a year into Ethiopia. The British public expects no less than “pretty frank and direct” talks with Ethiopian authorities on issues of concern, Clegg told Fortune. Pleased with accomplishments of Ethiopian authorities in the social sector, Clegg told Hailemariam to “properly address and resolve” what he described as the “not proportional” application of the antiterrorism law, with particular concerns on the trail of Eskinder Nega, a dissident blogger, and Andualem Arage, an opposition activist. The same day Clegg spoke to Hailemariam, Eskinder and Andualem appeared before the Supreme Court, on George VI Street, where Justices adjourned the case without reading their final verdict, due to the absence of one of the three Justices. Clegg is pleased with the progress he saw while discussing another issue of concern, the “intended or unintended impact of the charities and civil societies law,” he told a group of journalists who met him Friday night, inside the UK Embassy.

Bizarre foods with Andrew Zimmern : Ethiopia

 De Birhan 
17-2-2013

Andrew Zimmern, the host of the popular TV show "Bizarre foods with Andrew Zimmern" in America was in Ethiopia a while ago and had the following show recorded in Addis. He travels to the Eastern part of Ethiopia and tests different kinds of Ethiopian foods. 

At the start of the Film, Andrew says "Hunger is chronic problem here (in Ethiopia), but its root cause is the government and the private sectors inability to distribute food to everyone who needs it or to maximize the agrarian potential..."

Watch the whole documentary here:

MP confirms Ethiopia's Drone produce

By De Birhan
16 Feb 2013

Mr. Tesfaye Daba, Chairperson for the Foreign, Defense and Security Affairs Standing Committee at the Ethiopian Parliament, in an Online Interview he held with a Diaspora based pro-ruling Party discussion Forum confirmed that Ethiopia has produced its own unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drones. It was to be recalled that Sudantribune had reported citing unnamed Ethiopian Air force Official that Ethiopia has produced its own drones. The Chairperson also stated that the drones are already in use for developmental/commercial aerial surveillance purposes such as "mapping and planning of adverse geographical areas". 

Mr. Tesfaye also spoke on related issues in remark of Ethiopia's "Armed Forces Day" celebration. 

Listen to the Interview below

የአቦይ ስብሐት ነጋ ‹‹ይሰቀሉ፣ ሞት ይገባቸዋል!›› የሚል የበቀል መንፈስ ከወዴየት ነው!?

በፍቅር ለይኩን

አቦይ ስብሐት ባለፈው ሳምንት ‹‹ከላይፍ›› ወርኻዊ መጽሔት ጋር ያደረጉትን ሰላም ሰላም የማይሸት፣ ፍቅርን የተራቆተ፣ የይቅር ባይነት መንፈስ ፈፅሞ የተለየው፣ በቀልንና ጥላቻን የሚሰብክና ‹‹ዕርቅ ለመፈጸም በማለት ሰዎችን ሲልኩ የነበሩ ቄሶች ስቅላት፣ ሞት ይገባቸዋል!›› የሚል የሞት ፍርድ አዋጅን የሚያስተጋባ የሚመስል ቃለ-መጠይቃቸውን እያዘንኩም፣ እያፈረኩም ለማንበብ ተገድጄያለሁ፡፡

ማፈሬና ማዘኔም እኔ እጅግ በጥቂቱም ቢሆን የማውቃቸው አቦይ ስብሐት እንደ ፖለቲከኛና ከፍተኛ የመንግሥት ሰው ሳይሆን እንደማንኛችንም ኢትዮጵያውያን በጎረቤት፣ በወዳጅ ዘመድ፣ በጓደኛ መካከል… በደስታውም በሐዘኑም የሚገኙ፣ ማህበራዊ ግዴታቸውን የሚወጡ፣ መልካም የሆነ ማህበራዊ ግንኙነት እንዳላቸው በጥቂቱ ስለማውቅ ነው፡፡

እናም የእኚህ አንጋፋ ፖለቲከኛና የኢህአዴግ ታጋይ ሰው ሊያውም በሃይማኖት አባቶች መካከል እንዲህ ያለ የበቀል፣ የይሰቀሉ የሞት ፍርድ ያስተላልፋሉ ብዬ በፍፁም አልጠብቅም፡፡ እንደ አገራችን ባሕልና ወግ ቢሆንማ እንደ አቦይ ስብሐት ካሉት የዕድሜ ባለጠጋ ሰዎች የሚጠበቀው የእርቅ፣ የሰላም፣ የፍቅር… መልእክት ነበር፡፡ ግና አዛውንቱ አቶ ስብሐት ዛሬም እንኳን በሃይማኖት ሰዎችም ላይ እንኳን ሳይቀር የሞትንና የበቀልን ፍርድ ሲያስተላልፉ ትንሽ እንኳን ቅር አላላቸውም፡፡

እኚህ አንጋፋ የሕዋሓት ታጋይና መሪ የነበሩ ፖለቲከኛ ከቅርብ ዓመታት ጀምሮ በአደባባይ በሚያደርጓቸው ንግግሮቻቸውና በሚሰጧቸው ቃለ መጠይቆች በአዎንታዊም ሆነ በአሉታዊ መንገድ ስማቸው እየተነሳ ነው፡፡

በተለይም ደግሞ በኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ተቋምና አባቶች ዙሪያ እየተናገሩትና እየሰጡት ያለው ትንታኔ፣ አስተያየትና ቃለ መጠይቆች፣ አንዳንዴም ዘለፋ ድንበሩን ያለፈ፣ የቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱን ህልውና ጥያቄ ውስጥ የሚያስገባ፣ የመሪዎቿን ክብርና ልእልና እየተዳፈረ ያለ እንደሆነ ብዙዎች እየተናገሩ ነው፡፡

እንደ አንዳንድ ታዛቢዎች ደግሞ የአዛውንቱ ‹‹የቄሳርን ከእግዚአብሔር›› ጋር የቀላቀለ አካሄድ ፈፅሞ ሌላ መሰሪ የሆነ ፖለቲካዊ አጀንዳ ያለውና እንደውም ሕወሓት/ኢህአዴግ በቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱ ላይ ያለው አቋም ሌላኛው ግልባጭ ነው በማለት ይገልፁታል፡፡

ዛሬ የኢትዮጵያ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ለገባችበት ቀውስ፡- ጎሰኝነቱ፣ ጎጠኝነቱ፣ መለያየቱ፣ ሙስናው፣ የሞራል ውድቀቱና ዝቅጠቱ… ወዘተ ራሷ ቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱና የሚመሯት አባቶች/መሪዎቿ ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ ከመንፈሳዊነት ሕይወት መሰደድና መራቆት ባሻገር፤ ይኸው በተለያዩ ጊዜያት መንግሥታት በቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱ ላይ ሲያራምዱት የነበረውና እያራመዱት ያለው ፖለቲካዊ አቋም ተጽእኖ ውጤት እንደሆነ ነው የቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱን ታሪክ ያጠኑ ምሁራን በጥናቶቻቸው የሚገልፁት፡፡

ባለፉት ረጅም ዘመናትም ሆነ አሁን በእኛ ዘመን በቤተ ክህነቱና በቤተ መንግሥቱ መካከል ያለውን ግንኙነት በሚመለከት ብዙ አከራካሪ ጉዳዮች አሉ፡፡ በአገራችን ታሪክ ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ ‹‹መንግሥትና ሃይማኖት ተለያይተዋል›› ተብሎ በተባለበት በደርግ ዘመነ መንግሥት እንኳን በቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱና ቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱን በሚመሩት አባቶች ላይ ደርጉ ያሳረፈውን ብርቱ ክንድና የቤተ ክርስቲየኒቱን ፓትርያሪክ እስከ ማጋዝና በግፍ መግደል ድረስ የተጓዘበትን እርምጃ ማስታወስ በቂ ነው፡፡

ለሕዝቦች ነፃነት፣ እኩልነትና መብት፣ እንዲሁም ለማንነታቸው፣ ለሃይማኖታቸው፣ ለባህላቸው፣ ለቋንቋቸው፣ ለታሪካቸው፣ ለቅርሳቸው… መከበር በሚሊዮኖች በሚሆኑ ጭቁን ሕዝቦች መስዋዕትነት እውን አድርጌያለሁ የሚለው ኢህአዴግም ‹‹ከሃይማኖት ነፃነት እስከ መንግሥትና ሃይማኖት የተለያዩ ናቸው፡፡›› የሚለውን አዋጅ በግልፅ በሆነ መንገድ በሕገ መንግስቱ ውስጥ ያተካተተ ቢሆንም፤ መንግሥትና ቤተ ክህነቱ ግን አሁንም ድረስ በቀጥታም ሆነ በተዘዋዋሪ መንገድ የማይተላለፉባቸውንና የማይጨካከኑባቸውን በርካታ አጋጣሚዎችን ደጋግመን አይተናል፣ ታዝበናልም፡፡

መንግሥትና የሃይማኖት ተቋማቶች ተለያይተዋል ቢባልም አንዱ አንዱን የሚስብበትና ወይም የሚሳሳቡበትን አጋጣሚዎች በተለያዩ ጊዜያት አስተውለናል፣ አሁንም እያስተዋልን ነው፡፡ በአንድ ወቅትም አቶ ስብሐት ይህንኑ ቤተ መንግሥቱና ቤተ ክህነቱ መካከል ስላለው መሳሳብና በተለይ ደግሞ በኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን አባቶችን የመንፈስ ነፃነትና አርነት በተመለከተ የሰጡት አስተያየት ከላይ ያነሳውን አሳብ የሚያጠናክርልን ይሆናል ብዬ አስባለሁ፡፡ አቶ ስብሐት እንዲህ ነበር ያሉት፡-

‹‹… ጳጳሳቱ አይረቡም፣ ከመንግሥት ጥገኝነት ለመውጣት የማይችሉ ወይም የማይፈልጉ፣ ሁላቸውም በመንግሥት ሳምባ ለመተንፈስ የሚሹ የመንፈሳዊነት ለዛና መዓዛ የሌላቸው ናቸው…›› በማለት መረርና ጠንከር ያለ አስተያየታቸውን ሰጥተው ነበር፡፡ በወቅቱም ይህ እሳቤያቸውና ዘለፋ የሚመስለው አስተያየታቸው ከሃይማኖቱ አባቶችም ሆነ ከምእምናኑ ዘንድ ድጋፍንም ትችትም አስከትሎባቸው እንደ ነበር እናስታውሳለን፡፡

አቶ ስብሐት ለድጋፉም ሆነ ለትችቱ ብዙ ልብም ሆነም ጆሮ የሰጡ አይመስሉም፡፡ እናም እኚህ ሰው የሰላ ትችታቸውንና እርግማናቸውን በቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱና ቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱን በሚመሯት አባቶች ላይ አሁንም እያወረዱት ነው፡፡ ባለፈው ሳምንት ከላይፍ መጽሔት ጋር ባደረጉት ቃለ መጠይቅም ከመቼውም ጊዜ በላይ በሆነ ድፍረትን ከቂም በቀል የቀላቀለ በሚመስል ሁኔታ በአደባባይ እንዲህ ብለውናል፡-

‹‹በአሜሪካን ካሉ አባቶች ጋር የእርቅን መልእክት የላኩ ቄሶች መሰቀል ይገባቸዋል፣ ሞት ይገባቸዋል!›› ሲሉ አስቀድሞ ገና ከጠዋቱ በእሳቸው ሕሊና ውስጥ ምሕረት የለሽ የስቅላት/የሞት ፍርድ የተላለፈባቸውን፣ በቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱ አባቶች መካከል እርቅንና ሰላምን እናወርዳለን በማለት የሚደክሙ ካህናትን የስቅላት የሞት ፍርዳቸው የጸና ይሆን ዘንድ፣ በቃ ይሰቀሉ! የሚል የሞት ፍርድ አዋጃቸውን ‹‹ያልሰማህ ስማ፣ የሰማህ ላልሰማ አሰማ!›› በሚል አኳኃን በድፍረት ያለምንም ማወላወል ለአደባባይ አብቅተውታል፡፡

ይህ ‹‹ይሰቀሉ፣ ሞት ይገባቸዋል!›› የሚል የአቦይ ስብሐት ምሕረት የለሽ ቂምንና በቀልን የተሞላ ፍርድ ምንጩ ከወዴየት ይሆን…!? አቶ ስብሐት በእርቅ መልእክተኞቹ ላይ ያስተላለፉትን የሞት ፍርድ አንድ ታሪክን አስታወሰኝ፡፡ በታላቁ ቅዱስ መጽሐፍ ውስጥ ወንጌላዊው፣ ሐኪሙና ታሪክ ጸሐፊው ሉቃስ አንድ ከአቦይ ስብሐት ‹‹በቃ ይሙቱ፣ የእሳት ራት ይሁኑ!›› ፍርድ ጋር በሚቀራረብ መልኩ አንድ ታሪክን ያስነብበናል፡፡

በአንድ ወቅት ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ደቀ መዛሙርቱን ሁለት ሁለት አድርጎ በኢየሩሳሌም ዙሪያና በሰማርያ ለስብከት ላካቸው፡፡ ለዚህ ቅዱስ ተልዕኮ የተላኩት ደቀ መዛሙርት በሄዱበት ስፍራ ሁሉ ስለ እግዚአብሔር መንግሥት በመስበክ፣ ታላላቅ ድንቅና ተዓምራትን አድርገው ተልዕኮአቸውን በድል ፈፅመው በብዙ ሐሴትና ደስታ ወደላካቸው ወደ ጌታቸውና መምህራቸው ተመለሱ፡፡

ይሁን እንጂ ሐዋርያቱ በመዋዕለ ስብከታቸው ወቅት በሰማርያ ሰዎች ላይ ክፉኛ ቂም ቋጥረውባቸው ነበር፡፡ ምክንያታቸው ደግሞ የሰማርያ ሰዎች ጌታችን ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ሊሰብክላቸው ያለውን ‹‹የእውነት ቃልና የእግዚአብሔር መንግሥት ቀርባለች ንስሐ ግቡ!›› ለሚለው ጥሪ ጆሮም ልብም ለመስጠት ፈቃደኛ አልነበሩምና ነው፡፡ እናም፡-

‹‹ጌታ ሆይ እሳት ከሰማይ ወርዳ ይብላቸው ትል ዘንድ ትፈቅድልናለህን!?›› ብለው የሰማርያን ሰዎች ልክ እንደ ነቢዩ ኤልያስ ዘመን እሳት ከሰማይ ወርዳ ዶግ አመድ ያደርጋቸው ዘንድ ኢየሱስን ፈቃዱን ጠይቀውት ነበር፡፡

ጌታም መልሶ፡- ‹‹ምን ዓይነት መንፈስ እንደሆነላችሁ አታውቁም፤ የሰው ልጅ የጠፋውን ሊያድን እንጂ ሊያጠፋ አልመጣም፡፡›› ሲል በተግሣፅ ቃል መለሰላቸው፡፡

አቶ ስብሐት ደጋግመው እንደነገሩን እኛም እንደሰማናቸው፣ እንዳመንናቸው አላልኩም የኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ እምነት ተከታይ መሆናቸውን በጥቂቱም ቢሆን እናውቃለን፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ አቦይ እምነቱን ከፖለቲካው፣ ፖለቲካውን ከእምነቱ ጋር እያቀላቀሉ የትኛውን ለእግዚአብሔር የትኛውን ለቄሳር እንደወሰኑ ባለየ መልኩ አቋማቸውን ማራመዱን ቀጥለውበታል፡፡ እናም አቶ ስብሐት ብዙዎችን ግራ እስኪያጋባ ድረስ በተለያየ ጊዜ በኢትዮጵያ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ዙሪያ እያራመዱት ያለው አቋማቸው ከአስገራሚነት አልፎ ልክ እንደዛሬው ደግሞ አስደንጋጭና ሰቅጣጭ እየሆነ ነው፡፡

በቤተ ክርስቲያን አባቶች መካከል እርቀ ሰላም ይውረድ፣ ፍቅርና አንድነት በመካከላችን ይስፈን በማለት እንደ ኖህ ርግብ የሰላም ምልክት የሆነውን ዘንባባ ዝንጣፊ ይዘው ለእርቅና ለሰላም የሚደክሙትን ሰዎች ‹‹ሞት ይገባቸዋል፣ ይሰቀሉ በቃ!›› የሚል በቀልን የተሞላ ፍርድን ከአዛውንቱ ከአቦይ ስብሐት አንጠብቅም፡፡

ጥርስን በጥርስ፣ ዓይንን በዓይን እንጂ ምን ሲደረግ ፍቅር፣ እርቀ ሰላምና አንድነት ተብሎ ነገር በውጭ ካሉት አባቶች ጋር ሊታሰብ ይችላል ብሎ መናገር ከአንድ ኦርቶዶክሳዊ አዛውንት የሚጠበቅ አይመስለኝም፡፡ ይህ በቀልንና ፍርድን የተሞላ የአቶ ስብሐት አነጋገር በምንም መንገድ በፍፁም የኦርቶዶክሳዊነትም ሆነ የሰብአዊነት መነሻና መሠረት ሊኖረው አይችልም፡፡

አቶ ስብሐት ነጋ ስለ ስለ ኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ እምነትና አስተምህሮ ምን ያህል የጠለቀ እውቀት እንዳላቸው ባላውቅም ቢያንስ በተወለዱበት፣ ባደጉበትና በኖሩበት አካባቢ ሌላው ቀርቶ ደም በተቃቡ ባላንጣዎች መካከል እንኳን ሳይቀር እርቅና ሰላም ይሰፍን ዘንድ የሚያደርጉ መካሪ ሽማግሌዎችን ሳያዩ እንደማይቀሩ እርግጠኛ ነኝ፡፡ ለዚህም ደግሞ ቤተ የእምነት ተቋማትና የሃይማኖት አባቶች ምን ያህል ከፍተኛ የሆነ ሚና እንዳላቸው አቦይ ስብሐት ይስቱታል ብዬ አላስብም፡፡

ታዲያ እንዲህ ዓይነቱን ሃይማኖታዊ፣ ማህበራዊ ክብርና ፋይዳ እንዲሁም ትልቅ አገራዊና ባህላዊ እሴት ያለውን የእርቀ ሰላምን መንገድ በእሾህ አጥሮ፣ ለሰላም የሚተጉትንና እርቅን የሚሰብኩ ሰዎችን ሊያውም የሃይማኖት አባቶችን እንዲህ ባለ ድፍረት ‹‹ይሰቀሉ፣ ሞት ለእነርሱና ለግበረ-አበሮቻቸው ይሁን፣ ሰላም፣ ሰላም፣ እርቅ፣ እርቅ እያሉ የሚጮኹም መንገዳቸውም ዳጥና ጨለማ ይሁን፣ እነርሱ በእኛ ዘንድ ስም አጠራራቸው ይጥፋ ወንጀለኞች ናቸውና!›› ብሎ መናገርና መፍረድ በጎ ሕሊና ካለው፣ ሰብአዊነት ከሚሰማውና ሃይማኖት አለኝ ከሚል ሰው በጭራሽ የሚጠበቅ አይደለም፡፡

ስለሆነም አቶ ስብሐት እባክዎት ምንም እንኳን በዕድሜዎት እኔን ሊወልዱኝ የሚችሉ አባቴ ቢሆኑም እንዲህ ዓይነቱን ከኦርቶዶክሳዊ እምነትና አስተምህሮም ሆነ ከሰብአዊነት መንገድ የወጣውን ፍርድዎን እየሰማሁ ዝም ለማለት ሕሊናዬ አልፈቀደልኝም እናም ይህችን አጠር ያለች ጦማር ላደርሰዎ ወደድሁ፡፡

ወደድንም ጠላንም፣ ተቀበልነውም አልተቀበልነው የእርቀ ሰላሙ ጉዳይ የቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱ ህልውና ጉዳይ ነው፡፡ ሰላምንና እርቅን ገፍታ የመለያየትን መንገድ የምትመርጥ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ስም ብቻ ካልሆነ በቀር ሕይወት/ሕልውና ሊኖራት አይችልም፡፡ ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን የቆመችበት መሠረቱ የመስቀሉ ፍቅር ነው፡፡ በዚህ የመስቀል ፍቅር ላይ ደግሞ ለሰው ልጆች ሁሉ ሰላም፣ እርቅ፣ አርነት፣ ነፃነት፣ እውነት… ታውጇል፡፡

ስለዚህም በዚህ ፍቅር ውስጥ ያሉና የሚኖሩ፣ ይህን ታላቅ እውነት የሚያውቁ አባቶቻችንና ወንድሞቻችን በቃላቸውም ሆነ በተግባራቸው ለቤተ ክርስቲያን አንድነትና ሰላም መሟገታቸውን መቼም ቢሆን አያቆሙም፡፡ ይህን የአባቶቻችንን ለቤተ ክርስቲያን ፍፁም አንድነትና ሰላም በልባቸው የሚነደውን ቅናታቸውን የኤልዛቤል ዛቻ አያስቆመውም፣ የክፉው ልጆች ስብከት አያሸንፈውም፣ በቅዱስ መቅደሱ የተንሰራፋ  የምናምንቴዎች የዔሊ ልጆች ዓመፃና ርኩሰትም ይህን የቅናት እሳት፣ ይህን በጎነትና ቅንነት በጭራሽ ሊያጠፋው አይቻለውም!!

እናም ይህ ስለ ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን ፍፁም ሰላም፣ ፍቅርና አንድነት እዛም እዚህ ከፍ ብለው የሚሰሙ የአባቶችና የወንድሞች የእርቅና የሰላም ጥሪ ዋጋቸው ለአንዳንዶች እንደሚመስላቸው ሞት ወይም ስቅላት ሊሆን አይችልም!! 

እናም አቶ ስብሐት እነዚህ ሰላምን፣ አንድነትንና እርቅን የሚሰብኩ ሰዎች የሚገባቸው ወይም ዋጋቸው እርስዎ እንደሚሉት ወይም እንደተመኙላቸው ‹‹ስቅላት ወይም ሞት!›› አይደለም፡፡ በቤተ ክርስቲያናችን አባቶች መካከል እርቀ ሰላምና አንድነት ይሆን ዘንድ የሚተጉትን ሁሉ ታላቁ መጽሐፍ የሞት ልጆች አይላቸውም፡፡ ነገር ግን፡-

‹‹የሚያስተራርቁ ብፁዓን ናቸው የእግዚአብሔር ልጆች ይባላሉና፡፡›› ሲል ትልቅ ክብርንና ስፍራን ይሰጣቸዋል፡፡ እነዚህ ትላንትም ሆነ ዛሬ ሰላምን፣ እርቅንና አንድነትን የሚሰብኩ ሰዎች መጽሐፍ፡- ‹‹እግሮቻቸው በተራሮች ላይ እንዴት ያማሩ ናቸው፡፡›› ሲልም ከፍ ከፍ ያደርጋቸዋል፡፡ እናም አቦይ እባክዎት ቆም ብለው ያስቡ፡፡

በመጨረሻም መቼም እርስዎን ያህል አንጋፋ ፖለቲከኛ በዓለም አቀፉ የፖለቲካ መድረክ ትልቅ ስም፣ ዝና ክብር ያላቸውን እንደ ማንዴላ፣ ጋንዲ፣ ሉተር…ወዘተ ያሉ በሕዝቦቻቸውና በአገራትም ጭምር ሳይቀር ሰላምንና እርቅን የሰበኩ እነዚህ ሰዎች የነፃነት ተጋድሎ ታሪክ አያውቁም ብዬ ለማሰብ አልደፍርም፡፡

እናም አቦይ እስቲ አንድ ጥያቄን ልጠይቅዎት፡- ለመሆኑ ለ27 ዓመታት በስደት፣ በግዞትና ሕሊና ሊሸከመው ከሚችል በላይ በሆነ መከራ ውስጥ ያለፉት ማንዴላ፣ እርሳቸውንና ሕዝባቸውን ለአስከፊ ጭቆና፣ መከራ፣ ስደትና ሞት የዳረገውን ዘረኛውን የአፓርታይድን ሥርዓት አቀንቃኞችን በሙሉ ልብ ለአገራቸውና ለሕዝባቸው ሰላም ሲሉ ይቅርታ ማድረጋቸውና ሌሎችም ይቅር እንዲባባሉ መስበካቸው ስህተተኛ ነበሩ ማለት ነው!?

ለመሆኑ አቦይ ይህን ምሕረትና ይቅርታ በቂም በቀል ላይ፣ ደግነት በክፋት ላይ፣ ሕይወት በሞት ላይ፣ ቅንነት በተንኮል ላይ፣ ቅንነትና በጎነት በዓመፃ ላይ…  ድል ነስቶ የወጣበትን የማንዴላን የመንፈስ ልእልና እና ታላቅ ጀግንነት ዓለም በምን መንፈስ ነበር የተቀበለው!?

ክፋትን በደግነት፣ ጥላቻን በፍቅር፣ ቂምን በይቅርታ ለማሸነፍ ቆርጠው የተነሱትን ማንዴላን ደቡብ አፍሪካውያኑ ወገኖቻቸውም ሆኑ የተቀረው የዓለም ሕዝብ ‹‹ሞት ይፈረድባቸው! መሰቀል ይገባቸዋል! ብሎአቸው ነበር እንዴ አቶ ስብሐት!?

አቦይ የህንድ ነፃነት አባት የሆኑትና በሕዝባቸው ዘንድ ‹‹ታላቁ ነፍስ›› ተብለው የሚሞካሹት አርበኛውና ታጋዩ ጋንዲስ በጥይት ለመታቸው ሰው በመጨረሻ ትንፋሻቸው ሆነው እባካችሁ አትግደሉት እኔ ይቅር ብዬዋለሁ፡፡ ሲሉ ተሳስተው ነበር ማለት ነው!?

የቀድሞው የካቶሊክ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ሊቀ ጳጳስ ፖፕ ጆን ፖል የግድያ ሙከራ ያደረገባቸውን ሰው በእስር ቤት ድረስ ተገኝተው ሲጠይቁትና ይቅርታቸውን ሲለግሱትስ ለእርስዎም ሆነ ለእኛ እንዲሁም ለተቀረው ዓለም ምን ዓይነት መልእክት ነው እያስተላለፉ የነበረው!?

ስለሆነም ለአገራችንም ሆነ ለኢትዮጵያ ቤተ ክርስቲያን በዚህ ዘመን የሚስፈልገው ቂም በቀልን እየቆሰቆሰ የእልቂትን እሳት የሚያነድ፣ መለያየትን የሚሰብክ፣ እረቀ-ሰላምን የሚገፋ፣ በአባቶችና በወንድማማቾች መካከል ጠብንና መለያየትን የሚዘራ ሳይሆን፣ አንድነትንና እርቅን የሚሰብክ የሰላም ሐዋርያ ነው በእጅጉና በብዙ የሚያስፈልገን፡፡

አቶ ስብሐት አይሞኙ በእንዲህ ዓይነቶቹ የሰላም ሐዋርያት፣ እርቅን ሰባኪዎች፣ የእውነትና የፍትሕ ጠበቃዎች ላይ ሞት ኃይልም ስልጣንም የለውም! ለምን ቢባል መጽሐፍ ‹‹እርቅን የሚሰብኩ፣ የሚያስታርቁ እነርሱ ብፁዓን ናቸው፣ የእግዚአብሔር ልጆች ይባላሉ!›› ይለናልና፡፡

ሰላም! ሻሎም! 

Ethiopia on CPJ Risk List

14 Feb 2013

Ethiopia has been listed as one of the top 10  nations named on the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Risk List 2013 reports. The capsule report on Ethiopia reads,

Ethiopia

Ethiopian authorities wielded a sweeping anti-terror law to silence critics. In late year, six journalists languished in prison, making Ethiopia the second-worst jailer of journalists in the region, behind only neighboring Eritrea. Most detainees were convicted under the anti-terrorism law, which criminalizes coverage of opposition and separatist groups, CPJ found. "We only have a handful of independent newspapers and no private broadcast media--and the anti-terrorism law is killing those few that exist," said an Ethiopian journalist who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Four journalists fled Ethiopia in the face of possible imprisonment, CPJ's 2012 exile reportfound. At least 49 Ethiopian journalists have been forced into exile since 2007, the third-highest total worldwide. CPJ research indicates that journalists in exile face major obstacles to their health and safety, and only 17 percent are able to remain in their profession.

The suppression of news was reflected by the information vacuum surrounding the lengthy illness that preceded the August death of longtime Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The government, which insisted Meles was fine until his death, shut the one domestic newspaper that tried to examine his weeks-long absence from public view. Journalists said they are not optimistic that conditions will improve under the new leader, Hailemariam Desalegn. The government "wouldn't want to allow any threat to the new leadership," the journalist said. "The media is one of the biggest threats they would want to avoid."

To read the full report please click  here. 

Ethiopian Adoptee Wins Legal Case to Revoke Adoption

Marthe Van Der Wolf

VOA

February 11, 2013

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — An Ethiopian court has revoked the adoption of a girl by a family in the Netherlands. This is the first time a foreign adoption has been revoked in Ethiopia’s long history of overseas adoption.

Betty Lub is a 14-year-old Ethiopian girl that was adopted at the age of seven by a Dutch family that abused her. She stayed with them for two years, but still carries their last name because of legal procedures. Betty got the adoption revoked through an Ethiopian court. Her lawyer, Mulemebet Tilahua, said Betty now wants to change her name to Betty Demoze, her Ethiopian last name.

“Revocation of the adoption contract will have an effect on Betty and in a way she will be reinstated to her family of origins. And the other thing is, she will not be forced to be called after the adoptive parents who abused her in their home for a long time,” said Tilahua. 

Falsified documents

The documents in Betty’s adoption file were falsified and were full of errors. They gave the wrong age, and wrongly stated that Betty’s parents had died. After a failed criminal case two years ago against those involved with providing the papers, the 14-year-old started a civil case. Betty said that getting her adoption revoked in Ethiopia is only the first step of her journey.

“I want to try in Holland to also revoke my adoption and then we will see,” she said.

Almost 4,500 children were adopted from Ethiopia in 2010, with about half of them going to American families. Because a growing number of adoption cases from Ethiopia appear to have irregularities, the legal process has been under investigation in Ethiopia and other countries.

Child trafficking

Arun Dohle investigated the files of Ethiopian children going to the Netherlands for the Against Child Trafficking NGO. He said Betty’s case is just the tip of the iceberg.  “We found that the adoption process is riddled by fraud and other clear-cut criminal activities. But most important, the demand-driven inter-country adoption process is breaking up families who could be helped in building up their lives with a fraction of the money involved in inter-country adoption,” said Dohle.

Adoptions are big business in development countries, with Western parents usually paying more than $20,000 for a child. Ethiopia’s adoption business grew rapidly after several countries in the world, such as Romania and Vietnam, stopped allowing overseas adoptions because of legal irregularities and corruption. Dohle believes that the inter-country adoption process is systematically misleading parents.

“Most of the Ethiopian and African parents in general, do not understand the Western concept of adoption, which completely severs all ties with the child. The child gets a new birth certificate a new identity, and all ties are completely severed, there is no such thing as international foster care,” said Dohle.

Preying on parents

Many parents are not told they are losing their child, they are promised financial support and are made to believe their child will receive a better education somewhere else and will return home soon. Lawyer Mulemebet said parents in developing countries are an easy target for adoption agencies.

“Most of the time they are not aware of their legal rights and they are not in a position, especially in a financial position, to claim their rights and to ensure the best interests of their children,” said Mulemebet.

Betty was adopted through the Dutch adoption agency Wereldkinderen. It is accused of fraud and criminal activities in research done by the Against Child Trafficking group.  Wereldkinderen chose not to comment on the first revoked adoption case. Betty hopes her actions will inspire other adoptees.

“I hope that it will have impact on other children to do the same thing that I have done,” she said. The Ethiopian Ministry of Women’s, Children’s and Youth Affairs decided in 2011 to cut adoptions by 90 percent because of fraud during the adoption processes.

There are over 60,000 mosques in Ethiopia: Shimeles Kemal

By De Birhan
11 Feb 2013

Shimelis Kemal, Ethiopia's State Minister of Government Communications Affairs Office had an interview with a Diaspora based Ethiopian chat room. During the interview he mentioned that  there are over 60,000 mosques in Ethiopia (over 250 in Addis Abeba), most built during the current regime's reign,and also "the rights and freedom of Ethiopian Muslims has been respected and protected" under the incumbent regime. He gave responses to questions posed by the chat room participants such as the arrested Ethiopian Muslims Arbitration Committee members, the recent ETV documentary called "Jehadawi Harekat",  imprisoned Ethiopian journalists, power of member parties within the ruling Front (EPRDF), religious freedom,  ESAT and other issues. 

Shimeles Kemal

Some of the highlights of his interview are tweeted below:

• Asked why ETV failed to transmit #AFCON2013 legally-#ShimelesKemal just passed it around the bush without a difinitive statement.
• On Ethiopian Muslims protest and ETV doctry- he said there is no problem between Ethiopian Muslims and the regime but between some media and people vs the regime #ShimelesKemal
• #ShimelesKemal Ethiopian Muslims protest was there before the 'Arab Springs' with a different color and the arrest wasn't to avoid the 'Spring'.
• #ShimelesKemal says vacancy within the Mejlis was going to be used by 'these elements' to oppose/topple the Regime but failed.
• #ShimelesKemal also said over 7.5 Muslims already chose their Mejlis leaders - so the case is closed.
• #ShimelesKemal says the case of the arrested Arbitration Committee members is NOT 'pending in Court' - it is yet at an investigation stage, thus nothing illegal has been done.
• #ShimelesKemal said the role of Regime's is stopping the propaganda of the 'suspects', teaching and pacifying the people- so was the aim of the documentary transmitted on ETV before the trail.
• #ShimelesKemal said Injunction on the documentary was given by the  Judge without Prosecutor's knowledge. The next day, Prosecutors appealed and the High Court revoked the injunction.
• " '#Reeyot yetebalech setyo' yetasecherechew be shiber sera enji be metasfua adelem." #ShimelesKemal 
• #ShimelisKemal said there are over 60,000 mosques in #Ethiopia now. All the rights, religious freedom of Ethiopian Muslims are respected and protected today.
• #ShimelisKemal Only under this regime did Ethiopian Muslims enjoy full right, religious freedom and political empowerment. 
• #ShimelisKemal said this Regime doesn't torture but humanely practices the law and is even popular for pardoning. 

To listen to the full interview here at De Birhan, click play below 

Artist Tamirat Molla dies

By De Birhan 

Feb 11, 2013

Ethiopian Artist  Tamrat Molla, who has been batteling blood cancer for the past few years, died today at 69 in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, sources indicated. His funeral will take place at Trinity Cathedral Chruch in Addis Ababa today. Born in Gondar, Tamerat is often categorised by his age and music genre within the ranks of veteran Ethiopian modern music singers such as Tilahun Gessese, Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete. Although Tamerat has been following medical treatemnts in the U.S. and Addis Abeba,and was well after "undergoing baptism", he died last night.Last year,Tamirat also had stated that he had been cured from blood cancer by Holy Water and he had fully recovered. He said he had asked his professor friend to bring to him Holy Water from Saint Mary Church in Ethiopia and upon taking the Holy Water, his recovery has been miraculous even to the surprise of his own Doctors in the United states.  Tamrat started singing with the Army Band in Addis Abeba as a young man. 

Tamirat is survived by his wife and five children.