Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on 02/28/2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/thugtatorship-the-highest_b_828864.html Thugogracy in Africa If democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people, a thugogracy is a government of thieves, for thieves, by thieves. Simply stated, a thugtatorship is rule by a gang of thieves and robbers (thugs) in designer suits. It…
Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on 2/20/2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/out-of-touch-in-the-horn_b_825795.html The Berlin Conference of 2009 In 1884, the Berlin Conference was convened by the European imperial powers to carve out colonial territories in Africa. It was called the “Scramble for Africa”. In 2009, another Berlin Conference was convened by a high level group of diplomats (referring…
Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on 2/14/2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/africas-youths-united-can_b_822702.html Mubarak, Irhal! A specter is haunting Africa and the Middle East – the specter of an awesome army of youths on the move, in revolt, marching for freedom, chanting for democracy and dying for human rights and human dignity. Millions of youths are standing up and…
Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on 2/7/2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/africas-youths-united-can_b_822702.html John F. Kennedy said: Those who make peaceful change impossible, make a violent revolution inevitable.” The English colonial government made peaceful change impossible in the American colonies leading to the American Revolution in 1776, an event memorialized in the American Declaration of Independence and celebrated annually…
Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on 1/31/2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/after-the-fall-of-african_b_816140.html After the Fall from the Wall What happens to Africa after the mud walls of dictatorship come tumbling down and the palaces of illusion behind those walls vanish? Will Africa be like Humpty Dumpty who “had a great fall” and could not be put back together…
Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on 1/24/2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/as-african-tyrants-fall_b_812880.html The Invincible Dictators Mohandas Karmachand Gandhi (The Mahatma or Great Soul) is today revered as a historical figure who fought against colonialism, racism and injustice. But he was also one of the greatest modern revolutionary political thinkers and moral theorists. While Nicolo Machiavelli taught tyrants how…
Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on 1/19/2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/referendum-for-sudan-requ_b_809803.html Sudan’s Best and Worst of Times It is the best of times in the Sudan. It is the worst of times in the Sudan. It is the happiest day in the Sudan. It is the saddest day in the Sudan. It is referendum for the Sudan….
Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on 5/25/2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/looking-for-bob-marley-an_b_806568.html Music as a Weapon of Protest It is said that “music is a universal language.” Using a few notes and inspiring lyrics, musicians and song writers have waged relentless battles against the perpetrators of tyranny, oppression, inequality and injustice. Music is a divine language that can…
Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on 1/3/2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/why-do-things-always-fall_1_b_803445.html Copycat Dictators and Cartoon Democracies in Africa Ivory Coast, December 2010. Laurent Gbagbo says he won the presidential election. The Independent Ivorian Election Commission (CEI) said former prime minister Alassane Ouattara is the winner by a nine-point margin. The African Union, the Economic Community of West…
Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on 12/27/2010 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ethiopian-groundhog-year_b_801384.html Groundhog Year in Prison Nation In December 2008, I wrote a weekly column entitled “Groundhog Year in Prison Nation” summarizing some of my weekly columns for that year. I used the “groundhog year” analogy following the title of the motion picture “Groundhog Day” in which a…
