Al Mariam’s Commentaries Archive

Vindication of the rule of law In his closing argument defending a cabinet minister of a fictional African country called “Naranga”, John Mortimer’s equally fictional character Rumpole of the Bailey argued to the learned African judge: … When London is nothing more than a memory, and the Old Bailey has sunk back in the primeval mud, my

Introduction to the series I am developing this multipart series of what I call “Deconstructing Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia” (along with many other topical series to come) for several reasons. The Thugtatorship of Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (T-TPLF) has used its phony ideology of “ethnic federalism” to hoodwink and bamboozle Ethiopians into believing its system

Author’s Note: In the past few days, it has been widely reported that the fix is in to axe Rex Tillerson from the State Department and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo by January 2018. There has been much talk about a “Rexit” since the summer when it was disclosed that Tillerson had described

Ethiopiawinet in a nutshell… “Indeed, our diversity has been the amazingly distinctive feature of our Ethiopiawinet. The strong bond in the mosaic of our Ethiopiawinet is reflected in the diversity of our religions, traditions and cultural practices. The linkage of our unity over the ages has remained very strong. [Ethiopiawinet] is not something that dissipates

“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness. For not only are we responsible for the memories of the dead, we are also responsible for what we are doing with those memories.” Elie Weisel We the living MUST bear witness… On On June 6-8 and November 1-4, 2005, following the parliamentary elections in