By Alemayehu G. Mariam Free Birtukan and All Political Prisoners in Ethiopia! On March 2, 2009, Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia throughout the world will be taking to the streets to protest human rights violations by the ruling regime, and to demand the release of all political prisoners. The preeminent political prisoner and the undisputed…
By Alemayehu G. Mariam Seeking Paths to Ethiopian Diaspora Dialogue and Consultations (wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker) At the beginning of the year, we pledged to help initiate and sustain an Ethiopian Diaspora dialogue and consultation process with the aim of building broad consensus for collective action. We expressed our hope that with the proper groundwork…
By Alemayehu G. Mariam Zimbabwe Saved From the “Brink of a Dark Abyss” A year ago, Morgan Tsvangirai won the first round of presidential elections in Zimbabwe. He refused to participate in the run-off calling it a “violent sham” for which his supporters risked death by voting for him. Last week, Tsvangirai became prime minister…
By Alemayehu G. Mariam What Is Ethiopian Unity? There are some who are working double overtime to make sure Ethiopia is strewn across the African continent like shards of broken ethnic glass. They have spent the last 18 years sleepless devising ways of defeating the people by separating them along ethnic, religious, cultural, regional and…
By Alemayehu G. Mariam History has two sides. A right and a wrong side. Barack Obama is on the right side of history. He is on the right side of history because he was elected rightfully by the American people and became president in a peaceful constitutional transfer of power. But his on the right…
By Alemayehu G. Mariam It is time to close ranks against an arrogant and abusive dictatorship in Ethiopia! It is time for all Ethiopians in the Diaspora to come together and stand up against Evil. As the old saying goes, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men and women do…
By Alemayehu Gebremariam If you can’t beat up the big boys in Mogadishu, beat on the woman and the old man in Addis Ababa! That happened last week in Ethiopia. Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJP) President Ms. Bertukan Mideksa was strong-armed, manhandled and whisked away to the infamous Kality prison. In a VOA…
By Alemayehu G. Mariam Groundhog Year in Prison Nation 2008 in Ethiopia was Groundhog Year! It was a repetition of 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004… Everyday millions of Ethiopians woke up only to find themselves trapped in a time loop where their lives replayed like a broken record. Each “new” day is the same as the…
By Alemayehu G. Mariam The Audacity of Corruption: Illinois Style Corruption here, corruption there, corruption everywhere! It seems the worldwide business of corruption is recession-proof. Last week, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested on charges that he peddled the Senate seat held by President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder. The foul-mouthed and self-indulgent governor…
By Alemayehu G. Mariam Donkeys, Liars and War Criminals What a difference two years make! In December 2006, Zenawi invaded Somalia to save it from the “terrorist axis of evil” — Al Qaeda, Al Shabaab and the Islamic Courts Union. In January 2007, he reassured the world, “We will be out of Somalia in a…
