Why Do Things Always Fall Apart in Africa?

Byalmariam

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…

Ethiopian Groundhog Year 2010

Byalmariam

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…

Ethiopia: Talking Trash, Speaking Truth

Byalmariam

Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on  11/22/2010 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ethiopia-talking-trash-sp_b_786650.html The View From the Sewers Looking up from the sewers, everything must look like garbage! Last week, dictator Meles Zenawi ripped the final election report of the 2010 European Union Election Observer Mission to Ethiopia (EU EOM) as “trash that deserves to be thrown in the…

Let Ethiopians Hear America’s Voice

Byalmariam

Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on  10/18/2010 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/let-ethiopians-hear-ameri_b_765947.html Ethiopian Citizens Have the Absolute Constitutional Right to Listen to the VOA So many lessons to learn from Columbia University! When dictator-in-chief Meles Zenawi spoke unceremoniously at Columbia on September 22, he was talking trash about the Voice of America (VOA). He said he decided to…

The Ghost and the Spirit

Byalmariam

Alemayehu G. Mariam After the Dust Settled After the dust settled following Meles Zenawi’s speech at Columbia’s World Leaders Forum, a dark shadow and glowing light were visible on stage to behold. The dark shadow was cast by the ghost of the erstwhile Ethiopian junta dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam. The glow of light was radiated…

Mr. Zenawi Goes to College!

Byalmariam

Alemayehu G. Mariam Zenawi’s Charm Offensive in America? Fresh on the heels of shutting down all private distance education, including distance higher education, and “winning” the parliamentary election in May by 99.6 percent, dictator-in-chief Meles Zenawi is scheduled to speak at Columbia University on September 22 and trumpet his accomplishments as the guardian of democracy…