The forgotten people of Ethiopia !!!

Tedla Asfaw
We learned in school to love our king, King Haile Selassie, "Tsehaui Negusse", the shining king. . When the king was deposed by "Korartu Mere", strongman, Mengistu Hailemariam many of our people kept quiet and in fact when the king was driven away from his palace by old Volkswagen,crowds of Yong people were taunting him "Leba", thief, and nothing has been the same since that time.

Almost four decades, Ethiopia is without elected leaders and under one man dictatorship. For the first time in our history five years ago more than twenty five million people went out and voted for a party to lead them. The Ethiopian people used the window of opportunity to express themselves and influence their leaders by calling "Tebaberu Weyeme Tesebaberu", unite or perish. They got all of them, the unity that defeated TPLF overwhelmingly and later on jailed and "freed" leaders to destroy themselves. That part of our history is now played again in the month of November 2009.

This time our people are voiceless and no one bother to ask them what is good for them. TPLF boss who published "Bonaprtism" in the Badme war ten years ago to defeat its opponents is now succeeded in co authoring, "A code of Conduct" to destroy its opponents and remain the supreme leader for the next five years.

The wise leader, "Biltu Mereyachene", Meles Zenawi, is also free to sale our land for foreigners and the man who promised to feed our people three times a day is telling our people that we do not need to farm. Farming is now the business of foreign countries and our people are promised to feed themselves by selling their labor for these big foreign companies or be on food aid from donor countries for years to come.

The question now is when is our poor people to be heard. Not any kind of peaceful political dialogue will empower our people if more than 80 percent of Ethiopians live on rural land controlled and owned by TPLF. If TPLF cadres are making decisions on the land our people kept in their blood and sweat why do we believe this will change by getting whatever number of seats allotted to them in the TPLF parliament.

The next five months promise of "debate" that ignored the masses or left them under TPLF control will not bring any change to our people. The May 15, 2005 victory of our people can not be replicated this time because Meles Zenawi, co author, "Code of Conduct" has already delivered a win for TPLF in 2010 "election".

Politics without popular participation is an exercise to keep tyranny forever. Ethiopians are dying slowly by famine and poverty. Our country death is accelerating by our own political fragmentation too. If our people have their say, they will demand total liberty or death. Of course they will not ask five more years for the regime that destroyed them for two decades to stay in power.

Derartu Tulu answered for Ethiopian flag superbly in New York City!!!

Tedla Asfaw


The 40th New York City Marathon on this cloudy Sunday started and ended with grace. Derartu Tulu after escaping the entanglement of feet on the start of the run which victimized one woman and another Kenyan to withdraw before the completion of the run was a great escape for Derartu  ending with victory.

The defending Champion and the three time winner of New York City Marathon, Paula Radcliffe,  was the favorite and no wonder Derartu was running close to her sometimes looking for eye contact to see if she is OK ! Ethiopian politeness and respect which you can not teach it in school.

Derartu Tulu, the two times Olympic gold medalist in 10 thousand meters and the one time winner of London Marathon, run in the five boroughs of New York City with grace and beauty. It seems she has a job to finish and no sign of panic, a sign of true champion. As an eighteen years old cruising on the final lap of the 10,000m in Barcelona Olympic in 1992 beating the South African girl she became the first African woman to win a gold medal in Olympics.

In 1992 back home then when our national flag was considered as a rug by the ruling TPLF and those collaborating rebels and the pride of being Ethiopian was at low level Derartu Tulu wrapped herself with an Ethiopian flag and gave us hope and since then I have fallen in love with this beautiful girl and now the mother of two children.

On the 20th mile, Manhattan,  Derartu Tulu waved to the huge Ethiopian flag and kept on her mission, to win the New York City Marathon and be the first Ethiopian woman. After Paula left behind it was the Russian woman who run with Derartu and the master of the 10K sprinted at the right moment to take over the Russian and  French and be the Queen of New York City by finishing in 2:28:54.

Interviewed after the win she said  she is not yet finished and she is coming back. We are all proud of Derartu Tulu for giving us hope at our difficult  time and running with grace and beauty and you are the true Queen of New York City. I would like also to congratulate Meb Keflegzi for winning the men's marathon and be the first since the American won in 1980s.

The care Derartu Tulu showed to the defending champion at the end of the race shows who she is, a champion who loves, respects others. Her love for her flag is unmatchable. The wave at the 20th mile for the green, yellow and orange, Ethiopian flag  is the wave for all Ethiopians all over the wold who watched her on television. Derartu indeed the beautiful Queen of New York City on the 40th Marathon has always been Ethiopian Queen for almost two decades.

We love you Derartu and your beautiful family, see you next year to set a new record for women like the Ethiopian T. Jiffar did for men's marathon in 2001.

Sales men for China and Ethiopia on World Focus Radio !!!

Tedla Asfaw

World Focus Radio host Martin Savidge  talked with Professor Philip LeBel and Ato Ermyas Amelga a"businessman" from Addis Ababa yesterday on his weekly radio program about "Entrepreneurship in Ethiopia" which was aired on blogtalkradio live (Oct. 29)

I had commented earlier on his blog and requested if I can participate on the program. Since the program was not  listeners call  I had not a chance to question his guests how can entrepreneurship develops where the unelected regime in power is controlling all the resources, land and all cash generating crops and minerals.


"  We can't discuss about one cash crop, coffee, without                                                       seeing the big picture of farming in Ethiopia. Land is owned
  by the unelected government, Ethiopian farmers are now
  tenants of the ruling regime TPLF led by Meles Zenawi and
  his company EFFORT established by stolen aid money twenty
  five years ago.

  Large tracts of land have been also leased for foreign
  countries or are converted to crops that produce bio energy.
  When it comes to the small farms of coffee the regime wants
  to discourage farmers to abandon planting coffee to turn it
  into large scale coffee farms and it is amazing to see that
  USAID is part of this project at the expense of poor
  farmers.

  Some farmers switch to other crops like Kat a narcotic crop
  to support their families. Large areas of Teff farms
  surrounding Addis Ababa also turned by government to flower
  farm for European markets by those connected with the
  regime.

  No wonder we are now where we were twenty five years ago
  and famine is threatening millions of lives again.

  In general Ethiopia is run by unaccountable regime who
  cares less for its people and profit at their expenses. The
  crisis we witnessed in coffee farms just a tiny fraction of
  our overall land policy crisis in Ethiopia.

  The least we Ethiopians in the diaspora do is to stop the
  Starbucks and others exploit our people with collaboration
  with unelected regime in Ethiopia. Those like your guest
  from Ethiopia today are only interested in making money at
  the poor farmers expense. We saw on Market Makers program
  recently that Eleni Gebremedhin working hard on behalf of
  the regime to collect each sack of coffee to the government
  stores to be shipped to profit her company called GUNA.

  The Bonga and Harar I see on your program has not changed a
  bit since I saw it more than twenty years ago. Where does
  the tax revenue go ? Surely used on the race of our rich
  tyrants to catch up with the world rich and famous. Ethiopia
  needs real change, democratic and accountable government,
  until then we say no to Starbucks, no to flower farm and no
  to misguided USAID ".

  I appreciate the host for reading the first paragraph of my comment on the program for which the professor replied by accusing Dr. Birhanu for his "harsh" call for overthrowing the Ethiopian regime similar to my "harsh" comment.

The Professor also looks like the spokes person for Chinese companies and I am not surprised for ignoring the question of accountability and the rule of law in Ethiopia raised by the host. The Professor is promoting development at the expense of everything , set to establish a New China in Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian"businessman" from Addis, Ato Ermias, is also acting like  sales man for TPLF and he was careful choosing his words. Overall, both the Professor ant the TPLF cadre in Ethiopia should be ashamed of themselves for ignoring the real issue of millions of our people struggling  to get a piece of bread daily and tell us about rosy economic opportunity for those connected with the regime, the TPLF cadres and the Chinese accomplishment in Ethiopia.