Open letter to Prime Minster of India.

Dear Manmohan Singh, Prime Minster of India,

A friend forwarded to me a video clip of your address to the so called Ethiopian Parliament last week. The fake parliament you made a speech is 99.6 percent  filled by corrupt authoritarian regime supporters. The 2010 election was a stolen election and it is sad a leader of the largest democracy in the world went out of his way to endorse such a regime.

Your mission Prime Minster is to help your business community to make money. Indian companies are leasing  more than 300,000 hectare of land for a price of one Dollar per hectare. UNDP on this month study put Ethiopia as one of the corrupt countries in the world. More than 8.4 billion dollar is moving out of  Ethiopia stolen to be stashed in foreign banks. If you think Ethiopia is the most "stable country in Africa" it is for competing with China for our resources. As you well know foreign countries  were investing heavily in Libya after 2006 too and we all know where Libya is now.

The dictators always have friends when they have good time like Meles Zenawi and his friends at present. I hope you will be around when our people take back their country and establish open and transparent relationship with all foreign nations including India. India relationship with the current regime of Ethiopia is benefiting only Indian business people and the corrupt elites in Ethiopia.

I have respect for Indian democracy but I totally reject your endorsement of Meles Zenawi's  corrupt mafia regime.

Thanks,

Tedla Asfaw

New York City

We Can Not Feed Ourselves !!!!!

Tedla Asfaw

I watched Meles Zenawi's  one hour video of economics of importing, oil, sugar and wheat in Ethiopia. Wait a minute, Ethiopia can not produce sugar, oil and wheat ?. I am not talking about petroleum here I mean oil for food. As far as I am concerned even during Derg time, oil and sugar were produced in Ethiopia. In fact Ethiopians who studied in the then Soviet Union told me that they saw packets of "Wonji Sugar" with elephant mark produced in Wonji, Ethiopia in Russian markets. However, when they told their classmates about being the product of  Ethiopia no one believed them. Then high tech product maybe ?

When it comes to oil, I still remember going to nearby distributors that were selling sesame oil produced in Ethiopia. What happen now in Meles Zenawi  led Ethiopia ? Those who went for a short visit to Ethiopia informed us that they found stores filled with foreign oil and sugar among many imported food products. I wonder who buys them ?  We know a litre of edible oil here in USA at present is on average less than three dollar, one kg of sugar is less than two dollar, a kg of whole wheat more than two dollar.

Poor Ethiopia is now wasting its foreign currencies on buying sugar, oil and wheat on world market as we all know all these items were produced in our country before TPLF took over twenty yeas ago. On this week as TPLF celebrates its 20 years of rule Ethiopians are still talking about how and where to get basic food items. Lines for basic food items is now a national pastime for Ethiopians. I did not forget chewing "Chat".I suggest "Chat" to be considered in Ethiopia's Commodity Exchange to bring much needed revenue for the government. If it is exported like  lentils we will have foreign currency flight then. 

Mind you this discussion for the majority of our people is meaningless. Because practically they can not afford to buy imported sugar, oil and wheat . Meles Zenawi on his one hour lecture for business community told merchants to distribute these products with "reasonable price". The importer is the "government" most likely the EFFORT babies. 

Ethiopia's economy is now in total disaster. The proof for that is, it can not even feed its own people. Talk about  manufacturing based on  homegrown capital which is currently diverted to service sector for which the business community is accused for tax evasion and other crimes is absurd. The manufacturing sector is under the control of TPLF owned EFFORT and Sheik Al Amoudi of Saudi Arabia.The blame for capital not flowing to manufacturing sector is these two dinosaurs beside lack of transparency and rule of law.

The small business community in service sector is taking the example of TPLF's business empire, EFFORT. EFFORT totally control most of the manufacturing and service center of Ethiopia's economy. The book of EFFORT is closed for public and even to the people of Tigray in whose name it operates. Where does the the profit from EFFORT goes ? 

According to UNDP study 8.4 billion dollar went out of Ethiopia illegally in the last two decades. If you subtract the 2 billion dollar Meles alleged went out of real state developers he should at least admit the "6.4 billion" unaccounted belongs to EFFORT. In a country where there is no free press and  independent judiciary no investigation can be carried out to find the truth. It seems to me that the 2 billion dollar "income" from real state business is a well designed hypothesis forwarded by Meles Zenawi to suggest that "we" are all here together on the business of "fraud".

The bottom line is this, Ethiopian economy is driven not by visionaries to build the country and to alleviate from deep poverty our country has been known for many generations. We all know China brought more than 200 million  people out of poverty since it has become the manufacturing capital of the world in the last two decades alone. What did TPLF did in the last two decades ?

TPLF failed in the last twenty years managing our economy. The so called "Yelemate Mengiste" a Developmental State is now officially named "Asmechi Mengste", meaning Importing State. We might add to that Selling State which is in business of leasing up to 6 million hectares for foreign land grabbers on a dollar per hectare. Where is the book for all to see ?

Ethiopia's economy is so stupid that it is only a matter of time before it follows the Ziad Bares fate Meles quoted many times on his lecture. Yes many of Somali merchants who benefited from Ziad ruled Somalia are now in Dubai. I am sure  many of TPLF connected business people have home there too.

Meles Zenawi has confessed that his regime failed to bring bread and butter to our people. The high rises many of TPLF supporters see, we all see and touch have not changed the lives of millions even in Addis Ababa who go to bed every night hungry. The good advice I will give to Meles Zenawi is to step down this week after he makes a speech for his supporters on their 20 year of unfulfilled promises. Let him be the first ruler in Ethiopia to give power peacefully, why not ?

Shame on World Economic Forum on Africa 2011 !!!!

Tedla Asfaw

I was dismayed to hear that the next WEF on Africa will be held in Addis Ababa on May 2012. Surprisingly I got this news after I read  UNDP study this week on how  African  despots are stealing foreign aid and sending it "express" out of their countries. Ethiopia in the  last two decades according to the study 8.4 Billion Dollar is moved out of the country and stashed in foreign banks.

WEF on Africa is partnering with Meles Zenawi to show case his "economic development" for next May in Addis Ababa. Millions of Addis residents are living a miserable life behind high rises built by so called "investors". These same people have also huge wealth out of Ethiopia which is now documented by UNDP study. Ethiopians in the diaspora staged huge rallies against the criminal regime of Ethiopia last month in North America and Europe and  will mobilize the diaspora to denounce this shameful act by WEF.

Ethiopians at present suffering due 30 percent inflation, farmers are removed by foreign land grabbers who will acquire up to 6 million hectares of land sold by the regime for 1 dollar per hectare officially but at higher rate under the table.

Public rally in Ethiopia is illegal, the last one Ethiopians had six years ago more than two hundreds innocent people were killed in broad day light, no one was held accountable. Ethiopians are living in fear and without any freedom. In short Ethiopia is Saudi Arabia without oil, huge land and water potential to be sold for the benefit of the ruling mafia.

The uprising we witnessed in North Africa and Middle East surely is on its way to Addis Ababa. This week strike by taxi drivers is  the beginning of the Addis Tsunami which is dubbed as "Beka" meaning " Enough ".Those who promote tyranny in any form by organizing a conference the one planned by WEF in Addis Ababa next year will be judged by our people.   

 

Where is our EFFORT ?

Tedla Asfaw

I read a piece by Dr. Ghelawdeos Araia,  "Ethiopia's challenge is our challenge" forwarded by a friend. As we all know Ethiopia is an agricultural country, more than 80 percent of our people are farmers. If you hear our/TPLF experts which Ghelawdeos would like to call EPRDF are telling us that they would like to "industrialize Ethiopia" by selling large tracts of farm land to foreign investors, they claim  in few years time " we will be an industrialized nation". They even boast of buying imported foods with plenty of cash in our peoples pockets.
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They claim that by selling huge tracts of land they will bring capital, knowledge and "convert" our people to "middle class". Foreign land grabbers as recently seen on www.farmlandgrab.org documentary both in English and French version  one hour and one and half hour respectively are proudly showing their land they acquired. The land is not a barren land as they claimed but it is a known sanctuary for wild life. The farmers that are kicked out of their land are nuisance for buyers and sellers. War on our farmers, on our natural forests and wild life has been declared by the current regime of Ethiopia. We have no choice but to fight as one farmer said on the documentary.

TPLF/EPRDF and foreign partners aim is to produce and make money by selling their products on world market. I wonder why Ghelawdeos avoid discussing this issue and divert the discussion by bringing the new emerging economies in China, India, Brazil etc and try to compare it with TPLF/EPRDF's  GTP.

Ethiopia is now led by thieves/Leboche  whose aim is to change everything to dollar and run away when their time is up. Sell it cheap for cash that is what they have been doing for the last five years after they were defeated on May 2005 election. The idea of every other ethnic group benefits from TPLF/EPRDF patronage system is partly true.

But the Somalis, Oromos, Amharas, etc  who  organized themselves under their ethnic umbrellas do not amass wealth like EFFORT whose name Ghelawdeos even failed to mention. EFFORT is the mafia who is behind the Grand Transaction Plan/GTP to extort the diaspora. Did Ghelawedeos forget Sibhat Nega interview on VOA Amharic, "EFFORT is the largest conglomerate in Ethiopia" proudly declared by him. How can we discuss "investment" by ignoring this truth ?

Ghelawdeos is telling us to seat down  and challenge TPLF/EPRDF. What challenge ? he better tells the mafia club that stealing as he calls it corruption even if  is common in the world you/ TPLF took it to the highest level. TPLF is even blackmailing the Ethiopian workers to give their monthly salary to build millennium dam. No other country does like that, this is beyond robbery. It is similar to "Mengistu's Enate Ager Tire" of workers giving their monthly salary. Inflation running high as much as 30 percent combined with  giving away monthly salary, is that not a fertile ground for mass upheaval ?

Ethiopia's challenge is indeed ours but the solution is to remove Meles Zenawi's led TPLF like the Egyptians, Tunisians did. Ghelawedeos is calling indirectly to support King Abdella "Freedom Initiative", that set aside 37 million dollar to shut opposition mouth in Saudi Arabia. In case of Ethiopia his recommendation is to join the GTP and pray for many years for Meles led TPLF to stay on power. If they started the dam they have to finish the job, is that the rallying cry for the 2015 Western sponsored election theater ?

The good thing in 2011 change is coming by popular uprising. Ethiopians will rise up to remove Meles' led TPLF and the other organized ethnic servants/Ashkers  will not  fight to defend TPLF. I invite you to go to www.tadias.com and hear what one pro TPLF Professor from New York says about his experience on GTP conference in Harlem, under the title, "Diaspora divided at GTP". It is a four minute video clip would not take your time. Were Ghelawedeos was on that conference to challenge just for curiosity ? His challenge, however, could not be as low as the professor on the video clip. How did he get the job ?