I was writing a review of the Cabinet reshuffle. But I got stuck on a few points. One of them is EPRDF's key strategist and power-broker Bereket Simon.

I was writing a review of the Cabinet reshuffle. But I got stuck on a few points. One of them is EPRDF's key strategist and power-broker Bereket Simon.

Bereket is appointed as PM adviser of Policy and Research adviser with the rank of Minister. Redwan Hussein replaced him as head of Office for Gov't Communication affairs with the rank of Minister.

It looks like Bereket is demoted since research and planning is hardly given much attention in Ethiopian organizations. But then, who would have considered "government spokesperson" a big deal if the guy wasn't Bereket?

In the absence of Meles Zenawi & with the establishment of Central Planning Commission, led by a non-EPRDF technocrat; Is Bereket becoming our planner-in-chief? (under the pretext of overseeing the Commission & providing political guidance)?
Expect this communist-sounding commission to have branches in all regions.

Leaving the Gov't Comm. Office doesn't necessarily mean Bereket won't be preparing our daily propaganda bread. Last I checked, he oversees the state and party media formally and informally. I'm not sure how fast he would/could abandon those responsibilities. Not to forget, Redwan himself is his close ally.

Oh, he is going to be attending PM Hailemariam Desalegne's daily consultation and briefing meetings too. Right?

Am I missing something here? Or, is my analysis biased because Bereket tops the list of my favorite EPRDF officials? (believe it or not, he is the most polite government employee I ever met in my life!)

I would have wished him good luck but I doubt he needs it.
His power base (and alliance) encompasses at-least 3 of the 4 EPRDF parties besides the senior military Generals.

So, what should I write about Bereket's "new appointment"? Promoted, demoted, retiring?

— feeling confused.

Oh, #Betty. You did it Again?

You slapped those who felt sympathy for you; esp. religious people who hated your act but worried for your morale and social life.

As for me, I stand by my position that it is her personal choice. I don't feel I can decide what she do with her body.
[But our media should not promote "BigBrother show" and its participants - in the interest of children and minors. Obviously, they are not role models.]

Anyways, now, two things seem certain:
1/ Betty's first act was not impulsive rather a deliberate one (though exposing her private parts could be accidental)

2/Betty's motive is to do anything to win the show and get 300,000 USD. Then, she hopes to join the class of models and celebrities where ethical rules are relaxed.

What if she doesn't win? She better have plan B.
It will be difficult for her to resume her old life.......I guess.

What a gamble? And, for what?
 She is a stupid prostitute woyane to represent Ethiopia. Woyane promot such blatant sex, though you tube blocked the content as stupid
 When I heard that she did it again, I was convinced that she just forgot the outside world and assumed that she is gonna spend the rest of her life in that "stupid" show.
I am sure life is gonna be hell for her when the show ends and when she gets back to home, even if she wins.

Dear Betty,
I don't think you realized the magnitude of your deed. And I don't think it works (the way you assumed) in the context of our culture. I wish you in advance a quick recovery from the social and psychological trauma you are gonna face.

Nelson #Mandella may be a hero to South Africa.
But that is all.

Don't get hypnotized by western propaganda.
They adore him b/c he didn't make the whites pay for their crimes.
And, b/c he left the economic apartheid untouched.

Even in terms of political independence, South Africa's policy-making is still under the influence of white Bankers, corporations, etc.

Mandella's party, ANC, couldn't yet summon the courage to repeal the 1913 Land law. After 23 years of freedom, South Africa made only little land reform.

Perhaps, I should quote Mengistu Hailemariam's comment to a journalist a few years ago: "Africans and others struggled in favor of South Africa's independence, but no body knows what ANC is doing since then".

Well, I suspect the answer lies at those secret negotiations between Mandella and the white men in the last two years before his release from prison.

Too bad, he might die without telling us about those secret negotiations.
 We like to criticize . Mandela should not have done this and he should have done that .What retarded comments . Mandela did his best to free his country from Apartheid .do not forget , He has been in jail for 27 years .If there is other issue that he did not solve it will be our generation assignment . Whether the wester media give him large coverage or not he lived a very meaningful life ! Let's ask ourselves what are we doing ?

Do the Oromo have a voice in Ethiopia? - The Stream - Al Jazeera

Do the Oromo have a voice in Ethiopia? - The Stream - Al Jazeera

  The program was not well organized at all. It might be b.c it's daily brodcasted and the journalists don't get enough time to be well prepared on the issues. Any ways, both opposing ideas were not sufficiently presented (and ofcourse also represented). They should have invited 1) the old OLF founders who have compromised 2) at least one non-Oromo opposition polititian and 3) some one who is pro-Gov't's stand.
Yesterday the program at #AjStream on #Ethiopia #Oromo was insincere & flawed. 

I have watched that ajream show it made me sick on my stomach it is naive political strategy to deny a naked truth politics is not all about lie it is a science u may deny something as a politician to normalize things but not a lie like this
 
1/The host asked Mohammed Ademo to tell her "honestly" if OLF is responsible for any crime. Of course, he denied it.

But if she was intersted, she could have raised specific cases like Bedeno massacre that I sent them hours in advance.

2/The host didn't correct or debate Jawar Mohammed when he claimed there are tens of thousands political prisoners and of which 9/10th are Oromos.

But they had my note on their hands that quotes the US report claiming a maximum of four hundred political prisoners.

3/They let the OLF official claim "we denounce violence". But they were aware that a UN report found OLF involved in a terror plot.

4/I told them Oromo make-up about 34% of the population, but they stick to the 40% (sometimes they said half the population).

I can continue but it is a waste of time. Al-Jazeera is either utterly incompetent or more likely it has an agenda that flaws its reports on Ethiopia.

What was the point of having three guests with identical opinion?

“የተቆለፈበት ቁልፍ”

“የተቆለፈበት ቁልፍ”

“ጥቁር አንበሶች” ተብለው የሚታወቁት የአማርኛ ስነፅሁፍ አማልክት አብዛኞቹ ለዘልአለሙ አርፈዋል። ጥቂቶቹ በህይወት ቢኖሩም ከመድረክ ጠፍተዋል። ስብሃት ገብረእግዚአብሄር - በአሉ ግርማ - ፀጋዬ ገብረመድህን - መንግስቱ ለማ - ብርሃኑ ዘርይሁን - ሃዲስ አለማየሁ - አቤ ጉበኛ - ደበበ ሰይፉ - እና ሌሎችም ብዙ ብእረኞች ዛሬ ታሪክ ሆነዋል። ሲሳይ ንጉሱ - ሃይለመለኮት መዋእል - ፍቅረማርቆስ ደስታ እና ሌሎችም በርካቶች ድምፃቸው ብዙም የለም። በእውቀቱ ስዩም - ኑረዲን ኢሳ - እና ኤፍሬም ስዩም የተዳከመውን የአማርኛ ስነግጥም የቀሰቀሱ ቢሆንም፣ ከአቅማቸው በታች በመስራት ላይ መሆናቸው ያሳዝናል።

እነሆ! በቅርቡ አንድ ደራሲ ወደ መድረክ ብቅ ብሎአል - ምህረት ደበበ።

ምህረት ደበበ እንደ አንቶን ቼኾቭ በሙያው ሃኪም ነው። በአሜሪካን አገር የተማረ የአእምሮ ህክምና ስፔሺያሊስት ቢሆንም፣ ውጭ ሃገር በስደት የደረቀ መሶብ ሆኖ አልቀረም። የውስጥ ጥሪውን አዳምጦ፣ ከባህር የወጣ አሳ ላለመሆን በመጣር ላይ ስለመሆኑ በመፅሃፉ ሽፋን ላይ ተገልፆአል። ምህረት በቅርቡ ያሳተመውን “የተቆለፈበት ቁልፍ” የተባለ ልቦለድ ድርሰት አንብቤ ካበቃሁ በሁዋላ ስለመፅሃፉ አንድ ነገር ማለት እንዳለብኝ አወቅሁ። 447 ገፆችን የያዘው የምህረት ደበበ የፈጠራ ስራ ባለቤት ያጣውን የአማርኛ ስነፅሁፍ በማነቃቃት ረገድ አስተዋፅኦ ይኖረዋል።
ምህረት ደበበ በመፅሃፉ በራሱ መንገድ የኢትዮጵያን ቁልፍ ችግር ሊገልፅ የፈለገ ይመስለኛል። እንደ ምህረት ትረካ ችግሩ ያለው አእምሮአችን ላይ ነው። የግለሰቦች አእምሮ ካልተለወጠ በአገር ደረጃ ለውጥ ሊመጣ አይችልም። የተቆለፈበት እና ቁልፉ የጠፋበት አእምሮ ምን ሊሰራ ይችላል?

“ላሊበላን ማን ገነባው?” ብሎ ይጠይቃል ምህረት።

ኢትዮጵያውያን “እኛ ገነባነው” ብለው አያውቁም። “መላእክት ሰሩት” ይላሉ። “ላሊበላን የገነባሁት እኔ ነኝ” ብሎ ራሱን ማሳመን ያልቻለ ህዝብ ከቶውንም ለሌላ ፈጠራ ሊነሳሳ አይችልም። ምህረት እንዲህ ያሉ አመራማሪና አንቂ ጥያቄዎችን ማንሳት የቻለ ባለተሰጥኦ ብእረኛ ነው።

ምህረት ደበበ የገፀባህርያቱን ብሄር በተዘዋዋሪ ሳይሆን በቀጥታ እየተናገረ መዝለቁ የዘመናችን የዘር ፖሊቲካ ተፅእኖ እንዳሳደረበት ያሳያል። ዋናው ገፀባህርይ መላኩ ሃሰን የአፋርና የምንጃር ቅልቅል ነው። ፍቅረኛው ሰሎሜ ከኦሮሞ፣ ከአማራና ከትግራይ ትወለዳለች። የመላኩ ጓደኛ ማርቆስ ጉራጌ ነው። ሳራና ምንተስኖት ተጋብተው ሶስት ልጆች ወልደዋል። ሳራ ትግራይ ስትሆን፤ ምንተስኖት አማራ ነው። እነዚህ ባልና ሚስት ግን ሊግባቡ አልቻሉም። ችግራቸው ምን ይሆን? ምንተስኖት ተቃዋሚ ነው። ሳራ ገለልተኛ ብትሆንም፣ ትግሬ ስለሆነች፣ “ወያኔ ሆንሽ!” ብሎ ይጨቀጭቃታል። ሶስት ልጆች ቢወልዱም ትዳራቸው ውስጥ ፖሊቲካ ወይም ሰይጣን ገብቶባቸው ተበጣብጠዋል።
ደራሲው ተጨንቆ ይታየናል። ገፀባህርያቱን ኢትዮጵያውያን ለማድረግ መከራውን ያያል። ገፀባህርያቱ በዘር መደባለቃቸው ልጅ እያሱ ሚካኤል በጋብቻ ኢትዮጵያን አንድ ለማድረግ የሞከረበትን ስልት ያስታውሳል።
“በተቆለፈበት ቁልፍ” መፅሃፍ ላይ ተወዳጅ ካልሆኑት ገፀባህርያት አንዱ ክብሮም ይባላል። ክብሮም ኤርትራዊ መሆኑ፣ ደራሲው ወቅታዊውን ፖሊቲካ እያሰበ የገፀባርያት ድልደላ ማድረጉን ይጠቁማል። በዘመናችን የፈጠራ ስራ ድርሰት ውስጥ የገፀባህርያት የብሄር ወይም የጎሳ ሁኔታ አሳሳቢ እየሆነ መጥቶአል። ሰርቅ ዳንኤል፣ “ቆንጆዎቹ” በተባለ መፅሃፉ ለገፀባህርያቱ ሁሉ የመፅሃፍ ቅዱስ ስም በመስጠት ከዚህ ችግር ማምለጡ ትዝ ይለኛል። ጥሩ ዘዴ ነው። የዮሃንስን ወይም የራሄልን ብሄር በስማቸው ብቻ መለየት አይቻልም።

“የተቆለፈበት ቁልፍ” ከልቦለድ ድርሰትነቱ ይልቅ ወደ ፍልስፍና ያዘነብላል። ደራሲው ገፀባህርያቱን በቀጥታ መልእክቱን ለማስተላለፍ ተጠቅሞባቸዋል። ለብዙ መፅሃፍት መነሻ ሊሆኑ የሚችሉ አንኳር ጭብጦችን በየምእራፉ ማየት ይቻላል።
ሰዎች ለምን ድሃ ይሆናሉ? የሙስና አመለካከት፣ ጥላቻና ፍቅር፣ ቤተሰባዊ አለመግባባት፣ መርህ አልባነት፣ የአእምሮ ዝግመት፣ እና ሌሎችም እነዚህን የመሰሉ ጭብጦችን አንስቶ ምንጫቸውን ይቆፍራል። የመፅሃፉ ደራሲ ዶክተር ምህረት ደበበ የአእምሮ ህክምና ስፔሺያሊስት እንደመሆኑ፣ የአእምሮን ጓዳ እየበረበረ የሰው ልጆችን ባህርይ ለማወቅ ሙያውን ተጠቅሞበታል። እንዲህ ያሉ ሙያዊ ጉዳዮች በሃተታ መልክ ሲቀርቡ ተነባቢነታቸው ይቀንሳል። ምህረት ደበበ ልብ በሚያንጠለጥል ልቦለድ ድርሰት በኩል መልእክቱን ለማስተላለፍ በመመኮሩ በርግጥ ተሳክቶለታል።
ርግጥ ነው፣ “የተቆለፈበት ቁልፍ” ደካማ ጎኖችም አሉት።

እነዚህ ደካማ ጎኖች የመፅሃፉን ደረጃ ሊጎዱ መቻላቸው አይካድም። አንዳንድ ቦታ ገፀባህርያት በረጃጅሙ ሲናገሩ ያሰለቻሉ። የገፀባህርያቱ መልክና ጠባይ ጎልቶ አልወጣም። ተመሳሳይ ቃላት ይጠቀማሉ። ምህረት ደበበ በአፃፃፉ ቃላት ቆጣቢ አይደለም። በአምስት ቃላት ሊገለፅ የሚችለውን በ15 ቃላት ያብራራል። ፅሁፉ ፈጣን አይደለም። በቀጥታ ወደ ዋናው ጉዳይ አይገባም። ገፀባህርያቱ በመብዛታቸው አንዳንዶቹን በስማቸው ለመያዝ ያስቸግራል። እንዲህ ሲገጥመኝ ተመልሼ እያነበብኩ ለመረዳት ሞክሬያለሁ። መፅሃፉ ዲያሎግ ያንሰዋል። ሃተታ ይበዛዋል። ልቦለድ ድርሰት ዲያሎግ ማለት ነው። ገፀባህርያት በራሳቸው የአነጋገር ስልት ሲነጋገሩ መደመጥ መቻል አለባቸው። ከዚህ አንፃር ስንክሳር እና ምንተስኖት የተባሉት ገፀባህርያት የራሳቸውን ሰብእና መያዝ ችለዋል። መላኩና ሶሎሜ ግን በንግግራቸው መለየት እስኪያስቸግር ተመሳሳይ ጠባያትና የንግግር ስልት አላቸው። ርግጥ ነው፣ “የተቆለፈበት ቁልፍ” ከማሳየት ይልቅ መንገር ያበዛል። አንድን ገፀባህርይ አንባቢው ራሱ እንዲወደው ወይም እንዲጠላው እድሉን አይተውለትም። ደራሲው የወደዳቸውን እንድንወድለት፣ የጠላቸውን እንድንጠላ ይጫነናል። እንዲህ ያሉ ደካማ ጎኖች ቢኖሩትም፣ እነዚህ ህፀፆች ከመፅሃፉ ዋና ጭብጥና መልእክት በላይ ገዝፈው የመፅሃፉን ተነባቢነት የሚያሳጡ ግን አይደሉም። የደራሲው ዋና መልእክት ስለሚገዛን፣ የሚያነሳቸውን ጥልቅ አሳቦች ስለምናከብር ህፀፆቹ እንቅፋት አይሆኑብንም።

ምህረት ደበበ እምቅ አሳብ ያለው ደራሲ መሆኑ እውነት ነው። ብእሩ አብዮተኛ ነው። ብእሩ ዘረኛ እና አድርባይ አይደለም። ለውጥ ጠያቂ ነው ብእሩ። ከሶስት በላይ መፅሃፍ ሊወጣቸው የሚችሉ አሳቦችና ጭብጦችን በአንድ መፅሃፍ ዘርግፎልናል።

ከምስጋና ጋር እንደሚደግመን ተስፋ አደርጋለሁ።(ከተስፋዬ ገብረአብ)

 Ethiopia over concerns about the exploitation of the tribal communities that live there.

A number of other operators continue to offer itineraries to the region
The tribes, known for their tattoos, body paint and lip plates, are a big draw for tourists to the region, but Exodus said the recent construction of a new road has had a negative impact, bringing in too many visitors.
“In the past the Omo Valley was hard to reach, and only a handful of more adventurous tourists would make the journey to visit the tribes,” said a spokesperson. “Many more people have started visiting and tourism to the region is becoming negative - rather than going for a special experience, the Omo Valley has become a place for tourists to simply gawk at the tribes who live there, without respecting their lifestyle and traditions.”
Any holidaymakers with existing bookings will be allowed to complete their trip, but no new ones will be accepted, it said.
In an article written before the recent completion of the new road – which links the southern towns of Konso and Jinka – Susie Grant, a tour guide for Exodus, said: “[The road] will bring more infrastructure to the Omo Valley - better medical and educational facilities, trading and many associated benefits - but, of course, it will mean that some of the tribal culture will be lost.”
She added: “The tribes largely welcome us but unwittingly we can sometimes behave in a culturally unsuitable way. It is important that as travellers we visit sensitive regions like this in a responsible, open-minded way.”

The Omo Valley is home to eight different tribes numbering around 200,000 people in total. A number of other operators continue to offer itineraries to the region, including Wild Frontiers and Explore. Marc Leaderman, head of group tour operations at Wild Frontiers, said he understood Exodus's decision, but said his company would continue to visit the area, offering tours that provide an "ethical" and "authentic" experience.
“The region has long been a concern,” he said. “Visitors to the Omo are often overwhelmed, and the trading of money for photographs can feel awkward. We’re running just one tour this year, and are working hard to offer something that takes visitors away from the busy villages, and that attracts tourists who are respectful.”
He admitted that a lack of regulation and growing visitor numbers meant “the tide is against us” but said pulling out entirely “would help no-one”, including the tribes who now rely on the income that tourists bring.
Justin Francis, managing director of Responsible Travel, an agent that specialises in ethical holidays, said: “Exodus has clearly given this a lot of thought and I respect their decision - many tourists and travel companies find this a difficult dilemma.
“The real question is what do the tribal communities want? This becomes complex as the communities often do not share the same opinion. Some see tourism as an intrusion from which they see little benefit, others see it as one of the only ways to earn an income and improve their lives.
“I would limit tourist numbers and consult with the communities to determine which would like tourism, and which would not, and on what terms.”
According to human rights groups, the welfare of the tribes is also threatened by the construction of the Gibe III hydroelectric dam and “land grabs” by the Ethiopian government.
Elizabeth Hunter of Survival International, which campaigns on behalf of tribal groups around the world, said: “The Ethiopian government rides roughshod over the rights of the Omo Valley tribes, and is now embarking on a disastrous programme to forcibly resettle them. The decision by Exodus to pull out of the region sends a strong message to the Ethiopian government and aid agencies that the world is watching.”


comment  So when they look at us it's natural curiosity ? When we look at them its gawping. Ethiopia was one of many countries where my family have lived.
Gawping can work both ways as my brother and I would often find out when accompanying our Father into the Highlands.
White adult Europeans were a rarity,fair skinned and blue eyed children were a spectacle that invariably invoked the curiosity of the local tribes people who would bring their children to meet the children of the Nazreene .
Thus barriers are breached and as a child you're more interested in potential playmates than political correctness.