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The Ethiopian current ruling party (actually it has been ruling the country for the past 25 consecutive years) has shown an enormous growth in becoming more and more dictatorship in each elections held ever since it got on power by bullet not by ballot in 1991. On May 21 .2015 the ethnic based Ethiopian government organized a fake election as usual for the 5th time since the day it clanged on to the power by slaughtering Ethiopians during the harsh civil war which stayed for about 17 years. The oppressed majority of the Ethiopian people have understood how impossible it is to dethrone or change this government with a peaceful means of election using ballot who came from a bush pulling a trigger, putting bullets in the people’s heads and massacring the nation. The Ethiopian people have clearly understood the difference between bullets and ballots. That is why they have never expected anything different from this fake general election. They knew the result and outcome long before the election was held. They knew that the dictatorial ship would continue for the coming 5 years before the oppressive Ethiopian government officials announced it. They knew that their basic democratic, human, political and economic rights will remain denied as before or will be more oppressed and deprived. Journalists will continue facing harassment or imprisonment in the next five years. In addition oppositions ( members and supporters) will be silenced , intimidated , jailed , killed or forced to flee the country to secure the TPLF’s dictatorship. The nation will be made to shoulder the burden of poverty while the very finger counted ruling party’s elites multiply their wealth by intensifying the corruption and theft more than ever.
“ … Ethiopia it is only the 5th election we are making and every election is better than its predecessor…” ( Talk to Al-Jazeera, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMIn3cl5LNs) I found it very difficult to comprehend how each election is better than the previous one. After shading the Ethiopians’ blood in civil war for 17 years ( from 1974-1991) , there was a very narrow opportunity to stand and run in an election freely with these butchers (the TPLF and its affiliated groups , totally known as EPRDF)who just came out of the bush drinking Ethiopians’ blood on their way to Addis Ababa. There fore the 1st so called election (after the fall down of the Marxist Mengistu Hailemariam) was no free and fair election. The main opponent that this cruel TPLF leaders faced at that time(1995) was the All Amhara People’s Organization ( AAPO) led by the late Dr. Asrat Woldeyes ( who lived from June 20,1928-May 14,1999). His party struggled for the unity of Ethiopia . He was a main critic of Zenawi policy of divide and rule method. In consequence he was jailed in 1994 (a year before the fake 1st general election ) until 1998 by the TPLF regime . His crime was preaching unity . He was against ethnic division which is one of the dangerous issue in Ethiopia even at this time. Dr. Asrat was the first Ethiopian to qualify as a surgeon who studied at the university of Edinburgh. Moreover officials of the Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party were arrested in Gondar and Bahir Dar. candidates of the Silte People’s Democratic Unity Party were harassed, beaten, and prohibited from traveling(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_general_election,_1995) . The TPLF had thrown Dr Asrat in prison and made him suffer for about 5 years as an example for those who had the desire or the gut to criticise or oppose openly Meles Zenawi and his Mafia group TPLF. Actually who would dare to oppose these savages at the time when they just got out of the jungle feeding their minds that the only way to gain power is by using bullets and mortars not by using pen and paper. The EPRDF and its allies won 471 of the 547 seats in the Council. In my view the 1995 election was no election. It was rather a confirmation that the 17 years civil war had come to an end and the killers and murders control the throne .
The 2000 general election was to make sure that the died Meles Zenawi ( a long time Ethiopian dictator) and its party TPLF continue their endless desire of clinging on to power by silencing any one who speaks of unity , democracy , history. Serious election irregularities occurred in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), particularly in the Hadiya Zone. These included incidents of election officials instructing voters for whom to vote, candidates campaigning at polling stations, and candidates being pressured into quitting. There also were credible reports of ballot stuffing, vote count fraud, voter intimidation or bribery, dismissals from work, withholding of salaries, detentions, abductions, and killings. In its annual report on Human Rights, the US State Department stated that there were numerous credible reports that persons who supported or voted for opposition candidates were harassed(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_general_election,_2000) Is it my understanding or has not prime minster Hailemariam seen the above facts before proudly saying that election in Ethiopia was getting better and better.
Anyone who had a gut to oppose Meles Zenawi and his corrupted Mafia group EPRDF had been tortured, beaten , imprisoned and killed. Again in 2000 the TPLF had successfully knelt its opponents ( the educators. religious leaders , and students) in such a horrible way and proved once again the throne belonged to the TPLF and only to the TPLF. Therefore in the 2000 general election( which the dictator Ethiopian government claims its 2nd election ) the citizens of Ethiopian had not again been able to harvest and enjoy democracy and their basic human and political rights because of lack of fair , free , democratic and multi-party election process. the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) captured 481 of the 547 seats in the national election, On the TPLF side the 2000 general election was better than the 1995 because they were able to torture , arrest , imprison, kill several innocent opposition individuals or groups. So the TPLF was getting better and better in the 2nd general election by capturing and discarding more peaceful opponents than 1995 general election. If this was what the incumbent ruling party’s prime minister Ato Hailemariam was saying on the interview with Al-Jazeera , then he made no mistake about it.
I would be very embarrassed to talk about the growing of democracy in Ethiopia looking back at what really happened in 2005. The general election proved for any healthy mind witness both domestically and internationally how Ethiopians were under oppressive dictatorial rule. It is the reality that the TPLF had been ( still has been) stealing Ethiopia’s wealth, money or banks on their way to the capital during the end of the civil war. Stealing (not only monetary things but also votes), killing , torturing or mascaraing is exactly what circulates in their blood vessels. They had proved and exhibited their high level cannibalistic behaviour once again during the 2005 general election dispute. I believe it might be worth citing the report by international observers including the European Union in order to prove how election got bad to worse rather than better and better in Ethiopia, after all that was what prime minister Hailemariam said on his interview. Observers from the European Union afterward the 2005 general election assessed the closing and counting processes negatively in almost half of urban polling stations observed, a very high figure for international observers to record, and even worse in rural polling stations observed. “Counting was slow, a remarkably high number of ballots were ruled invalid, and there was a lack of transparency in the results. Result sheets were only displayed at 29 per cent of rural polling stations observed and 36 per cent of urban polling stations observed at the completion of counting. In 25 per cent of polling stations observed, political party representatives were not provided with a copy of the results.” The report went on explaining how the situation went from bad to worse . “…starting with a blanket ban, issued immediately after the end of voting, on freedom of assembly in the capital. Media coverage also worsened. State media published statements by government/EPRDF personnel claiming victory in the elections, despite the fact that counting was still underway, but refused to publish opposition statements. Incidents involving students started on the night of 5 June and extended on 6 and 7 June with hundreds being arrested. During a demonstration in Addis Ababa on 8 June, security forces killed at least 36 citizens and in the aftermath arrested thousands of persons, mostly linked to the opposition, who were accused of spreading political unrest”. On October 18, 2006, the draft report of a 10-member public inquiry into election-related unrest was released to Associated Press (AP). It concludes that a total of 199 people were killed and 763 were injured. The European Union‘s chief observer during the elections, Ana Maria Gomes, stated that the draft report “only confirms what we have said in our report on the elections,” and “that indeed there were massive human rights violations.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_general_election,_2005). I really wonder what calculation has the prime minster of the dictatorial murderer TPLF regime Ato Hailemariam Desalegn applied in order to put his foot in his mouth saying each election is getting better than the previous. I strongly believe he really needs to work on his English, because he confused the comparative adjective “worse” with “better”.
The dictator Meles led TPLF has fooled itself all around the world in the year 2010 by stating it has won an election with 99.6% of the total vote. Had the late Saddam Hussein been alive to witness this outraging result , he would have been very pissed off on how close the TPLF juntas came in order to break his record of 100% win in 2002. Once again I would like to go back to prime minster Hailemariam speech of each time election is getting better and better in Ethiopia. After the big humiliation that followed the 2005 general election fraud, the government adopted a law which is known as “anti-terrorism law” to enable the brutal oppressive regime to twist any opponents or critics and throw them into jail so that the authoritarian regime would secure its place on the way for the feature. Thanks for this anti-terrorism law the TPLF butchers were and are able to hunt any opposition in and abroad, journalists , opposition party leaders or members or supporters and sentence them for long years of imprisonment including death penalty. Dr Birhanu Nega ( Chair person of Arbegnoch-Ginbot 7 for Unity and Democracy Movement ,sentenced in his absence), Ato Andargachew Tsegge( former chair person of Ginbot 7 front ), Ato Andualem Arage from from UDJ party, Ato Natnael Mekonnen , Ato Bekele Gerba and many hundreds politicians are rotting in prison. Journalist Esknder Nega( sentenced 18 years imprisonment by the TPLF government), journalist Reyot Alemu( She was also sentenced 18 years imprisonment by TPLF), bloggers by the name Blog Nine( who are accused but not yet proven guilty of having connection with opposition groups operating outside Ethiopian). On what kind of measure would this election( the 2010) would be free , fair and inclusive when the government put all its energy and money to block a free and balanced political field. It is a bit annoying for the EPRDF not winning 100% in the 2010 general election after putting all these restrictions on free speech and closing the door for the growth of democracy.
I congratulate the TPLF butchers for winning the 2015 fake general election. Prime minister Hailemariam’s speech about election in Ethiopia is getting better and better , has been proved by winning the fake election by 100%. How is it possible to win an election 100% in a country like Ethiopian where more than 80 different ethnics live. How can a healthy normal person comprehend the idea of winning an election pure in 100% in a country where more than 80 different languages are spoken. In a country like Ethiopia where each ethnic has its different culture and philosophy about politics , religion and even life in general , it is very difficult to buy the idea of winning a vote 100%. But the truth of the matter is the TPLF junta along with its affiliated groups EPRDF has done it and showed to the world. How did these corrupted dictators achieve a 100% clean win over this election? It is very simple they stole the vote as they used to do before. They jailed almost every possible candidate who opposed or criticized them. They locked journalists in bar who tried to show the clear oppression in Ethiopia. They controlled the media, military and public services in order to manipulate the people. Who would lose in an election where all the above mentioned oppressing methods favored him ? The 2015 Ethiopian general election was not observed by European Commission , USA observers were denied from observing the voting process out side the capital Addis Ababa. So this election was conducted with out international observers except the African Union ( in which many of the members are one way or another similar with Ethiopian government).
Generally the Ethiopian people has clearly understood the fact that the dictator TPLF regime will not be removed by ballot. It would be necessary to divert our attention to armed struggle even though it is not the best choice but the hardest.
Sources Al-Jazeera English , Zehabesha.com ,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_general_election,
By Zerihun Shumete
Germany Hof
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