“The
tragic reality of today is reflected in the true plight of our spiritual
existence. We are spineless and cannot stand straight.“ Ai Weiwei – Chinese dissident.
As
a concept there is nothing wrong with Federalism as a system of
government. There are plenty of examples of such arrangement like as in
the USA, Canada, Germany, Mexico and India among others where it has
shown to work. That is the system TPLF under Meles and company told the
Ethiopian people that they are attempting to construct. It has been over
twenty years now since the work has started and the question in front
of us is, how is it going?
How is Federalism working in our
country? I will tell you about a specific powerful institution in
Ethiopian and you the reader, be the judge. The governmental body I have
in mind is one of the most important and key sector of our economy and
it is currently named Ethio Telecom. Here is a brief description of the
history of the telephone in Ethiopia.
The first telegraph line
was between Harar and Addis Abeba in 1889. Emperor Haile Sellasie
established the Imperial Board of Telecommunications of Ethiopia in
1952. Derge reorganized it as Ethiopian Telecommunication Service and
later on as Ethiopian Telecommunications Authority (ETA) in 1976 and
1981. In 1996 TPLF replaced that with Ethiopian Telecommunications
Corporation. It was born again as Ethio Telecom in 1910. The Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation is the oldest Public Telecommunications Operator (PTO) in Africa.
In
our country Ethiopia the Federal Government owns the country including
resources, land and most of the vital economy. Communication tools such
as television, radio, telephone and Internet are fully owned and
operated by the Federal Government. The Ethiopian government is the
number one employee in the country. Controlling all this assets give the
Federal Government total power on every aspect of the people and
country. For the Woyane regime Ethio Telecom is a weapon to amass large
amount of money, spy, control, create anxiety and bully the citizen. How
TPLF was able to control ETC is the story of what happened to our
country. The group known to us as TPLF organized as an ethnic based
party took over the political, economic, security sectors of the country
called Ethiopia in a very systematic and deliberate way. This
assertion can be proved in more ways than one cares to count. Please
read Ginbot7 publication on the domination of the military by Tigrean ethnic group.
Ethio
Telecom is another key sector of the economy and a very powerful weapon
that was targeted by TPLF for complete take over. How they were able to
do that is the history of what happened to the rest of the country.
Ethio Telecom encompasses the trial and tribulations of our country and
people. In my opinion Ethio Telecom is where Weyane’s star shined.
It
took TPLF for years (1991 -1995) to figure out the inner workings of
such a large and old organization. In 1996 they restructured it as a
Corporation and were able to get rid of ‘trouble makers’ and install
their own people in key positions. Its importance did not manifest until
around 2000 with the advent of the World Wide Web. Before that TPLF
was content collecting spare change. The Internet changed the whole ball
game. Communication became the driving force of change. As a
totalitarian regime highly motivated to control the flow of information
the TPLF saw the dangers of unrestricted access to information and
knowledge.
In 2010 Ethio Telecom emerged. The birth of Ethio
Telecom was a painful moment in the history of our country. People were
played upon, dangled around, set against each other and humiliated. Such
a powerful and modern organization in the life of our country was made
to look like a failed and useless outfit. The twelve thousand strong
body was completely dismantled by the TPLF. Guess who was in charge of
this tragedy. None other than current Deputy Prime Minister Dr.
Debretsion. He was the architect and enforcer of this desecration of an
Ethiopian home grown building block.
To avoid doing the dirty job
TPLF gave management services to a subsidiary of French Telecom – Orange
(telecommunications). Orange is a third rate multi- national
corporation and an easy prey for TPLF to push around. Without input from
the workers, without consulting those affected Orange and the TPLF
Politburo said ‘we got a deal you cannot refuse.’ They created five
categories named N1-N5. N1 included the French team and Ethiopian
management personnel. Over half of the twelve thousand employees were
dumped on the road side. There was no explanation, no discussion and no
review. One of those that was found to be superfluous was the head of
the Union Ato Adisse Bore. You see the beauty of Woyane justice? There
was no one left to speak for the workers! You can tell the whole idea
was nothing but a naked assault on our people when you see that among
the personnel the new organization is purported to keep the list
included some dead and some on exile. This is how Ethio Telecom was
born.
Why do you think Ethio Telecom is a prized asset of the
minority TPLF regime? It is because communications is the key to the
future. The media opens our eyes to situations and places we will not
even dream of. The media is the first causality of a repressive regime.
Do you notice the first target of any coup d’état is the control of the
radio and television transmission sites? Ethio Telecom is the gate
keeper. Ethio Telecom sustains the dictatorship.
Thus they got rid
of half of the employees of ETC and made it in their own image. They
trained a few, they imported a few of their own from the Diaspora and
they either blackmailed or bought the rest. Today Ethio Telecom is a
cash cow to the dictatorship and a very powerful security apparatus to
safeguard a few while abusing the many. Here is the composition of the N
1 Group managing the enterprise they established.
Please
let us keep it real here. This is not some one’s imagination gone
haywire, nor a just made up figure. It is real and we treat it as such
until proven otherwise. Is this what federalism is all about? Ethnicity
is the corner stone of Woyane rule. The above chart is based on Woyanes’
own classification of our people.
This investigative study at its
best came out two weeks ago. Fellow Ethiopians took time and effort to
find and compile such information so we can have a clear view of the
actual situation in our homeland. As they say talk is cheap but facts
speak for themselves. After all is said and done the above picture does
not lie. It is based on the TPLF’s definition of who is who in today’s
Ethiopia.
Why do you think the TPLF regime under Debretsion finds
communications important enough to control as a monopoly? It is because
communications is the key. Leaders like Meles and now Debretsion are
aware of the value of information. They are spin doctors. When it comes
to a closed society like ours they make sure they are the only source of
information. Our country Ethiopia is the last in any measure of
technological advancement, why do you think that is so? They don’t allow
it, they don’t foster it, and they don’t encourage it because the more
we know the less we think of them.
The Federalism TPLF is building
in our country is Apartheid. In the former South Africa the 9.6% white
ruled over the 79% black population. In Ethiopia, today the 6.1% from
Tigrai region are dominating the economic political and military life of
the country. This is a very difficult statement to make and it is a
very ugly thought to cross one’s mind. But it is also unfair and being a
coward not to face reality. The situation in the military, the
situation in Ethio Telecom is not something to ignore. It did not happen
by accident. The TPLF party in a deliberate and callous manner created
this Apartheid system in our country. The above pie chart showed the so
called N 1 group in higher management what do you think N 2 looks like?
Knowledge
is power. Knowing what the TPLF party is doing to our country and
people helps us realize the problem, discuss the ramifications if left
to continue and find a lasting solution so we can all move forward as
one people. Uncovering such crime is not ethnic bating. Discussing such
unfair and ugly reality is not hating on individuals or groups. It is
real and it has to be dealt with. Dr. Debretsion and his friends have to
answer why there is such naked discrepancy in the organization they are
entrusted to administer in the name of the people. They have to explain
to us the people why there are more from their own ethnic group in
position of real power and influence than the rest. Is it because they
couldn’t find a Gambelan, a Sidama, a Kenbatan, an Oromo or an Amhara to
fill such slots? If there is a reasonable explanation we are all ears
but changing the subject or accusing one of ethnic bating is not the way
to go.
Now they have inserted their own people in key positions
what do you think they are doing with the new and improved Ethio
Telecom? Are they using it to connect the country, use the new found
digital technology to jump start our economy and education system and
usher an era of peace and prosperity? I am afraid a mind that relies on
ethnicity and village mentality to get ahead cannot be expected to soar
like an eagle but slither like a snake biting all that crosses its path.
That is exactly what Ethio Telecom is, a venomous snake attacking our
people and country every chance it gets. Check out our double digit
growing economy.
It
is clear the regime is not interested in using the new technology to
help our country join the community of nations. No question ethnic
mentality and government monopoly stifles innovation, kills individual
initiative and keeps our people in darkness. Here is a finding by
Reporters Without Borders (RWB).
“Ethiopia’s only ISP, State owned
Ethio Telecom has just installed a system for blocking access to the
Tor network, which lets users browse anonymously and access blocked
websites. In order to achieve such selective blocking Ethio Telecom must
be using Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) an advanced network filtering
system.”
Think about it, the ruling junta is willing to invest
such huge amounts of money to spy on its citizens instead of using the
money to wire schools and libraries. They use Chines technology to block
any and all Internet, radio and our ESAT news broadcast. The few decide
what is good for the many. It is not healthy. It does not end well. We
have seen what a single ethnic domination does to people and country.
Rwanda was just yesterday and South Africa will suffer the legacy of
Apartheid for decades to come. The current arrangement in our country
will not ensure a strong and vibrant Ethiopia where her children will
prosper under one roof but rather a weak and divided Ethiopia that one
day will fall prey to outsiders that will exploit the division.
At
the beginning of this article I quoted the Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei
speaking about the character of his people suffering under the
totalitarian system. We in Ethiopia should know exactly what he is
talking about. Under the weight of TPLF abuse we harbor deep seated
animosity towards each other, instead of fighting the common enemy we
point fingers at each other. There is no association, organization club
where we Ethiopians relate to each other with respect and dignity. Our
political organizations have become places of division. Even our church
is not immune from this sickness. We see our Muslim brother resisting
and we learn the power of steadfastness and unity of purpose. That is
one group of citizen with anti Woyane virus shot.
One fact that
should be made clear is that the TPLF party is not practicing this
criminal behavior all by itself. We have to look at the enablers that
grease the wheels to hurt our own people and destroy our country. Those
Amharas’, Oromos’, Wolaitas’, Tigreans’, Hararis’ and others in position
marginal power and the willing Diaspora that invests on stolen land and
fake buildings are part of this national degraedation. What are going
to tell your children when Ethiopia becomes another Somalia, the future
Iraq or a dying Syria? When they ask you why didn’t you do something
daddy or mommy how are you going to answer? You cannot say I did not
know because that would be a lie. You cannot claim I tried because that
would not be true. No one would say I did not stand up straight because I
am spineless. When you go to sleep tonight think about it, please?
This article is based on the following works:
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