An Open Letter To The Yara Foundation Prize committee

I am writing to you today on a matter of serious concern to my entire fellow Ethiopians of all ages and me, and also friends of Ethiopia around the globe, one that impacts a broader oppressed and tolerant Ethiopian community of 72 million who are saddened. I am requesting your explanation for your decision and assistance in particular; because today we truly need the help that someone in your important positions in our democracy might give to an oppressed nation than a ruthless dictator and traitor like Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia. I was both shocked and appalled to learn that The Oslo Board Of The Yara Foundation in “The Land Of Civilization” and the advocate of “Green Revolution” had fallen so low as to recently pass a resolution and decision to award such highly regarded prize to someone who has proved to be an enemy of his people, his country and its security. Hence I was really and truly shocked because not only he is awarded but also this is something that most scholars, whether they be political scientists, geographers, historians, archaeologists, ethnologists or others, would never say that he deserves a peanut let alone an award from a reputable organizations like yours. What happened to justice these days? There is too much contradictory evidence to draw such a simplistic conclusion. I was appalled because your wrong decision runs so counter to the spirit of justice and fair play that one would normally expect of such prize awarding body.

Therefore, the ‘insult’ by the West on underdeveloped nation’ business is getting really tiresome. Ethiopians are really stunned about the silence of the western powers and now this Yara Foundation Award to a ruthless and brutal dictator of Ethiopia. Of course, we knew we live in a mad, mad, mad world, but now we realized that we live in a mad, mad, mad and two faced world, and that globalization means the globalization of madness and injustices. As a result, The Board of The Yara Foundation has chosen to award the first African Green Revolution Yara Prize, to the so-called Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi, for his contribution to improved food security and human nutrition in ways that also protect the environment at a time when about 14 million citizens are starving to death, others struggle very hard to survive and the rest are slaughtered and terrorized. Furthermore, The Board of The Yara Foundation stated that they have chosen to award this first African Green Revolution Yara Prize, to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, for his contribution to improved food security and human nutrition in ways that also protect the environment. That statement was an insult to the nation's honor and integrity hence it is absolutely intolerable by the Ethiopian people. You mistakenly went on saying, that the results are among the most promising for achieving the Millennium Development Goal of cutting world hunger in half by the year 2015 and that Meles Zenawi has, as one of Africa’s young leaders and senior statesmen, made major contributions also on the international arena, including his membership in the Commission for Africa. That statement was a direct insult to us but we are not stupid.
Dear Yara Foundation, I appreciate your concern for issues of social justice. I guess, you have always been a friend to the disadvantaged and vulnerable members of our society. But The Yara Foundation Prize Committee chose to honor a man who didn't recognize that he was living in one of the century’s most brutal dictatorships. That country is Ethiopia and he has been the ruler of that country and you were trading with his regime. Therefore, his nomination for an award is an insult to the 72 million Ethiopian citizens that he starved, terrorized, imprisoned and slaughtered for the past 15 years. How Alice in Wonderland is that to appease and furthermore award such dictator? I am sure no one was aware of his undeserved obscurity than Meles himself. He knows that he should be removed from power not glamorized for the heinous crimes he has committed upon his nation and his country and furthermore, still hell bent on ruling with an IRON FIST. Hence this is not only a question of revoking this an undeserved prize but morality and justice if both are still alive in the western world that we live in. And if there is any justice in this world too, Meles should have been taken to The Hague as a criminal not to receive award and prize money from Oslo. This is unacceptable!

Betrayal and outrage are the only words that can adequately express my reaction to the award of Meles Zenawi as a good and progressive leader of Africa. This is why I am so concerned today that you appear to have fallen under the influence of dictatorship to suit your hidden purposes or continue selling your fertilizers. In the process, you have arrogantly sought to remove God and His Word from every vestige of our lives and we are now reaping the consequences of that arrogance imposed upon us by the west by installing dictators in our countries and appeasing them to be corrupt and brutal. What do you suppose God and also history thinks about your misguided and ill-advised decision? This was such an outrageous decision that I need someone such as you to ask those in charge of your foundation in Oslo to try and explain it to the Ethiopian people and me. I suspect that there is something seriously wrong with the western government and most organization’s policy generally. It is inconsistent to continue to award despots such as Meles while conducting an uncompromising campaign against other dictators elsewhere. It makes the west’s words ring hollow. Unfortunately, we have uncovered a plot and plan of appeasement so odious that it is sure to stun and appall the Ethiopian community and all democratic opposition parties in Ethiopia and also in the Diasporas. Appeasement can only mean one thing: the traitorous act or acts of depraved minds. Patriots, history has shown us time and again that appeasing the enemy invites disaster.

Hence your actions and fake rewards only bring disaster to Ethiopia and the depressed people of Ethiopia. What about the violations of morality and ethics? Is this ethical and moral? Is it really humane? Isn’t The Yara Foundation Prize Committee insulting our intelligence and dignity as human beings? How can we say we have progressed and advanced when we are witnessing a reversion to the tactics of the Stone Age? Have the west progressed? Have they advanced in justice and democracy that they lectured us for centuries? Or have they regressed instead? Has their moral and ethical sense been degraded to go low and award prize to Meles Zenawi, The most brutal and traitor in Africa who just slaughtered 40 of his citizens and threw many thousands into Nazi-style prisons and still terrorizing the entire nation? Could the award be for that then or a poor business tactic but carefully timed to divert world communities’ attention from the recent Ethiopian government atrocities? In general, has our humanity been deadened by the New World Order? This Yara Foundation’s Prize Award to a brutal despot answers all of these listed questions. This is a travesty of justice of this century? So, is The Yara Foundation award a political show trial based on the model of Joseph Stalin travesty of justice or an award for a future business deal? Or is The Yara Foundation a landmark case of behavior ensuring justice and the punishment of genocide and war crimes by supporting criminals in all ways and means possible ignoring the plight of many millions who have been suffering under this ruthless and brutal dictator? There is no media coverage or analysis or debate so it is difficult to determine. So how can we know Yara?
Dear The Yara Foundation Committee Members, Meles Zenawi has achieved just about everything in the West thanks to you lot, in his brutal leadership career except loyally serving Ethiopia and Ethiopians for which he is not passionate about at all. It was that and only that pedigree too that saw The Unwise Yara Foundation name him as an African Green Revolutionary and one of the senior leaders of the African Commission. The awards clearly show that The Yara Foundation has no knowledge of what Meles has done recently even to his own people and his country while also serving our enemies in neighbouring countries and in the west. It also shows further that the international community including you The Yara Foundation has ignored the human right abuses perpetrated in Ethiopia. Hence those who awarded Meles this prize do not have a clue at all as regard to the bad political situation and the massacres ordered by Meles Zenawi hence openly encouraged his regime to continue with their inhumane atrocities. But 72 million Ethiopian people and Human Rights Organisation all over the world accused him as being “Dictator, Brutal, and a leader who has long been in breach of an international convention on the rights of its citizens and neighbouring countries.” He doesn’t deserve this honour on earth or even in hell. The Ethiopian people already gave him what he deserved. Hence we are really outraged by the west’s double standards.

Dear Sirs, we have truly proved that we are the most tolerant people in the world. We have reached a level of tolerance unbeknown to any man. We are at the pinnacle of tolerance, an absolute utopia. The ruling elite of Ethiopia has procrastinated for over a decade, all the time allowing the national interest and human rights of all Ethiopians to erode to unacceptable levels. And yet, those who caused these downfalls are encouraged, supported, glamorized and awarded all the time. From the time of the Bible, people have been called upon to “understand righteousness & justice” (Proverbs 2:9). Therefore, anyone can understand that Yara’s decision to award Meles a prize is not to honor his achievement if any, and or a search for justice but a travesty of justice upon Ethiopia and its citizens. Hence this must be challenged and rejected by all of us, including the citizens of Oslo and the entire world. Hence I sincerely and wholeheartedly say to The Yara Foundation and its dignified officers, please do not bring shame upon the good name of the reputable Yara Foundation by an odd show of support for Meles Zenawi.

As for my Ethiopian people, the time to push the Ethiopian agenda for the new century was yesterday. The time to plan for this was the day before. We Ethiopians are far behind, because of bad government, bad leaders, western appeasers and wrong advices but with a lot of hard work, patriotic struggle and help we can get from real democratic foreign governments, perhaps we can catch up. For now, we mourn for those who lost their lives and those who were injured by the brutal Meles Zenawi’s Agaazie Birgade. We mourn, as well, for our country in this time of national trauma. Now is the time for all Ethiopians to stand up as one and denounce injustices in Ethiopia and everywhere. Yara’s sad tribute to Meles, who kept his country in the Dark Age, created odyssey of terror, walked on our martyrs and people’s blood and finally entered into world’s sea of mud to steal an election that he lost is bad and treasonous indeed. You have propped up unsavory leaders like Meles but overthrown ones that you didn't consider sympathetic. “So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice”. Isaiah 59:14-15. What a travesty of justice? What can you do? … Bite your lips and laugh!!

Sincerely,

Dr G Bekele

Contact: The Yara Foundation in Oslo
Telephone: (+47) 24 15 73 01 or (+47) 24 15 72 46
Cel: (+47) 47 900 900; E-mail: thorleif.enger@yara.com

G Bekele,

Well said and to the point. I am glad that some one can write and say what needs to be said without the caloric sugar coating!

The “Yara” thing ( no pun intended by what the name “Yara” suggest in the Amharic vernacular) is just another reason why Ethiopians should not look to the west for their own destiny. We, Ethiopians should wake up from our perpetual complacency and take our own fate and fortunes in our own hands. We are our own destiny.

Dictators like Meles will thrive as long as we continue to seek benevolent justice from the west. If there is anything that Meles and his criminal thugs fear, it's not the peoples appeal to the west, but the people’s determination to seek our home grown resolution from within Ethiopia. The enemies of Ethiopia perceive appealing to the west as powerlessness. Meles and his criminal thugs control the resources that buy him not only honors of great compliment from riotous entities such as Yara,, but from the leaderships of the western world as well. Money acquires influence in high places starting from Kofi Anan's UN, USA, EU, UK, IMF, WB last but not least the hopeless African club called AU.

I am appalled by the current opposition political party members and their inept collective brain power. The opposition coalition’s closure to not take their struggle directly to the people leaves much to be said about their dedication and commitment to sacrifice. The old adage reminds, “you can't make omelets without breaking an eggs" similarly you cannot have freedom without sacrifices, and democracy is not a complimentary side order.

So, welcome to the decadent world of political malfeasance and hypocrisy, where favors and IOU's are brokered and exchanges between corrupt leaders. Yara has a steak in the award they gave to Meles, and unless one is naive enough to believe that Meles earned the award on merit, and Yara awarded it without any strings attached. On the contrary, if one were to carefully examine the rationale for awarding the prize to Meles, one would discover the pieces to the jigsaw picture of a clandestine fertilizer business deal between Meles and Yara. Of course, Yara having third party interest in the fertilizer business deals in the developing world, Melese is their best prospect, being the biggest recipient of food assistance and funds from the west. The all too familiar cliché goes like this, every one wants a piece of the "rock", and so is Yara and why not Melese. Like any business deal, these two parties have a mutual-self interest. Does any one believe the Nobel Laureate is purely awarded on merit alone? Well, any one believes that then you can also believe you can make omelets without breaking eggs. It the old “quid pro quo”

Beheg-Amlack

In my view the level of tolerance running out of time in every Ethiopian mind.

Email: DillingerJ1@aol.com

City: DC

Dr. Bekele,

Your intention is good and exemplary, but your this is a long letter winded and lacks punch. One would need to read long paragraphs before one knows what your letter is all about. May be it would be a good idea to shorten it and start with a sentence condemining the institution's decision to award such a noble prize to a head of a police state. Ask them how they can award such a prize before the blood of 40 victims from his recent brutal murder dry? Then go and give some examples of Meles's record. If it is more than four short paras no one in a positio of power would read it. The letter should be measured, succinct, polite, firm and respectgul. Strong points are made with measured and polite language.

Submitted with respect. Please take this in the spirit it is intended.

Mamo Qilo

Mamo Qilo:
Where is your letter to Yara Foundation?

This is one of the many secret policies of companies in the west. The fertilizer company that has the lucrative trade agreement with woyane is interfearing this way in our country internal affairs. Norway has only 4 million inhabitants the same as Addis Ababa has. But look their unity against others. As long as their benefit is secured, they don't care about millions of africans. That is way they want to keep meles on power for their benefit. we black people are very stupid. we are fighting each other. while they are working together to get benefit from us.

Email: Hirut @hotmail.com

City: A.A

I WOULD SAY YOUR OBJECTION IS SIMPLY A SIGN OF INSANITY.

RGROW UP DR. G.