Press Release No. 13

By the Network of Ethiopian Scholars (NES) - Scandinavian Chapter
August 30, 2005

Meles Zenawi labelled the EU-EOM preliminary statement “a big lie” and “so much garbage.”

Bereket Simon said that EU-EOM had lacked "integrity and professionalism." What does the outburst from Meles and Bereket reveal?

The letter of Meles in the Ethiopian Herald was full of pinpricks and cut and paste remarks. Exposing his trade mark of the usual naked arrogance, he confirmed his full agreement with the EU-EOM observation on issues that he finds from their statement that he thinks supports his views of the election process, whilst he denounced as “big lie” and “garbage” the aspects of the report that contradict his views. Any sensible person may find something to agree or disagree with the presentation or content of the EU Observation team’s report. But Meles is highly tendentious, and exhibits black or white framing of the issues that appear in the report. He is selective, and anything from the report that he gleans and seems to agree with his idea of the election, he claims it to be true. All in the report that do not fit his interests and purposes are pronounced haughtily as “a big lie” or “garbage”. This is not an isolated outburst by Meles. It expresses the essence of Meles and Co. This is how they came to power using force and lies, and this is how they choose to stay in power by continuing to alternate the use of force and lies. If you are not loyal to their lies, then you are ‘ persona non grata’ in their world. For them their prejudice is reality, and reality is to be interpreted to fit their schemes. If it does not facilitate their schemes, then reality has to be ignored or condemned.

What is interesting about the outburst by Meles in his letter to the editor of the Ethiopian Herald is the fact that the bitter medicines that he so easily administers to his real and imagined political opponents now seem to be forced into the throats of the European Union Observation mission delegation as well. It is hugely embarrassing to use such below the belt and childish insults and tantrums to berate the officials of the EU Observation mission delegation. This tactic by the ruling elite is nothing new to Ethiopians, but it certainly must come as a surprise to use the same worn-out tactics, deceit, blackmail, and accusation to discredit the EU Observation Missions’ work. This arrogant action provides a taste to the EU team to witness first hand what it is like to be subjected with lies, insults, blackmails and deceits that are the daily diet that, and unfortunately Ethiopians are daily confronted with.

Let us recapitulate the big lies he attributes to the EU-EOM that are contained in the superciliously arrogant letter by himself to the Herald:

Big lie 1: Meles wrote: “So what has the ban on demonstration got to do with the investigation? Nothing”, but actually what the EU-EOM statement said was “…the context of the complaints process was marked by on-going high tensions in the country…tension was exacerbated by the fact that, since polling day, public demonstrations were banned and media openness ceased, with the official media back under the tight control and spinning of the ruling party…” What the EU-EOM statement described is the true context or the condition in which the investigation process was undertaken. What Meles needs to prove beyond reasonable doubt is how the ban on demonstrations, and media and information control, monopoly of force, the emergency law, and a situation that constitutes intimidation and threats would not have any bearing or influence on the investigation process. In addition the opposition submitted substantial numbers of complaints that have been dismissed by the ENBE. The percentage that was dismissed was as high as 90 %. Not only did the control of force, information, power and economy had influence on the investigation, but also Meles cannot sell his missive by denying the fact that his party started to use the banning and the emergency situation to get disgraced officials of his cabinet to be re-elected. What Meles and Co. did is very clear for any one who has observed the developments in Ethiopia. What makes it bizarre is that they choose to fire at the EU Observers whilst they have only themselves to blame for creating the situation that dangerously destabilised the investigation process in the first place. To be in denial of such evident connection of their action to influence the investigation process negatively is to indulge and wallow in sophistry.

Big lie 2: Meles wrote: “If access to public media is denied to the opposition then the investigations must be flawed, they declare”. But we have not found such kind of “declaration” or implication in the EU-EOM statement. This is similar to the usual tactic and deceit of Meles and Co. to fabricate stories in order to terrorise, imprison and kill opposing individuals and groups. When Meles does this under his name after all the pompous caveat that he is going to throw some new insight, it exposes the ruling elite as people who cannot even read properly the EU-EOM statement, let alone read it with a generous spirit to understand their main message and learn from it for the sake of building the country and addressing its most urgent problems of feeding 9 million ordinary citizens who are starving daily, and 18 million that are severely malnourished!

Big lie 3: Meles wrote:” The EU-EOM alleges that the government refused to agree on a code of conduct on the utilization of the media. That is a lie. The government was not and could not be part of the negotiations on the code of conduct. The negotiations were between the parties”. Meles tries to deny the well-known truth that EPRDF is the government. Meles and Bereket went to the extent of forgetting (or is it denying) that they are the Prime Minister and Minster of Information of the government, respectively. Is Meles not the chairman of EPDRF and the Prime Minister of the Government? Does he even know this? It worries us deeply that Meles does not even seem to know what he does as that which everybody knows to be his job. Or is he trying to pretend there is a separation of power between the Government and the party. What Ethiopia definitely needs is to arrive at the historical stage where there will be separation of powers not in words but in reality. To be sure, the country needs an independent media with its own governance arrangements; it needs an independent judiciary. It needs an independent military force that will not execute the will of a political party. Above all Ethiopia needs a free economy, not monopolised as it is the case now by a self-serving and selfish ruling party.

Big lie 4: Meles wrote: “There is no legislation that affects the governance of all municipalities during the period in question. That is quite simply a lie.” At least Meles should accept the well-known fact that after the election various legislations were endorsed by the out-going parliament to affect the governance of Addis Ababa. How can Meles deny and call the EU-EOM liars, when it is under his own nose that measures were taken to unwelcome the new Addis Ababa municipal authority by actions such as reducing the tax base, nullifying federal Government budget subsidy, passing authority for transport services and civic organisation registrations to central Government.

Big lie 5: Meles wrote: “Any one who has a passing knowledge of what outgoing parliaments do until the very day their term ends would find the argument preposterous.” But everybody including Meles knows that after the election, the outgoing parliament endorsed the altering of rules and regulations that bar the new parliament from generating agendas by making it impossible to raise issues unless they muster a majority to agree before hand to submit an issue on the table. This is a wholly inappropriate way for the outgoing and heavily EPDRF dominated parliament to set inhibiting procedures for the incoming parliament, knowing full well that the new parliament will have many opposition representatives for the first time. The responsibility to force the opposition parties to contemplate or debate boycotting parliament lies entirely in Meles’ hands.

Big Lie 6: Meles ended his diatribe against the EU-EOM by firing the following indictment for not calling the above decisions by the outgoing parliament as illegal: “It [EU-EOM] did not do that perhaps because it knows that it would be laughed out of town, if it did so”. Rather than focusing on the issue of the action of the outgoing parliament passing such inappropriate measures and procedures, Meles is keener to hound the EU-EOM on why they have not characterised what he likes them to position themselves for him to mount critiques against them and target them for denunciation. At any rate Meles denies what has been crystal clear- that is, that the parliament has passed such restrictive measures. Meles has ended up writing his first letter against his own tradition by filling it with his usual tradition of lies and misquotations. His letter is full of more of the same lies, but we have had enough of his big lies and prefer to join the nation and others, and say his letter deserves to be “laughed out of town”.

The Letter to Meles from the Opposition Parties
One wonders why Meles took the “untraditional” extraordinary step, as he said in his letter to respond to the EU-EOM personally after the press he controls went for them with rude and crude allegations against them, and still ignores to respond to the opposition leaders request to solve the country’s outstanding dilemmas with communicative rationality and not his usual threat or use of force if his demands and wishes are not met by the opposition parties. What we see is an alarming development of criminalising the opposition leaders and members through the public media. The response to the opposition’s call for dialogue is to criminalise them, not to engage with them constructively, with good intentions and with an open spirit. The speed with which Meles zoomed to reply to the EU-EOM makes it abundantly clear that what the ruling party fears most is the possible punishment that can follow a ****ing report against the regime’s destabilisation of Ethiopia’s first ever emerging democratic process. What Meles fights is not for democracy but for maintaining himself as the poster boy or darling of the west. When that is threatened by accurate reporting of some courageous Europeans or American officials, we now know how he will surely pounce. Meles should have known that a response to and dialogue with the opposition parties rather than using media control to criminalise them will be infinitely better to solve the country’s problems. It is important the there should be honest debate with the opposition parties rather than to try to sneak all his de-selected/de-elected cabinet members back into power by the back door. He must realise that he would be laughed at everywhere by choosing to impose a rejected rule by force on the Ethiopian people. Bereket and the other ministers will have no credibility what so ever, and they better not make themselves objects of national ridicule and disgrace by pretending they have been re-elected. Meles has to also understand that the whole show is a monumental farce.


EU-EOM Final Report

We would like to call upon the EU-EOM to continue and persevere to tell the truth about how an election that started relatively well ended up with so much rigging, intimidations, threats, detentions, killings, blackmail, insults and deceit. We ourselves in the NES have been attacked by a barrage of insults and threats using mischievous identities and pseudonyms by misquoting, alleging, claiming false accusations of our objectives. This has not had the effect that the ruling party acolytes expected. They thought we would be intimidated and refrain from exposing the injustices that the people of Ethiopia have been confronted with during this dramatic episode of hope for democracy followed by a reversal of the justice-laden drive towards democracy.

We would like to express our appreciation for the integrity, professionalism and honesty with which the EU-EOM have tried to present a credible report that has won the support and endorsement of the EU head office. Above all we think the Ethiopian people saw on the ground the many injustices that the EU-EOM was able to capture in their largely honest report. We expect that the Ethiopian people will support the honest report that has been provided by EU-EOM. Far from what Meles said that the EU-EOM statement has created “outrage across the nation”, we think the statement will be seen to reflect the experience that the people have gone through and will thus be appreciated by the people, country and nation.

We call upon the EU-EOM to produce the final report with the perspective of speaking truth to power without fear or favour. There is no reason what so ever to be distracted by false allegations. We call upon you to make the wisest possible recommendation that would facilitate a democratic transition in Ethiopia.


Concluding Remark

At the moment, promoting the democratic process is paramount. The democratic process is under threat from the way the ruling party wishes to selfishly appropriate it for its own self- promotion rather than to root democracy and sustain it in Ethiopia. If the ruling party had come to power through free, fair and just election, we in the NES would have been one of the first to support them. But as it is evidently clear to the world, the ruling party is trying to destabilise the democratic process, invite those who have been de-selected by the back door and impose a dictatorship by force and pass that as democracy. We must reject this notorious action. The only way we can rescue the democratic process is either through a fair, just and free, and fully monitored and independently administered/managed re-run of a national election or the formation of a government of national concord. This demand is absolutely critical to rescue the democratic process in Ethiopia. What is critical to admit is that this is the time to make the democratic process create a credible and peaceful transition through the vote and not the bullet. We find deeply disturbing that Meles keeps threatening dictatorship, criminalising the opposition leaders and prominent members, and inviting armed struggle as the only way to unseat him. This is deeply offensive and does not recognise the historical stage that the nation has reached. Ethiopia has reached the historical time to make the peaceful democratic transition. No one has a right to stop the time.


Professor Mammo Muchie, Chair of NES-Scandinavian Chapter

Berhanu G. Balcha, Vice- Chair of NES-Scandinavian Chapter

Tekola Worku, Secretary of NES-Scandinavian Chapter

Contact address:
Fibigerstraede 2
9220- Aalborg East
Denmark
Tel. + 45 96 359 813 or +45 96 358 331
Fax + 45 98 153 298
Cell: +45 3112 5507
Email: mammo@ihis.aau.dk or berhanu@ihis.aau.dk or tekola.worku@bromma.stockholm.se

Professor Mamo Muchie and company I salute you. What a difference between Meles's cut and paste analysis (ala Gebrelekuskus) and your sound and analysis.

Mamo Qilo

Mamo,
What a shame comparison! I can't believe you put Prof. Mamo and Gebrelikiskis in the same line.

Yebret Qolo,

Neger Atfelegegn.

Mamo Qilo aka
Cyber Bully

It is the last straw that broke the camel's back. That huffy Bereket shouldn't have accused the EU election observers chief Ms. Ana Gomes as causing the massacre and wounding of several people. The noose is starting to tighten around Meles' and Bereket's dictatorial regime. No way out of this Jose. Thank you Bereket for digging your own grave. You bite the hands that fed you, and put you where you are to day with that sort of intelligence you possess. Your mud slinging and bad mouthing of Ms. Gomes demonstrates your shallowness in intelligence and manners, that should not be used by someone who is heading the Ministry of Information. You are an embarrassment to your regime, to your family and to your associates. If you have had a formal education, things that you spew out of your rotten mouth wouldn't have offended people, because you could have chosen better approach to redress your grievances.

But resorting to name calling and finger pointing is the sign of an illiterate fool who lacks the art of diplomacy, and confidence in himself. And sorry to here it from me, you are the worst imbecile, who lack decency, and manners to head the information ministry. Your filthy mouth of diplomacy is only adding insult to the already injured, vote rigging, murderous regime of yours.

Now you have arranged some African leader to visit Ethiopia, as a distraction from problems at home. No matter how many visitors you have arranged to throw us off track, we are on your tail no way in, and no way out, of the crimes you and your boss committed against innocent Ethiopian protesters.

Like someone said in this web page," no matter how you sliced it",the bottom line is you and Meles are fully responsible for terrorizing, abduction, imprisonment and killings of so many innocent people who did not agree with you.

Ethiopia would be best served by highly educated incoming opposition parties who can think better and work to their fullest potential for the prosperity of all Ethiopians. Just pack up your belongings get out of town, back to the jungles where you came from, until such time comes for your apprehension for crimes committed against innocent people.

Email: GebregzeeK@hotmail.com

City: southbrookeridge

Meles and his EB are liars. As we know, the voice of the people has never been heard. Now is the time to think dipper how to remove meles. As it has been said, the military and the Tegrains should stand with the rest of their brothers and sisters to end dictator government for ever. Donèt get fooled by the Meles words. we are all need each other to rebuild our land and make our land the best on earth. Please, let us find a better future for the coming generation and we all should say enough is enough for Meles. Let the voice of the people be heard and people can breath the air of democracy where all ethinics and relegion issues be secondary. We all should do as much as we can, where ever we are, to stand beside the Ethiopian people.

Please, forget tribal and ethinic politics. If we want to get Ethiopia developed, we all should think of the whole population. Otherwise, it retard the struggle and help meles to stay on power.
Thank you

Email: tadesse@allstream.net

City: Halifax

This is a timely and appropriate response to a letter that has reacted negatively to an EU-EOM report. The PM has tried his best to bury truth under packs of lies with the intention of distorting the true nature of the report presented by the EU-EOM last week.But he miserably failed in his attempt.Democracy can never be built on lies, mischiefs, malice, dishonesty, malfeasance, etc. As a nation we must make it clear what we expect of our future leaders, whether they are from opposition leaders or EPRDF leaders (I hope not to see them in power any more).They should be men and women of honesty and integrity; they should be men and women of great character.Leaders who respect their people and treat them equally irrespective of their religion, ethnicity and gender. A lot can be said. For now this enough. Thanks for your attention.

Well! it is easy to answer the question about the lier. EU observers team are not liers. Instead, as we all know meles, kemal and all meles's officilas are liers. I am surprised that they are trying to convince us that they are not liers.

Email: dadidan@yahoo.com

City: Addis Ababa

I guess in the eyes of the criminal, the only one telling the truth is the criminal himself/herself, common sense. But why would the EU lies about the Ethiopian's election?

PM Meles is blaming everyone, I wonder who is next in line? Time will tell.


May God bless the Great Ethiopia!

These people (M&B)never heard of telling truth and nobody on earth can stop them once they say a loaf of bread is a piece of stone till their mouth is permanently closed. Anyway they are continuing to disclose themselves to the international community. Shame…on them.

Many thanks to the NES and editor.

Email: thewodrosdires@yahoo.com

City: Addis Ababa

Hey! All of you; don’t be child! You have to put your suggestion and comments in scholar way rather than saying that mele’s is lair. Be out of emotional and try to put the case in brief. You have to understand that as soon as you loge your message; many people looks your words. Personally, I support the letters which written by PM unless one of you disproof. I have been in close attention to the election process for the last 6 months.

Email: mr_maare@yahoo.com

City: Addis ababa

Hey! All of you; don’t be child! You have to put your suggestion and comments in scholar way rather than saying that mele’s is lair. Be out of emotional and try to put the case in brief. You have to understand that as soon as you loge your message; many people looks your words. Personally, I support the letters which was written by PM unless one of you disproof. I have been in close attention to the election process for the last 6 months.

Email: mr_maare@yahoo.com

City: Addis ababa

Why would EU-EOM at all lie as Meles would like us to believe that is the case? Had he any disagreements with EU before the election to turn against him? As far as I know, there was none.
Was it a financial motive as they alleged that Ana Gomes was promised 40% of what would be collected from Ethiopians in the diaspora?, which is the most ridiculous thing I have heard of them.If anything, they have the resources and the ungodly characteristics to do it and I have no doubt they have bought a lot mercenaries both inside the country and outside.
That leads us to conclude that their report was a manifestation of a fraction of the whole truth as they could not have witnessed all the injustices and crimes commited by the government.

Email: zghiwet@yahoo.ca

City: York

The behaviour of Meles and Co. is reminding me of a film I saw titled "ÄNALYZE THAT" with Robert De niro and Billy Crystal, about a Mafia boss who wants approval by a hired psychiatrist for his wrong doings.In a very strange way Ana Gomes and EU have to face charges for death of 42 Ethiopians. lucky the oppostions are exmpted from the previous charges.

Great article, NES. Have you considered to get it published in the Ethiopian Herald where Meles wrote his letter of response to EU obsevers' report?

Although embaressing and shameful, in a way, I am glad that Meles and Bereket (both sympathizers of Eritrea vs Ethiopia) have started fighting with non-Ethiopians at higher levels showing more clearly who they really are. These are personalities out of the norm and difficult to deal with for a person with integrity and honesty like Ana Gomes.

The Ethiopian people have been enduring for years such kind of blackmails and much more abuses from them in the absence of any kind of outside help. I hope this will lead to more exposure of their evil work and bring an end to the TPLF era sooner than later. The Ethiopian people need desperately the breathe of the fresh air of freedom.

Email: wazeleke@yahoo.com

Mr. Maare,
you wrote,
"...Personally, I support the letters which was written by PM unless one of you disproof. I have been in close attention to the election process for the last 6 months. "

Well, you just saw the step-by-step rebuttal NES published. What other logic were you looking for?

Maybe you can start by telling us why you sided with the PM.

Great job, well written thank you NES.

When these thugs lose, they bark like mad dog and bite any. That is their norm.

He label you either as 'neftegna' or 'derg' he can't label Anna 'neftegan' or 'derg' or he can't order his agazi mafia force on her. So to go after her he call her a liar. What an humiliating person. Very low, cheap, childish, desperate action. What a shame.

I think Hana Gomez can stand and defend herself, what I don't understand is the rush of the good Doctors to defend her even before they finish reading all the 3 parts of the PM's letter. I am really dumpfounded to read the diatribe and unecessary words the Doctors picked when they address the PM. To my understanding intelectuals are fact seekers and try to make a balanced view but in the Dr Mamuches case I found them to be emotionals like a layman.
I am sure they were stunned when they read a black African leader dare to critisize the white masters hence they were tring to soften the whites by bilittling their Ethiopian leader. WOCHO GUDDdddddddd

Email: haile#hotmaol.com

Hailegnaw,

This is not a white and black thing. Professor Muchie and his associates wrote a rebutal for the first part. They apparently did not wish to allow Meles's lies to stand unchallenged. Why don't you challenge Professor Muchie. Where did you think they sound emotional and which of their argument(s) are weak and shaky? Or are you, like gebrelekusksu, able to cut and paste only and cannot engage in a debate.

Ankasa Doro

The whole world now sees in broad daylight what Ethiopians have had to live under over the past 14 years -- a rogue regime that fabricates lies at will to criminilize and silence its democratic critics.

Do you remmeber the Ethiopian Herald article that preceded Meles' 12-page letter to the editor? Guess who may have written that article. That article went so far (or so low) as to suggest that Ana Gomez was in cohoot with the opposition because they had promised her 20% of the donations that the opposition received from diaspora Ethiopians. God, Meles and Bereket really know no shame.

If members of the EU observer mission were Ethiopians, it is not hard to imagine what would happen to them: The regime's Attorney General would charge them with crime against the state, followed by a 20-year sentence by Kemal Bedri's Supreme Court. And only if they are lucky enough for Amnesty International to take up their case would they be spared torture. And all these past 14-years they were calling this democracy.

Email: workugebrem@yahoo.com

City: here

Ankassa Doro! Did you read the Drs respond or YERAS FESS AYGEMAM new negeru???

Email: haile#hotmaol.com

Hailegnaw,

I have read both Meles's response to Gomez and Professor Mamo et al's reply to Meles. Have you read your messages? Read them out loud to yourself. What do you make of this Tulu guy? First he came to argue that Meles's wife is entitled to loot the people. Yesterday he wrote that there is fraud, but so what? I have more respect to Tulu than to Ethiopian. The later is an absolutely corrupt who would not stand by his words. Do you stand by your words? Do you think Meles stand sby his words? If so why dd he change his mind ag=fter he told BBC that he would welcome a re run nationwide?

Mamo Qilo

It is as the Amharic saying goes: "yadekone seitan sayakesis aylekim." So far, the dictators have been behaving rude towards their own people and the opposition. They are now turning to the superpowers. Don't you think they are tightening the rope around their necks on their own. I think our dissent is working well, and the opposition parties should know that they are on the right track. They should, however, also know that the track is narrow and demands full concentration to drive through. No complacency! It is time even to work harder.

City: A.A

I read on Walta Info that the "President", Girma Woldegiorgis was offered an honorary doctorate degree from an "Amer-Asia University" in the US, it was received by the ambassador of Ethiopia, Kassahun Ayele. I tried to search (Google)the university and could not find anything named 'Amer-Asia University'.
Anybody out there know the existence of such a University?

Email: deregehab@yahoo.com

City: NYC

Dereje,

Who cares.
Let them fool themselves. As worku said 'they are tightening the rope around their neck by themselves'.
They are doing a favour for the oppositon homework.

Their own crap exposing them to the whole world.

Meles and Bereket are making desperate statements these days. I think this is the beginning of the end of the EPRDF regime. It keeps on loosing political ground in the country and also abroad while the Ethiopian people are ready to sacrifice everything necessary to uproot the brutal leadership. Let alone other regions, Woyane will not be able to survive if the residents of Addis Ababa rise up. As no leader has attempted to kill an entire citizen, Meles is politicaly as well as militarily in a difficult situation.

selam Le hagere

Email: bdemissachew@juno.com

City: Boston

No lies here;only a seasoned work of a conjuror who happens to be a member of the lunatic fringe.

If anyone would dare to pursue reasoning rather than taking sides,it is not so difficult to find out how the EU-EOM report is intentionally made so ambigouos as to confuse the truth.I don't think no one should be so bluntly negative in everything said about EPRDF.
Democracy does not flourish in such astrayed opininons.

City: Addis.

Hailegnaw,

Your black-white idea referring to Meles's response to EU's report is another rubbish of TPLF. Do you remember what Meles told Mohammad Gadaffi and other Arabs early after assuming power in AA? He portrayed himself as an Arab (white), denying that he was/is a black African. What a shame. Now you are talking of him challeging a white women (Ana Gomez) as a poud black man. It does not add up. As a responsible person, Ana Gomez gave a fair report which Meles does not like ans wants to deny. What your leader has been doing for the 14 plus yeas is a discrase to the human race, in general, and to the Black race in particular. How long is he continuing to embaress and hurt us?

Another point to be noted is that Meles has many foreign politicians, lawyers and writer (mainly British) around him to help him respond to issues such as the report given by Ana Gomez. Eventhough he claims to be the author, usually he does not himself write responses to such reports. These people are hired for his personal service using the money received from donors on behalf of the Ethiopian people. Another shame.

Email: wazeleke@yahoo.com