The Chairman of Semayawi(Blue)Party

Yilkal Getent discusses Ethiopia's Current Situation in Toronto

By E. Akele, July 11, 2016

The chairman of Semayawi (Blue) Party, Mr. Yilkal Getnet, held a discussion with Canadians of Ethiopian origin and new comers to Canada at the East York Civic Center, Toronto on Saturday, July 9, 2016. The meeting is the second of his briefings since he arrived in Toronto. This particular meeting is considered by many very crucial for it discusses in length the current Ethiopian political situation and Semayawi(Blue) party policy issues. 

The Chairman has analyzed the nature of Ethiopia’s ruling party, The Ethiopian Revolutionary Democratic Front(EPRDF) regime in order to enable the audience to understand the political environment in which opposition parties are operating. Understanding the legal and political context, he explained that it would be essential to choose an appropriate strategy for the political struggle. He further discussed the contradictions that are inherent in the regime which are the major reasons for its undemocratic nature. According to his explanations, the EPRDF has a dual contradictions juxtaposed in its ideology. On one hand the policy documents clearly state the government has a federal system which decentralized power to lower level of administrative units and On the other hand the regime has a party structure which is based on "democratic Centralism" where decisions are taken by the central Committee of the party and implemented by all government structures. What has been decentralized by the constitution in the state structure to empower the nations, nationalities, and peoples is in reality centralized by the party through its various member and allied parties. Therefore, federalism and decentralization are election and propaganda rhetoric than a means of administrative structure.

The other form of excessive centralization is an apparent asymmetry in power sharing among the member parties. All the power of EPRDF has long been concentrated in the single dominant party, The Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF). This party boasts of representing the Tigray region of Ethiopia that is only 6% of the total Ethiopian population. "Majority rule, minority rights" the maxims of democratic principles is reversed in the case of EPRDF. The “TPLF” that bases its support and a minority is ruling the majority. Therefore, a minority rule can't be democratic. One of the problems in Ethiopian democratic transformation is the existence of minority power elite who would like to continue to rule with undemocratic means.

The other major contradiction rocking the party is political opportunism. Several times party officials have repeatedly said EPRDF is working based on benefit or utility. The constitution has clauses stating any constituent unit which thinks that the federation is not beneficial can leave the federation without any conditions. The concept stated in articles that contains secession is one example. There are no elements like shared culture that would unite the whole country.

This opportunism and the fight against corruption are other bedeviling contradictions of the system. EPRDF recruited its members based on opportunistic economic benefits. Both the party and the government are staffed by corrupt officials. As a result, the fight against corruption has become very difficult, if not impossible.

The current spate of corruption and its pervading dangers to the survival of the regime has been admitted by the regimes officials including the Prime minister. A study conducted by the regime itself showed how the system is plagued by corruption. The paradox is the party perpetuates the problem rather than developing solutions to cure it. The government doesn’t have the political will to fight corruption because it may undo its existence. Therefore, admitting corruption and promising to fight is used as a strategy to extend its hold on power.

On election, the chairman also outlined the challenges of participating in sham elections in Ethiopia. Election, as an instrument of establishing a democratic government, has to be free and fair to represent the will of the people. Semayawi (Blue) party believes the election environment has to be free and fair to have a democratic representation. Before holding elections, we should reform the electoral system to ensure an independent election board, media, an independent justice system, or generally a level playing political field to all parties participating in elections. Both domestic and international observers should be easily accredited to monitor elections freely. Without all these prerequisites, holding free and fair election cannot be imagined.

Answering the question from the participants who asked about going to an election whose result is a forgone conclusion and the appropriateness of peaceful struggles, he explains at length the available options that Ethiopians have at hand for regime change. He explained stressing the fact that in the absence of an independent election board, media and other democratic institutions, there would not be change through election. Nonetheless, participating in elections would expose the nature of the government and allow raising the consciousness of the people. Therefore, through prolonged popular struggle the government can be changed. Peaceful struggle is the only means that could guarantee effective and less destructive transition from dictatorship to democracy. He once again affirmed his party's commitment to peaceful struggle.

Mr. Yilkal also answered questions concerning the recent conflict within in the party.  The party audit commission has complained about an alleged misuse of money and requested the chairman and other party officials to be audited. Party officials agreed and sat with the audit commissions to discuss the issue. The discipline committee had suspended some of the party officials from the party. The suspension was presented to the Audit commission, which is the higher decision making organ which appoints members of the discipline committee. The Audit commission has reversed the decision of the Commission. Now the situation is resolved and all are working together. He also said although the conflict distracted the party from its struggle for a short time, the lessons taken from the incident are important for the party's continued existence. The process also showed democratic struggles within the party.

On liberalism and group rights the chairman took time to explain the position of Blue party in these important but often ignored facts. While the party believes in individual rights, given the existence of various groups in Ethiopia, the party also takes group rights seriously. He noted that respect for individual right would ensure group rights. Individual and group rights are not mutually exclusive. Language or cultural rights are also embodiments of individual rights.

Semayawi (Blue) is the only party in Ethiopia that officially states in its documents that Ethiopia needs at least two official languages, children's have to learn by their first languages, and individual and group rights have to be respected equally. On economic freedom, Mr. Yilikal stressed that, any Ethiopian has a constitutional right to own and administer his or her land. Land must belong to the citizen, not to the State and the role of the government should be reduced to maintaining law and order. He noted that Semayawi (Blue) party is a center right party which reconciles individual and group demands amenably.

On the formation of coalition and making an alliance, the chairman mentioned the attempts made to form alliances. He affirmed that the party is willing to make an alliance based on mutual respect and common interest. There were initial attempts to form coalition for elections. Although short-lived, the experience gained was invaluable and the party is still in the process of making such coalitions. On Oromo protests, Yilkal said the party has issued a press statement condemning the killing of Oromos and called upon the government to show restraint.

The organizer of the event, Unity for Human Rights and Democracy, and Activist Tekle Abebe, the moderator of the discussion called the participants to actively get involved in matters concerning human rights and national issues. They urged the participant to continue to help the families of all political prisoners. The discussion was a successful one in terms of the support it gained in promoting human rights in Ethiopia.

Mr. Yilkal Getnet arrived in Canada for working visit ON June 28, 2016. His tour was organized by the Toronto-based Human Rights advocate, Unity for Human Rights and Democracy. Mr. Yilkal will have panel discussions in Ottawa (July 13), Buffalo, New York (July 15) and Vancouver (July 16). He will also meet Members of Parliament and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada. Mr. Yilkal met and have had productive conversations with Ethiopians at the 33^rd ESFNA event in Toronto.

E. Akele, July 11, 2016, Toronto, Canada. 

የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ሊቀመንበር ለስራ ጉበኝት ካናዳ ገቡ
አቶ ይልቃል ጌትነት፡ የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ሊቀመንበር፤ ለሁለት ሳምንት የስራ ጉብኝት ዛሬ ማክሰኞ፤ ጁን 28 ቀን፤ ካናዳ ገቡ፡፡ አቶ ይልቃል በቶሮንቶ ፒርሰን አለማቀፍ አይር ማርፊ ሲገኙ፤ በከተማው የሚገኙ የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ ድጋፍ ሰጪዎች ሞቅ ያለ አቀባበል አድርገውላቸዋለው፡፡
አቶ ይልቃል፤ ከዚህ ቀደም ሁለት ጊዜያት ለስራ ጉብኝት ወደአሜሪካ ሊጓዙ ሲሉ ከቦሌ አለማቀፍ አውሮፕላን ጣቢያ ያላግባብ በመመለሳቸው፤ ይሄኛው ጉዟቸውም ይስተጓጎላል የሚል ስጋት እንነደበራቸው በስፍራው የተቀበሏቸው ሰዎች ገልጸዋል፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ፤ በአጭር ግዜ ጥሪ የተሰባሰቡት ኢትዮጵያውያን ለሊቀመንበሩ አቀባበል አድርገውላቸው፤ የተሰማቸውን ደስታ ገልጸዋል፡፡
በቅርቡ በመገናኛ ብዙሃን የተለያየ ትችትና መጋለጥ የደረሰበት የኢትዮጵያ... መንግስት፤ የአቶ ይልቃል ጉዞ መስተጓጎል ሌላ ትችት ይጋብዛል በሚል ስጋት እንዳሳለፋቸው ነው አስተያየት ሰጪዎች የተናገሩት፡፡
ቶሮንቶ በዚህ ዓመት የሰሜን አሜሪካ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ስፖርት ፌደሬሽን ውድድር አዘጋጅ ስትሆን፤ ሰማያዊ ፓርቲና አቶ ይልቃል ጌትነት፤ ከሰብአዊ መብት ድርጅቶች ጋር በመሆን፤ በቶሮንቶና በሌሎች የካናዳ ከተሞች ህዝባዊ ስብሰባዎችንና የገንዘብ ማሰባሰቢያ ዝግጅቶችን እንደሚያደርጉ ታውቋል፡፡
አቶ ይልቃል፤ በቅርቡ በፓርቲያቸው ውስጥ ስለተፈጠረው አለመግባባትና ፈተና ማብራሪያ እንደሚሰጡም ይጠበቃል፡፡ ከአቶ ይልቃል ጋር ስለሚኖሩ ዝርዝር ዝግጅቶች በቀጣዮች ቀናት እንደሚገለጡ አዘጋጆቹ አስታውቀዋል፡፡

Ethiopia: Release opposition politician held for Facebook posts

 Press Release May 06, 2016
Amnesty International

The Ethiopian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release a prominent opposition politician facing a possible death sentence on trumped-up terrorism charges over comments he posted on Facebook, said Amnesty International.
Yonatan Tesfaye, the spokesman of the opposition Semayawi (Blue) party, was arbitrarily arrested in December 2015 and held in lengthy pre-trial detention for comments he posted on Facebook. The government says his posts against a government plan to extend the capital’s administrative authority to the Oromia region were in pursuit of the objectives of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), which it considers a terrorist organisation.
“The Ethiopian authorities have increasingly labelled all opposition to them as terrorism. Yonatan Tesfaye spoke up against a possible land grab in Oromia, which is not a crime and is certainly not terrorism,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.
“He and many others held under similar circumstances should be immediately and unconditionally released.”
Yonatan Tesfaye was arbitrarily arrested in December 2015 and held without charge for months on end. It was not until 4 May 2016 that he was charged with “incitement, planning, preparation, conspiracy and attempt” to commit a terrorist act. The state prosecutor charged that Yonatan Tesfaye’s remarks were in pursuit of the OLF’s objectives.­­­­
“Yonatan Tesfaye has no demonstrated links to the OLF. His arrest is just another example of government overreach in the application of its seriously flawed anti-terrorism law. This law is once again being used as a pretext to quash dissent,” said Muthoni Wanyeki.
“The Ethiopian authorities should also promptly, impartially, thoroughly and transparently investigate claims that he may have been tortured or otherwise ill-treated in detention at the Maekelawi Prison, a jail notorious for its widespread use of torture.
For further information contact
Aden Seaton/Sarah French 613-744-7667 ext 263

በእዉቁ ከያኒ፤ደራሲ እና የኪነ-ጥበብ ሰዉ ደበበ እሽቱ Debebe Eshetu በፀሐይ አሳታሚ ድርጅት አማካኝነት "ኢትዬዽያ .. የባሩድ በርሜል" በሚል አርእስት ወደ አማርኛ የተተረጎመውን "Abyssinia . The Powder Barrel" መጽሐፍ ፊርማ እና ውይይት በአሻራ አርትስ አዘጋጅነት እሁድ ኖቬምበር 29 ቀን 2015 በታላቋ ቶሮንቶ ከተማ ይካሄዳል፡፡ እኛም በስነስርአቱ ላይ ለመካፈል እንዲሁም የናፈቀንን ወዳጃችን ጋሽ ደቤን በአካል ለማግኘት ጉዞ ወደ ቶሮንቶ ጀምረናል፡፡
"ውጥንቅጧ የወጣው የአሁኗ ኢትዬዽያን ሰለመፈጠሯ በ1935 ዓ.ም እንዴት እንደታስበ ለመረዳት ይህንን መጽሐፍ ማንበብ ወሳኝ ነው"
በዝግጅቱ ላይ መገኘት ለምትፈልጉ
Sunday, November 29, 2015 at Hirut Restaurant 2050 Danforth Avenue, starting from 5pm.

‹‹የፌዴሬሽኑ አመራሮች ሙሉ በሙሉ ማለት ይቻላል የገዢው ፓርቲ አባል ናቸው›› አትሌት ከላሊ ንጉሴ አብርሃ

የረዥም ርቀት እና ማራቶን ሯጭ ሲሆን አሁን የሚገኘው በስደት ቶሮንቶ፣ ካናዳ ውስጥ ነው፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ በነበረበት ወቅት ከአትሌቲክስ ፌዴሬሽን እና ተያያዥ ጉዳዮች ጋር ያሳለፈውን የህይወት ተሞክሮ በማስመልከት ከኢትዮጵ ዛሬ ጋር አጭር ቆይታ አድርጓል፤ እንደሚከተለው ይቀርባል፡፡

ኢ.ዛ.፡- በቅድሚያ ይህን ቃለመጠይቅ እንድናደርግ ፈቃደኛ በመሆንክ በትዝታ ጋዜጣ ስም እያመሰገንኩ፤ እሰቲ እራስክን በማስተዋወቅ እንጀምር፡፡ የት እንደተወለድክ ፣ ሙያህን እና የአስተዳደር ሁኔታክን ግለፅልኝ

አትሌት ከላሊ፡- ከላይ ንጉሴ እባላለሁ፡፡ የተወለድኩት ራያ ከሚባል አካባቢ ሲሆን ትንሽዬ ገጠር ውስጥ ነው፡፡ እድገቴም እንደማንኛውም ኢትዮጵያዊ ሲሆን እዛው ራያ አካባቢ ነው፡፡ ትምህርቴንም ቢሆን እስከ ሁለተኛ ደረጃ እዛው ነው የጨረስኩት፤ በሙያ ደግሞ የረዥም ርቀት እና የማራቶን ሯጭ ነኝ፡፡

ኢ.ዛ.፡-ትንሽ ስለ ራያ ህዝብ እና አካባቢው ብትነግረኝ?

አትሌት ከላሊ፡- ራያ የሚገኘው በትግራይ ክልል ሲሆን፤ በህዝብ ቁጥር እንዲሁም በመሬት ይዞታው በክልሉ ደረጃ ሰፊ ነው ሊባል ይችላል፡፡ የራያ ህዝብ ዋነኛ መተዳደያው በእርሻ ነው፡፡ ምንም እንኳን ሰፋ ያለ ይዞታ ቢኖረውም ህዝቡ ግን ከፍተኛ የሚባል በደል የደረሰበት ነው፡፡ ራያ በትግራይ ክልል የተካለለ ቢሆንም የተገለለ አካባቢ ይመስላል፡፡ እንደሌሎቹ የትግራይ ግዛቶች የልማት እንቅስቃሴ ተጠቃሚ ሊሆን አልቻለም፡፡

ኢ.ዛ.፡- አካባቢው የልማት ተጠቃሚ አይደለም ስትል ምሳሌ ልትጠቅስልኝ ትችላለክ?

አትሌት ከላሊ፡- ለምሳሌ በከተማ እድገት ብንመለከት ማይጨው የራያ ዋና ከተማ ነው፡፡ እንደዋና ከተማነቱ ይኼ ነው የሚባል መሻሻል ወይም እድገት እንዲሁም ለእድገቱ የሚያስፈልጉ ከመንግስት የሚደረጉ አቅርቦቶች የሉም፡፡ ሌሎች በትግራይ ክልል የሚገኙ አካባቢዎችን ብንመለከት ልዩነቱን መገንዘብ እንችላለን፡፡ ለምሳሌ ለመጥቀስ ያክል አዲግራት ወይም ኡቅሮ የሚባሉ አካባቢዎች በአማካይ አንድ አይነት የህዝብ ቁጥር እና የመሬት ስፋት ይዘው ግን በመሀከላቸው ያለው የመሰረተ ልማት እንቅስቃሴ እጅግ በጣም ሰፊ ነው፡፡ አንድ መሰረተ ልማት ብናነሳ እንኳን፣ ህክምናን ብንመለከት በራያ አካባቢ ማይጨው የሚባል ቦታ ላይ አንድ መካከለኛ የሚባል ሆስፒታል ነው የሚገኘው፡፡ ገዢው ፓርቲ ኢትዮጵያን ማስተዳደር ከጀመረ ይኸው አሁን ከ20 አመት በላይ አሳልፏል፤ ራያን በሚያክል አካባቢ አንድ ክሊኒክ ብቻ፣ አስበው ከተለያዩ የራያ ክፍሎች ሰው ታሞ የሚመጣው እዚችው ሀኪም ቤት፣ እዛ ድረስ እስኪደርስ ያለውን እርቀት፣ መንገድ ላይ የሚሞትም አለ፣ እንደዛም ሆኖ ብትደርስ ብዙ ጊዜ ወደሌላ የትግራይ አካባቢዎች ለሚገኝ ሆስፒታል ሪፈር ትደረጋለክ፡፡ የሌሎች አካባቢ እንቅስቃሴዎችን የማየት እድሉን ስላገኘው ከራያ ጋር ሳመዛዝነው ውስጤ ያዝናል፡፡ ይኼም ሳያንስ መንግስት እንዲህ እና እንዲያ እያደረኩ ነው ብሎ በሚዲያ ሲናገር ጉዳዩን ለምናውቀው የሚያሳዝን ነው፡፡

ኢ.ዛ.፡-በቋንቋ ስንመለከት ራያ በሦስት የተከፈለ ነው ብለው የሚናገሩ አሉ ይኸውም የአማርኛ ተናጋሪ፣ የኦሮምኛ እንዲሁም የትግርኛ ተናጋሪ፤ ሦስቱም አንድ ላይ ተጠቃለው ነው ወይስ እንደቋንቋቸው አካባቢያቸውም ይለያያል?

አትሌት ከላሊ፡- ራያን በአጠቃላይ ስንመለከተው በሁለት ልንከፍለው እንችላለን፤ ይኸውም ራያ ቆቦ የሚባለው ወደ አማራ አካባቢ የሚገኘው ሲሆን በአብዛኛው የአማርኛ ተናጋሪ ያለበት ክፍል ሲሆን፤ እኔ ወደምኖርበት አካባቢ ያለው ደግሞ ራያ አዘቦ የሚባለው አካባቢ ሲሆን ትግርኛ፣ አማርኛ እንዲሁም ኦሮምኛም ተናጋሪዎች ያሉበት ነው፡፡ እንዲህ ቢከፋፈሉም ያው እንደ አንድ ክልል ነው የሚታወቁት፡፡

 ኢ.ዛ.፡-ወደ አትሌቲክሱ ህይወትክ እንመለስ እና እንዴት ወደ ሩጫው ገባህ?

አትሌት ከላሊ፡- ፕሮፌሽናል የአትሌቲክስ ህይወት የጀመርኩት እዛው ራያ ትምህርት ቤት ውስጥ ነው፡፡ በጊዜው የከፍተኛ ሁለተኛ ተማሪ ነበርኩኝ ጊዜውም ወደ 1999 ዓ.ም. አካባቢ መሆኑ ነው፡፡ በጊዜው ከተለያዩ ወረዳዎች የተወጣጡ ሯጮች በክልሉ በተካሄደው ውድድር ይሳተፉ ነበር፡፡ እኔም የምኖርበትን ወረዳ በመወከል ለመሳተፍ በቃሁ፡፡በጊዜው ጥሩ የሚባል ሰዓት በማስመዝገቤ ከዛን ጊዜ በኋላ በሌሎች ውድድሮችም እንድሳተፍ ተደረኩኝ ማለት ነው፡፡

ኢ.ዛ.፡-እንደሚታወቀው እትዮጵያ በተለያዩ አካባቢዎች በብዙ የሚቆጠሩ ወጣት አትሌቶችን ታፈራለች፤ ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ ችሎታ ኖሯቸው እንኳን እድሉን አግኝተው ወደ ከፍተኛ መድረኮች ወጥቶ ለመወዳደር በራሱ ትልቅ ፈተና እንደሚሆንባቸው በየጊዘው የሚሰማ ጉዳይ ነው፡፡ ታዲያ አንተም ከእነሱ አንዱ እንደመሆንክ እንዴት እድሉን አገኝተክ ልትወጣ ቻልክ?

አትሌት ከላሊ፡- እርግጥ ነው ቀላል አይደለም፡፡ ብዙ ተግዳሮቶች አሉበት፤ የኔም ጉዳይ ቢሆን እድል ተጨምሮበት እንጂ ሚናልባትም እዛው እቀር ነበር፡፡ ወረዳ ላይ ከተሳተፍኩ በኋላ ሌሎች ውድድሮችም ላይ አመርቂ ውጤት በማስመዝገቤ የትግራይ ክልልን ወክዬ እንድሳተፍ ተደረኩኝ፡፡ ከዛም ወደ አዲስ አዲስ አበባ በመምጣት ትግራይን ወክዬ ተወዳድሬያለሁ፡፡ በይበልጥ በኢትዮጵያ አቆጣጠር በ2002/2003 ዓ.ም. ጥሩ ፐርፎርማንስ አሳይቼ ነበር በዚህም የተነሳ ማረሚያ ለሚባል የስፖርት ክለብ ውስጥ ለመሮጥ በቃሁ፡፡ እዛ በነበርኩበትም ወቅት በተለያዩ ውድድሮች ላይ የተሳተፍኩ ሲሆን ይኸውም በሀገር ውስጥ እና ከሀገር ውጭ በበርካታ መድረኮች ላይ ለመወዳደር ችያለሁ፡፡

ኢ.ዛ.፡-በተለያዩ ሀገራት የመወዳደር እድል እንዳገኘክ ነግረኸኛል፤ እንዴት ነበር በግልክ ነው ወይስ የኢትዮጵያ አትሌቲክስ ፌዴሬሽን አመቻችቶልክ ነው?

አትሌት ከላሊ፡- በእርግጥ የኢትዮጵያ አትሌቲክስ ፌዴሬሽን ነው በውድድሩ ላይ እንድንሳተፍ የሚያደርገው፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ የምትወዳደርለትን ክለብ ወይም ሀገርህን አልያም ደግሞ በግልቅ መሳተፍ ትችላለክ፡፡ ዋናው ነገር በቅርብ ጊዜያት የምታስመዘግበው ውጤት ይወስነዋል፡፡ ለምሳሌ በረዢም ርቀቶች ላይ ስትሳተፍ ቢያንስ ጥሩ ሰዓት እና ከ1-7 ወይም እስከ 8ኛ ደረጃ ላይ የሚወጡት ሯጮች ቅድሚያ ያገኛሉ፡፡ ሀገር እንዲወክሉ ይደረጋል ማለት ነው፡፡

ኢ.ዛ.፡-ከኢትዮጵያ አትሌቲክስ ፌዴሬሽን ጋር በተያያዘ በርካታ መረጃዎችን እንሰማለን፤ ይኸውም እኩል የሆነ እድል ለሯጮች አይሰጥም፣ በሙስና የተጨማለቀ ነው፣ በብሔር የተከፋፈለ ነው፣ ሯጮች በሀገር ውስጥ እድል ሳይሰጣቸው ለሌላ ሀግር እየሮጡ ውጤት እያመጡ ነው እና የመሳሰሉ ቅሬታዎችን፤ ከዚህ አንፃር አንተስ የታዘብከው ወይም የደረሰብክ ነገር አለ?

አትሌት ከላሊ፡- በቅድሚያ የሰማኸው መረጃ ትክክል መሆኑን እኔው እራሴ ላረጋግጥልክ እወዳለው፡፡ ያው በየጊዜው የምንመለከተው ጉዳይ ነው፡፡ እንደው በቅርቡ እዛ በነበርኩበት ጊዜ የተከሰተውን አንድ ጉዳይ ብነግርክ፤ የሴቶች የረጅም ሩጫ ተካሂዶ ነበር፡፡ ታዲያ ውጤት ያመጡትን ይመርጣሉ ብለን እየጠበቅን 2ኛ ነው 3ኛ የወጣችውን ጥለው ውድድሩ ላይ አቋርጣ የወጣችውን ተወዳዳሪ መርጠዋል፡፡ እሷም ሄዳ ውጤት አላመጣችም በውድድሩ 24ኛ ነበር የወጣችው፡፡ ይህ እንግዲህ እኔ በቅርቡ የታዘብኩትን ነው የነገርኩህ፡፡ ይህ የሚያሳየው ፌዴሬሽኑ ምን ያክል በዝምድና፣ በሙስና፣ በብሔር እና በፖለቲካ አቋምህ እንደሚወሰን ነው፡፡ በዚህ ምክንያት አትሌቲክሱ አያድግም፣ ለታዳጊዎች እድል አይሰጡም ከዚህ የተነሳ ይኸው የድሮ ዝናውን እያጣ ነው፡፡ ፌዴሬሽኑ ብዙ ችግር አለበት፤ እውነተኛ ነገር እየተሰራ አይደለም፡፡ የመወዳደር አቅም እና ችሎታ እያለክ፣ ውድድር አግኝተክ፣ ኢንቪቴሽን ወረቀት መጥቶልክ እንኳን በውድድሮች ላይ ለመሳተፍ ከፍተኛ ብር ጉቦ መስጠት አለብክ፡፡ ይህን ደግሞ ማድረግ የሚችሉት ጥቂቶች ብቻ ናቸው፡፡

 ኢ.ዛ.፡-እንደገለፅክልኝ ይህ የሚያሳየው በፌዴሬሽኑ ውስጥ ከፍተኛ የሚባል ችግር እንዳለ ነው፡፡ ታዲያ አትሌቶቹስ ይኼን እያዩ እንደው ዝም ብለው ያልፋሉ፤ ተሰባስበው የሚያደርጉት እንቅስቃሴ አለ ከዚህ አንፃር?

አትሌት ከላሊ፡- የአትሌቶች ማህበር የተቋቋመ አለ፡፡ ሁሉንም አትሌቶች ያቀፈ ማለት ነው፡፡ ሰብሳቢዎቹም ትላልቅ የሚባሉ አትሌቶች ናቸው፡፡ በየጊዜው ስብሰባ ይደረጋል፣ ችግሮች ይነሳሉ፣ መፍትሄ ተብሎ ይወራል ነገር ግን እስካሁን ምንም ሊፈጥሩ አልቻሉም፡፡ አሁንም ችግሮቹ እንዳሉ ናቸው፡፡

ኢ.ዛ.፡-ፌዴሬሽኑ ከገዢው ፓርቲ ጋር በተያያዘ ባለው የፖለቲካ ትስስር ሲታማ ይሰማል፡፡ ለምሳሌ የቴክኒካል ዳይሬክተሩ አቶ ዱቤ ጁሎ የኢህአዴግ አባል መሆናቸው በራሱ ትልቅ ጥያቄ ያስነሳ ጉዳይ ነው፡፡ ከዚህ ጋር በተያያዘ አንተ ምን አስተያየት አለህ?

አትሌት ከላሊ፡- እውነቱን ለመናገር ዳይሬክተሩ ብቻ ሳይሆኑ የፌዴሬሽኑ አመራሮች ሙሉ በሙሉ ማለት ይቻላል የገዢው ፓርቲ አባል ናቸው፡፡ ምንመ እንኳን ፌዴሬሽኑ ከፖለቲካ ገለልተኛ አካል በመሆን መስራት ሲገባው አሁን ባለው ሁኔታ ግን ይህ የሚታሰብ አይደለም፡፡ ከዚህም የተነሳ ማናቸውንም ጥያቄዎችን ማንሳትም ሆነ ወደ በላይ አካል ማቅረብ በራሱ ከባድ ነው፡፡ አንደኛ ሁሉም የተሳሰሩ ስለሆኑ ምላሽ አታገኝም፤ ድምፄን አሰማለሁ ያልክም እንደሆነ የፖለቲካ ታፔላ ተለጥፎብክ ሌላ ችግር ይደርስብካል፡፡

ኢ.ዛ.፡-አንተ እንደ አንድ አትሌት ለዚህ መፍትሄው ምንድነው ትላለክ?

አትሌት ከላሊ፡- በርግጥ እኔ ፖለቲካኛ ስላልሆንኩና ብዙ ፖለቲካ ስላማላውቅ እንዲህ ነው ብዬ ስፊ ትንተና ልሰጥህ አልችልም፡፡ ግን እርግጠኛ ሆኜ የምነግርክ መንግስት ከአትሌቲክሱ ውስጥ ጣልቃገብነት ማቆም አለበት፡፡ አጠቃላይ የስርዓት ለውጥ ካልመጣ በፌዴሬሽኑ አካባቢ ብቻውን ለውጥ ይመጣል ወይ የሚለው ነግር ለመመለስ አስቸጋሪ ነው፡፡ ግን በአትሌቲክስም ይሁን በሌላው የህይወት መስክ ወጣቱም፤ የሚቀጥለው ትውልድም ይኼን ስርዓት በርትቶ መታገል አለበት ነው የምለው፡፡ ሌላ ምንም አማራጭ የለኝም፡፡

ኢ.ዛ.፡-በመጨረሻ እንደው ሌላ የምትጨምረው ወይም የምታስተላልፈው መልዕክት ካለህ?

አትሌት ከላሊ፡- በይበልጥ ወጣቱ የተወሰደበትን የእኩልነት እና የነፃነት መብቱን፣ ለእውነት እና ለማንነቱ መታገል አለበት፡፡ ሰው በድህነቱ በብሔሩ ወይም በፖለቲካ አስተሳሰቡ ሲጨፈጨፍ ዝም ብሎ መመልከት ሳይሆን አንድ ሆኖ መታገል አለበት፡፡ ሁሉም በሚችለው አቅሙ ማለት ነው፡፡

ኢ.ዛ.፡-ስለሰጠሀን ቃለምልልስ እናመሰግናለን፡፡

አትሌት ከላሊ፡- እኔም አመሰግናለሁ፡፡

Eskinder Nega Wins 2015 PEN Canada One Humanity Award

Eskinder Nega wins PEN Canada One Humanity award at 36th International Festival of Authors

TORONTO, Oct. 19, 2015 – The Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega will receive PEN Canada’s One Humanity Award on the opening night of the 36th International Festival of Authors (IFOA 36). The award, valued at $5,000, is presented at PEN’s annual gala to a writer whose work transcends the boundaries of national divides and inspires connections across cultures.

Mr. Nega, an independent journalist, was arrested in September 2011 under the provisions of Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation for criticizing the detention of a prominent government critic, and disputing the government’s assertion that detained journalists were terror suspects. At his trial the judge reportedly accused Nega of using “the guise of freedom” to “attempt to incite violence and overthrow the constitutional order” through a popular revolt similar to those of the Arab Spring.
Convicted on June 27, 2012, Nega was sentenced to 18 years in prison. In December 2012 the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said the sentence violated free expression and due process rights under international law. The UN group called for his immediate release. On May 2, 2013, the Ethiopian Federal Supreme Court upheld both the conviction and the sentence.
Nega is one of eight journalists and bloggers currently jailed in Ethiopia under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, according to PEN International’s case list. Six others were released in July 2015 after being held for periods ranging from 16 months to four years under the same legislation.
Since its 2010 UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Ethiopia has repeatedly used its Anti-Terrorism Proclamation to arbitrarily arrest, prosecute, and imprison independent journalists and opposition activists. Ahead of Ethiopia’s 2014 UPR, a shadow report by PEN International and the Committee to Protect Journalists found the Proclamation overbroad and inconsistent with international law. The use of the Anti-Terror Proclamation to stifle the independent media has been condemned both by regional human rights bodies and the UN.
The Ethiopian government has arbitrarily imposed restrictions on the distribution of broadcast and print licenses, the content and editorial position of news outlets, the freedom of movement of journalists, the accreditation of international journalists, and domestic access to international broadcasts and Internet content.
Since 1992, government pressure has forced at least 75 independent publications, overwhelmingly from the Amharic language press, to close. Although a large number of private publications continue to operate, less than a handful of publications cover politics with a critical perspective. A high number of journalists have fled the country as a result of government persecution.
Photo credit: Lennart Kjorling
http://pencanada.ca/news/eskinder-nega-wins-2015-pen-canada-one-humanity-award/