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Unrealized Victory of the Battle of Adwa: By Professor Ayele Bekerie

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2021 in Featured and History. Closed

February is Black History Month and below is Professor Ayele Bekerie's reflection on the 125th anniversary of Ethiopia's victory at the Battle of Adwa, which is considered "a turning point in modern African history." (Photo: War Veterans heading to Adwa hand-in-hand to celebrate the victory at the Battle of Adwa in March 1896. By Ayele Bekerie)

Tadias Magazine

By Ayele Bekerie, PhD

February 1st, 2021

Unrealized Victory of the Battle of Adwa: Unity Then for Freedom and Unity Now for Transformation

Mekelle University, Ethiopia (TADIAS) — The Ethiopians, 125 years ago, reversed the course of colonial history. At the Battle of Adwa, on March 1, 1896, they successfully unsettled the colonizers and paved the way for anti-colonial resistance in Africa. They charted a new strategy to ultimately defeat colonialism in Africa and elsewhere. The united and highly disciplined Ethiopian force achieved irreversible victory at the battlefield and obliged the Italians to retreat and return back to their native land. To be concise, at Adwa, Africa defeated Europe. Simply put, Adwa became a turning point in modern African history.

The Italians call the Battle of Adwa, the Battle of Aba Gerima, a mountain top location that was used as a command center for the Ethiopian military leadership. It was next to Aba Gerima, at the foot of Mount Kidane Mehret, the first and by far the most decisive battle took place. Later, the battle site was named mindibdib, which means total annihilation. The Italians’ ambition for colonial expansion came to a halt at the foot of the majestic mountains of Abba Gerima, as well as Mount Kidane Mehret and Mount Gesseso. These mountains, including Mount Belah, Mount Raeyo, Mount Enda Kidane Mehret, Mount Solado and Mount Zubin Daero, form not only spectacular landscape of Adwa and its surroundings, but they also remain as mountains of natural fortress for Ethiopian fighters. They are remarkable landmarks of Adwa. Ethiopians fought the Italians at sites of their choosing.

The mountains of Adwa, Permanent Landmarks of Victory. (Photo by Chester Higgins of the New York
Times)

Imminent historians and other scholars have written extensively about the Battle. One of the most comprehensive and scientific historical narratives on the Battle of Adwa is Raymond Jonas’s The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire in 2011. Jonas’s widely praised book for its fair treatment of all the key players and deeds of the Battle, is a second book on the subject. The first book on the Battle was written by a British Journalist August Wilde, who witnessed the Battle and wrote the first book entitled Modern Abyssinia in 1903. Contrary to Jonas, Wylde wrote the book ‘to prevent another white failure in Ethiopia.’

The major newspapers and magazines of the world placed the victory in their cover pages. Afro-Brazilian newspaper, which is recently revived, named itself ‘O Menelick.’ Parents were quick to name their offspring, from Hungary to France, Menelik, Taitu, Balcha, and Allula. The European Press reported the victory favorably. Vanity Fair, for instance, published in its cover page, a colored lithograph of Emperor Menelik II. Le Petit Journal also had the victory in its front page. Even the victory at Amba Alage triggered Italian students from Rome University to march on the streets of Rome shouting ‘Viva Menelik!’

Pan-Africanist Benito Sylvain travelled to Addis Ababa from Paris to congratulate Emperor Menelik on his victory. He later served as a delegate to the first Pan-African Congress in 1900 in London representing Ethiopia and Haiti. The Haitian Dr. Sylvain had a chance to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Haitian Revolution of 1804 in Addis Ababa.

The National Archive and Library Agency (NALA) has a large collection of manuscripts and documents in Amharic on the Battle of Adwa. Among the Ethiopian scholars who documented and written about the Battle are: Belata Mersea Hazen Wolde Qirqos, Dejazmach Doctor Zewde Gebre Selassie, Dejazemach Kebede Tesema, Aleqa Taye Gebre Mariam, Fitawrari Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariam and Dejazemach Zewde Reta as well as Paulos Gnogno. A useful source of the Battle also includes Tsehafe Tezaz Gebre Selassie’s Tarike Zemen Ze Dagmawi Menelik Nehuse Negest Ze Ethiopia (Historical Period of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia) published in Amharic in 1967.

Abuna Gerima’s summit was the command center in which the commander of the Ethiopian force (foot soldiers and cavalry), Ras Mekonnen Wolde Mikael monitored troop movements of the enemy. He had the height advantage to survey and give orders to his lieutenants. The Italians gathered at their fortress at Sawrya not far from the final battle fields and headed to Adwa. They marched at night with the intent of surprise attack at the break of day. The fateful night was rainy and the Italians got lost in the many mountains of Adwa. By the time, they made their way to the first battlefield, the Ethiopians were ready to encircle and defeat them within hours. The Ethiopians were aided by spies who provided the latest information regarding the movement of the Italians.

Ras Mekonnen’s memorial statue in Harar, eastern Ethiopia, was sadly destroyed by a mob following the assassination of Artist Hachalu Hundesa in 2019. Ras Mekonnen served his country both as diplomat and military commander. He was by far the most trusted advisor to the Emperor. His army from eastern Ethiopia fought battles at Amba Alage, Mekelle and Adwa. In all the three cases, they were victorious, given that they made priceless sacrifices to achieve their goal. Fighters from Harar sustained heavy losses in an attempt to dislodge the Italians from their fortress at Endayesus in Mekelle. The freedom we enjoy and the country we love was made possible because of the sacrifices of our gallant fighting traditions of our ancestors. Erecting and keeping monuments to our heroes are the least we can do to ascertain our Ethiopian identity and nationhood ascertained by historical deeds.

Abuna Gerima is the site of one of the oldest Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church monasteries. It houses a rare collection of religious manuscripts. It is now famous worldwide, for it is home to the earliest illuminated parchment bible in the world. The Bible (Old and New Testaments) is carbon-dated in a laboratory at Oxford University to circa 6th century of the Common Era. The manuscript was written in Ge’ez, which literally means free, is the ancient and classical language of Ethiopia. Abune Gerima. given its multiple historic relevance, ought to be preferred destination for visit and spiritual fulfillment. Besides, the great general Ras Alula Aba Nega, who started resisting the Italian colonizers long before the Battle of Adwa during the reign of Emperor Yohannes IV and continued at Adwa, buried at the monastery. His cemetery is built few years ago and is standing intact.

The Italian colonization strategy was based on exploitation of ethnic and religious differences in Ethiopia. They tried to play one regional king against another. They also attempted to draw Muslim Ethiopians to their side. Often the colonizers strategy rests upon the introduction of Christianity to the so-called natives. That was a trick that cannot be duplicated in Ethiopia. Ethiopians embraced Christianity almost since the beginning of the faith. Christianity was perhaps introduced here earlier than Rome. Simply, Christianity has deeper roots in Ethiopia and therefore cannot be used as a tool of colonization. Furthermore, divide and rule strategy was decisively countered when Ethiopians were able to set aside their differences and fought the enemy as one. Besides, Menelik and Taitu as leaders and partners were harmonious and understanding with each other. They both vigorously campaigned for the unification of the empire. They were also endowed with strategic acumen.

Their exemplary joint campaign did not stop at Adwa. In post-Adwa Ethiopia, the co-leaders were engaged in establishing, for the first time, the instruments of modern state. The co-leaders introduced electricity, automobile, telephone, photography, and railway. In addition, bank, hospitals, hotel service, piped water and police force.

In the last three decades, systematic campaign was carried out by the enemy from within in an attempt to diminish the significance of the victory at the Battle of Adwa. Some said the Battle was not necessary, others lament that the victory did not result in unity, and the rest from the enemy camp resorted to raw insults of the heroic leaders. It is one thing to conduct constructive criticism of the execution of the Battle and historical journeys of the post-Adwa Ethiopia. That was not the case. Recent events in the north clearly showed that the enemy from within was aiming to dismember the country. Scramble for Africa may have begun in 1884 and left behind a colonial legacy that will take years to fully undress and undo. What we have witnessed in the last few years was an attempt to restore the scramble for Africa with the intent of settling accounts in Ethiopia, the only country that has never been colonized. Enemies from within and without collude to write what they thought would be the final chapter of the scramble for Africa. This time it is planned but failed to be executed in Ethiopia by covertly engaging in destabilizing the state. It is clear from the remarkable unity displayed by Ethiopians in supporting the Ethiopian National Defense Forces when attacked in the north. The Ethiopians are saying no to scramble for Ethiopia.

Apart from wanton destruction of Ras Mekonnen Wolde Mikael’s statue in Harar, these past years, we have witnessed additional physical assaults on memorials of our heroines. The cemetery-monument of Ras Abate BwaYalew, the young and skillful gunner, at Debre Libanos Monastery, was dismantled in the name of development. The monument was built by his family members. Since they have saved the monument in picture forms, heritage guardians should mobilize forces to rebuild the Ras Abate’s memorial at the chosen site.

Two years ago, Ethiopians in the diaspora and at home, sought to lay a foundation stone to build a memorial park for Empress Taitu in Adwa Bridge Park in Addis Ababa. Announcement was made and guests were invited to undertake the event. Alemtsehay Wodajo, who runs Taitu Cultural Center, an institution named after Empress Taitu in Washington D.C., was a co-host of the event together with the Addis Ababa City administration. Unfortunately, the event was unexpectedly cancelled without any explanation. Empress Taitu made significant contribution to the building of modern Ethiopia. She led her own specialized forces at the Battle. She also organized 10,000 women logisticians to provide water for the army at the battlefields. She certainly deserves a statue in Addis Ababa she found.

While we are at it, it is important to remember that the first hotel in Addis Ababa, Taitu Hotel was damaged by fire. To this date, it is not fully restored. Tadias did a story on the damaged caused to the historic building at the time of the incident.

Another disappointment regarding Adwa is the unfulfilled dream to establish Adwa Pan-African University (APAU). The foundation stone is laid in the presence of the former Prime Minister Haile Mariam Desalegn and some African leaders, including President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda in April 2018. Land is endowed. Concept paper is written. Local and international conferences conducted on the subject. Architectural design is completed. And yet APAU still remains a dream deferred.

While the implementation of APAU in Adwa is on hold, the Addis Ababa City Administration is constructing a massive cultural and commercial center at ground zero, the center-most of Addis Ababa, not far from the statue of Emperor Menelik II and St George Church in Arada sub-city. The complex structure displays the letter A for Adwa on its roof. The Center once completed will have a museum, shopping centers, cafes and entertainment units.

Contrary to the popular and misleading notion, the Ethiopians were well-armed and prepared to confront the invading Italian army. For instance, the Ethiopians acquired artillery that was by far superior to the Italians. While the Ethiopian artillery hit range was 4,500 meters, the Italians counterpart was limited to 3,800 hit range. The Ethiopian army had 70,000 modern rifles and 5 million rounds of ammunition. The Battle was not fought with spears and shields alone. The cavalry unit may have used spears and shields extensively. And yet, historians have recorded the agility and the speed with which the horses manage the hills up or down during battle engagements. In short, as one observer puts it, “Emperor Menelik II built an army that is reasonably comparable to the European colonizers in weaponry and personnel.”

Children playing with an abandoned artillery left at Mindibdib, the site of the first decisive battle. Ethiopians routed the Italian battalion within hours of the engagement. (Photo by Ayele Bekerie)

One-hundred-and-a-quarter century passed since the Ethiopian army defeated the Italian colonial invaders at the Battle of Adwa. As if to compensate for the gallant but unsuccessful resistance against the colonial encroachment of the 18 th and 19 centuries in Africa, the Ethiopians decisively affirmed with their victory the beginning of the end of colonialism. The Italians were assigned the Horn of Africa at the 1884/85 Berlin Conference where 14 European countries were in attendance. Once Austrian-occupied Italy expected a quick victory for their almost 20,000 strong invasion forces.

As one observer puts it, given Italy’s fractured nature of nation-state building and imperial ambition, they were not capable of challenging the Menelik’s war-tested and united force and diplomatically sophisticated Ethiopian state. Emperor Menelik engaged Europe diplomatically to acquire modern weapons. He successfully played one European colonial power against another in order to keep Ethiopia free of their colonial encroachments. Local or European diplomats like Alfred Ilg conducted effective public relation campaign in Europe.

The Ethiopians also excelled the Italians in intelligence gatherings and effective use. The Ethiopians had the latest information, thanks to the works of Basha Awalom and Ato Gebre Hiwot, who chose to serve and remain loyal to the national agenda of. As a result, their intelligence gathering and sharing information regarding the movement of the Italian battalions with the Ethiopian military leadership at Adwa, made a critical difference in tilting the victory to the home front.

Instead of enhancing historical achievements thereby addressing peaceable co-existence, we expend a great deal of resources to narrow and stultify our sense of who we are. Ethnic identity seems to have absolute priority over our Ethiopian identity. Our approach to ethnicity is so dangerous that we are willing to carry out the most heinous violent crimes against those who are conveniently labeled outsiders.

In the last thirty years, identity gravitated to extreme and divisive positions. Identity is defined by negative legitimacy. That means, one defines his or her identity by mere sense of victimhood and by blaming and hating others.

I argue that the full meaning and relevance of the victory at Adwa has yet to be realized within Ethiopia, as Maimre Mennsemay also noted. It was the power of multiple and united voices that enabled Ethiopians to be victorious. That formula of unity should be repeated now to counter the large-scale displacements and violence encountered by our fellow Ethiopians throughout the country to this date.

Killel is a killer. Killel discriminates. Killel hast turned into fatal division of us versus them. Killel is a thriving ground for political opportunists and ethno-racists. Killel appears to be a sure way to let ethno-nationalists, driven by selfishness, continuously make attempts to dismember the country. Killel or what has evolved to be self-governing mechanism is in actuality an instrument to displace and kill those who are labeled outsiders. The maxim of Adwa is to respect geographical and cultural diversity and to strive in unison as one country and people to build a better and stronger nation. Most historians also agree that Adwa paved the way for the ultimate demise of colonialism in Africa and elsewhere.

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About the author:

Ayele Bekerie is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of PhD Program in Heritage Studies and Coordinator of International Affairs at Mekelle University’s Institute of Paleo-Environment and Heritage Conservation. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor at the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University in the United States. Ayele Bekerie is a contributing author in the acclaimed book, “One House: The Battle of Adwa 1896 -100 Years.” He is also the author of the award-winning book “Ethiopic, An African Writing System: Its History and Principles” — among many other published works.

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Video: A Timely Conversation on New U.S. Policy Toward Africa

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

The online event, which took place today (Monday, Feb. 1st, 2021) was hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), featuring New York Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, the newly elected Chairman of the powerful U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as Ethiopian Journalist and independent media advocate Tsedale Lemma, Founder and Editor of Addis Standard, and Rosebell Kagumire, a Ugandan multimedia and communications specialist, blogger, journalist and activist. (Photos via CSIS)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

February 1st, 2021

New York (TADIAS) — This morning a timely conversation on new U.S. policy toward Africa including a discussion about Ethiopia was held in Washington, D.C.

The online event, which was hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), featured New York Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, the newly elected Chairman of the powerful U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the first Black Member of Congress to serve as Chair of that committee, as well as Ethiopian Journalist and independent media advocate Tsedale Lemma, Founder and Editor of Addis Standard, and Rosebell Kagumire, a Ugandan multimedia and communications specialist, blogger, journalist and activist.

According to the announcement Representative Meeks outlined “his vision for a reimagined approach to U.S.-Africa policy in a democratically controlled house and senate.” And for their part Tsedale and Rosebell in conversation with Rep. Meeks focused on current affairs in their respective countries and “and the impact of the Capitol attack on the U.S. government’s credibility,” concluding “with key recommendations for the new Biden Administration.”

Watch: Online Event — A New U.S. Policy Toward Africa — A Conversation with Chairman Gregory Meeks and Africa (CSIS)

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Related:

Video: President Biden’s Designate Ambassador to UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Ethiopia

Among the questions that Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield — a veteran American diplomat who was the head of the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs until 2017 — was asked about during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday included her take on the current situation in Ethiopia. (Getty Images)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: January 27th, 2021

New York (TADIAS) — President Joe Biden’s nominee for US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield fielded lawmakers’ questions during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

Among the questions that Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield — a veteran American diplomat who was the head of the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs until 2017 — was asked about during her confirmation hearing included her take on the current situation in Ethiopia.

Below is video of her answer regarding Ethiopia:

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Related:

Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Michael Raynor Holds Final News Briefing

Ambassador Michael Raynor. (VOA)

Voice of America

By Eskinder Firew

Departing US Envoy Warns Ethiopia Against Violence

ADDIS ABABA – Calling Ethiopia “the critical actor in Horn of Africa stability,” outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Michael Raynor voiced confidence in a strengthened bilateral relationship but warned that violence – especially in the northern Tigray region – threatens the country’s progress.

“We remain concerned about ethnic violence around the country and the threat it poses to achieving the country’s potential,” Raynor said of Ethiopia, speaking at a press conference Monday in Addis Ababa, the capital.

It was Raynor’s final news briefing as ambassador, a post he has held since September 2017. He has focused on Africa for many of his 30-plus years as a diplomat.

Rivalries among some of Ethiopia’s 80 ethnic groups have spawned deadly violence, including the Jan. 12 killings of more than 80 civilians in Metekel, a town in the western Benishangul-Gumaz region, the Associated Press reported, citing information from the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

Raynor said the U.S. government also is “particularly alarmed by the ongoing situation in Tigray,” where Ethiopian federal forces launched a military operation in early November to put down a rebellion by regional forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Ethiopia’s government said that it had regained control of the region by late November, but reports of extrajudicial killings and other sporadic violence have continued to filter out.

Since the conflict’s outbreak, more than 58,000 have fled northern Ethiopia for neighboring Tigray, the International Organization for Migration reported Monday. While thousands are believed to have been killed and many more internally displaced, numbers are difficult to verify because of limited communications with, and access to, Tigray. The United Nations estimates that roughly 4.5 million people in Tigray desperately need food, medicine and other basics, and U.N. agencies have criticized Ethiopian authorities for blocking humanitarian aid.

“After almost three months, we’re still not seeing enough humanitarian assistance reach the most vulnerable areas,” Raynor told journalists. “Much more needs to be done, and urgently, to ensure humanitarian organizations – both Ethiopian and international – have full and secure access to the region to provide lifesaving support to the millions of people who are suffering.”

The U.N’s special representative on sexual violence, Pramila Patten, last week released a statement that she was “greatly concerned by serious allegations of sexual violence” in the region.

Raynor acknowledged that concern, saying the U.S. government continues “to call on all parties to cease any hostilities, ensure the protection of all civilians in Tigray, including refugees and humanitarian workers, and to uphold international human rights and humanitarian law.”

He also brought up the U.S. assessment that soldiers from Eritrea were helping Ethiopian federal forces in Tigray, despite Ethiopian authorities’ denials.

“We continue to be troubled by the activities of Eritrean actors in the Tigray region,” Raynor said, “and we continue to call for an immediate halt to — and independent investigations of — all credible reports of atrocities. sexual violence, human rights violations of all kinds in Tigray and other places.”

Improved bilateral relations

Raynor said that when Abiy Ahmed became prime minister in April 2018, replacing Hailemariam Desalegn after 23 years and introducing an array of reforms, “there was a fundamental reset, a realignment of core values fully in sync with U.S. core values, both in terms of economic opportunity and job creation and in terms of political space and respect for rights. So that formed a strong basis for us to expand our engagement.”

During his tenure as ambassador, Raynor said, the U.S. government “brought well over $3 billion” to support Ethiopia’s governance, development and humanitarian priorities. These range from enhancing the country’s food security and health systems to reforming judicial activities and updating economic policies to encourage private investment.

Raynor also observed that Ethiopia’s ability “to focus on our areas of partnership has been strained by some degree due to the rate of ethnic tensions and Ethiopian-on-Ethiopian violence and certainly the current Tigray crisis. But by and large I feel very optimistic about the trajectory we have been on and that my successor will be able to build upon.”

A successor has not yet been named.

“This is a pivotal time for Ethiopia,” Raynor said. “What Ethiopia does in the coming months — particularly in promoting democracy, organizing free and fair credible elections this year, protecting basic human rights including freedom of the press and freedom of expression, resolving conflict and addressing ethnic tension, maintaining regional harmony and promoting economic opportunity — will impact this country’s prospects for generations to come.”

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In Ethiopia AU to Honor Marcus Garvey With Planned Unveiling of a Statue

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2021 in History. Closed

The announcement said: "By erecting the Marcus Garvey Bronze Sculpture in Addis Ababa we will not only honor the legacy of one of the architects of the Pan African independence movement, but will also highlight Ethiopia as a focalpoint for Pan-Africanists to engage in constructing a unifying African heritage and destiny." (Photo: Public Domain)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: February 21st, 2021

New York (TADIAS) — Marcus Garvey — the renown Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist and businessman who today is regarded as one of the original leaders of the Pan African movement in the Western Hemisphere — is set to receive a prestigious and historical recognition with a planned unveiling of a permanent statute at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa.

“Our history began, in a sense, with Ethiopia,” Marcus Garvey’s youngest son, Dr. Julius Garvey, told NNPA Newswire. “Its history goes back to the beginning of civilization. Ethiopian history is fundamental.”

The announcement added: “By erecting the Marcus Garvey Bronze Sculpture in Addis Ababa we will not only honor the legacy of one of the architects of the Pan African independence movement, but will also highlight Ethiopia [a country that has never been colonized except for a brief occupation by Italy's Fascist forces in the 1930s] as a focalpoint for Pan-Africanists to engage in constructing a unifying African heritage and destiny.”

Garvey’s son emphasized that when he was alive his father never actually set foot on African soil due to the colonial era travel restrictions.

The press release stated:

Currently the African Union has divided the African World into six regions: north, south, east, west, central, and the sixth region, the Diaspora. Garvey galvanized the Diaspora before we knew it by that name. It is only fitting that the original architect of pan-African sovereignty be recognized in the city that houses the African Union, which owes much of its ideological foundation to the philosophies and opinions of Marcus Garvey. The founding fathers of the African independence movement were highly influenced by the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, and their international newspaper, The Negro World [founded and led by Garvey].

Organizers noted that the project is a collaborative initiative spearheaded by the Pan African Technical Association (PATA).

According to NNPA Newswire:

In commissioning the sculpture, Dr. Garvey joined with the Pan African Technical Association, Strictly Roots, and the renowned Los Angeles artist Mr. Nijel Binns to create the Marcus Garvey Bronze.

Plans are to unveil the sculpture during a public ceremony on Aug. 17.

[Garvey] is considered one of the central pillars of the Pan-Africa movement. Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League boasted more than 6 million members and over 1,000 branches in 42 countries in Africa and the Americas.

“My father was a major proponent of the redemption of Africa, but he was never allowed to go to Africa because of the colonial policies,” Dr. Julius Garvey remarked.

“So, taking a bust of him back to Africa is significant and historical from that perspective as well,” he said.

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The Making of Global Adwa: By Professor Ayele Bekerie

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2020 in Featured and History. Closed

Below is a timely essay by Professor Ayele Bekerie dedicated to the 124th anniversary of Ethiopia's victory at the Battle of Adwa. It's published today in honor of Black History Month. (Image: The town of Adwa. Photo by Ayele Bekerie)

Tadias Magazine

By Ayele Bekerie, PhD

February 1st, 2020

The Making of Global Adwa: An Essay Dedicated to 124th Anniversary of Ethiopia’s Victory at the Battle of Adwa

Ethiopia (TADIAS) — At the beginning of March 1896, the Ethiopians, at the Battle of Adwa, startled the world. They decisively defeated the Italian/European army, an army trained and armed for a colonization mission. The victory not only put to a halt Italians’ colonial ambition in Ethiopia, but it also sent shockwaves throughout Europe. The victory undoubtedly marked the beginning of the end of colonialism in Africa. The victory also marks the beginning of the end of the notion of nativism and European white supremacy.

As The New York Times of March 3, 1896 puts it, ‘Italy’s Terrible Defeat’ was the most astonishing news, in the world. At the end of the 19th century, a history was made with the victory at the Battle of Adwa. It was perhaps by far the most discussed about and newsworthy event of the time. When the victory was announced to the world, the world in return began to pay attention to Adwa, or for that matter, to Ethiopia. The more the deed is channeled through the media in various languages in Africa, Europe and the Americas, the more people began to admiringly and amusedly, depending which side you were on, sought to connect to the event by learning more about or identifying with Adwa. Europeans, who were already became comfortable with their vast colonial territories and subjects, were shaken to the core. The colonial rule they instituted, be it direct or indirect, was bound to fall apart. Adwa emerged with multiple meanings and interpretations encompassing almost the whole world.

The victory, in particular, became a relevant news to those whose freedom was snatched and subjected to colonial/nativist rule. It directly and intimately appealed to them. It offered them a lesson that they wanted to put into practice by intensifying their struggles against colonial domination and subjectivity. News released from London, New York and Paris reached all the other cities and the continents of the world. Adwa, according to news reports, was arguably the most widespread breaking news story at that time. It was a story that instantly made the words, such as Adwa, Menelik, Taitu, Alula, Balcha and Mekonnen household terms. The purpose of this paper is to find ways to return Adwa to its global status by constructing major cultural and educational centers near the site of the battlefield. There is an urgent need to make Adwa memorable beyond the ritual annual celebration. It seeks worldwide support to make Adwa a dynamic global center of excellence for Pan-African solidarity and learning.

With the victory, Adwa became a term of global significance. It is a term that people, throughout the world, instantly recognize. They recognize Adwa because Adwa set to inspire the colonized to rise up against their colonial oppressors. Adwa charts the immense possibilities to resist European hegemony and falsely fabricated supremacy. Adwa is the proof for rejecting the notion of supremacy. Adwa has to shine and shine forever, for freedom is a sacred attribute that everybody deserves, black or white. What can be done to turn what has become the global-scale event to permanency? How can we transform Adwa so that it becomes a global heritage and cultural center?

As we are celebrating the 124th anniversary of the victory, we must think of re-turning Adwa as a dynamic site of global significance. In fact, we need to make Adwa an enduring global site and world heritage by establishing, for instance, a Pan-African institution of higher learning and cultural center in Adwa. Adwa, as pointed out before, ought to be registered as tangible cultural heritage or as tangible cultural landscape. Moreover, Adwa should not only be qualified to become a federal city, but it should also achieve a status of globality where the citizens of the world engage in research and education beneficial to all humanity. Imagine, a Pan-African center of excellence where Africa’s history and culture are studied, published and disseminated in the context of world history and culture. Adwa and what happened there in 1896 should set the stage for the world community to engage in research and education with focus and emphasis on equality and dignity of fellow humans.

We need to systematically study the event of March 1896 in Adwa, because the tendency to become inattentive to persistent Italian colonial ambition made Ethiopia pay a heavy price. The Italians tried to colonize the country for the second time in 1935. This time the Italians came prepared, actually overprepared, for they used banned chemical weapons to annihilate the Ethiopian army. Adwa did not repeat itself at Maichew, the battleground in which the Fascist Italian forces used weapons of mass destruction to kill thousands of poorly prepared and armed Ethiopian forces in 1935.

Despite the Italians invasion and occupation of Ethiopia from 1935 to 1941, our patriots never gave up and courageously resisted the occupation. Eventually, the Italians were pushed out of Ethiopia. The two events taught a lesson to Ethiopians to protect and defend their independence at all times.

In Adwa, the plan to construct a standalone and permanent cultural center and institution of higher learning is under review. Having divided the plan into phases, the Adwa Pan-African University’s (APAU) Coordinating Committee has convened local, regional and international conferences, rallied regional and federal governments, drafted the charter and concept paper, charted plan of action and selected a consortium of architects to design the University.

At the moment, phase 2 of the plan is proceeding. The architects are designing the University’s buildings and landscape. APAU commands a 135-hectare of hilly land at the north-east part of the City. The location has a spectacular view of the now famous and historic chains of Adwa mountains, such as Abune Gerima, Kidane Mehret, Gesseso, Semayata and Raeyo. Soloda mountain is an ever-present mountain with a dominant view from any part of the City. The hilltop of the University provides a great view of Soloda. It also presents a panoramic view of the City itself. Almost all the historic churches and monasteries as well as mosques not to mention the cityscapes provide a spectacular view from the hill.

It is a common knowledge that establishing a university has the capacity to transform a city. This has already been proven in places, like Mekelle, Bahrdar, and Hawassa. Mekelle almost literally changed from a modest city to an international and dynamic city with a population expanding into half a million. One of the main contributing factors for Mekelle’s development is the presence of Mekelle University.

Given the proximity of Adwa to Aksum, an ancient city, the two combined are capable of providing ample opportunities to further develop tourism, local and international. Aksum and Adwa, from the perspective of long Ethiopian history, should be developed jointly, thereby creating a platform to tell ancient and contemporary stories of the great land.

This is a picture taken in April 2018 in Adwa. The women are celebrating the decision to establish Adwa Pan African University in Adwa. (Photo by Ayele Bekerie)

The Site of an International Conference on the Establishment of Adwa Pan-African University. The historic mountains of Adwa served as a background. (Photo by Ayele Bekerie, April 2018)

Owning Adwa: The reenactment of the Battle of Adwa in Adwa by the Adwa Journey (YeAdwa Guzo) Team and members of the National Theatre, March 1, 2017. (Photo by Ayele Bekerie)

The Queen of Sheba, Menelik I and the Arc, St. Yared, the great chant composer, Ras Mekonnen Wolde Mikael, the Commander of the Victorious Ethiopian Army, Taitu Bitul, the co-leader and strategist, Fitawrari Gebeyehu, the brave and ferocious military leader, Liqe Meqwas Abate BwaYallew, the finest gunner, Dejach Balcha, army general and fearless fighter, Ras Alula, the finest military strategist and tactician, Ras Sebhat, the realist and the critical rejoinder of the Ethiopian cause, Teferi Hagos, the defector and the helper of the cause, and Awalom, the master spy and also the defender of the cause, are just few great names of the great ancient and contemporary land. These are names permanently inscribed, from heritage point of view, in the symbols and meanings of Ethiopia. They are indelible national landmarks.

Adwa, to further highlight its importance in Ethiopian history, was the final and an irreversible site of engagement. Italians were creeping along to expand their African colonial territory by first moving into Eritrea and later into Ethiopia by occupying places, such as Adigrat. They ventured up to Amba Alage where Major Tosseli’s battalion was crushed and he lost his life. Tosseli was dreaming to become the Italian Livingstone or Rhodes. A graduate of a military academy, he was one of the most ardent advocates of restoring the past Roman glory by extending Rome in north-east Africa. Tosseli preached empire and attempted to rally Italians to his passionate but wicked colonial mission. Fortunately, the Italians were not enthused. War in far away places and paying sacrifices to a colonial gamble was not attractive enough to them. Tosseli had to do the mission almost by himself, accompanied by 2000 Italians and ascaris or mercenaries.

Tosseli, the nativist or the theoretician and the military strategist par excellence, did not realize that the natives have gone far enough to constitute themselves as one people. They have already created and maintained a country that is striving to accommodate diversity. They have written treatises and voluminous works of religious living. And they had the state of mind to willingly resist and fight foreign enemies. If we have to state the facts, the Ethiopians embraced Christianity and welcomed the emergence of Islam long before Italy became a modern country. Tosseli’s theory of empire lacked several attributes. He failed to fully understand the people he wanted to diminish into colonial subjects.

Lt. Colonel Galliano, the other nativist, ordered the construction of a fortress 70 meters high, 16 feet deep at the ground level and 6 feet thick at the top in Mekelle. He built the fortress around the Endayesus Hill. He built bunkers and hidden windows to mount the guns and the artilleries. He also built three defensive perimeters using trenches, barbed wires, sharp pieces of woods and broken glasses. He also secured temporarily a source of water not far from the hill. And yet, he did not manage in this monster-like fortress to stay for few months and he was plucked out of it by gallant Ethiopian forces.

Ras Mekonnen, the commander of the Ethiopian army, fresh from a victory at Amba Alage, arrived in Mekelle and established a camp not far from the hill. The siege of the fortress was immediate. They asked Galliano to vacate the fortress and a series of negotiations were conducted to reverse the siege.

Galliano refused and the ensuing battle that lasted for about two weeks resulted in heavy casualities among Ethiopians. An estimated 500 Ethiopians lost their lives. It was then Empress Taitu who came up with the idea of blocking the water source of the Italians. She recruited about 500 soldiers to block the water. The blockade was very successful and Galliano was forced to surrender and vacate the fortress. The Ethiopians immediately dismantled the fort. The spring water source was renamed Mai Aneshte or woman’s water in honor of Empress Taitu Bitul.

Amba Alage was the place where Ethiopians showed for the first time that they would fight to keep the integrity and honor of the country, regardless of their ethnic background. For the first time, Shoans, Hararis and Tigrayans forces formed an organic alliance to confront the colonial Italian army and won.

Amba Alage, Mekelle, and Adwa taught us extremely valuable lessons in the context of national identity formation. In a complex multiethnic society, to think of self-determination as an end by itself is to invite an irreconcilable disaster. In all the three battlefields, the patriotic forces put to good use of what they have in common. They successfully pulled their forces and resources together to form and uphold air-tight unity which turned out to be a winner, a big winner.

The Tigrayans, the Shoans, the Hararis in Amba Alage and Mekelle and in Adwa, virtually all the ethnic groups affirmed their complex sense of identity and were able to execute a battle plan with irreversible and triumphal outcome. The patriots charted once and for all the critical significance of prioritizing country to ethnicity. The deeds of Adwa also solidified the Ethiopian sense of modernity. Issues can and ought to be resolved by upholding the cardinal value of unity. It was the united force of the country that defeated the Italian army. Our unity paves the way, even if we continue not to seize it, for just and democratic way of doing things. It is critical at this juncture to remind ethnonationalists that Adwa is not only a foundation of our contemporary state and nationhood, but it is also a global phenomenon serving as a symbol of freedom and independence, agency and personhood to all humankinds. In this spirit, APAU will be built and serve us all.

APAU is being established on the basis of Pan-African principles and practices. By systematically documenting, researching and narrating the stories of African people, we contribute to broaden the public square, the democratic space, global conversations and the equality of human beings. It is time for the citizens of the world to participate in the building of local and global Adwa. Placing African history on the stage of world history has paramount importance to peaceful human ventures in the 21st century.

Adwa then Adwa now provides an extremely useful lessons to the whole world. Adwa rhymes with freedom and independence. Adwa reinforces the dignity of all human beings. Adwa, therefore, needs to be remembered with permanent cultural center and an institution of higher learning. The project that started to globalize Adwa, some four years ago, has gone through phases and, at the moment, a consortium of architects is designing the buildings and the landscapes of APAU. Adwa is eternal.

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About the author:
Ayele Bekerie is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of PhD Program in Heritage Studies and Coordinator of International Affairs at Mekelle University’s Institute of Paleo-Environment and Heritage Conservation. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor at the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University in the United States. Ayele Bekerie is a contributing author in the acclaimed book, “One House: The Battle of Adwa 1896 -100 Years.” He is also the author of the award-winning book “Ethiopic, An African Writing System: Its History and Principles” — among many other published works.

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US-Brokered Nile Deal Still Deadlocked

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2020 in Podcast. Closed

Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is seen as it undergoes construction work on the river Nile in Guba Woreda, Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia September 26, 2019. Picture taken September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

VOA

US-Brokered Nile Dam Deal Still Deadlocked

WASHINGTON – The latest round of talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan in Washington has failed to reach a comprehensive agreement on the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD), a massive hydropower project on Ethiopia’s Blue Nile River.

The White House released a statement saying President Trump spoke with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday, and “expressed optimism” that a deal was close.

The tripartite meeting hosted by the U.S. Treasury is the parties’ last-ditch attempt to resolve the question of the operation of the dam, particularly the filling of its reservoir, an issue that has triggered concerns of a “water war” between Egypt and Ethiopia.

The meeting was scheduled to end Wednesday but continued until Friday without an agreement on filling the reservoir.

The U.S. Treasury released a statement Friday that the parties will continue to work on the legal and technical aspects of the agreement for a signing by the end of February. The agreement would include a schedule for a stage-based filling plan of the reservoir, and a mitigation mechanism for filling and operations during periods of drought and prolonged drought.

Ethiopia and Egypt have been negotiating for years, but several technical sticking points remain, including the duration and rate at which Ethiopia will draw water out of the Nile and the quantity of water that will be retained. Cairo fears Ethiopia’s plans to rapidly fill the reservoir could threaten Egypt’s source of fresh water.

The technical details of how, when, and where the water will flow are a life-and-death matter for each party,” said Bronwyn Bruton, deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. Bruton added that the situation is complicated by “international organizations and mediating third party countries, which all come with their own interests and agendas.”

With the Trump administration’s urging, last November the parties agreed to hold four technical governmental meetings at the level of water ministers with the World Bank and the United States attending as observers. They agreed to a deadline of January 15, 2020, for reaching an accord. When they failed to reach an agreement, the parties agreed to another round of talks this week.

The main issue has been a lack of consensus, said Mirette Mabrouk, director of the Egypt Program at the Middle East Institute. “Ethiopia’s priority has been to complete the dam and Egypt’s priority has been to ensure that its near sole source of water is not decimated,” Mabrouk said.

A flexible treaty

In previous statements, the ministers have recognized that flexibility in trans-boundary water management is essential considering the constantly changing levels of the Nile.

They have agreed that guidelines for the filling and operation of the GERD “may be adjusted by the three countries, in accordance with the hydrological conditions in the given year.”

However, competing hydrological and political interests have hindered negotiations.

The director of the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina, Aaron Salzberg said that parties are striving for an agreement that is “easily codified in terms of numbers” –how fast you can fill, how much water is released.” At the same time, he says, the agreement must establish a joint decision-making process that allows flexibility in responding to changing conditions, but not one that may be “too open to interpretation and set the stage for conflict down the line.”

This is not something that should be forced, Salzberg added. “The parties themselves must drive the process. This is an agreement that will need to last multiple lifetimes,” he said.

Sileshi Bekele, Ethiopia’s Minister for Water and Energy, speaks to the media after the end of the fourth and final round of talks between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan on Ethiopia’s construction of a controversial dam on the Nile River, in Addis Ababa, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. (AP Photo)

Mediation?

On their first Washington meeting on November 6, the foreign ministers agreed that if a deal is not reached by January 15, 2020, Article 10 of the 2015 Declaration of Principles will be invoked.

Article 10 of the declaration, signed in Khartoum, addresses the peaceful settlement of disputes. It states that “if the parties involved do not succeed in solving the dispute through talks or negotiations, they can ask for mediation or refer the matter to their heads of states or prime ministers.”

Egypt has long-sought external mediation, while Ethiopia wants to keep the negotiations on a tripartite level. But earlier this month Ethiopian Prime Minister Ahmed said he has asked South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene. Ramaphosa has accepted the task.

Under the 1959 Nile Waters Agreement between Egypt and Sudan, signed before Egypt began constructing the Aswan High Dam, Egypt can take up to 55.5 billion cubic meters of water from the Nile each year, and Sudan can take up to 18.5 billion. Ethiopia was not part of that agreement.

US involvement

U.S. involvement in the dam issue came about after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi last year requested that President Trump help mediate the conflict. A senior Trump administration official confirmed that the president had offered “the good offices of Mnuchin” to lead the effort and the U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has played the role of host and observer in negotiations since last November.

Trump appears to have sustained his interest on the negotiations and has even gone so far as inviting the ministers to impromptu meetings at the Oval Office on November 6 and January 14.

After the last meeting, the White House released a statement that Trump emphasized to the foreign and water resources ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan that the United States “wants to see all of these countries thrive and expressed hope that each country will take this opportunity to work together so that future generations may succeed and benefit from critical water resources.”

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Kidnapping of Students Sparks Anti-government Protests in Ethiopia

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2020 in Podcast. Closed

Several thousand people took part in marches in a handful of cities during the week to demand their release and activists made #BringBackOurStudents trend online. (Image shared on Twitter @AndenetTadesse)

Reuters

By Dawit Endeshaw

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Several thousand protesters took to the streets in Ethiopian cities this week, demanding Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed do more to tackle simmering ethnic violence following the kidnapping of a group of university students.

Armed men abducted the students from Dembi Dollo University in the Oromiya region in early December, according to survivors who escaped. The government said earlier this week that the army had rescued 21 of the students, but at least 12 others are still missing.

While the kidnappers’ identity or motive is not clear, the incident has revived widespread fears about ethnic violence ahead of this year’s election and intensified pressure on Nobel Peace Laureate Abiy, who comes from the Oromo ethnic group.

Many of the students were Amhara, a group that has clashed with Oromos in the past.

In the past six months, clashes on campus have killed 12 students and played a role in the decision of 35,000 to drop out of university, according to the higher education ministry.

Anger about the kidnapping has focused on Abiy, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for signing a peace deal with former enemy Eritrea and has overseen political reforms since coming to power in 2018.

He has been unable, however, to stamp out ethnic violence in Africa’s second-most populous nation, including among his Oromo group.

Families of the missing students met the prime minister and other senior government officials on Thursday, receiving assurances that their relatives were safe but no further information about their whereabouts or any plans to rescue them.

“We were just told by the officials that they are alive,” said Yeneneh Adugna, a local priest and a farmer from Gondar, whose 23-year-old daughter Germanesh Yeneneh, a third-year biotechnology student, is missing.

“The last phone call conversation I had with her was two weeks after her abduction,” Yeneneh said. “She told me not to worry.”

Several thousand people took part in marches in a handful of cities during the week to demand their release and activists made #BringBackOurStudents trend online.

Another protest is planned in Gondor, the capital of Amhara, on Sunday, the families said.

Belay Abebe, father to a second-year journalism student, said his daughter had also called him after she was abducted and said she was safe.

“We … demanded to talk to the students over the phone,” another relative of one of the students told Reuters, asking for anonymity for fear of possible reprisals. “There was no willingness from the officials to let us speak with the students.”

Endeshaw Tasew, general commissioner of the federal police, said on Wednesday that the government knows where the students are but declined to give further details.

Video: Tens of thousands take to streets in Ethiopia over abducted students (AFP)

Growing Outcry in Ethiopia Over Abducted University Students (AP)

Help us bring back abducted university students! (Petition at Change.org)

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Expansion of Ethiopia’s First Industrial Park Reopens Old Wounds

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2018 in Featured. Closed

Dukem, Ethiopia. (Photo: Thomson Reuters Foundation/Tom Gardner)

Reuters

DUKEM, Ethiopia – The scenic road from Addis Ababa to the small town of Dukem is peppered with signs of industry: warehouses and factories, garages and gas stations, newly-built rail tracks and a freshly paved highway.

Dukem, just a short drive south of the capital, is home to Ethiopia’s first industrial park, the Chinese-owned Eastern Industrial Zone (EIZ), and some of the country’s most fertile land.

For more than a decade, it has been on the frontline of a government-led push to turn the still overwhelmingly agricultural country into Africa’s manufacturing hub.

Chinese companies are constructing five industrial zones, while the government plans to have 15 industrial parks nationwide by June 2018.

Last year, the EIZ, which hosts companies ranging from shoe manufacturers and steelmakers to leather processors and car assemblers, embarked on a new expansion phase.

The move, which means expropriating an additional 167 hectares of rural land around Dukem and the relocation of around 300 farmers, has sparked anger among locals and reopened old wounds.

“We were the first,” Shewangizaw, a middle-aged farmer who lost his fields to an Ethiopian-owned factory back in 2006, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation bitterly.

He and around 40 other farmers were relocated – without fair compensation, they argue – when some of the first factories arrived in the area a decade or so ago.

“I don’t have any land now,” said his 72 year-old neighbor, Bashada, who lost nearly five hectares of farmland then and now rents one hectare from an older neighbor for 10,000 birr ($367) a year.

The group is campaigning to have its case heard by the federal government.

“It’s not fair,” said Shewangizaw. “Our families were just destroyed. At the time compensation paid to us was so, so cheap. And we don’t have any land to farm or live on now.”

ANGRY ONCE MORE

Muhammed Tilahun, vice-head of the Dukem Land Development and Management Office, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation the local government was now addressing the concerns of farmers.

That includes 190 farmers and their children who lost their land back in 2007 and are now being given additional land to support them, he said.

Yet the anger expressed by Shewangizaw and his fellow farmers is echoed across much of central Ethiopia, which has experienced rapid urbanization and fledgling industrialization over the past decade.

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Netflix to Stream Haile Gerima’s Film “Ashes and Embers”

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2016 in Featured. Closed

The two-hour drama was written, produced and directed by Haile Gerima in 1982. (Image: Mypheduh Films)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Updated: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016

New York (TADIAS) — Ashes and Embers (1982) — a movie by award-winning filmmaker and Howard University professor Haile Gerima — is among the new titles that will be released on Netflix this month. The film won the FIPRESCI Prize for Forum of New Cinema at the 1983 Berlin International Film Festival. According to the Columbus Dispatch “Ashes and Embers” will be available for on-demand Internet streaming on Netflix starting February 29th.

Ashes and Embers tells a story of “a disillusioned, African-American Vietnam vet (Anderson) [who] travels from Washington to Los Angeles to his grandmother’s farm in search of a better life.”

The Dispatch adds: “Ethiopian-American filmmaker (and LA Rebellion movement instigator) Haile Gerima’s Afrocentric survey of the American sociopolitical landscape is a potent mix of documentary realism, dreamlike narrative, and Godardian agit-prop.”

In The New York Times review of Ashes and Embers published on November 17, 1982, Janet Maslin wrote: ”Ashes and Embers ..explores the experience of a black Vietnam veteran trying to come to terms with American life. It’s a rambling, almost dreamlike film that drifts between Washington, where Ned Charles, its protagonist, (played by John Anderson) wanders past ghetto streets and war memorials; Los Angeles, where he hopes to find his future, and instead winds up in police custody; and the rural setting of his grandmother’s farmhouse. His grandmother is one of the main forces in the film, talking with Ned about his troubles, his culture and his history. Another key influence is his politically active girlfriend, often seen engaged in group discussions that are among the film’s most interesting sequences.”

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Lost Lion Population Found in Ethiopia

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2016 in Featured. Closed

(AP photo)

The Washington Post

By Rachel Feltman

An expedition into a remote national park in Ethiopia has revealed a previously unknown population of African lions, suggesting that the species — which is categorized as “vulnerable” — may be more widespread than conservationists had hoped.

The Born Free Foundation announced the existence of the lions – confirmed with images taken by motion-activated cameras — in a news release Monday. Because the lions were spotted in Alatish National Park, which borders the Sudanese Dinder National Park, the researchers involved with the discovery hope that the population spans both countries. Altogether, the two parks could hold an estimated 200 lions.

An image of one of the newly discovered lions. (Born Free Foundation)

Email Raises Questions About UK ’s Involvement in Andargachew Tsige’s Case

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2015 in Podcast. Closed

Andargachew 'Andy' Tsige. (BBC)

BBC News

Emails raise query over Islington ‘terrorist’ held by Ethiopia

1 February 2015

The Ethiopian authorities have broadcast a video of a man from Islington in London, who they have been holding in secret since he was kidnapped in Yemen in June.

Ethiopia claims Andargachew ‘Andy’ Tsige is a terrorist and sentenced him to death in absentia.

But a series of internal emails from the UK’s Foreign Office has now raised questions about the British government’s involvement in the case, according to his family and legal representatives.

BBC London’s Ayshea Buksh spoke to Mr Tisge’s partner Yemi Hailemariam, the strategic director of Reprieve, Maya Foa. The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, also appears.

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At AU Meeting in Ethiopia, UN Chief Urges African Leaders Not Cling to Power

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2015 in Podcast. Closed

UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon, center-right, walks past a wall of photos, at the annual African Union (AU) summit, held at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Friday, Jan. 30, 2015. (AP photo)

Associated Press

BY ELIAS MESERET

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — The U.N. secretary-general Friday urged African leaders not to cling to power.

Ban Ki-moon said undemocratic constitutional changes and legal loopholes should never be used by leaders to stay in power.

Speaking at the summit of the 54-nation African Union, Ban urged African leaders to listen to their people saying that modern leaders cannot ignore the wishes of those they represent.

Some African leaders have been in power for decades after altering their countries’ constitutions to extend their tenures in office. Recently Congo passed a law that requiring a national census before elections could be held. The law sparked off violent protests in which dozens were killed as critics accused President Joseph Kabila, who has been president since 2001, of attempting to prolong his stay in office.

Burkina Faso’s president of 27 years, Blaise Compaore, stepped down in October amid mounting opposition to his bid to seek yet another term in office.

Other African countries where leaders are suspected to be planning changes to their constitutions to extend their times in power include Congo Brazzaville, Benin, Uganda and Rwanda.

The African Union’s new chairman, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, 90, has been in power since 1980 and has altered the country’s constitution and has been re-elected in polls widely criticized for rigging and violence.
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Genzebe Dibaba Smashes World Indoor 1500M Record

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2014 in Podcast. Closed

Genzebe Dibaba. (Photo: Athletics weekly)

IAAF

Her big sister Tirunesh has twice been a world record breaker indoors and it was the turn Genzebe Dibaba to make her own mark on the under cover record books when she smashed the women’s world indoor 1500m record * by more than three seconds with a run of 3:55.17 at the IAAF Indoor Permit meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, on Saturday (1).

The previous best had been 3:58.28, set by Russia’s Yelena Soboleva in 2006, and Dibaba’s own previous indoor best was 4:00.13. Her time was also more than a second faster than Abeba Aregawi’s Ethiopian outdoor record of 3:56.54 and the outdoor African record of 3:55.30, set by Hassiba Boulmerka.

Slovenia’s Sonja Roman took Dibaba through 400m in 1:02.39 and then 800m in 2:08.96, just under a second faster than Soboleva at this stage in proceedings on her world-record run with the Russian having clocked 2:09.7 after four laps of the track. But soon afterwards the Ethiopian hit the front and then it was just a race between her and the clock.

Dibaba, still only 22, went through 1200m in a sizzling 3:10.47, compared to Soboleva’s 3:13.1. After a third 400m of just over 61 seconds, she kept up the tempo all the way to the line.

“I felt I was ready for a world record,” said the world indoor 1500m champion who is set to defend her title at this year’s edition in the Polish city of Sopot next month. “But I didn’t think I would run 3:55. I was well prepared for tonight, though. I’m extremely happy.”

Letter from Ethiopia: Regarding The Case Against Eskinder Nega

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2013 in News and Opinion. Closed

Former journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, left, with Serkalem Fasil, Eskinder Nega’s wife, at last year's PEN America annual gala dinner in New York on Tuesday, May 1st, 2012. (Tadias Magazine file)

Tadias Magazine
Editorial

Published: Friday, February 1, 2013

New York (TADIAS) – Fairness, justice, forgiveness, equality before the law, and deference for the sanctity of life and human dignity are not foreign concepts to the diverse nationalities, cultures and religions that make up the modern Ethiopian mosaic, but it is not encouraging to see the legal language justifying the continued imprisonment of a number of Ethiopian journalists on the grounds that the nation’s current administration of justice meets international standards.

In a recent paper entitled Information on the Allegations Concerning the Arbitrary Detention of Mr. Eskinder Nega, Ethiopian legal experts wrote a 19-page response to the 16 members of the European Parliament who urged Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn back in December to consider the release of the imprisoned journalist Eskinder Nega. In the document, shared with Tadias, Ethiopian officials explain to the European MPs that their actions are anchored in international law.

“The trial process of Mr. Eskinder Nega demonstrates that due process guarantees were ensured in keeping with domestic legislations and international standards as enshrined in the ICCPR and other relevant human rights instruments to which Ethiopia is a party,” the document said. “International human rights law does not prohibit prosecution of members of terrorist organisations or those who support cooperate and assist terrorism by any means. Rather, it prohibits any form of discrimination and impunity of prosecution.”

This is open to interpretation, however, and it is apparently constitutional to brand citizens as terrorists for their critical views and subject them to arbitrary arrest and detention. It is illegal for writers, journalists, columnists, bloggers, and others with opposing perspectives to share unapproved observations with any audience if it touches upon subjects decrying abuses of power and corruption.

“The Constitution of Ethiopia strictly prohibits deprivation of rights or liberty without due process of law except on such grounds and in accordance with clearly established law,” the text continued. “This has been witnessed during the trial process of Mr. Eskinder Nega.”

The legal brief includes a twenty-six point argument covering topics including background of the case and pretrial detention, the charge brought against the defendant, the trial, observance of the right to legal counsel, as well as the accused’s right to visitations, and the appeals process in which Eskinder was actively involved.

In its opening paragraph the brief also highlights the individual freedoms and rights enshrined in the Ethiopian constitution. “No one can be deprived of his liberty for exercising his freedom of expression or being a critique of the Government,” it declared.

“Ethiopia is a country governed by of rule of law. All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law.”

Then why are Reeyot Alemu, Eskinder Nega, Wubishet Taye and others languishing in jail separated from their families and friends? Why are they not able to practice journalism?

The brief also argues that in Eskinder’s case he was charged for conspiring to cause violence in collaboration with an illegal organization, noting that “Mr. Eskinder Nega was found guilty by court of law for involvement in a conspiracy to commit a crime of terrorism as an accomplice with a clandestine and terrorist organization named Ginbot 7 which has publically declared its intention to overthrow the democratically elected Government of Ethiopia through assassination of government officials, destroying public property, destabilizing peace and constitutional order of Ethiopia.”

“The Federal Prosecutor, after meticulously investigating Mr. Eskinder Nega’s participation in terrorism and ensuring the presence of ample evidence, requested the Federal First Instance Court in Addis Ababa for an arrest and search warrant.”

The document added: “Cognizant of its responsibility not to arrest, search or seize a person’s property contrary to the law, police arrested the defendant, searched and seized the relevant property of evidentiary significance after securing arrest and search warrant from the Federal First Instance Court. His house was searched and relevant evidences found were seized by court warrant issued by the Federal Court in accordance with article 26 (3) of the Constitution and article 19 of the Ethiopian Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. The defendant promptly brought before a court of law within 48 hours in accordance with article 14(3)(c) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 19 and 20(1) of the FDRE Constitution and tried without undue delay.”

The legal brief makes no mention of Ethiopia’s tradition of pardoning prisoners, most recently approved by the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi before he passed away on August 20th, 2012, which freed over 1,900 inmates including two Swedish journalists — reporter Martin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson — who were jailed for assisting members of the outlawed rebel group the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).

As always, we remain hopeful that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the Ethiopian journalists still incarcerated. And once more, we call upon PM Hailemariam Desalegn who was recently elected as the new chairman of the African Union to lead the AU by example by helping to remove his country from the list of Africa’s top jailers of journalists — a distinction Ethiopia currently shares along with Eritrea as the only two African countries spotlighted as the world’s top ten leading press offenders.
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Related:
MEPs urge Ethiopia to release journalist (The Guardian)
Letter from 16 Members of the European Parliament (Press Release)
Ethiopia pardons two jailed Swedish journalists (Reuters)
Country List of Top 10 ‘Jailers of Journalists’ (CPJ)
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Illegal PDF of Mengistu Haile Mariam’s Memoir

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2012 in Featured and Opinion. 41 Comments

The recent online distribution of the unauthorized, scanned copy of Mengistu Haile Mariam's book is receiving strong criticism. (Photo: From the book cover)

Tadias Magazine

By Professor Donald N. Levine

Published: Wednesday, February 1, 2012

The leaders in the EPRP organization who authorized the scanning and posting of the book published by Tsehai Publishers on debteraw.com committed an act that was illegal, unethical, and imprudent. To my mind, that marks it as “un-Ethiopian.”

As I have come to know Ethiopians in many traditions and walks of life, at first hand and through the reports of numerous scholars, I find them essentially law-respecting, ethical, and prudent human beings. Whether it is in observing the laws enacted by an Oromo gumi gayo assembly, a Sidamo town meeting, or Tigrayan court of justice, Ethiopians traditionally express a strong sense of devotion to validly formulated laws and judicial pronouncements. (This trait captured me memorably when, after the new Constitution of 1955 was published, janitors could be seen in the Department of Justice leaning on their brooms and studying it closely!)

Again, whatever religious belief system they follow – Christianity, Judaism, Islam, or the worship of Waaq – Ethiopians exhibit a keen sense of respect for moral standards. What is more, I have found Ethiopians of many classes and ethnic groups to be mature in cautioning against impulsive and socially destructive behaviors. Indeed, what I have glossed as the culture of Wax and Gold reflects a wish to avoid saying things that will illicit negative reactions from those with whom they associate.

The brazen act of the debteraw.com website in scanning and posting the text of Tiglatchn by Mengistu Haile Mariam is patently illegal and so repeats the very behavior that they condemn. On this point, a number of attorneys have assured me that such action stands in clear violation of international and national copyright laws. Although the responsible party claims justification by virtue of a “Son of Sam Law” which prohibits criminals from profiting from their crimes by selling their stories, Colonel Mengistu, however, has not been paid for this book. The publisher not only gave him no money for the manuscript but stands to incur a loss in producing this publication.

It is, moreover, unethical, since it violates commonly shared ethical standards by virtue of responding to a displeasing act with an effort to destroy the perpetrator.

Finally, it is doubly imprudent. On the one hand, illegally posting this manuscript in digital form only serves to increase exponentially the distribution of what this website has condemned as a “book of lies.” Indeed, the point should be emphasized that such a wide distribution will likely strengthen the credibility and endurance of Mengistu’s claims rather than their condemnation. What is more, it aborts the opportunity that publication provides for serious critical scrutiny of a book that patently contains a great number of unsustainable claims. This action might also discourage the Press from publishing a memoir of the EPRP.

On the other hand, the attack on Tsehai Publishers reinforces a tendency among Ethiopians to vilify and defame one another when they disagree. As I have argued for decades, this tendency stands to impede the formation of productive public discourse and to reinforce cycles of violent conflict.

The victim of this triply unscrupulous revenge, Tsehai publisher Elias Wondimu, is a truly heroic Ethiopian, who has invested a huge amount of his life in producing a harvest of publications that can help Ethiopians understand themselves and appreciate their rich traditions and complex society. I can think of no more appropriate response by all Ethiopians, including enlightened EPRP members, than to proceed forthwith to tsehaipublishers.com and order three books. It would be no less appropriate to send a contribution to the Press for the legal defense fund, which they will need to resolve the legal aspect of this unfortunate affair.

—
About the Author:
Donald N. Levine served as the Peter B. Ritzma Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago. His research and teaching interests focus on classical social theory, modernization theory, Ethiopian studies, conflict theory and aikido, and philosophies of liberal education.

Ethiopia: Copyrights and CopyCrimes – By Alemayehu G Mariam (Ethio Media)

In defense of Tsehai Publishers – By Fikre Tolossa (Ethiopian Review)

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Fashion And Charity Go Together For Former Supermodel

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2011 in News and Podcast. Closed

Above: In the 1990s Anna Getaneh was a supermodel. A trip
to a refugee camp on the border of Ethiopia and Kenya in 1995
with Pharmacists Without Borders changed her life. (Photo AM)

From Nkepile Mabuse, CNN
January 30, 2011

(CNN) — In the 1990s Ethiopian supermodel Anna Getaneh walked the runways of Paris and Milan. These days she is putting her flair for fashion to good use, helping deprived children in rural areas of her home country.

“I was working in an industry where I felt that there were very few Africans that were represented,” says Getaneh, who modeled for Yves Saint Laurent, among others.

“Africa’s presence was sort of very vague or reduced to being different,” she adds.

In 1995 Getaneh visited a refugee camp on the border of Ethiopia and Kenya with Pharmacists Without Borders. She returned to New York “moved” and inspired to make a difference.