Diplomacy by hypocrisy is “diplocrisy”
By Prof. Alemayehu G/Mariam

Edmund Burke, the British statesman and philosopher, said “Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing.” We’ve heard many promises on human rights in Africa from President Obama and his Administration over the past four years.  

Right in Prison, Wrong on the Throne
By Prof. Alemayehu G/ Mariam

Last April, I wrote a “Special Tribute to My Personal Hero Eskinder Nega”.  In that tribute, I groped for words as I tried to describe this common Ethiopian man of uncommon valor, an ordinary journalist of extraordinary integrity and audacity. Frankly, what could be said of a simple man of humility possessed of indomitable dignity? Eskinder Nega is a man who stood up to brutality with his gentle humanity.

ዞምቢዎቹ እየመጡ ነው!
(ተመስገን ደሳለኝ)

ሐምሌ 11 ቀን ዓ.ም. በታተመችው በ‹‹አዲስ ነገር›› ጋዜጣ ወዳጄ መስፍን ነጋሽ ‹‹ዞምቢዎቹ›› በሚል ርዕስ ዛሬም ድረስ ከህሊናዬ
ያልጠፋ ድንቅ ጽሁፍ አስነብቦን ነበር (የዚህ ፅሁፍ ሃሳብም ከዚሁ የተናጠቀ ነው)፡፡ ይኸ ከሆነ ድፍን ሶስት ዓመት ሊሞላው ጥቂት ወራት
ብቻ ቀርቶታል፡፡ ‹‹አዲስ ነገር››ም ወደ ታሪክነት ከተቀየረች ሁለት ዓመት አልፏታል፡፡ ለምን? …ዞምቢዎቹ ድል ስለነሷት፤ እንዴት?
ማንም ዞምቢዎቹን ድል አድርጎ ስለማያውቅ፡፡ ዞምቢ ምንድር ነው? ጋዜጠኛ መስፍን ነጋሽ እንዲህ ገልጿቸዋል፡-

በቆብ ላይ ሚዶ ትምህርትና ተማሪ ቤት
ፕ/ር መስፍን ወልደማርያም

ባለፉት አርባ ዓመታት ውስጥ አንድ ልብ ያላልነው መሠረታዊ ለውጥ አለ፤ እንዲያውም የመከራችን ሁሉ ምንጭ ነው ለማለት ይቻላል፤ የመሪዎቻችን አለመማር ብቻ ሳይሆን ትምህርትን መናቅ ወይም ጭራሹኑ መጥላት ዋና ባሕርያቸው ሆነ፤ እስከደርግ ዘመን የነበሩት የአገር መሪዎች ቢያንስ የአንደኛ ደረጃውን (ዳዊት መድገም) የአገሩን ባህላዊ ትምህርት ያከናወኑ ነበሩ፤

The Dragon Eating the Eagle’s Lunch in Africa?
By Prof. Alemayehu G/Mariam

Flight of the Eagle and pursuit of the Dragon

In June 2011, during her visit to Zambia U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton pulled the alarm bell on a creeping “new colonialism” in Africa. While dismissing “China’s Model” of authoritarian state capitalism as a governance model for Africa, she took a swipe at China for its unprincipled opportunism in Africa. “In the long-run, medium-run, even short-run, no I don’t [think China is a good model of governance in Africa]…We saw that during colonial times, it is easy to come in, take out natural resources, pay off leaders and leave, …And when you leave, you don’t leave much behind for the people who are there. We don’t want to see a new colonialism in Africa…”

Obama “Moonwalking” Human Rights in Africa?
Alemayehu G/Mariam

The great American poet Walt Whitman said, “Either define the moment or the moment will define you.” Will the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as president of Kenya define President Barack Obama in Africa or will President Barack Obama use the election of President Kenyatta to define his human rights policy in Africa?

The Moral Equivalent of an Anti-Apartheid Movement in Ethiopia?

Alemayehu G. Mariam

Ethiopian Muslims engaged in the moral equivalent of an anti-Apartheid movement?

In her recent commentary in the New York Review of Books, “Obama: Failing the African Spring?”, Dr. Helen Epstein questioned the Obama Administration for turning a blind eye to human rights violations in Africa, and particularly the persecution of Muslims in Ethiopia.