Melkam Fasika
A blog before I left for a fasika "Adar" at Lideta St. Mary church. Remeber, this church was under siege five years ago. I was in Australia then.
I feel ill-at-ease with the story of fasika chickens. It makes us appear to be fools and liers. We have to be very careful about the stories we report. Chicken(whether it is Al-Amoudi's or anyone's) isn't selling that well due to the fear of Bird flu. That is one of the reasons(not the whole of course) why sheep and cattle prices are sky-rocketing. Price for chicken has gone down by more than 200%.
I know for people writing from outside Ethiopia, information may be quite sketchy. Yet there is a need to be extra-cautious as we are fighting a special type of "war" against EPRDF. There are the info. War; the diplomacy war... and if we write "bere welede" stories, It will affect our crediblity. Last week, for example, one of my close freinds visited Hadar newspaper deputy-editor-in-chief Feleke Tibebu at Kaliti prison. It was reported on Tensae radio that feleka was seek and underwent surgery. My friend asked how well he was earnestly and Feleke, who was very upset with the Tensae report, replied that he hadn't been sick. Even people in our side will start to lose trust if we aren't careful. This isn't a war by old style liberation front.
I read Birtukan Mideksa's letter on Ethiomedia today. My prison informants told me that it was smuggled out last Sunday. The next day, Birtukan was visited by Vicki and the french ambassador. Birtukan is getting to be a pain in the neck for the ruling party. I learned that she spends most of her time in prison writing Statements of Defense for the prisoners for free. Last week, Birtukan and other women prisoners celebrated the Oromo Martyr's day in jail, according to my sources. I tried to get hold of the full info. regarding Vicki's visit to prison last monday. I sure will come with at least some of it soon.
Away from the prisoners and vick, meles Zenawi is writing two more volumes on revolutionary democracy. These ones targeted teachers. After the Tefera walwa chaired discussion between teachers and EPRDF, meles and co seemed to reach to three amazing conclusions:
1. It is the teachers that made EPRDF lose the election
2.Most teachers are unaware of the contents of the constitution.
3. Some teachers who are aware of the constitution have decided to subvert it
so?
A. There will be a massive tutorial and training on the constitution for teachers
B. Those who understand but fail to follow the constitution will be fired
C. regional education bureaus should report to the prime minister directly
So for EPRDF, it isn't its policy that is the problem. The problem is the teachers level of knowledge. C'mon Meles knows best!
Now meles is trying to have school teachers who will teach kids that Emperor Menelik had made Ankober a piece of heaven on earth and he constructed the only railway Ethiopia had to subjugate nations and nationalities.