The Controversial Role of Professor Al Mariam in Ethiopian Politics

In the wake of the recent innocent civilians’ massacre at Merawi, Gojjam in Ethiopia by Abiy Ahmed Ali’s military forces, the international community including the governments of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, the United Nations, and European Union have expressed their “deep concerns” (outrage in a diplomatic parlance) and called for an independent investigation. Similarly, domestic and international human rights organizations have confirmed the massacre and called for an independent investigation.

The massacre was reported by various social media, as well as mainstream domestic and international media including the BBC, Fox News, Associated Press, Al-Jazeera, Africa News Channel, The Guardian, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Voice of America, The Jerusalem Post, etc.

Following the report and a call for an independent investigation, Professor Alemayehu Gebre Mariam (“Al Mariam”) especially singled out the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin Massinga and “attacked” the Ambassador via his blog post to re-affirm once again his de ja vu absolute loyalty to his genocidal master Abiy Ahmed Ali.

The purpose of this article is not to defend the Ambassador, who in his own right may do so at his own choosing via any appropriate means; but rather to be a voice for the voiceless fellow Ethiopians who have been savagely slaughtered by Abiy Ahmed Ali’s forces and expose Al Mariam who has stepped on their blood and continues his servitude to the genocidal regime, whose crimes are unparalleled in Ethiopian history!

In his speech to a large audience in California soon after he ascended to his premiership, Abiy Ahmed Ali declared, “California gave me Professor Alemayehu Gebre Mariam!” Indeed! What more could he ask for? By luck or the power of government coffers, no one can say for sure, at least for now, Abiy Ahmed Ali got a perfect servant who would write his Nobel Peace Prize nomination and brandish his sword of pen at anyone who dares to criticize his master in the years to follow. As we all know, Al Mariam has been tirelessly writing on his blog post to depict Abiy Ahmed Ali as a “Messiah” for nearly six years, contrary to the glaring reality on the ground, i.e., the unparalleled atrocities committed against the people of Ethiopia in different parts of the country by Abiy Ahmed Ali’s government, which have been acknowledged by domestic and international human rights organizations, foreign governments, and the international media over and over again!

Regarding the Merawi massacre, let us briefly set the record straight:

1. The barbaric massacre of innocent civilians, execution style through door-to-door searches by Abiy Ahmed Ali’s military forces took place at Merawi, a small town in Gojjam, northern Ethiopia on January 29, 2024.

2. Abiy Ahmed Ali’s stooge and mouthpiece (aka Communications Director) Legesse Tulu officially confirmed the incident while he alleged the victims were Fano fighters “in civilian clothes.” It is worth noting here that, as confirmed by eyewitness accounts on different media, the victims included citizens between the ages of 14 to 96, including a pregnant woman, youngsters, elderlies, and others who are incapable of being fighters.

3. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a rights organization established by Abi Ahmed Ali’s own government, confirmed that the massacre took place at Merawi and was committed by government troops through door-to-door searches.

Despite all the above facts, Al-Mariam despicably wrote that the reports could be “nothing more than allegations based on fake news and disinformation gathered from idle, know-nothing, do-nothing, good-for-nothing, ne’er-do-well, cognac-sipping, kitfo eating, trash-talking #Ethipian diaspora noisemakers, Chicken Littles and YouTube click baiters hanging around pubs, restaurants and bars in Washington, DC.” A megalomaniac, self-proclaimed omniscient and matchless “Professor,” this is not the first time that Al Mariam has contemptuously written about his fellow Ethiopians under the intoxication of whatever flows to him from his master Abi Ahmed Ali.

Al Mariam’s blog regarding the Merawi massacre can be debunked in many areas; however, I shall focus only on the following. Al Mariam states:

1. “I have no doubts the Ethiopian government will prosecute anyone whose guilt can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. I will personally support any effort directed to the apprehension and prosecution of any culprits involved in gross human rights violations!” There you go! Al Mariam has just dropped from outer space! I say to him, “Welcome to the land of gross human rights violations, ethnic cleansing, genocide, crimes against humanity, called Ethiopia under the “Crime” Minister of Abiy Ahmed Ali’s government!” Where was Al Mariam when hundreds and thousands of Ethiopians were massacred, burnt alive, buried in mass graves, evicted, disappeared, jailed, and tortured merely because of their identity during the past six years by Abiy Ahmed Ali’s government direct and indirect involvement? Where was Al Mariam when the barbaric regime desecrated and dismantled our religious institutions, replacing highly respected religious leaders with his stooges (e.g., the replacement of Haji Mufti Omar Idris by Haji Ibrahim Tufa), orchestrating a counterfeit synod in darkness, as a kleptomaniac would do, far away from the capital city, killing religious leaders and their followers, burning and bulldozing churches and mosques? Where was Al Mariam when thousands of citizens were thrown into solitary confinements and concentration camps merely because of their identities and their criticism of the barbaric regime (students, intellectuals, journalists, medical doctors, businesspeople, and parliamentarians whose immunity is protected under the law and yet simply because the infantile “king” is above the law? It is our prayer and hope that a day will come when the darkness that befell our country yields to daylight and Abiy Ahmed Ali and his enablers and stooges, such as Al Mariam, will stand before the court of justice and face their punishment!

2. “… for its unflagging defense of its national unity, resolute assertion of its dignity and absolute refusal to negotiate away its sovereignty and territorial integrity.” It is incredible which government Al Mariam is talking about! Has he heard that the Sudan occupies a large swath of Ethiopian land on its western border? Does he know that his master who is determined to disintegrate Ethiopia and give birth to a daydream “Oromia Republic” has opened Ethiopia’s southwestern border and let South Sudanese occupy Ethiopian land? There is no doubt that Al Mariam knows all of these and more; however, he does not have a shred of courage to criticize his master since he has traded his conscience for absolute servitude.

3. “Ethiopia today is celebrating the inauguration of the Adwa Memorial Museum. Anyone who commands/demands Ethiopia to provide “unfettered access” to its sovereignty especially as Ethiopians celebrate the Battle of Adwa makes my blood boil.” This is indeed laughable! Yes, the Battle of Adwa is a monumental history that we all Ethiopians are immensely proud of, and it is a Beacon of Freedom for all Black people around the world! However, for Al Mariam to conflate the great history of the Battle of Adwa with his master’s recent drama is disingenuous to say the least! Does Al Mariam know that Abiy Ahmed Ali ordered his partner-in-crime Adanech Abebe not to display Emperor Menelik’s picture at the Adwa celebration and instead put up his own (laughable!) portrait next to Balcha Aba Nefso’s two years ago? Has he heard that Abiy Ahmed Ali’s Oromia Police Force killed Mekuanent Wodaje, a high-school physics teacher, and injured a large number of Addis Ababa residents while they were peacefully celebrating the 127^thAnniversary of the Battle of Adwa a year ago at the heart of the city merely because they acclaimed The Great Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taitu? The Police attacked women, men, children, and elderlies brutally with clubs and used tear gas in the compound of the St. George Church where Orthodox Christians were celebrating an annual religious holiday? Did Al Mariam’s blood boil when his master committed such heinous crimes in broad day light, or does his blood boil selectively?

4. In addressing Ambassador Massinga, he states, “…he would have made respectful efforts to communicate with Ethiopian government officials and try to understand their positions, agree to disagree and respect their national policy…” What national policy is Al Mariam asking respect for herein? Respect for the national policy of ethnic cleansing, genocide, crimes against humanity, desecration of religious institutions, destruction by heavy artillery of monasteries and murder nearly of 600 hermits (recall Debre Elias Monastery!), the detention and torture en masse of youth, intellectuals, journalists, parliamentarians in concentration camps, the plunder of national treasure and capital flight, misuse of national resources in the futile construction of a daydream palace in the footsteps of the ancient Roman Emperor Caligula who emptied Rome’s treasury? I can only say, “Shame on you, ‘Professor’”!

“Professor” Al Mariam, you should know that these dark days too shall pass, and Almighty God will shine His Divine Light on our beloved Ethiopia! And when that happens your children and grandchildren will be ashamed of your story! Not only that, your university that bestowed a prestigious title upon you (California State University, San Bernardino – CSUSB) shall be ashamed of your story! Until such time, I have scribbled the following addressing the university.

Cry CSUSB

Mourn your “Professor”!
Who barters his soul for crumbs
Who turns a blind eye
And deaf ears
To those country fellows of his
Who perish at Merawi
Through execution style murders
By his master’s army
And thousands of scores before then
By heavy artillery fires
And drone attacks!
Your “Professor” rather brandishes
His sword of pen
At those critics of his master
Who rules Ethiopia by a bayonet
And an iron fist!
Cry CSUSB
Your “Professor” defends
A barbaric regime
That kills by the thousands
And jails by the thousands
In its dungeons
And concentration camps
Evicts by the millions!
A kleptocratic regime
That plunders Ethiopia’s meagre treasure
Steals food aid
And “re-exports” without shame!
Cry CSUSB
For you carry such a dead-walking “Professor”
In your bosom
Rise in this occasion
Disavow the “Professor”!
Renounce the soul trader!
And stand with Truth!
And stand with Justice!

 
Asfaw Regasa
 
References:

1. https://www.ethiopianreporter.com/126778/
2. https://ehrc.org/amhara-conflict-ethiopians-massacred-in-their-homes-by-government-troops-bbc-news/
3. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68283799
4. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2024/02/09/ethiopia-amhara-fano-civilian-killings-us/1280eb00-c729-11ee-bbc9-9b5ca9b20779_story.html
5. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/ethiopia-statement-spokesperson-latest-developments-amhara_en
6. https://www.foxnews.com/world/alleged-civilian-massacre-reported-ethiopia-us-calls-investigation
7. https://apnews.com/article/ethiopia-amhara-fano-civilian-killings-us-cd57ab06f1fc291f29a74c200dc3c22b
8. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/13/ethiopian-forces-killed-at-least-45-citizens-in-amhara-rights-body-says
9. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/feb/12/dozens-of-civilians-killed-by-ethiopian-state-troops-in-amhara-region-say-reports
10. https://eclj.org/religious-freedom/un/ethiopie–570-victimes-dans-lattaque-dun-monastere-orthodoxe
11. https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/ethiopia-epo-weekly-update-20-february-2024
12. https://www.africanewschannel.org/africa/more-than-150-civilian-amhara-killed-in-merawi-town-ethiopia-by-the-government-soldiers-merawi-massacre/
13. https://www.voaafrica.com/a/ethiopian-forces-killed-at-least-45-civilians-says-human-rights-commission/7485423.html
14. https://bnnbreaking.com/world/africa/massacre-in-merawi-a-plea-for-justice-amidst-conflict-and-chaos

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