The Habehabesha Perspective in Full Support of Haile Tessema’s Analysis
By The Habesha Editorial Desk
(with reference to Haile Tessema’s three-part series published July 3–8, 2023, on Zehabesha.com)
Introduction: From Reformist Promise to National Embarrassment
When Haile Tessema published his explosive three-part series — “Abiy Ahmed: A National Disgrace and an International Embarrassment” — in Zehabesha during July 2023, it cut through the silence that had settled around Ethiopia’s declining political credibility.
In three rigorously argued installments (Part I, Part II, and Part III), Tessema traced Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s fall from Nobel-laureate promise to the depths of diplomatic ridicule.
His central argument is unambiguous: Abiy’s tenure has fused deceit, vanity, and incompetence into a crisis of both governance and international standing.
Part I — Leaders as a Nation’s Representatives
In Part I, Tessema sets the moral framework:
A head of state personifies the nation; when the leader falters, the nation’s dignity suffers with him. Abiy Ahmed, once celebrated as a reformer, now embodies the opposite — a leader adrift between image and substance.
Tessema observes that Abiy’s administration relies heavily on spectacle: mass rallies, emotional speeches, and public gestures of humility that conceal administrative chaos beneath.
He highlights the widening gap between promises of unity and actual governance, citing ongoing displacement, political imprisonment, and lawlessness across Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray.
Zehabesha’s editorial position aligns with this assessment: Abiy’s charisma cannot substitute for coherent leadership. Ethiopia, Tessema reminds us, “cannot survive on slogans and smiles while its institutions rot.” His first article sets the tone — a warning that moral credibility, once lost, rarely returns.
Part II — The International Pariah
In Part II, Tessema takes his argument global, depicting Abiy as a diplomatic liability whose gaffes and arrogance have alienated foreign partners.
He recounts, for example, Abiy’s error at a Paris summit, where the Prime Minister wrongly claimed that the new World Bank president would serve a two-year term (the mandate is five).
Such slips might seem minor, but in diplomacy they symbolize ignorance — and, as Tessema writes, “a man unprepared to stand among peers.”
He also dissects Abiy’s inflated environmental boasts, such as the claim that Ethiopia invested $50 billion in tree-planting — an assertion Tessema calls “fictitious, designed only to feed vanity.”
Equally damaging are the subtle cues of isolation: international handshakes not returned, photo-ops avoided, conversations cut short. These, Tessema argues, are the world’s silent verdict on Ethiopia’s diminished prestige.
Outside reports corroborate this perception. Western partners express unease over human-rights abuses, while regional blocs question Addis Ababa’s reliability. Ethiopia’s diplomatic corps, once respected, now operates in permanent damage control.
Zehabesha’s position is clear: Abiy’s mismanagement abroad mirrors his failures at home — performance without principle.
Part III — Mendacity on the International Stage
The final chapter, Part III, is Tessema’s most damning. He accuses Abiy Ahmed of habitual deceit — of treating public vows as disposable theater.
Foremost is the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) episode. Abiy publicly promised not to fill the dam’s reservoir without a binding regional agreement. Yet, within months, Ethiopia began unilateral filling — a decision that enraged Egypt and Sudan and shattered prior assurances.
Tessema calls this a “calculated betrayal of diplomacy” and proof that Abiy’s word cannot be trusted.
Likewise, Abiy’s contradictory statements on Eritrean troop involvement in the Tigray war — denial followed by reluctant admission — expose what Tessema brands a “pattern of lying to citizens and the world alike.”
Even his habit of invoking divine oaths while breaking secular promises, Tessema warns, “reduces both faith and governance to performance.”
For Zehabesha and its readership, these charges are not hyperbole. They summarize a verifiable record: a premier who promised transparency but delivered opacity, who vowed peace yet governed through coercion.
A Coherent Narrative of Decline
Together, the trilogy constructs a unified argument:
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Part I: Domestic legitimacy erodes through hypocrisy.
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Part II: International respect collapses under humiliation.
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Part III: The pattern of deceit completes the downfall.
Tessema’s brilliance lies in the cumulative effect — each part reinforcing the others until the conclusion becomes unavoidable.
His writing style — factual yet moral, analytic yet impassioned — channels public disillusionment into a coherent indictment.
Supporting Evidence Beyond the Series
Independent analyses lend further weight to Tessema’s conclusions:
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Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented unlawful killings, arbitrary detentions, and censorship under Abiy’s government.
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Freedom House (2024) downgraded Ethiopia’s status from Partly Free to Not Free, citing regression in political rights.
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Regional diplomacy around the GERD and the Horn of Africa has become increasingly strained, with Abiy’s statements frequently contradicted by his own ministries.
These external validations underscore that Tessema’s portrayal is not merely rhetorical — it reflects measurable decline.
Why Haile Tessema’s Voice Matters
Haile Tessema’s articles exemplify what independent Ethiopian journalism strives to achieve: fearless truth-telling grounded in patriotism.
Zehabesha has long served as a platform for unfiltered analysis — not propaganda — and Tessema’s trilogy stands among its most consequential contributions.
His essays invite Ethiopians to demand integrity, accountability, and competence from those who claim to govern in their name.
Supporting his position is not opposition for its own sake; it is a defense of Ethiopia’s dignity.
Conclusion: Between Truth and Ruin
Abiy Ahmed once promised a “new dawn” for Ethiopia. Today, that dawn feels eclipsed by disinformation, repression, and diplomatic ridicule.
Haile Tessema’s Zehabesha series lays bare this transformation — from visionary to embarrassment — in meticulous detail.
We, at The Habesha Editorial Desk, fully endorse Tessema’s conclusion:
A leader who deceives his people and disgraces his nation abroad forfeits the moral right to represent Ethiopia.
History will remember not only the chaos of Abiy Ahmed’s rule but also the courage of those — like Haile Tessema and Zehabesha — who chose to speak the truth when silence was safer.
References
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Tessema, Haile. Abiy Ahmed: A National Disgrace and an International Embarrassment – Part I (July 3 2023). Zehabesha.com
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Tessema, Haile. Abiy Ahmed: A National Disgrace and an International Embarrassment – Part II (July 5 2023). Zehabesha.com
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Tessema, Haile. Abiy Ahmed: A National Disgrace and an International Embarrassment – Part III (July 8 2023). Zehabesha.com
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Freedom House (2024). Freedom in the World Report – Ethiopia.
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Amnesty International (2023). Ethiopia: Human Rights Violations in the Context of Conflict.