Dear Aigaforum Admin: ON GERD
Teame (From Addis Ababa, Jan 10, 2020) - Greetings from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I am a regular reader of articles posted on your website. I really appreciate your efforts to provide a forum for alternative views and contribute to informing the public about current realities in the country. The main stream media is wholly focused on building Abiy's image and his quest for publicity leaving aside all the critical issues the country faces at the moment.



Trump tells Toledo rally he 'saved' Ethiopia, laments he didn't get the Nobel Peace Prize for it
"I'm going to tell you about the Nobel Peace Prize," President Trump said at his political rally in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday evening. "I'll tell you about that. I made a deal, I saved a country, and I just heard that the head of that country is now getting the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country. I said, 'what, did I have something do with it?' Yeah, but you know, that's the way it is.
President Trump upset Abiy not him got the Nobel for peace this year. Trump may have told the world what we knew all along already- that Abiy is in power now because of Trump. And what will Jawar/Qerro say about the Qerro revolution and his involvment.?

Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan deadlocked over giant Nile dam, look to Washington talks
ADDIS ABABA, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan remained deadlocked after two days of talks in their disputes over a giant hydropower dam on the Nile though Cairo said it hoped the issues would be resolved by Jan. 15 in line with a deadline agreed with Washington
We never thought this day will come. We thought Ethiopians no matter what political system they support will endure finishing this critical dam! We were wrong for sure! Today we are forced to plead with those closely working on this project as engineers, managers and as promoters to come clean and inform the public on what is going on with this project. We ask any TPLF member working on this project in any capacity to come clean. No one should be an accomplice to the Abiy government's sinister plan to derail this project hiding behind a superpower pressure. The US will undoubtedly side with Egypt and force Ethiopia either to kill the project or diminish its purpose. Aigaforum Jan 9,2020

World Bank Cuts Ethiopia Growth Forecast
The World Bank cut its forecast for Ethiopia's economic growth in the 2020 fiscal year to 6.3%, well below the government's projection. The National Bank of Ethiopia has forecast that gross domestic product growth would accelerate to 10.8% for the fiscal year ending in July
When I saw the government's forecast the other day, I was perplexed. All indications coming out from the country were suggesting a severe economic slowdown and yet the government forecasted for similar growth registered during the EPRDF regime. How can that be? Another fake news from a fake government you say? Zeru Hagos Jan 9, 2020

Wufer Tebeges
Aesop 01/07/2020 - At last, Wufer Tebeges sounded loud! The path is clear now. What the Tigrean people have been waiting for has manifested. Tigreans are not strangers to humiliation. The ostracization, the imprisonment, the torture, the killing, and the bombing: they been through it all! It suffices to read, the outsider yet the preeminent geopolitical thinker, Kaplan's book: Surrender or Starve! There's also Fire from the Ashes", John Young's, Paul Henze's books, etc. etc.



Constitutional Crisis in Ethiopia
Concerned Ethiopian January 6, 2020 - TPLF has just concluded the Extraordinary congress in Mekelle, Tigray to decide whether to join the newly formed Prosperity Party or not. The TPLF Party decision is now official – it will not join the newly formed Prosperity Party. This decision creates officially a constitutional crisis in Ethiopia.

America's Ethiopia Problem
Elias Dawit 01-05-20 - The 2020 Ethiopian election is looming ahead of us under a cloud of uncertainty and confusion. There seems to be a general consensus among internal and external political actors that the election must take place, but this consensus is tainted by a nagging premonition that the election might represent a propitious event in Ethiopia's future. Will the 2020 election be the tipping point for state collapse?

Prosperity Party's get-rich-quick scheme
Challa Demissie -It has been 50 years since Wallelign Mekonnen published "On the Question of Nationalities in Ethiopia" articulating his lasting solution for uprisings and liberation movements. Half a century later, the question of nationalities is still the central theme of Ethiopian political discourse. It has persisted because we failed to properly address the nationalities' just demands for dignity and self-governance.
Not sure how else the nations and nationalities question could have been resolved except with a constitution that empowers nations and nationalities with the right to secede if they choose to do so. That is what EPRDF did then. Today the unionist supported by western neoliberals and religious zealots are trying to undermine the very specific constitution that empowered nations and nationalities in Ethiopia. When will we Ethiopians realize our proud nation is going down to the abyss with the help of foreigners! Zeru Hagos Jan 2020

President Essaias and Eritreans sanguinity
Yilma Gebru 01-06-20 - In the past couple of days, the senior TPLF Veteran, Ato Sibhat Nega, reportedly said so long as Essaias is alive there will be no peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea. I really share this view. The whole problem has something to do with Essais' sadist nature. In the first place, peace is something president Essaias hates. Look, this man struggled for 30 years claiming...

FAA issues emergency restriction of US flights over Iran, Iraq
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration is barring U.S. pilots and carriers from flying in areas of Iraqi, Iranian and some Persian Gulf airspace. The agency is warning of the "potential for miscalculation or mis-identification" for civilian aircraft amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Read also: Iran media says Ukrainian airplane carrying 180 people crashes near Tehran

No, it is a Chinese rocket doctored with the Ethiopian flag
An image of a rocket bearing the Ethiopian flag was used in several social media posts marking the launch of the country's first satellite into space last month. The event was acclaimed throughout the east African nation and marked a big step in Ethiopia's fledgling space program, but the picture that was carried with many of the stories was a manipulated image of a Chinese rocket from 2016. Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen also shared the wrong image on his official Facebook page after attending a live broadcast of the satellite launch.
It seems everything the Abiy government does is fake these days! Why would Demeke do this? Is he also in the blind to what goes on in the country - so much so he is not aware of what type of minisatellite Ethiopia was given by the Chinese as a goodwill gesture to entice Ethiopia to invest more? Foreigners are realizing the Abiy government for what it is slowly!!

መግለፂ ቅዋም ቀዳማይ ህፁፅ ጉባኤ ህወሓት
የህወሓት አንደኛ አስቸኳይ ድርጅታዊ ጉባኤ የአቋም
TPLF January 05, 2020 - Concluding statement from TPLF Extraordinary Congress- Mekelle, Tigrai
Key takeaways from the statement: It says -

The newly formed party Prosperity is illegal and the process by which EPRDF was dissolved was flawed.

TPLF shall continue to uphold the principles behind EPRDF and multinational federation.

TPLF shall form both a tactical coalition and strategic partnership with current legal political organizations.

TPLF leadership should start a legal process to recover its share currently owned by EPRDF

TPLF should continue to use peaceful and legal means to define the relationship the State of Tigrai will have with the remaining government in Ethiopia.

TPLF should continue to work with all legal oppositions in Tigrai and work towards improving governance.

TPLF should continue to fight head-on those trying to put wedges between the proud people of Tigrai in the name of regionalism

TPLF should continue the people to people engagement between Tigreans and Eritreans.

It reminds the international community and those involved in Ethiopia's internal affairs to play a constructive role. If not to desist from their interference as it is becoming a hindrance to further democracy.

HANDLING CONFLICT
Yohannes Gebresellasie (Ph.d) Addis Ababa 01-04-20 - Conflict occurs anywhere unfortunately. It is often inevitable in many situations. Conflicts may concern petty ones to the more serious ones which can lead to hostility among individuals and groups. The fact of the matter is that conflict is something that we live with. One cannot expect two people or groups to agree all the time. In one way or another, we are faced with many types of conflict ...

Chinese FM to visit five African countries
BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay official visits to Egypt, Djibouti, Eritrea, Burundi and Zimbabwe from Jan. 7 to 13.This is the 30th consecutive year since 1991 for a Chinese foreign minister to visit Africa at the start of every year, Geng said, adding this fine tradition fully reflects China's high priority on developing its ties with Africa, which is strong proof of the time-tested solid friendship between China and Africa.
Is China moving away from Ethiopia or making sure Ethiopia can not move away from China?

Will Iran's Response to the Soleimani Strike Lead to War?
Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, was one of the most influential and popular figures in the Islamic Republic and a particular nemesis of the United States. He led Iran's campaign to arm and train Shiite militias in Iraq-militias responsible for the deaths of an estimated 600 American troops from 2003 to 2011

U.S. Strike in Iraq Kills Qassim Suleimani, Commander of Iranian Forces
Iran's top security and intelligence commander was killed early Friday in a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport that was authorized by President Trump, American officials said. ... In Iran, the leadership convened an emergency security meeting. And the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a statement calling for three days of public mourning and then retaliation.



BE PROUD TIGRAY, BUT NOT COMPLACENT
Ezana Sehay 01/01/2020 - Ever since the soft coup d'état that toppled the nationalist [EPRDF] government, Ethiopia has been facing an ugly stew of problems, so much so, the country's current situation can only be described as an omnishambles –"a state of total chaos, total disorder, and total mismanagement". The prognosis is not promising either. The Manchurian candidate ...