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The French have now intervened more than 50 times in Africa since 1960. They fought in Chad, in the war with Libya, protected regimes in Djibouti and the Central African Republic from rebels, prevented a coup in the Comoros and intervened in Côte d’Ivoire. The list goes on. Aljazeera is...

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#Ethiopia #UN Delivering as ONE.  Ge'ez number 1 = ፩ 

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#African Lion: A Symbol of Strength and Maturity in Ethiopia.  

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The controversy surrounding “land purchase” is borne out of the same mythology about “land ownership.”

Land ownership is an European construct, which when introduced into pre-colonial, traditional Africa, spawned mythology and created enormous problems. Here are some facts. Back then, there were...

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Ethiopia is Abay, Abay is Ethiopia!

Egyptians say “Egypt is Nile, Nile is Egypt”.  And Ethiopians say “Ethiopia is Abay, Abay is Ethiopia”!  These two African nations existed for over millions of years, and for several human civilizations.  River Nile is an umbilical cord that connects mama Ethiopia with baby Egypt.   As an off spring would not attack its biological mother, neither should Egypt ever dream of attacking Ethiopia.  Peace, love and prosperity for Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.   

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The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire

By Raymond Jonas (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press, 2011)

"This is the story of a world turned upside down." So begins The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire. While no attribution is suggested, it is likely Raymond Jonas had in mind the famous ballad played by the British at their surrender at Yorktown. As much as the victory by the colonials was a rebuke to conventional wisdom so the battle of Adwa was to European attitudes towards Africans during the Age of Imperialism.

The Battle of Adwa in 1896 was the result of Italian encroachments south of their colony of Eritrea on the Red Sea. Though bound by the Treaty of Wichale (1889) to friendship, the Italians and Ethiopians had different opinions about the nature of that friendship. This was the famous "mistranslation" where the Italian treaty indicated Ethiopia would be a protectorate of Italy, while Emperor Menelik II argued no such wording existed in his copy. After the Italians occupied the northern Ethiopian city of Adigrat Menelik summoned his forces and defeated the Italians at the battle of Amba Alage.

In response to this defeat thousands of Italian troops were ferried to Eritrea and, with great pressure from Rome to attack quickly, General Oreste Baratieri advanced and, due to a series of blunders by his subordinate commanders, his force was overwhelmed. Aside from numerous casualties, one mission reported roughly 3,600 dead though the exact number remains unknown, the Ethiopians also captured 1,900 Italians and 1,500 Askari (African soldiers serving in the Italian armed forces). The scope and scale of this victory - the campaign covered more miles than Napoleon's advance into Russia – should rank alongside any European campaign in the 19th century and assured Ethiopia as the only independent nation, apart from Liberia, in Africa at that time.

The Battle of Adwa is far from a simple battle narrative. Jonas structures the book into three sections covering the background, the battle, and the aftermath. By far the greatest effort on his part was uncovering a treasure-trove of Italian memoirs whose accounts humanize the battle. His narrative navigates seamlessly between commanders and commoners and sheds new light the conflict. The most difficult aspect of this review is summarizing this work but three themes emerge.

First, Jonas illustrates the fractured nature of Italian imperialism. As Adwa is held up as a symbol of resistance to colonialism it is ironic that Italy is given the position of imperialist archetype. If any quality typifies Italian colonial efforts it would not be jingoism but apathy. The Italian statesman Marquis d'Azeglio, after Italian unification, commented that "We have made Italy. Now we must make Italians." Italy was divided along religious, political, and regional lines. It was hoped by some, such as Prime Minister Crispi, that imperialism would improve the standing of the Italian government within the nation and across Europe. But even this small clique of colonialists demanded their aims be accomplished on the cheap.

It was just such pressure to win cheaply and quickly that made General Baratieri advance instead of his preferred defensive stand. The concern for cost was tied to the strong anti-colonial movement in Italy, due to having so recently been occupied by Austria, which was distinct in Europe. In response to the first defeat at Amba Alage students from the University of Rome marched through the street chanting "Viva Menelik!" and after Adwa there were legislative calls to abandon Africa entirely. This domestic scene is important as the willingness of Italy to accept defeat ensured Adwa was an Ethiopian success.

Second, Emperor Menelik II is shown to be a complex and engaging historical figure as well as a crafty politician. Too often heroes lose their humanity in the effort to place them on a pedestal and Jonas does admirable work in fleshing out the reality of Menelik. He documents the complex political web that Menelik had to navigate, and the admirable support he received from his wife Empress Taytu. It is hard not to see this marriage, linking the southern Shoa (Menelik) and northern Tigray (Taytu) regions of Ethiopia, as important as the one between Ferdinand and Isabella in unifying Spain. Jonas illustrates how Menelik slowly solidified his position, even using the Italians to help crush a rival claimant to his throne, and assured that Ethiopia entered the Battle of Adwa with a stronger domestic commitment to the conflict than his opponents.

Jonas also underscores Menelik's strategic acumen. For example, the Italians occupied the city of Adigat for over a year before Menelik confronted them. Rather than a sign of weakness, as the Italians believed, he used that delay to import European weapons to such an extent that his artillery outclassed those of the Italians. Jonas even offers the intriguing hypothesis that the supposed "mistranslation" of the Treaty of Wichale, the entire basis for the conflict, was a strategic choice. Jonas suggests that Menelik used his protectorate status to his advantage, such as a loan of four million lire from Italy used to purchase weapons, until his position was strong enough to claim there was a "mistranslation." These aspects of the story prevent Jonas' work from becoming a hagiography and leave the reader with respect for Menelik's decisions. These include his choices after the battle, such as not invading Eritrea and his care of the Italian prisoners, which preserved his strong negotiating position and assured he did not undo the effort he made in the European press, including a colored lithograph in Vanity Fair the 19th century equivalent to a Time cover, to foster sympathy for Ethiopia.

Third, Jonas illustrates how Adwa became a symbol for African, and African-American, resistance despite Menelik himself. Menelik saw Adwa as a way to solidify his rule and preserve his independence. The desire to see Ethiopia as a symbol of resistance came from others. Benito Sylvain of Haiti, a pan-African visionary, traveled to Ethiopia in 1904 to help celebrate Haiti's hundredth anniversary of independence. As Haiti was home of the first successful slave revolt, Sylvain saw a kindred spirit in Menelik. Far from finding a receptive audience, Menelik agreed that the "the negro should be uplifted" but noted that he was of little value as he was Caucasian. For a leader who had secured his position with the Dervishes against Italy by appealing to common "blackness" this suggests a malleable definition of race which Menelik would adopt based on his political goals. Much of the symbolism surrounding Adwa came from others, such as W.E.B. DuBois and others in the global African diaspora, after the end of the First World War.

Jonas claims that Adwa served as the model for future anti-colonial efforts. His narrative suggests that other resistance fighters learned lessons from the Ethiopian experience, such as using the press to build public sympathy. But the reader must infer them. In fact, exposing how the symbolism of Adwa developed far after the battle and divorced from Ethiopian support undercuts so much of the received wisdom that it is hard not to imagine most of the "lessons" are ex post facto rationalizations from other de-colonial conflicts. While he suggests that Adwa "set in motion the long unraveling of European domination of Africa" it is, again, a point the reader must accept on sentiment rather than evidence. Ethiopia was a shock to European self-assurance but was quickly forgotten which is why Europe was, again, shocked by Japanese victory against Russia in 1905.

Whatever the practical lessons Adwa provides, Jonas' book the Battle of Adwa documents the figures, both large and small, that took part in such a major turning point in history exceptionally well. His excellent archival work helps the reader see into the decisions made by the leaders, and humanizes the soldiers facing the consequences of these decisions, on both sides and leaves the reader leaves with a rich understanding of the significance of a battle which turned the world upside down.

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Ethiopia is Abay, Abay is Ethiopia.

Abesha Think Tank, 2013

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የአባይ ውሃ ጦርነት ታምቡር ከምድረ ምስር እና አንደምታው

በዘሪሁን አበበ ይግዛው

June 7, 2013 የሰሞኑን የአባይ ውሃ ፖለቲካን ልብ ብሎ ላተዋለ ግራ መጋባቱ አይቀርም፡፡ የግብጹ ፕሬዝዳንት ሀገራዊ የውይይት መድረክ ብለው በሰየሙት እና የኢትዮጵያን የታላቁ ህዳን ግድብ አጀንዳ አድርገው በጠሩት ጉባኤ ላይ እጅግ ሀገራቸውን ያዋረደ እና ያሰደበ ተግባርን ፈጥመዋል ግብጻውያን ፖለቲከኞች፡፡ አንዳንድ ፖለቲከኞች በተለይም አክራሪዎቹ ኢትዮጵያን በውሸት ወሬ ፍርሃት እንልቅባት ከማለት ጀምሮ እስከ ታጣቂ ኃይሎችን አንርዳ እስከማለት እንዲሁም ወታደራዊ ኃይላችንን እና የስለላ መረባችንን ተጠቅመን ግድቡን እናውድምም ያሉ አልጠፉም፡፡ ይህ ያሉት ነገር በሙሉ ፖለቲከኞቹ የሚመኙት ነገር እንደሆነ የሚታወቅ ነገር ነው፡፡ ባይናገሩትም የዕውነት ምን እንደሚያስቡ ስለሚታወቅ አዲሰ ነገር የለውም፡፡ አዲስ ነገር የሆነው ይህ ውይይት በቀጥታ ለዓለም ህዝብ በትዕይንተ-መስኮት (ቴሌቪዥን) መተላለፉ ነው፡፡ ይህም በርግጥ ትልቅ ጥቅም አለው፡፡ ለረጅም ጊዜ ኢትዮጵያ ግብጽን እንዲህ ሸማቂዎችን እያስታጠቀች ነወ ብላ ስትከስ ግብጽ በበኩሏ እኔ በፍጹም አላደረግሁም ሀራም ነው እያለች ድስኩሯን ታሰማ ነበር፡፡ ዛሬ ግን ይሄው የሆነው ሆነ እና ዓለመ ጉዱን ገለጸው፡፡ ይህ ውይይት የፖለቲካ ፓረቲዎቹ እንጅ የግብጽ መንግስት ሀሳብ አይደለም ሊባ ይችላል፡፡ ይባል፡፡ ነገር ግን ፕሬዝዳቱ ሳያውቁ በስህተት በቀጥታ ስርጭት አየር ላይ ዋለ ማለት ዘበት ነው፡፡ ይሁን ግድ የለም ምኞታቸውን ነው የገለጹት፡፡ ምኞት ደግሞ አይከለከልም፡፡ ግን አንድምታው ምንድን ነው፡፡ ሀ. ዛቻ የድርድር አካል? ግብጻውያኑ አንዳንዴ ያሳዝናሉ ያስገርማሉም፡፡ አባይን መያዝ እና ምንም ሳይነካ ሀገራቸው እንዲገባ ይፈልጋሉ፡፡ ይህ ሲሆንም ሌላው ወንዙን የሚጋራ ህዝብ ምንም መብታ ያላቸው አይመስሉም፡፡ እነሱው ማ ውሃ እንደሚጠቀም እና እንደማይጠቅም ፈቃጅ እና ከልካይ መሆንን ይሻሉ፡፡ ይህ እንዴት ሊሆን ይችላል…? ምልሱ ግልጽ ነው፡፡ ሊሆን አይችልም የሚል፡፡ ሆኖም ግን ይ በትዕይንተ-መስኮት የተላለፈ ወሬ እና ድራማ አንዳች ነገር በውስጡ አለው፡፡ ኢትዮጵያን በተመለከተ፡፡ ይህም አንዲህ ማጓራትን እና ዛቻን የድርድር አካል ማድረግ ነው፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ ጦርነትን ለማስወገድ ብላ አባይን መገደቧን የምታቆም እንዳሆነ ጠንቅቀው ያውቁታል፡፡ አንዳችም ስንዝር ወደ ኋላ እንደማትልም ተገንዝበዋል፡፡ በ90 ሚሊዮን ልብ ውስጥ ያለን ነገር እንዴት ማስወገድ ይቻላል? አይሆንም፡፡ ነገር ግን በዚህ ግርግራቸው ውስጥ ግብጻውያ ደጋግመው የተናገሯቸው እና ከአፋቸው ያልነጠሏቸው ቃላቶች አሉ፡፡ “ይህ ግድብ የውሃ ኮታችንን መቀነስ የለበትም፡፡ ይህ ግድብ የውሃ ዋስትናችንን መንካት የለበትም፡፡” የሚሉ፡፡ የትኛው የውሃ ዋትና ተብለው ሲጠየቁ መልሱ ወደ 1959 ከሱዳን ጋር የተደረገ የውሃ ክፍፍል ስምምነት ይወስደናል፡፡ ነገር ይህ ስምምነት ለኢትዮጵያ ምኗ ነው? ምኗም አይደለም፡፡ በዓለምአቀፍ የስምምነት መርሆ መሰረት አንድ ሀገር በሀገራት መካከል በተደረግ ስምምነት ሊቀየድ ወይም ተገዥ ሊሆን የሚችለው አንድም የስምምነቱ አካል ሆኖ ተደራድሮ እና አምኖበት ሲፈርም እና ሲያጸድቅ ነው፡፡ ሁለትም ስምምነቱ በሌሎች ድርድር ሂደት ከተፈረመ እና ከጸደቀ በኋላ አመልክቶ ከገባ ነው፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ ይን ሁሉ አላደረገችም፡፡ ስምምነቱ ሲደረግ የጋበዛት የለ፡፡ እሷም አላመለከተችም፡፡ ስለዚህ አያገባትም፡፡ ይልቅ አንባን አንድ ነገር ላስታውስ፡፡ ይህ ስምምነት ለኢትዮ��ያ ታላቅ ብሔራዊ ስድብ ነው፡፡ የአባይን ከሰማንያ ስድስት በመቶ በላይ የምታመነጭ ሀገር የሥምምነቱ አካል ሳትሆን የተፈራረሙት ሀገራት ስምምነቱን “የአባይን ውሃ ሙሉ በሙሉ ለመጠቀም በተባበሩት የአርብ ሪፐብሊክ (ግብጽ) እና በሱዳን ሪፐብሊክ መካከል የተደረ ስምምነት” ሲል ይጀምራል፡፡ ከዚህ በላይ ስድብ ከየት ይመጣል? ሁለተኛው ስድብ ውስጥውስጡን እንተው እና ዋናውን ጉዳይ ለማንሳት ይህ ስምምነት ተብየ የአባይ አጠቃላይ ዓመታዊ ፍሰት ለግብጽ 55.5 ቢሊዩን ኩቢክ ሜትር፣ ለሱዳ 18.5 ቢሊዮን ኩቢክ ሜትር እንዲሁም ሰሐራ በረሐ ላይ በተሰራው የአስዋ ግድብ ምክንያት ለትነት ከ10 ቢሊዮን ኪዩቢክ ሜትር በላይ ያከፋፍላል፡፡ እንግዲህ ግብጽ ይህን ነው የውሃ ደህንነቴ/ዋስትናዬ ወይም የውሃ ኮታዮ የምትለው፡፡ የሰሞኑ ጩኸትም ይህን ነገር ተቀበሉን ነው፡፡ ይህ እንግዲህ ከላይኛው ተፋሰስ ሀገራት አንጻር የሚሆን አይደለም፡፡ በአባይ የትብብር ሰምምነት ማዕቀፍ ውስጥ ያለ ነገር ስለሆነ ከግድቡ ጋር የሚያይዘው አልነበረም፡፡ ነገር ግን ግብጽ የአባይ አውራ የሆነችውን ባለ ብዙ ውሃዋ ሀገር ኢትዮጵያን ግድቡን ስሪ 1959 ስምምነትን በጓዳ ተቀበይ አይነት ጥሪ መሆኑ ነው፡፡ ግን ይሆናል ወይ? መልሱ አንድ ነው አይሆንም፡፡ ታዲያ ግብጻውያን እንዲህ ለምን የጦርነት ታምቡር ደለቁ? ለ. ፖለቲካን ከውስጥ ወደ ውጭ ወደ ዝርዝሩ አንግባበት እንጅ በአሁኑ ስዓት የቀድሞውን መሪ ሞሀመድ ሆስኒ ሙባርክን ከስልጣን ካወገደች በኋላ ግብጽ በሁት እግሯ የመቆም ነገር አልሆንላት እያለ ተቸግራለች፡፡ የፕሬዝዳቱ እንደ ፈርኦን ልሆን ብሎ ወዲያ ወዲህ ማለት፣ ከፍትህ ሚኒስቴር ጋር በተያያዘ፣ ከሊበራሎች ጋር በተያየዘ እንዲሁም እጅግ በጣም ከሚያከሩት ከሳላፊስቶች ጋር በተያያዘ፣ የሐይማኖትን ጉዳይ ተከትሎ በክርስቲያች ላይ እየደረሰ ያለው ችግር እንዲሁም የህገ-መንግስቱን በግርግር እና በሁካታ መጽደቅ ተከትሎ ያለው መከፋፈል በጥቅሉ የሞርሲን ወንበር እየነቀነቀው ይገኛል፡፡ እናም ትንሽ የህዝባቸውን ሀሳ በአንድ ጥላ ስር የሚያሰባስብ ፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎቹን ከመረበሽ የሚያበርድ ትኩስ ዳቦ ሲፈለግ ይሄው ግንቦት ፍጻሜው ሰኔ መጨረሻው ሆኖ አገኙት፡፡ ስለሆነም አንደኛ የኢትዮጵያ አባይን ግድቡን በሚገባ ያለመስተጓጎል ለመስራ እንዲያስችል የወንዙን አቅጣጫ በተወሰኑ ሜትሮች የማስቀየሷ ዜና አባይ ወደ ሌላ አቅጣጫ ያስተላለፈች እና ያፈሰሰች በማስመሰል የተሰራጨው ዘገባ ጥሩ ምቹ ሁኔታን ፈጠረላቸው፡፡ ሁለተኛው ደግሞ የህዳሴ ግድቡን አጠቃላይ ሁኔታ በተለይ በግርጌ ተፋሰስ ሀገራ የሞያደርሰው የጎላ ጉዳ እንዳለ እና እንደሌለ የተሰየመው የባለሙያዎች ቡድን የመጨረሻ ሪርፖርቱን ይፋ ማድረጉ እና ተጨማሪ ጥቅሞች ካሉ ድንገት ያልታዩ ጉዳቶችም ካሉ የማህበራዊ እና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ጥናት ቢደረግ ብሎ ያቀረበው አስተያየት ለፕሬዝዳት ሞርሲ እና መንግስታቸው ሰርግ እና ምላሽ ሆነ፡፡ ቢሆን መልካ ነው የተባለውን ነገር ግብጾች የኢትዮጵያ ጥናት የቆየ ነው ይቀረዋል ወዘተ ወደሚል አተካራ ገቡ፡፡ ነገር ግን የባላሙያዎች ቡድኑ ሪፖርት በግርግ ተፋሰስ ሀገራ ላይ የሚያመጣው የጎላ ጉዳት የለም የሚለው ለግብጽ ብቻ አልተነበባትም፡፡ ስለሆነም አቅጣጫ ማስቀየሱን እና የሀገር ውስጥ ፖለቲካውን ማተንፈሱ ለሞርሲ በግማሽም የሰራ መሰለ፡፡ ለዚህም ነው 11 እስላማዊ ፓርቲዎች በአንድ ተሰብስበው ለቅዳ ህዝባዊ ኮንፈረንስ ለመጥራት የቆረጡት፡፡ ከዚህ ጋር ተያይዞ ግብጻውያን ምርጫ እንዲደርግ ይፈልጋሉ አሁን የሹራ ካውንስል ምርጫ፡፡ ስለሆነም አባይ ጥሩ የምርጫ ካርድ አይደለም ብላችሁ ታባላችሁ? ሐ. የውክልና ጦርነት እዚያ ማዶ ሆኖ ክፉ ሰው ተጣራ እዚህ ማዶ ሆኖ ክፉ ሰው ወይ አለው ጎበዝ እንጠርጥር ይህ ነገር ለእኛ ነው፡፡ (ፋሲል ደሞዝ) ሁለት የግብጽ ጄኔራሎች ወደ ሶማሊያ ሞቃዲሾ አምርተው ነበር በዚህ ሳምንት፡፡ የመሄዳቸው ዋና ዓላማም እንዳሉት የሶማሊያን ወታደራዊ ተቋማት እንደገና መልሶ ማቋቋም ነው ብለዋል የዜና ማሰረጫዎቹ፡፡ ነገር ግን የጦር ጥናት ሀ ሁን አስተማረ የሚባለው ቮን ክሎስዊትዝ “የሚመጣው/ነገ ትናንት/ያለፈው ነው” ይላል፡፡ ግብጾቹም ሆነ ኢትዮጵያ ለምን እንደሆነ ያውቁታል፡፡ ሶማሊያ የምታሳዝን ሀገር ናት፡፡ እዚህ ደረጃ የደረሰችው እና ብትንትኗ የወጣው አንድም ክፉ መሪ ጥሎባት ነው ዚያድ ባሬ የሚባል፡፡ ዋናው እና ተያያዡ ጉዳይ ግን ዚያድ ባሬን ልቡን ያሳበጡት የሳዳት እና የሙባርክ መንግስታት ናቸው ከግብጽ፡፡ ሶማሊያ ኢትዮጵያን ስትወርር በግብጽ ተባርካ እና ተዘክራ ነው፡፡ ከዚያድ ባሬ ውድቀት በኋላም አንዱን አንጃ ከአንዱ አንጃ እየለያየች ለእሷ ፈረስ የሚሆኑትን ብቻ ትሰበስብ የነበረችው ግብጽ ሶማሊያን መንግስት አልባ እንድትሆን ካደረጉ አገራት ቀዳሚዋ ናት፡፡ ምክንያቷም አንድ እና አንድ ነው የውክልና ጦርነት፡፡ ኢትዮጵያን በውክልና ጦርነት ለማዳከም ወይም የብሔራዊ ደህንነት ስጋት በመፍጠር ኢትዮጵያ ከልማት ይልቅ ብሯን እና ጊዜዋን በጦርነት እንድታሳልፍ ነበር የግብጽ እቅድ፡፡ የእስላማዊ ፍርድ ቤቶች ህብረትም ልብ ልብ የተሰማው ብግብጽ እና በመሰሎቿ ድጋፍ ነበር፡፡ ዳሩ ግን በአጭር ጉዞው መገታት ስለነበረበት ተመታ፡፡ ግብጽ እና አጋሮቿም አፈሩ፡፡ ታዲያ ይህች ዳርዳርታ በአዲስ መልክ ወደ ሶማሊያ ለመግባት የሚደረገው ሙከራ ግልጽ ነው፡፡ ሌላው ትልቁ ግልጽ ነገር ግን ሶማሊያ እና ሶማሊያውያን ጦርነት ሰልችቷቸዋል፡፡ የማንም የውክልና ጦርነት ማካሄጃነት ሰልችቷቸዋል፡፡ እናም ይህ የግብጽ ጉዞ ምኞት ነው፡፡ ኢትዮጵያን የማተራመስ ምኞት፡፡ በርግጥ ለሞሀመድ ሞርሲ ፓርቲ ሙስሊም ወንድማማቾች ህብረት ወንድም የሆነው የሰላፊያው ፓርቲ የአልኑር ፓርቲ (የብርሀን ፓርቲ ማለት ነው ነገር ግን ሰውየው እና ንግግሩ የፓርቲውም ዓላማ ጨለማ ነው፡፡) ተወካይ የቤተ ምንግስቱ ድራማ ላይ የሶማሊ ታጣቂዎችን እናስታጥቅ የኦነግንም እናስታጥቅ ነበር ያለው፡፡ እነዚህ ሽምቆች ደግሞ መውጫ መግቢያቸው በምስራቅ ነው፡፡ የማጠቀለየ መልዕክት የኢትዮጵያ መልዕክት አንድ እና አንድ ነው፡፡ ሰላም፡፡ በአባይ ውሃ በፍትሐዊነት እና ምክንያታዊነት ሁሉም የአባይ ተፋሰስ ሀገራት በሉአላዊ መሬታቸው ያለ ማንኛውንም የተፈጥሮ ሀብት የመጠቀም ተፈጥሯዊ መብት አላቸው፡፡ ወሰን ተሸጋሪ የሆኑትን የውሃ አካላት ኢትዮጵያ ፍትሐዊ በሆነ መልኩ እንጠቀም ስትል ኃላፊነት በተሞላበት መልኩ ነው፡፡ የታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳ ግድብም የዚሁ አካል ነው፡፡ የፍትሐዊነት አካል፡፡ ስለዚህ ይህ ግድብ በምንም አይነት መልኩ የሚቆም አይደለም ለደቂቃዎች የሚስተጓጎል አይደለም፡፡ ግብጽ ከምንም በላይ የሚሻላት የኢትዮጵያ እጆች ለማቀፍ ተዘርግተዋልና መተቃቀፉ ነው፡፡ መተባበሩ ነው፡፡ ያ ሲሆን አባይ ለጋራ እድገት በጋራ ማልማት ይቻላል፡፡ ያ ካልሆነ እና ግብጽ እንዲህ መደንፋቷ ከቀጠለ እሱ ሌላ ነገር ነው፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ በጊዜውም ያለጊዜውም ሊዘንብ የሚችል ዝናብ ወይም ካፊያ መኖሩን ተገንዝባ ነገሮችን በጥንቃቄ ማየት እንዳለባት ካፊየውንም ዝናቡንም በአስተማማኝ መልኩ የሚከላከል ጥላ ማዘጋጀት እንዳለባት ታውቀዋለች፡፡ ለዚህም ነጋሪ አያስፈልጋትም፡፡ ለዛም ነው በልጇ በገነት ማስረሻ በኩል እንዲህ ስትል ያዜመችው… በፍቅር ብንይዘው አባይ ያገር ዋርካ ለዓለም ይበቃል እንኳን ለአፍሪካ፡፡

Zerihun Abebe (Please follow Zerihun's analyses on Blue Nile at http://zenileabbay.wordpress.com ) ………… ስንት ዘመን ቁጭት ስንት ዘመን ፍጭት ስንት ዓመት በጣሳ ስንት አመት በወጭት ፍሰስበት እና በሀገርህ ሜዳ የሚቆጣን ካለ ያበጠው ይፈንዳ፡፡፡

[abeshathinktank]

Who Owns River Nile? Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia’s history-changing dam

By Andrew Carlson

Egypt and Sudan are utterly dependent on the waters of the Nile River. Over the past century both of these desert countries have built several dams and reservoirs, hoping to limit the ravages of droughts and floods which have so defined their histories. Now Ethiopia, one of eight upriver states and the source of most of the Nile waters, is building the largest dam in Africa. Located on the Blue Nile twenty five miles from the Ethiopian border with Sudan, the Grand Renaissance Dam begins a new chapter in the long, bellicose history of debate on the ownership of the Nile waters, and its effects for the entire region could be profound. In the fall of 2012 newspapers around the world reported on a Wikileaks document, surreptitiously acquired from Stratfor, the Texas security company, revealing Egyptian and Sudanese plans to build an airstrip for bombing a dam in the Blue Nile River Gorge in Ethiopia. The Egyptian and Sudanese governments denied the reports. Whether or not there were such plans in 2012, there is a long history of threats and conflicts in the Nile River Basin. Downriver Egypt and Sudan argue that they have historic rights to the water upon which they absolutely depend—and in 1979 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat threatened war on violators of what he saw as his country’s rights to Nile waters. Upriver Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania argue that they too need the water that originates on their lands. Since the twelfth century C.E. Christian Ethiopian kings have warned Muslim Egyptian sultans of their power to divert waters of the Nile, often in response to religious conflicts. But these were hypothetical threats. Today, however, Ethiopia is building the Grand Renaissance Dam and, with it, Ethiopia will physically control the Blue Nile Gorge—the primary source of most of the Nile waters. The stakes could not be higher for the new leaders in Egypt and Ethiopia, President Mohamed Morsi and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, as well as Sudan’s long-time President, Omar El Bashir. The stakes are perhaps even higher for the millions of people who owe their livelihood and very existence to the Nile’s waters. Egypt and the Nile The Nile has been essential for civilization in Egypt and Sudan. Without that water, there would have been no food, no people, no state, and no monuments. As Herodutus famously wrote in the 5th century B.C.E., “Egypt is the gift of the Nile.” For millennia peoples have travelled along the banks of the Nile and its tributaries. Scores of ethnic groups in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan share architecture and engineering, ideas and traditions of religion and political organization, languages and alphabets, food and agricultural practices. In 3000 B.C.E., when the first Egyptian dynasty unified the lower and upper parts of the Nile River, there were no states in Eastern or Central Africa to challenge Egypt’s access to Nile waters. The Nile was a mysterious god: sometimes beneficent, sometimes vengeful. Floods between June and September, the months of peak flow, could wipe out entire villages, drowning thousands of people. Floods also brought the brown silt that nourished the delta, one of the world’s most productive agricultural regions, feeding not only Egypt but many of its neighbors. The river’s central importance to Egyptian life is captured in A Hymn to the Nile, recorded in Papyrus Sallier II:     Hail to thee, O Nile, that issues from the earth and comes to keep Egypt alive! …     He that waters the meadows which He created …     He that makes to drink the desert …     He who makes barley and brings emmer into being …     He who brings grass into being for the cattle …     He who makes every beloved tree to grow …     O, Nile, verdant art thou, who makes man and cattle to live. The Nile’s seasonal flooding is a central theme in Egyptian history. The river flow follows regular patterns, increasing between May 17 and July 6, peaking in September, and then receding until the next year. But the river volume is very unpredictable, as documented by nilometers (multi-storied structures built in the river to measure water heights). Successive empires of Pharaohs, Greeks, Romans, Christian Copts, and Muslims celebrated the rising waters of the Nile and dreaded floods or droughts. Five millennia of Nile history show how years with high water have produced ample food, population growth, and magnificent monuments, as during the first five dynasties from 3050 B.C.E. to 2480 B.C.E. Periods with low water have brought famine and disorder. The Book of Genesis describes seven years of famine that historians associate with the drought of 1740 B.C.E. From the time of the Pharaohs until 1800 C.E., Egypt’s population rose and fell between 2 to 5 million, due to food availability and epidemics. The irrigation projects of the 19th century Ottoman ruler Mohammad Ali allowed year-around cultivation, causing population growth from 4 to 10 million. Since the opening of the Aswan High Dam in 1971, Egypt’s population has increased from about 30 to 83 million. The Sources of the Nile Despite the extraordinary importance of the Nile to people downstream, the origin of the great river was a mystery until the middle twentieth century. Herodotus speculated that the Nile arose between the peaks of Crophi and Mophi, south of the first cataract. In 140 C.E. Ptolemy suggested the source was the Mountains of the Moon, in what are now called the Ruwenzori Mountains in Uganda. The 11th century Arab geographer al-Bakri postulated West African origins, confusing the Niger River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean, with the Nile River. In 1770 the Scottish explorer James Bruce claimed his discovery of the source in Ethiopia, while in 1862 John Hanning Speke thought he found it in Lake Victoria and the equatorial lakes. The river’s limited navigability only increased its mystery. The Blue Nile River descends 4501 feet in 560 miles from Lake Tana in the Ethiopian highlands through a deep gorge with crocodiles, hippopotamuses, and bandits to the Sudan border and the savannah. Despite the efforts of scores of intrepid adventurers, the Blue Nile in Ethiopia was not successfully navigated until 1968 by a team of British and Ethiopian soldiers and civilians equipped by the Royal Military College of Science. Further south up the White Nile in the lakes and rivers of Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, the Egyptian cultural influence is less pronounced, due to the Sudd, a gigantic and impassable swamp which absorbs waters from the equatorial lake tributaries. The Nile River historian Robert O. Collins reports that “no one passed through this primordial bog” until 1841. Not until the 20th century did it become clear that the Nile is part of a vast river system with dozens of tributaries, streams, and lakes, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the remote mountains of Burundi, in tropical central Africa, and to the highlands of Ethiopia, in the Horn of Africa. Spanning more than 4,200 miles, it is the longest river in the world. It has also become clear that the volume of water which flows through the Nile is relatively small—a mere two percent in volume of the Amazon’s and fifteen percent of the Mississippi—and mostly (86%) from Ethiopia. Ethiopia, Egypt, and the Historical Struggle for the Nile’s Waters Ethiopia and Egypt have had a long relationship of both harmony and discord, the latter the result of religious issues and access to Nile water, among other factors. Ethiopia’s first well documented government was in Aksum, a city-state that controlled a large empire from the Ethiopian highlands across the Red Sea to Yemen. From 100 until 800 C.E. Aksumites participated in Mediterranean and Indian Ocean trade. The cultural relationship between Egypt and Ethiopia was institutionalized when the Aksumite King Ezana converted to Christianity in 330 C.E. For 16 centuries (until 1959) the Egyptian bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church was appointed by the Egyptian patriarch in Alexandria, often under the influence of the Egyptian government.