Posted on August 16, 2015.
Ethiopian opposition leader Berhanu Nega has left his teaching position at Bucknell Univerity in Pennsylvania to move to Eritrea. Why? Mr. Nega believes it is time for Ginbot 7, registered as a non-profit humanitarian organization in the United States, to wage armed struggle against the government of Ethiopia. These are his words. Photos of Mr. Nega shaking hands with presumable members of this army in Asmara have popped up on opposition websites.
Apparently, Gibot 7 has merged with the Ethiopian Peoples’ Patriotic Front (EPPF), an organization with a murky mission statement that, as far as we can tell, is based on overthrowing the current Ethiopian government and replacing it with…it’s very hard to tell. Our readers might want to visit the EPPF website at www.eppf.net to try and understand its mission. We have failed in doing so. However, in an interview with journalist William Davison, EPPF spokesperson Tadesse Kersmo said this:
“We are following a kind of merged strategy, blending peaceful resistance with non-peaceful resistance,” Tadesse said by phone from London on July 21. Attacks on security installations seek to inspire Ethiopians to engage in non-violent opposition, he said.
There have been other developments as well. A letter written by another Ginbot 7 leader, Neamin Zeleke, has emerged expressing dissatisfaction with Mr. Nega’s alliance with Isayas Afewerki of Eritrea. Great Britain is calling for the release of another member of Ginbot 7’s leadership, Andargachew Tsige, who, despite a spectacular confession of planning the execution of terrorist attacks on civilian targets in Ethiopia, seems have taken on international celebrity martyr status. Confused? So are we.
It is no secret that Ginbot 7 has raised money to buy weapons and build an army. The organization has been raising money openly in the United States–even selling “war bonds” to finance arms and training. What has been puzzling is the non-response of the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that has allowed the organization to do this in violation of not only IRS rules regulating non-profits, but the Neutrality Act–prohibiting US citizens and residents to wage war on another country’s government, thus undermining the role of the US government in making foreign policy. Strathink has posted articles on Ginbot 7 and the IRS andGinbot 7 and the Neutrality Act. Mr. Singh, in his article, calls Ginbot 7 a beneficiary of “tax free terrorism”.
However, we think that Mr. Nega’s new job in Eritrea–as leader of the armed struggle against what the US has called the democratically elected government of Ethiopia–is a signal for the US taxpayer to stop subsidizing the terrorist activities of an organization bent on destroying a friend of the US government.
We have no doubt that the activities of Ginbot 7 were a discussion point for President Obama and Prime Minister Hailemariam during the President’s historic visit to Ethiopia. We have no doubt that President Obama would agree that the US taxpayer should not be subsidizing the illegal activities of terrorist organization. We have no doubt that President Obama would see the irony of an organization purporting to be fighting for the cause of democracy from the soil of one of Africa’s most despotic states.
Still confused? We don’t blame you. Great Britain is still calling for the release of Ginbot 7’s self-confessed terrorist plot leader Andargachew Tsige–affectionately called “Andy.” Ambassador Herman Cohen has sold his good name to lobby on behalf of Eritrea, what journalists call “the North Korea of Africa.” The officers of Ginbot 7 are sitting comfortably somewhere in Alexandria, Va., where Ginbot 7 is registered, planning the violent overthrow of the Ethiopian government. However, Mr. Nega’s recent move to Eritrea may not have been his idea. And maybe the IRS will enforce its own regulations and look into the activities of Ginbot 7. And maybe, just maybe, American taxpayers will be free from subsidizing terrorism against Ethiopian citizens going about their daily business.
The Strathink Editorial Team
Tags: American Taxpayer, Ethiopia, Ginbot 7, Terrorism, United States