Abiy to Ethiopian parliament: Somalia has agreed to join Ethiopia in the near future

[waraabe]

President Mohamed is playing 4D chess. We will never join Ethiopia.

Mayn this is some Olympic medal worthy mental gymnastics to defend your fellow tribesmen agreeing to unite with Ethiopia

 

[Disappointed]

He is not my tribesmen. He has been a very successful president so I'm sure he will use Ethiopia only to make Somalia stronger. We will not join them.

Mayn this is some Olympic medal worthy mental gymnastics to defend your fellow tribesmen agreeing to unite with Ethiopia

 

[Crow]

No, not someone else's culture. It has to do with modernity. We are so eager to be modernized in every sense that we mostly embrace western culture. Not any culture. Don't get me wrong we are still somehow a conservative society specially in the rural areas but compared to our neighbors we are way open for western culture (may be Eritrea come next to us since they have also secular public and political space). Our cities can be described as liberal where anybody has the right to do whatever he/she wants as long as they don't break the law. There are of course some areas that are still taboo like homosexuality or romantic kissing in public and in Ethiopian movies etc. These lines are still not crossed with very few exceptions. The public is not yet ready to embrace these kind of practices. There is no law for example that prohibits romantic kissing in public or in movies but the young couples and the movie makers do excise self censorship because the media will openly call them out as inappropriate and they will lose viewers.

Anyway, we are a hungry nation to become a modern, developed westernized nation at any cost. Our vision is to become a developed, modernized and westernized country ASAP even if that means sacrificing some of our religious and cultural values. I think that makes us incompatible with the current Somali society, that mostly see western culture as something to resist and not to embrace and that rate religion values higher than modernization (?). But of course this is only my personal view and I may be completely wrong.

Are you willing to accept widespread atheism in Ethiopia?

 

[GeKo]

Embracing and integrating western culture into ours in the name of modernization. For good or bad, that is who we are now.

@xabashi stop talking about modernization and freedom when Somalia is more free than Ethiopia.
Thousands of innocent people are killed and thousands more are jailed for nothing in every region of Ethiopia every year. Human rights watch and amnesty international aren't allowed in and the internet and telecom isn't allowed as well.

You guys aren't embracing any modernisation or democracy any time soon. That'd take away the power away from the Tigray and give it to the muslim Oromos who make the majority.

Kenya has embraced true modernity and democracy not Ethiopia.

 

[xabashi]

Are you willing to accept widespread atheism in Ethiopia?

We really don't know where our eager and hunger for modernization take us to. For now we are still deeply God believing people even in the cities. It is a very rare thing to meet an atheist Ethiopian even in the most secular places. But who knows what the future brings.

 

[xabashi]

@xabashi stop talking about modernization and freedom when Somalia is more free than Ethiopia.
Thousands of innocent people are killed and thousands more are jailed for nothing in every region of Ethiopia every year. Human rights watch and amnesty international aren't allowed in and the internet and telecom isn't allowed as well.

You guys aren't embracing any modernisation or democracy any time soon. That'd take away the power away from the Tigray and give it to the muslim Oromos who make the majority.

Kenya has embraced true modernity and democracy not Ethiopia.

Ok, you better stop replying before reading, how about that? Did I say we are free or already a modern society or a democracy? NO. I was talking about the eager and deep seated hunger of Ethiopians for modernity and western way of life. Mark my word though, in less than 3 years time, Ethiopia will become a fully democratic country. There is absolute consensus on the future of Ethiopia being a fully democratic country even inside TPLF. Every political group, every ethnic group and every sector of the society agrees on that. Our future is a fully democratic Ethiopia. The consensus where we should be heading is there, the sacrifices for that are being paid and in max. 3 years time, Ethiopia is a democratic country where everybody is equal under the law. Mark My word!

But I was not talking even about politics but about our society being deeply hungry for western modernization and more than willing to embrace western way of life and how this makes us incompatible with the current Somalia.

 

[Crow]

We really don't know where our eager and hunger for modernization take us to. For now we are still deeply God believing people even in the cities. It is a very rare thing to meet an atheist Ethiopian even in the most secular places. But who knows what the future brings.

My question was are you personally okay with a Godless Ethiopia?

 

[Crow]

Mark my word though, in less than 3 years time, Ethiopia will become a fully democratic country. There is absolute consensus on the future of Ethiopia being a fully democratic country even inside TPLF. Every political group, every ethnic group and every sector of the society agrees on that. Our future is a fully democratic Ethiopia. The consensus where we should be heading is there, the sacrifices for that are being paid and in max. 3 years time, Ethiopia is a democratic country where everybody is equal under the law. Mark My word!

How can Ethiopia be fully democratic and, at the same time, prevent Somali Galbeed from leaving the union?

 

[GeKo]

Ok, you better stop replying before reading, how about that? Did I say we are free or already a modern society or a democracy? NO. I was talking about the eager and deep seated hunger of Ethiopians for modernity and western way of life. Mark my word though, in less than 3 years time, Ethiopia will become a fully democratic country. There is absolute consensus on the future of Ethiopia being a fully democratic country even inside TPLF. Every political group, every ethnic group and every sector of the society agrees on that. Our future is a fully democratic Ethiopia. The consensus where we should be heading is there, the sacrifices for that are being paid and in max. 3 years time, Ethiopia is a democratic country where everybody is equal under the law. Mark My word!

But I was not talking even about politics but about our society being deeply hungry for western modernization and more than willing to embrace western way of life and how this makes us incompatible with the current Somalia.

I honestly wouldn't mind Somalia working with Kenya since they're nice, modern and free but I'm weary of Ethiopia.

If Ethiopia becomes the way you describe I wouldn't mind Somalia economically cooperating with them but this won't happen unfortunately. In an ideal scenario, an economic trade deal and working together like the way Canada and the US do would greatly benefit us both economically but in reality we'd risk annexation from the genocidal expansionist ethiopian gov't.

You showing a video of ppl dancing has nothing to do with modernisation.

Consensus about democracy in Ethiopia?Anyone who tries talking about that would either get shot or thrown to prison and tortured. I dare the Ethio gov't to just allow access to the internet the same way "backwards" Somalia does in the next 3 years, there'd be rebellion and overthrow that'd happen.

 

[xabashi]

My question was are you personally okay with a Godless Ethiopia?

As a God believing person, I will definitely be not happy if Ethiopians become atheists. But I also believe that faith is a matter of personal conviction and I will defend the basic rights of any Ethiopian to live as an atheist if he/she chose to. I will never agree with imposing any religious views on the public including mine. That is for me religion crossing the red line. As the centuries old Amharic saying goes "Religion is personal but country is for us all". Country is way more than religion.

 

[xabashi]

How can Ethiopia be fully democratic and, at the same time, prevent Somali Galbeed from leaving the union?

I have no idea what you are even talking about but as a general principle, I am for every ethnic group or region to have the free will to decide its fate. If as you said the Somali Galbeed (?) wants independent from Ethiopia, I am for it as long as the people express their FREE will in a free and democratic referendum. That is my stand to every region in Ethiopia.

 

[xabashi]

I honestly wouldn't mind Somalia working with Kenya since they're nice, modern and free but I'm weary of Ethiopia.

If Ethiopia becomes the way you describe I wouldn't mind Somalia economically cooperating with them but this won't happen unfortunately. In an ideal scenario, an economic trade deal and working together like the way Canada and the US do would greatly benefit us both economically but in reality we'd risk annexation from the genocidal expansionist ethiopian gov't.

You showing a video of ppl dancing has nothing to do with modernisation.

Consensus about democracy in Ethiopia?Anyone who tries talking about that would either get shot or thrown to prison and tortured. I dare the Ethio gov't to just allow access to the internet the same way "backwards" Somalia does in the next 3 years, there'd be rebellion and overthrow that'd happen.

It is a stupid idea for Ethiopia to annex Somalia. That has no benefits other than lose. The only port that is useful for Ethiopia is in Berbera. Somalia's ports are not attractive for us. Culturally we are on a different page. So I see no benefit for Ethiopia by annexing Somalia. The only interest we have concerning Somalia is security, that some crazy Somali leaders don't come up with the freaking crazy idea of invading Ethiopia or something like that. That is it.

I am not saying dancing is modernization, what I am saying is that the public space in Ethiopia is a secular place and our society embraces most of the western culture and that makes us incompatible with the current Somalia and any union will end up in disaster.

Concerning the current political situation in Ethiopia it is clear you need to update your software You were clearly not been on this planet for the last 3 months. The internet is already free and open, all blocked websites are accessible, more than 50k political prisoners including prominent oppostion figures, journalists and bloggers have been released from jail. Specially since PM Abiy came to power the pace of the reform is amazing. Most of the TPLF officials are being replaced from every ministry. The media is now free, even the state media have started exposing human rights abuses etc. In fact Ethiopians have become so happy about the new PM that they will be staging a huge demonstration in Addis Ababa on Saturday in support of PM Abiy. This is a freely organized event by the people. TPLF is split into two groups, the current new leadership who support the reforms and the old guard who still wish to go back the old habit of dictatorship and looting.

 

[madaxweyn]

It is a stupid idea for Ethiopia to annex Somalia. That has no benefits other than lose. The only port that is useful for Ethiopia is in Berbera. Somalia's ports are not attractive for us. Culturally we are on a different page. So I see no benefit for Ethiopia by annexing Somalia. The only interest we have concerning Somalia is security, that some crazy Somali leaders don't come up with the freaking crazy idea of invading Ethiopia or something like that. That is it.

I am not saying dancing is modernization, what I am saying is that the public space in Ethiopia is a secular place and our society embraces most of the western culture and that makes us incompatible with the current Somalia and any union will end up in disaster.

Concerning the current political situation in Ethiopia it is clear you need to update your software You were clearly not been on this planet for the last 3 months. The internet is already free and open, all blocked websites are accessible, more than 50k political prisoners including prominent oppostion figures, journalists and bloggers have been released from jail. Specially since PM Abiy came to power the pace of the reform is amazing. Most of the TPLF officials are being replaced from every ministry. The media is now free, even the state media have started exposing human rights abuses etc. In fact Ethiopians have become so happy about the new PM that they will be staging a huge demonstration in Addis Ababa on Saturday in support of PM Abiy. This is a freely organized event by the people. TPLF is split into two groups, the current new leadership who support the reforms and the old guard who still wish to go back the old habit of dictatorship and looting.

ok you do you we do us but we need to respect each others borders culture and way of life

 

[Suhaib]

The deadline is Monday and so far nothing has been submitted

Didn't they submit it?

 

[GeKo]

Had this been HSM, this thread would've been 10+ pages long...

 

[Sleepy Hollow]

Had this been HSM, this thread would've been 10+ pages long...

That's because the deal is for warehouses not ports...Uganda has a similar deal with Kenya to rent out warehouses and the lands around them to reduce the price to export and import. Its 40x times more expensive for Ethiopia to import/export items than it is for Uganda because they lack those deals and a stable Somalia for them to properly trade with. Hilarious that their destabilization policy towards Somalia has essentially capped their economy and put them into a currency crisis in which they must submit to UAE and Egyptian demands.