Mulugeta lule biography of george washington

by Abebe Gellaw

We live in tenses. ‘Is’ becomes ‘was’, ‘are’ becomes ‘were’. The future becomes present, and then it becomes past. And life is full of commas, colons, asterisks, dots, dashes and full stops.

But there are some who defy the rules of nature, grammar and punctuation. Even if they are not here with us, their presence is always felt. After their passing, their legacy speaks with us. It is hard to put a period or an asterisk at the end of their life stories or to narrate their good deeds in the past tense.

Like his legendary peers Tilahun Gessese, Laureate Poet Tsegaye Gebremedihn, Bealu Girma or Berhanu Zerihun, among many others, Mulugeta Lule is one such giant Ethiopian whose rich legacy will live on. He is gone without a farewell but remains to be one of the most influential and brighter journalists in our history. It is very unfortunate that Ethiopia doesn’t have something like a Pulitzer Prize or a lifetime award for distinguished public service.

The guaranteed prize for distinguished and courageous service is mostly either being locked up in the dark dens of injustice or being forced into exile, even if you are lucky to escape the killing fields and torture chambers. So many journalists have gone through hell for just telling the inconvenient truth that tyrants hate to hear. Mulugeta has experienced, seen and witnessed it all like a horror movie.

When I met Mulugeta Lule for the first time, I was just testing the waters of journalism. At the time, he was the founding editor of Tobia, one of the leading political publications in the country. He was also Vice President of the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists Association (EFJA). Veteran journalist Kefale Mamo was the president at the time. Both of them used to encourage and inspire those like me to take up the challenge.

It was evident for me from the start that there were no opportunities but dire risks and threats. I went to his office in 1996 to ask if he had a vacant position for a cub r

Ethiopians and Ethiopian Americans living in the United States (US) can now receive news and entertainment in Amharic thanks to a new television network, Ethiopian Television Network (ETN). Launched in the US on 1 March, the 24 hour independent satellite broadcaster is the brainchild of journalist Mulugeta Lule, who sought political asylum in the US in 1996 following multiple arrests and imprisonment in Ethiopia for articles critical of the government. Other staff members include Nebiyu Eyassu, also a journalist, and the well-known Ethiopian entertainer Tamagne Beyene, who lives in Alexandria, Virginia, where ETN is headquartered. Like Lule, both men are in political exile in the US for having criticised the Ethiopian government.

The programming includes news and political analysis, educational programmes and entertainment mostly in Amharic, with some programmes in English. For now ETN targets the over 100,000 Ethiopians living in North America, especially in the Washington area.

Mulugeta Lule V.President of Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association

For urgent Action

To All Friendly and Democratic Organizations committed to Human Rights
and Freedom of Expression

I would like to bring to your attention, and through you, to the notice of the international community and concerned bodies about the recent grave incident that took place in the editorial offices of Atbia Kokeb Publishing and Advertising Company ( AKPAC), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. AKPAC is an idependent media oragnization, which has been paying huge sacrifices for the disseination of news fit to print and for providing forums for independent ideas. The reception and feedback from readers has ben so encouraging that during the last six years the publications have successfully become the marketplace of ideas.

AKPAC, which was established by qualified, experienced and responsible editors, cameramen and directors, is the publisher of TOBIA monthly magazine and the weekly newspaper with the same name. It has the respect and love of thousands of readers both at home and abroad.

As we tried to alert international institutions and organizations committed to democracy, rule of law, and freedom of expression through the good offfices of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in November and October of 1996, four editors of AKPAC were kept behind bars at the much dreaded dungeons of Maekelawi, (The Central Investigation Department) for well over three months. Managers, editors and journalists of AKPAC, myself included, have been subjected to unlawful arrests, rigorous interrrogations, harassments and intimidation of all sorts;suffice it to say that the last six years of our experience have been punctuated by illegal incarcerations, exorbitant fines. We have been and still are victimized by government hate propaganda.

The latest sad episode occurred ion January 16, at about 2:00 p.m. Mr. Goshu Mogus, who in my absence, has been acting as general manager since the