#IMRU Radio
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THERE'S AN LGBTQ+ RADIO STATION
If you look up IMRU online and it should come up. The station is called IMRU Radio and they have been around since 1974.
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The Emperor, his overthrow, his billions of dollars in banks abroad, and his murder.
1974 February 7 Grenada gains its independence from Great Britain and Eric Gairy becomes its first Prime Minister.
February 18 Taxi drivers and teachers go on strike.
February 20 Students and workers in Addis Ababa begin demonstrating against the government.
'When the Cabinet, which is appointed by the Emperor and is not responsible to the people in any legal way, recently began a reform of educational policy, discontent erupted into open disorder in Addis Ababa and in many provincial towns.
The reforms were meant to widen educational opportunities, particularly in elementary schooling. It is estimated that only about 25 per cent of Ethiopian children now receive any education.
“However, it was so clumsily explained,” said one source, “that it was seen by the entire middle class as a threat to their children's chances to get secondary education, and that included the lower ranks Of the army.”
It was also seen as a threat to teachers' salaries, in view of a plan to bring large numbers of new, less‐qualified teachers into the school system. Although, as is typical in Ethiopia, no public announcement was made of the new policy, it was widely discussed and its provisions misinterpreted and distorted.' article by Charles Mohr for The New York Times 1974 February 27.
February 24 Sunday "military units here in the capital, after having helped to quell the civil disturbances last week, refused over the weekend to continue their security duties unless a pay increase was granted. The Emperor responded Sunday, after a night of hectic negotiations, by raising the pay of private soldiers to $50 month. It had been $41.
The increase was viewed as insufficient by some units in Addis Ababa and heavy firing broke out in one section of the city Sunday night.
Rebellious enlisted men, noncommissioned officers and some junior officers in Asmara in northern Ethiopia also rejected the pay raise as too small and seized control of the Asmara international airport at 11 o'clock last night. The airport has been closed to traffic." article by Charles Mohr for The New York Times.
February 26 John Albert Girasek from America is murdered at carnival in Dominica. THE STAR DOMINICA.
February 27 The Emperor opens the African Unit conference, meanwhile dissident soldiers of the Ethiopian Army take over Asmara, the capital city of the province of Eritrea.
March 1 The Emperor attends the 78th anniversary of the Battle of Adowa celebration and Endelkachew Makonnen replaces Aklilu Habte Wold as Prime Minister.
March 28 Soldiers in Ethiopia seize Asmara for a second time, "The rebels, calling themselves the “armed forces of the north,” broadcast six demands over the Asmara radio, including military trials for too civilian and military personnel suspected of corruption in the government ousted by the February mutinies.
Other demands appeared to result from growing conflict within the armed forces between dissidents pressing for sweeping political reform and loyalists favoring gradual change in Ethiopia's feudal system.
The Asmara rebels called for an end to a blockade by loyal paratroopers around dissident units at the Debre Zeit air force headquarters. The broadcast indicated that communications with Debre Zeit had been cut off.
The rebels urged civil court reforms, an end to “spreading lies among the armed forces” and. reassurance that no reprisal would be taken against leaders of the February revolt. Twenty‐five junior officers have been reported detained for their part in the uprising. February "Rebels In Ethiopia Seize Asmara For Second Time" The New York Times.
April 1 ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 1 (AP)—Protests against the new Government of Premier Endalkachew Makonnen spread across Ethiopia today, but the shaky civilian administration, pledged to moderate reforms, appeared to be surviving a week‐long labor and political upheaval.
Students at Haile Selassie University vowed not to return to classes until the demands of more than 20 million sharecrqppers were met and alleged killing of political prisoners was stopped.
The students also called for the release of air force officers detained in an abortive armed forces uprising last Monday.
Three hundred high school students who marched through downtown Addis Ababa today chanting antigovernment slogans were chased into shops by the police. A number of them were then dragged out and beaten. The New York Times.
May Desmond Trotter (Ras Kabinda) 20 and Roy Mason 22 are arrested for the murder of Girasek. THE STAR DOMINICA.
The Panthers rename their Intercommunal Youth Institute as the Oakland Community School, the school graduate their first class.
By the end of the school year the Panthers have enrolled 22 more students.
August 6 Newton murders 18 year old prostitute Kathleen Smith and flees to Cuba appointing Elaine Brown as the Panthers first Chairwoman.
September 12 Thursday The Emperor, on the first day of the Ethiopian new year is seen in public for the last time, a coup takes place, soldiers of the Marxist Derg seize power from His Imperial Majesty.
4:30 a.m. Tanks to the national palace, the Emperors residence, and take up positions in front of the entrances.
Tanks are also stationed at the national bank opposite the defense ministry and main city squares.
The Emperor is taken in the backseat of a blue Volkswagen to a ramshackle military headquarters building near railroad tracks and on the way is jeered by the crowds yelling "Thief! Thief!". 1975 August New York Times By Alden Whitman
The arrest, in the name of the Armed Forces Cooridinating Committee, ended the 82 year old monarchs half century of rule.
The committee said it was recalling the emperors 58 year old son Crown Prince Asfa Wosser, from Switzerland to be crowned king but made it clear he would not have any real authority. The prince suffered a stroke nearly two years ago, and he is still partially paralyzed and spends much of his time in a Geneva hospital.
1974 September 13 Paul Hofmann in his article "The Lion at Sunset" for The New York Times in regards to the Emperor being 'Accused in Corruption' says.
He is being accused of having tolerated or even having fostered a system of graft and corruption throughout his huge empire and of having built up an enormous personal fortune, channeling billions of dollars into financial havens abroad.
Such charges have recently been printed in some of the few newspapers that are published in Ethiopia. Much earlier, the accusations against the Emperor were made in leaflets that radical students circulated clandestinely in and around the modern campus of Haile Selassie I University in Addis Ababa.
Big trouble was generally predicted for next Monday when the university and other schools, closed since last winter, were scheduled to reopen. It appears plausible that the ruling military committee decided to proclaim the end of the Emperor's long reign yesterday to preempt student‐led demonstrations that seemed imminent and inevitable.
History may eventually judge Emperor Haile Selassie with greater equanimity than do the students and the military committee in Addis Ababa.
The Anderson Herald newspaper on page 28 in the article "Army Ends Ethiopian Leader's Rule" says that
The committee said it acted because the emperor had refused to hand back billions of dollars he had invested overseas, because of crimes against the Ethiopian people over the past half century, and because Selassie was too old and weak, both physically and mentally.
Unofficial estimates put Selassie's wealth abroad at $10 billion, making him one of the world's richest men But Selassie reportedly contends that much of his wealth has been distributed among his children and cannot be recovered.
2000 November 3 Friday Tigist Belay in Addis Ababa and James Astill in their article for The Guardian entitled ‘Lion of Judah controversial to the last' 'Ethiopia's last Emperor Haile Selassie is to receive a state burial, but his reputation remains at best mixed’.
Yet not everyone buys into the myth. Amid all the preparations for a glorious state funeral, the Ethiopian government this week denounced Haile Selassie as "a despotic tyrant". The prime minister, Meles Zenawi, argued that the emperor presided over a feudal oligarchy that reduced farmers to "tenants and serfs on their own lands".
Mr Meles accuses the emperor of upholding a system which allowed the feudal class to lead a life of luxury at the expense of the "toiling masses", while he amassed a huge personal fortune and deposited it in foreign banks. The government is taking all possible steps to retrieve these assets, he said.
1992 and 1996 Trinidadian Darcus Howe interviews his fellow countryman Ras Shango Baku on his "Devil's Advocate" show on Channel 4.
Howe: "I want to go to Professor Ullendorff (Edward Ullendorff), you worked with him at the palace, you wrote his biography, you were a friend of his for how long?"
Ullendorff: "40 years".
"Will you allow me first me to address myself very briefly to two points which you made."
Howe: "Yes, you may, you may."
Ullendorff: "You spoke of a life of luxury, the emperor personally lived a very frugal life, what of course is a fact is he lives in a palace, he was the head of state, the Emperor of an ancient realm but he personally was a selfer facing, modest and frugal person, he DID NOT sort away any money WHAT SO EVER, I have personal knowledge of this."
2015 January 31 Ato Deguefe (Minister of Aviation and later head of Ethiopian National Bank) YouTube interview with Zion Fyah.
Fyah: Thank you Mr. Deguefe would you tell me about the last time you saw his Majesty please.
Deguefe: The last time I saw his majesty is when he was held by the Derg and we were with a group of military officers of Ethiopia who wanted to interview him and there were civilian Ras Imru his cousin and a civilian investigator and the military people and the discussion was where is the money that his majesty owns abroad and his majesty that point and his cousin they have everything under control they want you to give them the money.
is is now you see did not sleep at that point and scandal not asked he says that only how to have everything under their control they want you to give them the night
that's when the Emperor said money you said Billions where would that come from and why if we had it keep it would keep it abroad and as for the money that said by my grandchildren having the right errand a Ethiopian that’s when the main comments on the money stopped.
Fyah: As the head of the Ethiopian bank you were aware of whether his majesty in fact had lots of money or not what is your view on that?
Deguefe: His majesty didn’t even have a bank account in Ethiopia he kept all cash because whatever money he had he used to donate wherever he went on his travel and to expect him to have a lot of money abroad when he had none at all to me its impossible and I told them that they wouldnt believe me.
Fyah: Do you remember his Majesty's response when he heard of the famine?
Yes well he said he gave on his own what he had and everywhere mobilised efforts to help the famine victims and even now everyone is to the famine.
Fyah: What would you like people to know about his majesty as the world to know as a person who knew him personally?
Deguefe: He was very patriotic he loved these people he loved the country and to expect him to have such a large sum abroad it's unrealistic after all Ethiopia is a poor country where would he get all of this money and in fact after he died there was never any mention of it anymore so it was all to upset him while he was in detention.
Fyah: I don't want to tire you but I remember you telling me a story once about when his Majesty called you when you were the head of the bank about a woman whose house was going into foreclosure would you mind returning that story if you can please?
Deguefe: That was many times whenever we auction of properties I used to keep a list because I knew some of them might appeal to him then he would suddenly call me and I would have my notes with me and I would explain how the two long rows what we try to help the borrower to pay and IRA never to auction it was stopped because appeal to his majesty.
Fyah: The debtors appealed to His Majesty for help?
Deguefe: yes
Deguefe: recognize the father who died in the war or any of the relative’s which their parents and sometimes he would turn to all the people claiming money how I explained that it was due to His Majesty's wishes so the bank function properly to help the people so he has done his best but they want him to do he used to say and order his private treasurer to go and pay the debt.
Fyah: So His Majesty would order his own private treasure to pay the depths of the people who couldn't pay their debt.
Deguefe: Yes .
Fyah: Thank you very much Mr. together thank you.
Fyah: I remember you telling me a story of when you yourself had some problems with your eyes and had to have surgery abroad.
Deguefe: Yes I flown urgently to German and had the operation on detached retina it was quite a costly operation because I had to stay in the clinic for a whole month and when I returned home with new glasses I worried how am I going to meet this debt because I had a mortgage and young children and I just started a career of banking and suddenly the governor of the bank told me his majesty has ordered the bank to pay the expenses for the treatment abroad which was most unusual
Fyah: Was that a typical gesture from his majesty?
General Teferi Benti becomes the new head of state.
November Trotter is convicted and Roy is acquitted of the murder of Girasek. THE STAR DOMINICA.
November 22 SUPPRESSION OF THE DREADS ACT PASSED
After hours of debate on Tuesday, “an Act to make provision for the suppression of societies established for unlawful purposes and for the better preservation of public safety, ‘public order and public morality’ received the support of both sides of the House of Assembly.
A noticeable reluctance in the remarks of some members showed the dilemma they were in they wanted to stamp out violence and intimidation, but they had grave doubts about the possible uses of such an Act, and at the least three of them led by Hon. Eugenia Charles said it must not stand on the Statue Book one day longer than is necessary, because it was an erosion of a fundamental right.
An amendment to the Corporal Punishment Abolition Act did NOT receive the support of two important Members of the House Leader of the Opposition Moise and Hon. Eugenia Charlesm who (as we do) resisted the reintroduction of that mediaeval horror, the cat-o-nine tails. Flogging or whipping can again be imposed by a Court of Law for 8 types of offences: (the Amendment to the Act was passed)
PREMIER DECLARES WAR
In a good and factual speech which did not spare even members of his own establishment, Premier John presented the case against the dreads and in favour of prohibiting unlawful groups "We shall meet fire with fire -- gins with guns...." More on the House P.5. THE STAR DOMINICA.
November 23 The Derg order the execution of 61 ex officials of the Imperial Government without trail, former Prime Ministers Aklilu Habte Wold and Endelkachew Makonnen are among those executed.
November 24 AL2881 (Lucy) Australopithecus afarensis species dating back to 3.2 million years is discovered in Afar, Ethiopia by Tom Gray, Donald Johanson, Yves Coppens and Maurice.
December 13 Betty Van Patter goes missing.
Van Patter was introduced to the Pathers by David Horowitz, editor and board member of Rampart magazine, who she previously worked as a bookkeeper for the same magazine.
Diop’s “The African Origin of Civilisation: Myth or Reality is published in English from the French by Mercer Cook.
1975 March Mengistu and Athafu become the deputy chairmen if Derg, the Derg also abolish feudal tenure.
May Michael X is executed by hanging in the Port of Spain’s Royal Jail for the murder of Skerritt.
May 23 The Emperor is reported to be seriously ill and may be in need of prostate surgery.
June 13 Friday Rudolph Esprit is shot and beaten at Belles, neat the route to the airport. The Defence Force converge upon the Pond Case area said to be stronghold of 'Dreads'. One of the DDF men are ambushed and killed by shooting two dreads are shot dead by the Govt. Force. Six others escape.
A funeral with full military honour s for Raphael Registered DDF, who died in the course of duty, took place on Thursday afternoon. Registered leaves a widow and child. The other dead men are Peltier Esprit and Dupigny Dumas. THE STAR DOMINICA.
July California State legislature pass Senate Bill, 95 the Moscone Act making one ounce of Ganja a misdemeanor.
August 17 Wednesday The Emperor at age 83 is reported to have passed away by Addis Ababa radio.
1991 May Mengistu flees to Zimbabwe with 50 family members, large amounts of cash and his Rolls-Royce.
1992 The Emperors remains are reported to have been found under a toilet in the place.
1994 Genocide trail begins in Ethiopia.
1994 December 15 The Emperor is to have been strangled to death in his bed most cruelly according to an Ethiopian court. New York Times.
2000 November 5 The Emperor's remains are laid to rest.
'The funeral cortege left Ba'ata Mariam Geda Church at dawn and followed a 10km (six mile) route to the Trinity Cathedral, via the main Meskal Square in Addis Ababa.
Haile Selassie's remains had been kept at the church since they were discovered under a palace toilet in 1992.'
2006 December Mengistu is found guilty of Genocide.
2007 Mengistu is sentenced to life in prison.
August 29 DEADLINE FOR DREADS THE DREADS AMNESTY period ends on August 31, and it needs an act of Assembly to extend it. Yet the committee formed to negotiate with the 'outlaws' has not yet net its members are chairman, V. Didior; Fr. Alexander, Rev. Pond, Police Supt. Bannis, Mr. L. A. Simon, Mr. Grell Seraphine, and Hon. Lennox Honychurch we hope for the success of the negotiations by these reputable men, but if not, we think the Dreads Act should be wiped off the statute book since the laws of Dominica suffice to deal with violence and subversion.
GOVERNS RADIO APPEAL
H.E. the Governor, in an oft-repeated radio broadcast appealed to hidden Dreads to emerge and parley with the Government emissaries, saying he could vouch for Governments good faith and would give all (even his life) for the sake of peace in our midst. Hr blamed an unnamed subversive movement for influencing Dreads by persuasion & drugs not take advantage of the amnesty. THE STAR DOMINICA.
AL200-1 is discovered in Afar, Ethiopia by Yoel Rak.
Alaska, Maine, Colorado, California, and Ohio decriminalized cannabis.
Alaska's Supreme Court establish that the right to privacy includes possession of small amounts of marijuana.
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The Importance of Allies
(Originally posted at: http://hidaviloria.com/the-importance-of-allies/) So I went to a baseball game for the first time in about 35 years yesterday, because the person who invited me is so cool she inspired some formerly nonexistent interest, and I actually had a great time! (Such a great time that this blog is being posted on Thursday, rather than the typical Wednesday, lol.) To be honest though, the game’s not the only reason my post is late: I stayed up late Tuesday night finishing what was meant to be Wednesday’s post, but I decided to scrap it upon waking up because a more inspiring topic came to mind: allies. People who are violating others must be pressured in order for violations to end. As African-American abolitionist Frederick Douglass so wisely said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” However, in order for oppression to end, the pressure cannot come solely from those who are being oppressed, which is precisely why allies are so crucial. There’s endless examples, but I’ll just quickly share an obvious one: Nazis who were sending people to concentration camps didn’t stop just because of protests that they didn’t want to go there. Also, Jews, LGBTQIA people (and yes, there are accounts of horrible medical experiments being performed on intersex people as well as others during the Holocaust), and all the various groups being persecuted couldn’t stop the Nazis on their own. It took global effort by others to make the violations end. Similarly, having people that are not intersex themselves talk about the fact that we deserve equal human rights is a critical step to ending our discrimination. We’ve been pointing out the atrocity of intersex genital mutilation for decades, but in typical fashion, the people who harm us downplay the destructiveness of their actions and the validity of our complaints. “Oh, you say that medically unnecessary infant genital surgery left you feeling psychologically scarred and unable to experience sexual sensation? Well, trust me, you would have been worse off if we’d left you as you were.” (That’s actually what one intersex person I know experienced when she shared her experience with her doctor, and I’ve heard lots of similar stories.) Like all marginalized groups, we can’t end the atrocities committed against us alone. Our oppressors, like others’, aren’t interested in accommodating our wants and needs because that would interfere with what they personally stand to gain from the actions we’re objecting to. They’ll have to keep being pressured by others to change their behavior. This is why I’ve been feeling blessed lately to have fabulous allies popping out of the woodwork. I say “fabulous” because not only are they smart, compassionate and committed to making the world a better place, they’re also just fun, creative people who’ve become my friends. The woman I went to the baseball game with, for example, Maria Nieto, is one of these. She’s the author of the novel Pig Behind the Bear (http://pigbehindthebear.com/site/), which won the International Latino Book Award, the Independent Publisher Silver Medal, and is about to pick up another award who’s name I forget. She’s also a biology professor, and I’ve spoken to several of her classes, each time better than the last. Having allies who both point to intersex people’s situation and give us a platform to share our experiences is invaluable. In the past, folks would write or speak about intersex people without taking the time to know us and learn what we want, or treating us as objects they are studying and/or “treating” with no real volition of our own. While this still goes on, it’s starting to change, and it’s beautiful to witness. On that note, I’ll share a link to a radio interview of mine about what the global intersex advocacy community wants, that aired this past Monday: https://soundcloud.com/prideonscreen/imru-show-140616. The interview begins 34:20 minutes in, FYI, and it’s a perfect example of this inclusive, respectful behavior towards intersex people. Vash Boddie, the radio host, journalist and producer who interviewed me (on IMRU Radio in LA), is a humanist who has huge desire to help attain equality for intersex people -- despite the fact that he’s not intersex! You can tell just by listening to him that he not only wants to end oppression, but that he deeply values the contribution that intersex people’s inclusion in society has to offer. I’m grateful to be able to say that I’ve met many others allies like him, and I would love to list them all here, but I would have to go back decades, and some of their full names from way back escape me, but I would hate to leave anyone out…. So, I’ll just suffice it to send a big THANK YOU to all of you who have been allies over the years! Taking the time to talk to intersex people about who we are, and what we want and need, and then doing something to actually help us achieve our goals, is exemplary in a culture in which the majority of people have done the opposite. Considering the fact that most people don’t even know who we are, much less our struggle being a popular human rights cause, you are truly pioneers!!!
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