![ለውጥ እና ነውጥ [Lewt Ena Newt]]( https://distri.podiprint.com/imagenes/978/1/5/9/9/0/7/8/9781599078212_f_675x675.jpg "ለውጥ እና ነውጥ [Lewt Ena Newt]")
Girma Seifu
ለውጥ እና ነውጥ፡ የአትክልተኛው ማስታወሻ (an Amharic memoir meaning, Change and Turmoil: A Gardener’s Memoir) is a penetrating political memoir and critical examination of Ethiopia’s historic transition, violent conflicts, and the ongoing struggle to build a viable multiparty democracy. Penned by Girma Seifu Maru-widely known as the solitary opposition voice in Ethiopia’s 547-seat Parliament between 2010 and 2015-the book draws upon decades on the front lines of peaceful struggle, institutional building, and public service. Writing under his reflective moniker, 'አትክልተኛው' (The Gardener), the author rejects destructive political shortcuts, polarization, and revolutionary fervor in favor of patient institutional cultivation, constitutional pragmatism, and hard-nosed truth-telling.This memoir offers an unprecedented insider account spanning three administrations-from Meles Zenawi and Hailemariam Desalegn to Abiy Ahmed-unraveling the hidden moves, missed opportunities, and ideological missteps that transformed a moment of national hope into cycles of destructive unrest.Key Themes and Highlights Inside the Book:The Anatomy of the 2018 Transition: An unvarnished look at the prelude (የለውጡ ዋዜማ) and aftermath (በለውጡ ማግሥት) of the EPRDF’s collapse, including confidential transition roadmaps drafted in late 2017 with former military and political figures, as well as Girma’s direct personal memos delivered to incoming Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.The War in Northern Ethiopia and Pretoria Accord: A candid reassessment of the 2020-2022 Northern conflict, the October 2020 assault on the Northern Command, the controversial interventions, the Pretoria Peace Agreement, and the moral hazards of wartime propaganda and genocide narratives.The Paradox of Diaspora Politics and Media Wars: A behind-the-scenes exposé of diaspora networks, factional maneuvering, and the internal fractures that splintered influential media outlets like ESAT into competing satellite channels and online battlegrounds.Electoral Battles and the Fate of Multiparty Democracy: Firsthand reflections on the contested 2020 Tigray regional ballot, the 2021 (2013 E.C.) and 2026 (2018 E.C.) national elections, the transformation of EPRDF into the Prosperity Party, and the strategic dilemmas encountered by the Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (EZEMA).Reforming the House of Federation: A novel institutional proposal drawing on comparative bicameral systems (the US, UK, and Brazil) to transform Ethiopia’s Upper House into a stabilizing, 140-seat chamber balancing ethnic representation with equal regional representation and a mandatory quota for women.Change vs. Turmoil: A trenchant critique of the perpetual craving for transitional governments, mob-driven consensus, and the cyclic traps of Ethiopian political history from 1960 to the present day.
