I have heard that the CUD folks have signed a document in which they have admitted to "mistakes" to win their release. Naturally, I feel that the document has some relevance, to the extent that what it may reveal about the nature of the regime that incarcerated them, and I am curious to read the document in its entirety. But, obviously, the document was signed under duress and, as such, I do not think it is of any use to spend precious time talking about it. What is more important to me and, I am sure, to most Ethiopians is what the freed CUD leaders plan to do to further the cause of peace, justice and democracy in Ethiopia in the days, months and years ahead. I hope they will remain united and continue to lead by example. I also hope that they will not forget those whom they left behind in Woyane's dungeons.
6 comments:
I would say, on that letter, Ye Amhara Timikhit Beadebabai Wedeke,
Hi Anonymous,
Actually, you are not anonymous to me, but I will grant you the anonymity you seek.
If I understood you correctly (correct me if I am wrong), what you are trying to say is that the letter signed by the freed CUD leaders exposes their "Ye-Amhara Timkhitegnanet", i.e., it exposes their "Amhara superiority complex." But it is not very clear to me where you going with this argument.
As to the Amhara superiority complex, all that needs to be said is that it has been supplanted by a Tigrean one. However, this type of reactionary behaviour is not limited to Amharas or Tigreans. If any of the other Ethiopian ethnic groups enjoy the kind of unchecked political power that the Amharas and Tigreans enjoyed in the last 100 plus years, their are bound to behave in a similar way.
So, the problem is not with being an Amhara or a Tigrean, and bashing people because of their ethnic background would be missing the point. As to "the letter", I have not yet seen it yet. But as I have said earlier, the letter was signed under duress and, as such, it does not carry much weight with me.
Fikru
Tigrayans are fighting for servival as they are from the resource poor part of the country. But they are not in the hate as the Amharas are. But the latter want to Amharatize everything, they want to be leaders, they do not want to be led by a Hadya or an Oromo. That is why they did not want to work with Hibret and established party of their own instead. People from the south should fight Amharatization, poverity, division and Woyane (Woyane is the least evil by any standard), and Beyene's stand in this regard is appreciable.
Sewore
Hi Sewore,
Thanks for the comment. It's sad to see a Southerner, such as you, justify the Meles regime dictatorship as a Tigrayan fight for survival. Only Southerners who are at the service of the regime, like Hailemariam Desalegn and those who are on the take, would make such an argument 16 years into Woyane rule.
As to the Amharization process, it is a phenomenon that has been going on for almost a millenium. Whether they admit it or not, the current rulers have continued the Amharization trend and it is highly likely any future government will continue the Amharization of Ethiopia in one shape or form.
The Oromization of Ethiopia, a rival process to Amharization, has been going on for close to half a millenium and this process will also conitue at one rate or another in the future, albeit at a slower rate than Amharization. The only difference between the processes is that Amharization has the upper hand.
So, in light of these longstanding processes, it is simplistic to suggest that Beyene's siding with the Meles regime will slow down the Amharization of Ethiopia. Truth be told, Beyene was given ample opportunity to demonstrate his leadership skills, more than any opposition figure in the last 16 years, Amhara politicians included. The reason he failed in his leadership capacities is not because the Amhara people did not want him to be a leader. Rather, it is because he did not possess most of the qualities that one needs to be a political leader. He is a poor listener, he has no charisma, he does not inspire people, he does not delegate responsibility to his subordinates, he is not an organizer, etc. Beyene was thrown into a leadership position for which he is not well suited for and the result speaks for itself. Unfortunately, the South is paying the price for his terrible leadership and will continue to pay for years to come.
Fikru
I don't know if Sewore is trying to prove an EPRDF point by showing, by personal example, the extent to which Ethiopians do not understand democracy!
First, the issue here is of course democracy, not hegemony. Last I looked, we have a bunch of opposition parties composed of (vulnerable) civilians working towards democracy, and a party in power, which possesses the only force in the land apart from rebel movements, intent on entrenching hegemony. The choice to make here is between democracy and dictatorship.
Second, ethnic hate speech and stereotyping (Amharas are driven by hate and want to dominate Ethiopia) is obviously antithetic to democratic culture!
Clearly, in order to establish a sufficiently democratic culture in Ethiopia, a lot of work must be done to move people beyond the ancient mindset that thinks only in terms of feudal and parochial power relations.
Hi Gooch,
I enjoy your thoughtful comments. Thanks. I agree that a lot of work needs to be done to make people like Sewore and Beyene Petros understand that their reckless use of anti-Amhara rhetoric is self-defeating and does nothing to help advance cause of democracy in Ethiopia. Berhanu Nega has something to say about this same old tired scare tactic, which is a favorite propaganda tool of the Woyane regime, in his book "Ye-Netsanet Goh Siqued" and I will share it on this blog in the near future.
Fikru
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