Violence & Non-Violence: A Clash of Strategies

By Ephrem Madebo

In the early 1990s, many Ethiopians supported the argument for a peaceful struggle, not because peaceful struggle was the only viable strategy, but most of us believed that, though very slim, there was a political space in Ethiopia to wage peaceful struggle. Well, we were unpretentiously right, but today, that political space has faded away and accommodates only one party. Meles and his party have shunned away from pluralism and started a one man democracy where the electorate and the elected are one and the same. Mr. Zenawi has re-defined the concept of "peaceful struggle" in an utterly strange way, and by doing so, he has closed the room for peaceful struggle in Ethiopia. Today, some in the opposition have opted to knock on the closed door, and yet, others have determined to break the door and make sure it will never be closed again. If the knock opens the door, we all will be happy campers; otherwise, we will break the door and still be happy campers. Knock, or break; if our goal is to open the door, why fight on how to open it? The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads:

"Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human right should be protected by the rule of law"

When justice is manipulated to instigate violence, the masses have the legal and moral obligation to use all means to stop the manipulation of justice. When our enemy is so violent and has no value for peace and human life, we need to have two weapons: love and some sort of defense mechanism. Non-violent struggle does not necessarily mean failure to defend against violence. Any species that does not defend itself is doomed for extinction.

Today, three years after the May 2005 election, many Ethiopians seem to have been re-visiting the old debate of peaceful versus non-peaceful struggle. I guess, it is not a shocker that this debate has been on fire since the inauguration of Ginbot 7 movement. The 2008 Ethiopian soccer tournament in N. America officially came to an end on Saturday July 5. On the same day and a day after, two consecutive public meetings in Washington, DC ignited the Ethiopian public and re-opened the peaceful versus non-peaceful struggle debate of the 1990s. In the center of this debate are students, life long academicians, a plethora of bloggers, web sites, and radio stations. This article highlights some of the major issues raised in the Washington DC UDJ meeting.

Like many people of my generation, I do listen when Professor Mesfin speaks and read when he writes. However, I don't take everything he says as a settled thought or proposal, and I don't read his books the same way I read my Bible. On the July 6 Washington, DC meeting, professor Mesfin used the experience of Gandhi and Dr. King as a classic example of non-violent struggle to make a case for a peaceful struggle in Ethiopia. To be honest, if I was the 'Ephrem ' of 25 years ago, the speech of the professor would have elated me and I would have been an instant opponent of any alternative to a peaceful struggle. Well, his speech has still elated me, but for a different reason. This time his speech gave me an opportunity to disagree with him. Even though I disagree with him, I will never rebuff the enormous benefit I gained from the understanding of Professor Mesfin’s point of view.

I hope my readers will agree that disagreeing with the professor is not just my right, sometimes it is also the right thing to do. A sincere disagreement is a good sign of progress, and it is the beginning of thought. Therefore, I sincerely disagree with my one time college professor. I don't think the Professor himself wants us to change whenever he changes, and to nod whenever he nods; I think his own shadow does that much better than we do.

Before I make my own case for an alternative strategy, I want to point out some important facts that the professor omitted at his DC speech. Yes, as he said it well, Gandhi and King are the ideal examples of non-violent struggle. The courage and the determination of the two champions were similar, and so was the political structure of the two giant forces they fought. But, how about the two governments that King and Gandhi encountered, are they similar to the kind of government that we have in Ethiopia today?

Let’s visit the history of Nelson Mandela, a living legend of freedom. Like Dr. King, Mandela was influenced by Gandhi. King went to India and came back to the US equipped with the non-violent strategy of Gandhi. Dr. King was smart enough to see the similarities between the US and the British governments. He understood that the political space in the US was wide enough to wage a Gandhi like non-violent struggle. To our surprise, Mandela is a person who had more personal exposure to Gandhi than Dr. King because Gandhi himself started his non-violence struggle in South Africa. But, Mandela chose a different strategy than Gandhi. Why? Mandela recognized and valued Gandhi’s non-violence struggle, and he committed himself to non-violent struggle. However, he eventually changed his view when he understood that the enemy he was fighting was absolutely different than the enemies Gandhi and Dr. King fought.

The three heroes fought and won three enemies. Gandhi and Dr. King employed similar strategies. Mandela followed his predecessors and started his struggle in a similar fashion, but he eventually changed his view and co-founded the armed wing of ANC. Why can’t we Ethiopians change our view like Mandela did? We can always learn from the experience of others, but we can’t possibly bring the experience of others to our country. When we’re looking for a lesson to learn, we shouldn’t be cherry picking. We can learn from Gandhi, King, Mandela, or any other person, or country. When it comes to a strategy choice, we should definitely listen to Professor Mesfin and many other wise Ethiopians. However, we have to carefully digest their words before we swallow them. We have to ask questions and get answers before shaping our opinion. What does the TPLF regime look like? Does it look like the government of the United States, or the government of the late Peter Botha? Both King and Mandela were influenced by Gandhi, if so, what forced Mandela to change his view? Do we Ethiopians have just 1% of the weapons that King had? These are very important points that professor Mesfin failed to address in his public meetings. I do believe the truth must be told today, waiting for tomorrow is an emotional sleepless battle with yesterday's omissions, and of course the omission of good information is no less reprehensible than tampering with the truth.

In the 1940s, Gandhi, in the 1960s, Dr. King, and in the 1990s, Nelson Mandela immensely influenced their respective governments and led their people to freedom. These three examples of human excellence lived in different continents, countries, and socio-economic orders. Surprisingly, there is something that links the three together. Dr. King went to India and visited Gandhi’s family to get first hand information on Gandhi's peaceful struggle. Gandhi's first effective use of civil disobedience took place in South Africa when he as a lawyer represented the Indian community's struggle for civil rights. The three heroes won the Nobel Prize for peace though Gandhi’s award was post-mortem and no one took the prize.

In 1915, Gandhi moved from South Africa to India and started organizing peasants, farmers, and urban laborers to lead a protest against the excessive land-tax imposed by the British colonial government. From 1915 to 1947 Gandhi employed peaceful resistance (strike, boycott, refusal to serve, non-cooperation) as his weapon to paralyze the complex British social structure in India. In those 32 years Gandhi was arrested 4 times, but he didn't serve his full term in none of those times. As bad as the British were, they could have given Gandhi life, or perhaps even killed him to slow down India's independence. However, the British neither denied Gandhi his right to due process, nor they forced him to sign a self incrementing agreement that would have brought him back to jail. Every time when Gandhi was released from jail, he was free to continue his struggle that eventually ended the British rule in India.

The enemy Gandhi fought 60 years ago is very different than the enemy we Ethiopians are fighting today. The current leaders of Ethiopia are determined to kill as many Ethiopians as they can to stay in power than the British would have to extend their colonial rule in India. The Ethiopian opposition does not have any of Gandhi’s peaceful resistance weapons; in fact, those weapons are illegal in Ethiopia. So what is legal in Ethiopia? Well, the answer is easy. The only peaceful struggle allowed in Ethiopia is to verbally oppose the ruling party using a carefully crafted language, and coronate the TPLF party every five years.

It is evident that the current leaders of Ginbot 7 embraced a peaceful strategy in their quest for democracy and justice while they were in CUDP. There should be no doubt that these same leaders embrace the same strategy today as leaders of Ginbot 7. The significant change between Ginbot 2005 and today is that the TPLF ruling elites saw the determination of the Ethiopian people and banned the peaceful strategy perused by CUDP, UEDF and other parties. The ban was not the end of the game; they also published their own version of "Legal peaceful struggle" handbook. It is every word in this disreputable "handbook" that Ginbot 7 fails to accept. Hence Ginbot 7 employs every possible alternative to bring down the author of the "one man" democracy handbook and his moribund system. Ginbot 7 will never accept the TPLF prescribed "Legal peaceful struggle".

The leaders of Ginbot 7 did not avoid, or runaway from their strategy, they were pushed, or forced away from their lifelong creed of peaceful struggle. TPLF has drastically changed the rules of the game. I don’t think the opposition should be a rambling piece that forces itself to fit in the TPLF puzzle! It should have its own game, and its own strategy for winning the game. This is exactly what Ginbot 7 did, i.e. design a multifaceted (versatile) strategy to bring Mr. Zenawi’s dictatorship to its knee.

For Ginbot 7, or for all of us for that matter, peace is not the absence of war or conflict. Peace is not a gift from any person or government, it is something to be created and to be maintained by people. Peace is the triumph of principle, it is the product of faith, strength, will, sympathy, and justice. Peace will never be achieved by tameness or by extinction of the will. Ginbot 7 does not and will not agree with the TPLF prescribed peace that passes the human understanding; rather, Ginbot 7 will lead the masses to create a moral environment where peace reigns as a result of the human understanding.

As I have noted above, both Mandela’s and Dr. King's notion of peaceful struggle was rooted in Gandhi's principle of non-violent struggle. In the 1960's, when King and the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC) applied the principles of non-violent protest, they had the freedom to choose the method of the protest and the places where the protests were to be carried out. All these freedoms that Dr. King and SCLC had are non existent in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, exercising a God given right is a treason that carries capital punishment.

A momentous peaceful struggle requires two or more opposing rivals that submit to the rule of law, to the democratic process, and to the fundamental legitimacy of the state. In a peaceful struggle, none of the rivals should be able to use force to cause harm on the other. The conflicting rivals and their supporters (including ruling parties) should have equal access to the media, and the role of the press must be impartial to all conflicting parties. Any kind of peaceful struggle is inconsequential in the absence of these factors. When Dr. King made his famous "I have a dream" speech, a speech that changed America for good, the US marshals and secret service agents were not shooting at him, they were protecting him from the KKK. Dr. King did not make his historic speech in a ghetto hidey-hole; he made his speech between the two symbols of American democracy, Capitol Hill and the White House; in front of 250, 000 people.

Mind you, just a few weeks ago, the TPLF gangs banned UDJ’s scheduled public meeting in a private hotel for no apparent reason. Last week, in one of its bizarre moves, TPLF turned down UDJ’s registration application citing outlandish reasons. This amorphous group of gangs has once more proved that it is against "Andinet" whether it is on paper, or in action. The following quote exemplifies the role the US media played in Dr. King’s peaceful struggle for freedom: "King correctly recognized that organized, nonviolent protest against the system of southern segregation known as Jim Crow Law would lead to extensive media coverage of the struggle for black equality and voting rights. Journalistic accounts and televised footage of the daily deprivation and indignities suffered by southern blacks, and of segregationist violence and harassment of civil rights workers and marchers, produced a wave of sympathetic public opinion that convinced the majority of Americans that Civil Rights Movement was the most important issue in American politics in the early 1960s"

The popular victories in India, the US, and in South Africa are the most celebrated and distinguished victories of the 20th century. The leaders of these victories [Gandhi, King, and Mandela] are not just heroes of their respective countries; they are heroes of the human race. We saw how Gandhi and King brought freedom to their people. What did Mandela learn from the two? How does he differ from them? Most importantly, what did we Ethiopians learn from the three champions of peace? To be honest, we in the opposition did not learn anything! If anyone has learned a lesson from Gandhi, King, or Mandela; it must be Meles and his bad guys. Yes, they learned a good lesson on how to block every possible path to democracy, and perform tubal ligation on every fertile uterus that gives birth to a hero like Gandhi, King, and Mandela.

Mahatma Gandhi was a moral leader and an inspiration for Mandela and succeeding generations of South African anti-apartheid activists. Nelson Mandela has frequently credited Gandhi for being a major source of inspiration in his life, both for the philosophy of non-violence and for facing adversity with dignity. Indeed, Mandela was initially committed to Gandhi’s strategy of non-violence, however, he changed his view when he was arrested and charged with treason in December 1956. Mandela attributes his move to a mixed strategy (Violence, non-violence) to the increasing repression and violence from the South African white minority regime. According to Nelson Mandela, he was convinced that many years of non-violent protest against apartheid had achieved nothing and could not succeed.

In 1960, Nelson Mandela, the late Walter Sisulu, and other South Africans formed the military wing of the ANC, and in 1961 Mandela became the leader of ANC’s armed wing, aka Umkonto We Sizwe (the Spear of the Nation). In the 1980s, it became clear that the apartheid regime was in an irreversible crisis and its economy was in recession. Though ANC’s leader [Mandela] was in prison, it was the activities of ANC’s armed wing (Umkonto We Sizwe) that forced the apartheid regime to talk to the liberation movements, in Particular the ANC. The following script is taken from the statement of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress on the 25th anniversary of the formation of Umkhonto We Sizwe: "By that time the demands of our people were loud, persistent and clear: all our efforts as a people, the whole record of relentless struggle under the leadership of the African National Congress, were being met with ever-increasing violence and repression by the racist State. The time had arrived when we needed to reinforce our mass political action with the hammer blows of an armed struggle"

The Ethiopian government is not an Apartheid government like the government of South Africa that Mandela fought, and it is not a democratic government bounded by a constitution like the US and the British governments that King and Gandhi fought. But, if there is any resemblance between the three, many of the acts of the Ethiopian regime are carbon copies of the South African Apartheid regime. The US and the British governments have a constitutional brake that limits the amount of power they can use on subjects. To the TPLF government, power is the only method of conflict resolution, and the constitution is nothing more than a piece of paper that can be repelled by a simple memo. Gandhi and Dr. King enjoyed the independent media that popularized their concept of freedom. In Ethiopia, there is neither free press nor independent media. These are important comparisons that the professor omitted in his speech here in DC. In fact, if he includes these facts in his public addresses, he would reluctantly make a powerful case for an alternative that he passionately opposes.

A culture of impunity is built into the DNA of the Ethiopian leaders, and some of the clearest examples can be found in the post 2005 election massacre of innocent civilians, and the recent treason size crime of giving undisputed Ethiopian territory to Sudan. My fellow country men, a debate for an acceptable strategy is necessary and constructive, however, the foul languages and the enemy-like attacks are destructive and totally uncalled. As long us we have a shared objective, let’s peruse the strategy that we think is right while supporting each other. If victory puts us together at the end of the road, we will jointly kneel down to praise God for the victory. If somehow none of us gets to the finish line; sadly, this simply means we both failed. Obviously, the Ethiopian people do not want us to fail again. We need to agree, listen to each other, and work together on the bigger issues of our nation even as we peruse different strategies. Amen!

Listen to Siye Abraha

It seems to me Siye Abraha, the former college student turned guerrilla fighter turned defense minister tuned prisoner of conscience turned politician, has learned very important lessons from his varied experiences about methods of struggle. His insight on this topic is convincing and it should be heeded. This is just a small portion of the interview Siye did with Harambe newspaper and it comes to you courtesy of Ethiomedia.

Freedom is not Free

An inscription at the Korean War Memorial at the National Mall in Washington, DC reads "FREEDOM IS NOT FREE". Yes, indeed, it is not! The price for the freedom that Ethiopians in America enjoy was paid for by the blood and tears of hundreds of thousands of soldiers who fought and died in foreign and domestic wars (excluding the so-called Indian Wars) wearing the uniforms of the United States Armed Forces. This freedom was also equally paid for by the thousands of civil rights activists who fought a valiant "peaceful war" against racism and injustice in the US. So, we should never take this freedom we enjoy for granted. One day, hopefully soon, Ethiopians in the motherland will enjoy the same freedoms that we enjoy in the US. But, it is imperative that Ethiopians opt for "peaceful war" to attain their freedom. Happy Independence Day!

Don’t try to kill them before they grow!

By Ephrem Madebo

"Every time I plant a seed, he said kill them before they grow". This is a living lyric from the late vibrant Reggae singer, Bob Marley’s classic - “I shot the Sherriff". If Marley was alive, I am sure he would have sang another song with the same lyrics to the "Ethiopian Review" editor who like a bad tag boat shoves away every new idea that he doesn't agree with. I had a close association with the Ethiopian Review editor years ago in the heydays of "Tigbar League". In fact, I joined the "Tegbar League" group discussion forum at the request of the moderator [Ethiopian Review editor] and I was expelled out after a while when I openly criticized Lidetu Ayalew for his 2002 crude action. Mind you the ER editor is the very person that blames Meles Zenawi for muffling the free press, but he himself didn't even think twice before he silenced me in his little world. What a hypocrisy! Regardless of the nature of the ideas, I usually keep small ideas at the personal level. This week after I read two indiscriminately misguiding articles on Ethiopian Review website, I decided to go public because I thought total silence does not do any good to the public.

Towards the end of last week, I read an article on Ethiopian Review that brought to light a covert negotiation between OLF and Ginbot 7. The article inadvertently reveals a possible political breakthrough that has the potential to change the course of history in Ethiopia. If the information that came to light is authentic, I applaud the investigative cleverness of the ER sources for digging deep and informing the public on what is to come, I also appreciate their effort in trying to directly or indirectly put pressure on the leaders of the opposition camp. Here is the part that I totally disagreed and demanded an explanation. For those of you who didn't have the chance to read ER’s article on the clandestine meeting of Ginbot 7 and OLF, here is the warning of the ER editor to the two organizations [OLF, Ginbot 7] and to the rest of us: "ER sources in both Ginbot 7 and OLF are not ready to disclose where the secret talks are being held, but for maximum political effect, any agreement that they reach needs to be signed in Asmara. Any one who doubts the significant role the Eritrean government can play in destroying Woyanne is either politically ignorant, or a closet Woyanne sympathizer, or does not fully comprehend the severity of the crisis our country is facing".

I'm not sure whether the editor is acting from his inner feeling, or out of his imagination, but at least I do understand that when people act under the influence of imagination, there is no boundary for their passion. Imagination is the formation of a mental image of something that is not perceived as real and is not present to the senses. It is good to allow the image of the outside world have an input in our way of thinking, scheming, contriving, remembering, creating, fantasizing, and forming opinion, but we must understand that politics and everything we do must be accompanied by passion and driven by principle because too much imagination kills both principle and passion.

I wonder what in the "Hell" Asmara has to do with the likely outcome of political events in Ethiopia. Isn't Asmara the home of Esayas Afewerke, a man who never sleeps before he makes sure that Ethiopia is dwindled in to multiple mini states? Had there been an inch thick of a heart that worries for Ethiopia under the chest of Essays, Asmara wouldn't have opened its door for separatist elements that fight to dismantle Ethiopia, and for EPPF; an organization that firmly stands for the unity of Ethiopia. If there is anything that the opposition gets from Asmara today, it will definitely be paid back at an exorbitantly high rate tomorrow. The question of Assab, Bademe, Tsorena, and other border areas that I can’t even name are issues that face the current opposition in the future when it assumes power. If we believe that Esayas is willing to raise a lion that may ultimately devour him, we’re not just lying through our teeth, but we are also simplifying very complex national issues.

Another very important issue that the Ethiopian Review editor must understand is that we Ethiopians can respectfully disagree with him in many issues without he calling us “Politically ignorant, or a close Woyanne sympathizers”. As an editor, he must strike the balance between the flow of ideas and the interest of the public. An editor must appreciate dissent and accept criticism. By the way, isn’t the very essence of our struggle built on the values of respectful disagreement and on the principles of working together for a common cause? When an editor seeks freedom of speech for himself, he/she becomes captive of his/her desire and misguides millions of people. But, when an editor seeks discipline, he/she guides the freedom journey of the masses to victory. The era of blanket condemnation and character assassination is over. Editors, or readers, what we do and what we say should clearly identify which part of the isle we stand.

Here is a script from ER editor’s message this week:
“Let’s go straight to the crux of the matter: UDJ by its actions and positions had demonstrated itself to be a political party without a popular base. It is a fake party without popular constituency”

How do we measure the popularity of political parties? What makes some parties real and others fake? I might not give you the answer for these two questions, but I can at least say the following: The ER editor has neither the moral background nor the empirical authenticity to publicly declare that UDJ is a fake party with no political constituency. How dare a man who like me enjoys burgers at the comfort of a “drive-in” calls UDJ a fake party with no political constituency? Which constituency are we talking here? Isn’t UDJ a party that collected more than 10,000 signatures in few days when the government required 1500? Isn’t Birtukuan a lady who with no fear confronted Zenawi’s wicked legal system in her professional life? Didn’t this same relentless defender of democracy waste two years of her precious young life in Kaliti prison for our common cause? Regardless of their choice of strategy, Birtukuan and other members of UDJ have demonstrated their undeterred will to endlessly stand for the true cause of democracy.

There are many people in Ethiopia who preferred to live a quiet life than confronting Meles. Again there are many of us who raced out to the Western world because Meles screamed at us. Members of UDJ are still in Ethiopia knowing that they might be targets of Zenawi’s killing squads. These people need support and protection, not abuse and senseless mortification. UDJ has taken its first step; let’s give them the necessary time and support to have them shows us the whole staircase. If we have no patience of looking deep into the future, then we need to take a lesson from the Biblical story of Noah. Remember, there was no rain when Noah built the ark. He built it anyways when others ridiculed him because he had a good vision of the future. Criticizing our political parties is the right thing to do, but killing them before they grow is wrong. There are many things that we can do to collectively get closer to victory. If anything else, please let’s avoid any felling of bitterness towards others because bitterness is a cancer that eats upon the host.

Evidently, the proliferation of political parties has a tendency to water down the strength of the opposition camp, but this does not and should not imply that we as a nation should be limited to one party. Even if we believe in the idea of one party, we just don’t have to kill existing parties when we embrace new comers. Our belief is ours and ours only, we can sell it to others, but we must not impose our belief on the general public. UDJ has chosen to stay in side Ethiopia and wage a peaceful struggle. To those of us who have a different strategy, UDJ can be our good ally inside Ethiopia. Some of us might not want to have UDJ as an ally, so be it; but this doesn’t mean that UDJ is our enemy. We must make a distinction between a friend, a potential friend, and a foe. In politics, there is neither permanent alliance nor permanent animosity.

Firefox 3

Mozilla released Firefox 3 yesterday and it set a world record for a software download in a 24 hour period. There were only 215 downloads from Ethiopia in that period of time. Kenya had 1367. African countries with the most downloads were South Africa (20514), Egypt (7767), Morocco (5845) and Algeria (4221).

Congratulations Obama!

Now that Senator Hilary Clinton has gracefully exited out of the race to represent the Democratic Party for President of the United States of America, congratulations to Senator Barack Obama on his historic achievement is in order and best wishes in his campaign for the November election against Senator John McCain.

A leader with no heart and a nation with no rage

By Ephrem Madebo


“The marriage of of leader with no heart and a nation with no rage is a recipe for disaster” My father

In 1991, Zenawi handed Ethiopia’s port of Assab to Eritrea against the will of the Ethiopian people. In 2002, he obstinately gave Bademe to Eritrea after shading the blood of thousands of brave Ethiopians. In 2008, he gave a large strip of land to Sudan. In 2010, 2012, and in 2014 ... What else, and who knows? Does anyone want to know what is left in Zenawi’s gift bag? Well, it is you; it is me; our children, our legacy, and everything that we’re proud of having. Recently, after he gave a good part of Gondar to Sudan, PM Meles addressed the parliament to explain his action. This is what he said:-“The demarcation of the Ethiopia-Sudan border will not displace anybody on either side”. Surprisingly, the applaud in the comatose parliament sounded as if Omar al-Beshir was addressing the Sudanese parliament. What a same! I don’t blame Meles; the problem is all with us. Meles observed us for 17 years and he saw in us what he eagerly wanted to see. Hey, wake up Habesha! Meless’ next move is to export our wives to Dubai and Abudabi and tell the parliament - Don’t worry they will not sleep with another man. Sorry for the foul language, but this is what is looming and I can’t hold it anymore. After all, the plot is on my country!

Oh! My God! What is wrong with the Ethiopian parliament? What is it composed of? Representatives of the people, or a bunch of nitwits that blindly follow the blind move of Meles Zenawi? I can buy your notion of party loyalty, but there is no party loyalty that defies national responsibility. Your ultimate loyalty is to your country, not to your party. Constitutionally, in Ethiopia, sovereignty resides in the parliament i.e., parliament is the ultimate legislative body in the country. Article 8.3 of the constitution states: “Sovereignty shall be expressed through the peoples' representatives, elected by them in accordance with this Constitution, and through their direct democratic participation”. In 1998, the Ethiopian parliament approved a war bill to liberate Bademe. In 2002, the same parliament approved a bill that handed over liberated Bademe back to Eritrea. Dear honorables and fellow country men, do you know that Meles has no business of defining the Ethiopian border? Territorial and border issues are considered only by you [parliament]. You were supposed to be the last line of defense to Ethiopia's unity and territorial integrity; yet, last week, when Meles Zenawi told you that a land has been awarded to Sudan, you applauded just like a fool that missed the joke, but laughed anyway. As long as a bill comes from Isayas Afewerke [through Meles] to annex Tigray, I have no doubt that our lousy ‘yes only’ parliament will gladly pass the bill. Dear honorables, when you as a legislative branch agree with Meles 100% of the time, our nation needs one of you, not both. At least my readers will agree because it’s less of an evil.

Thanks to our fathers and forefathers, the name Ethiopia was synonymous with national pride and valor. I wonder if this is still true and if we still call ourselves the sons and daughters of Tewdros, Menelik, Abdissa, and Balcha. Each of these heroes died so that we can live valiantly today. Actually, they didn’t die; they gave a new beginning to Ethiopians and continuity to Ethiopia. All of these heroes have one thing in common – They all loved Ethiopia more than themselves! Do we? Tewdros and Menelik created a larger Ethiopia. Balcha and Abdissa maintained the greatness of Ethiopia. Emperor Haile Selassie was a failure in his domestic polices and the one who replaced him was a failure in everything. However, both Haile Selassie and Mengistu fought with unmatched tenacity to make sure that each inch of land that belonged to Ethiopia stayed within Ethiopia.

Today, we have a leader that gives our land to outsiders and tells us about a GDP growth to keep us passive. I’m afraid, if our land is sold at this rate, I don’t care if our economy booms or explodes, by the time Ethiopia grows in to the group of middle income nations, there will be no more Ethiopia. All of our past national leaders settled or solved territorial problems before they become national emergency. Emperor Yohannis made a one-way journey to Metema, and “Emeye” Menelik traveled all the way to Adwa to stop aggressor. Today, we have a leader afflicted with psychosis that gives our land to a foreign nation and addresses his parliament to justify his wickedness. If a psychotic glib tongue from no where has the heart to justify the breakup of our country, then either we are created with no heart what so ever, or our existence has no justification. An existence that can not be justified has no value and purpose; and when life is so empty and filled with invariable misery, I think it is worth sacrificing if for the good of the next generation. Are we scared of dying? Well, we all died long time ago when we quietly allowed Meles to realize his dream, so why fear the past? By the way, the strength of our enemy emanates from our fear and weakness. If Mandela was scared of dying, apartheid would have still been the norm in his country; and he wouldn’t have lived to be the first black president of South Africa. Are we scared of losing our property or wealth? Forget wealth or property! We are on the verge of losing mother Ethiopia. What more can we loose? No more hallucination! Ethiopia is making her last call from a virtual grave, let’s wake up and answer the call.

There is no human being that snores when his/her life is in jeopardy, and there is no nation that has no will to fight when its sovereignty is endangered. Why should we? It is true that Ethiopia is a country where principle dominates emotion. This has been proved in the 1960 coup d’état, in the 1974 revolution, and in the very dangerous days of 1991 when we virtually had no government for almost a week. It is good to be a nation of principle, but it is also very important to blend principle with emotion when the moment is right. Emotional reactions are not inherently bad, wrong, rude, or immature. They can often add valuable context to our struggle, making the human element impossible to ignore. The TPLF mobs have hurt us, angered us, and belittled us for seventeen straight years. I don’t understand why our anger doesn’t grow in to rage. Rage, especially now, in this most crucial time of our history, is the most important emotion to heal. Yes in deed, range is necessary to heal a nation that suffers from past and present wounds. Mind you, like I said it above, we are not healing rage when we use angry words in scathing articles. When principle fails to work due to lack of reciprocity, rage is the only way that carries our ability to say NO! Rage helps us to rise to the occasion and forces the bad guys to follow principle.

Is it PM Zenawi’s never-ending conspiracy against our country and his disrespect to the people that shapes Ethiopia of the new millennium, or our determination to continue as a nation? Whose will is stronger; his, or ours? This is not about Tigray, Gondar, Sidamo, or Wellga etc, this is about Ethiopia. Our greatness comes from our indivisibility, and our survival as a nation comes from our collective oneness. For many years our response for the treasons of Zenawi has been a little anger, a little cursing, and a little denouncing. Such soft and toothless responses did not and will not stop Meles Zenawi from completing his diabolic mission. Obviously, it is easy to denounce a traitor like Meles, what is not easy is to understand him and to stop him from committing the next harm. Do we understand Meles? If our answer is yes, then we need to stop him from diminishing Ethiopia. Meles can not and must not prevail; all that is necessary for him to prevail is that we keep on acting like a toothless lion.

I wish I had the opportunity to campaign all over Ethiopia and express my emotion by shading my tear like Hilary Clinton. I’ve had many joyous and sad moments in my life, but I have never felt so empty and powerless in my entire life. When you finish reading this article, please don’t just sympathize with me, gnash your teeth, and go back to dormancy. No, please don’t! We all know that the past hasn’t been so easy and there were many wounds that were never allowed to heal. However, you, I, and we as a society have to depart from the past for the sake of a new begging. Forget the past? Absolutely no because the past is a lesson for tomorrow; we just don’t have to dwell on it. When we have a common destination and a common country that we call home, trust is the only relationship of reliance between us. What is trust? Trust is letting others know our feelings, emotions and reactions, and having the confidence in them to respect us and to not take advantage of us. Trust is the ability to let others into our life so that we and they can create a mutual respect, caring, and concern to assist one another in growing, and lifting our nation independently and collectively. Trust is the only way to transform our individual weaknesses into collective strength; therefore, we should trust each other individually and as a group. Ethiopia is much stronger when the Oromos trust the Amharas, and most importantly, our country will be indivisible and her growth shall be guaranteed when all the other nationalities of Ethiopia trust every move of the Amharas and the Oromos.

Ethiopia is a country that fought for the freedom of other countries, but her own people are dispersed around the globe looking for the very thing that they fought for others. Ethiopia had a well-defined border way before the Norman Conquest of England, today; thanks to a thoughtless leader, Ethiopia’s border is being redefined to appease a country created by England at the dawn of the 20th century. Ethiopia is one of the ancient countries that roamed the seas, today, Ethiopia’s 75million people depend on the port of tiny Djibouti while their pig-headed leader tells the world - “the majority of Ethiopians love to be landlocked” Mind you, this is a script from his interview broadcasted to his own people. Yes, you heard me right! Broadcasted to his own people. What a disgrace and what a pathological liar! My fellow Ethiopians, the story goes on and on and on unless we go out of our way to stop it.

As much as we love our adopted culture of outdoor cooking and a journey to the beach, this summer we must hold back ourselves from all summer rituals to redefine our association with our native land. Yes, summer is a time to renew ourselves with the solar power of the sun; but this summer must be a moment of reflection and a time to renew our covenant with our country. This summer we have to choose between “to be” and “not to be”, between respect and disrespect, between Ethiopia and no Ethiopia. If we fail to make the right choice, we will be ridiculed as a human being, humiliated as a nation, and possibly nicknamed - “African Gypsies”. A war has been waged on our identity. My fellow country men/women, this is not just a war; it is a conspiracy to diminish our geo-political importance in Africa. NOT ON OUR WATCH! I repeat, NOT ON OUR WATCH! We are in a promising horizon and in a new millennium. Our nation is in labor, the cramping and the contraction has begun. Let’s induce this unique labor and welcome the birth of a new leader, a leader that loves Ethiopia and restores the pride of Ethipiawinet. A leader that has the wisdom to lead and the loyalty to follow. Fellow Ethiopians, we are confronted with two choices: a choice to die for others, or a choice to see others die. Well, either way we die. When we die for others, we give them hope and a sense of purpose to live. When we choose to see others die, we die, they die, and we all die. Let’s lead by example, let’s make the right choice. True leadership is not the urge to stand above all; it is the urge to stand for all. God bless Ethiopia!

Uncommon Valor, the Life of Kedir Mohammed

On May 8, 2008 the man who devoted his life to the service of his country as a soldier for the aggrieved and the downtrodden finally gave up his valiant battle with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a scrooge that kept him bedridden for a couple of years. Kedir Mohammed’s death ended his unyielding pursuit and the selfless commitment that he made as freshman at Haile Sellassie I University in the early nineteen sixties.

Kedir was born in 1953 in a place called Mekere at the district of Silti from his father Mr. Edris Abdulwahib and his mother, Mrs. Marima Ahmed. Kedir’s father died when he was very young and he was raised by his uncle Hajji Mohammed Ahmed, a business man who lived at Wolkitie. Kedir’s primary school education was at Wolkitie where he completed 6th grade and moved to Wolliso. After he completed 9th grade, his sister, Rewda Idris took him to Addis Ababa and enrolled him at Kotebe High School. At 11th grade Kedir passed an entrance examination to Beide Mariam, a prestigious School for seniors inside Haile Selassie I University (now Addis Ababa University) at Sidist Kilo. The proximity of Baide Mariam to the University gave Kedir an opportunity to live his dream of joining the progressive forces that challenged the monarchy and the feudal system that dispossessed and abused the Ethiopian peasant.

After Tilahun Gizaw, the iconic student leader and president of the University Students Union of Addis Ababa, was gunned down in 1969, Kedir with five of his fellow students escaped to Sudan to avoid persecution by the government. The monarchy accused Kedir and his friends of crime and attempted to get extradition from Sudan. The students were however granted a refugee status with the aid of UNCHR and Sudanese students. Kedir lived in Sudan for 8 years as a teacher until the monarchy was overthrown in 1974.

Even as a refugee, Kedir never ended his activism and the struggle for justice, human rights and equality of citizens of his country. He joined a budding organization that was cultivated by the Ethiopian students’ movement that culminated in the formation of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP). It is said that Kedir was one of the delegates that participated in the 1972 founding congress of the EPRP.

The Dergue that deposed the monarchy in 1974 offered amnesty to those who took refuge from the government of Haile Selassie and Kedir took the opportunity to return and continue his activism as an employee of “መሬት ይዞታ”, a state agency that dealt with land tenure. EPRP at this time has openly declared its existence by clandestinely distributing its political program and Kedir as a senior member of this organization was involved in implementing the Party’s program. Working at “መሬት ይዞታ” opened many opportunities to Kedir who was a fervent fighter for Tilahun Gizaw’s and the Ethiopian student’s motto – “land to the tiller”. It granted him unfettered access to the very people he adored and fought for- the rural subsistent farmer that constituted about 90% of the Ethiopian population.

EPRP made an advance of historical proportion by reaching all sectors of the Ethiopian population in very short time. Unfortunately, in due time, the EPRP was weakened by the assault of the military regime in the urban areas and by TPLF and EPLF in the North were its military wing had encamped. The Party also split due to an internal factional fighting, and this exposed influential leaders and party activists that were covertly functioning. Kedir at this time decided to disguise himself and hide in the Northern part of Ethiopia leaving Addis Ababa. Since he remained in the Party’s structure, Kedir was delegated the task of facilitating the departure of EPRP members who were being pursued by the junta to join the military wing of the party. In 1977, a cadre that lived in Kedir’s neighborhood in Addis while visiting the area where Kedir was hiding recognized him and informed the agents of the military government and Kedir was apprehended. He was taken to Addis Ababa and was imprisoned in the Fourth Army Division Headquarters in Addis Ababa and the main prison where he spent five years. Kedir was released from prison in 1982 when the military regime granted a pardon.

Kedir was unemployed for many years after his release from prison because the regime through an internal communiqué had banned the bureaucracy from hiring political detainees after their release. Kedir was however employed in 1985 by the Ethiopian standards (ደረጃ መዳቢዎች) and then at the internal revenue office of excise and Taxes. When TPLF/EPRDF took power in 1991, Kedir was promoted to a position of branch manager at office of excise and Taxes. He fell abruptly out of the TPLF/EPRDF grace when the group within the Southern Ethiopian political block participated in the first Paris Conference that was attended by many exiled organizations. Kedir’s organization, the Guraghe People’s Democratic front (ጉሕዴግ), and other organizations that constituted the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Coalition (SEPDC) were members of the transitional government at that time. However, SEPDC chose to withdraw from government when the party in power demanded the denouncement of the resolution of the Paris conference that criticized the party that usurped power from Mengistu. At this time TPLF/EPRDF falsely accused Kedir of corruption and imprisoned him. The courts however affirmed his innocence and set him free, but Kedir lost his employment.

In 1994 Kedir as SEPDC delegate participated in a meeting sponsored by the Carter Center and returned to Ethiopia after the meeting. But on his return to Ethiopia Kedir was harassed and ill-treated by the agents of the ruling party. His organization (SEPDC) at this time decided to send him outside of the country as the organization’s foreign representative. Kedir had served at this capacity until his illness. Kedir was an ardent voice of Ethiopian unity and an advocate for a united front of Ethiopian opposition against the TPLF/EPRDF regime. He played a selfless role in the realization of the Rockville meeting that formed the Unity of Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF). A representative of an organization that worked with Kedir for a year in organizing the Rockville conference gave the following testimonial: “I have known Kedir since 2001. He was a true Ethiopian and I have observed him exerting untiring effort by sacrificing his resource, time and energy for the unity and prosperity of Ethiopia and Ethiopians. Kedir was truly very instrumental in bringing together about 15 Ethiopian opposition political parties to a table for a conference in Rockville, MD, USA”. Another veteran of the Ethiopian student movement and a member of UEDF stated that “Kedir was a man who lived to struggle for the cause of all Ethiopians whole-heartedly. We have lost a life-long fighter for equality and a democratic system. We miss him a lot.”

Another person who has spent time with Kedir in prison from 1977 to 1982, and later worked with him as SEPDC representative gave the following testimony:

Kedir was respectful and loyal to his comrades. His most visible qualities that are in short supply among members of today’s generation are commitment to peoples’ cause and willingness to help others. Kedir celebrated successes of others as if they were his own and his heart rejoiced when good things happen to others. His world has always been that of collaboration rather than competition and his friends have always been from the ranks of the ordinary people. He provided service to his people at no cost to them and he taught his friends through his modest life style and giving heart. Kedir lived and died loved, respected and honored. May his soul rest in peace!

Kedir was a man who had a strong spirit and vibrant personality that was never diminished by complaint or negative attitude. Those of us who knew him as a friend and colleague will not forget him. We will celebrate his life and will continue to demonstrate gratitude for his service. He will be sorely missed by a host of friends, family, and those who fought and suffered with him to bring good governance and justice for the Ethiopian masses.

May 24, 2008

Economic Growth & Misery, Ethiopia’s paradox

By Ephrem Madebo

Three years have passed since Sufian Ahmed hastily and injudiciously predicted Ethiopia’s economic wonder and its high-speed transition into a middle–income nation in 20 years. I have no problem with the prediction itself; I love to see the prosperity of Ethiopians no matter which party is in power and regardless of my personal economic and social achievement. As the top executive officer of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance & Economic Development, Sufian Ahmed has all the necessary information to estimate future economic growth in Ethiopia. I wonder what kind of objective data (other than his subjective judgment) he used to make one of the most preposterous predictions of all time. Unfortunately, three years after his optimistic predication, Ethiopia is yet heading to another phase of drought and starvation.

The term "economic growth" refers to the increase of a specific measure such as real national income (NI), gross domestic product (GDP), or per capita income (PCI). GDP is the measure of the goods and services produced by an economy in a specified time usually a year commonly expressed in terms of a measure of the aggregate value-added output of the domestic economy. When the GDP of a nation rises economists refer to it as economic growth. The real progress of nations is not measured by a single measure of growth such as GDP, it is also measured by the degree of access its citizens have to economic institutions and to the political process.

Recently, statistical indicators have been used as a powerful tool in promoting human rights by effectively quantifying conditions under which people live. The UN is one of the vanguard organizations that uses statistical indicators to measure the well-being of people in member nations. In fact, the UN is not just an organization that measures the well-being of people; it is also an organization that injects capital into the economies of poor countries to help them fight poverty and build participatory political institutions.

The World Bank has been in Ethiopia since 1945 with a primary objective of tackling poverty bad-governance. In Ethiopia, and in many other developing countries, the World Bank supports governments in the development and implementation of programs geared towards accelerated pro-poor growth. Despite its constant pumping of capital, for the last 63 years, the World Bank could not shield Ethiopia from being the symbol of poverty and bad-governance in the world, i.e. the World Bank did not meet its dual objective in Ethiopia for 63 years. What went wrong? Before answering this question let me introduce you to the key idea of this article.

Evidently, the injection of a large dose of aid fund, loan, transfer capital, and domestic capital formation has induced uninterrupted GDP growth in Ethiopia between 2001 and 2007. In the last five years, the government of Meles Zenawi, the World Bank, and the IMF have produced voluminous documents that highlight the growth of the Ethiopian economy. As poor as Ethiopians are, such a claim would have been valid only if the heralded growth had a positive impact on the daily life of poor Ethiopians. Economic growth has no meaning to the majority of Ethiopians unless its benefit trickles down to them. So if the economy is booming why do many Ethiopians suffer in poverty? Why does the UN Misery Index report show Ethiopia at the bottom of its list three years after Sufian Ahemed’s optimistic prediction? By the way what is Misery Index?

Misery Index is a measure of economic well-being for a specified economy, computed by taking the sum of the unemployment rate and the inflation rate for a given period. An increasing index means a worsening economic climate for the economy in question, and vice versa. With a visible high inflation and unemployment rates, one shouldn’t be a Princeton economist to estimate Ethiopia’s misery index.

A recent United Nations Human Development survey indicates that besides war, AIDS, and natural disaster, Ethiopia and many Sub-Saharan countries suffer from the broadest range of social & economic disadvantages. The survey examines the availability of schools, clean water, medical care, and whether people can play a role in politics. Moreover, the experimental survey measures a nation's growth not by economic figures but by statistical profiles of its people and by what they can expect from life. Apart from Sierra Leone, which is ranked last, the UN survey indicates that the other most disadvantaged nations from the bottom up are: Niger, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Chad, and the Central African Republic. Out of 195 countries, Ethiopia is 192nd, better than only three nations.

What happened to billions of dollar that the World Bank has been transferring to Ethiopia for over half a century? As I clearly indicated above, the World Bank sets objectives to every aid recipient before dispersing aid fund. Since the beginning of the World Bank's presence in Ethiopia, its support has been directed towards assisting the country to achieve sustainable economic growth while reducing poverty. Currently, the Bank's Interim Country Assistance Strategy (ICAS) focuses on both good- governance and economic growth as the central pillars of the Bank’s support to Ethiopia.

In spite of the recent economic growth that benefitted a handful of élites, the World Bank’s overarching objective of poverty reduction has been a complete fiasco in Ethiopia. In addition; the quality of governance has been deteriorating in direct proportion to the number of years the World Bank has been in Ethiopia. Here any rational person can draw the following three conclusions: The World Bank does not enforce its objectives, or the bank does not have a monitoring arm. Aid funds are not properly used in Ethiopia. Despite the constant flow of bilateral and multilateral capital, bad-governance has stifled economic growth in Ethiopia.
The information that comes from government sources definitely polishes Ethiopia as a peaceful place where people live in harmony. However, the political landscape in Ethiopia remains tainted by the aftermath of the May 2005 parliamentary elections and by the recent hard to believe and depressing story of territorial sale to Sudan. Yes, leading opposition leaders have been released from jail, but the number of political prisoners is increasing with the passing of every single day. To make things worse, the recent exclusive intra-TPLF party election has deepened the rift created by the 2005 election.

Ethiopia is one of those nations that can not survive without foreign aid, therefore, I don’t have the heart to tell the World Bank to stop helping Ethiopia, but I do have the moral and national obligation to advise, or notify the World Bank to at least make sure that the capital it transfers to Ethiopia is meeting the bank’s fundamental objectives. I am confident that the Ethiopian government will efficiently use aid funds if the stakes for not doing so are high, or if there is a consequence for misusing funds transferred from the World Bank. I am not saying the World Bank should be a watchdog over the government of Ethiopia. I have many relatives that live in rural Ethiopia who need clean water, healthcare facilities, schools, roads, and better farming methods. I just want the World Bank to make sure that the Ethiopian government is using the bank's capital to change the life of my relatives and millions of other rural Ethiopians. I do believe the World Bank must establish and follow strict monitoring & enforcement polices to pressure governments in poor countries to change their behavior. Otherwise, the very capital destined to change the lives of poor Ethiopians, will end up disenfranchising millions of people from the political and economic establishments of the country.

The World Bank has operated in Ethiopia for a little over six decades and has helped the regimes of Emperor Haile Selassie and Colonel Mengistu fight poverty and bad- governance. Today, the WB is still pumping a large amount of capital to the government of Meles Zenawi; yet in the WB list of poor countries, Ethiopia is still a leader from the bottom up as it was six decades ago. Currently, the Zenawi regime is re-writing the relationship between "human rights" and "economic development" in its own terms. Sadly, it seems that the WB is treating Ethiopia on the terms of Meles Zenawi. This ugly reality should not be allowed to continue. Either the policy of the WB towards Ethiopia, or the behavior of Zenawi's regime must change. Major donors and international financial institutions are increasingly basing their aid and loans on the condition that recipient nations undertake reforms that ensure good-governance. Why not the World Bank?

The recent shifts in the conceptualization of development and the emphasis of the international community on human rights have re-defined the relationship between development and human rights. As a result, today, human right is not anymore seen as the by-products of development; rather, human right is a critical factor to achieving economic and social development. In another departure, globalization has created the need for a rapid global development. For the sake of poor countries, this rapid global development must not be viewed independently; it should be contrasted with localized ideas of “rights”, “development”, and “civil society”. Here readers ought to understand that “rights”, “development”, and “civil society” may vary between societies and countries. Meles Zenawi and his advisors assume a unidirectional cause and effect relationship between "human rights" and "economic development". According to their assumption, People are not "ready" for democracy until some hypothetical level of economic development has been achieved.

Today, based on the above hazy assumption of their masters, many vocal proponents of the TPLF regime argue that human rights are rewards of development; hence they postpone the fundamental issues of liberty until economic development is achieved. According to this unsubstantiated assumption, to enjoy American type of liberty, Ethiopians must be at the level where Americas are now. These barefaced muggers are telling the Ethiopian people to shut their mouth and expect material comfort and their God given liberty from them. The WB and the government of Ethiopia must understand that no nation can see economic prosperity and no people can genuinely take advantage of economic freedoms without political freedom and without the right for all citizens to participate equally in all aspects of society. Human rights and political freedom are fundamental prerequisites to build a prosperous nation. In the 21st century, human rights and political freedom are no longer separated from economic and social conditions.

I think by now it must be clear why the WB failed to reduce poverty in Ethiopia, and it must also be clear why the majority of Ethiopians live in dismal living conditions despite the billions of dollars directed to them for the last six decades. Ethiopia as a nation lost its battle against poverty due to lack of good-governance and the unwillingness of its elite to stand together for a sweeping system change.

Contemporary development literature frequently contrasts "good-governance" with "bad-governance". In this contrast, “bad-governance” is regarded by many scholars as one of the root causes of vicious circle of poverty in poor countries. Today, lack of money is not the main reason why Ethiopia hasn't been able to pull itself out of poverty; if it was, the UN, EU, the World Bank, and a number of Western governments have thrown a large sum of money at poverty reduction programs Ethiopia. However, a very large number of Ethiopians still live below the threshold of poverty. Ethiopia and other poor nations must concede that the critical building block for poverty reduction is not money, it is governance; a factor that they fully control.

In a concise plain language, "governance" is the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented. There are many actors involved in governance and one of them is government. Other actors include influential land lords, trade unions, cooperatives, NGOs, research institutes, religious leaders, financial institutions, political parties, and the military.

What is good-governance? Well, if governance is a decision-making process, then good-governance is a decision making process that follows the rule of law, is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, equitable, and inclusive. Good-governance assures that the views of minorities are taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. Good-governance is responsive to the present and future needs of society, and it also assures that corruption is minimized.

As much as we love our country, we should also be very cautious not to be fully taken by the above characteristics of good-governance. It should be clear that good- governance is an ideal state which is difficult to achieve in its totality. However, to break the vicious circle of poverty and to ensure sustainable economic development, we must take actions towards this ideal with the aim of eradicating bad-governance from our land. We should never be preoccupied with eminence, political power, or with building personal economic conglomerates. Our sole objective must be an oath of personal commitment to the vision of united, prosperous, and powerful Ethiopia. If we have the determination, “the God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build our land” [our land added by me] Nehemiah 2:20- Amen!

The “Sleeping Giant” is half awakened

By Ephrem Madebo

"We are getting out of the whole process. The whole process is an illegal process," Honorable Beyene Petros "

We did not want to be the cause of any crisis. But when the government shows no willingness to cooperate, and wants to be the only party which governs Ethiopia, then we have no hope. We cannot work with this kind of party. We have to quit and show the world we are not able to work with them." Honorable Bulcha Demeksa

"Election results will be quicker than in Zimbabwe" Bereket Semon, Chief of the Political Bureau of the EPRDF

I guess Mr. Bereket is right, and in deed election results are much quicker in Ethiopia than in Zimbabwe because Bereket’s party new super-computer has the capability to accurately forecast election results weeks ahead of the election. This past Sunday Ethiopia held a National Intra-TPLF party election to once more bless the ruling minority party with an end-less and limit-less power. Unlike the May 2005 election, the elections of April 13 and April 20, 2008 were carefully designed and allowed to take place after avoiding the non-TPLF cloned opposition parties, and after making sure that each and every vote goes to the TPLF ballot box. Sunday’s National election was a mock election where the Ethiopian people were denied to make a choice. Form start-to-finish, the organizers, the candidates, the monitors, the ballot inspectors, and of course the winners of the politically homogeneous election were the TPLF agents.

If there is any opposition political leader that knows the "anatomy" of Meles, it must be none other than "Microbiologist" professor Beyene Petros. So why did a person who knows the in-and-out of PM Zenawi for the last 16 years decide to boycott the election at the 11th hour? To boycott an election one should first agree in the existence of a legitimate election where all parties play by agreed common rules. In Ethiopia, there are no rules or policies that favor an all inclusive participatory election. So why did Beyene Petros and Bulcha Demeksa enter the election in the first place? Professor Beyene has alternately lead the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) since its inception in 2003, is he still the leader of UEDF, specially after he dismissed UEDF’s majority decision in 2005 and joined the Parliament?

On April 10, 2008 just three days before Sunday’s election, Professor Beyene’s party boycotted the election citing the illegality of the election process. The boycotting drama continued after Sunday’s election and OFDM boycotted the election alluding to the unwillingness of the ruling party to honestly include other parties in the election process. Thanks to God, finally, after three years of dancing with the wrong partner, the willfully sleeping giants have awakened. However, only time will tell if this is a change of heart, or a habitual change of gesture!

A political election is a mechanism by which modern democracies fill offices in the executive, legislature, and sometimes in the judiciary. It is a decision making process where citizens are provided with a choice of individuals to choose from for a public office. The election process may differ from country to country, but the fundamental rules and pre-conditions are the same. The electorates must be given a clear choice and must be left free to vote for a candidate of their choice. There must be an independent election institution that examines and arbitrates election disagreements. These three pre-conditions are non-existent in Ethiopia. TPLF is the lone player in the campaign trail and the Ethiopian Election Board officials are hand picked by PM Meles Zenawi.

In 2005, when TPLF followed a relatively liberal election policy, it was Professor Beyene who repeatedly vowed to boycott the election. Surprisingly, it was the Professor himself that gave legitimacy to the 2005 sham election by blaming the pro-democracy demonstrators as rock throwing thugs. During the fruit less negotiations of 2005, it was again Professor Beyene who gave Meles the moral justification to imprison high level CUDP leaders by calling off the "Stay home" strikes and by joining the parliament against the decision of his own party. Between November 2005 and August 2007 when millions of Ethiopians and the international community cried for the release of CUDP leaders, Professor Beyene was quietly making non-reciprocal concessions with Meles. As a leader of one of the oldest opposition coalition [SEPDC], Professor Beyene did not publicly denounce the imprisonment of his fellow opposition leaders, nor did he congratulate them when they were released. In the absence of the CUDP leaders, the honorable Beyene Petros, a man whom the Associated Press called "leader of the largest opposition" in Ethiopia, was working hard to inherit Lieutenant Girma’s worthless chair to serve a party and a man he opposed throughout his entire public life.

Until the day he unilaterally joined the parliament, Professor Beyene was the leader of UEDF, but he was stripped off his leadership role when he broke the very decision that he was entrusted to execute. Professor Beyene can not be the leader of an organization that he does not belong to unless UEDF is a house hold item of the Professor, or the name UEDF is synonymous with SEPDC. I hope the true UEDF will give us a better clarification and defend the indivisibility of its leadership.

In the 1990s Professor Beyene was the emblem of non-violent political struggle in Ethiopia. He was also a man who organized one of the strongest coalitions in the political history of Southern Ethiopia. He and his fellow parliamentarian, the honorable Bulcha Demeksa have had some symbolic moments in the parliament. However, in politics, all the good stuff that politicians did in the past is an archived history. What really matters is their position of today and their vision for tomorrow. Even the charismatic and the well articulated Tony Blair who scored many political & economic victories could not survive Political mistakes. In the past 16 years, professor Beyene has made numerous strategic mistakes. Yes, he has stood with the Ethiopian masses, but his grave mistake is that he displayed loyalty to Meles in those critical moments that counted the most. I usually tolerate those who make mistakes while serving the public. Every body including those whom I trusted the most have made a heart breaking mistake, but kneeling down for a pat from Meles and making repeated mistakes on the interest of the people is unacceptable, inexplicable, and intolerable.

I applaud the non-violent struggle of the honorable Beyene Petros & Bulcha Demeksa, but I also want to let them know that there is a significant difference between "loyal opposition" and loyalty to Meles. All parties and individuals (including SEPDC and OFDM) that follow the non-violent path of struggle are parts and parcels of the loyal opposition. But, make no mistake, your loyalty is not to Meles, or to any specific policies of the government. Your loyalty is to the fundamental legitimacy of the state and to the democratic process. When your loyalty is to the state, irregularities will be administered by the law of the land; but when your loyalty is to Meles who bends the law, you will always end up being betrayed as he constantly twists the law to suit his agenda. In the past three years, both Honorable Bulcha and Beyene Petros have aided the ruling party by jointly drafting rules and procedures that undermined the entire opposition camp [does not include parliamentary bills]. They have entertained the international media by sponsoring a joint communiqué with the ruling party, providing a badly needed legitimacy to a naked regime. In spite of the bullying, the harassment, targeted imprisonment, and cancellation of their candidates, these two veteran politicians entered the 2008 election clearly knowing their zero chance of winning a consequential amount of seats.

The validity of a democratic process in any society depends on the existence of a legitimate government. I believe, even the TPLF thugs agree, at least nominally, that political elections are the corner stones of any democratic process. Jumping in to an election in the total absence of common rules and a legitimate government is tantamount to selling the trust of the electorate to a bunch of traitors that deserve no trust. More than boycotting the election, the two veteran leaders including other puppets of the regime must understand that the TPLF model of the "false diversity" type of pompous election is a sham process that appears to be a genuine electoral contest, in order to present the façade of popular consent and support. Yes, EPRDF has several registered parties [TPLF, OPDO, ANDM etc) and several candidates (close to 4 million), but all of them have the same face and support the status quo.

Though they have publicly stated obvious reasons, I don’t really know why the two parliamentarians boycotted the election. The Ethiopian electorate, including the very people that the honorable Beyene Petros and Bulcha Demeksa represent in the National Parliament knew the true nature of TPLF and its election methodology in the early morning hours of May 16, 2005. I don’t understand why these two giant leaders of the opposition waited for so long, specially, the OFDM leaders who have to wait three more days [After Prof. Beyene] to taste an election so sour to swallow. Unless it is a sign of an honest strategic shift, the recent election boycott of Professor Beyene and Ato Bulcha Demeksa is meaningless because it came too late after the political damage has already been done.

If the boycott is accompanied by a strong verbal and written public condemnation of the TPLF regime, and joining the alliance of the progressive forces of Ethiopia; the far-sighted people of Ethiopia will forgive Professor Beyene for there is no future without forgiveness! Otherwise Ethiopians are sick and tired of politicians whose skin color changes to satisfy the indefinite taste of Meles Zenawi.

Touched by an “Angel”, the Fairy Tale of Washera_2000

By Ephrem Madebo

I was born and raised in south Ethiopia where most of the people have less or no knowledge of monasteries, or monastic life. However, the famous Waldiba monastery in Gondar where monks are believed to be jamming once in a blue moon [Andeande Waldibam…] and the exclusive “qene” school of Washera- Mariam in Gojam have been part of my memory since I was 13 years old. Today, I’m not here to tell you about Washera-Mariam, yet line after line of this article deals with “Washera”. Confused? Please don’t. I promise, I will never live you in the dark. When you’re done with this article, you will definitely be aware of the difference between Washera-Mariam and “Washera- Washo”.

As there are many hoi polloi supporters of the TPLF gangs, obviously, there are some zealous and irrefutably articulated defenders of the TPLF regime whose articles are worth reading to gauge the strength of the forces of tyranny. One of these fanaticals is a person who writes by a pen name of Washera_2000. Please read Washera’s article before you start reading this article.

Last week I visited aigaforum.com and read Washera’s latest piece on the “intelligence” of PM Meles Zenawi. This is what I read at the beginning of the 2nd paragraph: “It has been a while since I concluded that the PM is a hard working and very intelligent individual”. At the first glance, I thought “Washera” was applying the lessons he learned in Washera Mariam; and I started looking for the hidden word until I realized that the trans-Atlantic “biographer” was trying to immortalize a desecrated person. What I actually read was not even a biography; it was a “White Paper” on the intelligence of Ethiopian leaders. I applauded his “noble” start and top-down analysis, but condemned his motive and dissipated intellectual paralysis. I’m one of the most animated opponent of Meles, but I’ve never questioned his intelligence because Zenawi’s problem is not his intelligence; it’s his arrogance and his atrocious attitude to those who oppose him.

Josef Mengele is a person that I believe is more intelligent than Meles, but he is also a person who engineered a methodology to wipe out non- Germans. Is Mengel intelligent? Yes, he is, but despite his intelligence; today the world calls him “Angel of Death” Is Meles intelligent? Well, let me say yes, but our children and grand children will remember him for his nonsensical street killing, not for his intelligence.

Here is another excerpt : “He [Meles] refers to this as a Democratic Developmentalist Paradigm and backs it up with an impressive argument for the establishment of a dynamic agrarian democracy; much like the one advocated by Thomas Jefferson” Mr. Washera, I live in Virginia where memories of Thomas Jefferson are still alive in places like the University of Virginia and Monticello. I don’t think Meles should be mentioned in the same page with Thomas Jefferson, not even in the same book. Meles, who once was a drifter in Tirana, still carries Enver Hoja’s blue print of communist land policy. Thomas Jefferson is a person who idealized private ownership of farmland as a prototype of republican virtues in America. How dare do you put the name of this great state man along side a person who confuses a nation with a locality, and history with a fairy tale?

As your own subliminal phrases indicate, Meles’s land policy is highly influenced by the now defunct communist ideology. Jefferson is a person who believed and stood for private ownership of property. Zenawi’s place in history has yet to be determined, but I can sense it is closer to Chauchesco than it is to Thomas Jefferson. For Meles, there is TPLF ownership, public ownership, and private ownership of property. Had they lived together, I don’t think Meles would have qualified to carry Jefferson's manuscripts of the declaration of independence.

Washera said: “For PM Meles, that coalition building starts with the rural agriculture-dependent population which will be responsible for much of the work of accelerated growth. Whether through his socialist leanings....” (Italics and line by me). Washera, I believe you live in the US and you know how this great nation transformed its agricultural sector. If your prodigy is brave enough to put his money where his mouth is, why doesn’t he start a real agrarian transformation by distributing land to farmers? If his priority is the rural farmer, then the rural farmer has no other priority, but land. There is no economy in the world that fully transformed its agricultural sector without privatizing farm land. The policy of Public ownership of land was a complete fiasco in the former USSR and its satellite states of East Europe. Do you think a student from Albania [Comrade Meles] will succeed in an endeavour where Lenin, Stalin, Chauchisco, and Mao failed? If you do, you’re like a man who snobbishly keeps on ditching a ditch with a scoop when everybody else puts the earth back to your ditch.

Ethiopia’s agricultural sector makes up for about 85% of the country’s population. This sector must supply labor, capital, and raw material to the industrial sector, but due to Zenwi’s ill-advised land policy, Ethiopia’s agricultural sector can’t even feed it self. Zenawi wants the peasantry to remain in rural areas dependent upon the state for its basic needs. Farmers who don’t own their own piece of land can not borrow capital and have little or no incentive to improve a government owned land. All in all, the invisible hand is non-existent in rural Ethiopia. Yes, there is abundant supply of labor in the agricultural sector, but capital and land, the two indispensable factors of production are absent. Such an absence is the biggest obstacle to the development of agriculture and industry. Washera, I’m sure you might have bought a residential place here in America, if you didn’t, so many of us have. Look Washera, our fathers, mothers, and brothers do not have the same right that you and me enjoy here on a foreign land. Yet, you are proud of man who is the corner stone of a failed agricultural policy. To me, you sound like a good Christian who denies the death and resurrection of Christ.

Did I hear you saying that Ethiopia is in the right direction with Zenawi behind the wheel? Washera, this is a shame of all shames that lingers over to posterity. You have the right to be proud of Meles, you can even worship him, but I can assure you Meles is not the right direction to heaven. Ato “Washera”, I think articulating the truth is more of a “Latin” to you than economic terminologies are to average readers. By the way, why did you choose the word Latin? Your choice could have been French, or even Navajo. Anyways, Latin, French, or Navajo; the average Ethiopian farmer needs his own share of private farm land, not Meles’s doctoral dissertation, or your doodles on his intelligence.

Washera said: “It behooves Ethiopian political opposition groups to understand this man very clearly and articulate an alternative vision for the country if they disagree with him, or stop wringing their fingers and join his efforts in tandem” Oh my God! You’re making me sick to my bone. Did you say join Meles? What a ridiculously ludicrous call ! Are you re-writing Malthusian theory of population? If so, please reverse your call. The mission of the opposition is to save Ethiopia from Meles, and most importantly; Meles doesn’t need the help of the opposition to kill more, he knows how. Your pseudo name insinuates that you’re from Washera-Mariam, and we all know your prodigy is from “Dedebit”. So which school is the opposition supposed to go to understand Meles? Do you jointly own a school with Meles? Please say no, I don’t want to know what a joint school of Washera-Mariam and “Dedebit” looks like.

You also talked about a zero-sum politics of the opposition. Washera, how can the opposition reach to a win-win situation when Meles is the rule maker, the player, the official, and the spectator of the game? I don’t know about your math skill, but I thought you were good in “addition”. In Ethiopia, there is only negative-sum politics (Loss-Loss). By the way, thank you for positioning the opposition in the middle of the number line. Washera, you can write about Meles, but please don’t magnify what ever he spits, let the dust take care of that.

You said: “His [Meles's] own personal experience and dedication to see the establishment of a healthy democratic pluralism of a broadly based agrarian democracy that is capable of evolving into a mature urban-based democracy is to be applauded” Washera, when I read this statement, I stood still like the late comedian Redd Fox [Sanford & Son], and started calling my version of “Elizabeth”. Is this a go-and tell them urban legend from 4 Kilo? Washera, I have seen so many fools, but I haven't seen, or heard of a fool that applauds when he is cloned to produce another fool like him. The Meles way of democratic pluralism is to make sure that every party in the country is genetically tied to his TPLF party (clone of TPLF), anything else is doomed to be suffocated to death. The truth is that Meles fights pluralism by far more than he fought the fascist regime of Colonel Mengistu.

You said you’re proud to know that Meles is at the helm of the Ethiopian state steering it in the right direction. If you think Meles is steering the nation in the right direction, I believe you need a powerful GPS device to augment your lost sense of direction. Washera, I am not worried for Meles, I am worried for you. Meles is a totally lost person, he doesn’t need GPS; he needs a new direction, or a new beginning. GPS is for people like you who know where they are going but don’t know how. The choice between hell and heaven might be a Devine choice for the people of faith, but the choice between right and wrong is a choice for humanity; and no human being should be proud of her/his bad choice knowing that he/she is wrong.

Washera, what else are you proud of? Are you proud of a land locked Ethiopia? Are you proud of a young boy whose mother was killed in front of him? Are you proud of the mass killings on the streets of Addis, Awassa, and Ambo? Are you proud of millions of poor land less farmers ? Are you proud of thousands of Ethiopians who died defending Bademe in vain? Eight years ago the Ethiopian heroes decisively crushed the Eritrean invaders. Today, Eritreans are considered winners of the 1999-2000 war. Well, we won the military phase of the war, but thanks to Meles, we lost the political cause of the war when he negotiated on the blood of thousands of Ethiopians. Is this the man whom you said you’re proud of? “Kezihis Sewerign” Washera, it’s much better to admit shame with dignity than to be proud of your own nudity.

You also talked about Pareto Efficiency. Well, since I am one of those average readers, It took me a while to understand the concept. As you correctly summarized it, Pareto Efficiency, or Pareto Optimal is a condition where given alternative allocations of income for a set of individuals, a movement from one allocation to another that can make at least one individual better off without making any other individual worse off.

The economic divide between the rich and the poor has polarized our nation, living the majority of Ethiopians in abject poverty. Today, poor land policy, uneven economic development, and lack of political stability in the Horn of Africa coupled with international economic crisis have pushed millions of Ethiopians far below the poverty line. The IMF and World Bank Annual Reports show some economic progress in Ethiopia, but the beneficiaries of this trumpeted economic progress are those who are closely associated to the ruling TPLF elite. A variety of economic indicators show that the economic development in Ethiopia has not trickled down to the poor. What we see in Ethiopia is the making of “Brazil” in Africa. Is this what you call Pareto Optimal? Signor Vilfredo Pareto might have been dead for decades, but he will definitely look down at you and cry – “Oh mio Dio… Non è questo che mi hai insegnato”. [Oh my God, this is not what I taught you ]

By the way, did you hear that the Ethiopian army and Police forces are on a stand-by to fight Inflation? I think we need to tell this to Jay Leno so that America giggles for a week. Washera, aren’t you ashamed when a man to whom you proudly tip your hat off acts like a mad-cow and uses force to solve every problem including Inflation? Yes, you heard me right; Inflation! This reminds me one of Megistu’s slogans – “Eyetewagan Enamertalen”. Well, no wander, Mengistu and Meles are heads of different evil regimes planted by bayonets. Capitalism is the best alternative for development that the world has seen so far. However, we all know that without any kind of over site, capitalism could be a cancerous cell that feeds on itself. Inflation, recession, stagflation, and uneven distribution of income are some of the down sides of capitalism, however, none of these shortcoming of capitalism are corrected by using force like Zenawi. If guns were solutions for inflation, the Federal Reserve (Fed) would have controlled military contractors, not the money supply.

Washera,our country Ethiopia finds itself in one of the most defining moment in its long history. I’m not sure why you support the minority TPLF regime, as to me, I am with the opposition because the choice given by Meles is between bad and worse. If we choose bad, we will be headed to the worst. If we chose worse, we all are domed to die. My fellow country man Washera, If we want to survive as a nation and make Ethiopia a better place to live, what better alterative do we have other than the opposition? I am not talking about this or that party, I’m talking about a much better alterative to Meles. Washera, you may dislike some opposition parties, so do I. The opposition is a large puzzle while any single party is part of the puzzle, so why dislike the whole puzzle? To you, to me, and to millions of Ethiopians, Ethiopia must come before Meles and before any one in the opposition. If you agree with this, then your shame should be my shame and my pride should be your pride. May God bless Ethiopia.

A Lesson from Nairobi

By Ephrem Madebo

Through out history, Ethiopia’s determination to stay as a free country and the willingness of its heroes to die for the territorial integrity of the nation has put Ethiopia in a unique group of nations that have been independent since the time of Adam and Eve. The prominent saying “We are the only non-colonized black nation” has always been the trade mark of Ethiopians around the world. Whether it is at a local bar when we get tipsy, or in discussions with people of other countries, Ethiopia’s perpetual independence has always been the source of pride for its people. Indeed, we Ethiopians are not strangers to political independence, the only thing that eluded us for many years is liberty and justice that people in many democratic countries take for granted. Many generations of Ethiopians have been pitiless fighters against foreigners who tried to snatch their freedom. However, for Ethiopians and the rest of the world, it has always been perplexing why we Ethiopians quietly allow our own country men to steal our freedom and treat us inhumanly. As a nation, if there is one thing that we repeatedly failed, it should be our inability to rise as a single entity and declare victory over dictators.

In May 1963, when the OAU was established in Addis Ababa, billboards all over the city read – “a country with 3000 years of history” while Kenya was still a British colony. In fact, Kenya’s independence didn’t come until December 12 of the same year. However, today; the question is not what Kenyans can learn from the long history of Ethiopia, it is what Ethiopia can learn from Kenya’s steadfastness for freedom and liberty. In 1991, the writer of this article was a refugee living in a place not far from the infamous township of Kibera where ethnic Kikuyus were battered by the Luos in the aftermath of Kenya’s descend into violence following the December 2007 presidential election. In my brief stay in Kenya, I witnessed the birth of multi-party politics which was architected by Martin Shikuku, Michael Kijana, Kenneth Matiba, and the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, the father of the current opposition leader Raila Odinga.

For many Kenyans, the early years of the 1990s were times of great hope and excitement. Towards the end of 1991, Kenyans optimistically saw the resurgence of democracy as they forced the then-President Daniel Arap Moi to legalize multi-party politics. As democratic competitions increased and grass root movements flourished throughout the nation, Kenyans were unwillingly stumbled with a danger that eventually wiped out the short lived euphoria of progressive Kenyans. The Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD), responsible for most political victories, split and re-split until it no more stood as a formidable force in the face of Kenyan African National Union (KANU) party. As a result, in 1992 and 1997, the incumbent Moi was re-elected with a relatively small minority of the vote. In 1992 and 1997, KANU won with 36.3% and 40.12% of the vote while the fragmented opposition shared 63.7% and 59.88% of the vote. In 2002, Kenyans learned from past mistakes and they stood together. After two consecutive heart breaking losses, finally, Mwai Kibaki kicked Moi out of office by winning 62.2% of the vote. In 2002, Kenya reached a huge political milestone in just 39 years what Ethiopia couldn’t in 3000 years.

In 2008, when Mwai Kibaki attempted to apply the bad lessons he learned from his northern border, Kenyans said no. They just didn’t say no, they made Kenya ungovernable. The entire world condemned the killings in Kenya and stood with the Kenyan opposition. Last week (February 28, 2008) Mwai Kibaki and Ralila Odinga agreed to share power and opened a new era in Kenyan politics. When Kenya was in political turmoil, unlike Ethiopia, the whole world looked at Kenya, not because the world loved Kenya more than Ethiopia. To be honest, it was the Kenyan opposition specially the determination and resolution of the Kenyan people that forced the world to look at them. In Kenya, just like in Ethiopia, ethnic identity has been manipulated by some self-serving political elites, but make no mistake, Kenya’s political disorder after the election has nothing to do with ethnicity, it was all about the rule of law and respect to the will of the people.

In 2005, when the then loose alliance of CUD and UEDF called the “stay home” strike, the so called western ambassadors tried to bring Meles and the opposition to the negotiation table. Both Meles and the opposition agreed. However, Meles walked out victorious as the western ambassadors doubted the will and unity of the opposition when CUD and UEDF called off the strike and made different decisions on how to continue the struggle. During the negotiation, Meles, who in advance knew the consequences of the strikes and the demonstration, did not want to see both before the opening of the parliament. He managed to avoid both by begging western diplomats to exert pressure on the opposition. The naive opposition called off the strikes and helped Meles to cool off the people’s wrath, the only power that could have brought his totalitarian regime to an end. The opposition failed to use its ultimate power, the people’s power.

Today, three years after the May 2005 election, the Ethiopian opposition is in total disarray. Instead of asking what went wrong, the opposition is busy making mistakes after mistakes to the extent of killing itself. In my opinion, the greatest thing that the Ethiopian opposition should learn from history is that it has never learned from history. The Kenyan opposition learned from its 1992 and 1997 mistakes, and in 2002, opposition parties in Kenya unseated KANU for the first time since independence. The Ethiopian opposition (especially CUDP), instead of learning from mistakes, it repeated the 1992 and 1997 mistakes of Kenya. It will be a long time before we know what in the hell [sorry for my French] the CUDP leaders were thinking when they reduced the party that petrified Meles in to numerous feeble factions. Will CUDP redeem itself by learning from the 2008 success story of Kenya?

In the last 8 years, elections results were manipulated in many unsteady democratic countries including Ethiopia (2005), Serbia (2000), Ukraine (2004), Nepal (2006), and Kenya (2008). Except in Ethiopia, in all of the above countries, opposition parties led a successful popular movement that restored the democratic process and forced dictators to give up power. Just like Serbians and Ukrainians, in 2005, the Ethiopian people were ready to do what ever it takes, but they did not have a seasoned party to guide them and a motivating leader to lead them.

Evidently, progressive sentiment in Ethiopia is very strong, but progressive institutions (political parties) are not. Leaders of opposition political parties are blown like dry leaves by the forces of egoism and strong ambition to power. The inability to distinguish between the burning needs of their nation and their political greed is one of the undesirable weaknesses of our political leaders. Today, the Ethiopian opposition is divided more than ever, and it is weaker to the extent of not being able to defend its own existence. The Ethiopian opposition camp has one common enemy that makes use of its weaknesses. The weak appearance of the opposition is a moral boost to the enemy. All in all, the failure of the opposition to stand undivided is a gratuitous reassurance to those who continue to rule us by force.

Ethiopians have started every decade with elevated hope and ended with startling despondency. They gave their money, time, and most importantly their life to create a prosperous society where liberty and justice are treasured above everything and more than anything. Every new coming regime promised a bright new era, but from Emperor Haile Selassie to Colonel Mengistu and from Mengistu to Meles Zenawi, Ethiopians were repeatedly betrayed as dictators succeeded authoritarians. The Ethiopian people feel a sense of vulnerability; they feel pain and hurt because their liberty, freedom, and peace have been snatched from them.

In the last 25 years a myriad of political parties and alliances have come and gone. We have seen countless faces, names, and name changes. The only thing we never saw is a tangible political victory attributed to these parties, or political alliances. I strongly believe that the “golden generation” that dominated the Ethiopian political landscape for the last four decades has failed individually, organizationally, and as a generation in bringing any landmark democratic transformation. Don’t take me wrong, this generation is credited for many positive changes, but it is so entangled with the past and with itself, therefore, I don’t think it has any gas left in its tank to complete the change it started decades ago. To satisfy the democratic appetite of Ethiopians, the “golden generation” unavoidably needs the help and participation of the younger generation.

Young people make up more than half of Ethiopia’s population. Today, in many places of the country and here in the US, young Ethiopians are speaking out and taking active leadership roles throughout the society to ensure that the youth plays a vital role in building a nation that truly fits the future generation. Many young Ethiopians are key community activists making differences in their communities. They are representing the concerns and views of their peers in different forums and are actively engaging in ‘inter-generational dialogues’ with adults in key decision-making positions.

The “golden generation” of Ethiopia has wisdom, but no tolerance for dissent. It has a great deal of knowledge and experience, but it is un-compromising like the mountains that protected the nation from invaders; it is also immeasurably patriotic, but appallingly self-centered. It is about time that this generation opens the door for young leaders, accepts new ideas, and invites unheard voices to the Ethiopian political forum. After all, Ethiopia is predominantly a country of the young. We need young leaders who can communicate vertically and horizontally.