The Washington DC Debre Selam Kidist Mariam Church’s (DSKM) board has sent a letter to officials of the Kidist Mariam Idir informing them that their church membership has been revoked and that they are prohibited from coming to the church any more.
The incoherent letter states that if the Idir officials come to the church, the board will take “police action” to remove them. Is Agazi on stand-by, too?
After consulting with their lawyer, the Idir officials, who are upstanding members of the church, have said that the board does not have the authority to ban them and that they will go to the church on Sunday and assert their right to be there. If the board carries out its threat and tries to forcibly remove them, then they will immediately go to court and fight for their right.
The DSKM board members have become unabashed servants of Aba Gebre-Medhin, the Woyanne-installed patriarch in Addis Ababa. It is therefore not surprising that they resort to crude threats and ‘police action.’
This matter also poses a challenge to the Ethiopian community in the Washington DC area. Are we to allow Frew Bulbula, Abebe Aboye and the other agents of Tagay Gebre Medhin to strip the rights of our brothers here in the United States of America where rule of law prevails? Isn’t enough that Aba Gebre Medhin and his Woyanne thugs brutalize our people back home?
These three individuals — Seyoum Garedew, Tadelle Gebre-Wold, and Solomon Bedasso — are conscientious Ethiopians. All three of them have nothing to gain personally from the Idir. They could have kept quite and save themselves from all this. The only reason the DSKM board is persecuting them is that they are vocal opponents of the board’s decision to hand over the church to Tagay Gebre Medhin and their attempt to save the 400-member Idir from being taken over as well.
The Ethiopian community in the Washington DC area needs to come to the side of these brave Ethiopians who said NO to Aba Diabilos and his agents. On Sunday, let’s join our brave brothers and stand with them.
Read the DKSM board’s outrageous letter here.