Another serious worry is also this: Can those who come through violence and military means be real civilian democratic politicians? In Ethiopia, the previous guerrilla TPLF cadres who now hold civilian posts tell us that is what they are doing converting themselves from empowering peasants through guerrilla military struggles to empowering them through votes and elections? If indeed it were possible for them to change, May 2005 was the greatest opportunity they missed to show that they in fact have changed from reacting with a military response to reacting with a democratic response. Unfortunately, much as one would have liked to see the change, when scratching the democratic pretensions of the current power holders, it is the real killer side and not the democratic side that got revealed to the whole world. They turned to repression at the time, and now they have been jailing new political prisoners even some refugees from Sudan whilst pardoning the CUD prisoners, it seems after forcing them to sign. The terms and circumstances of their release still is not clear to us making us worry that the regime can always find pretext to harm them again. The regime chose to deal with the opposition rather than listening to their concerns with democratic toleration. They lost any good will people had they too might facilitate a democratic transition in 2005 by all of us who witnessed the vibrant debates in the pre-election period.
With the TPLF/EPDRF is it now a case for the opposition a case of total mistrust because it is the case of once smitten twice shy? It is very difficult to take at face value the democratic credentials of the ruling TPLF/EPDRF coalition given the way the great achievements of May 2005 were derailed. They have to do a miracle to change the reality, perception people hold and remember: It is the TPLF/EPDRF that unleashed repression on the people they seemed willing to allow to vote in the first place. How would we know they will not do the same: invite the people to vote and repress when the
result goes against their expectations to persons who are in the various opposition parties? What real risk can the opposition take given that the TPLF/EPDRF can behave in such contradictory fashion with carrots and sticks again and again? Can the opposition take a risk? Will the TPLF/EPDRF change and abandon the stick of reprisal and repression for the carrot of democracy? Whilst in principle there is no reason why the TPLF/EPDRF cannot change, the onus of proof lies in the TPLF/EPDRF to show that it is prepared to behave democratically and not militaristically. Until this demonstration the opposition would be always taking a risk unless it plays by the rules set by the ruling coalition!
We in Ethiopia have the challenge of dealing with crafty fellows and ruling parties that have come through the command of violence but who keep talking democracy by spreading a virulent form of ethnic-vernacular politics that has constitutionally legislated relations amongst ethnic groups on the politics of blackmail and monumental doubt. If a certain ‘killel’ feels the union is not worth it, it can leave and set up its own state. A broad and strong democratic movement can challenge both the vernacular-ethnic system and the violence laden preference of the ruling coalition parties to keep themselves in power under the guise of ‘standing for an ethnically enclosed and citizen- parcelled democracy.’
Today, the forces in the opposition will not be judged by mere opposition to the prevailing ruling system. This is one aspect of opposition. The more important aspect is what they offer as an alternative to the existing ethnically fenced and vernacularly contaminated and divided citizens of Ethiopia? It is more what they offer in their programmes to the citizens and how they believe, act, feel, think and do democracy with a degree of coherence that should be presented to the people who must vote for them. If these democrats turn on each other and fight, the people will be disappointed and will naturally prefer the’ devil they know rather than the angel they see fighting one another instead of uniting first in order to unite and rally the people.
Nothing will restore the credibility of those elected persons who were suffering in jail in the eyes of the people unless they come out publicly where they are now and show the whole world that they are democrats who may have controversies but in the larger good of fulfilling the dream of a century for democracy, and spreading hope in the millennium, they are united with their differences. No one can say they should be the same or hold the same opinion. No, that would be very foolish. What democrats say is that even given any non- antagonistic differences, there is no reason why there cannot be a united march together to rally behind the broadest possible popular energy and dynamism for a democratically revitalised and renascent Ethiopia… continued on next page