Result of the poll to choose the 2007 Person of the Year

Ethiopian Review readers have voted Prof. Alemayehu Gebremariam as “The 2007 Person of Year” who made the most significant contribution to the betterment of Ethiopia in the past 12 months. He was voted as “Person of the Year” for his relentless effort to help pass H.R. 2003 (Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007) in the United States Congress. He is a leading advocate of H.R. 2003 and an effective spokesperson for a coalition of Ethiopian groups that are laboring hard to get the bill passed.

Congratulation, Prof. Alemayehu.

The choice of Alemayehu Gebremariam as “Person of the Year” by 35 percent of those who voted has two messages: First, Ethiopians strongly believe that H.R. 2003 will help bring about a positive change in Ethiopia; and second (the obvious one), Prof. Alemayehu and his coalition of activists have been highly effective in the face of an all out efforts by the Woyanne regime, its high-powered lobbyists, and the U.S. State Department to kill the bill, which was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives and is currently pending in the Senate. It is an awesome achievement.

But that is not the whole story. The result of the poll also reveals the fact that we Ethiopians overly rely on the U.S. to help us win our freedom. H.R. 2003 could be helpful to the struggle IF it is approved by the Senate and signed by the President. But it will not be a determining factor in bringing about change in Ethiopia. The only way freedom and democratic rule can prevail in Ethiopia is when Ethiopians stand up in unison and fight using any means available — coordinated political, military and diplomatic battles must be waged by a coalition of opposition groups.

The nucleus of this coalition already exists. It is called the “Alliance for Freedom and Democracy” (AFD). AFD’s current objective is to facilitate a national reconciliation dialogue. If Woyanne continues to reject dialogue with the opposition, AFD’s next step could and should be to prepare for an eventual fall down of the Woyanne regime by creating a transitional government in exile.

Ethiopian Review believes that the only route to regime change in Ethiopia is the one that is being followed by AFD. Because of this reason, Ethiopian Review’s choice for Person of the Year for 2007 would have been the chairman of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Ato Daud Ibsa, who was instrumental in the creation of AFD.

Unfortunately, AFD could not achieve its objective of organizing a reconciliation conference so far because one of the main opposition parties that make up AFD (Kinijit) has been going through a leadership crisis and is unable to decide on its role inside AFD. The conference could have led to the formation of an all-inclusive transitional government by now.

The fact that AFD exits at all, however, has completely changed the Ethiopian political landscape over night by bringing ethnic-based, heavily armed groups like OLF and ONLF to the mainstream Ethiopian politics. As a result, OLF and ONLF now enjoy wide support among non-Ogadeni and non-Oromo Ethiopians as well.

Under the visionary leadership of Daud Ibsa, OLF has been transformed into a powerful political/military force that even non-Oromos are starting to rely on to help bring change in Ethiopia. With its military wing led by a professional officers corps of generals and colonels, and with a matured and highly experienced political leadership, OLF has become a leading player in Ethiopian politics. When the fast-decaying Woyanne regime falls apart, the OLF military alone can step in and maintain order, let alone joined by the other opposition parties such as Kinijit, ONLF, EPPF, TPDM and others.

OLF leader Ato Daud Ibsa has played a key role in the realignment of forces in the Horn of Africa region. His visionary leadership has contributed significantly to the recent paradigm shift in Ethiopian politics. We therefore believe that Daud Ibsa has been the most consequential person in 2007 as far as Ethiopia is concerned.

The second and third place winners of “The 2007 Person of the Year” poll are Kinijit vice-chair Bertukan Mideksa and Addis Ababa Mayor-Elect Berhanu Nega with 29% and 22%, respectively. This is not surprising since both Wzt. Bertukan and Dr Berhanu spent over half of 2007 in jail unable to function. And yet the combined votes they have received amounts to 51 percent. This shows the strong popular support Kinijit continues to enjoy.

The most talked about part of the poll for “Person of the Year” is the inclusion of Eritrea’s President Issayas Afeworki. He has received 19 percent of the votes — which is significant considering decades of enmity between Ethiopians and Shabia. As a result of several steps taken by Issayas Afeworki, the enmity is being replaced with friendship and a spirit of cooperation for mutual benefit.

What did Issayas do to gain the friendship of Ethiopians?

During the 1998-2000 catastrophic war, Issayas Afeworki and the Eritrean leadership have observed that when Woyanne engaged in an ethnic cleansing of Eritreans, it was the people of Ethiopia who gave them shelter and protected them from Woyanne thugs who were confiscating their properties and forcibly deporting them. This has no doubt left an indelible mark on the Eritrean psyche. Ever since, Eritreans have stopped looking Amharas, Oromos, Guraghes and other Ethiopians as enemies. For the past seven years, the Eritrean leadership has been cultivating a better relationship with the people of Ethiopia. In return, several Ethiopian opposition groups, such as OLF, EPPF, ONLF, TPDM, SLF, and others have established close ties with Eritrea. Many opposition leaders have visited Eritrea in the past few years — some secretly, some in the open. For example, OLF and ONLF leaders make frequent visits to Asmara. The late chairman of ENUF and distinguished scientist Dr Kitaw Ejigou had been to Asmara for talks with Eritrean officials. Journalist Demis Belete, artist Solomon Tekalign, EPPF’s former head of International Committee Ato Zewdalem Kebede and a delegation of several Ethiopians have visited Eritrea for several weeks last year. The disgraced former chairman of Kinijit North America, Shaleqa Yoseph Yazew, had held meetings with Eritrean officials in UAE and probably in Asmara in the Summer of 2006.

After the May 2005 elections, when Woyanne unleashed its Agazi snipers and killers on Kinijit supporters, it was the Eritrean regime that had provided food and shelter to the thousands of young Ethiopians who fled the Woyanne terror campaign, while Sudan, Djibouti and Kenya deported back those who took refuge in their territories. Eritrea’s TV and radio stations have aired detailed accounts of the atrocities that were being carried out by Woyanne on Ethiopian civilians. These reports will no doubt be helpful for future war crimes trial of Woyanne leaders.

It is going to take time and a great deal of nurturing for the friendship of Eritreans and Ethiopians to fully realized. Woyanne will try any thing in its power to stop that, but it will fail. After 17 years of brutal rule by the tribal junta, and particularly after the atrocities it has committed following the 2005 elections, most Ethiopians now believe that any one is better than Woyanne, let alone our own Eritrean brothers and sisters who are willing to lend their hands. Woyanne’s divide and conquer tactic does not work any more.

Ethiopian freedom fighters have a powerful ally — the Government of Eritrea. If this friendship continues to grow, there is a real chance that 2008 will bring about the end of Woyanne rule, and Issayas could be chosen as “Person of the Year.”

It seems that Woyanne is determined not to allow Kinijit to survive in Ethiopia as a viable political party. Woyanne is using all instruments of coercion and repression to push out Kinijit from the political stage inside Ethiopia. Kinijit is not without options. If it is unable to open its offices inside Ethiopia and freely operate, it may decide to move its main office to Asmara and operate from there. The fact that Kinijit has such an option available to it will send chills through the Woyanne spine. Just imagine how Woyannes would react if Dr Berhanu Nega or another high profile Kinijit leader goes to Asmara and set up an office there? ‘Think outside the box.’

The person who won the 4th place is Ato Obang Metho, executive director of the Anuak Justice Council. Obang is a positive influence on Ethiopian politics. His consistent message of unity and cooperation has earned him respect and admiration from every quarter of the Ethiopian society. In 2007, he had visited several cities and participated in numerous public meeting where he urged Ethiopians to unite for a common purpose — freedom.

In conclusion, hopefully this poll has motivated others to contribute to the betterment of Ethiopia in 2008. Thank you for participating.