Ethiopia shall overcome. By Yilma Bekele
In May of 2005 the noble idea of bringing change by peaceful means died a violent death in Ethiopia. The Tigrai People Front declared in no uncertain terms power sharing is not part of the equation. They have proved it three times since then. What part of that do we have a problem accepting?
The TPLF party does not just whisper. They shout so loud that the whole body shakes from the vibration caused by the violent, vile and wild savage scream.
That did not stop well-meaning and brave Ethiopians from trying to convince the mafia crowed to reconsider their ugly ways. Like a clock work the Tigrai Liberation Front in power strikes back in a savage manner. Every time it is something old, something new and something different. The intent is to scare, punish and humiliate. Ato Meles used to get a report on the condition of his prisoners including their diet. He mentioned it during one of his press conferences regarding the weight of Andenet’s Chairperson he has in prison. That is how sick the deprived mafia group are like.
The Tigrai Front has been busy this election season. First they created a clone of Andenet and banned the real Andenet. Andenet members joined Semayawi or Blue party in mass and continued their political activities. They refused to go home quiet.
The Tigrai liberation Front has a new answer to this dilemma. They denied the candidacy of Chairman Yelkal Getahune of Semayawi Party in his district. How did they do that? They created a lottery system to fill the allotted number of candidates for the seat. Of course his name was not drawn. A very simple solution backed by the courts, security apparatus and their very own custom made and drawn to fit Constitution.
Both Andenet and Semayawi Party are legally registered political parties and everything they do is above board and designed to win the hearts and minds of the Ethiopian people so they can vote them in to office. You cannot be more legal than that. Their conviction to take it to the limit despite the daily violence and constant threat to the individuals and their families is a testament to the conviction and strength of their character.
The Tigrai Liberation Front to no one’s surprise is finding itself boxed in. It is referred to as catch 22. It is the paradoxical situation our Woyane friends are caught in. They have to repress violently to stay in power but the violence creates more determined enemies necessitating more violence on their part that breeds focused and cunning enemies. Time is against the Front. Violence and repression is the only trick they got in their survival bag and it is not a lasting tool to stay in power. Ask Mengistu, ask Mubarak, ask Assad, they will tell you.
The question is what are the victims doing about this injustice? Right now we are witnessing different responses from those affected by this virus. There is Semayawi and Andenet parties that have been trying to play by the rules but are faced with a brick wall with barbed wire. They are constantly resetting their response. There is Ginbot7 which has merged with Patriotic front that has resolved to do what is necessary to achieve freedom and smash the wall. The combined forces of the two is harbinger of things to come. The battle can be fought on many fronts as the number of combatants’ increases.
We also have Medrek trying to climb two trees because they have two legs. They have been attempting to do that the last four years and the fact that it is not possible has not discouraged them. They have become Tigrai fronts loyal opposition allowed to give the show some needed color. Some of Medreks leaders have been at this job of serving the Front since 2005. Remember they are the ones spared of Kaliti after Ato Meles’s riot. God knows how they dare face the Ethiopian people but due to our culture and history constantly being degraded the concept of shame has disappeared from our vocabulary.
The Tigrai Liberation Front is not alone in this quest to dominate and perpetuate their form of ethnic based democracy. Twenty years have given them plenty of time to experiment with all sorts of formula to perfect their impossible dream of building an independent Tigrai, create a dynasty to leave something behind for their children or if all fails to leave a legacy of disintegrating Ethiopia branded as a failed state.
The Western enablers couldn’t care less if Tigrai Liberation Front survives or not. Their concern is having a stable but friendly Ethiopia and they would work with whoever emerges from this mess. Right now the notorious organization is the only one that is delivering the promise of stable and puppet on a leash Ethiopia.
More than the Western enablers it is the Ethiopians themselves that are scrambling over each other’s dead body to stand behind the ethnic regime. Inside the country those organized under the banner of EPDRF are the main foot soldiers of the Front. They furnish the human resource to make such criminality possible.
The Liberation Front masquerading as a government is not going to go away. On the other hand the longer it stays in power the harder it would be to recover from the disaster that is surely to follow its demise. If is not the question it is when we should worry about. The ethnic issue relentlessly fertilized by the Front is the most dangerous to handle.
Right now the situation in Ethiopia is quiet but smoldering. The Tigrai front is using all its resources to convince the captive population the sun would not rise in Ethiopia without them in power. The country is awash with both carrot and stick. The sacred ‘Dedebit’ has been put on display to show the sacrifice and heroism of the Woyane warriors. Such notable bloogers as Daniel Berhane have been taken on a friendly tour accompanied with ambulances to tell us about the historic site. We are instructed to be thankful.
The equality of kilils organized on ethnic basis and referred to as ‘Nation nationalities’ is of course a major accomplishment by our benefactor the Tigrai liberation Front and the poor grateful citizens are brought out for display. As usual something unexpected happened. An audio of the pep talk given was made available to the rest of us.
The speaker was Abay Tsehaye a founding member of TPLF (ሕዝባዊ ወያኔ ሓርነት ትግራይ) and a non-elected official with power. Abay is one of those Woyane that wield considerable power always from the back ground. He is Chairman of Commercial bank of Ethiopia, Minster of Federal affairs and board member of EFFORT among others. This notorious terrorist is the one that planed the destruction of Waldeba Monastery to grow sugar. His domain includes the Police force and Administration of Addis Abeba.
The leaked audio is a perfect example of what is wrong with Ethiopia and Ethiopians. This non-elected official was heard lecturing the Oromo puppets serving him to hurry up with the taking of land or else face the wrath of the Front. His language was harsh his tone was dismissive, and his threat left nothing to the imagination. When you consider OPDO the Oromo ethnic party to be equal to TPLF on paper this audio shows how disgraceful this unequal relationship has always been. Don’t worry the Amhara, Gambella, or Sidama puppets do not fare any better.
Semayawi and Andenet parties are evaluating their next move. Under the dire circumstances they are finding themselves in they are still doing all they could to live free or die trying. They might not achieve their goal but all of us are in awe of their conviction and we all go to bed praying for our God to give them strength. No one can say they died of a coward’s death. No one can say they sold their country and honor for power and money. No matter what happens today we all know that by standing up for what is right they have already won.
Patriotic Front and Ginbot7 have been preparing their forces. It takes time and patience to confront such a criminal regime that uses all resources to fight the last battle. Today we feel empowered to think there is a group that is ready to speak with Woyane in the language they know and understand. Some of us are very impatient. It is understandable. But it is always better to be cautious and prudent when facing such an enemy that feels cornered. They can afford to sacrifice hundreds of combatants for every one of our brave solders. Remember the war the waged with Eritrea. We lost over eighty thousand while Eritrea sacrificed just twenty thousand. That is how Woyane operates.
It would really help if the large force of the Diaspora could join this battle for liberation. It would be considered a game changer. It would lesson our sacrifice. Unfortunately Ethiopia’s children are not as they used to be. Their culture has been watered down so much they have turned into nomads. We have become ghosts of our past. Today we are supplied the best Teff while our people are starving, we receive ready-made Enset while it is a luxury item at home, the Berbere and Mitmita the Shuro and the raw coffee is the envy of every merchant in Ethiopia. Come to any city USA and you can see the stores overflowing with stolen products from our people.
The Diaspora makes Woyane possible. The Diaspora has become the outside Medrek. They both complain about the injustice of Woyane but both sit under the feet of Tigrai Liberation Front waiting for crumbs to fall. Abbay Tsehaye, Debre Tsion, Bereket Simon, Sebhat Nega all laugh at us and the Western enablers shake their head when they see such degradation and willing acceptance of servitude.
Here in the USA we celebrated the struggle of our African people for justice and equality that was waged fifty years back. I am sure plenty of Ethiopians stood tall and proud by the accomplishments of our African Diaspora led by martin Luther King and others. I ask you a question my dear reader what do you think the outcome would have been if MLK was preaching to Ethiopians? Do you think the Montgomery bus boycott would have succeeded? Do you think the march from Selma to Montgomery would be celebrated today?
The answer to both would be no. All you have to do is look at Ethiopian (Woyane) Airlines and see what boycott is all about. You just need to visit Ethiopian restaurants and see the meaning of boycott written all over the menu. Pure Injera, tasty Kocho from Sidama and Ethiopian Beer is our answer to boycott. Go ahead climb two trees because you have two legs like Medrek is doing, please continue condemning Woyane with a loud voice for all to hear but do not forget to build your condominium on stolen land. Rage all you want against ethnic politics but do not forget to shed crocodile tears for the disintegration of our mother land.
Today all our newspapers and web sites are full of the daily injustice committed by the enemy. Every news item you read is a reminder that we are powerless, leaderless and sinking fast as people and country. You see that and naturally conclude the might Woyane is bigger than life. Most Ethiopians let alone at home even in the Diaspora are scared stiff when thinking about Woyane. The fear they created has frozen our thinking and sapped our energy and made us feeble.
It is up to each one of us to get out of this defeatist mind set. Our news media should strive to empower us. There are so many good things our people are accomplishing to help each other under dire circumstances and that is what we should talk about. Pretty soon we will celebrate our own victories but shouldn’t we start preparing our mind to tackle the heavy work that is awaiting us when we smash the evil empire. That is how we help Semayawi and Andenet. That is how we encourage Patriotic Front Ginbot7 to hasten their preparations. We know we are going to win. Good always triumphs over evil and it is no different this time around. A Luta continua-the struggle continues.