The Beijing Olympics was opened with an extravagant ceremony yesterday. It was indeed the mother of all shows. Athletes from a record 204 countries marched proudly through the stadium carrying flags of their respective countries. Of course we eagerly awaited our Ethiopian athletes to do the same. Instead, when Ethiopia’s turn came, what we saw is reflective of the current ethnic politics in Ethiopia dominated by the Tigrean People Liberation Front (Woyanne).
Ethiopia’s superstar athletes such as Haile Gebreselassie, Kenenisa Bekele, Tirunesh Dibaba and others were no where to be found among the Ethiopian delegation. Instead, the flag (with that ugly Woyanne logo in the middle) was carried by Miruts Yifter, a great Ethiopian athlete from the 1970s, followed by Ato Seyoum Bereded, a Woyanne cadre who has never done any sport in his life, and some individuals from Tigray whom we have never seen compete in any international athletic event. It is obvious that the only reason Miruts, who had retired from athletics some 25 years ago, was selected to carry the flag is that he is a Tigrean. In short, the so-called ‘Ethiopian delegation’ at the opening ceremony did not reflect Ethiopia at all. It was a delegation from one ethnic group where the ruling party claims to come from.
Under the Woyanne minority rule, ethnic politics is injected in every part of life in the country — politics, business, arts, religion, and yes even the Olympics.