15. July 2008 by Assimba.

Obo Arada Shawl alias Wolde Tewolde   - July 13, 2008

    TPLF seeks Light where there is none
EPLF seeks Victory where there was once
     OLF seeks Democracy on the ground
EPRP seeks Knowledge above ground

Ten days ago, on July 3, 2008, a symposium was held in Washington, DC. The main purpose of the symposium according to Assimba Forum was to reach a consensus on how to fight for the release of TSEGEYE GEBRE MEDHIN alias popularly known as DEBTERAW.

On the agenda of Assimba forum, it was stated that DEBTERAW was to be seen from three dimensions, that of human, professional and public. In other words, DEBTERAW is a prisoner of conscience, an educator and a political figure.

Debteraw as a prisoner

Although the organizers of the event did invited many representative organizations and institutions that are related to the Human Rights aspects of DEBTERAW, few have come to participate in the one-day event. As at now, it is not definitely determined why many of the invited speakers did not show up. But among those who showed up include the following: -

• Mesfin Mekonnen representing, Human Rights Council (HR2003)

• Captain engineer Fantahun Kahsay representing Solidarity committee for Ethiopian political prisoners (SOCEPP) and

• Dr. Mankelklot representing one of the Ethiopian Mass Media

The representative of Human Rights appealed to all the attendees of the symposium that as Ethiopians, we should be aware of at least, the fate of our human aspects if not for the animals and plants of Ethiopia. He said that there are tons of human right abuses in Ethiopia among them the abuse on DEBTERAW who has been imprisoned in incommunicado by the TPLF regime since 1991. It is time that we campaign for the implementation of the HR2003 so that our problems could be resolved peacefully. Ato Mesfin spoke on the current progress of H.R. 2003. He promised that if the Senate passes the legislation on H.R. 2003, it would have enormous impact on the Ethiopian societies as a whole.

Engineer Fantahun has spoken at length about what it means to be imprisoned for so many years as he was a victim himself. He was forced to abandon his profession to dwell on the rights of prisoners of Ethiopia.

Dr. Mankelklot has advocated for a change in his own words “to carry out a revolution”. However, he neither elaborates on what kind of revolution nor the methods of revolution.

He elaborated on a lot of issues of concern to all Ethiopians.

Debteraw As An Educator

Many individuals, young and old, have presented DEBTERAW’s works of non-visual arts. He was presented as one of the best of Ethiopian artists, educators in democracy and revolution. DEBTERAW’s acumen of struggle and change for all peoples of Ethiopia was par excellence. He was depicted as the alpha omega of One Flag, One Fidel and many Freedoms. In order to testify this, a well-known person from Sweden was scheduled to be a guest speaker for the occasion.

Unfortunately, this person by the name of Hailu G. Yohannes alias known as GOMERAW could not make it. It is sad that Ato Hailu is in what is known as in G’ZOT.

DEBTERAW & GOMERAW. What do they have in common? Both are revolutionaries, educators, artists and democrats. The only difference is that one is imprisoned INSIDE the country while the other is held ABROAD. Let us free them to free ourselves.

Debteraw and Gomeraw are twins in terms of Ethiopian, Arts and Literature with the background of Orthodox religion. Both did not believe in an organized religion. In the Orthodox Church, religion is relatively connected to DEMOCRACIA. The true knowledge and wisdom emanates from the monasteries of Ethiopia and Eritrea and not from the Board Rooms of Corporation or from the Vatican of Rome. Whatever the case since both are held in prison, we cannot discuss the issue of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. I had planned to discuss the issue of religion vis-à-vis politics during the symposium, but for technical and for lack of speakers on the subject of religion, we were forced to abandon the topic altogether.

DebterawAs A Public Figure

What makes Debteraw’s case as special is that DEBTERAW is an icon of a well-known political party organization popularly known as EPRP that became a target for harassment and banishment since its inception. DEBTERAW was number one target of the DERG era and still remain number one enemy of the TPLF regime.

On the one hand, EPRP was and is represented by the concept of one Flag, one Fidel and many freedoms. Because of many disinformation and propaganda towards the Ethiopian rainbow and the Geez script, even its own supporters wrongly condemned EPRP.

On the other hand, as freedom is precious, it is also costly. Many Ethiopians and Eritreans either afraid of its cost or its practicality, they do not stand with EPRP at least in the open forum. Because of these fears and tribulations, people from ERHCO and the Mass Media of Ethiopians did not show up in the one-day event for DEBTERAW. What a travesty!

The symposium was both a success and a sad story. This day and date was a day of special importance to hundreds of Ethiopians, Eritreans and to thousands of EPRP members, supporters and sympathizers. This day was meant to be the beginning of the end. The beginning of what and the end of what, one might ask?

We are living in a time akin to the Roman Empire when people stopped believing in what might call the main organizing principle of their society and instead pioneered new forms of community in which to live out of the realm of moral life. EPRP should be judged by posterity, as all of us should be ultimately. The DERG, EPLF and the TPLF are dictated and justified in the first instance not by political principles but by an extra-ideological perception (correct or incorrect) of imminent benefit or threat. EPRP’s stand was correct.

Even today, unlike EPRP’s mainstream political party, in Ethiopia and Eritrea, expediency rule and principles are expendable. It is time that a new beginning should be on the horizon. People had enough of ‘blood is thicker than water’ as espoused by EPLF and OLF and ‘what is in it for me’ as espoused by TPLF.

Concluding Remarks

|Debteraw Tsegeye’s revolutionary struggle is about courage and faith. It was not about dethroning the king, deposing the DERG or eliminating EPRDF per se. It is about fighting for not fighting back. EPRP owns a piece of Ethiopian and Eritrean political history. These days’ arguments abound. There are 10 sides to every story and very little agreement from one version to the next.

However, EPRP only negotiate with those who have something to gain by giving EPRP what it wants. EPRP see a clear way to take revenge on someone who wronged it. Of course, the best revenge is always to be so fabulously over the whole thing that EPRP couldn’t careless. EPRP’s internal coping mechanism is getting a workout healing and then forgiveness. If members of EPRP are feeling sore, at least they can take solace in the knowledge that is good for EPRP.

The one-day event symposium as expected had audience who listened to the divergent point of view, found common ground and willing to embrace new visionary ideas. Thanks to Assimba forum, especially to the balanced conduct of Ato Sewyew and Ato Elias. It was a wonderful event for a change based on a human cause.

For comments and critic

woldetewolde@yahoo.com

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11. July 2008 by Assimba.

BY MULUGETA KASSAHUN

One of the oldest Ethiopian proverbs said that “wushet sidegagem ewunet yehonal”. The literal meaning of this is that when a lie repeated for a while it becomes a truth. I do not know if this proverb makes sense to English speakers, but it has a deep root in Ethiopian culture. That is why I begin my comment in this well known Ethiopian proverb. However, before I go too far, contrary to this Ethiopian myth, I would like to admit that repeated lie only breeds more lies than a minute truth.

Nevertheless, the person who I am presenting to you seems closely familiar to the above proverb, and used it very well to explain her case. Her name is Saba Mistlal Desta Webb. At one time, this woman was a member and fighter of TPLF (Tigray People Liberation Front). However, in her own reasons, she left the organization in Sudan and had lived as refugee there for a while and then resettled in Toronto, Canada. After settling in Canada, she lost her eyes sights completely due to unsuccessful surgical correction. Even though, loosing her sight cost her, more than other things, her independence and the husband who accompany her from Sudan, those mishaps did not discourage her from finding a job to support her self. On the contrary, she, too, was able to lead a successful life by maintaining her job, marrying one of her Canadian colleagues, and then writing her memoir named “Tigress in the crossfire”.

Although, I admired this Ethiopian woman for her courage and success in Canada to lead an independent life, I have a great disappointment in the contents, lies and confusions that filled her book. Like any other grand propaganda machines of TPLF, this book was also twisting the naked truth and blamed everyone except TPLF and its members. In addition of blaming EPRP for all the problems that happened in Tigray, this brainwashed writer attempted to rewrite Ethiopian history and Geography. That is why I am attempting to present all the out right lies and distortions from the book word by word.

Page11. According to our religion, women were given to men as presents. …In Ethiopian Moslem women the edges of the vagina and labia shut by sewing the edges, leaving only a little space for urination and menstruation. When they marry, the husband must penetrate the sown vagina and the hymen, no matter how much pain he causes.

According to her memoir, neither she knew other part of Ethiopia outside of Tigray nor completed her high school education before she joined or left TPLF and came to Canada. Hence, I assumed she was talking about Tigray women since she knew only part of Tigray before she left Ethiopia. That means, then, according to the writer the Tigrian Christians has provided their young women as present to men, and the Tigrian Moslems also closed the young girl’s vagina until the wedding day that would be opened by forceful penetration of a man’s phallus. I leave this statement to the judgment of the Tigrian and the rest of Ethiopian people. But one thing is true, any man, even a super human, can not penetrate a sutured vagina with his God created phallus unless he has steel-made one.

Page 14: In 1973 the country ( Ethiopia) relies on the people of Northern provinces of Shewa, Wello, and Tigray for food. Underlined word is mine.

Does this writer know Ethiopia very well? Which parts of Ethiopia were stricken by the drought in 1973? I thought Tigray and Wello were the main ones. At that time most of the crops actually were coming from Gojam, Gondar, Shewa and the Southern part of Ethiopia. One of the main reasons TPLF annexed the fertile land of northern Gondar and Wello was to protect the Tigray people from repeated droughts.

Page 17: …. I was 14 and knew very little about the emperor and his terrible misrule, but I knew enough not to expect much from a military government. I hoped to myself that the new government would understand that we wanted a free and democratic country.

This woman must be unique to understood Ethiopian monarchy system, military government, free and democratic rules, and knew what she wanted for the future of Ethiopia at age 14.

In addition to the distortions she made about how Ethiopian political organizations created, the writer mentioned ….. The few who managed to escape death fled to Asimba in Tigray’s Agame district. They (EPRP) planned to make Tigray a war zone and to use the people of Tigray as cannon fodder against the Derg.

Of course this writer not only lacks the knowledge of Ethiopian history or the revolution, she also did not do her home work to grasp deep understanding about the Ethiopian student movement or the creation and leadership of EPRP before she started her scrupling. Contrary to TPLF and her thinking, EPRP as a political organization has struggled against tyranny, oppression and suppression in all over Ethiopia. The dream was and has been to bring freedom and democracy in every corner of the country. The first simple reason of choosing Asimba as site of starting the Armed struggle was due to a strategic reason (closer to Eritrea), second and the most important one was that most of the leaders of the organization at that time were Tigrians ( Tesfaye, Beniyam, Berhane, Tselote.. etc) who took the embryo of the army to the place where they knew the best. The EPRP army already was in Asimba before the mass killing of the military junta was initiated on EPRP members.

Page 24 &25…. EPRP refused to accept past failures. When it could not recruit men for its militia, it would torture and slaughter them and leave their bodies on the street as an example to others…….. TPLF vowed that it would free Tigray and all of Ethiopia from military rule, feudalism, bureaucracy, and superstition……Every other political organization, including the Derg, wanted to wage war from Tigray and to use Tigrayans as a cannon fodder.

This is a kind of lie we call in our country as a “white lie”. Where and when did EPRP torture the Tigrian people let alone to throw dead bodies on the streets? Which street? Asimba Street? Were you talking about Derg or EPRP? Is this a calculated or an honest mistake? Do you think the Tigrian people are completely wiped out from the face of Tigray? In the opposite of your senseless assertions, TPLF cadres, infiltrating in Derg’s and its surrogate political organizations, were the one who tortured and killed a lot of EPRP members in Tigray. TPLF never had a dream to free the entire Ethiopia from Derg’s oppression. It was and still is a narrow- ethnic based political organization with a grand plan of seceding Tigray from Ethiopia. The 1968 TPLF manifesto is the living witness. Your repeated accusation of EPRP to use” the Tigrian people as cannon fodder” proves your narrow-mindedness and backwardness like your parent organization TPLF. You forgot that the Gondares, wolleyes, Sidamas and other Ethiopians also paid the same or more price as their fellow Tigrian brothers and sisters to bring new future in the country. Unlike you, I feel sad on their death but proud of their actions for all those Ethiopians who sacrificed their life for the betterment of Ethiopia.

Page 35 …..On June 25, 1977, the militia (Dergs) now 80,000 strong and armed with Soviet weapons marched into Addis Ababa. Over the next ten months, he had another 240,000 trained and deployed them against the democratic revolution that was gaining strength in Tigray.

What a distortion you can make? Among other things, one thing I learn from this book and the rest of TPLF’s propaganda machines is that how they can confuse the audience, particularly non-Ethiopians, by talking half truth. Of course every one knows that Derg trained a total of 300,000 militias to defend the country from Somalia’s invaders, not to fight the TPLF fighters in Tigray. The TPLF fighters were not more than a thousand at that time. In what military rule is 300,000 soldiers sent to fight 1000 fighters? I will leave the answer for the readers.

More in the same page ……The only organization making progress, the only organization with a clear platform for the nation and with a strong belief that Ethiopians deserved better leadership was the TPLF.

Do this woman and the rest of the people know the same TPLF? As its name explained it, TPLF’s platform, if it has one, has been to fight for the freedom of Tigray. TPLF has not mentioned the name of Ethiopia until it created EPRDF and then capturing power in Addis Ababa was a possibility. This is the whole truth. The history, already engraved with the blood of Ethiopians, has kept the file about who fought for Ethiopia and against. The face of ugly child can not be compensated with a wonderful name. Weather we like it or not, TPLF is the ugly child of Ethiopia that created a black dotes in Tigrian history.

………In the mean time, the political dispute between the TPLF and the EPRP has been growing more heated, and the EPRP officially declared war on the TPLF and invaded our base in Agame.

This one could be laughable if not a lot of people did die on both sides. The writer contradicted herself. At the beginning of the book she mentioned that the reason the EPRP came to Tigray was to use the people as a cannon fodder. This was not only her but the whole TPLFs belief. The organization, at that time, even now, has not allowed other organizations to move freely in Tigray. That basic principle of TPLF created problem to EPRP members to teach their political agendas to Tigrays people. The TPLF members used to call EPRP members “abaye Ethiopia”. TPLF instigated the war in every opportunity and then increased it to full scale of battle and pushed out EPRP not only from Tigray but also from Gondar. The war was started with the war monger and narrow minded TPLF leaders.

Let’s see the writer’s reasoning about forbidden sexual relationship incident in TPLF at page 54 and 55: The sexual relationship was occurring between an experienced fighter and a woman fighter.

…..the woman had seduced the man……..She was brought in by two guards and told to stand in front of us (meeting participants) and give her side of the story. She admitted that they had had sex, then said that she was an EPRP agent and that she had intended to cause disruption within TPLF. She said that she wasn’t sorry. On the contrary, she was very happy with what she had accomplished.

The aforementioned statement reminded me one joke. One upon a time the Queen of England’s little dog was lost. M16/ M15, CIA, KGB and MOSAD have attempted to find the dog. But all of them miserably failed. At this time one of the respected lords of the common wealth came up with the best idea of replacing those internationally known and sophisticated spies with their main partners in fighting terrorism, the Ethiopian intelligence service. All the participants admired the astuteness of the suggestion and agreed to bring those service members. The Ethiopians took the job in heart and uncovered the entire of London unsuccessfully to find the dog. At the end of the day they found a small rabbit instead of the small dog. They tortured the rabbit the entire night and convinced her to be the queens little dog. Early the morning, they took the little rabbit to the meeting and told the audience they found the little dog. The queen was astonished by the fabulous work of the Ethiopians and eager to see her dog. However, when she recognized what was found, she screamed with disappointment, “this is not my dog, it is a bloody rabbit”. The head of the Ethiopian intelligence service then responded with respect: Ma’am, instead of screaming lets find out the answer from her. Then he turned to the rabbit and asked her who she is? The rabbit answered in shivering, “I am the little dog of the Queen of England”.

That was how that woman might have given her word to those the so called TPLF members too. These kind of forceful admissions have not been new in TPLF and EPRDF members. Tam rat is a living example.

Page 66:…..in late 1979 re-armed (ELF) the EPRP, helped it regroup, and transferred it to Welkayet and Teselemti in Tigray, where it waged war on the TPLF and terrorized civilians.

Here the writer attempted to sale full of lies with a small truth. Let’s explore which ones are true and which ones are false. The truth is that the Tigray zone (Asima) was dismantled after the war and the EPRA retreated to ELF base in Eritrea. After several negotiations some of the army members went to Begemder (Gondar) zone and join the EPRA army there. What are the lies then: 1- The EPRA was in Welkayet and Teselemti, Gondar for more than five years before TPLF crossed Tekeze and opened war against EPRP/A. 2: EPRP has never terrorized anyone in Teselemti or Welkayet. Those region people will testify one day who terrorized who.3- Welkayet and Teselemti has never been the region of Tigray until they were annexed by the big hand of TPLF from Gondar. Let me add one story here. After the TPLF captured Welkayet by force, they gathered the people and told them that “before Amhara took you away by force you were part of Tigray and now we liberate you to regain your identity”. Before the end of the meeting one elderly person stood up and gave this unforgettable speech. “Egna Tigriayoch aydelenem, Egna tigray endanhon igzabhere bnentena be enga mehakel tekezen sera”. “We are not Tigrayans; since God doesn’t want us to be Tigraian, he was building Tekeze between us”. After that incidence those peoples who opposed the annexation were jailed, killed or fled their region/country.

In conclusion, I would like to remind my readers that I only commented about some parts of the book. This book has 257 pages that filled with more lies than a grain of truth. I invited you to read the entire story in order to grasp the distortions of the truth that filled this book and to understand how the TPLF propagandists attempted to confuse the international community and to create a new myth in Ethiopia history.

You can reach me at Urosurgerymd@yahoo.com

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8. July 2008 by Assimba.

Mammo Muchie, Dphil
Professor  Coordinator of DIIPER

Inspiring Quote!

“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us, “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.”

Albert Einstein - (1879-1955) Physicist and Professor, Nobel Prize 1921

1. Introduction

There are many things that can easily be used to create distance, to separate people from one another, to subtract their dignity, their humanity and solidarity. How can those who believe and those who do not believe, for example, in one supreme creator express empathy and solidarity or respect each other? How can those who believe in religion and those who believe in evolution come together? For those who wish to exclude others with differing beliefs from themselves, let alone on such big differences like a belief in religion or science, but even on minor differences and anxieties of every day life, can be a cause to create distance and even wage divisive and unwarranted quarrels without any desire to end it.

The truth is that even science and religion have something shared in uncovering the deep mysteries beyond. For religion God is the ultimate mystery. For Science, the universe is the ultimate mystery. What is shared and common between them is indeed the different ways of fathoming the respective deep and big mysteries. The instruments of understanding are different.

Religion relies more on revelation. Science relies more on reason. But what they try to uncover is the deep mysteries that have eluded human capabilities to understand. Scientists have not unlocked yet why there is a universe or universes, from the source of the origin to its trajectories, though they have made big strides in understanding how the universe functions. There are as many religions perhaps as there are scientists showing human understanding of the ultimate ordering principle-God- is also not as unified as one may have expected it to be.

If religion and science can share a common space occupied by mystery, one would have thought those who use different political parties, different policies, programmes and platforms might find it easier to open a space where they can compete whilst consulting each other on the matter of how to realise in the best possible and least expensive way human rights, social solidarity and social justice for human communities across the world.

For some reason what we see is that those who dabble in politics often tend to polarise rather than find and reach out beyond their own loyal circle of like minded persons to others who oppose them to find a common ground to move a shared agenda to change a poor country into a self-respecting country, a hungry country into a well-fed country.

2. When Will the Suffering End?

Ethiopia is one of the oldest most suffering nations in this planet. It went through hell in the Second World War under Mussolini’s fascist aggression.

It emerged from the war to confront a number of civil wars where external and internal actors coalesced to make the people, country and nation suffer.

Its elites imported undigested ideas that simply became a reason to impose red terror and whit terror. It fell for a virulent form of ethnic and vernacular decomposition that has undermined Ethiopian citizenship rather than build it, despite the claim by those who imposed this particular form of ethnocentrism.

Then it fell for the modern famine that begun in 1973 and has not been put behind us. Very sadly, once again a spectre of famine re-haunts Ethiopia! This is not because Ethiopia cannot feed itself. It can. But the requisite values that put human rights, human solidarity and social justice for all Ethiopians irrespective of origin, religion, age, gender, politics, rather than the happiness, life and liberty of the elites and their backers, have not been given the hearing of a day let alone to get the values of human rights, social solidarity and social justice to become institutionalised and sustained.

Then we saw the politics of practising the deception of election. The deception was openly exposed particularly since the May 2005 Election. The claim that peoples voices, choices and votes matter turned into a farce when in reality their votes, choices, preferences turned into sending the elected to prison and some of those who voted to death, and others into exile.

It is time Ethiopia comes out of this self-inflicted prison of successive compounding of problems. It is time for each one to understand solidarity with others is what makes one to be human, and not the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness for the individual alone. The latter makes one a carefree and careless individualist and egoist going for self even if this tramples upon the acts of solidarity with humans and nature.

The acknowledgment of the principle ’I am because you are’ is more than ever necessary specially for all those who are involved in setting up parties and waging struggles to change society, people, nation and country. It is an obligation that they have to stop attacking each other and begin conversation with tolerance not because they have to like each other; rather it is the necessary and sufficient obligation to get Ethiopia out from the prison of problems into the freedom of possibilities and opportunities. In Ethiopia, those who do not have the capability and tolerance to express spirits of solidarity may be advised to refrain from creating difficulties for the country and should be self- critical, evaluate themselves and stop spoiling public life from evolving into directions that can truly tackle the real problems of real people in Ethiopia.

3. From Unity to Fragmentation

May 2005 showed if it showed anything else that the people can choose if those who seek to be elected public servants and not masters present their case with clarity. What came to light with compelling force was the reality that losing power for those who hold it was not on the agenda whether the people invited to vote choose to reject existing power, uphold it or were prepared to welcome new power.

What became demonstrated is this: a game of invitation to the people to choose had nothing to do with power conceding to respect the choices, votes and voices of the people? It had everything to do with playing the multi-party election game often demanded by those who make conditions of ‘good governance’ for the qualification of low-income states like Ethiopia for G8 funding and multilateral and bilateral ‘budget support.’

There was neither debate or an opportunity to sharpen ideas and policies how to evolve a governance system that can sustain human rights, social solidarity and social justice for all in Ethiopia to create change without disrupting the inner security of all citizens irrespective of language, creed, gender, age, ethnic origin or religion.

What emerged also during the entire process and leading up to the Election Day on May 15, 2007 was remarkably how opposition unity continued to hold despite the fact that the units and fractions that came to form alliances and coalitions appear to have variations in philosophical outlooks, age differences, strategies and perhaps even visions. The unity of the opposition was strong enough to induce fear of loss of power and a nightmare scenario of subsequent events by those who had reason to worry losing a grip on power!

For those of us who wish to see the novel experience of peaceful democratic transition involving all citizens and also achieved by all citizens, the sheer excitement was to see change come to the country. We hoped naturally for forces to come that put priority above all on values such as the attainment of human rights, social solidarity and social justice achieved by no other means other than through peaceful policy dialogue, reflection and foresight by the country’s own citizens who have chosen to engage, organise and compete for public office.

The process run into a hitch and eventually those who fear prevailed over those who had hope to bring the novel experience of transition with peaceful means by transforming power from one set of political groups to others competing against the incumbents.

Like a driver who always makes the wrong turn, history moved away from the lofty aim of securing a peaceful transition through the choices, voices and votes of the people back to the uncanny and worn out reliance on the barrel of the gun to maintain power! What eventually came is not change but more of the same situation that has not expanded human solidarity, human rights and social justice for all.

The aftermath of the election led to the disintegration of the opposition unity where some of those who called for civil disobedience went to parliament and those who showed unity by supporting calls which they did not initiate for the sake of opposition unity ended up in prison.

The prison period seems wasted in terms of ironing out differences, and it appears, contrary to expectations, to have not united but exacerbated conflicts and divisive differences. This was not helped by the division outside prison and abroad by those amongst those most actively organised in supporting the call to free the prisoners of conscience.

The post- prison situation continued the fragmentation and exposed some of the most unusual insults we have ever heard in any political situation in our life times. We hope it has ended for good never to return ever into public life. It is a self- indulgence that the nation cannot afford. The people cannot afford. The country cannot afford. Even those who indulge in it cannot afford. It is very embarrassing that it ever happened at all, as it is also so needless.

Unfortunately web sites and pal talks are full of unhelpful exchanges that must be stopped. Freedom does not mean the right to insult others. It is an abuse of freedom to insult and assassinate the character of those who may have different approaches to ones belief. It is critical that all stop the abuse of freedom to personalise and attack persons rather than ideas, systems of oppression and plans that may fall far short of delivering human rights, human solidarity and social justice.

4. From Fragmentation to Regroupment

In a poor country like Ethiopia, had we been lucky to have people who can lead the nation, with the spirit that is broad minded and deep, and by being ready and willing to’ widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty,” at least that of our own Ethiopia and Africa, we would have been able to create and institutionalise a system of governance where at least those amongst us who wish to engage in public service will join two competing parties that also make it a principle to learn, to behave, and cultivate to consult each other on the major issues that affect the well being of the people, the nation and the country.

But we seem to be very far from that goal yet. We have a number of types of forces at present: those who grouped or clubbed together to rule, those in parliament who oppose them loyally, those who are both inside and outside parliament, and those who are outside parliament, and others who wage armed opposition connected partly to the condition of a self-torturing region that lacks neither a security community or inner security with the many unending conflicts.

In principle they all should find a way to find a rule of the game to enter into a process where they can compete and consult each other provided they share values of human rights, human solidarity and social justice as the core overriding value just as religion and science find a shared space in the fact they both seek to unravel deep mysteries that has defied human intellection to date as far as we know.

What is needed now is a broad social movement that includes who ever can be included to make sure key values are shared by all those who join public life and those who do not share these values are encouraged to share them, if they fail to share them, a collective action is mobilised to restrain them from spoiling the destiny of this far too much abused nation. Ethiopia must come out of the prison of problems, conflicts and disasters that put into jeopardy millions of its citizens. Ethiopia must be liberated and be made to enjoy the freedom of human possibilities and solidarities.

It means the overriding values must be learned and shared by all especially those choosing to engage in public life voluntarily. The values then become the guiding principle of political conduct for all those who have self-organised themselves to enter into public life seeking either power or change. Let those, who under the guise of exercising ones freedom and happiness, complicate the opportunity to develop a shared political space refrain and restrain themselves from misinforming, ill-informing and spreading malicious rumours and innuendos based on grievances, greed or vengeance, real or manufactured. It is time that the country must not remain consigned to the barbaric humiliation of not being able to feed itself when it can, not being able to govern itself by empowering all citizens, when it can, not to come out of conflict both internal and regional when it can, not to come out of poverty and begging, when it can- the key to it all is putting unity of values first by going beyond the fragments to anchor human rights, human solidarity and social justice in the beliefs, institutions and politics of the country.

5. From Re-Groupment to Consolidation and Unity

The current regroupment came in the wake of a process of unity that led to fragmentation and from the latter to the sort of regroupment we see now underway, and from the latter hopefully consolidating unification. It matters therefore very much how each regrouping unit functions and the principled way it behaves towards others in order to keep open always the chance to enter into some workable alliance or coalition based on key values that matter to fostering the well being of the people.

We emphasise human rights , human solidarity and social justice to make it clear what Ethiopia needs is to come out of conflict to get all to work so that all the peoples needs for education, health, food, water, shelter, milk, sanitation, hygiene and well being is fully met. This is the human right of every Ethiopian. And no Ethiopian fills fulfilled until all Ethiopians have their human rights to be educated, to be fed, to be cared for from ill-health, to have clean water, milk, shelter, sanitation and the conditions for a safe environment are met. That is the social solidarity that we all must express to one another. One Ethiopian is diminished when the other goes hungry. The human solidarity of the Ethiopian is to behave, to feel, to think, to work very hard so that all Ethiopians have all that they need to have to function to be competent and to be capable to solve any problem confronting them by any means necessary. There must be a willingness to reach out beyond ones inner loyal circle with toleration by bearing the demand to enlist all that can come together to help the country to come out of the recurrent humiliation!

Fairness and equality of opportunities and hardships govern the sphere of justice. The moral principle that is just is linked the fairness and equality that assigns hardships to some and opportunities to others. This moral disequilibrium often creates conflict. There must be a way to bring social justice as fairness and equality to compensate those that have been put in harms way through no fault of their own, like those who died during the election in May 2005. Those that have caused harm should acknowledge at least what they did was wrong and not make and humiliate their opponents to sign culpability when they did not commit any crime. Benefits and burdens, opportunities and liabilities must be distributed fairly and equitably. Policies that favour some and punish others, reward some and deny opportunities to other create and expand the sphere of injustice. It is not only wise to be fair and equitable in practice, it is critical to practice what has been described as procedural justice. The latter is associated with the principle of fair decision practices, procedures and agreements with the various regrouping parties in the process of emerging consolidated and united. The rules and processes that distribute the rewards and losses, and the benefits and costs must not only be fair in actuality but also in perception.

In Ethiopia, a divided society the role of social justice is a paramount value to reconstitute the foundation for promoting the infinite wellbeing of the people, the nation and the country.

The moral is this: those engaged in moving from regroupment to consolidation cannot afford to snipe at each other and look back to the hurt and harm of previous times. They must concentrate in forging the future and building to bring about the values that must be paramount in guiding this nation from the protracted dilemma of not being able to escape out of misery, starvation, suffering, conflict, war and inter-elite mistrust and in-fighting.

6. Concluding Remark

We think all that care to self-organise to change the conditions of Ethiopia from the current ill-being state to well-being state must learn to increase the’ conversation capital’ into a higher level than what it has been in recent times.

Perhaps it may not all have been that bad to move from unity to fragmentation, from the latter to a state of re-groupment, and from the latter to consolidated unification. As long as the move is across this trajectory what happened in the past may be seen a regrettable and painful learning experience. If people revert to actions that lead to fracturing once more, then there is good reason to worry. It means the hard and bitter lessons have not been learnt.

We call upon all to refrain to resort to practices that undermine the ability of Ethiopians to enter into solidarity and achieve in a record time the capability to make sure the nation comes out of the state of humiliation that it is right now. For how long can we tolerate Ethiopia as a country sadly that cannot feed itself when, in fact, it can.

We call all involved in public life in whatever arena and whatever method to enter into a conversation with toleration and patience to put values of human rights, human solidarity and social justice as the unifying purpose and vision to build a bright future for all Ethiopians and indeed Africans for that matter.

We thus call upon all to increase the “trust capital’ and remove the tendency to personalise issues, go for seeing the bigger picture, and stop concentrating on issues that divide those wishing to engage in public life rather than bringing them together.

The main challenge is for all those having chosen to engage in public life to identify overriding core values that can bring all together and share such as- human rights, social solidarity and social justice- and try to concur and move the debate into issues that can switch the methods used now from struggling by any means necessary to finding solutions by any means necessary. Ethiopia is longing for it. Let all those who have chosen to engage in its public life never fail her again!!!

Mammo Muchie, Dphil
Professor
Coordinator of DIIPER
Research Centre on Development Innovation and IPER and
NRF/DST SARCHI chair holder, TUT, South Africa
Aalborg University
Fibigertraede 2
9220-Aalborg East
Aalborg, Denmark
Tel.no. 00-45 9940 9813
fax.no. 00-45 9815 3298
http://www.diiper.ihis.aau.dk/
http://www.ccis.aau.dk/

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