By Yelfiwos Wondaya – October 14, 2008
Once again a fear of backdoor dealings dominating Ethiopian thinking both at home and abroad for sometime must come to a close now. Ethiopians are no longer interested in a group that carries out an indirect sort of dealings with anyone other than our own to settle our national affaires. To begin with, one would say without fear of contradiction that an initiative that comes from outside into a place where it does not belong is bound to fail. In all honesty, though coordinating the various aspects of our activities, organizing the potential candidates of our future government and applying efficient working methods in order to make the entire arrangement work effectively must be our business. And also organizing a new platform that creates an environment in which the influence of the majority is welcomed to abate our misery is our goal. For we are at Liberty, we must remain free to take any measure necessary to attain our liberty and freedom on our own. Isn’t that common for any humankind to defend his liberty and freedom from being breached and defend it no matter what? So fighting against any sort of interventions that limit our freedom and sovereignty is something that any responsible citizen is obliged to accomplish. To that end, one has to admonish Ethiopians of all persuasions to stay alert and not to get duped by any backdoor dealings that breach our sovereignty ever again. And most important of all, if and when Ethiopia’s fate is determined must be determined not by outside influence but by Ethiopians themselves.
“A Government in Exile”? As an alien as it sounds; a government in exile involved with a country other than our own is totally unconventional in a way that is particularly wacky and bizarre. Besides, nowhere in the world would one put himself at the service of foreign powers and work under the orders of a foreign government. In any case, no matter how much one disguises it, it remains to be atypical, eccentric and foreign to our thought. Where is the moral-bound we Ethiopians are familiar with? How on earth a group living abroad believes in imposing its borrowed ideology against the will of our people and yet continues to enforce an argument Ethiopians are not interested in at all. I believe it is a belief of one group and what one group holds to be is not necessarily true to the entire society and worst of all trying to dictate one’s set of belief over the society is a sign of dictator ship. So please, with all due respect, let our conscience be our guide. Because, that is when I believe we become conscious of our morality that allows us to the right thing and to be true to ourselves. And that is also when we know what our limitations and obligations would be like. Moral-bound is what we lack and moral-bound is what need to rescue our moral dilemma. Morality is the custom of our land and must be the current feelings our peers enjoy. So let us stick to our words and deeds and live up to our values and belief systems.
Ethiopia deserves a time and space of her own where her citizens are free to choose their own government rather than having it imposed from outside. To me, a bad decision done willingly is much better than a good decision done by compulsion. Whether or not such institution formed outside of our country shall have a legitimate claim to rule the land of Ethiopia is yet to be seen. But one thing is for sure; to the best of my understanding, even deciding on discussing, endorsing and imposing the choices of privileged minorities and foreign powers upon the fate of our nation is not acceptable by any measure. The privileged minorities believed to have more power, social standing, wealth and talent than the rest of us in Diaspora cannot represent us much less representing the interest of Ethiopians living in Ethiopia.
Isn’t that pathetic for a self-appointed Think Thank to think of an institution formed in a far away place by few is a remedy for Ethiopia? At any rate, such notion of settlement is morally wrong and politically incorrect and cannot correspond in part with our belief system at all. Does any given group be it political or civic or both have a right to pass any motions on behalf of our great nation without getting a mandate from the people of that very nation? I believe not! Isn’t that the reason why we are opposing to Meles of TPLF to begin with? I like to say yes for the answer.
Clearly, though one can tell a clear difference there is between groups having admitted failure before hand and groups that not, and between decisions that deify all logic and voice of reasons and that not, and between groups that do as told and behave in accordance with a law and order instructed by foreign powers and that not. And between that of self-ruling and all-inclusive groups and that not. In this case, any groups that admitted defeat and stopped hoping for a good outcome and ask for a foreign intervention instead could not be an alternative force for Ethiopia at any rate. After all, a group unsure of itself tends to fall short and continues to fail itself despite the best efforts of Ethiopians both in Ethiopia and abroad. Briefly, one can see that there is an action oriented group committed to involve strenuous effort to topple enemy out of power on one hand and a group at a standstill waiting for a miracle to happen through a divine intervention. Besides, attempting to earn victory without putting any challenge in a fierce competition we have at hand is beyond me to comprehend so to speak.
Basically, Meles is a bridge to no where; and worst of all, a government in exile requires airspace to exercise its authority over the country and wishes to have a prevailing influence in due time.
What a joke!! Be that as it may, it is time to replace Meles not with a government in exile but with a broad based organization and an effective leadership that provides all Ethiopians with a means of
coming together. For he is a tribal chief who generally makes decisions to benefit his own clan, the degree of trust by the public on him and his political institution has declined in which case his failing system is facing a fierce resistance on the ground. So in principle Imposing one’s regime upon the same people is what Meles of TPLF has done, which is why we opposed it, and we continue to oppose such practices no matter who does it. Because, a regime that it imposes its agenda against the will of the people is repressive by its very nature. So, as an alternative, Ethiopians deserve to have a statesman who is widely respected for integrity and impartial concern for the public good and a broadly based political party consisted of all Ethiopians regardless of their religious convictions, languages
and ethnic backgrounds. This sentiment is deeply rooted in the concept of the Ethiopian sociopolitical culture and tradition which can be described as a set of attitudes and ideas common to all Ethiopians as
well. Thus far, the events leading Ethiopians up to such a collective form of protest against Meles’ Ethnocentric dictatorial regime needs to acquire not “a government in exile” but three important continuities, unity, organization, and leadership.
In the main, a timely intervention of some political leadership is needed to seize leadership position not from afar but there in Ethiopia today. Thus it will be possible for Ethiopians to hail their popular insurrection once they showed during, before and after the election of 2005. The people that marched through the streets of Addis Ababa against Mele’s dictatorial regime was symbolically, a sign of success, a winning shot and a champion of human rights that posed a threat to tyranny. Well done, the intent of the parade was not for a government at some distance from the shore but for a government at some distance within the shore there Ethiopia. With certainty, though we have learned that the Ethiopian people are already determined to set a limit against Meles’s dictatorial regime. So, at this critical time, not a regime in exile but an action oriented political leadership capable of providing the public with an effective leadership is highly required in Ethiopia. It is also timely for the upcoming political leadership to coordinate various political forces, units and civic organizations and bring about their contributions together to benefit our national struggle and win over enemy. Last but not the least, toppling Mele’s regime and rescuing the victory on the horizon is what the up coming leadership ought to do in order to provide the public with more of moral boost and inspire them with confidence not in exile but there in Ethiopian soil. Indeed, a leadership envisaging and contemplating a future ahead, a leadership that has a firm hold on the public’s imagination has to come forward to assume a new role of leadership to lead the revolution. In short, not governments in exile but a resolute leadership Ethiopians are looking forward to see in Ethiopian today.
To that end, providing the Ethiopian people with an effective and coordinated leadership and promoting a pragmatic course of action in a bid to liberate our people from the yoke of tyranny is the burning question of the day. We had been at ease and idle for quite a lot of years. In some cases, so many of us were even tending not to participating actively and usually letting others make decisions for us. And all of a sudden, here we go again we ended up with asking for “A Government in Exile” to be established overseas and to rule over Ethiopia from afar.
By the way, none has been said about a government in exile on the part of the chief player. The chief player in this case is the clear majority of Ethiopians. In a democracy, only the voice of the clear majority matters when it comes to decision-making processes. So does it matter if the self-appointed group living in isolation is claiming to have a right to discuss and decide over the fate of our country from afar? After all, democracy is a form of government in which the power is vested in the people or through their elected officials under such a free electoral vote. So where is the connection between the
concept of democracy and the practice of the groups when setting a government in exile? Don’t these concepts contradict in terms? If true to be told, however, we as conscious elements only can lead the
national struggle without imposing our classified or personal and patrician interests against the will of the people. One may also come to think of prioritizing the security of his nation more than anything
else. Because, country comes first then personal and patrician importance and urgencies come next. Therefore, the case in point here is that it is the fate of our country at risk we are concerning about.
Any other formalities comparable to the choices and opinions of individuals’ favors would come second to the safety and security of our nation as well. Nothing is further from the truth. Nothing is
personal about this subject either. It is evident that Killil has never been the choice of Ethiopians but has been imposed upon them by none other than patrician TPLF. If we are for democracy as we claim to be time and time again, we must convince ourselves to believe that the interest of the people has to come first to be served. The interest of the people together with the voice of several groups within and
outside of Ethiopia had not been taken into consideration at a time when TPLF and other liberation fronts crafted the constitution that compromised the sovereign power of our nation. As a result, look at
the dire consequences our nation is suffering. The same is true to this settlement of a government in exile; every individual involved in this notion of settlement has to come to think of the difference
between the process of validating a divisive regime and the consequences of the policy of that regime on one hand and the unpleasant result we are suffering as a nation.
In conclusion, putting the chief player aside and being the talk-show moderator to decide on the fate of our country is a travesty of justice so to say the least. Not only that, any circle of group be it political or none including the current ethno-centric dictatorial regime in Addis do not have no mandate from the people of Ethiopia to carry out this platform and decide accordingly. Much less to decide over the fate of our nation, we do not even have formal political participation to sanction or approve a government be it in Ethiopia or in exile.
The struggle continues!!