By Getachew Reda www.Ethiopiansemay.blogspot.comThis briefly written article is a reply to all concerned fellows who are critical to the Ethio-Eritrea People to People friendly conference carried here in San Jose. This response is not of the committee. This response is mine as a citizen and a media operator. Therefore, if you have any critique, question or response please do address to me not to the committee or to the participants or guests.I was triggered to come to response this article after I read my good friend Yelfiwos Wondaya (a decent, patriotic and a good old friend of mine indeed- may I add). Yelfiwos being my compatriot friend this time, I felt it needs a reply for his commentary Conference in the Horn of Africa. I wish he addressed his concern only to the people who held a conference based on his title (Conference in the Horn of Africa). My friend Yelfwos shouldnt linked the San Jose- people to People Conference between Ethiopians and our brother/sisters who called themselves Eritreans with that Conference organized by few Shabia sympathizers (Neamin Zeleke a good patriot- but fall short recently for reason odd to me and some few) and guests from Shabia lovers and racists (Amanuel Beidemariam for example whom his Shabia view articles appeared on Ethioforum.org and Abugida websites ) that have bleeding heart to Isayas Afewerki.
My main concern of this commentary that I like to address was not the above issue I quoted Yelfiwos, but to explain what some of his definition of People in his commentary and also some Eritreans such as the Awate.com editor Salah Gadi wrongly may be even naively and ignorantly or arrogantly , or his usual dismissing of Ethiopias being generous to educated him to the level referring his relation with Ethiopia as Misery and misery and misery <purposely misinterpreted- any people to people relation dismissing it on his website commentary saying to some his likes Eritreans that carried conference regarding the Ethio-Eritrea issue (though that conference in London – was carried by some Eritreans who have connection with TPLF/Meles as the Shabia die sympathizer Ethiopians carried it in DC). But, his interpretation of Ethiopians and Eritreans issue dismissed it in a worst statement of ignorance the following. Then, you have to scrap the whole misleading notion of peace with Ethiopia because there is no enmity between Eritreans and Ethiopians, at all. Proof? Eritreans and Ethiopians in the border areas are still intermarrying, burying their dead together and praying in the same churches and you do not speak their simple language. Why are you trying to resolve an enmity that doesnt exist but in your minds? Please learn to deal with matters that count, that break the bondage of Eritreans. Learn to address real issues that affect the entire Eritrean people instead of wallowing in trivial issues every now and then. Clean your houses first before sniffing for a non-existent problem with your neighbors. Ngdet London,Kahsa Weyane (By Saleh (Gadi) Johar-April 01,, 2010
Now, I will leave such ignorance to all readers to think how ignorance the fellow is to dismiss the present bloody and hateful relation of the two society as a factious or nothing is happening between the two of us. Salah as a website editor and a person who participated as observer ( Asenadai/organizer- of the fraudulent Eritrean Shaabia Freedom Referendum- (?) so called Eritrrean Referendum) and to comment on it as no hate relation is between the two people exited is too naïve! If anyone dismissed in such a way denying that there is no animosity between Eritreans and Ethiopians, then they are living in a different world (one needs not to search and read what is posted on the Eritrean websites or Pal Talks or magazines and radio or their audio video concerts… Only a fool can dismiss in such naivety not articulated and educated website master and an Engineer (?). Let alone Salah to say there is no animosity among the two people- even Isayas and Meles the perpetrators of the conflict and hate stated There is no hatred among the two people. Sure!!!!!!)
Now, let me quote how Yelfiwos linked us with those (the title he named) above.Patriotism lives on and performing national duties in a faithful manner is what patriotic act is all about. Be just that or be not. Back to the name changing trail; CUD was a coalition next to so-called KESTE-DAMENA one of the integral parts of CUD itself then without the name Ethiopia attached to it, then, all splinter groups came out of it with the exception of MEAD called themselves the same exact way CUD has done in terms of avoiding the name Ethiopia, G7, UDJ, and MEDREK are the cases in point here and then noticeably AFD was formed by carefully avoiding the name Ethiopia too, then, comes the so-called Ethio-Eritrean conference that took place twice in San Jose, CA, and here we go again the so-called Conference on the Horn of Africa is another occasion for another group gaming its way to the top of its profession.
First of all let me started with what he said regarding patriotism. Patriotism lives on and performing national duties in a faithful manner is what patriotic act is all about. As the same time he dismissed what he said by dismissing those of us who tried to perform faithfully national duties such as easing conflicts and hate among Ethiopians and Eritreans brothers and sister that took so much life and family splits and so much sufferings.
What also made me so uncomfortable is when he accused my San Jose Ethio-Eritrean People to People brotherly conference linked us with the group/trail he accused of avoiding the name Ethiopia on their titles by saying . Back to the name changing trail; CUD was a coalition next to so-called KESTE-DAMENA one of the integral parts of CUD itself then without the name Ethiopia attached to it, then, all splinter groups came out of it with the exception of MEAD called themselves the same exact way CUD has done in terms of avoiding the name Ethiopia, G7, UDJ, and MEDREK are the cases in point here and then noticeably AFD was formed by carefully avoiding the name Ethiopia too, then, comes the so-called Ethio-Eritrean conference that took place twice in San Jose, CA, and here we go again the so-called Conference on the Horn of Africa is another occasion for another group gaming its way to the top of its profession.
What in the world happened to my brother Yelfiwos? Brother, how in the world can we be accused of changing names and linked/compared with notorious organizations who hate Ethiopia who were organized and orchestrated by EPLF noticeably AFD and the rest as Embryo that grew to its way to the top of its profession? It is absurd to deliberately sett us with such accusation by a clever way of writing using .Comes the so called Ethio-Eritrea conference that took place twice in San Jose, CA and here we go again the so called Conference on the Horn of Africa is another group (quotation added mine) gaming its way to the top of its profession.
I tell you, I have read and heard so much crap from all sides from Eritrean website editors, TPLF website editors and Ethiopians that the San Jose conference is been given so much names before the conference. Participants ad guests were been asked or coerced not to participate- but, the truth the matter is after all the conference every one of them concluded that such conference and gathering was Community solving issue that leads to ease tension and create or resuscitate the brotherly and sisterly relation among Eritreans and Ethiopians that can help to examine what went wrong among us. This is has nothing to do with business of changing Ethiopian names or avoiding Ethiopian names or whatever premature rumors is been spreading all over the media.
I have invited all; including TPLF Aiga cadres that were trying sending rumors about us to come to the conference and explain their views to explain why such wholly mission is negative or a threat to both people. None of them came and didnt show up- knowing they have no point to offer based on their rumors behind the screen they were writing. So, according to my memory, people know me for years that I Getachew Reda will not join with groups that have intention or has mission of change the name of Ethiopia into something else. Brother Yelfiwos knows my position and wont miss this. Therefore such linking to such group needed to be corrected in the future. If such could have been the agenda I will be the first person to withdrew and alert you. But, that is not the case at all. Finally, I have also like to address the meaning of people. I have read Eritreans (Awate editor on his mail to me) and brother Yelfiwos on his articles and also TPLF supporters who wanted to hijack such start to their own advantage miss interpreted the word people. All of them used similar view saying (I will paraphrase generalizing each of theirs different way of saying to one sentence) << no one has the authority or the moral ground to decide or conduct or talk about the fate of the two people. >> well, well, well! Who are the people? Is that not me and you made up of? People are not separate entity from the individuals that build the people/ group. If we wait for some unknown body called people to do the conference outside individual initiations-there cant never happened a conference that will be stated or conducted by people unless we the people initiated by individuals is held or conducted. Individuals are us the people who are the yolk of the so called people and the total sum of conscious and unconscious elements of people. Even according to my yelfiwos or others of saying if such is going to be called peoples it should include all organization/political and the like. There are also who do not believe in all the mentioned representatives of organizations or do not know them or recognize them as their representatives. So where is the line to draw and decide this are representatives of the people and these are not? If we do, we will all end up in hypocritical arguments.The definition of people goes like this The body of persons who compose a community, tribe, nation, or race; an aggregate of individuals forming a whole; a community; a nation. Therefore, we as the inhabitant of Ethiopia and as individual, we have the full right to organize to ease the tension that matters or be hurdle to our families, countries relationship. There is nothing wrong to assemble and discuss or passed resolution regarding what we feel to be solved. We can agree and disagree based on the solutions and resolutions and methods that any conference and political group passed or indorsed. But we cant tell people we have no moral ground or authority or right to discuss about issues that matters to them. It is our fundamental right to discuss and create the best solution for the problem. We cant wait for some unknown entity called people apart of individual involvement in the effort of building peoples issue to solve our problems.
If there is, there is one thing people can do. Agree or disagree with the resolution or policy they frame. But, when we dismiss organizations as negative, mercenaries or with hidden agenda- it only should focus to those known sympathizers of Anti Ethiopia gangs not to those who have never linked or had history of linkage of such group. Finally, believe me we are conducting this conference knowing we Ethiopians are mainly putting a lot of effort to create a climate of brotherly and sisterhood regardless we know Eritreans are far from reaching us. We did this, because, we like to show them the usual Ethiopian tradition and humbleness as good people as we were all the time to Eritreans ever since history seeing them as our blood and family. As you all know, we Ethiopians are not welcome to their restaurants and concerts, conferences without being seen received in a hostile eye or reception/ or seen as strange (many proofs for this), but Eritreans are welcome in Ethiopian restaurants, nightclubs, musical concerts, our stores (some stores in San Jose are even now selling their racist books, CD music/movies even clothes that has EPLF flags and design-!- (do not ask me how that happened- ask the store owners) in our gatherings freely enjoying without receiving hostility from Ethiopians (owners, organizers or guests).
We all are familiar with such huge gab. But we knowingly do so to washout what they have been brainwashed and misled by Eritrean organizations and TPLF gangs and sympathizers (though after Badime war TPLF sympathizers are in a different line and mood now with the rest of the Ethiopians). የኤርትራ ህዝብ ስማ!…. የመንግሥትህ መሪ የሆነዉ ተድላ ባይሩ የ አማሮች ተገዥ ሊያደርግህ በመዘጋጀት ላይ ነዉ . አንድ ጊዜ ከሸዋ ወጥመድ ዉስጥ ከገባህ በሗላ ለዘላለሙ መዉጫ አይኖርህም። ቆርጦ የሚዋጋልህን ቀጥተኛ ኤርትራዊ ለፓርላማዉ አባልነት ምረጥ በማለት አክሱማዊዉ ወልደአብ ወልደማርያም በ50ዎቹ ሲጽፉት የነበረዉን፤ ጽሁፍ ዛሬ ቀጥተኛ ኤርትራዊ የተባለዉ በወልደአብ የተወደሰለት ኢሳያስ አፈወርቂ ከመረጠ በሗላ እና ነፃ ሆነሽ ስመለስ የናፍቆት እምባየን አፍስሸልሻለሁ ያሉዋትን ኤርትራ፤ ከአማራ ወጥመድ ከወጣች በሗላ ለዘላሙ መዉጫ የሌለዉ ወጥመድ እና ባርነት በቀጥተኛዉ ኤርትራዊ ቀንበር ከወደቀ በሗላ አብዛኛዎቹ ኤርትራዉያኖች በዘር እና የጥላቻ ፖለቲካ ተስብከዉ ወደ ባሰ ጥላቻ እና ደም መፋሰስ በመግባታቸዉና እኛዉንም ጨምረዉ ወደ ጥላቻ ጨዋታዉ ሜዳ ስለጨመሩን፤ ከዚህ ከገባንበት ወጥመድ እንዴት ወጥተን ሰላማዊ ግንኙነታችን መልሰን እንዴት እንገምባ ከሚል እሳቤ እንጂ – ያገራችን ሰንደቃላማ፤ክብርና ስም ለመለወጥ የገባንበት አላማ እንዳልሆነ ሕዝቡ እንዲያዉቀዉ በዚህ አጋጣሚ አሳስባለሁ።
Best Regards to all www.Ethiopiansemay.blogspot.com
Getachew Reda