From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Apr 29 2010 - 15:02:49 EDT
Ethiopia: At A Decisive Stage Between Its People And The TPLF
PART VIII
. The product of sub-national politics
Note: Part I&II were posted on the 11th- Part III&IV on the
15th- Part V- on the 19th- Part VI on the 21st- and Part VII on the 25th of
April, 2010.
29/04/2010
One of the main factors contributing to the political crisis and overall
collapse of Ethiopia is the ways and means pursued by consecutive leaders of
the country, who failed to follow a political goal that is of national
dimension and one that serves all segments of the society equally while
promoting respect for the human rights of each and every Ethiopian. Instead
by masquerading behind a selected nationality, they opt to crush others
through power, which as such is backward as well as vulgar aspect and part
of sub-national politics.
As history attests, Emperors Menelik and Haileselassie tried to subdue all
other non-Amhara entities at
gun-point by considering them second or third class citizens. All political
and administrative components, the ownership of land and other resources in
the country were made to fall under the Amhara nobility. The Marxist Derg
regime which inherited the throne was unable to bring about another reliable
common ideology that is free from this paternal conceit. As there can't
exist a society that would be oppressed and mauled for ever, the people of
Ethiopia, overcoming the hegemony of the minority and persecution which they
couldn't tolerate got rid off these regimes one after the other and throw
them into the dustbin of history through organized and spontaneous
opposition. These preceding regimes though they appeared to favor the
Amharas, in real terms they were of no avail to the majority. They simply
used them as a shield except very few lords and other people in position of
power. In fact these ill-fated Amhara nationality group became objects of
animosity on the part of other Ethiopians due to the alleged representation
they were assumed to have for leadership.
The TPLF regime which assumed power after the fall of these tyrant regimes,
should have learned more by gleaning from previous experiences. It should
have established a democratic system that involves all nationalities giving
equal political opportunity to all. A just administration that answers the
question of Tigray as well as the request of all other Ethiopians should
have been set up. However, even this regime by blunting the revolutionary
struggle initiated by the people of Tigray for respect of their rights,
managed to mould it into a shallow mission of vendetta. And by using the
people of Tigray as a pretext while subjugating and suppressing other
peoples, far worse sub-national politics was brought to the fore by this
regime which degenerated to the extent of incorporating it into the national
constitution. And it decided to guarantee its continued stay in power in
such a way. Understanding beforehand that ethnic politics breeds
confrontation and disturbance rather than peace and tranquility, the people
of Ethiopia have from the outset been opposing vehemently the sub-national
politics that the TPLF tried to legalize under the pretext of Federalism.
Nevertheless, promoting this antiquated politics as a favorite means applied
by the developed nations and presenting it as an indication of democracy and
still by giving a deaf ear to the majority, the TPLF implemented it through
force without the will of the people. And the
outcome was not that much different than what the people of Ethiopia have
long expected. Ethnic clashes and unrest rocked Ethiopia turning it into an
awful bloodbath during the rule of the TPLF which the country had never
experienced before in its history.
Right from the start, the people of Ethiopia have been continuously opposing
this sub-national politics which currently has plunged the country into a
complicated political crisis. And to break the opposition of the people
through the barrel of the gun, the current regime frequently carried out
unparalleled genocide, which is diffi cult to record and recite. When the
clique set foot in Addis Ababa for the fi rst time, it began its tenure in
offi ce by spilling the blood of innocent people. Without going far in 2001,
the regime by opening fi re on university students massacred a number of
youths. In 2002, in the towns of Nekemtie, Ambo and other areas of Ormoia
dozens of Oromo youngsters were indiscriminately murdered. And following the
2005 elections, the killing spree that broke out in many Ethiopian urban
centers which took the lives of innocent students and civilians are few of
the many shocking incidents carried out by the regime. Furthermore , in
addition to the indiscriminate killings the regime has done on its own, it
fueled ethnic clashes in many corners of the country over the past 16 years
in line with the sinister belief, " we can survive only if we instigate
frequent clashes among the people", and as such this resulted in gruesome
ethnic-based confl ict. The ethnic clashes that ignited between the people
of Gerina and Borena, Mezdjenger and Shiko, Guji and Borena, Sidama and
Guji, Gedeo and Guji, Gamo and Dawro, Hadia and Kenbata, Siltie and Gurage,
Harari and Oromo, Afar and Somalis, Nuer and Agnwak are few of the many
confl icts that brought about untold decimation. And this is a glaring
outcome of the sub-national politics that the regime cynically employs.
It is, however, far from possible to hold on to power by terrorizing and
frightening people. What the regime has done to guarantee its continued stay
in power on the contrary gave rise to a strong armed and civilian
confrontation, which eventually became a totally inextinguishable fi re that
is nearly pushing the regime down the slope.
A clique like the TPLF that grabbed power representing a segment of society,
if it really had the concern of its people and again takes into
consideration the safe road ahead, fi rst and foremost it should have
created a conducive environment for its people to foster peaceful and good
neighborly ties with other people. Because, it can only lay a reliable and
secure foundation for development and prosperity if and only if there exists
peace and respect among the people of the whole country and towards those of
neighboring countries.
In this respect, if we ask what the people of Tigray, who have paid dearly
for assuring their own selfdetermination, had benefi ted out of the TPLF
regime, the answer is very depressing: There has never been a day when the
people of Tigray had peace during the TPLF regime's rule. On the contrary,
the leadership of the TPLF, in order to satisfy a narrow sentiment, gluttony
and interest, has used the people of Tigray as a pretext by subjecting them
to a multitude of atrocities without any kind of care. Using the people of
Tigray as a shield, it opted to conduct unpalatable crime and destruction on
other peoples. And this has created much enmity and abhorrence towards the
people of Tigray. The crimes perpetuated by the TPLF have made the people of
Tigray to be looked upon as cruel and fi endish. The TPLF clique which has
set chaos throughout the country as a result of its antiquated politics has
made the people of Tigray initiate a polarized state of confrontation with
its age-old partners, i.e. fellow Ethiopians. It has also tricked the people
to fi ght and quarrel with its neighbor, Eritrea, and as a consequence this
has left behind a gushing wound as a legacy among the neighboring people.
The time for the collapse of the TPLF regime is not that far. Hence, at this
time where the downfall of the TPLF is clearly and boldly visible, the
people of Tigray and the people of Ethiopia as a whole, especially the
country's political forces need to carefully examine and recognize that from
now on there will not be any benefi t from employing sub-national politics
rather than a piteous, shameful destruction and death. Thus, it is high time
that these forces learn from the malicious mistakes of the TPLF and pay
heed. Such a sane understanding is the expectation of all those who aspire
for peace and development.
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