Opposition leader says Unity is the only way to save Ethiopia
By Wondimu Mekonnen
Oct 17, 2004

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Dr. Beyene Petros

LONDON (OCT 17) - Ethiopian opposition coalition leader Dr. Beyene Petros has told a meeting of Ethiopians in London that unity was the only way for Ethiopia with which the country can pull itself out of the current crisis fueled by the regime in power, reports Wondimu Mekonnen from London.

On 10 October 2004 Dr Beyene Petros met Ethiopians in London at Irish Center to explain about the outcome of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) 2nd Annual Congress held from August 28 - August 31, 2004 in Rockville, Maryland. Dr Beyene explained that UEDF was created on a solid background, after two years careful consultation, preparation, research and lessons from the past attempts to create political united fronts. According to Dr Beyene, all the past political coalitions were unions based on the wishes of the political parties untie but UEDF was the union based on the constant demands of the people of Ethiopia. UEDF founders thought of every means of uniting the Ethiopian opposition parties, to march towards the formation of a free and democratic Ethiopia where her citizens would have enjoyed equality, prosperity and freedom. More than the political parties, UEDF was supported by the people, who always cried for a united front against the tyranny in power. UEDF was the union of the people as it was called upon, created with the support of the people and now nourished and looked after by the people. The union was not created by funds obtained from any donor country government but by the Ethiopians self resources without reliance on anybody else. As a result various support committees had been motivated by the people and created in various cities of North America, Europe and even in South Africa and Australia.

Dr Beyene stressed how many doors had been opened for the opposition after the creation of the UEDF. He had been in the politics since the EPRDF/TPLF took power and knew how the international community used to look at the opposition parties. They had never previously treated the opposition seriously. He said that it had now become a different matter. Diplomatic missions in Addis Ababa had now started opening their doors for the opposition, and have started lending ears to what they had to say because they knew that the union was a serious force that could not be sidelined like before. Even the regime in power that used to look down on the opposition parties as weak and non-existent, for the first time got concerned and approached the UEDF and invited for discussion. As a result, Dr Beyene explained further that the UEDF had started a dialogue with the regime in power about free and fair elections, and the need to remove the current Electoral Commission and replace it with a neutral party. He also explained to the audience that, as a follow up to the already started dialogue, just recently, the regime sent a letter to the UEDF, addressing the organisation as "United Ethiopian Democratic Forces", with a suggestion to meet up for a dialogue to discuss about the upcoming elections. From the EPRDF's side Berket Simon and another senior official had been assigned to represent EPRDF while Dr Merera Gudina and Dr Beyene Petros were to represent UEDF. The dialogue would continue as soon as Dr Beyene returned from his business tour.

Dr Beyene believed that the UEDF had managed to mobilise the population. The UEDF has received amazing responses from the people in a way that had never been seen before. Meetings called by the UEDF are attended more than any meeting called to date by any single political party, regardless of its popularity. Dr Beyene told the audience with joy how the recent demonstration in Addis Ababa was attended by more than 100,000 people, demanding for fair and free election, democracy and prevalence of rule of law in the country. He was encouraged by the turnout in Awassa. He also mentioned how they organised a large meeting in Jimma, but postponed due to technical hiccups just before departing for the Conference in Rockville. He said couldn't't wait to return to see the Jimma public gathering conducted.

Explaining the outcome of the recent Conference at Rockville, he said that the things that were not clear before had now become much more clearer. 1. Member organisations are now going to be governed by the Transitional programme of UEDF. 2. Member political organisations would forward candidate to participate in the election. The candidates will be running for the seat in the parliament as candidates of the UEDF.

3. If the UEDF ever wines the election, the Conference has resolved on what type of Government to establish. The type of Government to establish would be the Transitional Coalition Government. In order to achieve victory over the EPRDF, the opposition needed to unite, therefore the initial type of Government would be a Transitional Coalition Government that would level the ground for democratic system and clear the mess created by the EPRDF regime so far.

Explaining further on the need for the initial creation of the Transitional Coalition Government, Dr Beyene drew a gruesome picture of the country. Under such a dictatorial rule, the country had further fallen in a very murky pit. Individual parties may really and may win 10, 15 or even 20 seats in the parliament. Such pathetic number of elected parliamentary members would not bring any substantive change. Some may believe that individually rallying for a seat, gradually may increase the chance to take power eventually. Have we got the time to wait that long? Dr Beyene Petros indicated that, if that evolutionary road was chosen there might not be a country called Ethiopia by then, as the regime in power poised in working towards her complete destruction. Dr Beyene Petros believed "it is today that we should unite to remove the danger hanging over our heads" first and then prepare the ground for the lasting peace in the country."

In order to underpin the need for the united front to remove the regime of EPRDF, Dr Beyene Petros touched on the life of the working people in Ethiopia. According to him, there was no job security in the for the employed and there was no light at the end of the tunnel for the unemployed. There did not seem to exist any law to protect the life of the workers. An immediate boss could fire a worker from his/her job without any explanation. No appeal could be expected forthcoming. School administrators were given full right to expel any student from school. According to Dr Beyene, that was in line with the so-called government in power, that had been expelling whoever was not to its taste and exposing the family into starvation.

Dr Beyene smirked the audience when he remembered regime's edict calling "All Beggars to Register". People had been wondering the motives of the "government" behind that edict. One wondered whether the call was simply to share percentage of the beggars' income or to blackmail them to remove them from the street if they did not support the regime. You never know.

Dr Beyene informed his audience that one could find young energetic farmers from Gojjam in farm field shorts on the streets of Addis Ababa selling lottery tickets. Even that was possible only if there was no police around. If one asked them why they were in Addis instead of farming in Gojjam or Gondar, they would tell one horrendous stories how they were forced to sell their oxen to pay fertilizer debt that was enforced on them in the previous year. After throwing so many out of jobs and seeing them designing their own ways of survival on the street, the regime came up with a new law called "Adegegna Bozenie" or "Dangerous Vagrants". Under this Law, the regime is had given itself rounding up many unemployed youngsters and vanishing them to unknown locations.

Dr Beyene revisited the crime being committed against education. Education had been limited to 10th Grade. Those graduating form 10th Grade had nowhere to go. Those who were said to be lucky enough to join the technical colleges had nothing to learn because no preparation had been done whatsoever to train them. Dr Beyene shared with the audience his recent encounter with a lady teacher of one of those technical schools. He asked her how she was coping up with the teaching duty. She just told him that there was nothing designed for her to teach. In stead of sitting and waiting for her monthly salary, she went to a nearby Catholic Mission on her own initiative and asked them asked them for a help. The Mission donated thread and needles. The teacher gathered some scraps from tailors and started teaching the students how to sew and embroider. Dr Beyene appreciated her efforts and asked her if her students were mainly girls. She said both girls and boys were learning because the boys had nothing else to do.

Dr Beyene explained methods of conflict resolution employed by the regimes soldiers. Due to the ill-conceived policy, conflicts had been erupting like a volcano everywhere. The best solutions the soldiers found so far had been summary murder and execution of one ethnic group siding the other, rather than bringing elders and negotiations and reconciliation the old way. Such methods were employed in Gambella against the Anuaks, in Sidama and many other places. Now the whole world knows that the regime in Ethiopia is committing genocide on its own people.

All these injustices indicated that he regime's dictatorial rule had been pushing the country towards brink of catastrophe. According to Dr Beyene Petros, that was why united force was required to remove the danger.

The practice UEDF had been following so far was waiting for the political organisations to approach them and join. However, Dr Beyene informed his audience that the recent Conference had changed that policy. According to Dr Beyene, the UEDF was baldly going to approach all organisations, those who recently distanced themselves from the union to rejoin and those who had not joined so far to join them. According to Dr Beyene, the time was so critical that no one should be left out. He was adamant that all should rally together. Even if it was difficult to work under the same umbrella, at least a working programme should be designed to tackle the dictatorial regime.

Dr Beyene Petros said that they were in the process of participating on the election. The regime's invitation to dialogue how best the election should be run would be held sometime early November 2004. UEDF would make every effort to get ready for the election. However, Dr Beyene cautioned they were not going to let the regime know the names of the candidates. He said that they were not going to repeat past mistakes. In the past, the regime required 500 signatures of the candidates who were members of organisations and 1000 of the individual candidates running privately. Having the lists of the supporters in their hands, the regimes Kabale cadres had launched pre-empted strike against innocent individuals and many paid dearly to the extent of losing their lives. This time, Dr Beyene vowed that would not happen. He said they would not agree to such demand from the regime. He said in a broken voice: "Beyene was elected at the cost of 500 lives". From the beginning, they were going to negotiate on the rules of the game.

Again coming to the need for a united approach to tackle the regime, Dr Beyene said that, regardless of the 500 lives lost to get him get a seat in the parliament, he had not influenced any of those dictatorial regimes parliamentary decisions, other than getting his objections registered. In order to bring a meaningful change through election, the opposition needed to work jointly to get at least 185 seats. Anything less than that would be hopeless. No single party was able to gain even a meaningful fraction of the needed number. If the opposition worked jointly, they could create such a force that would give encouragement to the electors to gladly go out and vote for their choice of candidates without fear of persecution. Dr Beyene is of the opinion that unity could create that atmosphere among the people. With such a force, victory could be in sight. Once victory was achieved, the regime could do nothing other than submitting to the will of the people, otherwise, what had happened in Yugoslavia or Philippines could happen in Ethiopia. For all that to happen, a united approach of the opposition is an option second to none.

Dr Beyene indicated that very soon the UEDF would come up with interim programme. He pointed out that it had already started working on picking the right candidate. Once the candidates were forwarded by each member organisation the UEDF was going to groom them through seminars and workshops. Dr Beyene vowed to groom and present future leaders to the people that would offer better leadership than the EPRDF.

Towards the end of his speech, Dr Beyene Petros appreciated the work of Support Committees abroad. Besides the financial and material support the UEDF Support Committee had done so far, they had a great mission to accomplish. He acknowledged that the British Government representatives traveling to Ethiopia had been better than others so far. He said that all of those British Government delegates who visited Ethiopia never returned without seeing leaders of the opposition. Dr Beyene pleaded with the audience to continue lobbying that Government. He also told the audience the wonderful job in the process of being done by the Ethiopian American Council, who established a Committee for Fair and Free Election in Ethiopia, pushing the US The House of Representatives to pass a bill for free and fair Election in Ethiopia.

Dr Beyene finished his speech by saying "We need freedom. We need democracy to flourish in our country. May the Lord help us achieve just that!"

After this, the organisers gave a chance for the London based Amaric Reporter of Radio Deutche Welle (Radio Voice of Germany) to ask those question that the audience could have wondered to know live (which readers might have already heard). The organisers informed the audience the next programme was purposely designed to enable Dr Beyene address all the issues through that everybody was concerned through a professional reporter uninterrupted before everybody else would have had a chance to ask Dr Beyene Petros for themselves on unclear issues.

The following were transcripts of more or less questions and answers: (DV = Deutche Velle; BP = Dr Beyene Petros).

DV - Two members of the Union have recently announced that they had left the UEDF. Do you really believe the Union still exists?

BP - The UEDF was a union of 15 political organisations. The quitting of two member organisations does not enforce the dissolution of the 13 others. If your question is on that line, then it is not right question. The UEDF does exist.

DV - In the last Conference, when you were elected as a Chairman of UEDP, it was decided that the leadership post would be held in rotation. How did this go?

BP - Yes, the Chairman and the Deputy had already exchanged places.

DV - When the Deputy Chairman becomes the Chairman, shouldn't't member of EUDP or AEUP move to the position of Deputy Chairmanship?

BP - That was not our initial decision. It could only be between the Chairman and Deputy Chairmen. One of the two Deputy Chairmen resides abroad. Therefore, the rotation was only between the Chairman and the Deputy that lived in Ethiopia.

DV - Some were not happy about this, claiming that this practice was out of the decision you passed at the Conference. Do you have a body that would look into misunderstandings of this kind whenever they arise.

BP - Yes, there was. Moreover they could have checked from the evidence saved by the modern way of electronic record keeping . Everything had been video taped.

* DV - Was the video distributed among the member organisations? Had the final resolution sent to the members?

BP - The Seven day Conference proceeding had been centrally kept for security purpose. The final resolutions were available to every member.

* DV - Only five of the organisations live in Ethiopia. The two that left the union were multi-ethnic organisations. The three left are based on nationalities. Wouldn't't this harm the union?

BP - To begin with I participated on the Conference representing the Coalition of Alternative Forces and not representing the Southern Peoples Democratic Union. They had their own delegates. With regards to the two that announced they had left the union, that does not mean the end of our working together. Their departure doesn't't mean we were going to look at each other as enemies. We will be negotiating. We will be talking to each other. We will be holding dialogues with them and try to find out ways of co-operating in our struggle to beat EPRDF on the election.

DV - You have also been accused of wasting money. How would you respond to that allegation?

BP - This is an embarrassing allegation. The answer is that we were able to account for every penny and reported how much had been left in our hands. £100,00 birr has reached Ethiopia. While organising the First Congress, we had a debt of more than US$20,000. Some went to cover that debt. The rest was sent to Ethiopia and used for purpose of running the UEDF's activities

* DV - Why Coalition of Transitional Government?

BP - A party could be declared a winner if it could win 3/4th of the seats. To bring a meaningful change in Ethiopia, including the change of the Constitution, one needs to win that much of the seats. As it stands now, including my own party, there is no one single party that could achieve that target in Ethiopia on its own. We needed each other. None of the parties are strong enough to command that privilege. As indicated earlier in my speech, the country is on the brink of destruction. We need to take the responsibility of leadership from this government as urgently as possible before complete destruction ensues. So many things have been turned upside down. We need a brief transitional time to clear the mess. We need time to declare National Reconciliation. We need a transitional time to prepare the floor to lay a ground for a foundation (base) democratic system.

DV - Will the candidates run in the name of their organisation or in the name of UEDF?

BP - The would run for a sit in the name of UEDF

DV - How long would be the transitional period? Among you who would be the leader. Are you going to be the leader?

BP - Oh, let us reach that stage first. Once we reach that stage, deciding on what you are now asking would not be a problem. According to my wishes, it would be better if the transitional period wouldn't't exceed two years. That is only my own opinion. The main thing is to agree on consensus basis. We will solve the problem through negotiations, discussions and understanding. On how to decide about who should lead, we will find a formula. For example, although the candidates run in the name of the UEDF, each member organisation would forward its candidates. The Committee of Candidates is going to be formed. The candidate that had the highest popular vote might be the one who could be elected as the Leader of the Transitional Coalition Government. This is just one possibility.

DV - Have you got yet the Transitional Policy?

BP - There is already a Commission in place that would draft such a policy. When that documents comes to light, it would answer every question in that regard. The policy will soon would be in place.

DV - When you meet Ato Bereket Simon and his colleague, what are you going to ask him? How will those political organisations residing abroad take place in the election?

BP - We had presented the question about those organisations in exile to return and take part in the election. He said they could come and take part in the election as long as they renounce violence. Those who had not involved in violent armed struggle could return and take part without any precondition. Any way, in the process of our negotiations, we will stop now and then and re-assess our performances with regards to the achievements of the struggle for fair and free election. To the end, we will struggle to achieve whatever would be left from our demands to have fair and free election. We will decide whatever action we should take on the final day.

With the above question, the Deutche Welle Amaric Reporter completed his questions the floor was opened for general discussion.

Dr Beyene responded to a question from the floor why they let in an organisation that was not a member of the UEDF into the Conference by saying that UEDF was not there to exclude any one who would want to join it. We were not there to exclude but to include. If there was any problem with the organisation that had a problem with the mentioned organisation presence, they should have sorted it out before bringing their difference to the UEDF Conference.

To question how he viewed the Annual Report By Chairman of Inspection & Audit Committee of UEDF, Dr Beyene said it came to him as a surprise to read the so-called Annual Report of the Inspection & Audit Committee. To begin with, members of the Committee were in various places. Distance did prevent them to get together and come up with a timely report. Secondly, every thing had been accounted for them, reporting to the penny regarding the money collected and used. He said he was wondering if that report was really the report of the Committee or one person.

To the question that posed if the establishment of a Transitional Government wouldn't mean overriding of the people's mandate, Dr Beyene Petros said the need for the establishment of a Transitional Coalition Government did not mean overriding the people's mandate but accepting the mandate to clear the way to lay a foundation for a democratic system in the country. In order clear the way for a democratic system to come, we needed a transitional time, and clear the mess the incumbent regime created. The need for creation of Transitional Coalition Government does not mean throwing away the victory of the voting people but build on the victory achieved, and make it last long.

To the question (from a known Woyane sympathizer) that alleged if the UEDF was taking advantage of the problem the EPRDF was currently facing to snatch power, Dr Beyene Petros responded that it was an unfair question. To start with, EPRDF itself was a problem. The UEDF was not the author of the problem EPRDF was facing. They were working day and night to rescue Ethiopia from the catalogue of disaster EPRDF plunged the country into. UEDF's aspiration to take the leadership power from EPRDF should not be seen as the Amaric saying: "The unrest in the market place would suite a thief" (yegebiya girigir leleba yamechal), but an effort to bring calm in the storm. "Ours is a mercy mission," said Dr Beyene Petros. "We are making an effort to save the country from EPRDF's mess". Dr Beyene said the UEDF was consistent from its inception by bearing a popular agenda with a big responsibility, much bigger than snatching power, using advantage of the EPRDF's own making so called problems..

To the question that stated if Dr Beyene himself would accept responsibility for the failure of all the previous coalitions, as he was the leader in all of them, he did indeed show some irritation. He said that he was not part of the first Coalition between EPRP and All Ethiopian Socialist movement - Coalition of Ethiopian Democratic Forces (EDHAQ). At least he would be saved from being blamed for that failure. He was elected to become Chairman of Coalition of Alternative Forces and UEDP. He said he did not grab power but he was elected to it. The question sounded as if those who elected such a failure to such a responsibility were stupid rather than making him feel guilty.

With this and other opinions from the floor, the meeting was adjourned and Dr Beyene was driven directly to Heathrow to fly back to Addis.