Menelik II & Mandela vs Mengistu & Meles

December 18, 2013

I would
like to start writing this piece with this quote attributed to Sir Isaac Newton
in his own right as one of the giants in mathematics and classical physics: “If
I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”

Introduction

This
article is not meant to compare historical events that took place a century
apart. The piece is merely a tribute to colossus fighters for freedom from
oppression in their own times. This approach provided the opportunity to
illustrate what attributes Menilik II and Mandela  had in common,
such as their reliance on outstanding feats of their heroic ancestors.

The duo
are now at their final resting home in heaven leaving behind a laudable legacy
that would take the present and future generations forward through the complex
world where, as Sir Isaac Newton said: “What we know is a drop, what we don’t
know is an ocean.”

Menilik
II

 In the 19^th century (1896) Emmye Menilik II won the victory
of the Battle of Adwa that put Ethiopia on the world map as an independent
country. The victory shocked European powers, which had no choice but recognize
Ethiopia as a free and independent country and establish or bolster their
diplomatic missions in Addis Ababa. This was an epic achievement by Menilik II that subsequently paved the way for stalwart
liberation fighters like Jomo Kenyatta, Kwame
Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela et al in the 20^th
century. Ethiopia under Empeeror Selassieassie,
Founder Father of Africa, played a leading role in the fight for the liberation
of the African continent. This would have not been impossible without Menilik’s victory in the Battle of Adwa.

Menilik II earned the epic accolade of “Emmye” (Mother) for His magnanimity and exceptional ability
to work with His former rivals and foes promoting them to top key positions in
His kingdom, irrespective of their ethnic background.  As several prolific Ethiopian writers and
prominent scholars have recorded the exceptional qualities of the Monarch, I will
only add that He will be remembered as the first to lay down the inspiring foundation
in the struggle for the liberation of black people of African origin.  

Nelson
Mandela fought for liberation in his time in the 20^th century
setting sterling example to African leaders of the 21^st century to
fight neo-colonialism. Mandela stood for the principle of no group should
oppress any other groups as expressed in his famous vow written in these
enduring words:  “I have fought
against white domination and I have fought against black domination.  I’ve
cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live
together in harmony and [with] equal opportunities.  It is an ideal which
I hope to live for and to achieve.  But if needs be, it is an ideal for
which I am prepared to die.” 

Mandela
was crowned with the accolade of one of the greatest leaders of the 20^th
century in our own time by standing on the shoulders of giants political leaders
like Menilik II of Ethiopia – the root of his genesis
as framed in his immortal words: “Ethiopia has always held a special place
in my own imagination and the prospect of visiting attracted me more strongly
than a trip to France, England and America combined. I felt I would be visiting
my own genesis, unearthing the roots of what made me an African. Meeting the
Emperor himself would be like shaking hands with history.”

Mandela
was buried at his birth place of his ancestors having been a victim of man’s
inhumanity to man and leaving a colossus legacy of truth-peace-reconciliation
as a Founder and first black President of the inclusive Rainbow Nation that
is  exemplary  to the world.

By the
way, the above quote is a very significant reminder that “The
Kingdom of Kush or Kush (1500 BC – 8 BC)
was an ancient African kingdom situated on the confluences of the Blue Nile,
White Nile and River Atbara in what is now the Republic of Sudan and that a
part of modern Nubia in Egypt and Sudan, as well as all of Sub-Saharan Africa in general.” My emphasis

Kush originated from the descendants of Noah’s three sons:
Japheth, Shem, & Ham who survived the great flood.  Kush is the eldest son of Ham or grandson of
Noah. Source: Genesis 7: 13 of the Holy Bible (KJV)

Based on
my belief in the Holy Bible, I often ask why in South Africa, and for that
matter in our entire world, the descendants of Noah (Japheth, Shem and Ham)
live in acrimony that sometimes border on mutual destruction.

Stalinist Mengistu

Mengistu hijacked and turned the peaceful
change of 1974 Ethiopian Revolution into a bloody civil war. He got his deputy Atnafu Abate executed in cold blood for genuinely
advocating a policy of mixed economy, free media and democracy; this criminal
act shocked even the ex-USSR which was supportive of broad-based and inclusive
struggle for change as well as normalization of relations with the Western
powers; he and most of his accomplices in the Derg dubbed
the ex-USSR as revisionist.

Mengistu enticed the nobilities and
dignitaries of the Imperial regime by extending an olive branch of “Ethiopia Tikdem Yale Menim Dem” (Ethiopia
First without Bloodshed) and then put them in prison subsequently massacring
them in cold blood without trial.  

He failed
stop the state-sponsored Red Terror inspite of the
objection of the Kremlin to that effect.

He got
General Aman Andom, which
reckless action worked to the advantage of the Shaebia.
He got B/General Teferi Benti
for advocating in public peace and reconciliation with opposition entities,
with EPRP in particular. Both Generals aforementioned were Chairman of the Derg under which Mengistu served
as their deputy, but in fact as a real mafia leader in power.

Ziade Bare of Somalia took advantage of the
massacre of highly experienced officials of the Imperial regime including the
irreplaceable Prime Minister Aklilu Haptewold, Lt. General Assefa Ayene and others to invade our country,

Mengistu overturned his own land proclamation
of private land of 10 hectares to each peasant and introduced the State and
cooperative farming systems, which were on the verge of dying in the ex- USSR.

It was
under Mengistu that an Institute of Nations and
Nationalities was established and that the structure of government reflected
divisiveness along ethnic lines – a bad omen of things to come which many of
his own officials feared.

Mengistu failed miserably to read the writings
on the wall demanding reform; for example: he ordered the killing of capable
senior officers and generals in the 1989 coup; he reneged on his publicly
declared decision to adopt a mixed-economic policy.

Finally, the
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Mengistu fled
the country leaving behind in disarray a huge army equipped with advanced
weapons – thus allowing the brutal TPLF regime, which inflicted untold crimes
and colossal damages to our national resources in the past 23 years. His sudden
flee gave the golden chance to Shaebia and TPLF to
loot the military equipment and for the latter to explode  large munitions depot one in Addis  Ababa causing civilian casualties; the latter
(Shaebia) used the stolen weapons and munitions in
the Ethiopia-Eritrea war of 1998 – 2000.

Stalinist Meles
Zenawi

It is noteworthy to recall that the Axumite
Kingdom is recorded as controlling Yemen in the 6th century. “Around 523 AD,
the Jewish king Dhu Nuwas
came to power in Yemen and, announcing that he would kill all the Christians,
attacked an Aksumite garrison at Zafar, burning the
city’s churches. He then attacked the Christian stronghold of Najran, slaughtering the Christians who would not convert.
Emperor Justin I of the Eastern Roman empire requested that his fellow
Christian, Emperor Kaleb, help fight the Yemenite king, and around 525, Kaleb
invaded and defeated Dhu Nuwas,
appointing his Christian follower Sumuafa‘ Ashawa‘ as his viceroy. “Source: Google & my official
visit to SANAA (Yemen) on government business  

However, Meles downsized the history of Ethiopia to the time of Menilik II deliberately ignoring the glorious history of
the Axumite Kingdom.

Meles desecrated the Green-Yellow-Red Ethiopian
flag and encouraged the removal of the statute of the Great Victor of Adwa, Menilik II; he deliberately belittled or shunned the
achievements of glorious past leaders including Emperors Kaleb, Theodros II, Yohannes IV, and war
heroes such as Alula Aba Nega all but  the second in the list hailing from
the Tigray region of the present day.

The tyrant
finally died leaving us with the legacy of: sellout of Ethiopia’s vital
national interests such as active support for the separation of Eritrea; grisly
heinous crimes including genocide, victims of torture, incarceration of
peaceful protesters en masse; extra judiciary execution of peaceful protesters,
the wailing of mothers, the agony of bereaved families, filthy jails in which
hundreds of political prisoners are cruelly kept, toiling peasants in serfdom,
interethnic hatred, daylight robbery of votes, pervasive corrupt practices,
culture of pathological lies, muzzled media, government monopoly of all pillars
of democracy, blocked freedom of expression, poor educational standard,
forbidden academic freedom in tertiary institutions, a land-locked country,
fertile farmland ceded to the Sudan; leasing large chunks of fertile farmlands
to unscrupulous foreign investors at tiny prices; massive unemployment largely
affecting the youth; demoralized youth addicted to psycho-thermal drugs; abject
poverty; embezzlement of national treasure and diverting donor fund;  rampant breach of the constitution; regional
instability et al.

Excerpt from President Obama’s speech

I would very much like to draw the attention
of readers to a part of President Barrack Obama’s speech at the Funeral of Madiba: “And so we, too, must act on behalf of justice.  We,
too, must act on behalf of peace.  There are too many people who happily
embrace Madiba’s legacy of racial reconciliation, but
passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty
and growing inequality.  There are too many leaders who claim solidarity
with Madiba’s struggle for freedom, but do not
tolerate dissent from their own people. And there are too many of us on the
sidelines, comfortable in complacency or cynicism when our voices must be
heard.”

 I say yes, we too
Ethiopians must act in earnest in unison especially at this most critical time
in our history to save Ethiopia from fragmentation; and to bequeath to our
children a united, democratic, strong, prosperous, all-inclusive, tolerant, and
caring Ethiopian society governed by a constitution of the people, by the
people, and for the people.

Closing remarks

The African continent is in quagmire; it is beset by multiple
problems including incompetent leadership, dire corruption, rampant youth
unemployment, abject poverty, social injustice, moral turpitude, et al. Therefore
great leaders of the caliber of Menilik II and
Mandela are critically needed to avert donor dependency and/or neo-colonialism

I believe that the virtues of truth, peace, and
reconciliation were conspicuous by their absence in the lexicon of the brutal
Stalinists Mengistu and Meles.
Let us not make any attempt to ennoble these criminals

I praise the leaders of the G7 “Movement for Justice,
Freedom and Democracy” for their responsible publicly expressed stance to
advance the cause of truth, peace and reconciliation subject to genuine measures
to be taken by the TPLF/EPRDF regime to establish trust such as by releasing
all political prisoners and allowing unfettered freedom of expression. The onus
is on the regime to reciprocate positively!!!

I call on the ruling regime to immediately and unconditionally
release all prisoners of conscience including Andualem Aragie, Eskinder Nega, Bekele Gerba,
Reeyot Alemu, Leaders of
the Ethiopian Muslims et al!

LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA!!!