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COMMENTARY By Kiros Girmay September 7, 2002
So many things have been said about TPLF and the people of Tigray. What is puzzling is that the die-hard supporters of TPLF can come up with so many excuses for their support in the past and with some residue still lingering in their mind. TPLF is and was against Ethiopia, no matter if it was because of Meles, Sebhat, Alemseged or anyone who was in the leadership. I’ve a few questions to TPLF supporters: when thousands of young Tigreans were sacrificed in the Sahel (Eritrea), where were you? Where were you when TPLF was fighting for Eritrean “independence”? When thousands of Tigrean “tegadelti” were killed by TPLF leadership for opposing that TPLF should not be used as a tool to facilitate Eritrean independence? Do you remember when TPLF gave Sha’bia unrestricted access to plunder Ethiopia’s resources for several years? Have you ever uttered a word when 150,000 Ethiopians were deported in 1991 from Eritrea without their hard-earned properties? Were you not defending Meles when he said “Ethiopian history is 100 years old. Anything beyond that is fiction?” As Ethiopians, don’t you know your own history? I can list hundreds of evidences that prove that TPLF/EPRDF has never stood for Ethiopia’s interests. But such facts are now in public domain, and further details would only bore the dialog. TPLF supporters never questioned any TPLF wrongdoing, though TPLF combatants were being fed to killing squads for asking questions that only reveal TPLF leaders’ secret mission. Wasn’t it right? Some of them learned a lesson, and moved out of it, but some are still giving us an excuse that TPLF is only un-Ethiopian under Meles, or after the split. How naive could they get to believe that Meles was the only cause for the bad things that happened in the lifetime of TPLF? Where were the other so-called leaders? What did the Tigrean people benefit from this organization? TPLF gave away on a silver platter the Afar land (including our access to the sea), undisputed parts of Ethiopia (Badme, parts of Irob, parts of Zalambesa). Besides, Tigreans are more oppressed than other fellow Ethiopian groups. Do you consider this a benefit?
I am also puzzled by some TPLF die-hards who want to replace Meles by the dissidents, and they think Ethiopia’s problem will be solved. The dissidents had a chance for 27 plus years to correct their mistakes, but they didn’t; they only paid lipservice after their dismissal, and their words even came too late to be good. We may applaud them for admitting their mistakes, but for sure the people of Tigray don’t want to be led by the same people who failed them for three decades. The other day I read a slogan on a bumper sticker which says: “If you want peace, struggle for justice.”
We want peace, and our step towards it is by struggling to achieve justice. Please don’t try to convince us that the dissidents were angels during the past eleven years. They were part and parcel of Meles’s private machinery of holding our people captives, and our country hostage. The only thing I gave the dissidents credit is that they stood firm against Eritrea’s aggression, and even that is only a correction of their past mistake to some extent, not a remedy that would heal deep wounds. The dissidents were still in power when their leader (Meles) initiated and signed the Algiers agreement, which tied Ethiopia’s hands, by agreeing to defunct colonial treaties of Italy. This act alone proves that they were overwhelmed by “history” only Shaebia wrote, and Meles studied and taught, and the dissidents echoed throughout their tenure as TPLF leaders. Sha’bia’s struggle was seeking a solution to a colonial question (which Ethiopia was the colonizer, according to them), and then why go back to Italy’s treaties? If Ethiopia were the colonizer, Ethiopia should have been the arbiter. Period. How come this old fact became a revelation to them after they lost power? TPLF was and is working against the unity of Ethiopians. In the eyes of TPLF supporters, our Amhara people are chauvinists, our Oromo people are narrow nationalists, the labeling goes on. They worked day and night to destroy the fibers of unity among our people. It is palpable to say that no nationality is immune to extremism, but for sure the number of extremists is small compared to the peace loving millions of Ethiopians. Thus, anyone using as an example of the extremists as if they represent the whole population is misleading and dangerous. Fanatic TPLF supporters are labeling Tigreans of different opinion than theirs as EPRP, Dergist, Mesion, EDU , OLF etc. Old dogs never learn new tricks. TPLF fanatics still sing the same old boring song that TPLF used to divide us, and weaken our collective power. But who is asking who? Who is in power right now? Who is destroying Ethiopia right now? Why are we talking about organizations that are not in power? It is funny when TPLF/ EPRDF and their followers call you all kind of names only if you disagree with them. If you agree to what ever they say, then it is ok even if you were Dergist, EPRP, EDU, etc. Those ex-TPLF supporters in diaspora were not immune getting bashed by Meles/TPLF cadres. After serving TPLF for many years, and when they started questioning the hidden motives of TPLF, yap! you got it right, all of a sudden the “heroes” are cursed as villains, just overnight. We saw TPLF destroying our country for the past twenty seven years. Should we still give them the benefit of a doubt? I don’t think so; we should say enough is enough, it is time to stop the destruction. As for those who are wagging their tail for TPLF, I will tell them this: TPLF is almost about gone.
It is in the best interest of your people to wake up and stand for justice for all Ethiopians collectively. Time is changing fast that we all should struggle for equality and justice for every Ethiopian. In a nutshell, the point is neither Meles nor TPLF dissidents have ever been seen working in the interest of our people. The reason is because they came from one school of thought: TPLF – the organization which was born in Tigray, was raised by Shaebia propagandists who turned TPLF into the Trojan Horse of Eritrean independence. No more, no less. This should not look like a deadend though. Considering the young Solidarity for Justice and Democracy, we can comfortably say that thanks God Solidarity has transcended TPLF’s divisive political culture, and is gaining ground as a strong civic organization working for a united Ethiopia. TPLF fans would like to say over and over again that TPLF and the people of Tigray are one and the same. This is a trick that has lost its magic. TPLF is a means of oppression that has impacted Ethiopian Unity like no other polical party did.
On the final note, for those who seek independence from Ethiopia, learn from Eritreans. |
