Disunity Among Ethiopian Opposition Parties: A Call for Cooperation

Let me start by thanking the authors of two insightful articles on this
issue: Asegedech Alemu Mekonnen’s “The Petty Politics of Ethiopian
Oppostion
Forces” and Abera Gena’s “Politics in the Diaspora Needs Serious
Attention”.

The recent bickering among domestic opposition parties has become a
source
of disappointment for many among which this writer is one of them.
While we
expect opposition parties to work on common ground that unites them
they
seem to prefer exchanging accusations and counter accusations that does
not
take the struggle an inch forward. I am particularly dismayed by the
non-cooperation spirit expressed by the three opposition parties: i.e.
Oromo National Congress (ONC), All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP) and
the
Council for Alternative Forces.

There can’t be any convincing reason
as to
why these parties reject EDP’s call for organizing demonstrations
together.
It is clear for every one now that EDP is bold and fast in its struggle
and
always ready to confront and expose the EPRDF regime in every
opportunity
that avails itself to it. Consistent to its method of peaceful struggle
it
is doing everything possible in a non-violent way to unite the
Ethiopian
people and weaken the dictatorial regime. In addition to organizing
public
gatherings it has stepped up its fight against the regime by openly
calling
a general boycott of purchases of any type of commodity from the ruling
party’s business enterprises. No opposition party has gone this far
until
now. However the three political organizations seem to oppose what EDP
is
doing in fighting dictatorship.

The question many people are now asking is that, what alternative these
three opposition parties are offering us? We haven’t seen them yet if
they
are waging armed struggle either and they are opposing the peaceful way
of
EDP”s struggle. Do they want to sit idle and wait until the TPLF/EPRDF
regime gives up state power by itself? Is this a realistic approach?
So
what alternative have they come up with? You have to work hard for
freedom.
It doesn’t come by itself, as some opposition elements seem to dream.
The
dictatorial regime has to feel the power of the people in every form of
peaceful struggle: mass disobedience, demonstrations, winning elections
when
possible, boycotting of purchases, etc in order to force it to respect
the
will of the people. The “do nothing policy” of the exiled opposition
didn’t
work in the last 11 years and flying condemnation letters from afar is
not
the best way to fight tyranny.

My worry here is that whether these 3 opposition parties are poisoned
by
some Diaspora politicians who are far from reality, and are only hoping
for
the miraculous downfall of the EPRDF regime, so that they can go and
assume
state power one day. These Diaspora opposition parties were here in the
political field for long but without any apparent success whatsoever.
After
loosing the ground for the more robust and proactive local-based
opposition
parties, some of them have now reduced themselves in to simple gossip
groups. They use their Radios not to fight the dictatorial regime in
Ethiopia but to attack domestic opposition parties like EDP who have
shown a
qualitative leadership role in a very short period of time (just listen
to
EPRP’s Radio these days and you will get the test of it). Some are in
the
political arena for about 30 years now with no apparent success and
there is
nothing positive we can learn from them. The recent alliance of the 3
domestic opposition parties with these exiled looser parties is not a
healthy one. In fact it may be one of the factors that may have caused
the
poisoning of the air between domestic opposition parities themselves.

The exiled political parties (not the useful civic organizations) in
the
Diaspora, after failing in their own have now abandoned the fight
against
Melese’s regime altogether and have focused on jealous political
attacks on
those Domestic opposition parties who are perceived as showing
progress.
This is a shame in their part, but not surprising at all. There is no
common
good or national interest in their political history and all they worry
about is narrow organizational interest. Just 3 years a go, when our
people
were fighting Shabia (who came with a total death plan to Ethiopia),
these
exiled parties with a blind hate for Woyane, were giving morale to the
enemy
(Shabia) by deliberately downplaying the victories scored by Ethiopian
defense forces.

I used to have respect for personalities like Dr. Beyene Petros for
fighting
the TPLF/EPRDF regime in its own game by winning elections and speaking
to
the country’s interest in hard won parliamentary sits. Many Diaspora
opposition elements were condemning them for participating in the
EPRDF’s
elections in the past, but they did the right thing by ignoring them
and
becoming a voice to the people in EPRDF dominated Parliament.
Unfortunately
they seem to be waning these days and heeding to the call of the
unhelpful
side-walk politics of the exiled opposition. They need to know one
realty
here. The Diaspora politicians are just telling them to sit and watch
the
regime just by flying condemnation letters when something happens and
do
nothing. Mainly because, that is exactly what exiled politicians do
with a
remote control struggle and they don’t want any domestic political
organization to outsmart them.

If people like Dr. Beyne and other respected politicians succumb to
these
political trappings and become idle politicians as the exiled ones,
they
will soon lose the respect the enjoyed from the Ethiopian people and
rendered useless. My advise to all Domestic opposition parties will
then be
not to be carried away too much by what some loser Diaspora opposition
parties are telling them and only follow the reality on the ground back
home. Come up with a minimum workable agenda and unite the people in
the
fight against tyranny.

If you can’t work together at least don’t attack
each
other as this only elongates the rule of dictatorship and the suffering
of
our people. I am not a member of any political organization but for all
practical reasons I can confidently say that EDP is doing its level
best and
it is up to the other 3 parties to give us the alternative. The “do
nothing”
policy is not an alternative at all. The best way for all opposition
parties
will perhaps be to draft a minimum political program acceptable to all
and
work together to shorten the years of tyranny in Ethiopia. They can
for
example form a Council that can coordinate the struggle until the
ground is
there for genuine election and they can individually compete later for
state
power. Diaspora opposition political parties can help their country (at
least for a change} if they stop dividing Domestic opposition parties
and
help them to create unity of purpose.