In the day and age when countries like the USA could justify invading a
sovereign country thousands of miles removed from their border in the
name
of national security, we Ethiopians are told by our leaders and by a
border
commission (EEBC) that we are to respect a ruling that is not in our
interest. As if we did not win the battle by paying a heavy price for
areas
like Bademe, our politicians are making sure that we lose the war to a
neighbor that has worked hard for over forty years to see our demise.
If the likes of certain Dr. Kinfe Abraham are advising the Ethiopian
government on issues of international dealings, we can be rest assured
that
let alone Badme, we may lose the whole country in a short time.
During an
interview with an Amharic reporter, Dr. Kinfe discounts the importance
of
Badme as an insignificant place composed of a few huts. Well with
experts
like that, who needs Issayas Afeworki? Dr. Kinfe’s opinion, I think, is
indicative of the absence of knowledgeable and authoritative
representation
that Ethiopia is currently lacking because the government chooses to
surround itself with spineless, yes-men. And then you have the likes
of
Abadi Zemo and Tsegay Berhe, who are so wishy-washy in their thought
and
stand; you wonder how they became the administrators of an important
region,
Tigrai.
In the absence of patriotic and elected representation and in the
absence of
competent and caring international mediation, we Ethiopians are being
forced
to take matters into our own hands and we have some options left.
Instead
of kowtowing to the slick ways of Meles Zenawi’s know-it-all attitudes,
let
us, we the people, organize our best legal minds and experts to regain
our
lost territories. Let us organize our thoughts and let the UN know that
what
ever the current regime does in our name, we are not going to accept.
Let
us demonstrate in the offices of the UN and announce to Kofi Annan
that we
are a force to reckon with, and we are to be taken seriously. Let us
dispatch
our letters, Emails and telephone calls. Let us spread our religious
leaders, our scholars and our able politicians to all the corners of
the
world to speak on our behalf. Let it be known that we will not stand by
and
watch the systematic disintegration of country for the sake of “regional
peace”
and for the sake of appeasing a Banda dictator, Issayas Afeworki. Our
brothers and sisters, our parents and relatives have paid with their
lives
and we owe it to them.
Let the opposition groups in Ethiopia organize a massive demonstration
in
Addis, again and again. Let this be the beginning of the end of the
current
regime. Let Badme be the symbol of all the injustices that have been
committed against Ethiopia and Ethiopians for the last twelve years.
Let
the world know that we Ethiopians reject all actions of the current
government to deny us of our natural access to the sea, and the
separation
our people into two different countries with out their will.
What do we have to lose? We are already branded as the poorest of the
poor,
and the hungriest of the hungry! Let us make our dignity our priority,
and
let them keep their “humanitarian aid” if they wish too!
