1. The Ethiopian people through their struggle under the leadership of the opposition political parties (primarily, HIBRET and KINIJIT) have reached a stage to challenge the EPRDF government more openly and aggressively. For example, because of relentless demand from the people, the government has been forced to grudgingly provide a form for the free expression of opinions and political dialogs on television shows nation-wide (although there are a number of limitations). This has created the condition for the people to be even more enlightened and organized.

2. The majority of the Ethiopian people are well aware of the dirty tricks of the EPRDF government and appear to be resistant to further deception. The level of consciousness of the people and the motivation for a change seem to be beyond point of return.

3. The opposition political parties have become more mature and realistic. They no longer seem to fight among each other destructively. They rather appear to focus on common and real problems affecting the people. The parties also seem to reflect leadership qualities through the offering alternative approaches to existing problems and by offering positive visions for the future. As a result, they are enjoying more and more the support of the overwhelming majority of the Ethiopian people.

These observations indicate that there is an undeniable change taking place in Ethiopia towards a positive direction. This is an exciting development and the reason for my optimistic impression. However, to achieve the ultimate goal of the realization of the people’s supremacy, there are still difficult challenges ahead that need to be addressed. Most of these challenges are imposed on the Ethiopian people by the EPRDF government persisting in the misruling of the country. Given the inevitability of the change, however, it would have been wiser for the government to handle events realistically and more appropriately so that the expected change can be effected as smoothly as possible. As this does not seem to happen at least in the foreseeable future, the Ethiopian people have no choice but to take matters further in their own hands. In this regard, the Diaspora community can contribute positively by continuing to support the people and the organizations representing their interests. One and major aspect of this effort is to facilitate the unity of the opposition parties—after all they have been heard to speak more or less the same language. Without such a support, it is hard for the opposition to compete with the ruling party, which literally has the access to everything it needs (except the Ethiopian people). The time has now come to counteract the resistance from dictators with full gear. The missing of the present fertile opportunity can be disastrous for Ethiopia, as it can only prolong the suffering of the people. It is more efficient to do the job now once and for all!

God bless Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people.