SEATTLE – When delegates of Medrek, the eight-party opposition coalition, opened the floor for public discussion on April 10 here in Seattle, a short, frail-looking woman grabbed the mic, and set the stage for a fiery debate:
“Are you guys OK that you dream about taking power from EPRDF? What happened in 2005? Oh, yeah! The people voted for the opposition but the regime ran after them with vengeance: arresting and killing. Now what is the difference the regime wouldn’t repeat same crime?”
Her tiny eyes moving fast under a furrowed forehead, the petit woman went on: “Yes I want to know how you can beat the regime that is mobilizing the youth, paying them 60 Birr per diem for attending its indoctrination sessions. Recently, some 3,000 youths were organized that way in Addis. You say you will win; I say good luck to you.”
“Mom,” said Gizachew Shiferaw, “Yes we know we are competing in an extremely difficult terrain. EPRDF may buy votes by paying out money to thousands of youths. But can it buy the votes of the about 14 million unemployed youths in the country?
The unemployed millions seek change, said Gizachew, who is deputy to Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), whose leader is Birtukan Mideksa, the prominent opposition leader Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has condemned to life in prison for fear that if she is free she would mobilize the entire nation and end his resented rule.
Birtukan remains a highly respected political leader, and her tender age at 36 has become an inspiring force for the Ethiopian youth, who are actively involved in the political struggle. Gizachew, for instance, told the audience that most of party activities are covered by the youth.
“Our confidence that we will win the election on May 23rd comes from the fact that the Ethiopian people – particulary the young – are determined to bring about democratic governance – ending the reign of fear and want.”
Negasso Gidada stepped in for elaboration.
“Other than the struggle we are waging, what other options do we have?” asked Negasso, who was a member of the ruling EPRDF party, and president from 1995 until 2001 when he scolded Meles as the “another Mengistu,” and plunged from the palace into the world of opposition politics at grassroots level.
“Armed struggle is the only other way to seek power; but power grabbed by means of violence, by means of war, by means of the gun would never guarantee the reign of peace, democracy and justice,” he said.
The third advocate of the power of a non-violent struggle is Gebru Asrat, an opposition figure now but a former TPLF politburo official until the question of sovereignty and accountability following the end of the 1998-2000 Ethiopia-Eritrea War put him and his colleagues on a collision course with Meles.
Zenawi meted out punishing measures against his critics. He purged them penniless, and vowed they would live as beggars in the street. Despite extreme hardship, the likes of Gebru proved tenacious, rose from the ashes and formed Arena Tigrai, a Medrek coalition partner that is now rising fast and gaining popularity in Tigrai, a region that Meles has deceptively portrayed as the stronghold of his party.
In fact, observers believe, Tigrai, which Zenawi has held hostage for years, could prove detrimental for him if the people cast votes in a free and fair election. Arena has unleashed a quiet revolution, and like the Medrek somewhere in the rest of the country, it is led by the youth. For instance, over 90 percent of Arena candidates for the election are college-educated professionals between the ages of 24 and 35.
Tigrai: Battleground for 2010 election
The unexpected development in this election is that Tigrai has become the battleground for the May 23rd election.
Arena made headline news in the recent past when thugs linked to the Zenawi family stabbed an opposition candidate to death. It was a message from Meles that anyone trying to shame him through ballot would end up dead, like Aregawi Yohannes, the 38-year-old father of six knifed to death in the wee hours of the night at his own residence in Shire. His death has only backfired at the government that killed him.
When Arena/Medrek leaders toured towns in Tigrai, they were welcomed with open arms, and conspicuous were the youth who packed the halls despite government spies blacklisting them as ‘trespassers.’
And the event that broke the camel’s back was in Adwa, Zenawi’s hometown. Adwa, Meles had expected, would turn its back on the opposition parties. Instead, the townhall was packed to the brim, thus forcing Zenawi to send in his thugs who yelled endlessly and disrupted the meeting. The police, who were there watching the drama, failed to throw out the thugs, signifying the hooligans were running amok at the order of the rogue Meles/Bereket regime.
“We know we have the overwhelming support of the people,” said Gebru, who for lack of money said his party has no offices in Adwa and Axum towns. It is where Ethiopians in the Diaspora, specially those in the United States, step in and make a generous donation.
Times have changed but some folks haven’t
Of course several other mind-boggling questions were also being asked. Some speakers mistook Negasso and Gebru perhaps for Meles Zenawi and Bereket Simon and tormented them like they were convicted criminals.
It has been over ten years since we quit EPRDF, and some folks never get that, and still keep asking questions as if we are still active government officials, the former EPRDF leaders said with a tone of remorse. Still others accused them that the reason why they have joined the opposition is because of being “power thirsty.”
Disturbing questions – questions that have no relevance to the ongoing struggle – were convincingly addressed by Engineer Gizachew. He said government cadres often use distracting questions like ‘did you apologize?’ or ‘didn’t you join the opposition because you want a shortcut to power?’
“If these men were looking for power, they had it in abundance. Negasso was living in luxury as president, but his conscience couldn’t accept the idea of working with a dictatorial regime, and joined the people’s struggle for justice. From being driven in an escorted motorcade, Negasso now lives a modest life – either walks as a pedestrian or takes a taxi like an ordinary folk. The same holds true to Gebru’s life,” Gizachew said.
“When folks give up their personal comfort in order to join the painful struggle for the sake of their people, I think we should embrace them as our heroes,” said Gizachew – to the applause of an appreciative crowd.
Once the fiery debates were over, the three delegates were basking in the glow of Ethiopian hospitality: taking group pictures, signing books, and of course warm chats and good-luck wishes over dinner.
The Medrek guests flew out of Seattle on Sunday, for another meeting in San Jose, California, same day. On Wednesday, they are in Las Vegas, Nevada. On Saturday, they fly to the other side of the coast, and address an audience in Atlanta, before moving to Washington, DC on Sunday, and head home thereafter.
The bottomline is Ethiopia is in a difficult situation, and Ethiopians badly need a political change. The guiding principle of the Zenawi party is ‘Revolutionary Democracy.’ It is above the ‘constitution.’ It is a dangerous ideology that classifies the society into “friendly” and “enemy” camps. All those who are opposed to the Zenawi are classified as “enemies.” This is a deliberate Zenawi policy to remain in power indefinitely. To effect a real change, said Shakespear Feyissa, one of the hosts who moderated the meeting with fellow colleague Muluneh Yohannes, no one is better suited to do the job than the eight-party Medrek.
