What the cable clearly showed is that US opposition to Meles in internal affairs is limited as long as he delivers when it comes to issues that are important to the US. The US plays a balancing act using local politics as leverage when it is necessary (perhaps, as all nations would when it comes to their interests).
At this point in the relationship, I think both Meles and US officials understand this dynamic. So Meles doesn’t put up any resistance to US interests regionally or internationally, and US representatives only pay lip service even when they hear talk about people ‘vegetating in prison’. It is because of this tacit arrangement that, when Meles, the head of the African delegation to Copenhagen, is told that his agreement to sign the Copenhagen accord “is a point of departure for further discussions,” he doesn’t blink.
Who has ever heard of a negotiation where you sign first and talk later? Nothing can demonstrate Meles’s weakness better. It is no doubt a strategy that preserves Meles in power in the short run. It is, however, immensely damaging to Ethiopian (and in this case African) long term interests.
Best regards,
Lisan Afeworq
On Aregawi Berhe’s Article
Dear editor,
I read the comment that Dr. Aregawi wrote about Melese Zenawi “book” written by Eyasu Mengesha/Melese Zenawi. I am so grateful about the article. If something is not done the “book” will be used as a reference at schools and other public places in the future because those who don’t know the actual fact will accept it one way or another.
So, what should be done?
The only option I think is to write a BOOK that has the actual facts by those who were at that particular place and time. Among those are Dr. Aragawi is the best fit. Those who can do so like Seye Abereha are under influence to tell the truth due to their living condition and the position they may have in the opposition group.
The bottomline is why not Dr. Aregawi take time to write a BOOK that will falsify what has been written about Meles, and let the public know the facts? It is in such a way only that history will not be distorted and passed to the next generation.
