Aiga Forum: Like father, like son: Meles’ boys barking again

By Tigrian International Solidarity for Democracy and Justice
March 29, 2003

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Every time Prime Minster Melels Zenawi finds himself in compromising positions, he deploys his army of stooges & supporters, both at home and in the Diaspora in a campaign of blackmail and misinformation, to intimidate his enemies, both real and imagined. To accomplish this he has established a factory specializing in the production of lethal weapons such as blackmail and character assassination. This is one establishment inherited from Shaebia, and gone high-tech.

Every time a challenging opponent has to be dealt with, either physically or psychologically, the above factory manufactures a custom made dose of rumors, misinformation, blackmail, and samples are sent out to the market for testing. Once a perfect mix is achieved, the product is given to the whole sellers called top ranking party officials, and in turn distributed to the retailers known as cadres. By the time the product is spread in the market, the target opponent is half dead, at least psychologically. If the victim is considered irreparably damaged, he is left in his miserable state. On the other hand, if he still appears a threat, then he is terminally dealt with by other means. By the time he is done, there won’t be much public controversy, because defamation has already dealt him half dead anyway.

This system works well in the country, primarily, because no body asks why, how, who or when. In a police state, these kinds of products cannot compete and survive against a much better designed product called fear. This potent product called fear even travels to foreign lands, and sends the products of why, how, who and when out of Diaspora markets. Such was the story in the circus world of misfits and Hodams controlled by Meles Zenawi and his clique, until one spring after noon in 2001; a technologically superior product called SOLIDARITY was produced in the campus of Washington D.C.’s Howard University. Consequently, Meles’ hitherto potent product, that is fear was dealt a mortal blow in the Diaspora, and is being chased all the way back to the country, so much so that fear is now in the business of fearing Solidarity. Such is the SAGA of Meles, the stooges and the product called fear.

Now comes again that the PM finds him self in a strait jacket due to the mess he created surrounding our country’s sovereignty issue, and the internal pressure mounting, as a consequence, his boys are busy attacking solidarity. It is not Solidarity’s policy to engage in futile and destructive polemics with any group or individuals, because unless blinded with perks, and temporary opportunistic benefits, at the end of the day, every Ethiopian will realize Solidarity’s positive contributions in the struggle to safe guard our country’s territorial integrity. Solidarity also believes that, negative innuendoes would only drag us in to the destructive world inhabited by Meles and Co., and valuable positive energy would be wasted. Besides, Solidarity does not have benefactors, such as the Prime Minister’s Office, which treats public wealth as private fund, and whose generosity has created a bunch of automatons, whose job descriptions include such as, divorce catalysts, rumor specialists, gossip technicians and, blackmail experts headed by character-assassination managers.

Since the PM’s boundary debacle, Solidarity has been asking hard questions. However, the above experts of smear, the boys of Meles zenawi, in their futile attempt to give cover to their uncover-able boss, did not contemplate a deserving answer, Instead they have been sending salvos of insults at Solidarity and its members. Particularly lately, they have grown more rowdy. One needs to look in to Aiga forum, and read articles such as “The Continued Saga of the Tigrian Community” and “Damn if you do damn if you don’t” or “TPLF,BADME,ADWA, and MORE”. We will not attempt to do a thorough analysis of what these confused lot wrote in the above articles, for any one who reads these articles would not miss the utter bankruptcy of thought contained in them. It underlines the truth that, a bankrupt leader with a bankrupt ideology, such us Eritreanism can only attract bankrupt souls. However, we would like to put their main allegations and our stand to the underlying issues in perspective, so that Meles’ boys, who live behind the fogy screen of confusion created by the tyrant’s system, hide no more, and confuse no one.

The allegations against Solidarity are varied and they change their colors and hue depending on who is being addressed in terms of Awraja, Family affiliation, economic interest, gender (for example, intimidation tactics used on Women in the Diaspora is more intense and differs in content from those employed against their men counterparts) etc. When we add them all, the list goes:” Solidarity is composed of members of EPRP, EDU and TPLF drop outs, as well as Dergists and monarchists; Solidarity is run by the dissidents, Solidarity is against the Dissidents, Solidarity wants to weaken Tigrean power and join EDP, solidarity’s assertion that Meles is an Eritrean agent is a conspiracy theory, or the fact that Meles has compromised Ethiopian sovereignty is also a conspiracy theory”, and so on and so forth.

Poor fellows; if I were the dictator “great leader”, I would fire al of them summarily. Because they are doing a lousy job-in the final analysis they are exposing the twisted nature of the “great enlightened” leader.

Now, if they are not getting our questions straight we will reiterate some of them, and we dare them prove “the conspiracy theory”. And let the reader be the Judge

Here are the hard questions:

Let us take you to May 1998, to the point where Shaebia attacked Tigray. If you remember, at that time Eritrea had an army of more than 200,000 soldiers and Ethiopia had about 70,000. Now there is a term in international relations called, balance of power. Any leader, worthy of his title would make sure that one of the pillars of inter-regional relations is to make sure the balance of power is not disturbed. But in our case it was more than disturbed. In absolute terms, the above figure reveals a 1:3 ratio in Eritrea’s favor. But when you take in to consideration the relative population and land mass ratio of the two countries, the figure is even more alarming. Roughly speaking Ethiopia has 15 times the population and landmass of Eritrea. When you work out the number of people to each armed soldier, you will find a whopping ratio of 1:40 in favor of Eritrea. Now, Is it because your boss had a unique understanding of balance of power, or he is Eritrea blind?

Between 1991 and 1997, Shaebia had a free hand to do what it may in Ethiopia, ranging form black market in the compound of its Embassies, to the export of Ethiopia’s hard currency earning commodities such as coffee, to the stashing away of billions of birr in various dubious ways. Mind you, Ethiopia, a sovereign nation of 65 Million people, had in its soil a prison system run by a foreign country operating above the law of the land. Many innocent, both Eritreans and citizens of Ethiopia were abused, disappeared and assassinated by Shaebia .We wish this humiliation were a fiction. Is this also solidarity’s conspiracy theory?

After the split within TPLF, a dangerous and ominous phenomenon emerged. The members of the group, which had the upper hand, other wise known as the palace group, had some thing very peculiar in common. Most of them had either fully or partially Eritrean blood. And the rest one or two among them, had long established pro-Eritrean bondage through marriage. On the other hand, the entire dissident group happens to be Tigreans in every aspect. We say ominous, because a group of people, who organize themselves on such narrow lines to maintain power, could change in to fascistic thugs, once they felt they are trapped in to a cage by the hostile environment around them. But how could this be? Is this a process of the law of natural selection or a surgical political fix? Or, is it yet another Solidarity’s “conspiracy theory”?

Even though the majority of Ethiopians were saddened and outraged by the prospect of being land-locked, there by, consequently getting economically more marginalized, and geo politically encircled by age old enemies, Meles & Co. run a campaign to belittle the use of Assab, and convince the world how Assab was Eritrean. It is public record that, during the London negotiations, the Americans have suggested that Assab be kept under Ethiopia. To their biggest surprise it was Meles rather than Isayas who was laboring to convince them to drop the idea. You would remember also, the document he was carrying in his pockets in his foreign travels (such as his declaration in Washington D.C. “ I can show you the documents showing Assab is Eritrean”), to prove how Assab is not Ethiopian. Hello! Which country is Meles ruling?

After the announcement of the Hague decision, Bereket Simon, a Gondar born Eritrean and Meles’ current information minister, sternly warned Ethiopians, who wanted to demonstrate against the in justice perpetrated at the hand of a misguided leader. What an irony; An Eritrean threatening to shoot Ethiopians, because they are lamenting the loss of their ancestral villages to another tyrant, ruling Eritrea? Did we even face this kind of insult when Graziani controlled Addis Ababa?

Here is what the boundary commission had to say in awarding Badme to Eritrea” There is one specific body of material to which the Commission has given careful consideration, namely, the Ethiopian evidence of its activities in the area west of Eritrea’s claim line. The commission notes that no evidence of such activities introduced in the Ethiopian memorial. The evidence to be examined appeared only in the Ethiopian counter-Memorial. It was not added to or developed in the Ethiopian reply (EECBC Decision: 5.92).” Now is this Solidarity’s conspiracy theory, or the commission is lying? And who lost Badme? And when we say Badme, let not be any ambiguity, we mean the larger Badme, including its plain. And when we examine the fate of Zala Anbessa, Tsorona and Bure, don’t we find the same act of selling-out?

You have accused solidarity of creating division within the Tigrean community. To the contrary, there has never been a voluntary association of Tigreans of all walks of life since the creation of TPLF, as the one created around Solidarity. How is that on one hand you say Solidarity is composed of EPRP and EDU, members, TPLF drop outs, Dergists, monarchists etc, and on the other hand Solidarity divides communities? If Solidarity can reconcile all these members with wide differing backgrounds, and bring them under one umbrella, aren’t you admitting that Solidarity is succeeding where Meles has failed? This in fact rather demonstrates that, Solidarity is a bridge builder, while you and your boss are grave- diggers. Of all the people, how is it that, the boys of Meles, the master of fragmentation and ethnic divide lecture us of unity. How audacious?

Again you have accused solidarity of undermining the gains made by Ethiopia. This is a pure double talk. The boys of Meles advocating the interest of Ethiopia? Meles zenawi has ruled Ethiopia for more than 11 years now. Yet the only time he was heard addressing Ethiopia the way an ordinary Ethiopian addresses his country is after the inter-TPLF split. That is after Meles started doubling for Abebe. Before that for Meles, Ethiopia was that backward country whose national flag is “just a piece of cloth” and it’s existence a mere “hundred years” of feudal hodgepodge. If you are really talking of Ethiopia’s interests, then you cannot deny the role Solidarity played in sensitizing the Ethiopian people both at home and in the Diaspora, on the primordial importance of our national sovereignty and our inalienable right to our Afar territory and access to the sea. Ethiopians, especially in the Diaspora are witness to the role solidarity played as a catalyst in galvanizing the historic March to the United Nations in New York, by more than 5,000 Ethiopians, who came from places as far as Canada and Europe. Further more the average nationalist Tigrean, can only take pride in Solidarity’s other monumental achievements, such as dispelling the myth that Meles Zenawi is TPLF and TPLF is Tigray, and underscoring the fact that, the crime Meles & Co, committed against Ethiopian in the name of Tigray, is un equivocally condemned by the people of Tigray. Every Ethiopian knows now, that as far as support among the Tigriayan population is concerned, Meles Zenawi is with ought cloths. Now tell us; isn’t this the crux of your lamentations?

Yet another accusation labeled was, that we did not support, or we are against the dissidents, though we made a name using their cause. Any body that read Solidarity’s past articles and press releases would not find a single word opposing the dissidents. To the contrary Solidarity never failed to mention the role they played in defending the country during Shaebia’s last invasion. Further more Solidarity has condemned the illegal and vindictive Measure Meles Zenawi has taken against the dissidents. To day Solidarity’s stand is still clear. Solidarity will support any group or individual who opposes Meles’ misguided policies on our national sovereignty, or one who contributes to the struggle for democratic change in Ethiopia. In the event the dissidents come out with a programme to this effect, they will still get Solidarity’s support. Solidarity’s position is not determined on who the dissidents are but on the policies they follow. So, what is the crocodile tears Meles’ boys are shading on the dissidents? Do they hope to create a wedge between the dissidents and Solidarity or among its members on the issue of the dissidents? (Ye Gebeya Girgir, Le Leba Yamechal?)

The latest episode of the Ethiopian air force is the tip of the ice burg in the litany of betrayal by Meles & co. As reported by the local newspapers and the Reporter magazine, these pilots, who were arrested for unloading their bombs on their own troops, in the war against Eritrea, were later released and reinstated with compensation, after Meles Zenawi kicked the dissidents out and monopolized power. Meles Zenawi rewarded this act of war crime, deserving the maximum punishment, as if Eritrea’s agents in the air force had performed heroism. Following this, many in the air force and beyond are asking for a reform in the air force. Our question is, does any reform and rearrangement bring any change, when Meles Zenawi, who is the biggest threat to Ethiopia’s security is still in power?

Meles’ boys also claim “some distinguished elders are getting embroiled in this mud”, alluding to the Honorable Ato Belai Abai’s selfless and patriotic work in exposing Meles’ betrayal, and called it “…12 year old…rehashed TPLF-EPLF conspiracy theory”. They tried to dismiss its validity, by creating guilt by association a la TPLF, between the former TPLF official, Gebremedhin Araya, and Abraha Yayeh. The former was a witness to the signing of the TPLF-EPLF secret agreement in 1977 to cede sovereign lands to Eritrea. The fact remains though, that Abraha Yayeh had closer relationship with the current TPLF bosses more than he did with Gebremedhin, before both left TPLF. Just because they landed in Addis Ababa together will not make Gebremedhin Araya’s testimony any less valid. Besides, it is no secret that Meles’ boys are preaching the normalization of relations with Eritrea, so that we “utilize the port of Assab”. They have even been using a phrase called “land for peace”, a phrase borrowed from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this case is Abraha Yayeh’s going to Eritrea a bigger crime? Our biggest whish is for the biggest Banda to follow suite, so that we live in peace. The attack on the “distinguished elders” is also in line with Meles’ Shaebia instigated policy of decimating Tigrean culture and pride, in order to facilitate unhindered exploitation of Ethiopia’s recourses by Shaebia. Every Tigriyan family knows a Kegnazmach, or a Fitawrari, liquidated or disappeared by TPLF under “revolutionary justice”. In Tigray, we had no museums, universities or other developed institutions to record and preserve our culture. Whether we like it or not, it was the Kegnazmaches and Fitawraries, who were the mainstay of Tigrean culture, due to their exposure to the system of government and history. When Meles Zenawi instigated the liquidation of most of the Tigrean notables, branding them as feudal and reactionaries, his motives were more sinister than the average gullible TPLF official was led to believe. Isn’t this latest attack like father like son?

Conclusion: For the last almost 12 years Meles Zenawi had held Ethiopia hostage to his Eritrean obsession. Precious time and resources were wasted in this bizarre entanglement. With a far sighted and wise leadership, the country could have had 12 years of peace and unprecedented opportunity for an economic take–off, considering the climate of good will by the international community, and the peoples readiness and eagerness to give TPLF the benefit of doubt, and engage in development activities. Far from it, through out these years, the country’s main occupation was Eritrea. The first 7 years were the years of Shaebian subjugation and exploitation. The last five years were the years of struggle to get read of that subjugation and exploitation. Through all this, the man in our midst and at the helm of power remained the most formidable and intractable enemy. Every time, he commits a crime in his Eritrean obsession, he created another to cover it, until he is finally immobilized, as he trusts no one except the handful lot considered more Eritrean than the Eritreans themselves.

Our biggest challenge now is how to pacify (disarm) the hostage taker, without harming the hostage. In this connection, despite all the misery Meles Zenawi has brought on Ethiopia, we will bury the hatchet, if he were to change and abandon his distractive policies on the country, and work to safeguard it’s territorial integrity by getting out of the illegal Algiers agreement all together, and declare as his boys have proclaimed” …Badme or any borderland is as sacred as the holy church at Axum that must be guarded forcefully. Although many writers in the Internet have told us the Ethiopian government has ceded Ethiopian land to Eritrea, the truth of the matter was no land was ceded…. Badme or any other Ethiopian land is sovereign Ethiopian territory. On top of it Badme is a sacred place where many unsung heroes are buried. The Ethiopian government has no choice but to protect it. The prime minister in his latest interview has cemented this bare fact”, Aiga Forum. After all, we have no personal quarrels with the PM. It is not Meles Zenawi, that we oppose but his misguided policies and, if at this eleventh hour, for whatever reasons, he chose to work for Ethiopia and with Ethiopians for the benefit of all, we will respond positively

A United and Democratic Ethiopia Will Prevail!

Tigrean International Solidarity for Justice and Democracy