STATEMENT Ayder School Massacre: Meles-Isaias crimes remembered
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Who murdered these children? And where are the murderers? Time would tell |
Today we commemorate the cluster-bombing of the children and parents and good Samaritans of Ayder School in Mekelle. It was on May 5, 1998 when a warlord of a former Ethiopian breakaway province – Eritrea – ventured into insanity and ordered the killings of innocent children and their rescue-bound parents and good Samaritans. Mekelle as well as Adigrat towns were not military garrisons, but were picked up by Shaebia leaders of Eritrea as targets where they would vent their failure and desperation and hate against everything Ethiopian by spilling the blood of the innocent. What was the force that fueled them into madness, the madness of attacking Ethiopia? Yes, they had long known that their camouflaged agent in control of state power in Ethiopia, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi – would be cunning enough to manage and turn a nationwide Ethiopian anger against Ethiopians themselves. And the cost for Meles? Only perseverance in shedding crocodile tears along with the nation of about 70 million that was mourning in earnest. TPLF had woken up but was quickly soothed into political dormancy by its cunning leader who lived fighting for Eritrean interests. When millions of Ethiopian youths were lining up to join the army to administer an Ethiopian panacea to Eritrean illness, Meles repeated his carefully crafted words – “We never thought they (Eritreans) would stab us in the back” – with the intention of further confusing TPLF leaders, and think, and act accordingly, that the enemy was in Asmara and not behind their backs, in control of the reigns of power in the palaces of Addis Ababa. Ethiopia’s northern borders with the belligerent nation-enclave Eritrea was left defenseless. There was no single anti-aircraft to stave off Eritrea’s mendacity to drop bombs on our people. All the while, Meles has been acting as a defense lawyer for Eritrea, vilifying and belittling Ethiopians who said Eritrean military threat was imminent. 1998, almost seven years after Meles lived helping Eritrea from equipping it military to boosting its now-bunkrupt economy to gallop at 8 percent annual growth thanks to an unbridled plunder of Ethiopian resources, was a wake-up call for TPLF leaders to address at least the people of Tigrai to rally behind them in the course of action of putting Meles out of office for, bluntly put, being an Eritrean agent. They failed, and Meles should have told himself, “if I survive today, I will surive forever. If they don’t act this time, they will never act forever.” Hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian heroes and heroines who responded to the call of duty streamed to the northern war front, and laid down their precious lives in honor of their country. Let the hills and terrains of Badme, Zalambesa, Kulomekeda and Irob speak how many youths died by wiping out the black vestige of fascism that was busy desecrating the holy sites of the Ethiopian motherland. Two years later, Ayder was forgotten, all the huge sacrifices Ethiopian Defense Forces who were only 50 miles out of Asmara, were made a laughing stock by none other the one who to this day masquerades as an Ethiopian leader. The Ethiopian commanders who were looking forward to capture the Eritrean war criminals were taken by surprise as they were ordered to stop because “Ethiopia had met its goals: ‘liberating’ its territory.” Shaebia leaders, who cried out to the world to save them from the Ethiopian blitzkrieg, never lost a moment that their agent would, even in the 11th hour, rescue them, and rescue he did. Our defense forces were ordered to stop carrying the victory to its natural completion: bringing the rogue regime of Shaebia to justice for its crimes. We commemorate today because the Eritrean agent has continued to destroy our nation as killings of innocent Ethiopian citizens have continued unabated. Recall the massacre of Addis Ababa University students? Along with those in Awassa and Tepi, from Ambo to Jimma, along with those latest victims of state-sponsored genocide in Gambella? We commemorate the day because justice has not been served to Ethiopia, a country reeling under the foot of a masked Eritrean agent. We commemorate the day because we believe the enemy may pretend to play by the rules, and even go to the extent of proposing “multi-party elections” next year. But we commemorate the day which tells us that no mercenary group would abide by the rule of law, and play fair in non-existing democratic elections.” What did the TPLF dissidents gain when they thought there was a rule of law in the country, and they would force the Eritrean agent out of office? We commemorate the day so that Ethiopians would have the wisdom and courage to deal exclusively with an enemy – who even as recently as a month ago attempted to crush the anti-Meles-Isaias Afar rebel uprising, and lied to the nation – through “Minister” Abai Tsehaye – that that the war near Awash-Arba and Metehara was a conflict between Afars and Issas. We commemorate the day because we believe with, unfailing certainty, that a united Ethiopia is too powerful to put an end to a rule by a mercenary. REFERENCE: The following text was dispatched at the time of the June 5, 1998 Ayder School Massacre from Mekelle by Washington Post journalist Carl Vick. Civilian Attack Stuns Ethiopians
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– Karl Vick (Washington Post Foreign Correspondent: Mekelle, Ethiopia, May 7, 1998)