The
following quotation by Abraham Lincoln – one of the Greatest Statesmen in the
world – is remarkably valid:-
“This
country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever
they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their
constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember
or overthrow it.” I used this quotation in my article titled “Resolve epic
Ethiopian issues now” dated 27 July 2012
Reaffirming
the veracity of the two quotations above, I write this short piece – which is a
follow up to my article entitled “Operation save Ethiopia” dated 23 July 2011.
Indeed!
Ethiopia with divine intervention will belong to all of her citizens that
choose to live in freedom, dignity, prosperity, and respect for basic human
rights in a democratic society ruled by the a constitution of the people by the
people for the people.
Recapitulation: Background to this
short piece
The
initially peaceful 1974 Ethiopian Revolution turned bloody with the idea of the
misplaced class struggle imported by Marxist-Leninists that converged on Addis
Ababa from the Diaspora; they thought that communist ideology would be panacea
for all the political, economical and social problems perpetrated by the then
largely feudal order that, under the divine right of kings claimed by the 235th
Emperor of Ethiopia, governed the lives of the pious multi-cultural society
influenced by intertwined Judo-Christian and Islamic values for centuries.
The
leftists engaged in a fierce fight for grabbing state-power – one group running
to the USSR and the other to Communist China for support. The USA responded to
Mengistu’s harsh criticism in public and reduced its Embassy strength in Addis
Ababa.
Interestingly,
the defunct USSR welcomed the peaceful bloodless change and advised that all
democratic forces supporting it should be included in a broad-based government
that would transform the Ethiopian feudal society. The Derg called the USSR
revisionist. Communist China did not give much material support to the radical
Maoists behind the Derg for tactical reasons.
The
bloodshed and carnage took place among the Marxist-Leninists, better still
between Stalinist-Maoists, locked in competition to show supremacy in
ideological purity and to that end using children of poor peasants and workers as
their foot soldiers. Such gruesome and humiliating act must no repeat in
Ethiopia ever again.
The mirror in which I see the legacy
of tyrant Zenawi
The
tyrant finally died leaving us with the legacy of his heinous crimes including
genocide, victims of torture, incarceration of peaceful protesters en masse;
extra judiciary execution of peaceful protesters, the wailing of mothers, the
agony of bereaved families, toiling peasants in serfdom, interethnic hatred, daylight
robbery of votes, pervasive corrupt practices, demised free media, government
monopoly of all pillars of democracy, blocked freedom of expression, poor
educational standard, forbidden academic freedom in tertiary institutions, abject
poverty, rampant unemployment embarrassing lies, rampant breach of the
constitution, regional instability et al.
All
in all it was a tragedy that befell Ethiopia bringing her to the precipice of
catastrophe that will require divine guidance, visionary leadership and hard
work in a democratic environment.
In
my article titled “Countdown to dethroning Zenawi” dated 29 January 2011 I
wrote:
Quote
An estimated 2 -3 million Ethiopians inundated the streets and public squares
in support of the opposition forces – notably Coalition for Unity and Democracy
(Kinijit) and Unity of Ethiopian Democratic Forces – at the mammoth peaceful
demonstration on 08 May 2005, that is one week before the election of 15 May
2005 that ended in crushing defeat for the ruling TPLF Party.There is no reason that the same kind of sea
of humanity should not turnout again to demand the dethronement of Meles
Zenawi. The time is propitious to reclaim our human dignity; this must be done
primarily by us by paying all the necessary sacrifices to achieve our sacred
goal of liberating our beloved country, Ethiopia, in unison while respecting
our cultural diversity and categorically rejecting division along ethnic lines
that has so far proved a potent weapon of choice of the invader. Unquote
The
Almighty God has done the dethroning and the rest of the evil legacies left
behind by tyrant Zenawi’s permanent departure are up to us the victims of his
atrocities to rectify. There are Herculean tasks in waiting to be carried out
in earnest!
Lost opportunity
The
20th century passed on a phenomenal quantum leap in science,
technology and communications to the 21st century. Both despots
Mengistu Hailemariam and Meles Zenawi failed to make use of the benefits of
this development because they were deeply suspicious of intellectuals and
fearful of the educated class. The former demoralized the educated class by
killing, marginalizing, insulting them; the latter did even more by sending
them into exile not long after entry to Addis Ababa to capture power with the
support of the USA.
The
tyrant Zenawi lost valuable time in committing unforgivable crime of blocking free
flow of information and current knowledge to the Ethiopian; promulgating
draconian laws to prevent freedom of expression in all its forms.
Foreign influence on Ethiopian affairs
Starting
with the Imperial regime up to the present domestic and foreign policy has been
influenced by western powers save for the 17 years of the era of the Derg where
the Communist Block under the overall control of the defunct USSR had the lions
share followed by Cuba and North Korea in shaping such policy.
Unfortunately,
in security matters and supply of military hardware and personnel training, Ethiopia
was totally dependent on the two superpowers of the cold war era. This was more
so in the face of serious threats then coming from reactionary despotic leaders
in the oil-rich Arab world.
In
spite of incalculable price paid in terms of human lives and scarce resources
for setting up her defense institution and acquisition of military weapons,
Ethiopia is now a landlocked country with an army and security forces
completely dominated and controlled by loyal clique of generals and colonels
originating from a minority ethnic group holding almost all positions at the
command and policy making staff levels. This must be reversed as a matter of
top priority!
The
threats from the Arab world are fortunately now waning thanks to the Arab
Spring that has disgracefully swept away those despotic leaders from
power.So, this is a momentous time for
Ethiopia to formulate its own policy for the first time since the death of
Menilik II. The only barrier to formulating an independent foreign policy at this
moment is our lack of unity!
How to force the TPLF top echelon to
relinquish power
The initial
phase of popular revolution will do the following:-
1. People
will flock to public squares in mammoth numbers in every city in Ethiopia
2. Demand
the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and declare unfettered
freedom of expression consistent with the UN Declaration on Human Rights
3. Oppositions
forces, civic leaders and religious organizations shall set up their stalls at
the city squares throughout Ethiopia where they will introduce their political
programs or provide their specific inputs to democratic change as well as d
engage with stakeholders at consultation meetings focused on the way forward
based on agreed timeline
4. Stakeholders
gathered in Addis Ababa will setup a coordinating committee that will contact
similar committees in other cities and receive resolutions of the demonstrators
on key issues; consolidate resolutions received and disseminate to stakeholders
5. People
will agree to form a transitional government
6. People
will demand resignation of the top echelon of the EPRDF Party including
Politbureau and Central Committee members handing power to the transitional
government for a period of one
7. The
first and foremost undertaking would be securing the boundaries of motherland,
Ethiopia. So the current national defense and security structures must be kept
intact; rank and file service men and women as well as officers with the rank
of up to lieutenant colonel will be retained; the remaining high ranking officers
will be suspended pending fair investigation as to why they did not side with
the people
Here
below are some other key indispensable tasks:-
1. Establishment of National Peace and
Reconciliation Commission
2. Establishment of an all-inclusive Transitional
Government
3. Formulating basic principles and
identifying inviolable national values to be enshrinedin the new constitution
4. Drafting of a new constitution of the
people by the people for the people
5. Forming of a democratic government
6. Resolving the long standing burning issue of “Land to the Tiller” as private
property
7. Formulating comprehensive domestic policy
8. Formulating the first ever independent foreign
policy
More
on securing Ethiopian borders
Securing the borders with Eritrea,
Somalia and Sudan require special attention. There is no question that the valiant people of Tigray together with
regular ground and Air Force units there, will repulse any Eritrean threat; the
Ethiopian defense forces unit deployed in Somalia should be withdrawn to secure
our border demolishing the Al Shaba on its way back; the defense of the border
with the Sudan should be carried out with the collaboration of regular forces
and various anti-TPLF dissidents operating in the area; fortunately the border
with Kenya has been demarcated and both countries have a common enemy, the Al
Shabab, which they should keep fighting jointly.
Conclusion
There is no sense in engaging in
internecine civil strife and boast as a national hero and building monuments to
commemorate the victims of the winning side. It would therefore be right to
demand the TPLF leaders at the top echelon to resign from their posts in order
to stop the vicious cycle of grabbing power by the barrel of the gun. The
immoral flow of fund from some Western powers is bound to end in which case the
TPLF regime shall be no more.
