ADDIS ABABA (Dec 20) – In what could be the latest victory for the Ethiopian people and opposition parties, a former senior Ethiopian government official and TPLF dissident said Ethiopia’s natural frontier is the Red Sea.
Gebru Asrat, who disclosed the political breakthrough that has taken place within the TPLF community, long known for being the victim of Meles Zenawi’s Shaebia [Eritrea’s ruling party] propaganda, declared: “All efforts must be marshalled toward restoring the nation’s historical and legal rights of ownership over the Red Sea.” In a clear blow to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s Eritrea agenda, Gebru discarded the notion that Eritrea was a colony of Ethiopia. If it were, it should have been Ethiopia who should have decided what Eritrea should get and and shouldn’t.
The former politburo member of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and president of Ethiopia’s northernmost Tigrai region broke the news of a U-turn political decision in TPLF history during a lucid interview with the independent Voice of Ethiopia Radio in Stockholm, Sweden. Gebru said Meles was up to today prevailing on it, on promoting and fighting for Eritrean interests. “It has to stop, and we have to reverse that, and right the wrongs.”
Commenting on recent developments related to the so-called “Peace Initiative” by Meles, Gebru plucked out a point, and said “normalization campaign” was another term for Eritrea’s return to an economic onslaught of Ethiopia’s resources. “Normalization would have no meaning other than legalizing the Eritrean regime’s free ride across Ethiopian resources pre-’98 style.”
Often cited by Shaebia circles as one of the most dangerous Ethiopian nationalists along with jailed and famed former Defense Minister Siye Abraha, Gebru Asrat said when Eritrea invaded Ethiopia, the EPRDF government reached a consensus the goal of which was to anchor a durable peace in Ethiopia, and to achieve durability, the counter-offensive was centered on destroying the destructive Eritrean regime. It was as clear as that.”
The critical decision was made after observing a characteristic pattern of violence by Shaebia to destabilize Ethiopia. Shaebia suffers from a long-standing grand illusion of playing the role of a regional superpower that feasts on resources plundered from Ethiopia, Sudan and other countries in the region, the former regional governor said.
The only person opposed to the counter-drive was Meles Zenawi, who from the start had created numerous obstacles, Gebru said, adding, “When the government’s stand was focused on how to punish the enemy, Meles had time to divide the army generals, who was able to turn some of them over to his side, and when he declared the war would be over in 24 hours with the liberation of Zalambesa (June 2000), we learned that he had been lying in wait to save the enemy, and his commitment to serve Eritrea at expense of Ethiopia was lasting.”
The TPLF dissident went on to say when he and his colleagues acknowledged that Meles Zenawi had committed treason, and when we confronted him, he reversed the situation and charged us with “corruption and anti-democracy activities.” This led to the split of TPLF in two, with Meles taking the law into his hands, and purging those of us who accused him of treason, Gebru Asrat said.
Asked to elaborate on when did the rift with Meles begin to surface within TPLF, Gebru said: “Differences with Meles began to shape up as early as 1997, when TPLF executive committee members tried to convince him that Isaias Afwerki’s regime was preparing to invade Ethiopia. We had substantial evidence that Isaias was engaged in extensive military preparations against us, notably after Eritrea’s request that its currency be traded on equal value with Ethiopia’s Birr was rejected, and Asmara saw no future of survival but to impose its will by force. Despite tangible evidences that Eritrea’s invasion was imminent, Meles vilified the warnings, saying “Shaebia is not insane to invade Ethiopia.”
When war broke out, there was a unanimous decision but Meles that Ethiopian Defense capability must be boosted within a short time. To sabotage Ethiopia’s drive for reinforced defense system, however, Meles continued to be a thorn in the flesh. He used “sanctions” as a scare tactic, and warned, “The United Nations, IMF and World Bank would impose punitive sanctions from which we will never recover.” Gebru said Meles was almost alone, and no one bought his warnings.
Asked if there were blunders the TPLF made during its existence as part of the government, the dissident bluntly admitted there were many among of which were the conduct of the referendum on Eritrea, a referendum which excluded the Ethiopian people in the affairs of their country. Second, resolving the Eritrean question as a colonial question, and EPRDF’s handing over of the Red Sea frontier of the country to Eritrea without taking the future of Ethiopia into consideration, and TPLF or EPRDF’s failure or lack of respect for the people’s right to exercise their full democratic rights.
Gebru Asrat said the dissidents and he reviewed the political journey of TPLF, including the blunders committed, and the lessons they learned over time. He said a draft political program was currently circulating in the society, and hoped the group would emerge as strong partners of the democratic forces in the country.
Given the multitude of evidences that Meles was subservient to Eritrea, Gebru was asked why it took the dissidents a long time to understand the problems, he said:
“Our organization was built on highly secretive, and we were governed by anti-democratic rules that had negative repercussions on our future activities as government officials. For instance, when we assumed power in 1991, it did not occur to us that we had to respect Ethiopia’s sovereignty right over the Red Sea Port of Assab. We took Isaias Afwerki for his word, and handed him the two ports when he said the ports would remain free for the two peoples. There was a complete disregard on our part on this critical issue. When we reviewed our past performance from the advantage of the experience we gained and the lessons we learned over the years, we knew Ethiopia has been systematically deprived of her natural and historical right. We want to reverse that.”
Observers say the new political stance made by the dissidents – most notably their stand on Ethiopia’s legal and historical right for the restoration of its sovereignty over the Red Sea – must be considered as an added impetus to the Unity of Ethiopians.
Political observers say Gebru and other dissidents still command huge respect in their former constituency of Tigrai region, and according to some, the respect was largely earned for the role they played during the 1998-2000 Ethiopia-Eritrea War, and, despite their failure, for confronting Eritrean agent Meles Zenawi.
When Voice of Ethiopia in Stockholm finally asked Gebru “How do you describe Meles?” Gebru said, “A man bent on serving foreign forces in general, and Eritrea in particular. That is why our side refered to him as a Kehadi Ena Tenberkaki Buddin (the traitorous and defeatist group).”
