Many Ethiopian elderly patriots such as Professor Asrat Weldeyes, Commander Assefa Seyfu, and so many and so many of our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and concerned citizens like them warned us in 1991 regarding the frightening situation in Ethiopia and hoisted high the Ethiopian flag, “Here you have it. It is the one, which belongs to you… which they tried to rob from you…. this is our flag, the one on which we all swore, for which our fathers died….the flag a hundred times covered with glory”.
But, how many of us did really wake up from our sleep and say “these elders are right”? By now, the violation should be known to all of you since after the Eritrean clique became the leader of the “TPLF” who snatched the Ethiopian government power by means of gun and conspiracy. You all knew by now, to what has happened in the 15 years of tyranny and racism and the deliberate destruction of the national language of communication “Amharic”.
After the Somali situation, many Ethiopians hoped, that the Eritrean Clique Meles Zenawi might march to Eritrea or hoped to listen to them to chase out his x-comrade Isayas Afewerki from power for the trouble he is creating inside and surrounding present Ethiopia. On the process to retake the legitimate Ethiopian sea-ports (at least one) to make Ethiopia own one. Though, it is clear, let alone the seaports, even Eritrea itself is under the mercy of Meles Zenawi. If he wants, he can re-posses the entire Eritrea and converted it to a chaotic Eritrea or peace full Eritrea, if, he want to do so. But, we know, he respects his Mom’s vote dearly more than the 70,ooo, ooo Ethiopians who are unfairly and illegally landlocked.
Since the issue of Eritrea was settled by a means of a conspiracy through the principal player “Meles Zenawi”, as long as he remains an Eritrean clique, as proven time after time for the last 31 or so years, people should “not” hope that he will respect “now” the flag and dignity of the Axumite Kings, the flag that cover the Ark of the Covenant, the flag of Tedros, Alula,Yohannes, Menlik, Teferi and the millions of millions of patriotic Ethiopian peasants and army soldiers fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters’ bone and blood mixed with soil in the womb of the Eritrean hills and mountains ever since our ancestors started to live on that part of the earth.
Repeatedly, so many people asked how we lost such territory with our people inside, leaving to the Arab mercenary calling them selves ELF, EPLF. Though we know, Mengistu Hailemariam is primary responsible for such exposure, the Meles lead TPLF (Tigrayan Liberation Front entire leadership) is also responsible for land-locking a nation of currently 70,000,000 population in order to fulfill the mission assigned to them from the EPLF leadership, which the TPLF itself was established and at first lead by EPLF guerrilla armed fighters sent to Tigray from Eritrea jungle in order to send back a report of the development of the new EPLF’s Tigrayan Liberation Front Organization closely controlled by EPLF.
This is how we lost our territory and our people in Eritrea. The great conspiracy ever lived in our history! Is there any worst mercenary mission than this? Nothing to compare this Eritrean cliques for using TPLF to carry their destructive “legge Organica” mission with any thing negative in the past done by any one to Ethiopia. Remember, how disrespectful the TPLF leadership it was to the Ethiopian dignity to the extent Meles organized and hosted a welcome warm dignitary reception and town hall meetings in Addis Ababa (Ethiopian calendar Sene 10 to Sene 24,1983), a conference, on which the number one enemy “Isayas Afewerk” spoke to members of the conference and delivered his ignorant, arrogant attitude and argumentative speech to the Ethiopian people in English, in order to not speak in Amharic (the national language) though he grew, went to school in dessie/Wolo with his uncle inside Amharic speaking region. How clear such conspiracy could it be than such a disrespect to a nation, where her children murdered, suffered, massacred, humiliated, crippled, disabled and made dispersed on a hot remote deserts of Eritrea and Sudan boarders with no food and water offered, Ethiopian soldiers flesh and blood buried and spilled all over the hills/trenches by Isayas Afewerki’s cruel and irresponsible heart and mind.
Can you see the degree of the cruelty here? Put yourself as a soldier/family in Eritrea and some how saved from death at that time of the final war, and imagine how your emotion could have react when you see Isayas Afewerki and the OLF’s Lencho Leta in Addis Ababa conference speaking in English arrogantly telling the conference the intensity of the conflict and the number of deaths of the defeated Ethiopian army’s remained body unburied all over the hills and deserts in Eritrea? Two of them are Ethiopians, born, grew, learned, able to speak Ethiopian languages, how arrogant and so ignorant could one be to speak in English to his own people of Ethiopia? Wait a minute! And was assigned an Amharic translator for the people to hear what Lencho or Isayas had to say!? Oh! How irritating, how shameful, how ignorant, these mindless elites could be disrespectful to the people who feed them and made them educated?
It was not only them, but also to hear Weldeamanuel the one who was who was vice chairman next to Ato Assefa Chabo of the Omotic people’s representative with his big mouth so loudly praised Isayas Afewerki for liberating Eritrea. He did so loudly congratulated him for humiliating the innocent Ethiopian militia peasants in Eritrea. “Congratulations!? How so? Congratulating Isayas for massacring thousands of Ethiopian Army chasing them in the desert left alone with no one to lead them, no water, no food, desperately every where confused, lost and not knowing where to escape where to go in a remote land? Congratulations!~ How so? 14 days conference was hosted to humiliate and to insult Ethiopia’s children in her own territory and capital in “Addis Ababa”. Hosting an enemy! Are there any other words than to call these mindless cliques other than calling them “Eritrean cliques”?
Worst, another group also proud in their involvement in the conspiracy of land-locking
Ethiopia, and they called their act of treason “Democracy”. These groups are the 32 Ethnic and individual political groups, led, organized and supervised by TPLF leadership who signed and okayed the declaration independence of Eritrea right after they assumed illegally as representatives of what the cliques from Eritrea who hijacked Ethiopia called them “Nation, Nationalities and People” of Ethiopian. It is with such ethnic toxic of emotion and unauthorized power, Sadly, the elderly man Dr. Negasso Gidada (the ex-EPRDF’s Ethiopian President), went to Asmara with some 13 group of people to bless and watch the Eritrean referendum for independence, on which upon his return to Addis Ababa from Asmara gave his testimony to the rest of the 32 Ethnic accomplices, overwhelmingly emotional and expressed his mission to Asmara as if he came back with great news of victory heard on his report saying “ Our mission to watch the referendum of Eritrea was exiting and was very exiting to see people of Eritrea got what they fought for, the atmosphere was astonishing and pleasant , the vote went on a civilized, smooth and overwhelmingly democratic…there is nothing exiting to see than to see colonized people be free at last after defeating the Derg/colonizer’s army…..” .
Who are the Eritreans? WeldeAb WeldeMariam or Isayas Afewerki? These are the tow principal and significant players and leaders of the liberation fronts of Eritrea. How can WeldeAb Weldemariam or Isays Afewerk claimed they were colonized by their own fathers “by WeldeMariam and by Afewerki? Weldeab Weldemariuam is from Axum (MiKimat Ifoy- and Mika Kebero); Isays is Tembiyen and Adigrat on his father’s side and Adua on his mother’s side. All Tigrayans. You can’t see how obvious this conspiracy is naked to the mind and eye? I am talking here just only by seeing these two mercenaries who claimed their own fathers who brought them to this planet calling them their colonizers? (I wouldn’t get in to this if I did not have the chance to see, held chat-conversation, drink, talk, lived with their own families and parent in Tigray). It is painful! This is why many of us now adamantly calling these individuals “Eritrean Cliques”.
In such a sad scenario, people have to stop believing Meles Zenwi will stand for Ethiopia’s cause when it comes to have Ethiopia its own seaports. If the origin of the Eritrean leaders and mission is clear to many of you, it should also be clear to you by now the origin of TPLF and the mission of TPLF and its outcome. (Theses cliques didn’t even stood or no accountability for get for Ethiopia even for Tigrayan safety and borders- they fooled the Tigrayans in Addis to come out and dance, told them Badime remained with Ethiopia/Tigray, which at later time the lie of the Eritrean cliques exposed miserably in front of the eye and ear of the Tigrayan people). Any accountability and fear to the nation or to god of the nation? No, not at all.
It is been adequately explained by many informed Tigrayans (Abiy Araya, Kahsay Berhe, Geremedhin Atsbaha, “Aregawi Berhe” (a.k.a. Beihun)- one of the highly recognized powerful figure among Tigrayans and one of the founders of “TPLF” and powerful commander of the TPLF army, and “Fantahun ZeraTsion” (intelligent, a very courteous and pleasant fellow, a childhood friend with this present author) a.k.a “Giday” one of the founder of TPLF and served as chairman of the TPLF before he and Aregawi ousted from TPLF by Meles and Sebhat Nega’s conspiracy to make control TPLF under Eritrea cliques. All of them mentioned above were leaders or close members to the leadership and have detail knowledge and learnt, trained, lived, fought together against the military government of Ethiopia “Derg” along side with Meles Zenawi. No one could be an eyewitness and knowledgeable source than these fellows to expose the conspiracy and the destructive mission of the Eritrean cliques inside TPLF. There is a saying that says there are four sorts of men: one of them is: “he who knows and knows he knows: he is wise- follow him”
Remember! Ethiopia used to own Zula, Zeyla, Adolis, Massawa, (Mitsiwa), Assab, Dejebouti, Berbera (Mogadishu). She lost all of them by being generous or by insider’s conspiracy. It is this situation that remained her currently landlocked nation! Wont that kindness make you feel cry and really upset? Our Ethiopian educated elites were (and still are) so foolish for going after the weakness of our previous wise, intelligent, diplomats and extraordinary patriotic Ethiopian emperors and kings and queens and replaced them by Marxist Leninist, Maoist movements to destroy and devalue the foundation they laid. At the end, they made Ethiopia landlocked, and sadly, ours and their children and their grandchildren too will become the victim of history divided by ethnic linguistic line each other confused to get along without a national language to communicate them.
If you recall reading the very informative piece written by “Abiy Araya” on Ethiomedia.com posted few years back under the title “ The Rise of an Eritrean Clique from the Womb of TPLF”. You will notice how Meles Zenawi and his close co-operators purged the “Ethiopian-TPLF leaders” out of the position of the TPLF leadership and “once the Ethiopian side of TPLF is surgically cut out by the political scissor of Meles Zenawi and Isayas Afewerki, what is left would be, to work together without showing peace signs either from Addis or Asmara” (said, Abiy Araaya-on his article “The Rise of an Eritrean Clique from the Womb of TPLF”).
Once the powerful men of TPLF were successfully removed (Abiy is referring to Aregawi, Giday ZeraTsion, Atsbaha Dangew…) thanks to the conspiracy of Meles and Sebhat Nega (Both an Eritrean blood- the extension phrased in bracket- mine), the question of Eritrea for the first time started to dominate all agendas and TPLF issued its clear stand on Eritrea. But after the purges and the fall of TPLF into his hands, he realized a condition to creating a policy favoring Eritrea was in the offing.
At the 3rd Congress, TPLF adopted the question of Eritrea as its Number one agenda. “It was an outright victory for Shaebia. However, Shaebia issue a statement opposing the dismissal of Aregawi and Giday Zerazion. Such Eritrean condemnation of TPLF which had “elected” the profoundly pro-Eritrea political activists and mentor Meles Zenawi created the impression among disgruntled members of TPLF central committee members that the fall of TPLF into Meles Zenawi’s hands was a certainly that EPLF had its own Eritrean replica in the name of TPLF.
“ It was a design that most TPLF fighters helped change their attitude and trust Meles as their “Ethiopian” leader because Eritre’s Shaebia has depicted him as Eritrea’s enemy in through a statement that the Eritrean rebel group issued in “support” of the avowedly anti-Eritrean TPLF leaders Aregawi Berhe and Giday Zerazion. Once the later two were purged, TPLF hoisted the “Eritrean Cause” as its banner. Meles Zenawi’s motto became a warning to all: “those are able, let them march forward (with Meles); those who can’t, let them try to catch up (with Meles); the resenting elements, let them face the sword” (the sword “resenting” was a metaphor used for those who were opposed to the new leaders-Meles Zenawi- and must be eliminated by the Stalinist sword Meles owned of TPLF).
“Without preconditions, TPLF of EPRDF took the Eritrean issue as a just cause and both gave an outright and government support for the accession of the former Ethiopian province of Eritrea to a sovereign independent nation” said Abiy on his article mentioned. He concluded his important remarks quoting Meles/EPRDF’s position on the Eritrea issue “ since we have passed through war, we know what war looks like. When we say this, it should be made clear that there is war to crush justice, and there is war to defend justice. Therefore, in the war that is waged to take away justice, there is nothing to gain except destruction. Outside of this, there are groups that say they know what is best for the people and nothing should be decided outside their decision. We say to them: Good Luck!”
Indeed, the conspiracy was clear and mission was accomplished by the Eritrean cliques inside TPLF to benefit Eritrea. That is why both Isayas and Meles told the press regarding the conflict in Badime and localities in 1998 heard saying -Isyas-“It is very difficult to easily find an answer”- Meles in his turn said “I have no satisfactory answer for the baffling question”
Sure, it was very difficult to easily find an answer and certainly not Meles either had no satisfactory answer for the baffling question after the Eritrean lead “TPLF’ accomplished its mission of disrespecting and destroying Alula’s flag and Status on the hills of Bahri Negasi . Of course except them, we the people of Ethiopia knew why such expected conflict occurred- “it was the work of the miraculous God of Ethiopia” became so angry after he was told he too must find his ethnic affiliation in Ethiopia among the Meles made “nation, nationalities and people of Ethiopia”. Of course inevitably, anyone cursed the flag of Alula will be doomed in history by the God of the Universe. The flag now painted ridiculously with a blue paint “on the center body of the tricolor without people’s will and authorization” is the living evidence of unnecessary tempering with the flag. No matter how many artificial “Legga Organica” of the Ethnic-flags compete to overwhelmed her spot in order to fade her dignity in the eye of the world: – The tricolor of Ethiopia’s flag will hoisted again high and will continue covered with glory a hundred times as Alula did in front of her adversaries on the Eritrean hills when the time comes. The nation will survive, her pride will be regain back to the old glory of the Ethiopian Lions –Tedros, Yohannes, Alula, Menlik, and my own “Teferi”, the handsome, the soul of Ethiopia’s dignity.
Ethiopia Will Prevail!!
——- The writer, Getachew Reda, resides in San Jose, California, and can be reached for comments at [email protected].
