EDITOR’S NOTE: A recent Economist article says that Meles Zenawi’s tribal junta has only a few weeks foreign exchange reserves left. A significant re-routing of remittances away from official channels by the Diaspora could wipe this remainder out quickly. Ethiopians in the diaspora can help starve the Woyanne killing machine by not using official money transfer channels. The following articles — which was originally posted in June 2009 — suggests several other methods on how to defeat the genocidal dictatorship in Ethiopia.
The effective use of non-violence in the Ethiopian context
By An American Friend
There are useful lessons that Ethiopia’s non-violent opposition can gain from the last election and by studying other countries’ non-violent democracy campaigns. As is well known, in 2005, the government stole national elections and violently suppressed opposition supporters that took to the streets in protest. This violence by the government had the effect of further de-legitimizing itself and mobilizing popular opinion against it. Subsequent attempts by the opposition to exert leverage through strikes and consumer boycotts fizzled. The government maintained its effective control of violent methods, used them to hold onto its key economic resources and foreign supporters, and succeeded in surviving another five years.
Many interpret these events as proving that the non-violent principles embraced by some opposition groups cannot work in the Ethiopian context. And it is true that, in other countries, violent means have sometimes worked as a direct mechanism of change, and sometimes in parallel with non-violent action. But an analysis of events since 2005 suggests another possible explanation for the failure by the non-violent opposition to enforce its election victory: the failure to exploit fully the complete range of tactics associated with non-violent action.
Perhaps a good place to look for lessons in this experience is with a review of the basic principles of non-violence. Many people misinterpret non-violent action as an attempt to change the hearts and minds of one’s oppressor by meekly and passively accepting the punishments he inflicts. Others perceive non-violence as mainly a matter of large public demonstrations, because these dramatic scenes are the ones most often seen in the media. These are indeed aspects of non-violence, but not always the most powerful ones. Nor are they necessarily the most applicable to Ethiopia’s situation.
Indeed, a survey of non-violence in other countries indicates that the most powerful form of non-violence is choking the dictatorship to death by cutting off its material support.
The regime’s victims themselves often provide much, or even most, of this support without realizing it. There is an old story about a cruel village chief who used to force the inhabitants of his village to bring him all the food. He grew strong while the others weakened. But if anyone rebelled, the chief would beat him into submission. One day, while they were in the fields gathering food for the chief, one villager proposed that everyone withhold the food from the Chief at the same time. So they hid there, where he could not find them, eating the food themselves and withholding it from the Chief. There were too many resisters for the Chief to find and beat them all. By uniting and refusing to cooperate, and staying out of reach, they were able to stop feeding the Chief. He soon weakened and died. Then the villagers could return and eat the food themselves.
This fable illustrates the situation in Ethiopia today.
The government has two main weapons: violence and the division of its opponents. But, to implement its violence, the government needs money, especially foreign exchange, to buy arms, equipment and keep its officials loyal. So, following the illustration of the village chief, it is necessary to cut off the government’s supply of money without presenting an easy target to its soldiers.
This is a very different approach than the public protests and activities that have dominated most opposition activities to date. Massive public gatherings can have powerful psychological, propaganda and recruitment value. But, even if large rallies, also known as methods of concentration, can be organized, they will provide the government, with its advantage in violence, an easy way to hurt protesters. The failure of Kinijit’s street demonstrations, following the 2005 election fraud, to bring down the government and the recent denials of public demonstration permits to UDJ are illustrations of the limitations of such methods at this stage of the revolution.
Sometimes it’s better for resisters to stay out of reach of soldiers by using so-called methods of dispersion instead. With methods of dispersion, people can keep a low profile while simply cutting off the government’s money. They can opt out of, and disrupt, vital government-controlled economic resources until the regime crumbles.
The strikes and boycotts previously attempted by Kinijit were not successful, primarily due to the financial hardship that complying with these actions required. But this doesn’t mean that such methods of economic non-cooperation are useless. There are other tactics waiting to be used.
The opposition stands for, and should be associated with, making the average Ethiopian richer and economic resistance tactics for Ethiopia should channel natural human self-interest. Methods that allow the individual to hold onto more of his money and property may give resisters a greater direct personal stake in the struggle and spread the message that democratization is directly beneficial. These non-cooperation tactics would include tax boycotts and rent boycotts, whereby people can keep more of their own money.
One way to remove the government’s financial support is by stopping its supply of foreign exchange. The government relies on foreign exchange earned from the Diaspora’s foreign remittances to finance its arms purchases. People in the Diaspora can deny this foreign exchange to the government by bypassing official foreign exchange channels when sending money home.
In Ethiopia, citizens can withdraw their money from government-controlled banks, causing the banks to collapse. Such methods avoid open confrontation in the streets with soldiers. In fact, when people see soldiers in the street, they should greet them with friendly gestures.
Because the government relies on coffee exports, develop methods that will disrupt its earning foreign exchange from the export of coffee, such as private smuggling or exploiting vulnerabilities in its transportation. In the Diaspora, organize consumer boycotts or pressure large buyers, such as Japanese importers and Starbucks, not to buy Ethiopian coffee until human rights are implemented.
The government seeks to prevent the best quality coffee from being consumed locally. Therefore, let the preparation and consumption of good quality coffee by the people be a symbol of resistance.
Because economic resistance avoids confrontation, it shifts the advantage to the opposition, because the battlefield is now economic and where the people themselves dominate, instead of military, where the government has the temporary advantage. Such so-called dispersed tactics, by avoiding soldiers, will allow more people to join, thus fostering unified action. Most importantly, dispersed tactics, by not offering a target to the government, can continue longer, thus meeting another key requirement for success—sustainability.
Sustainability means the movement’s ability to continue functioning despite government repression or the arrest of its leaders. A comparative study of non-violence campaigns in other countries reveals that sustainability is the most critical factor in success. Sustainability promotes divisions between the government and its supporters.
Improve sustainability by strengthening organizational infrastructure. At every level, a democracy movement needs redundant leadership and communications structures that can take over if one level or link is severed, thus allowing for continued functioning in the face of repression.
Coordinated action at the national level is also important. For example, tax and rent boycotts should obviously be undertaken by as many people at the same time as possible. But unification should not be interpreted as meaning a single, monolithic movement in which everyone acts in the same way all at once. A nationwide movement should be capable of coordinated action towards the specific goal of cutting off the government’s resources but, at the same time, be composed of sub-groups that each are capable of independent leadership, communications and action. The general movement should be like a swarm of bees that attacks its target as one, but with each bee also fighting in small groups or even as individuals.
Enlist organizations and groups of all types to the movement, not just political ones. These independent groups should send their own delegates to regional and national organizations for coordinating action on a national scale. Especially, students, workers and farmers must form strong links. But they must also be capable of acting independently.
Each sub-group must be aware of the overarching goals, but capable of its own decisions and actions, all the way down to the village, neighborhood and street organization level. Include NGO’s, even those not involved with human rights. Each one has a meeting space, contacts and, sometimes, support services and infrastructure that can be borrowed (trucks, faxes, secretarial staff, etc.). Create youth squads in small, disciplined units that coordinate at the neighborhood or block level.
The government has imposed its own leadership on several important institutions, such as local governments, the military, unions and the Church in order to prevent them from acting independently. But there are many times and places, even within these institutions, when and where the government cannot easily reach. These free spaces should be expanded and developed in order to create opportunities for meeting, education, sharing information, planning and implementing actions beyond the government’s control. This will strengthen the people and weaken the government.
For example, communities can elect their own parallel authorities at the local level, including village, neighborhood and block, simply bypassing government-imposed authority. People can begin to live freely and independently of the government by forming their own election monitoring commission, courts, street and area committees, strike centers, people’s committees, political conferences, democracy salons, posters, and “hit and run” demonstrations (“hit and runs” are unannounced street actions that appear suddenly without warning and dissolve before the police can arrive.).
These free political spaces can begin to assume some functions of government, such as information distribution, dispute resolution, self-help projects (for example, mass clean ups and sanitation projects as a form of protest), marriages, public order and welfare, document recording and so on. Communities can elect their own local land title committees that will give land titles to owners with valid claims.
The creation of such democratically chosen civic space can be gradually expanded over time to assume more and more of the government’s functions, including taxation, law enforcement and the acquisition and distribution of resources.
Within the Church and Islamic hierarchies, religious communities can establish their own autonomous groups that do not consult nor recognize illegitimate, government-appointed religious hierarchies. Congregations can give their church or mosque dues directly to freely chosen religious leaders instead of the government-imposed religious authorities.
Within the military, soldiers can form their own solidarity committees and elect their own committee leaders.
Workers can bypass official union leadership by electing their own leaders to operate in parallel to the government-imposed ones. At the same time, union leadership should mirror the national umbrella movement’s redundant organizational structures by allowing decentralized groups within it to function independently. These must be capable of cooperating with the overall union leadership and with the national movement on grand strategy, but also of operating on their own. Each sub-group should also mirror the national movement in seeking sustainability by avoiding open conflict, adopting a wide range of methods and tactics, having redundant leadership and communications channels and non-hierarchical links with every sort of community group. Turn workplaces into democracy forums. Workers should elect their strike leaders. Establish strike centers. Evaluate the union’s capacity for information flow and devise hidden media sources.
If there are any workers who are hard to replace in businesses critical to the government’s income, especially its foreign exchange earnings, they should strike if feasible. Demands should be practical and local, as workers may not want to take risks for vague concepts like “freedom.” When sufficient leverage is created through these methods, link economic demands to political ones.
However, it is difficult for Ethiopian workers to go on strike because of financial hardship. Before undertaking a strike, they must try to obtain strike funding from outside sources, such as sympathetic foreign countries or foreign unions. If they cannot obtain strike funding, slowdowns and economic sabotage can exert similar economic pressure on a dictatorship without the resisting workers having to reveal themselves or come into open confrontation with the government. Such non-confrontational activities should be focused against businesses owned by government officials and supporters, or which contribute to the government’s income, especially its foreign exchange reserves. These tactics can also be applied to government offices themselves, such as tax or administrative agencies, for example.
Use opportunities for free association within the country’s various institutions to educate the people about the role they play themselves in their own imprisonment. Many people do not realize that they are supporting their own repression, and an important part of a democracy movement is educating them about this. Every time they recognize the dictatorship’s authority, every time they pay taxes to it, every time they help it earn foreign exchange, every time they rely on its political channels instead of creating their own, they strengthen and legitimize the machinery that traps them. The government cannot survive without the unwitting help of its victims. Make the people aware of the opportunities available to them to assert their own independence. When the dictatorship’s victims learn how much power they really have and understand the specific and most critical ways in which they are supporting the government, they can stop their supportive behavior and the government will collapse.
The efficient flow of information to the people is the next critical factor in achieving unified action. The umbrella movement should provide information to the people about the government’s negative actions and inform people how collectively withdrawing their cooperation from it can dissolve an oppressive regime. It is important to liberate people from attitudes of weakness and subservience.
Underground media and the free spaces created by developing parallel political structures and independent associations can serve as good channels for educating people about democracy. Evaluate the movement’s capacity to generate and move information securely and efficiently. Create as many overlapping channels of underground media– printed newspapers, leaflets and posters, published from multiple hidden locations– as possible so they can survive the eventual government crackdown. Encourage people freely to do their own underground publishing. Distribute printed media using “hit and run” methods.
Use such media to inform the people about the goal of shutting off the government’s economic support. Teach the importance of resilient, unified action. Use it to explain how the people are unwittingly supporting the government, how they can stop supporting it and how to create autonomous civic space. Encourage independent initiatives.
Workers should develop similar, hidden media structures within their autonomous organizations, as should the military, religious organizations and students. Pastoral letters and sermons from mid- and lower ranking Church and Moslem leaders and political funerals or memorial services are also good means of mass persuasion.
When educating the people, use simple fables and parables to illustrate the concepts of non-cooperation. Encourage people to think independently and to envision a better system for themselves. Encourage a “revolution of the spirit.” Encourage people to start their own literacy and educational campaigns for their local associations.
When the movement makes any public pronouncements, always do so in the name of “the people.”
In the Diaspora, promote grassroots campaigns among Westerners to end direct support of the government and re-route humanitarian support, emphasizing the issue of genocide. Periods when the international media are likely to be visiting Ethiopia are opportunities for special efforts.
Having a wide range of tactics is also part of sustainability. Each group, even every individual, can decide what’s the best way to stop supporting the government. But all should be aware of the overarching strategy of recruiting more and more people to join in cutting off the government’s resources, especially its money.
Don’t let the pressure ebb or falter, it must persistently and aggressively be kept up. Tactics should always be evolving, increasing and changing. Goals must be specific and easy for everyone to understand. Actions should be overlapping and, although independently led, all aimed at shared goals.
Beware government provocations to violence, which shifts the battle to where the government has the advantage and creates excuses for crackdowns. Promote forms of peer pressure to coerce people into participating in economic non-cooperation, economic sabotage and other methods of non-violent resistance. At the same time, the people should shun the government authorities wherever possible. Informers and collaborators should be socially ostracized.
Don’t fall into the trap of relying on the government’s controlled political channels for action. Don’t participate in elections unless the conditions for a fair contest are truly secured, including pre-election. If a decision is made to participate in elections, use the campaign as an opportunity for additional mobilization. Be both a political party and a social movement. Exploit any opportunities for public education that temporary pre-election liberalization of the media by the government may provide. But do not rely on this. If the opposition does participate in elections, establish your own election monitoring commission.
It is especially important to continue the dispersed methods of resistance described above after the post-election crackdown. This is where sustainability is critical to victory.
After sustainability is well established is the time to re-emphasize efforts to peel business, military and international support away from the dictatorship. The national umbrella organization should establish a parallel government. Only after significant security defections occur, significant splits among key government supporters emerge, sustainable communications capacity is established and a situation of dual sovereignty evolves, should concentration tactics be added to the dispersed ones.
The leverage created by sustainability should be used to force the government to step down and allow the opposition’s parallel government to take over and prepare for free and fair elections. Don’t negotiate with the dictatorship. Don’t ask it for permits and permissions. This only legitimizes it. Instead, focus on dissolving it by cutting off its sources of support.
The {www:Woyanne} dictatorship is weak. Its support is wavering. Its resources are dwindling. And there are many tools of non-violence, especially in the area of dispersed tactics, which have not yet been deployed.
Thus, considering what has worked in other countries, the obvious vulnerabilities of the dictatorship and the multiple tactical possibilities still untried, it is possible to advance a hypothesis that, in 2005, Kinijit should have followed up after the post-election crackdown with a wider range of dispersed and sustainable sanctions on the regime emphasizing individual self-enrichment. This lesson might be tested in 2009 and 2010.
Studious application of non-violent action may be able to end the Woyanne/EPRDF regime while minimizing physical harm to either side.
24 thoughts on “Ethiopia’s tribal junta running out of hard currency reserve”
“Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.” plato
How can we coordinate Ethiopian people when a few people like the earlier CUD leaders proved to be very difficult to agree with each other to a common goal ?
Wonderful analysis and guidline.
But how can we apply it in this divided country? Woyane had known this would be coming. That is why they have destroyed national feeling from the outset. National sentiment has been greatly damaged by the subtle and sometimes direct attack from Meles Zenawi. They have destroyed Ethiopianism by consistently attacking the Amharas. If you show strong national feeling, no doubt that you are an Amhara for the Woyanes, regardless of your exact ethnicity. They have created this false brand and linked Ethiopianism with Amharanisim. It is very sad to see that the language – Amharic – has been the sole and perverted evidence for the destructors woyanes. The fact of the matter is that Amharas are not better Ethiopians than the others and Ethiopia is not exclusive to the Amharas. Other citezens were very late to understand this evil system. But the 2005 election witnessed that national sentiment is not dead but burried alive that can come out any time. Bad news for the woyanes!! Some innocent citizens often heard saying that Woyane is refering the Amharas all the time because they fear Amharas. This is not true. As far as they have all the weapons they don’t fear any one. But the main reason for consistently attacking the Amharas is because it is the shortcut to destroy Ethiopia as a nation. (again, I am not trying to say that Amharas are best ethiopians). I would have explained this further but I would go out of the context of this discussion.
Let’s wake up, be united and create a “strong united & democratic Ethiopia”.
One way to stop Starbucks from buying coffee from Weyane is to advertise Ethiopian Coffee as “Blood Coffee”.
“Starbucks is getting “Blood Coffee” from Ethiopia’s Dictator Meles” for lack of better phrase. Believe me it will get the attention of Starbucks. This Ads can be posted on cabs in Atlanta driving by CNN and Washington DC beltway. This will also raise awareness to Starbucks customers……
The article is well articulated and has got good analysis. But I don’t think there is a leadership to mobilize the masses in Ethiopia. As we know when Kinijit leaders got arrested there was no even second tier of leadership. The demonstrations in Addis Ababa were without leaders. And that is why it was cracked down with in few days by Agazy demons. After Kinjit leaders got released from prison, they created their own factions and went their on way let alone lead national protest against the tribal thugs regime. Peacefull struggle needs coherent, determined, diciplined and organized leadership. When the worest comes they face with their people. The leaders are ready for any sacrifice. That is what we need.
I hope people will translate this article into other languages and distribute it widely in Ethiopia.
Violence is not an end in itself but a means to an end. No one chooses violence for violences sake but simply utilizes it in the absences other viable and workable alternatives that produces results. In many cases violence is a positive transformational force that may help decadent and inhuman minority system in to a modern, humanistic democratic society and justice for all.
If you grossely condemn violence regardless of the ends it is aiming to achieve, you are advocating the perpetuation of even the worst kind of brutal institutionalized multidimensional inhuman violence to keep breeding unchallenged.
That kind of none violent strategy can only be planned, funded, promoted and propagated by the same cunning fox dictators dressed in sheep skins and manipulating the frightened cowards to go home to sleep and snore in their grand self contentment.
Well, the 2010 election is approaching and minority dictator Wayane badly needs to tranquilize the opposition and will accelrate the funding of foreign tranqilizing experts and witch doctors to do the tranquilization and sterilization warfare job.
Change Wayane dictatorship by cutting resources and economic sabotage? What is cunning Wayane with all the resources and its soon 20 years experience doing then?
Sit there like a duck watching you do the sabotage? Don’t fool yourselves even for a minute!
This is very good news, a great relief and a fitting ideology for all those FAT comfort loving big talking oppostion bosses on whose behalf innocent poor people are being crusified like Christ every single day. Look at all those opposition guys enjoying free and hedonistic life style while a poor young martyr lady (BM)and a mother of a small baby is rotting in a facist sub human dangeon.
I am sure all of these guys recently captured and placed in Wayane jail will soon sign a declaration of none violent struggle and confession of criminal activities and treasons aganist the destitute “constitutional state” They re being reeducated and will soon come out completely reformed and educated Ethiopians with the right spine to work for Wayane.
I suggest that we pay trips to Burma in order to visit the famous prisoner, lady Suu Kyi who is sitting in jail for the last 20 years for democracy and none violent struggle. :)
Those of us who live abroad should not go and buy house or land and anything that is helping the government to get money. The suggestion on the article is a good one.
Mestewat is correct that violence has sometimes helped free people from the hell of dictatorship. But so has non violent action. The recommendations in the article are gathered from studies of why non violence has sometimes worked and why sometimes, as in Burma, it has failed.
It is also true, as Mestewat suggests, that the government will not “sit there like a duck.” But, in countries where non violent action has succeeded, it did so despite the dictatorship’s best efforts to suppress and prevent it. Most of these dictatorships were just as powerful and ruthless as the EPRDF.
In fact, the whole idea of non violent action is to use methods that are harder for the government to supress than violent opposition.
Anyway, these lessons are for those groups committed to non violence so that they at least do it correctly.
#9 AF says:
I just want to remind all of you that this same high sounding barrage of none-violent struggle propaganda used to populate this very forum and the other forums well before the 2005 election too.
This so called fluffy opposition groups could not even unite and form any broad based nationally and internationally trust worthy common front for the last close to 20 years and as such I assure you that it can never stand together and conduct any significant and successful viable none-violent struggle that may surely transform a dedicated dictatorial minority rule in to anything of democratic society in a multinational empire stae like that of Ethiopia.
It sounds beautiful to read and write about none-violent struggle as a pacifist community of helpless sheep or frightened cunning hyenas but in reality it mainly serves and buys time for the hyenas to build more strategies hunting and feeding on the inherently weak and helpless sheep community.
I clearly remember cases even during the so called creeping coup(over throw) against king Haile Sellassie’s feudal regime when a large number of military officers went completely confused as to go the easiest and safest way of pacifism advocating none-violence and many of them went home and tied themselves to their beds and practically died there with out participating either in support or in opposition to the transformational activities whether violent or peaceful. Well, their soul might have inherited the kingdom of God but I don’t also know know as to how that active revolutionary transformationalist Jesus Christ might be treating such helpless and damn coward confused small souls.:)
What these egoistic self centered and lunatic pacifist cowards don’t understand in the multinational ethiopian context is the fact that some 80 million people have been and are still living day and night under the most agonizing constant direct and indirect violences and brutal human rights violations of the worst kind.
This high sounding none-violent propaganda is simply for the sole purpose of dividing and weakening the opposion but strengthening, empowering and leading Wayane to more stronger and consolidated minority power holding.
History repeats itself folks. And now again just before the next 2010 election the same to populate the whole damn world wide web just for the purpose of dividing and weakening the opposition and empowering the increasingly frightened Wayane dictatorship who lost its long standing God Father, that is to say ex-president Bush who left the town for his ranch.
Struggle is always both peaceful and armed even if armed may mean just your own loud and cursing voices for democracy and against brutal dictatorship along the city’s high ways and streets coupled with none-violent features and positively and defebsively violent essentially in response and against inhuman brutalities.
My strong suspicion is that the same Wayane dictator is manipulating from behind the scene such self serving propaganda and may soon put these same words in to the mouth of those civilian and military captives in its subhuman dangeons and may force themm to sign fake documents and let them free to preach pro Wayane lithurgies to the entire world.
“The absolute pacifist is a bad citizen; times come when force must be used to uphold right, justice and ideals.”
Alfred North Whitehead :)
If you read the article more closely, you will see that non violent action is not the same as cowardly pacifism. Properly deployed, it is a means of aggressively choking off support to a dictatorship. If you read on this subject, you may also come to understand how effective this strategy has been throughout history, sometimes, but not always, when violence failed.
There are many who never will, nor can, use violence. This at least gives them another way to fight.
#11 AF says:
Yes, I am not against the combination of multifacated strategies of struggle that combines alternating applications of peace and war in order to achieve the common and cherished end goal of justice for all through the effective transformation of an unjust brutal system.
It is also more than good that different people with different capabilities contribute to the struggle in ways that fits their temperaments and coincides with their world views. But those who are not interested or incapable to struggle even when they actually can for justice and freedom deserve neither justice nor freedom.
“When liberty is taken away by force it can be restored by force. When it is relinquished voluntarily by default it can never be recovered.” Dorothy Thompson :)
This is excellent in view of the fact people are realizing the virtue of united struggle. Those who embrace all forms of struggle can go ahead as well. The two methods should complement each other.
Dear anonimous American friend,
Why does the US shed the blood of its children to defend its perceived interest in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan ?
Do you think it is because they are ignorant and don’t know anything about peaceful struggle ?
Anyway what do you know about the Ethiopian crisis to endow us of your great wisdom? Do you think that the America in which enjoy such precious freedom and peace, came to be without the scarifice of its brave people? Maybe you should read your own history before showering others with your peaceful platitudes.
To quote a great American Sen. Barry Goldwater who said:
“Extremism in the difence of Liberty is no vice. Moderationin in the pursuit of Justice is no virtue”.
Words or guns!
We have millions of men and women of words – men and women, who write and write, talk and talk, and spend a considerable of time discussing, arguing, and commenting about how to oust Meles Seitanawi (Zenawi) from his addiction of power.
Among us, there are people who even went far, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, met with dignitaries, toured cities and mountains, and talked with the Ethiopian patriots and reported back their talks to us thirsty of words from abroad. After we heard the reports full of words, analyzed them carefully, using those beautiful pictures and videos, we were satisfied for the time being and encouraged by those words we had heard so far.
Actually those words we have heard about Issayas Afeworki and the Ethiopian patriots soon will be evaporating from our memories because they are not followed by speedy actions.
For example, Jesus taught his disciples using words and those words never disappeared from the memories of his disciples because they were accompanied by parables and concrete actions.
Parables Jesus used: The Mustard Seed; The Weeds; The Lost Sheep; The Ten Virgins; The Talents; The Sower, and so many other parables.
Concrete actions Jesus used: A man with leprosy was healed; five thousand people were fed with five loaves and two fish only; a dead little girl got up after she died and many other actions.
The duty of a journalist is to go everywhere on this planet, gather information, new or old, and report that information as they are to us his audience, but the duties of us the audience are to execute the words to carry our guns, join the Ethiopian patriots, and fight our enemy – Meles Seitanawi.
We are not short of words, thanks to Elias Kifle, a hard-working, honest, and lover of his country; he has been feeding us tirelessly day and night what others say about us Ethiopians in the diaspora and what we say about them at home, but we are short of actions, unlike our enemy Meles Seitanawi, who, most of the time, uses concrete actions by jailing everybody he suspects as a threat to himself and to his family.
Those of us who hate Meles are in millions, and those of us who support, protect, and die for Meles are in hundredth. Meles supporters are wealthy and have guns, grenades, fighter jets, and mechanized army; the sky and the ground may be theirs, but through our words, the hearts and minds of the Ethiopian people are ours, and once we start the real war in a small scale somewhere in a small town far away from Addis Ababa or Mekelle, it will be like multiple lightening that confuse and frustrate Meles Seitanawi’s war plans and deafen his soldiers’ ears.
It is during this trial time that the defection from Meles army will be in thousands, and as a result the number of the Ethiopian patriots will quadruple.
Dismayed by this extraordinary event, Meles Seitanawi will announce a cease-fire to negotiate a peace deal with the Ethiopian Patriots. This type of cease-fire, if achieved, will give him time to evaluate his military strength and to see how much public support he has for the war to continue. To win the hearts of his soldiers, he will double their monthly salaries by borrowing money from the west or by stealing from the Church or from other resources.
I know, Ethiopians by nature are peace-loving people whether they are at war or at peace. Therefore, the Ethiopian Patriots, when they think they are winning the war, may deceive themselves if they indeed negotiate for cease-fire with their enemy – Meles Seitanawi. They should know that Meles, when he asks for cease-fire, is buying time to build up his demoralized army and come back later with an overwhelming power to crash the Ethiopia Patriots’ army. Once the war is started, there will be no cease-fire until Meles Seitanawi is completely defeated and capitulated.
After victory is achieved, the number of people who would be killed, rejoicing, dancing in the streets, and avenging the blood of their friends, would be more than the number of people killed fighting against Meles Seitanawi.
It will be unthinkable for some people such things will actually happen once Meles is defeated, fled the country, or jailed or killed in the battlefield with his daughter on his side, and his wife is to be found in a church holding and reading the book of prayers. But it may happen, and before it does, the Ethiopian Patriots must have a plan to keep peace and order in all Ethiopian cities and towns; they can do this by converting most of their fighting men and women into a police force and immediately sending them to those regions that have some chaos and disorder, especially those regions where the Tegarues, the Amharas, and the Oromos live in large numbers.
We will have a temporary prime minister until the “dust settled down” for at least two years, and then the Ethiopian people will hold a general democratic election; the person who wins the election will be our first democratically elected prime minister for the next four years.
In the words of war, we have been always the winners; our writings, embellished with appropriate words and phrases have, like Demosthenes’ writings, shattered the sophistries of Meles Seitanawi and his close political advisories.
Meles and his political supporters have been the winners for 18 years with their guns, lies, and stolen money, but with our sharp and penetrating words, we have dominated the Ethiopian press as well as the diaspora media in Europe, North America and South America. And that is why Meles, when he could not ignore us any more, ordered the most powerful Web site – the Ethiopian Review – to be shut down and never to be heard again in the Ethiopian web sites.
Meles Seitanawi could not take the vocabulary we use to domesticate or tame him and his entire household. In fact, he has recently sent Chief Bereket Simon and his assistant Ermias Legesse to Washington to complain about the VOA Amharic program for dissecting and disclosing the Woyanne’s crimes to the Ethiopian people.
Those who are fighting Meles with their guns in the scorching desert heat and freezing night temperature and those of are attacking him relentlessly to weaken him, and at the same time to inspire our Ethiopian Patriots deserve credits, and more credits should be given to the Ethiopian Patriots.
To #14, who asks,”Why does the US shed the blood of its children to defend its perceived interest in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan? Do you think it is because they are ignorant and don’t know anything about peaceful struggle?”
The US has a powerful military advantage over its enemies (who nonetheless are demonstrating that even military power has its limitations). Ethiopia’s opposition does not (yet) have such an advantage. Until it does, it should exploit the advantages it does possess– the power to cut off the dictatorship’s money and other vital support. A smart warrior chooses terrain to his advantage.
As to what I know of Ethiopia’s crisis, I would turn the question around: have you really studied what has worked and not worked around the world? If you do, you will come to realize that there is a far wider range of tools available to you than you may realize. For example, have you ever wired money back home? If so, did you realize that you were financing the Agazi when you did so?
With respect to the use of violence in domestic American history, the verdict is mixed. The American revolution used violence, of course. But there is also the example of the civil rights movement, which used non-violent action to defeat seemingly more powerful opponents.
My article explains that violence sometimes works, sometimes non-violence alone and sometimes a mix. Pick and choose what works. Don’t be like a boxer with only one good move.
gemechu—-> blood coffee campaign
a brilliant idea!!!!
Ato Elias
You have been barking like a mad dog for the last 18, 19 years with no result to accomplish.
TO ELIAS KIFLE:
Peace be to you & to all peace-loving Ethiopians!
1.Pro-Woyane Scam-Websites are trying to hijack and/or infiltrate to confuse ER readers on the search engine (such as Google) – ‘they’ are trying to use the same URL as ER’s; I would alert ER readers of these sad scambags futile attempts.
2. I like the idea of the mixture of VIOLENT & NON-VILOLENT means of struggle to accelerate the assisted suicidal of the shaking Woyane Junta such as the above – ‘sending money (remittances) Using differnt channels’ – Could there be a FORUM where these kinds of GOOD suggestions be better organised & fascilitated. Coz sometimes, we kind of make nice suggestions but there are no follow-ups – we need to keep up til the end. What do you suggest?
ጥያቄው ለሁሉም አገር ወዳድ ኢትዮጵያዊ ነው::
Many Thanks.
Mestewat
If one looks back in history (world events) there is no single incident where a violent resistance brought about freedom to the people. It always replace one brute with another brute. Well coordinated and disciplined armed resistance may draw attention to a struggle but ultimately it is a political solution that brings relief to the people. Here the most important result is the freedom of the people, not changing dictators.
In Ethiopian case armed groups may help draw attention (big may be)but will never be able unseat the TPLF regime any time soon for a very simple reason. They will never have enough resources and TPLF has unlimited resources and manpower. TPLF is getting all the help not only from western countries but historical enemies of Ethiopia like Egypt, Sudan and even Israel. Israel will tread Ethiopia to keep Egypt happy.
However the biggest obstacle to freedom is not woyane, western countries or even Egypt. It is Ethiopians who believe they have the only solution. That is people like you. They intimidate others from contributing their share. Very few people can paralysed the whole movement. Kinijt was paralysed and obliterated because of few people who wanted to control the entire movement.
The most effective way of getting rid of dictators is to decentralise the struggle. Organisation are merely convenient tools, nothing else. Freedom comes from personal level. The simplest and most efficient way of freeing a nation is for each individual to declares freedom for himself. The goal of any organization whose aim is freedom is to build the capability of individuals to determine that state.
Organizations that act on that principle allow the people to reach their desired goal. But Most Ethiopian organizations and political individuals insist on grater centralisation and keeping a short leash on every bodies movement. It is this kind of people that actually enable woyane to survive.
There are over 80 million Ethiopians and if every one acts according to his/her capability woyane has no way of controlling that. But a centralised action may will have sparks and stars it will be extinguished quickly by a better organised group. That is exactly what has happened to Kinijit. Instead of decentralising kinijit the leadership put the fate of Kinijit on the hands of few individuals. The rest of the members and the public had no say on what to be done and how to do it. Those who insisted for freedom to act were quickly put out of action. The leadership removed the freedom of the people and kept it for themselves. Now woyane job was made easier. Tplf isolated those few individual and the whole movement fallen apart.
We all know that fact, everyone knows the only way for Weyane to survive would have to depend on the foreign currency Ethiopians send back home. If the Ethiopian people stop sending money for only six months the regime in Ethiopia will fall flat face first. Then everyone can start sending money and the new government will start performing better with all the currency the people are sending home. After all, the money we send home is going into the pocket of the regime while having little to no impact to the lives of Ethiopians.
BELES
Nice try but do not even try it, we can not be fooled anymore by ‘foxes in sheepskin’ woyane sympathisers. It sounds u’re trying 2 discourage us to fight or challenge the TPLF regime. You analysis is baseless. We can look back in history, & history repeats itself:
No Power or Army is invincible: it’s not about size & it’s not how much support u may get from External forces – if there is no public support then their ‘D woyane Junta’ fall is inevitable. The question is: ‘How do we accelerate their downfall?’
By a mixture of VIOLENT & NON-VIOLENT struggle …
The above advice is necessary and vital important if it reaches the people in the country. Ethiopians must start organizing themselves and take all available actions, they should not wait for the divided weak opposition. Organize on all levels and solidarity amongst all the people is vital, avoide the fancy ethnick division used by the butcher of Addis the woyane kuncho. Unity is a weapon ::
That could be part of the various methods of the struggle, but don’t forget the invisible hands of specially the US & Britain to come to the rescue through their institutions such as the IMF, World Bank etc.