By Messay Kebede
This article is a public reaction to a long email letter sent to me by an Oromo interlocutor. The email states that unity between Amhara democratic forces and Oromo freedom fighters is necessary both to defeat the undemocratic Woyanne regime and initiate a promising future for Ethiopia. However, the letter blames the lack of unity on the resistance of Amhara democratic forces to concede the right to self-determination to the Oromo people. The imposition of an unconditional unity prevents the Oromo freedom fighters from effecting a serious move toward a rapprochement, while the refusal of some Oromo fighters to even give a chance to unity deeply upsets Amhara democratic forces. The letter suggests a middle ground based on a common goal, namely, a union of independent nations that recognizes the self-determination of each nation, and so provides the condition of a voluntary union. In other words, the pledge to give a chance to the integrity of Ethiopia should satisfy the Amhara democratic forces, just as the recognition of the right to self-determination should suit the Oromo by convincing them to enter into a free union with the Amhara and other peoples.
Though the author claims not to be a representative of the OLF, I am not convinced to what extent his views differ from the official position of the organization. Also, my purpose here is less to respond to my interlocutor than to propose some general reflections concerning the right to self-determination as a condition of union. Let me begin by what amazes most: the defenders of the right to self-determination have rejected everything of Stalin (Lenin and the Soviet Union), except his view of nations and nationalities. It is for me next to impossible to understand how scholars and politicians stop short of being critical of the Stalinist doctrine of self-determination even as they know that Stalin has been entirely wrong in everything. What are the chances for a doctrine whose inherent perversion led to such disastrous consequences to be right on the crucial issue of nation-building?
My contention is that, far from promoting free union, the right to self-determination actually blocks it. It is when union becomes unconditional that it forces peoples to find a form of accommodation that suits them all. Here is an illustrative analogy: if two competing individuals decide to build a house together, their cooperation makes sense if the house becomes their common interest, that is, if both intend to live in the same house. However, if one of the partners is at the same time building another house, whatever partnership they had becomes so suspicious that it comes to an end.
The right to self-determination cannot provide the common goal for a lasting union. Moreover, nobody is inclined to make serious concessions if the outcome is so precarious. It is when we decide to live in the same house, no matter what, that we would be inclined to better the house. While Stalin recognizes the right to secede, Rousseau maintains that a nation means an indivisible unity for only indivisibility creates a common goal. Obviously, a conditional unity is hardly able to produce a serious commitment to the idea of a lasting union.
The Stalinist approach has no historical foundation as nations did not emerge as a result of peoples exercising the right to self-determination. The politics of either lumping people together or splitting them apart according as they want or do not want to stay together is too artificial to be anything more than a manipulation of political elites. Instead, modern nations have come into being through inner movements smashing the oppressive structures of conquests and empires. With the exception of overseas colonial empires––whose difficulties to modernize relate to the absence of organized democratic movements in the pre-independence phase––the resolution to build a common house guaranteeing freedom and equality for all is the cornerstone of modern nation, not the right to secession.
Those who truly care about democracy and freedom must understand that the refusal of self-determination alone can bring about the changes that they hope. What the refusal means is that we make unity unconditional so that everything else becomes negotiable. But if the union is conditional, the blackmail of secession seriously jeopardizes the exercise of democratic rules. What is more, a union is formed without the equal alienation of rights since one of the partners reserves the right to secede. As Rousseau puts it, the condition of modern democracy is “the total alienation of each associate, together with all his rights, to the whole community; for, in the first place, as each gives himself absolutely, the conditions are the same for all; and, this being so, no one has any interest in making them burdensome to others” (The Social Contract).
It is clear that the act by which a people join a political union is also the act by which it ceases to consider itself as a nation. It becomes part of an organic whole and its distinctive characteristics, such as language, religion, customs, etc., become regional expressions of a larger union. How the specificities integrate into the union is negotiable, and various forms of arrangement can ensure their protection. By contrast, union defined as a collection of autonomous nations is a Stalinist aberration and a contradiction in terms. Let us listen to Stalin:
“The right of self-determination means that a nation may arrange its life in the way it wishes. It has the right to arrange its life on the basis of autonomy. It has the right to enter into federal relations with other nations. It has the right to complete secession. Nations are sovereign, and all nations have equal rights” (Marxism and the National Question).
What Stalin says here applies to an entity like the United Nations rather than to real existing nations whose characteristic is precisely to be sovereign in an indivisible way.
What this shows is that political unity among democratic forces has become impossible in Ethiopia because we find ourselves in an ideological muddle inherited from the Soviet Union. No more than Stalin could the Woyanne regime preserve the unity of Ethiopia without the creation of a party based on the rigid and oppressive principle of democratic centralism. The result is a tyrannical government that keeps peoples together by force after telling them that they are indeed nations and nationalities. On the other hand, opposition forces cannot unite because they are faced with the impossible dilemma of uniting elites who claim to represent nations.
It is high time that we understand that the political failure of opposition forces emerge from the fact that they want to solve a problem that is made unsolvable. The divagations of a deranged man (Stalin) on the right to self-determination has put Ethiopia in a political impasse, which if left as is, will lead to a breakup with disastrous consequences for the whole region. The best alternative is to renew the commitment to unconditional unity, thereby creating the conditions of a satisfactory solution for all. If the union is abiding, then serious talks can start on how to build the common house.
That is why I was more than happy to read in the recently released political program of the organization known as Medrek a strong reaffirmation of unity. The program plainly states that members of the organization believe that any challenges to the unity of Ethiopia must be dealt with on the basis of unity and democratic progress, and not through recourse to secession (page 22). This rebuttal of article 39 of the Ethiopian Constitution allowing the right to self-determination, including the right to secession, became necessary as a condition of unity among opposition forces.
The rebuttal is indeed a great step forward, even though it is not bold enough to reject the usage of the terms “nations” and “nationalities.” This lack of boldness exposes the program to the charge of being contradictory, since the term “nation” implies, by definition, the right to self-determination. I recommend the term “ethnic groups,” with the understanding that the Amhara and the Tigreans are no less ethnic groups than the Oromo, the Gurage, the Somali, etc. In so doing, we define Ethiopia as a multicultural nation rather than as a multinational state, a feature that requires a federal arrangement with large autonomy and self-rule. In this way, we avoid the present impasse without, however, sacrificing those rights necessary to realize the full equality of Ethiopia’s ethnic groups.
(Dr Messay Kebede can be reached at [email protected])
60 thoughts on “On the right to self-determination”
Abc-hahu,
You are following me like Muhammad’s jinn to tell me repeatedly that your master Gragn Muhammad is “one of the unifier of the region.”
I have no problem with the professor; you are my problem with no respect to the Ethiopian Christians who lost so many properties and human lives to your friend Gragn Muhammad.
You always reject the fact, and you have a big problem to distinguish between opinions and facts; the fact is that Gragn Muhammad tried to unify Ethiopian Arab-Muslims to deracinate the indigenous Ethiopian Christians, and he was the first Jihadist Muslim to have terrorized the whole Ethiopian Christian communities.
My first hatred to Islam started when I visited one monastery in Ethiopia and asked one Church father for a certain book, but he told me that book was not anymore there. When I asked him why the book was not there, his answer was obvious that Gragn Muhammad had burnet it with many other valuable books.
My second hatred to Islam started after I read Quran and Hadith – the two important Islamic religious books compiled in Baghdad, Iraq, about 130 years later after the death of Muhammad. Muhammad himself didn’t leave any written documents about his revelations, and the people who were with him had also passed away, so after so many years after Muhammad’s death, some hanifs (religious leaders) started collecting Muhammad’s sayings from some people’s memories, so they created the Quran and Hadith that have so many discrepancies because of the memory laps of some people. No wonder why these two books contradict each other because they were written down from some people’s memories.
After you have read the following statements, it is up to you to judge who Muhammad was: Muslim:C14B39N6759 “Aisha, the wife of Allah’s Apostle, reported: ‘Allah’s Messenger left my apartment during the night. Then he came and he saw me in an agitated state.’ He said: “Aisha, what has happened to you? Do you feel jealous?” I said: “How can it be that a girl like me would not feel jealous in regard to a husband like you? Thereupon Allah’s Messenger said: “It is your devil who has come to you.” I said: “Allah’s Messenger, is there a devil with me?” He said: “Yes.” I said: “Is there a devil attached to everyone?” He said: “Yes.” I said: “Allah’s Messenger, is there a devil attached to you also?” He said: “Yes.”‘”
Bukhari:V2B21N245 “A person slept in and missed the morning prayer. So the Prophet said, ‘Satan urinated in his ears.'” Bukhari:V4B54N494 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘When the upper edge of the sun appears in the morning, don’t perform a prayer till it has risen. When the lower edge of the sun sets, don’t perform a prayer till it has set, for the sun rises between two sides of the Satan’s head.'” Bukhari:V4B54N509 “The Prophet said, ‘Yawning is from Satan and if anyone of you yawns, he should check his yawning as much as possible, for if anyone of you during the act of yawning should say: “Ha,” Satan will laugh at him.'”
In fact, the following statement by Craig in his book, entitled Prophet of Doom under the “Satan’s Bargain Chapter” destroys the validity of Muhammad’s revelation.
The statement says: “The Messenger [Muhammad] said, ‘I have fabricated things against Allah and have imputed to Him words which He has not spoken.'”
Do you understand now why I hate Islam but not the Muslims? I will continue bringing the two important subjects – Islam and Christianity – and try to show to my Ethiopian Christians the big differences between the two.
Do you know Muhammad claims he is the Holy Spirit and John the Baptist?
Do you know Muhammad allows each Muslim can marry 4 wives? But he has more than 60 wives and many concubines.
Do you know Islam does not recognize Jesus Christ as the Son of God?
Do you know some parts of Quran and Hadith are plagiarized from the Old and the New Testament?
Do you know Islam teaches violence and rewards those who commit violence with virgin girls in Paradise?
More to come on this subject!
Abc-hahu,
You wrote for the third time: “Gragn Muhammad is the unifier of the region.”
You are making the Ethiopian Christians’ number one enemy, Gragn Muhammad, your number one friend. In this case, Mussolini is also your second friend, and Meles Zenawi your third friend. Finally, all Ethiopian enemies, such as Egypt, Turkey, and Sudan are your best friends.
How many times do you have to repeat Gragn Muhammad’s name? Muslims like to recite Quran now and then, and, in this case, your Quran is Gragn Muhammad, and you can recite him everyday if you want too.
Gragn Muhammad’s story does not end here; it will continue until all his followers are completely destroyed by the coalition of the Christian powers.
When you say: “Gragn Muhammad is the unifier of the region,” which region are you talking about, the Kenyan region, the Somali region, the Eritrean region, the Sudan region? You are the most confused and lost person who writes the same phrase again and again, and again. Be specific and clear.
Assta,
You seemed very interested in history & religion but could not connect the knots.
In respect of the article it is the professor who eloquently explained his version of unity not me, if you have any reservation about unity, democracy, human right, freedom, & equality you should direct it to him.
I repeat again Gragn Ahmed is one of the great unifying leader of the region. If you don’t know about the region we talk about why you mention the great leader who controlled the area you live?
As far as I know, the subject matter is not related about religions, but you are the one who display your hatred against part of the population in the region. If you want to discuss about religions open a forum or ask Elias to assist you without meddling in a subject that require healthy discussion to get a clear perspective.
Ramadan Kareem. Happy Ramadan for the faithful.
Abc-hahu,
I have already told you I am done with the professor’s article. I have also made it clear I am pro-unity and have given my reasons in my previous comments.
Dear confused abc-hahu, I live in the United States and I don’t know what region you are talking about. Why don’t you name the region, and why are you ashamed of naming that particular region? As far as there is an intruder like you in this web site, there will be no healthy discussion.
By the way, do you have the portrait of Gragn Muhammad in your house? I’m sure you do. If I see it, I will spit on it, or pulverize it into ashes.
You wished happy Ramadan for the Muslims faithful without understanding the history of Ramadan.
Before Muhammad was born, there were five pagan rituals in Mecca where Qusayy, the most respected Arab poet lived. He was one of the worshipers of the Mecca idols, and the names of some of these idols were: Hubal, Allah, Al-Lat, Manat, and A-Uzza. Qusayy’s favorite idol among these idols was allah, and for those who worshiped allah, Qusayy created five rituals to be performed in front of allah. The five rituals were: allah, prayer, religious tax, or zakat, hajj pilgrimage, and holy month of Ramadhan and Tahnnuth-fasting.
Today’s Muslims call these five pagan rituals: “The Five Pillars.”
Thought for food:
When Muhammad wanted more women, Allah said: “You may have whomever you desire; there is no blames/” (Quran 33:51)
If you have a wife, be careful not to adhere to Muhammad’s rule of whom one of his 66 wives, Maymuna said: “The messenger of Allah used to have sexual intercourse with me during my menstrual period, while a piece of garment is between us.”
His child-wife, Aisha, also testified: “If any one of us was having menstrual period, Allah’s Messenger ordered her to come to him for sexual intercourse while she is on the peak of her period.”
For more information about the Prophet Muhammad’s sexual behavior, look in the Hadith of Sahih Muslim, Vol. I, p. 590.
Happy Filseta Month for all the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians!
Assta,
As I figured out earlier you don’t understand what you are saying. Are you? Otherwise you would have known by now that USA has no problem in electing OBAMA HUSSEIN BARACK. Are you living in United States? Very funny!!!
On the other side, nobody can erase the actual history and truth always prevail. Imam Ahmad bin Ibrahim, Gragn Ahmed, is part of our history, one of the great son of the region who ruled from east to west and north to south of our region during his time. You can refer Fathul Habash that is available in English and Amharic as well which is very amazing, and worthy to know and associate with.
No wonder why so many people are opting for self-determination as there are people like you who have narrow and closed perception with dirty mind. Those who advocate secession will tell you NO unity with your likes.
One can easily notice your infantile attitude in the way you are behaving and portray yourself as a well read intellectual in subjects you have zero knowledge except the usual mumbo jumbo. Once again this thread is not about religions which you have missed to understand.
Are you interested to preach religion hatred? Open a forum to satisfy your ego. Ende Zinb Dhalka Atigba!
Ramadan Kareem.
Elias, would you please post on the Front page of ER for all to know and learn tolerance and live in peace.
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S SPEECH on RAMADAN KAREEM
Abc-hahu,
I have never seen such a hard-headed, ignoramus, absurd, and hypochondriac person like you on this web site of ours.
You are now exhibiting your true color – Islam – the worst religion ever invented by a false prophet on this planet earth.
When your argument about your great, great, great, and great grandfather, the Jihadist, Gragn Muhammad ended in a complete fiasco, you are now turning the discussion to the United States President, Barak Obama, to defend you, assuming he has some Muslim members in his family; however, the fact remains that Barack Obama is a Christian and believes that Jesus Christ, the only savior of the world, is the Son of God. Barack Obama is not Gragn Muhammad, the Jihadist, the destroyer of thousands of Christian Churches and the offspring of the terrorist, the rapist, and the false prophet Muhammad who lied that he had ascended into heaven.
This is what the great Muslim scholar, Bukhari in the Hadith had to say: “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘On the night of my Ascension to Heaven, I saw Moses who was a thin person, looking one of the men of the tribe of Shanua; and I saw Jesus with a red face as if he had just come out of a bathroom. And I resemble Abraham more than any of his offspring.’” (V4B55N607) I’m sure; when the Jews and the Christians read such deceptions, they will laugh and laugh.
For sure, Barack Obama will not defend you on such false claims; you better look to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Ali Khomeini of Iran for further help on the issue of Islam.
You wrote: “Elias, would you please post on the Front Page of ER for all to know and learn tolerance and live in peace.”
We cannot live in peace as far as Muslim Jihadists and terrorists are destroying the Christians, burning their Churches and confiscating their properties because that is what Islam teaches: violence: “Kill the Mushrikun (the Christians) whenever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush….” (Surah 9:5. Also see Surah 9:29)
Because of you and the followers of such a violent religion, we Christians always live in fear, knowing you are lying and waiting hidden somewhere for us to kill us as your religion commands you to do so, so that you could easily go to heaven.
You beg Elias Kifle to post Obama’s speech about tolerance; we Christians have been tolerant for many years; it is you, the Arab-Muslims, who have been intolerant because your religion allows you to behave that way.
If Elias Kifle posts Obama’s speech on the front page, I will ask him also to post all the damages the Islamist Jihadists have caused to the United States and to many other countries.
I know Gragn Muhammad, the Jihadist, is one of your favorite heroes, and if such a person is your friend, go and join Osama bin Laden in one of the mountains of Pakistan. He will probably offer you a high paying job – killing the Christians.
How do you know “so many people are opting for self-determination”? Do you have any statistics, or you are just assuming like your prophet Muhammad? No one prevents you from your self-determination, but you know you cannot live by yourselves without the help of the Amhara people, and that is why you are begging the Amhara people to join you in your political struggles to get free from the Amhara people as if the Amhara people were oppressing and enslaving you.
I hope you are not going to ask one of your Imams to issue an Islamic fatwa against me, and that is the only weapon you have: violence, threat, deception, intimidation, and Sharia.
Assta,
Ye Ergo Zinb. Korenti Chebit. Zemene Tinfegna is over.
You are the one who mentioned the region where you reside and I gave you in your face what it looks like the region where you live. You don’t comprehend the significance what it is all about.
I can tell that you are dying from inside from all the support you are getting that is in vain. Nobody is relying from the one whose ego & pride that is completely crashed from the unlikely minor sector of the region, and yet you want to display your importance. The only resort that remains for you is spill your hatred and frustration with your mumbo jumbo that leads to your complete disaster for whatsoever left without anyone’s involvement. Don’t blame others for your own misguided and false believe. If you properly reflect the enemy is not far from yourself, your heart & mind that is clouded with dirt.
Whether you like it or not Imam Ahmed Bin Ibrahim, Gragn Ahmed, is part of the unifying history of our region. Nobody can change history, even distorted, the living and actual fact remains there.
Once again don’t shove on me the professor’s article for the unity of all parts of our society on equal terms that is giving you ulcer and looking for someone to blame!
As far as your foul notions of religion, since you are stinking I stamped it with toilet cover.
Ramadan Kareem for the faithful.
Abc-hahu (yeshemenelij),
I can understand you are simply a distrait person since you have failed to mention the provenance of your Muhammad Gragn, and your Ramadan, a pagan ritual doesn’t make any sense to me, because I’m a Christian who worship the true God, Jesus Christ; I don’t worship your moon god, allah.
Are you still praying five times a day, facing toward Mecca where the pagan gods are gathered together? Do they ever respond to your prayer? Which one of them is more powerful, Hubal, Allah, Al-Lat, Manat, or Al-Uzza?
You should know curse and prayer would not go together, but your filthy mouth is full of curse and insult, just like your rapist Muhammad. He was 53 years old when he raped the 8-year-old Aisha
Did Obama’s speech help you to cancel your future plan to be a terrorist or a rapist, or a Jihadist? Do you respect Obama’s speech on tolerance or Muhammad’s Quran that says kill the Jews and the Christians? Which one is better, Obama’s speech or Muhammad’ commandment to go and kill the Christians? If I were you, I would stick with Obama’s speech.
The history of Gragn Muhammad is like the history of all the other Muslims in the world: destruction, murder, violence, money, sex, and power.
The only fake religion in this world is Islam, and the only false prophet ever existed in this world is Muhammad, the husband of 66 wives and one 8-year-old child-wife.
I know you pray five times a day, but how many times do you go to the toilet to wash your dirty ass? In case, if you get sick what do you do? You drink camel urine, but I have never seen a camel in the United States. Or you may have imported from Mecca some bottles of camel urine. Do you refrigerate them after you open the bottles?
Don’t forget you are a refugee from Mecca, not an indigent Ethiopian, and be thankful to the Ethiopian Christians who have sheltered you, fed you, and protected you for almost two thousands years. It is my hope that you will never commit any terrorist action on Ethiopia, the land of Christianity and the host of millions of Arab-Muslims.
Assta, Ye Ergo Zinb
The more you write, everyone can easily detect your incompetence and impotence that leads you to jealous and envies that are killing you from inside out.
You cannot handle healthy discussion or learn neither from self-determination nor unity and jump to areas that are hidden from you due to the above reason. Miskin soul that lacks inner peace and searching solace in garbage. Adios.
Hail to liberty.