By Netsanet Yimetal

In the last few hundred years, our nation have had its share of historical moments – The introduction of Christianity; The introduction of Islam; The unification of Ethiopia; The beginning of dictatorship part I – Derg and the beginning of dictatorship part II – Woyanne. All of the above and more have shaped our nation to what it is today. It can be argued that some of the historical facts contributed to its failure while others led to its triumph. The one point all of us agree on is that our country is not in its ideal state, to put it politely. So if we agree on this fact, what is our wish for our country? How can we achieve this wish? And, who can take us there?

On the reality of Ethiopia today
The state of our nation is in more disarray than it had ever been. The gap between the Haves and Have Nots is wide and widening everyday. The rampant corruption is making it possible for the few to amass the wealth. The human rights abuse on those who choose to participate in the political process is sharply increasing. The killing of the Ogadenis is a daily event. Among decent and reasonable people, the extent of how bad the woyanne government maybe debatable; however, almost all do agree that there is a problem and that problem needs mending

On the wish of our people
I am absolutely sure all of us wish the best for our nation. We wish for the creation of a state that is free of human rights abuse, free of war, free of corruption, equal justice to all. Economically, we would like our nation to be a land of plenty, not a land of empty. As much as we are proud of our ancestral ethnicity, none of us wish for the demise of another’s ethnicity. In short, we want the best for our nation and our nation is Ethiopia – a land of diversity.

On the process of achieving our wish
The process of achieving our wish maybe the most difficult and challenging piece of the puzzle. Even though we have a common wish, we may choose different paths to get to our ultimate goal. What are the different paths we as a people can take? The first path is to do nothing and hope the current government of Ethiopia will fix all our problems for us. The second path is to create and support an arms group who will eventually change the current regime by force. The last path is to create a non-violence movement that will eventually change the current make-up of the government to achieve a just society.

Obviously doing nothing and hoping the current regime will make it better is a fairy-tale. This government has proven over and over again that it is not interested in the formation of a just nation. Just look at its party name: The Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front. Have you ever wondered why the Woyannes still use ‘front’ in their party name? In a military context, Front is “The foremost line or part of an army” 1 This basically means our nation is still being led by an armed group who just does not want to let go its past. The lack of EPRDF to change itself into a true civilian leadership is what is causing much anguish to our people. I am sure you all know the nail/hammer analogy. “If all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail” In this case, If all you have is a gun, every problem looks like an enemy combatant. I don’t believe the second alternative, changing the government with arm is a viable option at this given time. I don’t think it is viable because this way of changing government had failed to create a sustainable peace and development in more countries than I can count.

The last alternative is to create a non-violence movement that will eventually change the current make-up of the government. This method will work because your ultimate goal in this fight is to change the system of the government, not necessarily abolish the ruling party. The ruling party should be able to participate in the political process to achieve the just nation all of us are yearning for. In fact, it would be difficult to achieve the ultimate goal without including the ruling party. This movement; however, needs many courageous people both inside and outside of the nation if this method is expected to bring about a real change. Internally, the opposition politicians and legitimate press have to continue to identify and broadcast the unjust that is being perpetrated on the people of Ethiopia. Externally, the Diaspora needs to continue their support to the opposition leaders both financially and intellectually. In addition, the Diaspora should help the leaders of the Western world understand that the people of Ethiopia are under siege and need their help sooner than ASAP! Prime example is HR 2003 which just got a unanimous vote by the House of Representatives in the U.S. Congress. So, which leaders are best equipped to help us achieve long term peace and development using the method of Non-violence?

On choosing our Leaders
Leadership had always been an elusive concept in the History of Ethiopia. In fact, I dare say that we have been cursed with Leaders. Unfortunately, our curse did not stop even with the most loved opposition party, the CUD. I don’t need to go into details, but I am sure you all have heard the rift between the Chairman of the CUD and the rest of the CUD Leaders. Personally, I don’t care about the personalities who are involved in the rift. What is and should be important is who is/are the best leader/s who can take our nation from the valley of poverty into the mountain top? Who is yearning for a change than yearning for Power? After spending many days following the interviews and speeches made by the CUD Leaders, I have decided that one group is fighting for Ethiopia while another is fighting for personal glory.

It is crystal clear to all who have the capacity to reason, Dr. Berhanu and his colleagues are true intellectuals who have real plans to take Ethiopia out of its misery. In addition to their intelligence, they are persons of character who stick to the rules no matter what. On the other hand Ato Hailu Shawel is a person who is hungry for power and don’t even want to follow the rules of the party he is a chair of. Here are few examples of Ato Hailu’s inability to follow rules:

1. Didn’t want to be part of North America Delegation just because his way was rejected.

2. Appointed the last three members of CUD North America (from jail) without the support of any of the CUD members who were in jail with him.

3. Attempted to appoint other three members, again without the support of his leadership team.

4. Appointed Dr. Taye Woldesemayat to the leadership role without the support of his leadership team.

I don’t know about you, but if I wanted a Dictator to lead me, I would have voted for Meles Zenawi in the 2005 election. As a person who chooses democracy for my great people, I am proud to follow the Non-violence movement that is being waged by Dr. Berhanu Nega!
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Netsanet can be reached at [email protected]