… But then there is the harsher side of Mr Meles, the Marxist fighter turned political strongman with a dismal human-rights record who is intolerant of dissent. In 2005, after a disputed general election, his police shot dead some 200 civilians. An independent inquiry ended up with several of its judges fleeing the country. Mr Meles sprinkles spies through the universities to intimidate and control the students; he was once a student agitator himself. He closes down independent newspapers and meddles in aid projects, banning agencies that annoy him. Last month he suspended the activities of about 40 of them from the Somali-populated parts of the country… [READ MORE]
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Dear Elias
As a regular reader of Ethiopian Review after your visit Eritrea to interview the President of Eritrea, I commend you for your bravery and telling the truth. Certainly, truth is sometimes a bitter medicine, but which doctor with a sincere interest in the health of his patients would prescribe a remedy solely because it tastes sweet? A free press is the engine of the vehicle called democracy. It encourages those in power to act for the best of the society and educates the latter so as to make them well-informed and consequently committed and responsible citizens. If Ethiopia showed any change in the future, a large amount of the credit is unquestionably due to people like you and those who are sacrificing their body and blood with unwavering persistence to help their people on the ground in Ethiopia soil. The process of solving problems starts unavoidably with their pragmatic identification and goes on with a controversial discussion within a pluralistic society. Consequently, lending a voice to all those who feel committed to the development of a society is of prime necessity and should therefore be considered a noble and praiseworthy.
As to the Prime Minister if you allow me, I would like to send him this short letter.
Mr. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi:
Look at what happened to Mengistu Hailemariam who is in exile. It is true that he was toppled by Ethiopian (not Woyane only) and Eritrea fighters but he eventually fell, and sooner or later, you will too. So many years have passed, yet you continue to oppress your people. What have your countrymen done to live through such misery and pain under your rule? You may enslave your people, but you have been enslaved by the West, economically, politically, and militarily. You are now unable to speak up and say “no” to the West for any reason. No matter how powerful you feel you are when tyrannizing your own people, you are still weak from within because you cannot raise your head. In today’s world, a regime can be enslaved only and only if it accepts enslavement. Hence, it was you who accepted enslavement and preferred pleasing foreign powers over your people.
The gap between you and your people is huge and is getting wider every day. You are oppressor you have deprived your people of their basic rights to freedom, democracy, and other human rights.
Because a leader loved by his people will be protected by them too, it was perfectly normal that what we saw in Mengistu would let their leader face his fate in the way he did. Why? The answer is simply because he was never loved. How can you be loved when you take away people’s freedom, torture and humiliate them in every way? They hated him and they hate you because of your oppression and brutal force used against them. This applies to you. You are not loved by your people. If a coup succeeds against you, your citizens will not shed tears for your demise, but they will destroy your statues, tear into pieces your posters and curse you. You tortured enough, you killed enough, and you threatened enough. It is your people, whom you should trust only when you treat them well and give freedom to. Abandon your evil ways of treating your people. Allow peace, and then rely on your people when the moment of truth comes. But if you face the danger of falling and you are still oppressing your people, then it is better for you to walk alone, fight alone, and fade away all alone. The power of a regime is attained from its people, and this power is greater and stronger than any other force on earth.
I hope you understand, and start acting today before it is too late.