The top leadership of Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJ), including the chairperson, Wzt. Birtukan Mideksa, went to the resort town of Sodore (130km southeast of Addis Ababa) on Monday to relax and also try bring harmony among the different factions of the leadership that are currently at loggerheads.
The Sodore retreat had often turned into series of heated debates particularly between those who believe that Kinijit made the right decision NOT to enter the rubber-stump parliament, and those who violated the party’s decision and resent that they are being looked down on by the others as untrustworthy.
Meanwhile, the top leaders of UDJ are currently being courted by the American Ambassador Donald Yamamoto and other Western ambassadors to take part in the 2010 elections without any preconditions.
As we reported last week, Ambassador Yamamoto invited Wzt. Birtukan and four other top leaders of UDJ to a lunch on July 8 to discuss elections.
According to Ethiopian Review sources, Yamamoto told the UDJ leaders that he will stay as ambassador until after the 2010 elections and has tried to assure them that the road will be paved for them to freely participate in the elections.
The ambassador admitted that there is a one-party system in Ethiopia, and the U.S. Government wants to movement toward a multi-party system, according to ER sources.
The American ambassador also told the UDJ officials that the U.S. policy towards Ethiopia is being transformed, in that terrorism is no longer a dominant factor in the decision making process. He advised Wzt. Birtukan and friends that the U.S. will start focusing on good governance and human rights, and that UDJ needs to take advantage of this transformation of U.S. policy.
The UDJ officials also met with French diplomats and held similar talks.
In all of this, the party seems to have forgotten about the people as if they have no say. Currently, UDJ is completely detached from the people of Ethiopia.
60 thoughts on “UDJ leaders take a retreat in Sodore”
Here we go again! I don’t know who is working in Elias’s head! Has he got any thinking peice of brain in that head?
He is transformiming himself from “quite interesting into quite disgusting creature?
You need to be ashamed of yourself!!!!!
Let us aviod generalization and conclusion based on our intution/feeling.
How can you say “UDJ is detached from the people of Ethiopia” well that is your gut feeling I want to respect your view. But Elias as Journalist hide your feeling and let ideas, things go on their way. UDJ, Ginbot 7, etcccccccccccc, all are working to bring democracy and sustainable development in the country. let us support all and bring the envisaged outcome through respect and mutual help.
let us learn from each other. let us avoid critics but develop constructive feedback, looking forward our development. If we can’t do this little things how could we achieve what we want in this complex and dirty world in the long term. Let us learn from Obama and Hilary How they join hands for mutual benefit.
People are getting massacred on one hand and are starving on the other, and the defunct opposition is lounging in Sodere dining with monkeys? This is tasteless to say the least.
I cant even fathom how I would feel if I was languishing in one of the many weyane’s prisons and then hear of THIS news. I would lose all hope in man kind let alone Ethiopia.
Leaders should be bold and men of action. Take the fight to the oppressors and do all that you can to achieve freedom. Armed struggle is the only way out of this curse called weyane from tigray dingay land.
I hope Ginbot 7 is not going to disappoint me with their methods of conduct in deposing this evil regime once and for all.
One Love Ethiopia.
Elias, please give them the benefit of doubt. Learn from your previous hasty generalizations. We need all rounded support from all walks of struggle. We need Ginbot 7, we need UDJ, we need armed struggle… we need all to get rid of woyane. You are fighting people with a similar goal but different strategy. Your attack is misplaced. ebakih wede hilinah temeles!!! We need you in the struggle as well!
Elias,
I think, recently you are loosing your bearings. Most of your postings and comments are testless. Really you are not helpfull in Ethiopian politics.
Elias,
Thanks for the info.
But what’s wrong with Birtukan and Co. talking to diplomats? Isn’t that part of their political activity? And how on earth do you equate that with detachment from the people? What’s wrong with you?
Yes Elias is erratic at times and use some deragatory/abusive words against some notable figures of the opposition in Ethiopia.
But having said the above – Elias brought some good points and questions to the UDJP envoy Prof. Mesfin w/m to answer. Among the questions highlighted by him are: Where are the 8 points? Why abondon Kinijit because the tyrannt said so? Why not fight the TPLF peacully about the stolen election/party name etc than preparing to legitmize it by participating in an election? Why all of a sudden trust the NEB who was the instrument for stealing the 2005 election by asking it to register a new party? etc so many important questions – but Mesfin couldn’t answer it because he doesn’t have the answer instead he went to attack others who choose to fight the TPLF (the enemy) in another mode of struggle. My friend, it doesn’t matter who said it but that is the truth. And Mesfin has a lot of questions to answer about his role being a non Kinijit council memeber who resigned after writing a beautyful letter of power mongering but then now he is on the driver sit of a splinter faction. We will not let it go!
It is completly fishy! The UDJP has a deal with the US Embassy and the TPLF to topple Eng. HS, to destroy Kinijit, kill the struggle all together and legitmize the TPLF. Now it came to light one by one – slowly but surely.
One should not believe Ambassador Yamamato at all. If the U.S. policy is transformed, why does the state Department is still opposing HR2003?
I happen to believe that anyone who even contemplates that Meles and his group will just hand the power over peacefully to another group is not only delusional but extremely naive. Meles and his TPLF party have invested a lot in coming to power and in holding to it over the last 17+ years have committed too much crimes and alienated most of Ethiopians. Furthermore, Ethiopia as a country just like the rest of African continent has no culture of tolerance to slight criticism by its concerned citizens let along meaninful democratic practice. It is against this background that it is unlikely any election will bring about change in the country and the leaders of UDJ will likely fail in their endevour no matter how well intentioned they are.
It is true that it is the people in Ethiopia that play a decisive role. But the Diaspora parties (those that have no hope of returning home) and their supporters have a sigificant influence on the people in Ethiopia. Birtukan can esily slide into Lidetu’s shoes if she pays more attention to Yamamato than to the loquacious diasporic negators like Elias.