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Ethiopia: “So What!”

Posted on , Updated on by Alemayehu G. Mariam

By Alemayehu G. Mariam

“So what! Soo what!! Sooo whaaat!!!” was the repetitive mantra of dictator Meles Zenawi recently in response to pesky questions lobbed at him in parliament about his so-called Growth and Transformation Plan[1] (GTP), which will presumably make Ethiopia self-sufficient in food production in the next five years and expand the “industrial-led export sector”, infrastructures and what have you. It was vintage Zenawi. He gets a few challenging questions and he ignites into spontaneous self-combustion, a meltdown: “So what if the GTP doesn’t work! So what if we don’t have the money to implement it? So what if don’t have the institutional capacity to do it?! So what? I don’t have to tell you diddly squat. I will do as I please. It’s my way or you’re hitting the friggin’ highway!”

So what about Wikileaks?

The latest droplet of Wikileaks cable leak shows that back in January 2010, Zenawi met[2] with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero and Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson for a couple of hours and gave them a piece of his mind, or a tongue lashing depending on your point of view. There were two fascinating things about the meeting: 1) the summary of the discussions (or hectoring monologue), and 2) the ambiance of the meeting of which we get a glimpse.

After carefully studying and analyzing the cable summaries, one is immediately struck by the absence of any meaningful dialogue on the issues. Rather one is overwhelmed by a sense of unrestrained monologue directed at the Americans with rhetorical flair. Extrapolating from Zenawi’s known demeanor, behavior and pattern and practice in Q & A sessions in parliament (particularly when he is asked challenging questions or is on the receiving end of an unexpected reposte from a member), media interviews, speeches and his recent shocking verbal assault on the European Union Election Observer Mission as “garbage”, one can retrospectively imagine that Otero/Carson must have had a traumatizing 2 hours. Reasoning deductively and reading between the lines in the cable summaries, Zenawi appears angry, frustrated, defensive and defiant. He tries to persuasively convince Otero/Carson of his good intentions for the country, but ends up hectoring, lecturing and talking down to them on elementary principles of democracy. The tone of his voice seemed condescending and contemptuous. His words were tinged with bitterness, and he seemed impatient with his guests. Overall, the meeting seems to have been a 2-hour monologue delivered with rhetorical fury as Otero/Carson cringed in stunned disbelief.

In response to Otero/Carson’s concerns about the crackdown on civil society organizations, narrowing political space and the imprisonment of Birtukan Midekssa, the first female political party leader in Ethiopian history, Zenawi tries to outplay them with clever sophistry. He said “his government placed no restrictions on its citizens’ democratic and civil rights, only the right of foreign entities to fund them.” He seemed conveniently oblivious to the fact that he receives billions in foreign aid annually which he uses to entrench his political party, a notorious fact known to the population and donors since the stolen election of 2005. He counseled “those Ethiopians who want to engage in political activity to organize and fund themselves”. He said “foreign funding of charities” is welcome as long as the money is given to his side, and not to the other guys. It seems he lost his temper at one point haranguing Otero/Carson: “Ethiopians must organize and fund themselves and defend their own rights” because they “were not too poor to organize themselves and establish their own democratic traditions, recalling that within his lifetime illiterate peasants and poor students had overthrown an ancient imperial dynasty.”

Zenawi made it clear to Otero/Carson that he had nothing but contempt for his opposition. They are all just a bunch of whiners and wimps. He pontificated, “When people are committed to democracy and forced to make sacrifices for it, they won’t let any leader take it away from them.” He preached that in “our own struggle against the Derg regime, we received no foreign funding, but were willing to sacrifice and die for [our] cause.” He matter-of-factly declared that Ethiopians must “take ownership of their democratic development, be willing to sacrifice for it, and defend their own rights.”

Zenawi flashed a moment of reasonableness as he assured Otero/Carson not to be concerned about the 2010 election because it “will be free, fair, transparent, and peaceful…” But a question about potential violence caused by the opposition sent him into total spontaneous self-combustion: “If opposition groups resort to violence in an attempt to discredit the election,” Zenawi vowed, “We will crush them with our full force; they will all vegetate like Birtukan (Midekssa) in jail forever.” He asserted with bombastic bravado that there is no power on earth that can save them. “Nothing can protect them except the laws and constitution of Ethiopia!” Capisci! Otero? Carson? One can imagine Zenawi pounding his desk and screaming, “Capisci! Capisci!”

It is apparent from the cablegram that Otero and Carson were stunned into silence by Zenawi’s obstinacy and dogmatic single-mindedness in refusing to allow more political space, ease restrictions on opposition groups and civil society organizations and release Birtukan. As the two representatives of the World’s Greatest Superpower left the 2-hour verbal mauling, there could be no doubt in their minds that they had just met the “law and constitution of Ethiopia.” There is no indication that Otero/Carson learned any lessons from their close encounter of the fourth kind, but there are many to be learned indeed.

Lesson I. Crush your opponents with full force. Alternatively, vegetate them forever.

Anyone who opposes Zenawi will be crushed. Not with a teeny weeny bit of force. Not with reasonable force. Not even partial force. They will be crushed “with full force”. They will be crushed like roaches, bedbugs or spiders. Squish!

If you can’t crush them, then cage them like ferrets or rabbits; and sit back and watch them vegetate. Throw them in the dungeons. Let them rot in jail. So what! Who is going to save them? Better yet, coop them in solitary confinement and watch them turn into potted plants. See them go brain dead. Watch them go raving nuts, crazy. So what!

Lesson II. If you get into America’s face and stick it to her, she will always back down. Always!

American politicians like to talk big; but they rarely back up their talk with action. They have forked tongues, like serpents. They will jibber jabber about democracy, human rights and all that, but when things are down for the count, you will find them standing around twiddling their fingers and whistling Dixie. In fact, if you stand up to them, they will back down. There was a time when American foreign policy was guided by the old West African proverb: “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” Now, they just speak softly, and instead of carrying a big stick they carry a big wad of cash, billions of it, and hand them out to those who have committed crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.

The whole thing works backwards with the Americans. The more bad stuff you do, the more you are rewarded. Take the May 2005 Ethiopia election and all the nasty stuff that happened after that: an election stole, hundreds of citizens massacred in the streets, tens of thousands imprisoned, nearly all opposition leaders rounded-up and vegetated for nearly two years, anti-free press and anti-civic society laws enacted, Birtukan Midekssa incarcerated for 21-months incluyding prolonged periods of solitary confinement, Somalia invaded against the strong advise and disapproval of the U.S. (wink, wink) and on and on. So what did the folks at the U.S. State Department do? They patted Zenawi on the back and handed him blank checks for billions of American tax dollars. So what are the Americans going to do after the May 2010 elections? Send billions more in American tax dollars, of course. Duh!!!

Lesson III. “Democratization is a matter of survival.”

Zenawi says, “democratization is a matter of survival.” Zenawi’s survival, that is. If there is real democracy in the country, Zenawi’s regime will not survive because he will be voted out of office in heartbeat. If democracy stays alive in Ethiopia, Zenawi cannot survive. If Zenawi survives, democracy cannot stay alive. Stated more plainly, democracy and dictatorship cannot exist together in the same place and at the same time. Democracy necessarily means the end of dictatorship and vise versa. Therefore, there will be no democracy in Ethiopia as long as Zenawi’s regime survives. So what!

Lesson IV: If you want democracy, you must struggle and sacrifice for it.

Democracy is not something you get in a ballot casting match. All that pluralism and multipartyism stuff is hogwash. If you want democracy, you must “struggle, sacrifice and die for it”. What Zenawi is really saying is that “You ain’t gonna get the democracy we got through the bullet by stuffing ballots in a box.” There is no problem playing the whole election thing. It makes everybody happy, especially the American and European moneybags who dole out billions every year. But when push comes to shove, that is, if your idea is to push, shove and vote us out of power, it ain’t happening because “We will crush you with our full force.”

Lesson V. If your rights are being violated, defend them!

The opposition has been told, retold, advised and warned that the “international community will not be able to save them,” says Zenawi. But it is not just the international community that is powerless to help them. International law, international human rights treaties, international conventions, international diplomacy, the International Criminal Court, international public opinion, whatever – they are all useless to the opposition. So what if their rights are violated?

Lesson VI. Elections are like children’s marble game where everybody can play as long as the guy who owns the marbles wins all the time.

So what is all this hoopla and fuss about elections and democracy? The opposition is always whining, groaning and moaning about “free, fair, transparent, and peaceful” elections. The election business is not complicated. It is like playing marbles, except one guy owns all of the marbles and makes one rule: “He who owns the marbles wins all the time.”(a rule that is sometimes referred to as the “laws and constitution of Ethiopia”). In his election “victory” speech this past May, Zenawi proclaimed, “The important point in the election process is not the result of the election. It is not about which party won the election.” In other words, elections are not about winning or losing; they are about how you play the game. The opposition played the game, very badly and lost. So what if they don’t want to play anymore? It’s all good. They can hit the highway. We will bring in players who are willing to play the game and never expect or want to win.

Lesson VII. If you want to win, organize…

So what do you need to do if you want to win? Moaning, groaning, whining, wailing and sobbing ain’t going to do you much good. You need to organize, mobilize and energize your base. You need to teach, preach and reach the people.

Lesson VIII. You want funding, don’t beg for it like we do; dig deeper into your own wallets.

Cash? That is always a problem. It is OK to beg and collect billions in aid every year. It is OK to get Safety Net cash and Emergency Food Assistance and give it out to poor farmers in exchange for their votes. But no outside funds for the opposition because they and the “leaders of CSOs [civil society organizations] that receive foreign funding are not accountable to their organizations.” It is all about accountability and transparency. Zenawi is accountable for all of the aid money he gets, the opposition and the CSOs are not accountable for the meager international donations they get. So what if they need cash? Let them dig deep into their wallets.

Lesson: IX. The Rule and Power of One

Everybody, dig this: “There is one law, one regime, one ruler, one circus master and only one man who runs the show in Ethiopia.”

Lesson X: If you don’t like lessons I-IX?

“So what!”

RELEASE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS IN ETHIOPIA.

[1] http://www.addisfortune.com/Defiant%20Meles%20Snubs%20Criticism.htm
[2] http://allafrica.com/stories/201012061509.html

20 thoughts on “Ethiopia: “So What!””

  1. Your entire analysis assumes of course that the US is sincere about democracy in the world but just not serious enough in enforcing it. Tell that to the latin Americans who have received the full might of ‘US Democratization drive’ read promoting US interests at the cost of lives including overthrowing democratically elected leaders. Naive is all I can say but eloquent writing ability I must admit.

  2. dear righter;

    Lesson XI – try to avoid naivity and you may survive potential “honeytraps” (to use CIA’s description)

    ===================================

    – How did you come to conclude the wikileakes cables are reliable sources?? (trust me that I have no intetion to defend the dog meles!)

    – How did you ascertain as to the purpose of such information? Do you think it is lost in the US that coputerized data is pron to unintended interference therefore they would not even choose to document their sensitive archives in such a way. Why did the cables have nothing involving CIA covert ops. in Ethiopia and east africa as relayed back to the military attache of the US embassy there??

    – The government of Eritrea has been demonized and meles aggrandized in this cables, what’s new…

    ====================================

    Please do not be naive enough to expend so much effort based on a material you have very little control/knowledge…

    Happy Holidays

    Best Wishes

  3. This one is telling:

    “He preached that in “our own struggle against the Derg regime, we received no foreign funding, but were willing to sacrifice and die for [our] cause.” He matter-of-factly declared that Ethiopians must “take ownership of their democratic development, be willing to sacrifice for it, and defend their own rights.”

    Who is we? Does he not think he is Ethiopian? in our struggle we did…/also Ethiopians should do like us…hello

  5. MY ANSWER TO SO WHAT OF MELESE IS:

    “VERY SOON THE ETHIOPIAN PEOPLE WILL THROW YOU OUT.”

    DO YOU KNOW THE ETHIOPIAN(AMHARIC) PROVERB:

    “GIZE ANESAGN BILEHI ATDESET BETTAM LE GIZE, GIZE ALLEW ENQIFAT AYATTAM.”

    THOSE OF YOU WHO THINK THE REAL AND DEMOCRATIC CHANGE FOR THE PEOPLE OF ETHIOPIA WILL COME FROM WESTERN WORLD (WHITE PEOPLE), NEED TO THINK RATIONALY. THE WHITE MAN WILL ONLY STAND WITH YOU TO PROTECT ITS INTEREST. THE BEST WAY OF ELIMINATING MELESE ZENAWI IS ORGANIZING AND EDUCATING ETHIOPIAN CITIZENS FROM THE GRASS ROOT SO THAT THEY CAN USE THEIR VOTING CARD TO THROW OUT THE DICTATOR.

    PLEASE, PLEASE, STOP BELIEVING IN WHITE MANS SUPPORT. THEY WILL SELL YOU OUT TO PROTECT THE INTEREST OF THEIR PEOPLE AND COUNTRY.

    I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO WORK WITH LIKE MINDED ETHIOPIANS TO BRING ABOUT REALLY CHANGE AND TRUE DEMOCRACY FOR THE PEOPLE OF ETHIOPIA.

    WISH ALL OF YOU HAPPY HOLIDAY.

  6. “In our struggle against the derg
    Regime, we received no foreign funding but were willing to sacrifice& die for our cause” Is this statement of the PM. sincere?
    May be , Melese cares only about immediate victory than to be bothered being caught lying or being found in consistent.

    The entire conversation lacks substance; melese knows that U.S is not interested about democracy in Ethiopia, Or else he could not have said” if you get in the face of U.S she will back down always”.
    For we know that he is a laboratory rat under the mercy of its captors. On the other hand, I tend to agree with the above comments

    The globalist elite-often described as an alliance of private financiers, and European royals who share self interest has and relish for world control appear to be working behind the scene to bring about one world government. As a result this global push by these powerful groups is perhaps major stumbling stumbling block against democratic movements around the globe. The internationalist often use elected officials in their own country, the off shore corporations, and NGO’S to promote their long term interest. In addition, they use the Unhand its subsidiaries, the European Union, African Union, American Union and Asian Union.
    Of these, perhaps, the European Union is more complete and the others are moving towards that end.

    The only hope of freedom against these movements is, as it has been pointed out long ago, to forge the struggle of each nation with the grass root movements that is taking place in the developed countries themselves.
    The patriots in every nation are rising up against tyrany.One problem is that many among us need to question our world view and make sure its basis is not based on the report obtained on main stream media.

  7. I wrote a comment which reads like this:
    ” I have read that leaked conversation, and was really amazed how smart, independent and to the poit HE, our honorary PM Meles Zenawi is. why don’t you write about your man of the century, the boot licking isayas afework begging for relashons with USA and the west behined the curtain while you, his mouth piece, and his 100% quatar funded media bark day in and out clueless just to confuse people.

    That is Meles telling your almighty USA, to shut the hell up about our internal affairs or risk a big time isolation from the world community especially Africa and Asia. Our talented leader is a bridge who connects all continents, Where his says are one of the most powerful, influential, and most heard these days. Either you talk about good leadership, diplomatic partnership, world peace, global warming and many other internal, intercontinental or global issues, our honorary PM is on top of all where you will find EU, USA… etc depend on HIS super talent to solve such important issues. He is the most respected and feared leader not just b/s he represents Africa and the world but b/s he is gifted with the highest IQ and he is a well educated, experienced person.

    … now it is time to tell us about the in house arrest illiterate isayas aferki who drops school on 2nd grade. Why did you call him a man of the year? He is the most isolated and condemned illiterate who lives like a rat. Isayas’s big hobby is seening torturing his people, hanging them upside down, a system of killing called “Helicopter” in eritrea,
    seeing them bleed and suffer to death and finaly isayas eats their flesh. That is what isayas is known for. killing, killing and killing of eritreans and now your eppf.
    ”
    but it never show up. are you still supporting the mentally disabled man in asmera, isayas afwerk or what…why are you not posting my comment. This has happened to me so many times btw.

  8. It is clear to see that tyrant Meles is defenetly a mentaly distrubed lunitic individual that needs to be under the care of psychiatrist. The bloody hand narsistic dictator keeps on contradicting himself time and time again.

  9. want controversy? here is one. ETV, commenting on the visit of the new Somali prime minister to addis, says “Somalia has 2 million people!” How ignorant are these government type people.

  10. The lie that comes out both from Weyane and Shaebia claims that how they were able to achieve their struggle, they claim they never got help. Really, from whom were they buying guns and used land? Let us see, Egypt, Europe, U.S, Iran, Arab world, Sudan, Libya, you name it. Today they claim they are the heroes because they never got help from anyone. Let us see, Mengistu got only ONE help, that is the weakned Soviet at that time that disintegrated soon.

  11. God Bless you, Professor. Your articles are always to the point and well thought out. The parents who raised you up are blessed. My God shine His face on you.
    Thank you Sir!

  12. Fantastic analysis by Al Mariam once again, but failed to see the bigger picture…… how come people fail to see that the US economy so struggling & almost strangling by its own neck-tie, gives millions to weyane for free. There is a famous saying in America…. “There ain’t such a thing called free lunch”……
    The US are in it for their own benefit….. Their investors are the ones that fund & lobby political parties in US so the whole establishment will obviously facilitate for these encroaching so called multi-national firms spreading its tentacles in theeconomy of ethiopia to reap as much profit at a minimum expense…… Meles has always facilitated for these powerful firms & figures who own or fund the mainstream media to cover their butts for them. Meles needs them to stay in power and so do they need him to play a role in their effort to bail out their own ailing economy, create job in their own country as they & only they got an exclusive right for thelu rative access to the major markets of the world. The US officials’ job is to maintain the national interest of their nation even if it meant dealing with the most savage human right abuser in the world. We are lured to concentrate on the wheeling & dealing of the politicians & their buzz words while the real thing is syphoned out in broad day light leaving the people dispossessed and destitute.
    @eritrawi Hawi #2 ….. wikileaks is a real phenomenon that revealed how the US acts illegally. However some of the Ambassaders’ cable communication are their opinions and hardly backed up by facts.
    We should never loose sight of the real thing…… Human right is a bluff, democracy is a bluff….. Economically deprived people cannot talk about their human right and their democratic right….. That is why we saw Meles buying votes using donated food. Onecannot blame the dispossessed & starved people ….. They need to live another day to one day have a chance to fight for their basic rights. Freedom of speech is also a bluff that is awarded only to those who toe-line along the path that is paved for them by their handlers, the neo-colonialist. Until we free ourselves & see the bigger picture, we’ll continue condemning the poor for another round of perpetual oppression.
    I’ll leave you with this fitting quote by J W Von Goethe,……
    “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free…..”
    Have a great festive season.

  13. Another fitting quote that may hit the truth home…. by Soren Kierkegaard,……
    ” People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought, which they seldom use”
    speaks volume, eh?
    All the ills of the world, we are told, is lack of the “freedom of speech”(democracy)….. without the “freedom of thought”( “food” for thought)
    Have a great festive season!

  15. Despot Meles has taken the inexcusable intentional action of dismembering Ethiopia and perpetrating heinous crimes including genocide. He is mismanaging the national economy and destabilizing the region.

    In view of the above I surmise that the comment at #6 should be from a diehard supporter of TPLF.

    Thank you deeply Professor Al.

  16. @ETH #6
    Just because the Western leaders took Meles for a dinner or on a “Shir-Shir”, doesn’t mean it’s because your Froggy is all that….. It’s only because he is a puupet, a modern day loyal home slave. Look at the wikileaks cable how he was appointed by the West to represent Africa at the Copenhagen climate change summit only to do the bidding of his handlers, selling the interet of Africa. How cheap is that? If you want to see a fitting parallel to your tyrant Meles, there is none other than Mugabe……Let me tell you some facts about Mugabe( my opinion aside- just facts). Mugabe was once the darling of the West who wines & dines with the leaders of the West just as Your Froggy Meles does now. He was the Queen’s regular guest. He was recommended for Knighthood by Margret Thatcher’s Foreign Minister Douglas Hurd inthe 80’s. The queen awarded him the Knighthood & Declared him Dr Sir Robert Gabriel Mugabe. Ironically, his award came only two years after be massacred close to 20,000 peeople of Ndebele of Matabeleland, who were targetted for supporting Mugabe’s rival Joshua Nkomo. Joshua Nkomo was a real revolutionary that was set up by an apartheid newspaper in neighbouring South Africa, that tricked Mugabe to believe that Nkomo is planning a Coup d’état. ( my suspicion is that he might have coordinated the persecution of Joshua & his supporters with the apartheid regime…… Just like Saddam was told to attack Iran only months after US’ favourite puppet, the Shah of Iran, was overthrown …… Just like the US sent the weyane attack dogs against Somalia) Mandella was still languishing in prison & the then UK prime minister & illusive Dick Cheney called Mandela a “Terrorist” when in fact the real terrorist, Mugabe, was decorated with awards. Now when Mugabe started the land reform Prog, suddenly he became the monsterous “sir”……… Ante y’dedebit dedeb …… Let your frog enjoy his honeymoon while it last but every puppets have come down so humiliatingly in the past like the Pinochets, the Shahs & the samossas, the haileselassie, the Mengustus & etc etc… Your frog will also be crushed while croaking…… It can be in a flash or slowly, but surely he will be crushed. 
    And Your claim that Isayas Afeworki was a “2nd grade drop out” shows how ignorant you are …. Isayas was a straight A student of Mechanical Engineering in Addis Ababa University  but joined the struggle barely 21, rebelling against his own dad who was a unionist like Tedla Bairu, Asfaha W/Michael and the rest of the clown who sold out the federation to condemnthe people of Eritrea to a brutal subjugation. Isayas is a confident, sincere & his own man unlike those Eritrean hodams like Huriy Tedla Bairu who is still his Daddy’s boy. Isayas is a testimony of how the new generations can Correct the mistakes done by the previous generation. This is what makes Isayas so unique and so lovable, selfless and God- fearing unlike your froggy, who is selfish & West-fearing. Isayas is a true visionary patriot who dedicated his life for the emanicipation of the generation coming unlike your Meles who lives for himself & his handlers. I really pity you & Isn’t sad that your kind of idiots running a country to ruins?
     I bet even your own child, if you have one, would be so ashamed of having a right plonker like you for a biological father….. Maferya!   

  18. Sure waseraw…..made a number error, there….. I can understand, though, how frustrated you can be to live with & led by such an irritating pests like ETH #7…… believe me that idiot with such a boogy for a brain, is harmless except when he is armed. He’s like that irritating clown man ( I forgot his name) that I read in Tesfaye Gebreab’s book ….. “YEGAZETEGNAW MASTAWESHA”
    Have a blessed holiday.

  19. Meles is not what he is made out to be by his foreign and woyane supporters, that he is an intelligent person. He is a psychopath who is skilled at deceiving his interlocutors, so that they assume he is intelligent. He is what we call in Amharic “ARADA” – which implies that he is artful at presenting a seemingly intelligent public image.
    Meles is known for his uncouth and boorish remarks in his speeches and interviews. He often throws about cheap and vulgar language which belittle his position as Prime Minister. He lacks diplomatic skills and behaves as if he has just arrived from the bushes! Armani suits don’t compensate for lack of diplomacy. Ranting at State Department officials is his way of trying to impress them. He always tries to outdo himself. He was probably expecting a rebuke from the American officials about the lack of democracy in Ethiopia and the 2010 election maneuverings and was therefore putting the old adage into practice that the best defense is to attack. As for the Americans, they had to grin and bear it all, ruminating that Meles “may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch”, as one former US President described an unruly Latin American Head of State.
    So what is working for Meles in Ethiopia? He has been touting double digit economic development for the last twenty years and manipultes the statistics to prove his lies, but Ethiopians cannot eat his statistics. In any case, Ethiopians have come to know him as a serial liar and cheater, who with his supporters, the World Bank, the IMF, the EU, other Western donors (DAG), and the US cook up various ‘programs and plans’, such as the MDGs, PSCAP, PASDEP, PBS, NEPAD, PSNP and now the GTP to play around with the lives of Ethiopians. Ethiopians in general are wary of these so-called plans, programs, etc. and Meles’ enablers are aware that their plans and programs are in place for the financial benefit of TPLF and its cadres.

    No, Zenawi does not place restrictions on his citizens, he just makes them disappear into thin air or if they are lucky they are interned in some distant concentration camp! And it is Ok to be oblivious to the billions of foreign aid he receives from his friends, so long as the donors condone it, because he may even decide not to accept their aid and they would have to go to great lengths to beg and persuade him to accept their aid.

    According to Meles, Ethiopians should organize and fund themselves, except for the fact that he has taken away their land and homes and bequeathed them to his ethnic relatives and cronies to benefit from the lease and enrich themselves, and those who had got their homes back have now lost them due to the demolition and re-zoning for the construction of high-rises by Meles’ ethnic relations and cronies. It’s like those who had a little bit of wealth previously were stripped of their wealth. Thus, the concept for Ethiopians to fund themselves is out of the question. Meles also says that Ethiopians should defend their rights. From whom should they defend their rights, from their ruler? What rights is he threatening to take? Are there any rights left to take?

    Meles as usual is short on facts with regard to his assertion that illiterate peasants and poor students overthrew the ancient dynasty. Is he saying that there were no military juntas?
    For Meles the Opposition are a bunch of whiners and wimps. On several occasions he has suggested that they should take up armed struggle against his ‘full force’, despite the fact that no Ethiopian, except those from his ethnic group, ruling Party members, cadres, the military and police, and the Agazis, is allowed to carry arms. Sometimes one has the feeling that there are several governments in Ethiopia. A couple of months after the TPLF/EPLF arrived in Addis, the Woyane went around from house to house and confiscated people’s guns including their gun permits. Sometime later on the Woyane went throughout the country collecting guns. This is why Meles wants to “crush” the unarmed Opposition “with full force”. He knows that no one in Ethiopia, outside those allowed to own guns, is armed. Meles and most Ethiopians are aware of this fact, but he is confident that the two State Department officials are unaware of this.

    There is one more guarantee for Meles that the opposition will never raise arms against the government. Meles is sly and a coward, so he has made sure that all Ethiopia’s neighbors, with the exception of Eritrea, are in good relationship with him. Even if Ethiopians flee their country to any of the neighboring countries because of persecution, they are immediately deported back to Ethiopia and are never heard from afterwards.

    Happy Christmas and New Year to all. God Bless Ethiopia!

  20. ለመሆኑ ድር ቢያብር አንበሳ ያስር የተባለው በቀልድ እኮ አይደለም እያንዳንዳችን ለአንዳንዱ ባለስልጣን ብንመደብ በየቢሮአቸው ጸጥ ማድረግ ያቅተናል መተማመን ብቻ ነው የሚበቃን ኢህዴግ ያቸነፈን መተማመን እያሳጣን ነው እኮ

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