By Teodros Kiros
Jean Jacques Rousseau, the extraordinary political philosopher, famously argued:
Sovereignty is purely and simply the exercise of the general will, and can in no circumstances therefore be alienated. And I affirm further that the sovereign is purely and simply a collective being, and can be represented therefore only by itself… (Social Contract, Ed Willmore Kendall, pp33-34)
Furthermore,
The general will is always well intentioned, i.e., that it always looks to the public good… It often happens that the will of everybody, because it is looking to private interest and is thus merely a sum of particular wills, is something quite different from the general will, which looks exclusively to the common interest. But if you shake out from those particular wills those that are most so and those that are least so, in so far as they destroy each other, the general will is the sum of the remaining differences (pp, 38-39)
When measured by this classical yardstick, the general will of the Ethiopian people, has been alienated, which is a violation of the indivisibility of the general as the exercise of the will of the people, and flagrant denial of the use of their public reason.
Eskinder Nega writes in the letter to the prime minister,
With the attainment of status and privilege dominating the thoughts of your subordinates, here is what you are hearing from them: a grateful populace enthralled by fast economic growth; political stability; a happy, hopeful youth; and content farmers. In other words, a nation on the verge of take-off, boldly united under Meles’ indispensable leadership.
Here is the gist of this letter, the real message from the grassroots: a nation outraged by high soaring inflation; a public scandalized by unprecedented corruption; rampant unemployment; political oppression; chronic shortage of land in rural areas. In sum, the nation is desperate for change.
You have essentially wasted the two decades with which you were blessed to affect change. In place of pragmatism dogma has prevailed, in place of transparency secrecy has taken root, in place of democracy oppression has intensified, and in place of merit patronage has been rewarded.
Ato Meles Zenawi: the people want—no, need—you to leave office. The people are closely watching events in North Africa as I write this letter. They are debating the implications for Africa, including Ethiopia. And they have been inspired by the heroism of ordinary Libyans. (Abudgida, March 4,2011)
For the past twenty years, and many years before that the right of the Ethiopian people to formulate their own wills have been systematically closed. Many decisions have been taken without their participation. Their voices have been silenced. Policies have been passed without their input.
That is why they are now silently observing the results of the revolutions in the Arab World, before they decide to take their cases to the ruling regimes doors and ask for a conversation at Meskel Square peacefully-as the fora in which they are going to demand for a regime change, as an exercise of sovereignty, the voice of public reason.
16 thoughts on “The General Will of the Ethiopian People”
ወያኔ የትግራይን ህዝብ አይወክልም !!!
Talk is not going to have any fruits. Let`s do it. […]
We know that as long as Weyane is in power, we will suffer not only as refugee in diaspora, but also as slaves at home in Oromia. Unfortunately, the Amhara-Oromo face-off is yet a hinderance to the possible revolution, i.e. a hinderance to the necessary change of the tyrannt regime. It seems that the Amhara-Oromo face-off (neutralizing each other) is a very good historical advantage/opportunity, which Weyane got to rule over Ethiopia without any serious challenge and this face-off didn’t get an appropriate solution. We do still hear/read that both camps (the Amhara camp and the Oromo camp) do live under a grave fear and mistrust of each other, so that they seem to prefer Weyane’s further rule to the possibility of allowing each other take over any sort of power.
I am an Eritrean who grew up in Ethiopia. I love all Eritreans and Ethiopians equally. I was listening to “Balageru” by the legendary Ephrem and the new star Gosaye, and felt some shiver. I thought about the neighbors I grew up with.And, wondered why they are silent against the apartheid TPLF in their homeland. Ethiopians deserve more freedom than any other in Africa! Where did the hamot(bravery) go? Did it die with Abay Zeleke and Co? I couldn’t solve these puzzles. Freedom to my childhood friends and neighbors!
sodaataa;
what are you blabbering about? the so called Amhara-Oromo face-off BS is just your imagination as if Amhara and Oromo never lived, related to each other, married to each other before Weyane set foot in Addis. No one is buying this crap no more. Yes, I know weyane will try to exploit that but this is not 2005, this is 2011, time has changed and people these days are a lot more informed and they know who is their enemy very well.
Meles Zinawi played the race-tribal card;he just cheated those gullible ones who held the card their own thinking there would be a win/win suitation; those,who were wise,stood on guard and observed how the game was played,and those who cheated won and those who played floosh lost.You see,Ethiopians,it was like this:The wise,the crooks,and the fool.
Those foolish,instead of asking what is thre and what thre will be for me,the never had asked,what will be there for all Ethiopians;clearly,those in Zinawi camp had been telling us,”Everything is ours and nothing is yours.” Howver,the wise stood firm and went beyond the call of duty and demanded the answer with revolution.This is why Tunisians,Egyptians,Libyans,and the rest of course Ethiopians now,marched forward to bring power back to the people.Ethiopians of all walks of life have now equiped themselves with persistant fight to elimenate the enemy for once and for all with Ethiopia for all of us in mind.Don’t you think the end of the struggle agains the tribal regime ends in victory?
The question is not the relationship between the Amhara and Oromo BUT
Ethiopians right to get their freedom. Any other issue between the different ethnic groups can be resolved through the democratic process in the country. As far as I am concerned, there is nothing to worry about ethnic conflict in Ethiopia as this fear is a creation of Woyane.
We have Ethnic groups in Ethiopia which is nature give diversity. Whta we should aim at is the fact of this 21st century phenomena and come together and work in unity within diversity for the greater common good.
Even in Egypt and Libya, Bahrain, Yemen etc. there strong and deep rooted ethnic, clan, religious, etc. diversities as well as inequalities based along some of these lines. But people have now found out that it is much more easier to emphasize unity with out forge ting diversity if one wants to get ride brutal tyrants and build a society of justice and workfare for all. The current and the future world cannot be ruled by tyranny and brutal dictatorship ANY MORE.
We also need to remember and reject trembling wayane agents actively working sleeplessly and in disguise, populating online and offline forums and barking like wild dogs their already bankrupt usual cheap propaganda claiming that the Ethiopian oppositions in particular and Ethiopian people in general should NOT take any step to oust their hedonist brutal dictator. The cunning dictatorial tyranny advises us that we should not take any step unless we have an agreement on the post dictator mode of government.
What a cunning fox dressed in sheep skins and offering self serving mischievous advices? Mode of government can evolve along with the accelerating uprising just like that of the Tunisian, the Egyptian, the Libyan, etc. Nothing is worse than that through rotten brutal system of dictatorship sucking human blood for the last some 20 years and still struggling to keep dividing selling Ethiopian farm lands to foreign money men with whom the dictatorship have big secret shares to and keep exploiting its Ethiopian colony. WE NEED CHANGE NOW WHILE THE IRON IS STILL HOT!
We have our own ethiopian GB,
haile way to go!!!! ethnic conflict is a creation of woyane.We all must understand we will die for our beloved ETHIOPIA.death to woyane and shabia.
As far as the current practice in the world shows, democracy is the better goverment system at hand. It is therefore to everyone’s advantage if we try to oust the meles regime and stablish a democratic system first.all our differences are likely to resolved through the system.
Please comment, #3 ethiopia is not only for amahra and Gala/Oromo. you rather limit when using conversation terms. Use professional terms for audiance.
I think Sodaataa made a valid point.An apt exampe is that when we Ogadenis are fighting for our human rights and against the ugly brutality of the Woyannes,most of the other Ethiopians maintain their enigmatic silence or they ask us to prove”Our loyalty to Ethiopia and Ethiopianess” before they can see where we are coming from.The Woyannes enjoy hearing that sad and misplaced question.
sodaataa what a hell are you talkin about ? there is no face off between amhara and oromo ethnics Ethiopians had it been the case
it would have been long that the country got chaos,all these troubles are woyanne made not because it is worried of the oromo ethnic rather by planting a conflict between these two major groups that has been living together for centuries unlike the woyannes who has isolating
themselves and in mst historical situations betrays the country and
the peoples allying with Ethiopian enemies that oromo amhara given their lives for the soverainity of their motherland, hoping you are not dedebit culi member.
I think it is good to know the ugliness of being called by ethnic federalism. I grew up Gondar, but my familly came long time ago from the north. For the short time 20 years a go I was pleased when woyane win because I saw their miserable life in the wilderness while they fight but later when their ajeda was to trade on life like Yasir Arafat, I hate them and fight back. I fight back my families too, stop speaking tigrigna. In the univesity every tigrians and eritrean didn’t beleive me when I told them I am from Amhara but the Amara students thogh they didn’t beleive me but always they went together with me with all my idea. Thanks to God I am in America, the land of freedom to live. I beleive, every southern and northern people has to learn why we have to be united? let them try if they can servive with out unity. I lived in Gojam, Nazret, Ambo before I left. The real people who considers others are in Gonder or Central showa all others are very primitive in social life. I heard about Gondar a lot negitive gossips but really they are not what others are saying. Rather they defend for others with out fear even when they are alone. Othr ethinic groups sorry, They want live like the eagles life. Take and fly away. So let us see some more time, see the whole ugliness of Woyane Ajenda as well as their supporters,if really their language matters for them, then after,I guess, it is not Amahara who wants to preach about unity first but all others who were suffered with their own the Ajeda. I am very delighted two weeks ago when saw Leacho and I don’t remember the other guy, his friend defend for Ethiopia declaring the importance of unity between Amhara and Oromo. Who taught them today?, The answer is clear for everybody. thanks
It is so disappointing and saddening about the minority of our Amhara brothers and sisters sheer attitude, disrespect, revulsion and hatreds comments towards to other Ethnic groups in our country they have posted on Ethiopian Review. They do not seem to recognise living side by side with respect is the ultimate goal for all of us in order to establish a democratic and accountable government that servers the Ethiopian people.
If we want to achieve our goal in getting rid of Meles and his cronies, everyone must recognise to respect other ethnic groups. Everyone ought to stop childish and hatreds politics. We have to project ourselves to be an exemplary to uphold equal rights, abstain from hatreds and revulsion against other ethnic groups as this further divides us not unite in our struggle to evict Meles from power. We should behave better than this repressive government. We (all Ethiopians) need a government that is elected by the all Ethiopians and works for the Ethiopian people.
If we carry on this kind of hatreds politics to flourish in our minds against, for example, the Tigrayan people or other ethnic group then we are afraid all of us will be guilty in the violation of human rights and ethnic hatreds and we are not going to be different from Meles and his cronies. The majority of Tigrayan people are neither part of Meles’s maladministration and corrupt system nor support Meles’s regime.
We must learn from the Egyptians uprising. Egyptians have been played by Mubarak for 30 years using religious tensions, divisions, hatreds and revulsions but the uprising of 2011 against Mubarak by the Egyptian people have succeeded to remove Mubarak from power because Copts (Christians) and Arabs (Muslims) are reunited together to dismantle Mubarak’s corrupt system without recriminations to one another. They have conducted their revolution with great civic, unity and respect to one another. The Egyptians are inspirational to all of us. If we (Ethiopians) can not leave our hatreds politics to one side and reunited as one voice as the Egyptians have done, we will never succeed in our struggle to remove Meles.
The Ethnic conflicts are not created by Weyane in Ethiopia for the first time. Ethnic conflicts had been used by Haleselassie and Mengistu as a weapon. We must stop the blames, recriminations, hatreds, and etc, to one another. We must wise up otherwise we are giving the ammunitions to Meles’s corrupt government. Therefore, the General will of the Ethiopian people is unity for same cause to remove tyrant government not hatreds.
Please visit http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/32004 to read about the work of “Voices from Tigray”.
Victory against tyrant government requires unity!!!