By Yilma Bekele
The people’s uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have been the talk of Ethiopians both at home and the Diaspora for the last month and half. We are surprised by the sudden fall of the tyrants of Tunisia and Egypt. We are watching with keen interest the volatile situation in Libya and Yemen.
You know the one thing in common these far away places have is the large number of displaced Africans caught in this wave. Most of our people are refugees from bad economy, civil war, lack of opportunity, tyranny and other curable ills. There are plenty of Ethiopians that are currently exposed to danger while searching for a meaningful life. It was sad to hear Meles Zenawi pretending about using air and sea to pluck our people from Libya. When you consider most of these people paid large sums of money to reach Libya escaping sadness and misery in their homeland it is inconceivable that they will return to hell willingly.
Even though the world media was transfixed by the upheaval in the lands of the Arabs, the Government controlled media was going to great length to pretend nothing out of the ordinary was going on in the neighborhood. The Ethiopian peoples information regarding the tsunami in their vicinity came from a few brave Independent News Papers at home, ESAT (Ethiopian Satellite TV (http://www.ethsat.com/), Diaspora Web sites, VOA, Deutche Welle, and Al Jazeera. The regime was also investing large amounts of money and labor to jam and interfere with ESAT and Diaspora based independent Web sites.
Denial of independent news is the hallmark of a dictatorial regime. Creating confusion, misinforming and revising the news is also a prefered and a known modus operandi of a closed system. It is with this in mind the Ethiopian Prime Minster called his government certified reporters for press conference after a month long hiatus from public view to tell us his version of the story. He wanted to bully, threaten, scold and warn eighty million people against an attempt to remove him, his family and friends from power. As you know his lieutenant Berket offered some bogus explanation a la Seif Gaddafi to show why an uprising is not possible in a 12% growing economy. Needless to say he was laughed out of town.
Ato Meles decided to approach the situation from a different angle. It looks like Ato Melese’s strategy is to stick to the good old method of belligerency as the best way out of this mess he finds himself in. We the rest of ordinary Ethiopians have been looking at the unfolding situation and learning a valuable lesson in overcoming our fear and devising low cost methods of removing this TPLF tumor from our home land. It looks like Ato Meles sitting in his guarded bunker has been pouring over documents to draw a lesson on how to avert being Mubaraked by the people.
The so-called press conference was to unfurl his ‘doctrine’ regarding the hard lessons of the last few weeks. The usual suspects from Walta, Aiga Forum, The Reporter, Ben’s page etc. were summoned and given the prepared question to ask. It is always perplexing to see six microphones on the podium when one should be more than enough considering they all go to the same news editor.
Ato Meles was exhibiting a brand new haircut, a five thousand dollar Savile Row suit and a better makeup than the last time we saw him. You can tell that he has been under tremendous stress by looking at the bags under his eyes and the violent way he was pounding the table to make his point. When it came to answering the question regarding the ‘uprising’ the pounding got louder, the head scratching and fidgeting got intense and the internal fury was producing lots of heat like the crippled Japanese Nuclear plants and needed venting to avert explosion.
I want to concentrate on his response regarding the chances of an uprising in Ethiopia, but I would like to comment on a few of the points raised by the TPLF leader before he got to his main talking point.
Ato Meles seems to have a very strange understanding of the office he occupies. He said that ‘his contract with the Ethiopian people is for an eight hour a day labor’ and he does not feel it is important for him to be ‘a role model’ for anybody. That is a disturbing statement coming from a person entrusted for the welfare of eighty million souls. One would think being a leader of such a poor country with over eight million citizens suffering the scourge of hunger, double-digit inflation, high rate of unemployment etc. is more than a 24/7 responsibility. As for the issue of being a ‘role model’ who better than the head of the government and guardian of what is good and noble in all of us for the people to follow.
When asked about inflation the price of fuel and general failure of the economy, again I find his response very illiterate and far from the truth. His take on basic economics 101 is a little confusing to say the least. He said ‘ why would the price of potatoes go up due to the increase in gasoline?’ Let us see. Potatoes are generally grown in the countryside and require trucks to transport them to the market. In some instances fertilizers are applied for good harvest, tractors are used to dig out the bounty and the warehouse they are stored require electricity. What is common here is the importance of oil in this chain of economic activity. Why wouldn’t the hike in the price of fuel affect potatoes my dear Meles?
So much for economics, now to the important issue at hand, the current trend of peaceful peoples uprising to bring democracy and the rule of law. This press conference was to deal with the problem before it rears its ugly head in Ethiopia. It was Ato Melese’s response to the Ethiopian people on how he was going to handle the situation. It was his way of putting lipstick on a pig in a futile attempt to stop the impending implosion. It was a nice try. Unfortunately like everything else he tries it was an abject failure.
What Ato Meles learned from the uprisings became clear from his response to his own questions as read by his staff. From Tunisia he learnt quick exit is not the answer since Ben Ali’s exile did not save his family’s fortune from being under consideration for confiscation or stop the demand by the people to haul his criminal ass back to Tunisia for trial, Mubarak’s futile attempt to hang on only postponed the inevitable for a few days and resulted in his being a virtual prisoner in his home land, Saleh’s attempt both to offer concessions and kill at the same time has only resulted in his hanging on to power by his fingernails while Gaddafi and sons are in a do or die situation with no light at the end of the tunnel.
Ato Meles decided to attack before the idea of uprising took roots. The pres conference was to bully his people and at the same time show his followers that he is still in charge; he is not afraid and give them a nudge to intensify the offense. In a nutshell the main speaking points could be summarized as follows. ‘There is no chance of uprising here because we carried an election about ten months ago and EPDRF won overwhelmingly, we have in place a constitutional method of changing leaders unlike Egypt and Tunisia and all our problems can be traced to Shabia and Al Qaeda Islamists blah blah.’
What is revealing is the charge he leveled against his ‘enemies’ regarding the crimes they are supposedly hatching against his regime. According to him Shabia in cooperation with rogue Ethiopians and some of the legal opposition is planning to turn ‘Addis into Baghdad.’ That is his story and he is sticking to it. If you notice this madness has similarity to the charges leveled against Kinijit leaders and Civic organization heads in the aftermath of the 2005 elections where they were accused of planning a ‘genocide.’ You see even before the civil disobedience starts Ato Meles is accusing all those that oppose him of planning violence to justify his gangster type response. Not a bad tactic if you ask me. Hijacking the cry of the victim is nothing new. What is sad is the idea of a ‘government’ spending so much time and energy to sabotage and suppress the dreams and aspirations of its own population for the benefit of a few individual’s thirst for power and money.
So what do you think of Ato Meles’s take on the situation? Is he correct in his assessment of the situation both at home and the neighborhood? Is he telling the truth when he says ‘we do not consider it (the question of civil disobedience) as an immediate and relevant issue…and it is not discussed by his Politburo?’ In other words as they say here in the US ‘would you buy a used car’ from this salesman?
If you have your doubts, I understand. I concur that It is very difficult to accept Meles’s analysis as correct and based on facts. He does not seem to have a good track record when it comes to having a clear understanding of the situations in the neighborhood and his assessment of the moods and wants of the Ethiopian people. In other words the individual is clueless when it comes to relating to the people he is supposed to lead. We don’t have to go far to prove our point.
Do you remember his conclusion that Shabia is not going to attack? Shabia did and we paid the price with over eighty thousand dead and millions of dollars wasted on weapons from Korea and East Europe. We are also aware of Siyoum Mesfin’s lying declaration that the International Court have agreed with Ethiopia regarding Badme and four years later it is still unresolved issue. How could we forget the so-called ‘cake walk’ into Somalia and the ensuing humiliation? Do I need to remind you of the 2005 election and EPDRF’s loss of Addis and most of the country? There is no need to mention the utterly weird situation of 12% growth to go with hyperinflation, famine and the dwindling foreign reserve? As you can see the palace folks are poster children for miscalculation and fiction rather than a sober and realistic assessment of any situation. It is my firm belief that TPLF folks are not capable of finding the exit door in a studio apartment.
If we are permitted we can actually give our friends some advice on avoiding the fate of Ben Ali, Mubarak or Gaddafi. There is a cheaper solution that does not require spending time and energy on exotic and expensive scenarios to fight what is inevitable. History is full of examples where in the end no matter how much one tries victory of good over evil is as sure as the sun rising from the East tomorrow morning. Here is a short list of responses by Meles and company that will assure them keeping their head intact with the rest of their body and avoiding humiliation in front of the people of Ethiopia and humanity in general.
The simple and more direct solution will be to resign. The TPLF boss can say he wants to spend more time with his family and we will understand. If that is too radical then there are other options. Let us start by abandoning this self-serving Constitution and starting fresh. We can undo the illegal act of the Derge that made land property of the government instead of the people. All land and property should be returned to the rightful owners with no ifs or buts. The concept of Kilil and formation of Ethnic based party and organization should have no place in our new Ethiopia. The internal security will be dismantled never to show its ugly and brutal face ever again. The new Ethiopia will allocate large portion of its budget on education instead of Arms and repressive organs. The emerging free and democratic Ethiopia will sit down with our Eritrean cousins and resolve the issue of security and use of port facilities in amicable ways. Ethiopia will sign a non aggression pact with all is neighbors including Somalia and work towards cultural, educational and sports exchange to turn East Africa in to a zone of peace and tranquility.
Tell you what if you take our advice we will even convince Judge Wolde Michael Meshesha not to press on this issue of criminal act committed way back in October 2005. It is not easy but we will do our best in lieu of the benefits to our poor and tired country and people. We might even go as far as looking the other way regarding the loot some of you have stashed in foreign banks but it all depends on your cooperation and your solemn oath that you will refrain from denying your guilt and will ask the Ethiopian people for forgiveness and show real remorse. I believe our way is a lot better than a protracted and ugly struggle you might wage for a few days before the inevitable collapse of your ponzi scheme.
You know it, we know it and everybody and his dog knows it that there is no easy way out. The bullying and repression have bought you a measly ten years or so. It is not effective anymore because of the new international situation being allergic towards despots and finally to the current deteriorating economic situation where gas costs 18.50/liter, Oil costs 36 or more, teff costs thousands, chicken costs triple digits etc. etc. You see what I mean, people are coming to the realization that there is nothing to loose anymore. That is scary and that is what is keeping you awake at night. That is what makes you come up with scenarios like ‘Addis into Baghdad’ and the specter of all those unemployed youth breaching the palace walls with Meles and company running around in their pajamas pursued by an angry mob! It gives me shivers just to think about it. Let us agree to nip this horrible situation in the bud before it gets traction. Good luck my friend, please don’t make me say ‘I told you so!’
10 thoughts on “Ato Meles and his never-ending threats”
No more nip in the bud. Although colonialism was over long a go, it has continued in a different form. Local dictators use that situation to continue their absolute power. What happened in Tunisia and Egypt was unexpected but its spread is being systematically undermined. The Obama (Clinton and Gates) administration, the Germans, the Saudis, the Algerians dictators and pro-dictators have been working day and night towards it. It seems they are gaining success in Libya and will continue stamping out movements for democracy in Yemen and other countries including Ethiopia. Things will be glimmer and more miserable for the common people more than ever. I know we don’t have resource curse as Libyans have but we have nationality curse that buttress dictatorship
Capital and corruption are winning again!!!!
why would you want to call Meles … ato Meles. You are trying to pay respect to a person who knows no shame and has no respect. You say Ato only to honorable people like you and me. Why do you think western media without any exception is calling Gadafi, colonel Gadafi. Get you talking points straight, dude!
The followers and supporters of the fascist and racist Meles Zenawi are in fear and suspicion following the sucessful public uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. A couple of days ago I happened to discuss the possibility of a similar uprising in Ethiopia with one die-hard worshipper of Meles Zenawi. The person says that the Meles government is prepared for an Amhara uprising which will be controlled or crushed easily. He added that the Amharas will pay tremendous prices if they try to overthrow the constitutional order. According to this person, the TPLF and great people of Tigray are prepared to defend their rights and those of nations, nationalities and peoples. The people of Tigray can beat and put down any uprising against the constitutional order for which tens of thousands of Tigrayans have sacrificed their lives. My conclusion from the discussion with this die-hard TPLF footslodier is that Meles Zenawi is prepared to blame and attack the Amharas if any uprising takes place in Ethiopia.
According to George Takei, the Star Trek actor of Japanese ancestry, the word Gaman mean everything Japanese: Endurance, Fortitude, Sacrifice… remarkable and a must have recipe for the densely populated country. There has not been any looting in Japan, probably the only country in the world to do so.
Crushed, but true to law of ‘gaman’
From: The Australian | March 16, 2011 12:00AM
THE elderly and exhausted Japanese survivor was carried by piggyback into the medical centre and gently placed in a chair. As her rescuer left the room, she struggled to her feet and bowed. Alongside the chaos and destruction wrought by the terrible earthquake and tsunami have been scenes of heart-breaking orderliness and self-control. Japan is prostrate and fearful, but there are no reports of widespread looting, panic or hoarding. There is, as yet, very little anger directed at the government. Western news crews search the wreckage for images of fear and anguish, for outrage and despair, but the Japanese survivors avert their faces and cover their eyes if they weep. This extraordinary stoicism can be summed up by the Japanese word gaman, a concept that defies easy translation but broadly means calm forbearance, perseverance and poise in the face of events beyond one’s control. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. .End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. Gaman reflects a distinctively Japanese mentality, the direct consequence of geography and history in a country where the cycle of destruction and renewal is embedded in the national psyche. The Japanese are not earthquake-proof but, like their buildings and bridges, resilience has become inbuilt in a nation adapted to sway and bend under shocks that would shatter other societies. Japan has known devastation before, and the horror of nuclear fallout, but its recovery after 1945, and the ensuing economic miracle, owed much to this uncomplaining tenacity, a collective pride in endurance, survival and reconstruction. When Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan described last Friday’s earthquake as “our worst crisis since the war”, he was deliberately invoking gaman. “In the past we have overcome all kinds of hardships,” he said. “Each of you should accept the responsibility to overcome this crisis and try to create a new Japan.” Gaman is part of the glue that holds Japanese society together, a way of thought instilled from an early age. It implies self-restraint, suffering in silence, denying oneself gratification and self-expression to fit in with the greater good. Originally a Buddhist term, it has come to signify self-denial, solidarity and a certain patient fatalism. This hardiness and social cohesion enabled Japan to emerge from the devastation of world war and thrive. But the rigid order and self-abnegation that it implies are also what keeps the beleaguered “salaryman” at his desk, toiling away with grim determination. That rigid conformity, obedience and sense of national purpose helped to propel Japan recklessly into World War II. Some in the West find the Japanese unfeeling in their reaction to disaster, and assume that “normal” human emotions are being suppressed. There is some evidence to support that view. The Kobe earthquake in 1995 that killed 6400 people and wiped out about 2.5 per cent of Japanese GDP was greeted with determination to rebuild the city. Only later did the psychological aftershocks hit, with higher rates of suicide and mental illness. But to see this response merely as evidence of a bottled-up culture is to misunderstand how Japanese society is founded on a shared pride in recovery, and how risk and response to adversity are bound up with being Japanese. Japan lives on a psychological as well as a seismic fault line. Its founding gods were foul-tempered and ferocious. Successive earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons and volcanic eruptions have left this land with an acute sense of vulnerability, but a corresponding mental sturdiness. Every Japanese child is brought up to expect upheaval. Disaster Preparedness Day falls on September 1, the anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 that killed 140,000. The importance of persevering and rebuilding in an uncertain natural world is reflected in traditional architecture, art and popular culture. The cult television show Endurance (Za Gaman in Japanese), in which contestants try to win by withstanding unpleasant experiences, is a target of mockery in the West, but it is more than entertainment in Japan, where physical and mental endurance are so highly prized. In the West, we look for reasons for natural disasters: we blame global warming, government failure or God. The Japanese relationship to nature is different: humanity is neither battling nature nor at its mercy, but part of it. Japan is braced for nature’s violence like no other country. Every bullet train has an automatic shutdown switch that activates when an earthquake strikes. But as events at Japan’s nuclear power plants show, safety technology has its limits. Disaster cannot always be prevented; it can only be coped with. The Japanese are coping in ways that some find hard to relate to: with deep sadness, but without breast-beating, complaint or recrimination. It is hard to imagine any other people who, when the Earth buckles and their world collapses, form an orderly queue. The contrast is illustrated by the way the tragedy has been covered. Western reporters stand before a backdrop of utter desolation; Japanese reporters tend to find a wider view, with a standing building. They do not thrust microphones towards the homeless and bereaved, demanding to know how they “feel”. At a moment of acute national pain, the Japanese audience does not want to intrude. We like to think understated resilience in a crisis is a peculiarly British trait, but today the stiff upper lip is Japanese. THE TIMES
Meles has too much ethiopian blood in his hand to let live in peace with Ethiopians. He is well aware, and he will do like Mengustu “RUN OFF’.
Hopefully there will be a peaceful transition of power to the people of
Ethiopia also there will be final peace between all ethnic ethiopians
to live side by side with out blaming each other including eritreans as
a family with mutual respect let us open the border freely let the two
families see each other and make trade with out any fear.
After watching the exceptionally civilized Japanese people what do we Ethiopians learn and what do we think of ourselves? I hope there is some one who can answer me.
[Tezibt],
I think you have raised important question that demands timely answer. I don’t pretend to have the right answer to your point, but I suggest the following advice. There is no doubt, the question of uprising against the Merlese regime is becoming our primary consern.Undoubtedly, the next important challenge to this task is to properly conduct and execute this very mission.Unfortunately,there is no reassuring answer to guarantee ahead of time regarding this matter. This is largely due to the nature of uprising itself; each person is different, and is expected to respond or react to different situations differently. With this in mind, I believe, much what we can expect from the uprising is to be learned from the event itself and not to be determined in advance. However, prior to the event, we must insist that activists effectively communicate the object of the uprising to the people.As much as possible we must aim for an orderly protest. We need to effectively communicate the object of the uprising ,well ahead of time,to the different crosses section of our people.
That the object must be made clear-the removal of the regime, and pave the way for free national election. Remind the general public ,in the past, regardless of their political affiliation, or locality, have lived together and stood in defense of their country from foreign enemy. Emphasize the importance of seeing matters from nation state point of view rather than from ethnic state point. Build confidence on the will and ability of the people, to establish a democratic representative government. Convince the citizens such a representative government ,by far,will be in a apposition to safe guard the rights of its citizens, and protect the interest of the nation.
Remind the people governments come and leave the political scene, but the common bond that exists between our people is perennial. And As a result the participants of this historical mission need to show utmost consideration and love to one another to our citizens. In the event of the uprising if the government devise a plan to sabotage the unity of the people by resorting to ethnic politics, participants must be willing to show utmost restrainment against racial and ethnic hatred to our people.
Meles Zinawi can not possibly stop the aspiration of Ethiopians;so coudn’t the ousted dictators,such as,Bin Ali,Husen Mubarak,and the next one in the line,Gadhafi stop peopple’s aspiration.By birth,Meles Zinawi is cold and coward and will not face Ethiopians and will definitely stand motionless like a border stone,when Ethiopians come for him.
Too much blood in his hand and too much stolen wealth in his bank account,Meles Zinawi will be captured and be brough to national and internation criminal courts;for now,he is a fugitive.
Meles Zinawi is tenuous dust and flakes of snow;he will be blown away by volcanic and steamy voice of Ethiopians.He can never be as lucky as Ben Ali and Husen Mubarak were.No chance to escape from the pounding feast of Ehtiopians.
Victory for Libyans!!! Victory for Ethiopians!! Ethiopians will not stop the project without finishing it.Amen.
The other day meles was also being interviewed by the so called Eritrean opposition websites radio. the thing is he may say for his own poletical survival what ever deception he desires but now to belittle the selfless shaebia armed struggle that sadly made him overnight corrupt bellionaire seems an insult to anyone who contributed in the demise of the derg dictatorship.furthermore, it’s quite suprising to hear accusing shaebia as sponsor of terrorism to divert the spotlight of another jasmine revolution in woyane’s aparthied Ethiopia. Well, as they say potetics is all about prostitution. the buttomline is the dictator can’t blame to nobody but himself for he is the main actor who turned the ancient land into the land of tribalism and clilism in order to hold on to power by applying the devide and abuse systems. so he is the one who should be aware of what he wishes for it might come to bite him back. after removing the fake bourder of division, conflicts, poverty, corruption, nepotism, hopelessness and hate sponsored by your despicable regime. the Ethio/Eritrean will live happly after in peace. don’t even attempt to exploit the port card iether. the sky is the limit what the brotherly people can do and share together. to make long story short, the peaceloving people of our region has no worse enemy than woyane. i sincerely hope you stake holders hear the cry of freedom voice of the majority for lasting peace and mutual interests. other than complete for democratic change, to borrow mr. Yilma Bekele’s word only mubaraking meles is not enough. Unity & Peace Everywhere!