This is Ethiopian Review Policy Research Center’s series on From Dictatorship to Democracy extracted/quoted from books and articles published by Albert Einstein Institution and similar sources.
In preparation for a united front, Ethiopians need to answer what their common goals are. One of their primary goals that binds every one in the country is Ethiopiawinet, i.e., to belong to one nation called Ethiopia. TPLF’s (Meles’) impractical constitution, Article 39, the Right to Secede and the ongoing Kilil experimentation are distractions to the Region’s stability.
It is nothing more than a version of the time honored traditional divide-and-conquer ploy of tyrants’s administration of their government, by keeping the people divided.
Hope some of our ethnic groups stop falling to this ploy, and focus on accelerating our march to genuine democratic society.
Genuine Democratic Governance is the Way Forward for Peace, Unity and Prosperity.
The following clip art explains the justification for Ethiopiawinet. CLICK: Our Common Goal – ETHIOPIAWINET
13 thoughts on “UNITY through Our Common Goal: ETHIOPIAWINET”
Hey, What happened? Many of us have being waiting for the following info. “Ethiopian Review will publish an investigative report on how TPLF agents are working to overthrow Eritrea’s president Isaias Afwerki. Stay tuned.”
Good job Eliase
Is that going forward or backward? peace?democracy? equality? through melting pot model??????we will see
Does it include Tigray? If so,give me a good reason why I have to be in the same country with them.
They don’t have any natural resource, but they will share mine. Do I have to share my natural resource with tigray just for the name Ethiopia?
Elias,if you are tough,why don’t answer this?
Im waitg too investagation..How Akaldama insider tplf thugs hav a power to overthrow Eplf
Elias,
I bet you would not post my comment and let others read it but I will send you my comment any way. I am an Oromo but I do not subscribe to your version of ETHIOPIAWINET. In my view, and I assure you I share this view with millions of Oromos like me, ETHIOPIAWINET is something that can be created but it does not exist the way you view it. The existing ETHIOPIAWINET belongs to Habeshas (i.e., Amharas and Tigres) but leaves out the majority of people now being ruled by the Ethiopian state. Here is my question for you and for people who share your political views: Are you willing to consider creating ETHIOPIAWINET from scratch or would you rather try to force me into accepting your version at any cost?
Hillu Ilu
Anonymous replies:
January 19th, 2012 at 6:23 AM
I am Amhara, and Ethiopawinet doesn’t belong to me. Why you put this name on my forehead? I am Shewa Amhara, we join Ethiopia the same time you Oromos did. So , what is the difference b/n you and me? Please make sure what you are Saying, b/c a lot of people reading it.
Eloid replies:
January 19th, 2012 at 3:25 PM
I`ve started having awareness of Ethiopiawinet just because I speak the official language Amharic and most of the histories of Ethiopia are written in this language. The religious and the political bureaucracy all have its root back to the Amhara speaker region. In that sense you can say that you are not Ethiopian but do you have other place that belongs to a country? If so go and live in that place. You can declare the oromia state as a country and start living there and have a feeling about it. For me now Ethiopiawinet is speaking of Tigrigna. If I were a speaker of this language, I`d belong to the current Ethiopia. Currently for Ethiopian there is no country where they can live in mind peace except the people from the Tigrai region. So getting back your country or start creating a country, because literally every person in the world has a country; so it is not a gift TPLF gives you.
I don’t think anyone would oppose the goal of attaining a genuine democratic society. The dilemma is on how to reliably reach the goal. When sending a satellite to a given destination in space, paths are charted that would utilize gravitational assists (slingshots). Similarly to reach the goal of genuine democratic society, it might be necessary to utilize societal structures that would act as slingshots to provide the necessary direction and momentum.
When the American founding fathers set about in charting the constitution that would be tested by time, they started with the premises that man is corrupt and that absolute power makes man absolutely corrupt. It is for this reason they set about elaborate state structure, that would ensure the separation of powers with checks and balances, such that power would never be concentrated in a single person or a single group.
When proposing a state structure with ethnicity as an organizing principle, the aim is not to arrest cosmopolitan trends, while setting in stone traditional ethnic identities. Rather it is to provide non-artificial societal structure where power can be devolved to, in order to ensure the separation of powers with checks and balances. This may then provide the necessary direction and momentum to reach the goal of genuine democratic society.
Thanks God non of you around here have the power to define or redefine the country’s fate.
I have a question to Elias and all, hopping Ethiopian Reviews Policy Research and who ever is interested will come with an answer.
What do we mean by Ethiopiawinet? or Belonging to a nation called Ethiopia? to answer this question one has first to define the term “nation”. On Encarta dictionary “nation” is defined as “a community of people or peoples living in a defined territory and organized under a single government”. Note that having a defined territory alone is not sufficient condition, being organized under a single government as well is a necessary condition.
General Questions: How is territory of a nation defined or decided? and Who is responsible to organize the government and what makes that government legitimate?
Coming to the case of Ethiopia: what does it mean if part of the people of Ethiopia doesn’t want to give legitimacy to the government disagreeing on the way it is organized? What action should the government take to maintain Ethiopia as a nation? If the government wants to impose its rule what action should the people take? If the people are divided in their views about how the government has to be organized, how should such differences be handled to avoid blood shade? In light of the definition of “nation” above, how can the people make “Ethiopiawint” a common goal, while they are divided in their views about how their government has to be organized? Shouldn’t such differences on the how of establishing the government be sorted out before making “Ethiopiawinet” a common goal to all? What is the difference between imposing the rule of existing government; and the one to come in the future? How can the people who do not want to give legitimacy to the existing government be forced to give legitimacy for the one they have not seen yet?
I think we are facing practical problems that we can only solve by finding solutions that satisfy all.
I know that Elias is a good man at heart and is even suggesting reconciliation and justice for all but alas he is surrounded by basalt head parochial chauvinists who want to impose their tyrannical dictatorship by all means and by other means.
“In preparation for a united front, Ethiopians need to answer what their common goals are. One of their primary goals that binds every one in the country is Ethiopiawinet, i.e., to belong to one nation called Ethiopia.”
What an absurd definition to call a multinational country called Ethiopia as being one nation state or one nation. For example Amhara is one nation and if the 85 million inhabitants are only Amharas then he can call that country as a nation state or one nation. In the whole of Africa only Somalia is a nation state and as such cann be called as one nation.
These guys can never get the fact that Ethiopia is going to be called as a multinational state to the end of the planet earth even if all the different peoples in there find some magical clues, create democracy and agree to live together in the same country.
I cannot understand as to why they hate diversity that is already there. In a country where I live diversity is acknowledged, respected and celebrated. The country even brings in many diverse people and provides them resources to keep their diversities and identities strong and useful.
we need others at the top besides tigrayans. 99% of them are tigrayans, and the country is like a sinking ship with them at the helm. We need Amhara and Oromo leadership