Professor Asrat and Hands-on Politics
By Mankelkilot HaileSelassie
January 1999
The flesh, the blood and the spirit of Professor Asrat Woldeyes, as it is also true for our unconditionally dedicated political leaders in Ethiopia, are organically linked to the political struggle. He unequivocally attested the existence of this relationship when he refused to accept the offer made to him. The offer was to apologize for his deeds and then he would be released from prison. He was determined to die in prison rather than apologize. The aggressiveness to protect and preserve the unity and the territorial integrity of Ethiopia is in his blood. Therefore, one has to discern this reality when caring for Prof. Asrat. Since he is one of our leaders, we should never dissociate the healing of Prof. Asrat from that of the struggle in liberating Ethiopia from the hands of the current destructive regime. His healing is the strengthening of the political struggle. Therefore, as we have been doing it, let us continue to generously extend our moral and material support for his speedy recovery. The TPLF put him in jail because they realized that he was potentially a formidable threat to their power. Which is also true for Dr. Taye Woldesemayat and others.
The attribution of the goodwill gesture to the current regime, or to declare the move taken by TPLF/EPRDF as a step to the right direction, as few believed it to be, is really deluding oneself. First, he was put to jail with a well calculated trumped up political charges. No one can deny this premeditated egregious act. To think that these guys did what they did with a change of heart is really imprudent. Secondly, he is not out of the woods yet, in terms of completely recovering. Do you remember one of the sons of Ethiopia, the journalist by the name Abay Hailu, who couldn’t find a person who would bail him out from prison? He died a day after his release. They deliberately waited until the day of his death. These are masochists. Even though I forced myself not to believe it, I really thought the regime was determined to kill Prof. Asrat using the method to kill Abay Hailu. No, the release of Prof. Asrat should not deceive us and slacken our struggle. In fact, even though we are extremely happy that he is out and safe, in addition, the release should immediately prompt us to be in an aggressive mode to be really angry for treating him to this level of inhumanity and for trying to break down his spirit. Thank God for his resistance, for he did not succumb to their bet.
I would like to quote EHRCO’s statement with regard to his release: “Action such as these are what the country and its people need so as to heal the wounds inflicted by years of suspicion, fear, hatred and vindictiveness. Such goodwill and action have the miraculous power of healing society as a whole.” This is an excessively inflated statement. Such a statement is only relevant when the contradiction is between two states or two or more nations and/or nationalities, or, between communities, for example the case in South Africa. In Ethiopia, the contradiction is clearly between the people of Ethiopia as a whole and a regime in power with a full-fledged political program. In an environment of such a nature, there is no place for goodwill and miracles. The solution is there and that is to democratically remove the cancer. To put out such a statement is unfair to the interests of the people of Ethiopia and particularly to the tortured, executed, disappeared and jailed people for whom EHRCO was fighting in previous days.
EHRCO goes on to say, “The permitting of Professor Asrat Woldeyes to receive treatment for his life-threatening ailments has encouraged the EHRCO, as the gesture brings hope for efforts to establish a democratic system, to ensure the rule of law and respect human rights.” Come on! This kind of farfetched statement is an indication of shifting gears from the mode of persistently aggressiveness to the mode of submissiveness. It is surprisingly naive to assume the release of Professor Asrat to be an indication of this deceitful and ruthless regime’s change policy. Far from it. The position taken by EHRCO, particularly for a declared human rights organization, is extremely dangerous and very disturbing. This kind of submissiveness will definitely make it susceptible to any form of pressure from the regime and neglect its objectives. EHRCO is intentionally or unintentionally bridling itself. Further more, a perception of this nature will erode the opposition forces’ efforts to expose the regime’s blatant human rights violations to the world. How one forgets, the persistently ruthlessness of this regime in so short period of time is very alarming.
The separation of Eritrea by a nonrepresentative government, the division of Ethiopia along ethnic lines and the well-calculated construction of the constitution to effectively implement the previous two points, and other numerous anti-Ethiopia activities must be the benchmarks when assessing this regime. Professor Asrat’s release cannot be and should not be taken as a measuring yard. Had it not been for the pressure exerted upon it he would have died in jail. Perhaps, the “last straw” could have been the candlelight vigil held by All Amhara People’s Relief & Development Association (Washington, DC), across the White House, where it got the attention of President Clinton. We are happy he is saved. There is no doubt about it.
There are other equally serious factors to be considered here, which should not be taken lightly. This regime deliberately poisoned the relationship between the Tigreans and the rest of the Ethiopian ethnic groups. And now, the mass deportation of the Eritreans has to be taken as a subtle conspiracy against the short and the long term interests of the people of Ethiopia. Without going into the details, as to how the very regime, Meles at its helm, created the environment for the Eritreans to do anything they wanted under the sun, one has to be clear beyond a reasonable doubt whether the regime is trustworthy and competent enough to embark on such a consequential act. My contention is that, since the conflict, there must have been a deliberately orchestrated design, by certain Ethiopia-hater individuals, to take advantage of the political situation to further poison the relationship between over-the-eighty ethnic groups in Ethiopia and the nine ethnic groups in Eritrea. The literal absence of due process of law, the rampant top to bottom corruption, the total incompetency of the regime, above all, in a country where the long term interests of the people were never considered, one cannot expect the Eritreans to be treated fairly and judiciously in the manner, the tradition and the culture of Ethiopian permits. Let us not forget that once Ethiopia was a sanctuary for Muslims in persecution. This regime is deliberately eroding our History of Civility we should all proud about. I argue, perhaps, this gracious act emanated from Ethiopia hundreds of years ago subdued neighboring Arabs from coming out openly and aggressively against Ethiopia. I suggest that we should stop and think. Our history, culture and tradition are literally being molested and trampled upon. Let us wake up.
As to the treatment of Ethiopians by EPLF, it shouldn’t be surprising. When tens of thousands of Ethiopians killed, maimed, tortured and many thousands displaced by EPLF, and still many hundreds still being held in prison in Eritrea and suffering, Meles himself was denying these egregious acts and defending EPLF openly. He became the official representative of EPLF in Ethiopia. Can you imagine it? I can vividly imagine Meles and Issayas conspiring against the well-being of Ethiopia and its people through the exchange of notes written in Tigrigna and through telephone conversation, perhaps with a glass of cognac in their hands, many, many times. An avowed and a maliciously treacherous enemy within. Let us not lose our focus. What was reported from the interview by Kuwaiti Gazette, that Meles Zenawi “declared that he does not understand why not even one group has spoken out about the plight of Ethiopians who are beaten up and expelled naked from Eritrea,” is crocodile tears (Addis Tribune, January 11, 1999). Since when is Meles so concerned about Ethiopian plights? It is hogwash.
Mark this. An Eritrean has the democratic right to reclaim, any time, his/her natural right that goes back to thousands of years, or remain an Ethiopian if he/she wished to, as any other ethnic group in Ethiopia. Given this natural reality, an Eritrean has the right even to go to court to win and affirm his/her natural position and that he/she can live anywhere in Ethiopia. In fact, these kinds of arguments have to be our future premises to dismantle the existing corrupted constitution. Unfortunately, the existing judicial system is not in a position to handle this kind of fair judgment. The cause and the outcome of the conflict that brewed and started before May 6, 1998, cannot, and should not, determine the denial or the offer of this natural right. It is already there. What is the difference between a Nigerian-Ethiopian and an Eritrean-Ethiopian? I would like the reader to answer this question.
This mass deportation has to stop now! Instead of handling the situation under the existing law of the country and punish the deserved accordingly, deporting the elderly, families and children, indiscriminately, is a cop-out. It is irresponsible. It is inhuman and against our tradition.
My position regarding the people of Eritrea and the province is true today as I stated it in May 1996: “Eritreans are Ethiopians and Eritrea is part of Ethiopia, until the people of Ethiopia and the people of Eritrea collectively in a civilized manner resolve the issue, once for all, on a democratic platform.” (Ethiopian Review, “An Alternative Solution to Secession” May 1996 issue). Here I meant a referendum. That is back to square one. Let it be done with free and fair democratic process, the way it was done to settle the contention between Canadians and Quebecois. If the Eritreans, that is, the “nine ethnic groups” wished to be independent, let their wishes to be fulfilled. After that, I strongly believe that the Eritreans and the Ethiopians will be one of the strongest and respected sisterly neighboring countries in the Horn of Africa. Perhaps, in the long run, the bond between the two countries will be so strong economically and militarily, and culminate with a border less neighbors. Why not look this as a favorable option, and start cultivating it? Common sense and experiences witnessed dictate economic development requiring peace and stability.
I raised the issue again by saying, “to bring about genuine stability in the region, ultimately, the independence issue has to be revived to let the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea democratically resolve it. The independence of Eritrea, as some politically naive or meek individuals wished, did not, will not and cannot bring peace and stability, hence economic development, in the region. In fact, things are becoming more complex and more problematic.” Moresh, “Yes, Ethiopia is a Colony of Eritrea!” September 1996 issue). Basically, that was why I said earlier the long term interest of the people of Ethiopia was not, and will not be, protected by the current regime. Therefore, with regard to Eritrea, we have to wait patiently, until the establishment of a representative government. It is very important to always think about the long term interest, for a number of generations to come.
Coming back to Professor Asrat, the forum of our discussion, now he is out of the mouth of the crocodiles, it is incumbent upon AAPO and its support committees around the world to galvanize the Ethiopian community and to see to it that he is completely healed and he is back in the field of struggle energized. As are our indefatigable leaders in Ethiopia, he belongs to the people of Ethiopia. It is particularly the duty of these committees in Diaspora to professionally organize itself and step forward and provide the leadership in systematically organizing the healing and the political aspects of his life. Never separate the two. They must go together.
Since I have mentioned AAPO, the organization I fully support, this would lead me to the current hot issue, namely, “ethnic politics,” particularly as related to the validity of the existence of the “ethnic political parties.”
In principle, as most concerned Ethiopians repeatedly stated, in a country of more than eighty ethnic groups, it is futile to organize ethnic oriented political organizations. These concerned Ethiopians persistently say, if done so, it will be working against the short and long term economic development and democratic reform of Ethiopia. It is a valid argument. But what one seemed to miss is that this guiding and patriotic principle, upheld by these concerned Ethiopians, was criminally violated, in a very subtle manner, by the current regime. The concept was planted, grown and cultivated before its existence as a regime. How was this principle violated? The first step was to create a party called EPRDF, composed of ethnic political organizations, namely, TPLF, OPDO, SEPDF and ANDM. When one looks at the name, Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), on the surface, it appears a multi-ethnic political organization. These groups present themselves as independent political entities under the umbrella of EPRDF. But, in reality, they are not. As it is clear to everybody, they are stooges created to protect and preserve the political power and the economic interests of TPLF.
Here, an extremely important point to note is that, these ethnic political organizations were created before the existence of the opposition ethnic political organizations now in question. TPLF, consistent with its design, artfully and effectively used these ethnic political organizations as the precursors, a) for separating Eritrea from Ethiopia, b) for dividing Ethiopia along ethnic lines—or along language lines as Dr. Beyene Petros repeatedly states, and c) for constructing the undemocratic constitution to effectively implement the previous two points. TPLF did this in consultation with EPLF, with the tyrannous intention of weakening the fabrics that held the country together. It constructed a constitution that is capable of literally blocking the intra-ethnic-interactions—in some cases to impede inter-ethnic-interactions—which encompasses election, trade, culture, and the exchange of information. In the name of devolution, TPLF systematically spread its tentacles by creating ethnic political organizations. One has to be able to link these activities with the establishment of the ethnic political organizations. Without these ethnic political organizations, an ethnic political organization, namely, TPLF, could have not survived even a year.
Fortunately, what is extremely fascinating is that without any body’s calculated design, Mother Nature, in its own usual Divine way, created ethnic oriented political organizations, namely, Southern People’s Democratic Coalition (SEPDC), All Amhara People Organization (AAPO), the Oromo National Congress (ONC) and Tigrean Alliance for National Democracy (TAND), to “match” the ethnic political organizations created by TPLF.
Picture this. Given the political structure in Ethiopia can Professor Asrat enter Kembata and Hadiya region to campaign and open offices? Or, can Dr. Beyene Petros enter any Amhara region to campaign and open offices. They don’t even think about it. Can Amhara people go to Oromo region or vice versa—or name any ethnic group—and interact freely? The answer is unequivocally no. Given this reality, can Professor Asrat be effective by transforming AAPO to multi-ethnic political organization? It is literally disarming him in broad day light. On the ground, this is the already established political structure of EPRDF. This is the political reality in Ethiopia. It must be from this political reality that, a) the opposition forces construct their strategies and tactics, and b) we, their supporters analyze and provide them with beneficial feedback.
To come back to the thrust of my argument then, to stick to the principle of “no ethnic oriented political organization,” hence transforming the existing ethnic political organizations into multi-ethnic political organizations, while the reality in the field is just as I tried to show, is nothing but “political suicide.” The politically effective and practical strategy has to be, how to resist and then overcome this extremely sophisticated political move made by TPLF. Whether we like it or not, ethnic politics is being manipulated by TPLF very effectively. Whether the effect is durable, is not the issue to be treated here.
Who do you think is challenging SEPDC specifically? Now, can you picture an a-one-to-one match in the battle field created by Mother Nature? By now, I hope, my argument is quite clear. By the way, I am not, God forbid, disregarding the other political organizations and their leaders who are in the battle field. By specifically mentioning the names such as AAPO and SEPDC, I am simply trying to show those with the large constituency, which is an important and critical angle one shouldn’t neglect.
How the newly revived Paris-II coalition, namely, The Coalition of Ethiopian Opposition Political Organizations (CEOPO), is going to use these forces effectively to dislodge the current regime is remained to be seen. Do the individual opposition forces see and prepare themselves with the understanding that in the final analysis the battle is going to be zonal, is also another important issue to be dealt with. Since this is nothing but a democratic forum to be used as a takeoff runway, it is advisable for AAPO to join it immediately and strengthen its muscle. There is nothing to lose, except gaining, by joining it.
By way of conclusion, I would like to state the following. The moment EPRDF was composed of the four ethnic political organizations; the moment Eritrea was separated from Ethiopia; the moment the rest of Ethiopia was divided by ethnic lines; and the moment undemocratic constitution was constructed to implement these devious processes, the establishment of the opposition groups composed of ethnic political parties was inevitable. I think it is a natural process. Therefore, to blame the forced opposition forces, as if they initiated it, is invalid and devoid of research. And, therefore, since the political reality is there, please stop criticizing the existing ethnic political parties.
It is the most stupid thing for them to do if they heed the criticism and convert their political parties. For example, AAPO, given the leadership utilizes it effectively, it will be one of the most determining factors in dislodging the current regime and change this oppressive system. In the March issue of Ethiopian Register, 1997 (“ZelaQi Meftihew alfana omega aidelem”) I criticized AAPO to look into its activities very critically and to move forward with impact. The same is unequivocally true for SEPDC and the other opposition forces. At this moment, fortunately, there are two leaders in the United States of America, namely, Professor Asrat Woldeyes and Dr. Beyene Petros. Both of them lead ethnic political organizations of great impact on the political, economic and social future of Ethiopia. I think it is incumbent upon us, to come in grips with this political reality, to stop negatively charging the political environment and back these leaders to the most of our ability.
The question of transforming the ethnic political organizations has to be raised when the representative government is established in Ethiopia. Even though, it appears to me that the “transformation” will evolve naturally—it appears evolution has to do a lot with the socioeconomic development of Ethiopia, I could be wrong—I will control myself not to go into the details as to how it is going to take place. However, what can be said is that, this process can evolve favorably only when the multi party system of democracy thrives. Today, in Ethiopia, a) due to the contradiction between the regime and the people, and b) due to the presence of multiple political parties, there is the potential of planting this genuine system of democracy in the soil of Ethiopia.
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Mankelkelot HaileSelassie, Ph.D., resides in Washington DC.