By Yilma Bekele
There are certain dates that mark a special event in our old history. They stand out when ever our history is told. These dates are adorned in red bold color when calendar is made. We are filled with a sense of euphoria and pride. They are not like other holidays. They are more than a holiday. They are a defining moment in our history.
March 2nd. is a special day. It is Victory at Adwa day. We proved that we could function as one when our sovereignty is threatened. April 6th. is another special day. It is the day the Fascist flag was lowered and our green, yellow and red flew high. It is a day we proved that we are unmatched in the art of protracted warfare to rout out an invader from our soil. Ginbot 15 is a special day too. It is the day the Ethiopian people tasted the power of the ballot box. Ginbot 15, 2005 the Ethiopian people woke up early to exercise their god given right to choose their leaders using the pencil instead of the gun.
Ginbot 15 changed Ethiopia for good. The very old, old and the young stood in line under the tropical sun on a hot muggy day to decide who they want to be in charge. It was unprecedented moment in our history. It was a lively campaign. The choice was laid out before them. There was the big, rich, organized TPLF camouflaged as EPDRF on one side and Kinijit, Hebret, OFDM on the other.
TPLF has been operating in a vacuum since 1991. The Derg has decimated both civilian and military leaders. TPLF entered the capital unopposed. For fourteen years TPLF roamed the country in the belief that it was shaping it in its own image. It facilitated the secession of Eritrea, rewrote a new Constitution, reconfisicated property, land and private businesses. It was a dark period in our history. Seventeen years of Derg mayhem left the population in a state of shock. The new leaders were looked at with total indifference. TPLF held a clearance sell of Derg companies and they all went to Tigrai rehab and endowment outfit. It even held an election in 1996 and 2000. TPLF (EPDRF) won everything. There was no organized opposition. It was actually a coronation.
Then came the famous 2005 general election. It was like the nation was waking up from a long slumber. New leaders were emerging. The people were eager to listen to new voices. The voices were smart, organized and defiant. The new leaders were focused, urbane, and fearless. Keste Damena under the leadership Of Dr. Berhanu Nega was the David against the TPLF Goliath. Slowly and methodically the TPLF cadres were goaded to react against their own interest. The Ethiopian people were given a front row seat to view the cadre clique naked flailing like a fish out of water.
The famous ‘television debates’ exposed the bankruptcy of the TPLF mafia. The Ethiopian people saw the cadres were blind leading the blind. Not even one was able to emerge worthy of respect. They were reduced to their old rant of ‘neftegna’ ‘deregist’ and bar room insults. They couldn’t articulate any vision so character assassination and bullying was the only thing left for them.
From Zele Anbesa to Moyale from Gore to Jijiga the Ethiopian people came out to vote on May 15. Using their newfound freedom, fueled by hope and a better future the Ethiopian people raised the banner of Kinijit and other opposition parties. TPLF was not safe even in its own backyard. The rejection of cadre economics, cadre politics and cadre leadership was universal. It was a landslide by any account. The cadres were in disarray. TPLF was the laughing stock of the continent. The only way out was illegal declaration of state of emergency and naked use of private Agaizi force.
Ginbot changed the dynamics of party building, election campaign and the sweet taste of freedom and one-man one vote principle. Ginbot showed that the Ethiopian people are ready and capable of exercising their right to choose their leaders in a peaceful manner.
Since Ginbot 15, 2005 our country has never been the same. We all woke up. The Ethiopian people realized TPLF was a paper tiger. It can kill, it can steal, it can lie and it can intimidate but it is also possible to defeat it. The Diaspora woke up too. You can physically transport the Ethiopian to a foreign land but you cannot take his Ethiopia ness out of him. The events of Ginbot 2005 downed on the Diaspora that silence is not an option.
So by imprisoning the leaders, killing activists, exiling opponents the TPLF regime thought it can turn time back to pre Ginbot state of affairs. What a wishful thinking? Freedom is infectious. Once you taste it there is no going back to slavery. Thus Kinijit became more than a party. It became an idea or as Judge Bertukan said ‘Kinijit is spirit’.
The TPLF regime said it took ‘a calculated risk’ in allowing the election and opening of the media to the opposition. It looks like they better get a new calculator because the old one seems to miscalculate a whole lot. Their love affair with Eritrea was a calculated risk that turned up into a two years war. The cease-fire and the Algiers agreement was another calculated risk that came back to bite them. Say goodbye to Badme. The invasion of Somalia was the mother of all calculated risks that blew up in the face of the cadres.
Can we give the cadres any credit for a job well done? I have tried but unfortunately, I couldn’t come up with one. You might say that is not fair but that is the truth. Ask a cadre to name a few success stories and see what they come up with. I know here in North America it is difficult to come up with an official TPLF supporter. TPLF is the only party in power with all its supporters underground. None of them will reveal their identity in broad daylight. They even use a pen name to write their poisonous propaganda.
Their mouthpiece ‘Aiga’ always posts tall buildings and freeways of the future being constructed. Are we supposed to be impressed by that? Is that what we want? Is that the blue print TPLF has for our country? How sad. Building wide freeways with borrowed money using Chinese labor is nothing to be proud of. A two-lane highway and plenty of primary schools with trained teachers is a better choice. Building soviet type concrete buildings with imported cement, imported metal, imported glass and remittance from the Diaspora is a shameful use of resources. Better to improve agriculture and feed the people instead of housing a few NGO’s in a high rise with no water and electricity.
The invention of the World Wide Web has brought untold advantage all over the world. Even the advanced economies have benefited from this miraculous technology. What did we do before the Web has become a genuine question. How is the TPLF regime using this wonderful invention? They built a ‘virtual network’ for the upper echelon of the party and foreign diplomats, but shut out the people. TPLF is afraid of free flow of information. Somalia a country in disarray is wired better than Ethiopia. On the other hand Ethiopia can boast the most robust firewall and web access blocking in Africa.
All this deep knowledge of the cadre government and Diaspora activism is the result of Ginbot 15. We were feeling defeated and resigned until Ginbot showed us the true strength of mass action. Ginbot 15 was the result of the action of dedicated sons and daughters of Ethiopia. It was the work of Dr. Berhanu, Ato Andargachew, Judge Birtukan, Ato Debebe, Dr. Hailu, Dr. Befekade and numerous others that are still working tirelessly to pave the way so our children can live free.
A lot has happened since Ginbot 15, 2005. The enemy is relentless. The enemy has the resources of the state under its control. The enemy is a big fat and ugly Goliath. But we have adapted too. We have managed to use our limited resources intelligently. We have risen to the occasion and routed the enemy in every encounter. We are lean, mean and smart. We have enjoyed numerous victories. We have forced the regime to release our leaders, convinced the US Congress and European Union to listen to our concerns, shamed paid lobbyists to distance themselves from the cadres, managed to work with such honorable organization as Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and others to echo the cry of our people.
We look back at Ginbot 15 with pride. We honor the memory of those who were slain by the regime because they took the promise of Ginbot 15 to heart. We take solace from the fact that their sacrifice will live forever in our glorious history. Four years later their dedication has borne fruit and here we are in the thousands working hard, working smart and convinced in the end good will triumph over evil. No one can change that.
10 thoughts on “Ginbot and Ethiopia”
The author of the above piece does not differ from the TPLF cadres whom he ridicules in his analysis. He ridicules the TPLF cadres for their lies and hollow propaganda. Yet he is doing the same thing by distorting or misrepresenting facts concerning the struggke and the May 15 2005 elections. Giving due credits to persons is healthy but trying to promote individuals or groups by stating what they are not and what they have not done does not help our struggle. Nor does it serve the purpose of the author which is promoting or selling these figures to the public. I do not mean that the Kestedamena leaders have not contributed to the struggle but the author has exaggerated their roles and belittled the roles and contributions of the other parties who have been struggling against the TPLF all along. He must have known that the struggle against the TPLF started right earlier than the formation of Kestedamena. Kestedamena was formed on the eve of the 2005 elections and was a new and less known to the vast majority of Ethiopians. The party was not able to field enough candidates even in Addis Ababa where it is relatively better known. Whether or not the author likes the fact was that unlike the new and young Kestedemena, the other bigger and older parties (AEUP and EUDP/Medhin) were better organized and have covered almost all parts of the country.The leaders whom the author of the piece showers with so much praise were not important political figures in the struggle against the TPLF. In fact there are many who blame the leaders of the Kestedamena for being soft on the TPLF and failure of the October 2005 sit at home strikes. My piece of advice to the author is to be fair and objective in his analysis and presentation of facts concerning the opposition figures and forces aligned against the TPLF.
In his efforts to give undue credit and promote the leaders of Kestedamena, the author of the above piece has committed serious blunders. It is wise and worth to give due credit and appreciation to those who deserve them. But the cadre styled and toned approach of the author in praising the leaders of Kestedemana who appeared on the political stage of the opposition just on the eve of the May 15. elections
lacks fairness and objectivity. The leaders and the party the author aggrandizes so much are not known in the rest of Ethiopia except in Addis Ababa to say the least. The party had a single office only in Addis Ababa when it meged with the bigger parties which have covered the country and better organized. In praising Kestedemenas the author is telling us that coverage of the country and organization at the grassroots level are not important for the struggle. He is implying that the few elites like the leaders of Kestedemena with little or no organization at the grassroots level, can score election victories. However, the fact is that the much hailed but stolen victories of the May elections were the products of organizing at grassroots levels and mobilizing the public. For example Engineer Hailu Shawel was the only political leader who spoke about election victory then. In fact there are many indications that the soft leaders of Kestedamena have played a role in aborting the strikes which were to sweep Meles Zenawi out of power or force him to negotiate.
The main objective of the above piece by Yilma Kebede is to aggrandize and flatter his favorite politicians of Kestedamena. Despite the efforts of the author to distort facts and present them i ways which suit his obejective of aggrandising Kestedamena, it is easy to rebute him. The coordinated wide promotional media coverage the leaders of Kestedamena received while they were in Kaliti prison showed how some groups place group interests over national interests. This biased and one sided campaign to glorify those who have done little or nothing in organizing and reaching the society at the grassroot level has contributed to suspicions and lack of trust among the opposition parties. The new and young party of the urban elites, Kestedamena has not had the time and means to reach the bredth and width of the country to organize and mobilize the Ethiopian public for elections or the struggle. It was mainly limited to Addis Ababa where it had its only office as known. The main objective of the party as mentioned by ato Kiflu Tadesse in his book was to encourage and urge other parties to creat a united front against the TPLF. Dr. Berhanu Nega has also mentioned Kestedamena`s roles and wishes to unite the opposition parties before the election. We know that one of the founders of Kestedamena, Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, has spent a lot of his energy and time to bring about the unity of the opposition which led to the formation of the former Kinijit. The good will and cooperation of the other strong and well organized parties with wide support base, in forming Kinijit should be mentioned and appreciated not only for the sake of fairness and objectivity, but to lay a strong foundation for future coalitions or mergers. If one overlooks the very recent facts like the May 15 elections and the forces which played important roles in it, as Yilma Bekele does, one`s credibility will be at stake or damaged. On the other hand, there are many who question the motives of the new and unknown Kestedamena which was formed on the eve of the may 15 elections in pushing for coalitions or unity among the opposition parties. We know that some of the leaders of Kestedamena were either in good terms with the weyannes or had served in the TPLF regime. While welcoming them to the oppostion camp and embracing them, it was important to treat them with some kind of caution or sceptisism. The mixing of the moderate or soft Kestedamena with the hardliners of the AEUP could not produce an effective and working solution in the struggle against the TPLF. The Ethiopian public know that there are political figures in Kestedamena and its present form UDJP, who can not show firm stands against the TPLF.
TPLF is the greatest enemy to the people of Ethiopia. TPLF has put 80 million people under dark. Ginbot 7 will turn on the light in the nearest time possible.
There is no doubt ginbot 7 has opened a new chapter in Ethiopian History. But the authors attempt to give credit to the man who is responsible for nullifying the gains of Ethiopians in that day is pathetic and dishonest. March 2nd was a result of years of sacrifice and hard work. Dr. Berhanu and friends are business men so they understand the value of brand name. They want to steal a brand with minimal input. I don’t blame them for thinking like business men. But this is a history that is played live in 21st century played in the living rooms and minds of every Ethiopian. No amount of buying Google absence can erase that much memory from the brains of Ethiopians or history and replace it by Dr. Berhanus image. Dr. Berhanu and friends arrived last, trashed the table and left first. That is the image history has recorded.
The recent attempt by Dr. Berhanu to grab attention by using desperate actions of a desperate regime says all about his character. He declares war from the comfort of his living room in USA wearing camel beach shorts, T shirts and designer slippers while 80 years old senile parents go to woyane dungeon. He may have resources to buy a lot of air time on internet but not history.
I liked the way things are stated.But I belive this is not what ethiopia needs now.We are talking about our country we are discussing to come up with a better ethiopia.And that needs an unemotional,unsided analysis of the current situation of our country and what we can do to solve the problems.So the things stated above all concentrates on the people strength…… what about the mistakes? What about the weak sides? It will be better to seee what our weakness was, that way we will learn from it.But if we keep on rewarding our self for things which seems good and passover the big mistakes of our actions we will keep on failing so please let’s see our self and work on our problems !!!!
Desta Gebre has said it right. If we have to give credit it should go where it belongs. The story was nice the real leaders who made that history were never mentioned in the article. This is big mistake to deny the obvious fact. Yes you may not like them now. But the history clearly stated was made by leaders who never get acknowledgment in this article. What is Ethiopia without Haile Sellasie? What is Kinijit without Engineer Hailu and AEUP and EUDP/Medhin?
I can’t believe the destas zeinebs and belays are still stuck in their interparty infightings after more than 3 years kinijit is broke up, thanks to the same people who are now commenting for not being mentioned. You see it is all about power. how pathetic. the most intereasting thing is all of them came out in force to creticise yilma for not mentioning their dear leaders and party. I am sure woyannes will laugh at you for bikering on very uslles stuff. what credit you are asking for, i don’t know. is it for conspiring to break up that histoical party? sober up and be prepared to form a united front, instead of complaining ,because the enemy is well entrenched and ruthless.
Why do not people analyse things before they say them or write them. They think every one will see their idea from their perspective but the reality is each individual has a unique mind set and perspective.
And how on earth can somebody generalize about my feelings or any other ones.
Anyways you can write but can not pass information using it.
Ginbot 20 is the dark day in ethiopian history. it is the day ethiopia became land locked.