Dawud Ibsaa’s recent interview on Les Nouvelles d’Addis and Hassen Hussien’s presentation to the EU Parliament prompted me to write this peace. There is no denying that since the May 2005 elections Ethiopia is entering a new political landscape. Finding itself at a cross-road every few years and taking the wrong turn is not a new phenomenon for Ethiopia. In the last thirty years we had traversed from one crisis to another in search of a political arrangement that could accommodate the diverse national, ethnic and political constituent parts, and every time we had failed. This trajectory has taken us from aristocratic government via military junta and communist state and landed us in a curious state dominated by Tigrai communist clique and intriguingly supported by western powers. In this long political journey the Oromos state of affairs had somewhat incrementally improved, but there is no denying that the main Oromo question, the question of power remains unresolved.

Both gentlemen’s statement and the news on Ethiopian Review over the weekend clearly indicate that there is something cooking; a recipe is in the making to create a broad coalition of forces. This is a new view for the OLF, and the OLF leadership should be congratulated for thinking out of the box and for taking such a bold and creative action that will promote the Oromo question to a higher level. The Oromo people are the most numerous people in Ethiopia, and the OLF is one of the oldest political organizations in Ethiopia. Both factors demand that the OLF take wise and bold actions that are commensurate with the people it claims to represent. The OLF cannot any longer afford to function in isolations from other Ethiopian people and other organizations, its stature and critical time we live in does not allow it.

What Necessitated This Change and Why Now?

In the past the OLF’s struggle concentrated on implementing the right of self-determination of the Oromo people after defeating and dismantling the Ethiopian state. The current thought, as could be discerned from Obbo Dawud’s interview, if possible is to change the identity of the Ethiopian state through democratic ways. This is a revolutionary idea whose time has come; and I say it should be firmly supported by all those who have Oromo interest at heart. Of course questions will be raised, some serious, some childish, some incisive and some shallow. And along series of question that may be raised, one of the first one will be, “what necessitated this change and why now?”

The first answer is, “the 2005 May election”. As “9/11 changed everything in America,” (President Bush) the May 2005 election changed everything in Ethiopia. Its effect is fundamental; hopefully students of history, political science and other will carefully study its ramifications.

Here, I will show only few. First, it showed the possibility of changing the EPRDF government through election. It showed the extent of how much the EPRDF is rejected. The rejection is such that any contested election that is not near perfect could lead to the ousting of the

incumbent.

Second, it showed that even though the people have rejected the EPRDF rule and are ready to oust it if they could get any chance to vote, they are not ready sacrifice their lives to achieve this. Mind you, I am not talking about few brave individuals who have been doing this and are still doing this; I am talking about the people as a large group. Third, the election has shown not only the weakness of the government, but also exposed the weakness of the liberation fronts and opposition organizations. Even if they could win elections, when the EPRDF rejected the result of the election, there was nothing much the opposition parties with or without other liberation fronts were able to do. They were not able to mobilize the populace in order to impose the will of the people. It showed the government inability to rule as before, as well as the others inability to take power yet.

Fourth, the May election exposed the true nature of the EPRDF to the international community. Given that this government depended much on the life support of the international community, this is a huge point. No government in Africa had such a good will from the donor countries as much as the EPRDF government. From the very time it came to power the government relied on the international donor countries not only for developmental aid, but also received huge amount of fund for budgetary support. If we look at the political support, we even see a much cozy relation between the west and EPRDF. Meles Zenwai was one of the first to realize the importance of the war on terrorism and one of the first to jump on the bandwagon of antiterrorism forces. The support he received, both economic and political, since then is a matter of public knowledge. He was one of the few African leaders who received the distinction to be labeled one of the new breed of African leaders. He was also one of the few handpicked leader to be on Tony Blair’s Commission for Africa. The May election changed all this, and he had become an embarrassment to the powers and individuals in the international community that supported him. But, even though the international community has cooled its relation and kept its distance, it has not come out and denounce Meles Zenawi’s actions and did not cut diplomatic relation or taken other drastic majors.

More on the Two Tensions

The two tensions described above, i.e., (1) the tension between the peoples’ rejection of the EPRDF, but inability to oust it, and (2) the international community’s realization of the antidemocratic nature of EPRDF, but continuation of its support, could be explained by the fear of the unknown. The fear of what may follow EPRDF is sustaining the EPRDF in power. Although EPRDF speaks in the name of national equality, its policy is not different from the classical divide & rule policy of any oppressive government. Few governments in history have politicized “ethnicity” as much as the EPRDF. It has effectively disseminated a seed of discord between different nations and nationalities in Ethiopia and between different political organizations for targeted benefit. In particular, it has efficiently divided the Oromo and Amhara, the two nations it believes could challenge its rule. It is always difficult for divided people to rise against the common oppressive regime, and this is especially true, where the divided segments fear one another more than the incumbent oppressive rule. To some extent the EPRDF had diligently and subtly worked on this and had also achieved some success. In order to oust the EPRDF, in any way, this should be changed.

The importance of forming an alliance for the OLF with other forces in Ethiopia will mean a huge step in the resolution of those two tensions I mentioned above. The formation of this alliance will diffuse the artificial contradictions and tension that the EPRDF had created between different peoples and organizations. This will in turn embolden the people to rise in unison against a tyrannical regime that is controlling power and hindering free and fair election. Rather than fear each other more that the force controlling the state machinery, peoples could now concentrate on the real deal rather than on shadow boxing or the ghost of the past. The cooperation of the OLF and other organization will help to promote the peoples rejection of the EPRDF rule to more active action of ousting it through any necessary means if the government does not abide by the will of the people. The intentional rift that the EPRDF created and which is sustaining it on power could only be bridged by forming an alliance of all major organizations.

The international community clearly had understood the antidemocratic nature of EPRDF, but they keep on supporting it not because they have special love for it, but simply because they believe that only chaos, anarchy or civil war will follow the fall of EPRDF. When presented with choice between democracy and stability they always opt for stability. The formation of an alliance will also help allay the fear they have regarding what may follow the aftermath of EPRDF. Such a fear that the EPRDF had purposely created could be only be defeated by forming such an alliance. With the formation of this alliance the international community could no longer justify its support for the EPRDF on the premises of stability.

On the Oromo Cause

The changing political environment in Ethiopia and internationally favors the formation of alliance for the OLF. Friends and foes alike are recognizing the importance of the resolution of the Oromo issue. There is a tacit and explicit recognition of the Oromo question more than any other time by other organizations. It could be safely concluded that no force in the county can any longer avoid the Oromo issue or try to hide it under the rug. There is a universal recognition, albeit reluctant, that the Ethiopian political problems could not be solved without head-on tackling the

Oromo question. This is the result of the resilience of the OLF and the endurance of our people’s struggle. The international community is almost looking at the OLF as one of the major key players to the persistent problems of the country. They are waiting for a reply from the OLF. The ball is already in OLF’s court, and the OLF should deliver by devising mode of struggle that is palatable to the international community. This is an opportune moment that rarely happens in history, and the OLF should seize the moment and act quickly or else we may lose it, as has happened many times before.

There is a legitimate apprehension among many Oromos regarding some of the organizations that may join this alliance. The basic question is whether these organizations would recognize Oromia. As far as I know there is no party that had officially come out and stated that it would dismantle the existing federal structure. At worst, we find some saying that this issue should be presented to the decision of the people. I have no problem with this. It should be left to the Oromo people whether they want to have their own self-administration or whether they want Oromia to be divided into the old Teklai Gizat or some form of structure that would not include the whole of Oromia. I have no doubt that the Oromo people will choose to have Oromia. And if we are confident about our people’s choice then we should not be worried if this issue is presented to our people. It is only with powers that would not agree to bring this issue to the decision of the people that the OLF should not form any alliance. For me at this stage of our existence, the question regarding the Oromo issue is not whether to form a unitary state or federation in Ethiopia, but whether to form an independent Oromia state separate from Ethiopia or forming Oromia state within Ethiopia (real federation). The choice that the Oromo people would make would highly depend on how other organization and parties will handle our issue.

Conclusion

Formation of an alliance will nurture the spirit of cooperation, and will create a foundation on which to build a lasting and durable solution to the many debilitating political, social, and economic problems. The formation of an alliance will help promote democratic values and will help to overcome attitudinal and structural obstacles for democracy. We have political organizations to lead our struggles and to handle some secondary contradictions from developing into full fledged conflicts, to negotiate and chart new ways and tactics in accordance with changing times and situations. I believe the OLF’s leadership is discharging its responsibility to our people when it is taking such a bold move. Like any new idea, it sure will encounter resistance from some corners. OLF should not be daunted by such resistance, but should build on this creative initiative and continue the struggle. Dogmatic attitudes never achieve victory, particularly when situations are fluid. This is a challenging time, and we should be apt to the challenge. We owe it to our people who have suffered for long.

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Olaana Abboma can be reached at [email protected]

Sharing my Night Memories of the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution and the Purpose of my Departure

By Maru Gubena (Ph.D.)
May 20, 2006

Among the multiple sources of Africa’s chronic economic poverty, social and political instability, and the persistent backwardness of the educational and health sectors is the exodus and permanent settlement of Africans: the brain drain. Indeed, millions of highly educated and skilled Africans in the Diaspora today are maturing and living in a world in which they have not been born – in their countries of asylum or immigration. As my own profile clearly illustrates, a large number of the currently maturing African Diaspora left their countries of origin carrying in their minds not just a bag of goals conducive to improving their own personal lives and those of their families back home, but also with a solid aim of returning home within a brief period – a maximum of one or two years. In reality, however, that has not been the case.

Night Memories of the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution and the Purpose of my Departure

As is true for every child, I too had my own personal ambitions, ideas and visions about what I wanted to be and how to become an active and productive member of society – a contributing force to the growth and development of my country, where I had no doubt when I was a boy that I would remain as an inseparable part of Ethiopian society. Oh, yes, I was convinced that Ethiopia was the place where I would spend my entire life. I was not just ambitious but I was also a boy devoted to my studies – to what I wanted to be in the future – and well known for being assertive. As far as I can recall, during the nostalgic period of my childhood, I was often engaged with expansive plans about what I wanted to be, including becoming a famous international attorney and at the same time a moderator of TV and conference debates. Seriously considering and exploring the possibilities to one day become a well-known and highly respected advisor to the head or heads of the government of my country of that memorable period were my sleeping tablets.

The vivid visions and night dreams I had during my childhood related to future socio-political and economic roles and responsibilities were compounded with sweet and tender dreams. Although I never told any of my best friends or family members, I was madly in love with my little neighbour girl named Gonaye, whom I always call “my Goni,” which can roughly be translated as “a good part of me.” As Goni repeatedly told me that she too was in love with me and her future life would be meaningless without me, I wanted to belong to her forever and spend the rest of my life with Goni. To me, at least at that period, there were no any other beautiful girls on earth as beautiful as my little Goni girl. She was not only beautiful, but also soft, loving and most generous. And despite being so young, the words and statements of Gonai were always carefully and wisely crafted and expressed in the most affectionate fashion. Love letters exchanged through trusted family house-guards were our main source of communication.

Whenever there was an opportunity, we met each other in late afternoon or early evening in a shop that was located in our neighborhood. With the limited time Goni and I were allowed to be outside, we made all possible efforts to make our time together enjoyable. We shared our bottles of soft drinks, but never kissed each other in the shop or in public places. We kissed each other through the fence that divided Goni’s house from mine, but only in the evening, when it was getting darker. We never dared to even to talk about sex. And consequently, Goni and I never even saw each other’s bodies without clothes. But since we knew that we loved each other so deeply and belonged to one another, there was no hurry at all for sex. We knew that as soon as Goni and I had completed our studies and had found jobs, we were going to get married, to have a joyful life and have our lovely children. I always lovingly expressed my desire to Goni to have at least six children – four girls and two boys. Goni preferred to have fewer children, only four – two girls and two boys. When we quarreled heatedly and emotionally about the number of children each of us would like to have, the charming and powerful words of Goni, “stop it now my love! You know that time will tell,” had the power to immediately end the discussion.

Indeed, as a teenager, I thought my many plans and vivid visions would make me a productive and responsible member of Ethiopian society. I also I had sweet and loving dreams of becoming a proud husband of my Goni girl and the father of my dream children, living in my own country. Most unfortunately, however, all my plans and night dreams, including the immeasurable true love I had for my Goni were abruptly interrupted by the upheavals of the 1974 Ethiopian revolution.

The 1974 Ethiopian Revolution and the Purpose of my Departure

I left Ethiopia during the upheaval that overthrew the Emperior Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, who had ruled my country for some forty years. Immediately after coming to power, the Ethiopian Revolutionary Provisional Government suspended the longstanding Ethiopian constitution, and arrested all former Ethiopian ministers, army and police generals and those associated with Haile Selassie. Finally, Haile Selassie himself was arrested and killed. The highly accelerated changes that accompanied these events, including the course and direction of the Ethiopian revolution, were appalling – even in some cases most terrifying. Yet, despite witnessing many fearsome events, I initially never thought of leaving my country. Besides, at that time I had no idea how to leave Ethiopia even if I wanted to do so. It was the events of just one night that decided that my life would be spent outside my country – Ethiopia. It was, I think, the second of October 1974. I was not at home; I had gone to spend the night not with Goni but with my best male friend – Melku Bezugeza. As it was then very normal in Ethiopia to sleep in one bed with a male friend, I was sleeping together with my friend in his bed. Yes, Melku was a friend of my childhood and my best friend. We did everything together. When we were together we usually talked almost the whole night, and listened to the news from minute to minute. Because of this habit and our persistent curiosity to know about events and developments both at home and abroad, Melku and I were probably among the first Ethiopians to hear about the murder of about 60 Ethiopian assets of Haile Selassie’s government, including ministers and other officials, from the Ethiopian radio news transmission in the early morning of the 23rd of November 1974. The country was full of fear, tension and uncertainties. No one knew when the soldiers would come, knock on the door as forcefully as they could and snatch one or more family members from a household, including our loved ones or us. During this fearful and most memorable period, Melku and I also became more fearful and dependent upon each other, unwilling to spend a day without seeing one another. Due to the accelerated tempo of structural changes in all areas, the continuing and most indescribable upheaval and the increasing number of young people being taken away and never coming back, Melku and I would go to sleep holding each other as tightly as we could. In those dark and terrifying days, my best friend Melku and I also used to pretend that we were both courageous and determined to defend each other as relentlessly as we could. Yes, Melku and I were good friends, prepared to give everything we had and to die for each other. Especially during the darkest hours each of us used to do our best to give words of encouragement to the other – “don’t be afraid, my best friend. No one will touch you while I am with you, as long as I am alive. Don’t be scared, I am here to defend you,” I said to him. And Melku Bezugeza responded with almost the same words, coming from stammering lips. “Listen, Tilo, someone will dare to touch you only when they see my dead body – when they perceive that I am dead and you have no one to defend you. But as long as I am well, alive and with you, no one is going to do anything to you. I am here to defend you until the end of my life.” These were Melku’s unforgettable words. Someone listening to our talks at that time could have easily seen that the words and statements we made to each other were purely a sign of fear, of being totally terrified by the actions we were witnessing.

Our fears were not baseless. Much to our shock and panic, the soldiers, about seven to nine of them came, started screaming and breaking down doors and everything they found in front of them. Melku and I did not know what to do or where to go. The soldiers were everywhere. But when we began to listen quietly and more rationally, the soldiers were not at our door. They were breaking the doors and property and terrifying the family of Melku’s neighbour. We heard the soldiers asking the mother of the family to tell them the whereabouts of two of her sons – the ones they were looking for. This lady, who was the mother of seven children, insisted that she did not know where her two sons were. I was standing and looking through a small hole in the door of Melku’s bedroom. I saw one of the soldiers pulling out a pregnant daughter of the woman and dragging her outside along the ground with all his power, then standing with his big shoes on her stomach, though one could see clearly that she was carrying a baby. She and her five-month old baby died immediately.

It was that night I made up my mind to leave Ethiopia. Although I have never in my life heard of a more beautiful, a better country with kinder or lovelier people than Ethiopia, I just wanted to disappear. Besides, many of the children of my uncles and aunts who were in my age group, and many of my friends, had already left Ethiopia without saying a word to me, to their friends or family members. Yes, I also felt lonely and helpless without most of my friends.

At the time, as for almost all Africans now living in the Western world, when I finally decided to leave my country I thought it would be just for a few months, or a maximum of one or two years – until the dust of the upheaval that was the Ethiopian revolution had settled. Given the ambitious socio-political and economic plans I had in my mind, combined with the joyful and affectionate relationship I had with Goni – whom I actually had considered as uncontested part of my future life – I never thought, never dreamed of spending a quarter of a century of my life in another country without her and the family members I was fond of, and in a country where I will never be in a position to say “this my county.” But I left Ethiopia without delay and without saying goodbye to my Goni girl, whom I still miss today.

The Future of the Maturing African Diaspora

Almost all of the currently maturing African Diaspora living permanently in the West have stories that are more or less the same, with short-lived plans that were as simple as mine. They initially left their countries to study for a few years, or immigrated thinking it was just for one or two years; they planned to return, get married, and live a better life in their own country or countries. As in my case, the great majority of Africans were forced to leave their motherland by political repression at home. However, in general people who initially thought they would definitely go back home within a few years never did. The reality is that almost all Africans who are now effectively settled in the west are living the same way of life as westerners, with a proper income and proper housing – in some cases a luxuriously organized way of life. Their new habits, combined with the day-to-day personal freedom of the west, mean that reintegration in the culture back home on a limited salary, with uncertain political conditions and limitations on freedom of movement, would not be an easy process.

What is more tragic in recent times is that while almost all of us left our hometowns with the intention of returning as soon as possible to the place where we belong, the possibility of fulfilling the old dream seems now to be very remote, even untouchable, due to the changing political maps in our countries of origin – with the deterioration of political stability, the persistent repression of political opponents and massive human rights violations. Consequently, some Africans may not even want to think about either going back or investing in their countries of origin.

The worsening political trend in recent times in countries like Ethiopia is reaching its climax in an irreconcilable fashion. On top of the existing internal, deadly political instabilities in the countries of the Horn of Africa, we observe new and mounting political turmoil in Ethiopia, in particular due to the measures undertaken by the vicious and power-thirsty regime of Meles Zenawi, aimed at eliminating political opponents and eradicating the people’s political parties from the land of Ethiopia. The killings of over one hundred innocent Ethiopian citizens since the May 2005 national election; the incarceration of our elected leaders; the unlawful mass arrests and torture, the terrorization and beatings of the mothers, wives, sisters and children of those suspected of supporting opposition political parties, have been instrumental in sending a clear message to the maturing and highly educated Ethiopian Diaspora, discouraging any idea of returning to their country of origin and contributing to the alleviation of poverty and helping to improve and expand the much needed educational sector and other aspects that will support the economy of the country.

The forces of political turmoil currently lashing much of Ethiopian society, clouding the economic and political map of my country, and the unacceptable measures undertaken – including unusually cruel methods of arrest, torture and killing – by Meles’s cadres, which have already been denounced both by Ethiopians and the international community at large, are not only becoming a bottleneck to the incalculable potential contributions of the very resourceful Ethiopian Diaspora to the development of Ethiopia. Instead, these forces have created an inextinguishable energizing focus on crafting and shaping complex mechanisms and strategies to challenge the unlawful measures being employed by the ruling party and to wage a peace-oriented diplomatic war against Meles, intend to weaken the economic and military power of the EPRDF and to isolate Meles himself from the wider international community upon which he and his ruling party are exclusively dependent.

It is additionally true that for some of the maturing Ethiopian Diaspora, the prospects for returning home have been darkened by the ongoing massive, atrocious crimes being committed by the ruthless cadres of Meles, as demonstrated by the arrival of the newly produced exodus of compatriot refugees who are joining the maturing Ethiopian Diaspora in their countries of asylum. Indeed, by accelerating the spread of fear throughout the country, the ruling party and its cadres are currently forcing the indispensable economic forces of Ethiopia to leave their country and loved ones. Just as we have seen in other countries with repressive regimes, the ruling TPLF party has been and is still intensively preparing the ground for western governments and private firms, who are unashamedly going directly to Ethiopia and other Africa countries with the aim of bringing more Africans to the west, draining African of brains by bringing out African doctors, nurses and other professionals.

What is most shocking and has in fact become an energizing and harmonizing force for a good number Ethiopians of my generation, whether in Ethiopia or residing in the Western world, those who experienced the unforgettable and painful periods of Mengistu’s era, however, is the fact that in our wildest dreams we had never thought that the spirit of Mengistu’s terror would once again come back to our country to haunt our children – the generation of my daughter.
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Dr. Maru Gubena is a political economist, writer and publisher. Readers who wish to contact the author can reach him at [email protected]