“Why, O my friends, did ye so often puff me up, telling me that I was fortunate? For he that is fallen low did never firmly stand. – Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy
When the prison guard shouts: Dead man walking! You step aside. The guard is warning people that the inmate walking by is on death row and he has nothing to lose by killing you. You just step out of the way and let the dead man keep his date with destiny.
The President of Sudan General Bashir is a dead man walking. He has a date with the International Criminal Court (ICC). A year ago ICC warned the General that his actions in Darfur were a cause for concern. Human Right watch put him on notice. Amnesty international said Al bashir was abusing his authority.
General Bashir was intoxicated with power. The General with the brain of a foot solder was not in any mood to listen to reason. He told his army full speed ahead. Scorched-earth policy of raping, killing and destroying villages was in effect. Why would he listen to a bunch of ‘liars’ bent in tarnishing his image?
He has friends. He is famous. He is the president of Sudan. He doesn’t have to listen to anybody. He has always said the western colonialists are out to get him. So what if they complain? General bashir is smart. Now that he has oil, he is rich too. They want his oil and those greedy westerners will not lift a finger against him. Especially since his newfound friends the Chinese are not concerned with such trivia as Darfur or human right he is safe. That is right he will play his Chinese hand no one will touch him. Not to mention that he is also surrounded with good honorable friends. No one can ask for better criminal neighbors than Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt and Libya.
So ICC in its slow and deliberative process went ahead gathering information, interviewing victims and buttressing the case. There was no hysteria here. ICC knew this process couldn’t be hurried. Accusing someone of genocide, torture, and human rights abuse is a grave matter. Warning shots were fired for those who can hear. Close friends of the tyrant were briefed. The media was kept in the loop. Al Bashir due to his unsurpassed ability to bully the Sudanese people was not to be bothered by some prosecutor in far away Europe.
The African Union and fellow tyrants were recruited to warn the ICC of the dire consequences if an indictment was returned. Delegates were sent to European capitals to explain how democracy works in Africa. The Ethiopian Foreign Minster appealed to Turkey to stop this process. It was said that Africans have their own solution and it cannot be hurried. In the mean time Al Bashir kept busy by denying the scope of his crimes, accusing the court of lack of jurisdiction and insulting the prosecutor as unrepentant colonialist hell bent on interfering in the internal affairs of Sudan.
Thus, on march 4th. 2009 ICC issued an arrest warrant for Al Bashir. The charges against the tyrant include:
1. five counts of crimes against humanity: murder; extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape;
2. two counts of war crimes: intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities, and pillaging.
So where do things stand today? Al Bashir is squirming like a cornered rat. He has showed his defiance by visiting fellow tyrants in the neighborhood. He has expelled NGO’s and aid workers from Sudan. The indictment still stands. The ICC has threatened to add new charges regarding his expulsion of aid workers. Al Bashir is vainly trying to show the support he has in Sudan by ordering, bribing, threatening the people to come out and march in his support. Too little too late.
In an interview with the BBC this is what fellow tyrant Meles Zenawi has to say:
Question: Why are African Union leaders turning a blind eye to the suffering going on in Darfur?
Zenawi: Well clearly there is in justice in Darfur and the AU recognizes that. But there are different methods of addressing injustice. There is the type that we saw in South Africa and everybody aggress that the apartheid system in South Africa committed crimes against humanity. Nobody I know of had opposed the African method of restorative justice and I do not see any reason why similar approach cannot be followed in Darfur. The thing is the crisis in Darfur is primarily a political crisis it is not a humanitarian crisis.
Question: You talk about the reconciliation process of what happened in South Africa but Darfur is a war crime and the war crimes trial suggested by the Sudanese government is a bit late in the day isn’t it?
Zenawi: Well the African Union is suggesting the indictment be differed for a year so that an already complicated peace process does not get more complicated….
You see what I mean. This is a perfect example of mixing apples and oranges to cloud the issue. The reconciliation process in South Africa took place after the Apartheid regime gave up power and authority. The De Klerk regime saw the writing on the wall and moved aside. The reconciliation process was put in place by the newly democratically elected government. Thus, to suggest such a process in Sudan while Al Bashir is in power with his army and security intact is bizarre and self-serving. Even in the South African process there were those that mentioned the weakness by pointing out that justice should have been a prerequisite for reconciliation rather than the alternative to it. Ato Melese’s so called ‘African method of restorative justice’ is another version of ‘revolutionary democracy’. It sounds cute but it is hollow inside.
Another proposal floated by the AU is to ‘differ’ the indictment for one year. I guess this is what you call not ‘unclear on the concept’. You just do not indict and un-indict at will. The indictment took place because there were irrefutable facts that showed a pattern of criminal behavior by the individual. You cannot put the genie back in the bottle. People have died, some have been maimed for life, villages have been burned and lives have been disrupted. You cannot undo the damage. What the Africans are saying is the tyrant has killed half a million so let us not upset him further so he does not kill more. It does not work like that.
This sort of suggestion arises due to the practice of using the courts for political ends in most of Africa. If memory serves us right that is the game the Ethiopian regime plays. Kinijit leaders were indicted for attempted genocide, attempt to forcefully overthrow of the regime and other charges. There was no proof, no witnesses and no case but it did not stop the regime to carry out the judicial theatre for two years while the opposition leaders were kept in jail. The two years gave the regime time to disrupt the party, exile it opponents and murder elected leaders. Ato Meles is asking a ‘deferral’ for a year so Al Bashir can do some more house cleaning.
Genocide Watch is calling on UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate Meles Zenawi regarding atrocities committed in Gambella, Awassa and Ogaden. The massacre that took place after the 2005 election is still waiting for resolution. As was the case with Al Bashir the ball has started rolling.
The recent confiscation of coffee in collusion with the so-called ECX is further crime against our people. I see dark clouds hovering over the TPLF Empire. The danger of indictment, the inflation, the economic meltdown, lack of foreign currency reserves and general lawlessness in the country is a clear indication of a crumbling system on its last legs. The criminals are watching each other closely. There are those prone to panic and abandon ship. There are those who are unwilling to take the rap for crimes of the politburo. There are those ‘teletafe’ organizations nervous that they will be the first ones to be thrown to the hyenas at the first indication of trouble. That is the problem with criminal enterprises. It is each to his own. We are familiar with the actions of TPLF. No one is indispensable. As sure as the sun will rise up from the East tomorrow morning, Ato Meles will join Al Bashir in The Hague soon. I believe he is a dead man walking.
When they said “a picture speaks a thousand words” they could have been thinking about this one. The setting definitely is a reception. The people sitting around the table appear very important since there appear to be as many servers as guests. In addition to this we see many photographers documenting the event. It is difficult to determine if this is the beginning or the end of the event. Whatever it is, it is a very lavish and formal affair.
A person sitting right around the center is the only one wearing some kind of head covering, which would lead us to assume that he is from the Middle East. Further down you can see the lone woman. Other than that, it is a mainly a men’s affair. One can also assume that it is a formal event since the men are wearing dark suits. The majority of them seem to be white.
Let’s examine the person on the bottom left. He seems lonely, left out, or sad? He is definitely brooding about something. If you look around, you will notice that those in front of him as well as those on his right are engaged in deep conversation. The man on his left has given him his shoulder.
Who is he? What is he doing here? How come he is not engaged with anyone? Why is everyone ignoring him? If they did not want him there, why was he invited?
He definitely does not appear comfortable. You can tell that from his stiff shoulders and his general posture. His hands are clasped in a prayer position. He is probably not praying, but he is definitely in deep thought. It is difficult to tell how long he has been sitting ignored and isolated. Why didn’t the host find him a partner? He is not smiling, and his somber look conveys he is not enjoying the moment.
Why is he there if he is not comfortable; and why was he invited if he is not part of the group? Could there have been some mix up? Could he have been drafted at the last moment? Was he warned about the cold shoulder he might encounter? Did he send a scouting party to assess the situation? Did they lie to him to embarrass him? Was this calculated risk that blew up in his face? Could it be that he is not able to engage with the others as an equal?
It does not look like a good situation for our friend sitting at the bottom left. It can be considered a form of psychological torture to invite someone to such a dinner and ignore him. At the same time, it is not a good idea to crash a party where one is not welcome. Maybe our friend is praying for the party to be over. Maybe there is nothing here. Yeah right the picture is lying.
Commodity is one of those terms open to many interpretations. The Marxist have their own definition of what a commodity is. To the Marxist using the labor theory of value ‘a commodity is any good or service produced by human labor and offered as a product for general sale on the market.’ In today’ economy a ‘commodity exchange is where farm products (coffee, wheat, cocoa) or raw materials (oil, metals) are traded.
Commodities exchange trading is where they trade on future products on commodities. A Sidamo coffee farmer can sell a future contract on his coffee beans that will not be ripe for a few months more or an Ada teff farmer can sell a future on his harvest next season. This sort of contract protects the farmer from price drops and the merchant from price rise.
A few of the World famous exchanges are Chicago Mercantile Exchange (agriculture, metals, energy) Kansas City Board of Trade (agriculture) Dalian (China) Commodity Exchange (agriculture) and Brazilian Mercantile and futures Exchange (agriculture, biofuels)
A stock exchange is where a ‘corporation or mutual organization provides a trading facility for stockbrokers and traders to trade stocks and securities. A stock exchange is used by corporations and companies to raise capital by selling shares, grow by acquiring other companies and generally make money circulate instead of sitting in a saving account or under a mattress.
The Chicago Board of Trade was established in 1848. Up until then most future contracts were not always honored both by the buyer or seller. The new Board was designed to minimize credit risk. The members of the Board set up the rules and run their organization independent of the long arm of the State.
Please not that the common theme in the above story is the founding of the exchange was purely a voluntary act by the traders. It was created to facilitate trade and protect both the farmer and the merchant from unscrupulous individuals.
Now we come to our infamous ‘commodity exchange’ that appeared out of the blue with much fanfare in 2008. Major wire services wrote gushing reports about it, Bloomberg quoted the new director, Reuters sent out alerts and even VOA commented about it. They all agreed it was a giant step for Ethiopian farmers. They dutifully reported what was handed to them.
As usual ‘Donor’ countries poured in money (ten million in two weeks were pledged) to help set it up. Building was erected to mimic the Chicago exchange. Electronic system was put in place and warehouses were built. Thus for all practical purpose the physical structure was in place.
I am glad you can see what I am leading to. We Ethiopians are most familiar with this scenario unfolding in front of our eyes. We know it is not going to work. We have seen this ‘theatre’ before.
The question is did those that set up the system really thought that it would work? When you consider that there are no free farmers in the country, that there is absolutely no trust in the government or its institutions, that there is no law other than the word of the Prime Minister and no free media to exchange information how in the world could you have such a purely capitalist enterprise function in a closed society.
If it does not work why set it up? Simply put the intention was never to help farmers or merchants. It was just another TPLF mechanism for more control of what is left of the independent business. They said it themselves. The Newsweek reporter Jason McClure quotes the director ‘Traders other than large growers and co-operatives that sell directly to international buyers will be forced to use the bourse, exchange director Eleni Gabre-Madhin said today.
So the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) was inaugurated with lots of fanfare. Peter Heinlein of VOA wrote again quoting the director “The opening of the new exchange has unleashed a torrent of entrepreneurial spirit. Gabre-Madhin says”. So what happened? Let us just say they gave a party and no one showed up!
They passed a law in August to regulate the coffee industry. In other words to nudge the independent merchants to submit to the authority ECX. The Prime Minister went to parliament and threatened to ‘cut the hands’ of the merchants that refused to deal with ECX. Again The PM threatened to confiscate all coffee that is not under the control of ECX. Hording was the reason given for this draconian action.
Coffee is Ethiopia. Coffee was our number one export during the Emperor’s reign. Coffee sustained the brutal Derg. Coffee is Woyane government’s lifeline. Control of the trade of coffee is a must for the minority regime. ECX was a vehicle to take control of the independent merchants and drive them out of the coffee business.
Our merchants and farmers were too smart for that. They refused to be led to the slaughterhouse willingly. No amount of threat and coercion was effective against those that have survived numerous trials and tribulations the last thirty years. TPLF was forced to show its ugly face in broad daylight. The Ethiopian people are not new to government confiscation of property, wealth and their children. It is just another criminal action by a government against its own citizens.
So as usual we heard the news and we sighed. We are so used to TPLF abuse and disrespect it did not raise an eyebrow let alone indignation. When they killed Assefa Maru we were quiet. When they murdered Professor Asrat we shrugged it off. When they arrested Bekele Jirata we were silent. The arrest of Judge Birtukan did not bother most of us. Thus confiscation of tons of coffee from private warehouses is just another chapter in our saga of humiliation by the illegal regime.
Starting an exchange without the good will and participation of the people affected is not rational. Imposing from above is a recipe for failure. Merchants are in business to make money. They buy low and sell high. Selling for less than the cost is suicide. Now the government has the coffee what comes next. International coffee price is depressed due to the market melt down. What is TPLF’s next move? Of course they can sell it for any price since they did not pay for it. How about next season? The smart merchant is pushed out of the business what is left is cadre merchants. Good luck Ethiopia.
There is a saying in our country. የፈሩት ይደርሳል፤ የጠሉት ይወርሳል (Yeferut yedersal Ye telut yeworsal.) It means what scares you most will happen and the one you despise will inherit your wealth. So it is with our country. We never thought any one could top the Derg in brutality. The TPLF proved us wrong. We did not anticipate the little rag tag militia is capable of assuming power. We were blindsided by Herman Cohen and Mengistu. Enough about yesterday, this article is about today.
“ As a result, coffee export are significantly lower this year,” he said. “The government may be forced to take over stocks held in private warehouses and provide it to the market.” The ‘he’ is the Prime Minster and his audience is his voiceless and tooth less gang called the Parliament. Believe me he is not talking about the coffee drinking public in Ethiopia. That is not his concern. When he says ‘provide it to the market’ he is talking about selling it for Dollars, Euros or Yen.
It is like father like son situation. His mentor Mengistu, in the name of socialism confiscated all personal property. Meles enshrined it his constitution. His recent statement regarding confiscation is a reflection of his mind set that was established over thirty years ago. He is still fixated with the concept that the government knows better. He refuses to grow up and change. Stalinism and Enver Hoxha are his heroes and guiding lights.
This single statement is a mirror reflecting the logic and mentality of the minority based government. It is not a through analysis to find the root cause of the problem and come up with a lasting solution. It is typical TPLF knee jerk reaction. Always a stopgap solution for single use to be discarded until the next crisis that is always around the corner.
Let us really look into this solution threatened by the fearless leader. So his logic goes the country needs foreign currency. The government credit rating is less than junk bond, thus no one will lend us money. But we need the foreign currency to buy food, oil and pay off the interest on existing loans. Is it time to look into the polices that got us into this predicament? Well that will be too rational and smart way of looking at situations. Why revise a failed policy that is causing undue hardship when you can pull another infantile idea from your hat.
Unfortunately the first urge of the TPLF regime is to resort to illegal means. When in doubt use force and coercion, that is Woyane’s motto. But you might ask does he have the constitutional power to do that? Even if he can force the rubberstamp Parliament to pass such law, can’t the courts stop such flagrant violation of the rights of the coffee merchants? Yes he can. The parliament and the courts are nothing but a façade.
It is a highly confusing situation. The claim is Ethiopia’s economy is based on the capitalist free enterprise model. Well sort of. There is this little issue of all land belonging to the government that sort of distorts the capitalist model. Well, if you ask there is also this little item of the government owning the telecommunication industry, Internet, television, radio transmission and electricity production. What is left for the citizen you might ask? Right now most are relegated to running hotels, bars, restaurants, nightclubs and tearooms.
The question that comes to mind is can a hybrid capitalist system confiscate the property of its citizens? May be revolutionary democracy allows that. Let us look at this coffee situation closely. Let us say Ato Meles manages to ‘convince’ his Parliament to give him the authority, how does he go about doing it? Does he buy the coffee from the merchants or do they lose ownership without pay. Since the merchants paid for the coffee and are waiting for favorable time to sell it for a profit how does the government arrive at a price? If the coffee is bought with bank loans, do the merchants still owe the bank after the confiscation?
Actually we have the answers from previous encounters with Woyane’s policies. Do you remember the 2005 election? Woyane lost. What did they do? They confiscated all the ballot boxes except in Addis. Do you remember the money changing business? Woyane needed cash. They confiscated all the foreign currency in sight. They claimed growing flowers is the future. When the market dried up what did they do? They threatened the growers that leased the land that it will be resold to the next bidder. When they were cornered by the Diaspora Ethiopians, and International organizations regarding the illegal imprisonment of Kinijit leaders, journalists and civic leaders they concocted some deal using less than honorable individuals and caved in. But that was temporary, now they have Judge Bertukan in prison. Woyane confiscates property and people.
None of the above polices worked. They all backfired. Success is not measured in terms of longevity of the regime rather in terms of the quality of life of the people. The TPLF regime is obviously in power, but at what cost? The economy is deteriorating and the discontent is ascending. Sooner or later no mater what it will reach a critical point. It looks like they can see it coming but are unable and unwilling to change their behavior. It happened to Mengistu too. Ceausescu of Romania was blinded until he was silenced with a two feet rope. Just look at Bashir acting like a cornered rat. So you don’t think it could not happen to you? That is what Charles Taylor said!
Cutting of hands does not work. Confiscating people’s property and assets is not a good idea. There are no instances of this kind of illegal act working anywhere. What works is devising a policy with everyone’s participation and goodwill. What works is consultation and an open debate to arrive at a lasting and fair solution. What works is using democratic means to empower the citizen and making them partners in formulating policies.
Enabling is one of those terms with a double meaning. In its positive aspect enabling is an empowerment act. In the US the Civil Right Act is considered an empowerment act. It outlawed racial segregation thus empowering black citizens to demand equal share of the ‘American Pie.’ The Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution that prohibited gender based restrictions on voting is definitely an empowering act that guaranteed the inclusion of women in the decision making process.
Enabling is also used in counseling or psychological sense. Psychologists view it as a problematic behavior. Enabling is common in such dysfunctional behaviors as drug addiction or alcoholism. An example frequently sited is about a spouse that calls in to make an excuse for a partner who is unable to go to work due to a hangover. The spouse’s well-intentioned act is unfortunately facilitating the addiction. The person is protected from the consequences of his or her action. Without the enabler the addict would have to come to terms with his action and behavior.
Nation states have enablers too. If we take our country Ethiopia and ask how we mange to survive as a nation regardless of the many dysfunctional behavior we have exhibited the last thirty years we are sure to find our enablers.
How do you think butcher Mengistu was able to fight in Eritrea, Ogaden and all points in between? That is right he had enablers. The Soviet Union with its East European provinces was the Godfather. Surplus weapons were traded for raw material and they were generous with their loans too. The World Bank and IMF were present but in a limited scale. He was able to finance his dysfunctional behavior thanks to Russia and Western Banks. When the tyrant fled we were left holding the bag. The treasury was bankrupt, the educated were slaughtered and those who can flee left every which way. Seventeen years of the Derge was a dark period that drove our country backwards.
Then came the current regime. They came to rule not to govern. Thus the dysfunctional behavior continued. Today the economy is in shambles. Foreign currency reserve is depleted. Inflation is climbing upwards weekly. The young and the brightest are migrating out. The government is forced to admit ‘over fourteen million are in need of food aid.’ The Somali incursion was costly both in human life and in monetary sense. The resulting civil war in the Ogaden is further strain on the economy. At the end of the day just how poor are we? Let us just say in terms of per capita income out of 208 countries we are 201st. Despite all this the regime keeps going. How is this possible?
Well they got enablers. World bank, IMF and European Union are our codependents. Without these three the regime will not last six months. They facilitate all our failed policies. They reward failure. They shield the government from the consequences of its policies.
The World Bank and IMF have built this humongous bureaucracy supposedly to empower poor nations like ours. They have put in place fancy economic models to describe their role as guides and baby sitters. They use fancy words and obscure abbreviations to show phantom progress the countries have achieved under their stewardship. CAS is for country assistance strategy, poverty reduction falls under PASDEP which stands for plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty, the Protection of Basic Services (PBS) program; the Public Sector Capacity Building Program (PSCAP); the Productive Safety Nets Program (PSNP) and the list goes on.
Thus when Mr. Kan Ohashi the World Bank country director for Ethiopia and Sudan says our economy has been growing 12% the last few years and inflation will be under 20% by June we have cause to worry. Facts on the ground do not warrant such declaration about growth or such a rosy outlook regarding inflation. The last six months have showed how this venerable institutions skew facts to fit their pre conceived conclusions. Imagine in a highly industrialized and transparent West the bankers and insurance companies were able to scam each other and everybody near and far with made up facts. Thus when the World Bank and IMF declare such growth and rosy scenario you can understand when we roll our eyes and say ‘what ever.’
One thing we know for sure is that the people were not consulted regarding the billions of dollar and euros handed to the government. We say this because the government is not a democratically elected one but rather it is a cancer imposed on us by the enabling act by these two Organizations and their friends. They are perfectly aware that without democracy and the rule of law pouring money is not going to make a dent on poverty, famine and recurring civil wars. They always qualify their reports mourning the lack of civil society and good governance. But next year they are back again with more programs for so called capacity building, poverty alleviation and all sort of fancy designations.
There is one other very important enabler worthy of special mention. It is no other than you, my dear Diaspora friend. As you know the Ethiopian government is the number one employer in the country. The Ethiopian government is owner of all land in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government requires large sums of money to pay for such essential items as Federal Police, Security Force, Internal Security, and large army. Being a tyrant is not cheap. Thus when you fly Ethiopian Airlines a percentage goes to the security forces ‘pacify’ a Kilil in turmoil. When you are granted someone else’s land to build your dream villa part of it goes to do some incursion into Somalia. When you open a Bank account you crate an opportunity for the regime to pay for Chinese technology to block Internet sites.
Let us put it this way. When your child asks you for cookies early in the morning and you say no and your child throws a fit what do you do? Giving in to the demands will stop the tantrum but on the other hand the child is learning a wrong lesson regarding actions and consequences in the real world. That is what we are faced with our ‘government.’ The lesson it has learned is that failed polices like the land issue, rigged elections, aggression towards neighbors, periodic massacres at home do not carry negative consequences. The enablers are there to gloss over the imperfections and delude themselves things are getting better.
It is both insulting and amusing to see the Ethiopian Council in LA peddling Bonds for electricity production. It is a noble idea. Selling bonds is one of the many ways cities; states and governments are able to do big capital projects. The difference is that the projects go thru a process before they are approved. The citizen debates the issue, experts are asked for opinion, environmental impact studies are carried out and the different technologies are compared. Here we have a government monopoly accountable to no one and sworn to secrecy asking us to invest our hard earned money on a project that probably should not be tried let alone built. The Bond is nothing but a ponzi scheme by a government.
As much as we will sell the shirts off our back if we know it is going to help our people it is difficult to hand in your money to a government that is even unwilling to tell the mothers that sacrificed their children in wars how they died and where they died. We have a debt to pay to our country. We have a responsibility to contribute to improve the life of our people. We also have a responsibility to demand transparency, intelligent decision-making and respect to a citizen.
A government that falsely imprisons political leaders, journalists, and civic society members does not have a moral ground to ask its people for funds. A regime that is holding Judge Birtukan in solitary confinement in a closet size room, denying her visitors is not fit enough for a helping hand. Some might feel smug when invited to sit with democratically elected leaders. It is one thing to be tolerated by outsiders but believe me there is no substitute for being respected and loved by ones own people.
Psychologists claim that enabling prevents growth in the person enabled and generally people who enable others have weak boundaries, low self-esteem and have difficulty being assertive. In other words enablers have no backbone. Don’t be an enabler.
Adwa was a turning point in the history of non-Europeans everywhere. Adwa’s significance extends beyond our national borders. Our ancestor’s victory over the Italians made the smug Europeans rethink their relationship with those they considered ‘savage’ and needed enlightenment from the superior race. Ethiopians stood tall. After Adwa, fierce, compassionate and merciful is what they said about us.
The 1800’s were not kind to Africans and people of color everywhere. This was the time that became known as the ‘scramble’ for Africa. Every two bit European power possessing a few ships sent expeditions to plant their flag, and to claim lands as far as the eye could see as their own. No one was safe. The British, the French, the Portuguese and the Dutch were the main culprits. As time went on, every one of them got into the act. To be left behind in this mad scramble for resources and national honor was considered a national embarrassment.
Thus, the Italians sent their ships and scouts too. They claimed Somalia, Zula, and Massawa. As time went on, they ventured further inland and built military forts and staging areas for further encroachment. Ethiopian kings were going through consolidations of their own. Emperor Tewodros had been busy conquering Shewa, forcing Tigrai to submit, and controlling Gojjam. Who said it was easy building an empire? He needed arms, he needed expertise, and he needed foreign recognition to reach his goal of a greater Ethiopia. His entanglement with the British was his undoing. Yohanes IV of Tigrai followed him. Same story here. One minute the Shewans are your allies and the next thing you know they are conspiring with Gojjam to get rid of you. The British were knocking from the West, the Italians were coming from the East, and Islam was a constant threat. He died fighting the Mahdists at the battle of Mettema in 1889.
Menelik of Shewa seized his chance. He was crowned King of Kings and then sent out messengers throughout the Empire, to Beghemidir, to Gojjam, Wollo and to Tigrai and the north, to Harrar, to Wellega, to Keffa and Sidamo, to Gemu Goffa, to Arsi, to Bale and Illubabur calling for oaths of loyalty to “Menelik II, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God, King of Kings of Ethiopia.” While Yohanes was King he had allowed Menelik to negotiate a treaty with Italians, which was signed at Wuchale, Wollo. It was this arrangement that became a point of contention between the two powers. Article 17 was a time bomb. The Italians interpreted it to say that the King of Italy will represent Ethiopia in all dealings with other powers, whereas, the Ethiopian version said Menelik would avail himself the office of the King of Italy if he so choose. The difference became irreconcilable.
The mighty Italians decided to teach the African savages a lesson. They believed in the superiority of their weapons, the quality of their refined culture, their modern military techniques and the supremacy of their Christian god over these heathen Africans. Their arrogance blinded their judgment. Surrounded by their mountains cut off by the rift valleys, the Ethiopians were oblivious to this European mindset. Empress Taitu Bitul ‘light of Ethiopia’ told the Italian emissary to bring it on and said ‘” If it is your wish, start the war next week. Nobody is afraid. We will see when you turn into action. Don’t ever think that we are not willing to sacrifice our comfort and die for our country.’ I love Taitu Bitul!
Now we come to the most interesting point of this epic conflict. Both sides have their job cut out for them. Surely a European power with many ships, unlimited weapons capable of mighty destruction, a professional military force with modern supply and the support of their rich cousins, is no match to a rag tag army gathered at the last minute using weapons bought from different suppliers and living of the land. Lloyds of London will not underwrite this risk. Las Vegas odd makers will sit out this bet.
So our Italian friends devised a two-pronged attack. First part was their well-trained army and the local Askari force. Second was their belief that they will buy off the different Kings and subvert the local chiefs to help them against Menelik. Little did they know that these Ethiopians were very tricky people. They proved them wrong on both counts.
Menelik was able to assemble a force of 100,000 motivated solders. Country or death was the battle cry. They came from all four corners of the country. Those further South who could not make it contributed money and resources in millions of silver Maria Theresas, gold and ivory. Ras Mengesha Yohannis of Tigrai, Ras Sebhat Aregawi of the house of Sabagadis and ruler of Agame, Ras Sebehat Shume of Agame, Ras Welle Bitul of Wello, Ras WoldeGiorgis, Ras Tesema Nadew, Azajh Wolde Tsadik, King Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam, Ras Wolde Michael Solomon of Hamasien, and Ras Mekonen all stood together.
What the Italians saw was Amharas, Tigreans, Oromos, Gurages, Welaitas and Sidamas prepared to do battle to defend the motherland. The Italians underhanded trick to divide them by promising power and riches to the different Rases and chiefs was rejected. With the consent and knowledge of Menelik they all pretended to conspire with the enemy and lulled him into complacency. The parts knew there was no Ethiopia without the whole as one.
Emperor Menelik took up his position on Amba Abba Gerima with his Imperial Guards, King Tekle Haimanot and the 12,000 man army of Gojjam marched off and formed the right wing of the Ethiopian forces. Ras Mengesha Yohannis and Ras Alula with the 13,000 man army of Tigrai took up positions at Kidane Mihret and the left wing. Ras Makonnen and his Harrar troops, Ras Michael and his Wello Oromo troops, and Ras Welle with his Yejju and Simien troops made up the center. Empress Taitu also took up a position close to Amba Abba Gerima where her 5000 man army and her canons prepared for the Italian onslaught. The rest is history.
That was March 1st. 1896. It has been one hundred and thirteen years when our forefathers stood up and told the whole world do not thread on us. They shouted loud and clear to be heard around the world ‘Ethiopia has no need of no one; she stretches out her hand to God.’ Where do we stand today? Are we standing on the shoulders of these historical giants or are we at their feet slithering like snakes? Did we mange to build on their accomplishments or are we an embarrassment to them and their memory?
It is sad but the true story of where we are today will not only embarrass us Ethiopians but all those who thought it was the beginning of a new dawn of pride and purpose of unity. Today we have Kilils, Nations, Nationalities, and the infamous Article 39, a time bomb built into our constitution. Article 39, is the new article 17 that brought about Adwa. The new usurpers are playing the old game of sabotaging our unity by promising phantom power and riches to a few Askaris. The children of those who marched north together to face the common enemy are told that they are enemies to be separated into Bantustans and view each other with suspision and contempt. Those who lived together for millennia, intermarried and shared common religion are told it is not all true, it did not exist, and history is rewritten in front of our own eyes. It has become a fashion to declare ones’ allegiance to ones’ tribe instead of ones’ nation. We are told not speak each others languages, not teach our children in a common language, and not to think as one. Some of us have believed it. Some of us have taken it to heart. Some of us have traveled thousands of miles away from home and learned to live with strangers, but refuse to relate to our kin and friends from the same mother.
Oh! How soon we forgot that if it were not for our unity at Adwa there would have been no real Ethiopia of our forefathers. It is not farfetched to say if it was not for our gallant ancestors that there will be no Injera to eat, no Shema to wear and no books in Amharic, Tigregna or Oromegna but only Spaghetti and Lasagna to eat, Armani to wear, and bleached faces and straightened hair to exhibit.
So it is with sadness that we hear that the Ethiopian government wants to raise funds to construct the word ‘Adwa’ both in Amharic and English at this holy site of all black people. It is a copy of that tourist attraction of nothingness near Los Angles, the Hollywood sign. A clear example of form over essence if you ask me. So it seems that, we have fallen down again. It is all right, it happens to nations and it happens to people. The trick is to try to get up. We should try again to be energized by the memory of Adwa and those that fell down, so the rest of us can get up and continue the job. They did their part and it is our turn now. Success is built based on unity, respect, and shared values. May the God of our ancestors watch over us.
