2. They owe to the Ethiopian people who put so much trust in them to announce an agreed procedure to deal with any outstanding problems they had and may have now publicly before they return to Ethiopia.
3. Each and all of them individually or as a group must declare never to harm the Ethiopian peoples aspiration for democratic change by showing willingness to enter into a negotiated arrangement to deal with any problem however it may be. The democratic movement is bigger and more important than anything else.
4. As they all are interested in a peaceful struggle, it looks they have to deal with other parties including the ruling parties. It is thus unbelievable that those willing to discuss with the ruling parties cannot discuss with each other to solve what they call minor differences and not differences of ideology, policy or strategy.
5. Differences are always healthy. If not handled well differences can lead to strife. Regulatory mechanisms must be put in place to allow legitimate differences and debate to be expressed whilst agreeing on programmes and positions for shared action. This should not be a big problem to pull off, if there are no hidden agenda that complicates the journey to peace and negotiation.
6. The Diaspora division can be resolved easily if outrageous stories to the media do not appear that incriminate personalities without going through legal and other channels. Verdict of guilt before court hearing is often not a wise move and will only undermine the organisation. So all must refrain and they must hold a moratorium in firing charges against one another.
7. In the name of revealing the truth and the right to know, some web sites and pal talk forums are spreading accusation, defamation of personalities such as Engineer Hailu Shawel, Dr. Berhanu Nega, Dr. Taye W/Semayate and others. These media must stop fanning such attacks. This is no time for false accusations against Engineer Hailu Shawel, Dr. Taye W/Semayate, Dr. Berhanu Nega or the EPRP.
8. Individuals or organisations can make mistakes, but these mistakes should not be used to tarnish all of their contributions and sacrifices, and to label them as traitors. NES is not advocating that these personalities or organisations should be worshipped and their mistakes be concealed. Their mistakes need to be revealed with inconvertible evidence or credible arguments, but not with false accusation by using pseudo-names. Human beings can make mistakes and they should also be given a right to respond in a respectable way and even be forgiven if the mistakes are not ill-intended.
9. It is well known that there are disagreements (but not ideological) between individuals inside CUDP leadership. It was a mistake (but not a failure) of the leadership not to discuss on such disagreements and find out a solution before coming to the divided Diaspora. Because they did not make any cohesive institutional procedure among themselves before facing the divided Diaspora, they themselves are falling into the divided trap. All those who would like the democratic opposition to grow should assit them rather than complicating the path to solve problems and contain them.
10. It should also be understood that the CUDP leadership is coming out of prison after a two year lock up with conditionality, and it was very difficult to make an open political discussion in Ethiopia, therefore preparing for trip abroad could be a one way to have a chance to get a relief by speaking out openly and freely. However, the divided Diaspora groups have made such good intentions into a bad opportunity by appearing to manoeuvre to win group advantages thereby widening the division. The CUDP leadership should have been given our support to unite the struggle, but not to pull them in factions that serves no body, but only hurts the democratic struggle.
11. As CUDP is a merger of four political parties, it could be expected that loyalty and favouritism could happen based on ex-party allegiance. However, the individuals in the leadership position should act as a role model to discourage such allegiance. If the key leaders are engaging in favouring and promoting their ex-members in the coalition, or consistently exaggerating the achievement and virtue of their ex-party while discrediting the others, this is not the way to create an effectively united party called ‘knjit.’ So refrain from reverting and degrading to your old party abode. Embrace genuinely with word and action, thought and feeling the new united party that seems to have stimulated the imagination of the Ethiopian people.
Concluding Remarks
NES believes that if this current difference in the CUDP MPs delegation is not handled with great care and responsibility, the on-going internal difference will be exported back to Ethiopia and will damage the democratic aspiration of the Ethiopian people. We believe that the differences are not substantive, if what we have heard from the interviews and speeches of the leaders is true. There is thus absolutely no credible reason not to patch up whatever it is that creates these differences. We want all of the delegates to show their V sign that unites them together before embarking on the long journey back home.
The Diaspora differences can also be handled as long as there is no major dispute on policy and strategy. This is not time to fight one another; this is time to build a strong democratic opposition that Ato Meles has in various occasions urged the opposition to come up with. We hope the CUDP MPs will not board any plane back home without meeting face to face, letting all to know they have done so and agreeing on procedures how to handle their differences before going with them home. They must also make it clear that they will suffer fools gladly and make the Diaspora to find a way with differences without fighting in a vicious way but with friendly sentiments and dispositions.
At the minimum, NES believes they owe this action to all who supported them and struggled to get them out of jail including ourselves.
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By Mammo Muchie, Ph.D., Chairman of Network of Ethiopian Scholars-Scandinavian Chapter, Professor and Director of Development, Innovation and International Political Economy Research (DIIPER):DIR and Aalborg University, Denmark Contact address: [email protected]
*NB. A number of people have contributed to this commentary. I would like to mention Dr. Berhanu Balcha for his substantial contributions to it and a number of other compatriots with whom I discussed this problem. But in the end I take responsibility for what has been said.
We conclude with a poem from an Irish poet:
Let us not say things fall apart, let us hope for things to unite!
Turning and turning in the widening gyre,
The falcon cannot hear the falconer
Things fall apart;
The centre cannot hold
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world!
– W.B. Yeats, famous