UDJ’s willful submission to slavery

Ato Gizachew Shiferraw, chairman of the UDJ general assembly organizing committee, told Kinijit North America officials that the Meles regime’s security forces have dispersed the party’s delegates on Saturday.

First, the delegates, about 400 of them, went to the Imperial Hotel in Addis Ababa Saturday morning. When they were told they cannot hold a meeting there, they went to the UDJ office by several buses provided by UDJ executives. They put up a tent on the front yard of the office and tried to convene the assembly there. After waiting until they finished setting up the tent, two Woyanne security agents (only 2 of them) came and told them to disperse. They did so without any argument. Even sheep and goats put up more resistance. The UDJ leaders and the 400 delegates acted like well-tamed slaves. This is not peaceful struggle. This is a joke. Even worse, this is a willful submission to slavery.

According to Ato Gizachew, there will be another attempt to hold the meeting Wednesday, after making appeals to Woyanne authorities on Monday and Tuesday.

Ato Gizachew, ER has at most respect for you, Wzt. Birtukan Mideksa, and all your colleagues at UDJ. You are real heroes in the struggle for democracy and freedom in Ethiopia. But what part of NO don’t you understand? Woyanne told you in so many words NO you cannot operate freely in Ethiopia. So please for the sake of the people you are trying to help, do not waste your time, energy, and scarce resources on a futile attempt to organize an opposition party inside Ethiopia.

This week alone, you spent over $20,000 trying to hold a meeting even though Woyanne made it absolutely clear to you that you cannot do it. You have tried enough. You paid enormous sacrifices. It did not work. So please follow the decisions made by many of your colleagues in the UDJ and suspend your operations in Ethiopia. Don’t make a joke of yourself.

Moving on, the best thing UDJ can do for the struggle is to release all Kinijit branches and support groups around the world from their obligation to the party. The Kinijit support groups then can decide what course to follow next. The best thing to do is to rally around Ginbot 7 as Kinijit support groups. Some of them may decide to become full-fledged members.

Every day and every hour we waste hesitating, day dreaming about Woyanne’s intention, analyzing problems to death is the precious time we could use to save our people from holocaust.

There is a tested leadership that is willing to utilize all means necessary to fight the Woyanne cancer and kill it, in collaboration with other organizations. Many of these leaders, such as Berhanu Nega, are elected representatives of the people of Ethiopia. Let’s all rally around these leaders.