A Tribute to Professor Asrat
By Samuel Alemayehu
April 1999
It was in the summer of 1961 that I first met Professor Asrat Woldeyes in London. I was then a student at Oxford University. He was specializing in surgery. We had several discussions on issues related to our country. I noted that he was a committed Ethiopian nationalist with strong convictions. Within a decade of his return to Ethiopia he soared to prominence as a distinguished surgeon. Subsequently, he made an effective contribution to the growth and development of the faculty of medicine of the Addis Abebe University.
Professor Asrat demonstrated his firm commitment to the survival, unity and territorial integrity of his beloved country during the July 1991 Conference in Addis Abeba chaired by TPLF leader Meles Zenawi. As the democratically elected representative of the University Community, he was the only participant who opposed the TPLF orchestrated seccession of the province of Eritrea from Ethiopia. In so doing, he defended the national interest and thus reflected truly the stand of the Ethiopian people on the illegal creation of the so called “Eritrean State,” under the leadership of the EPLF. Ethiopians are convinced that such a courageous political stand taken by Professor Asrat was the root cause of his incarceration and eventual death.
Now that his worst fears on the dangerous consequences of the illegal creation of the so called “Eritrean State” came to be true, his political adversaries appear to be haunted even by his dead body. Thus the EAL flight which carried his remains from Washington DC to Addis Abeba was delayed for more than six hours at Rome Airport without any credible explanation. The plane arrived after 5 pm local time, and his remains reached home at night!
The next day his burial ceremony turned out to be the most spectacular political event of the year. Not only was the entire area over flooded with mourners and supporters, the tens of thousands of youth dominated the event by chanting patriotic songs and slogans associated with the exploits of Professor Asrat. Towards the end of the funeral ceremony, a confrontation developed between the youth and the security troops which led to the death of a high school student, Alemante Mellissew and many other serious injuries. It should also be mentioned that the youth constituted the majority of the thousands of Ethiopians who walked on foot in a procession that followed the remains of Professor Asrat from the airport to his home in the evening of May 26, 1999.
The valiant struggle, the incarceration and eventual death of Professor Asrat Woldeyes constitute supreme sacrifices which will hasten the democratization process, leading eventually to the rule of law, respect for human rights and genuine democratic rule in our country. Indeed, this is the beginning of the end of the ascendancy of tribal or ethnic politics in Ethiopia.
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Ato Samuel Alemayehu is the Secretary General of Ethiopiawinet Organization, based in Addis Abeba.