Ethnic Politics at Work
The Destruction of Wollo and Tygreai
Tecola W. Hagos
Ethiopian Review, January 1996
Ethiopian political parties (organizations) came to be part of the Ethiopian political process during the Mengistu era. Before that time there were no political organizations in Ethiopia (in the orthodox meaning of the term). The military government of Mengistu created the first national political party called the Workers Party of Ethiopia (WPE) in 1984. Of course early on, after the fall of Haile Selassie’s Government in 1974, the two main student movements had declared political parties (EPRP, MEISON). However, it would not be correct to consider these pre-1974 student movements as bona fide political parties.
The impact of Ethiopian political organizations or parties involved in business and those controlling vast amount of capital and investment in Ethiopia and in foreign countries will be long lasting and anti-democratic. This trend will have a devastating negative effect on Ethiopia’s future. For example, members of political parties in Ethiopia do not know how their funds are used. In any organization, political or otherwise, if the accounting process is shrouded in secrecy and is in the hands of the leaders, then the door to corruption is wide open. This is how criminal syndicates are formed. The experiences of South American countries is a good example for us to look into in order to educate ourselves of the difficulties facing us in Ethiopia under the leadership of self financing political organizations.
As a precursor and example of future political and economic disaster, I have taken up the cases of Tygreai and Wollo from extreme perspective (ends), which in a way epitomize the current situation in Ethiopia. My view is not a judgment on the citizens of the regions discussed herein. My criticism, at all times, is directed at leaders and their sycophantic subordinates, and the government policies they are implementing.
The leadership of TPLF has carved out a mini-state in Tygreai. Sebehat Nega and an entourage of high ranking officials of the TPLF has moved to Mekele. For all practical purposes they have established a government independent of the Central government in Addis Abeba. It seems that Meles has manipulated the leadership of the TPLF by presenting to them that the presence of Tygrean individuals in highly visible government posts is harmful to the future of the organization. Meles is left behind as head of the Ethiopian government in Addis Abeba, supposedly, in order to facilitate the smooth flow of capital and equipment for investment and development purposes in Tygreai. However, the more sinister and alarming situation in the current infighting of the leaders of the TPLF is that the more seasoned veterans of the struggle have lost power to the group that is lead by Meles. At any rate, the current power structure of the TPLF is very unstable for the simple reason that it has undermined, on a class line, those great leaders and fighters who are not from the elite class in Tygreai. Meles has further aligned himself with opportunist individuals from the Amhara, Oromo, Gurage, Harari, Somali and other regions who are not part of the peasant or working class of Ethiopia; and has created the current leadership of Ethiopia from the sons and daughters of the rich merchant and exploitative feudal families. The government of Meles is not a democratic or visionary (revolutionary) government but a typical elitist puppet government—reminiscence of earlier oppressive governments from Africa, South America and East Asia.
The new government of Ethiopia, in the real world, has no control on the economic and political life of Tygreai. The EPRDF controlled government of Ethiopia is a government in name only when it comes to Tygreai. It acts as a cover to the independently run ‘State’ of Tygreai. The TPLF leadership in Tygreai has its own military, its own government structure, its own development plan and can also conduct its own international relations with foreign governments and international financial organizations. What remained suspended or untouched as yet is a formal recognition of Tygreai by the United Nations (UN) and/or the Organization of African Unity (OAU) as an independent state. It seems that Meles has given up the control of Tygreai as a compromise with the individuals pushed out from TPLF power structure—a concession for acquiring unchallenged power in the rest of Ethiopia. This is a very unique situation in the history of political structures in the world.
What the current leadership of TPLF did not realize is that no Tygrean would like to benefit at the cost of other Ethiopians, nor do ordinary Tygreans want to be associated with the ethnicization of economic or political programs. The leadership of TPLF has become a monolithic presence in both Ethiopian and Tygrean political scene; and a hindrance to all development of the incorporation of democratic structures in the bureaucracy and the judicial system of the country.
It seems that the leadership of the TPLF is aborting the incorporation of democratic principles and structures of its own political agenda which would have helped the political and economic advancement of the people of Tygreai. As stated above, the leadership of TPLF is in Tygreai and is engaged in the creation of a monolithic authoritarian political structure. It seems Tygreai is going to be a political and economic model for the rest of Ethiopia. In Tygreai there are no private publications. There is no other political organization or political party other than the TPLF. There has never been any public assembly of Tygreans outside of the prompting of the TPLF. In Tygreai, the suppression of political and human rights is absolute. In short, Tygreai is fully under the feet of the TPLF, a lone party, authoritarian administration. On the balance, Tygreans have lost more than anybody in Ethiopia in terms of their human and democratic rights and will continue to lose more in years to come.
Due to their limited knowledge of Ethiopian history and Ethiopian political process, the Meles-led leaders of TPLF have unknowingly but arrogantly created local elite interest groups in ethnic regions. This type of misguided effort to remedy what was perceived, even during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, as a lopsided or Amhara dominated Ethiopian government, is extremely divisive in the years ahead. Ultimately, whenever the leaders of these ethnic-based elite interest groups have a fallout with Meles they will form the very center of antagonism and challenge to the leaders of the TPLF in the future.
The ethnicization of the Ethiopian political program by the Transitional Government has proved to be a step backward, a step which has totally discarded the rich historical development of the Ethiopian nation-state which has transcended tribalism and ethnicity as a political base for leadership or power for centuries. The new political leaders in these ethnic enclaves, who have claimed representations of these regions are promoting their own selfish personal advancement. Mostly, these individuals are Western educated opportunists who had joined the band wagon led by Meles and his associates after EPRDF controlled the Ethiopian government in 1992. These individuals have compromised even the trust of the people who are supposed to be their constituents. Consistent with past practices, they have sold their soul by supporting the government of Meles in return for support and protection by Meles and his military against legitimate local political leaders.
The Amhara region is on the brink of total economic and political collapse. The individuals responsible for the demise of Amhara development are the new Amhara leaders. One should not blame only Tygreans for the ongoing destruction of the autonomy of the Amharas. After all, the Tygrean leaders are looking after what they perceive (wrongly) to be the interest of their people. The real enemies of the Amhara people are the new Amhara leaders, namely the over ambitious leaders such as Tamrat Layne, Dawit Yohannes, etc. who have totally subordinated the legitimate economic and political interest of the Amhara people to their personal ambition for power. Their subservience to Meles, and their unpopularity in the Amhara region has profoundly affected the political atmosphere of the region. There is no way that the majority of the Amhara population would support the leadership of Tamrat or Dawit. The recent election of these leaders is not indicative of support of the Amharas to these leaders. Tamrat was elected through wholesale manipulation of the election process, and Dawit was elected predominantly by Dorzei, Wolaita and Gurage residents of the Ketchene Medhani Alem Church area with minimal Amhara residents’ participation.
Even the attack on All Amhara People Organization (AAPO), and the arrest and imprisonment of Prof. Asrat Woldeyes and the other leaders of AAPO by EPRDF-controlled government of Ethiopia was done on the insistence of the new Amhara leaders, the former leaders of EPDM, such as Tamrat Layne. It is to be recalled that EPDM, even before it changed its name, was never accepted by Amharas or others as an ethnic based organization. The suppression of popular Amhara leaders and their organization was an effort aimed to build a subservient Amhara organization that will be headed by individuals such as Tamrat, Dawit, etc. who on their own would never have the support of the Amharas. It is rumored that most members of the TPLF leadership, at that time, were very much reserved on taking such drastic and counter-productive measure; after all, the opportunism and unpopularity of the Tamrats, the Dawits and the Kassus of the world was very obvious to the shrewd and street-smart leaders of the TPLF. It seems that they were forced to go along with the wishes of these EPDM leaders in order to save the higher good they saw in maintaining the integrity of the super structure of the EPRDF. Moreover, it is totally undemocratic of the Meles government to continue rejecting AAPO as an Amhara political party. TPLF is being cornered into a position that will be its undoing.
The drafting of a phony constitution, the undemocratic election process, the chronic abuse of human rights even after the adoption of the New Constitution, the unprecedented foreign influence and stranglehold of the nation by countries like the United States and Israel are all the consequence of that single mistake of the TPLF leaders who were hoodwinked by unpopular and opportunistic leaders from the EPDM, along with a group of aging former government officials and rich Tygrean merchants, etc. who certainly benefited from the current relative peace in Addis Abeba surrounded by hostile but disorganized population. Added to this, Ethiopians are faced with the maniacal hatred of the new Eritrean leaders who seem to foster the distraction of Ethiopia on whom they depend for more than 80% of their economic survival. This too is a passing phenomenon.
As a clear example of the destruction and neglect of Amhara development by the current leaders, consider the sad case of Wollo: a region a third larger than Tygreai and with a population almost twice as much of Tygreai, rich in culture and history, and peopled with citizens who could teach a thing or two about tolerance, courage, and fellowship to the rest of Ethiopia or even the rest of the world. The demographic movement of people from all over Ethiopia who had found a home in Wollo is a clear testimony of the democratic nature of the people of Wollo. These settlers in Wollo have succeeded to bring up children who are mostly well adjusted and far more democratic and liberal in outlook compared to their counterparts in places of the origin of their parents. If there is something Wollo should be criticized about, it is the fact that the people of Wollo were too hospitable to the detriment of their interest to ungrateful settlers.
In the last election for the council of representatives, Wollo was the only region that turned down the candidates pushed on by the EPRDF. Wollo is now the most neglected region because it showed a degree of independence and the democratic nature of its inhabitants. Wollo, in all probabilities, is peopled with people who are most democratic and tolerant in the entire region. For example, if you study the demography of Dessie and vicinity, the population is made up of individuals, literally, from all over Ethiopia and more. In Wollo, people who follow different religions have one of the most harmonious co-existence you can find on planet Earth. It is the place where Tygreans and Eritreans, pushed out from their places of birth due to economic hardships over the years, found a place of hospitality, welcome and acceptance. Wollo is the place of gentle, kind and above all independent minded people. These are one of the least narrowly ethnic people in Ethiopia.
During the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, Wollo was neglected to such an extent that during the famine period of 1972-74 tens of thousands of helpless small farmers and pastoralist needlessly died under horrible conditions. The government of Haile Selassie was blamed both by the international press and local militant groups for the death and destruction of tens of thousands of people from Wollo, which ultimately resulted in the overthrow of the Emperor in September, 1974. The Emperor had a particularly vengeful outlook towards the people of Wollo in spite of the fact that his Queen was from Wollo. It is to be recalled that the Emperor with a handful of mostly Shoan conspirators usurped the Crown from Lej Iyassu, the rightful heir to the Throne, who was from Wollo. Iyassu died under suspicious circumstances imprisoned for a long time. During the Italian war, the retreating Emperor and his entourage were attacked by some Wollo discontent bands of local militia men who have not forgotten the ill treatment of their leader.
Throughout the seventeen years of the dictatorship of Mengistu, students and militiamen from different parts of Wollo engaged Mengistu’s army and security forces in civil resistance. It is a documented fact that the residents of Dessie protected their young men and women from the massacre during the “Red Terror” by providing them with new identity and refuge, and as a result of that fewer people died under detention and during the “Red Terror” in Wollo. (Of course, the case of Woldia in North Wollo is the exception. Residents of this town and vicinity had repeatedly proven to be reactionaries, for example, betraying EPRP members who came to the area in 1977-78 and handing them over to the security forces of Mengistu, hunting down their own residents during the ‘Red Terror’, and even fighting freedom fighters of the EPRDF in 1991.)
Even the residents of Mekele, where the Tygrean liberation struggle started did not protect their young men and women to the extent residents of Dessie did. In fact, a number of people who were being hunted down by government security men in Addis Abeba and other urban centers usually preferred Wollo as their route of escape or hideout. Mengistu’s government, in turn, like that of the Emperor’s, did not encourage or undertake development programs in Wollo. And now, the current leaders of Ethiopia are doing exactly the same thing—neglecting and undermining the economic and political growth of Wollo. The attitude of the current Ethiopian leaders is most puzzling. Young men and women as well as the general population of Wollo participated at different stages of the resistance movement against the government of Mengistu. Most of the freedom fighters under the EPDM command were from Wollo. It is a region next to Tygreai where most military engagements took place in the ousting of the army and security forces of Mengistu. For example, unlike regions of Gurage, Sidama, Wolaita, Gojjam, parts of Shoa, etc. there was civil resistance in the entire breadth and width of Wollo where a great many people suffered and died. However, the new government of Meles is saturated with opportunistic predators who do not represent the interest of people from areas that had suffered historic injustices in the hands of former Emperors and dictators including local ones.
Most of the bureaucrats in the present Ethiopian government, as in the past, are ethnically from areas that enjoyed relative peace and prosperity at the time when Wollo was suffering the wrath of the brutal Mengistu. There are individuals in high government posts in the government of Meles, whom I consider to be nominally Wollo, individuals whose parents were from the feudal family groups who settled in Addis Abeba as officials of past Emperors. These individuals, as part of their opportunistic tactic, may try to identify with the people of Wollo, a people they had shunned all their adult lives, and a region they hardly know. Do not be misled with these instant converts. They represent no one from Wollo nor do they command any respect from the people of Wollo.
Examples of the deliberate marginalization of Wollo by the government of Meles can be observed everywhere in Wollo. Dessie, the center of commerce and government since its establishment in the Nineteenth Century by King Michael, is in shambles. For the last three years, because no one bothered to fix a broken bridge and embankments, in Dawdo neighborhood, of the only asphalt inter-region highway, the entire middle section of Dessie is being washed down to Kombolcha low lands. And as a result of that preventable disaster, communication and transportation has been disrupted and thousands of people are losing their property because of runoff flooding. That part of Dessie symbolically summed up the economic and political marginalization of Wollo! There are no economic projects in Wollo. Tamrat has established a trading body called “Ambasel” as an arm of his party to exploit and monopolize even the little economic life there is in Region Three. This type of economic monopoly has become the stumbling block of individual initiatives and the establishment of all other competitive businesses.
The schools in Wollo are few in number, and extremely over crowded and in shambles. There are no medical facilities for 99% of the population. Government offices are concentrated in few townships making it very difficult for people to bring their cases to administrative officials and judges. The men and women of Wollo are at the mercy of local despots. People are harassed by tugs from the EPRDF military; their livelihood threatened by harassment and arbitrary and capricious decisions of the military rulers of the region. Even when people tried to organize themselves for mutual cooperative efforts, in order to alleviate some of the sufferings of the people due to neglect by the government, their leaders are threatened, harassed, abused and some of them arrested on trumped up charges.
Even non-profit humanitarian organizations are discouraged from opening offices by the military officials responsible for Wollo. You can hardly find anyone from Wollo in the bureaucratic structure of the government of Meles, may be some may have wives from Wollo. This type of neglect of a community is one of the most tragic ingratitude by leaders I have ever witnessed toward a people who are beyond comparison for their courage, kindness, and sacrifice not to mention their participation in the resistance movement against despotic rulers which predates even the Tygrean resistance movement. Meles and his new found associates, most of whom are eleventh hour “heroes” of the struggle, are behaving in exactly the same way past Ethiopian despots had acted—with arrogance, corruption and brutality towards their fellow citizens.
In what is happening in Wollo and Tygreai, we have a graphic example of the failure of the policy of the present government of Meles. I have spoken to many Tygreans from all walks of life, the impression I received from almost all of them is that they are very worried of the future of their children. And that they are being blamed for a disastrous policy of the leadership of EPRDF/TPLF although they have nothing to do with such policy.
The TPLF leadership has treated the people of Tygreai even worse than the rest of the population. What we can find in Tygreai at the present time is total despotism, as stated previously. And as a result of which, I believe, the people of Tygreai are in a state of impregnated social uprising—if you may, on the brink of a revolution. I believe the struggle for freedom and democracy is already in place.
After all, Meles has turned out to be a small man with tiny vision, who has not even transcended his provincialism not to mention his small town arrogance. Now, armed with “advance” degrees, these leaders would be emphatically claiming omniscience and infallibility. Added to this, the corruption of Tamrat in his abuse of power has totally discredited him as a leader. His alleged womanizing of married women and his sexual harassment and abuse of subordinates have created an intolerable atmosphere of debauchery and excesses, reminiscence of Mengistu’s degenerate associates and officials. Is this the reason why the heroic young freedom fighters of the TPLF fought and died for, and were buried in unmarked graves? For Tamrat and his circle of friends to abuse their power? What has become of the idealism that had fueled the spirit of the struggle for so long? The TPLF, which would have remained the love of all freedom loving Ethiopians, has become also a third rate and despised, and privately owned syndicate of Meles and his tiny group of associates because of the presence of hated leaders as part of the misguided coalition of TPLF with an unpopular “Amhara” organization lead by Tamrat and his associates.
Tamrat’s claim of representation of the Amhara people is as shallow and as ephemeral as a morning frost. It has no value whatsoever except that it polarizes the problem and does a lot of harm to the people of Region Three, the designated Amhara territory. As a matter of fact, in a speech delivered in Baher-Dar, he had stated that any Amhara outside of Region Three is not recognized as such; and defying all logic and history, the “all knowing” leader, lumped all Amharas who live outside of Region Three as parts of expeditionary forces (nefitegna). In contrast, the more seasoned politicians like the Eritrean leaders not only formally acknowledged their citizens where ever they might be, but went to the extent of arming their citizens right in the capital of Ethiopia in order to protect their citizens in case there is an attack on resident-Eritreans by Ethiopians. Even if we may have other criticisms of the Eritrean leadership, no one can accuse them of undermining the interest and welfare of their citizens in this regard.
The sickening elitism and the contemptuous disregard of Ethiopian citizens by the current leaders require no less than a total rejection of the current Ethiopian government. Meles is caught in his own web of deception and manipulation. He neither can move forward nor pullback, except may be resign or is forcefully kicked out along with his sycophantic associates in the decade ahead. The so called Council of Representatives of the current Ethiopian government represents no one except the interest of Meles and his tiny circle of associates. Almost all of them were handpicked non-residents or individuals who have no meaningful connection with the people they are presumed to represent. These representatives were elected under an election process which was a carbon copy of the elections held by Mengistu’s government. Whether it was in Tygreai or elsewhere in Ethiopia, except in Wollo, the elitist political process is very much in place and entrenched.
We should not overlook the fact that the State of Ethiopia, at the present time, is very much compromised by the presence of individuals at the center of power whose loyalty is very much in doubt. For example, individuals like Fasil Nahum, the trusted legal counsel and speech writer of Mengistu, is at the very core of Meles’s government. What do you expect from such individuals? We have paid dearly for centuries through the sacrifices of our ancestors; and much too much already with our lives, our hopes and our future to let these types of turncoats determine our destiny. If any one believes that economically challenged communities are going to develop through the assistance of the West only, all what I can say is that the lesson of the last thirty years is wasted.
No one should be swayed by the type of propaganda that is spreading in international political circles, especially the scare tactic of comparing the future of Ethiopia to that of Rwanda or Bosnia (presumably, if Meles is not leading the country). Ethiopia will never undergo the type of ethnic animosity witnessed in Rwanda or Burundi or Bosnia. Ethiopian history is full of evidence that leaders from different ethnic background have struggled to acquire power and never to commit genocidal destruction of an ethnic group. In all of the thousands of years of Ethiopian history there is not a single evidence of genocide or destruction of a group on the fact of their ethnic identity. And no one should be intimidated by the type of misguided closeness of Meles to the governments of the U.S. and Israel. These governments are using Meles and his associates for their own selfish and counterproductive interests. On the other hand, there are as many honorable and fair minded U.S. and Israeli citizens who are concerned about the despotism and human rights abuses of Meles and his government or the abuse and despotism of any other government.
Ethiopians should realize the fact that the only stable civilization in the area is the core Ethiopian civilization that has persisted for centuries. Whether they are recent or not, all the nations around Ethiopia are very unstable countries. Ethiopians have tremendous reserve to dip into in case of national crisis. Thus, timidity and reserve should not hinder us from thinking creatively and from acting boldly. No one has a freehand or a blank-check of influence on American policy makers and decent citizens. The best way to defend our humanity and dignity as a people is to expose the misdeeds of governments and their officials. And from there we can take it to a higher platform. The struggle for Ethiopianness, to preserve our identity and history, and to change what people find undesirable in existing political and economic structures will continue.
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Tecola Hogos is the author of Democratization? Ethiopia. This article is excerpted from an upcoming book, Syndicalism.
A news and opinion journal on Ethiopia
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