By Teshome Beyene
In defense of the fallen Heroes and Heroines
One might comment negatively for what happened over 35 years ago with the benefit of hindsight. EPRP members then believed fighting for a just cause and in doing so they died for it without the advantage of foresight. We lived and still live in a country where expression of ideas is alien. I or others did not see that fighting to redress gross injustices would be wrong. That is why so many selfless individuals joined EPRP. In the process many perished for the cause they really believed in. For many it was not power or wealth that prompted them to rise in arms, it was freedom, it was justice, and it was equality, as simple as that. Most knew they would not see the fruit that they fought for and yet they marched forward to die for it because they believed their fellow country men would enjoy the freedom they achieved with their blood. No one should be second guessing them; they have proven themselves beyond doubt by paying the ultimate price with their lives. One may argue that the sacrifice was not worth it, and that may be true, but I make no apology for their principled stand. They are not here to analyze the past; that is a luxury only for the living.
I cannot say the same to some of its leaders. Of course, some of them died along the rank and file. They did not have an inkling that they would die in vain. They would not know the party they died for would be controlled by a clique and would go down killing the hopes, dreams and aspiration of the Ethiopian youth of the time. Controlled by Iyasu Alemayehu and his late brother, EPRP was not to be what members and leaders alike thought to be. It became a personal fiefdom where the vassals paid tributes, a different form of feudalism.
It is sad that Iyasu’s clique gave bad name to our fallen heroes and heroines. It seems that the EPRP we cherished is being defined by today’s impersonators. Of course, some may be confused, but others had an axe to grind to start with and the Iyasu clique has given them great opportunity to do so.
EPRP as we knew it ended over 28 years ago when legitimate issues were raised by members, and leaders failed to address it. Some joined TPLF, others left the party altogether, and still others had a conference for about a month and eventually decided for a strategic retreat. The retreat was to call for a congress to address issues and also to elect new leaders. Little we knew that Iyasu and clique were laughing at this noble Idea of free expression of ones wills. At the time the brothers and few henchmen were in Sudan calling members as cowards. Imagine, he who never smelt gun powder talking about others’ state of mind in regards to courage. Iyasu remained a virtual remote control commander. He had no army to lead then, and he does not have any now.
Iyasu had not only the China connection, but he had control of the purse strings for the party. All money given by any group or country to EPRP was in his control. While the army was starving and bleeding, Iyasu was chasing girls in European cities. He never sweated, much less bleed for the cause he preached from the comfort of peaceful European cities with the money collected in the name of those gallant fighters. Those who died with their belief would turn in their graves if they knew what they called EPRP then is being used for personal gratification (he enjoys the role of a Grand Wizard; also the main reason for the current infighting) and economic means.
For a long time Iyasu has attempted to forge a kind of coalition that would create a forum and control for him. He began cooperating with what was its ardent foe, MEISON and even EDU. He tried to work with others as long as he was in control. Nothing materialized that could lead to something substantive. He cannot accept any organization in which he has no hands in it. The control freak could not have it any other way.
The marriage of convenience right now with Ato Hailu Shawel and the extremists serves Iyasu well. On one hand, he believes that fractured CUD will eventually wither out. On the other, with no strong organization in sight for the Ethiopian cause, Iyasu will continue to deceive his followers and the money will keep coming. What do you expect from a group who never worked in their lives but depended on others’ money?
However, what Ato Hailu sees in Iyasu’s mafia is beyond me. One cannot lean on some one who cannot support themselves. It is not only that they cannot support, they will drag one down. And that is the whole purpose: If not them no body is good enough, pure enough (Ethiopian), courageous enough to solve the Ethiopian problem. That is what you sense from what they do and say, but you should not discount the economic (dependency) side of it even for a minute.
EPRP as we knew it is no longer in existence. What you see and hear is Iyasu’s phantom organization using a popular name. Again, there is NO EPRP as we knew it. Wright or wrong, those who fought for freedom for their fellow country men are either dead or they have left the organization many years ago. Those who call themselves EPRP are in essence few leftovers that seem to make a living by using the name EPRP. They are not fighters, but war mongers. It is clear to everybody that they preach war but cannot fight.
Solution for Ethiopian body politics means demise for this group, and therefore they have to spoil anything they think that might lead to solution for our problems. They cannot tolerate any organization in which they do not have a hand in it. Remember, their survival as a group for the last 30 years was dependent on the lack of strong organization in Ethiopia. Therefore the unholy alliance against CUD is because it is a direct threat to their very survival and that they will do and say anything to undermine the people’s choice. But it cannot be in the name of those martyrs who gave their live for a better Ethiopia. That EPRP has been long gone.
_____________________
Teshome Beyene can be reached at [email protected]