What we see is a Diaspora deeply engaged in Ethiopian affairs and taking and confronting the challenge to create a democratic system. This Diaspora is contributing in every way possible raising funds, organising and demonstrating to pass a human rights and democratic accountability bill to pressure the regime. We read from this a Diaspora committed to deepen, broaden and unflinchingly continue to change Ethiopia irreversibly into a democratic society. This Diaspora is not willing to be cheated anymore by ‘a democracy talk and authoritarian practice.’ It wants both the talk and the practice to be democracy, freedom and development, and not to use one to deny the other, as it has been often the case. The Diaspora says that as Ethiopia democratises it develops, and conversely as it develops it becomes freer and more democratic. Rather than use poverty to impose authoritarian dictatorship, the Diaspora believes it should do the opposite, precisely because of poverty that democracy and freedom is essential to stimulate and accelerate the development process.
The Diaspora abroad is naturally divided into those linked to parties and those who are interested in making the parties and all others to form the broadest possible coalition as part of civil society and the public sphere to create a democratic society. What comes very clear is that despite various party and non-party allegiances, invariably all the Diaspora stand for reinventing Ethiopia on a democratic foundation and trajectory. This makes some of the distracting talks we hear in recent days to be superseded by this larger purpose the Diaspora seems to be committed to.
It is critical that the Diaspora holds dearly the value of pushing the momentum of a democratic civilisation in Ethiopia. No other affiliation should put in doubt this overriding commitment to see democracy, freedom and development prevail in Ethiopia. The Diaspora can stand for a democracy that stimulates freedom and development and conversely, for a freedom and development that strengthens a democratic system. It should support all elected MPs but the commitment goes beyond personalities to embedding and welcoming a democratic order and saying good bye to any authoritarian and ethnically-divisive order for thousands of years yet to come. In this Third millennium it is a festival welcome time to democracy and good bye time to tyranny and poverty!
Constructive Suggestions to Invigorate a Democratic Opposition
After nearly two years in jail the CUDP MPs went abroad and it appears that there are some misunderstandings in the way they wish to present the case for democracy in Ethiopia to the Diaspora.
There was expectation that their moral authority would be judiciously deployed to make the split that crystallised amongst the support groups of Knjit prior to their release heal. No one expected they would be having the sort of disagreements that they freely express now for the various print, virtual, voice and image media. Somebody must be leaking information to the electronic media, as some of the allegations are indeed tasteless and frankly destructive and counter productive. To their credit they started out very well. They appeared to instruct the KIL and KIC groups to allow them to lead the democratic opposition being the elected MPs they are once they are out of jail. For some reason the 11 KIL side seems to say it is disbanded whilst the KIC side says it sees no reason why it should do what KIL did to disband.
Now the five MPs seem to move on their own and the Chairman of CUDP Engineer Hailu also does his own trips when he wishes to do so. The impression that is conveyed is that they have split. But when asked why they are doing this, none of them can say they have major differences, say, in terms of ideas, policies or strategies.
The perspective that is appropriate is not to judge these MPs for doing or not doing this or that , for living or not living up to this or that challenge, for not taking this or that risk to fail or succeed. The relevant perspective is how they are trying to do whatever it is they are doing to create a strong democratic opposition rooted in principles, values, norms, procedures and rules capable of sustaining a democratic system and civilisation in Ethiopia. It is this larger perspective that we must encourage them to attain and by doing so help all both inside and outside Ethiopia to reach and build a strong democratic culture… continued on next page