Two central committee members of the Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front (EPPF), Ato Leul Qeskis and Ato Demis Belete, were guests at Qale Ethiopian Discussion Forum on Sunday afternoon, July 18.
In the discussion, which was attended by over 300 people, both Ato Demis and Ato Leul talked about latest efforts to revamp the 11-year-old armed resistance movement which is fighting to bring about a pro-unity, genuinely democratic governance in Ethiopia.
In February this year, EPPF held its general assembly and elected 17 members from the Diaspora to join the organization’s top decision making body, the central committee. The decision to include Ethiopians from the Diaspora in the leadership was part of the transformation process the organization is undertaking. It is also in line with a growing belief within EPPF that for the organization to achieve its goal of bringing about change in Ethiopia, it needs to utilize the skills and resources of Ethiopians around the world.
Ato Demis and Ato Leul explained that many of the newly elected central committee members are working hard to make radical changes in EPPF. However, such effort is being resisted by a few individuals in leadership positions, some of whom are involved in rampant corruption and malfeasance. Due to lack of proper procedure in handling its finances, EPPF is also exposed to infiltration by Woyanne agents. It has been recently discovered that some executive committee members have been receiving bribe. There are also many instances where funds collected for EPPF have been pocketed by some in the leadership.
The newly elected central committee members, in collaboration with EPPF activists and chapters around the world, are coming up with a new system that imposes strict discipline and accountability in the organization. Until such a system is established and announced through legitimate representatives of the organization, any attempt to collect funds on behalf of EPPF any where around the world is illegal, and all EPPF public meetings in the Diaspora must also be authorized by the central committee and EPPF chapters, according to Ato Demis, who is head of the EPPF external press office. Additionally, all press interviews, press releases, and announcements that are not approved by the press office must be ignored by EPPF supporters, Ato Demis added.
Click on the audio player below to listen the interview:
[podcast]http://www.ethiopianreview.com/audio/demis-and-leul-interview-qale-room-18-july2010-edited.mp3[/podcast]