By Yonas G. Mideksa
The unity of Ethiopians from all walks of life, has once again, demonstrated its discipline and determination to face off delegates of one of the most brutal regimes in Africa. The politically motivated and hastily organized trip and meeting by the delegates with the Ethiopian Diaspora community in Washington DC, Howard University, woke up a sleeping giant – and indeed the giant gave them what they deserved.
This is not the first time the brave and gallant Ethiopian protesters have stood for justice, human rights, and respect for the rule of law. Something special about yesterday’s demonstration was that the unity among its diverse ethnic groups, the zeal and the unwavering determination of the Ethiopian youth for social justice, and the shock and awe that it gave to the delegates.
The Woyanne regime’s rent-a-crowd, and rent-a-thug policy did not work to deter the voices of the demonstrators, who were chanting and shouting in unison that reverberated over “Howard Square”. At the end of the day, the auditorium inside Howard University, the delegates, and their selfish opportunists were not able to sustain the thunderous voices and rants of justices that were echoing. Well, the result was that the officials of Howard and Police had to cancel the meeting.
During the last few weeks, the Woyanne regime has been giving us agenda after agenda in such a short period of time. At one time they engaged everybody by raising the issue of Eritrea. Meles was openly discussing about the overthrowing of his onetime patrons in Eritrea, and then he shifted gears and came up with building a Mega Dam over the Nile River – and to facilitate the construction, the brutal regime came up with fund raising through issuance of government bonds.
It is no-brainer why the regime in Addis is doing all these things at this crucial moment, and in a very hasty way. Ethiopians, especially the youth, have been following the political tsunami that has engulfed North Africa and the Middle East with interest and enthusiasm. The conditions that forced the youth in Tunisia and Egypt to overthrow their dictatorial leaders were not worst compared to what Ethiopians are facing day in and day out. The unemployment rate is beyond description; the inflation rate could not be controlled; the religious and inter and intra-ethnic conflicts due to the regime’s policy of divide and rule is endangering the very existence of the country; the corruption and nepotism are unprecedented; the economic condition of the country is driven by charity and western aid donors, despite Ethiopia’s abundant natural resources; the people get beaten and thrown to jail for voicing their concern; the massacre of innocent citizens of Gambela, Oromo, Ogadeni, Amhara, and etc by the Agazi kill squad continues as we speak.
It is because of all these injustices that the Ethiopian people are saying enough is enough – BEKA! GAYE! YIAKEL! BASS! and have been preparing for a grand demonstrations in Ethiopia. The regime knows full well that there is no stopping in the concerted voices of the people who have suffered for the last twenty years under its brutal yoke.
The first shock and awe of the Woyanne regime was in the election of 2005. The interahamwe rhetoric and the regime’s rent-a-crowd moment, before the eve of the election, gave it a false hope of winning Addis. Well, everybody knows what the results were in Addis – the false crowds did not vote for the regime, and the whole parliamentarian seats went to the opposition. To frustrate the otherwise peaceful election, the regime unleashed its notorious rent-a-thug policy to create chaos and blame the opposition party.
I would like to congratulate all the organizers of the peaceful protesters all over the US and Canada for a job well done. There is no doubt in my mind that Woyanne came to our turf to test us and we will show them again in our beloved Ethiopia.