By Tedla Asfaw
When I came across a pro government website accusing Elias Kifle of Ethiopian Review inciting Ethiopians to destroy big hotels and mines owned by Sheik Almoudi, a bank roller of the EPRDF/TPLF, I went to the Addis Dimte archive (click here to listen) of last Sunday to follow the interview.
Ato Elias Kifle emphatically suggested that we should deny income from all sectors used by the EPRDF/TPLF regime to raise money to kill and destroy our people and that is indeed a legitimate call.
The ordinary people in Ethiopia has not benefited in any way from the so called development Ato Lidetu Ayalew and others are preaching daily except seeing few millionaires close to the regime.
Ethiopia is still on foreign food aid and the recent rationing of 25 kg of wheat(American) in Addis is to quite our people to celebrate the coming millennium with full stomach and Ato Bulcha Demekesa’s account on the sleeping parliament recently on his constituent survival struggle exposed this development drum accurately.
The illegal war in Somalia which Ato Elias Kifle denounced from its start is costing the regime only human lives and compared to 70,000 we lost in Badme is still manageable for the regime and USA is paying for the rest and our vibrant “opposition” parliamentarians should have asked who is paying the bill in Somalia ? And who is also profiting from this war?. The “Third Way” miracle of Ato Lidetu should send an accountant to check the war book.
I wished Ato Elias Kifle had a chance on the interview to explain his previous engagements with Ato Lidetu and his take on the coming back of Ato Lidetu in this “Third Way” Broadway show.
There are many here in the Diaspora who accused Ato Elias Kifle being an anti Ethiopian unity and a supporter of “secessionists” like OLF and ONLF and his answer was valid on this interview, either we have to talk to them or fight them and engaging them is the best for our country and I fully agreed with him.
It is indeed very courageous of him to come out with position on the recent massacre in Ogaden while many so called oppositions politicians in the Diaspora were running for cover is commendable, and characterization of some of his Diaspora critics as people who have soft belly for EPRDF/TPLF after sixteen years of misrule and killing is indeed true and valid.