Prof. Mesfin Woldemariam says Woyanne is
not the enemy of Ethiopia
Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, who is currently in Washington DC representing Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJ, said at a meeting today (Sunday afteroon) that “we should not call a ‘political opponent’ like Woyanne an enemy.” It’s like a Jewish professor asking Israelis not to call Hitler or the Nazi party their “enemy.”
In ridiculing those groups that have raised arms against Woyanne, Prof. Mesfin said at the meeting, which was held at the Marriott Hotel in Washington DC, that these organizations are sacrificing young Ethiopians just so that their leaders can come to power, arriving in Addis Ababa by plane.
Prof. Mesfin said that Woyanne will never give up power because 1) it has the blood of many innocent Ethiopians on its hands, and 2) it has amassed a great deal of wealth. Therefore, the professor explained, we must be able to forgive Woyanne for shedding the blood of innocent Ethiopians and that it needs to be allowed to keep the wealth it illegally amassed (plundered) if we want to see change in Ethiopia.
The professor was not done yet. He said we must be considerate to Woyanne. We have to try to understand the fears and concerns of the Meles gang.
Woyanne could not ever have done a better public relations job than what Prof. Mesfin did today to weaken the resolve of Ethiopians in the Diaspora against the fascist regime. He gave DLA Piper lobbysts and those Senators who are blocking H.R. 2003 a tool to use it against us. How is it possible now for the U.S. Senators to pass a law cutting aid to Woyanne when a prominent member of the opposition refuses to say that the Meles crime family is not the enemy of Ethiopia?
This is the very reason why Ethiopian Review wrote two weeks ago that the party Prof. Mesfin represents, UDJ, is a fake opposition party. UDJ is undermining the struggle by portraying Woyanne as a legitimate regime, at the same time campaigning against freedom fighters who are shooting back at Woyanne. UDJ turns out to be even worse than Beyene Petros’s UEDF. At least Dr Beyene never attacks other opposition parties as Prof. Mesfin continues to do in every opportunity he gets.
Prof. Mesfin is a great scholar in the field of geography and a genuine and respected human rights advocate. For that we hold him in high esteem. But it is clear that he has no clue about politics or how to bring about political change in Ethiopia. Even worse, with all due respect, he has unknowingly become a tool for Woyanne. Meles, Azeb and gang can stop paying DLA Piper $50,000 per month since they now have a much more effective lobbyist in the person of Prof. Mesfin who is providing a free service.
In the next several weeks, Prof. Mesfin will visit several cities in the U.S. repeating the same messages to Ethiopians in North America. Those of us who support the brave Ethiopians who are shedding their blood to remove the Woyanne cancer from Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa will just ignore him.