Up till now the TPLF has remained unruffled by both internal and external criticism of its brutality as long as it enjoyed the support of world powers.
For 19 years the EPRDF, which is another name for the TPLF, exercised an absolute power, cracking down on all genuine opposition, including those who held out the olive branch and congratulating itself each time it stage managed rigged elections. Now, however, there are growing signs that this free ride is drawing to close. The rise of the internet has made information more accessible and plentiful, imposing some limitations on western powers sponsoring extremely brutal dictators. No matter what my grudges may be, I can say truly long- live democracy!
By now most of the people both in Ethiopia and Eritrea have become familiar with the periodical temper tantrums of the Tigray ruling elites and have even learned to tolerate them to some extent as long as they are not accompanied by firing squad and extrajudicial executions which happen often.
Now for the first time, the State Department itself is fed up and roused to reaction after the lawless Prime Minister of Ethiopia, in a fit of anger, broke the tape, comparing the VOA to the infamous Radio Milles Collines.
I do often criticize the policy makers in the USA, not merely out of old ideological habits or innate hate but looking at their actions on the ground. Any positive gesture on their part, no matter how small, is welcome. I do believe that in a true democracy competing ideas and social systems could coexist peacefully enriching mankind and leading ultimately to some kind of convergence or mutuality. Mankind is not condemned by nature to eternal conflict.
Part of the statement by the State Department reads:” the United States opposes Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles decision to jam Voice of America’s Amharic Service and condemns his comparison of their programming to Radio Mille Collines of Rwanda . Comparing a respected and professional news service to a group that called for genocide in Rwanda is a baseless and inflammatory accusation that seeks only to deflect attention away from the core issue. What is mystifying and what is uncommon is that Ethiopia’s dictator and international pariah, Meles Zenawi, who publicly vowed to jam the VOA, is the same person who shares with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown the honor of co-chairing United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s High level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing”.
Let us hope this statement will not be mere hot air at a time when the TPLF is engaged in shock tactics preparing for a major brutal show down if the oppressed and demoralized people of Ethiopia dare to challenge its electoral gimmicks even in a peaceful manner.
Ethiopia has always a predominantly ethnic army, mostly Amhara and Tigray. The present Tigray dominated regime has carried this tradition to its extremes. Thanks to its systematic misuse of the era of the so-called war on terror it has Africa’s most powerful purely ethnic army, determined to rule exclusively, misusing effectively old historical, ethnic and religious contradictions. I can calmly say in general the two politically dominant groups in Ethiopia are the extremist Serbs and the ultra right wing Israelis of Africa. All of them confuse history and myth. Their cruelty to, and their aggression against outsiders, their racism and their exclusivity are almost the same. Add to them the masses of mindless self-serving abyssinianized Oromo slaves, you have a strange combination of sadism and masochism that makes you shudder with disgust.
Most Ethiopians are fed up with the TPLF but they live in constant fear of the military. Yet their patience is running out. What is the way out? There is no easy solution. Let us hope our worst fears- yet other scenarios of genocide- will not come true. The longest day (or rather night), the saying goes, must have an end. The fact is at present Ethiopia is blessed mostly with extremely opportunistic opposition groups which, instead of working among their people, at grass-root levels, seek a short-cut to power, by appealing to the very international circles which back the present regime or by directly working with the regime itself. That is why they lack committed popular support at home. Most people do not simply count on them at all, because they do not trust them. They are mostly made up of too familiar old faces, with no good records. Politics for them is business as usual. Without exception all of them underestimate the political consciousness of ordinary people. People see that we do not practice what we preach. Full-stop. In this situation, no wonder, they seek to choose of two evils the less. TPLF capitalizes on this among other things. It has almost declared itself winner of the election in advance! Can we say in such a situation: Never too late to learn? Of course there is no reason to despair completely, provided we realize our potentials are useless unless used and developed consciously. Otherwise I would not be writing this article. Since I started bariisa.com, I have already met a number of Ethiopians, including some of the Oromo colleagues here, who could ask me: Oh, have you not given up still? All in all, careerism, individualistic self-advancement and petty rivalry are the curse of our political elite today. We, Oromos, have of course the lion’s share in this and have no one to blame except ourselves in the first place. Without realizing we have reached a watershed in our modern history. We have to make a decisive choice or remain indefinitely disoriented. Either way we have choice. If we think that we can cleverly avoid choosing that is also a singular choice with untold consequences.
