He can hit where it hurts but his constant misuse of power and his intrigues must end in disaster
The Tigray ruling military elite and its brain, Meles Zenawi, the modern Abyssinian warlord, have already managed to stimulate
heated discussion and caused deep division in the Amhara chauvinist opposition camp by launching the Nile dam project. Now and then they always need wartime atmosphere. Seldom have they missed an opportunity to shout a war cry in defence of Ethiopia since they have seized power. They have learned a lot from their emperors before them mobilizing the highlanders against the so-called historical enemies. It makes them forget their daily misery temporarily. It is also a proven means of silencing even common grumblers.
Meles Zenawi’s main aim thereby is to win the Amhara masses to his side without making major concession to their political elites in opposition. Nothing short of a lion’s share in power at all levels, especially in the military command structure, would satisfy the Amhara supremacists in opposition. That is a sticking point.
But Meles, the brutal tyrant, knows the Amhara mental make-up very well. All he needs is to stir once in a while the chauvinistic fire and organise a war dance in the defence of the beloved empire. This may help him effectively to take the bull by the horns and to nip any serious Amhara challenge in the bud. Countless Amharas and Tigrayans are dreaming of a heroic figure, a powerful individual, that enjoys the quality of their emperors. In the statement he made in Norway mentioning colonialism he was clearly addressing them. He is convinced as ever that the odds are against him unless he secures the position of his puppets in Somalia, and puts his lackeys in power in Eritrea. Behind the facade of power his delusions must be excruciating indeed.
Now, Meles Zenawi can easily go further and declare at breakneck speed the abolition of the TPLF and its creatures to kill two birds with one stone, and call Ethiopia a one party unitary state or something like that without touching Tigray supremacy, not in the least. In short, the Tigrayan ruling clique can play the same well-tried old game that the Amharas are good at playing effectively, hiding their supremacy under the slogan ” Ethiopia First.” That may be the ultimate trick, not necessarily the ultimate strategy. Whether the Tigrayans succeed in this depends on lots of factors, many beyond their control. With the common denominator and legacy firmly reiterated and reconfirmed more loudly than ever, Meles can hope to buy more time to spin more of his conspiratorial webs and to amass more weapons to avoid the spectre of his power and his empire disintegrating. He can easily reshuffle his dummies, with his sham constitution easily rewritten, his administrative regions, the Killils, forgotten, since they are all only part of the paperwork we all know.. In fact Ethiopia is already a centralized autocracy. The Tigray militarists will not hesitate turning it into a huge military base in the continent serving the interests of any superpower, old and new, that can maintain them in power.