"Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God"

By Aklilu Demissie
June 25, 2006

The ever increasing tension and rebellion that gush out despite massive containing pressure by tyrants in suppressing democratic aspiration has never succeeded in the world or had a short life span.

Its defeat is always there when it is borne. But it always stood as gigantic, frightening insurmountable tasks to defeat. Historically, people paid in blood and are paying dearly in order to win back their freedom. Protest and defiance are major forces that rally and escalate armed struggle for liberation.

Despots cry of foul play when their challengers initiate and step up armed struggle. They frantically run helter-skelter to dismantle the unity of armed struggle, since they know that would seal their coffin once and for all.

Ethiopians have made the life of Woyane a night mare. The regime is unable to contain the social upheaval and has entirely resorted to fracturing the country in to village type of division and war mongering.

Among Benjamin Franklin’s great quotations also comes, “Little strokes fell great oaks.” But, Ethiopians are transforming their little strokes into powerful break neck strokes. The tune has changed and the action and trading power should be effectively carried to the test of Meles. Fire power.

No respect for human rights should be expected from Meles unless there is a democratic coalition and armed resistance to the excesses of his regime. There, obedience to God will be fulfilled and freedom attained.

Meles will always love to project that his bullets to be democratic and constitutional and the impression of fighting back to his tyranny by armed struggle to be conjured as resorting to violence. Fighting for freedom is a right and in today’s world to expect it to come without might is such a naïve assumption.

Ethiopians in their history have had no one in their side when they defended their mother land from different foreign aggressors including the brutal Italian fascists which they defeated with their blood where up to these days made Ethiopians proud people. And in their every day walks of life, it is Ethiopians who do not have colonial sentiments of defeat and slavery.

To get a second thought from Downing and K Street lobbyists, a strong power based unity and concerted armed struggle should be waged. Otherwise, cries in front of consulates and offices won’t be a solution in the long term. These people never believe in democracy but power and money.

The unconscionable remark by Tony Blair in South Africa during the progressive governance submit in February 2006 of reducing the brutal suppression, hording of thousands of opponents in concentration camps and the extra judicial killings to just a cold hearted remark of “over reaction” is tantamount to approval and endorsing the perpetuation of quagmire in the region. What word could be deplorable and despicable than this in the face of human tragedy? He might have chosen his words if Ethiopians demonstrated their resolve to bring about their freedom through armed struggle after the failure at the ballot boxes.

Tony Blair in a speech to the Chicago Economic Club on 22nd April 1999 argued that the most pressing foreign policy problem was to identify the circumstances in which states should become actively involved in other people’s conflicts. He first laid out his doctrine of the international community (what has also become known simply as the Blaire doctrine) for its application to international security and humanitarian intervention with the idea of a just war based not on any territorial ambitions but on values.

As Blaire himself recognized there are also political, diplomatic, economic and financial measures that can be used .But, very little attention was paid to preventing theses crises in the first place let alone the commitment to his words.

From British history one should not expect much. They never liked nationalists; like our heroes in jail. They are the same people, unchanged at heart who accused Americans of treason when they fought for the liberation of America from British rule.

Meles, the novice neocolonialist arm is verbalizing and executing what they had done. What could be expected from Britain? Serfdom through unpatriotic despots is nowhere stark naked than Ethiopia.

With un abated financial assistance and lobbying for Meles, in the name of the poor, Jeffery Saches at Colombia, the presumed architect of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) who talks about poverty reduction with out good governance and democratization instrumented the World Bank in giving an extension of a last breath to the régime before its long awaited demise just because there was no resolve in working together and fighting for democracy through armed struggle.

The UN Declaration of human rights in its third paragraph of the preamble warns that, if human rights are not protected by the rule of law, people will "be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression." This recognizes a moral right of resistance; that violence in self-defence is a legitimate last resort to end massive human rights violations. Applying deadly force to come to the rescue of others can be a logical next step.

Kofi Annan, recalling the tragic evens of Bosnia and Rwanda asked in his book “Question of Intervention”: “"why did no one intervene?" the question should not be addressed only to the United Nations, or even to its Member-States. Each of us as an individual has to take his or her share of responsibility. No one can claim ignorance of what happened. All of us should recall how we responded, and ask: What did I do? Could I have done more? Did I let my prejudice, my indifference, or my fear overwhelm my reasoning? Above all, how would I react this time?”

Humanitarian intervention should be acted upon by the wider international community. Sustainable peace and security cannot exist in a world where genocidal regimes are allowed to pursue their strategies with impunity.

The mocking Yamamoto, the toothless and worthless press release of Ambassadors Donor Groups, the lamenting Tim Clark, the cold hearted Isaac Diwan, the condescending Vicky Huddleston, all will then heed the call of the Ethiopian people when a formidable challenge is put forward to the regime they are supporting through the barrel of a gun.

Ethiopians are on the verge of a glorious victory with no outsiders’ blessing in bringing not only Ethiopia but also Africa to ultimate democratic path.

The country is just under unstoppable democratic volcano that would erupt and reverberate across Africa doing away with the likes of Meles, Musevenis and the Mugabes of present or future Africa.

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The writer can be reached for comments at akndka@yahoo.com