In support of ADF
By T.B.
May 30, 2006
I have learnt the news of the formation of the alliance with great relief. I can only hope that it will become even more broader and be inclusive to embrace all and quickly start on the work of laying the foundation of systems and working mechanisms which delivers us from the yoke of tyranny and lead us to a brighter and harmonious future. What we are seeing here can be characterized as the turning of the tide and the beginning of revival of politics - the art of possibility. I sincerely hope that it will result in stopping the downward spiral of bad events which have been going on for the last 15 years. The task of disentangling the complex web of trap created by the incumbent regime to keep us apart requires a far-sighted, dynamic and pragmatic approach. The formation of this alliance is the right step in that direction.
Whether we like it or not, the problems which the members of this alliance aspire to resolve do exist. Most of them are either created or made worse as result of a string of ill-conceived and shortsighted policies implemented by the current regime, impacting everybody’s life equally irrespective of his/her sympathy or allegiance to any given party. So the question is either we start to tackle these problems together in a coordinated manner now or face it later, when it is going to be compounded by the other pressing issues. We can not afford to wait any longer, as we will not have the luxury of time and opportunity to start from scratch, to build the trust and to talk to each other, when later every party’s agenda will become the top issue of the day and our mutual hate and distrust reach paranoid level, thus putting the logic of conflict and destruction as virtue of our principle.
These problems have to be identified today, contained and subsequently resolved in a peaceful manner. As we know, politics in Ethiopia has always been elite driven, so it is a very significant step forward when the leaders of these many parties even from diametrically opposed platforms form a forum for dialogue, even if it is only to talk to each other, agree to disagree or freeze the disagreements so as to resolve them later, when there will be a breathing space and a clear mandate from the sovereign holder of power. Apart from the opportunity to work together in an organized fashion with an alliance of this type, the fact that the leaders are talking to each other, learn about each other and build a personal relationship will save us time and energy in reacting to the divisive messages and tricks of the agents of the incumbent regime to keep us on the defensive. This in turn, will help us achieve our respective goal faster with less energy and sacrifice. As complex as they may be, no problem will be irresolvable, if we all come together in the spirit of May 15, and talk and negotiate in good faith. It is sufficient to remember that the Ethiopian people came out en mass to say NO to tyranny. We do not need to invent the wheel here; our history and the world are full of examples of successful resolutions to many of our problems. The most important thing is to get rid of the factors which exasperate these problems. As we all know very well that is what the leaders of the EPRDF are best at - driving a wedge among us and exploiting the created gaps. They thrive and prolong their existence by capitalizing on our differences and by inducing problems where they do not exist. Besides our unity and cooperation, even the news of the formation of this alliance, I believe, is already a severe blow to the regime, as it sends out a timely warning to EPRDF backers to stop supporting a bankrupt regime.
The regime has no power base or legitimacy, so it is creating more enemies by the hour than friends. I am confident it will eventually collapse, but when it does, I wouldn’t like us to go back to the solution we used in 1990 and look for a contemporary Herman Cohen. This time around, we have to do it by ourselves and we have to be prepared to have a formula which will be acceptable to all stake holders to bring about a sustainable solution to all our miseries. By the way the US got involved in Ethiopia not because they were concerned about the fate of 60 million Ethiopians who were trapped in between the vacating regime and the in coming one or to facilitate transition, but rather to buy time for our Falasha brothers and sisters at the request of the United States Congress, which is always more inclined to listen to any request from Israel and the Jewish Diaspora.
The Meles regime knows that it is the most disliked oppressor in the history of the country and that its days are numbered. So the only thing left in its arsenal, is and, has always been the disunity of the opposition forces and the donor’s moral and financial support. We cannot do much about the latter at this stage, but we can definitely work on our unity. I can only hope that our unity will be as all- inclusive as possible with all the major stakeholders including all civic societies and religious groups participating. Thank God we are not at each others throat as prescribed by the likes of Tefera Wallewa, but searching for solutions through dialogue and discussions. Let us give this alliance a chance, or at least, the benefit of the doubt.
May God bless it and make it successful.
--------
The writer can be contacted at hodesefi@yahoo.com
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© COPYRIGHT 20001-2006ETHIOMEDIA.COM. EMAIL: webmaster@ethiomedia.com
May 30, 2006
I have learnt the news of the formation of the alliance with great relief. I can only hope that it will become even more broader and be inclusive to embrace all and quickly start on the work of laying the foundation of systems and working mechanisms which delivers us from the yoke of tyranny and lead us to a brighter and harmonious future. What we are seeing here can be characterized as the turning of the tide and the beginning of revival of politics - the art of possibility. I sincerely hope that it will result in stopping the downward spiral of bad events which have been going on for the last 15 years. The task of disentangling the complex web of trap created by the incumbent regime to keep us apart requires a far-sighted, dynamic and pragmatic approach. The formation of this alliance is the right step in that direction.
Whether we like it or not, the problems which the members of this alliance aspire to resolve do exist. Most of them are either created or made worse as result of a string of ill-conceived and shortsighted policies implemented by the current regime, impacting everybody’s life equally irrespective of his/her sympathy or allegiance to any given party. So the question is either we start to tackle these problems together in a coordinated manner now or face it later, when it is going to be compounded by the other pressing issues. We can not afford to wait any longer, as we will not have the luxury of time and opportunity to start from scratch, to build the trust and to talk to each other, when later every party’s agenda will become the top issue of the day and our mutual hate and distrust reach paranoid level, thus putting the logic of conflict and destruction as virtue of our principle.
These problems have to be identified today, contained and subsequently resolved in a peaceful manner. As we know, politics in Ethiopia has always been elite driven, so it is a very significant step forward when the leaders of these many parties even from diametrically opposed platforms form a forum for dialogue, even if it is only to talk to each other, agree to disagree or freeze the disagreements so as to resolve them later, when there will be a breathing space and a clear mandate from the sovereign holder of power. Apart from the opportunity to work together in an organized fashion with an alliance of this type, the fact that the leaders are talking to each other, learn about each other and build a personal relationship will save us time and energy in reacting to the divisive messages and tricks of the agents of the incumbent regime to keep us on the defensive. This in turn, will help us achieve our respective goal faster with less energy and sacrifice. As complex as they may be, no problem will be irresolvable, if we all come together in the spirit of May 15, and talk and negotiate in good faith. It is sufficient to remember that the Ethiopian people came out en mass to say NO to tyranny. We do not need to invent the wheel here; our history and the world are full of examples of successful resolutions to many of our problems. The most important thing is to get rid of the factors which exasperate these problems. As we all know very well that is what the leaders of the EPRDF are best at - driving a wedge among us and exploiting the created gaps. They thrive and prolong their existence by capitalizing on our differences and by inducing problems where they do not exist. Besides our unity and cooperation, even the news of the formation of this alliance, I believe, is already a severe blow to the regime, as it sends out a timely warning to EPRDF backers to stop supporting a bankrupt regime.
The regime has no power base or legitimacy, so it is creating more enemies by the hour than friends. I am confident it will eventually collapse, but when it does, I wouldn’t like us to go back to the solution we used in 1990 and look for a contemporary Herman Cohen. This time around, we have to do it by ourselves and we have to be prepared to have a formula which will be acceptable to all stake holders to bring about a sustainable solution to all our miseries. By the way the US got involved in Ethiopia not because they were concerned about the fate of 60 million Ethiopians who were trapped in between the vacating regime and the in coming one or to facilitate transition, but rather to buy time for our Falasha brothers and sisters at the request of the United States Congress, which is always more inclined to listen to any request from Israel and the Jewish Diaspora.
The Meles regime knows that it is the most disliked oppressor in the history of the country and that its days are numbered. So the only thing left in its arsenal, is and, has always been the disunity of the opposition forces and the donor’s moral and financial support. We cannot do much about the latter at this stage, but we can definitely work on our unity. I can only hope that our unity will be as all- inclusive as possible with all the major stakeholders including all civic societies and religious groups participating. Thank God we are not at each others throat as prescribed by the likes of Tefera Wallewa, but searching for solutions through dialogue and discussions. Let us give this alliance a chance, or at least, the benefit of the doubt.
May God bless it and make it successful.
--------
The writer can be contacted at hodesefi@yahoo.com
ETHIOMEDIA.COM - ETHIOPIA'S PREMIER NEWS AND VIEWS WEBSITE
© COPYRIGHT 20001-2006ETHIOMEDIA.COM. EMAIL: webmaster@ethiomedia.com
