Do they know Zenawi's flag?

By Wondwossen of Seattle
July 31, 2006

I have seen television pictures of people burning American, Israeli and other nations’ flags but not mine. I can imagine the frustration of those who burn the flags of others, and I do understand the message they want to send by burning a sacred symbol of unity, sovereignty and national pride of other sovereign people. I also understand the strong message the Somalis wanted to send to the world by putting the flag under fire but I am afraid they got it wrong.

The Green, Yellow, Red flag they burnt is not that of Zenawi; neither is it that of the TPLF-EPRDF consortium. If Somalis could not differentiate between Ethiopia and TPLF-EPRDF, they will not get what they want even if they fight for the rest of their life. You do not wage a war if you don’t understand your enemy.

Right after seizing power in Addis, Zenawi made it clear that the flag that the Somalis regard as Ethiopians’ symbol is nothing more than a piece of cloth – a piece of fabric that has no meaning what so ever. If the Somalis were to express their anger against the intrusion, the message has fallen in Meles’ deaf ears. I am not sure whether his TPLF-EPRDF flag has a meaning to him but they may want to try burning the flag with a Marxist-Leninist touch on it instead.

The hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees residing in Ethiopia know Meles better than their compatriots back in Mogadishu. They know him as much as we Ethiopians do thus they wouldn’t burn the Ethiopian flag as it would mean pleasing Meles. Somalis should know that Meles will be more than willing to burn the flag for them if asked. He will burn the Ethiopian flag if he sees it as a way of expressing his sympathy for Somalis.

If Somalis want to know why Meles’ forces are in Baidoa today, they must first understand the sinister.

Meles was proud of himself when he told the world that the best days of his life were those at the battlefield. He once boasted that he can not only fight a war but also make one happen out of the blue sky.

For Meles Zenawi, it doesn’t matter where the war front is as long as there is a war and he is the commander. It doesn’t matter who is dying as long as Ethiopians are in it. In his notorious life, he allied with Eritrean separatist fighters, the OLF and even Somalia to fight Ethiopians in the name of freedom. In the “field”, as he likes to call it, Meles and his cronies fought with EPRP, EPLF, OLF, what have you. Locally, he fought and killed thousands of citizens all the way through Addis Ababa before seizing power in 1993.

Once in Addis, Meles had to fight inside-out with Eritrea and Somali factions and sacrificed hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians. The war with Eritrea was sugar-coated with “fighting back an Eritrean aggression” to provoke Ethiopians’ patriotism. Ethiopians across the board rallied against the “aggressor” in part because Eritrean rulers’ behavior was such that, if left unattended, they might destroy the motherland. While teaming towards the war front was as planned, crossing the border and threatening the regime in Asmara was unacceptable for Meles as it means drying the source of everything.

Ethiopians fought for their country under several governments at different fronts but always to protect their sovereignty at all costs. Meles’ hatred to the country and its flag did not deter the people from teaming to fight with Eritrean forces in 1998 because of the nature of the war. Much to the disappointment of many though, that war was a game between two devils addicted to war. Meles sacked all of his former comrades and threw them in to the prison cell - where they belonged to after all – for being vocal over the risks of leaving Esayias Afewerki on the lose. Instead, Meles declared victory over the aggressor while leaving all options for future wars open. Mission accomplished!

Continuing the cycle of terror, Meles diverts his attention to waging the rounds of war in Addis Ababa and all other towns with streets where bodies of youths and elders, women and men can be displayed on. To make sure that no stone is left unturned, TPLF-EPRDF also attempted to incite violence among Muslims and Christians, who otherwise live in harmony. A sequel to the massacres he inflicted in Bedeno and Arba Gugu, is the recent indiscriminate killings and humiliation of the Anuak in Gambella.

Intermittently, amidst the abuse and killings of innocents in the country, Meles ordered his forces to the lawless Somalia several times under the cover of fighting terrorism but only with an ultimate outcome of fuelling the growing anarchy there. Ethiopians believe that, following his colonial masters’ lead, Meles is busy designing time bombs for future generations.

At the moment, Meles is, good for his words, cooking a two-fold war with Somalia: one to be driven by the national feelings of the unsuspected and another one by religion. To ensure effective mobilization of the people around both pretexts, the war is shaping itself as being against Eritrea and also Islamic fundamentalists.

Well, Eritrea is located to the North of Addis, across the bordering town of Zalambessa, past the towns of Adigrat and Mek’ele, where tens of children were killed by Eritrean fighter jets – definitely not in Somalia.

There is no power on earth that prevents bloodshed between Ethiopians and Somalis except the people themselves. The fate of individuals who dare to stand on Meles’ way to this Ethio-Somali war is almost certain: sharing the prison cell with those who stood for taking Asmara’s government out. Peoples of both nations must stand together and say no to war.

Enough is enough!

To avert another war among brothers and sisters, Ethiopian forces must pull out of Somali lands. Somalis must be left alone to decide what is good for their nation by their own. They do not need a babysitter but support from the international community. The war on terror is everyone’s war including Somalis. Ethiopia’s safety as well as Somalia’s defense against terrorists will be better served by the two people’s joint struggle along with peace loving peoples of other nations and not by a blind go it alone approach.

Ethiopians and Somalis alike must be vigilant of the wicked threat unfolding at their doorsteps.

Ethiopia must remain a good neighbor, nothing less. Somalis on the streets of Mogadishu too must know, as their own old saying goes, “When two elephants fight, the grass gets crushed.” Do not burn the Ethiopian flag as it is your brothers' and sisters’ as well. If you have to, you may burn any cloth as it doesn’t make any difference for Meles either way.

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The writer can be reached for comments at wmezlekia@msn.com.