Stop tearing each other apart: Head on to fight the EPRDF
By Zenebe G. Tamirat
March 6, 2004

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I read with enthusiasm the contents of the various articles on the controversial issue initiated by M/S Getachew and Solomon under their article entitled “Obstruction in the UEDF, is there any justification to it?” Whilst appreciating Ato Hail Mekkuria for his call to all of us to focus and fight the pestilences that have befallen our people; HIV AIDS and EPRDF, I solemnly recent to his refute of Ato Belew Endamelu’s article, “ Belligerent EPRP Still Unzipped: Who is Inkatha?” for a mere reason that it is based on turbulent personality attack. I do not care much about what he commented on the contents of the article.

To avoid the fallacy of ad hominy, Ato Hailu had better concentrated on the issues rather than the person. This sort of stigmatization of individual’s personalities instead of addressing the issues will not take us anywhere but to dehumanizing those who oppose our views. In line with this I suggest that, let us stick to facts and figures we know and not be slanderous.

I wish Ato Haile Mekuria living in Ethiopia and reading the Getachew and Solomon’s article has the temerity in enlightening us either by condemning or supporting the duo’s equivocation of a UEDF member operating in Ethiopia as an Inkatha as fact or innuendo. In lieu of that, Ato Haile Mekuria vehemently condemned Ato Below Endamelu but is mute about the duo. Had Mekuria addressed all, I would have said, “Here is a true son of Ethiopia!” with a fair stand and calling for genuine cooperation among UEDF members and not a partisan on slanderous mission. Regrettably that did not happen. It is ok! We shall learn as the culture of tolerance progresses.

Messrs. Getachew and Solomon took pain to write an article to cast a rather dubious AEUP image in orchestration to what is being propagated by so called UEDF supporters. Actually, UEDF is an association of Parties and AEUP is one of the members. So, Why tarnish AEUP? Is it wrong for a member to request the full record of the accords reached at the July 2003 Washington Convention to make public? Are there ulterior motives for keeping them secrete? AEUP is challenging UEDF to make all the video pictures taken on the convention public or it would. The public knows of the existence of interpretational differences. Non of the parties tried to avail the original Washington document on the Web nor were the pictures publisized. I tried to refer to the Website of UEDF to find out the articles that brought misunderstanding between the two parties. I found out that the resolution of the convention is in the web while the core document that contains the agenda discussed and the points agreed upon is not. Infact I read in the news today that Mr. Merrara is saying that there was no agreement but code of conduct in the Washington Convention. That purplex me and the abscence the doclument makes it difficult for us to decide who is wrong. I believe that it is the obligation of UEDF to avail this document to the general public; if it does not then we shall know that there is some kind of mischief behind it and we have to ask AEUP to let us have access to the document to enforce its evidences. Would it not be better for us to get all the facts rather than snippets to make our decision one way or another? The game of bedeviling any one with different opinion had been played in the 70s among opposition groups in Ethiopia and has gained us no good. Thus we are not going to repeat that mistake now. Let us not ignore the fact that there are people who remember those tragic years with vivid but sad, sad memories. If unabated, expression of opinion difference will not be civil but personal and acrimonious. This will truly open wide venues for the mischief EPRDF to inject poisonous discords.