Tadesse And Asaminew:
Historic Parallels In Search For Justice
Within The Systems They Served
28 November, 2009 | By Jawar Mohammed
Zenawi’s regime. Yet their life stories mirror each other as the unjust
history of Ethiopia repeats itself. Both served as loyal soldiers of their
respective systems until they realized how unjust and illegitimate their
rulers were and rose up against them to bring about change. In the
process, both generals suffered great humiliation and degradation at the
hands of the very systems they protected for decades.
Tadesse Birru’s Legacy and his quest for Justice
General Tadesse Birru was one of the young men who fought the
Italians alongside other patriots and was later jailed in Somalia. When the
embattled Emperor returned to power, Tadesse joined the military
together with other veterans of the resistance movement. Known for his
bravery, discipline and hard work; he quickly rose through ranks,
became a brigadier general and serving in the Ethiopian military for over
30 years.
A devout Christian and career soldier, General Tadesse Birru’s loyalty to
the system was unquestionable. As a commander of “Fetno-Derash” or
Special Forces, he played a crucial role in crushing the Neway brothers’
coup of 1960 and restoring the Emperor to power. He was a strong
believer in Ethiopian unity and sovereignty. A Pan-Africanist who
trained Nelson Mandela, General Tadesse Birru resisted both
factionalism and ethnic partisanship, as evidenced by his initial rejection
of an invitation to join the Macha Tulema Self-Help Association.
Determined to uplift and expand educational opportunities, General
Tadesse Birru volunteered to lead the “Fidel Serawit”, a literacy
campaign, in addition to his military duties. It was during this campaign
that he encountered a life changing experience. Aklilu Habtewold, then
prime minister of Ethiopia, not knowing General Tadesse Birru was an
Oromo, suggested that it was unwise to educate or recruit Oromos to
the military. Aklilu Habtewold said that doing so would mean sinking the
empire under the Oromo ocean, an apparent reference to the large size
of the Oromo population.
The prime ministers’ comments proved an eye-opener for the
unsuspecting General. He realized the longstanding government policy to
keep the Oromo uneducated and unempowered, in an effort to keep
them away from the state power. Baffled by what he was hearing from
the very government he served and defended, General Tadesse Birru
decided to join the Macha Tulema Association and went on to become a
prominent figure, a pioneer and the founding father of the Oromo
national movement.
The much celebrated hero to millions of Oromos, General Tadesse
Birru, advocated empowering the Oromo mass through education,
modernizing their economy and infrastructure. He emphasized Oromo
self-reliance as a primary means of development instead of dependence
on the government with the sinister motive of keeping its own citizens
in the dark. Although the sincere objective of General Tadesse Birru and
the association was to build roads, schools and health centers, their
attempt to unify and mobilize the Oromo for development was not
welcomed by the government.
Prevented from working to educate his people, General Tadesse Birru
along with other Oromo soldiers unsuccessfully attempted a coup in
1966, and was arrested along with many of his comrades. At an old
age, General Tadesse Birru was severely tortured and was subjected to
repeated ethnic slurs and ridicule. He was sentenced to death but later
committed to life in prison, while his colleague Captain Mammo
Mezemir, an aspiring young lawyer, historian and officer was hanged.
Hailamariam Gemeda, a lawyer and the intellectual powerhouse of
Mecha Tulema Association was tortured to death by the direct order of
Haile Silassie himself. Seyfu Tesemma and Temesgen Haile were
poisoned and assassinated, respectively. Daniel Abebe Aregay was killed
by a “mysterious” midair explosion aboard his private plane.
On the occasion of his execution, Cpt. Mamo Mezemir told the
hangman “Please tell my children that I did not die in vain. My blood
is spilled for the just cause of the Oromo people. I am certain that
those who falsely convicted me, for a crime I did not commit and their
rulers, will receive the appropriate judgment of Ethiopian people at this
very spot I am being hanged. More importantly, sooner or later, the
Oromo people will win their freedom by the struggle of its fighters”
This message remains one of the most vibrant inspirations within the
Oromo movement four decades later.
The trial of the Mecha Tulama leaders revealed the ethnic prejudice in
the Ethiopian system at its worst. The prosecutor asked to expropriate
the properties owned by the defendants in addition to demanding the
highest possible punishment handed down to the accused. Responding
to the prosecutor, General Tadesse Birru wrote a historic letter to the
court, saying that officers who were accused of attempted coup
previously were never asked to give up their property. He argued that
the government was taking the unprecedented and vindictive decision in
order to uproot his family for the mere fact of his ethnicity. When it
became clear that the judges were moved by the appeal, they were
quickly replaced by hardliners before the verdict was reached. Thus,
not only were the Mecha Tulema leaders were killed and incarcerated,
their entire families were shattered. One can rightly argue that the
vindictive ethnic-specific punishments directed against the founders
have played a large role in radicalizing the Oromo movement and the
subsequent formation of the OLF in 1973, leading to the current
situation today.
New Rulers and New Victims - The Same Old Game
General Asaminew Tsige was a member of the Ethiopian People’s
Democratic Movement (EPDM), which later became Amhara National
Democratic Movement (ANDM). EPDM began as a splinter group from
the left wing EPRP in 1980. In the late 1980s, the 37 founding members
consolidated their guerilla units into several thousand strong-armed
men. When EPDM joined the TPLF to form the EPRDF, Asaminew
Tsige was one of the rebel commanders who led the fighters that ousted
Mengistu Hailamariam and brought Meles Zenawi to power. He served
as a soldier, in harm’s way for three decades, both during the rebellion
and as a member of the federal military under two repressive systems.
One can argue that EPDM was formed by the more moderate faction of
the EPRP. That is why at the time when the larger Amhara elites
opposed TPLF, General Asaminew Tsige and others within their group
were sympathetic to the struggle of the Tigrean people. They lived
among the Tigrean peasants, they fought alongside Tigrean freedom
fighters and the dead were buried together. After the collapse of the
Dergue, even as TPLF continued to marginalize other ethnic groups,
General Asaminew Tsige and others in EPDM hoped that democracy
and genuine federalism could eventually take root in Ethiopia. It was
with this hope that they saved Meles from the attempted ouster by
Seeye’s group which was then considered a much more conservative
Tigrean nationalist faction.
General Asaminew Tsige and his comrades were known for raising the
question of equality and fairness with the EPRDF military and the
system in general as critical supporters of the regime. Year after year,
their calls and demands were left unanswered. To make matters worse,
the regime expanded its discriminatory policies. After the 2005 election,
their hope faded away when they became subject to constant
harassment and isolation. Under the disguise that Amhara officers
supported the Coalition for Unity and Democracy party in the election;
ethnic slurs, demotions and character assassinations became part of the
daily routine. Fed up with the humiliation, unwilling to continue taking
part in an unbending system that dehumanizes his own people, General
Asaminew Tsige and his comrades started raising issues with the
ANDM leadership.
To no one’s surprise, the government responded by forcing the
dissidents out of the army without any retirement benefits. Some among
the group tried to work for private firms, but the TPLF regime started
intimidating the firms that employed the dismissed officers. Unable to
support their families without any income, they formed an agricultural
investment company and pleaded with the Amhara regional state for a
piece of land. They were given 40 hectares of land at a place called
PAWI.
When the TPLF got the news that the generals’ request for land grant
was approved by the regional government, land that the Ethiopian
regime was ironically selling at a bargain price to “foreign investors”,
the regime forced the regional investment office to revoke the land grant
under a false pretext that ‘the land belonged to ‘some farmers’.
General Asaminew Tsige, a commander who was denied the right to
serve his country or live a peaceful life in retirement, might have
decided to organize his comrades and challenge the repressive system.
Knowing the potential danger of having such a highly respected general
as opposition, the regime trumped up false charges and arrested him
along with several high ranking Amhara officers, and purged tens of
thousands of Amhara officers and soldiers. Reportedly, General
Asaminew Tsige was severely tortured, and lost his left eye in prison.
He endured not just physical but also psychological torture. The
torturers hurled ethnic insults directed at his Amhara ethnicity in much
the same way General Tadesse Birru was treated under the Emperor’s
rule. At the time when he was supposed to enjoy retirement and reap
the benefits of his long years of service, General Asaminew Tsige was
subjected to humiliation by his ex-comrades whom he once supported,
at the expense of being ostracized by his own ethnic group.
Meles Zenawi and his collaborators, including the kangaroo court, were
so malicious that they deliberately planned the sentencing of the Amhara
officers on the 29th birthday of the EPDM, to infuriate ANDM
members. According to eye-witness accounts of the court
proceedings, the main judge, Assefa Abraha, a Tigrean, was acting with
more fervor and animosity than the prosecutors, and questioned
witnesses even after the prosecutors rested their case. One cannot
expect a free and fair judgment from such a skewed process. But the
manner in which ANDM soldiers were handled, including torture, insult
and degradation, will serve nothing but to radicalize the Amhara
opposition.
History is a Prologue: We Must Break the Cycle
As you know it’s likely that my political views might be quite different
from that of General Asaminew Tsige and his comrades. But long time
ago, the anti-Nazi German pastor Martin Niemöller wrote:
“First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because
I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was
not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
The two generals served their country but were victims of different
authoritarian systems. General Tadesse Birru served an Amhara-
dominated system, and was brutalized by the ruling clique which was
using the Amhara as a shield to indefinitely remain in power. The cruel
actions taken against Macha Tulema Association and its leaders gave
rise to an animosity between Amhara and the Oromo elites that lives on
to this day.
General Asaminew Tsige served a Tigrean-dominated regime and was
humiliated simply because he said NO to continued discrimination.
Today, Meles Zenawi continues to torture and degrade him and his
Amhara comrade soldiers in an effort to increase the animosity between
the Amhara and Tigrean groups. Meles Zenawi’s goal is that the latter
will continue to feel insecure and remain loyal defenders of the system.
But I remind the current rulers that Haile Silassie persecuted, isolated
and eliminated those who demanded modest reform. leading the country
to collapse under a poorly managed revolution, unnecessary bloodshed
and the rise of a military junta. Predictably, those who surrounded and
advised the emperor against reform, due to fear of losing their personal
power, wealth and influence, were not only the first victims of their
own making, but they established the conditions leading to the rise of
the psychopathic military ruler that succeeded them to massacre the
best and brightest sons and daughters the country had at the time.
It is critical that we end this dangerous and century old ploy of
authoritarian regimes who plant seeds of hatred among the people of
Ethiopia in order to derail reform and remain in power. If there is any
hope of establishing a genuine, democratic and stable country, we must
break this cycle of pitting one group against the other. The ‘rule of law’
must prevail in our country if its citizens are to live in peace and
harmony.
A Legitimate Grievance Deserves a Genuine Answer
In my opinion, this is a political case that needs a political resolution,
and not a kangaroo court process. Substantive political reforms are the
only way out of this quagmire that the ruling elite find itself in. Even if
the ANDM officers were found with circumstantial evidence of
organizing themselves to challenge the system, the TPLF should look
back to the history of its own ‘national struggle’ and imagine what it
would have done in a similar circumstance. It is clear that the TPLF has
transgressed on its promise to balance the ethnic composition of the
defense forces, and that policy has brought these ANDM officers to
fight for justice in a way they saw it fit. In the court hearings, the
officers have made public that they organized themselves because they
reached a point where they could not accept the ethic discrimination
within the army they served for so many years. Penalizing the victims
of a skewed government policy cannot be justice by any standard.
If Meles Zenawi is interested in restoring confidence and trust within
the system, the system has to be merciful to the officers and show
clemency to General Asaminew Tsige and his comrades. If he does not
heed this call for ‘clemency’, Meles Zenawi will undoubtedly face a
much more radicalized ‘Amhara’ opposition, both within the army and
amonst the bureaucrats at the regional level. Given the level of financial
and economic problems citizens are currently facing, such radicalization
could lead to unforeseen circumstances that could well boil down to a
large scale unrest and strife.
Some folks within the Tigrean community hope that TPLF will hold on
to power for some time to come. They believe that through a consistent
reform and liberalization process, they will change the ethnic imbalance
within the government’s civilian and military structure and save
Tigreans from the hatred and antagonism they feel from other
Ethiopians. They see the ‘Code of Conduct’ signed between Hailu
Shawel and the ruling party as indicative of the progress that will
ultimately reduce the ethnic tensions between the two communities and
deliver on the hope of reform.
What these genuinely well-meaning people do not understand is that
nothing of substance has been achieved beyond Meles and Hailu’s
handshakes. Behind the scenes, the regime has intensified “ethnic
cleansing” against the Amharas through mass purging of soldiers and
bureaucrats. Some analysts suggest that since ANDM’s rank and file
have deserted him, Meles Zenawi is trying to warn them that they can
be replaced by Hailu’s group. Unfortunately, people know that with
nothing to offer to his supporters and well-wishers, Hailu cannot garner
the support of the Amhara and urban dwellers. He can easily be
discarded as an accomplice to the ethnic ‘apartheid’ system. The
agreement is a lose-lose deal for both Meles and Hailu.
Authentic and genuine reforms are needed to cool the ethnic tensions in
the country. I believe this is the last opportunity for the TPLF to embark
on a reforms agenda. The Tigrean elite aligned with regime should
seriously and carefully reflect on the ever worsening tension in Ethiopia
and its possible outcomes. For anyone, including foreigners, who have
been to Finfinne in the last few years, it is hard to miss the anti-Tigrean
climate that is brewing due to the regime’s increasingly dangerous
apartheid policies. It is a precarious condition for ethnic Tigreans; it’s
disastrous for all of us. It should not be allowed to continue. The
Tigrean elite should take the lead in challenging and pressuring the
regime to change its attitudes and policies.
Meles should have the courage to begin these political reforms, because
he is well positioned to legitimize his rule in the coming May 2010
elections. Through his many arrogant mistakes and wrong calculations,
he has created unprecedented level of ethnic animosity against the
Tigreans. He has let down the “golden” people who sacrificed tens of
thousands of their sons and daughters to bring him to power. For the
sake of these people, to show last minute respect to his fallen comrades
and to let them rest in peace and dignity, he should remove this cloud of
isolation and fear from his people. It is only fear of the unknown that
stops him from reaching this goal. What Meles has to fear is fear itself.
There is NO other road than the way of substantive political reforms, a
road less travelled in Ethiopian history, to legitimize power, unlock the
dangers of ethnic strife, and free Tigreans from the tension they feel in
their everyday life.
As we embrace for this holiday season, let’s remember our political
prisoners and if our income allows, let’s extend our helping hand to
their loved ones.
The writer can be reached at : jawarmd@gmail.com
Courtesy
Historic Parallels In Search For Justice
Within The Systems They Served
28 November, 2009 | By Jawar Mohammed
- Generals Tadesse
Birru and Asaminew
Tsige are two soldiers
separated by
generation, ethnicity
and political views.
The former was an
Oromo who was a
senior general under
Haile Silassie’s rule.
The latter is an
Zenawi’s regime. Yet their life stories mirror each other as the unjust
history of Ethiopia repeats itself. Both served as loyal soldiers of their
respective systems until they realized how unjust and illegitimate their
rulers were and rose up against them to bring about change. In the
process, both generals suffered great humiliation and degradation at the
hands of the very systems they protected for decades.
Tadesse Birru’s Legacy and his quest for Justice
General Tadesse Birru was one of the young men who fought the
Italians alongside other patriots and was later jailed in Somalia. When the
embattled Emperor returned to power, Tadesse joined the military
together with other veterans of the resistance movement. Known for his
bravery, discipline and hard work; he quickly rose through ranks,
became a brigadier general and serving in the Ethiopian military for over
30 years.
A devout Christian and career soldier, General Tadesse Birru’s loyalty to
the system was unquestionable. As a commander of “Fetno-Derash” or
Special Forces, he played a crucial role in crushing the Neway brothers’
coup of 1960 and restoring the Emperor to power. He was a strong
believer in Ethiopian unity and sovereignty. A Pan-Africanist who
trained Nelson Mandela, General Tadesse Birru resisted both
factionalism and ethnic partisanship, as evidenced by his initial rejection
of an invitation to join the Macha Tulema Self-Help Association.
Determined to uplift and expand educational opportunities, General
Tadesse Birru volunteered to lead the “Fidel Serawit”, a literacy
campaign, in addition to his military duties. It was during this campaign
that he encountered a life changing experience. Aklilu Habtewold, then
prime minister of Ethiopia, not knowing General Tadesse Birru was an
Oromo, suggested that it was unwise to educate or recruit Oromos to
the military. Aklilu Habtewold said that doing so would mean sinking the
empire under the Oromo ocean, an apparent reference to the large size
of the Oromo population.
The prime ministers’ comments proved an eye-opener for the
unsuspecting General. He realized the longstanding government policy to
keep the Oromo uneducated and unempowered, in an effort to keep
them away from the state power. Baffled by what he was hearing from
the very government he served and defended, General Tadesse Birru
decided to join the Macha Tulema Association and went on to become a
prominent figure, a pioneer and the founding father of the Oromo
national movement.
The much celebrated hero to millions of Oromos, General Tadesse
Birru, advocated empowering the Oromo mass through education,
modernizing their economy and infrastructure. He emphasized Oromo
self-reliance as a primary means of development instead of dependence
on the government with the sinister motive of keeping its own citizens
in the dark. Although the sincere objective of General Tadesse Birru and
the association was to build roads, schools and health centers, their
attempt to unify and mobilize the Oromo for development was not
welcomed by the government.
Prevented from working to educate his people, General Tadesse Birru
along with other Oromo soldiers unsuccessfully attempted a coup in
1966, and was arrested along with many of his comrades. At an old
age, General Tadesse Birru was severely tortured and was subjected to
repeated ethnic slurs and ridicule. He was sentenced to death but later
committed to life in prison, while his colleague Captain Mammo
Mezemir, an aspiring young lawyer, historian and officer was hanged.
Hailamariam Gemeda, a lawyer and the intellectual powerhouse of
Mecha Tulema Association was tortured to death by the direct order of
Haile Silassie himself. Seyfu Tesemma and Temesgen Haile were
poisoned and assassinated, respectively. Daniel Abebe Aregay was killed
by a “mysterious” midair explosion aboard his private plane.
On the occasion of his execution, Cpt. Mamo Mezemir told the
hangman “Please tell my children that I did not die in vain. My blood
is spilled for the just cause of the Oromo people. I am certain that
those who falsely convicted me, for a crime I did not commit and their
rulers, will receive the appropriate judgment of Ethiopian people at this
very spot I am being hanged. More importantly, sooner or later, the
Oromo people will win their freedom by the struggle of its fighters”
This message remains one of the most vibrant inspirations within the
Oromo movement four decades later.
The trial of the Mecha Tulama leaders revealed the ethnic prejudice in
the Ethiopian system at its worst. The prosecutor asked to expropriate
the properties owned by the defendants in addition to demanding the
highest possible punishment handed down to the accused. Responding
to the prosecutor, General Tadesse Birru wrote a historic letter to the
court, saying that officers who were accused of attempted coup
previously were never asked to give up their property. He argued that
the government was taking the unprecedented and vindictive decision in
order to uproot his family for the mere fact of his ethnicity. When it
became clear that the judges were moved by the appeal, they were
quickly replaced by hardliners before the verdict was reached. Thus,
not only were the Mecha Tulema leaders were killed and incarcerated,
their entire families were shattered. One can rightly argue that the
vindictive ethnic-specific punishments directed against the founders
have played a large role in radicalizing the Oromo movement and the
subsequent formation of the OLF in 1973, leading to the current
situation today.
New Rulers and New Victims - The Same Old Game
General Asaminew Tsige was a member of the Ethiopian People’s
Democratic Movement (EPDM), which later became Amhara National
Democratic Movement (ANDM). EPDM began as a splinter group from
the left wing EPRP in 1980. In the late 1980s, the 37 founding members
consolidated their guerilla units into several thousand strong-armed
men. When EPDM joined the TPLF to form the EPRDF, Asaminew
Tsige was one of the rebel commanders who led the fighters that ousted
Mengistu Hailamariam and brought Meles Zenawi to power. He served
as a soldier, in harm’s way for three decades, both during the rebellion
and as a member of the federal military under two repressive systems.
One can argue that EPDM was formed by the more moderate faction of
the EPRP. That is why at the time when the larger Amhara elites
opposed TPLF, General Asaminew Tsige and others within their group
were sympathetic to the struggle of the Tigrean people. They lived
among the Tigrean peasants, they fought alongside Tigrean freedom
fighters and the dead were buried together. After the collapse of the
Dergue, even as TPLF continued to marginalize other ethnic groups,
General Asaminew Tsige and others in EPDM hoped that democracy
and genuine federalism could eventually take root in Ethiopia. It was
with this hope that they saved Meles from the attempted ouster by
Seeye’s group which was then considered a much more conservative
Tigrean nationalist faction.
General Asaminew Tsige and his comrades were known for raising the
question of equality and fairness with the EPRDF military and the
system in general as critical supporters of the regime. Year after year,
their calls and demands were left unanswered. To make matters worse,
the regime expanded its discriminatory policies. After the 2005 election,
their hope faded away when they became subject to constant
harassment and isolation. Under the disguise that Amhara officers
supported the Coalition for Unity and Democracy party in the election;
ethnic slurs, demotions and character assassinations became part of the
daily routine. Fed up with the humiliation, unwilling to continue taking
part in an unbending system that dehumanizes his own people, General
Asaminew Tsige and his comrades started raising issues with the
ANDM leadership.
To no one’s surprise, the government responded by forcing the
dissidents out of the army without any retirement benefits. Some among
the group tried to work for private firms, but the TPLF regime started
intimidating the firms that employed the dismissed officers. Unable to
support their families without any income, they formed an agricultural
investment company and pleaded with the Amhara regional state for a
piece of land. They were given 40 hectares of land at a place called
PAWI.
When the TPLF got the news that the generals’ request for land grant
was approved by the regional government, land that the Ethiopian
regime was ironically selling at a bargain price to “foreign investors”,
the regime forced the regional investment office to revoke the land grant
under a false pretext that ‘the land belonged to ‘some farmers’.
General Asaminew Tsige, a commander who was denied the right to
serve his country or live a peaceful life in retirement, might have
decided to organize his comrades and challenge the repressive system.
Knowing the potential danger of having such a highly respected general
as opposition, the regime trumped up false charges and arrested him
along with several high ranking Amhara officers, and purged tens of
thousands of Amhara officers and soldiers. Reportedly, General
Asaminew Tsige was severely tortured, and lost his left eye in prison.
He endured not just physical but also psychological torture. The
torturers hurled ethnic insults directed at his Amhara ethnicity in much
the same way General Tadesse Birru was treated under the Emperor’s
rule. At the time when he was supposed to enjoy retirement and reap
the benefits of his long years of service, General Asaminew Tsige was
subjected to humiliation by his ex-comrades whom he once supported,
at the expense of being ostracized by his own ethnic group.
Meles Zenawi and his collaborators, including the kangaroo court, were
so malicious that they deliberately planned the sentencing of the Amhara
officers on the 29th birthday of the EPDM, to infuriate ANDM
members. According to eye-witness accounts of the court
proceedings, the main judge, Assefa Abraha, a Tigrean, was acting with
more fervor and animosity than the prosecutors, and questioned
witnesses even after the prosecutors rested their case. One cannot
expect a free and fair judgment from such a skewed process. But the
manner in which ANDM soldiers were handled, including torture, insult
and degradation, will serve nothing but to radicalize the Amhara
opposition.
History is a Prologue: We Must Break the Cycle
As you know it’s likely that my political views might be quite different
from that of General Asaminew Tsige and his comrades. But long time
ago, the anti-Nazi German pastor Martin Niemöller wrote:
“First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because
I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was
not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
The two generals served their country but were victims of different
authoritarian systems. General Tadesse Birru served an Amhara-
dominated system, and was brutalized by the ruling clique which was
using the Amhara as a shield to indefinitely remain in power. The cruel
actions taken against Macha Tulema Association and its leaders gave
rise to an animosity between Amhara and the Oromo elites that lives on
to this day.
General Asaminew Tsige served a Tigrean-dominated regime and was
humiliated simply because he said NO to continued discrimination.
Today, Meles Zenawi continues to torture and degrade him and his
Amhara comrade soldiers in an effort to increase the animosity between
the Amhara and Tigrean groups. Meles Zenawi’s goal is that the latter
will continue to feel insecure and remain loyal defenders of the system.
But I remind the current rulers that Haile Silassie persecuted, isolated
and eliminated those who demanded modest reform. leading the country
to collapse under a poorly managed revolution, unnecessary bloodshed
and the rise of a military junta. Predictably, those who surrounded and
advised the emperor against reform, due to fear of losing their personal
power, wealth and influence, were not only the first victims of their
own making, but they established the conditions leading to the rise of
the psychopathic military ruler that succeeded them to massacre the
best and brightest sons and daughters the country had at the time.
It is critical that we end this dangerous and century old ploy of
authoritarian regimes who plant seeds of hatred among the people of
Ethiopia in order to derail reform and remain in power. If there is any
hope of establishing a genuine, democratic and stable country, we must
break this cycle of pitting one group against the other. The ‘rule of law’
must prevail in our country if its citizens are to live in peace and
harmony.
A Legitimate Grievance Deserves a Genuine Answer
In my opinion, this is a political case that needs a political resolution,
and not a kangaroo court process. Substantive political reforms are the
only way out of this quagmire that the ruling elite find itself in. Even if
the ANDM officers were found with circumstantial evidence of
organizing themselves to challenge the system, the TPLF should look
back to the history of its own ‘national struggle’ and imagine what it
would have done in a similar circumstance. It is clear that the TPLF has
transgressed on its promise to balance the ethnic composition of the
defense forces, and that policy has brought these ANDM officers to
fight for justice in a way they saw it fit. In the court hearings, the
officers have made public that they organized themselves because they
reached a point where they could not accept the ethic discrimination
within the army they served for so many years. Penalizing the victims
of a skewed government policy cannot be justice by any standard.
If Meles Zenawi is interested in restoring confidence and trust within
the system, the system has to be merciful to the officers and show
clemency to General Asaminew Tsige and his comrades. If he does not
heed this call for ‘clemency’, Meles Zenawi will undoubtedly face a
much more radicalized ‘Amhara’ opposition, both within the army and
amonst the bureaucrats at the regional level. Given the level of financial
and economic problems citizens are currently facing, such radicalization
could lead to unforeseen circumstances that could well boil down to a
large scale unrest and strife.
Some folks within the Tigrean community hope that TPLF will hold on
to power for some time to come. They believe that through a consistent
reform and liberalization process, they will change the ethnic imbalance
within the government’s civilian and military structure and save
Tigreans from the hatred and antagonism they feel from other
Ethiopians. They see the ‘Code of Conduct’ signed between Hailu
Shawel and the ruling party as indicative of the progress that will
ultimately reduce the ethnic tensions between the two communities and
deliver on the hope of reform.
What these genuinely well-meaning people do not understand is that
nothing of substance has been achieved beyond Meles and Hailu’s
handshakes. Behind the scenes, the regime has intensified “ethnic
cleansing” against the Amharas through mass purging of soldiers and
bureaucrats. Some analysts suggest that since ANDM’s rank and file
have deserted him, Meles Zenawi is trying to warn them that they can
be replaced by Hailu’s group. Unfortunately, people know that with
nothing to offer to his supporters and well-wishers, Hailu cannot garner
the support of the Amhara and urban dwellers. He can easily be
discarded as an accomplice to the ethnic ‘apartheid’ system. The
agreement is a lose-lose deal for both Meles and Hailu.
Authentic and genuine reforms are needed to cool the ethnic tensions in
the country. I believe this is the last opportunity for the TPLF to embark
on a reforms agenda. The Tigrean elite aligned with regime should
seriously and carefully reflect on the ever worsening tension in Ethiopia
and its possible outcomes. For anyone, including foreigners, who have
been to Finfinne in the last few years, it is hard to miss the anti-Tigrean
climate that is brewing due to the regime’s increasingly dangerous
apartheid policies. It is a precarious condition for ethnic Tigreans; it’s
disastrous for all of us. It should not be allowed to continue. The
Tigrean elite should take the lead in challenging and pressuring the
regime to change its attitudes and policies.
Meles should have the courage to begin these political reforms, because
he is well positioned to legitimize his rule in the coming May 2010
elections. Through his many arrogant mistakes and wrong calculations,
he has created unprecedented level of ethnic animosity against the
Tigreans. He has let down the “golden” people who sacrificed tens of
thousands of their sons and daughters to bring him to power. For the
sake of these people, to show last minute respect to his fallen comrades
and to let them rest in peace and dignity, he should remove this cloud of
isolation and fear from his people. It is only fear of the unknown that
stops him from reaching this goal. What Meles has to fear is fear itself.
There is NO other road than the way of substantive political reforms, a
road less travelled in Ethiopian history, to legitimize power, unlock the
dangers of ethnic strife, and free Tigreans from the tension they feel in
their everyday life.
As we embrace for this holiday season, let’s remember our political
prisoners and if our income allows, let’s extend our helping hand to
their loved ones.
The writer can be reached at : jawarmd@gmail.com
Courtesy
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