My Comment To “The Criminals With Worth Motives” & To The “Problem Solvers”
By Getachew Reda
Recently, the talk and the concern of Human Rights issue in Ethiopia by concerned US officials seemed to be in its climax since after the sixteen years of long painful years of abuse by the US protected groups came to power in 1991.
What gave special flavor to the discussion in Capitol Hill regarding Human Rights concern in Ethiopia, in particular the Ogaden Issue is the actors who involved in the discussion.
HR- 2003 (House Resolution 2003?) was the trigger to the discussion of the whole issue of Human rights abuse in Ethiopia. Regardless the struggle for HR 2003 to pass as a law demanded by dedicated patriotic Ethiopian American citizens asking the Congress to restrict US support to the tyrant in Ethiopia was going on for so long without significant lip.
This time, after the opposition CUD leaders came to the US for a business tour (to further severely divided the already fragmented Diaspora society*) took a sudden turn, on which the demand got the highest support ever by the House, and thus, caught the TPLF elites by surprise to the extent the TPLF Ambassador engulfed with furious attitude.
The Human and Power abuse by the Meles lead government of TPLF in Ethiopia was challenged this time by different actors that came to the stage each to present their grievances as a plaintiff against the system. Some of course were also defendants of the system. Among them also were some elements that claim neutral (defendant and plaintiff “pro/Con”. Each actors including Congress women/men Payne, Smith, Lee and others of sponsors of the event participated as problem solvers to the complex issue in Ethiopia).
Interestingly, all the congressmen and women are not familiar with Ethiopia and Ethiopian politics involved the actors namely OLF/ONLF/TPLF the source for the misery. I am not sure also, if, these distinguished American politicians familiar with the culture, the attitude, the history and interest of the Ethiopian peasants apart from the attitude of the elites mentioned leaders of such organizations who are the source of the havoc to start with.
As many of you those from the North part of Ethiopia are well familiar with the “Arabs” unique street smart and cleverness ability to fool a stranger/guest- which only us can observe/read easily their doubled personality; sure, the Habesha character have more harder hidden character to detect than the Arabs when it comes what he/she thinks inside about a particular issue when she approach risky or an official.
It is this reason why the Arabs do not like us to be around them for thinking we might knew their attention before their victim new it (market, trade, conversation…). This is why the Arabs referred to us on their talk with their warning proverb “If you see a snake and Habesha slanderous, you have to kill the Habsha first before you kill the snake”. So do those brothers from ONLF/OLF who seemed victims in the eye of the foreigners easily did fool some of the ill-informed Congress members when I weigh their rhetoric on the presentation.
Dr. Berhanu of the CUD of course was one among of the problem solvers whom he commented how to solve such complex issue and find the way out of the quagmire we are in came with a solution –I will paraphrased him, “it is democracy, it is simple- that is all there is to it.. this is not too much to ask for any opposition from a government….. “. Dr. Berhanu himself as you recall was lately the subject of the front page of the website head lines commentary for his new rhetoric philosophy of “Urbanite politics” contrary to the “Fara Politika ”- (geTere- YalseleTene Poletika).
Dr.Berhanu, continued commenting his solution to the problem; he said “ Interestingly enough, not only the CUD, but the opposition outside the country, the opposition that has chosen pushed by the government to raise arms has also agreed that… these are important starting points for negotiation with the government. The opposition is ready to have discussion with government…”
I am guessing that the group he is referring as “pushed by the government chosen to raise arms” are OLF/ONLF specifically.
And you and I know that these are not pushed by the government “by any Ethiopian government system” to pick up a gun to tarnish Ethiopia as the colonizers of the Oromo and the Ogaden people. The issue here we want to focus is that these group’s demand was never been “democracy” as Dr. Berhanu Nega wanted us to believe. One shouldn’t have to chose arms to demand cessation if one to seek democracy work or develop. Demand for disintegration, preaching a settled society as a colonized society to create worst havoc is worst than living in a country that lacks democracy.
Demand for societies dismantling and disintegration as a solution to search for democracy itself is not the attitude of political opposition but the attitude of “criminal entities”
As you well know, OLF and ONLF are simply one organization of several ethnic different oromo and Somali ethnic groups. They fooled many people as if OLF/ONLF as the sole representative of the given societies. The story and the reality on the ground is different than the distorted pictures that is manipulated as the real image. This grossly distorted image in the Diaspora world outside Ethiopia seemed as real, because these organizations were there for many years bringing havoc and death and starvation to the area before the newly born Somali and Oromon different ethnic clan organizations and representatives came out to the surface recently in numbers involved in politics.
OLF and ONLF as the sole representatives of the given communities/clans that was been distortedly perpetuated for so long will take a different road-map if these groups participated in real politics in time and will devalue the demand of OLF.
What are the demand and issue of the OLF and ONLF? What do they want from Ethiopia? Their demand is as Ethiolion.com posted it rightly on its website.
“Are OLF and ONLF calling for democratization or cessation? Why some attempt to cover up for them”?
“ONLF is a national liberation front that fights for the rights of the Ogaden Somalis to self-determination in order to decide their future as is enshrined in the universal declaration of Human rights and considers Ethiopia as a colonial state that took part in the European Scramble for the colonization of Africa in the 19th century.”
http://www.onlf.org/press_foreignRelations_jan282007.htm
Yes, the above evidence obtained from their document available to the public as we speak doesn’t support the assertion of Dr. Berhanu’s or Congressman Payne’s regarding ONLF true picture. As we all followed them, motive of ONLF/OLF in search of Democracy was never been the case as Berhanu told us -being pushed out by the government of Meles Zenawi or the previous once chosen to raise up guns-.
The talk of democracy they mention here and there was an excuse to disturb a steady nationhood “Ethiopia” as cover-up with the such aim of dismantling the people’s life to a worst anarchic situation as we saw it in Somalia (clan against clan, warlord against warlord).
When you trying to draw political conclusions from the hearing, the actors who involved as a problem solvers are not themselves aware of the historical background and the nature of the actors who picked up a gun demanding secession currently involving in the business of massacring innocent lives without no one authorized them to demand secession or even no one voted them to represent the community they are saying fighting for.
Our ancestors were the real problem solvers when it comes to solving grievances and discomforts when arose among society. They were characterized as men of self-confidence who seem rarely to doubt their ability to prevail. They worked together with communities and got advice before they gave decision that made them men accustomed to winning. Unfortunately, our present problem solvers are so weak and vulnerable to the extent they can’t even protect or save themselves from enemy vengeance let alone to defend the entire country from mercenaries. Their talk and position is so wimpy and vulnerable, which never included pre- authorization of community when created a necessary temporary alliance with enemies. They do sign alliance of agreement with no one informed to only end up with more disappointments and fragmentations.
You and I knew secessionist organizations pursue their ambition and integrity with deception and falsehood. Their elites live outside Africa and their links are all outsiders who are anti Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, culture, existence and history. They burned churches and villages, killed group of communities, create animosity between villagers who never been ready for such conflict.
Lately, they are supported by Arab, Egyptian websites who allowed their stinking articles rejected in many of the Ethiopian websites and their own websites who lack readers, posted for them to boost their failing mercenary moral with their latest campaign of “Don’t call them Ethiopian, call them Abyssinians, Habesha, Yemen, Judah, Axumite…). These are not serious politicians or victims either. They are ordinary forest punks manipulated by outsider supporters who lack ordinary wisdom.
Who supported ONLF/OLF?
It is the Americans and Europeans and Arabs. Look at the hearing HR2003 and carefully listen to the fellow from Washington DC representing Human Rights office, who was dying all day long focusing reporting only how TPLF is abusing the Ogaden population (which I have no problem of his report) but playing a cat and mice game when it came to expose the real perpetrator the ONLF terrorist’s crime and Human Rights abuse on which he simply stated it “they burn villages, killed group of people and so on …which is against the rule of war-) without going after them seriously .
Ridiculous as it was from the fellow who simply was one sided: - worst hearing also from a lady came from Canada defending ONLF trying to brainwash us sating going back to the old government systems and monarchs as the source case for her ONLF pushed to demand secession without mentioning an iota of word/ I, mean a single word of Human Rights abuse that might have been committed by ONLF. How can one call himself/herself defendant of Human Rights while intentionally failed to report the abuse sin and crime of the other side against humanity regardless who the victim was?
Shockingly to hear also Jandayi Fraser and Donald Payne being so soft on ONLF. What did Congressman Payne said about ONLF? He thinks they are not terrorists and they are only fighting in search of democracy. (Nonsense, to say the least). What did Jandayi Fraser say about ONLF? Hearing and knowing the fellow from Washington Human Right base reporting that ONLF also committed Human atrocity “including burning villages and group murder…of those who opposed them), she was hesitant to labeled them as terrorists. And warned them to de-touch themselves from associating with terrorists as if there is worst terrorist than ONLF/OLF. Why? Because as said earlier, it is the American true character that she is reflecting.
Americans are known for feeding and hosting and opening offices for two adversaries, both their hands nourishing the two adversaries at the same time for both sides to see them abolish each other at the end, enjoying their demise of havoc as spectator. The actors of havoc in reality hiding behind the screen are Americans and Europeans. The whole planet earth knows them. Go each country and search government and government enemies. You will see all of them (all kind of parties and government- knowing one abusing the other) hosted in the name of neutrality allowing them to operate their activity to destabilize a stable nation to be divided into new several countries with different fabricated new flags of which the elites created them on behalf of the people with no authorization of the public to do. This is possible because of Americans and Europeans support. Americans are particularly, unreliable friends. It is this situation that the planet earth is facing. They treat politics as a commercial business trade
As long as the Americans continue hosting OLF/ONLF as their guest and friends to allowing them to open offices in their land as “political” organization- the labeling of “criminals with worthy motive fighting for democracy” will be taken lightly and will let these extremists allowed be well defended by some congressmen and walk freely all over Europe and America with their spokes persons regardless how many life they took away by their command and order in the name of democracy.
Yes, it this canvas that covered their dirt; unfortunately, there are some problem solvers who are direct or indirect telling us “it is not his fault after all if his mission is to destroy evil with evil. We know he is bad, but, since he is doing evil for the sake of good” .In this case anyone who is drunk with evil is immune from responsibility if he is pushed by the government to raise arms using democracy as a cover to commit human atrocity, massacre and dismantle a stable country to create havoc.
If Americans are going to restrict and penalize TPLF government officials, it is imperative also have to equally hold ONLF/OLF accountable and shut down their offices and their chapters for what is been reported on the hearing as well if Americans are really talking about justice. No double standard should allow continuing. /- Ethiopia will prevail!
