The Grave Danger of unbridled hatred: Is there a stop to the madness?

By Zekarias Ezra

It was a mere 30 years or so ago that Ethiopians were living under a military dictatorship camouflaged as a democratic republic.

Beginning with the massacre of the 60 high government officials, the Derg continued what it did best – killing anyone that it perceived as a threat to its power.  The killing program, dubbed, Red Terror, claimed, by some accounts, as many as 500,000 Ethiopians.

These mostly young Ethiopians (sometimes 2 or 3 or even more from a single family) would be massacred in the night and their bodies would be thrown in the streets, deliberately, so they could serve as a deterrent. According to Save the Children account, children under 13 were being killed.

In God’s appointed time, the Derg finally crumbled. All Ethiopians, overtly or covertly, had contributed to the struggle.

Yet, it was the people of Tigray and TPLF who bore the lion’s share for the successful defeat of the Derg. These courageous patriotic people have paid a lot in their lives to get rid of the Derg and to liberate Ethiopia from the jaw, as it were, of that wicked government.

On May 28, 1991, TPLF/EPRDF stormed the palace and took control of Addis after Gen. Tesfayeeffectively surrendered the previous day by agreeing to cede control of basically the country to the advancing fighters of TPLF/EPRDF.

TPLF was the core organization politically and militarily within the coalition i.e. EPRDF.

It was indeed a new beginning for Ethiopia!

The subsequent management of the new found ‘freedom’ and ‘new beginning’, however, had been fraught with many issues, not the least of which was the introduction of ethnic regionalization.

Because of this rearrangement, TPLF/EPRDF summarily demobilised the thousands of TPLF fighters to give way to the new recruits from other ethnic groups. These freedom fighters were simply ‘dumped’. No doubt many remained bitter and resentful. Not to mention the unsettling the change had caused throughout the country from which we are still reeling.

However, notwithstanding the ‘rumor’ that every Tigray has immensely benefited simply because Meles and co were sitting in the highest offices in the land, the lives of the ordinary Tigray hardly improved.

More often than not it is true perception is reality!

Under this unfair perception, the people of Tigray have been accused of unjustly benefitting at the expense of the rest of Ethiopia.

TPLF and its brain child EPRDF had the chance to lead Ethiopia to a genuinely democratic country. Regrettably, they had squandered the opportunity. 

No wonder then the late PM Meles Zenawi is arguably remembered for setting the country on a path of economic growth but at the same time undermining multicultural and harmonious nature of Ethiopian society and setting in its place an ethnic nationalism.  Even then it is undeniable that Meles was, by and large, a no-nonsense politician who provided political stability.

Ethiopia is a difficult country to govern, even with the best of intentions and the peaceful platitudes. It is fraught with multitude of economic and social problems in a cauldron of regional/ethnic tensions.

With TPLF losing in the ‘palace maneuver’ and the new self-appointed reformers giving lip service to quell the unbridled hatred against ordinary Tigrayan’s, the peace loving, and heroic people of Tigray have sadly found themselves in the receiving end of the ‘times’, being incessantly blamed for everything wrong in Ethiopia. Oh yes, there is a good excuse and pretext on how it is being orchestrated and done.

They say, ‘we are not after ordinary Tigray, no, we are not, we are after TPLF and Getachew Assefa.’.  While I am at this, can anyone tell me how on earth one individual has wielded such enormous power that even after he has left office, he is still revered and blamed for everything that is happening now? The answer is clear: It is all nonsense.

All would agree that for any crime committed EPRDF must be held to account. This, however, must not mean TPLF only. It must include all members of EPRDF. Each of these organizations must be held to account for every crime, human right violation, blunder, etcetera that took place in their respective regions. This is a fact. They cannot be allowed a free pass simply because they think they succeed in offering TPLF as a scape goat.

The better path would have been for Dr Abiy government to leave the pursuit of justice to the freely and democratically elected government come 2020.

Alas! It seems that ODP/ADP wants to score points and settle old grudges and at the same time escape judgment. If not, you tell me, what is the rationale behind producing a documentary with the sole objective of ‘showing the crimes of TPLF’, by extension the ‘wenbede Tigre’? The people of Tigray, so goes the narrative, are harboring TPLF fugitives.

It is a fact that such innuendos are alienating the people of Tigray. It is making them feel vulnerable particularly those who live in the other parts of Ethiopia. An agitated public might seek to make them a target. No one should doubt the heroic character of the people of Tigray to defend their own when push comes to shove.

Yet, we must ask ourselves: Are we certain that this path will bring a lasting peace for Ethiopia? 

Day in and day out plenty of propaganda is disseminated charging the people of Tigray to give up Getachew, Abay etcetera as though it is only these TPLF/EPRDF officials who had committed the alleged atrocities. Did anyone ask the people of Oromia to give up Dr Workeneh, Abadula etcetera? How about the people of the South to give up Shiferaw?  How about Degu Andargachew and Demeke? No! You hardly hear a whimper. What do we expect the people of Tigray to feel when they see the obvious injustice and partiality?

No one in their right mind can accuse the people of Tigray of benefitting at the expense of the rest of their Ethiopian brothers and sisters. If anything, these people have sacrificed a lot with the lives of their sons and daughters. They are not responsible for the crimes and atrocities allegedly committed by TPLF/EPRDF. On the contrary, if the rest of the Ethiopian people have a right to demand justice (and they have), then a fortiori the people of Tigray have a much stronger reason to demand TPLF/EPRDF be held to account for squandering the sacrifices of their gallant fighters.  

Ethiopia is already in a political conundrum stemming from the misguided politicization of ethnicity. An exclusive ethnic political party cannot claim to represent the interests of all. A single ethnicity cannot govern effectively in a multi-ethnic country. Yet, we have pretended for long that it can be done if it is called EPRDF. It did not work. It will never work.

The path that is being pursued is not a wise one. As a people, we will all go down together. It must be stopped. The focus must be on the coming election.  

 

AP(አ ፖ ) notes :
What is going on in Ethiopia is incomprehensible. It has exposed who really Amhara are. TPLF overthrew the military regime and has to be honoured. What we see now is Ethiopia under Lemma Mergessa Team has become anti-Tigray anti-Somalia. The people of Afar and other regions will also be persecuted unless they accept the new leaders who are against the equality of all tribes or nationalities in Ethiopia. Ethiopians should not accept the so-called "መደመር"  policy as it means bringing back the Amhara domination. There is a need to change the current Ethnic Federalism. A new political map based on history, geography, economic advantages or disadvantages ect. For example, The Oromo or Gall territory should not be that large. Ethiopian Somali Region should also be changed to address historical issues. Diredawa cannot be  part of Somali Region and so is Harrar. These are a mixture of Oromo and Amhar people. The Somali are more on Ogaden area and adjacent Somali country. The Agew people will need their own regional state. It is a shame Gambella has a regional government and the historical people of Agew wo built the rock hewn churches of Lalibella do not qualify to have their own regional state. Areas like Gambella should not be a province or a regional state. Gambela belongs to all Ethiopians living in the area, no to Anuak or Nur tribe. There has been no tribal chief from Anuak or Nur ruling Gambella. The pont is the the current federal system based on ethno-linguistic criteria should be changed. There should be enough room for ethnic groups, but should lead to unity.