Ethiopia is in Turmoil

Ethiopians and their learning curve 

By Yilma Bekele

Our country Ethiopia is in turmoil. We all feel the pain. I have not met an Ethiopian that is not in agony when speaking of the homeland. We are worried about the famine. We can never escape the scrooge of inflation whipping our family back home.

The last few years pain has been our story. The World Bank, the IMF even President Obama might try to convince our people otherwise but reality has defied them all. Our country is still considered to be at the bottom of Human Developmental Index that measures vital statistics that shows where we rank compared to the world.

Our country being next to last in such basic but important issues as life expectancy, education and Income has probably got something to do with all this turmoil we are experiencing now.

There are a few things going simultaneously in our country. The regime is still immobile and very uncertain. The economy is wobbling due the situation in Europe and China. Arbenoch/Ginbot7 are on the move both militarily and politically. ESAT is heard all over Ethiopia.

To add to the fire the ‘ethnic’ card planted and nurtured by Woyane is coming home. The so-called ‘Master Plan’ drawn to steal land is coming under fire. It was only a few months back that the Federal Affairs boss Abbay Tsehaye vowed the “Plan’ will be implemented and anyone that does not follow the directive will be dealt with. He made the speech in some “Oromo’ meeting to put the cadres on notice. His tone was harsh and his eyes were glaring.

Today students all over Ethiopia are exercising an act of defiance against the dictatorial regime in charge. College and High school students are leading the struggle against tyranny. It is a fitting tribute to their history. They are not landowners but they feel the pain of their people that are losing their livelihood so TPLF mafia can sell it to build a condo. What becomes of our parents they are asking?

A lot is being said about the current upheaval. Thanks to Social Media we can witness the resoluteness of our people and the terrorist acts of the mafia regime. What is baffling to me the insertion of the ‘ethnic’ identity in this confrontation.

It demeans the struggle of the young people. The “Master Plan’ is what ignited the current fire but it has been smoldering for a long time. They are rebelling against injustice. They are asking to be heard. They are demanding to be involved in such far-reaching decision as the taking of private land.

The question the students are raising is applicable to all of Ethiopia. No one escapes the grip of the mafia Woyane regime. Ethiopia is a rural country. Land is what all the citizen got. Land defines the person. Our young people are questioning the authority that is making their people land less.

We support them whole-heartedly because it is the right question for educated people to raise. Education opens the eye to injustice and that has been the tradition of the fathers and mothers of these students and they are following on their footsteps. Why are some flavoring this righteous struggle in ethnic terms? Who is to benefit from that? We are aware of what is done in Gambela. We have seen Woyane pit the South against the Amhara and repeat it in the Beneshangul. The ethnic card is Woyanes favorite weapon.

We are not falling for the same Woyane trick again or are we? We Ethiopians boast of having the best learning curve. Didn’t we learn how to maneuver among the big powers and stay free? The last forty years we have experienced situations like the one we are faced with today and we have learned how to deal with it.

We have discovered Unity is the recipe. We all believe the ‘Master Plan’ is anti Ethiopian. It is void of public participation, lacks community support and is nothing but a ‘ponzi scheme’ to enrich a lot of Woyane and a few of their underlings. Thus all of Ethiopia is with the people that are affected with the current Woyane madness and they say No!

The famine was the big news as it should be. The famine is affecting over fifteen million Ethiopians. The issue was being raised and Woyane clique was being cornered. The plight of our people was becoming headlines. We do not appreciate such publicity. It is negative and says things about us that we do not like to hear. But the people dying are real. So we welcomed it reluctantly as long as our people survive even for a day.

The ‘uproar’ about the ‘Master Plan’ has eclipsed the famine. Is it Woyanes doing or is it a simple innocent coincidence is something to think about. Both are a curse on our people. We are also aware of the mind of Woyane to create diversion when in a tight spot. This confusion has given them a small respite but it is just temporary.

Chairman Berhanu Nega of Arbenoch G7 was in Brussels this last week and in a speech he made at the European Parliament he made a very clear statement regarding the intentions of the Front he is leading and the road forward. His statement was not ambiguous at all when he said ‘ I am here to tell you in no uncertain terms that the people of Ethiopia are simply tired of this situation and would rather fight for their freedom by what ever means necessary than accept to live under such a brutalizing tyranny in the twenty first century.’

The speech was not just a rhetorical exercise. It was backed with a young, robust and smart organization behind it. It is the fruit of a long arduous task of defining a goal and devising ways of achieving the prize. The task is systematically being implemented. The formation of United Movement for the Salvation of Ethiopia through Democracy (UMSED) is a major achievement. It is a sign we Ethiopians are at last learning to stand together to face a common problem.

It is a very important declaration when Chairman Berhanu said ‘ It is only by having a broad based national reconciliation process, an all inclusive transitional process, and a real and meaningful democratization of Ethiopia that the specter of conflict, instability and yes terrorism can be averted effectively and durably.’

Yes we have learned not to be diverted from our goal of liberating our country. We understand the nature of the mafia regime to create outrageous situations to get us off the track. The Eritreans, Ginbot7, Al Shabaab, OLF, Muslims and many more have been used as enemy of the moment. The game is becoming tiring. The ringmaster is gone and his replacements are still playing from the same book. It is sad to see some that should know better are beating the same drum of hate and exclusive war. They are making Woyanes job of divide and rule a lot easier.

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