Political fragmentation sponsored by some Ethiopians overseas who are encouraging bloodshed in remote control are calling for total war in the country unless they lead the political order for their interest ruling out the interest of more than 100 million citizens in the country and at foreign lands.
While armed groups in the country are shedding the blood of innocent children in the name of democracy and self-determination, Ethiopians in academia here and abroad have chosen to remain indifferent and disinterested. That is why the author believes that indifference is no less than being part of the problem.
We have thousands of agitators, activists and “well-known” politicians who have no solution for the plights of their country except heaping blame on the government and its officials.
The author recalls from his personal readings that during the reign of Emperor Tewodros, local warlords conspired against him and served as couriers for the invading British forces at Mekdela. Some of what is going on today resembles the same situation the Emperor had to face.
It is clear that we do not have a perfect and blameless government in this country, we may not even have one in the future but the Ethiopian intelligentsia and those politicians who are lamenting from near and afar have a constitutional and historical obligation to enter into dialogue and work with the elected government if they are concerned for their country.
For more than three decades, opposition political parties have been calling for a transitional government even when an elected government is operating in the country. Some even tried to form a transition government abroad and tried to import it back to Ethiopia. None of this materialized because some of the opposition parties had antagonistic interests with parties with whom they claimed to for a transition government.
Some political parties and armed groups want to come to power by asking for power sharing on a clean plate with no need for elections. The whole thing boils down to the fact that some politicians or political groups have no respect for the people of Ethiopia and they want to entangle citizens into elitist politics by calling for dialogue among the political parties and not with the public representatives. This shows their utter disregard for the sovereign rights of the people of Ethiopia.
Look! Our education system is grappling with all kinds of problems including quality education. Now millions of our children in various regions of the country are out of school due to forced evictions and threatening acts by armed groups to close down schools and marketplaces. This is what they understand by democracy and socio-economic development. They are not interested in dialogue because they do not have a concrete agenda to present to the people of Ethiopia.
Over the last half a century, it has become fashionable to establish “liberation” movements some of which were at odds with each other. Every party needed liberation without clearly defining from what and where they wanted to liberate themselves. Everything was shrouded with the gun from which liberation flows like crude oil. This is incredible and idiosyncratic, to say the least.
Some media outlets have already come up with views that show Ethiopia is taken as a second level while ethnic identity should prevail at a higher level completely defying the history of Ethiopia. Some have even dared to deny that they are Ethiopian while carrying Ethiopian passports in their pockets. Some have even failed to acknowledge the importance of the Ethiopian tri-color which depicts unity in diversity among the people of Ethiopia.
Distorted understanding of power politics in the country, an archaic political strategy that is based on analysis based on the era of Zemene Mesafint (Era of Princes), living today with obsolete political outlook of the past characterizes some of the views held by our political scholars who are impervious to any political outlook that honors the history and culture of their own country.
It is a pity to see that quite a few of our learned politicians are intoxicated with political xenophobia of the Western neo-liberal outlook that does not effectively synchronize with the objective reality in the country. Moreover, our politicians who are fond of press releases here and abroad are tied down with endless polemics, and dogmatic views that are mostly imported from abroad with no value added that could make it relevant to the objective reality in Ethiopia.
Unless the politicians in this country come together and discuss outstanding issues related to their country, they will certainly be irrelevant in old age and continue to cry out echoing irrelevant views that can bear no solution for this country.
The people of Ethiopia need good food, healthy life and shelter, peace and improved livelihood not a barrage of press releases that would not hold water. We all have a need towards fulfilling these needs instead of wasting time on endless polemics.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2024
