Bena people are neighbours to the Hamer tribe. And it’s thought that the Bena are descendants from the Hamer several centuries ago. The Bena have their tribal chief called Bita, which is a title equivalent to a king.
Currently, the Bena people are in the 11th dynasty Bita. Fitawrari Mekonnen Duri is the son of the 7th dynasty Bita. He roughly estimates his age at over 85 years. He has been working with the successive governments that ruled Ethiopia since the reign of Emperor Hailesellasie I.
Starting his career as a teacher and school director he has passed through a lot of professions like acting and play write and politician. He is especially remembered for his active participation during the establishment of the transitional government which the PRDF formed after the downfall of the Derg Military Regime in May 1991. As a member of the transitional government’s people Representatives council, Fitawrari Mekonnen says he has fought against many harmful decisions that would have been passed by the council. Because of his ardent and honest political opposition, Fitawrari has spent 10 years of his life in jail during the reign of EPRDF.
Currently, he has come up with a new project that aims to bring about peace, reconciliation and sustainable development among the numerous ethnic groups of Southern Ethiopia as well as addressing the pressing issue of conflict resolution among the tribes that inhabit bordering areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda.
In his interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Fitawrari has elaborated on how he obtained his title, what he did as an actor, politician and what he is doing now as a community elder. Have a nice read:
Could you tell us about your educational background?
I attended my secondary school education at Teferi Mekonen School here in Addis Ababa. Teferi Mekonnen School is the second modern school in Ethiopia after Menelik Secondary School. Emperor Haile Selassie-I is known as the modernizer of Ethiopia. Modernization started by Emperor Menelik II got expanded by Emperor Hailesselasie I. But those who replaced him wanted to dismiss his name. Now the school is known as Entoto Polytechnic college. After I graduated from Teferi Mekonnen School, I joined a teacher training college. I was assigned to Kokobe Tsbah School. There I took my teacher training. Then I started teaching. I then became director of Arbegnoch and Amaha Desta Schools. Then I went to England to attend post-graduate diploma at Manchester.
What was your role in the transitional government of Ethiopia?
By the time EPRDF took power, Ethiopia was without a government. Then I was asked to represent the people of South Omo. I was asked to be a member of the transitional government, I accepted it and joined. There are many things that I did while I was a member of the transitional council. At that moment I opposed Meles Zenawi who suggested that “the teaching of history must be stopped. What has been taught is not Ethiopian history. It was a tribal history” I opposed that. I said “We can improve [the way to teach] history. Otherwise, the teaching of history should continue as it is” The whole parliament members accepted and it continued. Ethiopian history is not still written. But, I have written the history of the Beni people. The Beni land is demarcated by a red bull. Currently, Beni is in the 11th dynasty Bita. My father was the 7th dynasty Bita. According to Beni culture, the territory is demarcated by using a red bull. After sending the priests along with a red bull the land was demarcated.
How did you become Fitawrari?
It was up to the king to give titles to people of various ranks. Fitawrari is just below Dejazmach. The Emperor decided to give me that title. I was a runner. I used to run in school a distance of 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres. I was also an actor. I played mollie’s part. I was also a scout. When the Emperor saw me he decided to give me this title.
What were the theatres that you acted on?
The well-known actor of that time was Molleur. I played the part of The Miser in the 1950s. It was about someone who lost his money and was looking for it. That time the emperor laughed. And the other play was Gena Begebeya (Meaning) Christmas Market.
You are one of the top politicians during the establishment of the transitional government that replaced the derg. How was your working relationship with the ruling party EPRDF? What were your major contributions as a member of the council?
It went well but our difference was on the change of language. There was an issue to change the Amharic language. When you want to develop a language you invest a lot of money in human resources. A lot has been invested in Amharic. What is the problem with changing the language? I said no. The First Amharic language is a language in which Ethiopia has invested. The Amharic language also stores all the historical facts of the country. And then the rest of the parliament members accepted my idea and Ato Meles failed.
At one time Ethiopian diaspora group called for a meeting in Paris. We the Southern Ethiopian organization led by Prof Beyene Petros attended. EPRDF was also invited. The issue was how to solve the Ethiopian problem. Then we said there should be national reconciliation. If we can accept it or not. We told them we agreed. This was broadcasted internationally. Later, Ato Meles asked us how we accepted the idea of national reconciliation. You are with us. You are making benefit in the parliament. How do you do that? We said we have accepted it. A week later the meeting continued. But there was no change. At that moment OLF was in the parliament with the second-largest seat. Meles Asked “why reconciliation? To whom do we reconcile?” Then I said “You and the military regime should reconcile to make Ethiopia a land of peace” Then everybody laughed at me. I insisted that OLF and others should be reconciled. Without reconciliation, Ethiopia cannot be a land of peace.
And then the third situation came. He [Meles Zenawi] proposed that we should continue in the parliament or we should be dismissed. Then we were dismissed. At the moment there was an organization called Alternative Forces Council. This was borne from a meeting by a committee led by me to call a peace conference. It took place at Ghion hotel. The discussion formed the Alternative Forces Council. And the question of working on peace continued side by side. Alongside this, Jimmy Carter called a meeting. Professor Beyene Petros and I went to Atlanta Georgia, Jimmy Carter Center. Meles’ group did not send anybody. Then we returned to Ethiopia. A while later American Congress called another meeting. Again Professor Beyene and I went from here and Meles sent Dawit Yohannes, speaker of the council. We started the meeting with congressman Harry Johnson. At one point Dawit Yohannes echoed Meles saying that ‘Ethiopia is in peace and democracy; so no need for reconciliation’ Then I emotionally banged the table and said ‘Was it democratic action that you dismantled us from the parliament simply because we called for democracy?” Then Harry Johnson went between us. Then some people told me to remain in the US and promised to finance me. I told the delegate that just because something could happen to me I was not going to remain there. A while later when I returned home I was sent to jail. In jail, I spent 10 years, two months and 28 days.
EPRDF has been rejecting various chances of reconciliation. How do you see the downfall of reconciliation and peace?
Dispute and reconciliation started when mankind was created. When Adam disputed with God the dispute arose because Adam disobeyed God. If you ever disobey and eat that fruit you will die. And then he ate that fruit. And we have inherited the penalty. The coming of Jesus was to reconcile man with God. But the dispute continues. But man is always disobedient. How much do you obey your boss? Sometimes we say yes but we are disobedient.
There is a river, which originates from a place called Bako (in Oromia) and is called Gibe around there. It flows down towards Wolkite and until that place, it is known as Gibe. But after crossing the big bridge it is known as Omo. The problem of the central government is the failure to fairly distribute development. Development mostly focuses on those who make trouble. I am still afraid that after this challenging time passes the development will focus on those who have trouble. This war is going to wind up. The people of Ethiopia always stand together when there is an enemy. But after the victory, the outcome of the war goes to those trouble makers. Just as we formed unity during the problem, how are we going to administer the entire people? We expect this from Dr Abiy. It is also important to maintain the unity of the people that is formed by the war.
So I designed this program to contribute my share. On both banks of the river, Omo tribes from four governments come together. The tribes that live around Lake Turkana are Hammer, Dasenetch, Mursi and Nyangatom from Ethiopia, Turkana, Samburu and Masai from Kenya, Toposa and Noer from South Sudan, as well as Karamoja of Uganda, among others. They have war and raid cattle. AS a result, the fertile area instead of the beneficial area is a disturbing place always fighting across.
I am a native of the South Omo, Hammer or Beni. I have worked there as governor. While governor we used to meet with Kenyans. We used to solve problems peacefully. Now in response to the call of Abiy, I have come to implement a peace, reconciliation and development initiative called Yayo Project.
This project has various agendas. One is to engage the people around there is a dialogue and reconcile them. After reconciliation, it intends to establish a cultural centre in which the identities of all these people are represented. That will be the attraction and meeting place of the people. It will become a lasting agreement. The third one is to build a pastoralists training institute. After graduation, they will go to their places in clusters of various ethnic groups intermingled together.
How do you think does Yayo Project would solve problems among the people in South Omo, like conflict, lack of development etc…?
The project will solve these problems. People have to live together. It will bring them together. I am here to request Prime Minister Abiy to lay the cornerstone for the construction of the Center. We wish if he also invites the ambassadors of Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan to the cornerstone laying ceremony.
The People and administration of Hammer have designated 5000 square meters of land for the construction of the cultural centre. We also hope they will give us land for the construction of the training centre.
How can the training and cultural centre address the problems in the area sustainably?
These people have lived for ages fighting each other. Recently I went to the residential area of the Bodi tribes. There is a cotton plantation. This has prevented the people from agriculture for the last 10 years. So the development should take into consideration the needs of the people. There is also a cultural difference among the people. One of the ethnic groups may also refuse to share their resources with others. The training aims to bridge the gap between the people.
When I was administrator of the area called Hamer Bako, in the late 1960s, I tried to reconcile Mursi and Bena. I told them that they have not gained anything from their recurrent clashes and killings of each other. They also said they have suffered from it. So they agreed to reconcile. Accordingly, I told my housemaid to bring three beakers of tej [mead, traditional honey beer]. I ordered the tribal leaders to sip from the glasses four times from each glass. Sipping four times from a glass symbolizes the four teats of a cow which is a serious oath among the tribes. I had reconciled them like this. Such culture also exists among the tribes in neighbouring countries like Kenya. So it will help us to ensure durable peace among the people on the border. Yayo is an aggressive fox in Hammer and Beni language. The initiative is from the local people themselves.
No country should give priority to the interest of others. Any government stands for its people. If it does not prove its commitment to its people it will not be elected. So any government should prioritize the issue of its people and we cannot say why America is doing that.
What we have to do is to handle the matter wisely. We have to take a surprise action. One such action is implementing the Yayo Project. We have to gather ambassadors and other people for peace. In addition, we have to calm down and refrain from aggressiveness in our actions and responses.
Thank you!
You are welcome!
BY ZEKARIAS WOLDEMARIAM
ETHIOPIAN HERALD 21 SEPTEMBER 2021
