BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
Today’s guest Negasi Beyene was born in Mekelle town of Tigray State, Ethiopia. He attended elementary and high school education at Meseret and Emperor Yohannes Schools respectively. He pursued higher education in Russia where he graduated with both Bachelors’s and Master’s Degrees from Moscow State University. He then received an additional MA from San Diego State University in Biostatistics.
He works at DHHS-Center for Disease Control and Prevention. A human right activist and statistician Negasi lives in Washington D.C. The Ethiopian Herald had a short stay with Negasi and talked about a range of issues directly or indirectly related to Ethiopia’s current political scenario. Enjoy reading!
How do you comprehend and enlighten the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)?
From the very start, they did not have a good reputation as they exploit the people of Tigray, especially the farmers. If farmers refuse to provide what the members of the group ask for, they would assail them mercilessly with a hot iron and/or hot sickles. They even show them cruelty by burying prisoners below the neck and driving cattle over them. In addition to this, TPLF also had a dark prison in a cave where only a few lucky people can manage to escape.
Unfortunately, the person who comes out is more likely to be sick as he/she would not see the sun for more than a week; if the health status of a prisoner does not return to its former level immediately, he/she would fall sick or die as they are deprived of food during their stay in the dark prison.
In addition to this, if the family of the arrested person is known, they (TPLF) will take the prisoner out of the dark prison and hand him over to his family after they understand that he will die after a week and confirm that there is no possibility of his existence on earth. Possibly, the released prisoner will die after a few days.
The activity of TPLF in general is filled with a lot of fraud and deceit. It can be said that the group did not even have a taste for democracy. This organization has tortured the people of Tigray for 47 years. Especially before I got arrested during the Red Terror, some of my close friends used to say to me, “You would rather go to the battlefield than be arrested.” Therefore, I was thinking of going out.
However, since I was paying attention to my studies, I neglected the matter. As the matter got worse, I started to scrutinize the situation. I was forced to decide by observing corpses left and right at Emperor Yohannes Secondary School. During that time, I had only two choices: either join the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) or go down to the battlefield. But at that time, I began to read the manifesto of the TPLF carefully. I noticed two contradicting ideas which pushed me not to go with them. Chapter one of the manifesto portrays Tigray as an economically developed state while chapter two states that Tigray is impoverished and oppressed by the Amhara people. In this way, I found the first and second chapters to be contradictory, so I decided not to commit my life to these liars.
I was once arrested because of the Red Terror. However, since I was released, I went to Russia, in fear of the Derg regime even if I had been getting the chance of entering Addis Ababa University, as the national problem had not been resolved. After spending some time in Russia, I headed to America. I currently work at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Washington DC and spend the rest of my time serving my country.
All in all, T-TPLF is an anti-people party from the beginning and has applied Pseudo-democracy which never works for it. By now their days are coming to the end with their graves having been dug up and I think that the people will find out what the truth is.
What do you think is the reason for the contradiction of ideas portrayed in chapter one and chapter two of the TPLF manifesto?
Since the TPLF was communist at the time, Tigray had to be able to fulfil five things to be called a Tigray nation. These are culture, language, topography, psychological unity and economic development. That is what Joseph Stalin’s book says. It is copied from Joseph that a society must fulfil five things to be called a nation. The members of TPLF said that they are fighting for building the nation, so they did that to assume nationhood.
Any organization that claims to be a nation must always have enemies. If there is no enemy, the people will not join the movement. Therefore, the one who was declared the enemy is the Amhara people. The reason given is that Tigray was not developed because Amhara oppressed it. It is meant to be used to wake people up.
This group made the people of Tigray and Ethiopia suffer, so what do you think is the long-term solution for the people of Tigray?
War is an unnecessary thing for any normal society. Considering war as a lonely solution, TPLF has characteristics of resolving problems through applying to give and take principles. If we pay attention to their history, they resolved everything through war. They used war to defeat Derg, EPRP, EDU and others. It stabbed TLF party members while they were sleeping saying that Tigray cannot bear these two political organizations. They talked to one another and decided to unite and become one organization, invite TLF party members to dinner and killed all except one lucky person among them who managed to escape.
Therefore, TPLF’s habit of backstabbing is its long-ingrained behaviour. Its character is cunny. Of course, they are being weakened by the current war. The people of Tigray have suffered 47 years of pain as they have nowhere to go except for the leaders and their families.
Currently, the people of Ethiopia are well aware of their tricks. When it was in power, because of the suffering it inflicted on the Ethiopians, they knew its tricks well, so I have full hope that Ethiopia’s unity will come from now on. I believe that the current war will end with the victory of the federal government. TPLF should be disarmed and its leaders should be accountable by the law.
This is something that the government itself decides. But there is an element that needs to be restored. Previously, something went wrong in the interim administration of Tigray that should have been set up earlier. If this is said to be a mistake, the people who were appointed at that time are TPLF lovers. They are those who have not removed the TPLF from their hearts.
Therefore, I think it would be good if all those who belong to their cells are replaced by others and worked properly. At present, some believe that the terrorist TPLF is an inauthentic organization. They killed 53 people who stood for change and truth during the eight months of the interim administration in Tigray. Most of the leaders were their friends. I say that the government should pay attention because it needs to be very careful after this. If this is not the case, we Ethiopians are paying debts.
What is expected from the people of Tigray at the moment? How should the natives of Tigray abroad help Ethiopia?
When the federal government evacuated from the Tigray region due to some reason, the group came from the cave where it was hidden and reorganized by bringing out the hidden weapons which enabled them to invade some parts of Ethiopia again. Therefore, it should be clear that they should be fully disabled. The group should be punished in a way that they could not revive again. I understand one thing. I know the pressure put on Ethiopia as TPLF enablers do this to rescue the terrorist group. These anti-peace elements have no desire for Ethiopia to be stable.
Therefore, if the people of Tigray can be sure that the TPLF has disarmed, it has no interest in it. The threat to the people of Tigray is that the TPLF is attacking it. He prefers silence considering the terrorist group might come back even if defeated. The people of Tigray, like other Ethiopians, want to express their happiness by going out in the streets.
However, the threat is the activities of the malicious group. Even if the people want to express joy, what scares them from doing this is the TPLF cells that reside within the people. These cells intimidated the people not to do so. This is what had been observed during the interim administration.
When a meeting is called, if they go out and participate, they will receive a threat that they would face retaliation upon their return. Apart from this, the people are scared of false propaganda. As the group is well-versed in propaganda, it puts the people in danger with its falsehoods. The so-called “Dimtse Woyane” (Voice of TPLF) is used to echo the propaganda it has already presented.
Therefore, I believe that the people in Tigray know the tricks of TPLF and they will not have any problems except fear. Of course, people can expose TPLF cells to the ruling government. TPLF cells that reside abroad are the children of these terrorist leaders. These kids came for scholarships, they live in expensive houses and drive a hundred thousand dollars cars. Since this team’s defeat is closely related to their interests, they are actively involved in rolling in every square. They are hiring a lobbyist who can influence Ethiopia.
When the TPLF were in power, they were busy spending the money stolen from Ethiopia to attack their motherland. However, the majority of people in Tigray are in a nationalist mood. Nationalism is a disease in itself. I say that a person should be respected as a person. Every person is equal when God created human beings. As long as this is the case, it is wrong to deny that and to say that Tigrayan is different.
I am sure the current situation in Ethiopia is getting better and better. I am sure that Ethiopia will continue to be united as before. I do not support what you call a nation or region. I think the government will also think about this issue. I desire to see Ethiopia and Africa become united.
Following the defeat of the TPLF, big pressure came against Ethiopia from the West; what do you think the diaspora should do in fighting against international influences?
It is debatable to judge whether the diaspora support is enough or not but the Diaspora is doing everything possible to support their country. Years ago, about the release of Sibhat Nega, and the violence of civilians by Shene in the Wollega, Oromia State, there was a small division among the Diaspora. However, now we are trying to explain everything to the diaspora using the media to avoid division. We told them that if they have a complaint against the country and the ruling government, you should be clear about why the westerners did not want it.
The reason they do not want the government is that it is better for Ethiopia and it does not want to accept the orders of the West. The international pressure on Ethiopia is because the government will not allow others to twist its hands. If the government in power was ready to receive any order from the west, the westerners would not have remembered where the TPLF is.
The current problem is that they are trying to turn the issue into neo-colonialism. TPLF has worked with the West for several years since its inception.
They have a long-standing relationship with Suzan Rice. They called one another while celebrating their birthdays. TPLF has never worked for the benefit of Tigray in particular or Ethiopia in general. It is only for a certain group that has gathered itself as a Mafia.
As a result, most of the Ethiopians living abroad understood that the attitude of Westerners is below the expected. What is on the ground and the information they spread contradicts one another?
I, for example, thought that CNN might exaggerate a bit but it presents the truth. However, I understand that it fabricated stories that do not exist. In general, the media and the intelligence agency of the country where I live, and their government are intertwined and release information tailored to their benefit. Here, I think there is something that we (Ethiopians) do not understand. It is possible to oppose the government itself when we have a country, however, we can oppose and support those who do not have a country. If there is no country, there is no government. If there is no government, then there is nothing we can oppose.
Therefore, what the West wants is for us to continue in a blood-soaked land without a government. We should do the opposite, we should not join them and throw stones at Ethiopia. So, that is why we diasporas are holding a peaceful demonstration in Washington DC.
The peaceful demonstration was held in front of the White Palace at two o’clock. We will continue. Another thing that is being done is how to approach the senators and congress members to make them stand up for the benefit of Ethiopia. It is expected that we will convey a message that if the candidates do not stand by Ethiopia and Eritrea, we will not vote for them in 21 of the 50 states in America where Ethiopians are the majority.
When there is an election in America, most Ethiopians do not go out to vote. During those days, many of them do not know whom to vote for. Therefore, we are giving this kind of approach and we are awakening the Ethiopians on how to do it. If we do this, I hope we can bring about some change. The voice of our Ethiopians is needed to bring about change. For example, in the past, the governor of Virginia has been changed. In Maryland, we are doing the same. Therefore, our ancestors fought against these Westerners and won by paying for their blood. If we sacrifice our time and money, we can rescue our beloved country –Ethiopia.
Apart from the Terrorist group, western media outlets which sided with TPLF have now been defeated. So, what is your opinion on that?
We did not realize the plot these western media are doing until it happened to us Ethiopians, but what they are doing is very dangerous. They even brought out the truth concerning the case of Libya. They revealed the truth as it was a genocide. At present, they have left Libya to be degraded from being a country.
Therefore, it is known that their intervention is not for us. They support the TPLF not because they care about the people of Tigray. If we look at Afghanistan, which is our most recent memory, they left it in ashes within twenty years of their stay. Therefore, all their activities are related to their interests but not to helping others.
Indeed, because they are powerful, they will try to influence others. However, we Ethiopians learned from our ancestors not to submit to anyone. Therefore, I say that anybody will never sneer at the country. I think that all diaspora should stand up and advocate for Ethiopia. Our children are giving their lives engaged in the war carried out in the northern part of the country. We diaspora communities residing abroad should not refrain from supporting our country, allocating time and money. We have to think about it.
Let us all stand for Ethiopia. For example, the thing that I am very happy about is that we are supposed to be able to export wheat independently. The work being done in this case is promising. It is a kind of work that will protect Ethiopia’s hands from being twisted. In this regard, it is imperative to support and encourage the effort exerted by the government to ensure food security. If there is something wrong, it has to be corrected, but it is not appropriate to work with foreign powers for the disintegration of Ethiopia.
Thank you very much for your time.
It is my pleasure.
The Ethiopian Herald October 29/2022
