By Belay Zeleke
April 15th 2018
This is an urgent call to all who have been calling for and want real transformational change to happen in Ethiopia. I urge you all to go back to the unity you have had for the past several years and not split between saying give Abiy a chance or not. There is nothing to give a chance to, as he has done absolutely nothing except speeches. He will do nothing because he doesn’t have any power. How dare he lecture Dr. Merrara and Bekele Gerba when he should have engaged them in meaningful dialogue. How dare he say that the issue of Welqait is about development and clean water. How dare he co-opt the querro movement. This is a head fake by the TPLF machinery to stop the movement for change dead in it’s tracks. The strategy that all power structures have used when they are in danger of loosing, is to co-opt the movement by putting to the forefront someone who is merely a figurehead, while in the back the real power brokers are doing their work and guaranteeing that the status quo remains relevant.
Enough is enough; we don’t need to hear our history and the bravery of Ethiopians from the EPRDF cadre PM Abiy Ahmed. It should not make us cheer in the streets incessantly because he said what our leaders should have said for the past 27 years. What the roving PM is doing is some kind of tour of a country and a people he should already know. Who else is he going to meet with over the next months, mothers, fathers, students, nurses, doctors, pharamcists…. Who else. It is clear what Ethiopians want and need. The downfall of TPLF, the removal of the SOE, a transitional structure to include all political parties and the repeal of all laws that hinder basic freedoms of speech and media. What we are seeing on the other hand is an empty public relations campaign by an empty prime minister who is a tool of the TPLF deep state. Abiy Ahmed has DONE NOTHING!!!!!
The reality however his every move is coordinated by the TPLF secret service. From the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep his handlers are by his side. His handlers are all TPLF loyalists, agents, and bodyguards. His speeches are may be written by him but they are empty words. His phone calls are probably monitored by INSA and the various security services all run by the TPLF. So does one really think that he is going to bring about any sort of meaningful change? His coming to power is solely to paralyze the people’s movement, to paralyze the querro, fano, zerma and other groups that the deep state was not able to control.
Like any deep state if he starts to get out of control they will do what is needed to make sure the status quo continues. This is quite clear when you look at politics in the US in the early 1960s. When it was deemed that there was a threat to the deep state measures were taken to ensure that dissent was quelled even when that dissent was at the highest level of the Executive branch.
Back to Ethiopia: what are we to do when you have a charismatic leader who says all the right things and may be well intentioned but us merely a tool (perhaps unwittingly) of the unseen state. Does this remind you of another charismatic leader of America who was elected in 2008 and in my opinion did little to nothing for the average American, which allowed a demagogue to hold that post now. Need I remind you of the eloquent speeches, which made all of us swoon but had little substance in the end. Need I remind you of who was bailed out and who wasn’t. Need I remind you of the job killing policies like APAC which would have caused many middle class Americans to loose their jobs that this charismatic leaders supported. Need I remind you that the illegal drone wars increased dramatically under the leadership of this “hope and change” bringer. Need I remind you of the health care system that was put in place, but which in reality was a system promoted by conservative think tanks like the heritage foundation.
Back to our Ethiopia: It was obvious during PM Debre Abiy’s umpteenth speech in Mekelle where he stood. His true cadre persona came out as he drooled over his masters. I say enough is enough the struggle and resistance by all means must continue.
There is a concept called “manufactured consent”, which the renowned intellectual Noam Chomsky has been writing about for the past 20 years. This concept talks about how powerful structures will use mass media to lull people into complacency thereby allowing these same powerful institutions to carry out propaganda to control the masses. The TPLF machinery is carrying out this type of strategy to ensure it’s survival, because it was plain that a majority of Ethiopians had clearly rejected the TPLF ideology and fake ethnic federalism. The only way to ensure survival of the TPLF control of the economy, military and all other aspects of life in Ethiopia is to appear to change it’s color and continue to work in the shadows like it always has.
So to all activists, politicians and all Ethiopians who want real change let’s unite behind what has united us over these many years: DOWN DOWN WOYANE!!!! DOWN DOWN WOYANE!!!! PM Debre Abiy is WOYANE until a democratically elected person comes to power. He was not elected by the people, and I argue that he is merely a convenient tool to paralyze the movement to bring down WOYANE. Before the TPLF beats us with this public relations campaign we should all unite and say to the outside world :Until real change starts happening we will not give a non-elected leader of the TPLF/EPRDF any chance at all.
The struggle continues.
Belay Zeleke
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