With the Evolution of social media, radical ethnic groups look to be intimidating the psychology of most concerned Ethiopians but centrist national politics is here to stay. The ideals are immortal.
Betemariam Hailu
Ethiopia’s political landscape has been through fundamental shakes in the past few months since the installation of Dr. Abiy as the country’s leader in April. And already the fight for the direction of the big old nation has intensified. If it is not going to end in blood as usual, it’s of course interesting to see. We hope these here & there horrific killings, displacements and social media based hate propaganda will not succeed. But Sadly, the debate on the future of the country is not led by well informed, educated people & political parties on the ground but mostly by unknown, masked people on Facebook. This is how we have fallen as a society.
I was tempted to write this piece after I saw a social media post by former Blue party Spokesman, Yonatan Tesfaye. I do not know Yonatan Tesfaye in details but he’s young and also became famous after spending years in jail for political activity. I believe he has some substance but many young politicians or activists like him masked or unmasked ride public opinions the right or the wrong way, knowingly or unknowingly. This is how Ethiopia’s politics is as complicated as it can be and also bloody. In a September 15 post, Yonatan slams the citizenship politics camp by its ideals not by the people. Yonatan says he heard people making complains that some leaders weakened the so called unity camp. But he says he believed the so called unity camp was not weakened by these leaders but by its ideals. I do not know about Yonatan but I believe most people join politics with youthful emotions without preparations or thorough analysis may be for fame or for blame and when they felt the heat, they leave and act on the sidelines.
The debate is like the debate in America where they say the republican party is a white supremacist party and the democratic party is a pro-black party, when actually the party of Abraham Lincoln ended slavery in a bloody civil war and its ideals were equality in those days while the democratic party was a pure KKK white supremacist party. What changed sides is not even the civil rights act signed by a democrat in white house, it’s sweet liberalism! The democrats sold sweet liberalism to the black community, they told black women they don’t need their husbands because the government raises their kids. The strong black family unit broke apart never to recover. The sweet poison liberalism and economic dependency aborted the fulfillment of black liberation. The same is happening in Ethiopia. While the majority minority issue in America is not comparable to the diversity in Ethiopia, the scenarios and the dangerous influence of activists and social media is the same.
Until 1991, the Oromos were part of the centrist national Dergist politics in Ethiopia without Afaan Oromo. Oromo born men significantly influenced the literature, the music, the army & the Minilk palace. By 1991, after 17 years in the bushes, the Oromo separatist & Europe based activists had less than 2000 fighters in the Oromo liberation army (OLA) while the Wayyanes in the north were riding tens of thousands of armed men to the capital Addis Ababa. OLA only grew in numbers after recruiting desperate Mengistu Hailemariam troops. Oromos were stuck to Dergist Ethiopia. They used to say “Mengistachin Meta” or “Our dynasty is here”. The Derg killed the so called Amhara king, Amhara feudal lords, Amhara ruling class & Amhara patriarch. Many Dergist Oromo veterans attended the welcoming party of OLF chairman Dawud Ibsa at Masqal square in early September.
Leftist Oromo scholars thought Mengistu Hailemariam the basics of Marxism. Oromos significantly were much happier of with a Marxist-Lennist socialist Ethiopia of Derg ( pretty much everybody lol). Things only changed in 1991. ethnically organized TPLF became the new dictator and ethnically organized Eritrean rebels managed to secede from Ethiopia. Thats when the Oromo politics was pushed to the periphery. As the country was on the hands of radical & heavily armed Marxist-lennist ethnic-nationalist elite, the hope of a centrist multinational politics was shattered. Even worse, the All Amhara people organization was formed using the green yellow and red colors of Ethiopia by Pro. Asrat Woldeyes. The legendary physician died in a regime prison with a savage treatment. Following the events, two multinational parties emerged from the All Amhara peoples organization, namely the late Hailu shawol’s AEUP and Lidetu Ayalew’s EDP. This is how things got serious. Both parties call themselves multinational parties organized based on citizenship not ethnic lines. But the fact that they emerged from an Amhara organization did not help them get recognized as a multinational party. And their leading figures did not look multinational. They weren’t smart or creative enough to counter the propaganda.
CUDP was formed as a multinational, citizenship based opposition for the 2005 elections. With the cream of some elites from south Ethiopia, CUDP grew in power and despite a propaganda by the Melles Zenawi dictatorship & some radical Oromo groups as a reactionary ultra right Amhara party, the coalition won the elections in some known figures even in most non Amhara parts of the country. The election was openly rigged & the leaders were thrown to jail. This was the time big lessons were learned.
Lesson One: Despite the propaganda, the ideals won. Yes most leaders of the group were amharic speaking but the group won because of the ideals not the people on top.
Lesson Two: The crackdown on the group by the Melles Zenawi dictatorship and the lack of sympathy from the radical ethnic political groups in the opposition was a lesson for some heirs of CUDP like Dr. Berhanu Nega and Andargachew Tsige. These two men came to the front after the fall of CUDP. Now there was an internal battle inside the so called unity camp to play the same way CUDP played and fall like CUDP fell or be considerate & understanding toward the radical ethnic elite and reach some kinda of consensus so that they will not be attacked from both sides. The attempt was honest and wise. Being considerate and less hostile to hardliner even secessionist ethnic elite was necessary as everybody concerned should have talked about the future of the country. Ethiopia is a common home.
Before the formation of Ginbot 7, AFD was formed with OLF and ONLF. Then ESAT TV was on air looking more Ethiopian than Amhara. Ginbot 7 tried every possible means to look more Ethiopian and inclusive. The Afaan Oromo radio program part of its shortwave radio. OLF, known as an evil force for most Amhara elite was presented almost as angel on ESAT and defended itself from the Baddano and Arbaggugu massacre. The then unknown Jawar mohamed was presented as a young, good Oromo boy. General Kamal Galchu, General Hailu, Dr. Nuro Dadafo, Lencoo Bati and many other men who the 2005 Kinjit would feel uncomfortable with were presented as the new ethiopians. Afaan Oromo was promoted as the other federal language. Ginbot 7 and ESAT moved too far to the ethnic politics camp in an honest attempt to be more inclusive. Ginbot 7 emerged as far more liberal and inclusive group in the so called unity camp.
Now, here we are in 2018, after a decade since the fall of CUDP, some people believe citizenship politics is homeless & crawling on the back of some urban elite & some parts of Amhara in the north as the Ahmara itself is looking back to the days of AAPO with social media campaign and the formation of a hardliner Amhara group , NAMA. This is how dark it looks for many activists who can not look out of their Facebook feed. Given Ethiopia’s nature & geographical status, citizenship based politics is here to stay and will never go away until we go out to an all out ethic civil war. As long as Ethiopia is safe, citizenship politics will boom again. The ideals are immortal.
Tamagn Beyen’s famous speech to Amhara youth in the north “YeAmhara Kililu ethiopia nech” even more applies to the Oromo. TPLF’s fake sugar border Oromiya is not the actual border of the Oromo. This is not to please some folks. It is true. Raya Oromos live in Tigray, Wollo Oromos live in Amhara region, millions of Oromos were displaced from the Somali region, same happened in Benishangul & Gambella. The major communities the Oromo & Amhara citizenship politics is the only way that keeps them safe in that large Ethiopian territory. What the Amharas like is automatically liked by the Oromos. The only difference in Ethiopia today is the language. Citizenship politics must be rediscussed in afaan Oromo in rural Ethiopia. Despite the heavy noise from the radicals, the Oromo interest is beyond the artificial Oromiya border the TPLF created in 1991.
The job is already being done by ODP, the party of reformist leader PM Dr. Abiy Ahmad. The bomb attack by Oromo separatists is a huge indication that the Oromo is back to center politics to the anger of some radicals within the Oromo elite. So, despite who is in charge of the unity camp, it will always bloom. Thats the nature of Ethiopia, thats the nature of the two large communities, the Amhara & the Oromo. Ethiopia is not a gigantic coalition of minorities around one major group. It has a history of common shared lives between the large communities. What the citizenship based groups should do is stop being nice to the elite and work on the streets in the language the streets understand. Be more creative & you can still replicate the miracles of 2005 even in a more Ethiopianist way that CUDP.
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