There is no passion for the absolute without the accompanying frenzy of the absolute. It is always accompanied by a certain exaltation, by which it may first be recognized and which is always working on the growing point, the focal point of desrtuction, at the risk of making it appear to such as have not been warned, that the passion for the absolute is the same as a passion for unhappiness.
Louis Aragon.
Our ordeal began when major European colonial powers in the Horn of Africa helped directly and indirectly the Amhara emperor Menelik to articulate his empire through violence at the expense of diverse nations and nationalities. There is no empire up to now in modern history, to my knowledge, which has managed to destroy generation after generation the spirit of its peoples to resist oppression as the empire of Ethiopia. Even as I try to write this article world powers and their diplomats in Ethiopia know this fact. But they are mostly silent. This is no secret. Ethiopia is an exception in history. All other similar empires have disappeared. Ordinary peaceful people are caught up in unjust war by the two most dictatorial regimes in Africa- the Abyi regime and and that of Isaias Afworke. If there were sensible commanders in their armies they should have arrested these mad men and their cronies calling for a peacefull dialogue with principled opposition groups. Alas, but our officers are dummies in the hands of these tyrants.
When TPLF started its struggle it did so as a national liberation front of the oppressed people of Tigray. In 1991, soon as it defeated the Derg, it started rearticulating the empire in a different way instead of abolishing it. In the process it co-opted within EPRDF Amhara chauvinists who did not oppose its rule. Not only that. It enouraged the culture of self-serving Oromo slaves of the Amhara dominated Ethiopian empire created by Menelik. I joined the EPRDF for short time believing naively in its political manisto. I was witness to how the TPLF gradually purged from the OPDO all self-respecting Oromos capable of principled constructive criticism and independent thinkimg who managed to be members. It favoured Oromos and half Oromos who obeyed it is orders automatically without raising any serious question whatsover, Oromo elements who did not care at all to make their own input into the decision making process such as Abbaa Dula, Baaca Kumaa Dammaksa and many others. To prove their loyalty to their new masters, these Oromos treated their own people with extreme brutality and callousness. I left disgusted and sick.
When Abyi Ahmed came to power TPLF was obliged to relax it grip on power as a result of growing mass protests and foreign pressure. The Oromo obedient servants in the EPRDF, under the leadership of Abiy, shifted their loyalty immediately to Amhara chauvinist elites and were joined by Amhara opposition to TPLF in exile. They waived their superficial Oromo identity, abolished the OPDO and joined the socalled prosperity party. This is an Amhara project with the aim of implementing Menelik‘s agenda of destruction and oppression. Did the TPLF leadership not know as they headed for Maqale that the unthinking OPDO mercenaries would surrender themselves to the Amhara political elite fearing their own people? But there is no point blaming the TPLF here. Our own people gave massive support to this mercenaries headed by Abyi. I was moved to tears to hear again and again that the Oromo people entrusted the transititon to democracy to the OPDO..
Amhara chauvinism was emboldened with the rise of extreme right wing tendencies in the West and the coming to power of Mr. Trump in USA. Abyi‘s slogan of „Ethiopia First“ is in imitation of Trump‘s slogan. In the name of prosperity Abyi Ahmed is enlisting the support of sectors of global capitalism inimical to any effective government regulation of economy for alleviating social injustices.. His objective is to make the world turn a blind eye to his internal wars first against the Oromo people and now finally against the people of Tigray. You may remember how Abiy Ahmed at one point started shamelssly defaming the contribution of the black people in America to the Americam society and their struggle for justice while praising lavishly the Jewish enterpreneurs.
Abyi has done all he could to divide the Oromo people misusing religion by unleashing his forces of terror in Arsi and Harrar areas where most Oromos are muslims exposed, like other muslims in Ethiopia, to multiple forms of oppression and repression . Driven by hate he and his masters seem to have forgotten their campaign of ethnic cleansing in Wollega among Oromos who are mostly Christians.
Blinded by the same hatred they are engaged now in a destructive war together with the Eritrean regime against the Tigray people who are mostly Christians. Abyi‘s pretension to religiosity is self revealing. Chauvinist elites are in complete confusion and disarray. Their time will be over soon, I hope… The defeat of Mr. Trump in the American election must have come to them as a shock. I think their days are counted. American democracy is back on track thanks to the political consciousness of the American people. I celeberate their victory with all my spiritual and mental power. God bless them.
At this point the question is: what is the most valueable lesson that the peoples of Tigray, of Oromia and other oppressed nationalities learn from their ordeal under Abyi? How can the cycle of violence to maintain the brutal empire state be ended finally? Can the Tigray people disengage themselves from the idea of reforming an unjust empire that is shedding their blood? Can they genuinely envisage new forms of relation among equal peoples where there is no place for any form of chauvinist political and military domination? Can they overcome TPLF‘s monopoly on power to accept principled opposition and plurality from within as well as from outside?
This is not the right time to recount in detail the dark sides of the TPLF. But there is a lesson to be learned here. The aim of the current Abyi‘s chauvinistic war of destruction inTigray is to eliminate the Tigray people from political equation and to reduce them to the level of of other defenceless peoples of Ethiopia by disarming them completely to ensure absolute Amhara domination in the rest of their empire. Despite its dark sides, TPLF did not deny cultural and ethnic diversity. It did promote education and the development of infrastructure in ways unkown under Amhara rule. It accepted in principle the right of self-determination of the oppressed peoples of the empire even though it was involved in ethnic cleansing especially in the Ogaden under the pretext of war on terror, and even though it sent its tanks to Somalia though muslim courts under Sheik Sherif were in no position to threaten Ethiopia thereby indirectly conributing to the transformation of Al-Shebab into an extremist group. Ironically, the very regime in Somalia that the TPLF regime protected militarily against Alshabab is now sending troops to fight the peaceful people of Tigray- shame!
The Amharas are determined to cancel all the concessions made under TPLF to the struggle of oppressed peoples of the empire. I beg pardon for speaking of Amharas in general. I want only to convey our unique reality in Ethiopia to the outside world as precisely as I can. Otherwise I can treat the Amharas like any other people in Ethiopia as many Oromo moderators and intellewctuals around OMN do for the sake of logical arguments or political correctness or to impress certain powerful circles in the world or just to protect their own jobs- no offence is meant.. My problem is that I do not see today Amharas who are against the oppressive agendas of their emperors or who seriously believe and struggle for the equality of nations and nationalities. On the contrary they are determined as ever to grab other peoples lands and negate other cultures and identities. They are so conditioned and programmed by their feudal history that no amount of logical discussion can change their thinking and self deception. Outrageous lies have become normal in their politics. In short, the problem is not just with their political elites. Most of them, including their high priests, are praising and celeberating Abyi‘s internal wars in the most shameless manner. So I ask myself how can it be possible to live in peace with a people who are determined to deny the elementary and basic rights of other peoples. One may argue that they act out of fear from of their own dictatorial elites. Well, it is their moral duty to get rid of such fears if they want to live in peace with others.. Anyway, most of our fears are illusions.
I want to emphasize here that some forms of sophisticated logical arguments are harmful to the struggle of oppressed people in Ethiopia. Oromo minds were captivated with the idea of democratising the Ethiopian empire only through peaceful struggle in short time as advanced most of the time by OMN to the point that many of us have forgotten that our struggle is for national liberation, not for reforming the tyrranical empire. It is as if we were in British India where Gandi led a successful peaceful struggle. Today we are confronted by Amhara fascism.
The Oromo federalists most of whom are well-intentioned Ethiopianists seemed to be leading the struggle. They kept calling the rest of Oromos who still believed in the national liberation struggle to come to the „center“ meaning themselves. Despite their good intentions, their euphoria and their support for Abyi era at the beginning, they still keep languishing in Abyi‘s jails. Many Amharas are calling for the death of Jawar Mohammad for no other reason than he championed the idea of a democratic Ethiopia. This shows that even if we accept Ethiopia there is no place for us in it as long as we are opposed to Amhara supremacy. Are we more Ethiopians than Tigrayans by the way? Let us be more serious than ever in the past and act accordingly instead of hoping for the impossible. We are facing already much more horrible situations than under the TPLF. If we refuse to realize this fact, we have no one else to blame except our rigid thinking and habits. I think the days of peaceful demonstrations and stomping before camera are almost over. For the time being the ruling Amhara chauvinist cliques and their Oromo servants will use them to show the world that they tolerate peaceful opposition.
One basic thing that we have to heed and be seriously mindfull of is that a successful liberation movement cannot be guided through remote control from outside. Media networking is not a political organization though it can be hepful in getting organised. Otherwise the Arab Spring would have succeeded. I think OMN should update itself in the light of the new reality in Ethiopia. In writing these words, I do not intend to please or offend anyone. Nor is it my intention to belittle the positive roles our intellectuals around OMN are playing. I am just putting down what I think with no claim to absolute clarity of thought. Anyone who honestly wants to correct me is welcome. Anyway I live almost like a hermit here in Germany far away from the reality on the ground in Ethiopia.
Let us concentrate on our present reality forgiving ourselves for our misguided thinking. It is not difficult to see that almost every negative deveopment contains in itself also positive aspects that stimulate and urge us to creatively change our thinking and improve our methods of struugle for liberation. We can envisage new forms of relation beteen our peoples. My solidarity goes to the struggle of the Tigray people as much as to our own heroic fighters especially in Wollega against Amhara fascist absolutism. I would like to end this chapter with comforting words of great wisdom from new interpretation of ancient Chinese thinking.
When a country is in harmony with the universal values,
The farmers make trucks and tractors.
When a country goes counter to universal values,
Warheads are stockpiled outside the cities.