I. Introduction

Centuries of accumulated cultural and political �edef� is not going to be cleaned in a generation or two. A clear case of our Ethiopian paradox, one toe in the modern world and the rest of the body in feudal Ethiopia, is unfolding for all to see in the drama that just played out in front of us for the last three memorable weeks. After I read the signed petitions (two versions) for forgiveness allegedly signed by over thirty individuals, which list included most of the leaders of CUD, I was reduced to great depression. I never thought that as individuals or as a community that we will sink that low in our integrity, pride, responsibilities et cetera that Ethiopian Government will �play� with the lives of people as a cat would with its victim prey. How could a government sink so low that it kept twisting the mangled hands of helpless detainees, and then convicted prisoners, who have lost much of their political clout?

One may be fooled by the outer garment of our semi-urbanized peasant leaders, but they remain the same in their essence as the feudal relics of Ethiopia's past that persisted to this day degrading and dehumanizing its population as it has done just as severely for centuries. Ethiopia�s current leaders dress the part with ties and suits, but in their mentality they may as well be in feudal Ethiopia wearing our burnoos and riding mules to town entrenched in the feudal hierarchy and order they have recreated now in the Twenty First Century. Of course, now, our leaders ride limousine. Our leaders are of small stature literally and metaphorically. I am convinced that the physical condition of generations of our leaders has been one very important factor for the types of mediocre and brutal leadership we have had for over a Century.

I suggest that we, Ethiopians, make sure in the future that anyone less than six feet never ascend to political leadership position in Ethiopian political organizations. It is reported that the great Iyasu, the first Shogun of Japan, used to inquire of the �willow world� madams, the great Samurai leaders used to patronize, about the size of the �shaft� of the great Samurais against whom he was going to fight, or whom he was going to appoint to leadership position. It is recognized by many great leaders throughout history that the physical conditions of leaders affect their judgment and the quality of their leadership.

In almost all instants, short leaders are insecure leaders as a result of such pathological condition not only they want to prevail over their enemies but they also want to capture and hold their enemies under abject conditions humiliating and torturing them. Most of the world�s horrible leaders were very short individuals such as Attila, Genghis Kahn, Napoleon, Hitler et cetera. Mengistu Hailemariam, a tiny man barley over five feet tall, had that type of insatiable appetite to humiliate, torture, and finally murder his enemies in a most gruesome manner. Meles Zenawi another diminutive leader, surrounded by equally diminutive close associates and collaborators cannot be expected to do any better.  

II. The Role of Shemagles

I am always worried about the harm done to society by well-intentioned individuals in their pursuit of the wellbeing of society or members thereof. As the saying goes the history of the world is full of failed good intentions. Shemagles have significant presence in Ethiopian culture even in times of great tribulations. I suppose, the main reason we Ethiopians reserve a special place and great respect for Shemagles is because we see them as agents of peace and reconciliation. The most enduring value of Shemagles to society is their ability to rebuild a feuding family that seems to have been broken beyond repair. Even Emperors and Empresses would bend to the entreating of Shemagles.

When I heard the news that Professor Ephraim Isaac and Dr. Moges Gebremariam were involved as Shemagles, I was both hopeful and dismayed. The feeling of dismay was that I was afraid that Meles Zenawi will use and abuse these good intentioned highly skilled professionals, in the dirty game of power politics. On the other hand, I was hopeful because I believed in the personal integrity of the Shemagles that something worthwhile would happen.  I have heard some criticism of the Shemagles, after the fact, due to the language of the petition, the pressure they exerted on the detainees, and for giving an escape rout to a brutal dictator who was caught in pincer of the scrutiny of the West on one side and the increased dissention from within his political organization on the other. I am amazed why people do not just look at the results that the lives of many was saved from torturous imprisonment, rather than back paddling and second guessing the excruciating process of negotiation with a brutal dictator and his collaborators, who are devious, dishonest, and dishonorable.

What will you do if you are faced with a possibility of saving the lives of several individuals even if you may have in the process serve the corrupt interest of a dictator? I believe a reasonable person who can see beyond his own self-interest will compromise certain principles in order to serve a higher good such as saving lives. I believe the Shemagles made a moral choice that we all should respect, even admire, but most importantly learn from in our future political dealings. I do not want to sound like an apologist to the Shimagles with whom I have absolutely no contact. I simply do not find the form of Monday morning quarterbacking is appropriate under our fragile political condition. I think they did a terrific service to the families of the Opposition leaders and to all Ethiopians.

I am glad the political prisoners are free. However, let us not forget the fact that the process of having an extra legal procedure is never a democratic process. The wanton disregard of law and order, the blatant abuse of power, the violation of fundament human rights, murder and mayhem et cetera is still the hallmark of Meles Zenawi and his system of government. Tens of thousands of Ethiopians are in detention, and some of them imprisoned for over a decade. This reminds me of Getchew Reda, my ever vigilant critic, who wrote recently criticizing me for writing welcoming Seye Abrha on his release from prison, by suggesting that my reaction was some form of pandering or sucking to powerful and famous people. I emphasize that was not my intention when I wrote that editorial.

I want to make it absolutely clear that I am not applauding famous and powerful people because of their status, at their release from detention, but expressing my happiness in the saving of lives whosoever they maybe from languishing in Meles Zenawi�s purgatory. My world is full, almost complete. I have reconciled with myself a long time ago and I am having fun with my life; nevertheless, making tiny ripples in my part of the pond is a necessary affirmation of my responsibilities to my fellow Ethiopians and mankind in general in that strict order. There is nothing I expect Ethiopians could give me that I do not already have or had. All I want to see is the suffering of Ethiopians to end, and see Ethiopian children grow without fear and hunger, with smiles and laughter in their charming little faces. 

III. The "Petition" and the Rule of Law

Almost a couple of weeks ago, I read the first alleged petition statement of the Opposition leaders and Journalists posted in Aiga over and over just to be sure that I was not hallucinating because of its one sidedness and lack of common decency blaming the victims for the crime the Government committed. Recently, there has been another version posted in different Websites that is very different in tone and content from the one posted in Aiga. Even though I am not sure which version of the petition displayed by different Websites is to be believed, the fact remains that the procedure and the judgment of the High Court of Ethiopia against CUD leaders and journalists is a mockery of the judicial process. What this semi-urbanized Prime Minister wants is not only victory but also utter humiliation and degradation of his "enemies." This is how a typical thug would behave toward defeated adversaries.

It is disgusting how Meles Zenawi is trying to turnover the table of righteousness promoting himself as a generous leader. I must remind all now, it was Meles�s Government storm-troopers that deliberately shoot at demonstrators; it is his sharpshooters who targeted individuals for elimination murdering many with a shot to the head; it is his jailers that are still holding tens of thousands political prisoners. His own Commission that was created to investigate the incident had already given us its conclusion placing the responsibility for the death and destruction after the 2005 election squarely on the Shoulders of the Prime Minister and his Government.

The release of some thirty-eight prisoners will not even begin to heal or remedy the evil that was committed against the people of Ethiopia and their territorial integrity for the last fifteen years by Meles Zenawi, the EPRDF and his Mahel Sefari collaborators. Even though I rejoice that the leaders of the Opposition and some of the detained journalists and publishers are free, I am not at all happy with such a process that undermines or creates an arbitrary procedure in a judicial system. Whenever we allow a leader to use his power in unlawful manner, or use unchecked discretion, society is a loser in very significant way. For one, such alternative and arbitrary process will undermine the rule of law and the judicial system of the community. Second, it recreates a feudal order best left behind and forgotten.

From the TV and Radio announcement of the Prime Minister of July 19, 2007 about the release of the Opposition leaders, one can easily see that this man has no shame or conscience whatsoever blaming and boasting over his victims. I found the whole performance revolting and utterly disgusting that a leader whose record of violation of human rights and whose betrayal of the interest of the people he leads is public knowledge trying to recast his blood soaked self in the role of a statesman. It is particularly insulting to our humanity and intelligence that he dares preach to us about the subject of civic responsibility and the democratic process. Meles Zenawi is no better than a street vendor full of little trickery, who continued to cause great suffering and political oppression in Ethiopia, which is the worst in the world.

IV. Ye Sembelett Mama

Sembelett is a type of grass that grows quite tall and smooth and elegant. However, if you try to use it as a post to hold up some form of a small platform (Mama) that young adults or boy�s use as their watchtower to ward of birds from destroying a farm field ready for harvest, it will collapse because it is not strong. The Ethiopian public in general, with the exception few courageous individuals who usually end up being leaders, is just like that Sembelett, good to look at, but unreliable in times of difficulties. It is the least reliable or patriotic or courageous community on Earth. Centuries of brutal elimination of the best and the courageous has resulted in a community that could be characterized as a community of opportunists, subservient, and cowardly individuals creating thereby a society lacking those qualities that makes up a great community. I cannot imagine any Ethiopian striping a bomb to his or her body and blowing up himself or herself trying to take an enemy with such death. This is not to glorify such form of bravery, but a simple example of contrast.

I draw from my own experience of 1974, as a simple incident in a series of mishaps both in our past and current history, to illustrate this unpleasant Ethiopian reality. As the elected Committee of Government employees, we called for a boycott and ended up in the Derg�s prison. The employees, in protest to our detention, did boycott going to work, but it lasted only for two days. With one warning from the government, they rushed back to their workstations leaving us in prison for almost a year. The lesson to be learned from our experience and several like incidents, and the latest being the situation of the CUD and the opposition call for civil disobedience did not take much to disband by the government. Even at the Haile Selassie I University from 1965 to 1971 when I was a student, I have seen repeatedly students holding out for a week or two, but giving in to the government�s demand and going back to class with utter humiliation.

For almost two years, from the time the CUD leaders were detained to their release on July 20, 2007, not a single demonstration was held on their behalf in Addis Ababa or elsewhere in Ethiopia except in my hometown Dessie (that never failed my expectations) and Woldia. By contrast, consider the number of suicide bombing and countless demonstration held by Palestinians against the ruthless Government of Israel, much worse in its punitive actions against Palestinian opposition than the Government of Meles Zenawi is to its local opposition groups. The Ethiopian public because of centuries of oppression and pruning of the best and the brightest and the courageous is more like a sembelett mama, unreliable and weak that will easily collapse and fold under minimal pressure from a brutal government.

V. Woored en woored tebabaluna�

For some inexplicable reason the verse, �woored enwoored tebabaluna/ asdebedebut affaf quomuna,� has stuck in my memory though I heard it when I was a mere child of four or five years, not yet going to school, from my uncles who used to recite verses studying the Amharic language. I am offering this section as a cautionary advice to all with ambition to lead Ethiopia and bring about economic and political change to dysfunctional community and nation. If you are interested in opposition politics, you need to prepare your self for long detention, or being murdered, or tortured, et cetera. Thus, if you have a family with children, you must realize you are sacrificing much too much more than is warranted for a cause that may not be worth that much. At any rate, in general, no ideology is worth dying for or sacrificing family members. You must accept the fact that no member of the Ethiopian society, you are sacrificing your life for and the lives of those close to you, is going to come to your defense or rescue. In Ethiopia, the sad fact is that if you are detained, you will be forgotten within a month, if you die you are forgotten the day you are buried unless you belong to a select few group described below.

Such unsavory characteristics of the general population of Ethiopia is not peculiar to Ethiopia only, for the majority of the people in any nation are not in any way or form engaged in bringing about changes or directing the government policies of such nations. It simply seems magnified ten fold when it comes to Ethiopia. It is a myth perpetuated by a handful of politicians for their own advantages and political philosophy teachers who seem to have nothing better to do with their time than preach to us, gullible students, how democracy through the vote-system is an indication of the clear participation of the common man in the governments of civilized nations. All that is bull***, nothing could be further than that from the truth. What truly matter to individuals with pronounced ambition is power and its immediate organizational structure, which is not democratic at all. There is an Ethiopian saying that informs us the unvarnished truth about power and leadership: �Tettattiro menges.�

Fellowship among men and women who are committed to national patriotic goals is the most important glue that binds such fellows to each other. However, one must know fully well the social and political condition of a community before committing oneself to such fellowship. Great ideas alone cannot be the glue that binds fellow Ethiopians to a cause. There must be also existential needs satisfied for such close association. Individuals must be �share� holders in an organization in order to have full commitment and dedication for the goals and purposes of such organization. Such being the case, it is irresponsible of anyone to go loggerhead with a brutal government with nothing more than a sharp tongue and a sharp pen, especially if you are not prepared for all kinds of eventualities. If you do, you will end up in a compromising situation later if detained or convicted by the power structure. You will end up signing petitions and swearing prostrating yourself at the mercy of your enemies whose destruction you were seeking a while back.

I have seen and attended several political rallies and meetings held by Ethiopians in opposition to the current government. The language, the rhetoric, the agenda, and the final resolutions coming out of such rallies and meetings would give false impressions of solid support for anyone in leadership position of such opposition. But it is all a delusion, and vanishes like the morning due with little heat. Ethiopian politicians seem to lack that important deep understanding and correct assessment or measurement of the Ethiopian mass population they rely on for manpower and monetary assistance. Professor Mesfin Woldemariam used to complain incessantly, every time he held a fund raising program or addressed the public, how Ethiopians in the Diaspora are not committing their fund for Ethiopia�s human rights vigilant crusade.

At any rate there are few items to keep in mind for any Ethiopian planning to be in leadership position in the struggle against the current dictatorial Government of Meles Zenawi. It seems Meles Zenawi has an affinity to a certain group of people; this was manifest from the very beginning of his coming to town in 1991. 1. You need to have a graduate degree, even better a PhD in any thing, in ordered to be rescued if you get caught or detained by Meles Zenawi. 2. You need to have some aristocratic family connection or pedigree. 3. You must have well to do family members. If you do not have any of the above, you are as good as dead if ever Meles Zenawi catches you. Learn from the condition that the former Prime Minister Tamrat Lyne is faced with, who is serving a barbaric eighteen years sentence for some corruption he is convicted of by a Kangaroo Court, especially when you have Meles Zenawi taking over a quarter of a million dollars bribe in open day light disguised as a �Prize� by YARA Corporation, which corporation and subsidiary were later awarded monopolistic license to distribute fertilizer, and cell-phones in Ethiopia, which is nothing to the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of investments all over the world controlled by Meles with no accountability to any one.

If you try to register Ethiopians to be members of this or that political party, only a handful will come to register without fear. The majority prefers remaining unanimous and nameless, and yet you will find such members of the Ethiopian community willing to throw all kinds of insults from the safety of anonymity, at the few courageous Ethiopians who appear in public. Ethiopia is a tragic country that seems to have lost more and more of its moral courage with the advent of modernism. It people could not challenge a brutal dictator who is dismantling the country, giving away huge tracts of territory, land locking the nation, brutalizing the population, and siphoning off hundreds of millions of dollars in the name of non-profit ethnic based organization. Here is a leader whose Ethiopian identity is questionable and farting over Ethiopians and being challenged minimally. Over two hundred people were killed and over thirty thousand people detained soon after the 2005 election, which represents a tiny fraction of over seventy million people.Ω  

Tecola W. Hagos

July 22, 2007

Washington, DC