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We received the political program of UEDF on
August 5, 2005. We wish the people responsible for such
distribution should have sent to us their piece when it was issued
a month ago. However, it seems the UEDF political program has a
controversy of its own. We are posting it here not as an
endorsement, but as an item in order to give context to the on
going discussion and debate on the current political bottleneck.
According to the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA), as reported on
August 8, 2005, CUD seems to have no knowledge of the �political
program� of UEDF about the formation of coalition government
between the EPRDF and the Opposition. �Central Committee member
of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), Lidetu Ayalew said
CUD knows nothing about the so-called new proposal CUD and the
United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) forwarded to Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi calling for the formation of a coalition
government in Ethiopia. Lidetu made the remark on a
Tele-conference conducted by the Ethiopian Review and Tensae Radio
on [last] Sunday.�
Private individuals and an association of
Ethiopian scholars have been expressing their views as posted in
our Website on the future political resolution of the bottleneck
situation in Ethiopia. So far, two distinct approaches seem to be
evolving out of such discussions on the issue of the structure of
the future government of Ethiopia. Irrespective of the
divergent views held by such entities, and both as a private
citizen and Editor of this Website, I am very apprehensive
having Meles Zenawi lead an Ethiopia, already devastated by
his fourteen years of miss-rule, abuse, and treasonous activities,
for another five years. If there is going to be some form of
political compromise and accommodation, Meles Zenawi should never
be a part of such future Ethiopian Government. In short of totally
banning of the leadership of EPRDF from future participation in
the political life of Ethiopia, one may be able to work with
someone else, other than Meles Zenawi, from that organization.
Here is the dilemma of sorting out the political mess inherent in
an election held pursuant to a constitution forced on the people
of Ethiopia by an illegitimate regime.
I do not give much credence to the 2005
Election and to the disputed results; nor do I give weight to
the Constitution of 1995. Personally, I believe that if we
continue moving in the direction we seem to be heading, I see no
future for Ethiopia except slow painful destruction and
dismantling of an ancient nation in the hands of Meles Zenawi,
associates, and their political organizations in
collaboration with the United States Government lead
anti-Ethiopian forces from Europe, Arab nations, and Governments
of African neighboring nations that are historic enemies of
Ethiopia. The push by the EU government leaders and those of the
United States leadership insisting that the Opposition political
organizations abide by the 1995 Constitution and the decision of
the NEBE is ill-advised caustic. Such interferences in the natural
development of a genuine protest movement, as evidenced by the
huge turnout on the May 15 �protest� election, will only
prolong the pain and suffering of the people of Ethiopia.
As I have stated in an earlier Editorial, the best thing that
could happen for Ethiopia is to use the election (of May 15, 2005)
as an intermediary phase, a chance to establish a transitional
government in order to draft a new constitution and to set the
stage for a new election in a couple of years. What had so far
retarded or discouraged positive political development in Ethiopia
since 1991 is the illegitimacy of the leadership of Meles Zenawi.
Thus, any future political solution must avoid or discard the
leadership of Meles Zenawi in order to form a new government that
would reflect the aspirations and desires of the people of
Ethiopia. TH
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