To Prof. Tecola: After reading your EDITORIAL: FORGET THE �OPPOSITION� WITH NEGEDE GOBEZE, I was encouraged to write about my momentous experience of Negede.

I never saw Negede Gobeze before until he came some months ago (weeks before the election) to Sweden where some dozens of Ethiopians were gathered to listen to him and Aregawi Berhe. At that meeting all was good for Negede until a question came from a person sitting at the back. The boldness of the question was indeed beyond expectation considering the hitherto feature of such meetings namely a banner that says �birds of the same feather fly together.� The person started by noting that blaming someone else is what contemporary politicians have it as a rule while many including those who are pointing their fingers at others are responsible for all the misery our country has had.

The person asking the question called for a culture of taking responsibilities for ones deeds and asking for apologies where appropriate.  Then he targeted at the role both Negede and Aregawi had during their respective positions in the past. He asked both to show respect to the people gathered by apologizing and by taking responsibility for whatever they did. 

To the delight of the person who asked the question and to the joy of fairness, Aregawi�s response was a satisfactory one. He asked for apology for what TPLF might have done during his time and he even went on to mention that once a responsible government is in office he wouldn�t hesitate to be responsible for misdeeds that might be associated with his time.

Negede�s was a different tone with a different �lyric�. Both his tone and �lyric� were too wild and too weird.  To start with he was so angry that his facial expression was already telling more even before words came out of his mouth. In his hateful reaction to the very question he dared to clearly say that there was nothing he would apologize for. He said without hesitation all what he did was right, no questions asked.

Spare us from Negede and Negede-ites!

Nolawi

June 29, 2005