Genealogy of Heroes and Contradictions in Ethiopian Politics
By  Ghelawdewos Araia

We have also made known to the Powers that the said Article, as it is written in our language, has another meaning. As you, we also ought to respect our dignity. You wish Ethiopia to be represented before the other Powers as your protectorate, but this shall never be.

Empress Taitu Butul

Empress Taitu, one of the most magnanimous political persona in modern Ethiopian history, was responding to an Italian arrogance represented by  Antonelli who was serving as envoy to his country in Ethiopia. Antonelli declared to an Ethiopian audience at which Emperor Menelik and the Empress were also present: �Italy cannot notify the other powers that she was mistaken in Article XVII, because she must maintain her dignity.� He is of course referring to the Treaty of Wucahle of May 2, 1889 that was ultimately denounced and rendered null and void by Emperor Menelik.

 According to Article XVII of the Treaty of Wuchale (Italian interpretation), �his Majesty, the king of kings of Ethiopia, consents to avail himself of the Italian government for any negotiation which he may enter into with other Powers and governments (per tutte le tratazzioni di affari che averse con altre potenze o governi).

Adding insult to injury, by the secret agreement concluded between England and Italy  (Sir Francis Clare-Ford for England and Francesco Crispi for Italy), Ethiopia was obliterated from the world map published in 1894. In fact, Ethiopia disappeared from the maps between 1894 and 1896 because the hidden Italian agenda embodied in the so-called Condizione de Pace of January 18, 1896 included the following items:

. The Negus Negasti and his Rases should acknowledge Italian rule

. All Ethiopia was to be an Italian protectorate

. No concessions (land, commerce etc.) to foreigners without Italian

 approval

. Investiture of all Rases to be approved by Italy

. Ethiopian customs and duties to be administered by Italy; Ethiopia�s money to be coined at Italy�s mints

. No loans should be contracted without Italy�s consent

. Italians to be permitted to buy lands

. All disputes were to be referred to Rome for settlement

. The Negus and Rases would be obliged to join in defense of Italian territory in Africa with all their means and forces when called upon to do so.

           The Ethiopian tradition enshrined in the genealogy of heroes, apparently, would not succumb to colonial Italian ambitions, let alone the Negus and Rases agree to join in the defense of Italian colonial territory in Africa.  Indeed, Ethiopians were decidedly defiant and countered all Italian claims and ambitions and just forty two days after the pompous Italian manifesto (Condizioni de Pace), the battle of Adwa was fought and this is remembered in history as the second (after Hannibal) major Black victory over a European power. It was a reaffirmation of the unique Ethiopian tradition of the genealogy of heroes.

            Adwa is of course preceded by Mekdela, Gura, Gundet, Dogali,  Metema, Amba Alagie, Mekele, and the epitome of the genealogy of heroes, Emperor Yohannes whose altruism is best exemplified by the Metema incident, and who was uneasy by the Italian incursions at Massawa wrote the following letter to Menelik:

              The Italian deception and bad faith will never cease. They are not serious

                people but intriguers. They have come to seek aggrandizement but with  the

                aid of God they shall depart humiliated, discontented and with honor lost

                 before all the world. If we remain united we can conquer, not only the

                  fiacchi Italians but also other strong nations.

            Yohannes� patriotic zeal and determination is clearly manifested in his letter to his fellow countryman. Menelik, in response to Italy�s intentions, calls upon Antonelli to his palace and admonished him in the strongest terms that �Italy should not have taken Massawa without first consulting Emperor Yohannes,� says Ernest Work in his book Ethiopia, A Pawn In European Diplomacy.

            Given the General Act of Berlin and the politics of the Horn in the last decade of the 19^th century, Yohannes is  believed to have reprimanded Menelik not to cooperate with �his Italian friends� and as he bluntly puts it, and as stated in Documenti Dimplomatici No. XV, one can conclude that Yohannes was furious: �Your Italian friends are people of little valor (i suoi amici Italiani sono gente che val poco) and if you cooperate with them you will lose standing in Ethiopia.�

            According to the above Italian document, the then Italian foreign minister, a certain Robilant, wrote a letter to Antonelli in an effort to see if there was discord between Yohannes and Menelik, and advised him to approach Menelik by �furnishing him five thousand Remington rifles� if he defects from the Ethiopian resistance.

            Fortunately for Ethiopia, Menelik never accepted Antonelli�s offer, but the Italian hidden agenda against Ethiopia continued. In relation to the conspiracy directed against Ethiopia, Professor Ernest Work had made the following memorable remark:

                        One of the worst features of European diplomacy in the scramble for

                        Ethiopia, has been just the fact that this diplomacy has been carried

                        in secret fashion�But few voices were raised against a diplomacy

                        of treachery and breach of faith to the black man that robbed him

                        of his country and brought about the slaughter of his people.

            Have we had a similar political scenario in Ethiopia at the end of the 20^th century and the dawn of the 21^st century? It seems, on the whole, that we have indeed encountered a similar phenomenon, but there are fundamental historical differences. Yes there was discord among Ethiopians in the past, but they had always shown unity before a deadly common enemy and were always led by patriotic statesmen. The common foe for Ethiopia meant European or colonial forces. Now, of course, the enemy is neither European nor white if we wish to ignore the shadowy elements. The Eritrean phenomena is unfortunate and unique in many ways. Unfortunate, because the blood shed unnecessarily is �black�, and unique because these two peoples are in many ways the same and share a common destiny. It is a pity that these people of same culture, languages, and religions were unable to iron out their differences peacefully.

            One of the fundamental differences between the current conflict and the wars against colonialism in the past is that in the present, sadly, the genealogy of heroes exhibited during the conflict is abruptly discontinued, and ever since history does not seem to be in favor of Ethiopia and this negative experience can be discussed in the context of the prevalent political contradictions.       

 1.      The current Ethiopian politics is full of contradictions. For all intents and purposes, the present Ethiopian government does not seem to promote Ethiopian national interest. The government that has consolidated in the name of EPRDF and dominated by the core circle of Meles and his entourage have not defended Ethiopian interest publicly and the unwilling Ethiopian leadership to advocate maritime sovereignty on behalf of Ethiopia best exemplifies this. In this context, the genealogy of heroes is discontinued although the tradition will continue by the Ethiopian people themselves and by those who would carry on the torch of Ethiopian national interest.

2.      In line with item number 1 and consistent with EPRDF�s policy that relegates Ethiopia�s interests to the backyard, the country was virtually non-existent at the International Court of Justice. As testified by the Border Commission, by Ethiopia�s own admission, Tsorona and Fort Cardona in the Belesa Projection were lost to Eritrea. By the same token, the Endeli Projection, despite the Commission�s findings to the contrary, was also awarded to Eritrea. In this entire theatrical debacle, the most heinous crime committed against the Ethiopian people is the stolen areas of Gulomekeda and Irob. This will not stand, however. Moreover, compromising Bure was not really the Commission�s decision. It was long decided by the secret dealings of the EPLF and the EPRDF in July 1994.

3.      EPRDF�s inability to perform democratically despite its claim that it is a democratically elected ruling party. With respect to the issue of democracy and tolerance that I have dealt with extensively in the past, I am convinced that the democratic culture cannot be simply installed by a stroke of proclamation, nor is it given generously by the political leadership. It must evolve structurally and requires, among other things, a conducive climate and visionary heads of states. In the absence of this precondition, we cannot really acknowledge the existence of democracy in Ethiopia at present. However, even if we argue that some aspect of democracy is in place, this incipient measure is contradicted by the actions of the EPRDF. A telling proof is the Government�s orders to forbid the Ethiopian�s Democratic Party (EDP) to stage a peaceful demonstration at Meskel Square on April 28.

A government that does not allow peaceful demonstration could not possibly permit  other fundamental democratic rights such as freedom of speech. And because we don�t have checks and balances (this is one aspect of structural democracy), in the Ethiopian political system, transparency and accountability are mere paper works. Apparently the �independent� courts are unable to enforce the rights embedded in the Constitution (another paper work) and we may even witness a more dangerous scenario where people will be told to keep their mouth shut or else face the consequences. This reminds me of Anthony Skillen�s �Freedom of Speech,� in Contemporary Political Philosophy by Keith Graham, where he recites Heinrich Hein�s �recollection of the days of terror�:

            Whoever, in a public spot,

            Attempts to argue shall be shot

            To reason by gesticulation

            Will bring the self-same castigation

            Your mayor you must trust in blindly

            He guards the town and watches kindly

            With anxious care o�er old and young

            Your duty is to hold your tongue.

 4.      The fourth contradiction prevails among the Ethiopian opposition itself. As I have indicated in many of my presentations, at present the Ethiopian opposition groupings are generating double standard. On the one hand they advocate Ethiopiawinet or Ethiopianess or Ethiopian unity; on the other they find themselves in one ethnic civic or political organization; on the one hand, they condemn the Meles regime for partitioning Ethiopia along ethnic lines while they themselves have created ethnic enclaves.

On top of these ethnic politics, which has now become a vogue and a trend, and ironically a mirror reflection of the politics in Ethiopia, some Ethiopians in the Diaspora do not seem to fully comprehend Ethiopian politics and are limited to their condemnation of Woyane as if the latter is a certain vocation not attributable to Ethiopia at all. There are essentially two misconceptions with regards to the Woyane factor: a) that some Ethiopians think that Woyane is an organization of rogue Tigrayan elements; and b) that Woyane or the TPLF is equated with Tigray and Tigrayans and hence operates on behalf of Tigrayans and as a result Tigray prospered at the expense of other parts of Ethiopia.

Both misconceptions are extremely flawed. The etymology of Woyane is the root word �Woyin� for �revolt for justice� and it has a special significance to the people of Tigray, but this does not mean that the Woyane political organization or the TPLF is inextricably linked to the people of Tigray. Indeed there are a significant number of Tigrayans who are not affiliated to this organization, and to be sure Tigrayans have participated in many pan-Ethiopian organizations. The core leadership of the EPRP, for instance, was Tigrayan and Amhara although the party was multi-ethnic.

The second misconception may have been prompted by the mushrooming of few industrial and infrastructure projects in Tigray, but this does not mean Tigray is looting the rest of Ethiopia and the people of Tigray have benefited from this �booty�. It could mean, though, there was nothing in Tigray before 1991 and some major projects like the cement and pharmaceutical industries were established.

The second misconception has not only rendered the uninitiated myopic, but it has robbed the reasoning of some high profile Ethiopian intellectuals. A case in point is Professor Aleme Eshete�s recent memo on �Ethiopia�s Historic and Natural Right to the Red Sea Coast� which he introduces as �Ethiopia Absent in the EPLF-TPLF Border Commission.� While I admire Aleme�s highly critical and analytical (and for some of us, some of its contents are fresh insights and curious revelations!) his reasoning that �all major development authorities�transport and communication authorities, construction authorities, electric and water supply authorities, etc. had been dismantled by the TPLF and carried away to Tigrai to be used in the building up the infrastractural base indispensable for the development of industry and commerce�and the reported results are too obvious to contest� is divorced from the reality on the ground and is not in the best interest of Ethiopian unity.         

            I am not trying to promote a Woyane or Tigrayan agenda although the latter does not as such contradict a more comprehensive pan-Ethiopian political program that I have been upholding for more than three decades, nor am I trying to critique Aleme�s position in isolation. On the contrary, I wanted to draw the attention of the reader in the context of contradictions in Ethiopian politics. As long as we harbor ethnicity in our mind but talk loudly on Ethiopian unity, the end result will be empty rhetoric.

Finally, it should be known that the current contradiction in Ethiopia if allowed to inflate unchecked we may encounter a more gruesome scenario. And if the seemingly peaceful solution of the Border Commission prevails, the peoples of Ethiopia and Eritrea will not enjoy a permanent peace. Giving away land and changing the identity and citizenship of some Ethiopians cannot materialize the peace dividend. In fact, the present Border Commission prescription is hazardous to Ethiopia and Eritrea and to the region as a whole and may even precipitate violence on the border itself. However, learning from our past experience and the senseless war that decimated thousands upon thousands of Ethiopians and Eritreans we should not resort to war at all, and give peace a chance. I think it is possible to reverse the decision of the Border Commission (not withstanding its �binding� and �final� legalities) through a peaceful means if both Ethiopians and Eritreans exhibit the will power and are led by sensible, conscientious, patriotic and democratic governments.      

I hope our region will enjoy a lasting peace and development agenda will be ushered once and for all that can meaningfully ward off conflict and violence. But, politics is a complex and fragile enterprise and when translated into action must be handled with serious care and caution that also entails maximum alertness in the maintenance of Ethiopian unity. In order to fulfill this historical mission, here is one wisdom from Atse Menelik conveyed to Ethiopians just before he died:

If you are one at heart and don�t decimate yourself by civil strife, you will not give our country Ethiopia to the stranger colonialist. Hence, bad omen will not confront our country. Don�t let contaminated air infest you, and wherever you are

protect your country with vigilance. Exhibit mutual support by saying �my brother, oh! My brother�. Turn away the enemy of Ethiopia from the border by

cooperating with one another. If the enemy of Ethiopia encroaches on the border and penetrates on one side, don�t show apathy and ever say I don�t care as long as it does not affect me. Wherever that enemy shows up, go in unison, support one another and repel the enemy. Don�t wait till the enemy approaches your individual houses.