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EQUAL
TIME:
From:
Getachew Mequanent
June
19, 2005
Dear
Tecola: I remember reading you book, entitled Democratization?
Ethiopia: 1991-1994?,
that was published in the 1990s. But I began following the debate in
your web site a short while ago. I found the contents of your web
site and your writings informative and important, specially your
critical analysis of Ethiopian history, society and economy. I was
particularly interested in your analysis of culture, history and
identity in central Ethiopia. You have the courage to write about
the destructive role of the aradas or mahal sefaris. We always talk about them but
none of us care to speak publicly, in large part because we are
told that such issues are divisive and a threat to national
unity. Let me give you an example. My sister-in-law's boy friend
went to Addis Ababa to buy what is called Karambula
(low-income teachers and bureaucrats spend time playing
Karambula). So the Addis trader told the poor Gondarie
that his parents were born in Gondar, and after a short
conversation, the trader agreed to sell the Karambula.
After getting the cash (15,000 Birr), the trader said that he would
need time to process the deal and told the Gondarie to return within
an hour. When the Gondarie returned the trader denied making
any deal. The Gondarie had a heart attack and died. So his relatives
blamed him (the victim) for trusting an Addis arada.
Labeling everyone in Addis arada is certainly a series mistake but I think it is
time that Ethiopian political sociologists examine whether or how
this kind of cultural environment influences one�s political
behaviour. I had spoken to former soldiers of the Derge who were
stationed in Eritrea and they felt that the military officers
appointed by Mengistu could not have managed their own family let
alone lead a large military force. That is why over 200,000 soldiers
were forced to surrender to EPLF with dire consequence for many of
them (humiliation execution).
I also appreciate your critique of EPRDF, even though you
sometimes over-do it. I wonder whether you have a personal
issue with Meles and his associates. For example, I felt that you
dwelled too much on criticizing Meles in your review of Jeffrey
Sachs book. I was one of the people who bitterly disagreed with TPLF
cadres here in North America, but I think Meles and the TPLF/EPRDF
brass have exceeded our expectations: they developed a good vision
for rural development; my late father thought that the Tigrians were
the most socially disciplined government bureaucrats he had ever
seen. He was comparing them with officials of Haile Sellassie and
Mengistu's government who were always found drinking with teenage
girls at 10:00 am on Sundays; they respect the mass of the
peasantry; they are promoting democracy; they are fighting
corruption; they are doing a good job in international diplomacy;
they brought pan-Africanism to Ethiopian social and political
discourse (previous elites including Haile Sellassie had stressed
their Asian heritage!). Oh yes, how about brining the obelisk! In
all frankness, the EPRDF political, military and social culture
mirrors Ethiopian society.
Last year I attended a conference here at the University of
Ottawa on "federalism". India, Switzerland, Belgium,
Canada and other two or three nations were presented as examples of achieving
successful federalism, and all were designed to accommodate
"ethnicity". In India, even some services in some
cities are planned along ethnic lines. I myself react
to such lessons by simply saying, "We Ethiopian are
different", but I think it is time that we debate on
EPRDF's federal system. Let us recognize the rights
of nationalities who previously had no voice in Ethiopian
development.
I spent one year in Gondar doing dissertation research
and I really appreciated how much EPRDF officials respect the
peasantry. I do not think that those in elites in Addis Ababa even
think that Ethiopian rural men and women are descendants of
those people who created Axum, Gondar, Lalibella or other Ethiopian
civilizations.
This leads me to the next point. I would like to see your
attention focused on the opposition. In the early 1990s we all
danced and sang along with the EPRP/MEISON coalition what was called
CODEF (?). Instead of encouraging democratic debate in the Diaspora,
the CODEF cadres began harassing anyone who had a different
political view. They soon decline in popularity and in fact became a
disappointment for many. Now, we also have CUD and other opposition
groups and we know little about them except their political programs
and anti-EPRDF rhetoric. CUD's conduct during the May 2005 election
is not satisfactory. The US State Department Panel on Africa even
pointed out that opposition politicians were responsible for
"inflaming" violence. Their supporters in Diaspora could
also have been engaged in character assassination of anyone who
does not support CUD including Sheik Al Amoundi. Given your
political expertise, I wonder if you could make a "reality
check". Will the opposition care about the Ethiopian peasantry
as much as EPRDF does? There are people like us who feel that our
relatives are benefiting from an Ethiopian (EPRDF) government for
the first time in more than 60 years. In just fifteen years, EPRDF
has struggled to deliver basic services to rural areas such as
clinics, schools, and it has a plan to set up heath centres in each
Kebele. It has a good rural infrastructure plan including a rural
electrification program. What happens if the opposition abandoned
all these plans and shifts the focus on Addis Ababa and other
favourite cities, not to mention the culture of corruption? I know
one may be quick to label me a pro-EPRDF, but I think downplaying
issues like these does no good to our country.
Finally, some of the material in your web site is
influential and I wonder how many people read it. I encourage
you to explore other opportunities for sharing your work with
Ethiopians at home and in the Diaspora.
Getachew Mequanent,
June 19, 2005
Ottawa
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