I. Introduction: Patriotism v. H.R. 2003

Let me state what is most obvious but often overlooked. No one man is better than any other man. We face eternity alone individually. There is no point in assuming one human being is better than another fellow human being. No one individual has patented the exclusive right to Ethiopian patriotism. Patriots come in all flavors and in all sizes. In good conscious, I cannot bring myself to write that Professor Al Mariam and Members of his �Coalition for H.R. 2003� are unpatriotic or sellouts or traitors, as some sycophantic Websites and a few narrow ethnicists have labeled them out to be. However, I do have the responsibility and duty to point out their errors with the hope that they will retract their steps and mend their ways.

True, Al Mariam and his Coalition Members and very many other Diaspora-Ethiopians did make that tragic and monumental error in supporting and campaigning for the ignominious passing of H. R. 2003 (Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007). Their activities in this regard will come to haunt them all in years to come. However, let us not gloss over the reason for their involvement in H.R. 2003, which is their concern for the people of Ethiopia. Sadly, in pursuit of such noble goals, they adopted totally asinine method. Although well educated, Al Mariam and associates seem not to have properly digested their school lessons. They may have also lacked experience and deep understanding of long term implication of having such abrasive intrusion by a foreign government in the Sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia. However, in criticizing these people, let us not lose sight of Ethiopia�s real enemy who is the sole cause to our state of despair: Meles Zenawi.

There is a very thin line between the exercise of individual freedoms of thought, speech, and expression and crossing that line and committing serious crimes against the State of Ethiopia and its people as clearly stated in the Ethiopian Penal Code of 1957 (as amended), Special Part, Book III: Offence Against the State or Against National or International Interest. For example, in Article 259, it is clearly stated what may be considered as very serious crime. �Article 259: Attacks on the Independence of the State. Whosoever commits an act intended to: (a) jeopardize or destroy the independence of [Ethiopia]; or (b) provoke intervention in or interference with [Ethiopia�s] affairs, calculated to endanger its independence; or (c) initiate hostile acts from outside the State directed against [Ethiopia], or to involve it in a foreign war, hostilities, a blockade or occupation, is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from five years to life, or, in case of exceptional gravity, with death.�  Technically speaking, Al Mariam and his Coalition group have committed a crime and could be charged under Article 259, except that their saving grace is their naive intentions to help Ethiopians.

Both written presentations of October 2, 2007 by Judge Bertukan Mideksa and Dr. Berhanu Nega, at the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health hearing chaired by Congressman Donald Payne, were carefully crafted documents avoiding any support of H.R. 2003 by name or by inference. What they both did was recount the fact-based numerous violations of human rights and democratic rights of Ethiopians by the Government of Meles Zenawi. I do not find any reason to hold them criminally accountable for their statements as a violation of any Ethiopian criminal law. I may consider their appearance at that hearing, however, a lapse of politically sound judgment, which fact may disqualify them in the eyes of many Ethiopians at home from being leaders for they have breached the single most sacred duty of all Ethiopians�to keep Ethiopia in freedom and independence. It is very troubling to me to watch or hear any political leader compromising the honor and sovereignty of Ethiopia either directly by his or her actions or by his or her association.

When it comes to the ersatz Congressman Donald Payne, however, I have a different take on his despicable involvement to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia. His action is based on his own complex trying to pull down a people of great history and independent existence who owe no one any servitude and who are not beholden to no one except their own strength of character and faith in their own destiny. The hypocrisy of Donald Payne is beyond belief, he said nothing about �Eritrea� a state run by a rogue government that has no constitution or elections of any sort, just a few weeks ago held conferences with known Al-Q�ida terrorists and is engaged in supporting all kinds of terrorist groups against Ethiopia. He said nothing about the worst offenders and violators of human rights and the most barbaric and repressive government in the world that of Saudi Arabia, or that of Egypt.  Suddenly he is concerned about the human rights of Ethiopians! What a farce. 

Accordingly, I hold that Donald Payne�s activities constitute serious and prosecutable criminal activities against the Sovereign State of Ethiopia. Under the Ethiopian Penal Code, Congressman Donald Payne could be charged with such crime against the State of Ethiopia under Article 259 cited above. The activities of Payne, in trying to undermine and destroy Ethiopia, with his initiation of H.R 2003 and other similar bills and activities constituted serious criminal acts under the Penal Code of Ethiopia. I would urge the Ethiopian Government to charge him with criminal offences. Payne�s immunity form prosecution as Congressman is only valid within the United States Court system. His immunity has no bearing whatsoever vis-�-vis Ethiopian law and judicial process. We have allowed for far too long these third rate politicians from the United States to run amok, and allowed them the audacity to push us around for far too long. It is time to call their bluff: �Qomatan Qomata kalalut gebto yefeteftal.�     

Before I make any other statement, I would like to write about the tapes I viewed in the Internet posted in different websites about the reception accorded to the Opposition leaders here in the United States and around the major cities of the world. I am moved by what I watched on tapes, not as a political commentator or anything else, but as an Ethiopian whose main concern is the independence and territorial integrity of Ethiopia. What I saw first and foremost is the hunger of Ethiopians for leaders of their own choice. One may be skeptical of the many websites that posted such tapes as dubious partisans with narrow ethnic based agenda, but the reality of the tapes stands on its own. The recorded fact of the genuine love and adulation freely expressed by the many Diaspora Ethiopians to the visiting Kinijit leaders is sincere and touching. The way the visiting leaders responded to their welcoming country men and women, often with beautiful well mannered children by their sides, is equally heartfelt, and I have no doubt of that.

I believe the welcoming activities [to the Kinijit Delegation] at different Airports on the spot seem to have transcended narrow ethnicism and are transformative even to skeptic onlookers. It is a great lesson in political processes that democratic leadership is not something that can be imposed on people. I was involving in a thought experiment those Ethiopians who welcome the Kinijit leaders in a situation where if put the task of moving a mountain, they would have dismantled and moved any mountain in no time. What a great asset to have partners whose enthusiasm and commitment mach that of the leaders in any political structure. The greatest asset in society for economic progress is a willing and supportive constituent. People can create mountains too if motivated by an idea that appeals to them directly. Look at the Pyramids at Giza: It is a monument to the incredible abilities of the ordinary people of K�met who were building for their own share of immortality not just for the glory of their Pharoes.       

II. The Single Most Important Issue

There is no point in beating about the bush. I will come directly to my concern. My great concern is the possibility of the territorial disintegration of Ethiopia. It will be the greatest tragedy for Ethiopians, as well as for Africans, to lose Ethiopia at a time of relative peace after having survived the most tumultuous and barbaric time of European assault on the rest of human kind of the last two hundred years. Of course the Ottoman Turks and their Egyptian henchmen have tried to destroy Ethiopia since the 12^th Century mounting one of the worst destructions that had ever faced Ethiopia. Tens of thousands innocent Ethiopians were butchered, and hundreds of thousands were forced into Islam. The orgy of destruction of burning of numerous Churches, tens of thousands of books and the looting of items of great historical and spiritual significance et cetera for twelve years was mounted by Mohammed Gragn, the local spearhead of the Ottoman Empire. I can look at our current situation only through such political and historical eye lenses, for to think otherwise would amount to gross negligence and dishonesty.

In our time, the names of our enemies might have changed, but their identity is the same, and the challenge to our national existence remains as dangerous as it had always been in the last couple of thousand years. For our present crises, I hold foremost Meles Zenawi and the TPLF, EPLF, and their satellite organizations and the leaders of all such political organizations responsible for leading us to such precarious situation. Fighting a brutal leader, such as Mengistu Hailemariam is one thing, but betraying the people of Ethiopia and the State of Ethiopia is quite another matter. Ethiopia is at the brink of total disaster surrounded by �barbarians� seeking its destruction. Ethiopia�s enemies come in all sizes, colors, and ideological orientations. It could even be camouflaged in the person of a United States Congressman.

I am not much concerned about the rest of the World whether they are Arab neighbors or distant �friends� like the United States, for they all have a hand in the crucial problem that is facing Ethiopia at this point in our long history. There is no doubt in my mind that the entire monumental problem of possible disintegration can be placed from the day the rebel group spearheaded by TPLF under the guise of EPRDF took control of the Government of Ethiopia in 1991. Knowingly or unknowingly, Meles Zenawi and his associates have dealt Ethiopia a death blow with their creation of the current political structure of �ethnic� federalism that could only end up in fracturing Ethiopia into none viable stillborn mini-states. I repeat: the single most devastating problem facing Ethiopia is the possible disintegration of its territorial structure.

No amount of fancy footwork by Meles Zenawi could overcome that monumental original error of judgment of signing the 2000 Algiers Agreement and his arrogantly and openly declared loyalty in keeping the interest of Eritrea above that of Ethiopia, at least on the surface. In short of the removal of Meles Zenawi and his collaborators and subordinates from power, nothing will remedy the malady that has invaded the body politics of Ethiopia. Thus, our effort must be totally directed to reverse the harm done by Meles Zenawi and his associates, in an effort to maintain the territorial and political integrity of Ethiopia. For now, nothing else matters, not political rights, not economic development, not even individual human rights, but the preservation of the territorial integrity of the State of Ethiopia at all cost. Those who defend Meles are a sad lot, they write very bad English with moronic ideas. However, the one individual who seems to defend Meles Zenawi, and yet I find most readable and with great insights is Getachew Mequannent.

It is not necessary at all that Ethiopians expressing views on important issues and problems concerning the future of Ethiopia need choose political camps. I believe the most constructive writings come from independent thinkers such as Mitiku Adisu, Fekadu Bekele, Getachew Mequnnent, Negussie Ayele, Teodros Kiros, Ghelawdewos Araia,  Mamo Muche (in his recent works), Getachew Reda (often heroic), and a few others including those who defended me whenever I am attacked by sycophant Meles-worshipers recently and Mahel Sefaris earlier. The value of sharing ideas is most constructive and would mellow any fanaticism and widen narrow mindedness. I read Chat postings often and I am very much disappointed because of the type of low level intellect and lack of integrity I see in several of the writers. I find the most despicable individuals to be those who insult people hiding their identity behind made up names.        

III. Diaspora Politicians: the �Thistle� [carduus, onopordum] Choking the Seed

To use the word �puzzle� in connection with the ongoing struggle for power within the leadership of Kinijit may be inappropriate in some sense, but also acutely inadequate in more ways than one. For example, the old concept of �power struggle� does not adequately explain the ongoing political fermentation in such two drastically different vats. I am tempted to say that we are in the middle of a political Tsunami the likes of which even eclipses the overthrow of the Ethiopian aristocracy of thousands of years by the low ranking military conspirators in 1974. I did anticipate some form of division within Kinijit at the very beginning when the Kinijit concept was at its gestation because the CUD membership was an aggregation of groups in a �mass movement� even in its most disciplined aspect. Anticipating such evolution, in a recent essay of  June 25, 2007, [See �Revisiting the Political Opposition: On the Conviction of CUD Leaders�] I also suggested that Keste-Damena move on its own as soon as its freed leaders have the opportunity to reformulate its program.

�At any rate, the coalition of the opposition groups in CUD, whose constitutive organizations were forced or cajoled into becoming Kinijit, is not a mature structure. What is happening is a step toward a repeat of what happened to Meison in its fateful coalition or cooperation with the Derg. The Derg used Meison to purge EPRP, and turned against it once the Derg has mastery of the political situation. The first thing the leaders of Kesta-Damena (Rainbow) organization should do when their Leaders are freed is to break clean from Hailu Shawel and the Dergists, and reinvigorate their party with clarity of goals and the recruitment of new members from the general Ethiopian population, especially the urban young, teachers and their students, and labor union members.�

I am not opposed to unity or solidarity between political parties; however, premature and underdeveloped aggregations will do more harm than good if the building members do not have compatible, healthy, and robust political programs.  It is here where I divert with a number of commentators, where their emphasis is on �consolidation� and mine on critical reconfiguration and reexamination of political programs and allegiances. Ontologically speaking, there is nothing inherently necessary that political struggles be fought through solidifying a coherent base. The current upsurge of difference voiced by Diaspora Ethiopians and their counterparts back home in Ethiopia due to the politically galvanizing visit by Kinijit leaders is very healthy. The fracture that have now become unbridgeable fissure between Hailu Shawel and Bertukan and her Delegation is not something negative, but a sign of political growth where particular leaders are defining their goals and aspirations far more truthfully than hitherto been the case. Such development calls for applause and not discouragement.

It is not only individuals that sensed the value of unity and consolidation of resources but also the Government of Meles Zenawi. For example, when the Opposition groups tried to register as a single political party called Kinijit soon after the 2005 election, it seems that the Ethiopian Government saw danger in that type of evolution, for that form of organization would have imposed discipline and would have turned such mass movement into an effective political party. The Ethiopian National Election Board rejected such effort. To this day, Kinijit has no legal status in Ethiopia because it was not issued proper documentation as a political party by the Election Board. Nevertheless, the Kinijit format became very prominent and completely eclipsed the constituent members of CUD as identification for the �Opposition� movement in Ethiopia.  

Ethiopia�s major opposition political movement in Kinijit/CUD or in other forms, such as that of the courageous and politically savvy Lidetu and his group and that of the long suffering Drs. Petros and Merara and their groups are worth paying our attention and support. The leaders of such opposition groups have been tested with fire and have come through far more believable in their mission to bring about a true alternative to Meles Zenawi than any armchair-opposition individuals in the Diaspora. I do not make any distinction in my assessment of the importance of our process of political evolution underway by looking into the ethnic background of the players. For example, there is a great lesson to be learned by looking at the breakup of Hailu Shawel�s group and Bertukan Mideksa�s group that is going on at this moment. I think such early breakup is far less hurtful to the opposition movement than a later one; it might even turn out to be a blessing in disguise. An early break up due to serious differences in ideology, conflicting personality, or any other substantive reason is not unusual for an emerging democratic political engagement. What is important is to be wise about the process of the breakup and not to turn it into some kind of family feud.

Those engaged in mediation to bring the two feuding groups of Kinijit  [Hailu Shawel on one side and Bertukan on the other] back together are pursuing a �noble cause� in an effort to preserve the �unity� of the opposition, however, that effort will not bring about lasting harmony or peace or unity. [There might even be further fracturing between Berhanu and Bertukan.] At any rate, I do not believe that any reconciliation, at this late stage, between the two groups is a good idea. It is much healthier to divorce than continue as part of a dysfunctional family. The problem that led to the breakup is far deeper than mere procedural conflict and may not be resolved that easily. Even if reconciled, the wound will not heal completely, but will continue to fester deep inside the structure of Kinijit. It is far better to have a friendly parting of ways than linger in a hemorrhaging relationship. There is no need to condemn this or that group either. There is no reason to think of one or the other as the enemy, for the only enemy that we should all focus upon is Meles Zenawi and his divisive government.

One other sticky point for resolution is the distribution and division of the money that has been raised as part of the campaign by the Delegates of Kinijit. I believe such collection of fund should be the least important concern for Ethiopians, and it should not be the source of continued animosity between the leaders of the two factions and their respective supporters. However, if we go by the venomous mud slinging that took place against some officials with accusations dealing with funds, money issue is going to be a real sticky issue.  In order to resolve any such future discord, my suggestion is to divide the collected funds equally between the two groups. At any rate there ought to be public accounting of the funds raised and used.

IV. Engineer Hailu Shawel v. Judge Bertukan Mideksa

From the time they arrived in the United States, Judge Bertukan and Members of her Delegation were at the mercy of their handlers whom they really do not seem to have known that well. Some of Mengistu Hailemaeiam�s ex-officials surrounded and engulfed Bertukan and the Members of her Delegation, which brings to mind the Parable of Jesus Christ in glaring focus. The Christ, in one of his most elegant parables, tells us about an industrious farmer going forth to plant his seeds and what happened in that effort: �And some [seeds] fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.� [Matthew 13: 7-9]

That parable should not be wasted on us, for it signifies what is happening in the Diaspora political development right at this moment. At this point, Bertukan and her group have fallen among thorns. And the �thorns� have started to chock them, and if they continue their euphoric campaign and are satisfied with shallow conference-hall adulations as a substitute for serious political hard work, they are going to pay the price sooner than later.

I find it quite disgusting to watch these individuals from Kinijit Support Organizations unabashedly grinning all over the place surrounding Bertukan and her Delegation like vultures at Airports, conference halls, hotel lobbies et cetera. Bertukan and the Members of her Delegation are being chocked by the DC based unsavory characters, the worst of Kinijit�s Support Organizations anywhere. Such �groupies� have exasperated the existing �healthy� controversy by unhinging the movement from its political underpinnings to mere Machiavellian (Byzantine) intrigue for power. I believe the Delegation Members are not that gullible and not see through the scheme their handlers are after. Sooner or later, there is going to be formed some kind of a secretariat that will be an intermediary body between the Officials of Kinijit and the many leaders of the �Support� organizations of Kinijit in the Diaspora in order to sift the gold from the sand. 

The �conflict� [I am using the word advisedly] between Engineer Hailu Shawel and the delegation led by former Judge Bertukan seems on the surface to revolve around issues of prioritizing programs and following the corporate procedure on decision making, rather than on substantive matters such as ideology or party-program. There have been a number of articles and chat postings, including press releases, on the conflict.  I find a couple of essays/open letters illuminating of the problem that is now getting worse on the surface, temporarily more polarizing of real issues, and swiftly dividing the opposition. I refer you to Teshager Tilahun who has addressed a letter dated Meskerem 20, 2000 to Engineer Hailu Shawel. I also refer you to the Press Release and a number of transcribed and non-transcribed video addresses by Hailu Shawel. Those pieces are good starting sources to understand the conflict, if critically read.

A very simplistic approach in analyzing a controversial political situation is to focus on the personalities involved in such controversy without examining the underlying forces that shaped such personalities. I will try to avoid such pitfall even though I will devote a moment on �individual personality� of some of our political leaders as a window to look into the inner workings of some of the political gambit being played out right in front of our eyes. I do not undermine the tremendous influence, maybe control, good or bad, some individuals in the Diaspora Ethiopian community have on the opposition. Most of the power of Diaspora politics seems to concentrate around individuals who have managed to realize the �American dream� of monetary success. This development is a recent shift, for in previous political engagements of Ethiopians revolved around penniless radical individuals. Could we take this form of transformation as a gauge on how far Ethiopians have become integrated in the value structure of the American society where �wealth� and �political power� go hand in hand.  

No two individuals could be so far unlike in personality, ideology, experience et cetera as Hailu Shawel and Bertukan Mideksa. I start by pointing the obvious gender difference between these two Ethiopian political leaders: Hailu is male; Bertukan, female. Gender identity is not a problem in Ethiopian political environment, for we, Ethiopians, have held in great esteem very many Ethiopian women as great leaders, as heroines, and as capable public servants through out our history. I know of no one Ethiopian who will not be comfortable with a leader who happens to be a woman, and I believe such concern because of gender will not even cross the mind of most Ethiopians. Thus, issue of gender should not even be mentioned in any serious political dialogue.

On the other hand, the value of the right political experience cannot be overestimated. Experience, in almost all instances, is something advantageous to have, and if coupled with good will and the desire to promote the interest of a community, it is transformative. Here is where Bertukan is at a disadvantage because of here limited experience as a political leader or functionary even though her good-will toward all members of the Ethiopian community is unquestionable. My estimation as to the limited experience of Bertukan is based on my inquiry of individuals who were familiar with the tumultuous time of the 2005 election right in Ethiopia, who placed the start of Bertukan�s political career just about the time of the election of 2005. However, others believe that the trigger point for Bertukan�s politicization started after she was removed from the Bench a couple of years earlier because of her courageous decision to release Seye Abraha from detention pursuant to posting bail. At any rate, I did not find conclusive record of her involvement in the typical College students� politics at the Addis Ababa College where she studied philosophy and later law. Although a couple of members of the College community I know suggested that she might have been sympathetic toward the Oromo student�s association that was an underground movement, I do not believe that at all, for Bertukan is a thoroughly Ethiopian patriot with no divided loyalty whatsoever.  

It is important that a politician not only be knowledgeable (in Ethiopian history, economic and political science, ethics, even philosophy), but also skilled in playing the political game that is uniquely Ethiopian. Innocence, though a charming attribute in anyone, will not do in political situations, especially in a community steeped in intrigue, back-biting, lies and vulgarity. It is in this limited sense that I fear for Bertukan being taken advantage of by her far more experienced political partners and constituent members who maybe chocking her from realizing her full potentiality. Nothing could please me more than to see a highly gifted and ethical woman such as Bertukan leading Ethiopia into a bright new Millennium. It would be a fresh start for Ethiopia in more ways than one.

Engineer Hailu by contrast is very much part of the old power structure, very well connected politically with senior members of the Ethiopian political and social elite. I do not find such connection to such elitist group as an advantage over someone with limited experience and contact. In fact, I consider such long standing connection as a shackle that would put undue burden for any would-be leader from being creative and progressive. However, I do respect Hailu�s long suffering in Meles�s detention prison, and I see him in new light more or less vindicated of his one time association with the Government of Mengistu. No matter how much I may not be supportive of Hailu�s leadership, I do believe that he should be treated with respect no matter what he may ultimately do in his political life. I do not appreciate the underhanded treatment he received from the Kinijit leadership particularly from the delegation lead by Bertukan. It is also one clear evidence on the lack of political maturity of Kinijit leaders that I discussed above of Bertukan and her group.

V. Political Hegemony v. Ethnicism

It seems to me in reading most of the literature in print and much of the postings in Chat and Blog outlets, I have come to the conclusion that most Ethiopians either do not seem to understand the fundamental political structure underlying our current political discourse and disputes or they may have found it expedient to ignore such foundational reality. I see the struggle not so much as some form of personality conflicts or as an alarming struggle for power between individuals, but a serious struggle of hegemonic power shift. What is going on in the political Tsunami involving Kinijit, for example, goes far deeper than personality clash or conflict. There seems to be a struggle of basic shift in the power hegemony that traditional Ethiopia has gone through only a few times in its long history of over two thousand years.

What is power hegemony? Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) is often credited for his superb formulation of the meaning of �power hegemony� in context of the political development taking place in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Although in its general meaning hegemony refers to the power of a particular group dominating all other groups in a particular community, however, in its Gramscian reformulation we have a far more close-up look how and why �power� is effective than the explanation offered by Karl Marx. �He [Gramsci] showed how states use the popular culture, mass media, education, and religion to reinforce an ideology which supports the position of dominant classes--putting words into people�s mouths. Importantly Gramsci showed how subtle the process of imposing hegemony worked, and that its effectiveness is in getting individuals to actively support a system which does not act in their own best interests.�

The Mahel Sefari�s political hegemony that brought about the political ascendancy of Emperor Menilik II and the political machine that sustained for fifty years Emperor Haile Selassie I in power may be considered a good example of Gramscian use of power, which was an improvement over the use of forceful power used by previous traditional Ethiopian leaders including the systems used by Emperor Tewodros II. Gramsci believed that the most effective power hegemony works through cultural, religious, and other social forces through persuasion and influence, and the use of violent force is simply a last resort. We can see why such approach is drastically different than pitting the �proletariat� against the �bourgeoisie� as matter of ideology as would be in classical Marx.

Now, what is the significance of understanding power hegemony?  It would save us from our petty squabble on insignificant isolated instances of localized political unrest and allow us to see the larger picture of the formations and workings of social and political forces. Most of all it will free us from being petty or narrow ethnicists and allow us to think in far more important and more powerful structures, structures that are more inclusive and flexible enough to allow innovative and creative governance. Most importantly, it will allow us to defend effectively the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia. Thus Ethiopia must have a powerful core that is hegemonic in order to survive in an extremely hostile and chaotic neighborhood. Our long history is one such element that would help us maintain such a core, but it has been eroded for years by pseudo modernism. The main players in this destructive and greedy pseudo modernism are the Mahel Sefaris and their �jolly� children.

We can learn a great deal from the great saga of the Korean people on how they end up to be fractured despite the fact that they were the most heroic people in that part of the world. Their problem was not due to their lack of having great leaders, but in not having a particular center of power-gravity because several meritorious heroic leaders from different parts of Korea divided up the people through localized allegiance to tribal sentiments. Ethiopia has already committed one great error in allowing the creation of an independent �Eritrea� out of Ethiopian territories with the participation of treasonous leadership of the EPRDF and the pressure of the United States Government. The building of such a core of hegemonic power base maybe very difficult, but it is not impossible.  

Liberal democracy of any kind is counterproductive to any effective structure to preserve Ethiopia intact in the next couple of dangerous decades. In the long run, with stability the government may be liberalized with emphasis on individual and civil rights. Unknowingly, Ethiopians who are now demanding the establishment of a liberal democratic government are also opening the door to immediate disintegration of the nation in line with the destructive blue-print of political structure imposed on the people of Ethiopia by EPRDF�s 1994 ethnic federalist Constitution. The many �States� with defined territories and ethnic identity and also individual �Flags� are the prototypes of mini-states that would materialize if such structure were allowed to reach its logical development. With a dedicated hegemonic core, it is absolutely possible to stop the destructive evolution of ethnic federalism into several min-states and reverse that destructive structure to the earlier structure of administrative regions of Haile Selassie�s reign. Ω

Tecola W. Hagos

Washington DC

October 6, 2007

To be Continued

PART TWO

VI. Berhanu Nega�s Vision for Ethiopia

VII. Seye Abraha and ex-TPLF Members

VIII. The Ethiopian Diaspora v. Local Political Processes

IX. Ethiopia and China v. the United States

X. Conclusion

References:

- Gramsci, Antonio. Prison Notebooks, I-II. Ed. and trans. Joseph A. Buttigieg. Trans. Antonio Callari. European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism. New York: Columbia UP, 1992-1996.

- Tecola W. Hagos, �REVISITING THE POLITICAL OPPOSITION: On the Conviction of CUD Leaders,�  June 25, 2007. [https://www.tecolahagos.com/ as retrieved on Oct 1, 2007]