Say No to Meles, Say No to More Betrayal!

By Yohannes Kiros
December 24, 2004

Once again Ethiopia has made it to the headlines of the world media with the startling news of the �new peace initiative� divulged by PM Meles Zenawi, the sole actor of the Ethiopian political scene. This peace overture proposed by Meles, as always smudged with the intention to damage the Ethiopian people and territorial integrity was put forward through the backdoors of the Ethiopian parliament. The five point peace proposal with the give and take principle are nothing other than an act of treason committed to handover single-handedly vast tracts of Ethiopian territory to his Eritrea and save the iniquitous regime of Issaias Afeworki, the war criminal to be brought to justice by the Ethiopian people. In spite of the intimidation through detention, job loss, ostracism, etc., the Ethiopian people will never be coerced to hail and bolster Meles� proposal and will never bind up for any agreement entered by this regime as a lasting and durable peace with Eritrea.

The Ethiopian people, who fought with bravery and lost their beloved to repulse the enemy and regain their occupied territory of Irob, Badme, Bure, Zalambessa, etc. has once again been relegated to become onlookers, debarred from negotiations. The main purpose of this so-called peace initiative is to show the regime�s feudatory obligations and servitude to foreign governments, who by now have become the masterminds and strategists of Ethiopian foreign and internal policies. Ethiopians have principally fallen victim thanks to this regime to a neo-colonialist appendage and control through international monetary organizations and political mongers. The regime is more concerned about their views and opinions about the so-called �five points peace proposal� than what the Ethiopian populace demands. Ethiopians are not permitted to address pressing issues of their concern but are simply treated with contempt.

Mr. Meles Zenawi in his formulation upholds persistently as the main enemies of Ethiopia to be poverty, backwardness and inadequacies of good governance as if these descriptors were determinants for war and peace in Ethiopia. Recognition of these problems certainly endorses that he and his government are not fit to run the country after they have miserably failed to put the country on the road to development and democracy for the last 13-14 years. The country has not been able to feed itself and more than 14 million people are still dependent on charities and handouts.  Therefore, the country is rendered to the whims of and pressures from creditors, banks and some aid givers, which are the lifelines for the existence of this regime.

After declaring that the decision by the EEBC was a blatant miscarriage of justice and unimaginable to be accepted by Ethiopia on Sept. 2003, the same Meles accepts in principle the court�s decision. Otherwise, according to his raison d'�tre it is tantamount to defiance of international law. This is the welcome gift given to his companion in Eritrea! The UN cognizant of the intricate problems of the border issues had already established a mechanism to resolve through the mediation efforts of Mr. Lloyd Axworthy, appointed by the Secretary General of the UN as a Special Envoy for Ethiopia and Eritrea. Meles� volte-face is, therefore consistent with his longstanding policy of benefiting Eritrea at the cost of Ethiopia. I had in one of my early writings under the title �citizens for peace in Eritrea� or �citizens for war in Eritrea� dated Dec. 03, 1999 warned about the insidious enemy of Ethiopia in a formulation, which is still valid and I cite � These implanted Trojan horses were and are still security risks for the peaceful life of Ethiopian citizens�.

The regime of Meles being in awkward predicament from which escape is impossible comes now and then with various duplicities in the form of declarations and statements to avoid responsibility for the past and present situation of the country. The consistency with which PM Meles has pursued a conscious pro-Eritrean policy/act and the treason committed against Ethiopia are among others as follows:

�        Unilateral declaration of the independence of Eritrea and its recognition by a provisional government, whose mandate was unknown to Ethiopians

�        Abandonment of the Afar Red Sea territories and its unwillingness to raise issues of vital strategic significance to Ethiopia from the outset

�        Expulsion of more than 180,000 Ethiopians from Eritrea harassed, humiliated and confiscated of their property

�        Trade and commercial relations, whereby Eritrea could exploit unrestrictedly the raw materials and inner market by purchasing with Birr and by other fraudulent means (petrol, coffee, skin and hides, oil seeds, timber, etc.)

�        Issuance of more than 1.2 billion Birr without any repayment and permission of Shaibya exchange offices of hard currency

�        Indirect participation in the war against Yemen by supplying long-range missiles, helicopters and arms to Eritrea

�        The kidnapping and killing of Eritrean dissidents and �collaborators� of the Derg and establishment of Eritrean detention centers within the country

�        Employment of Eritreans in offices, sensitive government departments and military installations

�        Demobilization and arrest of the standing army and downsizing the fighting force of the fronts and thereby giving prerequisite for attack from Eritrea

�        Defying impudently the warning signals from his colleagues and the local people near the border as well as Intelligent Service about the imminent aggression from Eritrea

�        Occupation for the whole 2 years of Ethiopian territories, killings, rape, and arrest of civilians and pillage by Shaibya army.

�        The whereabouts of many people from Irob, Badme and Afar is still unknown and families are still wallowing in uncertainty

�        The properties lost and the human rights abuse of those Ethiopians who lived and suffered under the tyranny of Shaibya

�        The bombardment of school children in Mekelle by napalm bombs as well as the needy who stood in queue in the grain warehouse is still a vivid memory for many of us Ethiopians about the barbarity of Shaibya

�        The death of thousands of our countrymen and lose of billions of dollars for the war effort

�        The premature withdrawal of the heroic Ethiopian army from Eritrea by the order of Meles from executing its task of removing the source and menace of peace Issaias or without any statement of surrender of the fleeing army of Issaias

�        The signing of the Algiers agreement without any discussion by the people of Ethiopia, lawmakers and professionals and acceptance of it as final and binding

�        The testimony laid by Ethiopia to give away both Tserona and Fort Cardona as Eritrean territories, etc.

These above points, retroactive amendments of the Constitution and other forceful changes made to fit Meles Zenawi�s nefarious rule together with human right violations of journalists, dissidents and opposition politicians are charges, which could have lead to crime against the state, had this been in a democratic country with an accountable and transparent government. But in today�s Ethiopia, there is no possibility of impeaching guilty persons, where the state power is completely under the control of an autocratic system. Therefore, any talk in the name of the Ethiopian people to have given this illegitimate regime a mandate to represent them in any peace forum is doomed to failure. Ethiopians as a peace loving people have never had any history of bloodlust, plunder or aggression against any far or neighboring countries and people. They want to live in a country, where their basic human rights and the sovereignty of their country are fully respected.

It is an inconsolable grief and great tragedy for both Ethiopians and Eritreans to lose their beloved to satisfy the needs of the sanguinary leaders and ruffians. Issaias� violent disturbances and wars in a time frame of 8 years include all his neighboring countries, namely Djibouti, Yemen, Sudan and Ethiopia. This is a regime, which has destabilized the whole Horn of Africa that Meles wants to befriend in a new move of normalization in the form of political, economic and social concessions of give and take by his unsavory and scandalous proposal. Peace among the peoples of Ethiopia and Eritrea is only possible when there is direct interlocution, understanding and interest for the benefit of all. The consequences of private negotiations between the two comrade-in-arms and relatives have shown to be disastrous to both peoples.

No Ethiopian is blind to how the Meles regime has gradually started obliterating the memory of this war, which has claimed thousands of our countrymen in Badme, yearly commemorated for their martyrdom or the schoolchildren of Ayder School, who fell victim to Issaias� terrorism. Now that Issaias has lost international support and is once again beating war drums, Meles has begun demobilizing and downsizing the army, especially those who oppose his move of normalization and abandonment of 1/3 of Irob, Badme, Gulomekada, Bure, etc. Meles� pledge to the Eritrean people to accept the peace initiative is no more than a close collaboration with Issaias to suppress them as they did before the war. Therefore, the early jubilation by the so-called Eritrean opposition about Meles� proposal should be considered as a heavy blow to their effort to bring a regime change in Eritrea.

Instead of demobilizing the oversized army of 10% of the Eritrean population (about 400,000), Issaias has continued to recruit and train thousands of people under the age of 50 and is busy securing modern armaments. Trenches along the border are dug and final preparations are made to once again occupy the border territories. Eritreans both at home and abroad are given instructions on how to contribute towards this end. To come with such blatant idea and commit oneself to the EEBC�s decision at this juncture is nothing more than an invitation to Issaias to invade Ethiopian territories. Any neglect of duty to protect Ethiopian sovereign land of Irob, Badme, Bure, Gulomekada, etc. by Meles and his lot should be considered as a death sentence passed on them by the people of Ethiopia.

Democratic and nationalist movements and organizations should at this critical moment shoulder the task of uniting their forces to inform and support the people and come out victorious during the coming election. Though very difficult to have free and fair elections knowing the fraudulent behavior of the ruling clique and its tentacles in the form of cadres, administrators, police, military and security people, the opposition forces should hold mass demonstrations against the Meles regime and disclose its intentions of selling out Ethiopian territories to every Ethiopian in the country and abroad. They have to work hard and mobilize the people to safeguard the territorial integrity and national interest of the country.  Those in diaspora must become spokespersons for their oppressed countrymen and contribute their share in the form of collecting material, giving moral support and spreading propaganda, etc and arrange protests against the submissive and subversive regime of Meles. We must stay on guard, support and defend our Ethiopian compatriots of Irob, Badme, Afar areas who suffered tremendously during the two years of occupation and are to be uprooted from their ancestral homes and historical land of Ethiopia. We, who are blessed to exercise and use our democratic rights in other countries, have the moral obligation to stand up and defend the sovereignty and national interest of Ethiopia and protect the people of Ethiopia from constant harassment and violations of their basic human rights. We must say No more betrayal and demand the resignation of PM Meles. The End.

12/24/2004   

Dr. Yohannes Kiros