RE: Your Ethiopia and Amara Concept
Everyone does have his or her own Ethiopia. And the tragedy of Ethiopia that
too many people think that they OWN Ethiopia. Nobody owns Ethiopia. If you
love something, it owns you.
This one party-war with the thousands dead is the result of this
misunderstood ownership. When Ethiopians will understand that all have the
right to have this personal relations with the country, Ethiopia will be
free. Free from war and famine, free to grow and prosper. Look how many
claim their right to impose THEIR views what Ethiopia is...
Enemy? They are the enemies of Ethiopia. Just wait and see what the winners
will do. They win, Ethiopia loses. What enemies? Does Ethiopia have friends?
Those misplaced Ethiopias who insist on being call Eritreans, what do they
fight for? Too bad that the bush government in Addis can't express this
simple fact that they do not claim any territory of Eritrea, because any
territory anywhere belongs to the people who live there.
Ethiopia's enemies are those who say OUR Ethiopia and not MY Ethiopia.
I myself read Wondimu's posts for a while alredy -- and he has HIS Ethiopia
which comes first before his political agenda.
I said it before and still believe that Oromo issue is more serious than the
"pure" Eritrean claims. It's not the size alone, but the real culture of
Oromo makes it into a question of the existence of Ethiopia as a country.
One would think that the tragic Eritrean story would cool off the advocates
of breaking up of the "empire" -- how did they benefit from independence and
what is ahead? Greater Tigrey or Soveign Oromo? The fall out of Ethiopia
will be more dramatic than of Yugoslavia; Somalia is a good example of
falling into non-existence. There are real consiquencies of the military the
recent Ethiopian military victory; Europe and US will go after the breaking
it apart. Ethiopia and Eritrea perhaps the only countries in Africa which do
have real armies and in order to control them from the distant western
capitals, it has to deconstructed into smaller pieces. Just a reminder:
Eritrean troups moved down south two weeks after the Clinton's "historical"
trip to Africa (no stop in Ethiopia). Did he know about Eritrean army's
redeployment, did the CIA debriefed the State Department? Does it really
matters? You can buy the sattelite photos from the Russians; the Americans
knew -- and this is when US President praised Meles and Issays as the new
leaders of Africa. Does Ethiopia has enemies? The question is -- does she
has friends?
Now, what would hold Ethiopia together when the advisors and observers will
get in the middle of this? The government in Addis? Or maybe the cuture and
the society I tried to talked about. And this what I think Wondimu is
writing about.
Anatoly
----- Original Message -----
From: Wondimu.Mekonnen
To: EthioForum Mailing List
Sent: Monday, May 29, 2000 6:01 AM
Subject: [EthioForum] - Re: Who is your enemy? I know mine, do you know yours.
EthioForum Exchange, Y2K
In America we speak English, the language of
"opressors"; modern French came of the provinces, which overpowered the
rest, the same with German or Italian. All big National cultures have many
contributors from the regions, which were dominated one or another ethnicity
and at the last count it's not the political power matters, but the culture.
Unlike Eritreans the Oromo do have it and it is a part of "Ethiopianess"
already. Latin America speaks Spanish, the language of the colonizers, and
the ecomonic progress they made in the past two decades is a result of
focusing on the needs of their countries, not fighting the ghosts of the
past.
If the Dergue's era is to teach Ethiopians any lessons, it was the need to
overcome the complexity of ethnic divisions with the new ideology/religion
of marxism. Surprisingly, this concept is not dead and one can visit
Eritrean or OLF official websites to read their socialist platforms. Unlike
so many I do not believe that the main problem of the current government is
their Tigrey-oriented politcis, but their socialist ways of dealing with
Ethiopia. For over 70 years the Soviet Union was a union of different
republics, sccording to the USSR paper-constitution; the same with the
recent government in Addis; they can't be multicultural, when they are
totalitarian in their socialist convictions.
The party power war with Eritrea should warn any other ethnic movement not
to go into this path of self-destruction. There are no winners in this war
and instead of appealing to the West, ALL Ethiopians should find THEIR way
of solving their problems.
Instead of debating the land tenure of the past, ALL Ethiopians should push
for a land reform, which will benefit all -- Oromo, Tigrey, Amhara...
Discussing famine or the border problem, could we remember that all those
problems do come from the fact that Ethiopians still do not own the land
they work? There is no border between Eritrea and Ethiopia because there are
no OWNERS of this land. Do you expect that UN, EU, US or the leaders in
Addis and Asmara, who not know much about Ethiopia and Eritrea, because they
spent their lives in fighting for non-Ethiopian issues, would they know how
to apply the Oromo land management, for example?
This is what "culture" means -- taking the best from each and giving it to
the rest.
Leaving the past aside, does it matter if Amharization, Oromization,
Tigrezation or Americanization will benefit Ethiopians? Does it really
matter under what name the people of Ethiopia will benefit? The pride is not
what you call yourself, but what did and do. One can't be a proud Eritrean
bringing all this misery on Eritrean people. And here I have an issue with Wondimu.
Long before the 1998 war we had to disagree on Eritrea. Unlike Wondimu I
thought that the Eritrean problem is not to go away. Problems of Eritrea are
Ethiopian problems. Even more so with Oromo. Look at the Tigrey at power!
Unless Ethiopia as Culture will be viewed beneficial to all, this civil war
would go on. By "culture" I mean this common history, good or bad. One day
the government will be dominated by the Oromo Ethiopians, but will it be
good for the Oromo and all Ethiopians? Not until Oromo, or any other
national leadership will drop the revolutionary phaziology of "fronts"
mixing it with nationalistic calls with very little of their own national
substance. Bashing other nationalities can't creat your own.
* sellassie.ourfamily.com *
@2000-2004 sellassie www
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