Tedla Asfaw
This is another number 11 for most of the world but it is Feb. 11, 2011 that brought the Western financed 30 year dictatorship of Hoseni Mubarak to its knee. At this moment I am joining Egyptians in celebration and I tell them that I am proud of them. The mass uprising that started eighteen days ago and the determination of the youth of Egypt spending day and night at Tahrir Square not giving its number one demand the resignation of Hoseni Mubarak is realized today after it was dashed last night by Hoseni Mubarak empty pride that drove many Egyptians angry to come back for another day of protest and defiance.
However, the 20 second statement more than one hour ago by the Vice President about the resignation of Hoseni Mubarak and hand over power to the army sent millions throughout Egypt in huge celebration. Not only Egyptians many Africans and Middle Eastern countries which are now suffering under Western financed tyranny celebrate with them. They are learning from Egypt youth experience and will bring popular revolt to their own countries.
My country Ethiopia is a good candidate for that. We have twenty years of Western financed tyranny run by Meles Zenawi and Ethiopians who match in number with Egyptians but far behind in their developmental stage by any measurement can topple Ethiopia's Mubarak, Meles Zenawi in short order. The time we spent lobbying on Western streets and embassies have brought us only contempt.
Egyptians did it by breaking their fear and fortunately they have an army that did not stand on their way. Ethiopians have no national army comparable to Egypt. The top army officers are standing for their tribal loyalty and they are not going to help us topple Meles Zenawi brutal regime the worst form of Mubarak.
My hope is we can get huge faction of the army which are more than ninety percent of the army to stand with millions of our people when the uprising started any day and time. The poor soldiers have no interest defending this regime and we should work with them at all levels. These are poor young people who took the job for a living.
The armed nationalist groups like OLF and ONLF have responsibility not to exploit such uprising for their own narrow goals. The good thing is we are hearing from OLF high officials that what they want is to be part of a transition to prepare our people for free and fair election. Free United Ethiopia will not be anti nations and nationalities like TPLF is preaching.
As I write this piece Egyptians are celebrating for the first time without any fear and they know that there is a long way to go until they establish a government which is accountable to them not to foreign interests. One thing is true they will never be silenced again by brute force like they were for the last 30 years.
The next battle is the battle of ideas and I am sure that Egypt with seven thousand years civilization can overcome their recent fifty years or more dictatorship which retarded their growth and shine like their ancestors. Ethiopia which has more than three thousand years of civilization which failed to join the modern age under tyrannical regimes will learn from Egypt and get their freedom in the year of freedom, 2011. Ethiopia's Mubarak has to go by mass uprising !!!!
