Tedla Asfaw
Yesterday I was on pro TPLF Paltalk room, Civility Room, in the morning where I heard views of the people who wanted to keep TPLF/EPRDF, the majority, and those of us who wanted change, close to two hundred people attended. A woman, Ogadeni/Ethiopian, with fluent Amharic, described her feeling like some of us why Meles has to go. She described the barbaric atrocity of Ogadenis suffer under Meles security forces. I challenged Meles Zenawi and his Western supporters to recognize before it is too late the right of Ethiopians to assemble freely and what we heard from Meles supporters is not at all encouraging. I also called for the army not to shoot protesters. Will President Obama be with the side of the Ethiopian people ? Time will tell that.
Any kind of gathering is illegal for Meles supporters because rallies in a "Developmental State" like Ethiopia will distract people from developmental path. Jawar Mohamed's piece today on non violent struggle articulated in detail how the non violent struggle should be coordinated and sustained to topple dictators. Meles Zenawi's regime surely is ready to lock up young non Tigreans in mass to preempt this non violent struggle and also to divide people, Tigrans VS others. I wish Jawar commented what we should do in such scenario. His analysis of non violent struggle and what we heard from Eyasu Alemayehu, EPRP leadership, in ECADF Room more than one thousand attendants, yesterday afternoon, is almost identical. Most of us who need change, the young and old, are now speaking in one voice that itself is a victory for our struggle.
The likes of Seye, Lidetu, both Hailus, Merara are hurdles for such struggle in fact will be used by Meles Zenawi. I totally agree with Eyasu Alemayehu the irrelevance of these people and their organizations for non violent struggle, Enough is Enough/Beka. AEUP, UDJP and MEDREK's past record on peaceful struggle to challenge the regime is None and has become even a joke in Western circles, to expect different now is not at all helpful. We have not heard different either rather than preparing for the coming fake election in 2015. I will appreciate in the future Jawar's view on the so called "Election Advocates " who are supported by the West to take the pressure from their ally Meles Zenawi. What Eyasu called them, Fire Brigades of TPLF, "Esate Adega".
My disagreement with Jawar on his recent DW short interview has now rested for good. It was not a personal attack rather questioning his tactic and strategy for a regime change based on a short interview he gave. I and many of us now clearly see the difference between Jawar and Lidetu Ayalew. Jawar is indeed for regime change while the so called legal oppositions in Ethiopia are for Election Business without any regime change. Meles will allow these "oppositions/leaders" to get few seats to bring back the parliament of 2005-2010. However, Ethiopia's problem will not be tackled from ten minutes speech in the name of our people by the very few. Those speeches fell on deaf ear and TPLF/EPRDF ruled as if they were not there. The current "opposition" leaders have also lost any legitimacy in the eye of our people. Leaders who are scared of bringing their supporters out for any cause are not to be called leaders at all. No one is waiting for 2015 fake election, we have to mobilize our people for Right to Assemble and Speak Now !!!!!
