Keep your eyes on the prize

By Yilma Bekele

We are witnessing a flurry of news from the TPLF party that calls itself the Ethiopian government. Why is the Woyane party so busy and why is the party pushing its cadres to be super active is a good question. That is what Piqued my interest and I was forced to look around to figure out what exactly is happening both in Ethiopia and the Diaspora community to make the illegal regime work overtime.

I did not have to look far to see why the government is acting very nervous. It looks like for a change the progressive forces are on the attack and the reactionary regime is on the defence. Believe me this is a rare occurrence and shows the realignment of forces in our country. I will try to explain why later on but let us look at what is causing this shift. A few weeks back the regime carried out its ‘ethnic cleansing’ activity in the Beneshangul Gumuz Kilil. It was not the first time the TPLF led regime has done this criminal act but what was different this time around was our collective indignation. We were able to carry out a sustained and well organized push back from around the world. The opposition in Ethiopia cooperated by boldly demanding action and tried to collect evidence from the affected areas.

First the hapless regime paraded its toy PM and made him give some half ass explanation and dumped the crimes on their Kilil dog. The fact that the previous ‘ethnic cleansing’ activity was carried out in the South Kilil where the PM originated from was not lost on us. This rehearsed mea culpa did not impress anyone. It was back to the drawing board for the regime. Next In the clueless regime tried to divert our attention by planting rumours about the death of that other tyrant in Zimbabwe. We did not bite. After the failure of that story they again tried to engage us by removing the monument dedicated to our Holy Father Abune Petros. Again we showed our unhappiness but did not take our eyes of the ‘ethnic cleansing’ crime. We were focused and relentless. We were just simply not crying but talking about taking the matter to the International Court of Justice and the UN.

After lots and lots of postponements and dragging the regime brought our political prisoners and decided to hand down their useless justice. We were supposed to drop all other activity and concentrate on Eskinder Nega and Andulalem’s miscarriage of justice. Something odd happened here. We did not follow the script. For the first time we were able to connect the dots and see the whole picture. The progressive forces decided to link ethnic cleansing, Abune Petros and our Political prisoners’ situation as one.

I was waiting for the next drama with heightened anticipation. What would they try now was a common question asked by students of Woyane theatre. Invading Somalia was out of the question since they have already learned their lesson. The deionization of Eritrea was becoming stale. Playing the ethnic card is what brought about the problem in the first place so that was a no go zone. What would the ‘great visionary’ leader do under the circumstances was in the mind of all TPLF cadres in leadership position. They dug deep, travelled back in their criminally laddered history and came up with ‘cannibalism’ as the way out.

So with great fanfare they went about arresting anything anybody they could find. The injustice Minister was hauled away. The guy with dark glasses that sat behind the tyrant in Parliament was arrested. The Revenue and Customs guys were escorted to their won prison with a few selected business people to add flavour to the drama.

I guess all this activity is supposed to impress us. A criminal arresting another criminal is meant to fill our soul with hope for the future. They are so clueless they don’t even know that the news is taken with such amusement that a soccer game between Buna and Georges garners more anticipation than their cheap drama.

Why would anyone think that Melaku Fenta that spineless individual sitting under Gebrewhaid Giorgis is capable of making any decision let alone steal big? Like most sycophants that are serving as the face of their departments Melaku was just another mannequin for show while the TPLF boss under him runs the outfit. That

Game is played all over Ethiopia and in the Embassy’s outside. I bet you cannot find any worthwhile governmental body without a TPLF deputy in charge.

This new drama is meant to keep us guessing what in the world is going on inside the TPLF party. We are supposed to guess which faction is up and who is down. The disinformation campaign by Debretsion keeps manufacturing different versions of their supposedly internal turmoil and some of us love nothing more than being instant experts in the inner workings of the mafia group. To hear some of our people go on the minute details of the party is mind boggling and a testimonial to the hopelessness of a few of our family and friends.

They might have their own differences but do you really think that will stop them from their common goal of staying in power no matter what? Do you for second think they will not close ranks when threatened? Then why in the world are you wasting time and energy whether Azeb is fighting with Berket and if Sebhat is is not in good terms with Seyoum? Now if they really want our attention the best way to do it will be arrest Azeb or Abay Woldu not Sebhat or Seyoum since they already are near death.

The biggest joke of all is the claim that Hailemariam Desalgne was cleaning house. Let us see the PM that was handpicked by the dead tyrant and schooled in the art of servitude to TPLF, the PM that does not have a power base, the same PM that cannot even pick the guards outside his office is exercising authority on TPLF officials? Who would swallow such Mamo Kilo bed time story is a good question. Yes there are a few especially here in the Diasporas that are trying to put some lipstick on this pig of a story.

Some opined ‘EPDRF supporters speaking out’ while others declared ‘EPDRF undergoing profound changes.’ Well, well let see us what is giving these Woyane coddlers new life? What is different today that was not there yesterday is a good question. I read their writings very closely and tried to see what they were basing their new found euphoria on. I wanted to know what arguments they were bringing to the table to see if there was any validity to their conclusions. I couldn’t find any. It is all wishful thinking, self fulfilling prophesy and confused theories that is trying hard to fit a square peg in a round hole. The ones that are trying to see light at the end of the tunnel are the same people that advised wait and see attitude when Woyane conquered our capital and were willing and ready to serve the criminal organization. Their last miscalculation caused twenty years of misery to our people and country and here they are again advising us the presence of a non entity called EPDRF that is supposed to usher a new era of peace and prosperity. Give it a rest gentleman and do not waste our time with your unfounded optimism. Why peddle a worn out theory this late in the game?

I am emboldened by three factors that have been added to the equation of fighting injustice in our dear country. The first and very significant addition to our arsenal of fighting for freedom and democracy is no other than our beloved ESAT. It has given voice to the voice less and opened our eyes to the reality that is what is ailing us. ESAT is the main reason Woyane misinformation campaign is falling on deaf ears. ESAT is the main reason the cry of our people in Ethiopia is getting a hearing. No matter what no sane Ethiopian can ignore the voice of our people coming thru the airwaves loud and clear. The tenacity and diligent reporting by ESAT that refused to fall for Woyane diversion kept the ‘ethnic cleansing’ criminal act in focus and thwarted their attempt to derail us.

The second factor is the gallantry of our Moslem citizens that have against all odds persevered for over a year their quest for freedom and independence. The many attempts to divide and splinter them by the illegal Woyane regime has been repulsed and the Moslem community is still standing together with one voice and one aim of protecting their right to run their religion free of government interference. It is a lesson to the rest of us to keep our eyes on the prize and not to let our organizations be the play ground of Woyane operatives.

The third factor that is emerging from Ethiopia is the beautiful new voice of Semayawi Party that is clear, clean and void of any clutter of the past that has been hindering our forward movement. From what I can observe from afar Semayawi is not encumbered by our past failures, weighed down by unnecessary dogma and geared to act and try newer stuff. That is what the doctor ordered. Why use beige and grey to paint when you can use bright blue and bring warmth to the canvas. The call by semayawi Party to dress in black and show the discontent of our people during African Unions 50th anniversary is a bold and timely call. That is all peaceful resistance is about. It is our duty to follow the advice of the Party and tell our family and friends to cooperate in showing their grief by dressing in black. Those of us that believe in peaceful resistance this is our chance to practice what we preach.

As times go by it is becoming clear that the regime is feeling the loss of the evil person in charge. For over thirty years the prince of darkness Meles Ashebari Zenawi has been the brain and body of the mafia outfit that has been masquerading as a political party. I am willing to give him the credit as the personification of Satan on earth. He has earned the title. His death has left the TPLF party void of someone to fill his shoes no matter how small it is. It is not the absence of idiots or sycophants that is lacking in their midst but they just seem to suffer from the mistrust the evil one has left them with. That deficiency coupled with the emergence of new and daring Ethiopians schooled in the art of confronting the regime head on is what is causing headaches to the downgraded TPLF.

Life is beautiful. Our new found unity and purposeful march to the future is a hard won victory. The fact that it is Woyane in disarray and we are becoming hip to their many attempts to distract us is testimonial to our ability to learn and apply the lesson. There are still many voices that are constantly trying to derail our movement but the fact that we have matured and are able to separate the chaff from the wheat is our new found strength. We are not there yet but with all those strong and tested groups and individuals joining our movement there is no reason to doubt we are bringing the dark days to an end and new bright sun will rise up over our mountains and valleys. Luta continua-the struggle continues.

ያበቃለት ስርአት፤

አንድ ስርአት ሕይውት አለው(alive) ይሠራል(working/Functional) ጥሩ ይንቀሳቀሳል(Vibrant) የሚባለው እንደ ስርአት፤እንደ መንግሥትና እንደ መልካም አስተዳደር ማድረግ የሚገባውን ሲያደርግ ነው። በየትኛውም ቦታና ጊዜ የአንድ መንግሥት አይነተኛ ተግባር፤ለእድገት ለብልጽግና ለሰላም ለደሕንነትና ለለመለመ ተስፋ አስፈላጊውን ሁኔታውች መፍጠር ነው። አንድ መንግሥት እንደ እድገት ደረጃዎቹ በተለያ ጊዜ የተለያዩ የልማት ሥራዎችን መሥራት ቤገባውም፤ሕዝብን ተክቶ በጅምላ ተቆጣጥሮ እራሱ መሥራት አይገባውም ቢሠራም የሚያሰኬድ አይሆንም፤ከግል ጥቅም ባለፈ፤ የተፈለገውንም እድገትና ብልጽግና ለማምጣት አይችልም። ሁሉም ቀና መልካምና ተገቢም የሚሆነው መንግሥት በሞኖፖል ሁሉን በመቆጣጠር ሳይሆን ነጻና ሕዝብን ያሳተፈ የህዝብ ቀዳሚ አለኝታነት ያለው መሰረተ ሰፌ የግንባታ ሥራ ሲሠራ ነው።

አንድ ስርአት ህይወት አለው ለማለት የሚያስችሉ መመዘናዎቹ ምን መሆን አለባቸው የሚለውን ስንመልስ ህያውነቱን ወይም ሙትነቱን ማስቀመጥ እንችላላለን። መኖር ከተባለ ቆሞ የሞተ፤ሕይወት እያለው በድን የሆነ ስርአትም አለ። በቀላሉ መኮፈሱ ሕይወት አለው ለማለት ዋስትና አይሆነውም ለማለት ነው።አንድ ስርአት የሚሠራና ህይወት አለው የሚባለው፦

1. በተለያዩ ዘርፎች የሕዝብን ፍላጎት ሲየሟላ፤

2. የህዝብን መብት ሲያስከብር/ሲያስከብር፤

3. የአገርን፤የህዝብን ደሕንነት ሕልውናና ሰላም ሲያረጋግጥ፤

4. ለእድገትና ብልጽግና አስፈላጊ ሁኔታዎችን ሲፈጥር፤

5. በአጠቃላይ እድገትን ሲያመጣ፤

6. የነገን ተስፋ ሲያለመልም፤

7. የሕዝብን ስነልቡና ስነአእምሮና የሞራል ደሕንነትን ሲንከባከብ ነው።

በአጠቃላይ ለሕዝብም፤ለአገር፤ለትውልድ ይበጃሉ የሚባሉትን መልካም መልካሙን ሲያስብ፤ሲያቅድና ሲደነግግ በተከታታይ በዘላቂነት ሲያስፈጽም፤ሲያግዝና ሲያመቻች አንድ ስርአት ሕይወት አለው ለማለት ይቻላል።

በአሁኑ ጊዜ በአገራችን ያለው ስርአት እነዚህ ከላይ የተዘረዘሩትን ፈጽሟል ለማለት የሚደፍረ ቀርቶ የሚያስብ አለ ለማለት ይቸግራል። ከሕዝብ የቀን ተቀን ፍላጎቶች እስከ መብትና ነጻነቱ፤ከአገር ሕልውናና ዘለቄታ መረጋገጥ እስከ እድገትና ብልጽግና፤ከሰብአዊ መብት መረጋገጥና እስከ ስነልቡና ነጻነት ወዘተ.  አንዱም አሉ ለማለት አይቻልም።

በአንጻሩ የሚታየው-የህዝብ ፍላጎት መሟላት ሳይሆን የኑሮ ማሽቆልቆል፤እድገት አልባነት፤የነገው ተስፋ የተዳፈነበት፤የአገር የሕዝብ ሕልውና አደጋ ላይ የወደቀበት፤የሕዝብ መብትና ነጻነት የታፈነበት፤የህዝብልጆች በአፈና ወደእስር የሚጋዙበት፤አይነተኛው መሰረታዊው የሕዝብ የእድገትና የብልጽግና እጅ የታሰረበት፤ሕዝብ በፍረሀት በጭንቀት፤በውጥረት፤በስጋት የሚኖርበት ሁኔታ ነው።

አነዚህ መመዘኛዎች በአገራችን ያለውን ስርአት ያበቃለት፤የሞተ፤በድን፤ በሙቱ የሚንቀሳቀስ አድርገውታል።ይህን አሌ የሚል በጥቅም የታወረ፤በእምሮው ሳይሆን በሆዱ፤ለሕዝብ ሳይሆን ለራሱ፤ ለአገር ሳይሆን ለግሉ፤ለትውልድ ሳይሆን በእለት ጥቅም የተጠመደና የታወረ አስተሳሰበ ጎደሎ ብቻ ነው። ሚዛን ወርቅንም ጠጠርንም፤ዱቄትንም አፈርንም፤ብረትንም ድንጋይንም--ወዘተ ለመመዘን ይረዳል።

የትላንቱ የቀደመው የስርአት ማብቂያ መመዘኛዎች ዛሬም አይነተኛ መመዘኛዎች ናቸው። በዚሁ ሂደት ስርአቱ አበቃለት ሲባል፦

1. ሕዝብን አገርን መምራት ማስተዳዳር ተስኖታል፤

2. ሕዝብ በነበረው መቀጠል አልፈለገም፤መሮታል ስርአቱን ክዶታል አንቅሮታል ፤ አመቺ ጊዜ ይጠብቃል፤

3. በእነዚህ ምክንያቶች ቀውስ ተፈጥሮአል፤የሕዝብ የመኖርር ተስፋው ጨልሟል አመጽ በያይነቱ ቀጥሏል፤አደጋ አንዣቧል ማለት ነው።

እነዚህ ጊዜ የፈተናቸው አሁንም ወደፊትም የሚያገለግል የመመዘኛ መሳሪያዎች ናቸው።

ሕዝቡ በተግባር የሚያስተባብረውን እስከሚያገኝ ድረስ በልቡ ሸፍቷል፤በስርአቱ ላይ አመኔታ አጥቷል፤ የመገላገያ ጊዜው እየተፋጠነለት መሆኑን ተረድቶ ስነልቡናዊ ዝግጅት እያደረገ እየተጠባበቀ ነው።በዚሁ መጠን ስርአቱ እንደለመደው ዓይኑን በጨው ታጥቦ በዝርፊያው፤በአፈናው፤መማሳሳቱ፤በመዋሸቱ፤ በማስተባበሉ፤በአገር ትውል አውዳሚ ተግባሮቹ አየቀጠለበት ሲነጉድ ይታያል። የተስፋ መቁረጥ ምልክቶች። ከዛሬ ነገ አበቃልን ብቻ ሳይሆን ያመለጠውና በጊዜ የተሳናበታቸው እንዳለ ሆኖ፤አገር ጥሎ ንብረት ጠቅልሎ ቤተሰብ አንጉዶ ለመውጣት የተዘጋጀውም የበረከተ ነው። ከፊሉም የትም ቦታ ቢሄድ የትም፤እስከዛሬ ሲገል ሲያስርና ሲያሳድደው የነበረው ወገን እንደሚጠብቀው አውቆ ስልጣን ሙጥኝ ብሎ መጺአ እድሉን እየተጠባበቀ ነው። የስርአቱ ቀንደኛ አራማጆች፤በስልጣን ላይ ካልሆነ ለመኖር ተስፋ ያጡበትን ሆኔታ ያመላክታል።

ይህ ሆኖ ሳለ አበቃለት፤ሙት ነው፤ደመ ነፍሱን እንጂ በድኗል ሲባል የሚያስነሳው ጥያቄ -አንዴት እስከዛሬ ዘለቀ ነው። ለነገሩማ ስርአቱ ያበቃለት ከበፊቱና በ2005 ነው። ከሞት አፋፍ ደርሶ ሲያጣጥር ማን እስትንፋስ ሰጥቶ ነፍስ እንደዘራለት፤እንዳሰነበተው አሁንም በተለያየ ዘርፍ ንዋይ እያጎረፈ እያጠነከረ እንዳዘለቀው ለሁሉም ግልጽ ነው። ለምን ቢባል ከአገር ጥቅም ይልቅ የባእድ ጥቅም አስከባሪ ስለሆነ፤ እነርሱም ይህን ሲለሚያውቁ፤ከጫካ ጀምረው ያሳደጉት ሚስጥራዊ መረጃዎችን በየጊዜው እስከ አሁን ድረስ የሚመግብ የሚመገብ መሆኑን መጥቀስ ባላስፈለገም ነበር። በዚሁ ሂሳብ ብሔረተኛ አገር ወዳድና ለራስ ጥቅም ያልተገዙ ወገኖች እንዴት ከመጀመሪያው ሲገለሉ እንደቆዩም ሂሳብ ውስጥ መግባትም አለበት። በጅምላ አመለካክት ስርአቱ ሊቀጥል የቻለው፤በሞቱ አለሁ የሚለው በመልካም ሥራው ሳይሆን በአጠቃላይ መልኩ ፦

1. በአፈና፤

2. ሑሉን አውታሮች በጅምላ በመቆጣጠር፤

3. በመከፋፋል፤በማናቆር፤በማጋጨት፤

4. በማደህየት፤

5. እጅ እግር በሌለው በውሸት የፐሮፐጋንዳ ዘመቻ፤

6. በተወካይ የጥቅም አስከባሪነትና፤

7. በተረካቢ እጦት ነው።

ብዙ ሌሎችም ሊጠቀሱ ይችላሉ። እነዚህን የሚጠቀምባቸው ዛሬን የመዋያና የማደሪያ ስልቶቹ ሲሆኑ፤ እላይ እንደተጠቀሰው የተስፋ መቁረጥ፤የዘላቂ ተስፋ ማጣት ምልክቶች እንጆ የመልካም አስተዳደር መሳሬያዎች አይደሉም።

ዘረፋ፤ንዋይ ማሸሽ፤አገርን ላደጋ ማጋለጥ፤የተውልድ ተስፋ ማምከን፤አገርን ማውደም፤መሸጥ አይነኛ የተስፋ መቁረጥ የሞራል ዝቅጠት፤የቂም በቀልና የጥላቻ፤የስግብግብነትና ጭፍንተኝነት ምልክቶች ናቸው።

እንደ እውነቱ ከሆነ፤ስርአቱ ካበቃለት ቆይቷል፤የብድር ጊዜውንም ከጨረሰ አመታት አልፈዋል።ስርአቱ የሞተው፤የሞተው የሞተ ጊዜ ነው። የእከሌ መንግስት እከሌ ሲሞት አብሮ ሞቷል። እንደ እከሌ ሊያስቀጥል የሚችል፤እከሌም እከሌንም የሚመስል ሰንኮፍ የለም።

ነገሩ የቆሰለ አውሬ በቅጡ ማሰብ አይችልም፤ያገኘውን ሁሉ ይነግሳል፤በደመነፍሱ ያለም እንዲሁ፤ የሚያምነው የሌለው ጥላውንም ይፈራል-መልእግቱ ግልጽ ነው። የባስ ብሎም እሳካሁን ሲጠጋግኑት የነበሩትም ወድቆ ዓይናቸው ካላየና ምንም ሊያደርጉ የማይችሉበት ደረጃ ካልደረሱ ፊታቸውን አይመልሱም፤መጠጋገናቸውን በሁሉም መስክ ለስርአቱ መቸራቸውን አያቆሙም፤የታየ ነው።ይህ ሀቅ በቅጡ ግንዛቤ ሊያገኝ ይገባዋል። የስርአቱ ሕልውና ያለው በአብዛኛው እዚህ ላይ ነውና።

ዞሮ ዞሮ ቢደጋገምም አንድ የማይቀር ጉዳይ መጠቀሱ የግድ ነው። ስርአቶስ በግብታዊም ሆነ በተቀናጀ አመጽ ሲያከትም፤የማትቀረዋ ቀን ስትቀርብ ማን ይተካው ነው። በዚያች ወቅት ፖለቲካ እንደወግ ሳይሆን የምር ይሆናለች። ሁሉም ባመቸው በመረጠው በፈቀደው መንገድ ሊታገል መብት አለው። በአይነተኛ የሕዝብን ደሕንነት መብትና ነጻነትን፤የአገርን አንድነትና ሕልውና በተመለከቱ መሰረታዊ ነጥቦች ላይ በመስማማት ለመቀጠል ከሁሉም በላይ አንድንት የሚመረጥ ቢሆንም፤በአንድነት ስም የማያራምድ ለአሠራር ችግር በሚፈጥር በማያንቀሳቅስ ሂደት ከመጠፈር፤በሀሳብ በተግባር መተባበር፤ከሽኩቻ መታቀብ ተገቢና አማራጭም ነው።

ከሰላማዎ መንገድ፤የለመዱትን የመሳሪያ ሐይል ከመረጡላቸው አደጋውን ማሰብ ተገቢ ነው። አንድነት ካለ ቀናቶች ያጥራሉ መከራ ፈተና ይቀላል ዘላቂውም የሰምራል። ግራም ነፈሰ ቀኝ ወቅቱ መተባበርን፤ አንድነትን፤አቅም መገንባትን፤ማቀድን፤ለማያዳግመው መዘገጃጀትን ይጠይቃል። እንደ ዶሮ ጨጩት ከላይ እሰከታች ከፓለቲካ እስከ ሐይማኖት ከማሕበራዊ አስከ----በሰላማዊውና በሁለገብ መስክየተሰማራውን ምርጥ ሓይል ለቅሞ ለእስር ቢዳርግም አገሪቱ በያለት በአገርም በውጭም የሕዝብን ተስፋ ለማለምለም፤ እድገት ብልጽግናን ለማምጣት፤የአገር አንድነትንና ሕልውናን ለማስጠበቅ ለማዝለቅ ብቃት ብስለት ልምድና ችሎታ የሞራልም የበላይነት ያላቸው በርካታ ልጆች አሏት። ለስርአቱ በአፈና የሚወጣው ቢመስለው እንጂ በቀላሉ አገሪቱና ሕዝቡ ንጹህ አሰባሳቢና የአመራር ሰጪ ሰው ሐይል እጥረት የለባትም። ጠቅላላ ሕዝብን ማሰር ደግሞ አይታለምም።

በመጨረሻም ቁምነገሩ እስከዛሬ ሲደከምበት፤ሁሉም በየወቅቱ ሳያሰልስ የታገለው ትግል ፍሬ ማፍራቱ ነው። የሕዝብ ጎራ የድል በለስ ቀናው ማለት ነው። ስርአቱ ተአማኒነቱን ያጣውና የደረሰበት ደረጃ የዘቀጠው በከፊሉ በእራሱ የከፋ ድረጊት ቢሆንም በአመዛኙ ተገቢውን መስዋእትነት ከፍለው በታገሉ የአገሪቱ የክፉና የቁርጥ ቀን ልጆች ነው። በተደረገው ጥረት ስርአቱ እርቃኑን ቀርቷል፤ያለ ቢመስልም አክትሟል ሞቷል፤ደመነፍሱን በሙቱ በበድሉ ይንቀሳቀሳል።

የቀረው የመጨረሻው ግፊት ነው።ሕዝብ በቀላሉ በተቀናጀ መልክ፤ሌሎች አማራጮች እንዳሉ ሆነው፤ በሰላማዊ መንገድ ብቻ ቢያምጽ የማክተሚያው የመፈንገያው ደወል ተደወለ ማለት ነው። ያን ጊዜም ድል ትጸናለች፤ተስፋም ይለመልማል፤ሕዝብ የነጻነት ንጹህ አየር ይተነፍሳል፤በነጻነት ያስባል፤በአማረ የእድገት እርምጃም ይራመዳል፤ዋስትናውም ይረጋገጣል።

ኢትዮጵያ በእግዚአብሔርና በሕዝቧ ተጠብቃ ትኖራለች!

ቸር ይግጠመን!

ፍአ.