In my earlier posting regarding this piece, I noted that the focus of this article is:

1. A follow up on my last article: ''TPLF/EPRDF Crisis: The way forward'',
2. Highlighting Meles' Multi-track deceptions to set Ethiopians against one another and the implications of these for peace and stability in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa region.

What follows is my highlights on the above two areas of interest. First though, I wish to make it clear that my reference to Meles is about his political persona as the leader of the TPLF/EPRDF which I have argued is an ethno-apartheid institution. In this regard, Meles' politics should be understood in the context of the organizational set up he operates in, the people around him, the Political philosophy behind the TPLF/EPRDF as organized around ethnicity and its primitive understanding of Marxism-Leninism.

I argue that Meles as such is the child of his time who was born into rebellion which was based on resentment to what westerners call the ancient regime in Ethiopia, its root emanating from a narrow regional focus as articulated in the ''Woyen'' (peasant) revolution in Tigray. It has to be said that many movements the world over are /were born of grudges against the center, but through time, they eventually move to the center to encompass most of the population in question, thereby de facto, becoming the 'liberation of all'.

However, it is the parochialism of TPLF's brand of politics which makes Meles' and his cohorts' commitments essentially a destabilizing and a source of perpetual conflict coupled with TPLF's lack of humanist compassion.

In short, what makes Meles' brand of politics so unique is his inability to overcome what Professor Messay Kebe refers to as the competition for the attention of two mothers at the same time-Tigrai and Ethiopia respectively (as if the two 'mothers' ought to have opposing interests), his inability to grasp the big picture of the time, and more significantly, his will power to use the craftiness of divide and rule to stay in power indefinitely, come what may. Meles is the most unpatriotic 'leader' in Ethiopia's history, and his style of 'leadership' the most cynical.

Hence, my reference to Meles' act of divide and rule strategy as multi-track deceptions. This is to argue that Meles and his brand of TPLF nationalism is a
self-serving politics of machination whose overarching goal is not only survival, but dominating the rest of Ethiopia at all costs.

With this background in mind, I wish to indicate a few examples of how Meles uses power to divide Ethiopians at the detriment to the long-term interests of our country.

These are as follows:

It is my reading that the root to TPLF's ascendancy lies in the farmers' revolt against the ancient regime inEthiopia. Some argue that western powers had a hand in this rebellion as the first uprising took place following the defeat of Italian fascism in Ethiopia.Whatever the source/origin this early rebellion may be, TPLF's systematic use of that movement as the justification and as an ideology in the form of ethno-centrism has caused so much damage to Ethiopians and Ethiopia's national interests (the emergence of ethno-fundamentalism; Ethiopia's loss of its sea access, etc).Consequently, Ethiopians were happy to see that this ideology is facing crisis when the news of the crisis within the TPLF/EPRDF leadership came to light in May 2001.

Following the crisis within TPLF/EPRDF, Meles and his clique were quick to preach that their gaining upper hand in the struggle would herald the beginning of the new realism in Ethiopian politics and that they would seek broader alliance to avoid the repetition of past mistakes and to save the country from perpetual tragedies.

But, from what we know at this moment, nothing new has emerged from the crisis other than the concentration of power in Meles' new brand TPLF in the form of 'the National Security Council'.

This is as it should be expected, as Meles has never been anything other than a self-seeking demagogic heckler. Significantly and tellingly, readers will note that Meles' deception lies in preaching different things to different audiences at the same time. For instance, Tigrean supporters of the new brand of TPLF are encouraged to think that nothing has changed to alarm them in terms of the focus of development or otherwise whereas the national propaganda machines (Walta, radio, TV, etc, state owned and controlled) tell non-Tigreans that Meles had to deal with TPLF tribalists led by Seye Abraha to lead the country on a 'non-ethnic basis'.

I call this deception number one!

2. Self-determination of Nations…

TPLF's emphasis on 'self-determination of nations including and up to Secession' has no substance outside a special favor for Eritrea.

Let alone allowing secession, TPLF has no stomach even for a meaningful local autonomy. But, self-determination is used to fight two 'potential enemies' at the same time: 'regionalists' such as the OLF and ''Ethiopian centrists'. The argument goes that it is the fault of the 'regionalists' that they have not used the opportunity provided by the 'self-determination provision in the constitution' while the 'centrists' are denounced for the 'failure' to accept 'equality' of nations/nationalities.

In this TPLF's drama, one sees that both sides of the coin are faceless, i.e., there is nothing on offer to 'regionalists' and Ethiopian 'centrists', but they are blamed for not appreciating the new 'dawn of democracy'!

Both groups are liable to malicious accusations by TPLF's machinery of deception. Post-TPLF crisis, Meles and his group are playing the same old games, this time adding one more group to the list of enemies-TPLF dissident.

This is deception number two!

Post-TPLF split, the mantra is fighting corruption and all sorts of tendencies as has transpired from the so called the 'renewal movement's' hysteria.

Facts in the public domain attest to the fact that this is another armoury in Meles' possession to crash his rivals, left and right.

Otherwise, how could one explain Meles' daily harassment against all those who were alleged against, at times changing provisions in his make belief show case constitution?

This is deception number three!

4. 'Revolutionary Democracy'

'Revolutionary Democracy' author in the name of Meles Zenawi knows that his 'diagnosis' of what bedevils Ethiopia needs this 'middle road between socialism and capitalism' sort of treatment.

Meles and his group are the least qualified in any sense to provide a blue print for Ethiopia's salvation and to know as to what policy would suit her in the 21st century.

Meles knows this very well and that his 'revolutionary democracy' path-finding is one more deceptive mechanism to stay ahead in the game of self-sustenance to continue dominating Ethiopia.

Hence, I call this deception number four!

5. ''Anti-terrorism' Stance

As sociologists would rightly observe, terrorism is using violence in pursuit of political objectives regardless of any consideration for lives lost. TPLF's history is the history of terrorism from birth to date. Indeed, Ethiopians will remember the euphemism for TPLF was ''Dildiy Sebari, in Amharic''- a ''bridge breaker', to express the havoc this group was causing while fighting against the Derg.
After assuming power in the form of TPLF/EPRDF, this same body has been terrorizing Ethiopians using all the trappings of state power.

Since September 11, 2001 tragic incidents in the US, Meles is busy to be on the side of the coalition against terrorism.

Nonetheless, Meles knows that history is not on his side, given TPLF's affiliations with all sorts of Islamic movements from Somalia to the Sudan.

Meles' Eritrean coalition against EPLF includes some Islamic elements whose objective is the eventual incorporation of Eritrea into an Islamic Sudan. This is while still being funded from Ethiopia. It is public knowledge that some years ago, Meles was quoted as telling Col. Gadafy of Libya that Ethiopians are Arabs and that he is on the side of Gadafy in the fight against the 'Zionist entity' of Israel.

Also, Meles thinks that due to Ethiopians' understandable anger with the EPLF, particularly with Isaias Afeworki, our memory would lapse to recognize that Eritrean oppositions that he funds are as hostile, if not more so, to Ethiopia's long term interests, as Isaias Afeworki has been. Wasn't this coalition of Eritreans saying that Bademe and Zala-Ambessa are part of Eritrea at the peak of the so-called the'Ethio-Eritrean War' while operating from the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa?

If so, why is this coalition any different from EPLF's Eritrea with respect to Ethiopia's national interest? Is there a suggestion that the coalition would give up on Assab? You must be joking!

But, Meles, as I have noted earlier on believes that we are stupid enough to accept his Eritrean coalition because they oppose Isaias' rule. This is deception number five!

6. Eritrean Connection

I have repeatedly argued that Eritrea and Ethiopia need each other and that we are one people with a common destiny. This is not shared by Meles in any appreciable way beyond tactics of survival as illustrated above.

What Meles and his clique do is to dance to two audiences at the same time. Meles assures the Eritreans in his administration that he is the best asset for Eritrea's survival as an independent state while projecting the image of the defender of Ethiopia's interest by keeping his quarrel with Isaias' Eritrea as a public news. Hence, the emergence of hostile articles on Eritrea on WALTA in favour of Eritrean coalition.

As a deception, this is number six! The list of deceptions is endless.

II. What are the implications?

The implications of the above are wide and damaging. Briefly put, it is the sustenance of instability and political crisis in Ethiopia. It is the continued death of millions both due to mal-administration, socio-economic crisis and human rights violations. It is the deepening of political rift between Eritrea and Ethiopia with no end in sight for the possible converges between the brotherly and sisterly people of Ethiopia and Eritrea through some formal confederal arrangement.

In short, Meles' continuation is the continuation of misery and of dislocation for the entire region of the Horn of Africa.

III. What can be done?

We Ethiopians have achieved significant victory by weakening TPLF/EPRDF's machinery of oppression. Unlike some who argue that the split within the TPLF/EPRDF is an internal matter, I argue that the split is the outcome of Ethiopians' rejection and our struggle against the forces of tyranny.

When Ethiopians marched to Bademe in unison against EPLF's forces,Meles' assertion that Axum has no relevance to the southerners was defeated. Meles was taunted with a slogan: ''Ke-Bademe melse wode Meles'', in Amharic, meaning after Bademe the campaign is to get rid of Meles!

Meles is crafty enough to have known the implication of this saying. Hence, Meles' focus on authoring a new doctrine of 'Revolutionary Democracy' to use against his TPLF opponents and to use for continued misrule over Ethiopia.

Paradoxically, 'Revolutionary Democracy' is a backward doctrine to have any meaningful purpose for the challenges Ethiopia faces. It is not meant to be, either! As Professor Messay Kebede rightly notes in one of his recent articles, what Ethiopia needs is a functioning democracy, without any qualifications, where the ultimate authority resides with the people that they express through a free election.
Some patronizingly argue that a country like Ethiopia is unsuited for a developed democratic franchise. I disagree!

India and presently South Africa have proved that popular free and fair elections are not the sole domain of western capitalist systems. If anything, Ethiopia's long history of statehood and the vibrancies of her age-old civic cultures coupled with her population's tolerant nature make her a good candidate for a ''full'' democratic system.

In short, I argue that there is nothing in our culture that hinders us from having a sound democratic system of governance, post-TPLF/EPRDF's ethno-apartheid institution. What is limiting us though is party politics of elites' inability to work together and to work with differences which a plural system presupposes. We have to overcome this difficulty if we really mean to arrest the on-going political crisis in Ethiopia.

IV. Reflection on my earlier postulations

In my last article, I argued that the crisis within TPLF/EPRDF is good for Ethiopia as it would weaken the ideological foundation of the ethno-apartheid institution. On reflection, I believe this remark was appropriate as evidence has shown that TPLF/EPRDF is ideologically and morally weakened, going by Meles' and his clique's doctrine search campaign over the last eight months. The fact that both TPLF dissidents and Meles' group are on a high alert to seek alliances as they see it, is one sign of a deep crisis within the ruling clique. The crises within affiliate organizations (OPDO, ANDM, etc) have led to the near collapse of these surrogate organizations. In short, the crisis within TPLF/EPRDF has opened up the process that would surely end this oligarchy's misrule over our country. We need to hasten this process through collective struggle with a motto of establishing an all-inclusive democratic system in Ethiopia.

V. Concluding Remarks

I have attempted to outline the issues at stake at this stage of Ethiopians' struggle against the forces of tyranny and division. I have noted that the TPLF/EPRDF crisis is good for the prospects of peace and democracy in Ethiopia. I have noted that the Ethiopian people have a common interest regardless of differences in ethnicity and of any other differences. TPLF is not the same as Tigray. The people of Tigray should be seen as much the victims of TPLF's misrule as other Ethiopians are.

We have to embrace non-TPLF Tigreans as our brothers and sisters and as comrades in the struggle against dictatorship. It is the responsibility of Tigrean democrats to carry this message from us to our Tigrigna speaking brothers and sisters. We have to stand together in our endeavour to get rid off a tyranny from our country whether this is under ethnicism, divine rights to rule or a version of primitive Marxism-Leninism.

In short, we have to stand together to defeat totalitarianism and to replace it with a humane and an all-inclusive democratic system. Meles' mission to pick and punish his opponents in turns through deception has to be defeated by our joint efforts. This is my appeal to all Ethiopians!!

It is in the international community's long-term interest to side with the majority of Ethiopians, particularly in the wake the tragic terrorist attacks in the USA. The Americans' current fighting and rallying motto of ''Operation Enduring Hope/Democracy'' should mean hope/democracy for all humanity by siding with a just cause everywhere, including in Ethiopia.

VI. Acknowledgements

I wish to thank all of you who have contacted me with advice and information after I posted a notification of my intention to write this article.

© Copyright

Tolossa Gofta Kassane
November 2001.