Dr. Taye’s views on the Ethio-Eritrea conflict &

A name he chose for those who rallied behind—Woyanes.

November 10, 2002

In a conversation I had with Dr. Taye for about 25 minutes, he told me that there was no Eritrean aggression as such, but it served as one. According to his view, it was a fake war conspired by both ruling parties for some reasons he didn’t explain. Without pondering on the situation, he repeatedly said that no massive preparations or battlewagons were needed; but doing-nothing should have been the response. On top of that, he called those Ethiopians, who actively supported their people during the war, rallied behind, and who stood in the battlefield altogether, as Woyanes. If you are surprised, I’m too. Please join me in assessing the situation, if his argument has any sort of credence or simply is unsubstantiated allegation.

On September 7, 2002, a meeting was held at San Jose State University with the appearance of Dr. Taye W/Semaiat as a guest speaker. Because of a work schedule, I didn’t attend the whole meeting; I arrived late almost at the end. Participants told me that it was a good meeting, where the discussion was focused on the Ethiopian educational standards, along with some critics of policies implemented by the government. I joined Dr. Taye with the dinner schedule. When it is over, there was another question & answer session for about an hour, which I had participated. This later session was also a good forum of exchanging ideas about the Ethiopian schools. At the end, I followed him as he exited the dinning hall, to ask a question no one raised. But before that, let me remind you something that can be used as a bridge, or an entry to the point.

If you remember, the Ethio-Eritrea conflict broke out in 1998, while Dr. Taye was serving as a political prisoner. Although there existed a big political gap between the Ethiopian masses and its ruling party —how to govern the nation, siding your people and defending the country at a critical moment became a must be done agenda. Priority had to be given to it more than anything else. Leaving political differences behind, therefore, Ethiopians all over the world rallied behind their people and nation. They gathered with their respective locations, at their own will, discussed about the situation and passed unanimous resolutions by approving our legitimate right to defend the nation. Both material and moral contributions started to emerge. Then, Ethiopian delegates —living abroad, went back home to hand over the amount collected to the war front. The mission also included showing their support to the people and its army that was preparing to defend the nation at all cost. In the mean time, with the permission of the government, those delegates from abroad went to the prison cells to see the whereabouts and living conditions of lots of political prisoners that we had also requested an immediate release on their behalf, using the opportunity created. While several of the prisoners were willing to accept the visitation, Dr. Taye had refused to meet them. Therefore, my first question was about this situation, and it is given as follows:

Question: Why did you reject the Ethiopian delegates from visiting you?

Dr. Taye because they are Woyanes

Question: are you sure, and you mean all of them?

Dr Taye: yes

Question: What makes you say that? Also don’t you have to consider the much larger Ethiopians who sent them?

Dr. Taye: because my family members and my friends were not allowed to see me. Therefore, the others who got permissions and equipped with Cameras must be Woyanes.

Here is a note about this answer. If we all agree that the government tried to play politics and use the situation for its advantage, then, it had to give the permission, at least to show something. What the government saw is not the picture of 60-100 people, who traveled to Ethiopia, but the larger number behind them. In light of this, therefore, assuming that what he said is true, the political weight it had given to Dr. Taye’s family members and friends vs. the much larger Ethiopians living abroad and their delegates, perhaps would not be the same. If so, his reason is so weak to convince people to reach the conclusion he reached. I suspected that what he disliked the most was the political stand taken by Ethiopians living abroad in support of their people and sending delegates for the war he had opposed. Thus, it seemed that he raised the issue of getting permission and the availability of the cameras to draw a veil over what he had in his mind, and for avoiding blame. Therefore, knowing where he was heading, here is what I asked him about the war itself:

Question: Let me back off and ask you from another angle. What else you think could have been done when confronted with Eritrean aggression?

Dr. Taye: nothing. The so-called aggression or the climate of the war itself was unperceivable.

Question: Didn’t we have to defend our nation and people?

Dr. Taye I don’t think so, because Woyane and Shabia had created the situation on the ground purposely. Therefore, there was no reason to participate.

Question: what if the worst could happen, if the choice as you said was doing nothing?

Dr.Taye: What you mean when you say that? If your intention is to indicate that Shabia would have controlled Ethiopia, it wouldn’t happen. It is unrealistic.

Question: it might not controlled the nation as you said; but if it was not stopped in combat, Shabia’s advance might have destabilized the nation; and no one wanted Shabia to take the nation’s armaments and military equipments needed to defend itself from any form of aggression, or to cause large scale property and live damages within the duration of its stay. Can you see that?

Dr. Taye: No, I don’t see it that way.

Question: don’t you feel sympathy for the suffering of our people in the boarder region, and the bombing of Mekele?

Dr. Taye: he kept silent for a while and said, “I told you it is a made-up situation.”

Question: please allow me to say something. Almost all Ethiopian political organizations, civic groups, religious leaders and their institutions, highly respected Ethiopian intellectuals, Ethiopian university students, Teachers, Ethiopians all over the world, and the masses within the country have supported the right of our nation to defend itself against Eritrean aggression. Well, let me put it in the 90% range. Therefore, Dr. Taye – with respect, are you saying that this vast majority was blind and ignorant when pursuing this approach? Do you really think that they lack the ability to perceive things correctly for the well being of their nation? If so, what makes you believe that the Ethiopian people were wrong and your view is right on this particular issue?

As soon as I came up with this question, I read a sudden change both in Dr. Taye’s body language and the tone he used. His face was frowned, looked upset, and became a little bit emotional. I stayed calm to counter it. There were conflicting thoughts inside him, although I couldn’t read his mind. In my understanding, denying the people’s unprecedented degree of participation in the recent war was an equivalent to saying that Emperor Haile Silassie was not the king of Ethiopia, or Mengistu Haile Mariam did not kill a single person in the land. Both the difficulty of answering the question in its true form, and the underlying uncertainty of being trapped in contradictory statements to the one he said earlier, made him act in a nervous manner. When one of the meeting organizers jumped in and told him that it is about time to leave the hall; he replied angrily, “you can go, go ahead, I am talking with him” —losing his temper. Then, he took a deep breath, and simmered down. This situation actually forced him to wriggle out of the question. After a minute of silence, he said,” what were you expecting me to do, when I was approached by lots of people, who were equipped with Video Cameras -- I couldn’t tell who is who. “

Based on such remarks, you couldn’t fail to understand where his conclusion was derived from. Therefore, I could have extended the argument by saying that almost everybody who goes back home for a visit carries a video camcorder, to capture memories with family members. Please also note that carrying camcorders is not an exclusive ID for the Woyanes. If so, then, Dr. Taye can’t use this argument as a justification to support his answer. In addition, if he couldn’t tell who is who, then what convinced him to say everybody is Woyane? This was another question I could have raised. But I chose not to proceed. I didn’t want to corner him in a situation where there was no escape. Several people including the Ethiopian born political science professor at Stanford University, Awetu Simeso, who chaired the meeting, were listening with no say from anyone. At last, he became calm and tried to make one point:

”you must also know that if I say something —at that moment, the government would have used it to support its case against me, in the ongoing court proceedings.” he said. With this statement, I told him that I understood some of his concerns. Perhaps, there might be some among the delegates who might be sympathizers to the ruling party or active members for that matter— because no one was excluded on this mission. Even though, I mentioned to him that extending this situation to include everybody is completely unfounded allegation —although he didn’t show any sign of acceptance. He completely misread the delegate’s intentions and the peoples stand on the war at that specific time. To put the record straight, not only the majority citizens who have nothing to do with the ruling party, but also some of what we might expected them to be sympathizers, didn’t travel several thousands miles —leaving their jobs and families behind, to interrogate Dr. Taye, or to collect evidences against him, on behalf of the government as he thinks. Instead, they were demanding the release of all political prisoners collectively on the eve of the counter-offensive against Eritrea. Therefore, given the timing and where everybody’s mind was focused, not only his assertion is wrong, but also is totally fictitious. I also brought to his attention that he was advising the audience earlier to have tolerance and respect other’s views; but he became the first one to break that principle before leaving the Student Union hall, where he gave the lecture. He chose, however, not to make any comments on this point. Then, I thanked him for answering my questions and using his time; shake his hands and left.

Later on, couple of his admirers, who watched our conversation, applauded for his remarks, and cooperated for his appearance at San Jose, had approached me at a restaurant. They felt that he was challenged with unexpected questions. They also suggested that I could have been silent than raising the issue. The first supporter said,” Dr. Taye is a man of courage, who suffered the most, fought alone at all odds, and came out as a victor; so that he can say what ever he wanted to say. And we must accept his remarks because he is a great man.” Therefore, he added that I was not supposed to ask, challenge him or dig out to know his stand on such a sensitive issue. The counter argument is why not?

First of all, I presented my questions respectfully and also no one can deny my rights to ask. Second, he was willing to do so. Therefore, the “don’t ask” concept is not a tenable argument. The message here is that if you oppose people from using basic democratic values — when it comes to you and your supporters; then, it wouldn’t be fair to accuse others for making you left out in the democratic process. Playing it out both ways would be a scheme of double standard. In addition, when you bring bogus charges against someone without checking out the facts, and assemble things together—to fit your own definitions or liking; always be aware that there are people watching and reading between the lines; or perhaps willing to challenge you as far as it takes, by giving voice to the voiceless.

The above underlined phrase of “who suffered the most”, for example, misses out important facts, such as measures taken against many unknown Ethiopians both by the junta and current regimes. If I am forced to say something that I was not intended to, therefore, lots of unknown Ethiopians had gone through harsher treatments than Dr. Taye. A large number were also murdered in a cold blood, buried alive, tortured to death, fried with oil and served longer sentences than he did, during the Derg era. Even at the hands of the present government, there are many who suffered in a much larger degree than him and still serving a longer jail sentence. For example, the killings of AAU students and the Awasa case can be mentioned. This doesn’t mean, however, that I don’t feel sympathy for him —I do. The intention is to put it in a better perspective - without exaggerations. In addition, the stand taken by other victims or political prisoners at the time of the conflict was completely different than Dr. Taye’s. Almost all of them supported their people. Therefore, there should not be any exceptional rule, or reason for him to accuse the Ethiopian people for his suffering, where their hands were not involved.

For example, when Dr. Taye wrongly charged the Ethiopian delegates, the public who sent them, or others, he had convinced himself that the memory of the Ethiopian people is already contaminated to recall events, which happened in the last three decades. I will be, however, morally obliged to tell how much we remember. Please note that among the Ethiopians living abroad, where his finger is pointing at, most of them are the descendents of a generation that Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam and his administration tried to wipe out from the face of the land, using a fascistic campaign called the “red- terror” —and who paid the highest price in an unimaginable scale. Despite their suffering, many of them still have a tendency to help their people as far as they are alive. Most are veterans of the struggle who paid part of their life for the sake of bringing change to the society. Back in time, at that historical juncture, these young Ethiopians were about his age or younger. Given that, without undermining his latest engagement in raising some minor issues, we haven’t heard about Dr. Taye’s whereabouts or his contributions during that time of political turbulence —if that is what he wanted to hear.

The Ethiopian public living abroad also includes highly respected intellectuals of the land, experienced former ministers & ambassadors, previous regional governors, military leaders, historians, higher education professors, political analysts, and a large number of experts in various fields as well as concerned people to their nation —the cream of our society, who are persistently contributing to the cause of their people in a way they can. Political persecution has left them to spread all over the world and find shelter. The new actor, Dr. Taye, has used his recent popular stand to misname all these groups —as Woyanes, as if he is the only concerned person to his people, but not the others. For sure, such a fabricated story will not take him anywhere.

Many people believe that he was unfairly accused and charged by the government; the sad thing, however is that Dr. Taye is applying that same intent to others. The expectation was that he stood firm on behalf of his people, but not for his political ambitions. But after analyzing his lack of sense to the greatest cause of the nation, and invented remarks, the assumptions seemed not holding. A person who charges the public can’t be an advocate of their cause at the same time. A concerned person to his people also calls for unity at times of national crisis; but not encourage them to live in a state of vendetta at all times keeping a distance of each other. Therefore, such twisting of things was not a well meant at all. In an opposing argument, someone may say that we must take his long suffering in jail into account. But I would argue that his arrest for six years doesn’t give him a mandate to undermine efforts made by the people at large. Unless someone acts to be a charlatan, the will of the people, their collective ideas, opinions, skill and power is incomparable to his.-no matter what potential he has or thinks in that direction. The delegates as a whole, the public who sent them, the innocent victims in the boarder region, or the great masses who rallied behind the eye-catching colorful flag are not Woyanes. Those who play cheap politics only differ from the facts. As a rule, the public’s resolutions were supposed to be respected. But bringing a false allegation is a call for ructions. In addition, the social infrastructure always is composed of —good and evil; but to have no conscious of such existence for an educated person like Dr. Taye is an embarrassing situation.

For your information, the argument is not what Dr. Taye can say about the war or not. Of course, he could be a deviationist if he wants; but it should be done without trying to inflict his views on others using a name-calling tactic —such as if you don’t support his political stand, then, you’re automatically Woyane. In other words, the annoying part is not his ill treatment and refusal to meet the delegates, but his intentional remarks to associate them wrongly with the ruling party, and his lack of sense to the nation. I know where his anger is coming from; but he must not use the people as skip-goats for his sufferings. If I were him with the same view, I would have said,” I did not support the Ethio-Eritrea war, or believe that there was an aggression either; but I respect the stand taken by the masses for their own reasons.” This is also a better way of saying it, without turning to an old tactic and looking for a tag to put on others. Accusing the people in general and showing no concern to the nation, however, would not buy him supporters or respect -- but trouble, in a way that shreds his credentials or possibly could send him into the wilderness.

The second supporter said,” what Dr. Taye had mentioned about the war was right; because supporting the war was totally wrong. We know that when you guys cooperate with the government, to mobilize the people and wage war against Eritrea; you thought that you would achieve something out of it. But neither your request for the release of political prisoners nor your call for a peace and reconciliation conference was heard by the ruling party. It was ignored. Those who went to Ethiopia as delegates are called ‘the 60-begoch (sheep).’ In addition, nothing was gained by fighting Shania, as we predicted it to be. You should also know that some of us still believe that Eritrea is not a different country. This means also the question of aggression or the war itself is meaningless. People who talk about Eritrean aggression were those who consider it as a separate nation- but we didn’t. If you need proof, you got to know what is going on right now. The Eritreans are asking for a confederation, that is where we differ...” he concluded.

The above views consist of some points that I agree with; other facts, however, are misreported. The part relating to peace and reconciliation, the question of political prisoners and other national issues of course were raised, but not as preconditions. The point of land gain, on the other hand, should be discussed separately from why we were forced to take such measures in the first place. In other words, the post-war achievement or lose, does not invalidate our support for the beloved people we came from. He mentioned that nothing was gained by fighting Shabia. If he is talking about the vast land where our brothers were died for, that comment should be forwarded to the negotiators and the Ethiopian government for failing on their part. Lots have been said about it. The dedicated youngsters and the Ethiopian people, however, have done a remarkable job on their part. Eventually, what is ours must be returned; and Ethiopians are waiting for the final outcome to see what the demarcation and the final delineation process bring about. The enemy was routed in a shocking blow, and the Ethiopian people are proud of what they had accomplished. But to say the war was wrong is simply deceiving his people—a no-concern approach to ones own fate.

On his statement regarding confederation, however, he must be politically naive. The now, unconfirmed rumor about confederation, has no relevance to the situation we were in couple years ago —our backyard was under siege. The invading army was not landed on our soil for enfranchisement duties in concern of our people. The Eritreans also didn’t brought tanks and mortars with them for the soul purpose of winning our votes they needed —for the confederation to happen, as our brother had said; but looking for a quarrel and to take what they don’t have. Even if we assume that such a change in attitude is possible, it might be what the war had created. Always remember that it takes two to dance Tango, but the other party is in denial. In addition, the current ruling party had already done the biggest mistake in 1993. It is blamed for not making at least a fair vote of separations and land allocations. Thus, whatsoever the question of Eritrea seems controversial, we have enough fights as far as the whole Eritrean land is concerned. Let time takes its course. One crucial matter, that remains unresolved, however is how to secure our port back. Other than that, the facts on the ground as we stand, or the realty, seems different than our own interests. Therefore, his concept is simply a pure wishful thinking. I believe that it is better to treat fairly your own people first than pretending to bring others on board that we have troubled with, or seem as sympathetic for them. To stay within the boundary of the subject that I am trying to show, I have nothing to say more; let other Ethiopians pick it up.

Responding to what he said about the delegates, on the other hand, although most of them didn’t show a remarkable performance as we expected them to be, at least they tried. But giving them wrong names to discredit what they had done is unfair. For sure, they were a little bit confused. They were picked in different parts of the world, and were disorganized. In addition, they did not get a chance to discuss about their journey and what to say in one voice, before they meet with government officials or the press. The main weakness observed perhaps was their inability to explain the mission —in explicit terms, to the Ethiopian masses within the country; when they got an opportunity to be interviewed by the government media. Note also that their mission was to hand over the amount collected for the war victims and show their support to the Ethiopian people as well as the army which was preparing to defined the nation. But such weakness doesn’t ‘promote’ them to be Woyanes, as Dr. Taye is telling us, or as his supporter tried to amplify the same signal.

Comments:

I knew that Dr. Taye didn’t represent any political party. Because of this situation, I was not prepared to interview him about the politics of the nation or the recent war at all; but simply to ask him politely why he had misread the intentions of the Ethiopian delegates in a different way. However, his unexpected and alarming answer had created a situation to change our focus more on the cause of the war itself and its players. The root cause of his wrong move tends to be his total misconception of the war that underlines the survival of our country. That aside, nothing stands above the nation; the land where our family members are buried, and in which our identity, values and beliefs is tangled. Therefore, make sure you understand that it is this national cause —as a theme, that my article entails to reveal and what Dr. Taye had refused to respect.

I voiced out my opinion for the release of Dr. Taye and other political prisoners as tens of thousands of Ethiopians did, elsewhere in the world. Many people believed that his unwillingness to act as a timeserver perhaps was the main cause for his arrest. For that reason, he has gained a respect. I admire his dedication and what he had gone through resolutely to face the punishment that came with it. I also share his pain for being a prisoner of conscience for six long years. Most Ethiopians including myself are happy to see him released. Having said that, coming out as a victor does not entitled Dr.Taye to give everybody a forged certificate with a false name printed on it. Instead of thanking people who showed concern at a time when he was in jail, he traveled an extra mile in the opposite direction, to be on the offensive.

Disregarding what Ethiopians all over the world had done to bring his unfair arrest and serving in jail to the international attention, perhaps Dr. Taye might thought that the International Teachers Union or the Americans got him out. Well, nobody wants credit for that matter; what we did not expect from him, however, was his made-up misnaming allegations on top of it. For a better understanding, what the wild fox had said in the Ethiopian folk-tells, “Lesew mot anesew”, will fit this situation. Putting people where they don’t belong is an act of deception and exposing oneself to open critics. Those who gave him a welcoming reception and make financial contributions to support his cause during his recent tour in the US, Canada, or Europe, for example, are the people who rallied behind the Ethiopian masses during the war; but without knowing that he is pointing his finger at them. Telling these readers about the wrong remarks of Dr.Taye, whom they respect, is an unenviable job —but I have to do it.

Based on my interpretations of his words; he doesn’t care about the damage caused by Shabia against our nation and its people -- be it in terms of property damages or the loss of lives. Both his refusal to meet the delegates and the misnaming extra step he announced later seemed to suggest that he wrongly considered those Ethiopians living abroad not as devotees, but as ‘enemies’—because they had cooperated with the government for national defense purposes. Here, someone might say that he must have been misinformed while he was in prison. But his replay of the song, at this moment has cleared such assumptions out of the picture. If you put all these fragments together and read it, then, he believes that those who died to defend the nation and everybody who supported them behind altogether are Woyanes or “pro-Woyanes” —who didn’t know what they were doing at all. With respect to his views, I really don’t know where his false charges and accusation is coming from.

The intimidation and the cloud of war that was hanging over the nation was a much bigger issue we had to deal with. We also have a historical obligation to support our people. Whether he accepts it or not, the country needed the support of its entire people —not to fail. That’s where all the eyes were focused. Unfortunately, no matter how many valid reasons I pulled out to show him, Dr. Taye was not moving from his unyielding political stand —he simply was in total denial. You may argue that the government’s approach to use the situation for promoting its politics must be taken into considerations. The answer will be, of course, we knew that; but there was no a second choice. Ignoring the ruling party’s intentions for the purpose of supporting our people and its army —for that particular mission, was the road map to go. Nobody cared whether the government benefits from it or not. If we take out the business of undermining our society from the picture, Ethiopians are inured to danger, and can smell gunpowder at a distant. Understanding the tasks, therefore, the people had used their skills to circumvent the particular situation in a joint effort. But to say we could have missed the boat perhaps is a lack of farsightedness in ones vision. You should also note that after the war, the government and the people are sitting in a position that had existed in the pre-war scenario. Whoever expected the politics will go to the wrong-way—such as the emergence of unconditional rapprochement between contending political organizations, —because of the unity created for the war, was wrong. The political gap between the people and its ruling party has widened, but not narrowed.

More to say, Dr. Taye had no clues in knowing how Shabia was intimidating Ethiopians. In his view, it was “unholy war” without a cause. However, he must know that the Ethiopian people wanted the war, in defense of their nation more than the ruling party; and have a reasonable cause for doing it. The war was initiated by Eritrea. It was also the public’s continuous pressure and reaction that forced the government to act in a full scale. I wish he gave attentions to find out all the reasons behind, before going a little too far. If you remember, during the Derg era, for example, the same political stand was taken by the EPRP—when Somalia invaded Ethiopia, with a push of the US government. Without considering the possible damage to the nation and the sufferings of its people, it was thinking that the advancement of Somalis might have weakened the junta’s ability to govern; which was flatly wrong. The good thing at a later time, however, was that the party admitted its mistakes and had informed its members. Likewise, Dr. Taye perhaps wanted a force that would have unseated his captors to get out from prison earlier than later; but without considering its potential impact to the nation. On the other hand, If you use Dr. Taye’s method of interpretations, perhaps those Ethiopians who courageously fought against Somalia’s expansionist policy to defend their nation and the people who supported them in general might also be called ‘fascists’ —simply because the Derg regime was fascist. This, for sure would have been an act of misreporting.

Above all, I was shocked to hear when he said that the choice for Ethiopians at the time of the Eritrean aggression should have been doing- nothing. Well, doing-nothing is interpreted as allowing Shabia to carry out what it wanted. It also means, Ethiopians should have been renounced their land, property, values and citizenship under threat. I really didn’t expect that Dr. Taye would say -- we could have capitulated or stood in bowed heads to welcome Shabia’s invasion. Of course, he is not the only person who opposed the legitimate right of our nation to defend itself from an open aggression. There were also some indigenous extremists with similar views, who were agitating people not to fight, or support their people, and further engaged in anti-Ethiopia radio propaganda campaign —while Ethiopians were dying on the battle field in large numbers. Perhaps these groups were dreaming to construct their house using a heap of the rubble, at the expense of the Ethiopian people. They have always been desirous of making mischief between people, and every Ethiopians achievement is their target. If you want to test them, tell them the opposite of your views; they will start attacking it until they finally know where you stand to change directions again. To join the public’s stand and to look good on the eyes of others, these elements were accusing the government earlier for being soft on Eritrea, as well as for giving it a blank check to write what it wanted. The charge also included Eritrea’s economical sabotage and its illegal involvement in the Ethiopian internal political affairs after it was separated. When the situation grew to a stage of invasion and military confrontations however, they retreated from their positions —which implied that they had never been speaking on behalf of the people. To my surprise, although Dr. Taye is not a member of them, at least he was echoing the views of those few extremist elements —he met on the route of his tour, during our conversation. I don’t know if these futile elements, who failed miserably by their own, were intentionally trying to use him or not.

I differ by saying that the push by Shabia towards Central Ethiopia might have caused lots of towns in Northern Ethiopia to be flatten like Zalambessa, and would have brought a continuous wave of anarchy and chaos unexpected to see; or even worse, it might have invited an outbreak of a civil war which would be hard to get out —as Somalia is engaged in. I wish the Eritrean aggression was a simple matter to be ignored, as Dr. Taye had put it. If that was the case, then, the tens of thousands of our youngsters, who lost their lives in the plains of Badme and its surroundings, would have been saved; but it was not. To secure its economical advantage at the expense of the Ethiopian people, as well as to grab a chunk of land; the Eritrean Shabia was trying to use force as a means of achieving it. It was also determined to commit its acts of terror and intimidations or to keep our nation in panic until its demands were met. When doing so, it was counting on the political atmosphere and division that has prevailed since 1991. However, Ethiopians were conscious of what their weak points Eritrea was trying to exploit. Those preparations made Eritrea’s war campaign to quit in a knock out.

If the Eritrean military was not blocked, on the other hand, Shabia’s massive show of force and its forward advance would have also helped its partner, OLF, to create another front in the south and destabilize the nation in a much larger scale than imagined. That was what Shabia had envisioned. But thanks to the Ethiopian people and its gallant fighters, the evil plot was reversed. If Dr. Taye calls it a wrongdoing, the so-called “crime” we had committed was helping our people. For that, he can stay in the misnaming indulgence as long as he wants to; but courageous Ethiopians always have indomitable spirit. It is our people whom we care the most. Let him also know that we are proud to be part of that history —to leave our legacy for the coming generation. I strongly believe that the Ethio-Eritrea conflict, in particular, was also a greater cause and a strong unifying issue in the recent time. Without down playing the political problem that must be worked out, I wish such kind of unity and campaign is repeated to wage war against other enemies of our nation, such as poverty that confronts them everyday and the global devastating disease of the AIDS virus which is spreading like a prairie fire.

When he used the name Woyanes to identify others, Dr. Taye is indirectly agitating us that they died for the benefit of the current regime, but not to the country. Thanks to modern technology, however, the world had seen the war-footage; what had been visible on top of Ethiopian military tanks was the nation’s flag, but not EPRDF’s. Our brave soldiers, who paid their lives for such a cause, are fallen permanently in silence and may not be listening what he had to say; but to those who lost arms, legs, and their sight —and survived, it is an insult. The victims and their families of this unprovoked war needed such an encouragement. So that at least he was supposed to show a little bit sympathy; but he made no endeavor to do it. Instead, he chose to attack them along the rest of us. Most of the teen-agers, who lost their lives in the fight against Shabia, didn’t get at least a portion of the life what most of us have enjoyed. If they were able to wakeup from their sleep, I don’t know what they would have to say. Time will tell if such false accusation helps Dr. Taye to promote his image or recoiled on him. Anyway, we congratulate him for shooting a silver bullet in an attempt to hit a target; but it’s expected to be a miss. If you ask me why, I would say because it was a special mission, supported by every sector of our society. There were no divisions among Ethiopians —how to carry it out. Ethiopian political organizations, with the exceptions of OLF were onboard. Therefore, all of them regardless of party affiliations, who participated on that war, are our heroes. For defending the nation and make us feel proud, they have a highest place in our history for forever.

So far, my intention was focused on arguing that our county needed the support of its entire people —as opposed to Dr. Taye’s, and showing that his allegations is unfounded; but I want to make a point on the reverse side as well. Even if we take Dr. Taye’s wrong assumptions at face value and agree that everybody who supported, contributed or engaged in combat gear is Woyane, the Ethiopian people would have supported the action for two simple reasons. First, if you put the internal political divisions behind for a moment, the Woyanes (TPLF/EPRDF members) are Ethiopians on the power sit. Thus, a ruling party or a government regardless of its system in place has a responsibility to protect the country and its people from any possible invasion. The issue of the security of the nation crosses the boundaries of ethnicity, religion, or political affiliations, and so forth. Second, fighting Shabia, weakening its ability, and removing the threat definitely serve the interest of the nation. If so, then, you should totally forget Dr. Taye’s idea of opposing the war; our people had spoken further that we could have gone all the way to Asmara to completely remove its rulers from power than going back to it in another time. Therefore, no matter which direction the issue comes from, Dr. Taye’s stand of doing-nothing approach is a refutable argument. Someone may accuse the government for having failed to bring about a democratic system, the establishment of the rule of law, and for various public discontentments on other areas; but not for waging war against Shabia which is in the interest of the country.

Given all the points I mentioned above, it seems that Dr.Taye has failed to rise above politics and see where the masses were heading. Perhaps he was in a different world than we tended to be, thinking for his fate. Because he was in prison at the time of the crisis, he saw that the survival of the nation or the suffering of its people as meaningless to him. In addition, his refusal to accept the nation’s legitimate right to defend itself is tantamount to praying Shabia’s Whip against his fellows. It is with regret to say that Dr. Taye’s views, on this regard, relates to the Amharic saying of ‘Enie kemotku serdo aybkel.’. I encourage our people to write him a letter, to apologize for disregarding such a big cause, including the erroneous accusations he has made against those who supported their people and paid their lives. When doing so, I politely suggest that, we use the proper tone and language. Our goals should also be to encourage his strength and make him see the wrong perceptions he has left with, but not to make a counterblast with bombardment of offensive words. For example, a person I know and whom I shared what he had said came up with another analogy of Ethiopian saying to describe Dr. Taye’s political stand and allegations — “aweksh -aweksh siluat metshaf atebech”; and added that a person with such stubborn attitude, and who has no sense of honor to his people and country, tends to be a relentless dictator, if he gets a chance to sit on the power wheel. But I don’t want to address it with such a tone and preferred my first choice. I believe the later is an invective presentation, which I don’t recommend. You may attack his views but not his personality. Also keep in mind that commenting on someone’s attitude without knowing his background would be seen as a wrong counter-allegation, and repeating the same mistake what we’re trying to address. On my part, I am disappointed; but not outraged. The intentions must not be attacking someone, but delivering a professional critique. The other important factor for consideration is that no one is free from mistakes. Considering all these factors I mentioned, I would like to inform my readers that this article was delayed from being sent to web sites to be posted on the Internet — not to disrupt Dr. Taye’s tour with possible challenges this article might cause.

If the motive is to save life but not to lose; then, treating in a better and persuasive way will leave an unexpected attacker to fight with his mind and come out with a good heart than throwing a stone in self-defense. Polemics of tit for tat wouldn’t serve any purpose, and we must treat him with forbearance. Dr. Taye is not a well-known political figure; but a union leader, whose influence doesn’t extend in a larger segment of our society. If he has, the reaction would have been much different. In addition, at the time when Dr. Taye was in prison, online activities or Internet usage was at a peak. Media warfare was also part of the political confrontation with Eritrean counter parts. He did not get a chance to see what a remarkable job Ethiopians all over the world have done on this second front. The several thousand pages of opinions and ideas exchanged everyday-during the war engagement, were not available for him to see. With the absence of that, therefore, he simply was reading from a wrong document that his informants had prepared for him in a bar. But the worst thing seemed his inability to find out the facts after he got out of prison.

Therefore, despite this incident of an ethical foul, Dr. Taye is a man of some account in our society. Although I give him high marks for being diligent on other areas, I want to make it clear that I also reserve the right to tell other Ethiopians about the lack of concern he has to a highly sensitive national cause and its players — the people. I am hoping that he will learn not to make such a blunder again. Dr. Taye has the right not to be a patriotic, or to refuse his help for the cause; but accusing those who honors it, is seen as disrespect of the social norm. It undermines the public’s right —which is considered sacrosanct.

Adding my opinions, a scientist with a profound knowledge may not be a good political or military leader—because no one knows everything for that matter. Often, high expectations don’t work. It is to say that although education is needed for a better understanding, the importance of a public figure is determined by his political charismas, respect to the public and Interests of the nation, ability to hold enlightened opinions and work with others... etc. along with the issues he voted for, or he intended to. Dr, Taye, however, did not pass on this test. For example, trumpeting a baseless charge that undermines the public puts his credibility at stake to play a fair game. Although he has a lot of guts, he neither has the tool of tolerance needed on this area, nor the ability to read the public’s mind on sensitive issues of our nation —which are key components. His action is like evicting concerned people from what they call mother home or a push to stay out in its affairs. But I want Dr. Taye to know that no one has a paternal right to rule the nation or determine its economical, political, or social affairs without the inclusion of others inhibiting or born on the land. We are proud Ethiopians as he is; and the country belongs to all of us. As we respect his views and contributions, he has a responsibility to honor others work as well; but not engaging himself in a name-giving business.

The foundation of our thoughts and understanding should be built on positivism. On the other hand, one who enters in the field of politics must know that respecting the people, and showing concern to the security of the nation are mandatory requirements.

Based on such hints, perhaps people will be forced to question Dr. Taye’s integrity and wisdom in the days to come. In light of this, therefore, I don’t know what his wrong move leads him up to, or how other Ethiopians take it from here. I think he has to apologize. If Dr. Taye, however, strongly believes that some conspirators inveigled the Ethiopian people into a war situation that took the lives of 100-thousand people, he must try to write an article explaining the details to support his belief. He should also substantiate the charges he brought against everybody in the court of public opinion. If not, his allegation would be ended in fiasco.

A. Ferede

San Jose, California.