TIGRAI Online

Coalesced and United by hate, Disintegrated by peace

Too good to be true, said a friend of mine after spending a week end in his friends 4,000 square foot new house. A six bed room house, each room fitted with flat screen HD TV, a swimming pool and a garden for retreat. The fountain in the front yard is controlled remotely from the guest house, price tag one million dollars, of courses not in your crowded North East but in the semi desert South west. Amused and curious, I ask the financial picture of the house hold and found out the family sold their 3 bed room house in middle class neighborhood for 300,000 USD. I was told the combined house hold income was close to 150,000 USD. My next question was how come they afford to buy the new house? well he said, not sure of him self, well “they said it is the American Dream, it is the American Spirit “, this was then in 2004, came Labor day 2007, exactly three years after the dream night I got a call from the same friend, sounded subdued, he said you know what happen ?...what ? So and so is in trouble, the problem is not because his house is foreclosed but his kids, what happen to his kids? Couldn’t assimilate with the low-hanging, saggy pants crowd in the hood, what follows there after is history. Bare with me guys; some of you are going nuts, like what the hell is this guy talking about! Well after 3 years I found out the “American Spirit and Dream “ was actually the infamous sub prime mortgage. Talk about “dream and Spirit” under steroids, this is it. The “dream and Spirit” couldn’t be saved even with the swift move of the white house and the Federal Reserve. By the same token we have a party whose Spirit and dream was under steroids for over two years and when the effect of the later waned, we have a “mess” in our hands.

Not long before we spiced up our Millennium celebration, the ugly face of Ethiopian politics is all over the front pages of the print and electronic Medias. Most of the vocal Diaspora are in state of shock and disbelief for witnessing the fast fleeing fame and unspiritual behavior of the feuding faction of the Kinijit.The character built around kinijit by deception and lies is unraveling by the hour, and it is not too far to see the whole skeleton of the “Menfes” as they call it. Hate politics and extremism, the main fuel for the “Menfes” of Kinijit, was meant to unseat the incumbent. Little they know hate doesn’t have any boundary or logic, it consumes every thing on its way. This time around they are walking on the land mine they planted. The irony is the group of five (G-5) that ousted the chairman; don’t seem to comprehend the gravity of the crisis fallen up on themselves and the party at large. It is refreshing to hear alien words in the Diaspora dictionary, like tolerance and reconciliation to bridge the gap between the split in the leadership, but how can they revert to that, because that doesn’t earn them the stardom in the first place, in fact that will land you in the “Kihdetu” land. Now more than ever it should be clear to every one of us, the problem with our politicking is beyond personalities. The problem is deep rooted in our cultural, traditional and social fabric that requires studies by social scientists, but unfortunately the “intellectuals “, who are supposed to study and give us direction how to overhaul the whole social discourse are part of the problem, not the solution, ALEMETADEL!

A country as diverse and complex as ours, at the heart of the horn of Africa, with huge challenges, surrounded by sworn enemies, needs not only stable democratic government but also strong opposition parties with alternative ideas and vision that can help the democratization process and the fight against poverty. It is less consequential if a disorganized team would have to take power in one of the stable western democracies than in unstable region like ours. The bizarre turn of events of this last week here in the land of the free and home of the brave by none other than the “spiritual Kinijit” is coming to its logical conclusion. The embarrassment is not for the different factions with in the party but for the different “disciples” who joined the chorus sanitizing for a non existent spirit, day in and day out for the last two years. The chorus includes the NES in Europe, the Ethnic supremacist leader in Minnesota, a bankrupt lawyer in California to the “Mandela “crowner in the Mississippi delta.

If this dysfunctional group, Kinijit, was to usurp power by any chance in 2005, we were for a big surprise. We were told Kinijit is a spirit, what a spirit? A wicked spirit with out human decency that couldn’t able to visit the sick and flail or a spirit that needs to call emergency session whether to greet a man who was languishing in prison for 20 months with them.

Dr Birhanu Nega and Co will go down in history books as the first African politicians for outsourcing coup d’eta in to North America. The “Remember November 9” was actually officialization of the coup orchestrated by kestedemena and implemented by savvy lawyer none other than Prof Almariam .When thousands of people greeted the “leaders” at the airport, it took a toll on the psychology of the old guard and hastily summon the chairman of the party. By the time he arrived at the airport flail on wheel chair, the show was already stolen .This is a copy cat play from the Indecision 2000 Gore vs. Bush, when the former was fighting in the supreme court, the Bush team was already naming cabinets from its transitional west wing in Crawford, TX; that was a psychological knock out to the devastated democrats, and that is exactly what is happening to Eng Hailu and supporters. Kality was blessing in disguise for the ARADAS other wise there was not a chance, leave alone to depose but even to contemplate against Hailu Shawl before they went to prison.

The Birhanu group was sending Talking points to their foot soldiers in Diaspora to undermine the chairman while they were behind the gates of Kality. When the country was preparing to celebrate the millennium, they were hatching the coup in Addis and finally implemented in Washington DC. The G-5 was hoping to finish the silent coup in foreign land out of sight of the Ethiopian people. But the Engineer is determined to start the fight in DC and take it back to Ethiopia hoping for home run. The gloves are off and the Generals are at their command post to let the infantry to start the campaign of on slaught. On the first round of the fight the Birhanu group seems to have the upper hand, hailu shawl and co are expected to call for reinforcement. Now the question is: is the Birhanu group ready to fight the onslaught that will ensue, time will tell. I hope and pray they finish their infighting here before they cross the Atlantic.

I am afraid for the junior politician, Judge Birtukan Mideksa, who was coined at one point as “Etegie Taitu” will be able to take the hit from the merciless Diaspora poison. On her first test as the leader of the G-5, she failed miserably. I was astounded by her luck of sympathy for a fellow ailing man during her last teleconference, put it simply it was a public relations disaster .Who would have thought an unknown party until the eve of the election came to existence as buffer to cushion the infighting between the different parties, quickly master minded to oust the two big personalities: Hailu Shawl and Lidetu Ayalew. These are the two personalities who brought the opposition close to the helm of power in the 2005 election. The young Pragmatic politician, Mr. Lidetu, is now vindicated .He told us two years ago what is unfolding in front of us. Kinijit would have been a formidable opposition party, if they were to heed the direction of Mr. Lidetu but what happened “Yeqotun Awordalehu bila yebibtewan talechthe” kind off. The lesson in politics is, to seize the opportunity when you get it, tomorrow is another day. The chairman, at the height of his fame, was getting calls from the head of the world body, Mr. Kofi Anan, two years later even half of his foot soldiers wouldn’t show up in the Air port to greet him, what a Fortuna! . The plot a against Hailu Shawl started at Bole Air port when the “Democrat”, Birhanu Nega, with a stroke of a pen add to the list of Kinijit central committee the name of Andargachew Tsigie in abstentia, as farewell gift. The new found power in his pocket, Mr. Andargachew is the master mind of the monster created with in the party that sidelined the chairman, and also he was the main proponent for the creation of the violent coalition, AFD. As for the Good Doctor, though it is too late to ask for refund, at least send us the revised edition of Yenetsanet Goh Siked.