Demolishing Ethiopia: Oromo Extremists pipe Dream

By Berhane Kahsay
Tigrai Online, Ethiopian News, Sept. Oct. 30, 2016

The ironny of extremist politics in Ethiopia.

Three weeks after the declaration of a State of Emergency, normalcy has returned to the nation and citizens have been able to continue with their daily lives without any apprehension. And the diaspora fanatics that incited the destructive unrest hoping to seize power from the incumbent party appear to be in a state of utter confusion not knowing their next move. In the meantime, the unholy alliance that was hurriedly crafted between the various disparate groups including different strands of the OLF and Oromo Islamist elements has completely unravelled.

These groups had nothing in common and they were simply put together by Egypt in order to achieve her grand design of destabilising Ethiopia, which has become the 66^th world largest economy, up from 103rd in 2005, according to the UK based Financial Times newspaper. The paper further stated that Ethiopia is set to overtake Kenya, Guatemala and the European nation Bulgaria by 2020.

The Oromo Conference for National Consensus that was held in London on 24^th October unanimously stated that their overriding goal was to demolish Ethiopia and then form a free and democratic Oromia. In case additional evidence is needed as to the collapse of the pact between the extremists, this is it. Obviously, this unwelcome development must be a devastating blow to the likes of chauvinist Professors Messay Kebede and Mesfin Weldemariam who have been hoping to gratify their desperate desire for power by expending the Oromo youth as cannon fodders.

In any case, the Oromo extremists yearning to destroy Ethiopia is simply a wishful thinking that will not materialise. But what the fanatics stated during the conference was a political error of monumental proportion that has caused an uproar among Ethiopians of varying ethnicity. They are also certain to be on the receiving end of the wrath of the Oromo people who have immensely benefited from the current federal system that came into being in 1991.

If their desire is to secede from Ethiopia, why can’t they campaign inside the country and invoke Article 39?  What is the need to ‘destroy’ Ethiopia?  How would ‘’free Oromia’’ function being surrounded by a nation that had been ‘demolished’ by Oromo extremists? Can they not see the problems Ethiopia is having from lawless Somalia? What makes these retards believe that Ethiopia would simply wilt because of mob rule? Do they reckon the country is built on a sand instead of solid concrete? The Oromo and Amhara extremists gave their best possible shots by inciting armed rebellion supported by Egypt and Eritrea but the country is still standing and functioning as before. Why can’t the Oromo extremists learn from recent history? Are they not aware of what is taking place in Eritrea that fought for 30 hard years and is now worse off than it was 50/60 years ago?  Was the struggle to install a ruthless tyrant who is forcing hundreds and thousands of youth to abandon their country and is about to be referred to International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity?    

It is a shame that those who claim to represent the Oromo people have very little or no political acumen. In 1992, the OLF which was established in 1973 forsake the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGoE) without making fall back arrangements after an alleged harassment and rejection of its request for more ministerial posts. This was another catastrophic move made by Oromo intelligentsia resulting in the organisation that replaced Mecha & Tuluma being reduced to various entities heavily dependent on alien countries for their subsistence.

One version of OLF is led by Dawud Ibsa who regularly reports his every move to Eritrea and Egypt. In his recent radio interview concerning the unrest in Oromia region, Ibsa made it clear that it was his OLF and not the Islamist Jawar’s group that was responsible for the upheaval that caused the destruction of multi-million dollar businesses owned by local and foreign investors. According to Reuters news agency, the firms that were substantially damaged or completely destroyed did create 40,000 jobs for local people who have now been made jobless. Future employment prospects in the region remain bleak as foreign investors are unlikely to consider the region for fear of losing their businesses.

Another brand of OLF was led by B/General Kamal Gelechu, who betrayed his country and absconded to Eritrea, but now he is believed to be in prison for insubordination to his tyrant master. Some more fringe entities that have appeared after the dismemberment of the OLF include OLF Shanee Gumii (OLF National Council) and OLF Qaama Ce’umsaa (OLF Transitional Authority).     

It is clear that if the myopic leaders of the OLF had remained as part of the TGoE, they would have played a pivotal role in pushing the democratisation process of the country into a new level. Also feasible was that the OLF with other parties that were present then and now could have displaced the EPRDF constitutionally and formed an alternative government with different political programmes. An opportunity that would have further solidified peace and stability which are essential ingredients for an uninterrupted economic prosperity was squandered. OLF leaders were simply interested in furthering their own political carrier rather than fulfilling the needs of the people they claimed to represent. 

Leenco Lataa who has reared his head now and was Deputy General Secretary of the OLF in the 1980s and 1990s should be held accountable for marginalising the organisation that played an important part in formulating the current FDRE constitution. It seems Abbo Leenco never learnt from his past misdeeds. He recently announced the formation of an alliance between his Oromo Democratic Movement (ODF) and Patriotic Ginbot 7(PG 7) which is financed armed and managed by the Eritrean despot. Numerous power driven alliances with G-7 have come and disappeared among them being Arbegnoch Ginbar, Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front (EPPF), Ibsa’s OLF, Ogaden National Liberation Front, TPDM to name but a few.

Out of these, TPDM only had an army of its own and Dr Berhanu wanted to use it. But this was thwarted after he was skilfully outfoxed by Ethiopian Secrete Services and the leader of TPDM made it home in one piece after successfully completing his mission. And poor Dr Berhanu returned to the US with his tail between his legs soon after he announced his departure to Eritrea for good to lead the mirage alliance until a military victory.     

The link between ODF and PG 7 is doomed to crush like the others before it because it is an association of two organisations with diametrically opposite political views. Moreover, G-7 is run by foreign enemies and it has almost insignificant following at home and abroad after 8 years of existence because of its treachery. And any organisation that associates itself with a failed unpatriotic group is bound to incur hefty political price and Abbo Leenco will find out very soon.  

In 2008, Dr Berhanu publically pontificated that the EPRDF would be removed from power within six months but this has not happened after all these years. G-7 has simply become a successful business enterprise making the lives of its leader, his family and a few of his disciples very comfortable. Tamagne Beyene who would find it difficult to secure a janitor’s job in a small hotel has become wealthy and recently he was seen coming out of a four wheel chauffeur driven car, and one wonders how much fortune this minstrel has hidden from his gullible supporters. 

But G-7 never gives up, and it always goes out of its way to try to impress its paymasters, Egypt and Eritrea, in order to ensure the continuous flow of dollars straight into the accounts of its leader. Lately, G-7 teamed-up with ‘Vision Ethiopia’’ which they claim is a network of Ethiopian academics and released a joint statement after a two day conference in Washington DC on 22-23 October. This network claims to be ‘independent ‘and ‘nonpartisan’ and yet it discharged a convoluted statement in conjunction with an organisation that had been proscribed as a terrorist group by FDRE parliament. So where is the impartiality? 

No doubt, the so called collection of ‘ Ethiopian academics’ is an arm of G-7, and in the not too distant period, it will melt-way like the Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC) which was established in 2012 in the US by the multi-millionaire  Dr Fiseha Eshete as G-7’s subsidiary. This man made his fortune by selling his private ‘Unity University’ to Al Amoudi and nobody knows his current whereabouts after being discarded Dr Berhanu.

Those who believe the country would wither away because of turbulences here and there are simply failing to understand an important factor that has been in motion since 1991. Ethiopia is now a home for all nations, nationalities and peoples, and would resolutely be defended from destructive foreign enemies supported by indigenous extremists of all sorts. Various factions of the OLF and Islamist Jawar Mohammed can bark but they can’t disrupt the tranquility of the   nation in a consequential way, and derail its continuous march to becoming the largest inclusive non-oil producing economy in Africa.