To Mao: From Ethiopia With Love
I have long time ago stopped thinking of the Ethiopian “pro-democracy” movement as a monolithic group or, even more cynically, as a group whose members are mainly pro-democracy. Democracy is just a uniting public slogan. It did not, however, cross my mind that some of them would write publicly(albeit in pseudonyms) and unapologetically about the great things Mao had done. But hey, what do I know about Ethiopian politics?
I was stung by the number of commenters on my blog and correspondents who criticized me for being harsh on Mao by comparing him to Meles(or something like that). Since the version of Chinese history that EPRDF supporters peddle is very similar to the official line of the Communist Party of China(CPC), I was not surprised that they were fawning all over Chairman Mao. Their objection to my article was not for comparing their dear leader to the chairman, but calling both incompetent while it is self-evident that they cannot be:) What I did not for this earth expect was the soft spot for Mao from the “pro-democracy” army. Since this issue is literally a matter of life and death for me, it is time to dig in my heels. I do not want to slip into comparative analysis of Meles and Mao inadvertently. That was not, as I clarified repeatedly, what the original article was intended to do. I just want to point out my irreconcilable differences with the commenters on Mao.
1. First and foremost, I expect a reflexive distaste(no, actually an outrage) to killings, torture, mass imprisonment and disregard for human lives from people who openly claim to support democracy unless the democracy they refer to is Mao’s New Democracy. Mao did not just do all those things. He did them in historically unmatched proportions. “China is such a populous nation, it is not as if we cannot do without a few people” may be a quotation falsely attributed to Mao, but in spirit and deeds, he followed that as a dictum.
2. Mao was a nationalist. How can you mention Meles in the same breath as this nationalist leader?
I have heard this “nationalism triumphs over anything and everything” argument raised to give Mengistu Hailemariam some credit. No, I do not subscribe to Herder on steroids. There is good nationalism and bad nationalism. Killing and torturing thousands of people in the name of nationalism is bad nationalism. It is that simple for me. I got my nationalism from the enlightenment. That is the whole purpose of my political involvement: to see a nation that treats its least fortunate, weak, powerless, out-of-power and dissenting members humanely.
3.Mao was a man of principle
People who think that Mao was a man of principle should consult their history books more carefully. Mao was a rigid man who experimented with untested wacky ideas on his own people. But he was also suspicious of comrades who believed in his ideas as rigidly. The rectification movement was awash with the killing and torture of thousands who took Mao for his words and worked for the realization of the things they thought he believed in. One of my political heroines is Lin Zhao who was tortured and starved to death in Mao’s prison because as a student revolutionary, she was too eager to execute the chairman’s plans. Yet if people see no difference between rigidity and principle, I say the Keynesian “when the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” school is much more heroic than the Maoist “when the facts change, I kill people because there are too many of them” philosophy.
4. Mao had done some great things for China
We may disagree on what great things mean. As I said above, nothing, nothing can justify the human costs of Mao’s experiments. But even leaving the costs aside, these were what Deng inherited as basic features of the Chinese economy from Mao when he took office:
(i)Dismal agricultural output
(ii) heavy-industrial sector that created negative value
(iii) gigantic scientific projects which gave a superficial sense of great achievement but were sad cases of resource mismanagement.
(iv) A citizenry demoralized by years of repression and famine
I have long time ago stopped thinking of the Ethiopian “pro-democracy” movement as a monolithic group or, even more cynically, as a group whose members are mainly pro-democracy. Democracy is just a uniting public slogan. It did not, however, cross my mind that some of them would write publicly(albeit in pseudonyms) and unapologetically about the great things Mao had done. But hey, what do I know about Ethiopian politics?
business as usual meles phobia.aye ye ALMARIAM enna ABMARIAM neger.
@yoni
Have you ever tried to refute ideas with alternative ideas instead of hollow accusations. I have an advice. Please try it and you may be surprised that people can actually learn when they put their minds to good use.
“I have long time ago stopped thinking of the Ethiopian “pro-democracy” movement as a monolithic group or, even more cynically, as a group whose members are mainly pro-democracy. Democracy is just a uniting public slogan. It did not, however, cross my mind that some of them would write publicly(albeit in pseudonyms) and unapologetically about the great things Mao had done. But hey, what do I know about Ethiopian politics?”
Well your writing (up until now) did not indicate that. But I hope you would agree that there are quite a critical number of people (sizable) of the ‘pro-democracy’ persuasion (in its true sense where all the tenets of the Universal Human Rights are the rule of the day ) that can and should take the mantle and usher a new day for the nation. It has been just too long… waiting… waiting for the world to change is not gonna cut it. Keep going.
I would even not talk about Mao when talking about Ethiopia or any other country in the planet. Mao is exceptionally crule, dictator, who killed people under the slogan of ‘people power’. But i would not be suprise if Abiy is attacked for talking ill of Mao. Mao, mengistu, Isayas etc- how do they do it? How could there be hundereds of thousands of soldiers, security personnel, cadres, etc, lined up to do the ‘people power’ (killing) if the dictator was one single person?
As usual I am happy to say thank you for your daring article and generating intellectual discourse that is massively lacking in Ethiopian politics. I must agree with your disgust in those ideologists who defend Mao’s crime. His most famous executions were not his most numerous. In the so-called Cultural Revolution, Mao ordered massive purges of the Chinese Communist Party and of educated professionals. After Mao’s fall, purge survivors such as Deng Xioaping (the competent authoritarian as you put it) seized power and ultimately exposed this crime to the world. About one million Party members and intellectuals were killed during Mao’s Cultural Revolution – many by execution, others in the camps. Overall, however, history shows that Mao’s killing actually declined during the Cultural Revolution. During earlier periods, millions of landlords, better-off peasants, dissidents, former Nationalist civil servants, and other “counter-revolutionaries” were executed. Numerical estimates are difficult to make, but probably add up to about 60-85 million, near the population of Ethiopia. As a person in his early 30’s I find it completely bizarre that Ethiopians who claim to be fighting for freedom, democracy and justice can justify any criminal, let alone a monstrous one perpetrated by Mao.
How can one begin to justify the killing and torturing of thousands, if not millions in the name of advancement or nationalism? If a leader, be it Mao or Melese can’t lead following a minimal moral compass and protect the powerless from the powerful let alone conduct the massacres of innocent human beings for their own interest, they are not only incompetent but also criminal by any standard.
Moreover, when you look at the massive corruption, swindle, deception, racism and criminality that was/is being perpetrated by Mao or Meles and there cohorts on the innocent people of china and Ethiopia respectively, how do you even begin to justify let alone praise there criminal act? Unforgivable!
That being said, what is lacking from this discourse is what needs to be done in order to return the government to the people of Ethiopia? How can we dislodge this Mafioso order that is running supreme in Ethiopia? Let’s not neglect the practical steps we have to take to bring about a free and democratic Ethiopia where justice prevails, not where Meles prevails.
Abiye,
Don’t expect people to see things exactly as you do. Even though some know about Mao’s bad sides, they still don’t compare him to Meles because of the real deep hatred they hold for the later. When I read the comments, that’s what I sensed. And whether you like it or not, at least in public, Meles is seen as anti-Ethiopia and that really doesn’t sit well with us Ethiopians. So, my advise to you is don’t expect people to be always rational. We are laymans out here. We have emotions sometimes. So, what I say is we said Mao is better than Meles because we hate Meles sooo much. Your last conclusion about the ‘pro-democracy’ movement in Ethiopia, if there is one, is blown out of proportions. Try not to lose your composure and perspective.
Nice post.
I’m sure many of us have heard many people say that they ‘prefer Mengistu to Meles’. When we hear something like this, I think we should be careful and not take it at face value, but see what it really means.
First, it’s simply a hyperbole – it’s a way of expressing how much we feel oppressed by Meles today. We might even compare the devil favourably to Meles!
Second, let’s not forget that 20 years have passed since Mengistu’s rule, and about 30 years or so since the Red Terror. People forget a bit.
Third, it’s an expression about the impression Meles gives that he is anti-Ethiopia.
I’m afraid the above also applies to how some Ethiopians relate Mao to Meles.
In addition, taking Meles out of the picture, when it comes to Mao:
1. Most Ethiopians have never suffered because of him, so it’s easier to sanitize him.
2. Like you say, we tend to glorify nationalism no matter what the cost.
3. There’s a basic misunderstanding when it comes to morality and ethics. Like I said in previous comments, we seem to think that it was okay that Mao killed tens of millions as long as he made China ‘great’. We don’t identify with the victims – we see them as nameless statistics.
The point of all of the above is that I think we should understand that much of this ‘pro-Mao’ sentiment that we’ve seen is not really informed or heartfelt. It comes from misunderstandings and lack of knowledge.
Not everyone is perfect or knows perfectly. We have to be understanding and empathetic towards each other. That is part and parcel of democracy. So yes, there are many in the democracy movement who may have ‘imperfect’ views, but that is to be expected, and we must live and learn together.
Yes, we need to get rid of these misunderstandings in order to strengthen the democracy movement. But it is also the existence of these misunderstandings that force us to communicate, empathize, learn – in other words, become more democratic.
Abiye:
I am one of the people who did not like your “limited” comparison of Meles and Mao. I disagreed not because I have great regard for Mao. I actually deplore his inhumane acts. I disagreed because your article seemed to suggest that Mao’s rhetoric skills and vast information base is comparable in a “limited” sense to Meles’s. I just don’t see how this can be the case. I want you to know that I agree with what you said about Mao both in your current and previous articles.
God!! Look how you are stuck with your own muddy politics. The reason is the previous article, concerning Mao, contained superficial analysis and dubious conclusion. What we are reading is actually what Abiye chose to believe, you are in a process of crafting your own facts. Comically, still your article is too shallow…..because it is filled with impetuous conclusions rather than thoughtful analysis.
Mao’s legacy is still a disagreement to many historians. Nobody can disagree that he was a cruel and authoritarian despot who was responsible for a murder of many. But the way the reports were spread depend on who wrote the stories, and what the intention was behind. Presumably, everyone can argue both sides, without denying his dictatorship and his achievement on the unification of China, laying out economic, technological and cultural foundations and renovating the country from an agrarian society into a major world power.
Mao is believed by many as a savior of China who had an extraordinary mix of talents. Some consider him to be visionary, statesman, political and military strategist of cunning intellect, a philosopher and poet at the same time (Mao a life, 2001). On the other hand, some historians compare him with Hitler and Stalin (Mao, Routledge Historical Biographies, 2004; Mao’s Last Revolution. Harvard University Press, 2006). All what can be said is that the issue with Mao is too too contentious and can’t be dared to be generalized with a one page summary like what you did, Abiye. Oh God!! I am actually getting a clearer picture of you right now.
See what you said
”Their objection to my article was not for comparing their dear leader to the chairman, but calling both incompetent while it is self-evident that they cannot be’’
”Mao was a well-read and articulate man. So is Meles Zenawi. It is clear though that they also share a lot more traits including massive, massive, massive incompetence’’
This statement concerns a leader who is officially taken as a national hero of China and one of the most influential people in the world
(http://www.123independenceday.com/china/national-heroes.html)
(http://www.oxfordreference.com/pages/samplep02) (http://205.188.238.181/time/time100/leaders/profile/mao.html
The incompetence actually lies on your lack of an exhaustive and in-depth analysis, before making a conclusion!!
****The deduction one can have why this article is written at this point in time is clear – A fantasy to project a likeness between the GTP of Meles and Great Leap Forward of Mao***
From now on, I don’t regret for not having you and Addis Neger on the independent media list operating in Ethiopia. Time to look for my friends who still think Addis Neger Journalists are representative to the young generations’ thinking. ”Hell NO, They got to know them more closely”.
I did not see the comparison between a common bandit like Melse and a leader like Mao as a good discussion to enlighten us to solve our problems.
Sometimes we overlook the dismal condition our people are by any standard let alone compared to the Chinese society of the past or the presnet. The elites’ in the left i.e. ‘peasant as a victim’ led revolution to counter the feudal i.e. capitalist exploiters class have not change much, if not made matter worst for the poor peasants. We have another land lord and the people are subjugated as always.
The elites slash and burn approach-anything of our own is not worth our time and everything foreign is our salvation left us with either. Here is where it opened for the Melse type scavengers with no conviction of anything exploiting the bad, the good and the ugly. Comparing Mao with a modern day bandit is an insult to our sensibility.
Frankly, we can do better comparing what works for the people at the bottom and working our way up. The top-down approach of the elites has no more creditability. They do not have any conviction on anything as it should be apparent by now; they are in it for themselves.
Democracy is the only hope for Ethiopians; we yet to find the elites’ with a conviction, not land, food, education etc. for the peasant but voice for them. Everything else comes after the people have voice.
I have always loved your writings. But you have not made a good case in showing Meles’s “massive, massive and massive incompetence”. You passion has impeached your logic. Meles once joked about his name and hoped that history would not judge him like other African leaders whose name starts with the word “M”. Now you are comparing him with a Chinese “M”. Let us now talk about the aspirational Meles…..i guess he would like to be compared with Deng who as you rightly note brought China out of the Maoist mould and introduced it to the world…( never neglect the role of Nixon/Kissinger too, or was that the American interpretation of history’s most profound moment….) Look what Meles wants to take Ethiopia….Abiye don’t get me wrong….I am just taking from a position of what Meles aspires…reality in Ethiopia may be a different thing altogether.
Abiye,
You are over-reading your readers’ comments. Only a handful of the commentators have probably read about Mao. They just reacted that was because they hated Meles. It is not different from Americans who claim that Obama is as bad as Hitler. It is an emotional reaction to anger towards a leader.
However I agree with you wholeheartedly that our hate for leader x shouldn’t cloud our judgment for y. We should not rehabilitate Mengistu just because Meles is a terrible leader.
I haven’t read so much about Mao, but I understand him to be a head of state who once tried to change his country to the better. Mao starts as Chinese, and lived as Chinese and passed as Chinese. I don’t think Mao started as a Chinese politician and co-opted Vietnam or Japan and tried to establish an ostensibly united South-East Asia,,, which should only exist for the advantage of Chinese prosperity. That is how I see Meles in practice. He assertively is a Tigrean, he lived as a Tigrean, he estalblished a “Marxist Tigray league” and still he is the leader of Tigray liberation front. I wonder if Meles is realy an Ethiopian leader in the real sense of the word. I’ve read that Mao ” laid the economic, technological and cultural foundations of modern China”. Mao started with a vision for China, he didn’t run in to his leadership as a matter of accident whereas Meles become the ‘leader’ of Ethiopia only as a result of the sudden and unexpected collapse of the Derg regime. Meles is a political gambler who would dare to take the risk of disintegrating the very country he supposedely leads. But Mao thinks in the mindframe of ‘Better China’. I think Meles is the first of its kind,,, though there is not yet a nation called Tigray, it is easier to think of Meles as a governer of the ‘Ethiopian protectorate’. Comparing Meles with Mao is a tacit affirmation of his ‘statesmanship’ which he essentially is not.
Where is my comment that was under moderation? There you go – authoritatively doing what Meles did to you. ohh God!! Was this the Addis Neger and Abiye Teklemariam that I was crazy about for years??!!
When people say you are a fanatical – You ask them to argue and substantiate their point rather than calling names after names. Good!! That was, indeed, blameless. But, when they attempt to do so, you confiscate their words.
TIAM, That is African Mentality.
Where ever you are, you play it the same way. You guys want to give a sermon, and expect us to comprehend it, without any probing. What if you guys had a chance to govern like Meles? That is why the EPRDF cadres call you ‘tsere hizb’ and ‘tsere limat’. And that is why you are losing the big fan base you had, me I am one of those. I never applaud AIGA Forum before, as it so one sided…..but am questioning myself, right now, what is so different between YOU and AIGA?
AIGA report = function (Whatever it takes EPRDF should stay in power) + the country is assured to be stable
Addis Neger and Ginbot 7 report = function (Whatever it takes EPRDF should be removed) +0
You know what, the biggest fight you guys have is not with the EPRDF…It is with your rational fans!!
fairly satisfied than the foregoing piece with this
Bravo Abi
This is really interesting article.But i would be very happy if any body could explain me why pro woyanes like “Fact” start crying and insult our hero Abiy?
TO FACT
What the hell u r talking …. please try to differentiate Abiye and Addis Neger and also ur nightmare Ginbot 7 ….
Still Abiye is our Hero and an icon for those of us. Entorotos giba ke ene Aigaforumih gar … demo where is my comment titaleh ende Addis negeroch siram alatu yanten comment remove yemeyaregut ..kef bileh eyew kelay alelih tolo ke mechoih befit ..lol
quite different from this particular piece
my Q for Abiye is why he never think of or deliberately skip the psychology and social values of the society that tends then to willingly entertain the directorial approach of their gov. the one-child policy could tell us more beyond the social contract in between those parties, family and gov. it is working for such a long time which seems impossible. this not-doable done contract is staying alive only under willingness of the couples to constraint their biological and consumption behavior and limiting the maximum family satisfaction. pressure couldn’t sustain the contract works unless both side agree willingly. such contracts could explain us how the people is open arms to respect any contractual deals with gov. additionally the essence of democratic right may not have been their social and moral value in manner westerns have and we exaggerate.
massive protest at tiananment Square couldnt show us the state of the society in disobedience or breaking the contract. compared to our university students protests, there were no satisfactory link between the students and the rest population which could have accelerated and fired the tempo of the demo. many people perceived protesters as anarchist and their question was understood luxuries. in short, taking people willingness, social value and practices and value of democracy in the society, it is pretty easy to see the half glass in china.
dont we have society willing to enjoy the empty glass or in the absence of such determinants, your model will best fit ?
Abebe
Good job Abebe, you are right on the mark. You know Meles better than his puppy Fact knows him. Meles is confused in his identity. Circumstances forced him to be Ethiopian when his true allegiance is to Eritrea or for anything aganist Ethiopia.
I am not a Weyanne or even a supporter. But the fact of the matter is not only black or white.
Abiy’s most recent article side steps the issues that several of us had previously raised – in trying to move the discussion into interesting territory, beyond the comparison of personalities.
It seem’s a majority of us are in agreement that Ato Meles is a dictator and a vile figure that is a tragedy for Ethiopians.
So what does that tell us about how the world works, how politics works in Ethiopia, what types of ideas are to galvanize a new generation of Ethiopians and how we solve the life and death issues of poverty, inequality and authoritarianism?
Some brothers and sisters are conflating hating Meles or the revelation of EPRDF’s exhausted nationalism and the stench of its dead ideology with political analysis. It is not.
Accusing “Fact” of being a Woyanne apologist is the height of this type of ignorance. This is a strategy of silencing and one that is anti-democratic, let us talk with, respect and debate each other. Fact makes very interesting points [i suggest readers go back and try to get his/her message].
It seem’s that what Abiy learns from looking at Mao’s China is a vindication of his ‘liberal’ political vision. At root this is the core issue that needs to be debated.
The history of liberalism is written in the blood of innocents no less than state-socialism and communism. Abiy is dragging the dead body of this ideology back into Ethiopia’s house in a new form as the ONLY way to remake and struggle for democratic change in Ethiopia. That is the reason for his feelings of being stung, other wise many showed their respect and thanked him for his provocative article.
The ethiopian flag (nationalism), the ethiopian opposition is not by definition liberal and by extension those who are challenging this ideology in discussions about Ethiopia and in Abiy’s article are part-and-parcel of this struggle [not apologists as some brown shirts would like to label them/us].
Forgive me, but your reactions are out of proportion. I do not believe that you are a disappointed AN fan, but rather you are just making a carefully designed comments to demoralize the AN team. A guy who sounds smart like you should know better, I think.
BTW – I love AddisNeger. Keep up the good work!
Fact, you are not woyane or supporter;who are you?hodam.
Fact, if u r not a tplf supporter or member, then u must have smth personal against Abiye (more specifically to his intelligence). Why wd u go this far to defend a tyrant like Mao just to contradict someone who’s obviously much smarter than u r? Next time, u will be telling us that Meles is an Ethiopian hero coz his portrait’s hanging at Abyot Adebabay (like Mao’s at Tianamen sq.)
@2pac, Thanks for being neutral.
@others
I would never defile the intellect and the articulated presentations of Abiye Teklemariam. I, unpretentiously, even accept that he is way smarter than me. And he needs respect courage and more importantly criticism from us. I feel privileged to read his articles at times. To be frank, ideologically, he is(was) closer to me than Meles Zenawi. However, these days Abiye prefers to take an unwise reportage which we should contend. His recent posts especially lack a systematic analysis and persuasions. It seems to me that his arguments are set after his conclusions. And that was the center of my comments.
Here are two things I need to mention-
1. Meles zenawi may be a dictator for some of us, but we shouldn’t deny he has supporters too. And those supporters have the right, same as to ours, to exercise their belief. What we should do is to progressively build the democratic institutions in a civilized manner. Whether the democracy we have, right now, is dirty or not, we can’t amend the past!! The only thing we can achieve is we can advance the future democratization with a spirit of reconciliation.
2. It is now 2010, We shouldn’t make everything such a lawless. We shouldn’t be too rebellious for everything; we shouldn’t be declining everything that the government says. The struggle You need to have against the EPRDF shouldn’t be of only removing Meles and starting everything from zero.
A peaceful struggle for a just democracy demands us to be faithful for the core values of democracy, even if we are wronged and persecuted.
You are trying to smartly and cordially beguile Abiy from writing his sharp and scholarly probes on Ethopian politics. We can be swayed by our convictions and political inclination, but Abiy is trying to be very objective and reasonable in all his writings as far as I see. I hope Abiy will not be moved or intimidated by such kind of critics. As long as everyone of us has the opportunity to reflect on his ideas, there shouldn’t be any concern on Abiy’s motives or subjective claims (afterall he is entitled to it as a person and above all as an Ethiopian).
@abebe,
True, ”he is entitled to it as a person and above all as an Ethiopian”
@Bereket,
‘What you see is What you get’, describes the saga of Meles’ political life very well. He had every opportunity to be one of the revered statesmen of Africa. That was what Clinton diplomatically conveyed to Meles when he said that he is one of the new breed of African democrats. But, alas, Meles was not made (fit) for it. He blew it up. He started his political career as a liberation fighter (obviously inspired and emboldened by the Eritrean liberation front that was lingering at the time). He and his fellow comrades didn’t see any solution within the polity of Ethiopia. This is partly due to their juvenile mentality but mainly as a result of the anrchronistic ‘Tigre Vs Amara’ rivalry which they inherited from their noble parents. One can refer to different writings depicting the nature of TPLF and can easily perceive the entrenched idea of glorious Tigray, the treacherous Amara, and rennaisance of the Tigray people and reassertion of Axum-era-glory. The whole ‘ideology’ is rooted in distorted and doctored history though it has helped very well to mobilize the Tigray peasantry for warfare (there are many more motives behind this rebellion, I wouldn’t go in to that now). No surprise that the downfall of Derg has further emboldened the TPLF combatants into believing that they are superheroes. It had never occurred to them that they defeated Mengistu and the over half a million soldiers (though I pity the poor Ethiopian soliders) but not the Ethiopian people. For Meles and TPLF combatants the collapse of Derg was a golden victory and the Ethiopian people and its wealth are their war spoils. It can be seen that they have never recovered from this delusion and still trying to run the country with a conquerer’s mindset.
The main message I am trying to convey with the above story is that Meles has never had an ‘Ethiopian vision’ from the start and will never have in the future. He is a ‘Tigre’ as he himself claimed. That, in and of itself makes him incomparable to any one of the leaders in the past. This deep ethnic mentality of Meles very well explains his failure as the leader of Ethiopia in the past 20 years. He could never think of a unifying politics that can garner the support of the Majority of the Ethiopian people. He has statedly categorized the majority of the Ethiopian people as enemy. He want to move on with his minority contingency by co-opting some stooges from his ‘enemies’ camp. Meles never had an ‘Ethiopian aspiration’ as Bereket tried to have us believe. But, saddly Meles was probably the first leader in Ethiopian history that had a golden opportunity any leader can dream of. I don’t see any bright future for Ethiopia with Meles and his entourage, I see only the ending of his time (probably with horrible consequences) and a new begnning in Ethiopia in the near future.
I find it tasteless to compare in any degree whatsoever Mao with Legese alias Meles Zenawi.Meles is a problem child, who was primarily concerned with the eritrean question. He saw Haile Selassie’s military campaigns in Eritrea and Tigray not a part of the process of nation building. Meles is even by ethiopian standards below average. Menegsistu’s military actions in Eritrea and Tigray should be seen as a process of nation building. Of course Mengistu is responsible for the extrajudicial killings of thousands of innocent Ethiopians. Mengistu killed unarmed civilians. Children were killed in front of their parents.
Why do we say Meles is a stupid leader. Meles is or (hope)was an out and out ant-Ethiopia. He is anti-Tigray. He is pro-”Eritrea”.
We can quote some historical facts which the anti-Ethiopia nature of Meles Zenawi, which is shrouded in Marxist platitudes.
Meles’s first crime against Ethiopia and Africa is the promotion and final execution of the secession of Eritrea from Ethiopia. Meles’s understanding of world history is minimal. The fight against the secession of Eritrea is not directed against the people of Eritrea. It is directed against european colonial heritage and Egypt’s expansion around the Red Sea. Meles Zenawi still does not understand this. The war against eritrean secessionist groups is not agains the eritrean people. It never has been and will never be. It was directed against the core leadership of the organized secessionist groups like ELF, EPLF.
What did Meles do in the last 20 years, which discredit to be called a leader at all?
1) In 1991, students of Addis Abeba University were shot dead for peacefully demonstrating against the secession of Eritrea when the UN Seceretary General was on a visit to Addis Abeba.
2) Meles Zenawi was arming eritrean forces by allowing them to get weapons and warplanes for free from Ethiopia.
3) Meles Zenawi as a head of state did oppose to the plundering and exploitation of eritrean government forces in Tigray.
4) Meles Zenwai was hoping for eritrean to win the war against Ethiopia.
5) When Ethiopian Defence Forces liberated the occupied territories in the senseless war between Ethiopia and “ertra”, Meles ordered to open a front that was directed against the victorious Ethiopian Army.
6) Meles signed the Algiers Agreement which was directed against the strategic interest of Ethiopia
7) Meles applied Ethnic federalism to weaken Ethiopia. He created an articial Oromo and Somali territory to weaken Amhara and Tigray (by extension Ethiopia).
8) Meles annexed territories from Gonder and Wollo provinces to Tigray not to help Tigray but to cause conflict between Tigray and Amhara people.
9) Meles introduced the latin alphabetes to be used in many regions in Ethiopia in place of the Ethiopic alphabete which was used and has to be used all over Ethiopia.
10) Meles landlocked Ethiopia as a result of which Ethiopia wasted more than US$15 billion dollars for post services. He opposes any issues concerning the return of Assab to Ethiopia as illegal.
11) Meles seceded more than 100 000 square kilometeres of ethiopian sovereign land to Sudan.
It is incomprehensible why Ethiopian intellectuals fail to see the crimes of Meles. Meles is a pathological liar and charlatan. His talks of develoment and growth for Ethiopia is the trap he has created with the help of anti-Ethiopia foreign powers like Britain, Germany, Italy and Egypt. If by chance Ethiopia manages to have some economic progress, it is fine. Othrwise politically Ethiopia has been disbanded thousand times, has the heroic people of Ethiopia opposed the fragmenation of their Nation. This is who Meles is. To many of us he is a hooligan who happened by chance tohave the command over an armed bandits.
11)
@ Magdala,
Can you back your accusations with evidences?
”2) Meles Zenawi was arming eritrean forces by allowing them to get weapons and warplanes for free from Ethiopia”
-Is that true? Can you give me a proof?
”3) Meles Zenawi as a head of state did oppose to the plundering and exploitation of eritrean government forces in Tigray”
-How do you know, can you give evidences?
”4) Meles Zenwai was hoping for eritrean to win the war against Ethiopia”
-How do you know, can you back your accusation with a proof?
”5) When Ethiopian Defence Forces liberated the occupied territories in the senseless war between Ethiopia and “ertra”, Meles ordered to open a front that was directed against the victorious Ethiopian Army”
-The target of that senseless war was defending a territory not invading another country.
”7) Meles applied Ethnic federalism to weaken Ethiopia. He created an articial Oromo and Somali territory to weaken Amhara and Tigray (by extension Ethiopia)”
-You must get this right from now on. Without Ethnic federalism, the country Ethiopia could easily be dismantled. It is that Ethnic federalism that kept culturally subjugated peoples to live together with others. (I didn’t say subjugated people, I said culturally Subjugated)
”9) Meles introduced the latin alphabetes to be used in many regions in Ethiopia in place of the Ethiopic alphabete which was used and has to be used all over Ethiopia”
- The people of those regions prefer to use the Latin alphabet, because it can describe the sounds in their language much better than Amharic. Who are you to tell them which language they should use?
”10) Meles landlocked Ethiopia as a result of which Ethiopia wasted more than US$15 billion dollars for post services. He opposes any issues concerning the return of Assab to Ethiopia as illegal”
Ethiopia is landlocked because the then Ethiopian army was defeated, and the Eritrean people chose to separate. The issue was resolved with arms and the will of Eritreans rather than any deceitful scheme.
Can you suggest any link that can prove Assab to be legally Ethiopia’s part?
There is evidence for number ’2′, Eritrea was given a huge support of Weapon from Ethiopia for its war against Yemen. Infact, that issue is generaly assumed to be the case for the death of ‘Hayelom’.
The Algiers agreement was the most ‘stupid’ decision a head of state can make,,against the interest of its country. Meles was found to be incompetent or behaved in a strange way in this situation.
There is no way you yourself can prove whether number ’7′ and ’9′ were made up on the will of the concerned ethnic groups themselves. Or whether ethnic federalism is the only way to solve the so called ‘cultural subjugation’. I would like to remind you the violent strike made in Southern Ethiopia against the introduction of such artificial language. We never know how the concerned ethnic groups would like to deal with this issue. We know that everything made after TPLF’s ascent to power is to expedite its divide and rule tactic.
Concerning number 10 you better read all the facts concerning the creation of Eritrea after it is freed from Italian colonization. If Eritrea is ever going to be a sovereign country, Assab belongs to Ethiopia, that is how the conditions were stipulated in the UN decision.
@ Fact
Reading your arguments above, i thought you were a rational person trying to engage yourself in scholarly debate about Ethiopian politics. However, the last comment for magdala sounds like it is written by an ignorant highschool student or a blind supporter of TPLF. you were asking Magdala to back his accusation and give you tangeble proof. were you backing your assertions when you talk about federalism, laguage and Assab? you said the “people” prefered this or that. how did you know it is the intereset of the majority of the people to write in lattin or live in ethinic federalism? what made you say that the asab qeustion was solved by milltray power? Have you ever thought that what would have happend, if TPLF didnt allow the seccessation of Eritrea? Eritrea is a gift to EPLF, not for the prople, from Legese Zenawi.
To “Fact”
I do not like to discuss with you because you are stubborn. You use the nick “Fact” to lie and dress your points with fiction or false logic
That Meles Zenawi is an eritrean and that Meles’s concern has been only to assist “Eritrea” at the disadvantge of Ethiopia was seen all the way from day 1 he joined TPLF.
History of Ethiopia did not start in 1890 when Italy declared “Eritrea” as it’s colony. Before 1890, the are called “Eritrea” was a sovereign territory of Ethiopia and was part of Tigray region of Ethiopia. Thus Italy was occupying Ethiopia’s northern sovereign land in 1890 and is thus ethiopian. In 1896, at the Battle of Adwa, Italy was defeated and the area called Mereb Melash (excluding Assab) was leased to Italy as a favour to strengthen friendship between Christian Ethiopia and Europe through Italy (Please check the conditions Emperor Menelik leased Mereb Melash (Northern territory of today’s “Eritrea” in the treaty of Ethiopia and Italy around 1900).
As to the role of Meles Zenawi in arming the seceded Ethiopia with war planes and ammunitions of Ethiopia, the evidence is documented. Ethiopian Ships, Helicopters were given to “Eritrea”, which was arming itself to occupy Ethiopia with the assistance of it’s agents in the ethiopian government led by Meles Zenawi, an eritrean with active role in Eritrean People’s Liberation Front.
Resources of Tigray were taken away by “eritrean” army with the knowledge of Meles Zenawi. It is clear has not much resource, but the little resources in districs bordering “Eritrea” were taken by “eritrea” army.
The war agains the agression of “Eritrea” was concluded with the victory of the ethion army. The Ethiopian Army was a few kilometers from Asmara and was stopped by the order of Meles Zenawi. Besides Meles Zenawi ordered a section of the ethiopian forces to shoot at the victorious ethiopian army. Meles Zenawi was excluded the Central Command and was kept in house arrest until further notice. With the help of foreign powers (CIA, M16), Meles Zenawi made to take control of the Ethiopian Defence Forces.
The victorious Ethiopian Army was punished by the eritrean Meles Zenawi. Most of the general and commanding officers were killed or imprisoned. The Cheif of Staff, General Tsadiqan was removed. Colonel Attakilit was imprisoned or killed. Many other generals and commanding officer were killed or imprisoned.
Meles Zenawi humuliated Ethiopia by signing the Algier’s Agreement, which favoured “Eritrea”. This will never be swalled by ethiopians. For ethiopians , there is no Algier’s Agreement.
That Assab belongs to Ethiopia follows from the treaty of Ethiopia and Italy. What is called Eritrea after the Battle of Adwa is the territory north of the Mereb River, which does not include Assab. Thus Assab belongs to Wollo province or Afar region of Ethiopia. There are other circustantial evidences that Assab is a sovereign terrritory of Ethiopia. The area was bought by an italian missinary from an Ethiopian and should be given back to the Ethiopian government and not be transferred to Italy.
To “Fact” !
The ethiopian army was not defeated. Mengisu Haile Mariam betrayed the army and the command was broken. Besides the Tigray youth was confused and was fighting in support of Eritrea. The people of Tigray can defeat “Eritrea” as they were controlling it in the past.
Ethiopia is landlocked because Egypt and USA wanted it to be landlocked. Egypting is now controlling the Red Sea and gets billions of dollars from Tourism. Ethiopia is landlocked by sheer political manipualtion. Meles Zenawi played a key role in landlocking Ethiopia. Histoy will not accept this and Ethiopia will get it’s ports after the fall of the eritrean Meles Zenawi.
Magdala, you make your name sake proud (I am assuming your nick alludes to the heoric Kassa of Quara, Gonder)!
Let us not rain heavy on “Fact” but each point raised by Magdala can be backed up with ‘factual’ data and I hope “Fact” will learn from this.
Colonel Atkilti Berehe is alive but languishes in prison a sad fate for such a soldier.
Of course, I am here to learn. By urging people to back their assertions, you can create a scene where they can breathe out their knowledge. So, the discussion we will have will not be a rumor centered politics but a logical debate. Clearing out unverified account or explanation of events circulating from person to person and pertaining to an event, or public concern is, I think, important to all of us.
@Magdala, This one is much better, Thanks.
Before commenting on your arguments – Let me try to back my assertion on Latin alphabets.
Now the whole logic stands on – ‘the choice of the alphabet, just like the choice of language, has to be determined by the user’. This is without excluding the important role of professionals’ views on such matters as choosing the most appropriate alphabet and modification work.
First, we have over 80 indigenous languages in Ethiopia, classified into four categories:
i) Kushitic (Oromifa, Somali, Sidama, Kembata, Beja, Bilen, etc.,
ii) Semitic (Ge’ez, Tigre, Tigringa, Amharic, Guragigna, Argoba, Harari, Gafat);
iii) Omotic (Keffa, Wolayta, Majji, Gamo, Konta, Gofa, etc.,
iv) Nilotic (Mezhenger, Gumuz, Kunama, Anuak, etc.).
Now let’s see the case with Oromifa –
About five months after the collapse of Mengistu’s regime in May 1991, the OLF convened a meeting of Oromo intellectuals on November 3, 1991. The purpose of the meeting was to adopt the Latin script the OLF had been using or suggest an alternative. Over 1000 Oromo intellectuals met in the Parliament Building at Arat Kilo, Addis Ababa (Finfinne).
After a six-hour deliberation, it was unanimously decided that the Latin script be adopted. Some of the reasons for this landmark decision – primarily linguistic, pedagogic, and practical – are as follows:
1.Linguistic reasons
Writing itself has passed through three stages of development before reaching the alphabet stage. The three stages are: iconography, logography, and syllabary.
Iconography consists of drawings of animals or objects. The drawings are disconnected and fragmented, and they are intended to give just a static impression. Later standardized pictures were selected, arranged in a series, and were made to tell a story the same way as today’s action photographs do. Iconography was common among North American Indian tribes.
Logography is the use of signs to represent words. In English, for example, whole words such as one, two, three, dollar are, respectively represented by the signs 1, 2, 3, $. The Chinese, which uses a minimum of 4000 characters, is the only language that uses the logographic writing system to date.
Syllabary is a set of characters which represent syllables. A syllable is a part of a word in which a vowel sound is heard. For example, the Oromo word “bilisummaa” has four syllables, namely, bi, Ii, su, and mmaa. In a syllabaric writing, obviously one stage behind, each sign stands for a syllable of a consonant and vowel. One of the major drawbacks of syllabaric writing is that its characters do not represent the vowels and the consonants of a language separately notwithstanding the two are distinct categories.
A spoken word, in Oromifa, can have different meanings depending on where the accent falls or on the length of the word. An alphabetic system of writing, where every symbol represents a single sound and where vowels and consonants are written separately is useful for this. Latin characters (Quubé in Oromifa) enable one to variegate the sound of a word by shortening/lengthening a written word by the number of vowel-consonant combinations. Since the Ge’ez-based Amharic is syllabic, each character can represent two or more sounds (word).
To “Fact” !
First and foremost, you seem to see the issue of tribes or ethnic groups out of historical context in the sense that you and your likes see purely defined ethnic group in Ethiopia. But this is entirely wrong becasue our communities have been interacting with one another for the last 5000 or more years since the foundation of the Ethiopian State. Thus the allegation that Ethiopia has 80 ethnic groups is entirely wrong for there are only very few who have not been interacting with one another be it for trade or marriage or any other form of interaction. Ethiopia is a melting pot of all tribes asiatic as well as african.
The Oromo, Amahara, Tigray, Guraghe, Wollamo, Somali, Afar etc are thus interdependent communities and never were autonom. Please reconsider the hitherto position that Sidama, Amhara, Afar, Somalia, Oromo, Tigray etc existed autonom, indepedent of one another. This is not true. According to the recorded Ethiopian history, no tribe in the prsent day Ethiopia had it’s own government and it’s own crown or it’s own money (coins). Even Tigray had no government of it’s own. The Tigray nobility claimed the Ethiopian Crown. Though Axum is in Tigray, but Tigray was just one of the provinces of Ethiopia from ancient times.
Ethiopia has practically about 15 or less ethnic groups. Amahara with Tigray and Guraghe could be one, Oromo with Afar and Somali another etc. This is a homework for all of us that we should not focus on 80 ethnic groups but reduce them to a few ones for administrative purposes. We should aim to form a democratic unitary state with autonomous administrative units.
As to replacing Ethiopic alphabet, which evolved from Heroglyphics, this should never have been done. The Oromos do not have difficulty in using the Ethiopian alphabete. That the Oromo intellectuals decided to replace the Ethiopic alphabet with latin alphabet has nothing to do with easiness. I do no see why the Oromo people could use latin alphabetes easier than Ethiopic alphabetes. This is refuted by the very fact that most muslim Oromos and Somalis read Koran in Arabic, which is a semetic language as is Amharic and Tigrigna or Guragae etc. The decision to replace Ethiopic alphabets with Latin is wrong and is in essence anti-Ethiopia and Anti-Africa. OLF, TPLF, EPLF think they should not use Amharic as a language because they hate the Amhara people and culture. The Ethiopian alphabet is an indigenous African alphabet that evolved in Ethiopia/Egypt from hieroglyphics. It is not Geez as such. The Geez alphabet as the Amharic and Tigrigna alhabets was adopted from The Ethiopic alphabet. Ethiopia exported it’s culture and alphabets to Asia, not the reverse.
The Ethiopian society is confused and so are our young people. We tend to simplfy things. We do not see that we have our own culture which is quite advanced in many ways.
The Oromo and other ethnic groups in Ethiopia should use their own version of Ethiopic alphabet as do Tigray and Amhara people. We can add some signs to the Ethiopic letters. Besides we all should use one national language and should not focus to develop the ethnic languages. I suggest to rename Amharic as Ethiopian language and we all use it as a national language. Amharic has already adopted many words from Tigrigna, Afar, Oromo, Somalia, Gurage, Agew etc.
To summarize: It is entirely wrong to replace the Ethiopic alphabet with Latin alphabets. Oromos and other ethnic groups should use the Ethiopic alphabet with some modifications like using dots or some other modifications. As most Oromos and Somalis and Afars use Arabic for religious purposes, which is more difficult to use than Amharic or Tigrigna, the ethnc groups in Ethiopia should consider continuing to use Amaharic as a national language.
Magdala, I appreciate your perspectives. You seem to be an experienced and matured person, and I know now that I should treat you as such. Allow me to finish what I started, and then I will argue why I disagree with you.
Afaan Oromo, excluding those represented by p, v, z, has 34 basic sounds (10 vowels and 24 consonants). One possibility is to invent 34 signs corresponding to each of these 34 sounds, an impractical and unnecessary effort. Instead, it was decided that the Latin alphabet be adopted. This decision is historic because the alphabet is “the most highly developed and the most convenient system of writing… readily adaptable to almost any language”
“Writing”, Encyclopedia Americana (Vol. 29), Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated (1990)
2.PEDAGOGIC REASONS
In fact, only 32 symbols (minus the 5 double vowels) a,b,c,ch,d,dh, ,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,ny,o,p,ph,q,r,s,sh,t,u,v,w,x,y,z) need be recognized and memorized. For an Oromo learning these signs and the sounds they represent, the task is even much easier. It may take a non- Oromo a little longer because producing the sounds – especially those not found in his/her language – takes time.
3.Practical reasons
The Latin alphabet was adapted to many languages such as the following:
Germanic languages – English, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch; Romance languages – Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Rumanian;
Slavonic languages – Polish, Czech, Croatian, Sloven;
Finno-Ugrian languages – Finnish, Hungarian;
Baltic languages – Lithuanian, Lettish; Quoc-ngu – Vietnamese; and it was adapted to Somali, Swahili, and others.
Qube Afaan Oromo also aligned itself with so many countries that use the Latin script. One obvious advantage of this is that an Oromo child who has learned his own alphabet can learn, say, the form of the English script in a relatively short period of time. Another practical reason is the adaptability to computer technology which gives alphabetic writing “an edge over even the simplest of syllabic writing.
I am just mentioning the advantages of using Qube for an Oromo child, which obviously makes Every Ethiopian happy.
It is hence a mistake to regard sections of the society who have chosen to use Latin characters as anti-Amharic or even anti-Ethiopian. That is completely not correct. That is basically a baseless frustration. We know from experience, however, that there are groups who have political motives; nonetheless, the right thing to do is to respect their choice. In this connection, it is appropriate to develop Amharic characters in such a way as to be used for all the other languages by, as suggested by author Haddis Alemayehu, reducing the number of characters that have identical appellation and introducing new symbols to represent such characters as the English ‘V’ and the Oromifa sound ‘D’. After all, all the alphabets and languages we have are a source of pride for us.
Amharic and the Geez alphabets are definitely something we all should be proud of. This acknowledgment shouldn’t only be limited to Amharic and Oromifa, but should be extended to each and every language spoken in every inch of our territory.
Now, a number of people have frustration, a frustration resulting from an extreme nationalism; a frustration that crop up from a fear that such approaches might take apart the nation into pieces. However, it won’t!! Because that unity is laid on reality!!
Magdala, let me askyou something here-
1.I am using an English alphabet right now, and you acknowledged that too, right? So what is wrong if me, a brother of you, prefer to use Quubé instead of Geez?
2.Now, you and me are fellow citizens, who should be treated evenly in our country, right? Then why you need to tell me which alphabet I should use? Is that really fair?
Next – A proof why, for example, the Oromo people could be considered to be comfortable with the system of language right now –
As all of us know, there was much unrest, riots by the Oromo people, especially by the Oromo students against some issues during the past 20years. A few people even joked – ”the Prison in Ethiopia could speak Oromifa by now’. However, have you heard any demonstration by the Oromo people declining the use of Quubé, and demanding the use of Geez?
Can you document me even a single protest by the Oromo people against Quubé? Can you?
So what does it mean? The people are happy with it, right? So why not fellow brothers and sisters, like you, try to reconsider their position, and allow every ethnic group to use his own language and preferred alphabets? What is the problem with it? Just think about it.
By the way, Abiye, can you moderate the argument we have by adding your personal perspectives?
As they say, “if the premises false the conclusion will be also wrong”. Our basic problem is we always compare between two evils or we always compare “our leaders” with Stalin, Mao, Lenein, Enver Hoxa, Castero, etc… as if we don’t have our own.
The failure of the student movement and the distruction of our left organizations was, the want to be Chinese, Russians, Cuba, Albania, Vietnam, Argentina (Che) before the want to be an Ethiopian. This same maistake continues to this day. My question to all of you is, when are we going to learn from our past mistakes. Why not we be first Ethiopian and then others for further experience. By the way, this Meles problem is always want to be foreign instead of proud as an Ethiopian. He was Maoist, Lenninist and Albanian. Today he was pretending to be Abrham Licolin, George Washington and Queen Elizabeth. What an identity crisis! Any way, let us be ourselves (Ethiopian) before we became Russian, Chines, Britidh or American. Thank you.
@Fact and @Magdala,,
You have digressed far away from the topic. ‘Fact’ seems to be expressly very happy on such particular topics. He even invited Abiy to chip in and animate his fest. I suggest ‘Fact’ to bring your own topic in to the blog for discussion rather than spoiling a well-intended blog. By the way, tt shouldn’t be a big deal whether a certain ethnic group decided to use one alphabet over the other, as long as the decision is made by the people up on their own will. The most important thing is the process,, how the decision was taken.
The crucial issue Meles or TPLF’ites should answer right now is whether there is a democracy in the country (even within the standard of the few African democratic countries), whether there is the rule of law in Ethiopia or whether there is justice,, equal and fair distribution of opportunities among it citizens. We should ask ourselves what has been done in the past 20 years by the TPLF dominated government in the light of the over 30 Billion dollars (~300 Billion ETB)aid money it received and the relatively peaceful environment prevailing in the country (in comparison to the Derg’s time). Is Ethiopia more stable today than before? When will the TPLF-led government stops experimenting on the Ethiopian people? What did we learn as a society from the past experiments of the TPLF government? Why there are still over 10 million people perennialy hungry in Ethiopia? What did the prime Minister pays for failing its promise of bringing food self-sufficiency (two meals per day)? Is the people’s participation in the making of important decisions – such as economic, political, international relations including border demaraction and Nile river issues – as much as the burden of the consequences?
abebe,
You finally put the blame on me. Funny! Was it me who started this argument in the first place? This was, for example, how you yourself invited me to prove what I replied for Magdala’s provoking post.
abebe wrote – ”There is no way you yourself can prove whether number ’7′ and ’9′ were made up on the will of the concerned ethnic groups themselves”
I did nothing but give an answer to that.
But if you think I am spoiling the original topic; Fine by me, let’s see how far the substance contained in the original post can go.
How like a paradise the world would be, flourishing in joy and rest,
if men would cheerfully conspire in affection and helpfully constitute
to each other’s content: and how a savage wildness now it is, when like
wild beasts, they vex and persecute, worry and devour each other
(Isaac Barlow, Doctor of Divinity Sermon, Works, 1683)