Does Mr. Issayas Support Ethiopian Unity?

Response to Professor Messay Kebede

 I would like to thank Professor Messay for his article on “The underside of the Eritrean Issue” posted on Ethiomedia , August 25, 2007, http://www.ethiomedia.com/ace/the_underside_of_the_eritrean_issue.html

which inspired me to write this short article.

Admiring the professor’s analysis, as an Eritrean I just want to focus on the Eritrean issue and particularly on Mr. Issayas’s desire towards the “unity “ and “no-ill-intention” toward Ethiopia according to professor Messay’s assertion. It must be clear that my intention is not to meddle in the internal affairs of Ethiopia too.

Since when did Mr. Isayas support the Ethiopian unity?

I really don’t believe that by now, leave alone known prominent scholars such as professor Messay, that there are ordinary people in our region who do not know the nature of Mr. Issayas. There is no doubt that Mr. Issayas’s wish and desire is to see a weak and disintegrated Ethiopia. He has officially and repeatedly said that, ‘eta abay Ethiopia kitbetaten eya’ means , “the great Ethiopia will be disintegrated”. And he has tried to translate this dream into practise. He has waged open wars in all directions, through the west, east, north and south of the country.

My dear friend, how can Mr. Issayas desire the integrity of Ethiopia while he is actively supporting the secessionist movements like the OLF, ONLF and others? Is it not a clear and vivid contradiction?

Mr. Issayas does not care about the unity of Ethiopia. Nor does he care about the Ethiopian and Eritrean peoples. He only cares about his power. We wish that he cares about the unity of Ethiopia. But really he doesn’t. I believe if Mr. Issays gets the chance of being the president or prime minister of the united Ethiopia, including Eritrea, he would be glad to support Ethiopian unity. Unfortunately, he is nothing but a power hungry person. The recently produced magazine, dedicated to the “oneness of Ethiopia”, is just propaganda.

Why does Mr. Issayas stand against the TPLF (Woyanie)? Just for a simple reason. He does not want to see another powerful regime in the region.

Another point which I disagree with professor Messay’s analysis is that his assertion that the EPRDF government did not try to remove Mr. Isayas from his power after his defeat is because, “the ËPRDF was afraid of reunification of Eritrea with Ethiopia”. I think we must be realists here. The unification of Eritrea depends totally on the decision of the Eritrean people .and not on the TPLF or other outside forces. It is true that the withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces back to the border line of   May 6, 1998 brought a hot discussion within the Eritrean society at that time. Anyhow, the Ethiopian government could not resist the pressure from some western countries and was afraid of world condemnation of violating of a sovereign state.

The question is: How do we Eritreans see the political stand of the (early) TPLF and (lately) EPRDF toward the Eritrean issue?

In the early seventies, I remember, a good measure of progressiveness in the student movement at Haile Sellassie I University was the Eritrean issue. Those who supported the Eritrean cause were considered progressive. It was also at that time that the existence and right of Ethiopian nationalities were recognized by many leftist students such as Walilign. We should not forget that many of the founders of the TPLF were active in this movement. Since then the TPLF supported the Eritrean issue as a principle. I know, some of our Ethiopian friends may not agree on this point because they are simply favouring their national interest. But if one believes in principle, then one has to pay a price for it.

It is foolish to think that the EPRDF government does not want unity, or for that matter desires to have Eritrea with its sea ports. When the Derg was defeated both in Eritrea and Ethiopia by the allied forces of EPLF and TPLF, the TPLF had two choices. Either to wage another 30 years war to hold the unity by force or follow the path of peace and keep the principle once it believed in. And we should not forget that the TPLF leaders had learned from previous governments, Haile Sellassie and Derg that keeping Eritrea’s unity by force did not work. Unity is not bad but it must come from the people themselves voluntarily

We Eritreans, including our regime in Asmara know very well that the EPRDF ruling party faces strong opposition because of its support of the Eritrean cause.

On the other hand, it is very important to know the nature of the regime in Asmara very well. Mr. Issayas does not have any principle. Mr. Issayas is the person who agrees today and betrays tomorrow, affirms today and denies tomorrow. Don’t you see how he created conflicts with all his neighbouring countries? Nowadays he confronts the American government which is beyond his capability. Issayas, who could not even feed our three and half million people, considers himself as a “strong leader”. In reality, he is a leader who has failed in all aspects. The Eritrean people are living in misery. More people are leaving their beloved country for exile than during the time of the Derg. Thousands of them are crossing to Ethiopia which Mr. Issayas taught them as the country of “an enemy”. Very soon, we may read a statement stating the utter failure of Mr. Issayas as a leader.

Adhanom Fitiwi (from Holland)

01-09-2007

Comments: fitiwi@planet.nl