Another election in Ethiopia, another drama staged. The ruling party of dictator Meles Zenawi has taken virtually all seats in parliament and made Ethiopia a one-party state similar to the tyranny in Eritrea. Even the genocidal regime in Sudan has a better representative parliament than Meles Zenawi. That is how bad it has become in our country. Now Meles is trying to show new security problems in the Ogaden to trick the West into supporting him for the sake of stability in the horn of Africa.
Most Western governments have accepted that this 2010 election was a sham. The fact that Ethiopian capital city Finfinne (which was swept by the opposition in 2005) has now been won by the Zenawi dictatorship was probably when the drama became too predictable. Since then, the dictator has been trying to survive by doing two things:
(1)distract the Ethiopian people and
(2) hold western leaders hostage.
This past week, Zenawi’s media in Ethiopia started to distract the people with the news of the Nile river dispute with Egypt and about the upcoming World Cup football games. Meanwhile, Meles is trying to create news about insecurity in southern Ethiopia so that the West will have no choice but to support him for the sake of “war on terror.” This is the only explanation for how a small group of Ogaden rebels (ONLF) took over the most important Oil field in Ogaden region WITHOUT ANY FIGHTING! Meles simply handed over the Oil field to the rebels! Knowing that the ONLF bandits will run away and hide when they are attacked, Meles Zenawi staged another drama in the Ogaden by allowing the rebels to take control of the Oil exploration area for a short period of time. The foolish ONLF leaders in Europe then congratulated themselves and fell for Zenawi’s trick by sending press release to western media about their “successful” capture of the Oil field. The ONLF helped Zenawi to prove a point once again that the West needs Zenawi for the sake of stability.
As many American leaders have said before, stability is more important than democracy to America’s foreign policy. Westerners want stability for the sake of their own stability, to fight terror as well as to protect their economic interests/investments.
This is another dilemma for all of us who want to bring democracy to Ethiopia.
The hypocrisy of the West will continue to keep Meles Zenawi (or his heirs) on power for 100 more years in Ethiopia unless the opposition forces unite and remove Zenawi once and for all. Dr. Merera Gudina, leader of Oromo opposition and the MEDREK coalition should continue to present his party as an alternative force which Western powers can depend on. Meles is bluffing. The fact that Zenawi is still trying to get western support shows that he needs the West even when he boasted about China. The fact is China will not give Zenawi as much free grants and vital humanitarian aid the same way the West does. And Ethiopia does need a lot of grants and capital as well as A LOT of aid to keep millions of people alive and healthy. Only the West can provide all this. China usually gives pricy loans, low-quality infrastructure assistance and often expects net economic advantages from its investments. The opposition needs to expose all of Zenawi’s tricks and show that the opposition is reliable for both the stabilization and democratization of the horn of Africa.
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